Bruises- Modern Zelink- discontinued :(

Questions

*Thursday*

"I'm up!" He sat up straight, expecting someone to yell at him.

"Calm down, Link. No one did anything." He looked at the source of the voice and saw Zelda sitting at the table, eating some cereal. "Oh. Right. I forgot I was here."

He tossed the blanket off of him and stood up. He draped the blanket neatly on the back of the couch, not wanting to leave the house a mess. After all, he wasn't really supposed to be here. He ran his hands through his hair a few times and sat down at the table with Zelda. She already had a second bowl out for him, and she handed it to him. He poured some cereal and milk into it and grabbed a spoon. He hungrily ate the whole bowl rather quickly.

He got up once Zelda did and got his bag when she got hers. She had brought his bag down with her own. They left the house together, silently walking alongside each other.

<<×>>

"Geez, Link. That bruise has gotten darker. What's up with that?"
"It's nothing you need to worry about."

Link looked at the time and saw that class would start for a few minutes. The teacher wasn't in the classroom yet, so now would be a good time to mess around. He climbed onto his desk and balled up a piece of paper, which he threw at Zelda. He laughed as he got down. Several people laughed, but others rolled their eyes, including Zelda. Especially Zelda.

One of the kids asked, "Hey, what's up with that bruise? What on earth were you doing?"
"It's nothing, I swear. It's really nothing you need to worry about."

<<×>>

[1:57]
[1:58]
[1:59]
[2:00]
[2:05]
[2:10]

"When will this class end?" Sean sighed, holding his head in his hand.
Link looked at him, then at the time.
"What do you mean? This class has been going by fast. Too fast."
"I just wanna get out of school, bro. I wanna play my games."
"I guess."

Sean looked back at the clock. "Geez! That clock must be slow or something."
Link looked at the clock again.

[2:12]

It was too fast for him. He did not want to go home, not after yesterday.

[2:14]

"One minute left!"

[2:15]
"Riiiiiiing!"

Everyone but Link got up out of their seats and left. Sean noticed this and walked back over. "The hell are you doing? Let's frickin go."

He couldn't answer. He couldn't say anything. He felt like he might cry, which was stupid.

"What's going on with you?"
"I- I-"
He buried his face into his hands and cried, "I don't want to go home!"

The teacher looked over and asked, "What's going on over there? Are you okay, Link?"
"No! I can't go home, I can't!"
Sean tried to pull Link out of the chair, but he fought back.
"Stop it! Just leave me alone! I'd rather sit in here till I die than go home."
"What the hell, dude?"
"Shut the fuck up, okay? You aren't helping!"

"Sean, why don't you leave? You need to get on the bus. I'll call guidance down."
"No, no, I'm fine." Link stood up and grabbed his bag. He pushed past Sean and practically ran down the hall.

"What on earth was that about?"

<<×>>

"I don't know what I'm doing... First I didn't want to leave and now I'm running off... I need to get my shit together. That's not very likely at this point." Link sighed as he walked down the street. He was walking slowly, dreading when he got home. He still had to get there eventually, but he could take his time for now.

He felt just the slightest bit guilty about throwing the paper ball at Zelda that morning. She had been so nice, and he had responded by throwing shit at her.

He sighed again. Why did he have to be like this? Why did his life have to be like this?

When he reached his house, he groaned before slowly opening the door. He walked in and prepared to get killed.

"Young man, where were you last night? Were you off with your friends? I have to punish you, so you won't be able to leave tonight or tomorrow, got it? Any questions? Objections?" "No, sir." "Good. Now," his dad continued, rolling up his sleeves. "You need more than a talking to."

<<×>>

He was lying on his bed, thinking about what his dad had told him. He wasn't allowed to leave the house tonight or tomorrow. That meant no school. When his dad said he could leave, it meant he couldn't leave for any reason. Not even school.

School was his safe haven. Anywhere but home was his safe haven, really. To not be able to leave the house, that was absolute hell. He picked up his phone and started texting.

L: hey sean
S: hey
S: sup
L: I won't be at school tomorrow
S: why
L: personal reasons
L: I'm not skipping or anything
L: just busy
S: that's a shame
L: yeah
S: wanna play knights of Hyrule
L: sure

<<×>>