As Revali and I walk to the superpipe, my mind keeps spinning and spinning until I feel nauseous. My best friend developed feelings for me... What? I still don't fully understand how Impa feels but I know that I don't want it to change anything about our friendship. I love her so much and don't ever want to lose her. She knows that. That's probably why she didn't tell me.

Revali hasn't said a single word to me. Awkwardly I try to start a conversation by mentioning how cold it is. No reaction... He's not even looking at me.

No small talk then. "I didn't know you were in the basement," I start, still no reaction. "I didn't even hear most of it. When I realized what you guys were talking about I left."

The only sound between my nervous breath is the crunching of snow beneath our boots. Not even a scoff from Revali...

"I'm sorry," I say honestly.

Nothing.

"Would you say something please? You weren't exactly a saint either," I remind him.

"Let's just forget about it," he sighs. "All of it."

I nod in agreement. "If that's what you want."

We pass through the town. All the lights are lit and the snow is falling so graciously, covering the trees and buildings with a soft white blanket. But somehow all the beauty around us doesn't touch my heart. 

"Revali, are you okay?" I ask carefully.

"What did we just agree on?" he snarls.

"I won't speak of it again. I just need to know that you are okay."

"I'm fine. Really. So just drop it."

"I just want you to know that you can always talk to me..."

"Are you my therapist?"

"No, I'm your friend."

I catch his eyes taking a glimpse at me but his lips remain sealed. No more words are exchanged between us until we reach the event. A good amount of people have gathered at the bottom of the superpipe. We join the crowd and search for Mipha. She is at the front, right by the steel barriers. We join her with a short "hey".

I'm prepared for an awkward two hours, but less than a minute later, Mipha starts to talk to us about this year's competing snowboarders. I'm surprised when Revali joins in on the conversation here and then, mostly to bad-mouth the riders.

"Australia, Japan, and Norway have become massive victors in superpipe riding," I catch the speakers say. "The US has fallen a little behind after dominating for so many years. This year we'll see if they can get their sweet gold back."

The competition has only now started and I already feel like I'm turning into a snowman. My teeth are chattering and my toes are curled up in my boots. I hope Impa is wearing my other boots, should she still be outside. Ideally she's sitting by the fire right now. I should call her.... No, I have to give her space. I wonder if I could have handled that situation better...

Sidon is the first to go. His jumps are high and just watching him spin makes me dizzy. I have never heard Mipha cheering so loudly. She is wearing a smile too big for her small head and her eyes are sparkling. She is in an awfully happy mood considering what happened only an hour ago.

I look over at Revali. He's not shooting deadly glares at anyone either, which is a good sign. He wasn't wrong when he said he could handle rejection. Sidon's score gets displayed on a large screen and when he passes us, he gives all of us a high five.

"There are three rounds," Mipha explains. "Usually your best round determines your final score, but this year they judge you by your overall performance. This creates a greater challenger for the riders because they can't perform the same trick twice and if they make a mistake it can really hurt their score."

"Oh my... Let's hope no one falls," I say just as someone falls. He missed his landing but quickly gets back up and continues with a disappointed expression. This man was not the only one to fall; the next guy messes up his second jump and loses every spark of passion as he finishes his round.

Link's turn... My heart exhilarates and my eyes are tied to him. He takes a moment for himself to take in the pipe, then he leans forward to guide his snowboard down the pipe. His first jump isn't anything too crazy, neither is his second. His fans are still cheering every time his velocity hits zero. He seems to be holding back and finishes his first round without anything I haven't seen in the previous rounds.

"Is he not trying?" I ask Mipha.

"He is not after a medal. He only came to be part of the event. No need to risk injuring his leg."

"What a relief," I sigh. If he only came to have fun and do his fans a favor, he won't sacrifice his health for another medal in a shoebox.

A few contestants later, the snowboarder with the lowest score initiates the second round. Sidon is currently in second place. In the first round he aced every jump. To be fair, his jumps aren't as daring as some of the other snowboarders but as long as he impresses the judges, his score will assure him a spot on the podium.

