Alone [September 22nd, 2014]

A.N: The A.N. before this one just turned out to be the first part of this fanfic. Other than that statement, I have nothing to tell you, really.

Most of the time, I'm just alone. It's not really because I like it, but I don't dislike it either. It just happens often, since I don't have many friends. When I'm in school, I'm usually separated from my one friend in the entire grade. I guess I don't like being alone whenever I'm not with my friends. When I want to be alone, it's probably because I'm stuck with someone I don't like.

One of my friends learned how to stay away from being alone. That being, having a boyfriend. She's not my best friend. She's one of my preppy friends that picks on me all the time. Sometimes, I wonder why I'm friends with that girl.

Nevertheless, she has had countless boyfriends. It didn't matter what his reputation was or how old he was. If a guy asked her out, she'd always say, "yes". Me, I've never had such an opportunity. No boy in their right mind would ask me to be their girlfriend. At this rate, I'll be single for the rest of my life.

It can't just be anyone; I'm not stupid. If I'm going to date someone, it can't just be any guy. If he wants to date me, he has to have feelings for me, and I want to feel the same. But like I said, no one asks me about it anyway. That's why I developed a weak spot in my heart for people that don't exist and people I'll never get to meet.

One of those people is Link. Some call him "Zelda" and some call him "Peter Pan". Believe me, I dressed up as Link for Halloween, and those were the two dominant answers I got. But I really do like Link a lot. If he was real, I would totally want to be his girlfriend. If he showed up in my house one day, I would die of happiness.

Link has always been a weakness of mine. He's one of the only boys I/don't/want to smack in the face. If he was real, my life would be complete knowing he was a part of it. That's what would make me feel like I wasn't alone. I would wake up knowing that there was a boy out there that loved me, and that I would love back. This is why I wish my dreams could become a reality.

I sat at the lunchroom table, my head resting on my hand as I vaguely listened to the conversation my friends were having. They weren't exactly my friends though. They were more like my friend's friends. I could never really seem to fit myself into their gossip and such, so I just sat back and watched them talk.

Hardly any of them cared much for the Legend of Zelda, and that was the thing I was most passionate about. Furthermore, I found myself shocked to hear Macy say Link's name. I hear things wrong often, mainly when there's a bunch of other noises in the background of the conversation. Someone would say "Karen" and I'll flinch, thinking they said "Erin", since that's my name. But despite my usually horrible listening skills, I knew I heard her distinctively say, "Link".

I decided to actually listen to the conversation now, instead of halfway listening and halfway daydreaming.

"You saw Link?" Hannah asked.

"Yeah, just now. I think he's the new kid," Macy answered.

"Exchange student," Levi added.

"Where?" I finally asked. Macy pointed behind me.

"Right over there," she answered, taking a bite of a sweet roll as she put her hand down.

"Oh my God," Susan breathed. "Is that who I think it is?" I had the same question. Was he really Link, or did someone happen to name their kid after that "legendary hero"?

"What's his last name?" I asked Macy. "Do you know?"

Macy shook her head and shrugged for her reply. That's when I decided to stop talking. After the discussion about the new kid, they went back to talking about things I didn't care much about. Since then, I kept my eyes on Link. He sat at a table all by himself as he ate his lunch. Of course, no one really came over to sit by him. Most of the boys at my high school are jerks. Besides, they already had friends of their own to sit next to.

The bell rang, indicating lunch was over, and I started walking to my next class. I don't always daydream, and I rarely daydream while walking through the hallways, but my mind was wandering, and I couldn't stop it. I kept thinking back to Link's face compared to the usual video game appearance of his face. It was hard to tell the likeness in my mind. Maybe, if I could see him up close I could-

I feel myself slam into someone rushing by and I get knocked backwards, my backpack flying with me. Of course I yelped with surprise at the sudden move. I was on the floor now, frustrated with whoever the fudge did that.

