Daruk joins me on the field while I wait for Link to finish his cooldown.

"I was going to watch the game with you and Impa but I lost you guys in the crowd when you left so quickly," he tells me, chortling lightly.

"My apologies. Leaving like that was very rude of me," I say.

"Don't worry about it. Got to watch the game with my nephew." He combs his beard and looks away. "Are you alright? Do you wanna... I don't know, I thought maybe you'd want to talk about what happened with that boy."

Link looks up at us and I smile nervously. "Not necessary. Everything's fine."

"Alright, just let me know if there's ever anything you need," Daruk says and looks at Link. "That goes for both of you."

"Oh, I do have a question. Are you going back to Vah Rudania tonight?" I ask Daruk and turn to Link before he can answer. "I'll take you out for dinner if you'd like."

Link walks over to us with much strain. "To be honest... I just want to go home."

"Oh, of course," I nod, taking in his bloody ankles and swollen knee. How inconsiderate of me to ask him to have dinner with me. What is wrong with me?

"Can I come over for a few hours?" Did I just invite myself to his home? He probably just wants to sleep and be alone tonight. I slap myself mentally. "I don't have to. You're probably tired," I add along with two teaspoons of insecurity.

"Uh," Link blushes. "No, I want you to come over, but... my roommates?"

"Don't worry about that, I have a plan," I say with a shy smile. Is smiling appropriate? Even though we won the game it feels like we lost.

"I'ma head out," Daruk announces. "Link, just wanted to say it was a mighty game. You've got a strong will and fantastic dribbling." He gives him a thumbs up and leaves soon after.

Every step Link takes looks painful. The worst part is I know that he's only showing one third of the actual pain. I will do anything to make him feel even slightly better.

"I can take you home so you don't have to ride on the bus," I offer.

"People will see us," he laments. I do believe that I planted this fear of being seen in his head. He didn't use to care this much but I kept insisting on keeping everything a secret, so he's begun to do the same. "And it's rude not to go home with the team. Coach will want to talk about the game when we get back. So I won't be home for another couple of hours."

I just want to hug him and tell him that everything is going to be okay! He's in so much pain!

"Okay... I'll see you tomorrow then. Provided you're attending school tomorrow."

"Or you could wait for me in my room..." he shyly suggests.

"Yes," I smile. I will gladly wait for him! "Yes, I'll wait there."

"Okay," the corner of his mouth lifts, displaying a weak smile. I smile back at him.

"Link!" A little kid interrupts us and holds up a marker. "Will you sign the back of my t-shirt?"

The sparkles in this little boy's eyes when Link nods melt my heart. Despite all the pain, Link takes the marker to give his signature.

"Mommy! Mommy!" the boy squeals in a deafening volume and the woman next to me apologizes to us. "Link is signing my shirt! Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god. Mommy, can you take a picture?"

"I'm recording it," she laughs, holding up her phone.

I have to bite my lips to hide my smile. This is so wholesome. I know Link doesn't usually talk to fans, let alone sign their jerseys or take pictures. I've known this ever since the first game I attended. And yet he looks so casual signing this boy's back. Cute, I just noticed that he's wearing a number 11.

"I'm your biggest fan!" he claims, full of excitement. "One day I'll play for the Warriors too! Or Japan's national team! You're my hero!"

Link doesn't reply but he smiles at the boy and nods. I think this kid knows that Link is known to be very reserved and private because he nearly loses his mind when Link takes off his sweaty jersey and hands it over.

"Thank you!" The boy sobs and cradles the shirt. "Thank you so so much!"

I notice a little piece of yellow paper tucked behind the waistband of Link's shorts. It's the good-luck note that I gave him before his last game. I can't believe he had it on him this entire time. That's so sweet.

Shoot. Link probably thinks I was staring at his abs just now. I quickly look away.

"Go talk to him!" I hear another fan say, a female one, and look up at the stands to find the source of the voice. It's a group of girls, pointing at Link's exposed chest.

"No, you go," the shy girl fights her friends but they just giggle and try talking her into asking Link out. We can hear every word they're saying, even from down here. They're just making a fool out of themselves but Link doesn't seem to care; without even looking at them, he throws his bag over his shoulder and picks up his water bottle.

"See you tonight?" he asks and I try to avoid staring at his body.

I grin and nod, then watch as he turns around to go to the dressing room before those girls come down here.

"Leaving so soon?" Ganon asks, stopping us from exiting the field.

Link steps in front of me, his face turning from sweet to sour in a matter of a second.

"Zelda, go," Link orders, his eyes chained to Ganon.

"Oho, he speaks," Ganon taunts. "There's a rumor that you're mute. But I guess you're just rude."

