Summer of Our Discontent
Crazy Possessive
Link looked at Zelda with a hint of sympathy as she hung her cell up again. She had been trying to call Malon for days, but the girl wouldn't pick up. She had told everyone else that Zelda was a boyfriend stealer, and for some time they believed it, until Link explained to them what really happened. They still ignored her to 'pretend,' so Malon wouldn't suspect anything. It still made Zelda feel really sad. Link had been significantly nicer to Zelda, patting her on the back.
Since it was two days until Malon's party – which would be held at Lon Lon Ranch – Zelda came to Link's house much more frequently, and so did Malon. Zelda and Link needed to make more food, and Malon needed to make sure her boyfriend would stay faithful to her. Zelda was jealous that she trusted Link more than she trusted her own best friend… What happened to 'sisters before misters'?
"Give it up Zelda. We have a lot to do and little time, and Malon might come over, do we want another mishap?"
She shrugged miserably.
"I love Malon to death; she HAS to talk to me!" Her eyes watered.
Link pat her on the back, standing up and extending his hand towards her. Zelda took it reluctantly, slowly standing up. Their eyes connected, and for a moment they said nothing to each other, as if in a trance.
"… Let's go make some cookies." Link finally said, averting his gaze to the ingredients on the table. Zelda nodded, her heart pumping quickly. That was the oddest moment she and Link had ever shared. Was it sexual tension, or just an 'in the moment' thing? The last time he had stared at her like that was when they first met, and he said she was pretty. Zelda didn't let herself get too fazed by it though. She was supposed to be thinking of Malon.
"Yeah, let's make some… What type of cookies will they be?"
"Sugar," he said. "Malon likes sugar."
Zelda smiled, "Yeah I know. It's her favorite." Her smile slowly disappeared when she didn't see any store bought cookie dough. "Didn't you go to the bakery and buy some dough!?"
Link shook his head.
"Nope. We're going to make these cookies from scratch."
Zelda's jaw dropped, "WHAT!? NO!" She shook her head, pacing the room, "We can't!"
She walked over to his counter and grabbed her bag, taking out a piece of folded paper, unfolding it to reveal a comically long 'list' of food for the party.
Link flinched, seeing how long the list was.
"Are you kidding me? We can't make all this food. It takes time and I want to make it my best."
"Then go get some store bought cookies or something!"
"No! I spent my mom's rupees on those ingredients; the recipes over there." He pointed to the paper stuck on the oven. "Just follow the directions and start the cookies. I'll go to the store and buy some more food."
"…Okay, but be back soon!" Zelda said warningly.
Link rolled his eyes, "Whatever."
He grabbed his keys, ready to head out when he got a phone call.
He exited his house, answering the call. It was Malon, and he didn't want Malon hearing anything in the background, and it was very quiet outside.
"Hey baby!" She said flirtatiously on the other line.
Link laughed, "Hey Malon. You want to come over?"
"Yes, I do. I was thinking about coming in about an hour or so?"
Link mulled over it for a second, if he hurried he might be able to come home in time before she came. It was risky, but it was worth a try. Plus Link loved risks.
"Sounds good. I'll see you!"
He could hear Malon squeal.
"Yay! I can't wait, love you!"
"Love you." He mumbled before running towards his car. He thought about warning Zelda, but that would take up too much of his time considering they'd probably argue over it.
Inside, Zelda was washing her hands slowly, looking at the paper. She heated up the oven, sorted out the ingredients, and observed them carefully. She grabbed a large bowl and a cucco egg, cracking it open and trying to put it in the bowl. The egg whites got stuck in her hand and she panicked, trying to get the residue off. The yolk got messy within the bowl, and looked like a gooey mess rather than a perfect, symmetrical circle.
She continued mixing in the ingredients horribly, putting in too much vanilla extract, flour, and a cup of butter. Biting her lip, she dialed Link's number frantically.
"Hello!" His voice was oddly chipper.
"Link! Hurry up, I need your help, I can't make these cookies on my own, and –"
"If you're listening to this, it means I'm too busy to answer, unless you're Zelda, then I just don't like you! Leave a message after the –"
"Damn it!" Zelda said, hanging up and growling at his snide comment about her.
