Trigger warning for ableism

~ Chapter 6: Lost in Thought ~

The rambunctious laughter of her peers gradually began to dwindle away along with the classroom interior and its belongings. All of them leaned over in unison, extending into a rhythmic swirl which swayed left and right. As the colors joined together one by one in unison, a figure started forming in front of Zelda's face. Five sets of vertical poles emerged from it. Soon enough, she was transported out of her memory and back into reality. No longer was she sitting at her desk in Mr. Lowry's classroom and instead, instantly recognized the same grassy field and the oak tree not too far from it. Zelda was greeted with an open palm swaying back and forth frantically in front of her face. This caused her to scream slightly from the sudden embarrassment. She cupped her mouth, taking a step back to see who caught her zoning off. Thankfully she only happened to run into a familiar face, otherwise things would had been much more awkward.

Ravio clutched onto the top of his hoodie, slightly startled from Zelda's shriek. A few seconds afterwards, he removed his hood from his head and slouched forward before heaving a sigh.

"I-I didn't mean to startle you, I swear!" Ravio's gaze was fixated on the concrete beneath his feet. He twiddled with his thumbs, trying his best to muster up his thoughts. "I apologize for frightening you earlier. It's just when I saw you earlier, you seemed to be staring off into space, and I was wondering if you were alright."

"Oh." Zelda's hands ran through her hair as she brushed her locks gently. She was surprised to see someone who had just met her already concerned. As a matter of fact, she couldn't help but find Ravio's sentiment sweet. "I'm fine. I was just deep into thought about the day ahead, that's all." Another lie. She hated to take advantage of his trust, yet the thought of others fretting over her own woes was too much. Her parents' apprehensiveness over her attending a university five hours away from home was already wearisome enough. She didn't need any more added onto her plate. And besides, the last thing she needed was someone to worry about her.

"Oh." Ravio tilted his head, adjusting his purple hoodie before grabbing a hold of his scarf to fix its position. Just like her roommate, he also had bought her lie. The two of them began taking a short stroll through the campus. "So—I take it you have classes in the morning as well?"

Zelda glanced, nodding. "My literature class starts at 9 a.m. actually. I'm just up earlier than usual because why not?" She smiled slightly, chuckling at her corny excuse.

"Lucky." Ravio let out a sigh and shook his head. "Despite being a morning person myself, I cannot say I like waking up at the crack of dawn. Unfortunately for me, my class starts at 8:30. No matter how much I wish to start class a bit later, my mother insists on me enrolling for early morning courses in order to get my classes out of the way much faster." He groaned internally at his mother's logic. No matter what time he started, it was always going to be the same old, same old. Get up, get dressed, get ready for the day, eat breakfast, leave to catch the bus on time, go to class, and to conclude the day by hanging out with friends.

"Oh jeez—I could kind of relate." Ravio raised a brow and stared at Zelda. "You see, my parents—more so my father than anything else, can kind of be what you'd call controlling. Let's just say it took him a while to get used to the fact that I was going away to attend Harlington in the fall. He tried his hardest to try to get me to attend a local university instead, but my mother managed to ease his worries—somehow."

"Tell me about it." Ravio perched himself down on an unoccupied table bench near the water fountain. He placed his backpack on top of his lap while Zelda joined, sitting across from him. "So, what brings you here?"

"Well," Zelda began. She thought to herself for a bit before answering his question. "I heard a lot of excellent things about Harlington, especially about their research programs! Plus I recalled how some old friends of mine were attending. That alone was enough to convince me to come here to further my horizons."

"That's cool." Ravio rested his cheek on the palm of his right hand. "Believe it or not, I actually live not too far from here. You should really check out the city sometime. And of course, the antique shop my family owns." He grinned wide and winked at the last part.

While the two conversed and got to know one another a bit better, they were joined by Lana. She held a container of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies in her hand.

"Good morning!" She beamed wide, greeting them with a big wave before taking a seat next to Zelda. "How are you?"

"I'm doing well, thanks for asking," Zelda replied, smiling. "Yourself?"

"I'm doing great, thank you!" Lana chirped enthusiastically. She placed her hands on the container and popped off its lid. "Want a cookie?"

Zelda took a few seconds to think. While she wasn't particularly the type to eat sweets in the morning, one bite wouldn't hurt. That and she couldn't help but adore Lana's energetic optimism. "Sure!" She reached out and grabbed a cookie before taking a bite.

Lana extended her kind gesture over towards Ravio who grabbed one as well.

