The rest of that weekend had been spent at Termina's Carnival of Time which was known all over to be one of the craziest parties to hit the Realms. Link and Zelda managed to muscle through the tension and come out on the otherside still friends... though Sandra and Evelyn had managed to do a little more.
It was the cherry on top of an Akward Sundae.
Link's face was the definition of shock while Zelda seemed to be struck dumb at the sight of their mothers kissing through the window of Zelda's kitchen. It took a long time before either teenagers dared to walk through the door to the conversation awaiting them on the otherside... it took an even longer time before either got used to the idea that Sandra and Eveyln were not only attracted to each other but dating.
That whole year was strenuous on Link and Zelda's friendship but they found solid ground somewhere amoungst the drama even after Marin Gull had let the whole school know that Link and Zelda's mothers were in a lesbian relationship together. It was not Link however that held the golden haired girl back when she clobbered Marin in the face, breaking her nose, it was Shiek. The siblings recounciled, completely, after Shiek and David, his father, had a viscious argument that lead to a fist fight... Shiek realized then that his father was no good and returned to his true home.
Junior year opened up a refreshing breeze... and new opportunities.
Darunia rolled his drumsticks, fluidly, across his drum set and howled out in excitement. "
Yeah, bitches!" The Goron cried, pounding his chest. "We finally got this baby up and runnin'! Whoo!" He was shirtless, wearing worn out jeans, and glistened like a stone after rain. "Yo, Link, when is everyone getting here?"
The Junior High School student glanced up from where he had been tuning his extra bass and glared at the clock. "Five minutes ago." The Hyrulean had finally started The Legend of Zelda after everything calmed down though the infamous weekend had resulted in him realizing a few things about his relationship with Zelda. He was in love with her, he wanted her, and it was growing very apparent that she didn't have the time or bravery to enter into a intimate relationship with him. Link understood it, hated it, and accepted it.
He still was holding a grudge against her for starting to go out with some guy named Jack. Sure, they had both dated before but it was different when she reasoned that her life was too dramatic to date him... yet there she was dating Jack. She had been dating the guy for six months to his displeasure.
"I want them here, now." Darunia frowned, shutting down the dark road that Link's thoughts had been going down. "Call them."
"You have a cell phone too." Link smirked, whipping his out of his back pocket and pressing a few numbers.
"Sup, Link?" Saria's voice spoke into the speaker and came with the sound of her latest obsession, The Indigo-Gos.
"Where are you?" Darunia screamed while he began banging on his cymbals. "JAM TIME, BEOTCH!"
"Did you let him have Blue Potion?" The drink had alcohol in it but was also an energy drink which the Goron had, indeed, drained two of... one made him obnoxious and Link's curiosity had gotten the better of him.
Link laughed. "Um...yes?"
"For Farore's sake, Link! You're an asshole."
"Watch your mouth." The eighteen year old chuckled. "Where are you?"
"Your driveway." The tone on the other end let him know that she had hung up on him.
Link turned to Darunia and grinned. "Saria's here. You want another Blue Potion?"
"Gimmie."
When the green headed Kokiri appeared she looked like a tantalizing piece of jail bait. She was fourteen in looks though she was nineteen and was dressed in a light green, skin tight, short dress that came up to her thighs when she sat. Saria crossed her legs, frowned her painted lips, and glared at Link with her blue eyes. "I hate you."
He smiled. "Hate your boyfriend not me."
"You're the one that gave him that damn thing." The Goron and the Kokiri had been together since that fateful dance and deserved every ounce of happiness that they found. They had been dragged through the mud as far as a couple could go then stood up, dusted each other off, and held hands again. Saria had been given a new serum that would cause her to age; a creation by the New Great Deku Tree and Dr. Hylia; but so far it had only made her shape more womanly. Saria rolled her eyes and shook her head, smirking. "Besides, I can't cause he is too damn cute when he's drunk."
Darunia walked over to his woman and planted a gentle kiss on her forehead. "I love you, babe."
"Puke." Link chuckled, dodged a pillow thrown at his head, then returned back to tuning the bass while Saria began setting her keyboard up. "Hey, Saria, did you talk to Mido before you left?"
"Yeah, he isn't interested."
The Hyrulean frowned. "Fuck, we need a bass player."
"Shiek plays bass." Darunia offered, ploping down on the couch that Link had dragged down into his basement.
Link laughed. "A good bass player." Darunia laughed and started to tap his drumsticks on the random posters plastered all over the "sound proof" walls.
"Well, you could always play bass while Zelda plays guitar." Saria grinned. "That girl can shred."
"I know, I taught her." Link sighed. " But, I was kind of hoping to avoid having to sing and play an instrument."
Saria blinked. "Wait, I thought your cousin was gonna sing."
