they totally like each other!
Of all her great qualities, Ashei prided herself the most on her intuition. She could sniff out trouble from ten miles away, and recently she was concerned with Lana and the choices she was making. She didn't think lowly of Nabooru, like so many others did, but even then Ashei knew better than to welcome the seductive Gerudo with open arms. Nabooru was trouble in every sense of the word. And now that Lana was her friend, Ashei felt the need to protect her from getting hurt.
"What's wrong, Ashei?" The focus of her thoughts spoke up, violet eyes glistening as she spritzed and scrubbed the walls happily.
Ashei shook her head. If she brought the topic up again, it would end in another argument. They didn't have enough evidence to suggest Nabooru was up to anything bad other than framing Groose for the dorm incident – they couldn't sympathize with him knowing how much of an asshole he was – but that didn't mean she trusted the temptress completely. Lana on the other hand, was on good terms with Nabooru, somewhat. Of course, she was thinking more with what was between her legs than trying to be rational. Nabooru had invited her to a weekend getaway. Ashei was determined to make Lana stay in Castle Town, either that or let her tag along.
"I know what you're thinking. You're thinking I should stay here." Lana spoke up, putting her cleaning tools down and walking over to sit next to her.
Ashei sighed disapprovingly.
"You're smarter than this, Lana. I'm not going to let you go that easily."
Lana smiled, putting a reassuring hand on her friend's shoulder.
"I wish you would just trust me. I'm not going to get into trouble, I promise. Nabooru is going to help me. She cares."
"Is that so? I care too. In fact, I might care more than she does. I'm not listening to you just so I can slip my hand in between your thighs." Ashei scolded her.
Lana glared, quickly becoming defensive.
"Only because you've reserved that slot for Shad, huh?"
Ashei blushed but chose to ignore that remark.
"Lana, you know how Nabooru is! She gets around. And there's nothing wrong with that in itself, but there IS something wrong when you take it the wrong way! She doesn't care about you in the way you think. I don't know what she's hiding, but this could all just be a ruse. It could be her way of taking advantage of you for something more than sex. I just want you to be careful…" She trailed off sadly.
Lana sighed.
"I'll keep my guard up. You know I will."
"She wants to take you to Gerudo Valley. Do you know how far away that is? If something happens to you out there, I won't be able to save you."
"I don't need any saving. Nabooru would never try to hurt me."
"Please, Lana. Let me come with you." Ashei took her hand, staring into her eyes pleadingly.
"Ash…"
"You can't go by yourself! I won't let you. With how chummy you two are getting, I don't want you straying from your gut feeling. There's something going on, and we need to get to the bottom of it."
"I know. But I don't think Nabooru is going to be very thrilled if I invite you along with us."
"If you want to sleep with her then fucking sleep with her, goddesses. I don't care." She sneered, fed up with Lana's stubbornness. "Just… don't get attached. Because you'll only get hurt."
"We aren't like that! She's my friend." Lana waved her arms, blushing embarrassedly. "Besides I've never…"
"You've never what? You're a virgin? Like that would stop her. I see the way you look at her. It wouldn't stop you either."
Lana shook her head, pulling her now-trembling hand away. She knew to keep her guard up with Nabooru, but after a heart-to-heart with the Gerudo about her financial situation, Lana felt like Nabooru had actually heard her, and wanted to make an honest effort to help. Unlike the financial aid office who simply put her name on a piece of paper and promised to get back to her on an undisclosed date, Nabooru… validated her. She could admit to herself that she didn't want to let that go, she wanted to hold onto that feeling of importance as long as possible. The realm of comfort wasn't one-sided either. Being the face of HUTV meant Nabooru was always being bombarded by questions from angry students when they couldn't get through to financial aid. And because Nabooru didn't have the energy or desire to form a personal relationship with all of them, she couldn't be bothered to care too strongly for any of them, which only added fuel to the fire. Nabooru had confided in Lana, not about the details that would get her in trouble of course, but just enough information to tug at Lana's heartstrings. Lana had come to admire many things about Nabooru, and she would admit to herself that having Ashei tag along would put a bit of a damper on the situation…
"Don't you remember what we told each other, that day we were in the library?" Ashei piped up, staring at Lana intently. Lana smiled at her weakly, then looked down at her aching hands.
"We're in this together."
"Exactly. Whether I have a formal invite or not, you know I'm going to follow you guys. Might as well make it easier and let me go with you."
"Fine. I'll talk to her about it."
