the second warning
"What finally prompted you to come back?" Ashei asked, circling her sparring partner with a predatory glint in her eyes. Link smiled, twirling his kendo stick in an artful manner. She spared a glance at it, admiring the way it glided in his hand so effortlessly, and the second she was distracted he charged toward her with such speed that he became a blur.
"Woah!" She cried, barely able to counter or defend herself. The force of his strike had been so powerful that he knocked her back onto the ground. She sat up instantly, staring at him in shock. Instead of gloating, he helped her up.
"Class was cancelled. I'm ahead on my homework. I have a few days off of work. And… I have a lot on my mind." He said, reaching an arm out to help her up. She took it and stood up slowly, smiling graciously at him.
"Do you wanna talk about it?" She swiped his weapon out of his hand and placed both of their sticks on a nearby table. The two had the campus gym to themselves and decided to have a sparring session for old times' sake. Link had been considering quitting kendo altogether, but it was one of the few things that made him happy, and he liked spending time with Ashei. She was a strong, 'take-no-crap' kind of woman. In between watching his best friends fight over a girl he deemed wasn't worth their time and having to scrub the dorm walls with said girl, it was nice to have a distraction. But no matter how much he tried to preoccupy himself… He couldn't stop thinking about the footage he and Zelda had watched a few days ago. And what the implications for it could be.
"You just want to distract me so that I don't rub in the fact that I totally won the last round."
"You did not!"
"Did so."
"We were having a conversation. I was merely continuing it."
"Yeah right." Link smirked at her, grabbing a towel and wiping the sweat off his brow. He gestured to the weight benches. She followed him and they sat down facing each other.
"What's on your mind?"
Link hesitated.
"Is it so bad that you can't tell little ole me?" She teased, pouting playfully.
"Bad enough I haven't told Shad or Pipit."
"Ah, your hot friends."
"Was that a necessary adjective for you to add?"
"Don't tell me you're jealous."
"I'm not." He said stubbornly.
Ashei smiled.
"I can't force you to say anything. But this is weighing on you. Is there anything you can tell me? At all?"
"...I don't know, honestly." Link sighed, rubbing his arm. "I feel like me and Zelda may have gotten ourselves into trouble."
"Trouble?" Ashei leaned forward, finding herself fully invested in what he was saying. "What kind of trouble?"
"The kind that could have consequences?"
"Don't get smart with me. She's a very pretty girl. I'm sure she can get a lot of guys into 'trouble.'"
"You think I don't know that?" Link scoffed, thinking back to Pipit and Shad. "But that isn't what's going on between us. We found something. Something we probably shouldn't have."
"Oh? And what did you find, exactly? Does this have anything to do with you running off together?" She smiled suggestively.
"Okay, clearly telling you about this was a mistake."
"No! Goddesses, can't you take a joke boy!? I'm just saying… you talk about her a lot."
"I complain about her a lot." Link corrected. "She's the reason I got fired from my job, and the reason I'm stuck on chu duty. Or as Lana likes to call it: 'chu-ty.'" He cringed at the name.
Ashei laughed.
"I think it's a cute nickname, and very fitting. As for Zelda, she can't take the blame for all of that, and you know it."
"She can take some blame."
"I don't think she should have to."
"Why are you taking her side?" Link asked exasperatedly, "You're supposed to be my friend. You don't even know her."
"And you do?" Ashei challenged, "I'm sorry if I don't want to shit on someone I don't know. But Link, I do know you. I know how sweet and kind and amazing you can be. But I also know how cold you can be as well. You shouldn't have lost your temper at work, and if you weren't so mean to the girl all the time, you two would get along better, and you wouldn't always be getting into trouble."
There was a moment of silence, and Link avoided her gaze.
"You know I'm right. And I'm not even finished."
"What more is there to say?"
"Link, I think you're afraid."
"Afraid? Afraid of what?"
"Afraid things are going to fall apart. Afraid that you're eventually going to face the music and realize it was your fault."
"I am afraid." Link admitted. "I'm falling behind on tuition payments, and my mom isn't exactly in the best shape."
Ashei stood up, grabbing his arms and pulling him up as well.
"I know. But does it really make you feel good about yourself to make her feel like trash?"
He shook his head.
