~ Chapter 5: Social Cues ~

No matter how hard she tried to occupy her mind, the sudden twinge of anxiety wouldn't budge away. It lingered within her stomach, festering itself while its piercing teeth gnawed on her abdomen. Zelda tossed and turned in her sleep, clutching tightly onto her blanket. After a vigorous night of fearsome thoughts and the intensive focus of her heartbeat, dawn had finally arrived. Not once was her mind able to rest at ease and it most certainly wasn't happening today either. Instead of struggling further to sleep in and await the noisy greeting of the buzzing alarm, she decided it was best to get the day and over with. As long as she took it easy, maybe she wouldn't have to deal with that dreadful talk with Pit.

Rubbing her eyes with one hand while the other caught a yawn, Zelda got up from her bed and decided to get ready for the day. Before stepping into the bathroom, she tiptoed back towards the full-length mirror near the dresser, slightly leaned over, observed herself, and frowned. There on the lower end of her right leg were purple and yellow blotches all over. While the pain wasn't prominent (unless one were to press hard enough on it), it still bothered her. The collision from her melodramatic recklessness two days ago had prevented Zelda from wearing shorts or skirts even.

"Guess I got to wear jeans… again." A disgruntled sigh escaped her lips as Zelda went to get ready for the day. She grabbed her change of clothes from the drawer, stepped into the bathroom and placed them on vacant space near the sink. Shortly after, she undressed herself, stepped into the shower and turned the faucet to medium hot.

Drips of water began pouring themselves all over her, cleansing off Zelda's worries. Her mind was in shreds—no matter how hard she tried, she would never wash away Pit's message. Instead, it echoed on and on throughout her mind, preoccupying every thought. Not once was her body able to let the lukewarm drops relax it. What also did not help was the fact that Pit's doppelganger not only warned her stay away from him, but also informed her that Pit actually despised her. Zelda wondered what she even did to warrant such behavior towards her in the first place. Furthermore, she wanted to know why Pit even felt that way to begin with. All of this was only confusing her even more, so she focused on cleaning herself for the time being.

A few minutes later, Zelda stepped out of the shower, dried her hair, got dressed, and brushed her teeth before leaving the bathroom. Little did she know, her roommate was still up and about, forgetting that Mei always exercised at the crack of dawn.

Speaking of Mei, she was eating a bowl of cereal for breakfast. She seemed a bit preoccupied with her phone before setting it down on the side. Soon she noticed Zelda was awake much earlier than usual and raised a brow.

"Morning Zel," she greeted casually before interrogating her. "Say—I've noticed you're up way earlier than usual. Is something up?"

Zelda forced herself to smile and shook her head. "No, no. Everything's fine. I couldn't sleep in any longer, so I've figured I should just get up."

Mei squinted her eyes a bit, giving Zelda a blank stare as if trying to see through her deceit. Luckily, she didn't seem to catch on. She however, did seem a bit concerned for her well-being regardless if she bought Zelda's lie.

"Alright, if you say so," Mei said. She took a bite of her cornflakes before adding on. "But if there's ever something wrong, don't be afraid to tell me. The last thing I'd hate to see is any of my friends feeling down."

"I'll keep that in mind."

With those words, Zelda temporarily parted ways with Mei and stepped inside the kitchen. Opening up the cupboard, she would begin brainstorming on what to make herself for breakfast. Her eyes scavenged through whatever food was available within arm's reach. Taking out a box of honey nut cheerios, Zelda placed it on the counter before opening the fridge to retrieve some milk. Thereafter, Zelda opened up another set of cabinets and grabbed a bowl to set up her breakfast.

A few seconds later, Zelda stepped out of the kitchen and went to join Mei. She set down both the bowl and spoon before sitting down. By the time she had arrived, Mei had already finished eating her meal. Her roommate pushed her bowl off to the side, making a mental note to clean it up in a bit. Gazing at Zelda, Mei smiled wide as something came to mind.

"Hey," she said innocently, "did you run into that Link guy yesterday?"

