(Content warning: This chapter includes explicit language and depictions of substance use, as well as sensitive themes related to sexual and physical abuse.)
Malice's POV
The beer tastes like shit, the music sucks, and the people here are even worse. This whole party is kinda ass. Why did I come here tonight? And why are there so many people? It's summer break, usually campus is a ghost town this time of year.
I look around the room, trying to see where Majora went. She probably went upstairs with Bellum. Figures...
I finish my beer, lean my head back against the back of the couch, and shut my eyes for a second. I'm finally starting to feel a little tipsy. I'm so tired from walking all day. I could pass out right now even though the music is so loud that I can feel the bass quaking in my chest. Who made this playlist? It seriously sucks.
Somebody drops next to me onto the couch. I jolt when he puts his arm around my shoulders but sigh in relief when I see that it's just Karusa.
"Looks like we found ourselves a little Eagle," he says, offering me a joint.
"Shut up, I don't even care about that school." I take a hit from his joint before I pass it back to him. He doesn't know I dropped out of Hyrule. Nobody knows yet and I intend to keep it that way.
"Chill, I think it's kinda cute that you play for the other team," he winks at me and gives me his iconic smirk. I roll my eyes at him and ignore him. "Besides, you're more Boar than any of us."
"Thanks. I guess?" I do like Lorule much better than Hyrule but I don't have school pride for either.
"So," he takes a sip from his red cup. "How are you on this fine evening?"
"What?" I look at him annoyed. Why's he talking so formally?
"Enjoying yourself?" He asks.
"Having the time of my life," I remark sarcastically. "What about you?"
"Living life to its fullest," he smiles.
I take the cup out of his hands and finish his drink for him. It's better than the beer I was trying to self-medicate with.
"If you asked kindly, I could've just gotten you a drink," he notes. I can barely hear him through the noise.
It's crowded and hot in here, and I am miserable. I thought this party would relax me but... Fuck, I've only been here for an hour or so and I'm already questioning why I came here in the first place. But then again, where else would I be tonight? The frat house is still better than my other options.
More guys join us in the room. They greet us with a nod and walk up to us. I sorta want to be alone right now but I can't say I really mind the company of these guys. I like Ghirahim and Zant even though they can be super dense and annoying sometimes, and although I haven't really interacted with Kiroh much, he seems chill.
"Hey Malice, how you doing?" Ghirahim hands me a red cup and I gladly accept. He sits next to me, claiming the last free spot on the small, filthy couch. "What's up, K!"
"My brother! Good to see you," Karusa leans across my legs to dap Ghirahim. I feel like a sandwich now!
"Want me to move so you guys can make out?" I ask them.
"Don't be jealous," Ghirahim laughs, sticking out his tongue. "There's enough of me for both of you."
"Gross, bro," Karusa speaks my mind.
"Dude, she's right there, she can hear you," Ghirahim jokes. "You're not gross," he then says to me."
"I was talking about you!" Karusa tells Ghirahim in a chuckle.
I don't care about their unfunny insult. Ghirahim talks so much, I've gotten pretty good at ignoring him.
I take his cup and dump the rest of his drink into Karusa's old cup and chug it. He complains, but again, I'm pretty good at ignoring him.
"Kiroh, my man, how've you been?" Karusa looks up at the guy who's wearing Sheikah merch. I wouldn't be surprised if he is the one on aux, given his awful taste in music.
"Pretty good, pretty good," Kiroh nods and sips on his beer.
"We barely see you anymore," Karusa laughs.
"Been busy," Kiroh shrugs.
"Busy doing who?" Karusa smirks but Kiroh remains silent.
"You got a girlfriend?" Ghirahim questions. "Or perhaps a boooyyyfriend?" he sings.
"Fuck off," Kiroh gives a fake smile. "How's it any of your business?"
"We're one big family," Ghirahim jokes and puts his hand on my thigh. "We share everything."
Ew! His pinky moves up to the edge of my mini skirt. Just the thought of me and Ghirahim doing it gives me goosebumps! And he's an asshole for touching me like this.
"Wanna go outside?" Karusa asks me through the noise.
"Fuck yeah," I sigh and get up with him. I'm a little dizzy but Karusa grabs my hand and helps me push through the crowd. The backyard is less crowded and the fresh air is nice for a change.
"You good?" Karusa asks caringly.
"Yeah," I shrug.
I look around the backyard. Majora, Bellum, and Cia are in the pool, fooling around. My eyes are heavy and I feel like I've been slurring my words.
We stay on the patio where it's less noisy. Karusa leans his back against the stone pillar and pulls out a cigarette pack to offer me one. I take it and he lights it for me.
