Disclaimer: I do not own any copyrighted material in this here fic.

Chapter 4

Link groaned in frustration as he, for the seventh time, pressed the call end button. "She won't answer her phone!" he exclaimed. Sheik looked up from his video game magazine as he flipped the page. "Did you call her house?" he asked.

"Her house, her cell, her personal phone! She won't answer any of them!" Link threw his hands in the air in frustration. Sheik watched him sulk and rant and rave for a few minutes before he held out his hand.

"Give me the phone," he said. Link glared at him. "It doesn't matter who calls, she'll still see my cell number!"

Sheik shook his head. "Give me my phone," he clarified. Link sighed and handed him his cordless phone and slumped backwards into the couch, nursing his bruised eye. While Sheik was dialing Malon's number, he glanced up briefly at his cousin.

"You'd better drink some more Red Potion if you want that to clear up faster," he advised. Link grumbled, rolling off the couch and slouching to the kitchen to retrieve the medicine.

Link sat on one of the kitchen chairs and slumped over the table, resting his head on his arms. "I wonder if she totally hates me now…" he muttered to himself, wincing when the cloth from his sleeve irritated his black eye. He lifted his head and rested his elbow on the table, plopping his cheek into his hand. "I wonder why she's so mad about it in the first place…"

Eventually, Link gulped down some Red Potion and returned to the living room, watching as Sheik set the phone down. "So…?" he prompted his taciturn cousin. Sheik didn't even turn around, picking up his magazine once more. "She says she'll forgive you, but only because I pleaded with her and told her how sorry you are," he replied.

Sheik was only mildly surprised when he saw the look of pure rage on his cousin's face as Link came into his view range. "I am not sorry! What the hell should I be sorry for? She's the one who punched me! I didn't hit her!" Link exclaimed.

Sheik sighed. "Link, there are times when you have to put aside your pride and apologize to people, whether you feel it is your fault or not." He glared up at the blue-eyed blond. "This, was one of those times."

Link flopped down on the couch, crossing his arms over his chest angrily. "I don't see why she's so mad about it anyway. It's only a study date! Not a date date," he grumbled.

Sheik set his magazine down once more and looked over at his cousin. For a brief moment, Link thought he was going to chew him out, but to his surprise, his red-eyed cousin reached out and touched his previously bruised eye. "Your eye is fine now. Go home," he said simply.

Link blinked, then rushed into the bathroom to look in the mirror. Sure enough the bruised and puffy flesh around his eye was now only a light pinkish color and down to its original size. "That Red Potion sure does work wonders…" he muttered, turning the light off and returning to Sheik. "You need to give me the recipe for that Red Potion, cuz!"

Sheik chuckled lightly. "If I told you, I'd have to kill you. It's a family secret," he replied. Link looked incredulous. "I am family, you dolt!" Sheik chuckled again, as he stood on his feet. "Then allow me to restate that. It's a Sheikah family secret."

He pushed Link towards the door. "Now get out. I've got homework and a test to study for." Link allowed him to usher him to the door and opened it himself. Before stepping out into the waning light of the late afternoon that streamed in through the main apartment doors, he turned back around and smiled at his cousin.

"Thanks Sheik. You're a real life saver," Link said warmly. Sheik blinked in surprise. Link hesitated, but continued on. "If you were a girl, I'd kiss you…But only on the cheek!" he added quickly seeing the smile form on Sheik's lips. Link blushed, looking away. "I don't do that gay stuff…"

"Link, shut-up! You are thinking too much! And you only think too much when you are upset. So, why don't you go home and lie down and do your homework or something," Sheik interrupted, almost ready to burst out laughing. He pushed his cousin out of his doorframe. "Now get out." And he slammed the door behind him.

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Link stared out the window into the night sky, his cell phone lying in the palm of his hand. He had had plenty of squabbles and arguments with Malon before, but none had led to physical violence before!

Link winced at the thought as he touched his eye. She had never punched him before. Link sighed, looking down at his flip phone. "I should call her and apologize to her myself…" Link murmured to himself. He hesitated, then set it down on his desk.

"Nah. She always says she prefers talking to me in person. I'll talk to her tomorrow."

Satisfied with his decision, Link changed into his nightclothes and turned out the lights.

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"Link, wake up!" Link's eyes flew open to the sound of his mother's voice. He rolled out of bed, landing on the floor, and crawled into his bathroom. Fifteen minutes later, he emerged fresh and clean, while tugging his shirt on over his head. There was a knock at the door while Link was combing his moistened hair. Saria poked her head in.

"Link, Malon's here," she said. Her brother raised an eyebrow. "Just Malon?" he asked. She nodded and closed the door behind her. Puzzled, Link grabbed his backpack and headed downstairs.

His mother was at the sink washing dishes. Malon sat at the kitchen table, picking uninterestedly at her scrambled eggs. She looked up as Link entered and stood up abruptly from her chair. "Hi Link," she said softly, wringing her hands nervously.