"It isn't like that. I do appreciate the insight though, Ashei. You've always been… really good at reading me."
"Is that so?"
Link nodded, giving her a genuine smile. It was then that he realized Ashei was still holding onto his arms. She blushed, having a brief moment of hesitation before leaning in and kissing him on the lips.
Link was surprised that she would make such a move on him, but not too surprised, given that it WAS Ashei. And that was just a part of who she was. She was… fearless. And there must have been some merit to it, because Link found himself kissing back. They stayed there like that for a moment, her arms on his while he kept his hands to himself.
Finally, she pulled back.
"...Oh." She said, staring into his eyes for some sort of emotion.
"How long have you been wanting to do that?" Link half-whispered.
"Long enough."
"Me too." Link chuckled awkwardly.
"It was…"
"Not what you expected?"
Ashei sighed, letting go of him and taking a step back.
"I thought there would be sparks. Like, magic, or something."
"Something passionate like Din's Fire?" Link joked.
"Or sweet, like Nayru's love." She replied softly, looking down embarrassedly. "Link, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have -"
"Don't be." He waved her apology off. "I guess we can tell everyone that the possibility of us getting together is slim to none."
"Feel free to start with your friends." She said, walking over to grab her kendo stick.
"My friends?"
"Yeah, like, uh… I don't know. Shad, maybe?" Ashei suggested innocently.
Link narrowed his eyes at her playfully.
"Shad, you say?"
»°«
Lana considered herself a workaholic. She couldn't help it. If she wasn't preoccupied with some sort of activity, whether it be academic or an extracurricular, she would drive herself insane. Most people didn't understand it, not that she particularly cared. They didn't need to understand. She enjoyed working at the library and cleaning up chu jelly. She almost found it therapeutic, a unique way of destressing after her classes. Today she was particularly eager because she would be heading to the library. It had been a while since she was last there, because she had been so focused on chu jelly duty. She hummed to herself while she walked, smiling as she got closer and closer to her destination. But then, out of her peripheral vision, she saw a rustle in the bushes.
"What the…" She turned towards the suspicious plant and walked over to it. Hidden comfortably beneath the twigs and thorns was the homeless fairy man she had seen a few days ago.
"Pretty blue lady!" He said.
"Tinkle?"
"Tingle! We have to go!"
"Go where? What are you doing on campus?"
"Please, please, please!"
"I can't, can't, can't!" She mocked him, feeling a little guilty at the distraught look on his face. "I'm… I'm sorry Tingle. But I can't leave campus with some homeless man."
"But it's an emergency! And I've been looking for you for days!"
"Is this about the 'House of Thieves'?"
"SHH!" He said dramatically, a bit of saliva flying out of his mouth and onto her face. She cringed and immediately wiped it off.
"Okay… gross!" She said.
"You're in danger… You have to do something!"
"What? What am I supposed to do, Tingle?"
"If you come with me, I'll tell you."
Lana sighed exasperatedly and looked at the library, then back at Tingle. He was an odd fellow, and she had only seen him once. It wasn't wise to run off with an old, creepy man in the middle of the day when she had duties to attend to.
"I'm sorry." She said, and walked off.
Tingle watched her walk away despairingly, and slipped away from the bushes, scampering off campus before the two Gerudos he had a deathly fear of could spot him.
Once Lana made it to the library, she went behind the counter to start filing the paperwork per Chudley's request. However, when she arrived at her station she found someone else doing her work for her. She glared.
"Um, excuse you, but that work is for me."
The figure responded, but never took their hands off of the work they were doing.
"Mr. Chudley asked me to do this."
Lana was about to make a snappy remark when the mysterious figure decided turned around. She was a female Zora with long diamond shaped earrings, delicate facial features and pretty violet eyes that looked just like hers.
Lana was at a loss for words. She was so beautiful…
The other young woman standing before her must have felt the same way. Lana could see the pink blush forming on her light blue cheeks as she looked away.
"You must be Lana."
"I… I'm…" Lana babbled idiotically.
"My name is Ruto." She extended a hand.
Lana shook it, and tried her best to pull herself together before responding.
"Well Ruto, I appreciate your help, but I can take it from here."
