Makeela was flopped upside down on her bed, staring at the ceiling intently. There were little neon stars and a moon scattered along the expansive white ceiling, old remnants of putty still clung to the paint from where several old stars had once fallen.
"Tell me one more time," she begged for the third time.
Zelda rolled her eyes as she typed out her essay on her laptop. It was more and more difficult to finish the last few words every time she had to repeat her story. She'd gone over to Makeela's before the show to try and give Link a break from her, especially since she had plans to return that night. Makeela had prematurely offered for Zelda to stay over that night, but her parents had said no to a sleepover that night, not with Makeela's grandmother coming over later in the day and leaving her remembering that was the reason she couldn't go to the show in the first place.
"Ruto is dating Ravio. Get it in your head so I can finish this."
With a sharp breath, Makeela shook her head, her eyes tracing the outline of each star. "And Darunia texted you to tell you? Damn, I missed so much by not being in that play last night. She's going to get herself into some trouble."
"And it's our fault," Zelda muttered, mistyping a citation.
If only she'd let Ruto in on what kind of boyfriend Ravio was earlier, then she wouldn't feel the crushing weight of guilt.
"It's not. It was private."
"I feel bad for Darunia," Zelda whispered, retyping the conclusion paragraph when she realized she'd literally typed out 'our fault' as she'd spoken. She was not a good multi-tasker, but she had to get all her work done.
Makeela grabbed Zelda's phone, going to check social media for some kind of scoop on the whole situation. But she gasped instead, and Zelda spun around. "What?"
"Damn, Zelda!"
"What?" Zelda asked again, though this time, her heart sped up.
"Goddess, you and Link are raunchy!" she laughed, and Zelda could see her scrolling through her texts.
"Makeela! Don't read my texts with him!"
Makeela scooted far from Zelda's grasp and started to laugh. "Oh, that's what you want him to do to you?"
Zelda's face burned. "I've never said that so you're just being mean. Give it back!"
"He's okay if you need to rehearse a few of your scenes before the show, you know?"
"I know. I responded to him while he was sitting right in front of me at breakfast and I told him that he had interesting thoughts. You can see most of that right there. Now give it back."
She kept scrolling. "Oh damn, he's ripped."
Burying her face in her hand, Zelda waved her outstretched one wildly. "What picture could you possibly be talking about?"
"Girl, I can see your shoulders in the next one. Were you suntanning in fall? I think not! Racy response, my friend."
Zelda set down her laptop and moved behind Makeela to see what she was referring to, letting out a breath that it wasn't nearly as bad as she thought, thinking that she'd accidently sent an actually scandalous picture by accident.
"If you were reading the texts that give context, you'd know that I'm making fun of what Mrs. Joy might say if she saw my shirt that had no shoulder straps. That's all. And Link has unfortunately never sent me a shirtless picture, so I assume you're looking at something far less interesting too."
"Ask him for a picture if you want one. I highly doubt he'd say no."
Zelda picked up her laptop again and shook her head, completely stressed out by this conversation. "If I wanted, I could just…" Zelda stopped herself before finishing her thought. Before the image of her going into Link's room and just pulling his shirt off could get lodged in her brain for too long and with too much detail.
Her hands went back to the keyboard, looking for something to keep them occupied. She finished the conclusion and hit print, sending it to Makeela's printer, which she thankfully had.
"Okay, who are you going to Winter Formal with?" Zelda asked, quickly searching the internet for dress ideas. "Because I've got Link this time, so I can't actually be your date unless you want to make it a group and bring everyone we still hang out with."
"We can add Darunia," Makeela suggested. "If he's been slighted by Ruto, he might want a group."
"He only used to hang out with you and I. He didn't like Link, and I doubt he knows who Ilia even is."
"Let's bring Pipit," Makeela tried. "I might have mentioned dances at the show and he said he'd never been."
Zelda shot her a bland look.
"What? He said he likes the beat of music. He might like it."
"You and Link might not be best friends, but I'm glad you ended up bonding with Ilia and Pipit."
Makeela shot her a wide smile and rolled onto her stomach. "I want to go to Hyrule Energized. Will Mr. Ezlo kill you?"
