"Alright, alright! Can we please just go now? I think you got enough pictures!" Link begged his grandmother in exasperation.

"Oh shush up, Link. A few pictures won't kill you. Besides, you two just look so darling, how could I resist?" Eleanor responded, taking one last photo of Link's frustrated expression. "Okay, now you're free to go."

"Thank you," Link sighed in relief under his breath.

"You look gorgeous, dear." Eleanor gushed to Zelda as Link helped her into her coat.

"Thank you!" She responded happily. Link hardly gave her the chance to give the elderly woman a hug before he ushered her out the door.

"Goodbye, grandma! Love you!" He called behind him, without slowing his pace even slightly.

"Have fun you two!" She called back from the porch, the two of them already almost to the long black limousine parked at the curb.

"M'lady," he said sweetly, his frazzled demeanor diminishing into his usual cool self as he opened the door for her.

"Thank you," she replied as she stepped in.

She was immediately met with excited squeals and an abundance of compliments as soon as she stepped into the vehicle. Inside awaited Peach, Daisy, Lynn, Palutena, Roy, Luigi, Marth, and Pit. The spacious limo was a little cramped with all ten teenagers stuffed inside, but they were all too excited to be heading to their senior prom with all their best friends to think about comfort.

All of the girls gushed to each other for a solid five minutes about how gorgeous each one looked, how amazing their dress was, and how pretty their hair turned out. The boys simply greeted Link with a 'bro handshake' or some such variation of the greeting and then stared in bewilderment at the giddy group of girls.

"I'm sorry we took so long to come out, my grandma would not stop taking pictures." Link apologized to the group once the babbling girls had settled.

"Ah, no worries man. Gave us some extra time to pre-game." Roy pulled a flask from his pocket and extended it to Link to offer him some, but he shook his head.

"Besides, now we're the perfect amount of late. Only losers get there right on time." Peach chimed in as she gave her makeup one last look over in the tiny compact mirror she procured from her clutch.

"Wow guys, I can't believe it's our last prom ever! It's kind of sad." Daisy told the group with a small pout.

"Don't be sad, Dais, it's not over yet." Lynn assured her friend with a small grin.

"Yeah, no need to dampen the party before it's even started!" Palutena teased, obviously slightly tipsy already.

"Daisy's right though, we have to make this the best one yet!" Zelda chirped excitedly. The girls all whooped in agreement while Roy rolled his eyes at the rest of the boys. He wouldn't even care to ever attend a school dance if it wasn't for the fact that literally all of his friends were going to be there and he could get drunk beforehand, making it at least a bit more bearable.

"Alright, I'm going to need one more swig of that before we go in." Marth told Roy, reaching for the flask.

"Understood." Roy replied, as if he had just earned his utmost respect.

Zelda was personally just interested in having a good time with all of her friends, no alcohol required. She was glad Link seemed to have the same mindset as well, especially because this would be their first and last dance together. She couldn't help but hope it would be perfect.

The limousine came to a halt, signaling that the group had officially arrived. Link climbed out first since he was the last one to get in and thus closest to the door. He helped Zelda get out and she immediately stared in awe at the awaiting venue.

Smash High had chosen a strange location for prom this year, but now that she saw it in person, she understood the appeal completely. It was a ginormous barn they had rented from some rich farmer near the school. Everyone had dragged on the idea when it was first advertised, Peach had even joked that she wanted to go to prom, not a hoedown.

However, the student government had done an outstanding job revamping the place for tonight. The large sliding doors were left open revealing a spacious room strung with those cute little bulb lights every which way and real, lit candles on each of the tables lining the outskirts of the designated dance floor. There was a small stage against the back wall where the DJ was stationed and taking requests for songs.

"Wow," Peach breathed in amazement as she climbed out last. "Now this is a hoedown I can get behind." The group all laughed, then headed for the table adjacent to the door where a few teacher chaperones sat, accepting tickets from the students and checking their student ID cards.

