At noon I leave the library for some lunch. I know that there are some food places on and around campus, I just haven't been to any of them yet. I text Impa to see if she wants to grab some lunch with me since she's probably at her dorm room closeby, but as I'm walking to my car I pass a little coffee stand and end up buying a donut and croissant. It's not a proper meal, as Father would rebuke, but it will keep me energized for a couple more hours and it saves me time.

By the time I return to the library Impa still hasn't replied. At 5 PM I start getting tired and my eyes feel exhausted from all the reading I've done. I feel accomplished. I only have one class left to catch up in, and if I can get that done today I can focus tomorrow on getting ahead in some of the more challenging classes.

I leave my book bag and laptop at the desk as I walk along the endless rows of shelves to find a certain book we're discussing in my literature class. My eyes move along the authors' names when I suddenly feel the buzzing of my phone in my pocket.

*Sorry, I just woke up* Impa's message reads.

*Went to that frat party after I dropped you off and didn't get home till 7 in the morning. Still down to get some food?*

My eyes target the book I've been looking for but I text her back first.

*I already ate. We could grab dinner in two hours.*

*Two hours?* She is quick to reply. *Girl, I haven't eaten since Daruk's. Let's say twenty minutes!*

*One hour* I offer her as a compromise. I still have so much work to do and shouldn't allow myself to get distracted. Still, food is essential, especially when the brain is working so much, so I think it's okay to take a break for nutrition.

I put my phone away and grab the book from the shelf. Through the hole I can see another student on the other side of the shelf and instantly recognize her by the red ponytail and slim figure. Mipha turns around towards the shelf that separates us and I duck before she can see me. A voice behind me startles me.

"You're still here," the guy from earlier has suddenly appeared behind me, throwing me a questioning look. "Why are you crouching on the floor?"

"I was looking for this book," I say quietly, hoping that Mipha won't hear us, and grab a random book from the bottom shelf.

"Stephen King?" he says surprised and smirkes. "Didn't expect you to be a horror fanatic."

"It's for class," I lie, avoiding eye contact. I put the book under my arm with the others and stand up.

"And the other book?" he asks nosy, pointing at Pride and Prejudice.

"That one too."

"And..." he tilts his head to read the title of yet another book in my hands. "Hamlet?" he smiles.

"It's another requirement."

"Your course is making you read three books at once?"

"Well...No. We're currently reading Hamlet but Pride and Prejudice will be next so I'll try to get ahead of the syllabus."

"What about King?" he asks amused.

"That comes after," I lie, looking at my feet. Why am I explaining myself to this stranger? His grin is growing when I look back up at him. "What?" I ask annoyed.

"You're lying. Every time you lie, you look away."

"Not true," I say and catch myself looking at the shelf. He smirks and crosses his arms.

"So what were you doing on the floor?"

"Nothing."

"Why are you so scared to tell me?"

"I'm not scared."

"Then tell me."

"I was hiding," I admit and huff.

"From what?"

"Zelda?" Mipha says as she peeks her head around the corner of the shelf and my first instinct is to look around for Link. "I thought I heard your voice," she smiles.

"Hi," I say and smile nervously. I have no explanation for why I was hiding from her, but I was, and I wish I had Harry Potter's cloak of invisibility so I could continue to hide.

"We should get back to our study group," the guy says to me without even looking at Mipha.

"What?" I say as I get up.

"The others are waiting on us," he winks. "Let's get back to the study group."

"Right," I say a little confused and give Mipha another awkward smile. "Sorry, I have to go"

"Don't be sorry. I'll see you in Biology on Tuesday," she smiles lovingly and leaves.

"Thank you," I say to this gloating guy after Mipha is out of sight. I don't like lying to people, but I am glad that I don't have to face Mipha right now. After yesterday's encounter with her, Link, and Revali, I feel slightly odd talking to her.

"Why were you hiding from her? She seemed sweet."

"She is. But I just didn't feel like talking right now."

"Are you guys fighting?"

"What?" I laugh a little from the thought of Mipha and I fighting. "No, of course not. I barely know her."

I walk back to my desk and he follows. Unfortunately, trying to ignore him doesn't make him go away.

"You are cute when you're annoyed."

"I'm not annoyed," I say quite annoyed, then look at him. "Just stressed out."

"One lie, one truth," he grins in the most childish way and I roll my eyes. "Let's go out."

"What?" I choke and get hushed by the same librarian again.

"Let's go out," he repeats as if he said something as casual as 'the weather is nice'.

"No," I shake my head frantically and try to focus on my homework. He can't be serious.

"Why not?"

"Because I said no."

"No is not a reason."

"Yes, it is."