"If he sees me, yes," Zelda chuckled. "But I don't even care. This play… I don't even want to go tonight. I just want to… honestly, I just want to go to school."
"That's a sure sign of a rough day."
"Tell me about it."
Zelda and Makeela both slid into their shoes and were quickly out the door, pressed to get to Hyrule Energized before Makeela had to return for her grandmother.
They parked, went in, and ordered.
And saw Darunia, Revali, and Sidon at one of the tables.
Zelda eyed Makeela, quickly—and silently—asking if they should be ignoring the group.
"Zelda! Makeela!" Darunia called with a wide grin and wild wave.
Well, decision made.
"Hey," Zelda said, standing beside his chair. "I guess we all wanted to live on the edge before a show."
She could see Revali take a breath, to begin to respond to her, but he stopped himself and opted for silence.
Zelda could feel the awkward tension in the air, thick despite the short time.
"How's the Goron Donut? They're always out when I'm willing to try one," Zelda said, noticing the nearly eaten one in Darunia's hand.
"Oh, they're delicious! You should try to get ahold of one. I can't believe they're nearly out of season!"
"Oh, are they?"
Zelda clicked her tongue as they fell silent again.
Other tables were a murmur like static on a broken television. The hiss of a coffee maker behind the counter was a scream. The workers at the window repeated the phrase: "Hi, welcome to Hyrule Energized, would you like to try a Go… our daily special?" until Zelda's mind was echoing it with them.
"How's everything?" Makeela tried, halfhearted and vague.
"Listen," Revali blurted out, his attention on Zelda. "I deleted that picture of you, okay? I wanted you to know that. You can look at my phone. I did what he wanted. I got it off their phones too."
Zelda hesitated. "I… I don't want to go through your phone." In truth, she believed him. If she had ever known Revali at all, then she knew that he often meant the things he said, which was why so much of this hurt so badly. "Your phone? What he wanted? I don't… I don't know what you're talking about right now."
Sidon let out a deep, annoyed sigh. It was almost as if he'd warned Revali in the past not to bring this up, and like s bird brain, Revali had simply forgotten.
So, Zelda's confusion confused him. "I assume your boyfriend told you I had your picture on my phone, too. Me, Ruto, and Rav."
Makeela let out an audible gasp, but Zelda had assumed as much. It was a surprise, nonetheless. "What did Link tell you to do?"
Revali sat back with his arms crossed, debating if he should surrender some of his pride or not. And with a brief look up at Zelda, he figured it was worth dropping a few points on the pride scale.
"He told me to fix it, or he would."
Zelda had to fight through a confused mix of emotions. She appreciated everything Link had done, but she also knew that if Revali hadn't 'fixed it,' Link would have risked his freedom by doing something stupidly illegal just to defend her from Ravio and Ruto.
If Revali noticed her hesitation, he didn't show it.
"I just thought you should know that Rav was trying to edit your picture when I deleted it. Make it worse."
"Worse?"
"Edit… edit some things out."
Zelda shuddered as she met Revali's eyes. His warning was genuine, and his eyes didn't waver from hers.
"Are you serious?" Makeela balked. "I'll beat his ass so hard if he even thinks—"
"Stop," Zelda said calmly, grabbing Makeela's arm. "The picture is gone, and I don't want anyone to get into a fight because of me." But she ran a hand through her hair, grabbing it tightly before turning to Revali. "Okay. Thanks for letting me know, I guess."
Darunia reached out and looked at her sadly. "Don't worry, Zelda. He's distracted now."
Ruto.
"Darunia," Zelda said, suddenly remembering his plight. "I'm so sorry about—"
"It's fine. She never got the hint, and she would rather be with him."
Zelda's eyes darted to Makeela and Revali. "Ruto doesn't know…
"No, just the lies we spread about you," Revali said, cutting her off. "I already told these two the truth. That you did nothing wrong."
Zelda ran her hands through her hair. She wasn't ready for this dose of Revali. She wasn't ready to deal with Ruto, or Ravio or revenge schemes. She just… needed a minute.
"I'll watch out for her," Makeela offered with a grimace. She wanted to get close to Ruto just as much as Zelda did.
"No," Sidon said, "I'll keep an eye on them. They don't hate me."
"Okay," Zelda agreed.
