It had been exactly six days since that day at lunch, and Link sat in his room, annoyed.
He still didn't have a date.
He thought about the time he had tried to ask Zelda, Sheik's sister, to the dance a few days ago. It had been more embarrassing than anything he could think of.
The way she had smirked at him, tossing her lengthy golden curls to the side. "As IF I would go out with you, Link Forester." Her sneer had been plain in both her tone and her expression. The jocks at her lunch table had hooted with laughter, slamming their over-sized fists on the table, mouths agape. That witless girl possessed only enough power over her "mind" to navigate the damp mess of social conventions.
With an effort, he disentangled some of the painful knots in his chest. He sighed, releasing some of the fetid darkness curdling in his heart into the air. 'I'm unsuited for romance,' he thought. 'That was, is, proof.' He uttered a dark chuckle.
In merely four days, he would stumble, wide-eyed, into the hazy, egregious pool that was the homecoming dance with only his two best friends in tow. No one special. No one that wanted to be with him there out of more than sympathy. Link's self-pity was, well, pitiable, but it was his only comfort, so he indulged himself.
Link waited for the bus, smoking, like he usually did. The school day passed without incident, except for one thing, at lunch.
Link, Sheik and Darunia were chatting about random things of little importance when Sheik suddenly said, "So Link, man. I take it you don't have a date for the dance yet," He smirked, continuing eating. After a while, he continued, "So there's this new girl in my Hylian history class. Real nice girl. Guitar player, Kingdom Princess fan, funny." He acted as if he wasn't speaking only to Link.
Link sat up straighter, cocking his head to the side while faking a bored expression.
"Anyway, me being the natural gentleman, I offered to help her with her first day, show her around, help her become familiar with the school, her classmates, blah blah. She accepts, of course, which just shows the level of charm that Sheik Harkinian possesses." Link gave him a dark smile. "Then she asks if there's a band club. And of course there's a band club."
Sheik lounged in his chair. "Now, I could just snatch up this little gem for myself... Or I could let you have a shot, Link." He looked directly at him now.
Link shifted in his seat.
"So come to the band room, after school." Sheik said, a glint in his eye, as if he found something funny in that. But then, that was Sheik always.
So then when the final bell shrieked, Link walked determinedly toward the back of the school.
"Hey, bro." Link said, walking inside to find Sheik drumming a smooth jazzy beat, accompanied by one of his bassist friends. Link nodded to him, then said, "So what's up? She here?"
Sheik shook his head without missing a beat, and said, "Nope, but I'm sure she'll be here soon."
"What's her name?"
"Saria."
"What's she like?"
Sheik smiled and said, "Your type." Link nodded nervously, not wondering how Sheik was sure of that; Sheik was his guy when it came to girls. Link had always lacked the natural skill required to smoothly negotiate the social minefield that was conversing successfully with girls, so he had always included Sheik.
The proverbial love guru picked up on his beat, suddenly lost in it.
Link sat down in a chair near him, waiting.
After an uneventful twenty minutes of musicians arriving and unpacking their various instruments, Link decided to go for a smoke, and in ten minutes he would leave.
He felt like an outsider here, and Link had nothing to gain from sitting here after school being stared at.
He told Sheik he'd be back, and left the room. When he turned the corner, his life would change forever, but he didn't know that yet.
He walked right into someone, knocking them both flat. There was a small chorus of "Ow!"
He looked up, and his breath caught.
The person who laid before him was a girl with distinctive green hair streaked with black. Her eyes were the color of emeralds, and her pale heart-shaped face made her seem as if she liked smiling. Her shirt read "Kingdom Princess All", she had multiple piercings in her nose, ears, and lips, and while she was a full foot shorter than Link, she possessed a full figure, all of which made Link swallow hard.
Link rose to his feet, putting on a mask of ease, offering his hand and saying, "Uhm, sorry." She took his hand and he helped her up, the contact making his hand prickle pleasantly.
"Don't worry about it," She said melodiously. She smiled at him. "I'm Saria, what's your name? You look familiar."