Russ is competing too; he already messed up twice in his first round. I doubt he will get close to third place. He is standing next to Link, preparing for his second go. Before he leaves the top, he gives Link a fist bump. I've seen some of the guys do that right before or after their round, but to see it from Link and Russ is a very pleasant surprise. I suppose Russ isn't the resentful type. He doesn't fall this time, but his average score remains low and he stays in fifth place.

Link is in third, waiting for the guy after Russ to finish his round. The speakers are talking about Link. Instead of criticizing his rather weak performance, they mention his injury and explain that it is courageous to return so soon after a knee surgery.

Link starts, time stops. I hold my breath as his jumps make the moderators gasp.

"Front side 1260, this is the Link we know!" the speaker notes impressed. "What? Cap 12?" They whoop and the crowd gets louder with every jump. He's performing flips this time and I can't wait to take a breath once he's back down here in one piece. His last landing looked off balance but he didn't fall.

"It makes me nervous to watch him," Mipha says under her breath. "But I am so proud of him."

"Same," I nod, my eyes still on Link. He's done with his second round and makes his way back up the hill.

"I'm sorry that I left without you. I wanted to talk to Link before the competition," she tells me. I feel my heart sinking. Did she... confess? The way she is revealing this information so bashfully leaves me guessing how that conversation might have gone.

"Must have been really important," I say as casually as I can. Maybe she will reveal more information.

"You could say that," she looks up at me with bright eyes.

"Is everything okay though? What did you guys talk about? You don't have to tell me of course--"

"I will tell you at the lodge," she subtly glances at Revali, then looks back at me. She doesn't want to tell me in front of him... Understandable.

"Look, he's in second place now. He might win a medal after all," she says, changing the topic.

A short break gives the riders time to prepare between each round. Motionlessly standing in freezing temperatures at night for an hour is almost a sport in itself. Every body part is shivering and little clouds of condensed breath appear each time I breathe out. I'm ready to go back to the lodge, sit by the fireplace with Link, and drink hot chocolate with him.

Despite the awkwardness between Mipha and Revali and the uncertainty I feel toward Impa, I have faith that tonight will be memorable and wholesome. Maybe a Christmas miracle will bring us all closer together the way I imagined in my head. We can all wear ugly sweaters, take a Christmas photo, maybe build a snowman?

The third round starts. Russ moves up to fourth place with an incredible last performance. One more rider takes his shot before it's Sidon's turn again. He doesn't mess up but repeats one of his earlier tricks and gains a low score. Sidon then shows us something that is called a Switchback 10 into the backside, followed by the same thing but into the front side, whatever that means. The crowd is impressed, that's all I know.

Now it's up to Link and the guy in first place to determine the medalists. Sidon will be up there, that's for certain.

"It's Link's turn, do you think he'll earn a medal?" I ask Revali and turn my head toward him only to find out that he's not even standing next to me anymore. Where did he go? When did he leave? Why did he leave?

"He could get in first," Mipha answers my question with a hopeful smile.

"If it was up to you, whom would you give gold to?" I ask her.

"Hm..."

"Never mind. That question was unfair."

"Both Sidon and Link are very good," she says and I agree.

Link is gaining speed now and kindles a wave of awe among the audience when he executes an extraordinary first jump. His next jump, one that could give me a literal heart attack if he missed it, earns him his highest score yet. I can't even count how many flips and rotations he manages to squeeze into a single jump. He reaches heights that make my knees tingle.

I sense hesitation in his next jump, and as he flips his body in the air, something seems slightly off. His elbow hits the edge of the deck by only an inch, complicating his landing. He miscalculated! His back hits the ground before his board does and the impact knocks the back of his head against the icy surface.

"Link!" Mipha gasps. His torso rises for an attempt at sitting up but falls back down. He tries again, but as if gravity was too heavy, he leans back down to rest on the cold ground. He shakes his head, that's when I climb over the barrier before my mind can catch up and run toward him to kneel by his side. Why isn't he getting up?

"Link," I call his name breathlessly. He is having trouble taking off his helmet. I help him unclip it and pull the helmet off. His eyes are open.

"Are you okay? Please tell me you're okay!" I brush his hair out of his forehead.

"Sorry, who are you?" He gives me a confused look.

My pulse... It stopped.

My lips part but my voice has perished. Every part of my body is frozen, I can't even blink as I stare at him in fright.