Link's muscles move and tense up beneath his skin as Ganon takes another step closer to us. He stops only a few feet away and scans my body with his eyes. Link shifts to shield my body with his own and uses his hand to push against my hip, moving me out of Ganon's sight. I can't read Link's thoughts but the way his fists are trembling I can tell he is tempted to fight.

Link is in no condition to face Ganon right now. Neither mentally nor physically. Why is Ganon looking for a fight anyway? The game is over, there is nothing in it for him other than the atrocious satisfaction of hitting his opponent. Maybe he wants to use Link's state of exhaustion to his advantage and follow up with Ganondorf's orders; to break Link's bones no matter how many witnesses. Eliminating the competition once and for all... My breaths quicken when I think about Ganon's intentions.

"I never imagined a boy like you could give me so much trouble," Ganon scoffs. "It's unbelievable that you defeated my team. It won't happen twice."

Link's biceps twitches and he takes a step toward Ganon.

"Don't," I breathe, clinging to his arm to hinder him from using them to fight.

"Aren't you two just adorable," Ganon tilts his head. This is the first time I see him smirking and I wish I hadn't. The image of his sinister smile is burned into my mind before I can close my eyes. I want to let go of Link's arm and protect our secret romance but I am physically unable to unhook my arms.

"Is it true what Mal tells me? You two together? I thought athletes aren't supposed to sleep with their fans. Then again, that's kinda the point of being an athlete, am I right?"

Link removes his arm from my grip. I am debating whether he did it to fight Ganon or to prevent Malice's rumor from spreading. Either way, I feel unsafe once our touch is broken.

"Hey, I'm not judging. I'm guilty of it too," Ganon continues. His eyes move to me, sending a shudder down my spine. "The president's daughter huh... She's gotta be pretty good in bed if it's worth expulsion. Karusa said she's tight," he steps closer, challenging Link with his smirk.

At the same time as Link takes a swing at Ganon, I wrap my arms around Link's torso to pull him back from his attempted assault. I can hardly hold him back but I am not letting go until he calms down. As angry as I am at Karusa and Ganon for saying such awful things about me, Link is too weak to fight. He can't even fight against my grip. He shouldn't be anywhere near a Boar right now.

"Link, calm down!" I'm slowly losing my grip around his body.

"Dominatrix, I like it. But you're not really my type," Ganon spurs. "Still wouldn't mind some head."

For the love of Hylia! My head turns a deep crimson and I want to cut Ganon's tongue out! Link should know better than to fall for Ganon's bait but he's fighting me with every bit of energy he's got left and I am afraid I can't hold him back any longer!

"Woah!" Impa steps between Link and Ganon, holding her arms out both ways to create a sense of distance. Revali joins too. "You lost the game, big deal, go cry about it somewhere else!" she tells Ganon fiercely.

"Back for a rematch?" Ganon says to her, mildly intrigued.

"Impa, don't!" I warn when she takes her fighting stance. "He won't hit you or Link! He can't do anything to us because everybody would see it. He just wants you to hit him first so he can play victim."

"Oh, he won't have to play," Impa cracks her knuckles.

"No, stop it Impa! Both of you, just ignore him."

"Cute. You got your little army standing up for you," Ganon taunts but I think Link now sees that Ganon's words don't hold any power. He's calmer, still irritated and tense, but calmer than he was a few seconds ago. His temper got the best of him.

"No one is going to fight you. You lost. Just accept it," I say to him, hiding behind Link, Impa, and Revali.

Ganon's teammates are calling for him but he flips them off. I'm surprised I haven't seen Malice all day. She would have been the icing on the cake.

"See you around," Ganon says, looking at me and me only. Then he walks back to his team.

"What a weirdo," Revali notes casually.

"Impa, are you ready to leave?" I more so beg than ask.

"Do you see a dead body?" she asks.

"No?"

"Then I'm not ready to leave."

"Wait, I'm confused," Revali eyes Impa. "Are you supposed to be the dead body or find a dead body?"

"Wow. You really are a birdbrain," she retorts. "Where's Karusa," she asks me but I shrug my shoulders and avoid Link's questioning look. He knows something is up but I will avoid this conversation for as long as I can. While those two are bickering, I say a quick goodbye to Link and tell him to go back to his team. I need him to hurry, get changed, and leave this awful place.

I'm so ready to get out of this stadium. Karusa, then Ganon... It's all too much for me. Revali, Impa, and I walk back to the stands in silence until I collect my thoughts and speak.

"Er, Revali? May I ask a small favor?"

"Uh, no," he pulls his car keys out of his pocket and tries to shake me off.