Link dropped his bag on the kitchen floor. "Hi," he replied just as quietly. "Malon came to make sure that you hurried up and got ready on time. Wasn't that nice of her, Link?" Link's mother said, beaming at the red head. Link didn't reply, avoiding eye contact with his friend.

Malon gasped, stepping toward him with an outstretched hand. "Oh! How's your eye? Does it still hurt?" she asked worriedly. Link blushed. "Uh…heh heh…"

Araya looked between the two of them, and then turned to Link. "What happened to your eye, Link?" his mother asked.

"Nothing!" Link exclaimed, receiving strange looks from her and his sister. "Malon, I need to talk to you," he added hurriedly, grabbing her arm and tugging her out into the foyer. He was about to start talking, when he noticed Saria poking her head into the hallway, her eyes bright with interest. Link growled and grabbed Malon again. "Let's go to my room, where we can talk in privacy."

Link closed the door behind himself, letting out a breath he had been holding in. Malon sat down on his bed, still wringing her hands. "Link, I…I'm so sorry about yesterday…" Link held up his hand, shaking his head. "No. Don't apologize. It was my fault. I was being an idiot, but what's new?" Link chuckled while scratching the back of his head.

Malon smiled lightly. "Alright, then I forgive you, for being an idiot," she giggled, standing from the bed and giving him a friendly peck on the cheek. Link put his hands on his hips, grinning. "Good! Now, let's go get some breakfast. I'm starved!" he exclaimed, brightly, opening the door to leave.

Malon smiled after him, watching as he bounded down the stairs. "He's such an oaf," she muttered to herself, shaking her head. Back in the kitchen, Link poured milk into a large bowl filled to the brim with Frosted Flakes. He took a mouthful just as Malon entered. "Hurry up and finish your food, Malon, or we'll be late for school!" Link expertly and articulately said around the cornflakes.

"Don't talk with food in your mouth, honey," his mother said tiredly, drying her hands on a hand towel. "Don't stop him now, Mrs. Johnson, I believe he's nearly mastered the art of talking with food in his mouth," Malon said dryly.

The three girls in the kitchen giggled at Link's expense. He glared daggers them. 'I'm surrounded by crazy giggling girls,' Link thought annoyedly for a moment.

A knock at the door saved Link from any further humiliation. He rushed to answer it and was glad to see his cousin standing on the porch.

"Hiya, cousin! Glad to see ya!" Link said cheerily, opening the door wider to allow Sheik entrance. Sheik didn't move. "Malon…she didn't meet me at my apartment this morning, and-"

"Malon? Don't worry about it, she's here," Link dismissed easily. He frowned, suddenly comprehending what Sheik had said. "Wait a minute, she meets you at your apartment every morning?" he asked accusatorily.

Sheik let out a breath of relief. "Oh, that's good," he murmured mostly to himself. He stepped inside, ignoring his cousin's question. "I was worried that she was so angry with you that she wasn't going to school today…"

Sheik trailed off as he noticed Saria listening in. When she noticed him looking at her, she played it off by whistling and wandering back into the kitchen. Link frowned after her as Sheik turned back to him. "How is she?"

The blue-eyed blond grinned. "Malon? She's great! She apologized and everything!"

Sheik narrowed his eyes. "She apologized?" he repeated.

Before either could say more, Malon entered the foyer and hurriedly pulled her shoes on. "Come on you guys! We need to get going or we'll be late!"

"My book bag-!" Link began and grunted in surprise when Malon chucked it at him. She pushed them both out of the door, yelling their goodbyes over her shoulder. And they were off.

"Malon," Sheik began while buckling up in Link's passenger side seat, "Why didn't you tell me you were going to Link's early? You had me worried."

Malon blushed lightly, lowering her head. "I'm sorry, Sheik. I was in a rush to get there early, and I…guess I forgot to call you and tell you I was going alone," she replied.

"Can I borrow your notes from Lit class, Sheik?" Link interrupted. Sheik twisted in his position of looking back at Malon in the backseat. "What?"

Link checked his mirrors, and then began to back out of the driveway. "Lit notes. Me need borrow," Link ground out in cave man dialect. "Yeah sure," Sheik replied quickly. "So what's this I hear about you apologizing to Link?" Sheik asked Malon.

"I punched him in the eye yesterday. I think he deserved an apology."

Sheik frowned over at Link. "Aw, quit you're naggin', Sheik! I apologized to her!" Link snapped, while making a right turn. Sheik visibly relaxed in his seat. "Good. By the way, I just remembered that we have a test today in Lit class. So I'm going to need my notes."

Link nearly swerved onto the sidewalk. Sheik nervously gripped the armrests of his seat while Malon giggled from the back. "You stress yourself out way too much, Link. You can borrow my notes, I don't have that test today," she offered.

Link let out a breath of relief. "Oh, thank you, Malon. You're such a lifesaver. If I wasn't driving this car right now, I swear I'd kiss you!" Malon laughed.