"Bad joke?" He gives me a nervous smile.

"Link!" I gasp and swat his chest. "You made my heart stop! Don't joke about that!"

He sits up halfway, supporting his weight with his arms, and tilts his head. "I'm an ass..."

"Don't die before I give you your Christmas gift," I scold him, trying to calm myself down.

"You have a gift for me?" He pulls a puppy face.

"Of course... And I think you're going to like it. So stay alive until then please."

"I already know what it is."

"How?" There is no way he knows.

He shrugs. "It's a shower for two."

"How did you know?" I gasp.

"What? I didn't. That can't be it," he looks skeptical. When I don't reply, he shakes his head guilt-ridden. "Zelda... No... I..." His palm placed against his forehead, he is at a loss of words and aims his eyes away to the crowd. I almost laugh out loud. He's acting as if he did something wrong--I expected a totally different reaction.

"Bad joke?" I smirk at him.

His penitent expression doesn't disappear straight away and when a group of men and medical staff arrive at the scene to help him up he is too distracted to say anything in return. The men check his head and eyes to make sure that he doesn't have a concussion. They take off his snowboard and help him out of the landing zone.

I walk back to the audience, only now realizing that I stormed toward Link in the middle of an event with a live broadcast and dozens of cameras. At least Mipha was here to witness that it was just a moment of shock and nothing any platonic friend wouldn't have done. If she really did confess her feelings, I'm assuming Link didn't tell her about us. I don't know if that relieves or annoys me. I want to get it over with but I'm scared that it could ruin the trip.

"How is he?" Mipha asks worried as I take my place next to her.

"He's okay, I think."

"Thank goodness... Thank you for helping him with the helmet. I couldn't move when he fell..."

"I know the feeling."

"Here," Revali's voice makes us turn around. He's back, holding out two steaming cups. He studies our faces and slightly raises his brow. "Did something happen?"

"Link fell," I bring him up to speed.

"Shit. He okay?"

"Okay enough to joke about death," I roll my eyes.

"Here, take the damn tea," he pushes the cups into Mipha and my hands.

"Thank you," she smiles up at him and even gets half a smile back.

"Where did you get this?" I ask him.

"A stand back there is selling them. You kept complaining about the cold, so... Yeah."

"Thank you," I give him a smile too.

After the last rider finishes his round, results are made official. Sidon made it to second place and Link moved to third. I don't recognize the name of the one who made it to first place but his performance deserves gold and Sidon and Link both seem happy with the results. They are awarded their medals and take a group photo on the podium. Meanwhile, Mipha and I drink our tea and continuously bring up how cold it is just to tease Revali.

Link and Sidon are finally ready to leave after another thirty minutes. We walk back to the cabin, congratulating them on the way.

"Earlier, Zelda asked me whom I would give the gold medal to; Sidon or Link. Now I have the answer: Neither," Mipha giggles.

"I guess you're right," I laugh. They may not have made it to first place, but they still received medals, which is a big honor too.

Link and Sidon walk in through the basement door on the back of the house to put their snowboards away while the rest of us walk in through the front door. The first thing I do is check the living room and terrace. No Impa.

Having removed coat, scarf, and gloves, Mipha heads toward the kitchen to prepare to cook dinner. I follow her while Revali heads for the stairs. I call his name to get his attention and he stops to look at me.

"Can you do me a--"

"Zelda," he growls.

"A tiny favor."

"What now?"

"Check if Impa is in the bedroom?"

His eyes soften and he nods, then he walks upstairs. He can be empathetic when he needs to be.

"Zelda? Do you know where the pots are?" Mipha draws my eyes back to the kitchen.

"They're in this cabinet," I say and grab the pot for her.

"Ah, perfect! Thank you!"

"Hey, I'm not a great cook, but is there something I can help you with? At least until Link gets here."

"Sure!" She chirps and turners red just by the mention of his name. "Grab the eggs from the fridge, please."

"That I can do."

"Are you celebrating Christmas on the 24th or the 25th?"

"I don't really celebrate Christmas at all. But Impa and I always exchange gifts on the 25th."

"I see. Tonight, well... I crafted something special to give to Link," she reveals shyly. "As a token."

"A token of... love?"

