Hey guys! Sorry it's been literally a month since the last update...I got kinda lazy XD. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter. I certainly liked writing it. As suggested by a reviewer of mine, Spudly777, (thanks so much for the suggestion, by the way!) I made Ruto act like (at least in my opinion) a stereotypical popular girl...and I'm not quite sure I did a good job of it or not. I basically put all my knowledge from Mean Girls and every Disney Channel movie's villain to the test hahaha. That being said, please don't take whatever Ruto says in this chapter seriously XD I honestly just made everything up. Thank you guys so much for reviewing, favoriting, following, etc! Enjoy!

~Aryll Jaynn

Chapter Five: Ruto

Walking down the halls without making too much noise in high heels is definitely a struggle I would love to live without. But alas, my shoes make my legs look at least 95% better, so it's worth it.

Yeah, yeah, I know. Looks aren't everything. But trust me. I have a reputation to uphold as the best dressed girl in school! I was voted best dressed for class favorites every year in a row since middle school. And I am not letting that title go.

Anyway, the bell was about to ring any second, but I was walking as slow as possible to avoid any glares or annoyed glances towards me and my fabulous feet. Not to mention, I was about go to...that class.

Ahh marine biology. Such a fine art. It's definitely one of my favorite classes.

Wait.

No! I mean, yes! I mean...ugh, never mind. What's the point in hiding it?

Yeah. I'm a complete and utter beauty queen but a complete nerd when it comes to science, especially marine biology. I don't know why, but for some reason I'm totally intrigued by it. Not to brag, but I did get straight A's in every bio class I've taken. Now, in AP Marine Bio, I'm definitely at the top of the class, no joke. Heck, I might even be as smart as Zelda Nohansen when it comes to science! And that's saying something!

The only problem...well, when you're popular like me, people don't usually consider you "smart." Heck, no one popular even wants to be your friend if you're a nerd. And, seeing as my friend group is made up of these very type of people, I have to lay low on the whole AP Marine Bio thing in order to be continually involved in their group.

Yeah, I know that sounds terrible, but eh. My friends are cool. I mostly just love all the relationship gossip. Besides, I have other nerdy friends I hang out with sometimes. So you could say I have sort of a double vie.

Anyway, I made my way into class and sat down next to one of my said nerdy friends, Ashei. She's a cutie, that one. She doesn't take crap from anyone, but at the same time is one of the kindest people I've ever met. Maybe if she didn't wear oversized sweatshirts and jeans all the time and did a little something more with her nice dark hair, she could be attracting lots of attention from guys.

"Hey Ruto," she asked as I sat down, "did you finish the homework he assigned yesterday?"

"Of course!" I said. "Why?"

Ashei rolled her eyes. "I didn't understand any of it. Explain it me while he takes roll, yeah? Maybe I can finish it in time."

"Why didn't you just call Shad? I'm sure he'd have died to help you." I said, wiggling my eyebrows.

She blushed the faintest shade of pink. "I had football practice after school..." she muttered, "Besides, I don't need that nerd helping me. I have a reputation, you know."

Tell me about it! I laughed internally. "Well, I think he's kinda cute. You should at least be nice to him."

"I am nice to him!"

I gave her a look. "Last week, when he told you your eyes were pretty, you shoved him into the lockers!"

"Because I wasn't expecting it!" she defended. "It's just a part of my built-in football tactics!"

"Whatever, Ash. Just know, someday he's going to become a hot lawyer and then we'll see who's talking." I giggled.

She scoffed. "If you're so into him, why don't you just date him?"

"Psh, he's not my type. All I know is that you two are perfe-"

"Alright, class, let's get started." came the old, withered voice of our teacher, Professor Ruul.

Ashei swore under her breath. "Ru, please help?"

"D'accord, d'accord," I said. I really need to stop speaking French outside of French class. Makes me sound like a snob.

As Professor Ruul took roll, I quietly explained some answers to Ashei, who quickly scribbled them down. I didn't think she had anything to worry about, I mean, Professor Ruul was around 75 years old and barely ever even read any homework answers. As long as it looked like you wrote something, he'd give you full credit.

"Ruto Pisces," he called.

"Here!" I said brightly.

"Okay, looks like we have everyone today...Now, class. Today we'll be dissecting a fish. Get into your lab groups."

Ashei and I turned in our seats to form the group of four with the two people behind us. Usually Medli Terre and Makar Brisa were behind us, but today, some other guy was sitting in Makar's spot. His face was down, covered by blond locks and a green beanie and he was scribbling something down in his notes. When I turned, I raised an eyebrow at Medli and mouthed, Who's he?

