Summary–AU There are those moments in life where a few words or one sentence changes your entire view on everything you thought you knew. Most often for me they came from my best friend.LinkZelda friendship/romance
Disclaimer–I do not own Legend of Zelda, which belongs to its respective owner(s) and is only being used in a fan-made, fictional story.
Alternating POV's here people. Watch yourself. Don't get confused.
Also, this chapter is pretty long compared to the others. You're free to stop and continue later because it is divided into separate "lessons".
xoxo
Title–Schooled
By–Moon Prynces
xoxo
Admitting is the first step, part 1
"Hey, Link."
I looked up to find Sheik and Malon walking up to my table. I smiled and waited.
"What's up?" he asked while they both took a seat across from me.
I motioned to the open book.
"How's Zelda?" Malon asked while pulling out her own notebook from the messenger bag she set on the table.
I shrugged and went back to reading. But I glanced up in time to see them exchange a look. I started wondering if Zelda told anyone about that night we talked about...everything.
"What?" I said with a blank expression.
Malon sighed while Sheik rested an elbow on the table to put his cheek in the open palm.
"Link, is there something going on between you two?" she asked, looking at me intently.
My brows came together as I asked, "Like what?"
"Can I confess something?" She changed the subject, and for some reason looked to Sheik for approval.
He shrugged. "I thought you talked to Zelda about these things already during your girl time."
Malon turned back to me. "Well the truth is...we all thought maybe you guys finally started dating."
My jaw dropped at what I was hearing. My brows were knitted together so tightly I wasn't sure I could make another facial expression. "What?" I asked back in shock.
She preoccupied herself with opening the notebook to a specific page while talking to me. "Look, it's just Sheik, Mido, Saria and I have all kind of thought you two would have gone out." She looked up quickly saying, "I'm not saying we think you guys are made for each other and everything would be all happily ever after if you did go out but it just seemed like the obvious thing to happen."
I managed to shut my mouth and stared blankly.
"You know, usually a guy-girl friendship turns into something more. And you two..." She made a 'wow' kind of face and glanced at Sheik who was silently watching me. "You two get along so great," she settled with.
Sheik smirked at me. "Yeah, and everyone thought you guys would've dated in high school but it never happened. In fact you barely dated at all. We even started to question your..." He trailed off with implications that made me catch fire.
"You're joking right?" I deadpanned. They had to be. I was ready to start laughing.
Malon made the same face right back at me. "Is Mido around?"
"No."
"Then no, we're not joking."
"You guys questioned my sexual orientation behind my back?" I asked again.
Sheik put his hand on the table and nodded, still smirking.
I paused, swallowing the angry comment that would have left my mouth. I looked back down to my book and pretended to read something, as if the conversation was over.
They thought Zelda and I would have dated? It's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. Zelda and I have been best friends for forever. I've never seen her as a potential girlfriend or even someone I would date. She was always just...Zelda.
To be quite honest I might not have been bothered by any of these speculated thoughts if it were two months ago. I would have just laughed it off and called them crazy. Everything would have gone back to normal and nothing would have come from it.
Instead I sat there wondering if Alfonzo was right. Maybe if I hadn't heard him that day I wouldn't be wondering what dating her was like. I never had these thoughts before.
I never felt uncomfortable around her. Except maybe when we first met and she was just this weird little girl moving in across the street.
But lately I had been having panic attacks whenever I saw her unexpectedly. Running into her around campus? Random phone calls? Showing up at my apartment with food or just to hang out?
Yeah, the feeling sucked. I always stopped breathing for a moment when I saw it was her.
Still, it wasn't that simple.
Okay, so apparently I had some feelings for my best friend – whom I've known since we were five years old – Zelda. Now what?
If it took me almost twenty years to find her attractive and start crushing on her like a sixth grader then who's to say she'll ever see me that way?
And apart from the mild heart attacks or whatever, my feelings didn't affect everything we did or said. So there really was no need to act on it and try to turn this into something more.
Bottom line, she probably never felt this way about me and I wasn't holding my breath for her to notice I had a crush or something on her.
"I'm not dating her," I said quietly, causing the two to look up at me but I pretended not to notice as I started reading for real.
But whether I just meant that statement as a fact of the present or a declaration for the future, I wasn't sure.
xoxo
Admitting is the first step, part 2
I laughed along with Saria as we sat at the nearest fast food place, having lunch between classes.
"And then he still tried to pass it off as a gift for me," she went on with a chuckle.
I bit my lip to stop the laughter. "Ah, man," I sighed after the climax of the story was over. "I can happily say that I'm glad I'm not dating right now." I smiled and went back to trying to finish my food.
She gave a small smile that always meant trouble.
I stopped eating and went, "What?"
Saria just shook her head.
"What? Was it something I said?" I asked, trying to examine my earlier words.
"No," she said and innocently took a sip from her soda. "I was just thinking it's a good thing you aren't dating right now."
I blinked. "Okay. Thanks."
I gave up trying to understand what in the world Saria was trying to hint at and didn't bother to ask.
"Hey," he said, looking surprised.
I raised my brows. "Why is it you always seem shocked when I come over these days?" I asked as I walked into the apartment.