She nods faintly and speaks in a mere whisper, her smile suppressed by rose-colored cheeks. "I long to tell you about earlier... when I left to talk to Link. But I don't know how much time we have before he's back."

"I don't think Revali is coming back down."

"No, Link. Actually, Revai too. In a way, he is the reason I left early. He opened my eyes today... I finally jumped over my shadow and decided to talk to Link about us, because I needed to know how he feels about us..."

I can't believe I was right. She really did confess her love... All because Revali was brave enough to ask her out despite his doubts.

"What did he say?" I ask slowly.

"He didn't say anything. He couldn't have. When I finally found him and bid for a moment of his time, I suddenly forgot all the words I meant to say to him. All I could say was how proud I was of him."

I see now. Like me, she was unable to say the things she so desperately wanted to share with him. I grab the eggs from the fridge and try to read her face. It's a deep crimson, other than that I am left guessing again. I can't pinpoint her emotion. She seems nervous, uncertain really.

"Even if you didn't say everything you wanted to say, it's a good start," I assure her. Maybe Link will pick up on the hints without her having to spell it out for him. If her love becomes tacit, Link will finally see the importance of talking to her. "How did he react?"

"He returned a most genuine smile. Still, I needed to declare my feelings unequivocally. When words failed me, I nearly lost the courage to give my heart to him at all." Her voice is far from despair. She sounds more and more elated... "I thought my love was doomed to stay hidden forever, but then we kissed!"

Twelve eggs hit the ground.

Revali's POV

Impa is passed out on the bed, cradling an empty bottle of wine. She's obnoxious when she's drunk but at least it knocks her out for a couple of hours. I swear, the whole mountain is quieter when she's asleep.

I shut the door and walk to my room to take off all this shit. I hate wearing beanies, it messes up my hair. There's a reason I moved to southern California. But the worst part about the cold is that arrows don't fly straight in the wind.

I fix my hair in the mirror and notice Mipha's gift is still lying on the dresser. Goddamnit. I wanted to punch a wall when she told me she likes Link. I knew it was coming, still hurt like a bitch. I pick up the necklace and open the window to throw it out. As soon as it drops in the snow, I want to jump right after it. I can't give that necklace to her now, but... shit, maybe some other time?

... I'm pathetic.

I sneak outside and find the spot where the snow has a tiny hole in it. It's snowing pretty heavily now. If I had waited more than a minute, I would have never found it. I dig up the necklace and push it into my pocket. I don't want to look at that thing all week but throwing it out the window was a bit too pubescent-girl. What's next? A crazy haircut that I'll obviously regret five minutes later just because I got turned down? I'm not a 12 year old fangirl.

Mipha likes Link for now but he's obsessed with Zelda and at some point Mipha will have to let him go. I was so close to just telling her about Link's secret flame but after what went down with Impa I'm really glad I kept my mouth shut.

As I reach the front door, I hear a weird noise coming from inside. Something just broke. I hope it was expensive. If I had to blindly blame someone, it'd be Impa. I'd put my money on her if I didn't know that she was asleep right now. Shit, I almost forgot to tell Her Highness that Impa is in need of a bucket or bowl of some kind. Anything to prevent what happened last time from happening again. Although this time it'll be Zelda's sheets that'll get ruined.

I open the door and of course Mipha's voice has to be the first thing I hear.

"Oh no, let me grab some paper towels," she says. I don't really care what they did but I kinda wanna see the mess they made.

I think I hear Zelda excuse herself. When I take a step inside and look around the corner, I spot Mipha cleaning something up from the kitchen floor. Zelda collides with me as she bolts toward the door. I grab ahold of the door frame to hold both of us up and glare at her. She never pays attention to where she's going. I'm 6"3' for crying out loud, how do people manage to walk into me?

"Sorry," she mumbles. She sounds sick.

"Impa's in your room," I start but then she looks up at me with bloodshot eyes. The hell? She covers her mouth before tears start streaming down her face. She's shaking, what the hell happened here? I was only gone for a minute or so.

"What happened?" I ask but she just keeps her hand pressed against her mouth and cries even more now. Why isn't she answering me? "Tell me what happened," I demand.