"Since Chips Ahoy cereal does actually exist, I don't see the issue with eating cookies early in the morning." Ravio took a bite and enjoyed the chocolaty goodness alongside his new friend. Afterwards, he glanced at his phone and read the time. His once cheerful expression dropped. "I'd love to chat but class starts in five minutes. Gotta go!" He quickly got up and grabbed his backpack. He turned around and waved before running clumsily towards his class building.

Both Zelda and Lana watched Ravio take off before glancing at one another. Silence sat between them for a bit before Zelda continued their conversation.

"These are really, really good," she exclaimed, taking another bite of the cookie. "Never had I have a cookie this soft."

Lana blushed, giggling as her cheeks turned slightly pink from the sudden compliment. "Thank you! It's my grandmother's recipe, plus I wanted an excuse to bake."

"It's really amazing." Another soft smile formed across her lips. "So, what are you majoring in?"

"Oh me?" Lana pointed at herself while Zelda nodded in response. "I want to become a teacher either for early childhood education, dance or even special education. What about you?"

"I'm majoring in English. It's nothing special." Deep down, Zelda wished she could change majors yet decided against it for the time being. She wasn't sure how her father would react to her sudden change of interest, let alone deemed her fixation on ancient Sheikah technology to be nothing but a waste of time. Just the thought alone caused Zelda to grumble inwardly.

Lana smiled a little, gazing at her. "Believe it or not, I'm not the only one in my family attending Harlington. I have two older sisters who go here as well. One's just finishing her bachelors in fashion design, meanwhile the other is working on her doctoral of musical arts in voice performance."

"Interesting! I take it your family is quite artsy type."

"Quite so," Lana replied. "It's funny because my grandfather's a known famous historian, particularly in ancient Hylian history."

Hearing this information alone was enough to pique her interest. Her smile widened as she was now extremely curious. "If I may ask, which scholar."

"Rauru Leighton."

Zelda's eyes widened in awe. "Rauru Leighton!? As in, the Rauru Leighton!?"

"Yep." Lana giggled afterwards.

"That's… that's amazing! I recall reading much of work back in my grammar school days! Never would I have ever thought I would get to meet one of his granddaughters!" Zelda shook Lana's hands in excitement. She couldn't wait to one day meet the man himself. Unfortunately her joy suddenly vanished as a surprise guest arrived. Instead, it was replaced with a feeling of lingering dread.

"Morning Lana!" Pit greeted cheerfully. He waved, positioning himself on the open end of the bench while digging through his pockets. Shortly after, he took out his Nintendo Switch case and placed it in front of him on the table. His eyes scanned his surroundings as they laid eyes on Zelda. "Oh, hi! I didn't know that you guys knew each other."

"We just met yesterday," Lana answered. "Say, want a cookie?"

Pit shook his head. "Not at the moment." He opened up the case, taking out his switch and turning it on. A few seconds later, he loaded up the game he was currently playing—Fire Emblem: Three Houses. "Oh Lana—how far are you in the game by the way? Asking just in case because you know, I don't want to spoil anything."

"I've just started last night. I decided to go with the Golden Deer house as my first pick," Lana answered.

"Ooh, you're going to like that one. I've completed it a couple of days ago and now I'm starting the Blue Lions route next."

Zelda internally sighed of relief. She was glad that he was much more engrossed about his conversation with Lana rather than focusing on her. While Zelda wasn't particularly fond of exclusion in general, in this case however, she did not mind it one bit. Anything to avoid him confronting her about the so called talk.

Not long after Pit's arrival, two other girls joined them, sitting across from her and Lana. She recognized one of them as Pit's friend with the extremely long hair, meanwhile she didn't recognize the other girl. The girl across from her had short blonde hair which had orange tips at the end. She had a different shade of purple eyes from Lana and donned a black crop top paired with white skinny jeans.

"Well, well, well," the long hair girl taunted, "don't tell me you just starting playing the game."

Pit rolled his eyes and frowned. "I'm on my second house Viridi. You out of all people should already know I play more than one game at a time."

"Well duh," Viridi replied, grinning. "With all the time you spend playing videogames, I would think you would had been finished by now. Meanwhile, I've already completed not one but two routes."

"Say Pit," the other girl said, joining in, "why does the Rhea character in Three Houses look so much like your mother? I was watching Viridi complete Crimson Flower two days ago, and I couldn't help but notice. The resemblance is really uncanny if you ask me."

Pit groaned under his breath. "Not this again…" He tapped the button on his switch, putting it on sleep mode for the time being. "I already hear about it all the time from my classmates, I don't need to hear it from you too Phosphora. It was funny at first, but now it just gets tiring after a while, not to mention kinda annoying."

"Oh, just like you!" Viridi chimed in. Her unnecessary comment alone cause Pit to stare at her and shake his head.

