Summer of Our Discontent

Tainted Love

"Hi!" Malon said eagerly, smiling at her guest.

"…Hi." A less enthusiastic male voice responded.

Her smile didn't waver however, because he was actually here. Link was at her doorstep, looking at her, saying something to her. She felt ecstatic when Ingo had notified her that there was a visitor, and it took some persistence to convince him to open up the gate, but it was worth it. This was the first time he had spoken to her in what felt like forever, and even if he wasn't particularly happy with her, she still felt lucky that he was interacting with her in some form.

"Would you like to come inside?" She asked politely.

He craned his neck to look into the house, then turned and looked out toward the pasture and the horses and cows trotting around peacefully.

"Nah, I'd rather not. It's really nice outside. Might as well enjoy it." He said, turning wordlessly, silently expecting her to come along.

She shrugged, thinking 'why not?' and followed him.

"I'm glad that you finally decided to talk to me. What made you change your mind?"

"Zelda." He said immediately, knowing damn well that it would bother her.

Malon froze, shocked by both the striking candor in his answer and the fact that he and Zelda were now communicating without biting each other's head off.

"O-Oh… Okay. How is she?"

"Good I suppose." He turned and looked at her, burying his hands into his pockets.

She noticed the motion instantly. He always did that when he was nervous. She wondered if it meant that he wasn't really 'over' what happened between them.

"Link, what happened that day was totally humiliating. For all of us. And I am so sorry about what I did. What we had… it was amazing."

"Was it?" He asked dryly.

"Yeah, of course it was. And I ruined it."

"Okay then." He said, clearly bored with the direction of the conversation.

Malon's eye twitched in annoyance. She was trying her best to make amends and Link was blowing her off. She wasn't used to this side of him.

"Link, I get that you're mad at me, but why would you call me and ask to talk if you're going to treat me this way when I try to talk to you?"

Link closed his eyes, trying to gain some composure.

"I drove here so confident, so ready to put all of this past us, and then I remembered why I had rejected your phone calls, and how I put so much energy into being angry at the wrong people. I wanted this to work out so badly. Throwing you a birthday party, introducing you to my mom, fighting Groose… I really did care about you." He opened his emotion-filled eyes to look at her, his gaze held her attention perfectly in that moment.

Malon nodded, wanting him to go on. It had been so long since she'd heard his voice. Listening to him tell her how he really felt was like music to her ears. At one point, she felt as though they could spill their emotions out to each other perfectly.

"If I were to forgive you at this moment, I'd need to know that you wouldn't take advantage of me."

"Of course not."

"Malon, I didn't like ignoring you. Believe it or not, I really didn't."

"I didn't like it either. Despite what I did, you need to know that it doesn't mean I don't have feelings for you."

"I figured you'd say that. I'm sorry, but I'm not taking you back."

Malon exhaled sharply, feeling her hands shake a little and her eyes watering up. She knew she couldn't have it all, but she screwed up and now there was no fixing the damage she had done.

"So this is it? Truly? You're over me?"

"I can't feel the same way, and I won't apologize for my feelings. I tolerated the way you acted when I was planning your party. It was understandable because I kept things from you. I didn't cheat or anything like that, but from retrospect it was suspicious. And then it turns out… maybe I should have been the one that was worried. But I wasn't. I trusted you. Wholeheartedly, and you broke that trust."

"I know." She whispered.

"I hate this." He said suddenly.

She stared at him hopelessly.

"I hate that this happened, Malon. That's why I tried to avoid talking about it with you. Because no matter how many times I say 'I'm over it,' I still get upset."

"I know." She said again, not sure of what else to say.

"But obviously, I've needed to talk about this. There's a lot I had to get off my chest."

"Me too." She said softly.

"Can I just ask you one more thing?"

"What is it?"

He couldn't help his need to satiate the curiosity lightly burning inside of his chest.

"Do you love him?"

Malon blinked a couple of times until the person he was talking about fully registered.

"No, of course not." She said with ease.

But the proper answer would have been 'I don't know.' She knew that she was lying, both to him AND to herself, but she must have sounded convincing because he unexpectedly softened up, and stepped forward to give her a hug.

More than thrilled, she returned his hug, closing her eyes blissfully. He smelled so nice; he had his own kind of scent that wasn't overwhelming like Groose's.

"I know this is probably not what you wanted, but I think we can try and be friends again." He pulled away, giving her a smile that was infuriatingly platonic.

Unsurprisingly, Malon was still happy either way.

"Are you kidding? I'll take you any way I can get you."

