"What're you listening to?" | A Zelink Story

"I was screaming, long live all the magic we made, and bring on all the pretenders..."

I hummed along  to the song playing through my AirPods, taking in the scenery of the park. The sun was shining, the trees' leaves were going from green to various yellows and reds and oranges, there were squirrels scurrying about and birds flying in the air: it really was just a simple, quiet early autumn day.

These kinds of days were my favorites. They weren't too chilly nor too warm, and they weren't gloomy either. They were pleasant. Peaceful. The perfect kind of day to run away to the park to escape from my life.

I had just started my senior year of high school a month ago, and everything needed to turn out just right: my grades, attendance, everything. My goal was to graduate with hopefully a 4.0 GPA or maybe even higher, if I could, be my class's valedictorian and go to an ivy league school to study archeology. It was nothing short of stressful, so moments like this where I didn't have to worry about disappointing my teachers or worse, my father, were greatly appreciated.

I sighed as I tilted my head upwards to look at the blue sky above me, decorated with fluffy cumulus clouds. Taylor Swift began to sing the chorus of the song I was listening to again, and my eyes shut as I started to get lost in a daydream...

A small apartment in the city: practically the opposite of the giant mansion I lived in then. It's late at night, and the living space is dimly lit. I'm with a man. Oddly enough, he had no specific appearance in my head: he's just there with me, and he loves me. That's all that mattered. We're hand in hand, dancing to soft music. We hum along to the music, he whispers sweet nothings to me, making me blush... and I don't have a care in the world.

One day...

"Hey."

My head quickly snapped back foward and my eyes fluttered open at the sound of a voice, talking to me. I focused my gaze on the person standing in front of the bench. I assumed they were the one that greeted me.

The person had shaggy, caramel blonde hair that was pulled back into a small ponytail, and the most vibrant blue eyes I had ever seen... they were quite enchanting. The person wore a navy hoodie and black sweatpants, and they had wired earbuds in. They seemed around my age. I'd be lying if I said I didn't find them attractive, to be honest. They felt strangely familiar as well... maybe they went to my school?

"Um... hi." I quietly replied, plastering an awkward smile on my face as I went to pause my music.

"What're you listening to?" They asked, keeping a neutral expression.

"Oh. Uh..." I looked back down at my phone, checking the name of the paused song despite knowing very well what I was just listening to. I was never one to talk to people, or have people talk to me... so this felt weird to me.

"I was listening to Long Live by Taylor Swift. Taylor's version, of course..." I anxiously chuckled as I watched the person nod in response. Their face was still completely neutral... it made me slightly uncomfortable. What if they were judging me?

"I don't listen to a lot of Taylor Swift." They responded bluntly. I pursed my lips and nodded back. Definitely judging me...

"I like some stuff off of her Folklore album, though. Seven's a nice song." They told me, their lips quirking upwards into a faint smile. Oh... they aren't. I was jumping to conclusions, as I always did.

"Name's Link Farore, by the way. And you're Zelda Hyrule, yeah? I was on crew for some shows with you back in freshman and sophomore year. I don't think you remember me." He finally introduced himself. So I did know them, I guess. I felt a pang of guilt go through me. I was never the best at remembering people, which was a little weird to me considering how many random history facts I could remember.

"Oh... Yes. I'm Zelda Hyrule. And I'm sorry- I did recognize you, just couldn't remember your name." I explained to him. "So thank you for telling me."

He lets out a slight chuckle as his small smile turns into a grin. "Of course. And don't apologize, I never talked much. Still don't, really. I just, ah..." He trailed off and started to rub the nape of his neck. I guessed if he was usually not the type to talk to anyone, he was just as anxious as I was in this situation. "I just wanted to talk to you, I guess. You always seemed cool."

He shrugged, shoving his hand into his sweatpants pocket afterwards. He was still grinning, and I swore I saw his cheeks redden. It made me blush as well...

"Ah... well, I'm really not all that cool. Stage crew is probably the most interesting thing I did in all of my four years of highschool." I admitted bashfully, my smile drooping.

"Why's that?" Link asked, his grin fading too when he noticed the little shift in my mood.

"My father wants me to focus on my schoolwork." I told him, frowning. My father was strict with me, especially about my grades. Sometimes it felt like he wanted me to do the absolute best more than I did. "But nevermind that."

I sighed, smiling again as I looked at the earbuds in his ears. "What are you listening to, Link?"

Link's eyes widened, like he was surprised by my question despite asking me the same question a few minutes earlier. He grinned before responding, "Not Allowed by TV Girl."

"I've never heard of TV Girl." I said.

"They're an indie pop band." He told me. I nodded. There was a moment of silence, but it wasn't awkward, shockingly. It was the comforting kind, the kind you can only really share with someone you really connect with...

But that couldn't have been. This was the first time I had ever properly talked to Link.

Maybe this just meant I thought we had potential to be good friends. It would be nice to get to know him better, anyhow. I didn't have many friends.

My eyes darted to the empty spot on the bench, and then back to Link.

"Um..." I started, a little shy. "If you want, you may sit by me and we can chat more. I want to get to know you."

Link's eyes brightened before he nodded and sat next to me.

We began talking again, about anything that came to either of our minds. That afternoon, I wasn't stressing over schoolwork or my father. Instead, I was grateful a handsome, sweet guy decided to ask me a question as simple as what I was listening to.