»°«
Shad paced outside of the hall, double-checking his texts to make sure he was in the right location. It had been awhile since he had seen the dorms, now that he lived in an apartment. He purposefully avoided stepping anywhere near them, having developed a distaste for chu jelly. He scratched his head awkwardly, trying to shake himself of his nerves. He rarely apologized to people, given he usually didn't have a reason to. Link's words had resonated with him more than he was comfortable with. To see the 'lone wolf' of his little trio with Pipit be so openminded towards a girl he used to hate was Shad's personal wake-up call. His feelings for Zelda were still very real, and the sting of seeing her with his best friend was a lasting one, but it wasn't worth losing two important friendships over, no matter how adamant he had been on holding a grudge.
Letting out a deep breath, he entered the hall, walking forward confidently… until he nearly barreled into somebody else mindlessly.
"Woah there!" She said.
It was the pretty girl with dark hair. Shad grinned, instinctively reaching out to help steady her from tumbling over. She was holding onto a bucket that was filled to the brim with jelly, clearly hard at work in the dorms.
"Is it me, or are we always bumping into each other like this?" Ashei teased.
"It definitely isn't just you." He smiled, "What on earth did you do to have to clean the dorms?"
"You mean other than breathing within 3 feet of Agahnim?" They both shared a chuckle before she continued, "I might have punched a sexist asshole, who then cried to administration about it… But trust me, he deserved it."
"I have no doubt about that."
"And you? Why are you here? Don't tell me you came here to see me." She meant it in a sarcastic manner, but a small part of her was hoping he did want to see her.
The smile on his face was replaced with a wistful expression.
"I'm actually here to see Zelda."
"Ah, I see…" Ashei nodded. She knew he harbored some feelings towards the beautiful blonde. She seemed to be attracting everyone's attention, both good and bad.
"I need to apologize to her." He continued, "I was a real ass and I… Ugh. Never mind. I shouldn't bother you with this. But I hope we see each other again. You should come over sometime." He smiled lightly at her.
"Thanks, but Link and I are just friends – "
"I know." He cut her off, a hint of suggestiveness in his tone as he brushed past her slowly to look for his friend.
She grinned, then turned away and tried to slow the rapid increase in her heartbeat.
Shad sighed, looking through the dorms until he found who he had been looking for. Zelda was seated next to Link, leaning against the wall eating sandwiches. There was a smile on her face and she even laughed, looking at Link with a certain kind of fondness. Shad scratched his head at the sight. The two of them had become quite close after working together in the dorms. It was an interesting sight, heartwarming even, but something about it seemed off to him. He shook off the feeling, reminding himself that he wasn't here to jump to conclusions about anything.
"Am I interrupting?" He asked, knocking on the door lightly. Zelda jumped at the sound of his voice, turning to see Shad in the doorway with a bittersweet smile on his face.
"Oh, no! Did you want to see Link? I'll go. Just let me know when you guys are done." Zelda stood up, bolting for the door when Shad stepped in front of her.
"I wanted to see you." He corrected her quickly before she could leave.
"M-Me?" Zelda stammered nervously.
"Yeah. Y-You." Link spoke up from behind, mimicking Zelda. He inched past the both of them, giving Shad a gentle shove and closing the door behind them.
For a moment they stood there in silence, looking everywhere except at each other. Shad wanted to apologize, kind of, but now that he was face-to-face with the woman who broke his heart, he couldn't find the words he was looking for. Zelda on the other hand, had grown so accustomed to him giving her the cold shoulder that she wasn't sure if it was her place to speak up at all.
"These past few months have been a rollercoaster." He said softly.
"Yeah…" Zelda murmured, looking at Shad demurely.
"I've been a dick, and you've been surprisingly patient with me."
"Only because I understand where you're coming from. If the roles were reversed I would have had the same reaction. Shad… I need you to know that I am SO sorry…"
"No, no." He waved her apology off. "You've said sorry one too many times. It's my turn to apologize. You're the woman of my dreams, Zelda. The embodiment of every quality I love about myself, in addition to some qualities I wish I possessed. I had the hugest crush on you, and I let my emotions get the better of me. But I never should have let my feelings go as far as they did."
"You did nothing wrong." Zelda stepped forward, taking his hand in hers. "None of this would have happened if we had been honest with you in the first place."
He entwined their fingers together, suppressing the urge to pull her closer to him.
"Maybe it would have been easier to tell the truth if I hadn't come on so strong. Can you forgive me?" He asked, eyes twinkling with hope. He knew she would say yes, especially from the grin that lit up her beautiful face right before she threw her arms around him.
"Is that a trick question?" She asked before laughing happily.
"Yes." He replied, glad to have her in his arms, even if it was only platonic.