"I'm sure you can, but I've been doing this work for a few days now. You've been MIA, doing work at the dorms according to the other assistants, so…"
"So you're my replacement?" Lana asked sadly. "I know I create a busy schedule for myself, but I'm perfectly capable of playing catchup."
"Create? You mean you didn't get in trouble or anything? You volunteered?" Ruto asked in disbelief.
"Yes. Why? Is that weird?"
"I mean, why would you want to clean up the dorms?"
"I like working. It makes me feel productive."
"A girl after my own heart." Ruto grinned, looking back at the stack of papers she had been sifting through. "How about you and I try to knock out as much of this work as we can together? I mean, it's tedious… But I like tedious."
"Fine." Lana said, itching to do less physically-demanding work and get back to something a bit lighter. "Just don't get in my way."
The two of them went to work, sorting through applications, book forms, request letters, and any other sort of documents students and faculty members submitted. They both got a great deal of work done, content with the progress they had made. Lana stole a glance at the Zora next to her. Ruto genuinely enjoyed the work they were doing. It made her feel happy. Lana didn't know many people who had the tenacity for the kind of work she liked to do. It made her feel giddy. After a bit more time passed, they finally finished. Both had lost track of how much time actually passed, and how many more papers they had to sift through. Lana reached for the stack of papers at the same time Ruto did, and their hands brushed against each other's before falling flat on the table.
"Oh. We're done!" Ruto smiled.
Lana bit her lip, feeling a little disappointed.
"Yeah… We're done…"
"Why so glum, sugar plum? That was like, three days worth of work. Now you can go back to scrubbing chu jelly off the walls."
"I guess. It was fun, though. Meeting you. Thanks for helping me. I can be a bit intense to people, so it's nice to meet somebody who can keep up."
"Anytime." Ruto said, taking her bag and walking away. "Anyway, I'm off."
Lana watched her leave, jumping when she felt a vibration in go off in her dress pocket. She pulled her phone out and found a text message from Nabooru.
hey pretty lady. wya? you have some chu-ties to attend to. or did you forget?
"Oh crap…" She murmured to herself, eyes widening as she remembered her prior obligation. She made sure she had all of her belongings before dashing to the Ordona Hall.
"Where the hell have you been?" Nabooru asked, staring at Lana disapprovingly. "It isn't like you to flake on your responsibilities."
"What responsibilities?" Cawlin asked in the background. "It isn't like you got in trouble and are being forced against your will to clean up the dorms."
"Well I have a heart and a soul and I want the dorms to be restored to their former glory, so that everyone can move in again. Is that an issue for you?" Lana retaliated, glaring at Cawlin. She then turned to Nabooru. "Why the hell are you always here, anyways? Are you going to do some work?"
"And risk messing up my hair? I don't think so honey. Besides, I'm not always here. Just sometimes. Right now I'm here on behalf of HUTV. Ganondorf thinks we should do more segments here. Like we might find something…" Nabooru trailed off when she saw a flash of blonde hair whiz by.
Lana followed her gaze when she saw Zelda walking to one of the dorms. Strich walked over to Nabooru, looking at her worriedly.
"Everything okay?" He interrupted, eyes locked on Nabooru who now wore a scowl.
The blue-haired girl studied her carefully, skeptical about her real intentions for being there while they cleaned up the dorms.
"Nabooru, I have a question for you."
"...Hmm?" The Gerudo looked back at her.
"Have you heard of the 'house of thieves'?"
"What? What the hell does that even mean?"
"I don't know…"
"Is this some sort of racist remark?"
"I - no! Definitely not! I just…" She paused, thinking back to Tingle. She never thought about it before, but ever since meeting the eccentric old man, she's noticed Nabooru's behavior and grown increasingly wary of it. The beautiful senior was always sticking her nose in other people's business. She reported on the 'chu jelly scandal' way too often, and practically everyone and their mama had their suspicions about her and the Dean. She even referred to him on a first name basis instead of Mr. Dragmire, like everyone else. Now that Lana was really thinking, her gut feeling was telling her something was off.
And on top of it all…
Why the hell was Strich following her around like a lost puppy all of a sudden?
"Maybe we should just stick to cleaning the dorms Lana." Strich called out, hoping to deter her.
Lana frowned, turning to look at Strich. His eyes softened at the sight of her, and he stared at her almost dreamily as a shy smile crept upon his face.
