Last week I made you guess how many pages both books have combined! You had some good guesses but nobody got close to the real number! :D 

Thinking About You has 610 pages on Google Docs and Never Without You currently has 647 pages! In book format, this series has a total of more than 2000 book pages! ISN'T THAT KINDA CRAZY? I can't believe you guys are still reading my story after all this time! MAYBE YOU'RE CRAZY!

But I love you :) if you keep reading and commenting, I will keep writing and posting!

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Malice's POV

I stretch myself across the ocean-sized bed. It's so nice not having to share the bed with anyone else, or to worry that someone will come into the room in the middle of the night. 

The nightmares have been getting less frequent too. It's probably because I get to leave the window and door slightly open without anyone freaking out about it. No more fucking locks and cameras either. No more holding my breath when I hear footsteps in the hallway. No more "take it off and be quiet." No more bruises to cover up in the morning.

I rub my eyes awake. I have no clue what time it is but I'm definitely not the first one up, that's for sure. There's hideous music coming from downstairs, mixed with the laughter and childish playfulness of Link and Zelda.

Ugh. I turn around and cover my ears with one of the 200 throw pillows that take up most of the right side of the bed. But there's no point—I can't fall back asleep. So I get up instead and get dressed. 

Staring at the small duffel bag of clothes, I wrinkle my nose. Zelda's taste in fashion screams 'Hi, I'm a fucking old-money-private-school-bookgirl.' Doesn't she own anything black? I'd much rather wear some of Impa's clothes, but she's like a whole foot taller than me and her body is way curvier than mine.

Feeling groggy, I wear the same clothes from yesterday and leave the room to freshen up in one of the guest bathrooms. Instinctively, I open the medicine cabinet to see what's in it. No pills here...

"Shit sorry," somebody says behind me. Startled, I shut the cabinet with a hurried bang, as if getting caught meant spending a week locked in the basement. I turn to the door, ready to defend my life. But it's just Kiroh, covering his eyes as if he walked in on something obscene.

"Fuck's sake, Kiroh," I sigh, lowering my defense.

"Sorry, the door was open, so I figured it was vacant."

I roll my eyes at him. "You don't have to cover your eyes, moron."

"Right," he removes his hands and nods. I thought he'd leave, but he remains standing by the door, looking at me super awkwardly.

"What?"

"You look different."

"How sweet of you," I huff.

"Oh. I didn't mean it in a bad way. You just—I don't know—you just look different."

"It's my hair," I tell him before his brain starts to overheat.

"Ohh," his eyes shift slightly up. "I guess yeah. It's nice!" He remains standing awkwardly by the door.

"Need something?"

"I was gonna use the restroom, but take your time." He turns around to leave.

"Hold on a sec," I say and he stops. "You're dating Impa, right?"

"Yeah," he answers.

"Why?"

He turns back toward me and meets me with a confused look on his face. "What do you mean why?"

"Why her?"

"Cause I like her?"

"Didn't like anyone at Lorule?" I challenge.

"No, not really. Not like that."

He looks so innocent and clueless. I wonder how innocent and clueless he really is though. I don't know if I can trust him. I find it kinda hard to believe that he's dating Impa without any other intentions. He doesn't seem like her type, first of all. But more importantly, she's Zelda's best friend. Surely Ganondorf put him up to this. But Link brought up a good point yesterday... If Ganondorf really did send Kiroh, then why hasn't he attacked yet? What's he plotting?

"How'd you guys meet?" I question.

"At the music shop I work at. No offense, Malice, but I've already been over this with the others," he says calmly. "Just because I'm a Boar doesn't mean I'm a bad person. I'm surprised I have to tell you that of all people. You're basically a Boar yourself."

"Yeah, not really your strongest argument, given my past and all." He doesn't deny it but he sure looks uncomfortable. "So you haven't been in touch with Ganondorf then?"

Kiroh shakes his head. "Haven't talked to Coach ever since that awful baseball game at Hyrule University last season. I quit sports after that."

"But you stayed in the same fraternity as all the players?"

"So? What's wrong with that? Some of the guys are my bros, and I'm not leaving just because one or two of them fucked up. I'm not harming anyone by staying."

"What about Karusa?" I ask hesitantly.

"I don't know if he's harming anyone."

"No, I mean have you talked to him at all?"

"No. Haven't seen him around much."

Same... I haven't talked to K since that crazy summer night when his dealer threatened to shoot us both in the head. I thought I saw Pik at the dealer's house that night but I was drunk and might have confused things. After that, we took acid at Karusa's dorm. I don't really remember everything that happened that night, which is exactly why I dipped the next morning before he woke up. Haven't talked to him since...

