Link cornered me at the lunch bell. He caught me right outside my class, something I really hadn't been expecting. His face was both hopeful and worried, and it killed me a little that he still cared.

I couldn't escape now. "Hey," I said with a sigh. It was impossible for me to look at him.

"I was wondering if you wanted to eat lunch with us again." His hand touched my shoulder, and I shrugged it off. Even if he knew, it still made me uncomfortable.

"Sure," I forced myself to sound happy. When I glanced up at him, his face brightened. Why did he care so much?

He took me by the elbow and lead the way through the crowd. He manoeuvred us both easily, avoiding unnecessary bumping-into's. Almost everyone I'd met before was there. There was one missing, but I couldn't remember the people who'd been there in the first place well enough to know who it was. Link steered me into an unoccupied couch, then flung his legs over my lap.

My face warmed in a blush as the conversations lulled, and Navi flashed us a grin. "Long time, no see, cutie." When I murmured an awkward hello, she laughed.

Link pulled out a home-made lunch as Navi assaulted me with questions one after another so quickly I didn't have time to answer them. Or hear them, for that matter.

Finally, she waved her hand and said, "Oh, whatever."

Link elbowed me playfully, half a sandwich in his mouth. "She just missed you," he clarified when I frowned, confused. It was nice to be around them again, it made it easy to forget. "You know, I missed you too. Why didn't you come back?"

I shrugged, fidgeting. A blush rose in my cheeks – he missed me? "I dunno," I offered lamely, "Just busy, I guess."

After another silence, Link asked, "Has Ganondorf been bugging you?"

All eyes were on me. I shut down, shook my head. Answered, "No."

The scathing look I was given could have melted steel. "Don't lie, Sheik. I saw him at your locker, and I saw the way you ran. He's been bothering you."

I felt trapped. "It's nothing."

Navi reached out and touched my knee. "Look, he's kind of notorious around here. He likes to bully us gay kids."

"It's because you're all faggots," chirruped a voice at the door. My blood froze in my veins.

"The hell do you want?" The girl with green hair – Sarah? – stood up, hands balled into fists at her side. Navi and the Link-look-alike joined her, blocking him from entering. "You're not welcome."

"Aw," he cooed, pointing to the words all welcome on the GSA sign, "Don't be hypocrites. It won't do you any good."

I wanted to shrink into my seat. Was he going to out me in front of everyone? Link swung his legs off the couch, standing between me and him. It felt like an oddly protective move.

"You're being hateful, so we're not being hypocrites when we tell you to leave." His voice was dripping with venom, every muscle taut. "And I guarantee you that I won't ask again."

"Hey, no need to be so vicious, fairy-boy. I just wanted a word with your new faggy friend." He pointed to me. If I could, I would have merged with the floor. Instead, I shrunk deeper into the seat, shaking my head.

Everyone started yelling all at once, hurling insults and getting in each other's faces. Even the Link double got up and threw a few insults.

"-You have no business-"

"-Get out, you filthy-"

"-You're such a cunt-"

"-Disrespecting us-"

"-Disgusting dyke-"

I closed my eyes, trying to block it out. My head started to pound so hard I thought it would split. Ringing filled my ears, loud enough to breifly drown out the world. After a moment, the noise quieted. I tuned back in, opened my eyes. Everyone was staring at me. Had I said something?

"What?" I croaked, afraid of the answer.

"Your nose."

I brushed a hand under my nose to find blood there. What ...?

"You should see a nurse," offered Ganondorf, voice uncharacteristically soft. I could see the gleam in his eyes that told me he wasn't saying it out of the goodness of his heart. There was a sort of meanness about him. He wanted to corner me again.

"Oh, piss off," Link growled at the football player as he knelt in front of me, tilting my head back despite my protest. "Pinch the bridge, I'll take you to the office."

"I'm fine," I insisted, pinching my nose despite. It relieved a bit of the pressure there, at least. He tried to drag me off the couch, but I dug my heels in. "I said I'm fine!"

"Prissy bitch has an attitude."

"Can you leave?" Navi shoved Ganondorf, and he stumbled back a step.

"Fine. Just tell your new faggy friend to check their messages." The door slammed closed behind him, and I wasn't sure if it was him or Navi that did it. Either way, I was glad he was gone.

The tension in the room seemed to melt. Navi and the green-haired girl laughed a bit. Everyone settled back into their seats, even Link. Someone passed me tissues, and I mopped up the mess on my face. For a while, at least, I could just pretend that life was okay. That I was just another bully victim, another casualty of homophobia.

It couldn't last.

Six. He had already sent me six messages. I didn't dare check them during class, but I began regretting waiting until the final break.

[8:34am] Keep an eye on ur msgs – that was the first one. It wasn't too bad.

[8:42am] U an i shud meet tonit

[9:10am] dont u dare ignor me u bitch

[10:26am] ill see u lunch

[1:32pm] still not checkng i see

[2:11pm] im driving u home we need 2 tak about this

Re-reading the last one made me feel ill. I didn't want to face this. Not today – preferably, not ever.

But then the teacher called out attention back to the board. Break was over. Stuffing my ancient flip-phone back into my bag, I took a breath and tried to focus on the chicken-scratch. Thirty minutes. If I could make it out that door right at the bell and skip my locker, I could probably make it to the school buses before Ganondorf could find me.

Of course, I didn't quite have the luck I wanted. The bell rang, and I ended up getting stuck in the jam at the door. The hallway looked pretty clear of Ganondorf, so it took me by surprise when I rounded the corner closest to my escape I was grabbed and yanked back the way I'd come by a guy I didn't know. He grinned down at me, and I understood.

