(Hey guys! I just wanted to thank you for still reading Thinking About You! All the support I've been getting really motivates me to write and upload more chapters. I have a lot planned for this story so prepare yourselves ;) For this chapter, I created Prissen and Domidak in artbreeder/procreate. I also created the other characters, you can find them on my Instagram.  Please keep voting and commenting, it makes me really happy and helps the algorithm :) Love you all so much xo - Nebulace)

---

"Touchdown!" The moderator roars and the whole stadium is quaking.

I don't know much about American football but the fans dressed in blue and white are on their feet, jumping and beaming with joy while those wearing red and black hurl angry gestures at the players. I assume we scored a point. Or six? Weird rules.

"The boars don't stand a chance!" Impa laughs through the deafening sounds of cheers and boos.

"I thought Lorule was as good as our school when it comes to sports," I say more to myself but Impa shakes her head.

"They may be good but we are better! Every year we beat them in almost every sport. It's always really close, but we win anyway. Soccer and baseball are the only sports we can't seem to win against them but only because their play is foul! This year they will go home without a single victory. Hopes are that thanks to Link we will finally beat Lorule in every single sport and become the nation's number one!"

"In every sport? What about Baseball?"

"Even baseball. Link got that covered. I'm guessing he'll be our new shortstop; the last guy had to stop with baseball after they played against Lorule. Remember how in the beginning of the semester I told you that Link was offered a baseball scholarship from another school? Take a guess what school wanted him first."

"No way. Lorule?" I gasp at her nod.

"They'll be pretty pissed when they lose against him."

So much pressure for a single athlete. Victory is not up to Link. It's not in his hands alone. He is an important factor in the equation but without his team there is no equation to begin with.

Watching the Boars tackle our Eagles makes me nauseous. Soccer may not be as physical as American football yet I have been told over and over again that the Boars don't play fair. The worst part is, Ganon will be playing too. If he hurts Link... I don't even want to think about that. The Eagles will play the Boars at the very end of the season, November 3rd, their last game. It's still a little over a month until then and I am already freaking out.

My eyes scout the stadium. There are so many people here, nearly every seat is taken. A good portion of the stadium is infected by students from Lorule. I can't distinguish the many faces from afar, I just hope that Ganon is not one of them.

"Didn't take you for a sports enthusiast," I hear through the noise as somebody taps my shoulder. My focus shifts from Ganon to Revali in an Eagle's jersey. He doesn't look like he wants to be here but his outfit suggests otherwise.

"And I didn't take you for a fan," I counter and gesture at his jersey. Revali supporting somebody other than himself; that's a rare sight.

"My cousin is making me watch. I hate football," he whines.

"Who's your cousin?" I take a look around to see if I can spot another grumpy tall guy with lime green eyes and dark wavy hair.

"He's the wide receiver," Revali says, nodding at one of the players on the field below.

"Oh, he's an excellent player," I praise even though I have no clue who he's pointing out. "So, is... Did you come alone?"

"I'm not here with Link if that's what you're asking."

"It's not," I lie. I totally did ask to see if Link is here. Revali didn't reveal Link's whereabouts but I won't ask again.

"Only ten seconds remain," the moderator announces. "Prissen throws the ball, Teba bats it back and oh! What a hit! Teba is down but Prissen has the ball and makes his run for the endzone!"

"Excellent player, huh?" Revali huffs. Teba, the guy pinned to the ground, must be his cousin. "At least he doesn't suck as bad in archery."

I hope no one else from our team gets hurt! Who came up with this sport anyway?

"Left, right! Incredible, how is he not breaking his ankles?" The speakers whoop. "What a maneuver! But wait, what is he doing? Prissen has crossed the line of scrimmage! There is no way he can outrun time!" 

"What's happening?" I ask Revali, full of confusion and thrill.

"He should've just thrown the ball because time's almost up," he explains.

"But now he's not allowed to pass the ball forward anymore so he's gotta run all the way to the endzone!" Impa squeaks. "What a greedy move, he's never going to make it!"

"Pathetic," Revali says under his breath, arms crossed.

My eyes are incapable of leaving the ball secured in Prissen's arm.

The moderator can hardly catch his breath. "Armos is on his heels! He's trying to trip him but oh! Prissen keeps his balance, breaks a tackle on the midfield, 40, 30, what a run! Look at him run! Down the sideline he goes!"

Another Boar tries his luck and grabs a hold of Prissen but he jerks himself free and keeps sprinting forward.