Link looked a bit flustered at what he seemed to think was a confrontation.
"Are you okay?" I asked lightly and put my bag on the floor. Why was everyone acting so weird lately?
"Everything's good," he said and was suddenly back to reading through his notes at the kitchen table.
I didn't say anything as I dumped my things into the room I always used. It was already nine o'clock and we had both eaten before I showed up.
The only reason I decided to spend the night was because finals started the next day. By staying at Link's place I didn't have a long way to go to get to class, so the extra time could be used for studying.
Which is exactly what we did until two a.m. Link stayed at the kitchen table – covered in books, papers, notebooks, pens and highlighters. I settled onto the coffee table and sat on the floor and then later moved to rolling around on the floor holding my book to read from.
We barely spoke, and that was probably a good thing. A whole lot of awkward tension had been rising for at least two weeks now. But since it was that time of the semester we didn't have time to think on it.
I could only wonder about it just as I slid into bed after saying goodnight. I left my things where they were in the living room and set at least three alarms on my phone and on the nearby clock to wake me up early. Link had stayed at the table and said he'd head to bed when he finished the chapter, in about ten minutes.
Every time I saw Link around he had this surprised look on his face, like I was someone he hadn't seen in a while and didn't expect to ever see again.
It was weirder because it made me feel like I wasn't wanted. At first I thought I was interrupting something when I showed up at the apartment or spotted him around campus. Then it just seemed like he didn't want to see me.
Okay, so I lied. The reason it felt weirder was because it hurt my feelings a bit, and even in my mind I tried to deny feeling hurt. Because if I admitted to feeling hurt then it would mean I put a lot more emphasis on seeing Link. As in more than friends. And so by denying that I was hurt every time he seemed to not want to see me I was denying that I may have had more than platonic feelings for my best friend.
It was a confusing cycle and yet it made sense in my head.
I laid wide awake for half an hour, thinking. I tried to focus on remembering formulas and facts but kept getting distracted.
I heard when Link got up and headed to the bathroom to brush his teeth and wash up before going to bed. I stopped breathing and listened carefully as he trudged to his room and closed the door quietly.
"This is stupid," I told myself and turned over dramatically.
Why in the world was I crushing on my best friend?
Internally I cringed. Outwardly my face twisted up like I just ate something sour.
When I woke up at seven, after the first alarm, I headed out to the bathroom and washed up. I decided to study for an hour before taking a shower and then leaving for my first final.
I put on the radio (a bit too loud) and went around the kitchen getting cereal and glancing through some notes at the same time, so I didn't hear Link go to the bathroom.
So I stood between the living room and kitchen area staring down at the papers in my hand, in one of those moments where you get so wrapped up in something that you just stop walking completely and forget about whatever else you were about to do, when he came up behind me after exiting the bathroom.
I jumped out of my skin when he pressed his forehead onto my shoulder and groaned. My heart rate spiked and I almost dropped my notes.
"Zelda, can you accidentally give me food poisoning so I won't have to do this today?" Link asked.
The pause stretched on longer than necessary as my eyes were still bugged out and I was trying to breathe evenly.
"Uh, Link?" I finally asked rhetorically.
"Did you get enough sleep?" he asked and lifted his head while I turned around. "Cuz I feel like..." He yawned, proving the point.
I stared with the classic deer caught in headlights expression. He shoved a hand into his messy blonde hair and his eyes blinked tiredly.
And that was when I knew the only way to escape this crush on Link was to stay the hell away from him.
Why did I have a best friend that was so good looking? In fact, why wasn't my best friend the same gender as me?
xoxo
Never just two sides to a coin
"Oh my god," I said while stretching. "You feel that?"
I got weird looks in return but ignored them.
"Feels like freedom."
Saria giggled at my over-dramatization. Sheik shook his head and Mido agreed.
"Malon and Zelda get out in half an hour," Saria said while consulting her watch. "What should we do til then?"
"Sleep," Mido muttered.
"Definitely," I said as we walked towards the parking lot. "It's pretty overcast today," I looked up at the sky. "We could head to the park and sleep in the shade."
"How boring," Saria rolled her eyes.
"You know, I think this is the first time the six of us will be hanging out altogether since...since the beginning of the semester," Sheik commented.
We all thought this over as we came upon Sheik's car. Mido's car was also just a few spots over.
"Well that proves it," Mido declared. "School ruins friendships. We should just drop out right now and start our own business."
"Like what?" I asked while Sheik unlocked his car so we could dump our books and bags in there.
"Well we could pimp out you and Sheik," he replied thoughtfully.
Sheik didn't bat an eye while I was visibly startled at the idea.
"You've gotta be kidding," Saria interrupted me from speaking. "Link would die before doing something like that."
I stared at her with a raised brow. "What do you mean?"
"Link, aren't you still a virgin?" she asked blankly.
I started to change color. Sheik and Mido were smirking at me.
"Why are we talking about my sexual experiences?" I questioned, keeping my voice even.
"Or lack thereof," Mido snickered. I shot him a dark look.
