Start time: November 28, 2006; 5:05 PM
I really have nothing to say before I start, other than thank you to the reviewers for their support. Anyway, here's chapter four.
"Ugh…"

Link tossed over to the side on his mattress and pulled the covers over his body. The incessant beeping of his alarm clock echoed throughout his empty, dark, cold room.

'Damn clock…'

He stuck his arm out from under the blankets and felt around for the snooze button, to no avail. Frustrated, he poked his head out as well and bashed his fist on the snooze button, silencing the alarm clock.

He pulled the bedspread down to his waist and leaned forward, supporting his upper body on his elbows. He turned lazily to the right, checking the time on his clock.

"5:26 AM," it read.

He sighed collapsed onto his mattress, and moved his right arm up so that his hand was between his head and the pillow, and stared at the popcorn texturing of his ceiling, making shapes and pictures out of the designs.

After a few minutes, deciding that he had spent enough time doing nothing, he tiredly pushed the blankets off him, slowly sat up, and moved over to the bedside. His feet felt around on the carpet for his slippers, and once he found them, he slipped his feet into them, still sitting on the side.

He rubbed his eyes and yawned boomingly, stretching his arms out as far as he could. He stood up grudgingly and walked out of the room, making his way through the darkness towards the bathroom.

Once inside, he flipped the light switch on and immediately the light bulbs lit up one by one.

Link gasped sharply and shut his eyes closed at the brightness of the room. He made baby steps forward with his hands extended outward, feeling for the counters like a blind man. Once he felt the cold surface, he supported himself on it with his hands gripping the edges and slowly opened his eyes, letting in the light pour into his vision.

He blinked rapidly, trying to rid the tears from his eyes and was met with his reflection.

He stared at his disheveled, messy blond hair topped with a green floppy sleeping cap which resembled a Santa hat, his tired, baggy eyes, his bare, well-defined hairless chest, and his green pajama bottoms, which were barely hugging his hips. He noticed a light happy trail start at his belly button and down to his pubic region, and marks from the ripples in his blankets were pressed into his skin. He turned on the faucets and cupped his hands under the running water. After his hands were full of water, he leaned forward and splashed the liquid into his face. Droplets fell into the sink, with some stray beads hitting the sink and some run down his neck and chest.

He turned the taps off and walked over to the bathtub. He pulled of his floppy hat and set it on the counter and shook off his already loose pajama bottoms and let them hit the ground. He kicked them off behind him and pulled open the shower curtains. He leaned in and turned on the taps and let the hot water run down the faucet. He ran his hand through the small waterfall, making sure the water temperature was just right. Once it was right enough, he turned another knob and the faucet stopped dripping, and the showerhead began spraying water rapidly.

Link stepped into the bathtub and pulled the curtains closed. He grabbed a shower pouf in one hand and a container filled with shower gel in another. He popped it open with his hand and squirted the soap onto the pouf. He set the gel down and scrubbed his entire body thoroughly, leaving no part of his body below his neck unclean. When he was done took the pouf by the string and wrapped it around one of the taps. He let the water wash away the suds on his body, and while he did that, took his shampoo bottle and squeezed the contents onto his hair. He massaged his scalp slowly, and rapidly ran his shampoo covered hands through his blonde locks. When he was done, he took the shower head off from the handle and let the water rinse out his hair, and turned the water off quickly.

He poked his arm through an opening between the curtain and the wall and pulled his towel off the towel rack. He dried his face and his body off with the towel and wrapped it around his waist. He got out of the bath tub and walked over in front of the counter and mirror. He took his hand and wiped the heavy steam off the mirror, revealing his reflection to himself.

He ran a hand through his wet hair and he shook his head rapidly like a dog, letting the water and his hair fly in every which direction. He took a comb from a tray on the counter and combed his hair back, wringing out the water. He looked up at his reflection and stared at his hair. He couldn't help but laugh out loud; he personally thought he looked ridiculous like that! He unwrapped the towel from his waist and dried out his hair with it. He looked back into the mirror and saw that his hair was restored to its normal, shaggy style.

'That's better,' he thought.

Link has always had unruly hair for as long as he could remember. The only time he ever changed his hair style was during high school when he was in JROTC, or Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps, a military sponsored program in high schools that taught, modeled, and treated the students involved in it as if they were members of the military, even though they had no obligations to join the actual armed forces. To comply with the grooming standards of the program, Link was forced to shave his hair off so that it was a buzz cut. Girls thought that he looked attractive with his hair cut off, and that it gave him a "manly soldier" air about him, but despite that, he thought that it looked better the old long, unkempt way.

