Summer of Our Discontent

Sweet Escape

"Zelda!" Malon said, stepping away from Groose completely.

He sighed, seeing the devastated look on Zelda's face. Even if he was irritated with her, she was still breathtakingly beautiful. And seeing her staring at them, her cheeks pink with fury, wearing that dress and tiny bit of make-up… well, it was hard to be upset with someone you have feelings for, especially when they looked as good as Zelda did.

"It's… not what it looks like." She said, biting her lip sheepishly.

"Actually, I think it's exactly what it looks like. You know, I didn't want to believe that it was true. I thought that maybe Ilia and Saria were just making the whole thing up. When they came to Link's house and told us that you had cheated, we even laughed about it… like, like it was some sort of sick joke. And then I see you two here, you come to this intervention on a date… and now you have your hands all over each other. I never imagined it would be you, Malon. I never imagined you would be the one to betray him. I defended you. I gave you a lot more credibility than you deserved." She scoffed, placing her hands on her hips. Her eyes met Groose's. She looked at him as if he were a stranger.

"I… we aren't dating anymore. So am I really cheating? I can do what I want now, Zelda." Malon responded, her voice unsteady.

"Sounds to me like you'll 'do what you want' regardless of your relationship status." Zelda said with an eye roll.

"Hey, leave her alone. All of you guys have been lousy friends to her, constantly attacking her. You even stole pretty boy from her, why is this her fault?" Groose said, showing contempt for how Zelda had talked to her friend.

"Is this it? Are you two secret lovers? All Link and I ever do is argue with each other. You two are the ones hiding out to share passionate exchanges. I never kissed or touched Link in any way. But you insist that there's 'something' between us? I didn't steal anyone from anybody! If Link doesn't want to date a girl that cheated on him, that's his choice!"

Groose growled.

"I don't like Link, so why should I be sensitive to his feelings? I don't owe him anything. And no, we aren't 'secret lovers,' because apparently everything that happens between us gets scrutinized by all of our friends!"

"Fine, answer this one question for me then, Groose. Because I truly didn't expect even you to stoop this low."

"And what's that?" He asked angrily.

She involuntarily stepped closer to him, her face softening up a bit.

"When did you stop loving me?

The question made him flinch, and a lot of the anger he had felt just moments ago was watered down to pure guilt. He shrugged, crossing his arms, fearful that it was possible she and Malon could hear his heart pounding through his chest.

"I mean, I didn't stop… I just never thought you'd care for me, and –"

Malon sighed heavily, wiping her eyes and looking down at the ground. Groose stopped and looked at her with a concerned expression. She couldn't bear to listen to Groose profess his undying love for Zelda… especially when she interrupted their special moment.

"I am just so damn tired of crying over him, Zelda. Link doesn't care about me anymore. He hasn't even bothered reaching out to me since he dumped me. I don't care if you didn't kiss him. You think that you need to kiss someone to have a connection with them? I know that you two have talked to each other behind my back. You didn't give a damn about him until the moment I told you that we were dating. THAT'S when you decided to hang out with him. And then there's Groose, I mean, stop acting like you care about him! You don't know him; you don't know or care about him at all. Then you see him kiss me, and you decide to talk to him about his feelings towards you. Why, Zel? Do you just want to take everything from me?"

Zelda blinked a few times, thinking that she needed a reevaluation of herself and what she'd been doing.

"No, I don't want to take everything from you Malon. I didn't realize that you felt that way. I also didn't realize that I was doing that. But you're right. I don't care for Groose, and no matter what he says, he doesn't care for me. You know what? This isn't worth it. You two aren't worth any of this. So you can continue your little lip lock session, just pretend that I never saw anything." She said, turning around.

"Zelda, wait -!" Groose called after her, to no avail.

"Just stop it Groose. She's never gonna give you a chance now." Malon said, angry and envious of the way he vied after her. Zelda couldn't see it, but Malon did. That girl had those two boys wrapped around her finger, and it drove her mad with jealousy.

Groose sighed, looking at Malon with beautiful, wistful eyes.

"I'm sorry, Malon. I really am. For everything. I hope you and pretty boy can make up and possibly even get back together, but you know my heart still belongs to her." Groose said.

Malon sighed. Even if she had lost Link, and even if Groose didn't want her, she was still more fearful of losing her best friend. She wasn't used to arguing with Zelda, but this summer seemed to be defined by their arguments. She nodded sullenly and crossed her arms.

