~YES!! NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION COMPLETED!!!!!!! MUAHAHAHAHHAHAA!!!!
Lol, see, I promised and I DID update! Just..not at the promised time because of fanfiction.net, but hey! Newayz, a lot of stuff I like to announce before you start reading. *BOO!! Hehe, it won't take too long.. promise.. *crosses fingers.
First of all, I wanna remind peeps to put their email addresses in a review for the mailing list. If you haven't done so already or aren't very sure if you did, please do so!!!
Also, I'm sending pics of RL characters that I've drawn to Rai Dorian's site. The URL is http://www.angelfire.com/anime4/rai/ Go on, sign the guest book, make rude comments about my art ~_~' (much expected, lol) I'll probably get a pic done in a few days, but don't expect great quality!! ^.^
Oh yea!
There's some really weird new thing I've tried in this chappy, so I'm warning you in case it gets confusing. I've put in a song near the end (it's kinda for an atmosphere thing) so the words that come after a ~*~*~*~ are actually the lyrics to the song. I hope you like it, it's from Switchfoot and it's a really sweet song in my opinion..
So.. go ahead and read if you still wanna. It's about 16 pages long.. I overdid it this time. ^_^
There was a loud knock on Kafei's door. He placed down his comb and walked downstairs, and opened it to see Mikau. "Hey man," he said and let him inside, "what's up?" Mikau didn't say a word and sat down on a chair. Kafei raised his eyebrows slightly in suspicion. Mikau was a nice guy.. so why'd he look kinda pissed all of a sudden? Kafei strutted over and sat on the opposite chair of his friend. He leaned over and looked at Mikau expectedly.
When they stayed that way for about a minute, Kafei sighed and scratched his head. "You know that Zelda's in a hospital, right?" Mikau suddenly stated. Kafei turned his head towards him and gave Mikau a long look. "What?" He didn't answer, but continued to stare into blank space. "Mikau, dude," Kafei reached and turned his head over to him, "what happened to her?"
"Don't touch me," he answered.
Kafei let him go, and slid back to his seat. "Mikau," he began, "why you all pissed?" His friend leaned forward in his chair and sighed. "Sorry," he replied softly, "I'm not mad at you. It's just.. I don't know." "Well," Kafei said, "you could at least tell me what's wrong with her." Mikau leaned his head back. "She's been in a car accident," he responded, "The doctors said that she was gonna be okay, but then something went wrong and she's slipping away."
"Damn," Kafei muttered and eased in his chair, "well no wonder she didn't come to the lake last night. Great, and I was so ready.." It happened so fast he might not have dodged it. Kafei's breaths were stuttered and anxious as he stared up at Mikau whose fist just barely missing the side of his skull. The dreaded look on Mikau's face was nearly demonic, tainted without compassion and seething with wrath.
"You bastard.." Mikau growled. "Mikau," Kafei grunted and slid himself up, "What's with you?! You trying to send ME to the ER?!" He stared at Mikau's expression and slowly began to grin. Mirthlessly, he chuckled and ended up laughing uproariously. "So that's it!" he wheezed, "That's what! It's about Romani again, huh? Jeez, Mikau," Kafei said through splits of laughter, "you're not gonna hold something that happened last year against me, now are you?"
Mikau raised himself up and began to walk out of the dorm. "Hey," Kafei shouted, "Hey! You step out that door and we're finished! You got that?! There's never gonna be a you and me, old buddy. It's done!" Mikau stopped and turned around. "Man," he replied, "It ended long before you knew it." With that he left the door and walked down the hall.
***
*"Get me the readings," a slurred voice spoke, "Where's the report? I need at least three syringes filled, nurse, and hurry!" There were people moving.. their motions were blurred and their speeches couldn't be discerned. How did she end up here? Why were they there? "Doctor, her pulse is failing!" one of the other bodies spoke. "Damnit! I need the report from the previous scan, who's gotten it for me?!" "There's still some brainwaves, but their frequency is low." "Why is there not any readings on her heart rate?! Someone tell me her heart rate!" The bodies were swirling faster. It was making the place too confusing and far too dizzy. She began to feel lightheaded.. her thoughts weren't being clear to her. This place was too chaotic, they said to her. Let's leave.. there's no point in staying. What other is there other than misery and suffering? The voices gathered in a noise too cluttered to hear, illogical buzzing of the thousands of thoughts that filled her mind.
*Then Someone spoke to her. Someone's voice became louder than the others.
*She found herself standing in a courtyard, where the gray walls stood proudly high around her and the empty expanse of clear blue sky was above. Yellow butterflies darted among the flowers that grew in bountiful clusters around the little ring of water surrounding the courtyard. She blinked and looked around her, feeling the dull weight of a tiara circling her forehead. The dress she wore was light, and in the front had a dark purple piece that was embroidered with strangely familiar symbols.
'This is where you are headed,' the voice stated, 'This is where you'll be.'
*Her eyes rested on another figure on the other side of the courtyard. Green.. all she could tell was green.
'You will finally come home,' the voice continued, 'This is where you will finally be. This is where you belonged.'
*She closed her eyes and felt arms wrapping themselves around her. They were warm, and she protested. The arms held her tighter to another body, and soon a face buried itself into her neck. Soon she stopped struggling. This felt more right.. THIS was where she belonged.
"So, your name's Zelda?" the person from behind said to her.
*She opened her eyes. The green figure at the end of the courtyard had disappeared. Those words were spoken to her before. The same voice. The same warmth.. suddenly she felt her cheek tingle in a strange sensation.
*The world around her faded, and left only pure blank light. Slowly the arms released her, and she turned. She couldn't distinguish their features, the light surrounding them like a halo. They raised a hand and reached out for her.. she finally knew where she had to go.
*She reached for their hand.
***
They had slept over the hospital that night, waiting for Dr. Tatl or Tael to update them on Zelda's latest condition. Malon smacked her lips and nudged herself closer to Nabooru's arm. There was a light snore coming from Mido as he and Saria were both leaning against each other's shoulder. It was about 2 A.M in the morning, but the lights were still on and people were still coming in and out of the hospital doors.
"Mmm," Saria mumbled, "Someone close the window, it's cold.." She felt a hand shaking her shoulder, and she objected it with a whine. The hand shook her harder, and with a loud frustrated yell Saria connected her fist with a face. She opened her eyes, and saw for a moment Dr. Tael on the ground holding his nose.
"Oh my gods!" she screamed, "I'm so sorry! Are you all right?" Dr. Tael mumbled something and attempted a painful smile. Mido sat up and then Malon and Nabooru woke along with him. Saria was covering her mouth in horror and repeating apologies in rapid speed. "It's quite," Dr. Tael said and winced slightly, "Alright."
Malon stood up and walked towards him. "Well?" she asked, "How is she?" Dr. Tael wiped a bit of blood from his nose with a handkerchief and sniffled. "She's on her road to recovery," he said with a smile. Nabooru hugged Malon tightly while Saria grabbed Mido and began jumping up and down excitedly. "But," Dr. Tael added solemnly, "She slipped into a coma. We don't know how long it will last, and there is still a chance that her injuries might rebound. However, right now the signs are still good."
"Can we at least see her?" Nabooru asked. Dr. Tael nodded and added, "Of course, I trust you would not try to wake her. She still needs rest." "Thank you, doctor," Mido said with a smile as the three other girls dragged him off with one arm.
Nabooru reached the door first, and swung it open. Malon, Saria, and Mido being tugged went in and she slipped inside. They crowded around her bed, and Saria held Zelda's hand. She smiled lightly. "She feels warm," she said softly, "That's good." Mido nodded and rested his hand on her shoulder. "She'll be fine," he muttered. They sat down, watching and waiting. Nabooru placed a hand on Zelda's forehead and sniffed.
"Nabby?" Malon asked, "What's wrong?" Nabooru looked up and smiled instantly. "Nothing," she replied, "I just feel guilty.. I still think I should have asked her how she was. I think I should have been there for her, I had a chance to stop it from happening. But I'm always so slow in catching up to these kind of things, and then someone I care about gets hurt." Malon felt confused, and then saw Nabooru's tear-rimmed eyes staring at her.
She understood, and thought of the scars she still held from that day in the locker. "Oh, Nabby," she murmured, "It wasn't your fault." She reached over and hugged her, and Nabooru cried into her shoulder. Saria and Mido both looked at each other in confusion, but left the two of them alone. Nabooru held on to Malon and let her tears dry up. "Don't ever think that way," Malon whispered, "It wasn't your fault." Nabooru closed her eyes.
It wasn't her fault.. so how come she couldn't help but wonder: Would it have happened if he wasn't her brother?
***
Sheik chewed quietly as he looked at Link for the.. oh hell, some crappy thousandth time since he finally dragged him back from the hospital. "Come on," he said and pushed the plate of Hylian hoagies towards his friend, "Eat sumthin." Link continued to stare blankly at the ground, his hands clamped together. Sheik looked from him to the plate of food. "Alright," he said, "If you ain't eatin I'll eat it!" He faked a grab for the hoagies, and missed by half an inch to swipe thin air.
Link's expression was unmoved.
Sheik sighed and let himself fall into the chair. He wiped his face with his hands and moaned, "Man, Link. I can't believe a guy would pass up a chance at food like that! So," he sat up and leaned towards him, "You ready to tell me why you were at the hospital?" Link looked at him and then returned to looking at the ground. Sheik muttered a curse and played with a piece of lint.
"Ya know," he started, "Professor Rauru's kinda fat." He turned to look at Link, but there was still no reaction. Sheik frowned and looked at Link, puzzled. It's not that Link wasn't smart or anything, but he wasn't used to seeing him think that hard. Especially around him, loyal best pal and friend of a long fucking faithfulness since he had stolen Ganon's lunch money and split it between them in the girl's bathroom. Sheik grinned at the memory, but stopped when he saw Link's face.
He groaned and shifted himself in the sofa. "You really should eat something," he said, "Seeing how you gave like two pints of blood to that New Girl." Link suddenly jerked and slowly began to smile. "I thought you didn't know," he muttered. 'Well,' Sheik thought to himself, 'when you get your ass busted for breaking into some rooms, it's hard not to hear about stuff.' He had asked quite a few nurses, and one of them told him about the blood donation by a recent donor to Zelda Harkinian. Sheik grinned and flopped to his side. "Ya like her, don't ya?" he said with a smirk.
The reaction was timeless.
"Oh come on, dude!" Link said with a splitting smile, "Are you fucking serious?!" Sheik enjoyed the way Link couldn't look at him and started glancing from his hands to the door. "I mean, really," Link continued, "She's a little asshole! Gods, she's a freaking ditz just cause she's blonde! I mean like, screwing her, why would I?! That girl's so ass-fucking annoying! She's got no cup size good enough for it, and.. and.. JEEZ!!"