"I have a boyfriend," he says and I snap my head in his direction.

"What?"

"'I have a boyfriend' is a reason. 'No' is not a reason, so... Do you have a boyfriend?"

"No!" The librarian throws me a warning glare and I shrink in my seat.

"Then what is it? Are you not into guys?"

"No, er, yes, but..." Please make him go away.

"It can't be my looks," he smirks with a confidence that's in no way polluted by narcissism.

His statement makes me look at him. Really look at him. Only now do I notice his grey eyes, so daring and playful. He looks just a bit older, like he's in his early twenties. His pushed-back hair is silver with blue ends, he has piercings on his eyebrows and ears, and beneath his plain white t-shirt I can see a full sleeve of blue and red ink. His dimples pop as he smiles, enjoying that I'm observing his features.

"No," I half-lie. 

"No, it's not my looks?" he grins from ear to ear.

He doesn't look bad, I'd be blind not to notice how handsome he is, but I don't know if I like his choice of look. It doesn't matter anyway, I can't and don't want to think about that.

"So let me sum this up... We're both single and we're both attracted to each other. What have you got to lose?"

Oh nothing, just my career and entire future, I think to myself.

"I don't even know your name, or your major, or anything about you. I'm not going to just go out with you. Besides, this is a library, not a bar. It's not the right place to hit on girls."

"Let's go to a bar then," he says cheekily. "Kidding. And I'm not hitting on girls. Just making conversation. My name is Pik, I'm a performing arts major, and anything else you want to know I'll gladly tell you at dinner."

I take a deep breath and close my book to give him my undivided attention. I've never had to turn someone down, mainly because no one has ever shown any interest in me. Not like this, at least. I feel awful but there's no way around it.

"You seem like a really nice guy, Pik, I just can't date anyone right now. I have to focus on school."

"I asked you out, I didn't propose. But... I will accept that as a really weak reason and respect your decision."

"Thanks."

"My offer still stands; I can help you with astronomy."

"I'm already caught up with it now."

"You did two weeks' worth of work in 7 hours?" he stares at me in disbelief.

"In 2 hours, actually."

"That's impossible. Are you even human? Why are you adding astronomy so late into the semester anyways?"

"I like the stars," I lie and shrug. I don't feel the need to explain this whole double major situation to him.

"You're lying." I really have to pay attention to my eyes when I lie.

"I'm not lying," I look him straight into the eyes this time, but it doesn't convince him. Without asking, Pik reaches for my astronomy worksheets and reads through my answers. If I didn't know better, I'd assume he's trying to copy my work.

"You got a question wrong," he tells me. That's impossible.

"Which one?" I ask anxiously.

"This one," he points at one of the answers I was so confident in. After he tells me the correct answer I see where I was mistaken. While a small part of me is glad that he pointed out an error, a very large part of me is silently freaking out about the fact that I wouldn't have gotten a 100 on this paper if he didn't find my mistake. This would have led to me having to drop biology. If he hadn't checked my work without asking, I would have failed Father's terms on my first assignment. I can't breathe.

"What's wrong?" he asks as I frantically collect all my stuff and jump up to leave.

"I have to go," I manage to say with the little air left in my lungs.

"Where's the fire?"

I grab my laptop, throw my book bag over one shoulder and hurry to the exit. I don't even hear what he says next and I don't look back to see if he follows, I just need to get out of the library right now. I try to catch my breath when I step outside, but the college seems to be a void; lacking air to breathe. I can't do this. I can't... If I miss as much as a single question, Father won't allow me to major in biology. What if I made mistakes on my other assignments too? What if I misplaced a single comma on my essay and get points taken off? What if... I...

"Hey, are you alright?" Impa says, standing right in front of me. Where did she come from?

"I... I don't know," I seize my aching chest.

"What happened?" She takes my hands into hers to calm me.

"I made a mistake," I pant.

"What do you mean?" She asks worried, watching me struggle to even stand.

"I can't breathe."

"Let's go outside," I nod and she puts her hand on my back as we walk to the closest exit.

(Here's some info on who this guy is in Breath of the Wild: When speaking to Kass, he often mentions his mentor/teacher, who was the court poet for the royal family and lived at Hyrule Castle (even though he was a Sheikah). It's said that he was close to Zelda's age and fell in love with her, though he knew it'd be unrequited, because "the princess herself only had eyes for her escort, her own knight attendant". This guy was also the one who taught Kass all the ancient songs. We are never given a name, so I chose to call him Pik, inspired by the Sheikah artist Pikango, who travels around Hyrule to paints landscapes. He is suspected to be a Yiga spy, as a reference I'll have Pik be one of the few students that Professor Astor likes.)