Scene IV, in which the magic of Bawls is discovered by our lovely heroine
Zelda was feeling great. No. She was feeling better than great. Greater than better than great. She was splendiforously fantasmic.
"These are really good, Link," Zelda giggled over the sound of the blasting techno music as she took another sip of her Bawls.
"Um, Zel, how many of those have you had?" Link asked.
"Just two," Zelda smiled, leaning tipsily against him. "Why?"
"No reason," said Link. "How often do you drink cokes?"
"Not often. Why?"
A grin twisted itself across Link's lips, which had been previously pressed together as he concentrated on teaching Zelda the ropes of Halo. "Because it seems you've got no caffeine tolerance," Link stated wryly.
"DIE!" Zelda yelled at her computer screen, hammering hard on the keypad and assaulting the alien there with her gun. "What do you mean, Link? I've got caffeine tolerance. Heeee."
"No you don't," Link laughed. "You can't have any more bawls, okay?"
"Why?"
"The aliens have poisoned them," whispered Link.
"Oh. Okay." Just then, Sheep, one of Link's closer friends, sauntered over and plopped down between Zelda and Link.
"Hey Sheep," greeted Link, smiling at the young man. He'd earned his odd name because he looked like a Sheepdog with his shaggy brown hair that hung into his eyes, and so his nickname had been shortened to Sheep, just for simplicity's sake.
"Hey Link." Sheep shook his eyes out of his face and grinned down at the two friends. "Hey Zel."
"Hi Shep," replied Zelda with a lopsided grin. "I mean Seep. Er, Sheep."
"No caffeine tolerance," Link whispered to Sheep. "And she's already had two."
"Ah."
"So, what are you doing over here? I thought you were kicking butt in some Halo warthog matches."
"I was," sighed Sheep, "but my CPU overheated and my computer shutdown. I'm giving it a while to cool before I go at it again. Nice laptop, Zel."
"Thanks Sheepy."
"What time is it?" Link asked.
Sheep checked his watch. "After midnight," he clarified. "Why?"
"I think I might need to get her home," Link sighed, patting Zelda on the head.
Zelda looked up at him, curiosity evident in her big blue-violet eyes. "Why?"
"You're about to implode."
"Oh."
"Heh," said Sheep, examining Zelda. "She's wrecked. She'll be completely dead tomorrow."
"Probably," Link agreed. "Hey, Sheep, could you do me a favor?" Link's cheeks flushed lightly red as Zelda giggled stupidly, "wow, you're hot Link…"
"Depends on the favor." Sheep shrugged casually, one hand tucked into his pocket, the other firmly grasping a blue bottle of bawls, smiling at Zelda's idiotic antics as she draped herself all over his friend..
"Keep Khail away from Zelda," said Link, trying to push Zelda off of him as she leeched onto his chest. Sheep grinned wryly.
"Worried?" Sheep asked, smiling.
"Not sure what I am," muttered Link, his words muffled by Zelda's hand sliding down his face. "But you know Khail…"
"I know Khail." Sheep nodded.
"Exactly," pointed out Link. "So…. Yeah. Zelda, will you get off me?"
Zelda giggled in reply. Link sighed in exasperation and looked dully at Sheep, who grinned.
"No problem, friend," said Sheep. "I'll take care of Khail. Halo was getting dull anyway. I wonder where Kafei and Anju got off to…?"
"Ugh, I don't want to know." Link shuddered. "It's so weird."
"Yeah." Sheep nodded. "It's just freaky."
Just then, Zelda finally began to come down off of her caffeine rush and groaned into Link's neck.
"I don't feel so good."
"Haha," Sheep began to laugh then stopped as he was cut off by a glare from Link.
"Probably better to get her home," Link stated, patting her gently on the head.
"Yeah," agreed Sheep. "And if you like, I'll scare Khail off 'er."
"Don't do anything that could insult her," Link cautioned, pulling Zelda off of him, then retrieving her phone and quickly dialing Impa. "Yeah, Mom? Yeah. Yeah. Okay, that would be great. Thanks. Bye." Link began to deftly unhook the wires from his computer, wrapping the cords up neatly before stowing them in his bag.
"We're leaving in a minute, Zelda," Link said, removing the Cat 5 from her computer and tracing it to the hub, where he removed it from its respective port. He bound the cord up as well and stowed it in his bag, then turned to Zelda, who was clutching her head with her hands.
"I have a headache," Zelda pathetically whimpered, closing up her laptop. She leaned back, and would have fallen backwards had Sheep not been sitting right behind her, acting as a human pillow.
"Careful," he warned with feigned disinterest.
"Mmph," replied Zelda into her palms.
"Watch her for a minute," commanded Link, hoisting his monitor up and carrying it into the front hall. He returned shortly, grabbed his tower and his bag, and carried them into the foyer as well. Then he went back in and smiled at Sheep, who was helping Zelda to her feet.