"Still on his feet!" the moderator roars and the stadium is at the verge of collapsing. My shoulders are tense and Impa is holding her breath as Prissen flies by the opponents. "Five seconds left! He shoves away one, and another! You've gotta be kidding me! Four! Three!" His voice has reached its apex. "Two! One! Touchdown, Hyrule!"

Impa and I rise from our seats at the same time as Prissen bowls over the grass in the end zone. We won!

"Un-believable!" The moderator hoots along with the fans. "What a leap! Prissen Misko! 46 brilliant yards for a touchdown! He was just flying right over their heads! No time left! Eagles win!"

Without hesitation, the Boars begin to attack our players. Campus police and referees are driven to intervene and break up the fight before it can escalate. What kind of coach allows his team to act out of such immature impulses?

While Revali leaves and the stadium clears, Impa and I stay in our seats and look at the snaps we took during the game. We still have a few minutes before we have to walk over to the pool so we take some selfies.

"Hurry up or you can find someone else to give you a ride," Domidak calls to Prissen who is currently doing his cooldown.

"Look, there's Domidak," I tell Impa. She's too distracted choosing a filter.

"So?"

"We should say hi."

"Why?"

The last time I saw Domidak was when he tried to speak to Impa after the soccer game but she hardly even noticed him until I made her leave with him. I'm pretty sure he didn't ask her out but the way he keeps looking up at her leads me to assume he hasn't quite moved on either.

"Because it would be rude not to," I say. "Also, he's looking at us."

She looks past her phone down at the guy who nearly breaks his neck changing the direction of his head. Smooth.

"Okay fine. Swim meet's about to start anyway," Impa grabs her stuff and gets up.

She follows me down to the sideline.

"Hey Domidak," I greet him first.

"What's up," he says coolly as if he wasn't checking out Impa only seconds ago. I nodge Impa with my elbow.

"'Sup," she nods at him, hands in her jacket, looking at the other players.

Prissen takes off his helmet and jogs toward us with a complacent smug on his face. His cheeks bear black stripes of smudged paint.

"Ready 'Dak?" he asks his brother.

"Waiting on you," Domidak snarles.

It's surreal to see both brothers standing next to each other. They look exactly the same and I try to find features that distinguish the two. I wouldn't want to call them by the wrong name again by accident. Their eyes are identical, their heights are the same, even their hairstyles and colors are too similar to find a striking difference. It's possible that Prissen is more muscular than Domidak but it's hard to tell with his equipment covering most of his body. Besides, I still confused him for Domidak at the frat party, so their bodies can't be that different. Not a single birthmark or scar on their faces either. It's uncanny how much they look alike.

"Hey, I know you, don't I?" Prissen points at me. "You're the girl from that party."

"How specific," I tease. "And you are the guy with the jersey, right?"

"I like your sass," he laughs. "You're Zelda, the president's daughter."

"And you're Prissen, the quarterback."

"Great, now that you've established who you are, can we please go?" Domidak says to Prissen.

"Did you enjoy the game?" Prissen asks Impa, pretending that Domidak isn't present.

"Loved it. That last touchdown though! My heart stopped for a good second!" She beams.

"We're celebrating at the frat house. Will I see you tonight?" he steps closer to her.

"You bet."

"Your pretty friend here told me that you're not currently seeing anyone so no excuses tonight. You're having a drink with me."

"Zelda!" Impa snaps at me.

"It wasn't on purpose!" I wince.

"Fine. One drink," she tells him.

"Awesome. See you there," he bends down to kiss her cheek, leaving everyone with a surprised expression.

"Dick," Domidak growls as he bumps his shoulder into his twin to pass by. Without another word to any of us, Domidak is the first of us to leave.

"What's his problem?" Prissen doesn't hide his smirk.

"You know exactly what his problem is," I rudely remark but Prissen doesn't seem affected. "You knew that Domidak has a crush on Impa."

Yet he asked her out in front of Domidak and kissed her just to rub it in. I feel bad for Domidak; he can't play soccer because of Link and now he has to watch from the sidelines as his brother makes a move on his crush.

"Yeah not cool, dude," Impa rubs her cheek.

"He'll get over it. It's not like he stands a chance with a chick like you," Prissen disregards his brother's feelings with a shrug. 

"Now that you mention it, he is kinda ugly," Impa smirks, turns around, and leads me down the tunnel exit.

"I see what you did there," Prissen chuckles, shaking his head lightly.