Zelda couldn't help but slightly smile. Even though Viridi continued making snide remarks at Pit, deep down, Zelda immediately picked up that she secretly harbored a soft spot for him. No matter how much she tried to hide it, she was able to detect it in a heartbeat. While they continued discussing about the game, she decided to check her phone for the time being. Thankfully class was starting soon.

Little did she know, someone not from too far of a distance was starting at her. The woman's golden brown complexion illuminated in the morning sun, her short white locks complimenting her features. Her amethyst eyes were preoccupied with watching Zelda and only Zelda. Prior to the woman's own knowledge, Pit happened to catch sight of this and took note of her presence straight away.

Zelda got up from her spot and excused herself, bidding Lana farewell. However before she could even leave, she came to an abrupt halt.

"Hey Zelda, you should go to your right instead," Pit interrupted, making quite an odd suggestion.

That alone had confused Zelda, but she didn't question it. Instead, she took Pit's advice and departed on her right rather than left side.

Zelda browsed her phone, catching up on all of the latest feed on her apps. Anything as a means of trying to distract her wandering mind from the resurgence of Pit's message. Her eyes were fixated on funny cat pictures before the shuffling of the chair to the right of her broke her focus.

"Good morning Zelda." It appeared that Chrom decided to change seats. Instead of sitting on the far end of the classroom like he did on the first day, he now sat next to Zelda.

"Morning," Zelda replied rather quickly. She smiled in distress before glancing back down at her phone. No matter how much she tried her best to mask her emotions, it wasn't working. Instead, it slipped through the cracks, allowing anyone with a sharp eye to pick up on her discomfort.

"So my wife told me she met you last night," Chrom began, "she told me you were a lot of fun to hang out with. I'm glad you two were able to get along." He smiled at the thought of his wife making friends with his former childhood crush. The fact that he was able to move on from the past and even make amends with Zelda still amazed him. He noticed how uneasy Zelda looked as her smile quickly faltered, not to mention her responses were much shorter than usual. He paused for a moment before leaning over.

"Hey—may I check something."

"S-sure."

Chrom moved his hand forward and placed the back of it on Zelda's forehead to see if she was even feeling well. Thankfully she wasn't warm, however, that didn't explain her mood. He couldn't help but be concerned.

"Is everything alright?"

As Chrom began inquiring Zelda about her worries, Marth stepped inside the classroom and sat in the same spot he was sitting in on Monday.

"Well, about that…" Zelda swallowed for a slight moment, recollecting her thoughts. Originally she wanted to bottle up the message yet figured venting a bit might actually help. However, since Chrom most likely knew Pit, she didn't want to bring his name up just in case, so she decided to keep things vague instead.

"Last night, I received a message from someone saying we need to talk and nothing else. Ever since I read it, I couldn't sleep at all last night, no matter how hard I tried. The message kept replaying itself over and over like a broken record. What bothers me even more is that I don't know what they want to talk about but it sounds serious."

"Hmm…" Chrom began to think of what to say. He exchanged looks with Marth who was also in thought.

"Perhaps this person didn't know how to address it," Marth guessed. "Usually when I'm not familiar with someone, I tend to be much more vague with them. Maybe they were worried that bringing up whatever subject they wanted to ask might startle you."

"It could be that or they just really wanted to talk but didn't know how to initiate the conversation. Sometimes we hear sayings and whatnot on TV but don't realize that leaving out the context does more harm than good. And besides, if they don't know you very well, I wouldn't put much thought into it. They most likely want to talk to you and that's that." Chrom explained.

"I guess you guys are both right… I barely even know the person, so it's not like they have any dirt on me or anything. They most likely just want to chat and I'm reading too much into it."

"Yeah, I know how that feels," Marth said.

"Been there, done that," Chrom added. "Don't recommend it either."

Zelda was somewhat relieved as Robert stepped into the classroom. He began preparing for his lecture by hooking up his laptop in the projector before turning it on. Shortly after, he began his lecture and starting going over the first chapter. Even though Zelda had already completed this week's reading for the class, she always liked taking additional notes to help her remember important tidbits for the upcoming quiz.

Unfortunately, no matter how hard she tried to focus, the only thing thing she could do was zone out.

A ten year old Zelda clutched onto the piece of paper between her hands. She stepped inside the office and handed it over to one of the ladies at the front desk. The older woman recognized her immediately, thanking Zelda for the important document. Before sending her away back to her classroom, she gave Zelda a lollipop in exchange for always demonstrating good behavior.

"Thank you Mrs. Fletcher," Zelda said happily. She held onto the door handle to make sure the older woman heard her before leaving. "I really appreciate it!"

