Chapter Fifteen (Epilogue)

"Link!"

I turned to see a middle-aged man waddling over to me, looking way too proud for his own good.

"Oh, hey," I greeted my now ex-principal casually. "What's up?"

"I just wanted to tell you how proud I am of you," he beamed, actually looking like he was on the verge of joyous tears. "When you came to me last year asking for a second chance, well let's be honest, neither of us really expected you to thrive on it."

I laughed a bit and scratched the back of my head, refraining from telling him off. Of course I knew I could do it. He was the only one who doubted me. Today was special, though, and I wasn't going to ruin it by getting worked up over the ignorance of certain people—especially people I'd never see again.

"Not only did your attendance and grades sky-rocket within the school," he continued, "your reputation outside of school even became a source of pride for me."

I continued to smile back at him wordlessly, thinking about my so-called reputation outside of school. He was talking about the fire that had burned down Zelda's house.

After the police and firemen arrived, her parents were contacted and they made a beeline back home. When they showed up they wouldn't talk or even look at anyone else until after they had Zelda, safe and sound, in their arms. I'd never seen Zelda as happy as she was when they said how grateful they were that she was unharmed. It seemed like, with her safe, it didn't even matter that their house had been burned down.

Finished with their happy, tearful reunion, they had turned to me on Zelda's word. I explained what had happened, apologizing for my father and my behavior upon our first meeting. They wouldn't even hear of it though, instead thanking me for saving their daughter's life, despite the personal cost. Telling me to rest assured, they promised that they would take care of everything, including but not limited to my hospital bill.

My left arm, from the elbow down, had been totally obliterated when the house collapsed with me trapped inside. What was left of it had to be amputated, which caused me a lot of frustration, to say the least. Even to this day I unthinkingly tried to use my left hand, only to be reminded that it no longer existed each time.

As for my father, he was arrested and taken away on a charge of arson, and was eventually locked away for arson and attempted murder. His penalty was almost assured before the trial even started, though, because as it turned out Zelda's parents were both fairly renowned lawyers. This explained the large house, as well as the assurance that they would foot all of the bills. They sucked my old man dry before locking him up, and the family moved into a new (slightly smaller, but equally impressive) house by the time summer rolled around.

While they were in the process of moving and locking away my so-called father, I chose to keep to myself and sort things out on my own sweet time. I avoided seeing Zelda after I was discharged from the hospital, telling her I needed time to come to terms with all that had happened. I sorted through the mess, including the voice that had awoken me after the house collapsed, and eventually found peace with all that had happened.

Something deep down told me that my mother was happy, wherever she was, and I knew for a fact that my father would never haunt me—waking or dreaming—again. Knowing that, I also knew it was time for me to move on with my life, and to become the best person I could possibly be for Zelda, for my mother, in spite of my father, and most of all, for my own sake.

Zelda, in light of all that had happened, and after we had a lengthy discussion with her parents about my strange behavior previously, decided to give us another chance. Then, that summer, I did something I had never done before: I studied, and with Zelda's help and a small miracle I found myself here today.

"Well, congratulations on the diploma, my boy," my ex-principal said, bringing me back to the present. "I know you'll go far with it."

"Thank you, Sir," I answered, nodding. He waved and walked off to visit with another student, leaving me standing there unsure of what to do now. I would continue to work at that jacked up café over the summer, and I had been accepted to a local community college, so I guess I'd be doing that this fall. But right now? All I could do was stand there, marveling again at how different life felt compared to just over a year ago.

A gentle breeze teased my shaggy hair, and the sun seemed brighter today for some reason. Maybe I was just feeling overly nostalgic. I breathed in a deep lungful of untainted air. Untainted with worry or doubt or fear.

"Good to be alive," I breathed, not caring if I had the stupidest look on my face.

"Day dreaming again?" a familiar voice asked. If I wasn't making a stupid face before, now I knew I definitely was. "It's a miracle that you made it to graduation."

"I had a really excellent tutor," I replied, turning and smirking at Zelda. "Plus she was smoking hot, so it was easy to concentrate."

She pulled a face. "Was?"

Chuckling I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her closer. "Mhm, she only gets better everyday. Now I don't even know how to describe her."

"You're so corny," she said, giggling.

"Only for you," I whispered, leaning down and placing a chaste kiss on her lips. Pulling away she reached up and rubbed my left shoulder affectionately, her face somber.

"Link," she whispered, voice thick with guilt even after all this time.

"How many times have I told you it's not your fault?" I asked, using my good hand to capture her chin and turn her face towards me again.

"If it hadn't been for me, then you never would've lost it," she whispered sadly.

"Zelda, do you know how I passed time in the hospital?" I asked, smiling gently at her. She shook her head in the negative. "I thought about it long and hard, and I reached a conclusion."

"About what?" she asked, frowning in confusion.

"If I would ever run into another burning building to save you," I answered, embracing her and resting my chin on top of her head. "Of course I knew the answer right off the bat, so it kind of sucked as a way to pass the time." I paused for a moment, thinking back over all that had happened. "I would run into any burning building, I would lose any limb, I would lose my life, if it meant saving you."

"What made that so easy to decided?" she asked, leaning back to get a better look at my face, honest curiosity shining in her eyes.

"You gave me my life back," I whispered. "So why wouldn't I risk it for you?" Before she could come up with a response to that, her parents approached us, so I released her and stood an intimate, yet respectful distance from her.

"Congratulations, Link," her father said, offering his hand. I grasped it firmly, giving it a quick shake, and thanked him.

"Oh, Zelda," her mother cooed, brimming with joy. "We're so proud of you!"

"We're proud of both of you," her father amended. "Link, have you re-considered our offer at all?" Knowing he meant his offer to house and feed me—basically adopt me—I shook my head respectfully.

"No, my answer's the same," I answered. "I've lived on my own so long that I probably couldn't stand living in an actual house with people again." Her father chuckled good-naturedly at that, and nodded.

"The offer will always stand, if you ever do reconsider," he said, placing a hand on my shoulder and giving it a squeeze. "You know you're like a son to us."

"Thank you, Sir," I replied, a now familiar smile tugging at the corners of my lips.

Zelda would be attending some hot-shot university, mostly on her own grades and record, but a powerful essay or two, as well as a healthy financial donation from her parents, secured her place there. I wasn't sure how much we'd be able to get together when college rolled around in the fall, but I knew we'd never lose touch with each other. Actually, looking between her parents and her, and feeling like a part of her family already, I had a feeling it would go beyond keeping in touch.

I stopped running because of her, and I knew without a doubt that we would continue to walk through life together, no matter what crap it threw our way.

Bring it on.

A/N: Hello there everyone! Thanks so much for making this little 'side project' such a success. I couldn't have done it without your support and kind words, and I hope the ending didn't disappoint. Until next time, write on!