He still doesn't know that I had dropped out of college or that I was homeless, or that I got rid of my phone in fear of Ganondorf tracking me. I bet he tried to reach out after that night and assumed I was ghosting him.

"When was the last time you've seen Karusa?" I ask Kiroh.

He ponders. I wish he could ponder a little faster. Everything with this guy is so slow.

"I think the last time I saw him was at a frat party right before the semester started."

I had already been sleeping on the streets by then. This was right around the time Zelda took me in.

"Did he have a broken leg?" I ask. "Or any bruises or injuries?"

"Not that I know. He seemed fine."

That means the last time Kiroh saw Karusa was shortly before Link got into a fight with him.

"Did you notice anything about him?"

"Like what?" Kiroh asks.

"Anything."

He shrugs. "I only saw him for a few minutes before he went upstairs with some chick."

"Who?" I ask, my stomach twisting into my typical pre-breakfast nausea.

"I don't know her. Some blond girl."

"What'd they do together?"

"I left the party right after they went upstairs, so I don't know."

"Take an educated guess," I demand. "What did it look like they were gonna do? Drugs maybe? Or do you think they fucked?"

"Probably both, knowing Karusa." Kiroh looks beyond uncomfortable now, and I don't blame him... I know he doesn't want to talk about this, and I don't really want to hear about it, so I don't know why I'm even asking.

I guess I just want to make sure he's okay. I know I can't talk shit, but I wish Karusa was better than that. Especially when it comes to drugs. I don't want him to end up like me...

"Mal, are you okay? Why are you asking all these questions?"

"I'm worried about him," I tell Kiroh truthfully. "I lost my phone, so I haven't been able to check in on him in a while."

"Oh." Kiroh shifts on the spot, trying to maintain eye contact until it gets awkward. 

"He probably tried to reach me and thinks I'm ghosting him."

Kiroh's hand reaches into his pocket. "You can talk to him on my phone if you want. I can hit him up right now."

Revali's POV

Mipha sleeps like an angel, and I would go to hell for eternity if I ever dared disturb her dreams. I mean... Just look at her. What kind of person smiles in their sleep? She must be having a pleasant dream.

The sunlight streams in through the gap in the curtains as if the Goddesses themselves sent down their approval, making her look like a sleeping princess, straight out of a fairytale. But that damn sun is also hitting her right in the face and my arm is starting to get tired from trying to block out the bright light with my hand. 

It's worth the burn in my biceps because at least I get to watch that pretty smile for a while longer. I want to take a photo, but that would be creepy.

Right...?

Trying not to wake her up, I grab my phone from the nightstand. Slowly and quietly, I open the camera app. Just as I center her in the frame, Mipha opens her eyes, and I almost drop my fifty-ton-brick of a phone on her face in a frantic attempt to hide the fact that I was about to snap a picture like some pervert.

"What are you doing?" She giggles.

"Going to hell for eternity," I say embarrassed. "I woke you up, didn't I?"

She blesses me with a waking smile. "I'm glad you did." Her hands find their way to my back. She pulls herself closer and buries her cold nose underneath my chin. "And I highly doubt you're going to hell."

She's right. This is definitely more like heaven if anything. "Did you have any dreams?" I probe casually. "You were smiling in your sleep so you must have dreamt of us."

"What time is it?" She murmurs into my neck, completely avoiding my question.

"It's already 11," I tell her, and when she wiggles in my grip, trying to get out of bed, I tighten my hug around her to keep her from going anywhere. Sometimes I regret telling the truth. I knew she would want to get up if she found out what time it was, but I just can't lie to her.

"We have to get up," she says. "It's almost noon!"

"What I'm hearing is that we don't really have to get up until it's actually noon. So we have approximately 49 more minutes."

"It's Thanksgiving. We should help the others with the food."

"They'll be fine," I assure her, arms locked around her waist. With the obnoxious music and shouting coming from downstairs, I really don't have any reason to ever leave this bed.

"But don't you want to watch the football games?"

"I'd rather watch you."

She finally stops fighting and calms down in my tight embrace. Her hand cups my face. "You're such a dork."

"Yeah, well, live with it. Literally. Because we'll be moving in with each other soon."

She grins, a sign of acceptance. "Okay, you've convinced me. We'll stay in bed a little longer. But only a few minutes!"

I kiss her and don't stop when it makes her grin all the more. My hands travel to the rim of her pajama pants. They are soft and fuzzy—pink with a pattern of blue whales. The touch of my fingertips against her stomach gets a small giggle out of her. Legs intertwined, I tease her a little, letting my fingers drive along the line of her PJs without ever pushing past it.