"Let's just go back to our little intervention, and never speak of this again."

"Can do," Groose said, giving her a tiny smile as he said so.

Zelda had been just about ready to make a beeline for the table when she noticed Pipit right outside the 'birthday room' with a perplexed expression on his face. Her heart nearly stopped and she went up to him, motioning to follow her. She led him away from the room, but didn't stray too close to their table.

"Did… did you hear all of that?" Zelda asked nervously.

Pipit nodded, not uttering a word. He seemed to be mulling over what he would say, obviously wanting to maintain his rationality. His eyes still held the same, nonjudgmental warmth they had always held before.

"It's okay; you don't have to act all nice about this. I was a bit out of line. I mean, I guess I always am in a way." Zelda prodded, hoping he would say something instead of just stare at her.

"Groose and Malon… who would've guessed?" Was all he could muster himself up to say.

Surprised at his reaction, Zelda laughed, then gave him a curious look.

"Were you following me?" She asked.

His cheeks turned a bright shade of pink. "Yeah. I mean, as the leader of this intervention I need to be the peacemaker, right? I was concerned when all of you walked off. But truthfully, I wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Oh…" Zelda said, her lip slightly quivering as she tried (and failed) desperately to keep her cool. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Okay, well let's get back to our dinner." Pipit said, eyeing Groose and Malon as they walked out of the room together.

"I've been meaning to ask, where are the others? Our group's so large – that must mean that there are only three people in the other group. It isn't very even."

"The other group is enjoying a lovely walk, surrounded by nature." Pipit said, giving her a gentle smile.

"THIS IS THE WORST WALK EVER!" Shad wailed as Ilia struggled to pull out the fifth splinter he had got caught in his leg.

Karane snickered at the sight, and Link was just downright sulky. Still a bit sore from the tussle he and Groose got into last week, he couldn't help wondering what was going on at the 'other intervention.' That was where the majority of the group was at. It was a five star restaurant in the center of Castle Town, and both Pipit and Karane struggled to gather the rupees needed to pay for it. He pouted. The intervention was wrong, all of it was wrong.

They get top of the notch food and we get splinters and mosquitoes?

Truth be told, he was more focused on the fact that Groose, Zelda, and Malon were at the first convention. He felt left out.

Zelda should be here, with me. He thought to himself. After all, all four of them were the reasons why the intervention was needed in the first place. It wouldn't make sense to have three of them in one spot and leave the fourth one out. Though at the same time, Link wasn't very fond of any of them – though Zelda was the least of his worries. He looked back at the group he ended up with.

Ilia had successfully extracted the splinter and was massaging tiny circles into Shad's leg, trying to console the poor guy. The skin around where the splinter had been was a deep shade of red, contrasting greatly against his pale skin. They both stood up eventually, and the foursome continued their trudge through the Lost Woods. All Link was focused on were the possibilities of what could be happening at the restaurant at this exact moment. Were Groose and Malon sharing romantic moments with each other? Was there a big argument and chaos? Maybe even a food fight?

He growled quietly. It just wasn't fair.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Karane asked with an impish grin on her face. Link was startled momentarily, he hadn't even noticed the girl walking next to him, and now she was walking so close that their shoulders were touching. He stepped to the side, putting just the tiniest bit of distance between them.

She noticed this and gave him an apologetic look.

"Sorry." She said.

He shook his head.

"It's fine. And as for my thoughts, I'm wondering when my body will eventually shift into a Stalfos." He looked over at her with a sarcastic smirk that could make any girl's heart flutter.

"Heh, you don't actually believe that stupid myth, do you?" Karane laughed, but Link's adept eyes noted the slight shiver that followed.

"Karane, can I ask you something?" Link said suddenly, now having the desire to truly speak what was on his mind.

"Shoot." She replied simply.

"If the main conflict is between me, Groose, Zelda, and Malon… Why aren't any of them here? I mean, at least one of them should be here instead of with Pipit."

"Was there one in particular you were looking forward to talking to?" Karane asked, waggling her eyebrows suggestively.

Link's cheeks were now rosy, and his jaw almost dropped at Karane's 'accusation.' Even though she didn't drop any names, it didn't matter because she didn't need to. It was clear as day who she was referring to. Why was everyone so hung up on the idea that there was some sort of illicit and scandalous affair between him and Zelda?

"No! And don't do that thing with your eyebrows. I meant any three of them, not just Zelda." Link said with a pout.