"I'm sorry! Are you ok?" I hear a boy's voice ask. I turn my head upward and my heart stopped. It was Link who had knocked me over! I could see the resemblance now. His eyes were an impossible shade of sapphire blue. His hair was dirty blonde and he wore a green hoodie, his signature color. He was incredibly handsome. I finally noticed his left arm was extended toward me, so I took his hand and he helped me to my feet.

I could feel butterflies in my stomach. Normally when anyone knocks you down in the hallway, they yell "sorry!" over their shoulder as they continue to run. But Link... I've only seen things like what he did in movies. Wait, was this a movie; a fantasy?

"Thank you," I managed to say with a small smile.

"No problem," he replied as he started to run again. Oh, I wished he would've talked more before he took off. His voice made me feel like I had died and gone to Heaven. Maybe I had. This was all too good to be true.

I found myself smiling the rest of the way to the classroom. As I reached the door, the smile faded as my mind wandered again. What grade is he in? Is he a senior?! Please don't let him be a senior... A hot, hot senior. How old is he anyway? 19? 18? I just hope he's not out of my league. He probably is no matter what- but STILL! Why would he like a girl like me? Maybe I should just forget about it... But how do you forget a face as cute as that?!

My brain stayed focused on Link for almost the entire class period. I hardly paid any attention to the math problems on the board and I didn't answer any of them correctly. I couldn't think straight with Link on my mind.

I practically floated to art class next period. With all the warm, fuzzy thoughts in my head, I just couldn't help but smile and be happy. This was my favorite period of the day because my best friend was there... and I loved to draw.

I sat down in my regular spot and whipped out my iPod. It would be about four minutes before class officially began, so I started playing a Link to the Past on a special app. Just before I could open the big locked door, I heard a familiar voice.

"Hey, it's you again." I recognized that voice right away. It was Link. I saved my state, put down my iPod, and turned around. Surely enough, Link was smiling down at me. He wasn't really tall or anything. He was standing and I was sitting; simple logic. He would probably be a little shorter than me actually, if I stood.

"Yeah uh, hi," I said nervously as I rested my cheek in my hand.

"I didn't catch your name before," Link told me. It was more of a question than a statement, so I answered.

"Erin."

"Nice to meet you, Erin. My name's Link," he greeted with a warm smile. Of course I already knew that, but I pretended that I didn't.

"Cool name," I said as my smile got bigger. Wait, what the frack was I saying?! 'Cool name'? Real smooth, Erin.

"Thanks," he replied anyway. He must think I'm crazy, maybe even retarded. Oh wait... I am.

"Sorry," I apologized, slightly chuckling. "I-I don't talk much..."

"You don't have to apologize!" he told me with a short laugh. "It's not a bad thing."

"Sorry..." I mumbled, feeling my face getting hot.

Before he could say another word, the bell rang and my friend Rachel came rushing in. I watched her as she ran toward me.

"Not late," she announced as she took her seat next to mine. I looked back to where Link was standing, but he had already sat down in a chair of his own. I sighed dejectedly as Rachel poked my shoulder. "Erin, Erin, Erin, Erin-"

"What?" I asked with a giggle.

"There's a new guy in school that I think you'd really like to meet-"

"I know," I interrupted. "Link."

"You've met him already?" she asked in surprise.

"Sort of..." I trailed off. "He's right over there!" I whispered as I pointed to him.

"Oh my gosh!" Rachel exclaimed quietly. "He looks just like him!"

"I/know/!" I squealed.

"Do you wanna..." She nodded her head toward him and smiled. "You know."

"I-I don't-I don't know..." I stuttered. I really didn't know whether to go over there and talk to him more or not. When I said I had never had a boyfriend before, that also meant that I don't have any friends that are boys. It doesn't matter if I like like them or not. I'm just not good at talking to boys in general. They make me feel uncomfortable, I guess, especially when there's an awkward silence. Rachel grabbed my arm and pulled me out of my chair.

"Come on, let's go say hi!" she bubbled.

"I already said hi!" I whined, trying to get back to my seat.

"I thought you liked Link!" Rachel whispered as she continued to pull on my arm.

"I do, but it's not like I can just tell him! That's stupid!" I hissed. "You know I'm shy!"