Impa's POV

"Throw it deep! Let's go for the touchdown!" I shout at the TV. "Shit! We need a miracle play if we want a turnover!"

"Take it easy on the TV," Zelda laughs from the kitchen. "It's not like you can do anything about the game's outcome."

"But the fucking refs can!" I bark, squinting my eyes at the screen. "Fuck's sake!"

"Language," Zelda hurls at me.

"Sore wa kuso shinpan no seida," I cuss in Japanese and get a laugh out of Link.

"What's the score?" he asks.

"It's 21-10," I huff.

"Damn."

"Yeah."

Commercial break. Seeing wings and pizza on the screen is making me hungry. I get up to check on the food. Looks like since everyone slept in so long, we're skipping breakfast and going straight to turkey and gravy. Not that I mind.

"Smells good," I say, checking the fridge for snacks. It's really weird seeing Zelda in the kitchen. "You're not gonna touch the food, are ya?"

"Who, me?" Zelda asks.

"Yeah, you. Last time you tried to cook you nearly burned down the kitchen. I wish I was exaggerating."

"First of all, I'm offended," she says with a smile. "But you are not wrong. Rest assured that I am leaving all the cooking to Link. I'm just here for support."

"She's my personal cheerleader," Link chuckles as he checks on the turkey. 

Link seems to have it all in check. He's cooking like 3 things at once. Must be nice. Kiroh and I both cook like shit. Frozen supreme pizza and microwaved Top Ramen are our go-to. Speaking of the devil—

Kiroh enters the kitchen with his casual confidence. "Good morning," he says. 

I dig his fit; ripped black jeans and that Sheikah band shirt that I totally envy and plan on stealing from him. His hair is messy from his shower and I don't know why but somehow wet hair looks so good on him. I love his hair, but I could also totally see him with a buzz cut. 

"Good morning," I say back while Link just nods at him and Zelda instantly shifts to know-it-all mode.

"More like afternoon," she says with a mocking grin. "I take it you slept well last night!"

"Yeah, it's so quiet up here. Usually I wake up to the sound of sirens or slamming doors." He walks up to me and hooks his fingers around the belt loops of my jeans to pull me in. He kisses me as if he was returning from war.

"Wanna go for a little walk around the house?" He asks me with a persuasive smile. "Could use some fresh air."

I nod and follow him outside. Our breath comes out as little clouds in the chilly morning air, and the sky is half-gray, with fog and clouds hiding most of the mountain view in a dense mist. Wet leaves cover the soft ground as we stroll through the back yard.

"What a gross day," I comment.

"I'm kinda into it," Kiroh says, walking next to me alongside the property's edge. The pine trees do look pretty sick with the fog swallowing them bit by bit. And the air smells amazing, like rainy moss and turf. It's always nice to get away from the city every so often.

Kiroh pulls out his pack of cigarettes and offers me one. I decline. He doesn't push me. He never does, which is one reason I like him so much. He can look intimidating when he dresses all black, but on the inside he's a golden retriever. I swear, even though he's the Boar in a house full of Eagles, I'm convinced he's a better person than all of us combined. He just cares a lot about other people. And then he worries about them as if it was his responsibility to fix their problems. In many ways, he reminds me of Zelda. 

"Are you okay?" I ask him when he lights his cig. "You only really smoke when you're stressed or worried about something."

"I talked to Malice this morning," he says, breathing out the smoke.

"Oof, I'd be smoking too if I had to talk to her."

"Well... I feel kinda bad for her."

"You mean you feel bad because of her," I say in an amused tone.

"No. I think she's going through a lot right now. She probably feels like she doesn't belong here... Hell, I know just what that feels like."

"Stop. My friends are cool with you being here."

"I know," he replies, but I can tell he's tryna bullshit me, so I punch his arm.

"You belong here just as much as anyone else, Kiroh."

He rubs his arm as if my punch actually hurt. "I know, that's what I just said!" 

"But I know you're lying. I know how you really feel, and I'm here to tell you that you're wrong." We stop near the far end of the backyard, looking at the disappearing view. Nothing but clouds and fog now. The tops of some pine trees and mountain peaks are visible. Barely. Wouldn't be surprised if it started raining soon. I do feel a slight drizzle in the air. "Anyways... what did you and Malice talk about?"

"She was asking me about Ganondorf." Just hearing that name rings alarm bells inside me. "Then she started asking about Karusa." More alarm bells!

"What about him?" I ask through my teeth.

"She worries about him. They're like best friends or something." Why am I not surprised. "But I gave her my phone so she could catch up with him. Hopefully she'll feel better."

I turn my whole body to face him. "You did what now?"