"I was actually referring to Malon, but hey if the shoe fits…" Karane shrugged, secretly amused at the peculiar chemistry between the two.

"Oh." Link said, suddenly wishing he hadn't brought up her name.

"I, for one, actually agree with Link." Shad said, limping towards the pair. He almost looked sickly underneath the mysterious green glow of the trees that towered over them.

"No, you're just a wimp and can't handle an innocent walk in this forest." Karane snorted.

"Hey!" Shad said indignantly, "This isn't fair! We should have gotten the fancy restaurant. Are we meeting them there?"

Karane rolled her eyes.

"You wish."

Shad sighed and inched his way back to Ilia miserably, who simply smiled at him sympathetically.

"When do you think they'll admit they like each other?" Karane asked him teasingly.

"The moment you and Pipit finally confess to each other probably."

Karane's eyes widened and she let out an indignant shriek.

"That was uncalled for!" She said angrily.

He laughed it off, shaking his head.

"And for the record –" Karane was about to continue, but she looked down at her phone. She got a text.

"Oh, is that your boyfriend now?" Link smirked at her flustered expression.

"Shut up! They just finished their dinner. It's time for all of us to meet up. We can finally leave this dumb forest."

"What was the point of this walk anyways? It seems pretty stupid to me."

"It's relaxing. We're supposed to be appreciating the beauty that nature has to offer. Unfortunately, all of you are a bunch of whiny brats. Shad seems to have an allergic reaction to everything, and he keeps on getting splinters, Ilia is too occupied with tending to him, you keep on moping over Malon, and I'm too distracted by all of your guys' shenanigans!" She said the last part sharply, throwing her hands in the air.

Link suppressed the urge to roll his eyes.

"Well maybe there would be a higher chance of someone appreciating this if there were more people!" Shad growled, overhearing and disliking Karane's snappy comments.

"I never thought I'd live to witness the day that Shad and I actually see eye to eye."

Karane scoffed, "I'm sure Zelda would have enjoyed this. You know, she was supposed to come on this walk with us."

"…Why didn't she?" Link asked in the calmest voice he could muster, though on the inside he felt as though he were going to combust. The fact that he had been walking with around a shady forest with no one who could really understand his dilemma was frustrating.

"Pipit wanted her to be with him at the restaurant…" Karane shrugged nonchalantly, but he could tell by the way she twiddled her fingers that she was more worried by it than she let on.

Link, on the other hand, couldn't even form a proper response. He felt a sudden pang in his chest, so sharp that he had to stop walking for a moment. It felt as though every fiber in his being had been set ablaze. He was painfully aware of Zelda's infatuation with Pipit. She hadn't bothered denying it or making it secret. There was even a bit of tension between Zelda and Karane because of it. But Zelda being the classy (to an extent) lady she is, gracefully backed away and moved on just as any friend would. Was it possible that Pipit now had an interest in her? Was it possible that he got tired of his 'flirtationship' with Karane and was ready to make the moves on Zelda?

He mulled over these thoughts, immediately trying to erase them from his mind as soon as they appeared. He looked up to see Ilia staring at him with a concerned expression. Karane and Shad hadn't noticed, so he started walking again as if nothing happened to make sure that they wouldn't.

"Is he in love with her now or something?"

An awkward silence followed. Karane wasn't sure how to respond to that. The jealousy in his voice was too damn high to ignore, but knowing everything the group of friends had been through the past summer, they decided not to comment on it.

"They're just close. He finds an odd kind of solace in her that… no one else can give him." Karane said softly. "And vice versa of course. I think he's worried for her. But that's beyond the point; we need to go to our next location."

"Oh…" Zelda said softly.

They were back at Lake Hylia. Visiting this place was always a trip for Zelda; this was the spot of new beginnings. That was probably the reason why everyone was set to meet here. Resolve all of the issues that needed to be resolved, and get a clean start. Pipit and Karane truly were a lot cleverer than they could be credited for. But of course Lake Hylia meant a lot more to Zelda. This single location reminded Zelda of all the good (and equally bad) times she shared with her friends.

"Surprised? Happy? Upset?" Pipit inquired, smiling at her warmly.

"Surprised." Zelda responded. The two stared at the remarkably blue waters in silence, admiring the beauty.

The silence was briefly broken when Pipit's ringtone filled the air.

"They're here." Pipit said, not even bothering to give his phone a second glance. "I'll be right back, okay?"