"I know you're disappointed. But your friendship is everything to me. It really is." She mumbled into his shoulder.
"Your friendship is everything to me as well, Zelda."
He released her after a few more blissful seconds, looking down to smile at her adoringly.
"You know you could have any girl you want…" She told him in a reassuring voice. "Weren't you voted 'HU's sexiest nerd of all time'?"
"How the hell do you know about that!?" He asked, cringing at the memories of his earlier years at HU.
"People talk." She shrugged, smiling innocently.
"So…" He steered the topic away, eager to start hanging out with her once more. "You'll stop by my room tonight, right? That is, if you and Pipit don't have plans already…"
"I most definitely will." She nodded enthusiastically.
"Good. I guess I have to go thank Link now."
"Link? For what?"
"For encouraging me to come to you and make amends."
"Huh?" Zelda was shocked. "He… he told you to apologize to me?"
"I was going to do it eventually!" Shad said, not wanting Zelda to think he hadn't come on his own accord, "But I guess he gave me the push I needed. He… he thinks very highly of you, you know that?"
Zelda felt her cheeks warm up and immediately looked away, not wanting Shad to see the flustered look on her face as she thought of her chu duty buddy. Unfortunately for her, Shad did notice, but chose to remain silent on the matter. She and Pipit had just started dating, and he didn't want to complicate the matter any further.
"Well, uh… That's… nice." Zelda said.
"I should probably let you two get back to work." He gave her a pat on the back, then headed out, leaving for the library.
Zelda watched him leave, and once he was out of sight she gave Link a sly smile as he entered the room.
"…What?" He asked innocently, keeping his eyes locked on hers while he munched on a sandwich.
"You vouched for me."
"I vouched for you?" Link repeated dumbly. Either he wasn't following, or he was acting. Zelda couldn't tell, but she was overjoyed.
"Shad told me you told him to apologize."
Link blushed, then shrugged nonchalantly.
"It may have come up in a conversation."
"Well… I think that was really sweet of you."
"Of course you do. You're a giant mushball." He scoffed, glaring at her.
Zelda was unfazed by the cold look, all too used to his icy demeanor. She marched up to him, the distance between decrease until he was within hugging distance.
"…Zelda?" He asked.
She hugged him, pushing her head into the crook of his shoulder. After talking to Shad, her heart felt tender. She felt like a weight had been lifted, and she had Link to thank for it.
"Thank you." She whispered.
"I… You're… you're welcome." Link replied, startled by her hug.
"I mean, why would you do that? What do you have to gain from it?"
"Watching you sulk around at home and on campus isn't really fun…" He said lowly, his breath tickling the back of her neck. He returned her hug, holding onto her comfortably. It was odd to Zelda, how well they fit together, how right it felt when he held her… But she had to ignore those feelings. Out of courtesy to her boyfriend, with whom she was very happy.
"Are you saying you want to see me happy?" She pulled away to smile at him.
"I'm not going to give that question a proper answer." He said, stepping back from her. "We should move on to another topic. Particularly, the one concerning us crashing Mr. Dragmire's little party."
"Oh?" Zelda was alert now at the topic of their 'investigation.' They had been trying to keep it under wraps, particularly because of Nabooru's reservations with them. "What were you thinking?"
"This fancy party… Well, gala… It isn't really my scene."
Zelda frowned.
"Do you not want to go?" She tried to mask the disappointment in her voice.
"I didn't say that. But I will admit that I don't know the first thing about etiquette for these things. I figured you might."
"Because I'm a princess?" She asked sarcastically.
"You're a Lake Hylia girl. What other assumption am I supposed to make?"
Zelda rolled her eyes.
"Okay, jackass. You want some pointers?"
"…Yes please." He mumbled.
Zelda smiled.
"You should have just said so. I think our first order of business should be clothing. Since we're outsiders, we'll need to blend in." She paused, as an idea started to form in her head.
"Oh no." Link muttered.
"What?" Zelda asked.
"I know that look."
"You know nothing."
"Zelda…"
"Okay, just answer this question. Do you have a suit?"
"I have some really, really, REALLY nice shirts. And slacks."
"But what about a suit?"
"…No…"
"Okay then. We're going shopping!" She cheered.
"Damn it." Link grumbled regretfully, having no choice but to follow Zelda as she ran out of the room eagerly.
»°«
Soon enough, the two of them were in Link's car, on their way downtown to some upscale clothing store Link would never enter unless he was being accompanied by somebody else. He drove in silence, the only sounds being that of the GPS on his phone instructing him where to go. He spared a glance at Zelda, who was texting away on her phone. He felt a strange pang of envy hit him and forced himself to focus on the road.