"She just wanted to check in on him, you know? Make sure he's doing okay."

Kiroh's words hit me like a ton of bricks, and for a second, all I can do is stand there with my jaw on the floor.

"You did not just give a drug addict your phone so she can call up Karusa's gang!"

I can't really be mad at him, because he doesn't know all the shit we went through because of Malice and Karusa, but seriously what the fuck, Kiroh! Use your brain! You don't give a junky a phone and then leave her unattended!

If Karusa finds out where we are, he'll definitely tell Ganondorf and put us all in danger. Or maybe they'll just pay her to set us all on fire! I never trusted her to begin with, but if she goes through with contacting them, there's no reason for us to protect her any longer!

Without wasting a second, I race back to the lodge to stop Malice from doing something dumb! She's not in the kitchen or living room, so I hurry up the stairs, skipping four steps at a time! No sign of her, not in the hallway, or her room, or in any of the bathrooms!

Where the hell could she have gone?

Maybe the basement?

I rush back downstairs, back through the kitchen to get to the living room.

"What's going on?" Link asks as I storm to the basement door.

"Malice has Kiroh's phone and I can't find her!" I tell them. Zelda's expression succumbs to pure horror. She freezes up while Link takes charge.

"I'll search the bar and wine cellar," Link says, determined to help me find Malice before it's too late. 

"I'll check the pool and gym!" I yell back when I'm already halfway down the stairs to the basement. That stupid brat! I swear! When I find her, I'll tie her to a pole or something! Keep watch 24/7!

I burst through the doors to the indoor pool and freeze when I spot her standing at the edge of the water, blue light reflecting on her face as she stares back at me in surprise and caution.

I squint my eyes as I lock on to my target. She's holding the phone up to her ear and I don't know if I got here just in time or if it's already too late, but either way I try to stop her from doing whatever it is she's planning to do.

"Malice—" I say, taking a small step toward her.

Holding my stare, she quickly mumbles something into the phone. No hesitation—I charge at her, willing to do whatever it takes to stop her from giving away any information to Ganon or his Mob family. Her eyes grow wide in surprise and she has no time to react before I tackle her. With my arms around her and my whole body pressed against hers like a cannonball, we both plunge into the cold water with a loud splash!

With half-empty lungs, she tries to kick me under water and to pull herself loose, but I'm way stronger than her skeleton of a body and keep my arms tightly locked around her.

Like an anchor, I hold her down and watch as the little air she had left in her lungs slowly bubbles to the surface. Unlike her, I did hold my breath, and I honestly wouldn't mind waiting it out underwater until she passes out. I could easily drown her right now. But Zelda might kill me if I do serious harm to her.

Malice tries to land a punch in my gut but the water blocks most of the impact. And once all the tingling bubbles from our fall have surface, I can finally see her face through the blur of chlorine.

She looks pissed and uses her last breath to cuss me out underwater. Sounds about right; Malice would be the type of person to waste her last bit of oxygen to insult me.

When all the air has left her body, the struggle becomes violent, and no more energy is spent on fighting me. Her survival instincts take over, and her movements become erratic and desperate. She kicks and thrashes, her arms flailing in a last-ditch effort to reach the surface.

When my lungs begin to burn, I finally push up to the surface and release her from my weight. Gasping for air, we cling to each other for support. Malice's wide eyes meet mine, filled with a mixture of fear and anger. She sputters and coughs, water streaming from her mouth as she struggles to catch her breath.

"Impa!" Malice curses, "I'm gonna kill you!"

Not only did she dedicate her last breath to me, but also her first. I should feel honored.

"Go ahead," I dare her. But she doesn't do much, other than to hold on to me with both arms and legs. "Get off of me already!"

I honestly don't think she has the energy to move right now, so I focus on keeping us both afloat. As we tread water, I glance down between us and spot Kiroh's phone at the bottom of the pool, the screen dead. Sorry Kiroh. I'll buy you a new one if we're still alive by Cyber Monday.

I can't tell if Malice is trying to hold on to me or push me under, but the weight of our soaked clothes drags us down and if she keeps on kicking me, intentionally or not, I might drown her after all.

"Who were you talking to?" I demand to know.

"Go to hell!" She spits back.

"I'm not in the mood." I push her underwater. Her hands grip to my shoulders but she doesn't stand a chance. I hold her down for a few seconds before I haul her back up.

"Did you call someone?" I pant impatiently.

"Fuck!" She gasps before I push her back under. She pulls on my T-shirt but it's not helping her case. She could scratch and bite me for all I care, I'm not letting go until she tells me if my friends are in danger or not.

