Bruises- Modern Zelink- discontinued :(

It

He ended up dancing again. This time, though, it was with Zelda.
Somehow, this time, felt even better.

He saw Midna dancing with that girl he didn't know. Urbosa was talking to Jordan by the refreshments.
But Mipha was nowhere in sight.

He shrugged. That didn't matter right now.

<<×>>

This was nice.
She liked the feeling of his arms around her. He was strong, yet small and thin. Only a bit taller than her.

He kept looking over at the hall. Probably looking out for Mipha. She understood why, yet she wished he wouldn't do it. It sparked an odd feeling inside her, to see him do that.
She didn't like it. She wished it would go away.

She was still enjoying herself.

After a few minutes, he shrugged and looked down at her. He smiled, and she smiled.

Then, they stopped.
She looked up and smiled.

Mistletoe.

<<×>>

She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and stood on her tiptoes.
What was she doing?

She pointed up.
Mistletoe.
Before he could respond, her lips were on his.

At first, he was surprised by the sudden move. He quickly came around, though, and closed his eyes, holding her tight.

It went by too quickly.
Before he knew it, she had pulled away, breathing heavily.

In the corner of his eye, he saw a small red-haired somebody back away slowly before running into the hall.
Mipha.

He didn't care right now.
He wanted to cherish this moment.

<<×>>

She thought...
She thought he...

She backed away.
She couldn't look at it.
She couldn't bear to see it.

They were...
Kissing.

She thought he liked her.

But she always knew that his heart wasn't with her. It wasn't meant to be. Yet she couldn't stop imagining it, trying to make it happen.
Trying to make it real.

This hurt.
It hurt to watch.
Yet she couldn't look away.
She couldn't help but imagine herself in her place.

She tore her eyes from the pair and went back into the bathroom.

She cried her eyes out.
Sobbed.

She heard his friend congratulate him.
She heard her own friends laugh joyfully and talk about it.
She wished she could be as happy about it as them.
But she couldn't.
All she could do was wish.
And hope.
And dream.

And imagine.

Imagine something that would never happen.
It just wasn't meant to be.

She would forever be chasing him blindly.
Getting nothing in return.

If only...
If only.....

<<×>>

He wanted to hold her like this forever.
He kind of had to, though. They were going to walk to the couch to sit down.

So they did, and as soon as they sat down, he put an arm around her.
She smiled and cuddled up closer to him.

They sat like that for a while.
Eventually, they fell asleep.

<<×>>

[9:56]

~

"Hey, Layla, do ya think I should wake them up?"
"Yeah. It's getting late."

~

Zelda felt someone shake her, and she groaned.
"I'm up, I'm up."
"You gotta go."

Midna? Oh. Right. The party.

The kiss.

She smiled and pushed herself up. Link was asleep beside her, and she gently shook him awake.

"We already opened presents, but I didn't want to wake you two up. You can bring them home with you."

Link looked at Zelda, and she nodded.
"I'll take yours."
"Thanks."

Midna smiled.
"Well. Bye, then."

And they left.

<<×>>

*Tuesday*

He woke up to find a few texts from Zelda.

~

Z: I really enjoyed the party
Z: I have your presents

L: I'll come over soon
Z: okay :)

~

He changed into some clothes and practically skipped down the stairs. He was delighted to see that his father was either not home, or he hadn't woken up.

Aryll was sitting at the table, eating her cereal.
"You look happy," she commented.
He nodded.
"I gotta go do something real quick, okay? If Dad gets up-"
"Oh, he left ages ago."
"Really? Awesome. See ya."

He left and ran down the street to Zelda's house. He rang the doorbell, and a young boy answered.
"Who are you?"
"Zelda's friend. Where is she?"
"Upstairs. In her room."
"Thanks."
He went into the house and found Zelda's room.

He knocked on the door. It opened a crack, and Zelda's face peeked through. She smiled and opened it the rest of the way.
"Come on in."
He stepped in and stood in front of the door.

"You can sit down, y'know."
He nodded and walked over to the bed, taking a seat there, since Zelda was already in her chair.

They sat in awkward silence for a while before Zelda stood up and reached under the bed. She pulled out several boxes covered in wrapping paper. She looked at them and handed some to Link.

"So... I open them? Now?"
"Of course, silly."
He laughed awkwardly.
"Sorry."

They opened their presents.
Link got a box of band-aids from Midna, which Zelda had a good laugh about, a nice, comfy, dark blue shirt from Mipha, and a Knights of Hyrule figure from Urbosa and Jordan.
Zelda got a notebook set from Mipha, a miniature bow and arrow from Midna, and a science set from Urbosa, which she fawned over for a good 2 minutes.

Then, they opened the presents they got from each other.
Zelda gave Link a knight's helmet, and Link got her a book about flowers.

"Sorry about the shitty gift. I wasn't sure what to give you."
"Oh, it's fine. I like this."
"That book is nothing compared to this helmet, though. I'm terrible at gift giving."
"Really, Link. It's fine. I love this."

There was another awkward silence.
Then, Link spoke again.
"There's something I want to show you at my house."

He put all of his things into a bag and pulled Zelda out of her room, smiling.

This would be a much better gift than a silly little book.