Bruises- Modern Zelink- discontinued :(

How

*Tuesday*

Link didn't go to school. Instead, Link's mom brought him to Zelda's house to stay for the day. Zelda took his phone with her to school so his dad wouldn't know he was skipping school.

Why he was skipping, she didn't know. He seemed pretty upset about something, though. Maybe that was why.

The day went by slowly. Mipha was absent again. Everything was pretty normal.
That is, until she got home from school.

She found Link sitting on the couch, hugging his legs. He looked absolutely miserable.

"Is everything alright?"
"No." His voice was wobbly.
She sat down next to him. "What's wrong?"
"Isn't it obvious?"
"No, that's why I'm asking. Did something happen?"
"Y-you don't know?"
She shook her head.

"Mi-Mipha's d-dead."
He broke into tears, burying his face into his hands and sobbing loudly.

Her concern quickly morphed into shock.

"Are you sure?"
He didn't give an answer.
"Is this some sort of prank? I didn't think you'd joke about something this serious."
He shook his head. Well, she was pretty sure that was what he was doing.

Zelda looked around. Where was her mom? Maybe she'd know more about this.
She looked back at Link and said, "You... just stay here, okay? I'm gonna go talk to my mom."
He nodded. Probably.

She went to her mom's office and knocked on the door.
"Yes?"
"I have a question."
"Come in."
She opened the door and walked in, shutting it behind her. "Link told me that Mipha is dead. Is that true?"
"Yes."
"Why didn't you tell me!? And why are you being so nonchalant about it!?"
"I didn't know until this morning when Link's mom dropped him off, and I didn't want to give you bad news so early in the morning."

"I would have been fine, mom. I'm not even that upset. I'm more upset that you didn't tell me about something so terrible! Link had to tell me himself, and now he's in the other room crying his eyes out!"
"Zelda, calm down."
"Calm down? Calm down!? You expect me to be calm in a situation like this? This is the worst possible thing that could have happened to him! He probably feels responsible, too! You probably left him here alone, too. He could have done something stupid while you were gone!"
"What choice did I have?"
"You could have told me and let me stay at home with him! You could have called the school and asked for a substitute!"
"You know I can't call for a sub the day of."
"That doesn't mean you can't have me stay here!!"
"I don't want you to be home by yourself. You could get hurt."
"Yet you leave Link here alone!? He could have gotten hurt! Heck, his dad could have come here and done who knows what to him! Anyway, I wouldn't have been alone! Link is here, too!"

At some point while Zelda was yelling, the door opened slightly. Once she finished, Link walked in.
"I can hear you, y'know."

Zelda spun around, surprised. "Link! I didn't realize you were there."
"Actually, I could hear you from the living room. You're being really loud."
"I'm sorry, am I bothering you? I should probably stop, anyway-"
"No, it's fine. I caused this. I'm ruining everything, aren't I? I'll leave."

He turned and walked out of the room, ignoring Zelda's futile attempts to stop him.

Then, the front door opened and closed.
He was gone.

<<×>>

Link decided to go back to his house. He didn't want to bother Zelda any longer.

He didn't get his phone. He didn't care.
He wouldn't even care if his dad beat the living shit out of him. He'd probably barely feel it.

He opened the door and let it fall shut behind him. His dad wasn't home. He felt pretty indifferent about that. In fact, he was a little disappointed. He deserved a beating.

He went upstairs and into his room. Not long after- well, it didn't feel like too long- there was a knock on his door.

"Who is it and what the fuck do you want?"
"It's me, Aryll. Mom told me what happened."
"What, she didn't tell you yesterday?"
"Well, no. She just told me."
"Took her long enough."
"She hasn't really had a chance to talk to me for a while... Anyway, I figured you'd be upset, and I wanted to see how you were doing."
"I'm doing great. And I'd be even better if you left me alone."

There was a sigh from the other side of the door, then the sound of footsteps walking away.

He lied to her. He was most definitely not doing great.
Now he felt bad. Hylia, this was just going to turn into some sort of crazy snowball effect.
At this point, it was inevitable. That, and another bad thing. Probably. Or who, knows, it could be good. But it was more likely that it'd be bad. Waay more likely.