"You sure you're good? You seem off," Karusa says to me. I don't look at him. "Is something stressing you out?"
"Something?" I give a sarcastic chuckle.
"Well anything in particular?"
"No," I lie. "Everything's great."
Karusa takes a hit from his joint and nods thoughtfully. "How's Ganon?"
"Why don't you ask him yourself?"
"You know I can't do that."
"Why not?"
"You know why..."
"Because you're a fucking coward, that's why," I huff.
"C'mon, Mal..."
"He's your friend," I say and give Karusa an angry glare. "Why haven't you visited him in prison?"
"He doesn't want to see me," Karusa claims.
"Bullshit."
"He hates me, Mal."
"He's your closest friend."
"Who's in prison because of my shortcomings."
"He saved your life!"
"Exactly... After everything he's done for me in the past, I should've been the one to go to prison, not him."
"Neither of you should have gone to prison. Link started the fight. And Ganon only got arrested because his father framed him for the drugs and guns. Be a decent person and visit him," I flick my cigarette. "If you feel bad about his arrest, just apologize to him."
"Yeah right, like that's gonna help," Karusa snarls.
"It won't help him. But it'll help you," I say. "It'll help you sleep at night."
"Eh, I sleep just fine," he shrugs.
We remain silent while he finishes his joint. I watch Bellum in the meantime. I can't believe Majora's still dating him after he cheated on her last year. But then again, she doesn't seem to mind that he's getting on with Cia right in front of her.
"You never answered my question," Karusa says and I almost forgot what we were talking about.
"What question?" I say confused.
"How is he doing in prison?"
I crush the cigarette under my boot. "Shitty, obviously."
Karusa offers me another cigarette but I decline. "I need something stronger."
"What do you want? I know some people are doing coke upstairs."
I shake my head. "Got any acid?"
"Not on me. I have a new plug though." He pulls up his phone. "I can hook you up."
"Dude, I don't have a car. And I want some now."
"Let's go then. I'll text him right now. I was gonna get some later anyways."
...
We're one the freeway to get downtown. I don't really remember how we got to Karusa's car or how long we've been driving. I'm holding his phone with Google Maps showing a route. I look into the backseats to see if anyone else is with us but we're alone.
"Mal," Karuas gets my attention.
"What?"
"What's my exit?"
I look back at his phone, then I squint my eyes at the green sign coming up that says 8th street. Wait, no, that's a 6. I look up to try and read the signs on the highway but everything's blurry.
Shit! "Exit here," I tell him quickly and he changes lanes like a maniac.
"Pay attention," he says annoyed, we almost missed the exit.
"Sorry."
I look back at his phone when it vibrates. It's an instagram notification and I read who it's from.
I think I'm hallucinating! What the hell? I gape at the screen as I tap the notification to open their chat...
"Why's Zelda texting you!?"
"Huh?" He turns his head to look at me. "Hey! Don't snoop through my phone!" he barks.
He tries to reach for his phone but I turn my back to him and open the notification.
What. The. Fuck! There's a whole chat history!
"How long have you guys been talking?" I scroll up to the beginning of their chat. "It's her fault Ganon's in prison, you know that, right?"
"It's Ganon's fault that Ganon's in prison," Karusa scoffs.
"Hey. We have to talk," I read his messages out loud. "What the fuck do you guys have to talk about?"
"None of your fucking business, give me my phone!" When he tries to reach for his phone again, he almost crashes the car into the roadside barrier!
"Watch the street, Psycho! You're gonna kill us both!" I snap at him.
"Keep looking through my phone and I might!"
I read the chat anyways:
Karusa: Hey.
Zelda: What do you want?
Karusa: We need to talk.
Zelda: Talk then.
Karusa: I meant in person.
Zelda: You're kidding right?
Karusa: No. Can we meet tonight?
Zelda: You're mental if you think I'll meet up with you in private at night.
Karusa: We can meet during the day then.
Zelda: Not a chance.
Karusa: It's important.
Zelda: If it's that important, stop wasting time and just say what you want.
Karusa:
He snatches his phone from me before I can read the rest. My jaw is wide open and my eyes glare at Karusa. Why the fuck is he talking to that bitch?
"Explain yourself," I demand.
"It's nothing, don't worry about it."
"Karusa," I warn. "Are you trying to hook up with her?"
"What? No!"
"She's not the type of girl you want to mess around with," I say.
"I'm not trying to!" He defends but I don't believe a single word.
"She's still with Link, right?"
"I don't know? I don't give a shit about that guy!"
"What happened between you and Zelda?"
"Nothing, back off!"
I always knew he was connected to her in some way because of the things he would say about her to brag but I always thought he was making up most of it to provoke Link. Now I'm not so sure anymore. Did they actually hook up in the past?