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"I definitely failed that test!" Link wailed at lunchtime, a few hours later. He was slumped over the table with his arms covering his head. Malon smiled, taking a sip of Sprite. "Oh, Link," she sighed.

Link glared at her through a crack between his arms. "But if I do fail, it's because of your notes!"

That wiped the smile off of her face. "Link, for you information, I don't take sucky notes!" Link propped his elbow up on the table and rested his head on his hand. "We'll see," he replied. Malon rolled her eyes.

Sheik cleared his throat then, catching both of their attentions. "Link, look who's coming," he said, popping a fry nonchalantly into his mouth. Blinking, Link turned around and flushed to the very tips of his ears as Zelda Hyrule and two of her groupies walked by.

The radiant blonde smiled and waved daintily at him. Link gulped and weakly waved back as they walked on by with their lunches to the popular table. Link sighed, turning back around.

"Yeah! Ya see that, Sheik? She totally wants me!" he gloated. Sheik rolled his eyes and dipped another fry into his ketchup.

"I don't see what you guys see in her. She's such a snob!" Malon growled, fiercely spearing a carrot as if she had some personal vendetta with it.

"Well then, Malon," Link began, folding his hands professionally in front of him on the table, "You aren't a lesbian, are you?" Malon frowned, wondering where he was going with this. "No," she replied curtly. Link shrugged. "Then you wouldn't understand how we guys feel," he replied.

Malon narrowed her eyes at him. "So," she began haughtily, changing the subject, "I never did get those details about your 'study date,' Link," Malon said, using her fingers as quotation marks. Link grinned. "That's because you were too busy pushing my face in!"

Malon narrowed her eyes again. "Would you like me to do it again?" she threatened. Sheik held his hands up placatingly. "Hey! No violence at the cafeteria table. If you're gonna fight, do it in the hallways," he said. Link laughed and Malon gave a small smile.

"Anyway, there really isn't much to say about it, 'cept it's on Friday and we're gonna be working on some algebra-"

"Where will you be tutoring her?" Malon interrupted. "At the library," the cheery blond replied, looking at his nails. "What time?" she demanded. "What the hell, Malon! Are you planning on chaperoning or something?"

Malon blushed, opening and closing her mouth with no sound escaping her lips. "…No!" she finally sputtered out. "I was just asking because I was curious!"

Link eyed her suspiciously. "Sounded more like you were demanding because you were planning on spying on me!" Malon looked aghast. "I was not!" she denied.

Sheik set down his can of Coke. "Don't worry, Malon, I'll keep an eye on him for you," he said, half joking. Link glared at him. "You will not!"

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Malon was stepping out of the bathroom stall, after school, just as she heard the door bang open. She caught sight of Zelda, along with several of her groupies, entering the bathroom. Malon quickly closed the stall door, hoping they hadn't seen her.

"Oh my Din, girls! Guess who was wearing the tackiest shoes ever!" one of the groupies exclaimed. Their senseless chatter continued on like this, for several minutes, with Zelda putting in a comment or two ever once in awhile.

Malon was considering leaving instead of listening to such petty conversation, when it switched to a much more interesting subject matter. "So, who was that cute boy you waved to at lunch, Zelda?"

Malon's hand froze on the door handle. "Hmm? Oh, that was Link," Zelda replied simply. "Is that it?" another groupie asked. "There's gotta be more juicy details than that!" Zelda sighed, and Malon pressed her ear against the door, even though the gesture was most unnecessary.

"I mean, he's so cute! It's a surprise he isn't popular!" groupie number three said. Malon clenched her fist tightly. "That's what I intend to fix," Zelda said, condescension filling her tone.

"You're going to make him popular?" groupie number two asked, surprise filling her voice. "Of course. His looks are being wasted in the nobody crowd," the blond ringleader replied.

Malon bit her lip to prevent herself from making an outburst and essentially blowing her cover. "How are you going to do it?" a groupie prompted. "Simple. I'll give him a makeover; introduce him to some important people. In no time, he'll be the talk of the school. Not to mention, he'll be mine as well." The girls gasped and giggled.

"Oooo! So you're gonna leave Ganondorf for him?" Zelda smirked. "Exactly! The only reason why I'm not with Link now is because he's still a nobody. Ganondorf is so last month!" "Ooo! Scandalous!" groupie number one said. The girls all joined in a round of high-pitched false laughter that made Malon sick to her stomach. She was clutching the door handle so tightly that her knuckles were white and she had been holding her breath for so long, she felt like she was going to pass out.

When the sound of the door closing behind them resounded through the bathroom, Malon stepped out of her stall and immediately began splashing water on her face. She dried her face with some paper towels and stared into the mirror.

"Should I tell Link what I heard?" she whispered softly to herself. She ran her fingers through her hair then pushed several strands behind her ear, frowning. "Will he believe me?"

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That's a long chapter! I wrote it while I was in Florida since there was nothing else to do while I was down there. Can you believe that we didn't go to Disney World? Ah well, I've already started Ch5 so that'll be up soon as well. Review!

LunaRyuu