Then the table fell silent again.
"I'm… we're going to go," Zelda finally said, breathing as she gestured to the door. "I just… I want to drink this as far from the show as possible."
"Okay," Darunia said with a friendly wave. "We'll see you tonight! And Makeela…"
"You'll see me tomorrow."
"See you then!"
And hurrying away, Zelda let out the longest breath she'd ever held while coming away from one of the most awkward conversations she'd ever had.
After the show, Zelda had sprawled out on the couch with a book she'd found in Link's room while he took a shower. She needed one as well, covered in glittery makeup from the show that she hadn't bothered to take off yet.
She could hear Aryll on the phone in her room, chatting happily with someone, so Zelda had grabbed her headphones that she'd remembered to take from her room when she'd packed. She hummed to herself, a little sick of actually singing, as she read. She didn't actually know before this what kind of books Link read, if any. But she was pleasantly surprised to find that she enjoyed his taste in fiction.
When the door to the bathroom opened and movement caught her eye, she looked up and immediately regretted it.
Link was just in one towel wrapped around his waist, still glistening with droplets of water from his shower. Zelda's mouth went dry instantly as she watched him tauntingly make his way over to her couch and leaned against the wall. "Were you just sitting here waiting for me?"
She had to lick her lips just to make them work again, her eyes unable to meet his. "I… I was reading until you distracted me."
"Am I a distraction?"
"A welcome one, but yes, you are."
Link laughed and looked her over. "You're covered in glitter. The shower is all yours."
Zelda tossed the bookmark onto the page she was off on and ran her hand through her hair. "Shouldn't you have…" but she lost her train of thought as a droplet of water fell from his hair and onto his chest. "…offered it to me first… if I'm the one covered in glitter?"
"We're currently living together, technically. I think that means we have equal rights to the shower. And Aryll has some too, I guess."
"I'm going to need an ice bath soon," Zelda muttered, trying so, so hard to keep her eyes level with his.
And his eyes were anything but innocent when she managed to look at him. "What? It's nothing you haven't seen before."
Before just now, she'd seen him without a shirt all of one time. Zelda couldn't remember when they'd reached this level of comfort with each other. It was something about Link that made her so playful and teasing with him. It obviously hadn't stemmed from any salacious activities, no matter how much she wished it had been.
"Your sister is right there," Zelda hissed, gesturing to Aryll's room. "Go put something on."
Snorting, Link winked at her before going back into his room.
Zelda rolled off the couch and grabbed the clothes she'd set out earlier and hurried into the shower before Link could return and do anything else to make her blush.
She took a long shower, not so long as to rack up their water bill, but long enough that she felt satisfied upon exiting.
Zelda almost felt like returning his taunt, but she didn't want to become predictable. She imagined he was sitting in her spot, waiting to see what she'd do. So, she put her normal pajamas on—though she'd chosen a pair of shorts rather than sweatpants after realizing last night that Link put off a lot of body heat under the blankets.
And while her ensemble was far more than just a towel—though she did keep one draped across her shoulders—Link's expression when she exited did not disappoint, his eyes drawn to her legs, which he so rarely saw without her uniform tights, leggings, or some other covering. But smooth and soft, he saw them now.
Zelda watched him set down the guitar he'd been strumming in favor of sitting up from his lounging position to watch her walk toward him. He was ready for the night in, though his hair still looked damp.
She grabbed her brush from her bag and set herself to detangling her long hair, sitting on the other side of the couch facing Link as she did. And Zelda stretched out her legs, a playfully flirtatious expression on her face as she kept running the brush through her tangles. Link got the hint and let his hands and fingers move experimentally around her legs. Though they were too far apart for him to even reach above her knee, they had fun all the same, giggling and snorting and making snarky remarks that turned into flirting.
And when she set the brush aside and tossed her shoulder towel to the floor, that flirting turned into Zelda lying on top of Link with his hands running along her back, her wet hair in his face, and her tongue in his mouth.
It was a lot.
But when Zelda pulled away, breathless and red, she leaned on his chest, watching him.
When he'd finally caught his breath, he shook his head, confused. "What?"
She smiled, affectionately running her hand through his hair.
"Thank you. For letting me stay, for being here, for all of it."