"No problem Miss Nohansen," Mrs. Fletcher replied. "Remember to have a nice day!"

"I will! Thank you!" With those words, Zelda shut the door gently behind her and wandered through the corridors. She decided to get a sip of water from the drinking fountain in the meantime before heading back to class. However, when she leaned over to drink, she picked up on a couple of muffled murmurs not from afar. She lifted a brow, tilted her head, and removed her hand from the push button on the tip of the bubbler head. Disregarding her reputation as the model student, Zelda slowly inched her way towards the source of the sound.

Meanwhile not too far from her, Oswald and his friends were outside hanging out at the playground on campus grounds. No one noticed them missing but thankfully luck was in their favor. Their class was utilizing the library for about two hours which in turn, allowed for easy access to the hallways and out into the playground. Oswald managed to slip away from the rest of the class as they were given permission from the teacher to spread out. This allowed for his friends to follow behind him in tow without the teacher once noticing their departure. So rather than working on their assignment, they decided to have extra time to themselves by doing absolutely nothing.

"I'm soooo bored," Richard whined pathetically. He leaned against the monkey bars, staring up at the sky. At first, he had many ideas on what to do while sneaking away from class yet quickly lost his train of thought once he had arrived.

"Well, it's better than being stuck in the library," Oswald informed him.

"Anything's better than the library," said a larger child by the name of Sebastian. "The last thing you need is another lecture from Mrs. Wilson."

A lanky child who wore glasses and had dark-blonde shaggy hair got up from his spot and adjusted his posture to match that of an elderly woman's. He adjusted his glasses to the tip of his nose before holding out and wiggling his finger. "No running in the library young man! Make sure your posture is straight and don't you dare be chewing gum inside school grounds. You better be using those computers for school work only and not playing Minecraft or browsing restricted websites!" His voice mimicked Mrs. Wilson's which was thin and reedy like the piping of a song bird at the dawn of spring. This caused the other three troublemakers to laugh in response to his mockery of the school librarian.

"Wow, you really nailed her down Jackson," Richard exclaimed through giggles.

"Yeah," Sebastian agreed, chiming in. "What's next, is she going to force us to listen to the library card song from stupid Arthur or something."

"Most likely," Jackson replied, rolling his eyes. "Gosh, who even watches Arthur anyways? That's like, a show for babies!"

While Richard, Sebastian and Jackson rambled on and on about their hatred of Arthur and other children's educational programs geared towards their age, Oswald on the other hand, was fixated on something else. He drowned out their conversation and caught sight of interest. A sly smirk formed upon his lips as his eye blues saw Pit making his way up the ramp and back inside the school. However, Pit thought of something exciting and in response, he started flapping his hands as a means of expressing his joy.

"Retard alert, retard alert!" Richard informed the others of Pit's presence, yet was nudged quickly in the side of his gut by Oswald. In response, Richard winced and clutched onto the side of his stomach, huffing in slight irritation.

"Shhh! Don't let him notice we're out here you idiot! The last thing I need is Link and Sheik on our asses again!" he faintly scolded. "And besides, I've got a plan. Follow me boys."

Oswald raised his arm and beckoned for his friends to follow his lead. He made his way up the ramp and surrounded Pit who seemed to be in his own little world. He tried his best to suppress his snickers, even warning his friends not to laugh just yet.

"Hey Pit," he greeted sickly sweet. Just the way his false politeness rolled off his tongue alone was enough to make someone sick, let alone suspicious. Unfortunately for Pit, he never ever seemed to catch on or perhaps, always wanted to treat everyone with kindness. "Do you like birds by any chance?"

Pit smiled wide and nodded in response.

Zelda finally arrived at the source and recognized the group of boys as Oswald's posse. She wondered what they were doing out of class before realizing they could ask her the same thing. Soon enough, she noticed they were surrounding Pit. That alone was enough to warn her something bad was about to happen. Zelda slowly tiptoed outside the door and closed it gently as a precaution. As she inched closer towards the scene, she was able to eavesdrop on their conversation with ease.

"What's your favorite bird Pit? Mine is the Falcon!" Sebastian chirped.

"I like toucans!" Jackson said.

"Just like the cereal!" Pit said happily. He recalled the countless commercials of the Froot Loops mascot going on adventures, sometimes being accompanied by his nephews.

The fact that they were making small talk with him made Zelda even more skeptical. They were always known for insulting people regardless of the consequences. Still, she couldn't help but be slightly irritated with Pit as well since he should have known by now that these boys were nothing but trouble. Perhaps he was just too nice to ward them off. That or he feared for his own livelihood.