Link laughed in forced strains and looked at Sheik curiously. "Yo man," he said uncomfortably, "Watcha staring at?" Sheik smiled slowly. "What?" Link asked and looked around him, "What?" Sheik shook his head, and continued smiling. "Damnit, Sheik, what is it?!"
"Your ears are really red," he said finally.
They stared at each other for a long time. Sheik finally snorted and ended up laughing hysterically. Link frowned and tried to stifle his grin but joined him soon later. The two of them rolled over their stomachs bawling in laughter until their chests and muscles couldn't take it anymore. "Aw fuck this," Sheik said through fits of giggles, "Fucking fuck fuck fuck!" Link burst in an aching bellow of laughter and lay down on his back. They sighed and slowly regained their breaths.
"Man, Sheik," Link said after they had finally calmed down, "You.. are the most fucking crazy ass-fucking fucker I've ever met." "Haha," Sheik answered with a grin and flipped on his stomach and stared at Link. "So," he said, "you gonna ask her out any time soon?" Link's smile disappeared and he sat up. "Naw," he replied, "she's going out with Kafei." "Oh.." Sheik said quietly, "Damn, sorry dude."
He found it hard to look at Link's expression. It hurts to look at him now. It was.. damn, that really sucked. Sheik cleared his throat and pushed the plate of hoagies under Link's nose. "If you're gonna faint again I'm dead sure New Girl wouldn't want you after that," he said half-jokingly. Link smiled and shoved him away as he took a hoagie and bit into it. Sheik took the other hoagie and they both sat eating quietly.
***
Mikau stopped by the hospital on his way back to campus, and closed the door to his car. He strode up the steps and looked at the room number Malon had given him. Passing by a few other people, he made his way down the hall and found Zelda's room. He reached for the door and paused. A number of thoughts rushed through his mind. This was like the other day.
Romani. She had been in one of these rooms. Just seeing the hospital again made him sick. He thought of her pain, the long hours he sat by her side waiting to see if she would wake up. In his mind he saw himself walk into the door countless times, waiting and sitting for days. No.. never again should he have to remain in the pain she left him with.
Mikau's face turned bitter. He didn't regret his encounter with Kafei that morning. It was bound to happen someday, and fate had a humor to make this day for it to smack them both in the face.
He turned and walked back down the hall. There was someone else walking towards his direction, and Mikau thought briefly that he recognized him. He hesitated and looked back as the blond young man passed by him, and stared at his back. The young man opened the door to Zelda's room and went in. Mikau shook his head out of doubt, and went on his way.
'It couldn't be him,' he thought as he turned on the engine, 'he wouldn't be here.' He pulled out of the driveway and drove back to campus.
***
Professor Rauru frowned at the thought of Ms. Harkinian in the hospital, as told by both Malon and Saria. A young lady so polite and consistent didn't deserve such a horrendous incident in her life. They attempted to contact her father, but was given notice to have left his home and they could not reach him to tell him the condition of his daughter.
The professor sighed as the warning bell rang, and was doubled back in surprise to see Sheik already heading towards the classroom. "Hey, Rauru!" he said with a grinning smile and took his seat. The professor was speechless for a moment. Not only was Sheik on time, but Link wasn't anywhere in sight. From his previous experiences, the two were inseparable as the atoms he taught during class. It was as if the sun commenced over a twenty-four hour period without the moon.
He blinked to himself and shook his head. He was getting old, that was for sure. As he stood by the door waiting for Link to appear, Sheik called out from his desk. "Yo, prof!" he said, "Link ain't gonna be here today. Got a note from the doc's saying he's staying in bed for a few days." Sheik walked up to Professor Rauru and handed him a paper from the Zoran Foundation Hospital.
"Oh, uh," Rauru replied as he took the paper and skimmed it, "Thank you, Sheik." "Yea and uh," Sheik ran a hand through his white-blond hair and stuffed his hands in his pockets, "He um, wants me to get him the uh.. the uh - home- home-" "Homework?" the professor asked skeptically. Sheik clapped his hands and pointed it at him in gun-style. "Yea, that," he said with a grin, "So like, if you could kinda' hand them to me in a bunch or something and I'll make sure the sick little boy gets it."
Professor Rauru simply stared after Sheik as he sat back down. He remained in the same state past the bell, before the class hushed and began to wonder in perplexity how their professor could be frozen standing in the middle of the classroom. The professor blinked several times and cleared his throat. "Now um," he began and walked towards his chair, "Would we please begin?" He sighed and muttered as he flipped through his plans. Old age.. there must be symptoms where a person begins to hallucinate from time to time.
***
Vicky pouted and turned her lip up at Link. "What do you mean you have to go?" she whined, holding on to his hand, "You've been leaving like that for days. Can't you take a break and have some real fun?" He smiled as she advanced and cornered him against the wall. Slipping her arms around his neck, she slowly trailed her lips from across his neck to kiss him. "Mmm," Link mumbled and pulled away lightly, "I just gotta go, baby. There's a lot of crap I have to take care of."
She moaned and lifted her thigh against his leg. "When are you coming back?" she asked with a upturned smile, "I'll leave my dorm open for you.." She reached down and flirted with him boldly. Link chuckled and kissed her on the cheek. "Maybe sometime," he replied, "besides, I've been feeling like shit. If we're gonna fuck I want it to be good." Vicky giggled and swung her hips forward. "It's always good," she teased. He smiled and lifted her off of him.
"Call me when you're feeling better," Vicky said with a wink and left for her dorm. Link nodded lightly and went down the hall. He left the dormitory and headed for the parking lot. There, waiting with a sleek crimson shine under the moon, was his motorcycle. He placed the helmet on his head and flipped his keys in the air before catching it. With a start, the engine came to life, and he rode out of the school.
The wind past breezes through the openings of his shirt, and he passed through the streets easily. He took the shortest route possible, practically memorized it front and back he could find the white building blindfolded. This was his routine for the past week, during lunch, before school, after play, and during the periods he had to dodge both Ganon and Vicky. Link parked the bike and shut off the engine, took off his helmet and left it as he headed towards the hospital.
"Oh," said a nurse with a smile, "Hello, Link." "Hi," he replied and tried to hide himself as he made his way through the hall. Damn, now people started recognizing him. He stopped by the vending machine to get a soda, then went inside the room quietly. Closing the door cautiously, he made his way to what was officially his seat. He opened the can and started to drink, looking at Zelda's calm face almost half expectedly.
Clearing his throat, he settled back and started to read some magazines. At short periods he'd glance up to see if she'd make any motion. Paging through weight loss programs and family recipes, he placed the magazine back on the rack and leaned forward. He tapped his fingers against his knuckles and eased his back muscles that were beginning to feel sore. Finally, he sighed and stood up.
Walking over to her side, he kneeled on the ground and placed his arms on the bed. Resting his chin, he continued to look and waited. The only sounds were the monitors keeping record of her pulse and vital signs. They made that damn fucking beep every one and a third second, and he wondered why the hospital couldn't try to get the quiet ones.
Link blinked to keep his eyes opened. Time was passing slowly, but he had already been here for over an hour. It was nearly midnight, and the lights to the rooms were dimmed. He reached out slowly and touched her face. An amusing picture came to his mind of how she looked so startled that time when he whispered her poem into her ears during English. He smiled and chuckled at the memory, thinking how little blonde might react if she suddenly woke up and saw him there.
He suddenly felt.. sad. What the fuck, sad? What just happened there? Link frowned to himself and edged closer to her face. Just what about this girl made him do all those crazy things for no reason? His eyebrows furrowed as he leaned even closer. Their skins were nearly touching, but he felt he had to see if she was as soft as she looked. He took his hand and ran it through her cascade of blonde hair. Yet she made no motion, no sign at all that showed any awareness of him even there.
If she had been awake.. he thought with a smirk, but the smile disappeared quickly. What if she didn't wake up? Like a Snow White or one of those damn fairy tale princesses who didn't open their eyes until some bastard in a cheap prince get-up came over and kissed her. And it had to be some crazy ass thing like an everlasting love sort of deal or it wouldn't work, at least that's what he thought how it worked.
He rested his head against the pillow next to her. So does that really work? It was just some shit parents feed to their kids in believing that the world was all happy lovey-dovey sunshine and rainbows but.. Still. Still.. he was going against all the stuff they teach in school against one word. There was just something.. still.. still there.. that said it was gonna be okay. Link leaned over, feeling the cool silky waves of her hair on top of the pillow.
Easing himself up slowly, he stared down at her face. Zelda made no movement.. she just looked peaceful and gentle all at the same time. Link lowered his head slowly, feeling overwhelming warmth surge inside him. "Sleep well," he murmured, "princess."
He closed his eyes and kissed her.
***
Malon pulled Saria's covers off of her. "Come on!" she screamed, "Get up!" Saria mumbled, "Huh? But there's still a half an hour before school starts." "No!" Malon retorted and dragged her up, "We need to get to the hospital! Zelda's awake!" Saria stopped rubbing her eyes and looked at her in amazement. "What?!"
They shoved Mido into the car and hurried him to drive down the empty streets. Without looking, they ran into Zelda's room, where the blonde was sitting up and drinking a bowl of soup. Zelda looked up and smiled at them warmly. "Good morning," she said in a soft voice. They beamed at her, and Malon ran forward.
"Zelda!" she cried with tears leaking out of her eyes, "Don't you EVER do that to us again!" Saria jumped in and Zelda laughed as she held them both in a bear hug. They sat in bliss when Dr. Tatl and Tael walked in. Zelda saw them and thanked them quietly. "No," Dr. Tatl replied, "don't overuse your voice. We're happy that you're alright." Malon leaped and hugged the two doctors. "Oh thank you thank you thank you!" she said hysterically.
Tatl and Tael, both slightly overwhelmed, laughed and humbly objected. "She can go back now," Tael added, "But I suggest that she waits a day before going back to her normal schedule." They were then ushered out for Zelda to prepare herself for leaving. After several minutes, they left the hospital in Mido's car.
"Here," Malon instructed when they brought Zelda to her dorm, "Get some sleep, and I'm leaving you some Power Bars for a snack just in case." Zelda started to protest when Saria hushed her. "Nuh uh," she said firmly, "Remember, until you can sing well enough again to kick Ruto's sorry little ass in play audition, you're not gonna use that voice of yours." "Go and rest," Mido encouraged, "We'll be in class, and if you need anything call me by my cell."
Zelda smiled and nodded towards them. "Okay," Malon said with a smile, "Now we gotta run. We're at least fifteen minutes late for first class, and I just told Rauru I was going to help him with the lab. Bye Zelda!" "We'll be here after school!" Saria called out as they sprinted down the hall. Zelda waved at them and walked inside her dorm. It was left in the same way as she remembered, however some things shifted in Vicky's presence.