"Well, Kafei was going to sing at first but he is shoved up Anju's ass all the time and Raven, my cousin, has enlisted in the army." Link rose a brow. "You don't think I can sing?"
"I've never heard you sing." Saria frowned. "You never let anyo-"
"I've heard him. He's really, really good." Darunia grinned then realized that he had cut his girlfriend off and winced. "Don't hit me!" Of course, she did.
The three friends talked for another half hour before true worry began to set in about where their last member was.
"So, um, what's the thing with you and Zelda? Why isn't she in the band?"
Link took out his headphones and frowned. "What?"
Saria huffed. "You and Zelda? What's the deal?"
"Complications." Link sighed. "She wants to stay friends, I want more, and I think it scares her... then there's our Moms... and Jake."
"Jack." Saria corrected though both men ignored it.
"What kind of complications?" Darunia asked, sipping the cup of coffee that Saria had made him though he was barely drinking it.
"She changes the story everytime." Link spun in his roller chair and grabbed his guitar. "I'm gonna call Naburoo."
Darunia grinned, stupidly. "You mean Naguroo." His friends gave him a very dry look in which he scowled at them and their lack of interest in his puns. "You guys suck."
"Nabs, hey, where are you?" Link shot his friend "the bird" with a grin and placed his cell between his ear and his shoulder so that he could strum a few chords.
"Mall."
"Its ten... the mall closes at nine." Link frowned. "Where are you?"
"The Mall."
A very frustrated sigh. "Okay... why? We're supposed to practice today."
"Do I run around bugging you about where you are?"
Link frowned, deeper. "Yes. You did it the whole time we dated."
A pause. "Fine." He heard her take in a deep breath. "Listen, Romeo, you're gonna have to call up Zelda and have her be in your band because the police are coming and I'm probably gonna go to jail." The cell phone was snapped shut and the call ended.
Link pulled his own away from his ear and stared at it, sorely confused. "So, um...Nabs is out."
"Why?"
Link snatched up a Blue Potion from his mini fridge, drained it, then sat down with Saria staring at him wide-eyed. "Her probation just got broken... Remember why we broke up?"
"You caught her with G?"
Link frowned. "Besides that... you know, she kept stealing things when we went out."
"Oh." Saria shook her head. "That girl will learn one day." A pause in whch an odd silence took hold while Link downed another Blue Potion.
"You realize that this band is cursed, right?"
Link glared at Darunia, opened his cell back up, and pressed speed-dial. "Zelda. It's Link. Wanna be LOZ's guitarist?" He hung up, glanced at his friends, and frowned with an unnamed emotion raging in his eyes. "I am going to make this work."
Several minutes later, the blonde was knocking on the door. Link opened it and hugged his friend. She was dressed in old paint stained blue jeans and one of Link's old t-shirts which shocked him. "Hey, man." She smiled, squeezing him once more. "Glad I got the call."
"Where's Jason?"
"It's Ja- Nevermind." Zelda shrugged. "Don't know. Don't care. Let's jam." She poked him in his shirtless stomache and grinned. "Working out?"
"You like?" He winked, hating himself because he knew that it would only make his feelings for her worse.
Zelda rolled her eyes. "Come on." She pulled him along, waving at her ''other mom'', Evelyn. "We got a band to get ready."
They practiced for two and a half hours before everyone except Link and Zelda called it quits. The two sat and hanged out like they hadn't done in months.
She threw a dart at the cork board painted into a target and laughed as her friend tackled her onto the couch to keep her from winning. "You ass!" Zelda smacked Link's back and grinned when he leapt up with a pained noise.
"Jeez, that hurts." Link pouted, rubbing the red mark that was begining to form into Zelda's hand.
"Five star, sucka!" Zelda giggled, shoving him off his seat and finding herself following him. She landed ontop of Link and grinned up at her friend with her head resting on his chest. "I've missed this."
"Feeling me up?" Link joked, wrapping his arms about her.
"No." Her tongue stuck out at him and they both laughed. "I meant," Zelda continued after both regained some semblance of composure. "hanging out."
Link laid his head back on one of the random pillows that had been strewn about and sighed. "Zelda, we can hang out anytime... I'd like for us to hang out more, believe me, I would." He ran his fingers through her hair. "Hell, please, come hang out more... I... miss you."
It was then that Zelda burst into tears and began to cry.
It startled Link at first but it took only a second before he had her wrapped, tightly, in his arms. "Zee, Zee, baby, what are you crying about?" He whispered, softly, running his hand down her back in attempts to calm his friend.
She shook her head and pressed her face into his neck.
"Zelda." He pulled her face away, gently, and kissed her forehead. "Talk to me, please, what's wrong?" Cobalt eyes stared deep into violet ones and pleaded. "Please."
