Summer of Our Discontent

Runaway

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Groose asked, with a moping expression. He and Zelda had cooked a great amount of food – with no particularly outstanding effort in doing so, and no idea of whether it was good or not.

"Groose," Zelda turned to him, her eyes fluid. "Everyone's done. Except for me and Link. And do you know why? Because he has a girlfriend, who's supposed to be my best friend, but instead hates me! Yes, I'm sure I want to do this. I know it sounds incredibly selfish, but I need him. I can't finish these recipes alone."

Groose slicked his hair back, "My entire night was dedicated to helping you." He laughed bitterly, as if some sort of humorous epiphany had struck him. Maybe it hadn't. He looked like he needed to cover up how hurt he actually was.

"I guess love can be blinding," he continued, his snakelike eyes staring into Zelda's thoughtfully. "But let's face it, you texted Link nonstop, sent him at least fifteen voicemails. It takes a really long time to get to Gerudo Desert, we wouldn't have suspected he was stranded if you hadn't been so persistent. You ARE being selfish, by lying to Malon to salvage your friendship, when you know that you're in love with him."

Zelda's heart nearly stopped.

"Whaa-!"

"Why else would you pair up with him? You've said it yourself, you hate him. But between love and hate, there's a fine line. Like, why do I even try anymore? Maybe I need a reality check. Beautiful girls like you will always go for guys like him."

"Groose… don't. I don't think you understand why I paired up with Link. He, he kind of made me. I didn't want to pair up with him, and he realized it was a mistake, and since he goes out with Malon, there were a lot of mix-ups… He's a jerk and I'd never go for him. I wouldn't hurt Malon like that. There's too much bad blood between us…"

Groose's expression was nearly indecipherable. Was he convinced? Was he doubtful? It was impossible to tell.

"Plus," Zelda's lip quivered. "I…I'm not beautiful. So don't say that."

"I've said it once, and I'll say it again a million times until you believe me." He walked closer to Zelda, who was backing up against the kitchen sink. "You don't love him? Really?"

"N-No. I do not." Zelda's eyes closed, her knees beginning to feel wobbly. This was the most awkward position she had found herself in yet. Wafts of Groose's strong cologne became easier to smell. Her face became warmer with his breaths as he closed in on her.

Zelda exhaled the breath she had been holding in since he stepped closer to her.

"Don't! Don't do it. Don't kiss me." Zelda said, her voice shakier than it had ever been. "I don't… I'm sorry Groose but I don't like you like that! I'm even not sure we're quite at the friendship stage yet. It's just this whole schoolboy crush needs to stop –"

"Schoolboy crush? Is that what you call it? Zelda, I'm in l –"

"Don't say it! Don't say the 'l' word! This is wrong, all of it. Groose, I don't want you or Link. But I need to be truthful with you. Do not – never ever ever – make me choose between you and Link. Because if you do… You need to know, that it's going to be him. He may be a douchebag and perverted… But –"

"He's hotter than me." Groose said, his voice devoid of emotion.

Zelda's jaw dropped, and Groose reached out to close it. He held onto her chin to keep her mouth closed, obviously not wanting her to talk anymore.

"Don't bother trying to act as if that's not the reason why you like him!" He snarled, and Zelda pushed his hand off her chin, moving to her right and away from the sink. She positioned herself so she was standing in front of Groose.

"I hate Link. I… I would never date him."

"Do you hate me?" he snapped.

"Well, you're frustrating me right now! Why does it always have to be about romance? Huh? Why is it always about who loves who? Link is in trouble, and I owe it to Malon to help him. We all do. She's been through a lot. I'm not doing this for him. I-I'm doing it for her." Zelda stammered. But it was a lie. Zelda didn't want to save Link for Malon, but she didn't want to save Link because she loved him. She wanted to save Link because it's the right thing to do. It was the good side of Zelda, her humanity. Why was that so hard to understand?

