High-School Problems (Smash Bros Fanfic)

Chapter 18 - Link's POV

Thunder boomed in the sky. 

If I were with Zelda right now, she would have been scared and I would have been comforting her. I mean, that's how it usually goes. 

Sighing, I grabbed my umbrella and headed outside. The sky darkened and lightning struck. 

This was going to be a bad storm.

I walked onto the sidewalk, puddles splashing at my feet, wondering what Zelda was doing. 

"Come on, Princess!" Marth's voice called over the rain.

Princess....?

I turned my head and there she was. Zelda. With Marth. I watched in confusion. She got under the umbrella and stood close to my friend. It's alright, Link, I told myself. She's scared of thunder, remember? She's only doing that because she's scared. 

I knew I could trust Marth. I knew I could trust Zelda. But I followed them anyway. 

They were saying things to one another, their faces close. Zelda gripped him tightly. I felt...weird. Like I had to stop them. Like it wasn't fair. But it was fair. Zelda used to cuddle close to me all the time when it was raining. Who said she couldn't do that with Marth? And it's not like we're in a relationship.

Though I wish we were. 

Rain poured onto my umbrella. I wasn't even holding it straight, and I could feel some cold droplets falling into my messy hair.

Soon, they were back in the building. Well, I guess it's time for me to go, too. I almost turned to walk away, when I suddenly froze. 

There they were. Hugging. 

Zelda was saying something. I couldn't make it out. They were inside, after all.

Maybe I should just barge in. That would make sense, right?

I felt fiery inside. Like I've been cheated. Like somebody just told me a lie and I knew it was a lie, but I believed it was the truth. That feeling when you knew you shouldn't have hope and you don't have any, but for some reason you still do and then you fail. A weird mix of all the bad feelings that exist. 

I gripped my umbrella tightly. I wanted to break something. So I broke my umbrella. 

I watched as Zelda went down the hallway. Marth was coming out. 

Maybe I should just go to the boy's building like Marth. Just pretend nothing happened. But, you see, that's not exactly...in my nature. 

I stood outside, my broken umbrella in my hands. Rain drops pelted on my back like bullets. It hurt.

Marth stepped outside. "Oh, hi Link." He smiled, but it faltered. "Whoa. Your umbrella is a bit...damaged."

I didn't want to glare, but I did. "What an amazing observation."

"You're drenched, buddy. You could get sick." Marth looked down at his watch. "And there's only about an hour left 'till curfew. Let's go back. You can come under my umbrella, if you'd like."

"You mean like Zelda did?"

"Yeah," he answered calmly. "I didn't know you were there. We could have all had a conversation to distract the princess." He didn't look scared. He didn't look worried. His face lit up. "Oh! Maybe you two could have danced in the rai--"

"You know, Marth, I have a question." My tone was the same way it usually is, but for some reason it almost sounded...bitter. "Why the heck do you want to help me?"