"You don't even date Link. What are we supposed to think? You don't seem like the type to..." Saria trailed off, not sure how to describe it.
"Hey, I've dated!" I argued back. "Just because I don't get around like these two," I pointed a thumb to the giggling fools behind me, "Doesn't mean you should assume things."
"Assume what things?" someone asked.
We turned to watch Malon standing nearby.
"I finished the exam before Zelda so she'll just meet us here," she continued. "So then, what are you guys assuming?"
Before I could shout nothing and change the subject Mido spoke up.
"We weren't assuming. We were just discussing what we already know. Link's a virgin," he said smugly.
I started to walk over with my hands out to choke him. Saria caught the back of my shirt and the tug made me regain some sense.
Malon raised her brows but didn't say anything.
I gritted my teeth. "Okay, are you guys done?" I asked calmly. "I'll tell you the truth if you'd like."
"This'll be good," I heard Malon whisper to Saria.
"Okay, so what is it then?" Sheik questioned and folded his arms as my friends looked to me for some answers.
"We all know I don't date much, especially not much since our freshman year here." I shook my head. "But I don't get where you guys started thinking all these things about me. I never talked about any of it because I thought it was a private thing that no one needed to hear."
Mido grinned to Sheik, obviously thinking they were right.
"I'm not a virgin," I stated, pushing a hand through my hair. "I haven't been a virgin since like junior year of high school."
I watched as Mido's jaw dropped and Sheik's brows went up. Saria looked a little shocked too but Malon just grinned like she knew this all along.
"Who–" Mido was cut off by Saria elbowing him, hard.
I shrugged to myself, thinking 'what could it hurt?' and said, "Remember when I dated Ilia for a while?"
"Ilia?" Mido whispered in shock. Sheik rolled his eyes at our friend's overdramatic behavior.
"So I guess Link wasn't as innocent as we all thought," Sheik commented.
"Just Ilia?" Malon asked.
Rapt attention was on me again.
"Uh...well I'm not really one for one night stands but..." I rolled my eyes away. "But there was another girl somewhere at the beginning of college."
"Dude, you don't even remember her name?" Mido gaped again. "You're worse than I could imagine!"
My brows came together. "What do you mean? You've slept with someone that you only refer to as 'that chick with the green shirt'."
Saria sighed. "Well yeah, but he's an idiot."
"Hey!"
"You're Link. We all thought you were more...tasteful, I guess. Like you would probably save sex only for special people," she went on.
"I give up!" And threw my hands in the air. "I don't know why we're even talking about my sex life," I said, turning away.
"Hi Zel'," Malon greeted happily as she stared at us.
I know what they mean when they say cold fear runs through you. I've felt like that a few times, usually for a movie when something so unexpected happens it shocks you into place. All reactions are involuntary – they just happen. Your eyes go wide, you feel like something pushes you straight back into your seat and a literal cold chill runs through your insides.
That is how I felt when Malon greeted the last member of our group.
I stood up straighter and slowly turned around to see her smiling hesitantly.
"I see you guys are harassing Link," she stated and walked up to me. "Don't worry, I'm here to protect you," she told me.
Mido snickered somewhere out of my vision. I rolled my eyes.
xoxo
Sometimes the hardest thing to do is stay
I was spending a lazy afternoon with Saria. I sat on her bed while she was getting ready for work.
"Hey, have you seen my..." I trailed off, looking up from the magazine in thought. "Damnit," I said to myself.
"What?" Saria asked, walking out of her bathroom and heading for the armoire. She grabbed a red shirt, walking around in a pair of shorts and bra.
"I think I left it at Link's," I muttered, once again to myself.
"Mm, kay," she mumbled, pulling on the shirt and moving to the dresser to apply some makeup and tie her hair up.
After I was forced to leave her house while she went off to work I decided to pick up my things from Link's apartment. I was hoping he wouldn't even be home and I could use my key to slip in, get my things and leave.
I was wrong to think he wasn't home. But I was lucky to find he was in the shower.
It took me a few minutes to clear out all my beauty products from the dresser and shove my spare clothes into the backpack I used for these trips. I was praying he wouldn't leave the bathroom any time soon.
Then I noticed the pile of books in the corner – my notes and textbooks from the classes that had ended just a week ago.
So I left the room holding two backpacks, one of which couldn't even fit all my books so I was left to try and hold them in my arms.
I was just opening the front door while precariously holding onto everything when someone said, "Zelda?"
I screamed and dropped everything. The spine of a book hit my foot and I was hissing in pain by the time Link was close to enough to help pick it all up. I suppressed the cursing fit I wanted to have while holding onto my foot.
"You okay?" he asked while gathering the books together.
"No," I mumbled, grabbing the bags again.
"Leaving already?" he asked after rising with my stuff in hand.
"Well..." I looked away guiltily.
"Without even saying hi?" he went on.
"Sorry Link, I..." I looked up, and stared.
His eyes had me. That was it! I was losing myself because his eyes were staring at me in that honest way, waiting.
I hated that I was being so girly about this crush. It was why I needed to stay away. It was why I was gathering all my stuff. I would leave and...and spend the summer with my mom! Hopefully fall for some hot guy and have a 'summer fling' or whatever.
