The Legend of Zelda: The Fate of Hyrule

Chapter Six

Chapter Six - Link's POV

I watch as Alan wolfs down his last piece of cake. He looks down at my half-eaten slice. "You gonna eat that?" He licks his lips, making sure he gets all the excess crumbs and icing.

"Nah, you can have it." I hand him the napkin. A minute later he hands it back, not a morsel of food on it. "You're gonna get sick if you keep this up."

He laughs. "Man. This festival went by quick."

He's right. As the sky grows darker, more families return home, and more decorations are torn down. I'm not complaining, though. Being around so many people makes me a bit nervous.

Alan wads up his napkin and attempts to toss it in a nearby trash can, but it lands several feet away. "Yikes." He chuckles, standing up to retrieve it. "Hey, do you wanna sleep over tonight?" He throws the napkin again, landing it right in the can. "My parents wouldn't mind!"

Alan, although he's just a few months younger, is still years behind me in terms of maturity. Sleepovers are childish, right?

I scour my brain for an excuse. Johanna's words from last night pop into my head. 'Thanks for having me over! Let's do this again sometime!'

"I'm really sorry, Alan," I turn my head to him. "but I'm hanging out with Johanna tonight!"

"Oh. Okay..." Alan sighs. He doesn't wink at me for getting another 'date' with Johanna. He just motions towards the town square, where she's talking and laughing with a group of friends.

I try to tell him good night, but he's already stomping down the path, his arms crossed over his chest. A pain of guilt engulfs me as I watch him disappear behind a house.

Trying to shove that situation into the back of my mind, I turn and walk in the direction of Johanna's group. There are a few girls crowding around Johanna, and Luke is chatting with another boy a few feet away from them. Johanna has a smile on her face, but the others look at me in confusion as I trudge up the path.

"Johanna," I say, when I come to the group. "would you like to come over again tonight?"

She doesn't say a word. 

"We...I can teach you more from that Hero of Time book!"

Her friends erupt in a fit of laughter. "You're getting tutored by an ten-year old, Johanna?" One of them says. Luke isn't laughing. He stares at me, his lips pursed and his eyes narrowed. 

I feel my face burning. I want to scream, to punch every one of them in the face, to tell that girl that I am in fact thirteen. But I don't do anything. I hate myself for doing nothing.

Johanna, her face a deep shade of red, steps toward me. "Link," She whispers so only I can hear. "I think you should leave. I mean, I'd love to some other time-" She stops mid-sentence as the laughter dies down and her friends turn their attention back to her. Her faint smile disappears and she glares at me. "Just go home, kid. Why don't you find some friends your own age?"

My stomach writhes as I run home. I turned down Alan just to get turned down and humiliated by Johanna. I know she only said that to not embarass herself in front of her friends, but my heart still skips a beat every time I repeat her words in my head.

'So just go home, kid.'

So I do. I go home, retreat to my room before Mom or Dad can say anything, and bury myself beneath the covers.