"Please."

"I said no, leave me alone."

"Revali!" Impa and I follow him through the tunnel. "It's nothing crazy."

"Does it have to do with Link?" He asks, not even looking at me.

"Yes."

"Then no."

"You don't even know what it is."

"I'm sick of getting pushed around by you and Link. Keep me out of your non-existent relationship melodrama."

"Come on, it's just a small favor."

"And why would that change my mind? What have you or Link ever done for me? Huh?"

"I saved your date with Mipha."

He snaps his head in my direction to shoot angry glares at me. "You what?"

"She didn't even know that you asked her out. But now she does. Thanks to me you have a date. So could you please do this one tiny thing for me."

"Thanks to you I have a date? What?" He yaps. "Mipha is not a currency! You can't just go around talking her into dating me and expect me to fix your weird relationship with Link! When will you learn to mind your own damn business?"

"You were the one who started it!"

"Just stay out of it!"

"I never wanted to be involved in the first place!"

"That's just asinine. Unlike you, I can handle my own love life. So why don't you do us all a favor and focus on your own relationships."

"Gladly. But just so you know, she's madly in love with Link! So good luck winning her over with your lovely personality and egocentric attitude!" I spit and instantly regret it. His eyes narrow and burn with bitterness. "Sorry," I gasp.

"No, please, go on. Don't hold back now," he puffs.

"I promise I will never get in the middle of you and Mipha again if you just let me into Link's room tonight."

"Wait, that's it? You want me to open the door for you?"

"Yes," I sigh. "And... if your roommates ask why I'm there, could you just say that you're hanging out with me? As a friend."

"Not gonna happen."

"Please," I bid him with my best and worst puppy face.

"Ugh..." He slaps his own forehead and rolls his eyes in a dramatic fashion. "Fine! You'll do my English homework though."

"That's plagiarism."

We exit the stadium. Impa is still scanning our surroundings like a predator on the hunt. The parking lot is booming with people and not a single parking spot is free.

"What's your dad doing here?" She asks out of nowhere.

"What? Where?" I throw my eyes at every person near us but fail to spot him.

"Isn't that his car?" she points at a black Rolls Royce.

"Do we have a deal or not?" Revali presses but I'm too distracted by my father's car parked on Lorule's property. Did Father watch the soccer game? He's never been to any of the games. Or has he? I wouldn't know. I suppose this was the most important game of the season and he wanted to be part of our victory. Or perhaps he was here to keep an eye on Link's performance? Or does his presence have something to do with Ganondorf? So many questions.

"Wait, that's your dad's car?" Revali takes a thorough look at the vehicle. "He was at our house."

"Today?" I gape.

"No, last week when you stayed at our house. The night that I canceled the party for you. Another big favor that you owe me by the way."

"You can't owe a favor. That defeats the purpose," Impa sneers.

"Back up, my father was at the frat house?" I ask with sweaty palms. "Was he at the party?"

"No, I don't know if he was sitting in the car but it was parked right outside the house after you and Link came back."

"So he was there for me? How would he have known that I was there? We left my car at Daruk's that night."

"Beats me," Revali shrugs. "But that's the car, I'm positive."

"I believe you... It's just very unsettling."

"Speaking of the devil," Impa whispers and elbows me. Father is walking toward his car, his phone attached to his ear as usual.

"F-father," I smile and bow my head at him when he finally sees us standing by his car.

"I'll have to call you back," he says into his phone and hangs up the call. His eyes aim at Impa and something similar to a smile appears on his face. "That was the lawyer. Everything looks well, Impa."

"That's good to hear," she replies.

I am so relieved that she didn't get into a fight tonight but at the same time I am worried about my phone. What if Father tries to call me? I will need to get a new phone as soon as possible because there is no way I will get my old one back from Karusa. I'm glad I added that pin though. There is nothing he can do with my phone but look at my lockscreen.

"Zelda," Father waves his hand in front of my eyes.

"Sorry, did you say something?"

"I asked what you were doing here?"

"Supporting our school of course," I try to give him a convincing fake smile and cross my arms over my chest to hide our family's logo out of embarrassment.

"That sweatshirt is two sizes too large," he carps. "Since when do you like football?"

"It's soccer," Revali corrects the president of Hyrule University without a care in the world.

"The rest of the world calls it football," Father retorts and earns a scowl from Revali. They are the same height but somehow Revali still manages to look down on Father.

"We aren't the rest of the world though, we are in California," he fires back.

"Okay!" I make a nervous laugh and push against Revali's back to move him away from the car and away from Father. "Time for you to go home."

"Will I see you for dinner?" Father asks me, unlocking his car.