She took off the jacket Malon gave to her. All her clothes had been stained with blood, and she felt a hot bath would be most relaxing. Zelda walked up the steps, feeling a bit more refreshed than she had before. She smiled to herself about that dream last night. It had been anything but possible, but she remembered the warmth and a feeling of contentment. But, she decided, dreams are just dreams.
***
"Yea," Kafei said to a few guys while they did push-ups during Gym, "My girl's gonna be back tomorrow." "Cool," one of them replied, "so what are you planning to do?" Kafei grinned and looked at him suggestively. The group burst out in jeers when Kafei shook his head. "Actually," he remarked, "I'm gonna play it smooth for a while. Say junk and do stuff that'll make her melt for me." "Jeez, man," another boy said, "the girl was in a hospital. Ya think she's gonna let you go after that?"
"Yo, watch out," added one of the other guys, "She'll come after you with fangs growin' out of her mouth and send you to where she just came from. I'm fucking serious dude, that little bitch will chew you and spit you right out." Kafei chuckled with the rest of them, when a steel dumbbell flew right across his face. "What the?!" he cried and rolled back, "Who threw that?!" A tall blond stepped out flexing a twenty pounder in his right hand. "Sorry, dude," he called out, "damn thing slipped out of my hand."
Kafei watched as.. Link, that was who it was, reached forward and picked up the dumbbell. Link paused and tilted his head towards Kafei sitting with his elbows propping him up. "What's up?" he said and walked away. When he left, a few of the guys around Kafei crept towards him. "Yo man," one of them said, "You alright?" "Yea I'm alright!" Kafei said hotly. "You gotta be careful, dude," said another one, "Link and Ganon aren't the bastards to mess around with."
He looked at them with a scowl. "Who said I was messin' with one of them?" he demanded, "Besides, it slipped from his hand. And it was probably like, less than five pounds, so what's the deal?" Before anyone could say anymore, Kafei stood up and went to take a drink from the water fountain. Now that he thought about it, there had been some really fucked up times when Link almost tripped him over the stairs a few days ago.
Kafei drank and recalled the other incident where Link almost ran him over on his bike in the school parking lot.. but he said it was cause his light wasn't on and he didn't see him going to his car. Someone caught his eye, and he lifted his head to see Link in the far corner with weight slung to each arm as he practiced on a punching bag. The blond paused for a moment and waved at Kafei, flashing a generous smile towards him. Kafei turned back and continued to drink from the fountain.
'That dude is starting to freak me out,' he thought, 'whatever I did, it's like he's trying to jump me and make it into some no-shit accident.' He wiped his mouth and headed back to the mats. "Watch out!" Kafei turned and was hit in full force by a punching bag. "Aw.." he moaned and slowly sat up from the ground. "Hey," Link walked over and offered a hand, "You alright man? I must've punched it too hard or sumthin'."
"Yea," Kafei said through a bloody nose, "It's alright." He ignored Link's hand and walked out hurriedly. 'That's it!' he thought in terror, 'That bastard IS trying to kill me!' He ran a excuse to Ingo to Nurse Cremia, and began to leave the Gym when Link and a few of his buddies stopped him. "Yo, Kafei," Link said to him apologetically, "I'm sorry for what happened back there. Do you- are you.. are you bleeding?"
"No," Kafei answered quickly and wiped the blood from his nose to his shirt. "Jeez," Link replied and tilted his head to look at him, "You really are bleeding!" Link sighed and reached out, "Here, let me take you to the Nurse." "NO!" Kafei screamed in terror, and soon the Gym was hushed in quiet. "I mean uh," Kafei looked around him and shook his head rapidly, "It's fine. I can go by myself."
Link shook his head in disappointment and clicked his tongue. "Come on, bro," he offered benevolently, "I'll make sure you go to the Nurse." 'Yea, I KNOW you do,' Kafei thought frantically. "It's alright," he sputtered, "I just wanna go aliv- alone. So, thanks anyway." He dashed out of the Gym before Link could follow.
"What the hell did I do to have Link after my carcass?!" Kafei cursed as he sprinted down the halls. He muttered to himself and went inside Nurse Cremia's office.
***
Sheik looked at Link strangely as his best pal was humming to himself nearly.. all day. "Yo man.." he asked slowly, "Whatever you got high off of, get me some too." "Hmm?" Link turned to him and grinned, "What'd you say?" Sheik craned his head and stared into the light blue eyes. "You all right, dude?" he inquired. Link scoffed and gave him a weird look. "Yea," he said with a smile, "What's your problem?" Sheik raised an eyebrow in suspicion.
"Are you sure?" he asked. "Sheik man," Link replied, "I'm fine!" "Okay.." Sheik answered and placed a hand on Link's forehead. "Hey!" Link objected as his friend pressed him down with a hand, "What are you doing?" "I'm checking your temperature," Sheik replied with his other hand over his own forehead. He frowned and let go. "You have the same temperature as me," he said, "But I'm not sure if that's a good thing."
Link laughed and shoved him away. "What makes you think I'm sick?" he asked. "Well," Sheik sat cross-legged and looked at him, "One: you've been smiling like a goofy idiot ever since Science. Two: you actually DID the homework for all the classes you've been out for. And my very own personal favorite number three." He leaned forward towards Link with a dark glare.
"YOU'VE BEEN SINGING 'TOMORROW, TOMORROW' FOR THE HUNDRETH FUCKING TIME ALL DAY!!" he bellowed, "Not that I'm saying that you can't sing but JEEZ, YOU SUCK!!" Link split into wild laughter at Sheik's reddening expression. "If you wanted me to stop you could've told me yourself, asshole," he replied.
Sheik bit into his lip from pounding on him. "I was on my knees BEGGING you to shut the hell up!" he yelled, "Gods, man, what's gotten into you?" Link continued to grin and just shrugged. "I don't know," he said with a toothy smile. Sheik moaned and held his face with his hands. "Really," he mumbled, "it's cause New Girl's coming back 'Tomorrow, Tomorrow' right?" He looked at Link expectedly, who only turned away with a huge smirk.
"That's it, right?" he said with a smile, "she's gonna be in school and you're just all high up in the air with your little pink cherubs and fluffy cloud people. Then you're gonna go all big 'Tomorrow, Tomorrow-and-gods-I- HATE-that-song' to impress her and sweep her up to your happy little lollipop kingdom where you'll make her your Lollipop Queen." Link cracked up and looked at him. "Sheik," he said, grinning, "what did you inhale?"
Sheik stood up and casually ran a hand through his white-blond hair. "It's not chemicals," he said in a dramatic voice, "I possess the heavenly potential to be what all ladies dream of, but instead I try and help the little people like you who try to reach my status." Link threw a pillow at him and laughed. "Get off it," he said as Sheik snickered and fell down to the sofa.
"So," Link said slowly, "what do you think I should get her?" Sheik paused and looked at him. "Get her?" he repeated, "You going out to buy something?" Link shrugged and nodded. "I'm not sure," he said, "I mean, yea. The stores' never closed and I can get down to buy at least sumthin.." "No, no, no, no," Sheik said and stood up again, "No. No, man, you don't just GET her something unless it was cause you two were going out or you're friends. You'll be blowing it all away if you do, and ha, the girl just got out of a coma and she'll think that Lollipop Land hit her full in the head."
He squatted next to Link and looked him in the eye. "No," he said, "Just.. ya know.. lay low for a while. Play it cool, make it subtle." He paused and made a queer look. "Hey why am I giving advice?" he asked, "You've got it going on with Vicky and I'm still stuck with Marin. Shit." Link laughed and pushed the grinning Sheik down to the ground. "Still," he said, "I just wanna get her something nice. I don't know.. hell, I've must've had some fucked up shit last night." "Well," Sheik said and scooted himself over, "If you really wanna do this.. you could kinda get her a early Christmas present. It's what.. yikes.. it's still not December yet. Right.."
Sheik uncrossed his legs as Link looked at him expectedly. "Damn," he muttered, "I just don't know. I guess it really counts on where you want this thing to go. I mean, sure if you really want to.. oh hell I'm giving myself a headache." He laid back and laughed as Link chuckled. "So.. what do you think she'll like?" he asked.
"Oh I dunno," Sheik replied, "girls.. they like jewelry, money, roses, and if you give them enough they'll even start liking you." He smirked and looked at Link. "You could try some of those stores down the old Market," he suggested, "They've got cool shit. The town's got this big mall, that should be good too." "Yea," Link said thoughtfully, "thanks, man." He stood up and reached for his jacket. "Whoa, whoa," Sheik stood up and followed, "You going out now?" "Yup," Link replied and went out the door.
His friend sighed and scratched his head. "If you don't mind," he said, "I'll leave you to do it yourself. I gotta go see Malon about our Science project.. how do I always get stuck with her?" Link patted him on the back as Sheik saw him out the door. Sheik waved good-bye to Link, giving him a thumbs up encouragement. Link grinned and left down the hall.
Sheik went in and raided his fridge, thinking about his buddy. He really was fucking unpredictable at times, and hell it's sad not a lot of people know how a shy dude Link could be. He grinned at the prospect of seeing Link, in a tight little sailor's outfit complete with a bow tie and tiny little cap, holding out a bunch of roses with red cheeks and kicking the dirt bashfully. 'Ha,' he thought as he grabbed his jacket while walking out the door, 'good luck, buddy.'
***
Link couldn't imagine how many stores there were in the mall. Maybe it's cause he hated going to these things, but as he stood there he realized how large it was. The shoppers walking around him seemed to know exactly where they were going, like they were hibernating here during the winter and were navigating through a sixth sense. He sighed and looked at the map. "Crap," he thought. There had to be fifty different jewelry stores there, over seventy floral shops, and who knows how many gods-damned clothing stores.
He stuffed it in his coat pocket and decided to go for the closest stores and thereon. The first stop was at Zale's, and he went because he saw some commercial about it a while ago. "Hello," said a lady dressed in a black suit, "How can I help you?" Link looked around him and replied, "I'm looking for uh.. jewelry." She stared at him as he saw the aisles of rings, earrings, bracelets all shining and glaring into his eyes.
"Sir?" she asked, "Are you looking for a particular choice?" "Um," Link said in a daze as he gawked at the long glass cases. "Not really," he answered, "Maybe uh, well, can you tell me what a blonde girl my age might like?" "And how old are you?" she inquired. "Nineteen," he answered, "But I think she's about eighteen or something." The lady nodded and showed him over to one of the many aisles. "We have a very popular selection of necklaces you might like to see," she said and motioned to over three aisles.
Link blinked and sighed. 'This is really hard,' he thought.
***
Zelda opened her eyes for the fifth time that hour. 'I should be sleeping,' she thought as she saw the dial on her clock, and tried again. She sighed impatiently and tossed in different directions. Nothing worked, and she ended up staring at the ceiling again. "Milk," she muttered, and went downstairs to pour herself a glass. She brought it to the living room and sat, drinking a lukewarm Lon Lon Ranch Chateau.