"Maybe we should talk," Link said carefully, looking away to ease the discomfort he must've known I felt.
"Bout what?" I asked back casually.
He chuckled to himself. "About the awkward conversation the other day. The one about my sex life."
I stared blankly. I didn't see how that was funny. "That's okay, Link. I've gotta get going."
He looked to me with furrowed brows. "Really? Where to?"
"I just need to spend some time away with my mom," I announced, though I had only just come up with the idea. "You know how it is. A summer getaway."
"You're leaving?" Link asked incredulously. "How come you didn't say anything?"
"Oh, I didn't tell you?" I asked, faking surprise.
His eyes narrowed. "What's going on?"
"With what?" I asked back in confusion.
"Zelda," he said with a hint of warning.
I dropped the façade and glanced around. "I just need to get away from..." I stopped myself before giving away any sensitive information.
"Running from something?" he asked with a dry look. "Zel', what made you think you could lie to me?"
I stalked past him after dropping my bags and sat on a sofa. "You don't know everything about me," I huffed and folded my arms like a child.
He walked around and sat in front of me on the coffee table. He reached out and grabbed my hands in his own. "What's wrong Zel'?" he asked softly.
I stared at him and then at our hands. I hated the way something inside me jolted. This wasn't the way I felt when I liked someone. Not completely. Usually we flirted, we smiled and I left feeling happy.
I pulled away my hands. "I just really need to not be here for a while," I pleaded. As if I needed his approval.
"Whatever it is, I'm sure you don't need to just...run away to deal with it," he said seriously.
I stared again before shaking my head. "I don't need to deal with it though, that's the thing. I just want to get away for a while and leave it alone. Come back and everything will be normal again," I said in one breath.
"Normal again?"
I looked up to see his skeptical expression. And then I backtracked to what I had said, going over my words.
"What happened?"
There was silence as I chose to avert my eyes to the floor instead of responding.
Link sighed and slouched forward. "Okay, so you don't want to talk about it. Fine. But listen, whatever it is you shouldn't just leave and hope things become 'normal again'."
"But I just don't want things to change again, Link," I interrupted him. "What if I say something and things turn out badly? What if I ruin it just like I ruin all my relationships with people?"
He smiled kindly for a second. "You're talking about a guy, aren't you?"
I only stared at him blankly, giving no inclination to any side.
Link got up and sat down next to me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. "You don't ruin your relationships. Maybe you haven't done so well romantically up until now but you never lost hope before. So why start now?" He shrugged, and then looked thoughtful. "And look at your parents, and your friends. Those relationships look pretty good to me."
I sat there staring at my hands for a while.
This was different, I wanted to tell him. I couldn't be sure I wouldn't ruin it this time. There was never so much at stake before.
He must have seen the worried expression as I thought. "Look, there's never a guarantee things will turn out like they do in movies."
I looked up at his words.
"But it's always better to try. Stay. Say something to him or don't, you can do whatever you want. Just...don't leave and think it'll be better that way." He quirked an eyebrow while staring me down. "I didn't know you liked someone new already."
I started. "What? No! I didn't say that!" I tried to deny. "If I did, Link, don't you think I would've told everyone by now?" I rolled my eyes.
"Whoever he is," Link went on.
I stared up at him. I noticed the hesitation, how it didn't suit him at all. This was Link, my best friend of about seventeen years. We knew each other so well that I could see he was unsure, just like he could see when I was lying.
Maybe I needed to rethink this. If we seemed to get along so well...why couldn't I hope there was a chance for something between us?
Or at the very least, I could follow his advice and stay. Not say or do anything, just ride this out. Why did I always have to shut down and reboot when awful things happened? Why couldn't I just stand there and let it wash over me?
"Whoever he is..." I looked up as he repeated this with eyes glazed over in thought. "He might be worth all this worrying."
"I guess so," I said to myself.
xoxo
The lesson you teach but never learn
I was busy playing a two on one game with Sheik and Mido. Of course, we rotated the one between Sheik and myself because we were both too good at basketball for Mido to keep up.
I jumped up to knock the ball out of Sheik's control and then landed on my butt.
"I think...we're done," Mido panted, "For today."
Even Sheik looked tired as he wiped the sweat from his face with the back of his hand while breathing hard. I nodded from the ground.
It wasn't as sunny as it had been two hours ago but I got the feeling we were all dehydrated.
"When do you guys have work?" I asked with a nod in their general direction.
Mido grabbed the water bottles and tossed one to me and then Sheik. They both took long gulps before anything was said.
"Not til five," Sheik responded, wiping his mouth.
I nodded to myself as Mido spoke up.
"No work today. Just a whole lot of chores."
I grinned. "That reminds me: maybe I should go home for the summer. See Aryll before she leaves for school."
"She sure has grown up," Mido commented with a grin as he sat on the nearby bleachers.
I sent a pointed look. His hands went up in surrender.
Sheik shook his head and sat down on the bleachers as well. "Mido wouldn't dare try to date her. He's already set his sights set on this girl we saw around campus all the time."