He chuckled, still fumbling with his pockets, an action that she personally found to be absolutely adorable.

"I can tell that you're still upset with me, and if you ever want to talk about your feelings with me… Don't hold anything back, okay? I want you to know that I really do care."

He nodded.

"Thanks, Malon. You're a cool girl."

She blushed, relishing in his compliment.

But of course, all good things had to come to an end.

Right after he said that, his phone vibrated. It was a text message.

"Hold on," he said, still smiling at her as he checked his phone. She watched him carefully and instantly his happy expression darkened. He looked up at Malon with a look of disbelief and disappointment.

She felt her stomach churn.

"Link? I-Is everything okay?" She stepped forward, feeling worried, and instinctively he took a step back.

"You know Malon, part of being 'friends' means being completely honest with me."

"Yes, of course I know that." Malon said, still not understanding the shift in his mood.

"Then explain this." He said, holding his phone up to her.

It wasn't a text, it was a picture from an anonymous number.

The picture showed her and Groose making out in the grass.

Saria didn't understand many things.

Math, the circumstances under which Hyrule was created, why there was so much drama within her group of friends, but the most confusing concept of all definitely had to be boys.

Two of them were on her couch, chomping on all of the muffins she had spent so much time trying to bake.

"Sar, these muffins are amazing! How'd you make 'em?" Groose asked incredulously, crumbs spilling out of his mouth onto the couch.

Saria cringed at the mess he was making, but still decided to be as polite as possible.

"Oh, easy. I used flour, Lon Lon milk, and Malon also gave me some cucco eggs –"

"TOUCHDOWN!" Mido wailed, standing up on the couch and punching both fists in the air. While he bounced in excitement she studied Groose's face carefully. He looked a bit uncomfortable at the mention of Malon's name.

"Haha, well, they're really good. And it's totally awesome that you made these for us."

They weren't for you, Saria thought to herself snidely.

Nearly every time she invited Mido over to hang out or watch a movie, Groose would tag along and act like a total slob, ruining the living room. She wouldn't have minded if her mom hadn't been so strict about keeping the house clean. Saria liked a little cleanliness herself, and the only thing to look forward to afterwards was Mido helping her get the house rearranged. They continued to watch their game intently, and Saria decided that it would be best to just go to her room instead of watching them desecrate the living room. Mido noticed her getting up to walk away however, and followed her quickly. Groose noticed as well, but he also knew that Mido had a huge crush on Saria, and decided to let them have their moment.

"Aren't you going to watch the game with us?" Mido asked, entering her room.

"No, I'm fine. You two enjoy yourselves though. I'd… I'd just like a moment in here by myself." She smiled at him lightly.

"Are you sure? You invited us over here, didn't you?" He asked.

"Actually Mido, no. I didn't. I invited you here."

Mido blushed once he realized what was bothering her.

"Oh, I see. Do you… Do you want me to tell him to leave?"

"Don't do that. I feel bad enough for saying what I said."

"Don't feel that way. I should have known. It's just that, he's really lonely. That's all."

"Yeah Mido, I get that."

"No Saria, I don't think you do. I hang out with him more than anyone else. After what happened with him, Link and Malon, no one's really been talking to him. And even before that, he hasn't been the MOST liked person."

Saria sighed.

"How lonely can he really be if he has you?"

"Sheik and Midna are always together, same thing with Pipit and Karane, Ilia spends her days batting her eyes at Shad, and Zelda and Link, well… Do I even need to explain them?"

Saria shook her head, biting her lip. She thought it was interesting that he didn't mention Malon, but decided not to comment on that.

"Our group has been drifting apart. I hate to say it, but it's true. There's too much tension for all of us to just go back to the same routine we had when this summer began. I don't want it to happen, but it is happening. The best thing I can do is be a good friend to him."

"And you've been doing a great job at that. You really have. So please, take a break and at least for the next week, don't let him tag along when I invite you over. Can you do that, just this once?" She asked, her green eyes looked so piercing and convincing that he felt as though he had no choice but to say yes.

"I guess…"

"Good. Maybe we can go to a café in Castle Town, just the two of us."

"You mean… like a date?" Mido asked awkwardly.

"I – well… I wasn't really going to be precise with the terminology but… I guess." She knew she was as red as a tomato at that moment.

"All right. That sounds cool. How about this Tuesday?"

"Yeah, t-that would be great." Saria said shyly.

"Okay! Well, I'll go talk to Groose about it. I think he'll be cool about everything."

Saria nodded and followed him back into the living room. Groose was standing up, hunched over something. He immediately straightened up and turned around when he heard them come back into the room.