Groose huffed, as if there was nothing wrong with what Zelda just said, even though there was.

"Okay. But I'm in love with you," he said the words quickly so Zelda couldn't stop him that time. She blushed, and albeit how angry he'd felt, he loved the reaction. "And I want you to know that I can accept that you think he's better looking than me… but I also want you to know that I'll show you there's so much more to me than my looks."

Zelda's eyes dropped to the ground, the patterned tiles suddenly becoming more and more interesting. She walked to the couch and sat down solemnly, thinking of who to call. The million rupee question was… Would Groose help her? Would he be willing to help the girl he was in love with save another guy who could be a potential threat to their (so not happening) relationship?

"Will you help me?" Zelda turned to Groose, her long hair flipping around flawlessly with the movement. Her hair framed her face gorgeously. How could Groose say no to that?

Groose grit his teeth, trying to fight the gnawing feeling he had in his stomach. He couldn't let his emotions get too intermingled with doing what was right. If pretty boy was in trouble, he'd need their help. But Zelda was taking advantage of him. With her pretty pale face and light blue eyes, she was a charmer, regardless of whether or not she knew it. Still, he obliged.

"Yeah. I'll help." He said grumpily, his mind briefly flashing back to his run in with Malon. The poor girl had been in tears over the horrific thought of Link and Zelda together, and Groose had a flash of empathy for her naiveté nature. "I mean, Malon doesn't deserve to go through this, I couldn't care less about pretty boy." Unlike Zelda however, he actually meant it.

Zelda nodded, "Thank you Groose. In addition, I'm sure Midna's coming as well. I asked her if she could bring Sheik along, but she panicked and hung up. I don't have every little detail worked out, but I was hoping Ilia could stay behind just to keep Impa occupied. Impa loves Ilia. Saria and Mido would be helpful as well, I know that they're the youngest and they should probably stay behind, but they can hotwire a car –"

"Woah, woah, woah. What?" Groose held a hand up, cutting off Zelda's master plan. "…Hotwire a car?"

Zelda laughed nervously, "Yeah…"

"Saria? Little innocent Saria? Plot frigging twist! Zelda, I can see you're devoted to saving Link, and…" Was she blushing? Ugh. "I mean, it's admirable, but why would we need to hotwire a car?"

"I was thinking that if Ilia distracted Impa, we could… b-borrow her car?" Again with the nervous laugh.

"Oh. You mean STEAL?"

Zelda's eyes slanted, getting tired of trying to sugarcoat things.

"Yes Groose, steal. Scandalous, I know. If Impa's at Ilia's house, she'll never know."

"I hate to rain on your parade but, if Impa's going to Ilias house, won't she need her car!?"

Zelda bit her lip.

"Okay, good point. Ilia will go to Impa's house and distract her there. We'll all take the bus to get there and I can give Ilia a signal when we need to go, which will be a call on her cell. We'll go once the car is hotwired and parked around the corner. We should all bring rupees in case we need to get gas."

"I mean, it's a good plan, and by good I mean terrible, but shouldn't Ilia just try and grab the keys while she's in there? Or why don't you just do it?"

"Must you shoot down every plan I throw at you? I can't distract Impa because if I go in there she'll keep me there. Permanently! I lied to her twice, she won't be happy with me. But if it makes you happy, Ilia will go in there and take the keys, then I'll give her the signal, she runs out with the keys we all get in the car and drive to Gerudo Desert."

"You said you were staying at Ilia's house though. She will question Ilia about your whereabouts if she's over at your house. What are you going to say about that? It may be late but what if Impa wants to use her car again? Gerudo Desert is hours away and we may not get back in time to cover things up."

Zelda let out a large and impatient sigh.

"O…kay." She said, breathing slowly and calculatedly, trying to keep her cool. "What do we do then, just straight up hotwire her car without even acknowledging the fact she might hear us? We need someone to capture and hold her attention. Maybe I need to get Pipit, but Karane will be a package deal if I call him."