"Are you texting your boyfriend?" He asked, trying to sound casual.
"Nope. I'm texting my girlfriends. You don't mind if I invite them to come, do you?"
"I guess not. But I wasn't really expecting an audience…"
"We aren't just getting clothes for you. All my typical gowns are back home at Lake Hylia. I need a new one. I figured they'd want to come along to help me choose."
"So it won't be just us then."
"Did you want it to be just us?" Zelda turned to look at Link curiously.
"I don't care." He said dismissively, blushing. "I guess I'm just surprised that you have any friends. I never see them."
She laughed, thinking about Malon and Midna. She hadn't seen them in a long time, since she spent most of her days with her three roommates.
"You'll recognize them. They were there with me… that night."
"That night?" He asked as he turned the car into a large parking lot.
"You know. The night we met."
"Oh. Of course." He parked the car and took his keys out of ignition. But instead of getting out right away, his gaze found Zelda's once again. To his surprise she was staring right back at him.
"It wasn't that long ago, you know."
"…What's your point exactly, princess?"
"I don't know." Zelda sighed. "It feels like it was forever ago since we met. I guess it's just because I feel like I've known you forever…"
"Zelda…"
"I know, I know. As you've stated millions of times, we aren't friends. If that's what you want to believe, then whatever. But you and I have come a long way." She looked at Link expectantly, waiting for him to say something. She couldn't decipher what he was feeling based on his face alone, she wasn't even sure if he knew what he was feeling himself.
"You can't say that." He finally replied.
"Why not?"
"Because – "
Before Link could finish his sentence, someone knocked on his window.
They both flinched, and Link turned around to see two young women, a Twili accompanied by a bubbly redhead.
Zelda got out of the car immediately, forgetting about their conversation in favor of greeting her friends. They stepped back courteously to let Link get out of his vehicle.
"Zelda, it has been forever!"
"I know Midna, I know." Zelda gave a hug to her Twili friend.
Link scrutinized both girls carefully. They indeed were the two friends that had accompanied Zelda at Din's Garden.
"I was starting to think you were dead." Malon pouted playfully. "We've missed you."
"I've missed you guys too!" Zelda giggled.
"Clubbing every Saturday isn't the same without you!"
"Ahem." Link cleared his throat obnoxiously, making his presence known once again. Midna and Malon turned to look at him, giving him flirtatious smiles. However, he was staring straight at Zelda. "Aren't you going to introduce me?"
"Of course…" Zelda scratched her head awkwardly, "Uh… This is Midna, and this is Malon." She gestured at the Twili and redhead respectively. "Midna, Malon, this is Link, one of my roommates."
"Mmm…" Midna purred, stepping closer to him. "You're that sexy waiter from Din's Garden."
"I was that sexy waiter from Din's Garden." He corrected.
"Oh? Did you quit?" Malon asked sadly. "I haven't seen you there in awhile."
"Were you looking for me?" Link asked, giving her a charming smile.
Zelda glared at him skeptically.
"Huh? No!" Malon denied hotly. "…Maybe." She admitted right afterwards.
"Well… Yes. I quit." He said coolly, giving Zelda a subtle look. She said nothing, and turned around, looking at the store they were heading to.
"Let's go." Zelda nodded towards their destination. "We should get this over with."
Midna and Malon both walked ahead happily, but as Zelda went forward to join them Link pulled her back to him.
"What's the rush, princess?" He smiled mischievously at her, slinging an arm around her shoulder. "You were so excited to come down here and look for clothes."
"I was… I am." She clarified.
"I was wondering…" He trailed off, his eyes glued to Midna's backside. Zelda nudged him in the side sharply.
"Wondering what?" Zelda tried to distract him, and she was certain that he knew it.
"Is there some unstated rule that everyone in your little girl squad has to be drop-dead gorgeous?"
Zelda's eyes widened.
"Is this your way of telling me I'm pretty?"
"You wish. It's my way of saying they're pretty." He pointed forward.
Midna turned and locked eyes with Link, never breaking her stride.
"I heard that," she said teasingly, noticing how Link's arm was around Zelda. "Zelda, this isn't the boyfriend, right? I surely hope not, I may have to snatch him up for myself…"
"No, he isn't," Zelda shoved his arm off of her, her mood quickly turning sour, "In fact, we aren't even friends." She said pointedly, glowering at him.
Link's playful demeanor dissipated instantly. He watched Zelda, a look of longing and confusion etched on his face as she speed-walked to catch up with Midna. Malon saw the saddened expression on his face, but she acted as if she hadn't.