"I-I mean, if that works for you…"
"Oh, hush." She snarled, grabbing her bucket and brush and shoving her way past him. She stomped into one of the dorms, finding her dark-haired companion scrubbing silently at the walls. She looked around, seeing Link not too far away with his back turned towards her. She cocked her head curiously.
"Are you and Link not speaking to each other?" She whispered to Ashei, "Or are you just worried about getting into trouble again?"
"Is it any of your business?" Ashei countered sharply, clearly embarrassed about whatever happened between them.
"Geez… I guess not…" Lana mumbled, shaking her spray bottle before spraying water all over the walls.
"That's what I thought."
Lana looked at Ashei, studying her face carefully while she scrubbed the walls meticulously. Ashei noticed her staring and stopped.
"What?"
"Everyone's acting weird. I feel like there's something going on I should know about… And I feel like everyone's in on what's happening, except for me." Lana sighed, looking back outside the hall, where Nabooru and Strich were whispering to each other. "Take those two for example, what do you think is going on between the two?"
"Uh, they fucked. Obviously."
"Huh!?" Lana blushed. "Why would you think that?"
"It's Nabooru. She sleeps with everyone, guy or girl, it doesn't matter."
"Really?" She eyed Nabooru who eventually caught her gaze. She winked and blew a kiss at Lana.
"Why? Are you hoping for a turn?" Ashei asked jokingly.
"Wh-What!?" Lana asked, turning away. "No. Gross."
Ashei chuckled, shaking her head.
"I don't think so. Good on her, owning and embracing her sexuality without apology."
"Huh. Not many people see it that way."
"Maybe people should stop being judgmental pricks. So many of the 'men' on this campus who love to slutshame. I say don't complain about someone else's hands being dirty if yours aren't clean."
"...I guess that's fair. A lot of girls don't like her. You seem so different from her, I thought you'd feel the same way."
"Never." Ashei shook her head. "Girl-on-girl hate should be a crime."
"You feel that way?"
"Of course I do."
"Then why do you hate me?" She asked sadly.
"You? I don't hate you."
"It sure seems like you do."
"I just… I don't get you. And yeah, you get on my nerves sometimes. But I don't hate you at all. If anything, I admire your tenacity."
"Well I think it's cool that you're such a badass fighter." Lana complimented her.
The two girls smiled at each other, finding themselves in much better spirits than before.
"Um, Ashei?"
"Yes?"
"I still think there's something else going on. Something I should know."
"Can you be more specific?"
"I… I don't know!" She said frustratedly. "Not exactly, at least. But I know it's trouble."
Trouble… Ashei thought, sparing a glance at Link who stood up and walked out of the room.
"What kind of trouble?" She asked.
»°«
"So they have it, for sure?" Nabooru asked Strich.
"Yes. Groose called a meeting. Cawlin said they got the tape."
"They being Link and Zelda?"
"Yes. Cawlin took her phone as payback. He found something on it to blackmail her with."
"Really? What?"
"I don't know… They won't tell me. I haven't been around enough to be completely in the loop."
Nabooru sighed, looking at Lana. Lana was staring right back at her. Nabooru smiled and blew her a kiss.
"I can't get over how pretty she is." Nabooru said. Strich followed her gaze and looked at Lana, who was scrubbing the walls while chatting quietly with Ashei.
"She is." He mumbled.
"I wouldn't mind spending a night with her."
"O-Oh." Strich stammered.
"But I know you like her, so I'll back away for now…"
"I don't!" Strich said, waving his arms frantically.
"Sure you don't." Nabooru smiled slyly before backtracking to their initial conversation. "But we have more pressing matters to tend to. Like that tape. You mentioned a plan."
"Yes. Groose wants us to… He wants us to take her."
"Take her?" Nabooru was fully alert now. "What do you mean 'take' her? Like a kidnapping?"
"He told us to not be too aggressive. He's hoping what they found on her phone will keep her quiet. But… I don't know. I'm worried. She didn't do anything wrong, really. And if Groose did fill the dorms with jelly, he should be punished, right?"
"Because he did something wrong, or because if he faces the consequences of his actions, you'll be free?"