"Thanks, Sheep." Link smiled gratefully, grabbing Zelda's laptop and winding an arm around her waist. "Come on, Zelda. Mom's gonna be here any minute."
"Okay," mumbled Zelda.
"Sheep, how about you come over tomorrow?" Link asked. "We can hang out."
"Sounds cool," Sheep responded, threading his way through the mess of wires back to his own computer. "I'll just drop by. See you then."
"Cool." Link helped Zelda to the front hall, where she took a seat in the middle of the floor.
"Mom's here," Link told her, helping her off the ground. Zelda nodded and stood, dusting herself off, and grabbed her laptop and Link's bag. She carried both the laptop and the bag out to the car, and Link lugged his tower out, then returned, grabbed his monitor, and left. The ride back to the house was a quiet one, and as soon as they returned, Zelda made a beeline for her bed, collapsing upon it without even undressing.
"Good night, Zelda," Link whispered quietly as he peered into her room and turned off her light. "Sleep well."
----
The next morning, Zelda woke up with a splitting headache. She rolled over in bed and promptly fell out, then crawled along the floor to her windows, where she drew the blinds. Head aching, Zelda crawled back to her bed and clambered up, curling up atop the sheets and ramming a pillow over her head. However, she did not stay that way for long. Her jeans began to pull at her legs, and her Cheshire cat top was not made for the abuse of sleeping. Grumpily, Zelda yanked the offending garments off, lying on her bed in only her lacy black bra and matching panties, trying to block out the throbbing in her head.
"Ugh," she groaned. The air in her room was hot and still, and Zelda felt herself break out in a sweat. Wearily, she stood and stumbled to the switch plate, where she cranked up her ceiling fan. She stumbled back to her bed and collapsed, blowing a sticky strand of hair out of her eyes.
"Goddesses," Zelda grumbled. "This is like being hung over." Somebody rapped lightly on her door, and Zelda called weakly, "Come in." As the door creaked open, she pulled her covers over her hardly-covered lacy black backside, still lying facedown on the bed.
"Hey, Zel," came Link's soft voice. "We just came in to check on you." Zelda opened one eye, and saw Link and Sheep standing in the doorway.
"Mmph," she said, and yanked her pillow over her head. "If you've come to gawk, feel free to leave."
"We come bearing water and painkiller," Sheep stated. Zelda poked her head out from under the pillow and propped herself up on her elbows a little, not noticing Sheep and Link's eyes both dart straight to her chest region.
"That's really great of you guys," Zelda thanked, shaking her head lightly and causing a few wavy golden strands to obscure their view. "If you could just put them on this table," she said, reaching out with her hand and smacking the bed stand roughly before her other arm slipped out from under her and she planted her face into a pillow. She heard Sheep give a bark of a laugh, and Link walked over to the side of her bed, placing two painkiller tablets and a glass of water on the shiny wooden surface.
"Feel better, okay?" Link asked her, placing his hand on the small of her bared back.
. "Uh huh," Zelda mumbled, reaching for the tablets and water and downing them roughly, earning appreciative glances at her breasts in the process.
"We'll be in the basement if you need us later," Link said, leaving, Sheep just behind him. Zelda collapsed back into the soft white sheets and rolled over, staring at the ceiling and slipping into sleep.
Half an hour later, Zelda woke up feeling perfectly dandy and fine.
"Wow," she commented to herself. "Those painkillers Link gave me were pretty strong." She stood from her bed, disentangling herself from the sheets, and grabbed the clothes she'd thrown on the floor, tossing them into the clothes hamper in her closet. She reached in and pulled out a baggy vintage tee and some simple cotton exercise pants, donned the clothing, and tied her sticky hair out of her face. Remembering that Link had said something about being in the basement, she went ahead and proceeded downwards, wondering what he would be doing down there.
"Hey, Link," Zelda called as she hopped down the narrow stairs two at a time, "what'd you give me? That stuff was really strong and – oh, hi, Sheep. I didn't know you were here."
"Hey." Sheep nodded once from his position in front of the TV, controller in hand.
"Whatcha playin'?" Zelda inquired.
"Time Splitters 2," answered Sheep, and Link grimaced.
"I'm getting whipped."
Zelda grinned, pleased. "You deserve it."
"What'd I do?" Link yelped. "Ouch, gah. Noooo!"
Sheep cackled. "I win again."
"Let me see," said Zelda, stepping within view of the screen and squinting. Her jaw dropped open and she swatted at Sheep. "I thought you said you were playing Time Splitters 2!"
"We are," Link groaned. "They just happen to have an anaconda sub game."
"Let me play," Zelda commanded, plopping roughly down next to Link and snatching up a controller. "I'll show you both how it's done."