"Pipit?" Groose crossed his arms, "Didn't you have a crush on him as well?"

"That's beyond the point!" Zelda said hotly, not even bothering to deny it. "He can help us."

"Can everyone even fit into the car?"

"Not everyone needs to come along with us…"

"Well if they don't, how will they get home? Aren't we all taking the bus?"

"Nayru, have mercy." Zelda said, "What do you suggest we do then? Take a stranger's car? That's just disrespectful."

"Yeah, because stealing a car from your guardian is extremely polite. Zelda, your logic is flawed. We should just wait it out and hope for the best."

Zelda grit her teeth.

"You're just saying that because you hate him."

"Or maybe we shouldn't risk everyone's safety on one guy."

"You know what? Screw you Groose. If I have to do this alone, I will. But I'm not going to sit around and wait for a miracle to happen." Zelda said, whipping her phone out. "If you don't want to help, then whatever. I don't need you and your… your… your logic!" Zelda said cheekily.

Groose frowned at his missed opportunity to spend more time with Zelda but quickly smiled because he knew he was right – and she knew it too.

"She so wants me…" he thought out loud, running his fingers through his blood red hair.

Zelda scoffed, "You wish!"

"Well, well, well… What do you know?" Ganondorf said, spreading his arms and letting out a deep laugh.

Link held his ground, his back straightened as he stared at the lime colored male in front of him. Unfortunately his attempt to look tall and intimidating was failing, as he was at a disadvantage and the older Gerudo male was notably taller than him. It didn't help that he was also more powerful physically and politically.

"Hi, Ganondork." Link said, chewing on his bottom lip nervously.

"I hope you're remembering that I'm an heir to a throne of one of the most feared races in Hyrule. And you are in my territory. I wouldn't get snippy if I were you."

Link crossed his arms.

"If you have a right to come onto my territory and mess with my friends, I think I have a right to do the same to yours."

Ganondorf gave Link a wicked smile, his white teeth glittering against his green complexion.

"I'm sorry, are you the prince of Castle Town? … No? I didn't think so. And messing with my friends comes with dire consequences. All the ladies here want to get in my pants. I don't think they'd take kindly to a foreigner… Especially a Hylian." Ganondorf spit the last word out like it was poison against his tongue, and it took all of Link's willpower to not smack him and call him out as a racist.

"Okay, okay, I didn't mean it like that. I don't want to 'mess' with your friends, but I do want you to leave me alone. I don't care about how much political power you have, you're dangerous and you have a vendetta to settle with me, not my friends. I don't know exactly what you said to Malon, Mido, and Groose, but stay away from them." Link growled.

Ganondorf's stoic expression faltered for a split second, which Link caught, but he regained himself nearly instantly, feigning innocence.

"Who's Malon? Never heard of her."

"You're a terrible liar Ganondork!" Link snapped accusingly. "I pointed her out to you at the beach! She is under a lot of emotional stress right now, and you just want to make it worse. Well, things have pretty much collapsed on their own. I don't need you adding to my misery."

"Did you really travel for several hours out here for that?" The Gerudo prince asked amusedly, "You're a knucklehead, I'll give you that. As for your little girlfriend, well, I pretty much have my own agenda. You know everything between us is a friendly rivalry. Or a vicious rivalry. Kind of like you and your special blonde friend…"

"Keep her out of this." Link said, balling his fists up, but he was blushing. And he knew it.

Ganondorf opened his mouth to give a snarky response, but shut it when he noticed the car behind him opened and closed.

"G! What the hell is taking so long?"

A curvy female figure stepped out, sauntering towards the fuming men. It was Nabooru, wearing baggy rose pants and pointed moccasins. She wore a strapless bikini styled top, tied up in front, exposing her breasts. Ganondorf cleared his throat awkwardly, immediately feeling embarrassed. Only because she looked absolutely flawless of course. Her skin matched the darkest hues of sand and tiny droplets of sweat dripped from her chest, which was bizarre since it was nighttime and relatively cool.

