It was a long day at the bazaar, for me at least. I sat, watched a few people come through and buy items from Rupin, a potion from Luv, get something repaired by Gondo, or order something from Piper. Needless to say, I received almost no business, except for from Link. Whenever he would come, he was always so quiet and secluded. He would always make eye contact, but the only word that came out of his mouth was "bye ", and then he would leave.

I couldn't help myself but to daydream of link, his icy blue eyes, his shoulder-length long hair, and the fact that he looked amazing in green. He was only here, maybe a rough two minutes, and he only came every few days. But I enjoyed the time I got with him, mostly the up-close ones. I liked to talk to him, to see him.

But today, well, wasn't exactly usual.

It was past time for the Bazaar to close, and Gondo was just leaving. He usually was the one who put the rug over the door, and we'd walk out together considering we both had things to do in the bazaar at night. As we were fixing to go out the door, Link came running through the blinding outdoor light, slamming straight into me and knocking me onto the ground. As I had let out a small yelp in surprise, he looked down at me, his blue eyes wide.

"I'm sorry! Peatrice, isn't it?" he had quickly apologized as he pulled himself up, offering a hand. I probably looked like an idiot - as I sat there a few seconds, staring at him, before nodding and taking his hand. He pulled me up, and I smiled a bit. He looked around, noticing the colorful rug covering the other side of the Bazaar. He frowned slightly. "Past open hours, huh?" he asked, looking back at me. I glanced behind me, and then shook my head quickly.

"I can still store some items for you! I mean, if that's what you need…"I paused, looking down, and then glancing back up at him. He nodded a little. Without another word, I rushed over to the item check, unlocking the safe that belonged to him. He handed me a small blue metal, and I put it inside the safe. "Is that all you need?" I asked, turning around, my blonde pigtails falling clumsily on my shoulders. "Yes." he said shortly. I locked his safe shut, and then turned back around.

He seemed to be lost in thought now, staring at the ground. I frowned upon seeing this. "Is something the matter?" I questioned, and immediately, he broke from his daze. "Huh?! Uh, no. I'm fine. I'm just a little stressed, that's all." he replied. I nodded a little, feeling concern. Why would he be stressed?

As I opened my mouth to say something, he stopped me by giving me a thanks for giving him service after closing time. I could only nod, unable to form any words before he dashed away. I blinked, thinking nothing of it. He always seemed to be in such a hurry.

I couldn't help but notice as I once again walked toward the door that Gondo was smiling. I walked out of the Bazaar first, and waited for him to place the rug over the entrance. As we continued walking toward my house, I glanced up at him.

" Why are you smiling like that?" I asked quietly. He looked down at me, the dirt on his face catching my eye before he let out a small laugh. " Do you have something against smiling?" he replied. I thought for a moment, and then shook my head. "I guess not. But, you know, you've never smiled like that before. And you look sort of like Rupin. He scares me." I shuddered.

" Do you take me for unobservant? I can clearly tell why you're so stiff right now." . I bit my lip a little. I was stiff now? " And why would that be, Gondo?" I snapped. His upper left lip rose a bit.

"You like him." his voice echoed in my ears, or at least that's what it felt like. Did I like him? I shuffled a bit uncomfortably, even this usual short walk to my house seemed to be taking forever. Gondo never bothered me about this sort of stuff, but since he mentioned it, I don't think he intended to bother me. Maybe point out something I had hidden in my mind, maybe.

" If I said yes, would you promise not to tell my father?" I finally returned. His grin faded, and he nodded. "Of course, you can trust me with anything." he replied, and I smiled. Eventually, he caught on. "No pun intended." .

I nodded a little, and as I turned my head, I realized we were already at my house. Dad wasn't home yet, I could already tell. I waved goodbye to Gondo, watching him walk off past the bridge before actually going in. And when I got in, it was then I began to freak out.

What if I did like him? Why did I tell Gondo? Would he tell? Would my father find out?

It seemed as though a million questions ran through my head at once, but I couldn't help but grin. Maybe, perhaps, Link liked me too? Too? Did I even like him? I sighed, and walked to my room, where I studied myself in the mirror, trying to get whatever pink blush I had on off. It wasn't until I had tried to wash it off that I realized it wasn't blush, I was blushing. Who was I kidding, I did like Link.

As I was about to go to look out the window as my father came inside, causing me to jump slightly. "Hello, baby girl. How'd work go today?" he asked, shutting the door. I sat down, not even noticing my blush. "Fine." I let out a girlish giggle. He raised his eyebrows at me, and only then had I noticed my tone of voice. "Oh, I mean, um, fine. Usual, nothing really happened except for Piper breaking her record on how long it took her to make soup." I snapped immediately.

