Hey guys! We're so sorry for the wait, especially after the first chapter. A lot of stuff happened all at once, but we promise to do our best to stick with it in the future.

This chapter will be exclusively from Link's point of view, and will be written by me, Amashe. From now on we're going to alternate between Link and Zelda each chapter.

I'll stop rambling now. I hope you enjoy! :)

"I'm ready to live, I'm ready to go"

~Ready to Go (Panic! At the Disco)

After I blink away the tears stinging my eyes from the smell, I see a boy with bright red hair standing by the empty bed on the left side. Already, he has scattered clothes and magazines all over the floor.

I'm a bit of a neat freak, so this immediately drives me crazy. When things are out of order I feel really anxious. I would take a deep breath to calm myself, but I think I'd pass out from the fumes.

"Uh...hi," I say awkwardly.

The boy just grunts, and doesn't even look at me. Friendly, aren't we?

I walk over to the window on my side and open it, gulping down the fresh air. I don't think I'll be able to stay here much longer without getting high on AXE, so I guess now is as good a time as any to put some stuff in my locker at the main building. Pulling my shirt over my nose, I grab some textbooks and rush out of the room.

After about five minutes outside, the world stops spinning and I can actually focus on where I'm going. In my impatience to get here, I studied my map at least a dozen times. I knew the entire thing by memory.

It was fairly easy to figure out where to find the freshman classes. My locker is number 1986. After a few failed attempts at getting it open, I put my books inside and shut it with a bang.

I'm dreading going back to my room. I've memorized my schedule too, so to eat up some time I start walking towards my first class. I wonder if the classrooms look as good as the pictures on the website?

Lost in thought, I am startled by a shout from a hallway away. "Open, you goddamn locker!"

No. It can't be. There's absolutely no way in the silent realm that she's here. I jog towards the source of the noise.

Finally, I see her. A smile grows on my face as I shout her name. "Midna?"

She looks up and sees me. She flashes one of her famous malicious grins. "Surprise."

"What are you doing here?" I ask, amazed.

"Going to school, what does it looks like?" She pauses and adds, "You made it sound so great that I had to do some research. Turns out they have a great music program. I applied with no actual hope of getting in, but a week ago they sent me a letter saying I had a partial scholarship. My parents paid for the rest, and well, here I am."

I shake my head, amazed. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't think I'd actually get in, and when I got my letter you hadn't yet. Could you imagine if I had gotten in and you hadn't? There was no way I was going to do that to you. When you got in, I just thought I'd surprise you," she said, shrugging.

I just laugh and pull her into a hug. I can't help but notice how much taller I've gotten. We used to be the same height, but now I stand at least three inches taller than her.

Midna and I spend the rest of the day wandering the campus catching up. We texted a lot over the summer, but we didn't get to see each other in person much. She got her hair dyed. It used to be a pixie cut with her natural bright orange hair, but she dyed the ends a vivid shade of teal and shaved the right side. Usually I think it looks stupid when people dye their hair weird colors, but somehow Midna makes it look awesome. Other than that, she's exactly the same.

Midna and I have been friends since the seventh grade. Around the middle of the year, she transferred to my school. I remember the very first time I saw her. We were in science, and the teacher asked to her to come up to the front of the class and do one of those cliché, "tell me a bit about yourself" speeches.

Everything was fine until the teacher asked her what she thought of her new school. "I think…" Midna had said. "I think you all can go—" Then she said something that earned her a month of detention, and me a week because I laughed.

It was in detention that we bonded and became friends. Ever since then, we've been inseparable. She and I like the same bands and have a similarly cruel sense of humor. We've had other friends too, but Midna has remained the only one who's actually stayed with me.

The sky slowly darkens around us. As we head towards the girls' dorm, I bite my lip. "Hey, Midna," I start. "I...uh, I'm really glad you're here. I was really nervous to come here completely alone."

She looks at me, and for a split second it almost looks as if her hard ruby eyes have softened a bit. She punches my arm and laughs. "Dork. You would've been fine if I wasn't here. You just might've needed more help getting your sorry a** out of trouble."