"Only through Facebook messages." Zelda took a bite of her cheerios before resuming on. "Why did you ask?"

"Oh, just wondering, that's all. Like I've said yesterday, you two would make a really cute couple!" she teased, singing the last few words.

Flustered, Zelda waved her arms frantically and glanced off to the side. "Mei! For the last time, he's just an acquaintance and nothing more!"

Mei shook her head and continued smiling. "I was just messing with you. However, my sentiment still stands. Anyways, I should be cleaning this dish up."

With that, Mei excused herself while Zelda continued eating her meal. After she finished, Zelda went to clean her bowl in the sink and blow dry her hair before stepping out for the day.

A chilly breeze scurried softly past Zelda. Fall crept itself around the corner as the once warm air of summer gradually whished itself away. While the leaves on the trees still remained green, slowly but surely, some of them were already transitioning to hues of red and gold. One of the first things she had noticed was how silent and dead the campus seemed in comparison to the first two days of classes. The once boisterous college scene had finally dwindled down. Zelda assumed the reason for its sudden silence was because the first two days were technically the start of classes. That in turn, prompted more students to arrive early in order to locate things, obtain a good parking space, catch up with old friends, and whatever else they could think of.

"We need to talk."

While her guard was low, fear crept its way in and had struck her yet again. Festering contemplations lingered on and on, rendering her mind ineffective. Zelda slightly bent forward at the hips and clutched onto her head, gritting her teeth. Every muscle felt tight, invisible hands grasped Zelda, rendering every step obsolete. No matter how hard she tried to budge, her body refused. Instead, it drowned her in a sea of suppressed thoughts, unlocking forgotten memories.

An eight year old Zelda stared at this morning's bell work. She was almost finished with it while she fixed the last sentence below before placing it onto the side. Murmurs could be heard as her teacher, Mr. Lowry stepped outside the classroom for the time being. Rumor had it that the class was getting a new student today. Boys and girls alike debated one another, with the former hoping for another boy while the latter yearned for another girl. They bickered on and on, even going as far to guess the new student's temperament, not to mention, speculating about their previous school experiences. Zelda never understood all the fuss and bickering over an unfamiliar face to begin with. She recalled how students in her previous classes often fought over who would be the one to guide the new student around the campus. One of the things she found peculiar was how the custodian had brought in a desk with an oversized top and placed it next to her desk earlier. While it looked similar to the other desks, it however, lacked a chair to accompany it.

Thankfully the others were too engrossed with their morning assignment to notice their teacher's return. Being curious, Zelda peaked over to catch a glimpse of who the new face even was. Following behind the teacher was a young wheelchair user and his mother. Her long, emerald green hair was held back neatly in a sleek low bun. She donned a cream-colored coat accompanied with a light blue long-sleeved dress shirt, navy-blue suit pants, and black one-inch heels which added more emphasis to her already towering height. Her viridescent eyes matched her hair color and radiated great kindness.

The woman knelt down, facing her son while the teacher continued droning on and on about classwork, rules, and other school related subjects. She gently tapped his nose, causing him to giggle softly in return.

"Now remember to be good okay?" she told him gently. Before her departure, the woman bid her son farewell with a kiss on the cheek. As soon as she left, Mr. Lowry cleared his throat before ordering his students to put their pencils down. They did as they were told and glanced straight at their teacher.

"Good morning class. Today I'll like to introduce you all to the newest addition to our class, Pit Callahan. I'd expect for all of you to treat him with your upmost respect." He paused for a moment and licked his lips. "Now, do we have a volunteer who would like to show Pit around the school and catch him up with the others?"

Pit greeted his new classmates with a wave and a wide smile. He was very open and eager to make friends with everyone.

None of the students had raised their hands. Instead, they stared blankly at the wall. Their once overabundant enthusiasm over the new student ceased when they first laid eyes on him. Instead, they viewed him as a foreign object, one to be proceeded with upmost caution. It was as if they were expecting him to be someone else entirely.