"I was actually going to spend some time with Impa tonight. To study."

He frowns. Impa holds the same expression because she knows that I am not going to spend the night with her. Revali is frowning too, but he's always frowning so out of all of them he actually looks the happiest right now.

"We can dine together tomorrow," I suggest to Father.

"But Zelda," Impa whines, "what about Vah Rudania?"

"Oh, right, tomorrow is Friday... Well, how about breakfast then?"

"Breakfast?" Father ponders. "We never eat breakfast together."

"Think of it like this: Dinner is defined as the main meal of the day so technically we would be having dinner together, just very early."

"Hm... Alright. Breakfast it is. Don't stay out too late," he says to my surprise. It's a kind way of reminding me of the curfew that no longer exists. But I'll take it!

He really has been trying to be more considerate lately and doesn't control my life as much as he did in the beginning of the semester. Hopefully he will soon change his mind about my major. And maybe even drop the no-boys rule.

I give him another smile, a real one this time, until he's in his car. Then I scold Revali for his lack of respect followed by thanking Impa for her abundance of temper today. She's been invited to yet another party where they'll celebrate today's victory. I make her promise me that she won't drink or go on a manhunt. She tries to fight me on it but I convince her to approach this relationally. I want justice for Karusa but not by sending Impa to jail.

----

An hour later I arrive at the frat house. It's not very wise to park my car on the sidewalk when Father, or anyone really, could be lurking out here, so I park a few blocks away and walk the rest.

Upon ringing the bell, Revali opens the door and tilts his head in annoyance as he looks down on me.

"What's with the flowers?" he asks, eying the small bouquet in my hands.

"They're for Link, why? What's wrong with them?"

"Nothing? I don't know? Why would you bring him flowers?"

"Because he put his heart and soul into that game and because guys don't usually receive flowers, so I thought it would be sweet... Guys deserve flowers too... especially Link. He deserves to be spoiled."

"What are you talking about? People send him flowers all the time. And they always end up at the same place. The trash."

I sigh and roll my eyes at him. He's right, the flowers were a stupid idea, but I won't tell him that.

"Are you going to invite me in or what?" I say, standing on the porch like a package that was delivered to the wrong address.

"Come in," he grumbles and steps aside.

The house is quiet but not deserted. Two guys that I haven't met before are sitting on the couch in the living room.

"Can you please unlock Link's room for me before they see me," I mouth to Revali.

"What?" he shakes his head confused.

"Upstairs," I mouth and even point at the ceiling.

"I don't speak mute," he shrugs his shoulders.

"Let's go upstairs," I exclaim in frustration and hide the flowers behind my back just in time when the two guys turn around to look at us.

"Who's that?" One asks and the other laughs.

"That's the president's daughter, idiot," he says to his roommate.

"What's she doing here?"

"Yeah I thought you said you already have a girlfriend?"

I give Revali a suspicious look as he glares at them.

"I never said it was official! Just shut up, both of you," Revali hisses at them and walks me up the stairs. I decide not to commend on his imaginary relationship with Mipha.

We go to his room first to grab the key, then we walk to Link's room. Revali unlocks the door and waits until I've stepped inside. The air in here is thick and heavy. The first thing I do is open the window.

"Don't leave," I beg when Revali walks back out into the hallway.

"I'm not going to babysit you," he complains.

"But Link won't be here for another couple of hours. What am I supposed to do in the time being?"

"We could do the homework together."

I shake my head. "I'm not a cheater."

"No, I didn't mean it like that. I literally meant doing my homework."

"I know? Me too. I can help you but I won't do it for you. Doing somebody else's homework is cheating."

"Suit yourself," he snaps and shuts his door.

Now that I'm alone, I put the flowers on Link's nightstand and sit down on his bed. I don't have a phone, I don't even have a book on me. How am I going to kill time?

Maybe the flowers will look better on the desk. I pick them up and walk over to the desk covered in dozens of letters. I wonder who sent them. The handwriting is different on each letter. It's none of my business, I tell myself as I pick up one of the envelopes. Heart stickers as seal? This is fan mail!

Hylia, these people are insane; marriage proposals, love letters, death threats... I put the letters down and take a seat in his gaming chair. I'm so bored. I would love to research what I can do to his body, I mean, how I can treat his wounds and sports injuries, but I don't have my phone, and my laptop is in my car. I could use Link's PC. Would he mind? I don't want to intrude. It's probably password protected anyways.

I spin around in his chair, counting how many items litter the floor. Maybe I could clean his mess. No, that'd be creepy.

