I stared down at the glossy dining table on the early Saturday morning, trying to capture my thoughts from my daze. Comprehending everything this early... affected me.

"Robin explained all this to me yesterday..." Zelda spoke in between sips of coffee.

My gaze rose slowly up to her with upset, and as I moved, I tilted my head to keep the contradicting, blinding sun from my view. "So, the point of having lunch with him... was for him to inform you about your parents... and what they have decided?!" I was so aggravated by the news. It inflicted pain inside of me.

Zelda dropped her eyes from me and released a defeated sigh. "Either way... this was all to come one way or another... They gave me no choice... I was dumb to think that ever leaving them would solve the problem." She pitied herself. "And, now they're coming here to settle things..." she finished.

There was a drop of silence. I was unsure how to react to this... She's given up... I was only reminded of yesterday... of how much hope had left her... Of how much it had been destroyed through her wails... I wanted to help, but I was easily affected as well... And, in addition... how could I change her parents' decision... How could I? I supposed I understood... This could easily be their way of protecting her. Maybe they have a question of her marrying the wrong man... So, they felt it was only right to bring their own selves into the picture to pursue their wants for their daughter.

But... why did she give up, exactly? Robin explained it... She explained that her parents are going to catch a plane to set the ball rolling. And, by the ball: the marriage. The marriage is to be set on July 8th... About two weeks from now.

Zelda's voice stirred back into the air again. "But, um... Robin said they're already working on the expenses... and sending out invitations... They're completely serious about this!" she noted. She placed her coffee cup down and scoffed. "They're arranging it at this luxury place and inviting everyone they know..." She rolled her glaring eyes. "You and Dark don't want to be there, anyway..." she muttered.

It's odd how he gets all that information, though... Why don't her parents inform her? Aren't they the ones managing it? I sighed and asked her a question. "But, do you know anyone they'd probably invite?"

She paused for a moment to think on the top of her head. "No... I don't think? I moved away from them for a couple of reasons... But, there's one thing for sure... I DON'T WANT TO BE APART OF THEIR BUSINESS!" she made clear.

I scrunched my eyebrows in thought. "But, um... wouldn't you want someone that you knew to be there with you...?" I swallowed and exhaled. "If they're completely serious about this... wouldn't you want someone that you trust to accompany you?" I asked this with hesitation.

She stopped to sigh. "Oh, Link... you don't want to be dragged with me there!" she insisted, finding the meaning through my words. "You don't want to see me get married to such a horrible man..."

I smirked, feeling hopeless. "Well... I figured if you had someone to go with you'd feel a little better... I know you hate this..."

"You don't like this either..." she butted in. She moved her hair from her face and leaned onto her hand. "Why do you feel you should sacrifice your time to... be with me...? To see me marry this man...?" she asked out of pure curiosity.

"I WANT to be there for you..." I addressed earnestly. However, I quickly began to stop for a moment in thought as I began to take my words into account. That's not really an explanation... I didn't know how to express my reasons... I didn't know how to describe my feelings. I tried to clear my mind. "Your parents are inviting specific people... They may be people you don't really know... And... you don't want to go to this wedding, but... you have no choice... because your parents want to marry you..." I tried to emphasize. "But, you've known me for a long time... and I feel like you'd feel more comfortable if you had someone there to accompany you... Maybe someone you could trust..." I paused with a sigh to gather my thoughts and to grab her eye contact. "If you addressed me to your parents... they'd possibly let me go to the wedding... Probably not Dark, but..."

"Still..." she interrupted as her head fell from her hand. "You don't want to see me get married to that man!" she exclaimed with irritation.

My gaze drifted. "Well... no, but..." My eyes then rose to find Dark walking into the kitchen, heading immediately to the refrigerator to grab a drink.

Zelda took notice of him as well, and just before Dark was about to drink right from the bottle of the orange juice, Zelda asserted herself loudly towards him. "It's rude of you to not even say 'good morning', Dark!" she shot sharply.

Taken by surprise, Dark fumbled with the orange juice—almost dropping it and spilling it all over the floor—and freaked quietly. "Wh-What?!" he stammered, finally gathering his cool to place the opened orange juice container onto the counter. He then quickly fixed the hoodie on the top of his head, so that his head wasn't exposed.

Zelda scoffed. "Were you SERIOUSLY about to drink from the bottle?! There ARE cups, Dark..." she fumed.

Dark scowled. "Am I intruding?" he hissed, sending his glaring eyes towards her.

Zelda sneered with disgust. "Do you USUALLY drink it like that?!"

Dark roughly huffed. "WELL, THEN, I'M WASTING CUPS FOR A SMALL GLASS OF ORANGE JUICE!" He threw the cabinet door open—slamming it into the other side—and quickly began to scavenge for cups. "WHAT IF I JUST WANTED A SIP?!" he screamed as he took out a glass cup, almost shattering it in his hand as it sounded with a crash against the counter.

Zelda growled under her breath, "Will you smash the glass and cut your hand?" so that only I could hear her. She then raised her voice. "I want you to use a cup, so that... I don't know...! So, you're not putting your mouth on the container?!" she tried to put.

Dark scoffed and quickly poured a little bit of orange juice into the glass, spilling a bit on the counter messily. Then, he rose the glass to her sullenly, revealing the very few drops of orange juice. "LOOK! A CUP!" he shouted in a sarcastic manner of joy.

Zelda rolled her eyes. "Terrific..." she remarked, almost moaning but monotonous.

Dark then finished the what that was left of the bittersweet, attention-seeking orange juice and dropped it into the sink, clanking the cup against the solid surface. Zelda practically ignored him—only keeping a precautious eye on him. Frustration was what defined her face. Dark's attitude this morning was... well, it could've been typical... But, it wasn't any help at the moment... It could possibly be making things worse.