Impa laughs and I join her. Prissen is not the nicest person but at least he takes it lightly when somebody gives him some of his own medicine. I'm sure he could be a fun friend if he were just a tad kinder.

"Poor Domidak," I say to Impa when our laughter fades.

"Don't feel bad for him. They're both idiots," she giggles.

The second we step out of the stadium I bump into somebody and lose my balance. Impa holds on to my arm and pulls me out of the way.

"Prardon me," I apologize while checking the time. We're running late for the swim meet.

"Watch where you're going!" the guy barks vexed.

His voice pull my eyes away from my phone. My eyes stare in shock and try to process that Ganon is the one I just bumped into. Malice stands next to him flinging venomous glares at Impa while her boyfriend does the same to me.

"Back off dickhead," Impa shoves him away from me.

My eyes have never been more agape. I think part of my soul just fled my body.

"I-I-Impa," I try to stop her from getting into a fight with them.

"Say that again," Ganon growls and steps so close to her that she has to raise her chin to look him in the eyes. She doesn't move, not an inch. The threat written in his face doesn't faze her.

"I said, back off," she repeats slowly and sternly.

"Oh you better not piss me off," he warns.

Glued to the spot and numb as a brick I swallow what feels like burning coal.

"Drop the big bad boar act, you don't intimidate me. I can kick your ass blindfolded while breaking your hooker's disgusting nails," Impa boasts.

"What did you just call me?" Malice steps forward.

"Wasn't talking about you," Impa sneers.

"Impa, d-don't," I plead, earning Ganon's attention. I shouldn't have said anything, is he going to hit me again? I wish I could move, not to run but to at least shield my face.

"You really know how to pick 'em," he says to me. "Don't make the same mistake Link made," Ganon lifts his t-shirt just enough to reveal a pocket knife tucked into the rim of his sweatpants. Is that blood on the blade?

"Link is here?" I gasp.

"Was," he gloats.

"Game on," Impa cracks her knuckles and shoots him a fierce scowl.

"You think I won't hit you just because you're a girl?" His jaw is tense and his fist clenched.

"Well yeah, hitting girls is wrong, that's why I haven't punched you yet," Impa says to him with a grin while Malice chokes behind him, trying to mask her laugh with a cough.

"Funny," Ganon smiles but it doesn't reach his eyes.

Faster than a bullet out of a gun, Ganon takes a swing at Impa. Her body reacts before I can do as much as hold my breath. She blocks his punch and dodges the next. Her desire to strike back is evident but she doesn't attack him at all.

"Your technique sucks," Ganon tells her unimpressed.

"Then why can't you land a punch?"

He rolls his eyes half way, grabs her shoulder, and rams his fist into her stomach. She tries to block him but fails.

"Impa, no!" I cry and pull her away from the couple.

"Because I was being nice," he answers her question as I drag her away at a fast pace.

"Let go! I will show him!" she spits, trying to rip her arm away from my grip.

"No, we're leaving, come on," I pull her with more force until she finally gives in.

"Grow some balls," she shouts back at them, laughing shamelessly. "I mean Eye-balls so next time you can watch where you are going. And then grow some fucking testicles."

"Are you insane?" I question in a panicked whisper.

"People like him have to be put in their place."

"People like him will put you in a hospital!" I argue, still processing what just happened.

"Hey, you were the one who said I could become an MMA champion."

"That doesn't mean you have to pick a fight with 6 and a half feet of pure uncontrolled rage!"

"He started it," she sulks.

"Stop. Don't get near him. He has a record, he's dangerous."

"So am I."

"Impa," I pant worried. "Avoid him. Promise me."

"Pff," she lets out a short cough.

"Are you okay?"

"Fine."

"Let's just hurry before he decides to follow us."

"He can't do shit on our campus."

If only she knew.

Ganon will pay for this. He can't just come here and assault my friends. I have to make sure Link isn't injured. Would Ganon really stab him? It was a bluff, it had to be. That's insane. If Link has as much as a scratch I will call the cops and make sure Ganon gets locked up.

We make it to the pool and find an empty seat on the bleachers. The swim meet has already started and while the crowd seems very captivated it's nowhere near as noisy as it was in the stadium. No more Boars, I sigh. Impa seems unruffled. She is just as hyped as she was during the football game and acts as if everything else never happened. I'm glad I never told her about the time Ganon slapped me. She would have done much more than just dodge if she knew who he was.

"There's Mipha," Impa points at the girl in the lead.

I don't look up from my phone before I have sent a message to Link.

*Where are you?*

A reply comes quicker than expected.

