Well aloha! thnx for the reviews! chapter 23 is now up! In this chapter, things take a turn for the outrageously crazy (as if they havent already!) This chapter includes subjects such as talkative puffballs, a volleyball net, flowery shorts and an allergic reaction.if you have the courage to do so, read on.

with all due respect,

HylianHero128

XXIII. A Volleyball game, a Diving contest, and One seriously timid Prince!

"That was weird, I wonder what's wrong with Young Link," Link said.

"Well, he looked really pale," Peach said, "And he had a great big red mark on his left cheek…"

"Hmmm." Zelda thought to herself. Link was trying to tell me something… I wonder if it had to do with Ganon…

"Zelda?"

"Sorry what?"

"I said, could you please pass the relish." Marth said.

"Oh, sure." Zelda handed the bottle to the Atlean.

"Thanks." They smiled at each other. Link gave them suspicious looks.

"Mmmm, good food!" Kirby said, "Thanks!"

"Oh, no problem Kirby." Said Roy. Now, Row didn't want to be mean, but he really hated having Kirby and Ness with them at the lake. For one thing, Kirby at WAY too much. Not only did his big mouth consume a lot of food, but it also talked. A LOT. Roy wanted spend today with no one else but his girl Peach. He put an arm around Peach's should and hugged her. "I love you, Peach." Peach put down her burger. She wiped off her mouth and kissed Roy.

"Ditto, my cute, fiery friend."

"Eww!" Kirby said. "Let's go Ness, they're getting all kissy and stuff!"

"Yeah, okay. Thanks for the milk." The two youngsters scuttled away.

Thank god! Roy thought.

"Ahh, to be young." Zelda said.

"And annoying," Link added, "How did my lil brother get caught up with these two?"

"They're so cute!" Peach squealed, "How could you say that!"

"Meh." Link replied

"Well, I'm done eating," Roy said, let's all head back to the water!"

"WAIT!" Peach yelled, "You're not supposed to swim after you eat. You must wait an hour or you will get a cramp and drown to your death." Roy gave an exasperated sigh.

"Whatever you say, my little Peach."

"I know!" Said Samus, "Let's play volleyball!"

"Yeah! That'd be awesome!" Link said, "But we don't have a net…"

"I can fix that." Zelda said. She got up from the table, and in a flash of green light, she disappeared.

"Whoa! Where'd she go?" Marth said.

"She used Farore's Wind."

"What?"

"She teleported."

"Oh." Zelda reappeared, holding a volleyball net, stakes, and a ball.

"Okay boys, get to work." She dropped the equipment on the sand. Link, Roy and Marth sprang from their seats and eagerly set up the volleyball net. In a matter of minutes, they erected (LOL) the net.

"Alright then, let's make teams. Peach and Link are captains."

"Okay then," Peach said, "I choose Samus."

"Roy!" Link said, "You're on my team."

"Marth, you're with us." Said Peach.

"Zelda, my dear, you're last." Teased Link. Zelda pouted. "Come on, Zelda!" The two teams got on either said of the net.

"Okay, we serve first!" Peach said.

"Hah, I don't think so." Link retorted

"Yeah? Well I do!" Peach declared.

"Really? Well well—"

"Why don't we settle this like civilized human beings?" Zelda said. "Rock Paper, Scissors. Best out of three."

"Fine!" The two hotheaded captains said in unison. The two made fists and waved them three times.

"Hah! My paper beats your rock!" Peach said.

"Yeah, I'm not stupid." They repeated the action. "Heh, scissors beats paper. It's not wise to play the same thing twice." Link said. They did it one last time. Peach beat Link again.

"It may not be wise to play the same thing twice, but playing it three times always stumps the enemy." She said.

"Alright alright, here's the ball." Link tossed it over the net to an unsuspecting Peach.

"EEK!"

"What now?"

"I BROKE A NAIL!"

"Oh no, Nayru forbid!" Link said. Peach pouted.

"FINE! LET'S START!" she threw the ball in the air and hit it hard with a closed fist. Peach had a killer overhand serve. "HAPPY?" The ball sailed over the net. Roy barely managed to bump it. Not quite making it over, Zelda expertly volleyed it over the net, winning her team the first point.

"Wow, nice one!" Link said. " I didn't know you were so good!"

"Well, sometimes loafing around the castle gets boring, and badminton isn't really my cup of tea, so I took up volleyball!"

"Really? Wow." Roy served the ball over the net. Marth volleyed it with great ease.

My, Marth sure is an elegant player. Thought Zelda.

Wow, I've never seen Marth in action before! Samus thought. He's so… poised

Wow, lotsa people are looking at me… did I something wrong? The ball reached Roy again; he spiked it over the net.

