Summer of Our Discontent
Don't Talk
Link slowly let go of her face, instead trailing his hands down her arms and finding their way around her waist once more. If someone had told him at the beginning of summer that he would be kissing his ex-girlfriend's best friend, who supposedly 'hated' his guts,' he would have laughed them off and called them 'delusional.'
But now here he was.
And much to his delight, she actually kissed him back.
Hearing her say the three magical words he had been waiting for his entire life gave him an indescribable feeling. It was as though a completely different being possessed his body and pushed him to kiss her. But it wasn't. He had gone through trial and error with far too many girls and part of it was the fear of never having an opportunity with the only one he had ever had genuine feelings for.
She kissed him tenderly with caution and a hint of timidity. It was evident to him that this was her first kiss and that she was afraid of not living up to his expectations. But her lips were so soft and everything just felt so right, that his affection for her was able to overlook the inexperienced technique.
With each second that passed the kiss grew heated and heated, becoming quite similar to the way they argued. Both wanting to express themselves passionately and dominate the other. Before they knew it Zelda's hands were entangled within his dark brown hair and his hands had slipped underneath her shirt as he desperately tried to feel as much of her skin as possible.
He let out a grunt of protest when she stopped kissing him for a moment, though she was still close to him, her lips still pressed against his.
"The sand…" She said breathlessly.
"Mmm?" He asked, caressing her back mindlessly.
"Lay me down… on the sand…" She said, giving him tiny pecks in between phrases.
He said nothing, kissing her again and slowly lowering her body onto the sand. It wasn't too long ago that she expressed concern about getting herself dirty, so to him this was an odd request. But as soon as she was lying down on the sand and he was on top of her, he realized how comfortable the position actually was. His eyes opened in alarm momentarily when, after a few minutes, her leg was latched over his back and with a tiny push, she rolled over on top of him. They continued their scandalous make out session for a bit longer until the sound of the car reminded them that they were in a public place.
Zelda yelped, jumping off of him and turning to make sure that the driver wasn't someone that knew them.
"Seriously?" Link mumbled, failing to hide his disappointment, "I was just about to take my shirt off…"
Zelda blushed, not sure of how to respond, or if she needed to respond at all. She could lie to herself and say that that kiss was NOT one of the most thrilling experiences she had ever had in her life, but the truth was that not only was she sure of her feelings for Link, but he was one hell of a kisser.
"That was… wow."
"It was certainly 'wow.'" Link said with a laugh.
She stared at him for a moment. She could do that now without being probed by him, considering he had shoved his tongue down her throat.
"I should get going now. Impa's probably worried about me."
"What?" Link raised an eyebrow worriedly. "Did she bring you here? Has she been waiting all this time?"
"Relax knucklehead," Zelda rolled her eyes, "She dropped me off and then left. She didn't see anything, don't worry."
"I'm not worried about her knowing about us. I just don't think she would like the way the kiss ended up happening…"
"Well I liked the way the kiss ended up happening," Zelda said flirtatiously, chuckling at his frazzled expression.
Link was startled, not expecting her to flirt with him so shamelessly, but secretly liked it. It was incredible how much their relationship had developed throughout the summer. It was like a dream come true. He noticed her awkward shifting as she slowly walked back toward the street.
"You okay?" He asked, eying her expression with concern.
"I… I don't know if I can call Impa. Can you just take me home? I'll 'explain' everything to her later."
Link shrugged nonchalantly, too happy to interpret her shifting as discomfort and possibly regret at what they had done.
"Sure! Let's go." He opened the door to his lavish car and they got in.
The ride home was brief and silent. Zelda fumbled around with her necklace, giving Link a few glances, smiling a little as she did.
When they pulled up to her home, Link wasted no time in unbuckling and reaching over to give her another passionate kiss. He couldn't help it. He loved the way he felt around her. And one kiss with her had more passion, emotion and meaning than a million kisses with Malon.
But this time, he was rejected. She pushed him away instantly.
"Link! Are you crazy!? We can't kiss here! Impa might see us!"
"So?" Link rolled his eyes, "Just a small peck at least? It doesn't have to be like the one we just had at Lake Hylia. We can save that for later." He snickered to himself.
Zelda sighed.
"Unless you're willing to drive back, then no. I'll… I'll call you tomorrow, okay?"
"What? Is it really that big of a deal?" Link asked.
"Someone might see us. Us being in the same car is already scandalous enough."
"Scandalous? Zelda, what the hell are you going on about?"