She got a call, assuming it was Link she answered immediately, only to realize it was Malon. She grinned, excited that her best friend decided to call her.
"So Zelda, what are you doing?" Malon asked sweetly.
"Oh, just making cookies! You know… at my house." She said nervously. "Why? Did you want to hang out?"
"Oh, no I wasn't going to."
Zelda let out a sigh of relief, "Good, because I can't. We can hang out some other time though, right?"
"Actually," she said, her tone becoming a bit more obnoxious. "I'm actually going to Link's house. He invited me, well, I called him then he invited me to come over."
Zelda dropped the bag of flour, splattering it everywhere.
"YOU'RE WHAT!?"
"That's right. Link loves ME. So back off!" she snapped.
Link invited Malon and didn't warn her!? How dare he!
"I'm not interested in Link, have you listened to his voicemail lately?" Zelda said.
"Voicemail!? So you've been calling him?" Malon interrogated.
Woops.
"Oh, I – I –"
"You're SERIOUSLY trying to steal him away from me. Ugh, why even bother talking to me?"
At this point Zelda got angry. This was NOT the Malon she was besties with.
"Excuse me? If I recall, YOU called ME, and yes I did call Link, but not for the reasons you assumed so quickly. So goodbye Malon, I don't want to talk to you or listen to you try to tell me off and accuse me of things I haven't done." With that, Zelda hung up. Now she was too upset to make anything for Malon's party let alone attend it. But Malon was coming over and the kitchen was a mess, not to mention there was flour all over the floor.
Bending down, Zelda cleaned it up, and then spread the batter on the sheet before throwing it into the oven. She threw herself onto the couch, turning on the TV. She considered calling Link but waved the thought off since he would most likely reject her call. It would be nice to talk to someone, but Zelda found herself infatuated in the show she was watching. She checked her watch after a few minutes passed, running to the oven to get the cookies out. She forgot to get some oven gloves, and ended squealing and dropping the tray. A few seconds after that, the doorbell rang.
"Link? Are you okay?"
It was Malon!
Zelda's heart started beating faster and faster. Her hand was searing with pain, her skin started blistering. Things were not going great at all.
"Link, are you there? I know you keep a spare key under the rug!"
Zelda took a moment to do a face palm.
A spare key? Seriously?
Zelda looked around frantically, trying to find a hiding place.
The knob turned as Malon unlocked the door, and Zelda hid underneath the kitchen counter.
Malon observed the room carefully. She noticed the TV was on and frowned.
"Link should be here…"
She walked into the kitchen, it was a total mess.
She looked at the counter and saw the array of ingredients and the cookies on the floor.
"Didn't Zelda say she was making cookies… Wait a second…" She stomped to the other side of the counter and saw Zelda making a failed attempt to crawl away.
Zelda looked up slowly to see Malon glaring at her murderously.
"I TOLD YOU TO BACK OFF!"
"And I told YOU to stop assuming everything!"
"You said you were making cookies!"
"I was!" Zelda snapped.
"You didn't say you were making them at Link's house, you said you were making them at yours!"
"And where does Link pop up in all of this? Why don't you yell at him? I'm your BEST FRIEND; I wouldn't tell you something that isn't true so when I tell you I'm not interested in Link you need to believe me!"
"WELL I DON'T! But, since you seem like you have an explanation, tell me why you're here."
"Because I… I can't tell you, but I'm not 'seeing' him or dating him or interested in him like that."
"Oh really?" Malon asked, grabbing a spatula and pointing it at her menacingly. "Are you lying?"
Zelda squealed, jumping up and running off while Malon chased her.
The leaves were fresh and crisp on the outskirts of Lon Lon Ranch. Nabooru looked around in disgust; she preferred the dry land of her hometown, mostly because everything outside of Gerudo Valley seemed so… vulnerable. Like something could pop out of nowhere and attack them. Back at home there were trained fighters, guards covering every inch of their town. However she doubted anything bad would be at this ranch.