"Hey Pit!" Oswald rubbed the bottom of his chin as he took a few seconds to think of something quick. Soon, an imaginary light bulb hovered above his head. "How about you try to fly for us? You know, like a bird!"

"Okay!" With those words, Pit clicked the button of his seatbelt to unstrap himself. Next, he placed his hands on the ledge, helping himself up with all of his might. Afterwards, he turned around and stood up, causing Oswald and the others to stare in awe. It was as if they did not know Pit was capable of actually standing up. Then again, Zelda was also surprised as she learned something new about wheelchair users.

Pit began flapping his arms, pretending he was a bird this time. He giggled on and on, envisioning himself flying high in the sky and reaching the soft clouds above. It all felt natural to him, as if he lived among the Rito in a previous life.

Watching him flap his arms caused Oswald and the others to burst out into a fit of laughter. Since Pit himself was having too much of a good time, he failed to realize they were actually making fun of him the entire time.

"Remember not to jump off now," Richard joked. "After all, you're not act—!"

Before he could finish his statement, Pit leaped off the edge, causing the trio to abruptly cease their laughter. His body quickly collided with the hard concrete in the ground while immense pressure radiated on his right arm. It throbbed throughout his body, a sharp pain piercing through his muscles and ached his bones. Pit's vision grew hazy, dancing around back and forth. The setting around him turned into splotches of color before allowing him to drift off into the darkness.

"Holy cow!" Oswald entire body shook as he leaned on over. "I didn't even think he would actually jump!"

"L-let's get o-out of here before someone catches us!"

The boys began freaking out, frantically running down the ramp and stormed back into the library. Zelda's eyes widened from the scene as she noticed Pit had immediately lost consciousness afterwards. She turned around, entered back inside the school and ran over to get the nurse.

It wasn't until two days later when Pit returned back to school. His right arm was wrapped around in a cast which was held by an arm sling. One would expect him to be in a foul mood yet it was never the case with Pit. Regardless if rain or shine, dread or fright, he always came to class with a smile on his face. Not once did anyone ever see him frown (minus the accounts when he's being bullied or on the verge of a meltdown). Thankfully Oswald and his friends were not around to harass him today since Zelda ratted them out to the teacher. So instead, they were imprisoned against their will with in school suspension for the time being.

"Hi Zelda!" Pit greeted, waving his left hand. "How are you today?"

"I'm doing fine." Zelda placed her hand on her hips while staring at his cast. She wondered how he was even going to do his assignments, let alone if anyone would volunteer to write for him ever since the incident rendered his right arm useless for the time being. "Say, Pit—do you need any help with note taking? I couldn't help but notice that your right arm's broken."

He shook his head. "No, I don't need any help! Besides, Momma says I'm something called ambidextrous because I know how to write and use my left arm as well!" He took out a marker from his pocket and drew a star on the arm sling with his left arm. "See? Pretty neat, right?"

"Yeah, that is pretty neat." Zelda smiled slightly, mentally sighing in relief. She was glad that Pit was able to recover so quickly on his own, yet she still couldn't believe it. Why did he jump for those jerks to begin with anyways? Shortly after her smile turned into a frown while her gaze narrowed. "Pit—for the love of goddess, please don't be an idiot and listen to those jerks next time!"

Pit tilted his head in bewilderment, blinking innocently. "I guess you saw me flying too, huh?" He scratched the back of his head and slightly chuckled while lowering his head.

"You know people can't fly! It's physically impossible! Unless you're a Rito, then don't attempt flying, okay!? You got hurt because of it!" She bonked him on the head with her fist!

"I'm sorry…"Even when apologizing, he still had a smile on his face. Zelda found it odd, yet continued scolding him for listening to Oswald out of all people.

"I think we'll stop right here. We'll pick up on the rest of the lecture on Friday," Robert exclaimed.

Zelda blinked, looking around. She realized she zoned out for almost the entire class. She started mentally beating herself over it. Despite writing notes on the first chapter, she still wanted additional information provided by the professor.

"Hey, you look like you could really use these," Marth said. He handed her his notes. Chrom in turn, decided to join.

Zelda raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure?"

"We're sure," Chrom said. "You really seemed out of it."

She smiled slightly. "Thank you so much! I'll definitely return these the next time I see you guys in class."

Robert dismissed class for the day while Zelda got up. She was grateful Chrom and Marth were in her first class, otherwise she wouldn't know what to do.

"I still can't believe I managed not to pay attention in class. Damn, am I really that out of it today?"