And sure enough, ten minutes later had both young men groaning and Zelda cackling evilly.
"How'd you get so good at anaconda?" Link whined, head buried in his knees.
"It's on my cell phone. I'd play it while I waited for one my dad's chauffeur to come pick me up from places where I went. My dad usually forgot to notify him at first, though, so I had a lot of time to kill."
"I see," said Link carefully.
"Your dad had a chauffeur?" Sheep asked.
"My dad is a CEO," said Zelda. "He didn't have enough time for me. Thought I was a nuisance, so he sent me here. It's probably the best thing he ever did for me," she added with a grin, showing no remorse talking about her pitiful excuse for a father.
"Wow," Sheep breathed. "That really sucks. Sorry, Zel."
"No worries," Zelda replied, standing and stretching. "Anyway, I'm going to get some lunch. You two want anything?"
The two looked at each other for a moment then yelled simultaneously, "Hot pockets!"
"…..oh….kay…." stumbled Zelda. "I'll bring some down for you two. How many?"
"Four," nodded Link.
Zelda sighed and shook her head as she made her way up the stairs. "Men are such pigs."
----
An hour and a half later found Zelda idly wandering the neighborhood in an escape from Sheep and Link's senseless banter. She figured that since she'd never met the neighbors before anyway, she might as well acquaint herself with everybody. After all, it couldn't hurt, right?
Zelda sighed as she walked along the street. There was so much space between the houses here! She'd been walking for near fifteen minutes and had only passed maybe five houses or so. She looked to her right and spotted Kafei's house, where she'd been last night. With a sigh, she continued past it. Link's friends were nice, sure, but she didn't feel entirely comfortable with them yet. With a sigh, Zelda continued along the street, ignoring the heat radiating up from the concrete. She walked for several more minutes, and that was when she heard it.
Zelda stopped and turned her head in the direction of the guitar notes, notes in quick succession, one after another so fast that Zelda was astounded. She followed the sound of the distant guitar notes and found herself at the next house, a sprawling, newer-looking white limestone two-story with a beautiful beach view. Zelda stepped behind a tree and looked: there was a young man playing the guitar in the open garage, his back turned to her, totally immersed in the music. There was something about the music, the quick succession of notes, the way he played, that spoke to Zelda, coiled itself within her and made her heart hammer. Who was he? As he stopped playing, Zelda began to step forward then stopped, biting her lip in a moment of indecision. Should she?
Zelda set her nerves and walked forward, calling out to him. "Hello?"
He turned around, and Zelda bit down a gasp. He was utterly gorgeous, with a mop of shaggy hair so black that it was almost blue and bright green eyes, and a tanned face that spoke of days spent in the sun.
"Sorry to intrude," stuttered Zelda, "but I heard you playing and…"
He swept his hair out of his bright green eyes, sending butterflies jolting through Zelda. "Nah, it's cool." He grinned. "You like it? I'm still workin' the kinks out."
"You're amazing," Zelda breathed. "I've never heard anybody play guitar like that. The riff, the note, the effortless shifting and string transitions…."
"You play yourself?" he asked, interested.
"I play bass," Zelda stated, blushing a little. "I'm still not too good at it…"
"Well," he laughed, beckoning to Zelda, "let's see what you can do. Oh, I didn't catch your name…"
"Zelda," she answered with a blush. "But a lot of people shorten it to Zel."
"Zel," he tested, smiling at her. "It's got a nice ring. Anyway, I've got a bass inside if you wanna show me your stuff."
Zelda's face lit up. "Sure."
"Cool." The young man nodded then grinned. "Name's Mikau," he added, sweeping some hair out of his face.
"It's nice to meet you, Mikau," Zelda said with a smile that she hoped wasn't ditzy. He grinned and turned, walking through the garage into the house.
"Let me get you set up with that guitar," Mikau said in his deep voice like the rolling ocean wave, disappearing into the house for a moment. Zelda looked around the garage for the moment – nothing special, as was expected, and then jerked her head up as Mikau entered once more, a beautiful white bass in hand.
"Wow," breathed Zelda, coming forward to take it. "You have a Fender-strat?"
"It was my cousin's," Mikau said with a sad sort of smile. "It's his fault I'm the guitar junkie I am. He died in a motorcycle crash, though. Left the bass to me."
"Wow," murmured Zelda. "I'm really, really sorry."
Mikau shook his head, a smile making itself present on his face, chasing the sadness out of his eyes. "Don't be," he said. "Everything happens for a reason. Plus, it was a long time ago. Anyway, you going to show me what you can do or what?"
"Yeah." Zelda smiled a little nervously, taking the cable he handed to her and plugging it into the guitar. "Name a band you like."
"Linkin Park," Mikau stated, flicking his head so his adorable black rock star mop went flying. "Or Aerosmith."
