Thanks to Awakening5 for reviewing!

You know, the hardest part about writing this was keeping track of what day it was. And that was true even before I took a billion year long breaks in between chapters. It's not too detrimental to reading the story, but I still want it to be consistent, so I constantly go back to previous chapters and keep track of the days. And last chapter, when I said Link and Zelda met 4 days ago, technically I was wrong. That was on Sunday, but the first umbrella interaction happened on a Tuesday, making it 5 days prior. But they hadn't learned each other's names until Wednesday. That was my logic. This probably isn't important, or even interesting, so I'll shut up now. (But it's currently Monday morning in the story, for those of you keeping track at home.)

"What time is your class at?" Pipit asked me as we ate in front of the TV.

"Not until 1." I told him, taking a spoonful of cereal.

"Got any plans after?" He asked, leaning back in his chair.. "I'm headed to the grocery store, you can come along if you want to pick something up."

"Sorry bud, I'm going to be hanging out with Zelda." I told him, moving my feet onto the couch so I could lay down.

"Alright, if you change your mind, though." He took a bite of toast. "Do you want to talk about Groose?"

"Not really."

"Cool. Let's talk about Zelda." He said, causing me to raise my eyebrows. "You realize a week ago you didn't know this girl, then the day of meeting her she got in your head, and now you don't go a day without seeing her?"

"Where's this going?" I asked.

"Nowhere, if you don't respond." Pipit shrugged.

I sighed and stared at the TV for a few seconds. "Yes, to answer your question. I do realize that. It's as befuddling to me as it is to you."

"Whoa, I didn't say it was befuddling. Don't put your befuddle in my mouth."

"Gross." I said, doing my best to hide my smile.

"But it's really not that surprising. She's exactly what you need right now."

I laughed to seem nonchalant, but was genuinely curious in what he meant. "I need something, do I?"

"Seemed like it, lately." He let out a little groan. "Dude, can you change the channel? I hate the main girl's voice."

Flipping to the news, I had hoped he would continue, but I didn't say anything so as to not seem eager. Pipit just quietly took another bite and after finishing, continued his thought.

"But yeah. You've been pretty spacey as of late."

"Spacey?" I repeated, thinking about what he meant. "I guess I've just been thinking a lot."

He grew a small smirk. "Let me guess. You've been enjoying looking out the window into the rain, like some antidepressant commercial." I laughed, trying to hide the accuracy of his comment so he wouldn't get too big of a head. "You've just been preoccupied a lot, and it's been taking a toll. You don't really say much when you're here and often times go to sleep by 8. We're in college, you should be going crazy."

"Crazy isn't exactly the first word that comes to mind when describing us." I pointed out.

"Well, you shouldn't be going to bed by 8 unless you're getting up at 5, at least." He argued. "There's more though. You've been incredibly short tempered when it came to the whole Groose thing. You used to always brush it off, but the past few weeks just mentioning it would ruin your day. I'm not even going to open the can of worms that is the psychoanalysis of that situation. Then there's rent, something that's been taking a toll on both of us. And, well you know, money's never a happy topic, since 90% of the time we're talking about spending it."

"Too true." I agreed.

"But then you met Zelda. And you've seemed better. Now, I don't know if this is a crush or not, but she seems like someone to care about you. And you aren't exactly a guy to let that happen, I'm guilty of it too. But I'm guessing Zelda never really gave you a choice. She cared about you right away, didn't she?"

I shrugged. "I wouldn't say that."

"Eh, maybe I'm wrong then. No guarantee I know you or how you talk to girls that well." He said, seemingly not caring about the fact that I blew off his speech. "But I do know Groose. I went and saw him, you know. On Friday, while you were out."

I shot my head towards Pipit, shifting to an upright position. "You did?"

Pipit nodded. "Yeah."

"He didn't mention that." I said, almost a little angry at the two for keeping a secret.

"Why would he have?" Pipit asked.

"Maybe because you're my roommate?"

"I guess. But hey, if you're Aunt called me, it's not impossible that I'd be able to find him." It seemed like Pipit wanted to mention that they were nice people, but was sparing the nicety for my sake. "Don't get the wrong idea, though. I wasn't there longer than 20 minutes."

"Why were you there at all?" I asked, my anger slipping through a bit.

"To tell them to get off your back."

Not being anything close to what I expected him to say, I just stared at him with a bewildered look in my eye. It was clear he was enjoying my stunned silence, so he watched TV with a small, content smile on his face. After about a minute, I finally spat out an, "Oh."