"Hey guys, I'm really sorry, but I have to go."

"Oh, don't be sorry at all!" Saria said with a grin on her face. "I'll even walk you out."

Groose looked at her suspiciously, curious about her eagerness to lead him outside.

"…Okay." He had his phone in his hand and was looking at it worriedly.

"Hey Groose, is everything okay?" Mido asked.

"Honestly guys, no. Malon is pissed off about something. She's crying and everything. I have to go see her."

"Are you sure that you should be seeing her after… well, you know…" Mido said, making awkward hand gestures.

Groose sighed. Even though Mido was one of his closest friends, he still didn't know about Groose's secret visits to Malon. They weren't exactly 'lovers,' but it didn't change the fact that Groose cared for her deeply. He still felt something for Zelda, but since Zelda took every opportunity she could to avoid him, he knew it was pointless to try and get her to talk to him. Instead, he focused his energies on Malon.

"Well, are you guys going to talk to her then? She's crying for Hylia's sake! Am I not supposed to care anymore just because I kissed her once or twice?"

"We'll come with you then. Maybe we can find out what she's panicking over."

They all froze when they heard a shriek coming from the phone.

Groose looked down with a concerned expression and held the phone to his ear.

"Malon, you need to calm down and tell me what you're upset about. Yeah, I'm with Mido and Saria right now." There was a pause. "No, of course not… Okay. A picture. That's why you're mad?"

Mido and Saria stared at him curiously.

"Okay Malon, hold on, I think I'm getting another call." Groose looked at his phone, which had vibrated with some sort of message. When he opened it up and saw the picture within it, his face paled.

"Malon, I'll call you back." He said, hanging up without hearing what she had to say.

Ringringringringringringringringringringringringgggggggg!

Zelda exhaled sharply, running to the door impatiently.

"I think someone's a little eager to see you." Impa said sarcastically.

"It COULD be for you." Zelda replied, before opening the door.

When she did, she didn't expect to see Groose.

"Nope, it's definitely for you." Impa said, sitting down on the couch while Groose practically invited himself inside.

"Okay, you're mad at me and Malon. I know you are. But this, this is just low."

"What are you talking about?" Zelda asked helplessly.

"Here." He said, handing her his phone.

She looked at the picture and gasped.

"What the… How the…"

It was her and Link hugging each other.

"Yeah. You can't hide anything from me."

"What is it?" Impa piped up curiously.

"Nothing. It's nothing. Just give me a moment with Groose, I need to talk to him outside." She said, glaring daggers at him. She pulled him outside and shut the door.

"Okay, what the hell Groose? Were you spying on us?"

"No, someone sent this photo to me. I wouldn't have cared at all, but Malon called me in tears over it. How could you do this to her? She's your best friend Zelda."

"It was just a hug! It's not like I kissed him or anything."

"Why were you two hugging?"

"That's… none of your business! What I need to know is who sent you that picture? If you're not spying on me, then who is?"

"I don't know who the photo is from, and I'm honestly not worried about that right now. Are you two dating?"

"No."

"But you guys ARE hanging out."

"I… No, not really."

"Don't lie to me Zelda."

"You don't even know what was happening in this picture, you always have to go and assume the worst."

"Yeah, because dating pretty boy would be pretty damn terrible for you, wouldn't it?"

"What's that supposed to mean!?"

"It means that you two obviously have feelings for each other, yet you keep on denying it."

"I don't have feelings for him. And the only reason you care is because you love Malon now."

Groose blushed.

"Shut up. That doesn't matter right now."

"Aha! So you DO like her!"

"Zelda, you know that I still have feelings for you."

Zelda smiled bitterly at this remark, crossing her arms.

"You still have feelings for me, even though you're hooking up with her. That, I know for a fact. You two made it very obvious that you're quite close with each other. How does it feel knowing you're a homewrecker?"

"Goddesses Zelda! Can we leave that in the past? Is that why you're doing this? Is that why you think it's okay to move in on your best friend's boyfriend?"

"Ex-boyfriend," Zelda corrected him, "And do you realize how hypocritical you sound right now? I hardly think a hug is anything to cry over."

"Yeah, but you've been ignoring her for weeks and hanging out with her ex behind her back. I think she has a right to be upset, you guys have treated her horribly. So you really have no right to be mad about what we do, because she's lonely and that isn't going to change unless you stop acting like a bitch."

Zelda's eyes widened slightly. She hadn't expected to hear all of that from Groose. It was probably the most intelligible thing he had ever said. But Zelda being Zelda of course was too stubborn to allow herself to be told off, and had to come up with something better. Something hat stayed within the lines of honesty of course.

