Are you really letting jealousy consume you like this? All because you were stupid enough to not tell a girl you loved her?

Pathetic.

"Shut up," Link mumbled, voice cracking in the process.

A voice in the back of his head stopped speaking so cryptically to him. Link stopped just before he could run out into the open roads, staring at the headlights of the cars that zoomed by. The lights could have blinded him if he decided to continue looking. Some of the children in the cars stared at him strangely, most likely wondering why a teenager like him was standing out in the muddy, rainy weather, wearing an expensive outfit.

Before rushing across the street that divided the school from everything else, Link looked both ways before crossing. A childish rule he had always lived by, and now, he would not mind if he did not follow it. However, he crossed the street safely, and then the depths of his mind began to crawl at him again.

Link cursed himself for overreacting like so again. This always happened, no matter the circumstance. He always tried to find a way to become jealous of something or someone, and it was one of his qualities he hated the most about himself.

He continued to demean himself. He was being selfish and taking everything for granted. And he knew that this was the case, because his life was swell, compared to anyone else dealing with similar problems of his. He was blessed with a kind family, a wonderful (yet rambunctious) little sister, trustworthy friends, a comfortable roof over his head, all the writing utensils and games he could want in the world, food on the table, and so much more. Yet, he was taking that all for granted; how selfish.

The mind works differently for those who are strong and those who are weaker in the head.

Snapping back into reality, Link found himself standing at entrance of the school's park. It wasn't familiar at all to him upon first sight, but after glancing at the swing set and one of the benches, perched underneath a tree, he remembered something. Hanging out with Zelda here in their freshmen year of high school.

Things were better, then. They weren't good, but they were better.

Link stopped walking, collapsing to the ground with shaky hands and pupils almost the size of a grain. His hands were covered in the rainwater that lingered on the sidewalk, and that harsh rain pounded against his back.

What was going on with him? He had never broken down this badly before. It was just a simple incident, and here he was, contemplating over whether his life was worth it or not.

But was it really? He only had a small amount of friends friends and his family members. The public eye saw that as pathetic as he did. He got angry easily, snapped often, broke down at the slightest disturbances in his life, turned others away too easily, annoyed people...

Getting upset over such trivial things was so stupid, but he couldn't help it.

Link heard footsteps clattering on the sidewalks behind him, but he didn't dare to turn around. A warm hand tried to reach out and hold his own, fingertips only brushing against his hand, but then falling to the wet grounds.

Whoever was behind him began to weep, falling to their knees as they did so. This alerted Link a little bit, now curious about the person who decided to cry behind him.

When he did turn around, he was shocked (or maybe not that shocked) to see Zelda Harkinian kneeling there. Hands covering her entire face and small cries emitting from her lips, she didn't move her knees away from the ground.

Link felt terribly guilty for making the girl he loved cry and sink this low. He added that to his list of things he wished he could change; things he hated about himself.

Shakily, Link stood up, gazing ahead at the statue in the middle of the park—it was an image of the goddess, Hylia, standing proudly in the middle of the fountain. Rain patterned against the surface of the fountain and the statue itself, creating a small glimmer of light with the provided sunshine above.

There was water in the fountain.

Water can easily drown a person if they work hard enough.

The words echoed in his head, and they never came back. Link began to mentally scold himself for thinking such thoughts. So intrusive. Why would he end his life for such stupid reasons. He could definitely change... he could. Just give it time.

Not today.

He heard Zelda's heels clank against the sidewalks again, standing up and taking a step closer towards him.

He began to wonder—why was she even out here? It was chilly and raining horribly right now. Link would have thought that Zelda would much prefer to stay in shelter, all dry and cozy.

"Link," she signed once he looked her way. He had an obvious fake smile on his face.

She sniffed, tears still spilling down her cheeks.

Link's smile dropped immediately, however, once he saw her face clearly.

Zelda clenched her fists together in anger, but she didn't do anything to harm Link. She contained herself, seeing as this was the only way to express how furious she had become.

"I know what you were thinking about doing," she said, her anger slowly melting away as she signed her words. "Why?"

A frown appeared on his face, eyebrows lowering as he sadly stared at his shoes.

Tears suddenly pooled in his eyes, and he covered those eyes with both of his hands. Zelda eventually looked up at him, a frown appearing on her face and eyes watering as she watched Link break down.

When he had gotten enough tears out, he knelt on the ground. Choking on his pathetic sobs, he averted his eyes upwards and towards Zelda, who was kneeling down in front of him as well. Those eyes—the eyes Link loved so very much—held so much sorrow and pain in them.

He never wanted to be the cause of such an expression.

"I'm sorry." Link was preparing for another onslaught of tears to commence. Before that could happen, Zelda gently placed her hand over his. Glancing down at her hand, he looked back up at her face.

"Don't apologize," she signed, moving her hand away from his. "You didn't do anything wrong."

He sniffed. "I'm just...tired of all of this. I managed to lose all of my friends in such a short amount of time, and—and there's always that stupid, stupid sense of doubt that stops me from reaching any goal of mine...

"I'm being so selfish, aren't I? I have so much, yet I'm only focusing on the few negative things in my life. I don't know why I'm letting these things affect me so much, I just..." Link stopped signing there, sitting his hands down on his lap and getting all of those frustrated tears out of his system.

Zelda just watched with sympathy, trying to conjure up the right words to say to him in a scary, stressful situation like this. She could not use the incorrect words right now.

