Monday morning arrived quicker than Vivi had anticipated. As a soft light peered through the lavender curtains of her bedroom, she remained stoic in her bed. Hoping that time would slow down, her mind drifted back the numerous emotions she'd felt over the past few days.

Feelings of regret and humiliation had plagued her mind all weekend. Ignoring all texts and calls from her friends, she barred herself away in her bedroom. Over and over, probably a hundred times, she watched the video of herself.

It was unsightly to see herself in that state… chugging drink after drink, and laughing with guys like Bellamy.

She has no recollection of that night, so in a way she's grateful that the video only shows her drinking. It assures her that she didn't do anything worse than that.

Still, she knows her entire class has seen the video by now, and without a doubt they think of her as a hypocrite. She's been quite harsh on them lately, and it's simply because she cares about her classmates, but there's no way they would believe that now.

Though she knows she doesn't deserve it, Vivi wants to earn their trust once again.

"I need to get ready for school…" she mumbled as she climbed out of her bed.

She looked at her phone, and hesitated, before picking it up and opening instagram. 

She was completely aware that watching the video would only revive her depressive state, but couldn't stop herself. 

She clicked on Bellamy's account, and gasped at what she saw. Her hand unconsciously covered her mouth as she let out a sob.

The source of her grief was gone.

"I'm so relieved…" She whimpered.

~~

Confrontation is obviously one of Hancock's fortes. Her powerful demeanor and cold countenance ensured that others always cower in fear, and that she'd never be on the receiving end of criticism.

That's why she had no doubt in her ability to reveal the true intentions of Monkey D. Luffy.

She was convinced that there was more to him than the naivete he portrayed, and was determined to uncover whatever that is.

She strode through the school halls with precision in each step. First period study hall was in the library, and that is where she will execute her plan.

Or at least until her thoughts were interrupted by her blue haired classmate.

"Ahh Hancock, we have a senior meeting first period. Please don't skip this time…" The girl sighed.

Hancock turned to meet the averted gaze of the senior class rep, Nefertari Vivi.

These past months, the bluenette has been especially strict with their classmates, and although she has never had an issue with Vivi in the past, Hancock won't hesitate to call her out on her BS if she gets in her way.

"It seems even the class rep knows how to have fun." Hancock scorned. Her words caused Vivi to stiffen.

"Of course I do." Despite her bright smile, Vivi's eyes were dead. "Well I'll see you in a little while." She said before hastening away.

Hancock scoffed at the girl. Nefertari Vivi was obviously a hypocrite. Always telling others what to do, yet gets flat out drunk at a party. Pathetic.

However, it was really none of Hancocks concern. As long as Vivi doesn't get in her way, she could care less.

But for now she has to postpone her plan to expose the true nature of Monkey D. Luffy. 

For a moment she contemplated skipping the class meeting, but that would only lead to another detention and it wasn't worth it.

She rolled her eyes and prayed that the meeting wouldn't last long.

~~

As usual, Vivi's classmates barely acknowledged any announcements regarding academics or class unity during the senior meeting. 

They were either on their phones, or chatting amongst themselves, and for once Vivi was okay with that. She expected them to scorn her, but maybe they didn't care as much as she had anticipated. Bellamy and Buggy weren't even making any ignorant remarks like they usually did.

However, as their class rep, it was only fair that she acknowledge her wrong doing.

"Before I let you guys go, I would like to address something." Vivi started. "I would like to apologize…"

This seemed to catch their attention, as a few of them looked up from their phones.

"I'm sure most of you have seen the video of me from this Friday, and as your class rep, I should be setting an example for you all…" 

A scoff came from Bellamy, and Baby 5 whispered something into Sai's ear.

Vivi took a breath and continued.

"I've been way too hard on you all, and it was wrong of me to force SSS onto everyone, so I'm calling it off. I hope you guys can accept my apology as I-" 

As she expected, someone spoke up.

"Don't you think it's a little too late for an apology?" Sai remarked. "I mean, you've been terrorizing happy couples, just because your own love life was a fail. You expect us to forgive you for that?!" 

Vivi could feel her cheeks getting warm.

"I don't expect anything from you guys! Not even forgiveness… I just wanted to assure you that I'll do better from now on…" she tried to explain.

"Haven't you taken the time to think that not everything is about you? We don't need you pestering us just because you're the class rep." Lucci said coolly. He doesn't speak often, but when he does his words cut deep.

Everyone seemed to be agreeing with Sai and Lucci and Vivi felt herself giving up.

After a few seconds of awkward silence, a hand rose to the air. It belonged to the pink haired loner of the class, Perona.

"Uhm...so I'm just wondering… are we still going on your summer vacation thing...? Since there isn't Single Senior Season anymore…" she mumbled.

And just like that, a flame of hope lit in Vivi's heart.

"Oh actually, my father offered to sponsor our senior trip! There's no longer any budget, so we can go anywhere you guys want." Vivi stated matter of factly.

Once again silence filled the room.

"Are you serious?!" Buggy shouted standing from his chair. 

"Uh yes." she assured.