Link made a face, one that said her thanks weren't necessary.
"I mean it," she pushed. "For all our jokes about this, I really do mean it when I say how much I appreciate you and Aryll letting me be here. Makeela would have let me, but her family will get suspicious and bring my parents into it before I'm ready."
"And I mean it: stay as long as you want. We enjoy having you here. You don't need to make yourself disappear either like you did today. I mean like, if you want to be here 24/7, that's probably unhealthy, but it's also fine with us."
"I know what you mean. Thank you," Zelda said, leaning back down against him. He moved the wet hair from her face and pushed it over her shoulder before pulling her closer. "I miss them."
"Do you want me to bring you home?"
She nuzzled her face into his neck, comfortable and unwilling to move anyway. "No. I'm not ready yet. They're probably not even home if they just think I'm with Makeela. Holodrum is next week, too."
"It'll be over anyway."
Zelda scoffed. "Yeah, this one will be over."
Link's grip tightened again. "At least with you here, it'll be easier getting to school and, hey, to the dance Friday, too."
That had Zelda smiling. She was also glad she'd had the forethought to pack her uniform. "What are we going to do for Moonlight Howl, though? That's coming back this Sunday."
"I have faith that we can get creative."
She nodded, but her face suddenly turned serious. Though she was still happy, she'd taken on a more pensive expression as she admiringly studied the lines of Link's face, tracing them for good measure. He just laid below her, holding her tightly on the small couch, and let her have her fun while he watched her, occasionally closing his eyes either to enjoy the feeling of her fingers against him, or to let her get near his eyes, tracing his brow or running briefly over his eyelid.
"Link," she said finally. "I love you."
Link sat up a little, jostling her. It had to be an instinctual reflex action that had him grab her before he could half-fling her off the couch. "What?"
When she was sure she wasn't going to fall, she started to chuckle. "I just thought you should know. Sorry for the abruptness."
For another long moment, Link stared open-mouthed at her. "Zel," he finally managed. "I've been trying to say that to you for weeks now."
"What?" she laughed. It was a relived laugh, one that screamed her relief that her feelings weren't refuted but reciprocated. "So why didn't you?"
"I don't… I don't know, really. A lot of reasons. Fear. Nerves. Timing. I've never been in love before, so I wanted to be sure that's what this feeling was. The internet says it is."
That had Zelda laughing harder, this time genuine humor. "You looked it up? I can totally believe you did that, but also I'm somehow still surprised."
"Well," Link said with a comfortable smile reserved only for Zelda, "I wanted to make sure it wasn't a heart attack or indigestion. You know, play it safe, maybe see my doctor first."
"Oh gods," she chuckled, leaning down to kiss him again, softer. "Here I am professing my love to you and you think you have indigestion."
Link caught her lips again with a smile before pulling away just far enough to talk. "No, I already looked it up. Definitely not indigestion. Not dysentery either."
"Gods, it was one time I said that!"
He started laughing harder, accidently bouncing her on his chest as he did.
The door opened and Zelda tried to scoot off Link, but his hands shot around her waist to keep her there as he lazily turned to Aryll.
"Sorry," she muttered, hurrying from her room to the kitchen. "I'm just getting a drink then you two can… go back to it."
"Hey, Aryll," Link called, still not letting Zelda move even when she tried again to roll off the couch.
"What?"
"Did you know that I love Zelda?"
Zelda rolled her eyes and planted her red face into Link's chest.
Aryll glanced at him as she poured her drink. She sarcastically cocked her eyebrow up. "Really? I couldn't tell."
"Are you just going to announce it to everyone?" Zelda asked, her voice muffled by his shirt.
Aryll snorted and went back into her room with a quick, "Bye lovebirds," before shutting the door.
Link kept Zelda locked in place as he squirmed to reach his phone in his sweatpants pocket. He pulled rested his hands on Zelda's back.
She tried to crane her neck to see what he was doing. "Link? You're not serious, right? Are you texting someone? Not about us, right? Right?"
He chuckled and after a few moments of scrolling, he handed his phone to her.
It was a conversation between him and Pipit.
"Do you think I should tell her I think I love her or is that too much?"
"What do I know?"
"It's hard to get the words out though. Should I sign it to her?"
