Link answers the call with a quiet, "Hey."

"Hey Link... I'm so sorry but it's going to be later than I thought..."

"Oh?"

"I don't think we'll have time for dinner today. I'm sorry."

"Um... it's okay," he says in a disappointed tone. "Are you on your way home now?"

"Not yet. I am just about to leave the dorms."

"The dorms? You said he's at the beach."

"I'll explain tomorrow."

"Why not now?"

I turn my car keys to start the engine. "Because I'd rather talk in person."

"Why? What happened?" He sounds increasingly alarmed.

"Nothing happened, I would just rather talk in person."

"Do you need me to come?"

"No, everything is okay. It's just not something I want to talk about over the phone."

"Not gonna lie, you're making me nervous."

This was to be expected. I wish I didn't have to tell Link about everything that is going on with Pik but if last year has taught me anything, it's that secrets can cut deeper than knives.

"There is no need to be worried," I tell him. This has to suffice until we can talk in person.

"Alright..." He answers in a sigh.

"I'm sorry."

"It's fine."

"I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Alright..."

He hangs up, leaving me with even more guilt than before. I'll make up for the dinner. Once I tell him about Pik's condition, he'll understand.

------

When I pass the gates and pull into the long driveway leading up to my house, my eyes instantly spot Link's car. What is he doing here?

I park next to his car, still pondering about his unannounced visit. Walking up to the front door, Cado greets me with a subtle bow of the head.

"Good evening, Miss," he says, stepping aside to let me enter.

"Hey," I return distracted and step inside. The maid is the next person I encounter.

"Welcome home, Miss Hyrule. May I take your bag upstairs?"

"Sure," I hand it over, looking past her toward the end of the hallway. "Where is my father?"

"Dr. Hyrule has gone to sleep."

"And Link?"

"The quiet boy?" She asks and I nod. "He is sitting by the fire pit on the patio."

"Thank you."

In leaden steps, I make my way to the glass doors that lead outside. Link is reclined on the patio sofa, watching the flames instead of his phone. That's unusual. His hands resting in the pockets of his hoodie, he looks thoughtful and a tad... annoyed.

When I slide the door open, his head doesn't turn to look at me. He doesn't even greet me. He just keeps his stare on the small fire.

I gulp before taking another step toward him. Feeling brave, I decide to take a seat next to him and speak with an utter lack of confidence.

"Link?" I ask quietly. "What are you doing here?"

"Waiting for you," he answers impassively.

"But... I told you the dinner is off."

"I was already here when you called."

"What?" I return in a mousy peep.

"Yeah but don't worry about it... I was just about to go home anyways."

"No, wait, don't leave. I didn't know that you were waiting at my house. Had I known, I would have come home sooner or told you it was going to take a little longer."

"A little?" He exclaims. His head now turns toward me, hurt in his eyes as they pierce me with a bitter tint of vexation. "You told me you were leaving the dorms almost 3 hours ago! Where were you really?"

"I-I-I-I was at the dorms!" I panic.

I instantly spit the resemblance to Father, accusing me of lies and refusing to believe his own daughter. I don't want my relationship to Link to be like that! I don't want to get in a fight with him over simple misunderstandings. He doesn't even know the full story yet.

"I really was leaving the dorms when I called you. It's the truth, please—please believe me!" I beg, not hiding how desperate I am for his reassurance.

His eyes soften in a heartbeat. "Okay, I believe you. But what happened? You should have been home hours ago..."

"I know. You're right, and—and I want to explain... but—please don't—please, please don't get mad at me," I plead while fighting for each breath.

"I'm not mad, okay? I'm sorry if it seems that way. Just calm down please."

"You're not mad?" I breathe hectically.

"No. I just got really worried, that's it."

He scoots closer to put his hand on my leg, giving me the affection I demanded to calm my nerves.

"I'm going to tell you something but it's not my place to tell you so I'm asking you kindly to keep it a secret, okay?"

"Yeah, okay. What is it?"

"Okay so... a few months ago, Pik told me that he has an eye condition that is slowly turning him blind." My words melt Link's stern look and he immediately expresses his sympathy through his eyes and furrowed brows. "I'm the only one he has ever told about it. And when he lost something at the beach today, something he is very attached to, I was the only one he could call for help... But even with my help we couldn't find it, so I gave him a ride back to the dorms. I didn't stay long, five minutes tops. He wanted to show me his room, and I now realize what that may sound like but it really was completely innocent. I tried to cheer him up a little and we hugged at the end, but nothing else happened."

"That was 3 hours ago though. What happened after?"

"I went back to the beach..."

"What?"

"To look for his lost pick."

"And? Did you find it?" I give him a hesitant nod and watch in surprise as Link facepalms.

Eyes pinched, jaw clenched, and shaking his head, he sits up in frustration. "You can't give it to him."