Mr. Lowry on the other hand wasn't surprised because he too had his doubts. It wasn't his decision to place Pit in his class to begin with—despite his unwavering protests, the principal had eagerly insisted on his inclusion. "Is there anyone who is willing to volunteer?"

More silence. Invisible tension gradually rose throughout the classroom. Zelda looked around, noticing how her other peers didn't know how to react. She couldn't help but notice the sheer disappointment in their eyes. Heaving a disgruntled sigh, she raised her arm up high for the entire class to see.

"I'll do it!" Zelda said, volunteering.

"Oh, thank god," Mr. Lowry mumbled under his breath in slight relief. What made things much better for him was that he didn't have to rearrange any assigned seating. He directed his attention towards Pit while he pointed at Zelda. "You see the little blonde-haired girl raising her hand up over there? Not only will you'll be sitting next to her, but she will also be your friend for the day."

Pit nodded, smiling brightly while he motioned his way towards his desk. Afterwards, he began setting up his belongings. His backpack had a picture of a yellow mouse like creature with a thunder bolt as its tail. In addition, all of his belongings related to the creature on his bag, ranging from a fiery red lizard to a green plant-based reptilian creature with a leafy bulb on its back. If there was one thing Zelda had noticed about Pit, it was that he was really big into Pokemon.

Throughout the first week of Pit's addition, Zelda learned that Pit was not only extremely naïve, but he also took things at face value. This in turn, allowed the other students to get away with teasing him because he did not realize it or rather, did not pick up on it at all. Pit in return, had mistaken their bullying for friendliness. During the middle of the day, Zelda overheard a couple of the other third grade teachers gossiping about him. They had mentioned something about Pit being on the autism spectrum. Furthermore, they mentioned how his parents were brave for dealing with him and his needs.

Not being familiar with the term itself, when Zelda had arrived home from school that day, she recalled asking her mother what autism was. Her question in turn had thrown her mother completely off-guard, causing her to take three steps back. Just her reaction alone told Zelda that it wasn't something positive. Instead, she acted as if Pit had caught a disease. She tried brushing off her worry with a false smile.

"You shouldn't be concerning yourself with things like that my little bird," her mother simply told her.

Zelda on the other hand, crossed her arms and titled her head in bewilderment. She knew her mother was trying her best to mask over the term yet her eagerness for knowledge wouldn't let her get away without an answer.

"But Mother," Zelda began, "the way you acted just now concerns me. I overheard some of the other third-grade teachers discussing about it during recess, and I was just curious to ask if it was a type of sickness."

Her mother inched towards Zelda, knelt down and embraced her into a tight hug. "Oh Zelda," she said, "of course not. Girls your age shouldn't be concerned with such things like that. Instead, you should focus on your studies and your studies alone."

"But Mother!" She pleaded yet again. Despite only being eight, the one thing Zelda disliked the most was being treated like a baby. Thankfully her mother broke their embrace and realized her daughter was old enough to understand about medical disorders. After all, she could utilize it as a learning advantage and educate her daughter about those with special needs.

"You see my little bird," her mother began, "autism is a developmental disorder characterized by difficultly in social interaction and communication. It is also characterized by repetitive behaviors, speech and nonverbal communication. Due to it ranging from a variable severity from one individual to another, it is referred to as a spectrum. I apologize if I made it sound like something horrible—I didn't mean to."

Zelda nodded. She assumed her mother was only thrown off since it was one of those questions she did not expect from someone her age. The one thing she did notice however was her mother's curiosity. She wondered why her daughter asked her such a question in the first place.

"You see Mother," Zelda began, trying her best to explain. "We recently got a new student and the other teachers mentioned him being on the spectrum."

"I see." Zelda's mother paused for a second while trying to recollect her thoughts. "Well, just remember to treat that student with kindness and never lose patience with him. Remember, he's a bit different from you and I."