But, a wise person once said, actions speak louder than words.

Unfortunately, she was too much of a coward to do a bold thing like that. So, she opted for grabbing his hand again, gently, and intertwined their fingers together. Link looked up at her, then to his hand, and back at her. As a reassurance, she held his hand tighter.

He was confused by her actions.

A smile curved up onto her lips, exhaling a sigh. Keeping her hand in his, she continued looked at him with so much care and love in her eyes. The look in those eyes made Link's heart thump louder and quicker against his ribcage, his palms growing sweaty at the thought of what could happen. He bit his lip and tried avoiding her gaze, which was physically impossible for someone as love-stricken as him.

The comfort of her simply holding his hand was enough to calm his shaky breaths down. He was grateful that he was finally able to calm down after that terrifying panic earlier.

"Link, I need to tell you something," she quickly signed her words after releasing their hands, taking this as her only chance.

He noticed her words, trying to stop himself from crying so pathetically in front of the girl he loved. "Yeah?"

A blush ensued on her cheeks, even going as far as to reaching the tips of her Hylian ears. Breathing in and out, she decided to approach this the best way she could.

"I can't change your mind so easily. I know you think the world despises you, but I want to say the truth—you're wrong," she said. "Lots of people care about you—I've seen it. Even if you don't."

Then, her saddened expression turned into joy. "And I have you, too. You can think all you want about how I think of you, but I'll say it now—I really do care about you. I'll say that as many times as I need to, as long as you understand it."

Link cracked a smile. "Liar."

Mocking astonishment, Zelda puffed out her cheeks in annoyance. "Am not! I really care about you, in a—a certain way, y'know. Can you figure it out?"

"Figure it out?" Link repeated her words. "You're my frie-"

"You're close," Zelda stopped him before he could even finish the word, waving her hands up after signing her words. "Try again."

"Um..." Link thought about it for a moment, and when one thought came across his mind, that's when his face turned a shade of red.

Zelda groaned. "I don't know if I'm too naïve to say this, but..."

She couldn't possibly get herself to say the words. Impossible is what it was, and Zelda could only think of one other way to get this across Link's, apparently, dense head.

Without any warning or distractions, Zelda quickly moved closer to Link's face. And there she did it—placing her lips on his, the sensation making her heart explode and her eyes close.

Of course, he was taken aback by her bold action. But when she didn't seem keen on moving away, he closed his eyes, too, and smiled through their first kiss; it wasn't a kiss with fireworks exploding in their stomachs and weird butterflies suddenly fluttering about. It was nothing like the books said—it was simple and pure and was theirs. They both maneuvered their arms around each other in an attempt to draw closer to the other. Their bodies melded into one, almost, soaking in the faint, signature scents they both wore.

Zelda was the one to pull away first after starting to lose a breath. She gasped when she leaned away and Link stared at her lips, which were only swollen in the slightest, but still so wonderful and pink. Her face was caked in her own blush, but the look in her half-lidded eyes and the small smile on her face proved how overjoyed she was feeling.

Link assumed he looked the exact same as she did right now, a feeling of happiness and satisfaction keeping that smile on his face.

"I really do love you, Link," Zelda finally signed, eyes averting up and looking directly at Link. "Please—don't doubt my words for a single second."

Goddesses, she made him so happy. His smile never wavered, still processing her words into his brain. Link wasn't even sure that this moment was even real, because frankly, it really was too good to be true.

Link didn't even want to go back to prom, goodness no. There would only be people there to distract him and Zelda from—well, anything really.

The two of them stood up, hand in hand. The rain around them concealed the world before them, making the draw distance unreadable. However, the only thing that mattered in this world was each other. For now, at least, and hopefully forever.

"Might I say that you look beautiful tonight?" Link signed with a smirk, causing Zelda to bashfully smile.

Zelda scoffed, trying to think of reasons why he could think that. "Might I add that you look dashing in that outfit?" she retorted her compliment.

He just rolled his eyes, suddenly feeling joyful. Although his eyes still felt dry from all the tears he shed, panic he felt and the small fear of what could've happened moments prior to now, he tried to push all of those negative thoughts away. Besides, he was with the person he cared about most. That was enough to prevent bad thoughts from entering his mind.

Trying to act as gentlemanly as he could, Link held out his hand quite elegantly to Zelda, even bowing a bit as if she was a princess.

No words were exchanged, but Zelda knew exactly what he was suggesting. With a small giggle escaping her lips, rosy cheeks and a soft smile resting on her face, she gingerly placed her hand in his. Warmth encased her skin when he wrapped his fingers around her hand, the two of them getting in the proper position to dance. There was no music, but that was even better a song to dance to. Especially for the sake of Zelda who could not hear.

They tried to dance elegantly together in the rain, but their attempts proved to be fruitless. Link wasn't as elegant as Zelda was when it came to slow dancing, which lead to him stepping on her feet as a result. Zelda didn't mind at all, though, just laughing merrily at his mishaps. Link laughed too, not feeling any sort of embarrassment with his slip ups for once in his life.

Peaceful and pure moments like these were everything Link had wished for when it came to loving someone. The fear of falling in love slipped from his mind as he slowly swayed with Zelda in the rain, and everything became a little calmer and a little more clear.

Zelda quickly leaned in for a small kiss, a smile still glued to her face. Her lips came into contact with his once more, those great emotions running through Link's head again.

How about we try to change?

Link thought that was a wonderful idea.

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