She was done with over half the glass, yet still felt as alert as before. Sighing, she looked at the clock that now read 12:30 A.M. She needed to stay awake tomorrow for classes, there was so much she needed to catch up on. Her eyes went towards the hair styling magazines that were all marked in different pages. 'Oh right,' she thought with a smile, 'that too.'
Sipping on the milk, she thought about what the nurse had told her. Someone had donated blood in order to save her. When she asked who it was, she didn't believe it to be true. Zelda held the warm cup to her neck. Did he really do that just to let her live? How did he know? Why would anyone give so much for someone.. they don't care about? Or..
She drained the last of the milk, now unable to sleep. Lying down on the sofa, she thought of the dream. There she was.. in the courtyard again. She remembered the courtyard, and everything was as it were before. But someone was there, standing close to her. She couldn't look up to see who it was, but she somehow knew them and yet couldn't be so sure. They were holding her hand, standing still as if waiting.
'Are you ready to go back?' they asked her.
*She finally looked at them. Still, the sun blocked their features, making it dark and unnoticeable. Go back.. home? They took her face into their hand and ran fingers through her hair.
'Yes, home,' they replied, 'where you belong.'
*That's right. She belonged.. there. With them. They tilted her face forward.
"Sleep well," they murmured, "princess."
*They leaned forward and kissed her.. and she was where she belonged.
Zelda fell asleep on the couch, the tender moments of the dream lingering in her mind.
***
~*~*~*~Hello, good morning, how you do? What makes your rising sun so new?
Link woke up in a strange alertness. He sat up, and saw that Steve was just getting prepared. "Come on," he said to him irately, "We're gonna be late." Steve ran downstairs to grab a piece of toast, and Link remembered the last events from the night before. He smiled to himself and pulled out the neatly wrapped box from underneath the other pillow. It had taken him about five hours to find it, but it was perfect.
The jewels of the necklace was set in a light blue tint, clustered around a pure sapphire held proudly in its center. He could see the slim chain lying around her neck, and he grinned as he started up and made himself ready.
***
~*~*~*~I could use a fresh beginning too All of my regrets are nothing new.
It was nice to see some people cared that she came back. Zelda smiled as she was greeted by Professor Rauru and a few of the students who gave her hugs and well wishes. "Hey Zelda!" said a girl, "I really like your hair!" "Thanks," she answered and sat down. Link was sitting right next to her.. it felt strange. She wanted to say the same thing to him, to ask him why and how much she was in his debt. But the words wouldn't come. Link was silent, and made no motion as class began to start.
***
'Damnit,' he cursed to himself, stealing a quick glance at her direction. 'Just SAY something, you bastard,' Link thought, 'it's easy.. you open your mouth and words come out. Go say something, then give it to her saying that you're happy she's okay, and ask her if she's still in the play or not, or say something about her hair. Go.. GO!' He glanced at Sheik for support, who gave him a "what-the-hell-are-you-doing" look and motioned for him to do something. Link turned to Zelda while she was taking notes, and stopped short.
"Hey, Zelda," he began, and she looked up. 'Fuck,' he cursed to himself. "When's the project due?" "It's on the board," she replied and went back to her notes.
Link nearly slapped himself. 'DAMN!' He'll have to wait, there's still the whole day.
~*~*~*~So this is the way, that I say, I need you. This is the way.. this is the way.
Zelda waited outside the Gym for Kafei to show up as he promised to do so while calling her last night. He appeared from the group of boys that streamed out the Gym doors, and caught up to Zelda. "Hey, baby," he said as he hugged her, "Look, I'm sorry about pushing you like that. You feeling alright?" Zelda smiled and hugged him back. "I'm fine," she said, "and it's not your fault."
Kafei beamed and pulled away. "Well," he said with a smile, "I got you something." He reached into his jacket to pull out a teddy bear. "Oh, Kafei," Zelda said as she took it, "it's adorable!" It was about less than the size of her palm, and the stitches could be seen. There was some tears in the ear and it was clearly worn, but the thoughtfulness warmed her. "Thank you," she said with a smile. He grinned and pulled her into him, then kissed her on the lips. Zelda returned it, and when they stopped she rested her head over his shoulder. Suddenly she froze.
Link was staring at them, from the other end of the hall. He was holding something that he shoved into his pocket, and then walked away.
~*~*~*~I'm learning to breathe, I'm learning to crawl. I'm finding that you and you alone can break my fall. I'm living again, Awake and alive. I'm dying to breathe in these abundant skies.
***
~*~*~*~Hello, good morning, how you been? Yesterday left my head kicked in.
He must've been a fucking idiot to think anything would change. He should've listened to Sheik and not lose over seven hundred dollars over a worthless piece of shit. Nothing's changed, how could he forget that she was still seeing that bastard?
A hard lump rose up in his throat, and he forced it go back down. His chest protested and made it hard to breathe, the air around him was hot and smothered him mercilessly.
Link felt a stinging in his eyes. He blinked them back, pushing it away. The weight of the necklace fell into his pocket, scraping against him as he walked.
It hurts..
~*~*~*~I never, never thought that I would fall like that, Never knew that I could hurt this bad.
***
Zelda scanned the lunchroom. Link wasn't there, and he hadn't been anywhere in the halls. 'English,' she thought, 'I'm sure to see him during English.' She bit her lip and thought of his face. She never thought someone could seem so.. it was as if she had torn the wings off of an angel.. and she was doomed to see its pain.
She held back the tears and shook her head defiantly. He just happened to be there.. that was all. There was nothing in his expression.. he was just there. But the look on his face.. if she had anything to do with it she could never forgive herself.
***
~*~*~*~I'm learning to breathe, I'm learning to crawl. I'm finding that you and you alone can break my fall. I'm living again, Awake and alive. I'm dying to breathe in these abundant skies.
Link cut his classes and sat outside under the shade of the oak tree while the bell rang on and off. People walked around him, chattering in their own busy ways. He just.. sat. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath. The wind blew the leaves of the trees, and he peered to the view of Lake Hylia.
The lake was just the same as it was a few weeks before.. the tiny trickle of a river flowing towards a magnificent body of water hidden by the foliage of trees. He could see her hand shaping every blade, controlling every wave with the stroke of her pencil. Link looked up past the trees and to the sun. The sky was clear and blue.. it was calm.
He took out the gift from his pocket, its surface sleek and shining. After a few moments, he stood up and walked, carrying it in his hand. He followed the dirt path to the bridge, where beneath was the brook that would carry itself to the Lake Hylia.
Link tore at the tape holding the ends holding the wrappings together. He tossed this into the water, and opened the gray box holding the necklace in black velvet. His hand picked up the sapphire, holding it in his palm and letting the chain fall at the sides. The box he threw into the brook, letting it follow the currents.
He stared at it in his hand. It was blue, and at different lighting it turned violet. They looked like her eyes. Link could feel the cold stone grow hard in his hand, feeling a numbing pain in his chest. He held it over the edge of the bridge. It still shone brightly and let of spectrums of colors.. she would've looked real nice in it.
He let the necklace slip and fall into the water.
Link turned around and walked back slowly. He should be going to English, now, or someone might catch him out here. He stuffed his hands into the empty pockets and went inside the school.
~*~*~*~These abundant skies.. yea Abundant skies.. yea.
***
Zelda was shocked to see him come in. There was only a few minutes left of class, and Link strolled inside the door during a lecture. "Oh," Professor Anju said lightly, "Please, come on in." Link nodded and went to sit in the back wall. Zelda looked back, and felt a clog pushing itself up. She had to do it soon, she had to ask him somehow.
The class packed up their belongings, and the bell rang. Link went out the door first, and Zelda looked at him frantically. 'No wait,' she pleaded, and stuffed her folders inside her book bag before dashing out the door. She searched for him in the hall, and spotted him in a crowd.
"Link!" she cried out, "Link!" He stopped and turned, and she caught up. "I'm sorry," she muttered, "But I wanted to talk to you." "What?" he asked. Zelda took a breath and looked at him. "I.. wanted to thank you," she began, "For.. um, giving me a chance.. to live. If it weren't for you I might not have survived the accident.. thank you, you saved my life." She released her breath and felt her heart pounding in her ears. Link stared at her coldly.
"What the fuck are you talking about?" he said.
~*~*~*~So this is the way, that I say, I need you. This is the way, that I say, I love you.
Zelda stared at him in disbelief. "Saved your life?" he scoffed and grinned, "What kind of a bitch comes up with that kind of shit?" She looked and stuttered, "I.. but I thought that you.."
Link stared at her closely. "I what?" he said in a low voice, "Who the hell do you think you are?" She fought back the urge to cry.. this couldn't be right. "Link," she murmured, "but.. didn't you.." He shook his head slowly with a skeptical expression and leaned forward. "What's the matter?" he whispered, "You gonna cry on me?" He snickered and stood back up.
"Little fag," he muttered to her pale face, "Now that I think about it," he stopped and looked her over, "You were just making up an excuse to get laid." She gazed up and felt the warmth flooding her cheeks without her consent. Link's face widened in a grin, and Zelda couldn't find the words to say it. There.. there was nothing.. there was nothing.. was there?
She stepped back slowly and ran down the hall with her hand covering her pain.
~*~*~*~This is the way, that I say I'm yours. This is the way.. this is the way.
***
Link watched her run down the hall. He thought about her tears, and saw the pain in her face. There was no chance, no ass-fucking hell of a chance anyway.
He thought about their kiss.. and he hated himself for it.
~*~*~*~I'm learning to breathe I'm learning to crawl. I'm finding that you and you alone can break my fall. I'm living again, Awake and alive. I'm dying to breathe in these abundant skies. Yes, I'm dying to breathe in these abundant skies. These abundant skies.. Yea.. I'm learning to breathe, I'm dying to breathe in these abundant skies.. ~*~*~*~
~ Learning to Breathe - Switchfoot
~I hope that was okay. I'm not really sure how people approach my writing so I.. hope that was okay! Brought up some stuff about Mikau, and next chappy's gonna explain some- heyy.. not like I'm gonna tell.. *gets thrown over the side of a cliff. Just a suggestion: for some comedy relief, check out my SSB melee fic (I need the reviews, badly!) ^_~
La la la, I'm glad people are still reading!!
Chelsea - LOL!! Aw, that sux getting pulled over! (and yea, poor Mido ^_^) haha, CLIFFHANGER!! Lol
Qserenity2000 - Yay! I'm glad you like Link a lot *WHO DOESN'T?!! DRROOOOOLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Lol
Rai Dorian - lol, hehe. See, I DID try to update sooner, but it's not MY fault that the site doesn't work! ^.^
Face - *whew. Well, the guilt trip worked!! New year's resolution number 1 completed! *now for the other 12315412321..
Flame Thrower - *snaps fingers in disappointment. I probably should have made her stick in the coma for a few years.. (J/K, J/K!!)