"Dunno man. Just make sure she's looking at you or it doesn't count."
She checked the timestamp. Almost a week ago.
"Did you ever do it without me looking?" Zelda asked, handing the phone back.
"No, I chickened out."
Humming a soft laugh, Zelda moved a single strand of hair from his face and shook her head. "I'm a little surprised you didn't just scream it at me at some point."
He chucked along with her. "I screamed it, just not out loud."
"Aww, you're cute, but that doesn't count."
Lightly pushing her off of him, Link rolled off the couch and stretched. "Move the party to my room?"
"Are we having a party?" she asked, following him.
He raised his eyebrow flirtatiously. "We can."
But Zelda brushed past him, rolling her eyes as she did. "I have a show in a few hours, and your sister is two rooms away. No parties."
"Small gathering?"
She snorted and threw herself onto the bed, wrapping herself in the loose comforter that had come off in the night. "What's that even mean?"
Crawling onto the bed, he kissed her again and she got the idea behind his strange euphemism.
For all their suggestions, they were almost as soft with each other as a scene out of a teen movie rather than a scene out of Moonlight Howl. And the last thing Zelda heard before finally falling asleep was Link's whispered words, finally spoken completely out loud.
"I love you."
Zelda hurried out from backstage after the final curtain call, a tear in her eye. This show had been the most challenging thing she'd ever gone through, from the drama with the cast, with the first half of the year, and with her parents. Relief washed over her when she'd bowed, but as she reached the foyer, she felt an immense sadness too. Despite it all, she was going to miss it. Her last musical in high school. Maybe her last musical ever.
Her tear fell.
"You were so good again!" Makeela crooned, grabbing Zelda excitedly. "I want a CD of you singing so I can play it when I need to cry because you make me cry!"
Zelda made a face. "That's strange."
"You're strange! Let me fawn over your talent, okay?"
"Okay," Zelda laughed, letting Makeela hug her again.
When she pulled away, she grabbed Link, who was right beside Makeela. "Third time put you to sleep?"
"Nope," he whispered, kissing the side of her neck before stepping away and grabbing something from his pocket. He held out a small button with the Moonlight Howl symbol on it. "I couldn't find anything with theater things on it, so I opted for this as your last show day gift."
She snorted as she took it in. "I love it. I'll put it on when I'm out of my costume." She looked down. "Speaking of, I might as well just change now. Not like I'm waiting for anyone else."
As she headed back, she stopped for a moment just to look at the two most important people in her life. Too far away to speak, she shot them the sign for 'I love you' before heading back into the hallway.
Link and Makeela stood together against the wall while they waited.
"Wait," Makeela muttered, mimicking the sign with her own hand. "Isn't this 'I love you'?"
"Yep."
"Was she saying that to me? Or to you?"
"Probably both of us," Link said simply, closing his eyes so he could keep the grin off his face as she grew flustered.
"Wait… both of us?"
"Yep."
"To you?"
"Possibly."
"Did she… have you two said you loved each other?"
This time, Link did laugh. "Makeela, you and Ilia did a terrible job of trying to figure it out. Her questions to me were so obvious, and you're apparently just as bad. Last night we said it, yes. Please don't start a business with Ilia someday. You won't have any clients."
"You knew that's why she was asking? She said you were dodgy and didn't answer most of her questions!"
Link's grin cracked a little but more. "She's fun to mess with."
"Shoot," Makeela said, grabbing her phone to text Ilia until Zelda's return. She couldn't be angry with Zelda for not letting her know. Earlier, she'd gotten a text from Link's phone saying she'd forgotten to charge hers and would see her at the show and text Link's phone with any problems.
When Zelda finally did return, she pinned the button onto her shirt and locked arms with the both of them as they headed out the door. There would be a cast party that Wednesday, and she still debated if she should go.
But thinking of that wasn't why she stopped short in the parking lot.
Beside her car was her mother's, and Arina Harkinian was standing outside her door, arms crossed and looking very angry.
"Fuck," Link muttered. Not that he would, but he couldn't take off if he wanted to. Aryll had dropped him off at the show on her way to visit Collin so he and Zelda could ride home together and Link wouldn't need to lose his parking spot.