"Look. I just don't think we should be too open about what we did, or what we said to each other. At least not with everyone else."
Link's shoulders slumped.
"You want to keep this a secret?"
"Yes." Zelda said, grateful that he finally understood. Once she realized how distraught he was, she wasn't too happy though.
"But it's not because I'm ashamed of you! I just don't want any more drama amongst our group."
Link pouted.
"So Groose can make out with Malon when she was with me, but when I break up with her and we make out it isn't okay?"
"Ugh, you're not getting it. If you really want this to work out, just don't talk to anyone about anything pertaining to us, okay? I know that Pipit especially won't be happy when he finds out…"
"What the hell makes you think that?!" Link snapped all of a sudden. "You think that because he uses his 'good boy' charms on you that he's in love with you? Well get over it, he likes Karane and you need to make up your mind on who you choose to be hung up over."
"I'm not 'hung up' over him, I was just using him as an example of the repercussions of our actions –"
"Out of everyone you chose him? Whatever. I guess this was almost perfect."
"Link…" Zelda frowned. "Please don't be mad at me."
"I'm… not mad at you." Link let out a heavy sigh, reaching a hand out to caress her cheek affectionately. Seeing her look guilty and vulnerable calmed him down instantly.
"You're just… you're very special to me. And I guess I've waited so long for this and I don't want it to be a secret."
She smiled, leaning over and giving him the kiss he had wanted.
"I should go now. Impa will get worried."
She exited the car and turned to wink at her new lover.
"Bye Link!" She whispered, blowing him a kiss and running back to her home.
Link shook his head, that same silly grin still on his face, and drove off.
"So are you two official?" Saria blushed at the question, giving Malon a mortified look. She hadn't expected the sudden change in topic in reference to Mido. It seemed like everyone's love life was flourishing at the moment, an extremely rare occurrence.
"Official? What? Who?" Ilia piped up curiously, looking at Saria.
"She went on a date with Mido." Malon smirked, crossing her arms.
"You did?" Midna pulled away from Sheik and crawled over to join the circle, looking at their youngest friend in disbelief. "Why didn't you tell me!?"
"I… We were just… hanging out." Saria mumbled, twiddling with her thumbs embarrassedly.
"Then why did you kiss him?" Malon asked.
"WHAT!?" Everyone else in the room screamed, including Sheik, who was now apparently interested in the conversation.
"Sheik," Saria whined, "Why are you even here?"
Sheik shrugged.
"Because Malon called Midna right as we were about to get to third base?"
"Ew! TMI." Ilia gagged.
"What? You mean to tell me you aren't getting it in with Shad?"
"Don't be gross." Midna scolded him, smiling lightly when he scooped her up and positioned her in his lap.
"Anyway, I can't believe our little baby girl finally had her first kiss!" Ilia squealed, leaning over to give Saria a hug.
Saria sighed, slightly relieved. It took a lot of courage for her to tell Malon about the kiss. She couldn't imagine telling the rest of her friends, but now that Malon blurted it out she didn't have to. They seemed happy for her – she was happy for herself. She liked Mido and the feeling seemed to be mutual. They were even planning another date.
It warmed her heart, to look around at her friends, hanging out and being amiable with each other. After what had transpired between Malon and Groose, Saria was afraid that their group would be fractured. But Midna and Ilia had been welcoming to Malon, forgiving her past mistakes. So did Karane, though she wasn't at their little outing because she had 'business' to take care of with Pipit. Still, Saria felt incomplete. There was just one missing piece to completing the puzzle…
"I wish Zelda was here." Saria murmured, mainly to herself instead of her friends.
Unfortunately everyone heard, and the warm atmosphere changed to one of worry and sorrow. Midna's head shot up at the mention, and she rubbed her arm as she thought back to their beloved friend. Everyone tried not to look at Malon, who was the closest to Zelda, especially since they were having a feud at the moment.
Saria turned to Malon immediately afterwards, feeling a bit guilty since she could see the uncomfortable look in Malon's eyes.
"I'm sorry, it's wonderful that we all get to hang out, it's just that –"
"I get it." Malon waved off the apology. "I miss her too. I was stupid and ruined our friendship."
"I highly doubt that." Ilia commented, "Zelda loves you. A lot. If you ask me, the only reason for her to be jealous when you and Link were dating… was because he took you away from her."