They entered the ranch, knocking on the door of the large house awkwardly.
"Are you sure this is the right place?" Ganondorf hissed.
"Oh shut it, how many ranches are around this area?"
An old man with a huge gut answered the door. He had a curly mustache that made Nabooru giggle right away, and resulted in a flick on the forehead from Ganondorf. The man raised one of his bushy eyebrows questioningly.
"You two young'uns some of Malon's friends?"
Nabooru answered him after she was done with her rude laughter.
"Um, y-yes. I'm Nabooru and this is Ganondorf." She said, gesturing to her green skinned companion.
"Ah," he said, nodding. "Are you her boyfriend?" he asked.
"No. Are you?" Ganondorf replied sarcastically.
Nabooru laughed nervously, "Okay then!"
"I'm Talon, I'm Malon's father. I've never met you two before… How long have you been friends with my little pumpkin?"
Ganondorf and Nabooru looked at each other; eyes widened with no idea what to say.
"Um, we met her recently." Ganondorf said.
"How recent?" Talon asked.
"Pretty recent, like a month ago or something."
"A month!? Good heavens, boy! And you two didn't introduce yourselves until now!?"
"We… well, yeah."
"Does this have anything to do with the birthday party her friends are throwing her?"
"Yes, it does. We felt the need to introduce ourselves since we're going to her party. We didn't want to show up as strangers, and get to know what your ranch looks like." Nabooru interjected.
Talon smiled, "Well come on in! Aren't you a polite little whippersnapper? Maybe your little boyfriend could learn some manners from you."
"Once again, I'm not her boyfriend." Ganondorf said with a large sigh.
The room was absolutely horrid right when they walked in. Cuccos were spread everywhere, hopping around. The floors were wooden and nails jutted out of the planks.
"…Nice place." Ganondorf said, looking around.
"Don't lie to me, boy. I know it's a mess, Malon usually hangs out with her friends in this room." He opened a door, leading to another room where the carpet was much softer and things were organized. There was a TV, a few consoles and shelves. It looked… normal.
"I fixed this up just for Malon. The other room is messy because that's how my father built it, years ago. Brings back a nostalgic feeling," Talon said, wiping a false tear off his face. "The party will be taking place in here as well as outside where the horses and cuccos roam. I trust you kids have come to find out how we're setting up this joint?"
Nabooru bit her lip, looking at Ganondorf. He looked nervous also.
"Um… No. That's part of the reason we came by, actually. So you could tell us…"
He handed them a paper with a diagram on it. There were labels and a plenty of drawings. Nabooru held it as if it were a silver rupee and looked at every detail etched on the paper. While she was occupied with the paper, Talon stared at both of them, his expression a mixture of curiosity and suspicion. A few minutes after looking through the diagram, Nabooru took notice of this, but assumed it was because he found her attractive. It bothered Ganondorf though, probably a little more than it should have.
"What!?" He finally asked when it became too much.
"Excuse me son?" Talon asked, breaking out of his trance.
"Why are you staring at us like that?"
He pointed at them as if they'd committed a crime.
"The red hair, the baked skin, yellow eyes… You two look like some rascals down from a province I don't know too well… They were filled with girls and only one male would be born in like a hundred years… What were they called again?"
Nabooru flinched. Considering Talon knew Link, he would also know that Link's arch enemy was Ganondorf, a male Gerudo!
"Um, Gorons." Nabooru said, giving him his diagram and grabbing Ganondorf's hand, "We have to go!"
"But you just got here…" Talon frowned.
"Yeah, well, bye!" Ganondorf said as they dashed out, staring back the whole time to make sure the old man wasn't looking at them.
Once they were out of the gate, they turned around, only to bump into Malon. They both let out a startled cry.
Malon didn't look too pleased herself, she was terrified.
"Oh my goddesses! You two are Gerudos! Did you rob our house!?"
Nabooru laughed, "No, not ALL of us are thieves."
"Yes we are." Ganondorf commented.
"Shut up." Nabooru hissed, "Anyways how are you Malon?"
"…How do you know my name?" She asked, freaked out.