The group found a table so they could ditch their coats and any purses the ladies brought and then dashed onto the dance floor just as a good song began to play over the speakers. They stuck together in a group, dancing carelessly together during the upbeat songs and sanctioning off to their individual pairings during the slow songs. Peach had come with Roy, Daisy with Luigi, Lynn with Marth, Palutena with Pit, and of course, Zelda with Link.

"Wanna go get something to drink?" Link asked as a song finished it's last note. Zelda nodded in agreement. They had been dancing for about half an hour and she was sweating profusely. The dance had started just over an hour ago so the barn was chalk full of students now, only adding to the immense humidity of the room.

They headed over to the refreshment table and each grabbed a pre-filled cup of water and a sugar cookie, then returned to their table to relax for a few minutes. "So, has Palutena ever talked to you about Pit before?" Link asked with a mischievous smirk.

"Umm, I don't think so. Why? Does he like her or something?" Zelda asked, intrigued.

"He'd kill me if he ever found out I told you, but yes. Definitely yes. Like he has for years." Link confided.

"Really? I thought he just asked her so we could have all our best friends in the same group." She said, genuinely surprised by the news.

"Nope! Now--" Link began to talk about something else, but she honestly didn't hear what he said. Just as he began to speak, she locked eyes with Ike a few tables away and it was as if her hearing just went right out. He sat next to Samus who looked (aggravatingly) stunning in a tight, sky blue dress that accentuated all of her envious curves.

Samus seemed to be too busy talking to a few of the girls from the volleyball team, who seemed to have come with some of Ike's football friends, to pay attention to him. Which was probably good for the moment because Zelda didn't think she would like the way he was staring at her right this moment.

He seemed to mouth something to her, but she couldn't quite read what he was trying to say. She must've had a very confused look on her face because Link placed a hand on her arm, pulling her from her trance. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry, just thinking about how delicious these cookies are." She lied quickly, and immediately she felt a pang of guilt for lying to him.

"I mean I'd say they're above average, but I don't know that they're good enough to be contemplated about that intensely." He joked, though his gaze still held a look of concern. Zelda smiled apologetically, but he didn't push the matter any further.

"Let's get back to dancing," She suggested, pulling him to his feet and rushing him over to the floor. She felt safer in the group. It was less likely that Ike would try to approach her in the middle of the dance floor in a crowd of her friends.

Link quickly seemed to forget about her odd behavior as they began to laugh and sing at the top of their lungs with the group once again. Roy was now drunk and trying to teach them all absolutely ridiculous dance moves. Everyone's attempts at it were just as funny as Roy's example, resulting in any viewers almost doubling over with laughter. Well, mainly just Zelda and her friends, the other onlookers might have been a little more appalled than amused.

Soon it was time for yet another break, what with all the dancing, the laughing instead of breathing, and the heat of the room. They all returned to their table with refreshments, still laughing about what they had just witnessed.

"Okay, that last one has to be my favorite." Luigi told the group with a huge grin. Everyone chimed in agreement, still laughing even at just the thought.

"Drunk Roy is definitely a party and a half." Lynn commented, patting him on the shoulder.

"What can I say?" He slurred with a huge smile. "Fun is my middle name."

"Just be careful, I think the teachers are onto you." Palutena warned him, glancing over to a group of chaperones staring at their table.

"Yeah, maybe it's best if we merge back into the crowd where they can't catch us?" Marth suggested to the group nervously.

"There's only about an hour left anyway! Let's make it the best yet!" Peach cheered.

"Link will you come to the bathroom with me?" Pit asked him as the group stood to head back out. Link looked over to Zelda and then back to Pit. "I need to talk to you about something." He insisted more quietly, sensing Link's oncoming refusal.

"Go ahead, I'm going to go outside and get some fresh air." Zelda assured her boyfriend with a smile.

"Okay, I'll meet you outside by the door?" Link asked. She nodded in agreement, giving him a peck before heading outside. The cool March air felt amazing on her bare arms and rosy face, and it smelled so much more refreshing than the sweat filled gas chamber that the barn had become.