"The things you said to Link at the baseball game... Did you and your teammates really do those things to her?"
"Of course not!" He growls. "I was just saying those things to piss off Link, like I was told to."
"So nothing ever happened between you and her?" I ask.
"Nothing."
"Why are you lying to me! I saw the hickey on her neck last year! At the game, you said you did it! And right after you said it, Link attacked you!"
"I..." He's fumbling for words!
"Don't make up any more lies, just tell me what happened."
"Zelda and I... There was a moment at one of the home games where we ran into each other..."
"And?"
"Nothing happened. Trust me, she's way too stuck up."
I'm calling his bullshit. "What happened?" I ask him.
"I told you, nothing happened."
"Tell me what happened or I'm jumping out the car."
"Go right ahead. You'd do us all a favor."
I unbuckle my seat belt.
"Mal–"
I open the door.
"Malice!" He shouts. I stretch my leg out, making him yell even louder, "You're fucking crazy!"
"I'm fucking serious! What happened between you and Zelda?"
"Okay, shit! She came onto me–"
"The truth!"
"I hit on her! Fuck, close the door!"
I shut the door and cross my arms. "You hit on her? Why?"
"Why do you think?" he scoffs.
"How'd she react?"
"She sucked my dick," he taunts. "I'm kidding. She didn't seem interested."
"Then what?" I challenge him.
"What do you mean? That's all."
"Did you leave her alone after she told you that she's not interested?"
"No, I raped her on the spot," he rolls his eyes at me. "Fuck you, Malice. I'm not that type of guy and you know that."
"I don't know shit."
"You know me."
"Do I?"
"You know me better than anyone else."
"I know that you've overstepped girls' boundaries in the past. I know that you don't like rejection. And I know that a lot of the girls you sleep with are so wasted that they can't spell their own name."
"What are you getting at? Just because they're drunk doesn't mean they don't want me to sleep with them."
"Cia didn't want to."
"Okay stop, Cia was basically dry humping me in the living room in front of everyone! I did her a favor by taking her to the bedroom. The only reason why she keeps saying she doesn't remember and didn't want to sleep with me is because I didn't want to date her afterwards. She got too invested with me and then she was hurt when I told her I'm not looking for anything serious. Now she's just trying to create drama because her feelings got hurt."
"She blacked out, K! She didn't even remember going upstairs with you!"
"How's that my fucking fault? She knew what she wanted and I was kind enough to give it to her," he smiles.
"Did she give you consent?"
"I think when someone goes down on you, that's consent enough."
"It's not though. Did she or did she not verbally tell you that she wanted to sleep with you?"
"Do you give every guy you sleep with verbal consent?" he meets my gape of the jaw with that irritating know-it-all look of his. "Where do I turn?" he tries to get back to Google Maps on his phone.
I won't let him change the topic that easily! "What did you just say about me?"
"Nothing. Can we just focus on getting the drugs?"
"I'll pretend you didn't just call me a slut if you tell me what happened between you and Zelda."
"I didn't call you anything. I'm implying that you're a hypocrite."
"I'm not a–"
"And if you really want to know what happened with Zelda, she came to one of our games and she seemed lost and asked me to show her the way to her seat. When I made a move, she got all dramatic and panicked."
"Just like that? Or did you do something to her?"
"We... uh..."
Why is he so hesitant to talk about this? Usually he brags about every girl he gets in contact with.
"We kinda hooked up, okay? The first time, her boyfriend got into a fight with me, and the second time she got all rough on me. And not the good kind. She pulled on my hair and pushed me away," he reveals.
"As she should."
"Ha ha. Funny."
"It's not funny at all. Stop treating girls like shit."
"Why do you give a shit about Zelda? I thought you two hated each other."
"That doesn't give you the right to molest her!"
"I didn't molest anyone, calm down."
"Let me see the messages then."
"No."
"Why not?"
The car makes a turn and we end up in a suburban neighborhood. He parks the car on the side of the road and turns off the headlights. "We're here," he lets out a long sigh. "Can we get the drugs now?"
We're parked in front of a nice two-story house. Probably some college kids who live here. Karusa pulls up iMessage to text the guy that we have arrived.
"Karusa, listen to me," I say and make him look at me. "You're a good guy."
I wasn't finished yet but he interrupts me with a rude chuckle. "Yeah right," he shakes his head.
"You are. You're a good person, I know you are. So don't be one of those guys who takes advantage of girls. Please..."
"I don't. So let it go."
"Karusa," I try in a calmer but serious tone. "Don't be that kind of person."