"What? Why not? Can you imagine how difficult it was to find this tiny piece of plastic in the darkness? I searched the beach for over an hour to find it!"

"Exactly! Do you have any idea what kind of a message that sends to a guy?"

"That he has a supportive friend who cares about him," I say, feeling more and more vexed by Link's behavior. I know where he is going with this but he's in the wrong here. I don't have feelings for Pik. I made that very clear to Pik when we got into that horrible fight awhile back, and later at the hospital he finally accepted that.

"Zelda, Pik has a crush on you," Link sighs. "He wrote a song about it where he literally confesses being in love with you and jealous of me."

That's the first time I'm hearing about this. It must have been a while ago because ever since that night at the hospital, he hasn't made any attempts at dating me.

"Pik and I talked about his feelings for me. He is respectful of our relationship."

"You're leading him on."

"How?! Weren't you listening just now? He knows how I feel. He knows I'm with you."

"Think about this from his perspective. You ditched your boyfriend to meet him at the beach, took him back to his place, even came inside with him, and then drove all the way back to the beach in the middle of the night to find something he said he cares about. Even if you're doing it unintentionally, you're getting his hopes up. He's going to think he has a chance with you."

"Since when do you care about what other people think? I'm not interested in Pik and I'm not leading him on. I'm trying to be a good friend, why are you scolding me for that?"

"I'm not—"

"Yes you are! You're saying I shouldn't be nice to him!"

"No, that's not at all wha—"

"Are you scared I might have feelings for him?"

"No—"

"I would never do anything with him!"

"I know that but he doesn't!" he spits in a sharp tone. The sudden raise of his voice makes me flinch. He lets out an unsteady breath to calm his temper and continues at a low volume. "Please just let me talk for a sec. I don't have a problem with you guys being friends but he's going to try something and that's what I'm worried about. I don't want any guy to make you uncomfortable or push you to do things."

"Like what?" I cross my arms.

"Come on. You know what I'm talking about."

He can't seriously think Pik would act like Karusa.

"Pik has never tried to get physical with me. I can't believe you'd even think that. His feelings for me don't make him an animal. He's not like that."

"Oh come on. The entire time he was with you today he wanted to kiss you."

"How can you be so insensitive! I hardly recognize you!" Even if that were true, it only proves my point that Pik respects my boundaries.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to be."

"Then stop accusing Pik. He is dealing with a lot right now and needed a friend to talk to, that's it. Not once did he try to or indicate that he wanted to kiss me."

"But he was definitely thinking about it."

"How would you know?"

"Because I'm a guy!"

"So? Do you think about kissing every girl you come across?" It's almost impossible to keep my voice down at this point.

"No. But I also have a girlfriend."

"So before we started dating you wanted to kiss every girl you came across?"

He rests his head in his hands and exhales in growing annoyance. "That's not what I'm saying!"

"Then what are you saying?"

"That when guys find a girl attractive, they think about it. Can't help it."

"Doesn't mean he will assault every girl he finds attractive..."

"Of course not.... But..." Link pauses, probably searching for an argument. He is running out of comebacks and I only wait two impatient seconds before I snap at him.

"But what?" I challenge.

"Fuck, never mind. I really don't want to fight about this."

My shoulders drop, my lungs flatten. Now I feel bad. I don't want to fight any more than he does.

"Me neither," I speak in a slightly calmer tone, "But I need you to talk to me so I can understand why you're so upset."

"I don't even know anymore."

"You do."

"No, I really don't."

"Are you mad at me?"

"No..."

"At Pik?"

"No, I told you I'm not mad at anyone."

"Then... are you jealous?"

"No!" His hands claw his hair. "I don't know... Maybe. No, no I'm not jealous. I'm fine with you two hanging out and I trust you."

"But you don't trust him. Is that it?"

"I guess?" He shrugs and rubs his tense neck in one aggressive motion before sitting up straight. "I think... I think I was just worried when you didn't show up for like three hours. Maybe I was thinking that Pik might have done something bad, but you're okay and I guess nothing bad happened so everything's fine."

"I'm genuinely sorry I worried you. I should have informed you of my plans. I should have called. But you could have called me too, you know?"

"I did! But you didn't pick up and I didn't want to spam you."

"Oh, I must have missed that then... I'm sorry."

"I'm not blaming you." He's slowly getting agitated again. Out of fear of fueling the fire any further, I simply scoot closer and place my head on his shoulder.

"I really am sorry though..."

"I forgive you..."

"Can we stop fighting please?"

"We're not fighting."

"We are... And that's okay. Couples fight. It can hardly be avoided in a world so driven by opinion and choice. But what's important is that we still care about each other and care to find a way to resolve the issue. To deal with it together."

"Mhm," he kisses my forehead before placing his arm around my back.

"I'm glad we can talk to each other rather than silently blame the other for every injustice."

He gives me another "Mhm," along with a faint nod.