"Fine, I'll tell you what was happening in this picture Groose." She said, straightening up and becoming completely serious.

Groose stared back at her expectantly.

"This picture was taken in Zora's Domain. Look closely at our surroundings. You can tell that that is exactly where we were. Do you know what happened in Zora's Domain? You should. There have been news articles about it and everything."

Groose's shoulders slumped a little. He had heard about the huge raid that happened. The Zoras had been robbed of at least 10 million Rupees' worth of items. And since the Hyrulean government didn't have a strict policy on the Gerudos' thieving habits, their only solution was to raise the taxes on their goods in order to pay off the Zoras.

"Yeah. I… might have heard of it."

"There was a raid, Groose. Innocent Zoras were being robbed. Businesses were ruined. And don't you even dare ask me why I was at Zora's Domain with Link, because that's none of your damn business. I had no idea what to do, and where to go, and I felt helpless and afraid. Link was there to help me and comfort and reassure me that everything would be okay. And everything was okay."

"Look Zelda, I had no idea –"

"Yeah, you had no idea, but you still came here and yelled at me instead of asking me what happened like a nice and rational person."

"I was angry. I was defending Malon. Because despite the fact that you guys haven't done anything, I still feel like there's something between you two that you can't keep on denying."

"If there is, that's between me and Link. Not you and Malon. You need to give me my space, okay?"

Groose frowned. He knew that it wasn't polite of him to butt into Zelda's business, whether it was because he was nosy or because he was feeling protective of Malon, but he wanted to know what was happening with her and pretty boy.

"Fine. Let's call a truce them. We'll start by making promises." Groose said, keeping himself as calm and composed as possible. "I promise you that nothing is going on between me and Malon."

Zelda nodded slowly, not really believing him but desperately wanting the conversation to be over.

"Okay. I promise you that I will talk to Malon and see if she's okay."

Groose's "calm face" faltered a little – and it was painfully evident – but she didn't care. She knew what he really wanted was a promise from her that there was absolutely nothing going on between her and Link.

"Okay. We're cool then. For now."

"Yeah, sure, we're –" Zelda couldn't finish her sentence because Impa opened the door suddenly, handing Zelda her cellphone.

"Someone's calling." She said, closing the door and giving them their privacy once more.

"It's pretty boy, isn't it?" Groose asked, crossing his arms.

Zelda sighed, looking at the caller I.D.

"Yeah, it is. BUT, to prove that there is nothing going on between us, I'm going to talk to him right in front of you."

Groose raised an eyebrow, eyeing her suspiciously as she answered the phone.

"Hello?" She asked, trying to feign annoyance.

"Zelda, have you seen this?" Link asked. He sounded distraught.

"Seen what?"

"This picture!"

Zelda frowned. The whole 'there's nothing between Link and I' thing wasn't going to work if he was going to overreact over a picture of them hugging.

"Yeah, I saw the picture Link, but honestly, it isn't a big deal."

"Isn't a big deal? Malon lied to me, Zelda! What the hell do you mean that this isn't a big deal?"

"Lied to you about what?"

"You should know! That picture says everything! The one that apparently 'isn't a big deal,' according to you."

"Well, it isn't. It was just a hug, after all."

"What are you talking about?" Link asked, "You need to get your eyes checked lady, because that was NOT a hug. And I'm sorry, but I can't be friends with Malon now. I knew it was a bad idea."

Zelda couldn't decide if she was more alarmed by Link saying he couldn't be friends with Malon, or by the fact that he called her 'lady.'

"Okay, Link, calm down. Are we talking about the same picture?"

"You mean the one of Malon and Groose making out at Lon Lon Ranch?" He asked, "I think I even stepped on the part where they were… laying down."

An odd expression spread across Zelda's face. She looked at Groose, though he had no idea what was happening on the other line, so he just stared at her dumbly.

"There's another picture?" He asked quietly, not wanting to alert his presence to Link.

"I guess." She mouthed. She wouldn't believe it until she saw it. But if it was true… There was no way she would be able to take Groose seriously any time soon. He had lied to her face too. She was just hoping that Link was pulling some sort of practical joke on her.

"Yes Zel, there's another picture. Hold on." Link said, and then he hung up.

"Well, he hung up on me, so…" Zelda said, but then her phone vibrated two seconds later.

She looked down and saw the picture that Link was personally upset about, and all of a sudden she felt angry too. Didn't Groose just promise her that nothing was happening between him and Malon? What the hell?

