I look out the large windows, it's already pitch black out. I wonder if the pizza guy got lost or if he doesn't know how to use the speaker at the front gate. Maybe the security guard sent him away thinking it was some prank.

"What time is it?" I ask Link, wondering if it's still my birthday.

"Past your curfew," he says cheeky and shows me his lock screen but instead of reading the time I look at the picture of us tangled up in the volleyball net.

"You have to change that wallpaper. As in right now," I tell him embarrassed. Somebody will see it sooner or later. Better turn it into never.

"Make me."

"Oh, are we going to have a problem?" I hold up both fists and take a slow swing at him.

"Oh no, I'm scared," the most genuine laugh falls from his lips and the butterflies in my stomach go crazy. He leans back on the sofa, away from me, and grabs a pillow to shield his body.

"Change it," I demand, tossing the pillow to the floor. He shakes his head and holds his phone up high as bait. I crawl closer and reach for it but he moves his hand even higher.

"Give me," I stretch my arm to grab it, lose my balance, and drop onto his torso.

Both our hands are clutching the phone and neither one is letting go first. I don't care that we're both beginning to blush, I'm not moving off of him until he hands me the phone or deletes that photo of us. But he just keeps grinning at me like a little brat.

He's so different when he's alone with me. I doubt anyone else has ever seen him this silly and carefree. I love that I can make him feel so untroubled. And I love that he does the same to me.

"Quick time out," he breathes. "Why are you wearing an engagement ring?"

"I am to be wed to the most suitable prince," I say with a thick British accent and let out a short laugh. "Now change your wallpaper!"

"I don't think I will."

"Change it!" I tuck at the phone.

"Tell me about the ring and maybe I will change my wallpaper."

"You're so nosy."

"And you are bossy."

"It was a gift from Urbosa."

"Huh."

"Now change it!"

"Okay, okay, don't hurt me please," he finally agrees with a smirk, "Just let go and I'll change it."

"Yeah right. I'm not that gullible."

"I promise, I'll change it."

"Hm," I peer at him. "No tricks."

I let go slowly. Link opens the front camera and takes a very quick and candid selfie of us. It's a little blurry but you can easily make out the image.

"There, this will be my new wallpaper," he laughs.

"You must feel so clever right now," I glare at him and try to snatch the phone but he tucks it between the sofa and his back where I definitely can't reach it. This photo is even worse than the last; it's at my home, with me lying on top of him, intentionally this time.

"Are you ticklish?" I poke his sides but he doesn't flinch.

"No, but I take it you are," his hands reach for my waist and I cheep.

He squeezes, sending electricity through my bones, and laughs as I try to wiggle off of him. We end up crashing onto the carpet and burst into more laughter. He's on top now, holding himself up just slightly above my chest to give me enough room to breathe, but not enough that I could move.

I see his mischievous grin, he wants to tickle me again but before his hands can move to my waist I steal his focus with a kiss. I didn't even think about it, suddenly my lips are pressed against his. This is the first time we kissed in weeks, but I don't think he minds; he is kissing me back without hesitation. How do we always end up like this? Friends don't do this. So what are we if we aren't friends?

I pat my hand along the cushion and search the sofa with my touch. Too focused on kissing me, Link doesn't notice me grabbing his phone. I roll him over, winning the upper hand again. He's a bit startled when I sit on top of him. I wave his phone in front of him with a wicked smile and swiftly get up to run away with it.

He jumps up and chases me around the sofa and coffee table. I try deleting the photo while circling the furniture.

"You can't get away, I do parkour," he says and hurdles over the sofa that separates us. I let out a short high pitched scream as I dodge him just by inches. We run out onto the patio. Link follows and chases me around the flowerbeds until we both stop on opposite sides of the illuminated pool.

"You will slip and fall and then my phone will get wet," he makes a fair argument.

"So stop chasing me then."

"Stop running away."

"Stop taking pictures of us."

"Stop trying to delete the only pictures I have of us."

"Stop making them your wallpaper."

"No," he ends the debate and sprints at me again.

I stay put, I almost got it; the phone is asking me if I'm sure I want to delete the photo. My finger darts to the screen to hit the red delete button but Link tackles me and even though I turn away, he wraps his arms around me from behind, digging for the phone in my secure grip. While we wrestle at the pool edge, struggling to keep our balance, he manages to remove the phone from my hands.

He's trying to push me into the pool but I am holding on to his arms.

"Hold your breath," he taunts, still struggling to shake me off.

"You jump, I jump, Jack," my grip is slipping but if I go down, so will he.

"When did you become so strong!" he jiggles his arm.

"Since you started giving me private self defense lessons!"

With too much fun and too little caution, we both plunge into the pool, fully dressed. I gasp for air, checking the bottom of the pool for Link's phone.

"I tossed it onto the lounger before we jumped," he giggles, seeing me scan the pool floor.