He scratched his naked chest and leaned forward to get a better look of himself. He flashed a charming smirk and winked at himself.

'You are one handsome guy,' he complimented himself.

Link was never one to spend so much time on his outer appearance, and showering himself with narcissistic comments was never his cup of tea, but for some reason, he felt very attractive, and you'd almost go as far to say that he was beginning to get a little full of himself. He also felt the urge to dress up more nicely than usual, for reasons unknown to himself.

'It's Zelda, isn't it?'

Link thought about that. Ever since Zelda came into his life, he began paying more attention to his looks than he did before; he'd spend hours looking at himself in a mirror, he'd only wear his best clothes and accessories to work, or in this case, school, and every chance he'd get, he'd look into some reflective object and check over his looks.

'No, Link! Quit thinking about her! She's your student! STUDENT. You know perfectly well what would happen should you get into a relationship with her!'

The little voice in the back of his head was right; a student-teacher relationship was severely looked down upon in society. It was a lose-lose situation to both people involved: if they were to become a couple, they would be shunned by the public for breaking taboo. If they didn't, they would forever spend their lives wondering of the romance that could have been. It was without a doubt one of the most damned positions to be in.

Not only would he become an outsider, but he would surely lose his job on the spot. No parent would ever trust their daughter under his instruction; they'd automatically think he would come on to her and womanize her. He'd have no choice but to dismiss himself from the field of teaching.

But what would become of Zelda? She'd be teased and ridiculed by her classmates for being known as the girl who developed romantic relations with a teacher. Her parents would be furious with her, not only for committing social suicide, but by getting involved with some almost twice her age, and no parent would want their daughter to be caught up with someone who has more "experience" in romantic situations. She would also be the one to bring shame and dishonor to her family name, and the entire family would become outcasts, all because of her. She was too young for that to happen to her, and he wouldn't even think of dreaming of putting her in that position.

But even if it was perfectly acceptable in the eyes of the public, what makes him think that he'd have a chance in Hell of being with her? For all he knew, she probably only viewed him as a teacher, and nothing more than that. If he were to tell her that he had fallen head over heels in love with her, and she didn't feel the same, that would surely make teaching her very awkward. Either that or she'd just think he was being a sick pervert playing with her heart and would demand a restraining order against him.

Sighing, he hung his head in defeat and walked out of the bathroom, turning off the light behind him.

He turned on his bedroom light and strolled over to his closet. He pulled out a white Billabong shirt and pulled it over his head. He got a fresh pair of green boxers, and a pair of blue boot cut jeans, and slipped them on respectively. He kneeled down and opened a drawer where he kept his socks. He got out some low-rise ankle socks and pulled them over his feet. He got up and looked at the clock.

"6:32 AM."

He dusted off his legs and went out to the kitchen. He had to leave soon to get the classroom ready for school, so he got a glazed Krispy Kreme donut from a box container next to the toaster and put it in a small paper bag. He opened the refrigerator and pulled out a chilled glass bottle filled with mocha frappucino from Starbucks. He stuffed some napkins into the bag as well, grabbed his car keys, his backpack, and headed out the door.

7:19 AM: CLASSROOM

After Link had finished made all the copies of the test tomorrow, and prepared his lesson plan for today, he was finally able to relax. He took a seat on his chair and pulled out a napkin. He used it to take out the donut, and he took one hungry bite out of it. He grinned happily and nodded in approval, savoring the taste of the donut.

"Mmmmmm…."

Just then, the first period bell rang.

He looked at the clock, seeing that it was seven twenty-five. He got up form his chair and opened the door so that the students could get inside.

He took a seat again and skillfully popped the airtight cap open with one hand as he held the donut in the other.

As students slowly poured in, they greeted Link and took their seats.

"Hey, Link."

"What's up, Link?"

"Good morning, Link."

"Hi, Mr. Avalon."

Link smiled at them and took a drink of his frappucino.

It was almost time for the late bell to ring, and just before it rang, Zelda ran in.

Link glanced over to her from the corner of his eye. "How nice of you to join us, Zelda. I see you're late- again."

She glared at him at his mock-snide comment. "I wasn't late! I got in before the bell rang!"

Link took another bite of his donut. "Whatever you say," he replied, smirking at her.

Zelda rolled her eyes and sat next to Malon.

Taking another gulp of his drink, Link got up and stood before the class.

"Mornin'!" Link proclaimed.

"Good morning!" The class yelled energetically.