She's freaking me out, she can't even catch her breath! I look at Mipha for answers but she is distracted cleaning the floor. I don't think she has a clue that Zelda's having a goddamn panic attack over here.

She's clinging to my tank top, stretching out the fabric. I think she's trying to get outside but I'm not sure--she's just leaning against me at this point. Actually, I think she is pushing against me, in a very weak way. Yea, she's definitely trying to get outside.

"Where are you going?" I want to know. Usually I couldn't care less but it's a freaking blizzard out there and she's not even wearing a jacket.

The door to the basement opens on the other side of the vast room. Big Brother and Big Bother join the shitshow. Link's eyes find us first. I couldn't give him a more demanding look to detach his blubbering better half from me but his eyes immediately dart to Mipha. Something's off. Why's he looking at Mipha when Zelda's literally drenching my shirt with her tears?

Sidon is the first to finally say something-- "Zelda?" --even if it's not very helpful.

When Zelda notices that Sidon and Link are here now, she panics and gets even closer to me--or further away from them? I tense my jaw and clench my fists when I look at Link. The fuck did he do to make her cry like this?

I don't know why he hesitated in the first place but he finally walks over to us to try and calm Zelda down. When his hand touches her shoulder, she flinches.

"Don't!" she sobs and jerks away. Also not very helpful in clarifying what the hell is going on here but it's enough to give me goosebumps. She sounds broken. Link tries for her hand this time but she hides behind me. Literally hides behind me...

This is messed up, she won't even let him touch her. I take a few steps back with her to create some space between them. Our feet are in the snow now and more snow is falling down on us in big chunks.

"Zelda, listen," Link's hand reaches for her again but I shield her with my body. No way in hell is he putting another hand on her until I know what's going on. "Zelda--"

"You kissed her!" Zelda weeps. I'd spend more time wondering who she's talking about if Mipha didn't step into frame to catch up on the soap opera.

This can't be fucking happening.

"You kissed Mipha?" I take a step toward Link. I'll give him a chance to explain himself before I smash his face in. He's testing my goddamn patience when his eyes skip back to Mipha again.

This is fucking happening.

I thrust my fist into his guts while he's still looking at her. I'm fucking pissed but that felt amazing. I hope he feels as sick as me now. I take another swing at him. He dodges and tries to punch me back. Is he fucking insane! Zelda is standing right behind me, he could have hit her!

I grab him by the collar of his hoodie and throw him to the ground. I'm on top of him as soon as his back hits the ground. I can feel his teeth through his cheek when my fist connects with his jaw. I don't even care about the pain when he hits me back, I just want to strike as many punches as possible.

Zelda's POV

Every punch to Link's gut is a punch to my heart. Mipha is begging them to stop but she doesn't dare step any closer and I don't think they will hear her from back there.

Link hits Revali with such force that his hold on him slips. Link moves on top quicker than I can process and beats on him unrestrainedly.

"Sidon!" Mipha pleads for him to step between the two. But Sidon is not a fighter... His interference has no effect on Link and Revali. The more he tries, the more gasoline he adds to the fire. Sidon will only get hurt if he joins the fight.

Revali kicks Link off but can't get up quickly enough to get the upper hand. Link is back on top to strike more punches. I'm in a state of utter shock and I don't know how to get out of it. I want them to stop but I feel invisible; physically absent really.

"Bastard!" Revali hurls at Link and thrusts his hands against his chest to push him back. As soon as Revali gets up and tries to kick Link's ribs, Link uses his martial arts skills to take Revali down again. He reacts at warp speed and doesn't stay down for more than a blink of the eye before he pins down both Link's wrists.

"You're a shitty person and everyone has too high an opinion of you!" Revali shouts, his knees digging into Link's shoulders. "Have you got nothing to say for yourself? Or them? Are you enjoying the looks on their faces?"

Link's eyes take a brief look at me, then at Mipha. I don't hide the shock on my face. I couldn't, even if I tried. Link's nose is gushing blood and the skin around Revali's eye is turning purple.

"Speak, or I'll snap your leg in two," Revali threatens, positioning his foot on Link's injured knee.

"Break my leg and I'll take your arm off," Link says through his teeth. I don't even recognize him... I know they weren't very fond of each other to begin with but I never believed a fight this serious could play out between the two. Drops of blood are scattered across the white surface and career-ending threats are exchanged between two brothers.