"We didn't jump, we fell," I pant.

"You fell, I jumped."

"Whatever," I roll my eyes at him.

"Did you delete it?" he asks out of breath.

"No. You're lucky."

"I would have just taken another one," he smirks and pulls me in for a kiss.

"Maniac," I say in a mere whisper and kiss him back.

Trapped between the pool wall and Link, I cherish this quiet moment with him. His pupils are dilated so much that only a slim ring of the bright blue remains. I watch as his eyes leave mine and wander down to my lips but they don't settle there. He looks at my nose, then my flushed cheeks while biting his bottom lip to hold back a smile.

"I like your eyes," he says quietly, looking back at them. "They are my favorite color."

"And yours are mine," I return with bated breath.

He leans his forehead against mine and kisses me tenderly, embracing my lips between his. I wrap my thighs around his waist to pull him closer and his body obliges, pushing me against the tiled wall behind me. Usually I would overthink this but my mind is silent and I can hardly catch my breath.

Our hoodies are slightly flying up underwater and I can feel his stomach against mine without a barrier between them. Link cups my flaming cheeks, working his kiss from tender to passionate. I have chills on the outside but feel on fire on the inside. I push my hands up his back. Link sucks in a sharp breath from my gentle touch on his bare skin. I can feel the scars on his back and trace them lightly with my nails. His chest pressed against mine, he brings his hands to my waist and moves them up gradually. The intensity of my heartbeat overwhelms me. I want to stop and I want more at the same time.

"Mistress!" The security guard calls for me from the patio. "I heard a scream! Are you--" he stumbles over his own tongue when his eyes spot us in the pool.

Frozen, and very much still glued to Link's body, I look up at Cado with a burning face.

"Are you alright?" he finishes his question, looking beyond discomfort.

"Yes," I reply, just as uncomfortable. My eyes are ripped wide open and my chest is bouncing up and down in synchrony with Link's.

"O-okay," Cado stutters. "There, um, there's a--a kid out front, he says he's from Domino's?"

"Oh! Yes, that's for us. Er, give me one minute, I'll be right there."

I unhook my legs and climb out of the pool without looking at Link. I feel like I should be embarrassed about getting caught like that or worried that Cado will tell Father, but I am nothing but happy right now. Happy and hungry.

"Towels are in the pool house," I point at the small building. "I'll be right back, don't go anywhere."

"I'm coming with you," he decides for both of us.

"Fine, hurry, they've probably been waiting."

We wobble around the house. The delivery guy is at the front door with three square boxes balancing on his flat hand. His car is parked all the way back on the other side of the tall gates.

"Hey, sorry to keep y-- hey, don't you work at the school store?" I scan his face. Brown hair, freckles, yes, that's him. How many jobs does he have?

"I deal in pretty much anything and everything!" his grating voice boasts. "Do you want a member's card? Makes purchases cheaper in the future."

"Er, that's okay. Shoot, I forgot we need money. Cado, fetch me my check book, will you?"

"I also buy all sorts of things if you're ever in need of money," the guy informs us merrily.

"That won't be necessary. Cado?"

"I'm not the butler."

"There's nobody else," I argue.

"I'm not supposed to leave my post unless there is an emergency."

"Please, I don't want to get the floor wet." He doesn't budge. "It's my birthday," I draw a puppy face.

With a sigh, he agrees and disappears for a minute while the freckles boy tells us all about his bug collection. When Cado returns I write a check for $200 and hand it to the skinny boy.

"This is for you," I look at his name tag, "Beedle."

"Yah-yah!" he squeals with excitement.

"That's for keeping this a secret, alright? You were never here and didn't see us together." I point at myself and Link. I'm bribing a delivery guy. I'm turning into Impa.

"Understood!" He turns around and starts walking away, his eyes chained to the small piece of paper in his hand.

"Hungry?" I ask the boys with a smile.

"Yes, but there is one problem," Link says.

"What is it?"

"The guy is leaving with your pizza," Cado notes.

"Oh crap," I giggle and run after Beedle to remind him that he is still carrying our food.

---

"I'm so full!" I pick up the last piece but drop it back into the box. I can't believe I almost ate the entire pizza.

"Don't tell anyone you like pineapple on pizza, it's a sin," Link says, grabbing the piece I just tossed to finish it for me.

"The movie was great," I say when the credits roll. "Watching a sports documentary was a good compromise."

"Mhm," he agrees.

Before the movie, I changed into dry clothes but Link didn't have that option so I made him sit on a large towel and hung his hoodie up to dry. Father would kill me if we got the chairs in his home theater wet, let alone drop grease on them. Link's gym shorts and t-shirt look like they're almost dry. I touch his stomach to feel the fabric.

"It's dry now," I confirm.

"I thought you were checking if I'm pregnant," he laughs.