"Oh really? Since when does Mido wait so long before making a move?" I raised a brow and we turned to said person.
Even though his face was a little colored from embarrassment he still managed to look annoyed. "I'm not waiting," he replied. "I'm just looking for an opportunity to arise."
"Well the semester's over so I'm thinking the opportunities are gone," I commented and leaned back on my palms. The concrete wasn't as hot as I thought and Sheik started to laugh at my words.
"Well, we can't all live across the street from the girl we're trying to ask out," he said again.
Sheik looked at me abruptly and muttered, "Uh oh."
I stared in confusion. "What?"
"He means Zelda," Sheik rolled his eyes.
"Why would I want to ask out Zelda?" I asked back stupidly.
"Why wouldn't you?" Mido remarked under his breath.
I waited for an explanation.
All I got was those 'well, come on' looks from Sheik and folded arms from Mido.
"So you're saying you don't like Zelda?" Sheik questioned carefully with a suspicious look. Mido snorted.
"Of course I do." They brightened. "She's my best friend." And then they sighed.
"Forget that. Why exactly don't you date, Link?" Mido asked and leaned forward curiously. "I mean, we all know there was Ilia and maybe like two other girls you only went on one date each with. But you just never seemed really interested in it." Sheik also looked to me for answers.
I shrugged. "It just doesn't seem that important. I've got everything I need already. Family, friends, a really good career coming up. I never saw the point."
"Don't you get...you know, lonely?" Mido asked.
Sheik elbowed him with a look at the tactless question.
The abused rolled his eyes. "I didn't mean like that. I meant, not having someone there for you."
"You guys are there for me," I said simply before taking another gulp of my water.
Then they both rolled their eyes.
"Yeah...okay," Sheik agreed. "But Mido and I aren't going to give you hugs and kisses on your bad days. No cuddling or 'makeup sex' or gazing fondly into each other's eyes."
Mido was choking on his laughter.
I shrugged. "Okay."
They exchanged some kind of worried look before Sheik leaned forward, elbows on knees and said, "This is what you want?"
"Come on, Link," Mido chided. "You really don't want to be with someone? Not even for the 'right now'?"
Sheik didn't let me respond. "Wake up. You do need someone. I can see all the excuses you wanna use but you're not meant to be alone. Some people out there can have it, but not you. You're meant for someone. Even if it's temporary and you don't know how long it'll last."
"Out of all people, you're way too good. You deserve someone," Mido continued, staring down at the ground. He looked up at me with a serious expression. "But you don't even try, and no one can change that but you."
I stared at the two of them, wondering.
It's ironic and pretty hypocritical that I encouraged her to keep trying when I never did. She was always the one putting herself out there, looking for something. I didn't bother with it. I thought I was satisfied and I had it made already.
Except lately I had begun to wonder. About having someone there for you, just like Mido said. Having a best friend was the closest relationship I'd ever had. Even with any girl I'd ever dated, we didn't share all our fears and secrets, do that whole cuddling or just holding each other kind of sappy stuff.
Now though, I kind of wanted to know what it was like. And she was someone I almost had that relationship with. It just needed a few more steps. We already shared almost everything with each other, so why not her?
"Why Zelda?" I asked.
Mido shrugged and Sheik attempted a response. "Why not Zelda?" he asked back. "Don't you like her?"
There was a slight pause.
And then I said quietly, "Yeah, I do."
xoxo
Take one step forward and no looks back
Link and I never fought.
There was the one time he yelled at me when my parents were going through that nasty divorce. We argued a little, but it usually dissolved into teasing banter.
Maybe we respected and knew each other too well.
Maybe we didn't like to hurt each other with cruel and thoughtless words.
Maybe...we held back how passionate we could get over petty things, and even the more important things.
Even though he had convinced me to stay, not to pick up and go across the country to see my mom, I had resolved to not spend so much time around him.
Sure, I had successfully wrapped my head around my feelings for him. And maybe I was kind of trying to imagine what dating him would be like. And okay, it was starting to fill my head with reasons why it could work out.
But I was stuck on how I could possibly bring up such a topic. How do you just go out and say, 'I like you'?
I'd never had to be so direct before. Usually the feelings were obviously mutual and things worked out.
Well, until whoever I was dating at the time and I broke up and the world turned into a big black hole.
I kept making excuses to myself, trying to bide my time and think things over. I was at a loss on what to say, how to say it, and holy crap– what would his reaction be?
I don't think I ever really had to deal with rejection, but in this scenario I had no idea what would happen.
And anyway, Link didn't seem to mind it much. No one called me out on my behavior. It wasn't obvious that I was avoiding him a bit, though it had only been like two weeks.
"Hey, what about sushi?" Sheik suggested.
Malon made a face. "I've tried it but I just don't think it's for me."
I shrugged carelessly.
"Or we could head to Link's place and order pizza," he continued.
I sat up straight from where I had been reclining. "Why can't we just order it right here?"
The two in front of me looked around at the mass of tables.
"We're still on campus, Zel'. Besides, what if Link's hungry too?" Malon asked with a sly grin.
"You're lucky we decided to pick you up. Who wants to take a summer class anyway?" I sighed.