"Both? He's a horrible person. And he's done worse, way worse than this stupid prank, and deserves to be punished for it."
"Worse?"
"Yes…"
"Like what?"
Strich shook his head.
"I can't say."
"Can't or don't want to?"
"Nabooru, please. Can we change the subject?"
Nabooru crossed her arms.
"So Groose wants to kidnap Zelda."
"Maybe not that drastic. He wants to back her into a corner. I guess the ransom would be the CD."
"But that's perfect…" Nabooru mused.
"It is?"
"Yes. She'll give him the CD, and you can take it from them."
"There's no way I'll even get close to it."
"Yes there is. I'm sure of it. Just keep yourself together."
"How? I don't want to be a part of this anymore…"
"Please, Strich." Nabooru rested a caring hand on his shoulder, though she truthfully didn't care for him very much, mainly about herself. "Go there. To Cawlin. To Groose. Act like everything's okay. And do whatever you need to, so that no one else gets hurt."
»°«
Zelda slumped against the wall, running her hands along the side of the cold, metallic exterior of her chu-jelly bucket. It was filled to the brim with blue jelly, and she decided it was time to take a well-deserved break. She rubbed her arms, perking up when she heard footsteps approaching, then saw the door to the dorm she was resting in swing open.
"Slacking off? Why am I not surprised?" Link said, walking in with a bag over his shoulder, along with his tools for cleaning up the dorms.
"Hello to you too…" Zelda lifted her bucket weakly. "And I haven't been slacking off. I actually got a lot of work done."
"So you did." Link surveyed the room. "Nice work."
"...Thank you." Zelda said, not expecting a compliment. He walked over and sat down next to her, taking out a container with deku nut butter and some bread.
"Hungry?" He asked, handing her a paper plate.
"What's on the menu?"
"Deku butter and chu jelly sandwiches?" Link smiled, pointing at the bucket.
"What?! Gross!" Zelda said. "We can't eat that!"
"Why not? It's perfectly edible."
"You want to eat jelly we've scrubbed off of the WALL?"
"Yeah. So?"
"Uh, the walls are dirty?"
"Dirty with chu jelly."
"They've been on there for weeks!"
"Last time I checked, there's no expiration date. Besides, I've always wanted to try it."
"And you've decided to try it now? With me?" Zelda asked skeptically.
"Why not?"
"Well, for one, we aren't friends." Zelda said, looking at Link's face for a response. "...Are we?"
"We most definitely are not." He confirmed, taking out two slices of bread. "But I can't stand being in the same vicinity as Cawlin or Strich without wanting to murder them. And Ashei is… well…" He trailed off, taking a butter knife and slathering it with deku butter.
"What is it?" Zelda prodded.
"Are you going to eat a sandwich, or not?" Link asked.
"If it gets you to say what's on your mind, then yes."
She took a butter knife and they both fell silent for a few minutes, focusing their energy on making sandwiches. Once she was done, Zelda took a bite, pleasantly surprised at the taste.
"Mmm… Not bad." She said, licking her lips to get some of the jelly off. She noticed Link staring at her. "What?"
He looked down immediately.
"Nothing."
"So what's wrong?"
"I kissed Ashei."
"What?"
"She kissed me, actually. But I kissed her back."
"Oh. And did you… like it?"
"I mean, objectively it wasn't a bad kiss. Ashei and I are good friends. I guess we were both curious to see if we could be anything more than that."
"What was the final verdict?"
"No, we can't."
"Oh? Why not?"
"There was nothing. I felt nothing. It was just… her lips moving against my lips."
"That's what a kiss is, isn't it?" Zelda asked sarcastically.
"Okay smartass. You know what I meant."
"So you're deciding you and Ashei can't be together based off of a kiss. No offense Link, but that is absolutely ridiculous."
"Why?"
"A kiss is… a kiss! It's a physical action. It doesn't mean you two will never be together."
"We won't be together any time soon, that's for sure."
"Can I ask you something?"
"What is it?" Link asked, taking a bite of his sandwich.
"Out of everyone you could talk to about this, why are you talking about it with me?"
Link shrugged.
"I don't have many friends."
"I thought we weren't friends?"
"Exactly."
"But you have Shad and Pipit."
"They'd just make fun of me about it."