Sherrilynn - sniff, thank you! That's so sweet of you to say!!! ~_~
Lol, see, I promised and I DID update! Just..not at the promised time because of fanfiction.net, but hey! Newayz, a lot of stuff I like to announce before you start reading. *BOO!! Hehe, it won't take too long.. promise.. *crosses fingers.
First of all, I wanna remind peeps to put their email addresses in a review for the mailing list. If you haven't done so already or aren't very sure if you did, please do so!!!
Also, I'm sending pics of RL characters that I've drawn to Rai Dorian's site. The URL is http://www.angelfire.com/anime4/rai/ Go on, sign the guest book, make rude comments about my art ~_~' (much expected, lol) I'll probably get a pic done in a few days, but don't expect great quality!! ^.^
Oh yea!
There's some really weird new thing I've tried in this chappy, so I'm warning you in case it gets confusing. I've put in a song near the end (it's kinda for an atmosphere thing) so the words that come after a ~*~*~*~ are actually the lyrics to the song. I hope you like it, it's from Switchfoot and it's a really sweet song in my opinion..
So.. go ahead and read if you still wanna. It's about 16 pages long.. I overdid it this time. ^_^
There was a loud knock on Kafei's door. He placed down his comb and walked downstairs, and opened it to see Mikau. "Hey man," he said and let him inside, "what's up?" Mikau didn't say a word and sat down on a chair. Kafei raised his eyebrows slightly in suspicion. Mikau was a nice guy.. so why'd he look kinda pissed all of a sudden? Kafei strutted over and sat on the opposite chair of his friend. He leaned over and looked at Mikau expectedly.
When they stayed that way for about a minute, Kafei sighed and scratched his head. "You know that Zelda's in a hospital, right?" Mikau suddenly stated. Kafei turned his head towards him and gave Mikau a long look. "What?" He didn't answer, but continued to stare into blank space. "Mikau, dude," Kafei reached and turned his head over to him, "what happened to her?"
"Don't touch me," he answered.
Kafei let him go, and slid back to his seat. "Mikau," he began, "why you all pissed?" His friend leaned forward in his chair and sighed. "Sorry," he replied softly, "I'm not mad at you. It's just.. I don't know." "Well," Kafei said, "you could at least tell me what's wrong with her." Mikau leaned his head back. "She's been in a car accident," he responded, "The doctors said that she was gonna be okay, but then something went wrong and she's slipping away."
"Damn," Kafei muttered and eased in his chair, "well no wonder she didn't come to the lake last night. Great, and I was so ready.." It happened so fast he might not have dodged it. Kafei's breaths were stuttered and anxious as he stared up at Mikau whose fist just barely missing the side of his skull. The dreaded look on Mikau's face was nearly demonic, tainted without compassion and seething with wrath.
"You bastard.." Mikau growled. "Mikau," Kafei grunted and slid himself up, "What's with you?! You trying to send ME to the ER?!" He stared at Mikau's expression and slowly began to grin. Mirthlessly, he chuckled and ended up laughing uproariously. "So that's it!" he wheezed, "That's what! It's about Romani again, huh? Jeez, Mikau," Kafei said through splits of laughter, "you're not gonna hold something that happened last year against me, now are you?"
Mikau raised himself up and began to walk out of the dorm. "Hey," Kafei shouted, "Hey! You step out that door and we're finished! You got that?! There's never gonna be a you and me, old buddy. It's done!" Mikau stopped and turned around. "Man," he replied, "It ended long before you knew it." With that he left the door and walked down the hall.
***
*"Get me the readings," a slurred voice spoke, "Where's the report? I need at least three syringes filled, nurse, and hurry!" There were people moving.. their motions were blurred and their speeches couldn't be discerned. How did she end up here? Why were they there? "Doctor, her pulse is failing!" one of the other bodies spoke. "Damnit! I need the report from the previous scan, who's gotten it for me?!" "There's still some brainwaves, but their frequency is low." "Why is there not any readings on her heart rate?! Someone tell me her heart rate!" The bodies were swirling faster. It was making the place too confusing and far too dizzy. She began to feel lightheaded.. her thoughts weren't being clear to her. This place was too chaotic, they said to her. Let's leave.. there's no point in staying. What other is there other than misery and suffering? The voices gathered in a noise too cluttered to hear, illogical buzzing of the thousands of thoughts that filled her mind.
*Then Someone spoke to her. Someone's voice became louder than the others.
*She found herself standing in a courtyard, where the gray walls stood proudly high around her and the empty expanse of clear blue sky was above. Yellow butterflies darted among the flowers that grew in bountiful clusters around the little ring of water surrounding the courtyard. She blinked and looked around her, feeling the dull weight of a tiara circling her forehead. The dress she wore was light, and in the front had a dark purple piece that was embroidered with strangely familiar symbols.
'This is where you are headed,' the voice stated, 'This is where you'll be.'
*Her eyes rested on another figure on the other side of the courtyard. Green.. all she could tell was green.
'You will finally come home,' the voice continued, 'This is where you will finally be. This is where you belonged.'
*She closed her eyes and felt arms wrapping themselves around her. They were warm, and she protested. The arms held her tighter to another body, and soon a face buried itself into her neck. Soon she stopped struggling. This felt more right.. THIS was where she belonged.
"So, your name's Zelda?" the person from behind said to her.
*She opened her eyes. The green figure at the end of the courtyard had disappeared. Those words were spoken to her before. The same voice. The same warmth.. suddenly she felt her cheek tingle in a strange sensation.
*The world around her faded, and left only pure blank light. Slowly the arms released her, and she turned. She couldn't distinguish their features, the light surrounding them like a halo. They raised a hand and reached out for her.. she finally knew where she had to go.
*She reached for their hand.
***
They had slept over the hospital that night, waiting for Dr. Tatl or Tael to update them on Zelda's latest condition. Malon smacked her lips and nudged herself closer to Nabooru's arm. There was a light snore coming from Mido as he and Saria were both leaning against each other's shoulder. It was about 2 A.M in the morning, but the lights were still on and people were still coming in and out of the hospital doors.
"Mmm," Saria mumbled, "Someone close the window, it's cold.." She felt a hand shaking her shoulder, and she objected it with a whine. The hand shook her harder, and with a loud frustrated yell Saria connected her fist with a face. She opened her eyes, and saw for a moment Dr. Tael on the ground holding his nose.
"Oh my gods!" she screamed, "I'm so sorry! Are you all right?" Dr. Tael mumbled something and attempted a painful smile. Mido sat up and then Malon and Nabooru woke along with him. Saria was covering her mouth in horror and repeating apologies in rapid speed. "It's quite," Dr. Tael said and winced slightly, "Alright."
Malon stood up and walked towards him. "Well?" she asked, "How is she?" Dr. Tael wiped a bit of blood from his nose with a handkerchief and sniffled. "She's on her road to recovery," he said with a smile. Nabooru hugged Malon tightly while Saria grabbed Mido and began jumping up and down excitedly. "But," Dr. Tael added solemnly, "She slipped into a coma. We don't know how long it will last, and there is still a chance that her injuries might rebound. However, right now the signs are still good."
"Can we at least see her?" Nabooru asked. Dr. Tael nodded and added, "Of course, I trust you would not try to wake her. She still needs rest." "Thank you, doctor," Mido said with a smile as the three other girls dragged him off with one arm.
Nabooru reached the door first, and swung it open. Malon, Saria, and Mido being tugged went in and she slipped inside. They crowded around her bed, and Saria held Zelda's hand. She smiled lightly. "She feels warm," she said softly, "That's good." Mido nodded and rested his hand on her shoulder. "She'll be fine," he muttered. They sat down, watching and waiting. Nabooru placed a hand on Zelda's forehead and sniffed.
"Nabby?" Malon asked, "What's wrong?" Nabooru looked up and smiled instantly. "Nothing," she replied, "I just feel guilty.. I still think I should have asked her how she was. I think I should have been there for her, I had a chance to stop it from happening. But I'm always so slow in catching up to these kind of things, and then someone I care about gets hurt." Malon felt confused, and then saw Nabooru's tear-rimmed eyes staring at her.
She understood, and thought of the scars she still held from that day in the locker. "Oh, Nabby," she murmured, "It wasn't your fault." She reached over and hugged her, and Nabooru cried into her shoulder. Saria and Mido both looked at each other in confusion, but left the two of them alone. Nabooru held on to Malon and let her tears dry up. "Don't ever think that way," Malon whispered, "It wasn't your fault." Nabooru closed her eyes.
It wasn't her fault.. so how come she couldn't help but wonder: Would it have happened if he wasn't her brother?
***
Sheik chewed quietly as he looked at Link for the.. oh hell, some crappy thousandth time since he finally dragged him back from the hospital. "Come on," he said and pushed the plate of Hylian hoagies towards his friend, "Eat sumthin." Link continued to stare blankly at the ground, his hands clamped together. Sheik looked from him to the plate of food. "Alright," he said, "If you ain't eatin I'll eat it!" He faked a grab for the hoagies, and missed by half an inch to swipe thin air.
Link's expression was unmoved.
Sheik sighed and let himself fall into the chair. He wiped his face with his hands and moaned, "Man, Link. I can't believe a guy would pass up a chance at food like that! So," he sat up and leaned towards him, "You ready to tell me why you were at the hospital?" Link looked at him and then returned to looking at the ground. Sheik muttered a curse and played with a piece of lint.
"Ya know," he started, "Professor Rauru's kinda fat." He turned to look at Link, but there was still no reaction. Sheik frowned and looked at Link, puzzled. It's not that Link wasn't smart or anything, but he wasn't used to seeing him think that hard. Especially around him, loyal best pal and friend of a long fucking faithfulness since he had stolen Ganon's lunch money and split it between them in the girl's bathroom. Sheik grinned at the memory, but stopped when he saw Link's face.
He groaned and shifted himself in the sofa. "You really should eat something," he said, "Seeing how you gave like two pints of blood to that New Girl." Link suddenly jerked and slowly began to smile. "I thought you didn't know," he muttered. 'Well,' Sheik thought to himself, 'when you get your ass busted for breaking into some rooms, it's hard not to hear about stuff.' He had asked quite a few nurses, and one of them told him about the blood donation by a recent donor to Zelda Harkinian. Sheik grinned and flopped to his side. "Ya like her, don't ya?" he said with a smirk.
The reaction was timeless.
"Oh come on, dude!" Link said with a splitting smile, "Are you fucking serious?!" Sheik enjoyed the way Link couldn't look at him and started glancing from his hands to the door. "I mean, really," Link continued, "She's a little asshole! Gods, she's a freaking ditz just cause she's blonde! I mean like, screwing her, why would I?! That girl's so ass-fucking annoying! She's got no cup size good enough for it, and.. and.. JEEZ!!"