He stared at me a second, and then sat down. "It seems like that woman could try to make soup for a full week if no one bothered her." he laughed to himself. I nodded submissively, and placed my head in my hands. "Anyone come to slice bamboo today?" I said, trying to show some interest in whatever he had to say. "Actually, yes." he paused. "Link came by today. I was surprised to see him, with how busy he is in all." .

"Link?" I asked, trying not to shout or show excitement, and failed miserably. My dad once again raised his eyebrows at my excited voice. "Hrm, yes. He got about 30 slices in. Pretty impressive, still not enough to beat my record though." he told me. I nodded at him, nothing ever seemed to be enough to beat his record. If he had one.

I began thinking about our encounter earlier today, bumping into each other, apologizing, and then he helped me up. That was the part that got to me. I never really had noticed it before, but he was really nice. He may not have talked to me often, I didn't even get to see him that often, but in the short scenes where we would talk, he never threw an insult or said anything rude.

"Peatrice? You alright?" my dad asked out of the blue, causing me to shake free of my dreaming. "Oh, yes, I'm fine." I quickly assured him. I sat a few silent moments, thinking, as my father seemed to be considering what would do for dinner. "Does salad sound good?" he asked. I shrugged. "I'm not really that hungry." I told him, glancing up at the ceiling. He didn't say anything for a bit, leaving an awkward silence between the two of us.

As the silence continued, I suddenly heard a knock at the door. "I'll get it!" I announced quickly, hoping it was Link. I seriously needed to stop thinking about him. I rushed toward the door, and almost had to skid to a stop. I grasped the handle, slinging the door open, only to feel my heart stop.

Almost literally.

Any of the light that had been on me previously was now gone as I looked up at the tall and muscular red-head before me. He seemed a bit annoyed and slightly arrogant looking as he stared down at me. "You're Peatrice, right?" he questioned, shifting a bit. It was then I recognized him as uh, Grey? Gideon? Goose? Groose! "That's me. What do you need?" I replied quickly, glancing into his eyes. I could almost feel my dad's stare at me as he heard Groose's voice. I mind-rolled my eyes.

"Well, um, two things. One, the headmaster told me I needed to get some fresh air, but not outside of the gates. We all know I don't listen to people, so I decided to go walking. And two, while I was walking, I found this." he held up a silver chain, and one it was a small white diamond, glistening in the light, and it seemed to have more affect as I remembered the piece of jewelry as my own.

"You found it!" I squealed, involuntarily hugging him as he handed me the chain. He sort of grinned. "Yeah, it was by the academy. I figured someone found it and was going to give it to you, but dropped it. Pipit did seem a bit troubled when I walked by him." he told me. I let go of him, and nodded a bit. There was another awkward silence, when I finally decided to break it.

"Well, thanks. It's getting really late, you should probably get back to the academy before a Remlit tries to kill you." I put my weight on one leg, looking up at him. He grunted in agreement, nodding. "Alright, I'll see ya around." he said, before walking off. I closed the door after making sure he made it at least past the steps to the Bazaar nearest my house before closing the door.

"Who was that?" my dad inquired. I sighed. Did he always have to freak out about a guy talking to me?

"That was Groose. He found my necklace by the academy and decided to return it to me like any decent person would do. Is there a problem?" I huffed. My dad gave me a strange look, but shook his head. I sighed and walked back toward my mirror, letting my hair down for the night. "I'm turning in early tonight, okay?" I said. I didn't hear a response, so I figured it as an approval. I fell onto my bed, moving my hair from under my head before falling asleep.

Authors Note:

Let me see if I can predict what you are thinking.

"Seriously?! Another fanfic and you haven't even completed the others? And now this one won't be completed!"

NOPE! I have a lot of stuff pre-written, so I don't have to worry about getting blocked for writing. That doesn't mean you should expect constant updates, because unfortunately, the prison that is misspelled

S-C-H-O-O-L, will be starting again soon. So I'm going to have a whole lot of things on my plate.

I also would appreciate reviews, and I'm going to let you decide which way the story goes, if you feel like it. Would you like to see Groose and Peatrice get together, or Link and Peatrice get together?

( I'm all for Link, but I want your input too. I seriously found Peatrice one of the sweetest characters so I couldn't just ignore her. )

So review and tell me what you think, and who you want Peatrice to be with!