"You may think you're good..." Revali's foot pushes against Link's knee, "but I'm better!"

In visible agony, Link seizes Revali's arm forcefully with both hands, prepared to cause equal damage with a clean break.

"Stop! Please!" I scream at the top of my lungs.

Neither Link nor Revali follows through with their threat. Both freeze and look at me, breathing so heavily that I fear their lungs will collapse from the tension. Revali gets up with strain and stumbles a few steps back. Link remains lying in the snow, defeated, covering his face with his hands.

"Stop fighting," I cry.

"Zelda," Link's voice breaks. Does he have nothing to say other than my name?

"You kissed her," I say in less than a fractured whisper. To say it out loud hurts even more this time. I was still in shock when I said it the first time, but this time it feels real and it's killing me.

"I kissed him," Mipha suddenly says from behind me. "I didn't know you two were..." her breaths are fleeting and her voice is quivering. "I'm so sorry, Zelda! I'm sorry, Link... And Revali! I'm so sorry."

I don't turn to face her. I'm waiting for Link to do or say something. I need to see his eyes. I need him to look at me and tell me that it's true. When he removes his hands from his eyes, I instantly turn away! I changed my mind! I can't do this right now! I fear my heart will actually stop if I stand here for another second. I push myself past Mipha and Sidon without making eye contact and hurry back inside.

I want to hide away but I don't know where. The basement door is the first door I pass so I head downstairs and end up by the indoor pool. The room is dark, the only light is coming from a faint light outside. One of the walls is fully made of glass but all I can see is pine trees, snow, and more snow. That's at least how far the light reaches. I force myself to focus on that, otherwise I might think about...

It hurts so much! I clutch my chest and drop to my knees, staring at my blurry reflection in the calm water. How did this happen? I was so sure about us... I fought so hard for us...

"I didn't want any of that to happen..." His voice sounds behind me. How did he find me so quickly? 

"You didn't want to kiss her?" I sniffle, breaking down anew.

"No..."

At least he's keeping his distance this time. I don't want him anywhere near me right now. I can't even bring myself to look at him.

"It was over before I knew it was happening," he claims.

"If you had just told her about us..."

"I'm sorry..."

"Why didn't you just tell her? You had months to talk to her but you kept stalling! I believed you when you said you forgot. But this makes more sense... You almost had me convinced... But I should have known... You get jealous when another guy tries to hit on her, you never denied the rumor of you two dating, you have pictures of her on your wall, you give her your jacket and go to her whenever you're hurt... And you tell her not to come to your games because she distracts you..."

"What are you saying?"

"I remember the expression on your face when I asked you how you'd feel if Mipha had a boyfriend. You didn't like that thought. It's undeniable. You're in--" my voice collapses and I gasp for air as my tears ripple the water... "Love--" I try to finish my sentence... "With her!"

"I'm not," Link answers, his voice shaking. "She's my friend, I care about her..."

"You say you're friends but you can hardly even look at her."

"That's not fair..."

"What's not fair is that I thought you liked me when it was so obvious that..."

It's too painful to say out loud again. Link stole my heart and now I'm bleeding out. I kept worrying that Mipha would feel betrayed... Who is the fool now...

"I do like you," he says discouraged... I don't know what he's trying to achieve here but his words only hurt me more. I get up on trembling legs and slowly turn around. Blood on his hoodie, bruises all over his face, yet the one thing that catches my eyes are the tears sitting in his eyes.

"You don't like me," I tell him. How could he? I'm so very flawed... any fool could see that his heart belongs to Mipha. "She's perfect in every way. I wish I could say it's crazy, but you and her--it makes too much sense... You deserve each other. Truly. She'll make you happy."

"Why would you say that?" His brows furrow as he tries to blink the tears away.

"Why wouldn't I? All of this only proves that what I always feared was bound to happen. Everything will be better for you. At least you actually have things in common with her," I ball my fists at my sides. "You're both athletic, grew up in Japan together, and she is caring and patient like you."

"So?" He shifts to take a step toward me but stops himself before I have to tell him to stay back.

"So you're perfect for each other," I conclude.