The classroom erupted in cheers and chattering among her classmates. Even Sai was suddenly excited. 

The tense atmosphere was gone, and Vivi smirked to herself. 

She had accounted for the fact that her classmates may or may not hate her, thus she had this as a backup plan. And it seems to have worked well for the most part.

She mentally thanked Perona for inadvertently getting her out of this awkward situation.

"Okay guys! I'll send out emails regarding the information for the trip, but it's time to return to class!" Vivi concluded.

She considered this to be a success. Her classmates may not completely trust her, but at least they are happy for the time being. 

As the seniors were exiting the room, Vivi's eyes fell upon Bellamy.

"Ahh Bellamy, can I talk to you for a moment?"

He stopped walking, but didn't didn't face her. Vivi took that as her cue to continue speaking. 

"I know we may not see eye to eye on most things, but I would like to thank you for taking that video down…" She told him.

While he should have never posted it in the first place, what's done is done. Vivi was just glad that it was off the internet.

When he didn't speak up, Vivi walked in front of him and noticed a bruise on his eye.

Before she could comment on it, he aggressively turned away.

"Yeah well, your boyfriend didn't give me much of a choice in the matter." he said coldly before storming off.

"Boy...friend?"

~~

Hancock swiftly strolled to the library, ignoring anyone who tried to speak to her. Only fifteen minutes of this class period was left and this was her only chance to execute her plan.

She contemplated how she should interact with the boy. Despite how blatantly rude she's been to him, he still spits nonsense about wanting to be friends. He obviously has ulterior motives.

There's more to him than the doe-eyed innocence he exudes. Hancock witnessed it herself, last friday. The outburst he had over his friend was… Well she didn't really know how to describe it. She just knew that it was completely opposite to how he usually is.

Finally, she arrived at the library and approached him. 

Every morning he sat in the same seat so it wasn't a surprise to see him there. She stood in front of him, giving him a cold glare. 

However, he didn't seem to  notice her as his eyes were glued to a comic book.

"Ahem!"

The boy looked up and met her cold gaze.

"Oh hey Hammock!" He beamed. What a hypocrite.

She cringed at the sound of him saying her name wrong, but didn't bother to correct him.

"Um hello... May I sit here?" She tried her best to be polite. 

"Yeah sure!" he smiled before looking back at his comic book.

She sat next to him, and was appalled when he didn't continue the conversation. There was obviously something he wanted from her, and this was his chance to act on it!

Must she do everything herself?!

"Ahem!"

She cleared her throat once again. He looked up at her and she glared back.

'This is your chance!' She tried to express her thoughts through the look on her face

As if a light bulb appeared over his head, he suddenly realised something. The boy reached into his bag, and took something out.

"It's a good thing Grandpa always puts these in my backpack!" He smiled as he pushed it across the table.

It was a bag of cough drops. 

~~

The house Zoro lives in is quite large for two people. Four floors, seven bedrooms, and an entire acre of land are definitely too much for two people. 

The large house's exterior was completely stone and resembled a medieval castle more than a home. There were no neighboring houses in sight, and the black fence around the property gave off an ominous "keep out" feeling.

Even so, Zoro was never bored there. Perona had taken it upon herself to make the place a little… "cuter". As a result, the menacing exterior of the house was met with a stark contrast as the interior.

Every inch of the inside was adorned with lolita like furniture, stuffed animals, and stickers of anime characters. The only exceptions were Zoro's bedroom and the basement which was off limits.

The only person allowed down there was the owner of the house, Dracule Mihawk. The owner who was barely ever home. His ever present absence is probably the only reason he allowed Perona to wreak havoc on his home.

However, this past weekend was one of the rare occasions in which he returned home.

As soon as Perona had gone to sleep, Friday night, Mihawk approached Zoro with a request.

His words are still fresh in Zoro's mind.

'A friend of mine has a favor, and I need you to help me fulfill it.'

The man may seem cold and aloof, but he doesn't turn his back on someone in need. Zoro is living proof of that.

As a distressed fourteen year old with nowhere to turn, Mihawk opened his doors to the young boy, simply as a favor to Zoro's former teacher.

Despite hardly knowing Dracule Mihawk, Zoro has a deep admiration for the man, and subconsciously mirrors his personality in many ways.

As a result, there is no way Zoro could or would even want to deny helping Dracule Mihawk.

Currently on a train heading for the countryside, Zoro is ready to fulfill whatever is waiting for him at his destination.

~~

"Where the heck is Zoro?" Luffy asked with a mouth full of egg sandwich. He had eagerly awaited lunch all day, but was disappointed that his friend was missing.

"Ew- bro." Usopp winced across the table, "Don't talk with food in your mouth, dude."

"S-sorry…" Luffy apologized, slightly ashamed. Since when has Usopp cared about table manners?

"Since when have you cared about table manners, Usopp?" Sanji voiced Luffy's concerns.

"Yeah! When have you *munch* table...manners...?" Luffy repeated.

"C'mon guys, we're not kids anymore!" Usopp told them with a sigh.

