"YOU GUYS SLEPT IN THE SAME BED?!" Peach shouted as Zelda reached that part of the story.

Zelda winced slightly and nodded her head. She felt slightly ashamed. Even if they didn't do anything last night, she had just met the guy. Link was just so sweet and understanding. She shouldn't have asked him to stay, but her emotions had clouded her judgment at the time.

"Well, he seems really nice. I mean wow. The way he stood up to Ike this morning. He's got some serious balls to do something like that." Peach rambled with wide eyes. Zelda giggled slightly.

"It's true, he's very courageous. And quite the gentleman from what I've seen so far. Normally guys would steer clear of sobbing girls, but he made sure I was okay." Zelda said, smiling slightly to herself.

"I know that look." Peach said with a smirk.

"What look?"

"You're totally in to him!" Peach blustered grabbing Zelda by her shoulders.

"That's not true!" Zelda exclaimed defensively, brushing Peach's hands off of her. "I just barely met the guy. And yes he was very sweet, but we're just friends. If that. I doubt we'll ever talk again."

"So you're telling me you aren't going to text him?" Peach prompted knowingly. Zelda shook her head slightly. "Not even after I leave?" Peach persisted.

"Nope." Zelda answered, crossing her arms.

Peach stuck out her bottom lip in a pout. "The guy comforts a crying girl he doesn't know, stays the night without sex, and gets punched in the jaw, and she won't even text him?"

"I guess not." Zelda replied stubbornly.

Peach gave a drastic sigh. "Fine. What do you say to a little retail therapy?"

The two best friends smirked at each other. "You know just how to cheer me up." Zelda beamed.

"That's what best friends are for. Now let's hurry up and get ready. After all, the mall is busy on Saturdays." Peach said, hopping up from her sitting position on Zelda's bed and pulling the girl up with her. They both headed into Zelda's bathroom to prepare for their outing.

-:-

The two had shopped for a little over two hours, stopped for a lunch break, then headed to the spa for manicures and pedicures.

The outing had definitely taken Zelda's mind off of things. Well, sort of. She still couldn't take her mind away from Link.

Through out her whole mani-pedi she tried to decide whether she should text him or not. On one hand, Peach was definitely right. He had been so caring toward her last night and she probably at least owed him a text.

On the other, she definitely did not have feelings for him and she didn't want to give him that impression. Though she wondered, if she didn't have feelings for him, why couldn't she stop thinking about him?

Then again it was absolutely ridiculous to have feelings for someone you had literally met the night before and only spent a few hours with. The majority of their time together was spent sleeping.

"Ready to go?" Peach asked pulling Zelda out of her thoughts. The girl nodded in response and they left together.

Peach continued to talk about some rumor going around school on the way home. Zelda nodded and gasped at the appropriate times, but she wasn't really listening that well.

Her mind still wandered to the blonde boy who had been there for her when nobody else was.

Peach dropped Zelda off at home to let Zelda do her homework. In truth she had none, but she was exhausted and felt some time to herself would be excellent.

The rest of Saturday passed in a blur of chick flicks and reality TV shows. That night she was invited to multiple parties, but didn't feel up to any of them. Sunday was spent similar to Saturday, with a few hours of cleaning out all of Ike's stuff and looking through old pictures.

Before she knew it, the sun was rising on Monday morning and it was time to once again face the boy that shattered her.

She was tempted to skip school all together or at least not get ready, but she decided that she needed to show him what he was missing. It's what Peach would've done.

She shaved her legs and dressed in a simple white dress with a dark green jacket and light brown combat style boots. Her hair was straightened then curled loosely and she pulled the front pieces back and secured them with pins. Her makeup was simple, but it always was.

She added a long gold necklace and a few gold rings to decorate her fingers to complete the look.

She had toast for breakfast and found herself thinking about how Link had made those delicious waffles on Saturday. Her stomach dropped, longing for his company. She regretted not texting him over the weekend, but she had decided that would be best.

After breakfast she brushed her teeth, applied some lip gloss, and headed out to her car. She hadn't driven herself to school in awhile, but she decided she was tired of relying on others.

She spent as long as she could in her car so she could go straight to class. Had everyone found out about the breakup yet? Half of her hoped they had so she wouldn't have to tell people and the other half of her hoped they hadn't so she wouldn't have to deal with all the questions.

The bell was going to ring in two minutes. She took one last deep breath, then headed into the building.

As she walked through the main commons, many people turned to stare. So, the break up had gotten out. The real question is what version of the story all these people had heard.

She headed straight for her locker in the cheerleader's separate hall. Thankfully it was empty.

She quickly unloaded her back pack as the first bell rang.

"So, no text then? I thought I gave you a better time then that."

Zelda jumped at the sudden voice in her ear. She turned to face that smirking blonde boy that never left her mind the whole weekend.

"You scared me." She answered quietly as she pulled out her Medical Terminology binder.

"I noticed," he replied. "So was I really so bad Friday night that you couldn't even text me?"

"What do you mean?" She asked, closing her locker and heading toward class. Link followed alongside her.

"I mean we slept together and I took a punch from your boyfriend. I mean don't get me wrong, there's nothing more appealing than getting hit in the face by a buff football player, but it left an embarrassing bruise." Link continued, talking in his casual and playful tone.

"First of all, we did not sleep together and stop saying that before people get the wrong idea." Zelda said sternly. "And secondly, let me see your face." She instructed, her tone turning soft as she stopped and gently grabbed his face. She turned it to get a good look at his cheek.

Sure enough there was the familiar light yellow-green mark of a fading bruise left on his cheek like a lipstick mark from a kiss.

"I'm so sorry." She whispered quietly, suddenly interested in the dirty linoleum tiles beneath her feet.