She opened her mouth to answer, when the guy sighed and looked up. My breath ran sort of short as we made eye contact: violet on crystal blue.

"Woah there! AP Marine Bio is no place for a hottie like this!" was my first thought.

His eyes twinkled almost like stars as he grinned, almost apologetically. "Hi, there, sorry I didn't say anything earlier. I'm Link. It's my first day today."

"Oh, hi!" I said, feeling my face grow warm. I wasn't even wearing a sweater! "I'm Ruto."

"Hi, Link, the name's Ashei. I was in your English class, too, if you remember. I'm guessing this class was the only choice you had left, yeah?"

He laughed. "Nice to meet you both. And yeah, one would assume, but no. I actually quite like marine biology. It's interesting to me."

Oh, Nayru.

"So...how's your day been so far?" I asked, dashing a bit of flirt into my tone.

"Oh, it's been great. I've met some really cool people." he answered, oblivious.

I smiled, slightly batting my eyelashes.

What? He was cute!

"Once Ruto's done drooling," Ashei snickered, "we should start the lab."

Chuckling as I glared daggers at my friend, Medli said, "I'll go get the supplies."

But Link got up and said, "Oh no, I've got it."

"No, really, I-"

"No, please," he said, smiling slightly timidly. "I'm the only guy here, I have to be a gentleman."

And without any further arguments, he pushed in his chair and walked to the front to get our supplies,

"Lord have mercy, I think I'm in love." I said as soon as he was out of earshot.

Medli giggled. "He's sweet, isn't he?"

Ashei scoffed. "You've barely known him for three minutes, Ru!"

"So? He's so...I don't know, he's so cute! And nice! And probably smart! I think I'm gonna ask him out."

Ashei looked at me as if I'd gone insane. "Really? Again, you've known him for three minutes! And he doesn't seem like the type to say yes to a date so quickly."

"I don't care!" I said stubbornly. "He's mine. No one else can steal him!"

"You can't just claim ownership on him-"

"I'm back!" his cheery voice called.

I shut my mouth and gave him by best winning smile. "Thanks so much, Link!"

"Not a problem." he smiled, setting down the tray.

I was totes jealous of Medli, she got to sit next to him!

"Let's dissect this thing!" I said, breaking the awkward silence.

I started to reach for the slicer, when my heart stopped as I made contact with some skin.

Link's skin. Or, to be more specific, his hand.

"Whoops, sorry," he said, flashing me a smile. I melted. I was probably super red right now...

"No, it's okay. You can slice first." I managed.

The look in his eyes was pure excitement, like a child on Christmas. "Yes! I've always wanted to dissect a fish!"

Goddesses damn him and his adorableness! He was like a little kid!

I stared at the top of his head as he bent over to begin dissecting the fish.

"Marry me..." I said absentmindedly.

"What was that?" he asked, looking up.

"Nothing..." I said, smiling innocently.

The lab itself was the least important thing on my mind. I had to get this guy to think I was cute so that he'd say yes. I just had to.

At one point, I made a quick trip to the bathroom to touch up my makeup. I made sure to put extra emphasis on my eyelashes and violet eyeshadow that brought out the same color of my eyes.

When I sat back down in the classroom, Ashei let me copy the answers I'd missed on the lab worksheet and I smiled gratefully. She rolled her eyes.

"You put on more mascara or something?" she asked boredly. I was quite surprised she actually knew what mascara was...considering she's never worn makeup in her life.

I squealed. "Yep! By the way, I can't believe you actually know what mascara is!"

"Just because I don't wear makeup doesn't mean I don't know what it is."

I laughed. I heard Link chuckle as well.

"I only know what it is because I have two sisters." he explained.

"Aw, that's so cool! I'm sure you're such a great brother. How old are they?"

"Oh, well, my younger sister's thirteen. Her name's Aryll."

I sighed wistfully. "That's such a pretty name. Reminds me of the ocean, somehow...Do you two get along pretty well?"

He laughed. "More or less. We argue less than I do with my older sister, Rinkuru."

"How many siblings do you have?" Medli asked.

He smiled gently at her. "There's my youngest brother Ravio, who's ten, Aryll, me, Rinkuru, she's a senior, and our oldest brother, Raven. He's in college."

This means he's totally a family man, I thought. Definitely a good quality in a significant-other.