Link smiled at their enthusiasm. "It's nice to see you all today… Now, for attendance." He reached for a file folder on his desk and opened it. He pulled a pen out of his pocket and began reading names. All the students were presentm as always.

When he finished attendance, he closed the folder and set it back on his desk.

"Now, what we are going to do is basically a review of the whole chapter, starting with what you learned with Madame Din on sections one and two, up to section three with me." He picked up a stack of papers and handed them out to the class.

"You can either work on these individually, or you can get into a group if you want, it doesn't bother me. Just limit your groups to three; I don't want it getting loud in here."

As soon as everyone had a paper, he put the extras on his desk. "If you guys need help or anything, just ask and I'll be there… Go ahead and begin." He took a seat at his desk and took the last bite of his donut.

Malon and Zelda decided to pair up work together, but like any typical group of teenagers, began to converse instead, ignoring the given assignment.

"Hey," a voice called.

They looked up and saw Romani standing over them, holding her book and the review sheet.

"Can I join you girls?" She asked.

Zelda and Malon both nodded and they pulled open a seat for her. Romani thanked them and sat down.

"So," Romani started, "what are we all talking about?"

"Nothing, really," Malon replied, writing her name on the paper, trying to look like she was doing something.

"Oh really?" Romani asked. "Zelda, how did your tutoring with Link go?"

Zelda looked at her wide-eyed, caught off-guard by her question. "How did you know about that?"

Romani chuckled. "Ruto told me. She was going on about how she missed the grand opening sale at Bloomingdale's yesterday because you had some after school lesson with Link."

Zelda smiled and shook her head. Leave it to Ruto to totally blurt out a secret.

"So how'd it go?" Romani asked again.

"It was fine," Zelda replied. "We just talked about the Triforce and things of that nature."

"Were you able to pay attention?" Malon asked her.

"Actually… Yeah," Zelda told her. "I wasn't really distracted at all. I looked at him a few times here and there, but nothing really major."

Malon raised her eyebrows. "Really? That's a surprise."

"What are you guys talking about?" Romani asked, interested in their conversation.

"Well," Zelda began, "ever since Link began teaching, I've been kind of distracted by these thoughts I keep having about him."

"And who can blame you? Link is hot!" Romani exclaimed loudly, but kept it quiet so that Link couldn't hear her.

"All the girls in his classes do nothing but gush about how sexy he is," Romani said. "Every time I get into a conversation with them, it's always 'Link this,' 'Link that'…"

They all laughed at Romani's little anecdote, when Link interrupted them.

"Girls," he started. Zelda, Malon, and Romani looked at him, who was looking back at them from his desk.

"Get to work," he scolded, trying not to sound strict.

The three of them smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, Link," they all replied in unison.

He smiled and nodded. "It's alright. It's okay to talk… Just make sure you get at least the front page done."

They nodded in understanding, and Link directed his attention back to his computer screen.

They turned back to each other, and they swiftly began working. The only sounds they made were their pencils writing, the pages of their textbook flipping as they looked for the answers, and the occasional speaking when they asked each other for help.

After some while, Romani looked up from her paper to see Link deeply engrossed into whatever he was looking at on the computer. She smirked to herself and tapped Malon and Zelda on the shoulders with her clic-eraser. They both looked up at her with questioning expressions.

"What do you think he's doing?" Romani asked them, subtly pointing her pencil at Link.

Trying not to attract Link's attention with their staring, Malon and Zelda surreptitiously looked over to him from the corners of their eyes.

"I don't know…" Malon replied.

"Me neither," Zelda responded.

Romani giggled. "I think he's looking at porn."

Zelda's eyes widened. "What!?"

"See for yourself!" Romani exclaimed. "He's been staring at that damn computer screen all period, and look how his left arm looks like it keeps yanking at something under the desk…"

The two other girls glanced back, and Romani could not have been more right even if she tried.

Zelda blushed as Link continued to… do whatever he was doing.

Malon turned back to Zelda and Romani, shuddering in disbelief. "That's the last time I touch his hands…"

2:43 PM: AFTERSCHOOL

Zelda was a half hour late for her tutoring session because she had to finish a test for Hylian Literature for last period, and she wasn't allowed to leave until she completed it, so she couldn't tell Link. She hoped he would understand.

Before Zelda stopped by Link's room again for her tutoring, she called her house and told her mom that she would be coming home late again. After what happened last night, she wanted to make sure nothing like that happened again.

When she stopped by the door, she saw that no one was inside the room, despite the door being open.