Link laughed in forced strains and looked at Sheik curiously. "Yo man," he said uncomfortably, "Watcha staring at?" Sheik smiled slowly. "What?" Link asked and looked around him, "What?" Sheik shook his head, and continued smiling. "Damnit, Sheik, what is it?!"
"Your ears are really red," he said finally.
They stared at each other for a long time. Sheik finally snorted and ended up laughing hysterically. Link frowned and tried to stifle his grin but joined him soon later. The two of them rolled over their stomachs bawling in laughter until their chests and muscles couldn't take it anymore. "Aw fuck this," Sheik said through fits of giggles, "Fucking fuck fuck fuck!" Link burst in an aching bellow of laughter and lay down on his back. They sighed and slowly regained their breaths.
"Man, Sheik," Link said after they had finally calmed down, "You.. are the most fucking crazy ass-fucking fucker I've ever met." "Haha," Sheik answered with a grin and flipped on his stomach and stared at Link. "So," he said, "you gonna ask her out any time soon?" Link's smile disappeared and he sat up. "Naw," he replied, "she's going out with Kafei." "Oh.." Sheik said quietly, "Damn, sorry dude."
He found it hard to look at Link's expression. It hurts to look at him now. It was.. damn, that really sucked. Sheik cleared his throat and pushed the plate of hoagies under Link's nose. "If you're gonna faint again I'm dead sure New Girl wouldn't want you after that," he said half-jokingly. Link smiled and shoved him away as he took a hoagie and bit into it. Sheik took the other hoagie and they both sat eating quietly.
***
Mikau stopped by the hospital on his way back to campus, and closed the door to his car. He strode up the steps and looked at the room number Malon had given him. Passing by a few other people, he made his way down the hall and found Zelda's room. He reached for the door and paused. A number of thoughts rushed through his mind. This was like the other day.
Romani. She had been in one of these rooms. Just seeing the hospital again made him sick. He thought of her pain, the long hours he sat by her side waiting to see if she would wake up. In his mind he saw himself walk into the door countless times, waiting and sitting for days. No.. never again should he have to remain in the pain she left him with.
Mikau's face turned bitter. He didn't regret his encounter with Kafei that morning. It was bound to happen someday, and fate had a humor to make this day for it to smack them both in the face.
He turned and walked back down the hall. There was someone else walking towards his direction, and Mikau thought briefly that he recognized him. He hesitated and looked back as the blond young man passed by him, and stared at his back. The young man opened the door to Zelda's room and went in. Mikau shook his head out of doubt, and went on his way.
'It couldn't be him,' he thought as he turned on the engine, 'he wouldn't be here.' He pulled out of the driveway and drove back to campus.
***
Professor Rauru frowned at the thought of Ms. Harkinian in the hospital, as told by both Malon and Saria. A young lady so polite and consistent didn't deserve such a horrendous incident in her life. They attempted to contact her father, but was given notice to have left his home and they could not reach him to tell him the condition of his daughter.
The professor sighed as the warning bell rang, and was doubled back in surprise to see Sheik already heading towards the classroom. "Hey, Rauru!" he said with a grinning smile and took his seat. The professor was speechless for a moment. Not only was Sheik on time, but Link wasn't anywhere in sight. From his previous experiences, the two were inseparable as the atoms he taught during class. It was as if the sun commenced over a twenty-four hour period without the moon.
He blinked to himself and shook his head. He was getting old, that was for sure. As he stood by the door waiting for Link to appear, Sheik called out from his desk. "Yo, prof!" he said, "Link ain't gonna be here today. Got a note from the doc's saying he's staying in bed for a few days." Sheik walked up to Professor Rauru and handed him a paper from the Zoran Foundation Hospital.
"Oh, uh," Rauru replied as he took the paper and skimmed it, "Thank you, Sheik." "Yea and uh," Sheik ran a hand through his white-blond hair and stuffed his hands in his pockets, "He um, wants me to get him the uh.. the uh - home- home-" "Homework?" the professor asked skeptically. Sheik clapped his hands and pointed it at him in gun-style. "Yea, that," he said with a grin, "So like, if you could kinda' hand them to me in a bunch or something and I'll make sure the sick little boy gets it."
Professor Rauru simply stared after Sheik as he sat back down. He remained in the same state past the bell, before the class hushed and began to wonder in perplexity how their professor could be frozen standing in the middle of the classroom. The professor blinked several times and cleared his throat. "Now um," he began and walked towards his chair, "Would we please begin?" He sighed and muttered as he flipped through his plans. Old age.. there must be symptoms where a person begins to hallucinate from time to time.
***
Vicky pouted and turned her lip up at Link. "What do you mean you have to go?" she whined, holding on to his hand, "You've been leaving like that for days. Can't you take a break and have some real fun?" He smiled as she advanced and cornered him against the wall. Slipping her arms around his neck, she slowly trailed her lips from across his neck to kiss him. "Mmm," Link mumbled and pulled away lightly, "I just gotta go, baby. There's a lot of crap I have to take care of."
She moaned and lifted her thigh against his leg. "When are you coming back?" she asked with a upturned smile, "I'll leave my dorm open for you.." She reached down and flirted with him boldly. Link chuckled and kissed her on the cheek. "Maybe sometime," he replied, "besides, I've been feeling like shit. If we're gonna fuck I want it to be good." Vicky giggled and swung her hips forward. "It's always good," she teased. He smiled and lifted her off of him.
"Call me when you're feeling better," Vicky said with a wink and left for her dorm. Link nodded lightly and went down the hall. He left the dormitory and headed for the parking lot. There, waiting with a sleek crimson shine under the moon, was his motorcycle. He placed the helmet on his head and flipped his keys in the air before catching it. With a start, the engine came to life, and he rode out of the school.
The wind past breezes through the openings of his shirt, and he passed through the streets easily. He took the shortest route possible, practically memorized it front and back he could find the white building blindfolded. This was his routine for the past week, during lunch, before school, after play, and during the periods he had to dodge both Ganon and Vicky. Link parked the bike and shut off the engine, took off his helmet and left it as he headed towards the hospital.
"Oh," said a nurse with a smile, "Hello, Link." "Hi," he replied and tried to hide himself as he made his way through the hall. Damn, now people started recognizing him. He stopped by the vending machine to get a soda, then went inside the room quietly. Closing the door cautiously, he made his way to what was officially his seat. He opened the can and started to drink, looking at Zelda's calm face almost half expectedly.
Clearing his throat, he settled back and started to read some magazines. At short periods he'd glance up to see if she'd make any motion. Paging through weight loss programs and family recipes, he placed the magazine back on the rack and leaned forward. He tapped his fingers against his knuckles and eased his back muscles that were beginning to feel sore. Finally, he sighed and stood up.
Walking over to her side, he kneeled on the ground and placed his arms on the bed. Resting his chin, he continued to look and waited. The only sounds were the monitors keeping record of her pulse and vital signs. They made that damn fucking beep every one and a third second, and he wondered why the hospital couldn't try to get the quiet ones.
Link blinked to keep his eyes opened. Time was passing slowly, but he had already been here for over an hour. It was nearly midnight, and the lights to the rooms were dimmed. He reached out slowly and touched her face. An amusing picture came to his mind of how she looked so startled that time when he whispered her poem into her ears during English. He smiled and chuckled at the memory, thinking how little blonde might react if she suddenly woke up and saw him there.
He suddenly felt.. sad. What the fuck, sad? What just happened there? Link frowned to himself and edged closer to her face. Just what about this girl made him do all those crazy things for no reason? His eyebrows furrowed as he leaned even closer. Their skins were nearly touching, but he felt he had to see if she was as soft as she looked. He took his hand and ran it through her cascade of blonde hair. Yet she made no motion, no sign at all that showed any awareness of him even there.
If she had been awake.. he thought with a smirk, but the smile disappeared quickly. What if she didn't wake up? Like a Snow White or one of those damn fairy tale princesses who didn't open their eyes until some bastard in a cheap prince get-up came over and kissed her. And it had to be some crazy ass thing like an everlasting love sort of deal or it wouldn't work, at least that's what he thought how it worked.
He rested his head against the pillow next to her. So does that really work? It was just some shit parents feed to their kids in believing that the world was all happy lovey-dovey sunshine and rainbows but.. Still. Still.. he was going against all the stuff they teach in school against one word. There was just something.. still.. still there.. that said it was gonna be okay. Link leaned over, feeling the cool silky waves of her hair on top of the pillow.
Easing himself up slowly, he stared down at her face. Zelda made no movement.. she just looked peaceful and gentle all at the same time. Link lowered his head slowly, feeling overwhelming warmth surge inside him. "Sleep well," he murmured, "princess."
He closed his eyes and kissed her.
***
Malon pulled Saria's covers off of her. "Come on!" she screamed, "Get up!" Saria mumbled, "Huh? But there's still a half an hour before school starts." "No!" Malon retorted and dragged her up, "We need to get to the hospital! Zelda's awake!" Saria stopped rubbing her eyes and looked at her in amazement. "What?!"
They shoved Mido into the car and hurried him to drive down the empty streets. Without looking, they ran into Zelda's room, where the blonde was sitting up and drinking a bowl of soup. Zelda looked up and smiled at them warmly. "Good morning," she said in a soft voice. They beamed at her, and Malon ran forward.
"Zelda!" she cried with tears leaking out of her eyes, "Don't you EVER do that to us again!" Saria jumped in and Zelda laughed as she held them both in a bear hug. They sat in bliss when Dr. Tatl and Tael walked in. Zelda saw them and thanked them quietly. "No," Dr. Tatl replied, "don't overuse your voice. We're happy that you're alright." Malon leaped and hugged the two doctors. "Oh thank you thank you thank you!" she said hysterically.
Tatl and Tael, both slightly overwhelmed, laughed and humbly objected. "She can go back now," Tael added, "But I suggest that she waits a day before going back to her normal schedule." They were then ushered out for Zelda to prepare herself for leaving. After several minutes, they left the hospital in Mido's car.
"Here," Malon instructed when they brought Zelda to her dorm, "Get some sleep, and I'm leaving you some Power Bars for a snack just in case." Zelda started to protest when Saria hushed her. "Nuh uh," she said firmly, "Remember, until you can sing well enough again to kick Ruto's sorry little ass in play audition, you're not gonna use that voice of yours." "Go and rest," Mido encouraged, "We'll be in class, and if you need anything call me by my cell."
Zelda smiled and nodded towards them. "Okay," Malon said with a smile, "Now we gotta run. We're at least fifteen minutes late for first class, and I just told Rauru I was going to help him with the lab. Bye Zelda!" "We'll be here after school!" Saria called out as they sprinted down the hall. Zelda waved at them and walked inside her dorm. It was left in the same way as she remembered, however some things shifted in Vicky's presence.
She took off the jacket Malon gave to her. All her clothes had been stained with blood, and she felt a hot bath would be most relaxing. Zelda walked up the steps, feeling a bit more refreshed than she had before. She smiled to herself about that dream last night. It had been anything but possible, but she remembered the warmth and a feeling of contentment. But, she decided, dreams are just dreams.