Malon bit her lip. She looked around at the rest of her circle, everyone nodded in agreement, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. Her mind then flashed back to the first time she met Zelda, how they had talked during class and slowly started hanging out outside of class. How they would have sleepovers nearly every weekend and told each other everything. She thought of how they had made up with each other at her birthday party, and how everything went downhill afterwards. Malon's heart had been swayed. She didn't know what to feel with Link, all she knew was that he was no longer as appealing to her as he was before. With him her insecurities skyrocketed, and her friendship with Zelda teetered on the brink of destruction. With Groose, things were different. They found comfort and solace in each other, and he made her feel wanted. Both had been in love with other people for so long that they didn't realize what they had right in front of them.
Thinking of all of this at once made Malon…
Hurt.
Her eyes were soon tearing up and she looked down shamefully.
"I'm the reason she isn't here. I'm the reason our group is… broken."
Saria immediately scooted next to her and slung an arm around her.
"That isn't true Malon."
"Yes it is!" She said, her voice shaking as she began to cry. "I lost my best friend… and for what? A boy? She was always there for me, and she left because I'm stupid. I'm so… so stupid."
"Malon, you aren't stupid. You made some mistakes. But we all make mistakes." Sheik reassured, giving her a supporting smile.
"She has a new best friend now." Malon said, sighing. "She doesn't hang out with us, but she hangs out with Link. A lot. I cheated on him and she seemed to be more upset about it than he was."
"You can't just give up on your guys' friendship because of that, Malon. Yeah. You messed up and she resented you for it, but when you guys argued while we were all planning your party… she never gave up on you." Midna piped up, climbing out of Sheik's lap to give her a comforting hug.
"Do you think… do you think she would forgive me? Do you think there's a chance we can be friends again?"
"Of course I do." Midna said, rubbing her back gently.
"In fact…" Saria grabbed her phone and typed Zelda's number in it. "I think you guys could make it happen, right now."
Malon gasped, but before she could stop her Saria already hit the call button.
Zelda answered on the first ring. Saria handed the phone to Malon, who immediately started stammering like an idiot.
"Zelda! I… Um… Hi!"
"Malon? Hi…" She answered timidly on the other line.
"House arrest? Seriously?" Ganondorf looked back and forth between his mothers. Kotake walked over to him, placing her hand on his cheek. Her long, scrawny fingers grazed against his skin, icy cold.
"You have spent far too much time… gallivanting with Nabooru and playing pranks on that Hylian."
"What? Mom…"
"I'm not going to listen to your excuses, Gan-Gan. It's time for you to step up and be a leader that we can all respect."
Ganondorf cringed.
"Oh, please stop calling me that! And I didn't ask to be born into this life! To be… King of the Gerudos. I don't understand why I can't just live my life the way I want to."
"You grew up with a silver spoon in your mouth. Everything, from the moment you were conceived, was handed to you. Did you think that it didn't come with a price? You knew that this was the price of being born into this life. You certainly didn't complain about all the meals, all the servants who were there for you at your every whim, or the adoring bachelorettes who practically threw themselves at your feet. Now you have the audacity to sit there, slouched over in your chair, and tell us you don't want to become King?"
"I didn't say that." Ganondorf snapped, standing up defensively.
Kotake rolled her eyes.
"Everything you say is in one ear, and out the other."
"I said that I'm not ready."
"You're not ready because you aren't serious about anything."
"Maybe I haven't been disciplined well enough by my so called 'mo –"
Ganondorf's retort was silenced by a slap to the face.
Koume dropped her feather duster and ran over to him, a look of concern on her face.
"Don't hit him!" She snapped at her sister. "Are you okay, sweetie pie?"
"I'm fine, I'm fine. Stop fussing." Ganondorf rolled his eyes.
"Ganondorf, you know that we come from a place of worry. Stop messing with those blue eyed devils and start focusing on your people. They need you to lead them. You won't have time to frequent trips to Castle Town any longer."
"Whatever. Is that all?"
"…Yes. That is all." Kotake sighed, waving him off. "And don't even try to hustle any of our servants into giving you anything. I've already informed all of our staff about your punishment."
Ganondorf ignored them, trudging back up to his room indignantly. As soon as he opened the door, his eyes lit up at the sight of his beloved companion, sprawled out across his bed.
Her eyes were closed as though she were sleeping, so he closed the door as quietly as he could. Once it was closed however, her eyes shot open and she sat up.
"No offense, but your mom is a bitch."
"Which one?" Ganondorf asked sarcastically.
"Koume, obviously. The way she always tries to make sure you're alright after Kotake, the good one, scolds or slaps you? I am truly disgusted."
The prince chuckled, shaking his head as he stared at Nabooru contemplatively.