"Who is it then? You better have pictures!"
Link stayed a few paces behind the girls, his mind wandering elsewhere. Before they knew it, they had arrived at Celeeb, the high-end clothing store Zelda had her sights set on. Midna and Malon ran inside without hesitation or even so much as a thought. Link on the other hand, wavered outside.
"You coming?" Zelda noticed Link standing outside.
He frowned at the exterior.
"This place is really expensive…"
"I know. But you don't need to worry about this, I have it covered." Zelda reassured him. He looked at her questioningly. "Just trust me, Link."
"In what world can you afford this place? It isn't like you have a job."
"I may not have a job but I do have rupees."
"Oh, from mommy and daddy's bank account?" He snapped.
Zelda raised an eyebrow, not too pleased with his sudden attitude. Even through it all, he was still a mystery to her. So caring and playful one moment, then callous the next. But today of all days, she wasn't having it.
"What the hell is your problem?" She quipped.
"What the hell is your problem?" He flipped the question back on her. "You gave me the cold shoulder back there with your friends."
"What are you talking about?"
"You know what I'm talking about."
"I don't like being made fun of like that."
"I was just joking, can you not take a joke?"
"Since when do you make jokes?"
"Since when do you have such a stick up your ass?"
"Why does it matter to you? We aren't friends, according to you. Not to mention you were totally flirting with them!"
"And?" Link shrugged, not seeing the big deal.
Zelda stared at him in disbelief, unsure of whether or not he was teasing her or genuinely didn't understand her anger.
"You can't flirt with my friends, Link! They're off-limits!"
"You want to talk about limits, Zelda? Really? You dated both of MY best friends at the same time until you got caught! And now you're official with one of them."
"So what is this? You're just hitting on them to get a rise out of me?"
"That depends I guess… Is it working?" That irresistible smile made its way onto his infuriatingly handsome face again.
"Link… Stop it." Zelda hissed, feeling her blood boil from pure frustration. Instead of gracing her with a proper response, Link pushed the double doors open and waltzed into the store, finding Malon and Midna in front of the suits. Zelda stomped in after him, determined to pull him back to berate him some more, but he was already talking to Midna.
Zelda frowned. Midna had always been the frisky one amongst the three of them. Malon was a bit of a flirt herself, they all were at times, but Midna was the least subtle. She was a lot like Nabooru in that sense, which worried Zelda, because the last thing she needed was her best friend hooking up with her roommate. She walked forward slowly, trying to catch tidbits of their conversation.
"Tell me Link…" His name rolled off of her tongue perfectly and from the enamored look on Link's face, he was enjoying it. "Do you have a girlfriend?"
"Nope. I'm totally single." He smirked, feeling Zelda's eyes bore into his back.
"I'm shocked. Truly. Someone as hot as you is single? I don't believe it."
"I could say for the same for you." He shrugged, stepping closer. Zelda's jaw nearly dropped.
"And who said I was single?"
"Would we be having this conversation right now if you weren't?" Neither of them could contain their smiles at one another.
"Okay!" Zelda said, inserting herself into the discussion. "We should start figuring out what we want to wear!" She tried to put some distance between Link and Midna.
"Right, right." Midna nodded, seemingly oblivious to Zelda's uneasiness. "We should have you try on these suits first. I'm assuming you won't be as picky as Zel is with her dresses." She gestured to the suits she and Malon had been loking at.
"Nah." Link shook his head. "They all look the same anyways."
"Not true…" Zelda grumbled, crossing her arms.
Malon, who had been standing at the sidelines observing their interactions, stepped forward and followed silently.
Midna and Link continued their shameless flirting, with Zelda fuming in the background. Midna flagged down one of the employees and pointed out a suit.
"That one please!"
"Why that one?" Link asked.
"Because you'd look smokin in it, duh."
"Hmm…" Link mulled over Midna's choice.
"Zelda." Malon's soft voice rang out, startling all of them. "What do YOU think?"
"Uh…" Zelda gave Malon a befuddled expression. "That's cool, I guess."
The employee, a slender and stoic young man, handed Link a sleek suit.
"Our dressing rooms are down there. Unisex. All of you feel free to treat yourselves." He said, smiling at the little group politely.
They walked over to the dressing room, and the three women seated themselves on the benches outside. Zelda focused on her feet, watching them dangle back and forth.
Midna and Malon exchanged knowing looks, recognizing every single one of Zelda's mannerisms, and the reasoning behind them.
Something was bothering her.
And with Zelda's stubborn attitude, combined with the fact that she hadn't spoken to her girls that often after moving in with Shad, she wasn't going to let up that easily.