"This isn't sweat by the way. We just came back from skinny dipping in an oasis right outside the bridge," Nabooru explained, wiping her body with a towel.

"…Skinny dipping?" Link asked, dropping his angry expression momentarily to give Ganondorf a smirk.

"Shut it Link." Ganondorf said, his body slacking a bit.

"I'm not judging, not judging at all. It's good to see you again by the way." Link said, acknowledging Nabooru.

The young woman looked up, surprised to see Link.

"Wait… What are you doing here?" She asked, alarmed.

"He thinks we're trying to ruin his redhead's party." Ganondorf said with a scoff.

Nabooru's expression pretty much gave it all away. Tints of red appeared against her sunbaked skin, yet she managed to keep her mouth in a bone straight line as she stared at Link innocently.

"Wh-what? What are you talking about? You mean you think I would try to hurt that sweet, sweet girl? I hardly even know you Link, why would I do that?" Despite her visual appearance, she genuinely sounded distraught. A flash of doubt crossed Link's eyes.

"Well, I mean yeah we hardly know each other, but it's not that hard for anyone to figure out that you're in love with this loser," Link pointed at Ganondorf, "and you'll do anything to make him happy."

"Why does everyone think we're an item? We're just friends!" Nabooru nearly shrieked. "Ganondorf is this close to becoming King of the Gerudos, so you're better off turning around and going home buddy!"

Link ignored the second part, focusing on the first as he stared at her with a quirked eyebrow. "Just friends? Yeah, sure. 'Just friends' who spend every waking moment together and went skinny-dipping together." He let out a deep, somewhat sensual laugh that Nabooru couldn't help being attracted to.

Once he stopped, he gave her a sad look.

"I can't leave anyways. I ran out of gas on my way here. And I'm sure my friends are looking for me right now."

Nabooru looked at Ganondorf worriedly.

"Your friends are coming here?"

"Yes," Link said slowly. "Well, I don't know. Zelda would probably come in a hurry, Malon knows I'm here but I'm not sure she knows I'm stranded, I mean, I didn't say anything about it to her. No one did."

"Wow. You could win, like, boyfriend of the year or something." Nabooru said, which resulted in a hearty laugh from Ganondorf.

"Shut up," Link groaned. "Things are complicated right now. Not that that excuses the way I've been treating her. I know what I did was wrong. I feel bad enough without you making me feel any worse."

"So you're out of gas?" Nabooru asked slowly.

"I just said that," Link said through grit teeth.

"And your friends don't know exactly where you are, right? I mean, they know you're here, but…"

"No, they don't know exactly where I am."

"And I mean, it's pretty dark out here. No one can really see us out here."

"Yeah, I guess, but… Wait. Are you guys going to kidnap me?" Link asked, flinching.

Nabooru scoffed.

"Hell to the no! We're outta here! Everything you accused us of is an L-I-E! And if you don't have any gas, you can't chase us! Let's go Ganondork!" Nabooru said, taking Ganondorf's hand as they ran back to their car and sped back up to their valley. It all happened so quickly that Link barely had any time to process it, but once he realized what had happened he wasn't sure which reaction would be better: a frustrated scream or a sultry laugh.

"Why do bad things happen to good people who don't deserve it?" Link asked himself internally, somewhat amused by how Nabooru and Ganondorf had chickened out against him, but still worried for Malon and their surprise party. And as he asked himself this question, he wasn't sure if it was directed toward him, or towards Zelda.

A/N: The poll for this story is up. Choose 2 of your favorite pairings for the story. The song Runaway is the title for several different songs that all relate to Link's situation somewhat, but the initial inspiration is from the song by Linkin Park. Next update will be this summer. See you guys later. :)