Wow, I've never really seen Roy play sports. He so good! I guess having those strong arms and legs help… Hmmm…

Why is Link staring at me like that? It's freaking me out…

Oh my god. I must've broken at least six more nails. So much for that expensive French manicure. All these thoughts were racing through the smashers minds.

Oh, I wish I could dig like Marth.

Man! I can't get over how Roy volleys the ball!

Oh screw the damn manicure; I'm going all out!

Has it been an hour yet? I'm itching to dive back into the water!

"Game Point! We win!" Roy called. He and Link shared a high five. Zelda was shaking Marth's hand

"Good game. You're a very good player."

"Why thank you, Zelda."

"Waah! Samus! My nails are ruined!" Peach whined. Samus rolled her eyes.

"Okay! Let's all go swimming!" Zelda said. They six ran to into the lake. "Mmmm, nice, refreshing water." Zelda flopped into the water.

"Hey! Link said, "Let's swim out to that dock in the middle of the lake!"

"Yeah! And we can have a diving contest!" Roy said.

"That sounds like fun!" Samus said, "Come on girls!" They swam out to the little floating platform in the lake's centre.

"Watch this expert dive!" Marth said as he clambered onto the dock. Arms above his head, his legs coiled up, he sprang into the air and dove into the water headfirst. He re-emerged a few feet away.

"That's all fine and dandy," Link said "But why not add in a flip?" Getting a running start, the Hylian leaped into the air. He flipped his body and land headfirst into the water as well.

"Very nice, Link " Zelda said.

"Watch this monster wave!" Roy said. "CANNONBALL!" legs tucked in by his chest, Roy's body made contact with the water. The resulting wave knocked Peach off the dock.

"WAAH!" she cried, "Roy!"

"Sorry love." He said, his red hair now sopping wet. He doggy-paddled back to the dock.

"Let's see you do your best dive!" Link said.

"As you wish!" Roy jumped off the dock, getting more distance than height. As he entered the water, he merely went under as he skimmed the clear water. He went out quite a ways.

Wow… that dive was beautiful… what's the matter with me? Why am I staring at Roy! Link felt guilty. Why was noticing Roy all of a sudden? They've each other for a long time and Link was never drawn to Roy like this. Maybe cuz I've never seen him with his shirt off… All of a sudden, everyone was laughing.

"Hey, what happened?" Link asked. Then, he saw a pair of red, flowery shorts bobbing in the water.

"Roy lost his shorts!" Zelda said, eyes tearing in laughter.

"He tried his "straight down" dive." Peach said, between fits of hysteric laughter. Roy's face turned redder than his hair as he paddled towards is abandoning shorts. Link couldn't help but stare. Just then, Zelda elbowed him.

"You okay, hon?" She asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Oh, okay. You just sorta looked entranced. What's the matter? Like Roy's shorts? I believe he got them at West 49…"

"Oh, okay thanks." Roy climbed back onto the dock, still blushing. Peach hugged him, still giggling.

"Oh Roy, don't be so embarrassed!" His face grew a deeper red. "Oh! Oh, you're so cute!" She kissed him on the cheek. "You've got nothing to be embarrassed about, you've got a great body." This wasn't helping Roy, so Peach gave up. Link smiled at Roy.

"You knucklehead!" Link said. Roy smiled, his face slowly returning to its normal colour.

"Hey look!" Marth said, "I see fish! We should come back here to fish one day!"

"Yeah!" Link said. Link loved to fish. Back home, he used to fish all the time at the pond by Lake Hylia.

"EW! WE'RE SWIMMING AMONGST THE LIKES OF THOSE SLIPPERY SLIMY THINGS! AAAARRRRRGGGGHHHHH!" Peach screamed, dancing around like two-year-old does when he needs to go potty.

"Peach, why are you dancing around like that?" Zelda asked

"THEY'VE CONTAMINATED MY SKIN!"

"Oh Peach, really."

"NO LOOK ZELDA!" Peach pointed to her arm. Red splotches started to appear. "EEK!"

"It looks like an allergic reaction." Zelda said, matter-of-factly.

"From what? Water!" Marth said.

"No…."

"IT'S THE FISH!"

"Oh hush Peach, swimming with fish can NOT trigger an allergic reaction. It must've been something you ate. Roy, what did you put on Peach's burger?"

"Well, uh… let's see. Tomatoes, lettuce, cheese, onions—"

"ONIONS!" Peach shrieked. "I'M DEADLY ALLERGIC TO THOSE!"

"Oh… I-I didn't know."

"Wah! I'm getting all itchy!" Peach said, furiously scratching her body.

"Peach, be sensible! Stop scratching!" said Marth.

"No… too… itchy." Peach said.

"PEACH! IF YOU KEEP SCRATCHING YOURSELF YOU'LL WRECK YOUR BIKINI!" Zelda shouted. Peach immediately stopped. Zelda regained her composure. "Roy, if you would be so kind to escort Peach back too the hotel and find Dr. Mario?"