***
"Yea," Kafei said to a few guys while they did push-ups during Gym, "My girl's gonna be back tomorrow." "Cool," one of them replied, "so what are you planning to do?" Kafei grinned and looked at him suggestively. The group burst out in jeers when Kafei shook his head. "Actually," he remarked, "I'm gonna play it smooth for a while. Say junk and do stuff that'll make her melt for me." "Jeez, man," another boy said, "the girl was in a hospital. Ya think she's gonna let you go after that?"
"Yo, watch out," added one of the other guys, "She'll come after you with fangs growin' out of her mouth and send you to where she just came from. I'm fucking serious dude, that little bitch will chew you and spit you right out." Kafei chuckled with the rest of them, when a steel dumbbell flew right across his face. "What the?!" he cried and rolled back, "Who threw that?!" A tall blond stepped out flexing a twenty pounder in his right hand. "Sorry, dude," he called out, "damn thing slipped out of my hand."
Kafei watched as.. Link, that was who it was, reached forward and picked up the dumbbell. Link paused and tilted his head towards Kafei sitting with his elbows propping him up. "What's up?" he said and walked away. When he left, a few of the guys around Kafei crept towards him. "Yo man," one of them said, "You alright?" "Yea I'm alright!" Kafei said hotly. "You gotta be careful, dude," said another one, "Link and Ganon aren't the bastards to mess around with."
He looked at them with a scowl. "Who said I was messin' with one of them?" he demanded, "Besides, it slipped from his hand. And it was probably like, less than five pounds, so what's the deal?" Before anyone could say anymore, Kafei stood up and went to take a drink from the water fountain. Now that he thought about it, there had been some really fucked up times when Link almost tripped him over the stairs a few days ago.
Kafei drank and recalled the other incident where Link almost ran him over on his bike in the school parking lot.. but he said it was cause his light wasn't on and he didn't see him going to his car. Someone caught his eye, and he lifted his head to see Link in the far corner with weight slung to each arm as he practiced on a punching bag. The blond paused for a moment and waved at Kafei, flashing a generous smile towards him. Kafei turned back and continued to drink from the fountain.
'That dude is starting to freak me out,' he thought, 'whatever I did, it's like he's trying to jump me and make it into some no-shit accident.' He wiped his mouth and headed back to the mats. "Watch out!" Kafei turned and was hit in full force by a punching bag. "Aw.." he moaned and slowly sat up from the ground. "Hey," Link walked over and offered a hand, "You alright man? I must've punched it too hard or sumthin'."
"Yea," Kafei said through a bloody nose, "It's alright." He ignored Link's hand and walked out hurriedly. 'That's it!' he thought in terror, 'That bastard IS trying to kill me!' He ran a excuse to Ingo to Nurse Cremia, and began to leave the Gym when Link and a few of his buddies stopped him. "Yo, Kafei," Link said to him apologetically, "I'm sorry for what happened back there. Do you- are you.. are you bleeding?"
"No," Kafei answered quickly and wiped the blood from his nose to his shirt. "Jeez," Link replied and tilted his head to look at him, "You really are bleeding!" Link sighed and reached out, "Here, let me take you to the Nurse." "NO!" Kafei screamed in terror, and soon the Gym was hushed in quiet. "I mean uh," Kafei looked around him and shook his head rapidly, "It's fine. I can go by myself."
Link shook his head in disappointment and clicked his tongue. "Come on, bro," he offered benevolently, "I'll make sure you go to the Nurse." 'Yea, I KNOW you do,' Kafei thought frantically. "It's alright," he sputtered, "I just wanna go aliv- alone. So, thanks anyway." He dashed out of the Gym before Link could follow.
"What the hell did I do to have Link after my carcass?!" Kafei cursed as he sprinted down the halls. He muttered to himself and went inside Nurse Cremia's office.
***
Sheik looked at Link strangely as his best pal was humming to himself nearly.. all day. "Yo man.." he asked slowly, "Whatever you got high off of, get me some too." "Hmm?" Link turned to him and grinned, "What'd you say?" Sheik craned his head and stared into the light blue eyes. "You all right, dude?" he inquired. Link scoffed and gave him a weird look. "Yea," he said with a smile, "What's your problem?" Sheik raised an eyebrow in suspicion.
"Are you sure?" he asked. "Sheik man," Link replied, "I'm fine!" "Okay.." Sheik answered and placed a hand on Link's forehead. "Hey!" Link objected as his friend pressed him down with a hand, "What are you doing?" "I'm checking your temperature," Sheik replied with his other hand over his own forehead. He frowned and let go. "You have the same temperature as me," he said, "But I'm not sure if that's a good thing."
Link laughed and shoved him away. "What makes you think I'm sick?" he asked. "Well," Sheik sat cross-legged and looked at him, "One: you've been smiling like a goofy idiot ever since Science. Two: you actually DID the homework for all the classes you've been out for. And my very own personal favorite number three." He leaned forward towards Link with a dark glare.
"YOU'VE BEEN SINGING 'TOMORROW, TOMORROW' FOR THE HUNDRETH FUCKING TIME ALL DAY!!" he bellowed, "Not that I'm saying that you can't sing but JEEZ, YOU SUCK!!" Link split into wild laughter at Sheik's reddening expression. "If you wanted me to stop you could've told me yourself, asshole," he replied.
Sheik bit into his lip from pounding on him. "I was on my knees BEGGING you to shut the hell up!" he yelled, "Gods, man, what's gotten into you?" Link continued to grin and just shrugged. "I don't know," he said with a toothy smile. Sheik moaned and held his face with his hands. "Really," he mumbled, "it's cause New Girl's coming back 'Tomorrow, Tomorrow' right?" He looked at Link expectedly, who only turned away with a huge smirk.
"That's it, right?" he said with a smile, "she's gonna be in school and you're just all high up in the air with your little pink cherubs and fluffy cloud people. Then you're gonna go all big 'Tomorrow, Tomorrow-and-gods-I- HATE-that-song' to impress her and sweep her up to your happy little lollipop kingdom where you'll make her your Lollipop Queen." Link cracked up and looked at him. "Sheik," he said, grinning, "what did you inhale?"
Sheik stood up and casually ran a hand through his white-blond hair. "It's not chemicals," he said in a dramatic voice, "I possess the heavenly potential to be what all ladies dream of, but instead I try and help the little people like you who try to reach my status." Link threw a pillow at him and laughed. "Get off it," he said as Sheik snickered and fell down to the sofa.
"So," Link said slowly, "what do you think I should get her?" Sheik paused and looked at him. "Get her?" he repeated, "You going out to buy something?" Link shrugged and nodded. "I'm not sure," he said, "I mean, yea. The stores' never closed and I can get down to buy at least sumthin.." "No, no, no, no," Sheik said and stood up again, "No. No, man, you don't just GET her something unless it was cause you two were going out or you're friends. You'll be blowing it all away if you do, and ha, the girl just got out of a coma and she'll think that Lollipop Land hit her full in the head."
He squatted next to Link and looked him in the eye. "No," he said, "Just.. ya know.. lay low for a while. Play it cool, make it subtle." He paused and made a queer look. "Hey why am I giving advice?" he asked, "You've got it going on with Vicky and I'm still stuck with Marin. Shit." Link laughed and pushed the grinning Sheik down to the ground. "Still," he said, "I just wanna get her something nice. I don't know.. hell, I've must've had some fucked up shit last night." "Well," Sheik said and scooted himself over, "If you really wanna do this.. you could kinda get her a early Christmas present. It's what.. yikes.. it's still not December yet. Right.."
Sheik uncrossed his legs as Link looked at him expectedly. "Damn," he muttered, "I just don't know. I guess it really counts on where you want this thing to go. I mean, sure if you really want to.. oh hell I'm giving myself a headache." He laid back and laughed as Link chuckled. "So.. what do you think she'll like?" he asked.
"Oh I dunno," Sheik replied, "girls.. they like jewelry, money, roses, and if you give them enough they'll even start liking you." He smirked and looked at Link. "You could try some of those stores down the old Market," he suggested, "They've got cool shit. The town's got this big mall, that should be good too." "Yea," Link said thoughtfully, "thanks, man." He stood up and reached for his jacket. "Whoa, whoa," Sheik stood up and followed, "You going out now?" "Yup," Link replied and went out the door.
His friend sighed and scratched his head. "If you don't mind," he said, "I'll leave you to do it yourself. I gotta go see Malon about our Science project.. how do I always get stuck with her?" Link patted him on the back as Sheik saw him out the door. Sheik waved good-bye to Link, giving him a thumbs up encouragement. Link grinned and left down the hall.
Sheik went in and raided his fridge, thinking about his buddy. He really was fucking unpredictable at times, and hell it's sad not a lot of people know how a shy dude Link could be. He grinned at the prospect of seeing Link, in a tight little sailor's outfit complete with a bow tie and tiny little cap, holding out a bunch of roses with red cheeks and kicking the dirt bashfully. 'Ha,' he thought as he grabbed his jacket while walking out the door, 'good luck, buddy.'
***
Link couldn't imagine how many stores there were in the mall. Maybe it's cause he hated going to these things, but as he stood there he realized how large it was. The shoppers walking around him seemed to know exactly where they were going, like they were hibernating here during the winter and were navigating through a sixth sense. He sighed and looked at the map. "Crap," he thought. There had to be fifty different jewelry stores there, over seventy floral shops, and who knows how many gods-damned clothing stores.
He stuffed it in his coat pocket and decided to go for the closest stores and thereon. The first stop was at Zale's, and he went because he saw some commercial about it a while ago. "Hello," said a lady dressed in a black suit, "How can I help you?" Link looked around him and replied, "I'm looking for uh.. jewelry." She stared at him as he saw the aisles of rings, earrings, bracelets all shining and glaring into his eyes.
"Sir?" she asked, "Are you looking for a particular choice?" "Um," Link said in a daze as he gawked at the long glass cases. "Not really," he answered, "Maybe uh, well, can you tell me what a blonde girl my age might like?" "And how old are you?" she inquired. "Nineteen," he answered, "But I think she's about eighteen or something." The lady nodded and showed him over to one of the many aisles. "We have a very popular selection of necklaces you might like to see," she said and motioned to over three aisles.
Link blinked and sighed. 'This is really hard,' he thought.
***
Zelda opened her eyes for the fifth time that hour. 'I should be sleeping,' she thought as she saw the dial on her clock, and tried again. She sighed impatiently and tossed in different directions. Nothing worked, and she ended up staring at the ceiling again. "Milk," she muttered, and went downstairs to pour herself a glass. She brought it to the living room and sat, drinking a lukewarm Lon Lon Ranch Chateau.