"Will you stay the night?" I look up at him, leaning against him in a way that begs to be cradled.

"If you insist," his lips shape into a small smile.

"I do."

"Then how could I decline?"

"You can't," I return the smile.

I still don't understand why he brought up Pik's desire to kiss me if my lack of communication was the true source of his anger, but I'm afraid of starting another argument if I bring it up.

First Fyson now Pik. Maybe Link can get jealous after all. I was convinced that he was fine with my friendship with Pik, and I believe that he is to some degree, but maybe his mind occupied itself with horrid scenarios while waiting for me.

Even so, what type of fear does jealousy awaken within Link? Whenever I get jealous, I don't worry that other girls hurt him the way Karusa hurt me. I worry that they are prettier, sexier, smarter, or funnier than me, and that he will be unable to resist their attraction. I worry that they can satisfy him in ways I'm not ready for. I worry that they think of him the way he would like me to. My jealousy is driven by my own insecurities.

I think jealousy can vary in such ways. What drives Link's jealousy? I doubt he worries the same way I do. But just like I had to fight my insecurities and accept that I am good enough for Link, he will have to accept that not every guy acts upon sexual impulse.

After a few minutes of cuddling on the sofa outside, we head upstairs to my room and get ready for bed. Link is brushing his teeth in the bathroom while I get changed in my closet.

I remove the pick from my pocket before taking off my shorts. I still can't believe I found this little troublemaker. I hold it up and study the pattern on its front and back. It's quite unique. I can see why Pik cares so deeply about it

Even though Link and I made up pretty quickly, I don't think we truly resolved the issue here. Am I allowed to give this to Pik now or not? It would be a shame if I did all this for nothing, on the other hand I don't want Pik to misread my intentions. Our friendship is going so well right now, and even though I didn't want to admit it to Link, there was one moment where I thought Pik might try to kiss me. But he didn't, and isn't that what counts? He even turned his head away when we hugged. He is in no way like Karusa. He is still a decent man. A bit pushy at times, but never with bad intentions.

I slip into a comfortable pair of shorts and a loose sweatshirt before returning to my room. Poor Pik must be devastated. I can't imagine losing something with sentimental value. How would I feel if I lost my necklace? More importantly, how would I feel if Pik was the one to return it to me?

I place the pick in my drawer. What else am I going to do with it? Link doesn't want me to give it to Pik, and maybe that's reasonable, but tossing it out seems irrational. He deserves to get this back at some point. I just have to find the right timing.

While I wait for Link, I pick up my phone from the nightstand to see if he really called me. Not that I don't believe him but maybe I had bad service at the beach and the call didn't come through.

I unlock my phone. There are indeed a couple of notifications I missed; one call, one kindle notification, two from LinkedIn, and one new Instagram massage.

I shut the drawer and check the Instagram notification first. It's a message request, so probably just another one of Link's fans. Ever since he posted that photo of us on his birthday, people have been trying to either befriend or kill me.

I enter Instagram with the simple intention of declining whoever is trying to message me, but as soon as I look a the username, panic strikes!

Is this real? It's a prank, right?

My heart refuses to beat until I read that name again, then it falls into an uncontrollable hammering. I can't even really process it until I force my eyes to read it one final time.

Karusa... It says Karusa...

Why???

My stomach flips, my mouth runs dry; my whole body is caught in a severe tremble. So much, that my quivering thumb needs multiple attempts to finally tap his profile picture.

He has a public profile, no bio, but dozens of pictures of him and Ganon, Malice, and other Boars... This really is him! Hastily, I return to the chat.

*Hey* is all he wrote.

Two hands suddenly grip my hips from behind! The phone slips out of my hands when I recoil in horror!

A lighthearted chuckle sounds while my body freezes completely.

"Sorry, didn't mean to sneak up on you," Link's voice echoes through the pounding of my heart.

For a second I was convinced it was Karusa standing behind me, even though there is absolutely no way for him to make it past the security guard.

"Wanna watch a movie or are you too tired?" Link asks along with a peck on my cheek.

"Er... Uh, up–up to you," I breathe, staring at my bare feet and the phone that lies between them.

"Go take your shower then, I'll pick something out on your laptop in the meantime."

I swallow, nod, and pick up my phone without any control over my actions. I don't even fully remember walking to the bathroom... The next thing I know is getting out of the shower and brushing my teeth, deliberately avoiding eye contact with myself in the mirror.

I spit out the toothpaste, clutching to my phone with such force that my knuckles have lost all color. I feel the unwelcomed urge to look at that message again, just to double-check but I know what I saw.

'Hey' is so casual...  No emojis, no punctuation. It could be read in any tone. Any emotion. What is he trying to achieve? Apart from a panic attack.

I put the phone down to wash my face. What am I supposed to do with his Hey?

Should I delete the message?

Should I show it to Link?

Should I... reply?