"Are you sure he's even home? Didn't he mention something about heading back to his parents?" she questioned Sheik.
I let out a breath of air that didn't go unnoticed. "What?" I asked blankly as they stared me down.
"Something wrong?" Malon asked.
"Nope," I said cheerfully, though inside panicking.
"Okay, so let's call Link and see what he's up to." Sheik pulled out his phone and started dialing.
I jumped and I'm pretty sure they both saw. What if he was home? What if we did head over there? What if it turned into a moment that made Link say something like, 'Best friends forever, Zelda!' and then crush any hope of us–
"Hello?" a voice broke through my thoughts.
I glanced at the phone on the table that Sheik had put on speaker. Without thinking I snatched it up and ended the call.
Malon and Sheik stared at me with their mouths open.
I laughed stupidly. "Well, I guess he's home. Let's get going, I'm hungry," I said and got up from the table.
I'm an idiot.
This is what I kept repeating to myself on the drive to Link's apartment. In that time Link had called back and Malon answered while Sheik was driving.
He said that he actually wasn't home yet from work but I could just let us in with my key. I cringed when she glanced back at me.
I pushed open the front door and was met with Link's surprised face as he looked up at me. Sheik and Malon shuffled in behind me.
"Hey, Link. I thought you weren't going to be home yet," Sheik commented as he took off his shoes.
Said person grabbed his messenger bag off the floor and scratched his head. "Yeah...I just got in actually." He shrugged and left to dump the bag in his room while we filed in to sit around lazily on the couch.
He walked back out and stood in front of us.
"So?"
We looked up at him.
"Who's getting the food?" Link asked.
We all looked at each other.
"I'll order!" I shouted, pulling out my phone and holding it in the air.
Link shrugged. "You're at my place." And excused himself from doing anything.
The remaining two looked to each other, even though I sat between them, and nodded decisively.
"Wait, don't they deliver?" I asked.
Malon grabbed the phone from me and said, "Nope, not anymore. We'll be back, so don't go all cannibal on each other while we're gone."
Her and Sheik got up and left without saying anything else. I didn't even get to call in the order!
My eyes narrowed in suspicion before I looked up at Link. He took to throwing himself down on the sofa next to me and turned on the TV.
"So how're things?" he asked while flipping the channels.
"I have no idea," I said honestly.
He looked perfectly comfortable to just sit around and wait for food. Meanwhile, I was trying to glance at him out of the corner of my eye without him noticing.
Do something. Say something. This was an opportunity. Stop waiting and making excuses and just do something!
My internal pep talk wasn't doing much but making me nervous. And it was starting to show with the way I kept clenching and unclenching my fists, like I was stretching or something.
"Link, can we talk?" I blurted out suddenly.
And then I realized what I had just said. It was punctuated when Link saw my expression and turned off the TV. I stared blankly into space, wondering if I could escape the situation somehow.
"What's up?" he asked, turning to face me and putting his right arm on top of the couch.
"Oh, well, you know...it's just..." My eyes darted around, trying to find something to talk about besides my feelings. "I heard you might wanna spend the summer at your house before Aryll leaves for college," I supplied with relief.
Link raised a brow skeptically. "I haven't really decided anything. I'd have to cut back on work a whole lot and I didn't talk to my parents yet."
"Oh, well that's okay, I guess," I said, once again, stupidly. "It would have been nice to see you across the street again," I laughed a bit, trying to change the atmosphere.
He grinned at me. "Why does it matter? You spent so much time sleeping over here."
"What? No I didn't. You make it seem like I was haunting your apartment," I argued, sitting up and looking at him. "In fact, I've only been around like half a dozen times in the past two months."
"It's not a bad thing, Zelda," Link chuckled at me. "And okay, the past few months have been hectic." He didn't elaborate on that. "But the past four years since I moved in you've become like a roommate. What would I say if I had company?"
I glared. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize you had company. Was I in your way this whole time?"
Now he was getting confused at my hostility, and maybe a little annoyed. "Zelda, stop taking it so personally. It's all true anyway. I'm not making these things up. You slept over here more than you did at your own house!" he argued back, his expression turning stormy.
"Okay, that may be true but if you thought I was intruding you didn't have to be such a pushover!" I said, my voice getting louder. "You could have easily told me I was in the way. I'm a big girl. I wasn't going to cry over it," I rolled my eyes.
"Why would I say that? You weren't in the way." Then he muttered to himself, "All the time."
"What was that?" I questioned sharply, arms folding in front of my chest defensively.
He continued on, ignoring me. "And how could I say no when you probably would have convinced me anyway? Bribing me with junk food and telling me you'd fail your classes?" He scoffed at me.
I jumped up from the sofa. "I didn't bribe you! I just brought over food sometimes so we wouldn't starve! I'm sorry I'm watching out for my own well-being, as well as yours!" My eyes narrowed. "Whatever, it's not like you had any company anyway," I said, my eyebrows lifting dangerously with implication.
Link glared up at me. "What are you talking about?"
I shook my head. "Or were you running around having sexcapades anywhere but your apartment? Was I the reason you didn't date or bring home girls?" I asked, my mouth opening in some demented realization.