"What?" She asked nervously, casting her gaze towards the stone floor.
"You're just so…" He stopped himself, changing the subject. "How did you get in?"
"Well, after three attempts of just walking through the doors and getting thrown out, I figured you were in trouble. So I decided to knock out a few guards and scale the walls till I found your window." She shrugged, as if it were an easy feat.
"Heh, I shouldn't be surprised." Ganondorf mused, walking over to sit next to her.
"Are you okay?" Nabooru asked softly, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"What makes you think I'm not okay?"
"Ganondorf, you're going to be a king. Like Kotake said, this has been the deal your whole life. And you aren't ready for it. At all."
"…"
He stayed silent, avoiding her gaze.
"I know you don't want to hear this. You hear it enough from your mothers. But they're blaming me for your indiscretions. And that can't end well, for either of us. I know that I get us into compromising situations sometimes but I… I don't want them to dislike me, or try to put an end to our friendship. I don't want to lose you…" She trailed off, blushing when he turned to look at her.
"Look, Ganondorf. Your friendship is everything to me. Being with you, going on all these amazing adventures… They're memories that I will cherish forever. But we can't ignore the elephant in the room."
Ganondorf grabbed Nabooru's hand suddenly, pulling it from his shoulder into his own hand carefully.
"We ignore a lot of elephants every day, Nabooru."
"What are you talking about?" Nabooru asked, her lips parted in shock.
His eyes drifted down to them, before he looked back into her eyes.
"I think you know."
"…No…" She murmured, shaking her head.
"No?"
She took her hand back, sliding off of his bed and stepping away from him.
"It can't be me."
"But it's always been you." Ganondorf said adamantly. He stood up and walked towards her once more, taking both of her hands into his this time.
"Ganondorf…"
"We should talk about it, at least. We talk about everything with each other. We do everything together. You're the most important person in my life."
"And?"
Ganondorf looked at her with an expression she had never seen before. The best way she could describe it was… The way she looked at him when he wasn't looking.
"And… I'm absolutely in love with -"
Before he could finish that sentence, the door to his room swung open.
"YOU!"
A tall Gerudo stepped in, rubbing her forehead angrily.
"Oh no…" Nabooru muttered. Ganondorf pushed her behind him, glaring at their intruder.
"What are you doing here? Leave us alone!"
"No can do your highness, I have to follow Kotake's orders." She grabbed Nabooru and dragged her out despite Nabooru's loud - and violent - protest.
"Thanks for the hot chocolate, Impa. It's delicious." Malon said, smiling as she blew into her cup.
"Don't thank me, sweetheart. The secret ingredient is the amazing milk from Lon Lon Ranch." Impa smiled at her and Zelda before closing Zelda's bedroom door.
Malon turned back to look at Zelda.
"It's a little weird to have hot chocolate in the summertime, isn't it?"
"Maybe. I don't know. Summer nights get a bit chilly." Zelda said, avoiding eye contact and focusing on her drink.
"Yeah. I guess."
Malon twirled the warm, dark liquid around with her spoon, watching the steam billow up into the air. She and Zelda sat on Zelda's bed, deciding to meet up in person after an unexpected but heartfelt phone call. However, despite how badly they had missed each other's company, things still weren't quite the same. They greeted each other politely. They made… small talk. It didn't feel like they were best friends, but rather, acquaintances.
"Goddesses, Zelda. When did we become so awkward?" Malon leaned back to set her mug on Zelda's desk.
"I don't know. We haven't been on the best terms lately. I don't even know what to feel anymore…"
Malon sighed, leaning forward and grabbing Zelda's hands.
"Zelda, we've been through a lot this summer. And you… You've had nothing but my best interest at heart."
Zelda looked up, surprised at Malon's gentle tone.
"You're the most amazing friend anyone could ever ask for. You stood by me through everything when we were growing up. And this past summer, you helped throw me a birthday party, and helped me through my relationship problems with Link…" She smiled a bittersweet smile before continuing, "I was so horrible. And insecure. I had a super hot boyfriend, a wonderful best friend, everything was perfect. And then I ruined that. I can't blame anyone except myself. I cheated on him, and things went downhill… You had every right to be disappointed in me."
"Malon, that is so sweet but can we…" Zelda trailed off as Malon held a hand up to silence her.
"No. I'm not done, Zel. I have to say this. All of it. You defended Link, because I was in the wrong. Because that's the type of person you are. You always stand by what's right. You always step up, no matter what the situation is. It's one of the things I love most about you. I want to be like that too. And that's why I came here. Because I want to keep you in my life forever, and if that's going to happen, then I know that I need to step up to make it happen."