"Link seems cool." Midna tried to break the awkward silence that fell upon the three of them. This wasn't like them, to be so quiet around each other. Usually they were talkative, finding conversation points about everything and nothing at the same time. But now, it was becoming apparent that something fundamental with Zelda had changed.
"He's cool if he wants to get into your pants, I guess." Zelda replied bitterly.
"Zel… are you mad at me?" Midna frowned.
"Huh? No, no. I'm not. I… I'm not mad at anyone."
"You seem upset. Is everything okay, sweetheart?"
"Yes, Midna. It's nothing. Don't worry about it."
"I know I come off strong when it comes to boys. But I'll ease off you don't want me flirting with Link."
Zelda felt her cheeks redden.
"Link and I are just friends. I have a boyfriend, remember?"
"I thought you said you and Link weren't friends." Malon said, narrowing her eyes at Zelda suspiciously.
"That's what I meant." Zelda glowered.
"Sure…" Malon crossed her arms. She and Midna shared another knowing glance.
The curtain drew open, and Link stepped forward carefully, dressed in a black suit. Zelda bit her lip, her blue eyes twinkling at the sight. He looked like he had stepped outside of the poshest men's magazine. Even other passersby stopped to ogle at him as well. Midna and Malon both took turns admiring him, but they found themselves more interested in Zelda's reaction.
She stood up slowly and walked over to him, as if drawn to him by a magnetic force.
"Is it okay?" He asked, smoothing the outfit down self-consciously. She swatted his hands away from the material.
"It's fine but you need to be careful with it. And where's your tie?" She looked around.
"I didn't think you'd notice it was missing."
"Why would you purposely leave it off? It's important."
"I don't know how to put it on, okay?" He replied defensively.
Zelda sighed, walking back into the dressing room and grabbing the tie. She unbuttoned the jacket, then reached around Link's neck and tied a perfect Windsor knot, her fingers lightly grazing the material of the suit. Link cleared his throat, finding it difficult to look away from the soft features of her face as she worked on perfecting his ensemble. Once she was done, she slowly looked up and for the briefest moment their eyes locked, an understated intensity in both of their stares. She stepped back to admire her work.
"Oh goddesses…" Malon whispered to Midna, who nodded.
"Is this better?" He asked.
"Much better." Zelda replied with a smile. "You'll fit right in."
Link chuckled, trying not to let the praise have too much of an impact on him.
"Okay… Uh, cool."
"Do you want this one? Or do you want to try another one on?"
"I'm really not one for shopping, princess. This one's fine. If you can afford it…"
"I can." She said, pushing him back into the dressing room.
The moment Zelda walked back to sit next to her friends, they whirled on her.
"What the hell was that?" Midna asked sharply, but even though her tone was stern, her expression was playful.
"What was what?"
"The lovey-dovey looks, using his tie as an elaborate excuse to get extra close to him, and to top it all off… he calls you 'princess'? I thought the football player was your boyfriend. He IS, right?"
"Yes! He is!"
"I'm with Midna on this girly. Are you cheating on your boyfriend with him?" Malon pointed to the dressing room Link was occupying.
"No, never!" She denied.
"Then why exactly are the two of you shopping for suits and dresses with each other? It sounds like he's accompanying you to some party as your date." Malon said.
"I… We… We aren't going with each other, we're just shopping together."
"What exactly are you two going to?" Midna asked.
"It's a campus event. A… dance-like… thing." She was lying, and they knew it, but she wasn't able to come up with a more convincing explanation under pressure.
"A dance-like thing, huh? And he isn't your date."
"Nope. My boyfriend is."
"Then why not go shopping for it with your boyfriend?"
"I don't want him to see my dress until the night of the event."
"Why not?"
"Because… it's tradition?"
"Yeah, for a wedding! Are you getting married Zelda?"
"NO!" She shouted, exasperated from all the questions.
At that moment Link emerged with the suit neatly tucked into its cover bag.
"Everything good?" He asked, concerned.
"Yes, everything's fine." Zelda stood up abruptly. "Let's go find a gown."
Link watched Zelda walk off, her cheeks glowing with embarrassment.
They walked over to another section of the store filled with countless gowns. Link didn't pay much attention to them, his feet finding their way over to the benches that were placed in front of the dressing rooms. He sat down and waited patiently for Zelda to choose a dress. After some time, Zelda came back with three gowns. One was green, the second blue, and the final one red. They all had a similar style in Link's eyes, the only visible difference being the color, but they all seemed different enough to the girls.