"How do you know I'm not going to make fun of you about it?"
"Are you?" He looked at her challengingly.
"...No." She confessed, rolling her eyes.
"So you've never had a girlfriend." Zelda said, bringing up another subject.
"Nope."
"You never told me why."
"Never felt that strongly about anyone, I guess."
"Have you ever tried dating?"
Link shook his head.
"I've had my share of one night stands. And summer flings. Harmless hookups with girls that are willing, and won't take it to heart. But a relationship? It isn't like I've found someone I want to be with. I think dating for the sake of dating is stupid. You should get to know someone and make a connection with them. Not just because you like looking at them."
"Is that why you dislike me so much? Because Pipit and I want to date, and you think we don't know each other well enough?"
"How did my personal issues become about you?"
"I don't know. But you saying that made me think of it. The animosity you have towards me… I can't help feeling like that might have a role to play in it."
"It's how I've always felt, not just when I met you. I don't let people in easily."
"Maybe you should." Zelda shrugged. "I'm sure there are people who would be willing to listen."
"Yeah, I'm sure." Link scoffed. "I don't even know where to begin, or rather, who to begin with."
"I mean… I'm always around."
"When you're not sneaking around with Pipit or leading on Shad?"
"Goddesses, why do you have to be so difficult?"
"Because being easy is no fun." Link replied, finishing his sandwich and winking at her.
Zelda shook her head, standing up.
"We should get back to work."
"Not too soon, I hope." A third voice called out.
Both of them turned and saw Pipit leaning against the doorway, his eyes locked on Zelda. Link's playful expression dissolved into a bitter one.
"I guess that's my cue to leave." He said, walking off.
Zelda frowned at his sudden change in demeanor.
"Link…" She said, wanting to go after him. However, Pipit stopped her.
"Princess, wait. Let's go out tonight."
"Are you sure you want to? I mean, Shad is still pretty upset."
"I haven't been able to take you out on a proper date. We don't have to go too far. The on campus cafe has nice food. And afterwards we can just walk and talk to each other. What do you say?"
"Actually, I just ate." Zelda said, biting her lip.
"We don't have to go now, we can go for dinner."
"Sounds good to me." She smiled at him.
Next door, oblivious to both Zelda and Pipit, Cawlin was listening intently, pulling out his communicator to relay what he just heard to Groose.
»°«
Groose turned the communicator around in his hands, watching Strich pack the materials they would need for their 'mission.' The young man was no more fidgety than he always was. Strich had always been a weakling, but Groose found that to be a quality of someone he wanted by his side. Someone who was too scared to run away from him, someone who would stay loyal because he would be in deep shit if he tried to leave.
It's better to be feared than to be loved.
Karane walked over to the boys. They were all in an empty classroom in the English building. It was the one Professor Rauru used, before he was forced to resign. Once they had finished their chu duties, Groose instructed both of them to come immediately so they could put their plan into action.
"How long is this room going to be empty?" Groose asked Karane. She glared at him, but knew it would be wise to answer.
"Long enough for you idiots to come up with your petty schemes. You should be careful though, if we get caught in here you guys can get in trouble."
"You think I don't know that? Strich!" He yelled, purposefully sounding extra angry and being extra loud to make the poor boy jump.
"Y-Yes?"
"Are you almost done?"
"Yes… Everything is here. Including the phone."
"Hand that to me." Groose said, snatching it out of Strich's hand when he obliged, then scrolling through the messages until he found what he was looking for.
"Everything will go perfectly. As long as none of you screw it up." He growled, glaring at both of them cautiously.
"Hey, Cawlin is the one who let her get away." Karane reminded him.
"True, but it isn't like Strich was there to stop them. Now we're all briefed up on what's going down. We're going to ambush Zelda on her little date with Pipit."
"What?" Karane tensed up.
"Oh? Did I leave that detail out? We'll need to distract her, of course. Or wait for her to go to the bathroom, and snag her away… We're taking her to the boiler room. We'll scare her into getting the CD for us. And then… We set a time and place for her to meet us and do an exchange. And she's off the hook."
"Just like that?"
"Yeah, why not? I know that whatever's on the CD doesn't work against me. But without it I can't prove my innocence."
"And what if she doesn't agree to the terms?"
