ACT IV

White walls surround us
No light will touch your face again
Rain taps the window
As we sleep among the dead
Days go on forever
But I have not left your side
We can chase the dark together
If you go then so will I

There is nothing left of you
I can see it in your eyes
Sing the anthem of the angels
And say the last goodbye

I softly hum the haunting melody to myself as I steer my old Cavalier into the cracked driveway. The skies are still painted grey by a large mass of forlorn clouds; the heavens have been hidden for quite some time now. With a sigh I turn the key in the ignition and cut the music short.

I lean back against my seat and stare at the drab bungalow that faces me. A small porch houses a chipped white chair as well as a dead plant. Across the lawn are strewn vermilion leaves. Normally I would have no reason to visit this home, but I want answers. No, I need answers. I can see what is happening but I do not know the story behind it all; I feel like I am deaf.

In my mind there is nothing more perfect on this spherical mass of rock than my partner. She is flawless. I care deeply for the grey-eyed ballerina. At first I just believed that I liked her as a good friend. In the recent years I've analyzed my situation.

Every time I see her porcelain face my heart races. Her sweet, melodious voice is always ringing in my ears; the way she smiles when she laughs is always on my mind. The way she can be fragile a moment then completely strong and independant the next bemuses me. Everything about her, good or bad, gives me butterflies.

That's why I decided I was in love.

And somehow she leads me here.

Finally I decide to step out of the car, and as soon as I do, a ferocious fall wind pummels me. Slowly but confidently I make my way to the front door. When I knock, flakes of white paint crack and fall off. No one comes so I knock again.

"I'm coming!"

The muffled reply can barely be heard through the door. A moment passes before the piece of oak swings open, revealing a brunette girl in shabby sweatpants. She narrows her eyes at me for a moment, processing something.

"Roy?"

I smile faintly, though it's anything but genuine.

"Hi, Zelda." Sighing, I tiredly run a hand through my red hair. "We need to talk. Can I come in?"

She eyes me warily then motions for me to enter. Closing the door, she leads me to what I presume is the living room then vanishes through another doorway. Unsure if I should take a seat, I look around. The walls are a pale sea foam hue, made drab by the gloomy light filtering in from the window. There is one loveseat and an armchair, both rich brown in color and faded from age. On an intricately carved nightstand lays a picture frame.

With a quiet movement I flip the stained wood over, revealing a faded picture. Gently I pick up the frame, but before I can actually look at the frozen memories, Zelda violently rips it out of my hand and sets it down.

"You can sit." She breathes, motioning to the chair.

I do as told, sinking into the couch. Wordlessly she offers me a cup of tea; I politely take the fragile china from her delicate hands. Her expectant blue eyes stare at me. I have so many questions left unanswered; where should I start?

"Why weren't you at Link's deathbed, or his funeral?"

She looks away and tightens her grip on the little cup.

"I couldn't bring myself to do it. To see him, I mean."

Patiently I stay silent. A minute or two passes before I sigh.

"I won't press the matter, but I still need to talk about other things." I pause to take a sip of the tea. It burns my tongue. "The day of the crash, I was walking home and saw Sheik sleeping in a park. She told me you kicked her out."

Zelda turns towards me, a guilty look on her face.

"I did."

"Why?"

The brunette looks sorrowful as she drinks her tea.

"I just... I... I don't know."

I shuffle and adjust my position on the couch, then stare at her in disbelief.

"You don't know why you told your twin you never wanted to see her face again?" My question is accusing.

"I..." She puts the cup down on the end table. "I just got so angry... not at her, I mean, I felt so guilty. I still feel guilty... It's all my fault."

The head ballerina looks like she's about to cry. Her answers give me nothing but more questions, however, so I must continue interrogating her.

"What's all your fault? Your sister's gradual breakdown? Her starving herself? Her random bouts of screaming and crying? Or maybe her addiction to drugs?"

"Sheik does drugs?" Zelda looks at me wide-eyed and shocked. When I nod she places her hands over her face. "Oh my god. Link was right! I should have listened... He was right, he was always right. I'm so horrible. What did I do to myself... What did I do to her? Link..."

The end to her rambling is muffled by quick, shattering sobs. I do nothing but sit here and wait.

"What was Link right about? Zelda, please answer my questions. I need to know this."

She stares at me, tears running down her cheeks.

"I treat Sheik like crap for no reason whatsoever. The... day he crashed... we had a fight about that, then he made me leave the car and drove away... Then he died... It's all my fault!"

Another sob racks her thin frame.

"It's just... have you seen Sheik? She's so perfect. She's good at everything. She's beautiful. She is smart. She has the reflexes and grace of a ninja. And m-me? I was al-always a little jealous. I'm smart, sure, but reall-ly... am I go-ood for anything beside th-that? No! A-and I guess m-my je-ealousy got ove-e-er me... A-and now... I regret every-y little th-thing I-I did..." Her shallow breathing punctuates her sentences as she starts crying harder.

I sit here in shock at what she just said. Zelda, the perfect princess, jealous of her sister?

"Um... I..." Awkwardly I try to comfort her. What am I supposed to say?