*At the swim meet.*

My eyes leave the screen and search the crowd for Link. He's sitting on the other end of the bleachers right next to Revali and Sidon. He's wearing his track jacket from soccer so I can't see if he's injured. He wouldn't be here if Ganon had actually hurt him, I tell myself to calm my nerves.

*I'm here too.* I send.

Link turns around and I give him a subtle wave with the hand. He turns back to his phone and begins to type.

*Everything OK with Impa?*

I smile at his message.

*Everything is good :)*

I put my phone away and pay attention to the swimmers. Mipha is almost an entire lane ahead of her opponents. Just like the day we went surfing she glides effortlessly through the water. While everyone else is solely thinking about being first, Mipha appears to be the only one truly enjoying every second of the tournament. It's almost as if she didn't swim for victory but for fun and nothing else. Mipha is, unintentionally, the center of attention.

An hour and a half later and the swimmers are awarded their medals. Wearing gold around her neck Mipha gets her photo taken with her team. Sidon and Link get to her first and other students and family try to congratulate her. With so many people around her I use the time to make a quick stop at the bathroom to freshen up. It's 6 PM on the dot.

Looking at the mirror I try to put on a face that hides my panic. Running into Ganon was not what I needed on the day I am having dinner with Father. I should call him and let him know that I'll be late. He won't like it but there is nothing either of us can do about it now. I just want to congratulate Mipha and then I will be on my way.

He doesn't pick up the phone so I leave a voicemail and send an additional text just to be sure he sees it. My fingers comb through my hair in an attempt to straighten it before I return to the pool. Impa and Revali are standing by Mipha, a sight I truly treasure. If Impa gets to know Mipha a little better perhaps she won't be so worried about our friendship anymore. And if Revali and Mipha get closer, she won't be so hurt when she finds out about me and Link. 

"Zelda, I am so happy you came," Mipha exclaims when I join the little group. It takes me a moment to realize that she is wearing Link's jacket all of a sudden. My head snaps to his direction and indeed, he is only in a t-shirt now, talking to Sidon at the other end of the pool. I can only see his back, fortunately, since my smile falls apart for a second before I pull myself together. It's fine. It doesn't mean anything.

"Congratulations," I tell Mipha and shake Link out of my head. "You did very well!"

"Thank you so much."

"You gonna celebrate?" Impa asks but Mipha shakes her head.

"I will keep practicing for a couple hours. At night, when I have the pool to myself I like to practice diving."

"You're just like Zelda," Impa chuckles. "Never taking breaks."

"But if you do want to celebrate," Revali says to her in a bit of a mumble, "you can come to our house. There's a party. I know you said you don't go to parties but they're usually not so bad."

"Yeah you should totally come," Impa encourages her but Mipha declines with the kindest smile.

"Guys, I have to get going," I announce to them and excuse myself.

Impa walks out with me, leaving Revali alone with Mipha until Link and Sidon rejoin them. Impa walks me all the way to my car and hugs me before I get in. I feel calmer about my dinner with Father but only because I'm overflowing with other emotions. While I am still stunned from our collision with Ganon and Malice, I am a bit distracted by Mipha wearing Link's jacket. I wore that same jacket when we kissed for the first time. It's difficult to see her wearing it, even if it was just an act of kindness to keep her warm, it still sucks.

But out of all the emotions swirling through my heart, I am mainly relieved that Impa and I talked and opened up to each other. I feel as if every fight strengthens our bond. Not to say that fighting is a good thing but as long as we can learn from it and find back together I will bear any dispute.

On my drive home I reflect on the day. Without the need of words Impa and I showed each other how much we care about each other; I attended two sports events even though she knows I don't care for sports, and Impa tried to connect with Mipha even though I know that they are like polar opposites and wouldn't have much to talk about if left alone in one room. I appreciate her efforts and carry a genuine smile on my face until I get to the house at the top of the hills.

It's quiet up here. The air feels colder than it was on campus. The sun is hidden behind the cliffs. Chirping of birds has ceased for the day and my mouth feels unnaturally dry. The faint sounds of a dog barking and cars honking on the main road far away break through the silence. Standing here, so isolated... all the emotions I was replacing with joy and relief begin to creep up on me. Scenarios begin to play on my mind and I am inevitably searching for a million excuses, lies, justifications, and apologies to give to Father. The longer I stand here and look at the house he calls home, the worse it will get.

The maid welcomes me in the foyer and takes my bag upstairs. Father is already seated at the dining table with a glass of wine and a letter in his hands.