"Oh trust me, she will." Groose said, walking past Karane to look through everything they had.
"Are you guys going to hurt her?"
"Why does it matter to you what we do with her? You telling me you're okay with her macking on your boyfriend?"
"Oh, shut up." Karane snapped angrily. "She's a good girl. She doesn't deserve to get hurt."
"We won't do anything too serious, not like what we did to you. If that's what you're worried about."
"Of course not…" Karane shivered at the thought, and tried to fight back tears. She couldn't believe it. She couldn't believe that Groose still had a hold on her, after all these years. It made her want to scream and cry, and she wanted to protect Zelda from getting sucked into Groose's problems.
"Okay, Cawlin is in position. He says they're getting to the cafe. Let's head out. Be sure to separate once you're outside. At least three hundred feet, so we don't turn any heads." Groose walked out briskly.
Strich nodded, slowly picking up the bag and following Groose.
"Why do you follow him so blindly?" Karane asked before Strich stepped out.
"Wh-What?"
"Why do you follow him? What are you getting out of that friendship?"
Strich bit his lip.
"You know what he did to me, and you know that it's wrong. How can you still help him, after everything?"
Strich shook his head sadly.
"I have to."
"You're a coward." Karane said.
"Maybe I am, but you are too."
"My fear is COMPLETELY different from your fear. And YOU are COMPLETELY different from THEM." Karane snapped, tears streaming down her face. "I know you are."
"Karane…" Strich whispered sympathetically, walking towards her to cup her cheek. She didn't flinch away from his touch.
"Could you really forgive me, after everything I did?"
"If you saved me, then yes, I'd consider it."
"I… I might be able to do that, actually…"
»°«
Zelda smiled adoringly at the man sitting across from her. After what felt like an eternity, she was finally on a proper date with Pipit. The first attempts didn't go so well, but she had a good feeling about this one. Being with Pipit was great. She didn't feel worried about anything. Her classes, her after-school obligations, or even Shad. They were sitting at one of the tables outside, talking about anything and everything that was on their mind. It was perfect. She sighed happily while she ate her food.
"You look really happy." Pipit grinned.
"I am. I love being with you."
"I love being with you too." He said, reaching out to grab her hand.
"Everything has just been so stressful!" Zelda exclaimed, laughing joyously. "Being here with you is the most relaxed I've felt. I really appreciate you taking me out for dinner."
"Even though we're still on campus?"
"Even though we're still on campus." She repeated, smiling at him reassuringly.
"So how are you? You and Link seem to be getting along pretty well."
"Do you think so?" Zelda asked, looking down at her thumbs. "He still doesn't like me. But we're being forced to work together in the dorms. So I guess… It makes sense if we're not as aggressive with each other as we were before."
"I don't have to worry about him becoming competition, do I?" He asked, a worried look etched on his face.
Zelda's jaw dropped. She wasn't even sure of what to say.
"Huh!?"
His bottom lip wobbled, then he burst into laughter.
"I was just kidding, princess! Though I probably shouldn't joke about that, should I?"
"Yeah, definitely NOT you jerk." Zelda chastised him playfully, then took a french fry and threw it at him. He caught it with his mouth, throwing his head back to swallow it properly.
"If that was supposed to be an attack, you'll need to try a lot harder - Hey!" He flinched as Zelda chucked two more french fries at him.
She grinned.
"What are you going to do about it?"
He responded not with words, but with actions, throwing some of his own food at her.
"You did not just do that!" Zelda giggled, and soon a mini food fight between the two of them ensued. They continued throwing food at each other until there was nothing left to throw.
"So much for a romantic dinner…" He said, looking at the aftermath.
"I can't believe we let all this good food go to waste." Zelda said, feeling a little bad.
"Hey, you started it."
"You were the one teasing me!"
"What? I'm completely innocent." Pipit said, before getting on his knees to pick up the food. "We should clean it up though."
"You're right." Zelda nodded, slipping out of her chair to help clean up the mess. They both cleaned in silence for a moment, sitting comfortably on the ground while they gathered their food and placed it in the trash bin. Once they were done, they both looked up to find that they were crouched right in front of each other, their faces merely inches apart. He smiled at her, brushing a strand of hair away from her face.
"Hi there." He whispered.