Zelda nodded, turning slightly to see Pipit walk up to an approaching car. Karane jumped out and hugged him immediately, flashing a somewhat dirty look in Zelda's direction. Zelda took it lightly though, her lip quivering before twitching into a tiny smile. She loved Karane and wasn't about to throw their friendship away over a guy. Not even a guy as gorgeous and goodhearted as Pipit. She saw Shad and Ilia step out, and then eventually… Link.

And right as he stepped out, he was heading straight towards her.

He wasn't able to get far though, because Malon intercepted him instantly, a desperate expression on her face. Of course Groose was trailing behind closely.

Oh hell no, she thought to herself bitterly. The irate blonde turned and walked towards them, trying her hardest not to run and close the distance between her and the fuming trio.

"Link, please…" Malon said, reaching for his arm.

"No," Link said briskly, averting his gaze. He didn't dare to look at Malon, because he knew that he would be filled with superfluous guilt that he didn't need to feel.

"I just want to talk to you!"

"What? With your new boyfriend? I don't think so." Link said, giving Groose the most hateful glare possible.

If looks could kill, Groose would be lying lifelessly in the sand.

"I'm not her boyfriend." Groose said, crossing his arms.

"Yeah, but you're not her boyfriend either." Link pointed at Zelda. His eyes softened immediately when he finally got a good look at her. She was wearing a tiny bit of makeup and a simple yet lovely dress. She looked beautiful, and she was hardly even trying.

Fortunately, the two redheads didn't notice him admiring Zelda's beauty.

He snapped himself out of it instantly.

"I'm not here to talk to you two," he said, finally looking at Malon. It was actually helpful that she was standing right next to Groose, it reminded him that she didn't need his sympathy.

"But this is an intervention; we're supposed to be making amends not rivalries." Malon reminded him calmly.

"Then give me some time. I'm not… ready to make amends with you. Not yet." Link grit his teeth. Seeing his ex-girlfriend with the guy she cheated on him with was enough to set him over the edge. He had to glance at Zelda to remind himself to keep his cool. She seemed a bit vexed as well, though not as much as he was.

"Just leave him alone Malon." Zelda butted in.

Malon was about to snap at Zelda, but when she looked at the blonde she immediately blanched. Zelda had a fiery look in her eyes, as though she knew something valuable. Malon, being overly insecure and constantly jumping to conclusions, would've made another accusation referencing towards her and Link; but instead she complied.

"O… Okay." She reluctantly left Link, though her eyes wandered on Zelda's pleadingly. Groose ghosted behind her, keeping his distance to make it seem like there was nothing going on between the two. Unfortunately it was a bit too late for that.

"Hey." Link nodded at Zelda, walking towards the lake. He sat on the sand, stretching his feet out and allowing the ice cold water to kiss his toes. He spread his arms out, looking back at Zelda curiously, an unspoken invitation for her to sit next to him.

"Hi," Zelda said, sitting down next to him. "How have you been holding up? Did Shad put you in a grumpy mood?" She teased lightly.

"Not really," Link said. "Our group was too small. I didn't like it. How was the gourmet food?"

"It was okay." Zelda shrugged.

Link looked at her.

She met his gaze and let out an uneasy laugh.

"Okay, it was amazing. But I know you didn't want to go on that walk. And with the way things unfolded at the restaurant… Well it left a bitter taste in my mouth. I wasn't too focused on the food."

Link felt his breath hitch in his throat.

"What happened?" He asked slowly.

Zelda bit her lip, grazing it with her teeth. She couldn't stand it. The fact that the one guy who frustrated her to no end was the one she felt the most sorrow for at the moment.

"They kissed." She said in such a soft voice that Link had barely heard it. For a moment, he even believed that his ears had deceived him.

"What?" He asked slowly, completely shocked.

"They kissed." She confirmed it a bit louder this time. "I saw it with my own eyes."

He blinked a couple of times.

"I confronted them about it, and… It didn't end well. I'll just leave it at that."

He said nothing. It was true. Zelda just confirmed it for him, and there was absolutely no reason for her to lie to him. It had to be true. No matter how much he didn't want it to be, he had seen the fear in Malon's eyes. She was too stubborn and too hung up over Link to back away so easily. It had to be true.

"Okay. So they're a thing now. Whatever." He studied Zelda's expression carefully.

"I know you still love her Link. You wouldn't be so angry over this if you didn't."