I watched as Dark forcefully shoved the orange juice back into the refrigerator to immediately start dazing off into the fridge, losing his angered expression and entering deep thought. "I seriously think that there isn't much to fuss about..." he murmured towards Zelda.

"What?" Zelda snapped.

"I'm just saying!" He shut the refrigerator door closed and rubbed his neck out of irritation—which was barely hiding from the fabric of his hoodie... The turtleneck from the day before was probably doing a better job for 'protection'. "All you REALLY need to do is to GO to the wedding, SAY NO to the man, and tell your parents to go fuck off...!" He hurled a scoff. "It's YOUR opinion! It's YOUR choice!"

Zelda's eyes flickered with annoyance. "You don't get it, Dark..." she hissed. "You don't understand... My parents are GOING to have a wedding no matter what... They're paying ALL the expenses... Inviting ALL the guests... It's honestly a waste of time if you ask for my opinion..." Her expression spiraled with a smirk. "It's easy for you to tell me that I can easily just state my opinion... But, I must oblige to them... They are my parents..."

Dark's eyes widened fiercely. "Fuck your parents, are you dumb?! Say it to them! Tell them you don't care! Tell them that you're not marrying that man! Don't agree to marry that man! You don't want that man, do you?! WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE STUCK WITH THAT MAN FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE?!" he worked himself out.

Zelda sighed and clenched her teeth as her eyebrows furrowed. "You're not listening, Dark!" she growled. "My parents are COMING to make sure that I GET MARRIED! I HAVE NO CHOICE, AND IF I HAPPEN TO DISAGREE WITH THEM, THEY WILL BE DISAPPOINTED, AND THEY WILL KILL ME!"

Dark smirked, releasing a sarcastic laugh. "Kill you?" he jeered. "You're—"

"Dark!" she barked, calling his words to an end. She sighed roughly, crossed her legs, and pinched the bridge of her nose. "None of this concerns you... This isn't any of your business... You're not even going to the goddamn wedding, and you should be glad... Maybe you'll finally be able to get rid of me because I may just be moving FAR, FAR AWAY from you..." She then stopped and sent her anguished glare to the floor.

His eyes sharpened. "That's not..."

Zelda instantly cut him off with a snarl. "Dark, would you like to explain what the marks on your neck are?"

Dark suddenly rose into a panic and quickly pulled some of the fabric from his hoodie over his neck. His eyes then flew to the ceiling, searching for a quick explanation. His lips parted uneasily, "It's an allergy!" he announced.

Zelda's eyes narrowed in disbelief. "Oh, yeah? An allergy? Those dark marks are from... an allergy?"

Dark laughed nervously. "Yes! A skin... allergy...!" He clenched his teeth and his eyebrows perplexed with uncertainty, second-guessing his response.

Zelda scoffed, widening her smirk. "Can I get a closer look?! I didn't know you had any allergies!"

Dark glared and began to swiftly walk away. "It's NONE of your concern!" he snapped, and then he charged pass us in a rush, making an immediate escape.

I watched as Zelda quickly stood up from her seat as Dark began to leave the dining room, and I stopped her in a calm voice. "Just let him go..."

"COME FUCKING BACK HERE, DARK!" Zelda screamed, but when I turned my head back towards where Dark had recently been, he was gone... and probably up the stairs already.

My expression weakened, and I released an uneasy sigh. I began to rub my hand nervously. He's such an idiot... "Zelda..."

Zelda threw herself furiously back down onto the chair and huffed with exasperation. "HE'S BEING SUSPICIOUS! HE'S COVERING UP HIS NECK! HE DOESN'T WANT ME TO SEE! HOW ARE THOSE DARK SPOTS AN ALLERGY... SINCE WHEN DID HE HAVE ANY ALLERGIES, IN THE FIRST PLACE?! HE'S FREAKING LYING TO ME... HE DID SOMETHING... THOSE DARK SPOTS COULD ONLY BE ONE THING...!"

I took a deep breath and took her pause to my advantage. "Don't worry about him... He's only going to..."

She shot her sharp, aggressive glare towards me as if I was at the fault, too. "WHAT ARE THEY BRUISES?!" she exclaimed. She slammed her hand onto the table and tapped her fingers impatiently. "DID YOU KNOW ABOUT THIS... BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE YOU DO! I FEEL LIKE YOU BOTH HAVE BEEN KEEPING THINGS FROM ME... SHOULD I ASK WHAT?!"

My gaze wandered... lost. In my throat, I could feel my heart and the difficulty to swallow. In my head, I screamed at Dark... He's an idiot... But, I couldn't understand... I worked myself out trying to make sure Zelda didn't notice the bruises... but... I... contributed to the problem. I did? My head hurt and my heart tangled. I went against her? I couldn't gather an explanation... All my questions... from before... I pushed them aside... I buried them... I forgave Dark... I told myself... it wasn't real. That night wasn't real! It didn't exist!

I pushed my hair away from my eyes and exhaled slowly. "He's been acting weird lately..."

She scoffed. "Well, yeah! Weird! He's been very impatient LATELY... even more than before... It's like he's panicking about something...!"

"Yesterday..." I began. "I asked him if he was worried about you... and he didn't exactly give me a straightforward answer..." I told her. "I was wondering since the day you came back... if he was worried about you... He acted like it, but..." I paused and my eyes dropped to the table. "He's worked up about something... I was thinking that maybe Robin and the marriage triggered something..." I continued as my eyes gradually came back to her alertness. "He wasn't like this when you were gone..."

Zelda's eyes rose. "Really?"