Despite borrowing notes from Marth and Chrom, Zelda still couldn't help but feel embarrassed about the whole ordeal. This wasn't like her at all. For starters, she was never one to drift off into her own thoughts during class but somehow memory lane had to drag her down. No matter what happened to her mood, she was always able to triumph and focus, but not this time. Instead, Pit's message managed to defeat her in one single hit. Just the thought of losing her train of thought during the next two classes was enough to cause unease.

Zelda was engulfed inside of her thoughts. She pondered, figuring out how to remedy her sea of ever longing regrets. Her mind continued running amok. Her limbs tingled while her brain raced in the most unhelpful way. While she was too focused on her contemplations, Link happened to be walking by. He immediately took note of Zelda's discomfort and gently placed his hand on her should.

The touch of Link's hand grabbed Zelda's attention instantly as she turned red. Never would she have thought Link would run into her while she was zoning out yet again.

"They might as well call you a space cadet," Link jested while winking. Zelda groaned at his terrible joke, let alone did not find it funny. "Didn't mean to offend you, so anyways— sup?"

"Nothing much really, just got out of class." Zelda crossed her arms and sighed. "My mind is just too occupied with pointless garbage."

Link tilted his head, resting his chin on his palm and lifted a brow. "Care to talk about it?"

She shook her head and waved both of her arms back and forth. "No, no. It's nothing serious, really. To be honest, it's rather silly."

Link looked at her and crossed his arms. "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure of it."

Link took a few steps forward, moving in front of Zelda. He smiled while adjusting his bookbag on the side. "Hey—I was thinking since we're both in the same cooking class and all, if would you like grab a bite to eat off campus before then? You don't have to if you don't want to."

The thought of Link asking her out to lunch made Zelda's lips curl up. She never figured out why, but his good mood was highly contagious. And she for one, absolutely adored it. It was as if Link assured her not to worry with his goofy grin and overall charismatic charm.

"I would love to. And besides, it would give me a chance to see what's outside of campus grounds."

Link beamed wide from her answer. He tapped the palm of his left hand with his own fist. "Great! That settles it! I'll meet you near the front gate next to the phoenix statue. Anyways, gotta go—see ya!"

Before Zelda could bid him farewell for the time being, Link was gone in an instant. For the time being, she figured she could remedy her thoughts by freshening up in the bathroom. Finding the nearest bathroom in sight, Zelda stepped in and looked back and forth. Not only was it immaculate, but not one person was seen in sight. It was the perfect opportunity for some alone time away from all the noise of the lively students outside.

She walked towards the sink and turns on the faucet. Zelda slowly placed her hands together, forming a cup to pick up some water before wetting her face. As soon as she knew it, the bathroom interior started transforming itself right in front of her eyes. No longer was she in the bathroom near the café in Harlington—instead, she was inside the bathroom of her former elementary school. She looked up in the mirror, coming face to face with a younger girl with short bangs, otherwise known as her ten year old self.

A young Zelda was occupied in the bathroom, washing her hands as a means of freshening up. She donned a large t-shirt with the school's name along with a pair of black basketball shorts. After finishing, she made her way towards the paper towel dispenser to dry her hands. As she rubbed the pieces all over her hands, she began to hear something not from afar. Since her class was currently in PE, they were out playing capture the flag in the soccer field near the front gates of the school. She assumed that there was a quick meeting which transpired earlier on such short notice.

Stepping outside, she noticed a two men departing from the school. The first man was in remarkably good shape, dressed sharp (wearing a designer business suit) and had his hair neatly combed to the left side, being held by hair gel. She recognized him immediately to be Oswald's father, Nicholas Clark. He was the boss of his own multimillionaire company and occasionally showed up to her family's parties. Just like his son, the man was high strung and full of himself. He believed Oswald could do nothing wrong and in fact, blamed his victims over being easy targets for his son.

Meanwhile, the second man slammed the double doors behind him. He was a smidge heavier in comparison to Nicholas. Instead of donning expensive clothing flaunting fortune and a lavish lifestyle, he wore a white t-shirt accompanied by a leather jacket. His dark brown hair was wild, untamed and combed back, out of his face. One scar rested across his right check, while another went straight across his neck. If one were to take a closer glimpse, they would notice all kinds of tattoos covering the man's arms. Just from one glance, Zelda noticed he seemed quite frustrated. While Nicholas was content, the other man was not. His blue eyes ravaged with fury—not once did the scowl plastered on his face died down. Zelda immediately recognized the other man to be Pit's father, Apollo Callahan.

"This is fuckin' bullshit!" Apollo growled under his breath. It seemed that the school moved in favor of Nicholas's son in regards to how they handled bullying. As a matter of fact, it was always that way. No matter how many times Apollo or Palutena argued with the faculty, they never once took the harassment of their children seriously. Instead, they often rewarded the bullies with a slap on the wrist rather than giving them after school detention, in school suspension, or expulsion even.