She was done with over half the glass, yet still felt as alert as before. Sighing, she looked at the clock that now read 12:30 A.M. She needed to stay awake tomorrow for classes, there was so much she needed to catch up on. Her eyes went towards the hair styling magazines that were all marked in different pages. 'Oh right,' she thought with a smile, 'that too.'
Sipping on the milk, she thought about what the nurse had told her. Someone had donated blood in order to save her. When she asked who it was, she didn't believe it to be true. Zelda held the warm cup to her neck. Did he really do that just to let her live? How did he know? Why would anyone give so much for someone.. they don't care about? Or..
She drained the last of the milk, now unable to sleep. Lying down on the sofa, she thought of the dream. There she was.. in the courtyard again. She remembered the courtyard, and everything was as it were before. But someone was there, standing close to her. She couldn't look up to see who it was, but she somehow knew them and yet couldn't be so sure. They were holding her hand, standing still as if waiting.
'Are you ready to go back?' they asked her.
*She finally looked at them. Still, the sun blocked their features, making it dark and unnoticeable. Go back.. home? They took her face into their hand and ran fingers through her hair.
'Yes, home,' they replied, 'where you belong.'
*That's right. She belonged.. there. With them. They tilted her face forward.
"Sleep well," they murmured, "princess."
*They leaned forward and kissed her.. and she was where she belonged.
Zelda fell asleep on the couch, the tender moments of the dream lingering in her mind.
***
~*~*~*~Hello, good morning, how you do? What makes your rising sun so new?
Link woke up in a strange alertness. He sat up, and saw that Steve was just getting prepared. "Come on," he said to him irately, "We're gonna be late." Steve ran downstairs to grab a piece of toast, and Link remembered the last events from the night before. He smiled to himself and pulled out the neatly wrapped box from underneath the other pillow. It had taken him about five hours to find it, but it was perfect.
The jewels of the necklace was set in a light blue tint, clustered around a pure sapphire held proudly in its center. He could see the slim chain lying around her neck, and he grinned as he started up and made himself ready.
***
~*~*~*~I could use a fresh beginning too All of my regrets are nothing new.
It was nice to see some people cared that she came back. Zelda smiled as she was greeted by Professor Rauru and a few of the students who gave her hugs and well wishes. "Hey Zelda!" said a girl, "I really like your hair!" "Thanks," she answered and sat down. Link was sitting right next to her.. it felt strange. She wanted to say the same thing to him, to ask him why and how much she was in his debt. But the words wouldn't come. Link was silent, and made no motion as class began to start.
***
'Damnit,' he cursed to himself, stealing a quick glance at her direction. 'Just SAY something, you bastard,' Link thought, 'it's easy.. you open your mouth and words come out. Go say something, then give it to her saying that you're happy she's okay, and ask her if she's still in the play or not, or say something about her hair. Go.. GO!' He glanced at Sheik for support, who gave him a "what-the-hell-are-you-doing" look and motioned for him to do something. Link turned to Zelda while she was taking notes, and stopped short.
"Hey, Zelda," he began, and she looked up. 'Fuck,' he cursed to himself. "When's the project due?" "It's on the board," she replied and went back to her notes.
Link nearly slapped himself. 'DAMN!' He'll have to wait, there's still the whole day.
~*~*~*~So this is the way, that I say, I need you. This is the way.. this is the way.
Zelda waited outside the Gym for Kafei to show up as he promised to do so while calling her last night. He appeared from the group of boys that streamed out the Gym doors, and caught up to Zelda. "Hey, baby," he said as he hugged her, "Look, I'm sorry about pushing you like that. You feeling alright?" Zelda smiled and hugged him back. "I'm fine," she said, "and it's not your fault."
Kafei beamed and pulled away. "Well," he said with a smile, "I got you something." He reached into his jacket to pull out a teddy bear. "Oh, Kafei," Zelda said as she took it, "it's adorable!" It was about less than the size of her palm, and the stitches could be seen. There was some tears in the ear and it was clearly worn, but the thoughtfulness warmed her. "Thank you," she said with a smile. He grinned and pulled her into him, then kissed her on the lips. Zelda returned it, and when they stopped she rested her head over his shoulder. Suddenly she froze.
Link was staring at them, from the other end of the hall. He was holding something that he shoved into his pocket, and then walked away.
~*~*~*~I'm learning to breathe, I'm learning to crawl. I'm finding that you and you alone can break my fall. I'm living again, Awake and alive. I'm dying to breathe in these abundant skies.
***
~*~*~*~Hello, good morning, how you been? Yesterday left my head kicked in.
He must've been a fucking idiot to think anything would change. He should've listened to Sheik and not lose over seven hundred dollars over a worthless piece of shit. Nothing's changed, how could he forget that she was still seeing that bastard?
A hard lump rose up in his throat, and he forced it go back down. His chest protested and made it hard to breathe, the air around him was hot and smothered him mercilessly.
Link felt a stinging in his eyes. He blinked them back, pushing it away. The weight of the necklace fell into his pocket, scraping against him as he walked.
It hurts..
~*~*~*~I never, never thought that I would fall like that, Never knew that I could hurt this bad.
***
Zelda scanned the lunchroom. Link wasn't there, and he hadn't been anywhere in the halls. 'English,' she thought, 'I'm sure to see him during English.' She bit her lip and thought of his face. She never thought someone could seem so.. it was as if she had torn the wings off of an angel.. and she was doomed to see its pain.
She held back the tears and shook her head defiantly. He just happened to be there.. that was all. There was nothing in his expression.. he was just there. But the look on his face.. if she had anything to do with it she could never forgive herself.
***
~*~*~*~I'm learning to breathe, I'm learning to crawl. I'm finding that you and you alone can break my fall. I'm living again, Awake and alive. I'm dying to breathe in these abundant skies.
Link cut his classes and sat outside under the shade of the oak tree while the bell rang on and off. People walked around him, chattering in their own busy ways. He just.. sat. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath. The wind blew the leaves of the trees, and he peered to the view of Lake Hylia.
The lake was just the same as it was a few weeks before.. the tiny trickle of a river flowing towards a magnificent body of water hidden by the foliage of trees. He could see her hand shaping every blade, controlling every wave with the stroke of her pencil. Link looked up past the trees and to the sun. The sky was clear and blue.. it was calm.
He took out the gift from his pocket, its surface sleek and shining. After a few moments, he stood up and walked, carrying it in his hand. He followed the dirt path to the bridge, where beneath was the brook that would carry itself to the Lake Hylia.
Link tore at the tape holding the ends holding the wrappings together. He tossed this into the water, and opened the gray box holding the necklace in black velvet. His hand picked up the sapphire, holding it in his palm and letting the chain fall at the sides. The box he threw into the brook, letting it follow the currents.
He stared at it in his hand. It was blue, and at different lighting it turned violet. They looked like her eyes. Link could feel the cold stone grow hard in his hand, feeling a numbing pain in his chest. He held it over the edge of the bridge. It still shone brightly and let of spectrums of colors.. she would've looked real nice in it.
He let the necklace slip and fall into the water.
Link turned around and walked back slowly. He should be going to English, now, or someone might catch him out here. He stuffed his hands into the empty pockets and went inside the school.
~*~*~*~These abundant skies.. yea Abundant skies.. yea.
***
Zelda was shocked to see him come in. There was only a few minutes left of class, and Link strolled inside the door during a lecture. "Oh," Professor Anju said lightly, "Please, come on in." Link nodded and went to sit in the back wall. Zelda looked back, and felt a clog pushing itself up. She had to do it soon, she had to ask him somehow.
The class packed up their belongings, and the bell rang. Link went out the door first, and Zelda looked at him frantically. 'No wait,' she pleaded, and stuffed her folders inside her book bag before dashing out the door. She searched for him in the hall, and spotted him in a crowd.
"Link!" she cried out, "Link!" He stopped and turned, and she caught up. "I'm sorry," she muttered, "But I wanted to talk to you." "What?" he asked. Zelda took a breath and looked at him. "I.. wanted to thank you," she began, "For.. um, giving me a chance.. to live. If it weren't for you I might not have survived the accident.. thank you, you saved my life." She released her breath and felt her heart pounding in her ears. Link stared at her coldly.
"What the fuck are you talking about?" he said.
~*~*~*~So this is the way, that I say, I need you. This is the way, that I say, I love you.
Zelda stared at him in disbelief. "Saved your life?" he scoffed and grinned, "What kind of a bitch comes up with that kind of shit?" She looked and stuttered, "I.. but I thought that you.."
Link stared at her closely. "I what?" he said in a low voice, "Who the hell do you think you are?" She fought back the urge to cry.. this couldn't be right. "Link," she murmured, "but.. didn't you.." He shook his head slowly with a skeptical expression and leaned forward. "What's the matter?" he whispered, "You gonna cry on me?" He snickered and stood back up.
"Little fag," he muttered to her pale face, "Now that I think about it," he stopped and looked her over, "You were just making up an excuse to get laid." She gazed up and felt the warmth flooding her cheeks without her consent. Link's face widened in a grin, and Zelda couldn't find the words to say it. There.. there was nothing.. there was nothing.. was there?
She stepped back slowly and ran down the hall with her hand covering her pain.
~*~*~*~This is the way, that I say I'm yours. This is the way.. this is the way.
***
Link watched her run down the hall. He thought about her tears, and saw the pain in her face. There was no chance, no ass-fucking hell of a chance anyway.
He thought about their kiss.. and he hated himself for it.
~*~*~*~I'm learning to breathe I'm learning to crawl. I'm finding that you and you alone can break my fall. I'm living again, Awake and alive. I'm dying to breathe in these abundant skies. Yes, I'm dying to breathe in these abundant skies. These abundant skies.. Yea.. I'm learning to breathe, I'm dying to breathe in these abundant skies.. ~*~*~*~
~ Learning to Breathe - Switchfoot
~I hope that was okay. I'm not really sure how people approach my writing so I.. hope that was okay! Brought up some stuff about Mikau, and next chappy's gonna explain some- heyy.. not like I'm gonna tell.. *gets thrown over the side of a cliff. Just a suggestion: for some comedy relief, check out my SSB melee fic (I need the reviews, badly!) ^_~
La la la, I'm glad people are still reading!!
Chelsea - LOL!! Aw, that sux getting pulled over! (and yea, poor Mido ^_^) haha, CLIFFHANGER!! Lol
Qserenity2000 - Yay! I'm glad you like Link a lot *WHO DOESN'T?!! DRROOOOOLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Lol
Rai Dorian - lol, hehe. See, I DID try to update sooner, but it's not MY fault that the site doesn't work! ^.^
Face - *whew. Well, the guilt trip worked!! New year's resolution number 1 completed! *now for the other 12315412321..
Flame Thrower - *snaps fingers in disappointment. I probably should have made her stick in the coma for a few years.. (J/K, J/K!!)
Sherrilynn - sniff, thank you! That's so sweet of you to say!!! ~_~