"You HAVE to try this one on first!" Midna squealed. Zelda laughed, nodding.
"Okay, okay. I'll try it on! Go sit down."
"No way hon. I need to be in here while you change!" Midna insisted.
"No you don't weirdo." She pushed Midna out. Malon went straight to the bench and sat down next to Link. Eventually Midna stopped trying to get into the dressing room and opted to sit down with Malon. Link sighed, scratching his back and listening to the classical music that played in the store. He figured they would all just sit in silence until Zelda came out, but apparently her friends had different intentions.
"You know, I really thought we had a connection…" Midna said, feigning a sad expression as she turned to Link. "I guess I was wrong…"
"Pardon?" He asked cluelessly.
"What she means to say is… How long have you been crushing on Zelda?" Malon asked, confirming her and Midna's assumptions upon Link's immediate reaction.
"Crush? What crush?"
"You might be able to fool her, but you can't fool us, bucko. You think you're the first one to fall for her? Zelda is a GODDESS. She has guys groveling at her feet left and right. Sure, you're a bit different from the others, but you exhibit the same symptoms…" Midna said in a singsong voice.
"Symptoms?"
"Yeah, the symptoms for love sickness. You kept looking at her the entire time you were flirting with me. You thought I didn't notice, did you?"
"I-I wasn't…"
Malon giggled, "He probably didn't notice it himself."
"I don't like her like that." He said adamantly.
"Yes, you do. And you should probably tell her before her relationship with Pipit gets too serious."
"Now I see why you three get along so well. You're all delusional." Link scoffed.
"Mock us all you want. But you need to make your move. It's obvious that she likes you too."
Link stopped his vehement denying for a moment and looked at Midna with an expression of shock.
"She does?"
"She does." Midna confirmed with an eager grin.
"No… no." Link shook his head, "She doesn't. She's dating my best friend." He couldn't mask the angst in his voice as he said it no matter how hard he tried.
"People can like more than one person at once, my dear."
"I can assure you that isn't the case with us. We're just friends."
"I thought you guys weren't friends…" Malon repeated, rolling her eyes.
"Right." Link nodded.
"This is honestly just sad…" Malon whispered to Midna.
"I know. Hopefully they'll both come to their senses soon…" Midna replied.
"Okay. I struggled with the zipper, but I got it on." Zelda said, stepping out slowly. Link suddenly felt faint at the sight of her. Sure, he had seen her get dressed up before, but never in a dress as elaborate and elegant as the one she was wearing now. She was wearing the green gown. It hugged every curve of her body and glimmered underneath the fluorescent lighting.
"Damn girl!" Malon said, "Give us a twirl!"
Zelda obliged, twirling around gracefully.
"You wouldn't have had to struggle with the zipper if you just let me stay in there with you." Midna taunted in a sing-song voice.
Midna and Malon then turned to look at Link with devilish smiles on their faces.
"What do YOU think, Link?"
"Yes, share your thoughts, please."
Link scratched his head, looking at Zelda.
"You look great."
Zelda smiled, craning her neck to try to get the best view of herself she possibly could without a mirror.
"It isn't too much, is it?"
"No, it's… it's uh…" Link stammered aimlessly, silently cursing Zelda's friends for flustering him. "It's perfect."
"You aren't just saying that, are you?"
"No. Green's always been my favorite color. You look good, princess. Uh – I mean Zelda…" He corrected himself.
Zelda studied his face for a moment, then looked back down at the dress.
"You know, I don't think I'll need to try on those other two dresses."
"What?! Are you sure about that?" Midna frowned. She had taken a lot of time to choose each dress.
"Confident. I'm taking this one." Zelda said, flashing a light smile in Link's direction before she went back to the dressing room.
Once they had sorted everything out, Zelda grabbed Link's suit and walked to the checkout line confidently. Link wasn't sure of how she would be able to buy such expensive clothing, but he didn't want to speak up lest he had to contribute something from his own pocket, which he wasn't willing to do under the current circumstances.
A tall man with slicked back hair and the fanciest mustache Link had ever seen stood behind the register. His light blue eyes sparkled and he grinned when he saw Zelda approaching.
"Zelda my dear! Is that you?"
"Long time no see Chudley." She greeted, leaning forward to give him a faire la bise.
"I see you're here to take a beautiful gown. And is that a suit as well?"
"Yes."
"Ah, I see." He glanced at Link, who was standing behind her. "I assume you would like to use your 'special once-a-year discount,' correct?"
"If I may."
"You may." He smiled.
After a few more minutes of talking while Chudley removed some of the tags, he then handed the suit and gown to Zelda.
