Raising the Stakes; Zelink Coffee Shop AU (The Legend Of Zelda)

Chapter Seven

6/20/17

URBOSA, YOU WILL NOT BELIEVE WHAT'S HAPPENED

I settled back in my couch as I started to eat my dinner, a casual documentary playing on my moderately sized TV- well, moderate compared to the one I had before - while I waited for my friend to respond. The show did nothing to cool my raging emotions.

I had just finished putting my dishes away when the notification went off.

What? Did he ask you out? - Urbosa

I laughed. "Not in the way you're thinking," I said, with only an empty room to hear me.

Not... quite... But... By Din, Urbosa, today was strange.

Spill already!

I laughed again.

Okay, so it all started when I asked him if he had a girlfriend because I was still unconvinced, sorry Bosa, and he said that he didn't. THEN he said 'Unfortunately no, I don't have a girlfriend,' so I stayed quiet until he explained that he had told his grandmother he had a girlfriend...

Oh, I see where this is going.

So he asked if I would act as his girlfriend over Christmas so he wouldn't have to disappoint his grandmother.

Just like that?

For a hundred dollars.

What??

Yeah, I didn't want that so I asked for two months of free coffee instead xD

By Din, Zelda. For you, that's a lot of coffee.

But is it more or less than a hundred dollars for him to produce?

Eh, debatable. WAIT, DID HE AGREE? ARE YOU DOING THIS?

He did...

I sighed.

And I'm doing this.

~*~

December 3rd

19 Days Left

I stood once more outside of the coffee shop, clutching the strap of my bag like a lifeline.

Is it going to be different? The same? What will he tell me? Will he ask about my family?

I don't want to talk about my family.

I finally pushed myself through the door and went to my booth.

"Morning."

I whipped my gaze around to land on Link. "Morning?" I replied.

"Pretty sure that's not supposed to sound like a question..." he replied with a ghost of a smirk.

"Right. Morning." I opened my laptop with numb fingers, only to stare blankly at the screen. Focus. Focus. Nothing is actually different.

Yet I could only stare with an empty mind. I looked over at him as he made what I assumed was my coffee. Ugh, this situation is so not helping me write at the moment!

Mentally, I grabbed my attention and threw it at the computer. I started to spill information into the keyboard, letting the nonsense flow, hoping to get something worth editing.

Link cleared his throat.

I tried to not jump, but I still flinched. He was quiet. Too quiet. Too close.

"Your coffee." He set it down next to my computer.

"Thank you," I said, then paused as I picked it up. "So when does that free coffee start?"

"Now, I suppose. Unless you'd rather save it."

"Now is fine," I said as I took a sip. "So what changes?"

"Huh?"

"Like..." I hesitated. "With us," I finished, then mentally cringed at the wording. "I mean... the dynamic of... me writing and you..."

He smiled. "Right. Well, I figured I shouldn't take up too much of your writing time-"

Well you do, even if you're not talking to me.

"-so I thought that I could just tell you about me, and my family, of course, during when you break for lunch."

"Sounds... thought out."

His hand raised to the back of his head. "Oh... uhm, yeah, a little."

"How long have you been plotting this?"

"Only a few days."

"I would hope so, I've only been here a few days." I sighed. "And anyway, why me?"

He frowned. "Why?"

"Yeah, why? With an offer like that and your looks, you could have anyone. Heck, you could have anyone without the money."

An eyebrow was raised. "You think so?" he replied with a smirk.

I brought the coffee up to my lips again and didn't respond.

"Well, most girls I've met are so..." He shrugged. "... surface. Someone like that won't care about me, just my looks. And I don't want to bring a girl like that to meet my grandma."

"Why don't you just tell your grandma she broke up with you?"

Link smirked. "Trying to get out of it already?" he asked.

"What? No, just..." I trailed off and shook my head. "They're logical questions."

"And I've already thought through them all. Yes, I could do that but... My grandma so wants me to be happy."

"Are you not?"

"What?"

"She assumes you won't be happy unless you have a girlfriend?"

He sighed. "I'm happy..."

"I'm pretty sure 'I'm happy' was not supposed to sound so depressing."

Link shook his head. "Wouldn't everyone be a little happier if they had someone who genuinely loved them?" he asked. "But I hardly believe it could happen anymore."

Same dude... Same. As in, say, a parent. I shoved my thoughts aside. "Okay, again, why me? You think I'm different from them?"

Link nodded slowly. "You're a writer. You create characters. You search your surroundings for inspiration, you, by definition, don't just look at the surface."

My jaw almost dropped. I had never heard someone say anything like that before. Even other writers. "That's... well put." And attractive, what the heck...

"On top of that, you already break the mold. You came in here at night, you order black coffee, you're sarcastic." He finally sat down. "You even asked me to go away."

The fact that I order black coffee makes me so different? That I told him to go away? "...and that... made you choose me?" I asked. I almost felt like laughing, yet at the same time... felt deeply sad. Had he been burned by someone before?

"My grandma will like you."

"...and you?" I asked softly. "What do you think of me?"

"You remind me of my family."

For some reason, that strange reply made me very happy.