"We're not?" Luffy was a little confused. "Isn't 15 still a kid?"

Usopp just sighed and rolled his eyes.

Lately, Luffy feels as if Usopp is always annoyed with him... and he doesn't know how to fix that.

"Here's what I think" Sanji smirked. "Now that you're with Kaya, you feel the need to man up, am I right?"

"I-" Usopp stammered. "Sure, whatever man." He covered his face with his hand, but his blush was apparent.

"You'll understand how he feels, once you fall for a girl, Luffy." Sanji told him.

If liking someone will make him not want to hang out with his friends anymore, then that's the last thing Luffy wants.

"What's this about falling for a girl?" Perona seemed to appear out of nowhere, as she joined them at their lunch table.

"Rona!" Luffy exclaimed at the sight of her. "Where's Zoro?!"

"It's nice to see you too…" she replied sarcastically. "And I don't know. Why would I know where that guy is?"

"You literally live with him..." Usopp tried to reason.

"Well, it's not like he tells me anything! He just- he left abruptly this morning with a serious look on his face... Mihawk was gone too…" She seemed a little down.

"That asshole!" Sanji blurted out. "Perona-chan, are you okay with being home alone?"

"I'll be fine, thanks…"

The atmosphere was suddenly down and Perona felt somewhat responsible.

"A-anyway! What was that about falling for a girl?" She tried to mend the mood, by bringing up a more lighthearted subject. 

"N-nothing! Don't worry about it!" Usopp tried to divert the conversation, but Perona was not going to let this go. 

"Hm Kaya, right? She's really cute, and sweet. Way too good for you." She teased.

"Wha- hey! At least I don't have a crush on someone with no sense of direction!" Usopp fired back.

Perona's cheeks and ears were suddenly ablaze.

"Y-you know it's not like that!" She tried to reason.

"Yeah, I'm sure that despite living in the same house the two of you always sleep in your respective beds!" Usopp never held back when roasting someone.

Perona started to squeal in anger and Sanji joined the argument, claiming that there's no way a girl could like "Marimo".

For once, Luffy didn't have much to say and simply laughed at his friend's antics.

Despite gaining the attention of most of the cafeteria, the three of them continued to bicker for the remainder of the lunch period.

~~

Ace's days were mostly dedicated to studying, his part time job, and occasionally going to the gym. I.E. a pretty boring life. Not one of his friends attended a college or university in this area, so he really only had Luffy to hang out with. Which was fine… he's going to catch up soon so it's fine. 

Anyway, he has a fairly strict routine, but was apt to laze around whenever he had the chance. He worked hard so he felt like he deserved it.

However, whenever he rested, even if it was for a second, if Garp was around, constant nagging about Ace's laziness and/or lack of character would ensue.

As a result, he decided (was forced) to take up a more productive hobby. 

Reading was pretty okay at first. However, he found himself gravitating towards all the books a certain someone used to insist he'd read. Though he never found himself tearing up at any other sort of media, he couldn't muzzle the memories and emotions that'd arise every time he read through one of her favourites.

So yeah… reading was out.

With a lack of options and creativity, Ace decided to learn how to cook.

Considering that they are constantly spending money on take out, and how he'd need to learn the skill eventually, it seemed like the obvious choice for a hobby.

After asking Sanji for some beginner recipes, and a couple of months of practice, he got the hang of this cooking thing. And it was pretty fun too.

Plus he could live out his overdue dream of wearing only an apron and underwear while cooking… as long as Garp wasn't around.

Today's special was lasagna and as he placed his masterpiece into the oven…

*Ding* *Dong*

The doorbell rang. Ace looked at the microwave clock and saw that it was only four. Luffy usually wasn't home until seven or eight.

*Ding* *Dong *Ding* *Dong* *Ding* *Dong*

The doorbell continued to ring.

"That's definitely Luffy…" Ace muttered. Did he lose his key again? 

Ace tossed his oven mitts aside and rushed to the door.

"Alright alright! Quit ringing the damn bell Luf-"

As Ace opened the front door, the air was abruptly stripped from his lungs.

It wasn't Luffy at his doorstep.

Those sharp eyes that he'd long to gaze into for the past six months were suddenly met with his. Her long silky hair, that he'd once run his fingers through, was just inches away. It took every fiber of his being not to embrace her right then and there.

"Vi...vi?" He barely managed to get her name out.

"We need to talk, Ace." She told him boldly, arms crossed. However, before he could ask her what she meant, her eyes travelled down his torso. "Wha-what are you wearing?!" She turned away frantically, her face suddenly a crimson shade.

Forgetting for just a moment what his preferred cooking attire was, he looked down only for his blush to match hers.

"I-I'll go change!!" He slammed the front door and sank to his knees. "Of all the freaking times she could've-"

He sighed and made his way upstairs. As he frantically searched for a pair of pants, his mind raced around, wondering why Vivi would show up after months of ignoring him. Not only was he anxious about her sudden appearance, but he felt rather excited as well. The thought of her at his doorstep only made his blush grow deeper, while his heart rate quickened by the second.