"There you go. Free of charge. That should make it past the sensors with no problem."
"Thank you so much." She smiled at him graciously.
"No problem, love. Tell your father I send my regards."
"I will!" Zelda said, turning around and nodding towards the door. Link stared at her incredulously as they exited the building.
"How the hell did you get those outfits for free?" He asked, not entirely sure if he even believed what he had just witnessed.
"I have some connections." Zelda said vaguely. "Chudley runs Celeeb. He and my father go way back. But hey, if we're going to a gala, we should dress the part. Go big or go home."
"This was fun, but I guess it's time for us to head our separate ways." Midna sighed, before walking over and wrapping an arm around Zelda. "It was nice seeing you again, Zel. And it was nice getting to meet you." She poked Link in the chest, giving him a flirty wink.
"Bye Zelda. Bye Link." Malon said simply, giving Zelda a hug and Link a friendly wave. They walked off to Midna's car.
"Let's get back to campus and see if we can figure out where the hell this thing is being held." Link said, pulling out his car keys.
»°«
The drive back to HU was awkward. Both of them were thinking about their respective conversations with Midna and Malon. Zelda's blossoming friendship with Link was just that – a friendship. And nothing more. It wasn't realistic that they could go from hating each other to liking each other just like that. Zelda had a boyfriend, and after all the drama and secrecy of being with Pipit, she wasn't okay with blowing it over her friends' ridiculous ideas that there was something between her and Link. Neither of them spoke to each other at all the entire ride back.
Link parked his car at the apartment complex and they walked back to the campus in silence. They were walking past the cafeteria when Zelda froze instantly. Link stopped, looking back at her confused.
"What is it?"
"Nabooru… Nabooru!" Zelda pointed at the desert beauty who was standing a few feet away, ignorant to their staring. She was talking to their blue-haired friend who worked alongside them in the dorms.
They both slowly inched their way over to the two females, keeping enough of a distance to avoid alerting them of their presence, but getting close enough to hear their conversation.
"…You want Ashei to come with us? But why?" Nabooru asked. Zelda and Link were unaware of the full context of the situation, so they weren't exactly sure of what was going on.
"I don't know. She's just worried about me."
"You'll be safe with me. Don't worry. The gala we're going to this weekend will be fun. And the afterparty will be even better…" She purred, a lascivious grin making its way onto her face.
Lana blushed.
"Well I'm excited. I've never been to Gerudo Valley before."
"We'll have lots of fun together. I suppose Ashei could tag along, but I was hoping you and I would get some alone time…"
Before they could continue to listen in on the conversation, Zelda pulled Link away.
"Goddesses, you didn't tell me the gala was going to be in Gerudo Valley!" She scolded him.
"I didn't know!"
"Link, I used my once-a-year discount on those outfits with the expectation we would wear them. We can't go now, Gerudo Valley is too far away! Unless we can get a plane ticket, this mission is over!"
Link crossed his eyes, his brow furrowed. He then pulled out his phone and started typing, opening and closing various applications before he looked at Zelda with a smile on his face.
"What? Do you have a plan?"
"A clear one? No. But we can do it."
"Do what!?"
"Go to Gerudo Valley. If we leave first thing Friday morning, I can drive us there…"
"But we still don't know where it is exactly, or what day – Saturday or Sunday? Or the time…"
"We'll figure all of that crap out when the time comes."
"You're willing to drive all the way out to the desert this weekend?"
"We're on the cusp of something real, princess. You said it yourself, you used your special discount to buy us those snazzy outfits. We can easily find an affordable place to stay over the weekend while we're down… So… let's do it. Let's go to Gerudo Valley."
A/N: I am here! I am alive! I wanted to update this on Friday (the 27th), because that was this story's 2-year anniversary! Unfortunately I was unable to, but I'm glad I was able to give you guys an update now. I know you guys have been waiting. The next three chapters are going to be filled with adventure and romance. Zelda and Link are going to Gerudo Valley! These next chapters will be very special, *wink wink nudge nudge*. I will update again soon enough, but college is my number one priority right now. These past few weeks I've been focused on staying on top of my assignments. I can't slow my momentum now, I need to finish the semester off on a good note. I love you guys, and I hope you can understand that. Also, I received a PM from one of the lovely followers of this story about Zodiac signs of the characters in this story. I'm super exhausted & never responded to it, but I think it would be an interesting question to open up to all of you guys. I haven't specified any birthdays for the characters, so you would probably be best off looking at the tropes and personality traits to identify each character's star sign. What Zodiac signs would each character have and why? I never thought about it, but now I'm genuinely curious. I'll see you guys soon!