Nicholas shook his head, chuckling at Apollo's misery. "Just give it up already," he exclaimed. "The school's already settled this issue. What's more to complain about?"

"The fact this school allows little shitstains like your son to get away with bullying disabled kids! It's absolutely disgustin' how much they favor the bullies over their victims."

Nicholas turned around and shook his head. More laughter escaped his lips while his smirk remained. "And what would you know about bullying anyways? You're just a lowlife criminal who got extremely lucky with the law. And by the looks of it, became way too comfortable with your current life." He stretched his arms out as a means of demonstrating his dominance over Apollo. "To think they even allowed the likes of you to get off easily with your crimes just sickens me. Maybe, just maybe that's the reason why your children were born the way they are. Just think about it—the gods are finally punishing you for all of your misdeeds. It's as if they're telling you that you shouldn't be having kids in the first place. Now because of your crimes, you are paying for them by having freaks for kids."

Flames of fury and resentment smoldered in the small narrow eyes of Apollo. He clenched his fights tightly, gritting his teeth hard. The next thing Nicholas knew, Apollo lunged over and punched him square in the face. He wanted to punch him over and over, yet had to quickly restrain himself, otherwise he wouldn't be able to protect his family.

Zelda eyes widened, flinching a bit before covering her vision with her hands. Her body trembled as she staggered a bit, running away from the scene. A golden bracelet managed to slip out of her shorts as Nicholas plummeted down onto the concrete. The only thing she remembered was making eye contact with those rigid, cold, hard eyes.

During the next morning, the sound of the bell rang, echoing throughout the premises. Zelda followed behind her noisy classmates in tow, stepping inside the classroom. Some discussed about how school started way too early, whereas others gossiped about their other peers. She immediately noticed Pit's absence while the others began conversing with one another. Her eyes were fixated on the empty desk in front of her as the monotonous buzz of chattered scattered throughout the room. Not once did her gaze move elsewhere. She couldn't help but find it strange. Usually Pit was inside the classroom before everyone else. Perhaps he was running late or had an appointment before then. Or maybe, he was running down with a fever or something. No—that didn't sound right. As a matter of fact, Zelda found his absence to be kind of strange. For starters, no matter what obstacles lie ahead, he was never one to miss class. Furthermore, he seemed completely fine yesterday so why wasn't he here now?

The next thing Zelda knew, her teacher stepped inside the classroom with the principal behind her. She stood in the front of the classroom and began writing down this morning's bellwork for the class. Afterwards, the teacher turned around and garnered the attention of her students by clearing her throat.

"Ahem, good morning class." She adjusted the rim of her glasses. A student leaned over to whisper to their neighbor but their teacher narrowed her gaze. "I would like you all to refrain yourselves from doing this morning's bellwork for the time behind. The principal would like to have a word with all of you."

The principal walked towards the front of the classroom while Zelda's teacher stepped off to the side. The older man cleared his throat and stood tall. All of the students inside remained silent. Not once did they usher a word or pass notes.

"Good morning students," the principal greeted. "I am here to talk to you all about a very important issue today. For those wondering, I will be visiting all of the fifth grade classrooms today. For weeks, we have been receiving countless calls from the Callahan's, reporting instances of bullying happening to their son. You know we do not tolerate any kind of bullying at our school." He grabbed his clipboard and removed a stack of papers, handing them to the teacher. He instructed her to pass them onto each student before leaving to talk one-on-one outside. As Zelda received her paper, she noticed it was a small anti-bullying presentation.

"Are we really going to go over this—again?" a girl complained.

"It's better than doing this morning's bellwork. Anything that takes away school time's fine by me," a boy responded.

Zelda skimmed through the pages of the packet, recognizing most of the topics the lecture addresses. It talks about resources, how and where to report instances of bullying to even the differences between a bully and a friend. While she groaned quietly under her breath, Zelda couldn't help but managed to overhear the conversation of various students instead.

"That probably explains why he's absent," a boy said in reference to Pit.

"Definitely." Another boy tossed the packet onto the side of his desk. "Oh yeah—did you hear? My parents were talking last night about the child of a former gang leader attending our school. Turns out, they were talking about Pit's father."

A girl's eyes widened. "R-really?"

"Yeah," another girl chimed in. "My mom mentioned how Pit's dad was a former criminal and that he's a bad man."

"I've heard he almost killed someone once."

As countless students chattered about countless speculations of Pit's father, Zelda managed to put two and two together. From what she witnessed between Apollo and Nicholas yesterday, she figured that's why he was so menacing. Just his heartless gaze from yesterday alone was enough to give send a sickening sensation throughout her body.