"Hey.." A deep voice said behind Zelda, startling her. She turned around to see Ike, dressed in a dashing black suit with a sky blue tie to match Samus' dress.

"Hey!" She squeaked, annoyed at how nervous she sounded.

"You look gorgeous." He complimented, examining her silky lilac gown. It was form-fitting with off the shoulder sleeves, a slit up to just above the knee on the right side, and a short train trailing behind her.

"Thanks..." She muttered awkwardly. "You look...nice, too."

"Can we talk now, please?" He asked quietly, his eyes full of desperation.

"I don't really think this is the time nor place..." She trailed off, checking behind her to see if Link was on his way back from the bathroom yet. The last thing she needed was another confrontation between those two. She didn't want to get kicked out of her very last high school dance.

"When will it be then? Hmm? Because it seems like you will never make the time." He said curtly, frustration seeping into his tone. Zelda wanted to defend herself, but he was right. She had told him she would hear him out only to come up with excuse after excuse at the last minute. Maybe it was time to resolve this once and for all.

"Alright fine. You got ten minutes max and then I'm going back to having the best prom ever with my friends, got it?" She told the blue haired boy sternly.

"I know just the place," He told her, his face lightening up immediately.

"Why not here?" She asked quickly, a little nervous to head anywhere else.

"We need somewhere quiet and private, don't you think?" He asked. Zelda had to admit he had a point and so she agreed to follow him to wherever he had in mind. He led her around the back of the barn where he began to climb a ladder that led to a huge window.

"You can't be serious?!" She stared up at him incredulously.

"Dead serious." He answered as he continued to climb. "C'mon Zel, it's fine."

"Why am I doing this again?" She grumbled to herself as she took off her silver heels and began to ascend the metal ladder. It led into a loft area of the barn which was still full of hay. Ike seemed to have snagged a dozen or so of the lit candles from below, or brought his own, to light the area.

"The candles seem a bit romantic considering the situation? Don't ya think?" She observed as she looked around.

"Look it was either that, a phone flashlight, or complete darkness. Okay?" He answered, rolling his eyes at her nagging, but smiling as if he had missed it all along.

"Your ten minutes are ticking away." She reminded him, placing her hands on her hips.

"Alright...the very first thing I want to say is I'm so sorry, Zelda. From the bottom of my heart, I am truly sorry for betraying you, hurting you, and...losing you." He began earnestly.

"I can't believe we let five months go by without fixing things...well I can't believe I let five months go by before forcing you to fully hear me out. So I guess I better start at the beginning. I didn't lie during that spin the bottle game at the Halloween party. It really was just physical between me and Samus at first." At first? Zelda thought to herself with a pang of annoyance, even though she was happily dating Link now, it still hurt a little.

"The very first time was at Roy's back to school party at the end of August. That was the one where we got in a fight and you ended up leaving early, remember?" He asked. Zelda nodded in response. Much like the party where he got caught, Ike's drunken self had been extra handsy and she ended up blowing him off and leaving early. In her defense she also had a big test on Monday so she wanted to get a decent amount of sleep to study on Sunday.

Ike continued with his story, "after you left, I got even drunker. Which definitely was not the smartest idea, but I was hurt that you blew me off and ditched me like that and figured more alcohol would help turn my night around again. Needless to say, I got way too drunk. I actually blacked out and don't remember anything after that point. I wouldn't even have realized I cheated on you if I didn't wake up butt naked next to Samus the next morning and she confirmed my fears..."

"Obviously not that much of a fear if it happened again." Zelda snapped sharply. "Look, I don't think I actually wanna hear this. It's obvious that this is just going to ruin the rest of my night and I'm not down for that." She tried to head back for the window, but Ike stepped in her way.

"Please just hear me out Zelda. I can't live with myself if I haven't made every effort to make it up to you." He begged once again, walking toward her. She backed up slowly, not wanting to be any nearer to him than she had to be. She turned from him, speed walking to the far side of the room.