As suddenly as the crying intesified, it calmed, the brunette quickly regaining composure.

"I-if you nee-eed to find her... Samus hear-rd from h-her yesterday. S-she said that Sheik wa-as staying a-at the Hyatt downt-town."

I nod and she stands, motioning for me to do the same. Shakily she leads me to the main door and holds it open.

"Bye. I, er, appreciate it." I run my hand through my messy red hair, just as I did when I entered.

"Roy... plea-ease t-tell the instructor t-that I'm quitting ballet... Sh-Sheik can d-dance the lead..."

Before I can say anything I'm being pushed through the threshold and the door is closed. In reality I had a lot more to discuss with Sheik's twin, but the info I gathered today is enough for now.

I savor the musky fall wind, letting it blow my scarf from side to side. The city looks drab, a blob of depressed grey flecked with dead vermilion; a couple of crows perch in a bare tree on the sidewalk below. I trace my fingers in a circular motion, gently caressing the concrete of the building I sit upon. Approximately twenty floors below, a car zooms by.

The clouds have stopped churning and instead move peacefully, though they are still colored a dark hue. My toes peek over the edge of the roof. I lean forward. Gravity begs me to let go and fall, but for now I stay sitting, contemplating the world.

And what a sad world. Sometimes it is covered in blood and death, other times it is a source of indescribable sorrow; the people who can see hope in today's society are miracles.

With indifference I watch blood drip off of my pale fingertips and stain the grey rooftop. When I glance away then look again the red liquid is gone. I sigh and reach for the cloth bag resting next to me. From it I pull out my bottle of pills. Shaking it, I wonder if I'd have enough to overdose. Deciding that I probably wouldn't anyway, I throw my "medecine" over the edge and watch it plummet.

With a final glance at the city around me I stand up and close my eyes. Taking a sharp breath in, I lean forward. I feel gravity pulling at me, willing me to tip over and follow my little white bottle. I oblige and begin to fall.

But suddenly, I'm not falling. In fact, I'm being pulled back onto the concrete by some unknown hands around my waist. Angrily I open my eyes and struggle against whoever has their grip on me.

"Let me go!" I screech, clawing at the hands holding me away from my precious emptyness.

"Never." I recognize the voice, which makes me all the angrier.

"Roy! Let me go!"

"No."

"Leave me alone!"

"No!"

I yell in frustration and struggle as much as I can, yet his grip never falters.

"Roy! I mean it!"

"I mean it too, Sheik. I'm not letting go."

"Why?" I snap viciously, attempting to pull his strong arms away from me.

A tense silence envelops the rooftop as I try to free myself from Roy's hold. We balance on the edge of the building, precariously close. If only I can escape him, then I can launch myself towards the streets below...

"Because, Sheik, I love you. Not as a friend. I love you."

I stop struggling and try turning around instead. He senses that my focus is no longer on ending my life and loosens his grip on me. Deep yet bright blue eyes look at me with a hint of sadness and immesurable love.

Part of me wonders why I didn't notice. Another part of me wants to deny it. The last part of me wants to push him away and scream, because he is not Link.

All of a sudden his eyes go blank. There is no life in his body as he slumps against me. I scream and trip backwards, almost losing my balance, but sending Roy over the edge. I stare at him with an overwhelming sense of despair in my heart as he plummets.

"Sheik?"

No. He is here in front of me.

I shiver and press myself against the redhead, not wanting to imagine him actually falling. We stay standing here for a long time, a million subjects going through my mind. I can't possibly have feelings for Roy. I love Link. Yet a part of me knows I've always had a place for my partner in my heart. But is it love?

"The show starts in an hour." I whisper, pushing him away a little.

"So it does. And we're both dancing the leads."

It takes me a moment to register what he's said.

"What?"

"Zelda's dropping out."

I stare at the boy in front of me with wide eyes. At that moment, for some reason, it seems like my life was based on the ballet we are performing tonight.

The fourth act especially. When the girl realizes that her only support was missing, she fell into a deep depression. But he found her and held her and whispered kind words. Her hallucinations got worse, and worse... Somehow she knew it'd get better, however. Why? Because the boy loved her.

"Roy... Do you actually love me?"

He looks at me with such emotion that I have to look away.

"I do and always will, forever. Until the end."

Yeah. What I feel? It's love.

A/N: Doooonneeeee finally :p Originally the story ended with Sheik living through a hallucination then realizing that in the one that she had earlier she actually did push Roy off the edge. In other words, a sad ending indeed.

I'm soo not satisfied with the amount of horror. This is supposed to be a horror/romance, not an angst/romance :/ But otherwise, I'm proud of it. Review and please tell me what you liked and didn't like, it always helps tons.

On an unrelated note: cheerleading season is starting at my school, and I'm head cheerleader this year! Go leopards! :D

Thank you for reading. Thanks to PitFTW and Foxpilot for giving me an excuse to write this, and thanks to Arceli L and others for the praise and criticism :) See you all next fic!

EDIT: Oops, I forgot! Giving credit where credit is due, the lyrics at the beginning are Anthem Of The Angels by Breaking Benjamin. They're the only ones I didn't make up on my own, but the song is very fitting.