"I'll go with Linkin Park." Zelda grinned, and carefully plucked a few notes, before she set to work destroying Mikau's eardrums with a powerful, angry bass riff. She struck a last note violently before letting it fade and looked up at Mikau.
"Very cool," he praised. "Most excellent. Zel, you and I should start a band."
"We should." Zelda beamed – she'd wanted to be in a band for ever.
"And I've got just the dude to drum for us, too. Zel, do you want to go get your bass and amp and bring 'em over and I'll call up Darmani and he'll bring by his set and we can get this started?"
"Sure," Zelda replied, a great grin spreading over her face. "I'll be back in a little while."
"Right. Oh, hey," Mikau added, "which house you live in? Didn't see any ones for sale…"
"Oh, um," Zelda stammered, "I'm living with the Tudors – do you know who they are?"
"Yeah." Mikau grinned. "Link and I played together all the time when we were little. You an exchange student?"
"Yeah." Zelda nodded furiously. "Yeah, something like that."
Mikau bought it. "Cool," he said. "Where from?"
"Hollywood area," Zelda stated. "I'll tell you more later. Let me go get my bass."
"Gotcha." Mikau turned his back on Zelda and pulled a cell phone out of the pocket of his baggy cargo shorts, flipping it open and pressing a button, holding it to his ear. He paused for a minute, and as Zelda walked away, she heard him say, "Yo, Darmani? Yeah… yeah… need you to come over. Bring the drums…. no, found a bassist… yeah… she's awesome…. Yeah…."
Zelda didn't bother to listen after that, and instead proceeded down the street, thinking the entire fifteen minute walk back home about a certain black-haired boy with sea green eyes.
After forever and no time at all, Zelda arrived back at the house, and trooped up the back porch and into the kitchen.
"Hey, Impa?" Zelda asked, standing behind the gray-haired woman working avidly at the counter. "Can you drive me over to Mikau's in a few minutes?"
"Mikau? That nice boy down the street? Of course, Zelda."
Zelda grinned. "Great. Let me go get my guitar."
"Are you two forming a band?" Impa asked with a smile as she "decapitated" a carrot.
"Yeah," laughed Zelda.
"Well, that's quite nice, dear. You go get whatever you need and I'll tell Link that I've taken you over to a friend's house."
"Cool," nodded Zelda. "Thanks, Impa."
"No problem, dear."
----
Ten minutes later saw Zelda leaning against her amp, guitar in lap as she stared across the garage as boredom began to set in as they waited for Darmani to arrive.
"So he was cool with it," Mikau was saying, "and we've got ourselves a band. Any name ideas?"
"Depends," Zelda said, turning her eyes on him. "What genre of music will we be playing?"
"I'm thinking maybe alternative rock or something," Mikau said. "Like the Darkness, maybe."
"Hm," Zelda said. "We could be Fallen."
"Fallen? Cool." Mikau wrote it down and nodded. "Keep going. We'll need a bunch of ideas, since Darmani can be kind of…. Well, you know."
Zelda nodded in understanding. "Gotcha." She bit her lip, thinking for a minute. "Black Eyes. Apostrophe. The Shingles. Dirt. Little Blue. Wasteland. " She turned her eyes on Mikau, who was scribbling furiously. "Do you need more?"
"Might be a good idea," he stated as he finished scratching down what Zelda had said.
"Right then. Steam Temper. The Tangerines. Bitter Chocolate. Anubian. Dry Rot. Moon fade. Low tide, high tide, tidal wave. Do you need many more?"
"Give me a second." Mikau's tongue was wedged between his teeth as his pen flew across the yellow notepad, making a dry scratching sound. He paused and looked up at Zelda. "How do you come up with these?"
Zelda shrugged in reply.
"Give me a few more," Mikau demanded. "Really cool ones, like Runo or something."
"Lethifold?" Zelda asked. "It's a Greek beast."
"More." Mikau was nodding, even as he scribbled it down.
"Volvagia." Zelda's eyes glazed over as she began to speak. "Morpha. Bongo Bongo. Twinrova."
"Yo, Zel?" Mikau waved his pencil in front of her glazed eyes, snapping her out of whatever it was she had slipped into. "You in there?"
"Yeah," said Zelda, shaking her head and squinting. "Sorry. Heat's getting to me. Anyway, will those do?"
"Those are awesome." Mikau nodded his approval, blue-black hair flying everywhere. "I especially liked that last one. Twinrova."
"Cool." Zelda grinned then turned her eyes to the street. "Does it take a terribly long time to get from Darmani's to here?"
"Not too long," Mikau said with a shrug. "He just had to unload his drum set, pack it up, put it in the back of his truck, drive over here. He should be arriving any minute."
Zelda made herself comfortable against her amp and stared out at the street, waiting for Mikau's friend, Darmani, to arrive.