Illusions and Lies (A Super Smash Brothers fan fiction)

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE: THE BALL, AT LONG LAST.

Link straightened the collar of his dress shirt for the fiftieth time in three minutes. He was getting ready for the ball at his apartment, since it had been decided that all the boys would meet up there beforehand. 

He was basically a nervous wreck, but he was managing to keep it together. Gods, why was he so nervous for this? It was just a ball. Nothing special.

It wasn't like he needed to impress anybody, right?

"Link, you look stressed. What's up?" Sheik asked, looking a bit concerned about him. 

"I don't even know why I'm so stressed. I guess I want to make a good impression on Zelda?" he responded, sighing and very nearly running a hand through his hair. At the last second, he caught himself. He didn't want to mess up Robin's hard work. 

"You'll impress her, trust me. You've got nothing to worry about, okay?" Sheik patted him on the shoulder. 

Link took a deep breath. "You're right. I have nothing to worry about." 

"That's the spirit! Now, it's almost time to go. Ready to join the others?" Sheik asked, giving him a slight smile. 

"Hell yeah." Link grinned, hoping that acting confident would actually give him some confidence. 

Marth was talking softly with Robin, seemingly telling him something rather important. Knowing those two, it probably had something to do with Lucina. Marth was probably just looking out for his sister, and Robin was making sure that he didn't upset Marth by overstepping his boundaries. 

Meanwhile, Ike was muttering something to himself while he wrestled a bit with his tie. Knowing him, he was probably cursing the tie's manufacturer. Shulk was watching Ike struggle, seemingly finding it amusing before deciding to step in and help the poor guy out. Corrin was messing with the sleeves of his tuxedo, and he appeared to be trying to put on cufflinks. Slowly, Sheik shook their head and wandered over to their boyfriend to help him out. 

Link watched the two of them talk softly for a moment while Sheik fixed Corrin's cufflinks, then he looked away awkwardly when the conversation appeared to get more personal. 

It was adorable to see the two of them so happy together, but Link couldn't help but feel a little jealous of what they had. He wished that he had something like that. 

Preferably with Zelda, but ya know. That's probably not gonna happen. I bet she's interested in someone like Ike. 

Sighing, Link shoved those thoughts out of his mind. If Zelda really was interested in somebody else, so be it. He'd find somebody else eventually. 

"Okay, is everybody ready?" Marth asked, clapping his hands to get their attention. 

In response, Link and the others nodded. 

"Great. Let's go, shall we?" Marth said, walking over to the door and opening it. 

He held the door for his friends, and when they were all in the hallway, Marth nodded to Shulk. 

Shulk gave him a thumbs-up and then turned to face Fiora's apartment, which was near Link's apartment. 

"Alright ladies, we've got you knights in shining armor here to escort you to the ball! Well, minus Sheik and Corrin. Those two are kinda doing their own thing. And none of them are actually wearing armor." Shulk called, placing his hands around his mouth to amplify the sound. 

Suddenly, Link wanted to run. Just turn around and escape. That would be easier than doing this, right? Right. 

Samus entered the hallway first, and Ike stepped forward to meet her. He held out his hand, and she accepted it. Together, they started walking down the hallway. The group would meet up in the lobby of the apartment building, and then from there transportation was a bit up in the air. Apparently Shulk and Caeda were planning something, but it had been kept very secret so far.