I laugh. Midna walks into the building, flashing me an evil grin. Then I'm alone. I walk back to my dorm in comfortable silence.

I pull out my key, and take a breath of fresh air before opening the door to my room. Surprisingly, the smell has faded a bit.

I look over at my roommate, who's on his bed flipping through a magazine. Now that I can actually think clearly, it occurs to me that I don't know his name. I mean, I'm fine with completely ignoring him, but I need a name to give the fire department when all the AXE in the air inevitably catches on fire.

"Hi, I'm Link. Your roommate," I say awkwardly. He grunts.

I wait a moment for him to introduce himself as well. "...What's your name?" I ask finally.

He looks at me like I'm an idiot. He grunts again and I realize that he's saying his name. It just sounds like a grunt.

"Roose?" I say. He's making me feel like the stupid one here.

"No! Groose, you dumb prick," he says. His voice sounds like a series of exaggerated grunts in different pitches. He buries his nose in the magazine, and I know our conversation is over.

As I pull off my hoodie, I picture myself talking to the fire department.

"Is anyone else in there?" they'd ask.

I'd look around and see that Groose isn't outside. "No." I would say. "We're all here."

I feel a little guilty, but only a little.

I set the hoodie on my bed, and hear something else hit the blankets. I remember that my 3DS is still in my pocket. I contemplate taking it out and shoving it in the closet, but I decide it isn't worth the risk.

After checking my phone (and seeing exactly zero texts), I fall onto my bed. My head hits the pillow and I realize how tired I am. Still in my jeans, I fall asleep almost immediately.

...

The next morning, I get dressed and start to go through the papers the woman at the office gave me. Other than my schedule, I haven't looked at them much. They're mostly boring stuff, like the conditions of my scholarship, the dorm rules, and so on. The only paper that really interests me is the one about my position on the soccer team. Since I got my scholarship so late, I wasn't able to properly try out for the team. I have to have a special meeting with the coach to talk to him and show him my skills, and then I'll be allowed on the team. At the bottom, the date and time of the meeting is printed.

Oh. Oh shit. The meeting is today at 10. I check my phone to see that it's currently 9:30.

I just sit there for a few seconds, dumbfounded. I am snapped out of my daze from a loud snore from Groose, who is still asleep. I jump up and grab the first shirt and shorts I find in my drawer and run to the shower at the end of the hall.

Ten minutes later, I burst out into the hallway again. My hair is still sopping wet, but I don't have time to care. I shake it furiously before pushing my bangs to the left in what I hope looks like its usual style. I check the time again. After all of that, it's 9:45. I can easily make it there in 15 minutes.

I feel in my pocket for my keys and remember that in my hurry I left them in the dorm. I bang on the door for Groose to let me in. I would go without them, but Groose could be gone by the time I get back and then I'd be locked out until he came back.

"Groose! Open the door," I yell. I stop to listen for movement. Nothing.

"Open up. I'm already late!" I'm getting frantic now. "Please please please, I need my keys."

I check my phone. 9:50. "OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR!" I yell, and my voice cracks from panic. I'm causing a scene now.

Someone shoves past me. It's a kid about my height with short brown hair. He starts jiggling the knob, and after a minute the door opens. I start at him in awe, and he flashes a cheeky smile. In his hand I see a hairpin. He gives me finger guns as he passes me and walks away without a word.

I rush into the room to see Groose, still passed out on his bed. He slept through all of it. I shake my head and grab my keys before slamming the door behind me. I have just over five minutes to get to the soccer field now. If I jog I can probably make it.

Outside the air is cooler than it's been for a long time. Jogging in this weather might not be so bad. I start to run in the direction of the field, grateful I know the campus. I finally get to the field. I'm right on time, even if I am a little winded. I didn't work out as much as I should've over the summer, so I'm a little out of shape. I'm not worried about getting on the team, though. This should be a piece of cake.

I see an older man waiting near the bleachers, arms crossed. I walk over to him, giving what I hope is a charming smile. I stick out my hand and say, "Hey! I'm Link Hero. I'm here to meet about joining the soccer team?"