"I wasn't running around having sexcapades!" he shouted, standing up as well. Then he shook his head to clear the thought. "And no! You're not the reason I didn't date much."
"Try: ever," I muttered, my arms still folded.
He kicked at air in frustration while both hands dug into his hair. "Why does everyone keep bringing up my absent love life?"
Then he turned to me with accusations, something I didn't expect.
xoxo
"You need to stop blaming yourself for everything," I said, pointing a finger in her surprised face. "You're not the reason your parents divorced. You're not the reason your relationships have all failed – it's because you don't pick the right guys. And you're not the reason I don't date. I am!" I said exasperatedly, throwing my hands up. "Yes, look at that. Perfect little Link just realized his greatest flaw: he talks the talk but doesn't walk the walk."
Zelda stared at me like I had just declared my love for her, which meant in utter shock.
"What are you talking about?" she finally asked.
I rolled my eyes away from her. "I was so busy preaching to you about giving your mystery guy a chance and not to give up on finding someone, when I never even bothered to try. I gave up earlier than you ever did," I frowned to myself.
There was silence.
"I don't go around having sex with every girl I see, Zelda," I said bitterly. "Seeing as I'm not the one spending all my free time dating." And even I wasn't sure if I was taking a jab at myself or at her.
"I don't spend all my free time dating," she denied.
I turned back to stare at her hard. "And you were accusing me of 'sexcapades'? I obviously don't get around like you do. Did I ever really tell you how I hate-hate-hated how you started dating? That whole thing with your parents just like jump started you on finding your perfect boyfriend, huh? How many guys have you been through?" I asked.
And though I knew the words coming out of my mouth were mean and hurtful, I couldn't stop myself.
Her arms, folded tightly in front of her chest before, now loosened and her face was wiped of any emotion.
"None," she said. "I haven't 'been through' any guys." Zelda didn't bother looking at me.
I stared at her blankly, the dots connecting slowly in my head. Finally I said, "Wait. So, you mean..."
We were both quiet. I stopped staring and she was pulling at her hair anxiously.
"So...we done?" she asked suddenly.
I looked up and blinked. And then my mouth formed the word on its own...
"No," I said.
"No?" she questioned, taken aback.
I shook my head. "No," I repeated.
This was it. I should say something. Just tell her how I feel. Maybe it'll go somewhere or maybe it won't. But I shouldn't just let these things pass me by.
I had weeks to say something – hint at something – but I never bothered. I barely got to see Zelda enough anyway since the semester ended, which kind of made me think she was avoiding me.
Malon and Sheik leaving us alone to get food was an obvious ploy (on his part). I'm not sure how long it would have taken me to say anything otherwise.
Just how do you tell your best friend you've recently acquired a crush on her after having an argument about 'sexcapades'?
"We don't ever fight," I said in dull realization. "Do we?"
She shook her head slowly. "No. Never."
"Can we talk?" I asked, echoing her earlier words as I sat back down on the sofa.
She kept up a blank stare and sat down as well.
I sighed and raked a hand through my hair. "I was wondering," I started subtly. "Who was the guy you were talking about that day? You still haven't mentioned him to anyone."
She sputtered in surprise for a moment. "No, I wasn't–" She stopped and there seemed to be some internal conflict that showed on her face. "He's...someone that you know. Very well." And with that she nodded confidently, looking determined.
I jerked back in surprise.
What? So there actually was a guy? I had kept that to the back of my mind until now, hoping it wasn't a big deal. You know Zelda's into someone when she can't stop talking about him, so I assumed...
"Sometimes he's all I can think about," she spoke again, staring me down intensely.
"He...is?" I asked, my heart having stopped.
Then I shook my head, shaking off my mixed feelings as well. I had to tell her, even if it wasn't meant to be. This was a big step for me.
"So why haven't you said anything about him?" I questioned further.
She glanced away in embarrassment. "Well, things are complicated. I'm not sure if...if this has a chance."
I opened my mouth to protest. She never had a problem before. But she spoke up again before I could say anything.
"This is different." Zelda looked back at me with the same consuming gaze. "I haven't made a move and he..." She shrugged, trying to ease the tension. "It might work out and it might not."
I blinked, remembering when I had said something similar to her.
Not to sound conceited, but because her and this mystery guy weren't very definite I felt like I had more of a chance. It gave me courage to just say what I had to say.
"Zelda, I like you."
She stared at me.
"As in, more than just a friend," I spoke again.
She jumped up from the sofa with fear and shock on her features. "Is this some kind of joke?"
"What?" I asked, trying not to let myself feel disappointed or depressed at her response. Technically I didn't know yet if she found this detestable or wonderful. Though I was seriously doubting it would reach either of those extremes.
"But I w–" Zelda stopped, her hand covering her mouth. Then her eyes narrowed. "You're messing with me aren't you? You know that I–" She stopped in shock again and her eyes when wide. "You know!" she breathed out and stood there.
"Know what?" I asked. "What are we talking about?" I was getting afraid my confession was buried beneath some other topic that had suddenly popped up without my notice.