Ganondorf sighed, smacking his face with his hand shamefully.
"Oops…" Nabooru bit her lip nervously. She'd completely disregarded the fact that Malon had no idea who they were. Now she would be ten times more wary of them.
"We… met your friends at the beach!" Ganondorf said, hoping she didn't know him. "I'm Ganondorf, this is Nabooru. We were talking to them. Zelda and Link I believe?"
At their mention Malon let out a heavy sigh, "Well I guess you talked to ONE of my friends…"
Nabooru cocked her head thoughtfully.
"What do you mean one of your friends?"
"Zelda and I aren't best friends OR just friends anymore. I caught her with my boyfriend and she denied having interest with him, but I honestly think she does."
"Tell us more," Nabooru said, hoping she could somehow become Malon's actual 'friend.'
"Ugh, girl problems?" Ganondorf said disapprovingly, receiving a whack in the chest from Nabooru.
"Hush!" she snapped.
"No! He's right… I shouldn't be bothering you two about this." She walked to her home, but stopped, looking back at them, piqued. "So you saw Link and Zelda, like, TOGETHER?"
"Yes."
Malon crossed her arms.
"I can't believe it…"
"Well, have you talked to Link about any of this?" Ganondorf said, stepping forward.
"I guess not."
"You can't always blame the girl for cheating. Maybe they weren't cheating! Maybe it was a misunderstanding. They didn't seem that interested in each other anyways."
"I hope you're right." Malon said, "I hope the truth will come out sooner or later. I'm just so upset. And I just want Link to be with me and ONLY me. It's bad timing too, my birthday is coming up."
Nabooru smiled, "Well, maybe we could celebrate with you?"
Malon laughed nervously, scratching her head.
"That's really sweet, but I barely know you guys."
"Well I assumed you would need a friend to talk to."
"I guess. My birthday is this Saturday, you can come here if you'd like. But no weapons, please!" She held her hands up in defense before walking off to her home.
"Wow." Nabooru said, watching her in awe. "She's so…"
"Stupid!" Ganondorf said, cracking up. "I can't believe she talked to us for about two seconds, and she invited us to her house so quickly! What an idiotic thing to do!"
Nabooru pulled Ganondorf, who was weak with giggles, away.
Link burst into the living room, his hands filled with groceries.
"I'm home!" He claimed in a sing-song voice.
"Zelda?" He looked around, frowning. "Where are you? I don't have time for hide and seek, Malon's coming here and I –"
"OH MALON CAME." Zelda said, rolling out of the hallway and into Link's view. Her hair was a mess, her face was flushed and she looked miffed.
"Why do you have a spatula in your head?" Link asked, snickering.
"Because your little girlfriend thinks I'm obsessed with you!"
"I do have that effect on women."
"LINK!"
"Okay, I'm sorry! Her party is coming very soon. I'll explain to her then that there is nothing going on between us."
"In the meantime, I have some injuries that need to be taken care of."
Link's eyes widened, "Did she hurt you that bad?"
"No. I forgot to put on some oven mitts and I burned my hand taking those cookies out."
Link put his groceries down, walking over to Zelda and grabbing her hand. She winced at his touch, since he had been so rough.
"Ouchie!"
"Shh," he said, taking her to the kitchen.
"I am getting sick of this place." She commented.
"Well get used to it because you're going to be here a lot more often."
"We only have to cook for two more days..."
Link smiled lightly.
"Oh. Right." He turned on the water, feeling it to see how cold it was.
He took her hand and placed it underneath, resulting in a scream so loud, for a split second Link thought he saw the Great Fairy herself come down to earth to heal Zelda's wounds. He covered her mouth with under hand as she writhed underneath him, moaning in pain. As she started to relax, he let go of her.
"What… the… HELL!? THAT HURT! AND I'VE EXPERIENCED ENOUGH PAIN TODAY!"
"Keep your voice down!"
"Don't tell me what to do!"
"I'll tell you what to do as long as you're in my house!"
"And I'll refuse to listen to you as long as I get assaulted by evil cookies and crazy redheads who like to stick spatulas in my hair in an attempt to keep YOU in the clear! NOW FIX MY HAND!"