He ignores the handshake and raises an eyebrow. He looks me up and down. "Coach Auru," he says gruffly. "So...you're one of those scholarship kids."

I lower my hand. "That's me," I laugh, still smiling.

He seems almost freaked out by my positivity, which I find hilarious. This is something I learned from Midna. Be overly nice to make someone uncomfortable, and know that they won't point it out because, technically, you aren't doing anything wrong.

He tosses me a soccer ball and runs through the basics, and eventually moves up to more advanced maneuvers. I complete everything, only messing up once or twice. It feels great to be back on the field.

After about half an hour, he calls me back over to him. "I'm just going to be blunt about it, you're very good. Don't let it go to your head. Practice starts September 5th at 5:00 sharp, and we practice Tuesday through Friday no matter what. Welcome to the team, son."

"Thank you, sir," I say, trying to keep from sounding arrogant. Let's be honest here, there was no way I wasn't getting on the team.

I return to my dorm, tired and sweaty. Groose is still asleep. I probably should've waited to shower now that I think about it. Oh well.

I'm changing out of my dirty clothes when there's a knock at the door.

I pull my shirt down and open the door to see the boy who picked my lock earlier. Now that I can examine him more closely, I see that he has freckles and bright, light blue eyes.

He smiles at me almost mischievously, and asks, "Did you make it?"

"What?"

"Did you make the soccer team, idiot."

"Oh. Yeah I made it." I pause. "Wait, how did you know I was trying out?"

He points to my shirt, and his cheeky smile grows wider. It's an old tournament shirt from a few years back, and there's a huge soccer ball on the front and back. "...Oh," I say (stupidly).

"Nah, man, don't worry about it. I was making a bit of a stretch. It just happened to be right." He says this in a very cool tone, but seems sympathetic.

I'm not exactly sure how to respond, so he continues. "I'm Pipit. Freshman, like you, but my sister went here too, so I know a few things."

"Link. Nice to meet you," I respond. I inwardly cringe at how formal I sound.

"So, I mean you probably guessed already, but I'm on the team too. I've seen other guys on the team around campus, but you're the first one I've had an actual conversation with," he says, and jokingly rolls his eyes.

"Other than my friend, you're the first person I've had an actual conversation with, period. Even my roommate. As you saw earlier, he's a total asshole," I say. I try to mimic his uncaring demeanor, but I don't know if it's working. I don't think it is.

To my surprise, he starts laughing hysterically. "This morning was priceless. I almost didn't want to help you because it was so funny."

"Well, I'm glad you did anyway. I guess I technically made the team because of you; I was on my way to try out and locked my keys in my room." I look down at the hallway carpet.

Pipit smiles again. (Or smiles more? He never exactly stops smiling, so I don't know.) "It's cool. No big deal," he says nonchalantly.

We stand for a moment in silence before he yawns. "Well, gotta run. My sister wants to meet for lunch in town." He said this in a way that made it very clear that this was going to be a very long and boring afternoon for him.

"See ya," I say. He waves and gives one last bright smile before turning away from my room and going down the hallway.

I purposely close the door with a loud click, hoping to disturb Groose. Nothing. I'm honestly not surprised.

I settle on my bed. I just sit for a while, not really doing anything but think. Memories and ideas and weird scenarios flood my mind. I'm still in awe about Midna. Pipit seemed very relaxed and cool. And if Groose sleeps this soundly all the time, he'll be easy to ignore.

Everything's coming together in my head. My future at HA looks pretty good right now. Classes start tomorrow at 7:45, and I know I'm ready. For the first time since stepping on campus, I feel truly at ease.

I thought it would be nice to end on a positive note. This chapter has been in the works for a while, so I'm really glad we could finally post it.

Maki's chapter is already well on its way to being posted. I'm not sure exactly when, but it will definitely be soon. We are also brainstorming a cover for the story, which will be nice (I hope).

If there are any reviews, I'll answer them through a PM if I can. If not, I'll just post my reply at the bottom of the next chapter. Thank you so much for reading!

~Amashe