"You already knew about my feelings," she said in a low voice, almost scared to actually say them.
I stared up at her. "What feelings?" I closed my eyes tightly and then opened them again with renewed determination. "Look, I don't want to get sidetracked here and completely back away." I stood up. "Zelda, I like you and I just wanted you to know." I shrugged like it didn't matter while inside having one of those heart attack moments. "So just tell me what you think so I can–"
I stopped when I looked over to see her getting all teary eyed.
"What?" I asked quickly. "Was it what I said?" I moved closer to lean in towards her slightly down-turned face.
She shook her head. "This isn't fair. I was the one who wanted to talk." She laughed at herself. "I like you, Link."
I paused and made a confused face.
"Yes. And my talk was supposed to be me confessing these feelings." Zelda swiped a hand at her eyes and all trace of water was gone in a flash.
I slowly backed up and sat down on the sofa again. I was too busy, in shock, to respond. She sat down as well and we stared at the blank TV for a moment.
A minute passed and I sank into the couch, trying to get comfortable with the situation. A few more passed because we didn't know what to say next.
"Link?" she finally asked.
"What do we do now?" I asked back in response.
I saw her lift her head slowly and so I turned to look at her. She grinned and moved closer.
"Well...seeing as you taught me some things, why don't I show you some things?" she asked cheekily.
My brows came together. "You did show me some things." A lot of things, is what I thought. "You taught me better than I could ever have done for you."
Zelda rolled her eyes. "What? With the trial and error thing I had going on? Oh yeah, that was great."
I paused in thought. "We never fight." I looked to her for confirmation and she nodded. "So why did we?"
She thought this over. "Well...maybe because we both felt there was something there between us. And we needed some way to get rid of all that tension. Even if it had to be with an argument."
"I guess."
"But..." And I looked at her as she grinned again, causing me to reflect it back. "Like I said, I could show you another way to get rid of that tension."
"What? There isn't any tension now th–" I stopped and realized something while she rolled her eyes at me.
"A fun way," she continued.
I smirked at her, placing a hand on the sofa between us so I could lean closer. "I'm pretty sure I'm better at it than you are. After all those 'sexcapades'?"
I didn't get to tease her further because she stopped my lips with her own.
Okay, so I didn't hear the door open. I didn't notice the laughter and footsteps. And I didn't realize we were being watched until Sheik started snickering while Malon loudly placed things in the kitchen.
Zelda pulled away and we both looked to see our friends. Sheik was openly staring at us with a smirk. Zelda backed away so I could sit up.
I shoved a hand through my hair. "Back already?" was all I asked.
"I didn't know Zelda was so aggressive," Malon commented with a sly smile, getting herself some water.
Sheik turned to her. "Nah, I think Link just likes girls on top."
Zelda's mouth opened to protest, or at least scold them both.
I shrugged and beat her to it. "Maybe," I responded.
She gaped as I got up and grinned, walking towards the open pizza box. After a moment she got up and headed in the same direction while Sheik and I were already eating.
"So you guys are dating now, huh?" Malon questioned as Zelda picked up a slice.
Zelda smirked. "Oh no." I choked on my food. She cast a wicked glance at me. "Link's so naïve and ignorant. I was just teaching him some things."
My mouth fell open. "Oh really? Is that why I was the one making you–"
Sheik slapped a hand over my mouth. "Dude, we're eating. Can you guys have a lover's spat when we're not around?"
xoxo
Sorry that this chapter was so long. I'm sorry but I refused to cut it anywhere along the way. It built up slowly to this climax or something, and cutting it apart would be like listening to half of a song one day and then the other half the next day. It did not make sense to me.
Technically this is the last chapter, but I'm wondering if there needs to be some kind of epilogue. The minute details of Link and Zelda's relationship weren't really disclosed. Maybe you felt there needed to be more of an explanation before they jumped each other? I don't know. I think I do.
I wonder if you could feel their tension and anxiousness and uncertainty like I did. Tell me what you think.
This chapter, just counting the story alone amounted to 8,438 words. Really-very-long. This chapter is now one third of the entire story. Amazing that so much can happen in so little time.
I guess if anyone thinks and/or convinces me to write an epilogue-like chapter after this I might. I'm not sure yet. The story status will be changed to complete after this chapter goes up but if I add something, it'll just happen.
I'm off to work on another story after this. I'm very busy this summer with writing fanfics and stuff. It's amazing.
I'll post this in a few hours or tomorrow. I keep feeling like I should reread the entire thing but I've reread it over a dozen times as I was writing. If you find mistakes, please let me know!
Thank you to everyone that has offered support. Seeing as I'm already writing such a horribly long End Note here, it wouldn't hurt to thank my reviewers by name…
LadyZayriah – WritersBlock XD – Linkandzel – lv1s – TheFinalCountdown – Dash Handsome – Forever-Gamer321 – toonLink7 – HurricaneHaley – Airian Reesu
It's been fun! Thanks for reading and keep an eye out for me if you'd like.
7-23-10
11:24pm
Okay I'm getting anxious and even though waiting gets me to correct/add things before posting I can't. I tried.
7-24-10
12:42am