About a week later, Mr. Lowry directed the class to open their language arts textbook to page 345. He assigned for Bethany to read the first few passages of the book before she stopped. Shortly after, he glanced up from his teacher's edition and to his class, looking for the next volunteer.

"Is there anyone who would like volunteer themselves to read the next passage?" he asked. No hands were up, causing him to sigh quietly. Soon, he had an idea and had decided to give the new student a try. Mr. Lowry instructed Pit to read the next passage after Bethany.

Pit leaned over and placed his hand on the part where they had left off. He began to proceed from there. It was then and there his classmates had learned that Pit not only read a much slower pace than them, but struggled immensely as well. He had trouble annunciating certain words and breaking down syllables. Overall, Pit had an extremely poor reading comprehension.

Because of this, some of the other students started snickering amongst themselves. They found his poor comprehension to be absolutely hilarious. Zelda placed her head on her desk and groaned quietly under her breath. She had really wished that Mr. Lowry had picked her instead. Not only did she read at a much faster pace, she also didn't delay the learning of her peers either. Meanwhile, Mr. Lowry masked his frustration with a forced smile. What he loathed about this was not because of his students getting sidetracked, but due to the fact that he could see his class lagging behind the other third grade classes. He would have to spend extra time catering to Pit's needs to even get him remotely up to par with the others.

After Pit had read the passage, Mr. Lowry told him to stop for the sake of his own sanity. He then asked for another volunteer in which a boy with platinum blond-hair and freckles eagerly raised his hand.

"Alright Oswald, you're next."

Oswald took a deep breath and smirked. He stood up to garner the attention of his classmates and held the book close to his chest. When he began reading, Oswald spoke with a goofy voice, making himself sound like an idiot in return. He read very slowly, following after Pit's example as a means of mocking him. He captured everything—from the way Pit spoke to even how he annunciated certain vowels. This in turn, caused everyone in the class to burst out into laughter.

Pit stared dumbfoundedly. He was not sure why the class was laughing or what they found so amusing even. He failed to realize that Oswald was making fun of him and in turn, he just smiled.

Hello! Long time no see. I've originally planned on dividing this chapter into two. Given that I've been taking quite a long time and it would be much longer than expected, I decided to be nice and give you all an early treat. So yes, that means I have broken down Pit's part into three chapters instead.

Please note that I did name the chapter after the Cage the Elephant song and album "Social Cues". Funny enough, I remember listening to "Black Madonna" months ago thanks to watching one of my favorite streamers (Vinesauce btw. I'm a huge fan of Vinny).

Anyways, I can see people wondering why I made Pit autistic in a modern AU. Seeing how I usually love to have fun when writing AUs, I've decided to utilize one of my headcanons, plus another thing which prompted me to do this is because it wasn't until last year until I received my own diagnosis (the psych used the outdated term Aspergers in regards to me). Let's just say it helped me make sense of a lot of things I wasn't able to answer about myself. To make things much more perplex, I had learned that I was actually diagnosed with it when I was five but was never told about it until years later. And of course, I tried my best to make Zelda's mother describe it from an allistic point of view.

Now for some explanations, I've noticed how a popular headcanon among both the Smash and the Kid Icarus fandom is Pit not being able to read. The reason why I said headcanon because that line was originally added in by Pit's voice actor (Antony Del Rio) for laughs as it wasn't meant to be taken literally. In the original JP version of Uprising, Pit mentions about how he should of ate something before going on his mission. With that being said, I like the idea of mixing both versions and instead, giving Pit a reading disability.

I also realized I had forgot to address this last chapter, but despite this taking place in a modern fictional setting, I decided to utilize some Zelda elements. So in turn, this story utilizes the Zelda Universe and I'm debating on whether to add the fictional races or not, since hey, I did make a reference to the guardians.

Definitely do expect for Viridi and Dark Pit to show up in Chapter 6 though.

Now here's an optional story question.

1. Has anyone ever made fun of you in class for something you couldn't help?

Anyways, I will like to thank all of my readers for being patient. I really appreciate it!

Until next time!

- Ashe