Hello all!
The air pulsed rather painfully.
Link sighed, massaging his temples as he stood with Saria outside of the gymnasium. Saria, clad in her sheer stockings, lacy short skirt, and a black button-up with a silver tie, tapped her foot in mock impatience next to him. Link was glad that Saria had agreed to come with him, even if it was as just friends, but his excruciating headache was taking a toll on his modest resolve.
"Wanna go in yet?" Saria asked.
Link shrugged. "Yeah, I'll be fine."
She smiled. "Cool." She seemed to be excited.
'That's a good sign.' Link noted.
He pushed the door open, admitting Saria and himself. With this came the nearly visible waves of sound, assaulting Link's ears. He grit his teeth, trying to ignore the worsening spikes of pain in his head. They walked to a table with Sheik and his red-headed date, Malon, who was absorbed in chatter with her friends.
"Sup, Sheik?" Link said over the angry buzzing in his temples, taking a seat and motioning at Saria to do the same. "You got yourself a date, huh?"
Sheik grinned, casting a glance at Malon. "'Course, man. I'd never come here without a date." They had to shout to make themselves heard, which did not help Link's head at all.
"Looks like you managed it yourself as well." Sheik said, hiding a smile. It was probably at the fact that his whole plan had executed itself the exact way he had wanted.
'As if you didn't already know... clever bastard.' Link chuckled, scratching his head. Saria, beside him, seemed to darken a shade.
They talked for a while, watching sweaty bodies work their cologne and perfume into the surrounding area.
Sheik eyed him. "Hey Link, let's get some punch for the ladies here." Link nodded his assent, and they rose to make the short trip.
While they were spooning the blood-colored liquid into paper cups, Sheik said, "Yo, Link, I have something you need to know."
Link asked him what it was.
"You and Saria hung out all this week, right?"
"Yeah."
"Okay, be honest; do you like her?" He asked, feigning nonchalance. "No; don't answer that. I know you do."
Link snickered. "Yeah. I like her. Did you know we played guitar for four straight hours the first day we hung out? The next day we beat Battletoads. In ONE day, Sheik! One day! I've never met anyone like her... not to mention, she's absolutely beautiful. I mean, her hair... and her eyes, Sheik; they're like two emeralds."
Link felt what he'd said reach his cheeks. Sheik patted his shoulder, laughing. "Oh, you kids... You crack me up." He grabbed both of Link's shoulders. "Alright, man, I'm gonna give you some good advice." Link nodded, wary.
"You have to ask her to dance." Sheik said, "And then... wait for something a little more romantic to come on, right? Then you have to just go for it."
"Go for what?" Link asked, puzzled.
"You know." Sheik unattractively puckered his lips.
"What?!" Link said, bewildered. "There's no way I can do that now!"
"Of course you can! I can read girls, bro. She smiles at you more than my sister does at that jock Ganon, she laughs at all of your jokes, and you've hung out every day this week- including!" He took a breath. "Including the first day you met her. You guys hit it off from the start. Inside, she's probably beggin' for you to kiss her."
"Dude," Link said, still in disbelief. "That doesn't just happen in four days."
"Hey, well, it did for you, Link." Sheik said, his tone congratulatory.
"Hmm. I bet I would." Link said, taking his and Saria's punch.
Returning to their table, Link handed the paper cup to Saria and retook his seat. He glanced around at the frivolous engagements of their fellow students, wondering if she would want to dance.
He looked back around the table. Saria appeared to find the floor very interesting.
Suddenly, the music slowed, as if catching on an unseen hook. The speakers wheezed, shading the atmosphere in the immense room a dark hue of cool violet.
"Hey Saria," Link managed to stifle a squeal. "Wanna... dance?" His face became a furnace as he gestured in the general direction of the floor.
As did hers. Her eyes darted, resting on his, and the world around Link seemed to slow as he watched her very pink tongue refresh her lips. It was then that he noticed that his headache had disappeared.
"Sure, Link." He took her hand in his sweaty one and led her slowly. Link caught Sheik's hearty nod from the corner of his eye.
"Have you ever danced before?" Saria asked, genuine curiosity coloring her voice.
Link swallowed. "No," was his brusque reply. He amended with more stuttering. "H-Have you?"
She gave a tiny shrug and put one hand on his shoulder and one in in his hand..
"Kinda... last year, at my old school, I went to homecoming with my friend," she half-whispered. "I went because she said I just HAD to, so..." she trailed off. "I had a fun time, though. She and her friends taught me how to... pretend to dance." She smiled.
"Cool," said Link with a nervous smile.
They began to stumble through the steps of an imagined dance, Saria leading. Link made constant blunders, eliciting an orchestra of quite adorable sounds from Saria.
"You suck, Link." Saria smiled. "Have you ever even held a girl before?"
"Uh," Link tripped. "Uh, no. I've only danced with my mom at family parties and stuff."
She laughed. "That's not what I meant. Until now, have you ever held a girl before?"
Link reddened, realizing her implication. "Um, no."
She silently replied by vanishing the distance between them, encircling his upper body in her ivory arms. She smirked, cocking her head.
"So now you have," She giggled, looking up at him.
Link's heart and stomach felt constricted, but blood seemed to have no obstacles in its path to his cheeks. He quietly wondered if she wanted to kiss him.
"What else have you never done?" asked Saria, her voice lilting.
"Well, a lot of stuff. I've never beaten Battletoads without help," he half-smiled at her. "I've never eaten an egg, an eggplant, or egg salad." Before his courage deserted him, he hurried out, "I've also never kissed anyone."