Zelda snapped back into reality. She regained consciousness as her reflection matched her current appearance. Glancing back and forth, she noticed not one person was inside the restroom and sighed of relief. The last thing she needed was to be made fun of for zoning out inside a bathroom out of all places. Stepping back outside, she began heading straight towards the humanities building. Her journey was cut short by a familiar scowl—Pit's carbon copy from yesterday.

"What did I tell you yesterday?" he exclaimed, his voice full of nothing but upmost hatred for her.

Zelda took a few steps back. "Just what do you want anyways?!" she questioned, narrowing her gaze. "I-I don't even know who you are!"

His lips curled into a sly smirk. "Hmph, if you're that desperate, I guess I could tell you who I am. Anyways, the name's Drew. For your information, I'm Pit's younger brother, or more specifically, the younger twin."

"Pit never mentioned anything about a brother…"

"Why should he?" Drew retorted. "Besides, he doesn't even like you. So anyways, once again—stay the hell away from Pit." He began walking away. Before leaving, he turned around, glaring at Zelda. "This is your final warning, got it?"

Zelda stood silent. After their little confrontation, she ran towards the humanities building. This day was only getting worse and worse, even with Link's fun offer.

Ghirahim conversed with a towering figure. He noticed Zelda running by and picked up on her discomfort. "Hey Zelda!" he yelled over. "Come over here."

Zelda glanced up when she heard her name and sighed of relief. She was thankful it was only Ghirahim and not someone else like Drew. However before she could seize the chance to mask her worry, Ghirahim was able to read her like a book.

"Let me guess, you ran into some edgelord am I correct?" he guessed.

"Y-yeah—wait, how did you know?"

"Just a simple calculation." He adjusted his hair while his friend watched Zelda. "I would ignore them if I were you. They are not worthy of your time nor your presence."

Zelda smiled a little. "T-thanks!"

"Hmph, no problem." Ghirahim fixed his hair as he turned towards his friend, leaving the area.

Zelda watched as he took off. While she found Ghirahim to be a bit eerie, overall, he seemed to be harmless. From there on, she went upstairs and headed straight towards her world religions class.

Zelda stood near the phoenix statue just like Link had said. She glanced at her phone, checking the time. The next thing she knew, she felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Hey!" Link greeted, smiling. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah!" Zelda smiled back. The two began walking outside of university gates and into the parking lot. The two were quiet for the time being before Link realized something.

"Oh hey, I was talking to my best friend earlier and mentioned something about lunch, and he seemed really interested. Do you mind if he tags along?"

"Sure!" Zelda beamed. "The more people, the merrier it is." Not only that, but things wouldn't feel as awkward. Sure she liked Link as an acquaintance, but being alone with him? She wasn't quite ready for that. Besides, they were not friends just yet, right? Right?

Soon, it dawned her. For the longest time, Sheik was Link's best friend before his passing. She was curious to see who replaced him as Link's to go to. As they stood in front of the parking lot, a small van pulled up. The driver lowered the window and waved. It turned out, Link's best friend was none other than Pit Callahan.

"Hey Pit!" Link greeted. "Ready to eat?"

"Heck yeah!"

Link approached the vehicle and sat inside the passenger's seat. He glanced over and leaned towards the window.

"Hey Zelda—aren't you coming?"

"Y-yeah!"

At this point, Zelda was convinced that the goddesses were really cursing her at this point.

And we end off chapter 6 with a cliffhanger.

For some explanations, I did some research and learned a lot of things about wheelchair users. One of them is how those with limited mobility can actually walk. Another is how there are modified vehicles in which they drive. I apologize if anything is off.

How I came with the idea of making Rauru Lana's grandfather, let's just say he watched over the Triforce. Since Lana/Cia watch over the Triforce in the non-canon Zelda game Hyrule Warriors, I figured it would be a nice homage since they were both observers of the scared relic.

Anyways, to explain Dark Pit's name, I felt that Drew had a nice ring to it, plus it would had been weird if his parents named him Pittoo. Don't worry though, that doesn't mean he can't be called that anymore. ;D

Realized I forgot to mention this but after fixing a couple of errors (this is what I get for uploading at almost four in the morning), I made a FE3H reference because during the time I wrote the outline for these chapters, I was playing the game. Funny enough, I made a joke about Byleth joining Smash and somehow it came true. Because of FE3H actually being referenced as a game, our beloved professor will not be joining the story.

With that being said, why do you think Drew is telling Zelda to stay away from Pit.

Until next time!
- Ashe