He lets out another sigh. "I got it, Mal... Message received. Shit, I don't want to be like that either, okay? The thing with Cia was just a one night stand and she took it the wrong way. We were both high and she was wasted and even though she may not remember this, she did try to sleep with me in front of her friends."
"I know. I was there."
"Exactly. So stop shaming me for it. I took her upstairs because she wanted to sleep with me and that's all there is to it. It's not a big deal. I didn't know she had a crush on me until the next day. I didn't mean to lead her on or use her for sex. And if she had said stop or whatever, then I would've stopped, okay?"
"I don't actually care about that. Cia has slept with half the fraternity and she always tries to create some kind of drama. But... Zelda is different. I care about what happened between you two because she hasn't slept with half the fraternity. So just tell me what happened."
"She gave me a look."
"What look?"
"The look girls give guys when they want you to hit on them. She gave me that look. So I talked to her. She looked cute and I thought she was interested in me. But apparently she wasn't. End of story."
"If it were the end, then why are you texting her?" I ask but he doesn't answer. "Karusa?" I press. "Just fucking tell me!"
"Fine! Her dad is suing me!" He finally confesses.
"Hyrule's president is suing you?" I ask and he nods. "Holy fuck," I back away from him in shock. "What did you do to Zelda?"
"Nothing! I told you... I didn't do anything. Nothing happened between us."
"You said you hooked up! Stop lying to me!" I had a couple beers but I'm not drunk anymore. I know what he said and his story just doesn't add up.
"I kissed her! I kissed her on the neck and gave her that hickey. I tried to take it further but she didn't want to. I tried anyway and she pushed me away. I swear that's it."
"There's nothing else to the story?"
"That's all there is! Everything else I said to Link at the baseball game was a bluff. Now get off my back."
"Why are you texting her?" I persist.
"I wanted to ask her for help... I just need her to get her lawyers off my back. I thought if I talk to her, maybe we can–I don't know, figure something out. I can't afford a lawsuit, Mal. My family doesn't have that kind of money, you know?"
"Yeah..." I look at him. He looks legit worried. "Shit... No way she's going to help you. Her family is pretentious as fuck."
"Well it's my only shot, so..."
"Are you going to bribe her?"
"Bribe a multi-millionaire? Hilarious."
I feel bad now. Karusa's dealing with some heavy shit and I shouldn't be yelling at him like I did.
"I'm sorry," I say, chewing on my tongue. "If the lawsuit is serious, you really shouldn't be talking to her on social media. Texting her could make things worse."
"You tell me what to do then."
"Easy. You just make her and her father disappear," I half-joke. It's a horrible thought but it's how Ganondorf got away with so many allegations.
"I'm serious. You study law, so tell me... What other options do I have?"
"You could see if Lorule offers Student Legal Services. They could help you for free or at least at a lower price than hiring your own lawyer."
"I don't trust some law student to win a case against a millionaire who probably has the best lawyers in the country. No offense..."
"It's cool. I don't even know if I want to stick with law school," I say and he doesn't react. Maybe I should tell him I dropped out. But this is not about me, I have to find a way to help him so I keep thinking. "If you really want to negotiate a settlement to resolve the lawsuit outside of court, then you should get in contact with the plaintiff, AKA the dad, and not Zelda. But if that's what you choose to do then you should really consult with an attorney first to discuss the feasibility and potential consequences of getting in touch with the president."
"Okay... I guess I'll think about that if that's my only option..."
"I don't know," I lower my head. "Maybe... Ask Ganondorf for help?"
"Ganondorf? He didn't even help his own son in court, why would he help me?"
"Ganon failed to take care of Link, that's why his dad didn't pay bail. You, however, caused Link's expulsion and ended his career. You're Lorule's most loyal player."
"Yay, MVP of the year," he jokes impassively.
"I'm just saying... Ganondorf probably likes you more than his own son."
"Open the champagne..."
"I'm sorry I don't have any better advice for you."
"Nah, it's fine... I'll figure something out." Karusa looks down at his phone. "Ugh, Nobody's replying to my text. Let's just knock at the door."
"Okay," I nod and get out of the car with him.
The streets are calm and clean. The most noise we hear is the barking of a dog and a car honking in the distance. No homeless people, no hookers in the alleys. No cops, no gangs. This is so different from where I have been living lately.
Karusa and I walk up the steps and he knocks on the door. Nobody answers. He knocks again. Still nothing.
We wait for about a minute when Karusa knocks one last time.
Feeling like we've been waiting for ages, we're about to bail when finally the door opens a crack and we catch a glimpse of someone inside. The lights are off and it's too dark to see the face of the person inside, but then my heart drops when I notice the gun that's pointed at us! Holy shit, is that thing loaded? What the actual fuck is going on?