"Hey…" She said, her eyelids lowering as they both leaned in…
She brushed her lips against his shyly, initiating a gentle kiss. They stayed that way for a few moments before pulling away. He grinned, a blush quickly forming on his face.
"Wow." He said.
"Wow." She repeated, biting her lip.
They both stood up, and he took her hand, entwining it in his.
"Wanna go take that walk?"
"Sure." Zelda nodded, and they began their circle around campus.
As they walked, Zelda looked around nervously, trying to see if any students who were walking by noticed them together.
"What's wrong?"
"Oh, uh, nothing." She said dismissively.
"Yeah right. You worried Shad will catch us in the act?"
"Well… Aren't you?" Zelda asked.
"After that kiss? I don't think I'm worried about anything."
"It was pretty nice…" Zelda smiled. "But when do you think we should tell Shad? We can't keep sneaking around forever. And confirming his suspicions will only make it worse."
"That's true…" Pipit rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "I'm still trying to work out the kinks, but between the two of us we should be able to come up with an idea."
"Soon, I hope." She sighed, resting her head against his shoulder while they made their rounds. They continued to walk and talk for awhile, until Zelda got a good look at the sky… and the setting sun.
"It's getting dark. I need to grab some clothes and hit the showers before it's too late."
"You want to put an end to our date?"
"Of course not, but Link's an asshole and won't let me use his shower. So I have no choice, I guess."
"If you're sure…" He mumbled disapprovingly. Still, he gave her a smile and they headed back to the apartment complex.
Once they got inside, Zelda surveyed the living room curiously.
"Is Shad in his room studying?"
"No clue." Pipit shrugged.
Zelda grabbed her clothes.
"Okay, I'm all set."
"Ready to head back?"
"Yes, but I can go back on my own. You don't need to worry about me."
"It isn't a worry at all. It's getting dark out, I don't want you in any kind of danger."
"The only danger we have to worry about is the guy you share a room with." She pointed to the door to the room Pipit and Shad inhabited.
"Touche, princess." He leaned in and gave her a tiny peck on the lips. "Be safe. Call me if you need me, and I'll be there in a heartbeat."
"Mhm… Right…" Zelda nodded, frowning once he turned away. She was still missing her phone, and neither she nor Link said anything about it to Cawlin. Partially out of pride, they knew he would rub her misfortunes in her face and use it as leverage to get the CD they stole. Once she had her clothes and hygiene products all packed into her bag, she headed back to campus and for the communal showers.
It was dark, and all she had were the dim street lights to guide her. She looked around, feeling slightly uneasy as she reached for the door handle to let herself inside the building. The moment her fingers lightly grazed against it, her suspicions were confirmed when she felt a pair of scrawny arms wrap around her torso and pull her away.
"AAH!" She yelped, panicking momentarily before breaking out of the hold and turning around. Two masked figures stood before her, one was tall and lanky while the other was chubby and short. They both reached for her again but she swung her leg out and kicked the tall figure in the groin.
"Ouch!" He held onto his lower area painfully.
"Cawlin, Strich! I know it's you!" Zelda growled. "Stop this now, or I'll kick both of your asses!" She got into fighting position, showing them she meant business.
Cawlin growled, not fazed by her threats, but slightly thrown off by her courage. He didn't anticipate that she would put up a fight. He went after her, shoving her to the ground. Zelda didn't waste any time getting back up, giving him a hard slap across his face. Unfortunately for her it didn't do much damage, since his face was masked. Before Zelda could make another move, someone from behind grabbed her arms and forced them back.
"What the fuck!?" She craned her neck to look back, squirming to try and break free, but his grip was too strong.
It was Groose, the infamous guy on campus who was always getting himself into trouble. He didn't even bother wearing a mask or trying to conceal his identity. It was futile.
"It'll be in your best interest to stop fighting, and come with us." He warned, nodding at Cawlin who took off his mask and cut a piece of tape, placing it over Zelda's mouth.
A/N: Oh look… I ended with a cliffhanger, yeah, definitely have never done that before… Anyways, next week is my spring break! Does that mean frequent updating? Only time will tell… But for THIS week, I have exams & midterms that need to be taken, essays that need to be written, and homework that needs to be finished. I'll see you guys soon!