Makeela, however, could leave. "Want me to come with you guys?"
Zelda shook her head, tightening her grip on Link's arm as she stared at her mother. "No, you leave. She thinks I've been with you, so you might get questioned."
"Okay," Makeela said hesitantly. "Text me when you get your phone, okay?"
"Yeah," Zelda breathed, watching Makeela head down the parking lot toward her car.
"Want me to hang back, or come with you?" Link offered.
"Would you mind being my backup?"
"Of course not."
Zelda took a deep breath and dragged Link with her towards her mother.
"You didn't come inside to watch?" Zelda asked, her grip on Link's arm an imperceptible vise.
Arina's eyes darted to Link first, then to Zelda. "I came because you weren't answering our calls or texts."
"My phone is dead. I forgot to charge it."
Nodding, Arina gestured vaguely to Link, a greeting of some sort before turning back to Zelda. "You're coming home for the night now?" The way she said it made it less of a question and more of a threat.
"No. I don't want to."
"You don't…" Arina scoffed and pushed her perfect hair back, a reflex more than a necessity. "You'll come home tonight. There's school in the morning." This time, there was no mistaking it for a question.
Zelda let go of Link only so she could step forward. "I'm not coming home tonight only to wake up alone in the morning, come home alone after school, go to bed alone, and repeat that cycle all week. Then, you're leaving for Holodrum and I'll be alone again."
"Come home tonight, Zelda, or there will be consequences. Are you staying with him?"
"No, I've been with Makeela. But Link and I are hanging out now because he's come to all three shows, unlike some people I know."
Her mother's eyes narrowed at the comment. "You know how important this has been for your father and I. When they give us more work, we take it."
"You know how important my show is to me!"
Zelda could feel herself shaking, her whole body threatening to spin out of control, double over, throw up, collapse. Her hands were especially noticeable.
But Arina simply pinched the bridge of her nose. "You have to come home, Zelda."
With a brief glance at Link, Zelda let out a breath. "If you can tell me what's happening Friday, I'll come home."
Arina's mouth dropped open slightly and she scoffed, like she should never have to do this. "Midnight Hollow is on."
Zelda made a choked noise and stepped closer to her car. "I'll see you two when you come home from Holodrum."
"I'm not gambling with you, Zelda. Come home or else." Her eyes slid to Link. "You're staying with him tonight, aren't you?"
Link could see Zelda's entire body quaking. Every now and then, he could see one of her legs shift abruptly as she swayed, steadying herself. He reached into his back pocket and—behind his back—discreetly pulled out his wallet. He felt around until he found Zelda's pill before returning his wallet.
"Yeah, mom, I'm staying with Link tonight. And his sister. Who have both been kind enough to let me stay."
"Zel," he said, holding his hand out to her. He wasn't really willing to wait for her to finish arguing.
Her head snapped to him, eyes fluttering at the motion. She saw the little pill in his hand and grabbed it. He could feel her trembling hand as she did.
Arina watched the exchange, her eyes softening. Angry or not, she didn't want Zelda to be sick. "Please come home."
"No," Zelda muttered, taking the last sip of water she had in her bottle from the show.
Arina glanced at her watch. "Listen, Zelda, you have to answer your phone later. You, your father and I, we need a talk. Answer it or I'll call the police. Do you understand?"
"Yes," Zelda hissed, not feeling well enough to argue.
Link took a step closer to Zelda as Arina got into her own car and slammed the door.
"Come on, let's get you home before you get sick." He took the keys from Zelda and opened the door for her, his hand on her back as she slid onto the passenger side and rested her head against the window almost immediately.
She watched her mother carelessly drive away, a sure sign of anger from her perfect mother.
But without anymore tears to shed over her disappointment, Zelda closed her eyes, imagining a world where her parents had been cheering her on from the front row of the audience with flowers and an apology card waiting when she got home.
Reviews: AngelWolf156: To sit in solemn silence was my FAVORITE! Queen Emily: Yeah, I had almost the same situation. My dad is fantastic, but worked a lot so he missed a lot of things I wished he had been able to come to, but he always always at least tried. Those-that-wander: first off, obsessed with your name. Just tossing that out there. Second, I KNOW! I saw and was like OMGGGG :O