"Erin, he's your life-long love," she assured. "You deserve to talk to him at the least."

"Nooo," I moaned, still struggling against her. She finally let go and I scrambled back to the safety of my seat. Her mouth formed into a frown, her eyes squinted, and she crossed her arms. She had the look of a pouty five year old.

"Fine,/I'll/talk to him!" she huffed.

"Noooooo!" I yelped, trying to stop her. It was no use. She was already next to him before I could make a move. I hid my face behind my hands. Oh, Holy Hylia, she's going to embarrass me so bad. I took a quick glance over to the two and I saw them smiling and talking. She was actually/talking/to him! I started freaking out in my head. Trying to stay calm only made me more upset. Even though I was nervous and frustrated, I was able to make out part of a sentence Rachel said.

"...And that's Erin." I froze, trying to hide or disappear or/something/, anything that would prevent them from coming my way. It didn't work at all. They both started walking over to me. I just hoped that Rachel hadn't told him anything stupid.

"Erin, can I ask you something?" Link asked. Oh gosh, here it comes.

"Y-yeah," I said, trying to sound like I wasn't nervous.

"Would you like a soda?" he asked. Wow, that wasn't the kind of question I was expecting at all. I was also surprised that he knew what a soda was.

"Uh, sure!" I answered gratefully. He smiled and turned to head out the room. Once he walked out the door, I looked at Rachel.

"What did you tell him?!" I demanded.

"Hey, calm down," she scoffed. "I told him about our Mello Yello thing, and about Michelle Obama taking away our soda. He told me he had some Mello Yello in his car and he offered to get it." It was true that we usually had one can of Mello Yello each in art class. Ever since the new school year had started though, all of the high school's soda was gone and replaced with water. We hadn't had a single can of Mello Yello since.

"Well, that's really nice of him," I said with a quick smile.

Rachel nodded. "Oh, guess how old he is!"

I gulped. "Uh... 19?"

"Yup!" My hopes sank down to the pits of my heart.

"Oh..." I slumped in my chair and my head thudded onto the table. "He's a senior..."

"Junior," Rachel corrected. I lifted my head.

"No, he's 19. That makes him a senior," I argued.

"Well, he must've gotten held back or something, because he told me he was a junior." Before I could keep the argument going, Link was back with one can of Mello Yello in each hand.

"Here," he said as he handed me one of the cans. I took it gingerly and smiled weakly.

"Thanks," I muttered, pulling the tab upward. The can hissed and a hole was revealed in the top. As I took a sip, I realized how many unanswered questions I hadn't asked Link. Was he really the fictional hero of legend from the Legend of Zelda franchise? Does he know all about the modern world? Most importantly, does this Mello Yello in my hand mean that we're friends?

The bell rang shortly after I had taken my first sip, so I soon found myself on the bus. My sister sat next to me as I craned my neck to look out the window.

"Looking for someone?" Courtney asked curiously.

"Yeah," I replied plainly. "Link."

She laughed. "No really, who?"

"Link."

"Link?"

"Link."

Courtney finally gave up. "Ok. Now I'm convinced you're as crazy over Link as Sabrina is over Sonic."

I giggled. "No, Link's real. Sonic isn't," I stated as I continued to look out the window.

"How?" Courtney laughed. I paused for a moment so I could show her proof. As the bus slowly started to move, I spotted him.

"Look!" I exclaimed, pointing to Link. Courtney looked to where I was pointing and her eyes grew wide.

"Oh my gosh, a cosplayer?!"

"No, it's Link!"

"I can see that."

"No, his name is really Link."

Courtney slowly turned away from the window, since he was no longer in sight. Her head tilted to the side and she cocked an eyebrow. "Whaaaaaaat?"

I smiled and giggled. The best part of today was that I didn't feel so alone. Now I know I at least have a chance of love in life. Maybe, just maybe, I have a chance. With this in mind, I started telling my sister all about what had happened in my crazy day at school.

A.N: This was WAY longer than I intended... Hehe, sorry.