One of his so-called friends. I should have known better.

It was hard to shake his grip, but I managed to do it when he'd dragged me to the front door, ducking under his arm when he tried to make another grab at me. Ganondorf blocked my way out the closest doors, so I spun and shoved my way into the crowd again. I saw a few familiar faces, none-too-happy about my shoving, but I didn't bother asking for help. Who would want to help me anyway?

My phone, no longer on silent, rung. I could guess what the text said already.

I didn't have a chance. More of his so-called friends were waiting on the other side of my next closest exit. They hauled me into the parking lot and shoved me into the front seat of what I assumed to be Ganondorf's beat-up car. It smelled awful, and the locks had all been cut off and pushed down. No escape.

Forced to sit in the tiny car while Ganondorf took his sweet time getting to the car, I checked my phone. I had been right.

[3:03pm] ur not getting out of this u cant escape

The simple message sent chills down my spine. Panic seized me when I saw him lumbering over. I smacked my elbow into the glass, only earning me a dull thump and a bruise, the two guarding my door laughing at my attempt. My fingers dug into the hole where the pop-up lock should have been, scraping and cutting my skin up to the first knuckle. No, I wouldn't be able to reach it anyway.

Mace. I had mace in my bag. I dug around for it, got the little hand-held canister in my palm and at my side before he could unlock his door. If he so much as tried to touch me, I'd spray him.

He got in, strapped in, started the car. Started to back out. "Buckle up," he said casually. As if he weren't kidnapping me.

I did it anyway. No sense in putting myself in any more danger. When he joined the line-up to get out of the lot, he shot me a sideways look. "What?" I snapped, glaring back at him. I hoped that my panic wasn't showing.

"Where am I taking you?" The side of his mouth twitched. He was enjoying this.

In a moment of fear, I gave him my ex's address. The last thing I needed was for him to know my real address – and besides, I still had the key to the basement door. For a few moments, as he navigated the parking lot, he was silent. As we pulled out, he shot me another look, one that was somewhat thoughtful.

"I know that area pretty well. There's a park near you, yeah?"

I nodded, staring out the window but watching his reflection.

"You got my messages?"

Another nod from me.

He sighed. "I see you're not the talkative type." More silence. "So. You and fairy-boy, huh? Does he know?" He must have seen my reaction, because he chuckled. "He doesn't, does he? Interesting."

"Don't." I panicked again. "Don't tell him."

"That depends entirely on you." He turned off the road an exit early, and I knew he meant to take me to the park. "I won't ask much, girlie. Promise."

I started to protest, but cut myself short. There wasn't much I could do at this point. He was right. "What do you want?" My voice was hoarse.

"Patience, yeah?" He pulled into the lot for the park. It was a very forested area, a good place to really hurt someone. A good place to leave a person for dead. Cutting the engine, as he opened his door, he said, "Leave your bag."

I shuddered as he came around to unlock my door for me. Held it open. I followed him down one of the well-worn paths I was familiar with. My ex and I had walked most of the paths before. In fact, the one Ganondorf and I were on now was the one I'd come out to my ex on – and the asshole had laughed in my face.

He led the way to a set of stairs that went to a secluded sitting area just above a small cliff, but he didn't sit when we got there. Instead, he paced in front of the cold fire pit. I stood a bit behind him, shifting uncomfortably as he gathered his thoughts.

"So. Here's the deal. I won't tell anyone about your issue ..." Ganondorf stopped pacing, gesturing to me. "And you do me some little favours, yeah? Sound fair?"

I shook my head and he brought himself up to his full height – and it was terrifying. I took a step back as he took one forward.

"You would rather I tell them?" He smiled, reached into his pocket.

My hand clenched around the mace I'd hidden in my own pocket.

Again, I shook my head. "No." I intended for it to sound strong, but it came out as a whimper. When he uncrossed his arms, I flinched and added, "Be more specific."

"You don't have negotiating power here." His voice was low. Dangerous.

"Please." It sounded less sarcastic than I would have liked. I hated that he could reduce me to a frightened puddle like this.

He grinned, but it was humourless. Dark. He took another step forward, so I took another back. "Relax. You're like a frightened little bird." Another step from both of us. His smile faded into a frown. "Seriously, stay still."

I positioned my fingers over the mace. Prepared to spray him as he came too close. His fingers grasped my chin, tilting my face towards his.

"You will do what I say, when I say it." He leaned in, voice lowering to an intimidating growl. "And you won't tell a single soul about it."

It was now or never. I pulled the can of mace out and pressed, aiming for his eyes. It sputtered and died, but not before some of it got in his eyes. Not waiting for that first holler of pain, I turned and bolted. There was shale along the side of the cliff, and I could see a path below us, so I did a baseball slide and rode down the dirt. I was running before I hit solid ground.

Even though I didn't hear him come after me, I kept going. I ran until I was out of the park, hopping onto the first bus I came across. Luckily, my wallet and bus pass were in my back pocket and not in my bag. The bag I'd left in Ganondorf's car.

Great.

My phone went off as I transferred onto a bus that would take me home. I was scared to check what he'd sent me, but I needed to know. My hands trembled as I flipped it open.

[4:41pm] y wud u do that? maybe ur not so smart afterall

I let out a breath I didn't know I'd been holding. It didn't sound angry. Maybe I could avoid a fist fight with him for now. About to put the phone away, I got another text.

[4:42pm] im goin 2 call tonit u better pick up

My heart sunk. Of course I wouldn't get off the hook that easily.