"What happened?" Groose asked curiously.

"Get off my property." Zelda said suddenly, her expression turning ice cold.

"Why?!" Groose asked, alarmed.

"Because I said so, I don't think I owe you ANY more explanations." She placed her hand on his burly chest, and began pushing him towards his car. The attempt would have been futile if he hadn't stepped back as well. He was too large for her to actually be able to push away, and from a distance, it looked like a small child attempting to move a boulder.

"I… Want… You… As far away from me as possible!" Zelda huffed as she placed her other hand on his chest, doubling her efforts to push him away.

If Groose hadn't been so curious as to what made her snap, he would have laughed at her lack of arm strength.

"Zelda, why?"

"Because," she gasped, "I was wrong about Link. And I was wrong about you."

"What?"

"I still stand by what I said that night you tried to help me with Malon's birthday party. If I had to choose between you and Link, I'd choose him. Because he's honest, and real, and genuine with me. You tell me that you love me, and you go off and have romantic escapades with my best friend. You lie to me and try to cover up what you did. And at one point, I even believed what you had to say. But this, Groose," she said, holding up her phone and showing him the picture of him and Malon. He flinched when he saw it, yet there was no surprise in his expression. Only the knowledge that he had been caught.

"This just shows that there can never be anything between us. Because you know what you want, and who you want it with. And no matter how much you loved me in the past, it doesn't mean anything because you don't feel that way anymore."

Groose looked down shamefully.

"So this is it? There's no chance. Ever?"

Zelda nodded.

"Please leave. I have nothing else to say to you." Zelda said.

Groose looked up. He almost looked like he was about to cry. But he didn't. He simply adhered to her last request of him and got into his car, starting it up and leaving.

She looked down at her phone, deciding to call Link.

He picked up on the first ring.

"Did you get the picture?" He asked immediately.

"Yes, I got the picture. And… I told Groose off. I don't think he'll be trying to win me over anymore."

"That's great I guess."

"I'm sorry Link. If I had known, I wouldn't have encouraged you to try and make amends with Malon right now. If you need more time, I understand. But I have a different relationship with her. And I made a promise that I plan on keeping. I'm going to talk to her."

"I get it. You don't need to explain it to me. Chicks over dicks, right?"

Zelda nearly choked.

"Okay, first of all, don't ever say that again, and secondly, if you ever feel the need to vent, you know you can always come to me." Zelda surprised herself with those last words. She hadn't expected herself to be so open and real with him after that. But she was feeling particularly affectionate towards Link after she told Groose off.

"Before you do talk to her, I want to talk to you first." He said, his tone turning serious.

"Okay, what is it? We can talk for as long as you need to, and I'll call Malon afterwards."

"No." Link said, "I mean we should talk in person."

"…Oh. Okay." Zelda said, feeling a bit nervous at how serious he sounded.

"Can we meet up at Lake Hylia in a few days?"

A/N: OHHHHH! WELL WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT?

Last time I updated January 3rd, 2016.

NOW IT'S THE 10th. THAT'S RIGHT BABIES. SEVEN DAYS (also known as one week) LATER, AND HERE IS THE CHAPTER I PROMISED YOU GUYS! I feel so accomplished. I should just mark this off as my New Year's Resolution.

"My New Year's resolution is to actually update Summer of Our Discontent when I say that I will."

BOOM. Done. Now I can just cruise on by with the remaining eleven months.

(Of course, I'm not actually going to do that.)

So, let's talk about what's coming up next. We are getting close to the end of this story. Like, VERY close. Which is a good thing, because in June this story will be four years old. And not because I spent four years meticulously planning it out, but because I'm an AWFUL writer that neglected this story over a period of months and even years.

There will be at least 3 chapters after this one.

In the next 2 chapters, things are going to get so real. You guys don't even understand.

If you enjoyed Saria/Mido and Nabooru/Ganondorf at all, I think you guys will be pleased.

Oh, and I still check the Summer of Our Discontent poll. Zelda and Link finally passed Midna and Sheik as the favorite couple. If you guys are new readers and haven't voted on the poll yet, please do so! It's still available and you can choose 2 of your favorite couples. I love checking in on it and seeing what everyone likes. Sorry for this long author's note, it's just that I really feel like this is the year that I finish this story!

Anyways, this story WILL be complete either by this spring or the summer. It would be more fitting to finish it by the summertime, but I don't like making you guys wait for updates and the end is overdue.

If you guys read all this, can you type 'Sugar honey iced tea' after you review? ;)

Chapter Seventeen Theme Song: Tainted Love

Artist: Soft Cell