Figuring that he just stepped out for a little bit, she entered the room and as usual, pulled out a seat next to Link's chair. She set her binder on the desk and reclined into her chair. She looked around his desk to see a small vial of lotion sitting on the ground, to which she slightly cringed.

'So Romani was right. I thought as much anyway; Link seemed like the kind of guy who does stuff like that…'

"Oh, it's you."

Zelda turned around to see Link standing in the doorway holding a plate of spaghetti and a bottle of water.

He walked in and took a seat next to her, placing the food on his desk.

"Have you been waiting long?" He asked. She shook her head.

"No, I just got here myself. I was finishing a test in English."

"Oh…"

There was a small silence, and then Zelda spoke up.

"What's that for?" Zelda asked, gesturing at the spaghetti.

"Oh… My lunch. I wasn't able to eat during lunch because I've been at a staff meeting since fourth period."

Zelda nodded slowly, furrowing her eyebrows.

'Why would they invite a substitute teacher to a staff meeting?'

Shrugging it off, she watched Link stuff the pasta and meatballs into his mouth. He stopped for a moment and looked up at her, who has giggling at his messy eating.

Link couldn't help but chuckle at himself and he swallowed what was in his mouth.

He got a napkin and wiped his mouth off, and extended his fork to her.

"You want some?"

"…Maybe just a little bit." She looked at it for a second and down at the plate.

"Do you have an extra fork or something?" She asked.

Link shook his head. "That's my only one. You can use it, though," he offered.

Zelda hesitated a bit. Link saw her uncertainty and nudged her a bit.

"Come on, Zelda. I'm not sick or anything. As if you've never shared spoons or forks with your friends before, right?"

She had to admit, he was right; she'd occasionally share things like silverware and cups with Malon.

Giving in, she curled some spaghetti around the prongs of the fork and she stuck it in her mouth.

"So?" Link asked curiously. "How's the food?"

Zelda swallowed it. "It's good." She handed the fork back to him, and he continued to eat, occasionally sharing with her.

After they finished the food, Link told her that they would begin their lesson.

"Okay, Zelda… Do you have any nicknames?" Link asked her.

"Hmm? My family and friends call me 'Zel' sometimes."

He nodded in reply. "Okay, Zel… Can you hand me that manila folder over there?"

He pointed to a large manila folder across from Zelda. He turned around to get his pencil out of his backpack, when he heard Zelda yelp in pain.

"OWW!"

He quickly whirled around to see her gripping her left index finger and tears forming in her eyes.

"What happened!?" He asked with deep concern in his eyes and tone of voice.

He took her hands in his and removed the hand hiding her finger to reveal a rather large, narrow cut with blood beginning to spill out.

"What the…" Link started.

"It's from the folder," she explained.

Link inhaled sharply. He's had paper cuts before, but those were nothing compared to the pain of a cut from a manila folder.

He stood up and grabbed a small first-aid kit sitting on top of the fire extinguisher cabinet. He took Zelda by the right hand and led her out the room and down the halls until they got to a water fountain.

He knelt down and opened up the first-aid kit and rummaged for a cotton ball, a vial of rubbing alcohol, and a large band-aid.

He turned the fountain knob and it began shooting out water.

"Run it through the water," he instructed her, referring to her cut.

Zelda timidly poked her finger through the running water and winced as the coldness almost numbed her finger. The blood turned a pinkish color as it mixed with the water, swirling down the drain. Link let go of the knob and the water flow stopped.

The cut was still bleeding, and Zelda didn't want to dry it on her shirt because it was bleach white, so she turned to Link.

"W-what do I used to dry it?" Zelda asked, shivering.

Link paused for a second. He looked back into the kit for some paper towels of any kind, but found none, and he and Zelda had used all the napkins while they were eating earlier. The nearest bathroom was downstairs, but he wouldn't leave her alone, nor would he allow her to go by herself. The only thing he had that she could use was the shirt on his back and the last cotton ball, but it was already wet after he dabbed it with the rubbing alcohol.

'Shit,' he cursed.

He sighed and gave the cotton ball to Zelda, telling her to hold it for a moment. He reached for the hem of his white shirt and pulled it over his head.

Zelda's mouth fell agape at him. His muscles flexed and stretched as he stripped himself of his top. He took his shirt in his hand and handed it to her.

"Take it," he told her.

Her voice was beginning to shake. "I… I can't take that; it's your shirt… The blood will get on it, and plus, it's white…" Her resolve was beginning to break as she caught herself staring at his chiseled abs.

Link began to get frustrated. "Just take it, Zelda. Your cut might get infected if you don't dry it on something."