I let her come back up. "Karusa? Ganon? Fucking Ganondorf? Who was it?"

When she doesn't answer, I apply pressure on her shoulders again but she begs me to stop. "Please!" she adds to my surprise. "Can't—" she coughs—"breathe!"

I push myself away from her to swim back to the edge. Leaning against the inner wall of the pool, arms outstretched on the tiled floor, I let out a heavy breath and rest my head on my crossed forearms. Malice doesn't have the energy to fight me any longer and rests right next to me, her arms and head laying flat like mine while her body floats in the water next to me.

The cold tiles feel nice against my hot skin, and once the water around us has calmed down, the only sound next to the rippling water is our heavy breaths.

As our chests slow down and our breaths find their rhythm again, we look at each other in defeat, not saying a word. It's like we're both trying to figure out each other's next move. At the same time, we look at each other in a kind of understanding to put our weapons down. For now. We're both beat, bodies still buzzing from that fight.

Looking into her eyes is weirdly intense, especially because this is the first time I see her this close up without any makeup. I try to look away but I just can't help but stare.

"Just tell me if you talked to anyone," I say once my lungs stop burning. "We can figure out the rest from there."

"I was trying to call my aunt in Mexico," she pants.

"Are you lying?"

"She didn't pick up."

"You were speaking into the phone when I got here. I saw it!"

"I left her a voice message."

"Oh yeah? What'd you say?"

"That I'm alive. And that she doesn't need to worry."

I hold eye contact with her for a few seconds, trying to decipher if she's lying.

"Here's the problem... Kiroh said you wanted to call Karusa," I question with more than just doubt in my voice. All she does is shake her head and close her eyes in exhaustion. "I believe him a million times over you."

"Too bad," she exhales, eyes still closed, "because I can't proof it without a functioning phone. Nice going."

I let out a sigh. That one is definitely on me. But I'd never actually admit that to her.

"Malice..." I force my body to face her. "If you do anything—anything at all—that will put Zelda and Link at harm, or Kiroh, Pik, Mipha, and Revali... I will personally end your life."

"Gotta be fast then," she breathes, suddenly opening her eyes again. "Someone else might beat you to it."

With shaky arms, I pull myself out of the pool. Water's dripping down as I squeeze my wet hair. Malice doesn't move. She stays in the pool and watches as I dump the water from my boots. I shoot her a sideways glance, wondering how long she plans to stay there.

By the looks of it, she wouldn't care if hyperthermia got to her before Ganondorf. There's this nagging feeling of guilt eating away at me. Those absent eyes and the scars on her body remind me of what Kiroh said about her current situation and how she hasn't been doing so well. I wish I could just turn around and not give a shit, but... goddamn it.

"I can't believe I'm saying this..." I mutter through the corner of my mouth, "But if you need someone to talk..."

"I don't need no one."

God, she's such a stubborn brat and I wish the others would tell her that instead of treating her like an injured bird. Screw it, I'm saying it. "Malice, you're a stubborn brat," I blurt out.

When she rolls her eyes at me, I pause, fighting the urge to push her back underwater.

Fists clenched and jaw tensed, I continue, "You're a pain in the ass and the worst part is that you seem perfectly comfortable with that. It's so fucking frustrating. And while I get that things haven't been easy for you, it doesn't give you the right to treat all of us like shit. We're the people who are actually on your side!"

"Clearly," she huffs.

"Shut up and listen for once! If you want someone by your side, you have people who genuinely care. That's all, okay?"

She chuckles to herself. "You care about me?"

"No," I answer in a heartbeat. I hesitate for a moment. "But... but Zelda does."

"Why?"

"What?"

"Why does Zelda care so much? I don't deserve that."

"Nobody fucking knows, but she does. Okay? So put away your ego or whatever it is that makes you push her away, and just let her fucking care."

Malice looks thoughtful. Almost as if—in the deepest, darkest part of her ugly, rotten shell—she agrees with me.

"Whatever this is between us," I shake my head, "it's not about you and me. It's about you and Zelda. She has never done you any harm. Never has she bullied or blackmailed you. She even showed that she cared about your well-being way back when you were constantly threatening and humiliating her. She's not even asking you to return any favors or reciprocate what she's done for you. All she wants is to care for you. And it doesn't matter one single bit whether that makes sense to you or whether you deserve it. The very least you can do—the only thing you can do really—is to just let her care."

Malice lifts her head in strain, her attention turned to the exit, "Do you smell that?"

I sigh. "Did you hear any of what I just said?"

"Impa, something smells burned."

Now that she mentions it, I do smell it.

Shit... I smack my own forehead and groan. "Link left Zelda alone in the kitchen. She must have burned the food."