"I'M TRYING TO, STOP YELLING AT ME!"
"YOU'RE THE ONE YELLING!"
"YOU STARTED IT!"
"YOU PROMPTED ME!"
"YOU INITIATED THE PROMPTING!"
"I HATE YOU!"
"I HATE YOU MORE!"
They were about to start bickering again when Link's phone rang.
"It's Malon," Link said, hushing her.
"Ugh, what does she want NOW!?"
Link glared at Zelda, flicking her forehead, he answered her call, grabbing to get a glass of water.
"Hey Malon! When are you coming over?"
"I did. And guess what! I found Zelda over there, baking cookies!"
Link, who had been taking a sip, choked on it.
"Y-You did now?" He bit his lip.
"Yes! And she told me she couldn't tell me why she was there, but I assumed those cookies were for you. I can't believe it!"
"Sounds interesting."
"Does she know about your spare key?"
Link's brow furrowed.
"Wait, how do YOU know about my spare key?"
"Anyways," she said, enunciating every letter, "I just wanted to know if YOU by chance were… involved with her?"
Link did a spit take, splashing Zelda. He began laughing hysterically.
"Wait, what!? You actually think I would stoop THAT low?"
Zelda leaned forward, holding onto her hand as she did.
"What did she say?"
Link held the phone away so Malon couldn't hear his side conversation with Zelda.
"She thinks I'm interested in YOU!"
Zelda looked bewildered.
"And that's funny? You would be LUCKY to have me!"
He waved her off and got back on the phone.
"Listen, I don't know how Zelda feels, but I have no interest in her and I thought we made that clear from the start. She's not my type, in fact, she isn't anyone's type! Not even Groose's! I mean seriously, there's no way those two would get together."
Zelda smiled, happy to hear something she actually agreed with from him. Her smile disappeared when he continued.
"He's way out of her league!"
He started laughing again.
"Okay, so where did you get this idea that I was interested in Zelda?"
"Well I guess it started when I saw you two together in your house." Malon said guiltily, "But then I talked to some of my… 'friends' who knew you, and –"
"Who were these friends? And why did you say it like that?" Link asked, taking a large sip of water.
"Well, they haven't hung out with us, but they knew you and talked to you at the beach. And I was thinking of that day I caught you and Zelda together, and I remember Mido calling you about them… They seemed really nice! Their names were Gandalf and Nabooti!"
Link did an even larger spit take, once again splattering Zelda in his backwash.
"GANONDORF AND NABOORU!?"
"Oh yeah, that's it." Malon said, ignoring Link's shocked reply, "so they were coming from my house and I got all suspicious and –"
"Ganondorf and Nabooru!? WHAT!? They're not nice! They're EVIL! Well, I don't know about that Nabooru chick but Ganondorf, HE is EVIL!"
"I think you're over exaggerating –"
"I'm sorry, but I've got to go Malon."
"What, why!? Where are you going?"
Link sighed, grabbing his car keys and looking at the clock.
"I'll never get a chance to stay home today, will I?" he asked Zelda miserably.
She shook her head, knowing his plan immediately.
"Hello? Link!?" Malon asked.
"I'm going to Gerudo Desert." He replied.
And with that, he hung up.
Okay, so a special shout out to Celestial Dragon for making me laugh. Not in a bad way, I think it's sweet that you enjoy this story so much and come back and check on it. And I'm sorry I haven't updated in awhile! I had writer's block, and school just started a few weeks ago so… This story is pretty much a fail now. Which explains this crappy chapter. I'll try to make it better, I promise. Since this one isn't entertaining or good at all. Anyways even though things should be simple since school just started, I'm taking all honors classes and my elective is a challenge in itself, so updating will be hard. I hope you guys can understand, and I'm really sorry!
Chapter Four Theme Song Title: Crazy Possessive
Artist: Kaci Battaglia
/watch?v=RNE3ZlUiDrU&feature=plcp
^The link is actually an AMV I created. Just picture Malon as Ilia. xD