Link considered the question, dazzled as he was by Saria's dimpled smile, and said with some mental effort, "I-I- my name's Link." he stuttered.
Slight recognition colored her pale features. "Link the guitar player?" She asked, and at Link's surprised expression, said, "Sorry, I know that's like, really creepy, but I met this really helpful guy in my Hylian history class, Sheik, and he told me all about you." Link's stomach clenched somewhat painfully with nervousness. 'What, are you ten?!' Link thought waspishly to himself.
"He's a friend of yours, right?"
"Oh, uh, yeah. I've known him since grade school." Link grinned, mostly for her benefit. "He can be crazy sometimes, but he means well."
"Cool! I think it's cute when guys have been friends since elementary school." She said with a small chuckle.
She glanced around. "Hey, were you going anywhere before I walked into you and trapped you here?" She asked.
"Oh," Said Link, suddenly finding his shoes interesting. He realized he had been wringing his hands a bit, and forced them to his sides. "I was just going for a smoke. No big deal; we can talk when I get back."
"Actually, can I come with?" She asked.
"Of course," Link answered, pleasantly surprised.
Outside, after lighting them both up, Link gestured at her shirt. "I've got the same one at home." He smiled more easily now.
Her eyes widened in disbelief. "Seriously? I've never met another Kingdom Princess fan before. My old school kinda sucked."
"I can't get enough of them. They're my favorites." He chuckled.
"They're mine too!" She said, glowing.
When they finished their cigarettes and went back inside, they chatted about music, movies, and their favorite video games as they walked back to the band room.
Link reflected on his day so far. When he smiled this much... he never smiled this much. If he ever had, he would have been faking it. He had never felt this at-ease before. This girl; Saria... Something about her felt so... real.
Sheik POV:
Sheik saw them come in, talking animatedly, and he realized that Link was in. He was caught. 'That was quick,' Sheik thought amusedly. He could tell by the way he spoke to her, laughed at her jokes, but most of all, smiled at her. Saria seemed to be a bit smitten with him as well, which had been his hope when he'd introduced himself to her today. They spoke with such a familiarity that it astounded Sheik.
Link spotted Sheik and led Saria over, offering her his chair. "Hey, Sheik!" She said. For the next hour and a half, the three chatted, but the veiled sheikah mostly kept to himself, wanting Link and Saria to get to know each other without interruption.
Link POV:
Link and Saria walked together to the after-school buses in comfortable near-silence. "Hey, Link?" She said suddenly.
Her tone made him frown. "Yeah?" He asked.
"I know this might, like, creep you out and everything, because I just met you, but I was thinking just now,"
Link wasn't one hundred percent sure why, but he had a bit of difficulty maintaining a neutral expression.
"Do you wanna come over my place and hang out for a little?" She asked.
"Uh..." Link felt himself flush, and his hands and knees began shaking. 'Oh, here we go...' He thought. Link replied, "Your house?"
She beamed at him. "Yeah! I think you're cool, Link."
Link hesitated a bit, but then realized that he was dangerously close to politely denying the invitation out of habit. He needed to act now. "You know what, you're pretty damn cool yourself, Saria. I'd be glad to hang out with you."
"Awesome!" She exclaimed, her voice rising an octave. "I'll warn you; I'm gonna drill you about your favorite stuff. I do that to new friends, because I'm an evil bitch."
Link laughed with her, following her onto her bus. He wasn't sure what he was more surprised about; the fact that Saria invited him over to her house or that she had called him her friend.
Well, hello again. This chapter is a bit longer, and I'm feeling good about the story so far. I usually name chapters, but I feel as if it diminishes the suspense of the chapter content by a bit. Let me know what you think. :)
EDIT: (1/8/14) I apologize about the huge stretch of time between updates. This story has had more views, reviews, favorites, and follows than any of my others, and I can't express how amazing that is. As you might have noticed, (if you've read this before this date)I have rewritten a couple of things in an effort to make it flow better. Not many things, but if you've read it before then you'll notice the differences. Anyway, the next chapter will be up by this Friday, I promise. Seeya!