"Aw, I love those names," I gushed. And I meant it. I plan on having a big family someday, and I already have a huge list going of possible names I could name my future children.

"Isn't Rinkuru a Japanese name?" I asked, genuinely interested.

"Oh, yeah. But my parents really liked the name, and so did my grandma. The funny thing is, they thought she was going to be a boy, so they were going to name her Rinku, but she was a girl so they changed it to Rinkuru. Rinku is actually my name in Japanese, and they still liked it a lot, but they couldn't have two children with really similar names. So they named me Link."

"That's so cool..." I said, gazing at him as my admiration grew even more. "I don't have any siblings, but I wish I did. It sounds like a lot of fun to be in such a big family!"

He laughed, that bright, mischievous laugh of his. "It can be, but it's mostly all fighting. If you ask me, in the long run you'll be better off."

I smiled. This guy...he made me feel so warm and bubbly inside...And Ashei was right, I barely just met him, but it just felt so right to ask him out. I don't really know why.

I'll do it...at the end of class, I decided. I really, really like him.

We continued with the lab, and I still couldn't help but feel really anxious as I thought about my plan. How would I ask him?

Hey, let's go out.

No, that was too forward.

Hey, do you wanna...like, go out sometime?

That lacked confidence.

Link, I know we just met, but I really like you and I think we should go out sometime.

Perfect. Honest, to the point, but not too confidence-lacking or forward.

I kept reciting the words again and again in my head as we started the clean-up procedure for the lab.

Dear Naryu, I really hope he says yes.

"Hey, Ruto..." I heard his voice call.

My heart stopped as I turned to face him.

"Yeah?" I asked sweetly.

"I've been meaning to ask you..."

Oh, my, goddesses! Is he asking me out?! I may not even have to recite my little phrase!

"Yeah...?" I pressed, anxiously.

"Well, we were talking before about names and stuff...So, I was just wondering. What's your name's origin?"

"Oh." I said, slightly disappointed. I smiled nonetheless. "I was named after my great-grandmother. Her name was actually Rutela, but my parents wanted to change it up a bit to fit with modern times." I laughed. "I mean, no one is this day and age names a kid Rutela! So they modified it to Ruto."

He nodded thoughtfully. "That's really interesting! Thanks for telling me."

We shared a smile and I shook my head. "No problem. It's really fun talking to you."

"Likewise," he grinned.

The bell rang, and Ashei raced out of the room as quickly as possible for break. I sighed. There was still one more class until lunchtime...

Oh, right! The thing I was going to ask Link!

I caught up with him outside, and nervously said, "Uh, Link?"

He turned. "Yeah?"

I opened my mouth to recite my phrase, when suddenly, everything froze. I stood, gawking like an idiot for a few seconds before blinking and saying, "Oh! Um, well, do you need help finding your next class?"

He smiled and shook his head. "No, but thank you. It's really nice that you care."

I blushed. "No problem..."

We stood in silence for a few moments.

Finally, he gave me another smile and said, as he turned, "Well, see you, tomorrow, then!"

I tired to mimic his bright smile as I waved, "See you!"

But I was almost in tears as I walked to my locker.

Why? Why couldn't I just ask him that simple question?! What's wrong with me?!

I sighed as I looked at myself in the mirror that was inside my locker. "I probably ruined my only chance..."

I've dated guys before. Many of them. But none of them had ever made me feel this way.

What do I do now?

Usually the flirty tactics I used before worked on other guys...So why not Link? Was it...was it possible that he already had a girlfriend?!

The thought scared me for some reason. It wasn't impossible. He had everything: looks, personality, charm...

I shook my head. That's quitter talk! You still have the rest of the year to get him to like you! Don't give up, girl!

My own pep talk slightly boosted up my confidence as I allowed a smile to press onto my face. That's right. I couldn't just give up now. I had the rest of the year with him. I could do this. I would do this.

Ready or not, Link. Here I come.

That ending was kind of rushed, but I think I'm overall okay with this chapter. Tell me what you think! Next up is going to Marin, in band class. Feel free to make more suggestions in the reviews! And I really hope the whole thing with the names and Link's family didn't bore y'all. I just love fanfics where Link has a big family, because in the games he usually doesn't and that makes me sad :(

Also, Rinkuru is meant to be Linkle from Hyrule Warriors, but I decided to use her Japanese name because it's just kinda weird to have two kids named Link and Linkle. And Raven is a name for Dark Link. Again, I couldn't just call him Dark Link. Lol.

Well, until next time! ^^