"I... I'm sorry." She pulled away and dashed to the door before he could pull her back... he heard the front door slam and the car start up... it screamed out the driveway.
Evelyn's voice screamed from above her son's head. "What did you do!" Her steps were heard and soon her face appeared. "Link?"
"I... I don't know."
It was a month after LOZ's first rehearsal which had gone rather well despite the odd outburst from Zelda who had explained that she was just under a bit of pressure and had broke. She promised Link that she felt better but he wasn't sure.
The magick that had happened that night helped them secure a place in the Talent Show and, after they smoothed out several of Link's songs, they were ready. The annual showcase was anticipated by the students and teachers but dreaded by some because only a third of Skyloft High School had any degree of talent.
Still, it was a pretty large event...
Darunia was pacing the floor with a large frown on his face and he was about to ask where the hell LOZ's guitarist was when the girl in question burst through the side gymnasium doors.
Zelda came in tight black tank top, pony tail up, Triforce earrings, pink fishnet gloves, studded belt hanging on her hips, skinny jeans, and knee high converse. She had make-up on and keys to her Father's motorcycle in her hand. There was an air about the just turned eighteen year old that screamed bad ass, sexy bitch.
Darunia's face melted into shock and leaned over into his girlfriend's ear. "The hell is up with that?"
Saria shrugged. "Don't know." The young woman rarely wore clothes that showed off her lithe figure, in fact, she was known for dressing in neat outfits that hid her body very well.
"Sis... nice, uh, outfit." Shiek was leaned up against the wall next to the odd couple with his own girlfriend.
"Thanks." Zelda smiled and blushed at the same time. "I wanted to try something different."
"Yeah... good... uh, job." Shiek started to frown and grabbed Cremina's hand when his sister turned around. "Let's go grab a seat, yeah?"
"Alrighty."
Link came walking in from where the stage had been set up because he had been getting everything ready for when LOZ went onstage. He looked up and had to stop his jaw from dropping at the sight of his friend. "Damn, Zel."
She blushed but they were interuptted when Malon came bounding from off stage. She smiled at Link and glanced at Zelda...twice. "Holy Nayru, Zellie, I didn't even know that was you!"
"Thanks, girlie. I only heard the last part of your song but I can tell you did great!" She beamed then glanced around. "Whoa, where did Shiek go?"
"Thanks!" Malon beamed. "I think him and Cremina snuck off to get a seat... or... you know."
"Great." Zelda rolled her eyes and turned around, running straight into Link who was attempting to sneak up behind her to pull her hair out of its ponytail. "Can I help you?"
He smiled. "Take your hair down."
"No." Zelda laughed, snatched up her guitar, and took his hand. "Come on, amigo, we're up next."
Link chuckled, his bass on his back, and lifted Darunia's bass drum onto his shoulder. "You realize that you're gonna blow everyone out of the water, right? They don't expect little Miss Conservative to be able to play a heavy groove."
Zelda smirked. "We're the outcasts, Link, we're born into this world with the element of surprise."
"Still." His eyes drifted down her body and when he saw that he had been caught checking her out, he grinned. "What?"
"Stop." Zelda glared with a bit more seriousness to her voice then usual.
Link frowned, a nagging feeling that something was different about her was planting itself in his mind. He shrugged it off, or attempted to, and helped his band finish getting prepped.
"Alright, guys, good luck." Rauru, the Principal, patted Darunia on the back. He had been one of the judges during the audition and now was a fan.
Link walked up, fidgeted with the microphone for a bit, then chuckled as he spoke. "Sup, everybody?" The crowd cheered. "Sweet, alrighty, then. We're the Legend of Zelda and this is our song 'Psychosane*'." Link grinned and looked at the golden blonde guitarist. "Hit it." He slid his left hand down the neck of the bass and took a breath.
Zelda grinned, evilly, and raised her hand then strummed it across the strings of her ebony electric guitar that jump started the song. Link took a breath, Zelda's energy surging through him, his fingers moved to the notes he had wrote down only a year ago... and then he sang. His voice was raspy, a seduction of Metalist vocals.
Link glanced over at Zelda midway through the song and grinned as her hips swayed in time, her ponytail swinging over head as she rocked out, her slender fingers breezed over the guitar with ease. Darunia screamed about how badass they sounded, Saria just beamed, and the vocals soon took Link back over.
The song ended and left the gymnasium in silence as the other participants, some parents, classmates, friends, and a talent agent all looked on... then they erupted.
Zelda glowed with happiness, hugged Darunia when he grabbed her, then walked to the stage for a united bow. "Well, Link... I think they liked it."
The next day, the school knew what The Legend of Zelda was made of... and they wanted more.
(*The song Psychosane is property of the Adrenaline Mob project by Mike Portnoy)