Zelda smiled, reaching out to rub away Malon's tears.
"Oh!" She said, cupping her cheek. "I didn't… realize I was crying…"
Zelda laughed, looking down as she let out some tears of her own. They weren't tears of happiness or sadness. What she was feeling was guilt. Pure guilt. She didn't have the heart to tell Malon what happened at Lake Hylia, but she knew that Link wouldn't be able to keep it to himself for long.
"I'm not mad about Groose anymore." Zelda said softly.
"What?" Malon tensed up at the mention of his name.
"We weren't thrilled about it, when we found out what was happening with you two. Even after you broke up with Link, and then those pictures got out… It was… a mess. But, if you two like each other, you should go for it. Sometimes that happens, right?" Zelda almost choked, her stomach twisting up nervously, "Sometimes unlikely matches happen…"
"Yeah, sometimes. I don't know what will happen with me and Groose. All I know, is that this stupid drama revolved around guys. And I don't want my friendship with anyone to be ruined over something like that."
"...Yeah…" Zelda said absentmindedly.
"Can we make a promise on that?"
"What?"
"Let's promise to never let guys get in between our friendship ever again!" Malon cheered happily.
Zelda looked up at Malon. She was planning on keeping it to herself, especially since she had sworn Link to secrecy, but she had no idea that Malon would call her and then make a surprise visit to her house. So she had to come clean, because she couldn't handle keeping anymore lies or secrets between them after everything they had been through.
"Malon. Would you still feel that way… if I had feelings for Link?"
A/N: Some of you read my statement regarding my inactivity on this story a couple of days ago. I will post it here for everyone who missed it:
I was certain that 2016 would be the year I finally finished this story. As you can see, 2 months into 2018, that is not the case. Now I can give you guys the usual excuses, school, writer's block, procrastination, depression… But here is how I really feel. When I started writing this story back in 2012, I was a child. In many ways I still am a child, even if the laws on age dictate otherwise; but in other ways, I've grown up.
I had a plan for this story, a definitive idea of what I wanted to do. I had pages of notes in my little orange notebook, all dedicated to this story. I had bouts of creativity, where I would update frequently within a span of weeks. Other times? I would wait months to years to update. I don't even know if anyone who started following this story all those years ago still bothers to check up on it. But I still get new readers, occasionally PM's from people asking me if I will update. To everyone who has read this story, whether you liked it or not, whether you reviewed or not, whether you messaged me or not: I love you, and the fact that you even considered my story worthy of clicking on is an honor to me. Honestly, I lost my way (no Knuckles memes please), I lost the plan I had almost six years ago.
But here is the wholehearted truth: This story, while it has been fun and chaotic both to read and to write, is not me. At one point, maybe, it was. Writing about petty, angst-y teenage dramas with silly subplots galore was what I wanted when I started writing this, but it isn't anymore. My writing has changed. I have changed, and that's what has made it so difficult for me to come back to this story and continue writing it. I am not the same person that I was when I started writing this story. I look back at the earlier chapters and can't help but laugh at the immaturity of it all. I want to write darker, more intense pieces. In fact, I am right now, and I have intentions of posting them very soon. That doesn't mean that I want to give up lighthearted stories like this, it just means that I want to try something new. I've held off on posting or even writing other stories (except for 'The Roommates,' lmao) because I felt like it wouldn't be fair to you guys. But now, it's time to finish what I've started, for once. I need to give you guys a good conclusion to what is currently my most popular story, so that I can move on to the projects I am fully invested in as a writer.
The next chapter will be the finale. It will be a much longer chapter, tying up as many loose ends as possible. All of your favorite characters will make an appearance. I might add an epilogue as well. Now that I'm finishing up this story, I want to announce my new project that I've been working on. It is not an AU, and it will be much longer than this, or any other story I have written on this website. I will post a passage from one of the chapters I've written to give you guys a glimpse. (Next chapter, not this one.)
Also, I will be ending the poll on Summer of Our Discontent once the finale is posted. I highly encourage everyone who hasn't voted yet to vote. Ending this poll will feel like ending an important period of my life. We have at least one more chapter together before this story is over for good. Thank you all for your support over the years, I really appreciate it. I will upload the conclusion within this timeframe: February 18 - 23. Maybe later, maybe sooner. We'll see what happens.
Until then,
Chapter Nineteen Theme Song: Don't Talk
Artist: Vanessa Hudgens