"Why ye—"

"NO!" Peach shouted indignantly, "YOU'VE CAUSED ENOUGH TROUBLE! JUST LOOK! MY TAN IS RUINED!" She jumped into the water.

"Peach!" Zelda cried, "What if Farore's name are you doing?"

"If I'm not allergic to fish, I'm going to swim to shore and find Dr, Mario myself." And so, the princess did as she said.

"Aw, shoot." Roy said. He kicked the ground.

"Oh, it wasn't your fault." Link said, "Peach is just a fussy eater. I'm sure she gets pampered back home in her castle."

Roy took comfort in Link's words. "Thanks."

"I don't trust her by herself," Zelda said. She gracefully dove into the water and quickly swam after Peach. That left Marth, Link, and Samus on the dock.

"It's almost four," Samus said, "Do you want to do a little workout with me Marth? Before the tournament tomorrow?"

"Sure." The two dove into the water and swam to shore." Link and Roy were left standing in the middle of the lake. Alone. The summer sun was still high in the sky. Link flopped down on the dock and shut his eyes.

"I'm going to work on my tan." He murmured. "Care to join me?"

The red-haired prince decided it was a good idea and he too lay down on the dock. The hot sun felt so good on his wet body. The two quickly fell asleep.

---

Link was in the stadium again, but there was no Master Hand this time. The stadium was desolate and empty.

"Oh Liiink." Cooed a voice behind him. He turned around. It was Zelda.

"Zelda," Link said, "What a pleasant surprise." Zelda ran up to Link. She grabbed his arm and pulled him over to the stands. She clambered onto the bleachers, dragging Link with her. She dropped Link in a seat. Sitting on his lap, she kissed him. What soft, tender lips. Link thought. The kiss grew more intense. Link's lips traveled from Zelda's mouth to her neck. She gave a sensual moan. "Mmmm." Link ran his hands through Zelda's hair. "Why is your hair wet?"

"Because we've been swimming," Said a sleepy voice.

Link's eyes flashed open. "ROY!"

Roy's eyes flashed open too "LINK!" Link lifted his head and realized in horror he was kissing Roy's neck. He was also sprawled out over Roy's body. "AH!" Link jumped off Roy at once, plunging into the cold water. "AAAAAAHHH!" Link felt the cold shock of the water. Roy rolled over to the other side of the dock so Link could get on. He scrambled back onto the dock.

"What just happened?" Link asked, horrified.

"I believe we were… kissing." Roy said, his face once again turning a shade of red.

Link sputtered in disgust. Although he had to admit, Roy's lips were very luscious and full. "Why?"

"Well, I assume you were dreaming of Zelda." Link nodded his head. "And I was dreaming of Peach… So, I guess we really got into our dreams and…"

"And that's freaky." Link said. Roy blushed again. Shy isn't he. Cute. WHAT THE HELL AM I SAYING! Link started smacking his head.

"Um, are you okay?"

"No. No. No. No. No. No." Link said between smacks.

"Um, Link?"

"Waah!" Link said and he and he threw himself into the water. He didn't come back up. Link was sort of suspended in the water. What's wrong with me?" He thought, bobbing in the water. I'm not supposed to like Roy. I'm not supposed to like any guy for that matter. I'm supposed to like girls! Like Zelda! Of course I love Zelda! I was dreaming about her. I was just so caught up in my dream, I kissed Roy be accident… that doesn't mean I like him. Feeling somewhat better, Link re-surfaced.

"Oh, thank goodness," Roy said, "I thought you drowned!" He held out a hand to help Link up. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Just a little creeped out."

"Yeah, me too. Can we just forget this? You were of dreaming Zelda; and I was dreaming of Peach. That's that. There's nothing between us." Link agreed.

"Hmmm… well, I think I'm going to go back to the hotel."

"I'm going to stay here for a bit." Said Roy. Link swam off." Roy was thinking about what he had just said. "Can we just forget this? You were of dreaming Zelda; and I was dreaming of Peach. That's that. There's nothing between us." There was only one thing...

Roy wasn't dreaming about Peach.

Oooooooh! just who WAS he dreaming about then? Of course, only i know, but you as the reader are free to make assumptions. i hope you liked that chapter. at 2,333 words long, it is, i believe, my longest chapter yet, but feel free to correct me if im wrong. please ignore what i said about the end nearing. THE STORY IS FAR FROM OVER! lol. well, not OUTRAGEOUSLY far, but further than i first estimated. so ya. i wont waste anymore time. it is 4:54AM and i am very tired. much thnx to those who keep readin and reviewin! ciao!

oh! and by the way. roy's shorts are a reference to my own swimming shorts. red with white flowers that i indeed bought from West 49. on sale too! lol. well, thats all for now. bye.