"You always had your doubts about me loving her when we were together. Now you choose to believe me when I tell you I don't?" Link asked, a bit upset by her change of heart. But he tried to drive all that negative energy out. Because for the first time in over ten years, he genuinely didn't want to be angry with her.

"I thought you didn't. But seeing the look in your eyes at the thought of them together, seeing your reaction when you found out it was true, and… and me seeing them kiss, I realized that maybe you were just as devoted to the relationship as she was, maybe even more."

"I don't know if I'm angry because I loved her or because I hate him… I just… Damn it, Zel. This isn't going to be enough for me. I can't forgive her, not so soon. I just need to talk to you."

Zelda couldn't help the blush that crept onto her cheeks.

"Why me?" she croaked. Her voice sounded weak all of a sudden and she hated it. She hated that he was able to make her feel this way. The tension growing between them was gradually turning into something else, and she knew he felt it too.

"Because you're the only other one who understands. Plus, we never did finish our conversation in your bathroom, you know."

Oh yes, the conversation in which he almost kissed her, or at least she was 99.9 percent sure he was about to kiss her, until Impa interrupted them.

Zelda turned away. She didn't like the way Link was looking at her. She would be damned if another memory was made here, because she wasn't sure if it would be a good or bad one.

"I think we pretty much finished up." She squeaked.

"Zelda, as much as I want to fix things up between me and Malon, a week isn't enough time for me to get over the fact that she kissed the guy I hate."

"…And?" Zelda knew there was more to it than just that.

"I was more concerned about us, remember?"

Zelda's mind flashed to last week, when she was cleaning up Link's body.

"Why should we yell at each other now? I know you just think I'm some sort of manslut, but I'm genuinely bothered by this."

Zelda found herself softening up a bit again.

"Yeah, yeah, I keep on forgetting… I'm sorry about you and Malon."

"I wasn't talking about her. I was talking about us."

"Zelda, I just have one favor to ask of you. Like Malon said, this is an intervention. We're all supposed to be putting this behind us. However, our arguments with each other are usually childish and trivial. I mean, there was hardly ever any relationship drama amongst us. This time it's completely different. I don't want to forgive Groose or Malon. Not any time soon at least."

Zelda breathed slowly, still flustered and nervous and a whole myriad of emotions she couldn't even begin to describe. And the source of those emotions was sitting right next to her.

He cupped her chin, forcing her to look at him.

"But I need to make peace with someone. This whole mediation would be a waste if I didn't. So how about this…" He scooted in closer to her, wrapping his arm around her and pulling her body against his. She gasped, her heart rate accelerating before she realized that he wasn't trying to be flirtatious. It was a hug. A platonic, innocent, good-natured hug.

Zelda's breathing evened out and she inhaled the infuriatingly alluring scent of his cologne. It was nothing like Groose's, it was a subtle scent that you couldn't really pick up unless you were practically within kissing distance.

Or with your head pressed against his chest of course.

"Let's forget," he whispered, his eyes holding unreadable emotion as he stared at her, "About all the bullshit we've been through. Let's forget about how much discontent this summer has caused all of us. Let's forget about how much we hate each other. I don't care if it's just for tonight. Let's just be friends."

Zelda craned her head up. Her first instinct was to push him off of her and accuse him of being slick, but her second one was to hug him back. She saw so much pain in his eyes, and he was trying. He was trying to patch things up between them. She was the one who was being stubborn and bitchy and immature. He simply wanted a friend. And who was she to deny him that?

Slowly but surely, she wrapped her arm around his torso, grabbing his other arm with her soft hand and squeezing it ever-so-gently as a sign of support.

"Okay." She said, closing her eyes.

A/N: FOUR MONTHS! IT'S BEEN FOUR MONTHS! This is a summer story, but since I'm a buttface of course I updated it right as this summer ends. Let me tell y'all something: my old laptop broke when I began writing this chapter and I couldn't fix it, so I bought a new one. And in that time I wrote 3 stories for different fandoms… and I don't know. I feel like I betrayed you guys. I'm sorry. Thank you for all the sweet reviews and for being so patient with me! In less than ten days, school is going to start. And I haven't started ANY of the summer work I was supposed to do. So… don't expect an update in the next week. I'll try to update before the end of the month. With that said, I'll see you guys very soon!

Chapter Fourteen Theme Song: Sweet Escape

Artist: Gwen Stefani