I look at the pictures he has on his wall. There is one polaroid of him as a kid. The girl next to him with two braids of burgundy hair must be Mipha. They have a long history, it's almost impossible to believe that they haven't had some kind of relationship in the past.

I'm so curious, I'd love to just ask them if they've ever gotten close like that but precisely because of their past, it would be impolite to ask at all.

A knock at the door pulls me out of my thoughts but it's not Link's door that's being knocked at, it's Revali's.

"Go away," Revali growls from his room.

"It's me," I hear Mipha's voice as she gently knocks at Revali's door again. Am I imagining things? I get up and place my ear against the door. Revali's door unlocks and a second of silence passes before he speaks.

"Mipha, what are you doing here?" he asks her.

"Oh, Revali. Your roommate said the second door would be Link's."

"You came for him?" he asks, disappointed.

"Well, um... I saw the live stream. I worried, so I came to drop this off."

"He's not home."

I crouch down to look through the keyhole. I can't see what she's carrying but I see her walking toward Link's room and instantly jump away from the door. Shoot! She can't come in here!

The doorknob twists open and I freeze in the center of the room. It's like my body is fighting itself; my legs want to find a hiding place but my arms want to pick up some object for a pretend activity that could explain why I'm in Link's room. My heart stops when the door opens by a couple of inches and the light from the hallway falls into the dark room.

"What are you doing?" Revali asks, his voice much clearer now.

She stops and almost closes the door again. "I was just going to put this in Link's room."

"He doesn't like it when people go in his room," Revali says, trying to save me from an embarrassing encounter.

"I know. That's why I've never been here before. But I thought, since he's gone, I'll just place this on his desk and leave."

I look at the flowers on his desk and cringe. When the gap between door and doorframe grows again I rush over to the closet.

"Just leave it with me. I'll be sure to give it to him when he gets home," Revali blurts, keeping Mipha from entering the room.

"Oh, okay," she gives in and closes the door, not even peeking inside Link's room.

Phew, that was so close! I can't believe I was going to hide in the closet. Awkwardly standing in the middle of Link's room, I place my cool hand on my forehead and take a few deep breaths.

Only a minute later and without a warning, the door flies open! Tossing the flowers out of the window is my first impulse.

"Revali!" I curse when he laughs at me. "You almost gave me a heart attack!"

"I'll try harder next time," he jokes. "Did you just throw the flowers through the window?"

"N-no," I lie. "Where's Mipha?"

"She left," he says and I sigh in relief. For a second I thought it was her bursting through that door. I should have known better. She would never do that knowing that Link doesn't want people in his room. She's not me.

"Catch," he says after tossing some stuff at me. Everything drops to the floor and I am the one who has to pick it up. "I said catch."

"I'm not athletic," I defend myself as I pick up the ointment and some kind of Japanese medicinal herbs.

"You don't have to be athletic to catch something from six feet away."

"You catch then!" I say and throw the ointment at him. Of course he catches it effortlessly and gives me a childish smirk.

"Thank you for preventing Mipha from entering the room. That would have been awkward."

"Don't know what you're talking about," he looks away, too proud to admit that he helped me. "When I took her back to her car, I actually... I asked her out. On a date. Properly this time."

"And? What did she say?" I want to know.

"She said yes," Revali blushes.

"Wow, Revali, that's... I'm happy for you."

"Thanks... I know she's into Link. It sucks. But, I don't know, there's nothing I can really do about that. I'm not going to push anything, but who knows, maybe it'll be nice."

"It will be. Don't worry. Just be yourself. Actually, be a little nicer."

"Har-har," he rolls his eyes. "I should get back to my homework. Don't bother me if you need anything."

"Noted."

Revali leaves the room and boredom returns faster than I had hoped. I look out of the window. Those flowers are gone. Might be for the best. I don't want to suffocate Link, we're not even a couple yet. It's hard to hold back though. He deserves every flower on this planet. Not the endangered ones of course.

...Time's passing so slowly. I find myself in front of the mirror, checking my hair and mascara for the tenth time since Revali left. The lighting is terrible, since there's none, but I think I look okay. I kind of like this sweatshirt on me even though it has the university's logo on it.

I pull my hair up in a ponytail. I don't often wear my hair up because my scalp always hurts at the end of the day but I wonder if Link would like this hairstyle on me. I grab his volleyball and pose in the mirror. With this outfit, hairstyle, and ball I look like an athlete! I like it. I bet Link would too.

I notice a dark spot on my neck and move closer to the mirror. What is that? A stain? But from what. I want to remove it with my sleeve but when I touch it it hurts like hell! Is that a bruise? What on Earth...

Wait, is that...

No...

Please no!

A hickey?