"Okay, okay. I'll hear you out. Just give me some space, okay?" She bargained. He agreed with a nod, and stood to face her once again.

"So after that I resolved to tell you and apologize and just pray that you would be able to forgive me somehow."

"But you never did." She filled in. He shook his head shamefully.

"But I never did. A few weeks later, it happened again at another party. I won't go into detail, but it was just so good and made me feel better. It happened another time at her house, once again after we had a fight, and then the last time before you found out was that party. I know this is no way an excuse, but it just sort of became a way to easily restore my confidence and make me feel good...especially after being turned down so many times by you..." He explained.

"So, what? You're saying this is all my fault because I wasn't ready to have sex with you?!" She exclaimed angrily.

"No, no, no! Of course not!" He stumbled quickly. "Like I said it's no excuse. There is no good reason to ever cheat and I should have never done that to you. After the first time I should have come clean and, if by some miracle you decided to stay with me, I should have never let it happen again. I'm so sorry Zelda. I realize it's probably too late for us now, but I hope you can see how much I genuinely regret this. It's honestly the worst mistake of my life."

Zelda sighed, calming slightly. "Although I'm not quite healed from it yet...I do forgive you Ike. Not fully, but you can rest assured knowing that I will eventually..." She left out that now thanks to Link, she was starting to find peace and happiness again already.

"So, you think there's any chance of there ever being an us again?" He asked hopefully.

Zelda shook her head solemnly. "Aren't you with Samus now?"

"I like her and she is definitely more to me than just a girl to hook-up with, but she doesn't compare to you, Zelda. She doesn't even come close."

Zelda's heart softened at this statement. A part of her still had feelings for Ike. He was her first serious boyfriend, probably her first love even, but she knew there was no way she would ever be able to trust him again. Besides, she felt a real connection with Link now, there was no going back.

"We're never getting back together Ike...I'm sorry. I'll never be able to trust you like I once did and besides...me and Link are officially dating now." She told him softly, reaching out and grabbing one of his large hands.

He nodded slowly. "I figured, but I had to give it a shot. Do...do you love him?"

"I do." She replied without hesitation, surprising herself slightly.

He gave her a sad smile which dropped suddenly. "Hey, I just realized something."

"What?" She asked, confused at his sudden change.

"I think the music stopped playing awhile ago." He said, listening intently. She had been so immersed in the conversation that she hadn't even noticed the disappearance of the muffled music in the background.

"You're right...does it smell weird to you too?" She observed, her now focused senses also picking up on a new aroma in the air. Was that smoke?

The two looked around, realizing the room had not only begun to smell like smoke, but looked a little hazy too.

"Zelda...I think something's wrong. We should go." Ike said, a new sense of panic entering his voice. Zelda nodded harshly, growing more and more afraid. The floorboards objected with loud, scary creaking sounds as they attempted to make their way toward the window. She wasn't exactly sure what was happening but it was extra hot, the air appeared and smelled smokey, and they couldn't hear anyone downstairs anymore...all signs seemed to point to a fire.

"Ike..." Zelda called out fearfully as the floorboards groaned even louder. He seemed to have reached the same conclusion she had because he was fully panicking now, though he tried to hide it.

"It's gonna be okay, Zel. We just have to make it to the window." He assured her shakily. Zelda tried to swallow the lump swelling in her throat, but it wouldn't go down. The smoke made it hard enough to breathe as it was, now was not the time to get choked up too.

The two barely took another step when the floor groaned even louder and made a splintering sound. Zelda realized all too late that the floor must've given out somewhere behind them because she was now sliding like it was a ramp into the downstairs.

"ZELDA!" Ike screamed from somewhere above her.

She had managed to slow to a stop near the end of the boards, where they had splintered off. Slowly, she turned her head to see how bad it was below her. Almost the entire lower level of the barn was engulfed in hungry flames that were beginning to lick their way up the walls.

Tears now streamed freely from her eyes as she thought to herself, how were they going to get out of this alive?