She laughed, dipping her head down out of sight. When she resurfaced, her eyes were glinting with some emotion he couldn't place. "Link, you doofus."
"W-what?" He stammered, growing more nervous. His stomach was most likely an unrecognizable twisted mass of tubes, from the way he felt at the moment.
"Are you gonna kiss me or what, dummy?"
'She said it.' he thought with a blank expression. 'She just came out and asked me.'
'Holy shit.' He placed his hands on her porcelain hips. He moved his head jerkily towards her mildly amused face. She puffed out a breath and rolled her eyes, and pulled his face to hers. At the last moment, he pushed himself forward, resulting in an unfortunate collision. His headache reappeared with a vengeance as they bumped heads painfully, nearly causing him to ruin the best moment of his life.
Ignoring his pain for the moment, he noted that her lips were the best thing he'd ever tasted; saliva. He'd normally be repulsed, but Saria's saliva was... delicious.
It could have lasted five seconds or five years. Link saw no difference in the two, only that it ended. He masked his disappointment with an uncertain smile.
"S-so..." Link trailed off, uncertain of what to do next. Saria's face was buried in his chest. He looked around for some source of help, hoping that perhaps men in white coats would suddenly step in and hand him a helpful pamphlet.
"My head hurts." Saria said.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Saria. I moved my head forward too fast." Link put his hand on her head, smoothing her hair, unsure of whether it was more black or green.
"Hey Link?" Saria asked, looking up at him.
He crimsoned immediately. "Yeah?"
"I like you." She smiled, pulling him back to their table.
There was something amazing about the simple act of holding hands that Link knew he would come to long for all hours of the day. The strange feeling in his sternum eclipsed even his earth-shattering headache, which was unjustly angry over being exorcised for a few minutes. Sheik continued to drop looks at them and make comments like, "I knew you guys would get together," and "I'm such a genius with this shit," but Sheik's eloquence wasn't what brought blush to their faces.
Link laughed good-naturedly with everyone at Sheik, lounging in his seat.
Then time froze.
Come...
"Link! Link, for fuck's sake! LINK!" The tone of voice tightened with every iteration of his name.
The teen jerked up, blinking like an owl. He had a half-second to look at Sheik and Saria in a state of shock above him before he spasmed with agony. His head felt like it had been split open and half-drained. He didn't dare to move again, instead scanning the scene with glassy eyes.
Saria and Sheik were most of what he could see through his red-filmed gaze, but out of the corner of his eye he glimpsed flame.
He attempted speech, but the result was a low, gurgling groan.
"Don't try to move, Link. Please." Saria said. Her eyes looked wet.
"Guys, we need to go," said a familiar sonorous voice.
"We CAN'T!" Sheik said. "We can't move Link!"
Link was confused at why they couldn't move him,or why he needed anyone to move him at all.
Then he felt it.
Previously, the pain in his head had been definitely just inside his head. Now, Link could tell that, in addition to his migraine, there was external pain. He also noticed that his face felt painted. He drew a hand up to his cheek. It came away red.
'Blood.' Link thought. 'Why the hell am I bleeding?'
Darunia suddenly appeared and picked him up despite Sheik's and Saria's protests. He cradled Link as he would a baby and took him through the smoky hallways of the high school. The nurse's office was deserted, so he set Link on a white bed. Saria materialized at the side of the bed, grabbing hold of Link's hand. Hers was sweaty.
"Saria, me and Darunia are gonna go check for the closest door," Sheik said. "Take care of Link until we get back."
With that, Link and Saria were alone in the locked office.
"What does it look like, Saria?" Link asked.
"Well... it's... it doesn't look good." She buried her face in the bed and began to cry.
Link didn't know how to react.
"I-I'm sorry." She said, fingering her eyes. "I just don't even know how to react to everything that's happened."
And what exactly had happened? Link had been the happiest he'd ever been in his life, and then suddenly he wakes up in total chaos with a head injury.
However, the best course of action would probably be to hold the thought for later.
They were sitting in silence when the doorknob rattled.
"S-S-Sheik?" Saria called.
Rattle.
"Sheik, are you there?"
The door broke open, causing Saria to scream and Link to groan.
The figure in the doorway was certainly not Sheik.
A tall, slender being stood, motionless. Its limbs all ended in a curve, and its ebony skin seemed to boil. Its alabaster face held two perfect oval eyes and a thin, lip-less mouth. It slunk in silently, its void-like eyes boring into Link's.
"O descendant of the goddess-chosen Hero," its voice sounded like knives scraping over skin. "You hold a Power. You are ignorant of it, are you not?"
"P-Power?" Link managed to say through the pain.
"Yes," it hissed. "My master desires the ownership."
"Did you... do all of this?" Link said.
"That is not of import." it said.
"It's sure fucking important to me. Did you do all of this, or what?" This thing came here to mess up his life? His friends?! Link couldn't comprehend the outrage he felt.
"The disorder was imperative."
"What are you?!"
"I? I am a Vin." then it gave an obscene smirk. It was not easy on Link's stomach.
"Where the hell is your master, asshole?" Link said through gritted teeth.
The smile that followed made up several of Link's future nightmares. "Well, Hero..."
"Why don't I show you?"
With that, Link's vision flickered and, dimly, he heard a turbulent sound mixed in with Saria's screams.
Come to me...
Today's special is Radical Plot Developments. Anyway, I've been debating for a while on how I wanted to shift this plot, but I believe I've found the way I want to do it. I hope you don't hate me too much.