"Yeah, I wasn't going to be rude about it or anything, but I wanted to let them know how serious you were." He continued, still looking at the screen. "I went there and there was, obviously, immediate confusion. I mean, I met your aunt, what, once? And that was only in passing."

"Yeah, when she wanted your number, in case something happened and she couldn't reach me. I told her it was weird."

"Yeah, but I wasn't about to shoot down your aunt, she caught me by surprise. That's not the point." He turned back to me. "Impa asked me if you were coming. I told her no. I didn't just wanted to open the can of worms in one fell swoop, so I let them respond. Then Groose said something." Pipit looked away and his face got incredibly contemplative, like the memory was so strong in his mind that thinking about it was just as vivid as living it. "He laughed a little and said he wasn't surprised. He said you had every right and justification to stay away from him. He smiled, but his eyes still showed how upset he was."

I wasn't sure I wanted to hear anymore, but I couldn't bring myself to stop him.

"He asked me to apologize for him. I told him I wasn't sure you'd even believe me. He understood my predicament, so he just kind of rambled for a few minutes. A lot of it was just stories of you two, but then he said something that really stuck me. He said you were one of his heroes."

I thought back to my visit, but Pipit quickly drew me out of it.

"That was when I realized I really shouldn't be there. I just told him to save the thought and said my goodbyes. Nothing really changed from my visit, but I had gained an outsiders perspective to a situation that I really had no business being in. So, in all honesty, I was going to make you go see him eventually, be it by force or tricking you. But it seems like somebody has already beaten me to the punch." He said, making a small punch motion in the air in front of him.

I stared at the screen in front of me. Pipit was right, he probably shouldn't have gone, but knowing he did didn't upset me at all. I guess hearing what Groose said from somebody else gave me an outsider's perspective on something I'm already in the middle of. And I think it helped me understand Zelda's situation better. She thinks the world of her mom and that was something I couldn't relate to. I always thought that it was because I didn't really have anybody to really look up to as a go-to hero. There was nobody who I was able to put on a pedestal. But now I'm in that situation. I'm just on the end I never thought I'd be on. Groose has been looking up to me. But unlike Zelda's mom, I was never even there for him.

I guess we never really realize the effect we can have on a person's life, for better or worse.

I finished my cereal and immediately cleaned my bowl. I started putting on my coat, prompting Pipit.

"Where are you going? You still have a few hours." He said.

"I know." I responded. "I've got somewhere to be now."

As I was walking, I began thinking about everything. I began really thinking about what the future holds. Not whether or not I'd want to see it, but what living it and the lead up will be. I shouldn't be focused on the moment right now, I should be planning for the future. I don't know how I'm going to pay rent, but I have options. So I should look into getting another job or finding another roommate. Or I could talk to Telma about a raise, despite my initial hesitance. School's on track for the most part, but maybe I should step up my game a little. It could never hurt to start looking for internships, something to further a History major's value.

I hopped on a bus.

Then there's everything with Zelda. I'm handling it day by day, but maybe I should start thinking about what she is to me and what she could be. Somebody who cares for me… Pipit wasn't totally wrong. She cared about me right away, because I was an audience for her, but I don't know that she cared for me necessarily. Maybe she did though, I don't know how to read her. When I think I can predict her, she'll do something different. If I had been one of her other friends, I think I would've been surprised to see her sitting down on a bus next to the stranger who offered her his umbrella. I don't know who she is quite yet. And I don't think she knows who I am, fully.

I got off the bus and walked into the building.

I don't think that's a bad thing either, though. We've only known each for days, not even a week yet. I think I've been looking at this all wrong. I've been trying to convince myself that there's no reason for me to take an interest in Zelda. I kept thinking I shouldn't care about what one person says because it's a passing idea. One person I don't even know, at that. But that really doesn't matter. The fact that a life can be changed by a single person, whether they know it or not, isn't something to run away from, not this time at least. Zelda is making me change as a person. Hell, maybe she isn't actually, but she's pushing for a change that I've secretly wanted for a long time. Having somebody make me do it just makes life a little easier. It's that feeling of knowing you're not alone.

I went through the hallways and got on the elevator.

I didn't know it until it began happening, but I can feel a change. I realize now that I wanted to change. So it's high time I start making steps towards that.

I got off the elevator and walked through the hallways, entering the room I'd set out to arrive at. I saw Groose sitting in his bed, no sign of Aunt Impa. Groose turned, surprised, then smiled.

"Groose, I want to ask out Zelda."

Groose gave me a look of confusion at first, then smiled again.

"Well, yeah, duh."