She sighed and gave into him. She took the article of clothing from his hand and wiped off the water and blood from her finger. As soon as she was done, more blood began to flow, and wiped it off again. Link looked at her, trying in vain to stop the bleeding. He's seen manila folder cuts before, and they weren't supposed to be this bad.

"Give me your finger," Link told her. Zelda reached out her hand and the cotton ball, knowing what he was going to do.

He took the cotton ball from her and gently wiped the extra blood away with it, trying to make it as painless for her as possible.

She shut her eyes in response to the stinging, and tears began welling up in her eyes. She had to bit her lower lip so that she wouldn't scream. She felt Link press the cotton ball firmly into her finger. She let out a squeal of pain, and almost impulsively grabbed onto Link, tightly holding on to his body.

Her actions caught her by surprise, and her front was literally smashed against his own.

Link leaned into her and whispered into her ear in an almost deep, sensual growl.

"I'm sorry; I know it hurts."

What he said sent chills down her spine; those words was exactly what he said during her very heated vision last night.

'I'm sorry; I know it hurts.'

At any rate, his voice calmed her down somewhat, and soon, she felt the pressure come off her finger. She slowly opened an eye to see Link wrapping the band-aid around her finger. The cut was still bleeding a bit, but not as much as it was before. She began staring at his naked torso again.

'He's more muscular than I thought he would be…' She thought, referring to her dream the night before.

He felt her eyes on him and he quickly locked his gaze on her. They stayed that way for some while before he let out a charming beam. She giggled quietly and held his shirt to her heart. Link bent down and closed the first-aid kit. They both walked down the halls to the classroom in silence.

Once inside, Link set the case where it was previously and glanced at Zelda who was sitting in her seat quietly. He made his way over to her and knelt beside her.

"How do you feel?" He asked.

She nodded slowly. "I'm fine… But I'm terrified of manila folders now."

Link chuckled and daringly rested his chin on her leg.

Zelda looked down at him, and he in turn looked up at her.

After some more silence, Zelda spoke up.

"Thank you."

He shook his head in reply. "No problem."

Link stood up slowly, brushing off his now bare chest. "I think we'll cancel for today," he told her, referring to the tutoring session they were supposed to be in before the events that ocurred a few minutes ago.

Zelda shook her head 'no'. "We can't cancel just because of…"

Link stopped her. "It's not that. I think you're ready for the test. You seemed to get the main idea yesterday. I think you just had an off day on Tuesday when you took the quiz."

Deep in his heart, he almost doubled over in throes of guilt at the last sentence.

Zelda nodded. "I suppose."

Link helped her up. "Then it's settled."

They began to clean up the room, and gathered their belongings.

3:12 PM: PARKING LOT

"Where's your car?"

Zelda looked up at him. "I didn't take it," she replied. "I carpooled with Malon today."

"Oh… Well, I can drive you home if you want," he offered.

Zelda paused for a moment. "Really? If it's not too much trouble…"

"Oh, no!" Link exclaimed, shaking his head. "I'd be happy to!"

They both got into his car, setting their belongings in the back seat, and Link drove both of them away as Zelda dictated the directions.

"This is it," Zelda proclaimed.

Link looked at her, and up at her two-story house. "Okie doke, then."

She chuckled and reached for her backpack. She was just about to open the door when she remembered something.

"Oh, yeah…" She handed him his shirt back.

Link shook his head and pushed it back toward her. "You keep it."

Zelda looked down at the clothing. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah… It was getting kind of small, anyway."

Zelda laughed and smiled at him. "Thank you so much, Link."

Link looked at the stick shift between them. "No worries."

Zelda opened the door and exited the car and gently closed it behind her. She turned around to give Link one last wave goodbye. He waved back and drove off into the distance.

Zelda's parents were out grocery shopping, and according to the note they left her, they would be gone until four, and it was three forty-five right now.

Zelda was laying on her bed with Link's shirt in her arms. She lifted it up to her nose and inhaled its lingering scent.

'It smells of him,' she observed.

She noticed the small blood stains she had left, and ran her fingers over it. She felt the stains where the blood was rough and hard compared to the clean parts. She took one deeper inhale of the shirt and set it aside.

She opened her backpack and pulled out her history textbook and the review sheet. She began studying, and this time, kept one hundred percent of her focus on her book, for she was determined to pass this test, and pass it with flying colors.


Sorry if this chapter was boring. I used it as more of a vehicle to deepen Link and Zelda's relationship without doing anything extreme. At any rate, review, please.
End time: November 28, 2006; 11:47 PM