"Hey," he said quietly. He took her chin in one hand and lifted it slowly until his electric blue eyes met hers. Her heart seemed to skip a beat when his impending gaze met hers.

He took a breath like he was about to say something, but the late bell interrupted him. "You're late." He whispered.

"As are you." She responded, reluctantly pulling away from him so his hand fell limply to his side and headed to her class.

"Hey! Meet me for lunch!" Link called after her. Zelda gave a thumbs up to show him that she heard. He smiled, then jogged off in the opposite direction.

Zelda shook her head lightly, but couldn't control the smile that crept on her face as she walked into class.

"You're late, Ms. Gaepora." Mr. Hunt said in a not-so-happy tone.

The smile immediately fell from Zelda's face once she realized the whole class was staring at her. This was going to be a long day.

-:-

At last the bell rang marking that it was finally time for lunch.

Zelda headed into the lunchroom with Daisy, who she just had third period with. They met up with Peach and some of the other girls in the salad bar line.

"How's your day going?" Peach asked casually, but Zelda knew what she really meant was, 'Have people been giving you shit about Ike? How are you coping?'

Zelda shrugged her shoulders. "Fine, I guess. Other than a few stares, nobody has asked me about it or really mentioned it and I haven't seen Ike all day."

Peach nodded her head as she loaded her tray with salad leaves and toppings from the bar. Zelda picked up a tray for herself and started to fill it as well.

Once they all had their food they headed to their regular table. Zelda's heart plummeted to the bottom of her stomach faster than Peach could text a paragraph when she's angry.

Ike was sitting at the table with their usual group. That wasn't the thing that made her heart drop, though. It was the person next to him. Samus Aran.

All the emotions that she had kept shut down were suddenly bubbling toward the surface, but she had to hold them down. She refused to have a break down here in front of everybody.

Her emotions kept bubbling higher and higher, ready to burst like a lid trying to keep down boiling water on a pot.

Suddenly she spotted Link standing by one of the doorways looking at her knowingly. Once they made eye contact, he gestured her over.

She walked quickly toward him, ignoring Peach calling her name behind her. She refused to look back, Samus and Ike were probably staring.

"Already forgot you agreed to meet me for lunch?" He asked with a smirk.

"Nope, you just never specified a location." Zelda replied with a small grin.

"Point taken." Link agreed. "Now c'mon, I have a cooler place for us to eat lunch."

Zelda followed awkwardly with her tray full of salad as Link led her down a few halls and then out a side door.

They were in the school greenhouse. "Welcome to my favorite spot in the whole school." Link introduced, holding his arms wide.

"The greenhouse?" Zelda asked uncertainly.

"Well, not quite the reaction I was hoping for, but yes. Welcome to the greenhouse!"

She followed him to the back where the plants grown in the soil beds in the center of the house were so tall they couldn't see the entrance any longer.

A small blanket was laid out on the ground where a small picnic lunch was assembled.

"Wow. This is..not what I was expecting at all." Zelda breathed in amazement.

"Now that's the reaction I was hoping for." Link said quietly, watching her face intently.

She immediately blushed when she caught his gaze and looked down shyly. He cleared his throat. "Only 45 minutes left in lunch, better get eatin'."

After about ten minutes of silent eating Zelda decided to break the ice. "So, why is this your favorite place?"

Link held up a finger while he finished chewing a bite from his sandwich and swallowed it.

"Well for starters, it's very nice and private. There's only one class that comes out here and it's always second period so it's empty most the time. It's a nice private spot to think or skip classes." He began, looking around the room. Zelda followed his gaze. "Secondly, I love the aura in here. The scent of fresh nature smelling air, the peacefulness, and it reminds me a lot of my mom."

"Your mom?" Zelda asked quietly. She recalled that he mentioned his grandma needed him home on Saturday, not a mom or dad. Did he live with his grandma?

Link nodded his head thoughtfully. "We used to have a giant garden in our backyard. I was too young to go to school at the time so I'd always help my mom in the garden throughout the day. And she'd always incorporate the vegetables we grew in her dinners. Even as I got older, I'd always head straight to the garden after school. Up until.."

"Until?" Zelda asked cautiously.

"Until...my mom..she got sick." Link said quietly. He seemed to snap out of his day dream as he recalled the story to her and looked down at the food.

"I'm so sorry, Link." Zelda whispered. She scooted closer to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

After a few seconds he shrugged and his face bounced back to it's normal joyful self. "It's no big deal."

"Well, I'm always here if you need someone to talk to about it, after all, you were there for me when I needed you most." She reminded him with a comforting grin. He returned the expression.

"Thank you."

The two stayed in there for the rest of lunch break, laughing and talking about anything and everything. Zelda told Link a lot about how her parents were never home and the big house was always lonely. Link told stories of his grandma and little sister Aryll that made Zelda wish she had a sibling.

The bell rang, interrupting their conversation.

"Guess we better get going." Link said, helping her to her feet.

"I guess so." Zelda agreed sadly. "What about your blanket and our leftovers?"

"I'll come back after school and get it. For now we better get to class or you'll be late again." Link said teasingly.

"And both times will be on your account." Zelda said as they exited the greenhouse and entered the school.

"Not true. You don't have to talk to me you know." Link argued playfully.

She just shook her head. "Says the one who was complaining that I never sent him a text over the weekend."

Link chuckled, getting ready for a snarky reply when he was interrupted.

"Oh my goddess. So it is true." Daisy said from a few feet away.

Zelda and Link shared a confused look. "What are you talking about, Daisy?" Zelda asked cautiously.

"What do you mean?" Daisy asked confused. "The whole school has been talking about it."

"Talking about what..?" Link asked looking as confused as Zelda.

Daisy sighed. "Don't play dumb! I mean you cheating on Ike with Link!"

Zelda's heart stopped.