"What about you and Pik then?"

"Pik?" I snap, anger boiling my blood.

"You two have way more in common."

"We are nothing alike!" I am the one to take a step toward Link now. My throat is on fire and my chest is caught in a severe shiver.

"You have poetry and literature in common, you're musically gifted and really smart and good at school. Doesn't mean you want to be with him, does it?"

"No! Of course not! But we also don't have a history together! We didn't grow up together and don't know each other the way you and Mipha do!" I take another step. "And we don't kiss!"

"I didn't want to kiss her!" Link yells back in a way he has never done before. "I didn't know that she felt this way until today! I promise I didn't know! I want you, Zelda. You!"

"You don't know what you want..." I turn my head away, hoping he will leave but he is stubbornly staying. "I don't want to see you!"

"I'm not leaving until you and I..." he pauses to steady his trembling voice. "I'm happy with you and I want to be with you!"

"No... If you stay with me, one day you'll wake up in regret."

"That's not going to happen!"

"You don't know that!"

"I do! I do know that!" The back of his hand wipes the blood from his nose.

"You're fighting for the wrong person right now! Don't you see that? Go upstairs, talk to Mipha! I'm not right for you!"

"How can you think that? I don't get it! We were fine, how can this make you question the past five months? I chose you!"

"You never chose me! You literally just said you never knew that Mipha was interested in you! So there wasn't a choice to make! If you never even thought about you and Mipha as more than friends, how can you be sure it's not what you want? Now that you know about her feelings, you actually have a choice! You have to at least take the time to think about it before you end up with the wrong person!"

"You want me to think about dating Mipha?"

"You need to realize that a girl you clearly have some sort of feelings for likes you back! Someone who has been there for you your entire life and admires and adores you and will always treat you the way you deserve!"

"No, stop! Please! Stop saying these things! I don't want us to be over!"

"Link!" I silence him. "There is no us!"

"But there is!" A tear now runs down his cheek, smudging the blood on his chin. It is the most heartbreaking thing to see Link cry for the first time... "You don't want it to end either, you wouldn't be this hurt if you did..."

"This is not about what I want. Don't you get it? I'm not even part of the equation!"

"You are every part of the equation! How can I convince you that this is what I want? What else do I have to do to prove that I love you?"

Utter and most torturous silence consumes us at once.

I wish I could hit rewind. I need to replay this. I have to be sure that what I heard is what he said. Time just stopped. Just like my heaving pulse. As if my veins have turned to ice. I'm stuck. I can't breathe, I can't move. I don't feel my legs, how am I still standing?

Why do the words I have desired to hear for so long suddenly scare me to death? My eyes are incapable of leaving his gaze... How could he say that? Why now? Not like this! Not on the day he kissed Mipha! 

We have both run out of words... I don't know which emotion is dominating but I am critically shaking and the pressure of having to say something is compressing my lungs in the most painful way. I care too deeply about him, and it is because I want what's best for him, that, despite the anger and love I feel fighting for and against him, I can't just ignore what happened between him and Mipha. He is too blinded by the desperate attempt at keeping me from walking out that door that he can't see all the good he could have by being with Mipha.

Is he sacrificing something he would have loved to have for something he is scared to lose? If that's the case and I just claim him for myself, I would betray my friend and blight the future I wished for her to have. I would take something from Link that is not mine to take. It would be selfish and irrational to make that decision right now.

I don't want to act immature anymore. Being impulsive has caused too many problems already. But to end it all tonight would make me a hypocrite... So what options do we really have?

I let out a broken sigh and lower my eyes, unable to bear the look on his face as I say, "Let's both sleep on it... A lot happened tonight and you and I both need time to process it..."

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(I've never been more nervous to upload... I know most of you probably didn't like this chapter very much but I'll say it again, books are supposed to make you feel something, so I'm sorry if this chapter upset you but it was supposed to. Life is messy and we get hurt... We make mistakes, we learn from them, then we make more mistakes. That's how it is. People don't change overnight; this story is not about having power, wisdom, and courage. It's about the journey it takes to get there.

That being said I hope you had a great Thanksgiving! :) Don't forget I'll be streaming tomorrow at 2PM EST if you wanna stop by and chat for a bit.)