He swings his bat and I shut my eyes as hard as I can. My heart is boxing against the inside of my chest at a quick and painful pace. Any moment now I will feel the surface of the bat collide with my skull. I hear a thud and a groan and open my eyes to find the guy lying in the mud in front of me with Link towering over him. Link! He's here. Just in time! I've never been this happy to see him, to see anyone. Whether he followed me or just happened to see us on his way to the soccer field doesn't matter at all, I thank the goddess that he's here.

"I think I'm dreaming," the guy with the bat sneers. "If it isn't the global superstar and prodigy, Hyrule's hero; Link. Here to save the princess?"

"Stay away from her," Link warns. "All of you."

"Pfft," he laughs and tightens his grip around the bat. "Or else what? Are we going to have a penalty shootout?"

Like a bullet out of a gun, he swings his bat at Link. I am scared he'll hit his already injured ribs, but Link counters the attack, kicks the baseball bat out of the guy's hand and catches it midair. How the tables have turned. Now Link has the bat pointed at the guy. Even his friends have lost their smug expressions and look ready to take flight. Cowards.

"If you ever touch her again, I will beat you unconscious," Link threatens.

"You don't have the guts," he says full of spite. Does he have a death wish? He's already on the ground, what's he trying to prove?

Black clouds darken the sky again. It will be a stormy night, and all I can think about is that I'd rather be in the middle of a storm than this fight. Thankfully Link tosses the bat into the grass and I sigh in relief.

"That's what I thought," the guy laughs when Link turns away.

"You won't always be there, you know? You can't always protect her," he adds boldly. "One day, when she's alone, I'll be back. And she will regret rejecting me."

Link's fist connects with the guy's jaw before I have time to even blink. He's back in the mud with Link on top of him beating his face mercilessly. The other two don't help or stop the fight, they just run back to their bus. It's up to me to act, but what am I supposed to do? Should I call for help or intervene?

"Link!" My shriek is nothing but a whisper in the wind.

"Link, stop!" I cry.

If Link doesn't stop, the other guy really will become unconscious. I take a hasty look around. If someone sees us, Link will surely get expelled. Can't he see that he's risking his career by fighting this guy? Is that why he kept provoking Link? Because he knew he'd start a fight and get expelled? 

I rise to my feet and seize Link's arm, trying to pull him off of the other guy. Link turns around and looks at my arms around his biceps.

"Stop it, Link! He's not worth it!"

When I tug his arm again, he finally gets up and stares at the bloody face of the man on the ground.

"Bastard," his horse voice croaks at Link.

"Stay away from her if you don't want to end up like Ganon."

"That was you?" he coughs and spits out some blood.

Link doesn't answer. He doesn't have to.

"You're going down," the guy says and I fear that he's right. There's no happy ending for this. Link will get expelled for standing up for me.

I grab Link's hand and pull him away from the scene. We have to leave. We can't stay here and be seen. There's still hope that they can't expel him if they don't have proof it was him.

"What are you doing?" Link asks but I ignore him. He just lets me drag him away until we reach my car.

"Get in."

"What?"

"Get in," I repeat and open the passenger door to force him to sit down.

I walk around the car, throw my bag into the back and lock the doors. It feels like I'm kidnapping him, but I'm really just locking the doors for our own safety. I don't know what those guys are capable of.

Rain starts pouring down, making it hard to see the roads. Link doesn't speak again or question where we're going when we leave the campus. I stay silent as well. I don't even look at him. I don't know where we're going either or what we're going to do now. We just have to get far away from campus so that no one can claim they saw us there. I feel odd. I feel like none of this really happened. As if I wasn't really present when Link fought the guy who tried to... I can't even think about that. I'm disgusted and scared of what could have happened if Link hadn't shown up. He saved me. Though I've been cold to him all this time...taking my selfish and childish anger out on him at every turn... Still, he was there for me. I won't ever forget that.

After a few minutes of driving in silence, I pull over. The sea ahead has lost its blues and greens; it's a ruthless battlefield of crashing waves and thunderstorms at the horizon.