Now that he is only wearing a t-shirt, his bandage is visible. I've been waiting for him to bring it up and explain what happened, and throughout the whole movie I thought about ways to ask him about it. If it really was Ganon's doing then we should report it to the police.

"Link," I mutter. He turns his head to look at me. "What happened to your arm?"

"It's nothing."

"It was Ganon, wasn't it?" He doesn't reply. "I ran into him after the football game Saturday."

"What?" He sits up like a watchdog.

"He showed me the knife."

"Zelda, if he touched you!" Link examines every inch of my face, my arms, and my legs to find any trace of a bruise or cut.

"He didn't hurt me. But it was your blood on that balde, wasn't it?"

Link falls back into his seat. "Mhm," he nods. "We got into a fight. I didn't know he had a knife."

"I think you should tell someone..."

"I can't."

"Why not? You won't get in trouble for this, it was self defense, right? You have the evidence," I point at his arm.

"It wasn't self defense," he says bitterly. "Ganon doesn't usually hit first."

"What are you saying?"

"I hit him first," he answers, picking at a loose string on his shorts.

"Why?"

"He was saying shit to me."

"Link," I shake my head in surprise.

"It's what he does. He gets on your nerves until you assault him first. That way he always gets away with self defense. And his dad makes sure of it. Trust me, Ganon has been arrested in the past but his charges always get dropped and somebody else pays the price."

"Sounds corrupted."

"It is. His family has a lot of money. A lot. Probably as much as you guys... but nobody really knows where it's coming from."

"Ganondorf is a criminal, and so is his son."

"Yes. Stay away from them. All of them. Their entire school."

"I'm trying... So should you." I hate having to scold him but I feel the intense need to protect him. "Next time, just don't hit him. If he hits you, you have the right to report him."

When he doesn't reply I feel the need to change the topic. I don't want to ruin Link's mood by bringing up his demons. I'm just worried that Ganon will leave more than just a cut next time.

"I'm glad you came over today," I place my hand on his arm but he pulls away. My heart stings for just a second until he realizes that we aren't in a classroom.

"Sorry," he mumbles and puts his arm around my shoulders to draw my head to his chest.

"It's fine, it happens to me too sometimes. It's strange not having to hide. But there is no one here, we can just be us." I close my eyes and listen to his heartbeat.

"So is your dad gone often?" I can feel his lips shaping into a subtle smirk against my hair.

"He leaves a couple times per month for business."

"That's a lot. Aren't you sad?"

"He used to be gone more days than he would be home. Asia, Europe, he'd be gone for weeks on end. Especially when Mother passed. He didn't like being home. He'd be gone for months."

"He just left you here?"

"Yes. I'd have nannies and often stay with Urbosa. Until she yelled at Father one day. I'm not sure what she said to him exactly but he decided to stick around more. So technically I get to see him more than I used to."

"Where is he this time?"

"He's in Mammoth Lakes, meeting his real estate agents for a property he is looking to sell."

Resentment taints my heart. I really don't want Father to sell our lodge but he doesn't seem to care about my attachment to it.

"Couldn't have done it literally any other day of the week?" Link says, driving his fingertips over my arm.

"Isn't it good that he's gone tonight? That way we got to spend time together."

"Yeah but it's your birthday... He should have been here."

"Birthdays don't matter to Father," I explain. "It is not an accomplishment, therefore it's nothing to be rewarded or celebrated."

"You don't receive gifts?"

"Gifts?" I chuckle and gesture at the enormous movie screen in front of us. "Take a look around. Others have to wait for birthdays and Christmas to receive what they desire, I pick any of my fourteen credit cards and make the purchase. Any day of the year. I have everything I need."

"But there's something good about waiting for something. When you have to be patient or save up for it, it will have more meaning when you finally get it. You will treat it differently and not take it for granted. For the Japanese Valentine's Day, the girl gives the boy a special chocolate, it's called Honmei choco. Then, one month later on White Day, the boy has to give something back to the girl."

"That's interesting." I almost ask him if he has ever received Honmei choco but I know he has.

"Next year I'll throw you a birthday party," he interrupts my unreasonable jealousy.

"You?" I chortle. "You hate parties."

"Yeah but I don't hate you."

"That is the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me," I joke and kiss his cheek. "I don't hate you too."

He's doing it again; talking about our future. My next birthday is a year away and he makes it sound so casual. But even if he threw me a party, we wouldn't be able to talk to each other publicly. We will never be able to be like that for as long as I am bound by Father's rules.

I am so torn... I want to be more than friends. With every day that passes between us, with each time we get closer and with each minute that we can't be together I feel less and less torn. It scares me but it also excites me.

(I'm double uploading today! So be sure to check back later when I upload the next chapter :)
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(Someone also drew Link's new wallpaper, the artwork can be found on my Instagram @nebulace on the story highlight "fanart")