"I'm sorry!" I finally break down. "I'm sorry for the way I treated you! You're getting in trouble because of me. I'm sorry I yelled and blamed you for my misfortunes!"

I sob and clutch the steering wheel. Link doesn't say anything, but his silence doesn't feel unfamiliar anymore. I now know that he is not ignoring me. He's listening.

"He touched my... I... and he... I can't believe he kissed my neck!" A cold shiver runs down my spine. Am I at fault for this? Did I say or do something to cause this mess? Was I in the wrong for slapping him?

His lips touched my skin. His lips... My own skin feels filthy and I wish I could just burn it and get a new one. Part of me wants to jump into the water and have those crashing waves clean my skin of his touch, but once I step out of the car, the rain seems good enough. The wind here is stronger, strong enough to mute my weeps and cries. What a beautiful yet ferocious view.

"I hate you!" I scream at the sea, unsure whom I'm really screaming at. Where is my anger heading?

"Father," I whisper as the image blurs. "I'm done with your rules."

I know whom I'm angry with. If it weren't for his ridiculous rules, I wouldn't have left astronomy, I wouldn't have run away from Link and Pik, I wouldn't have encountered those guys, and I wouldn't be crying at the roadside. I hear the car door slam behind me. Link takes off his track jacket and puts it over my shoulders. I see the goosebumps on my arms, but I don't feel the cold.

"I'll drive you home," Link says and goes back to the car.

I rinse my lungs with the fresh air and take in the view before I turn around and take a seat in the passenger seat. I'm glad Link offered to drive. I don't think I could make it home right now. Can I even call it that? Home? What even is a home... Shouldn't I feel safe and happy there? Shouldn't it be warm and full of affection?

I navigate Link up the hills until we get to my driveway. His eyes are big when he spots the mansion at the end of the narrow road.

"This is where you live?"

"Yes. Can you just park right there?" I say and point at my parking spot. Link must be seeing fortune and wealth. All I see is a prison in disguise.

"Thank you," I mutter and wipe my eyes one last time. I'm really glad that Father isn't home yet.

"Are you going to be okay?" He asks as he removes the key.

"I think so," I sniff. "Wait, how are you getting home?"

"I'll call a friend to come pick me up."

His hands pat his shorts, then he stops and looks at me. "My phone is in your pocket."

"Oh," I search the pocket of his jacket and pull up his phone. It has a crack and the screen automatically lights up when I flip it, revealing his wallpaper image and some of his recent messages. I don't read the texts, but I notice that his wallpaper is the default wallpaper from apple. When Link lifts his arm for me to place the phone in his open hand, he groans and clenches his jaw. His ribs must still be in pain.

"Are you hurt?" I ask as he unlocks his phone.

"No, I'm fine."

I know he's lying. I Iean over to poke his ribs. He sucks in a sharp breath and flinches from my soft touch. Without thinking about it, I lift his t-shirt slightly to expose his injured ribs. A large area of his skin is stained in deep purples, blues, and greens. Traces of blood blemish the fabric of his t-shirt and I start to search for an open wound but fail to find it. I'm not a doctor, but this doesn't look good.

"You should go to the hospital," I conclude.

"No," he seems determined.

"Link... You're badly injured."

"They won't let me play soccer if I go to the hospital."

"You won't be able to play if you don't recover from this."

He doesn't say anything.

"I'll drive you there. Please, I think this needs medical attention."

"No," he looks at me and his pupils dilate. "If I'm on sick leave, I could lose my full ride. I can't pay for HU without my scholarship."

"But Link..."

"Please," his eyes plead. "I'll be fine."

"Tell me one thing." He nods. "Were you going to practice today? I saw you carrying a soccer ball earlier even though Mipha told you to stay home."

I bite my tongue. I didn't want him to know that I talk to Mipha about him.

"I was going to, yes. I was feeling fine before those guys..." he pauses.

"I'm really sorry about that."

"It's not your fault, Zelda. Please don't blame yourself."

I think for a moment and come to the conclusion that I can't force him to see a doctor. But there must be something I can do to help him. After what he did to me I want to return the favor.

"You should come inside. We should at least clean your wounds."

"What about your parents...?"

"My father won't be home for a couple of hours."