The cold weather has officially set in. While the few leaves left on the tree's indicated that it was still Autumn, Winter was definitely on her way. But despite the crispness in the air, there was a warmth to Vivi's cheeks and her lips were turned into a rosy smile.

Nami could tell that something was… off about her these past few days. Not only was she in an unusually good mood, but yesterday she was humming while doing her homework. And today, on this frigid morning, there was almost a skip in her step as the two girls walked to school. 

"Your new jacket is really cute." Nami complimented, as she walked beside her best friend.

"You think so?" Vivi asked with a smile, as she eyed her white coat.

"Yeah it's perfect for this cold weather we're getting." Nami continued, trying to seem nonchalant. 

"Mm, I agree." The bluenette hummed.

...

She was grateful that Vivi's sour mood of almost half a year had vanished, and that they were talking again, and Nami was going to let her reveal in her own time why there was a sudden change… 

But she's too impatient for that. 

"You know, you still haven't told me why I had to cover for you the other night." Nami began as she shoved her gloved hands into her pockets. "Did... something happen?"

Vivi's blush seemed to deepen for a moment as her lips parted to answer Nami's question.

"Mm I suppose." Is all she said. Still smiling, she folded her hands behind her back and quickened her pace.

"Seriously?? I already know it has to do with Ace, so spill." Nami admitted as she tried to match the girl's speed.

Vivi stopped abruptly at the sound of Ace's name. 

"What makes you think it's about him?" She asked without turning around. 

Maybe I should've been more discreet.

"It's just a guess, really. Luffy got a similar text you sent me but from Ace so…" She slowly explained. Now that Vivi was in a good mood, Nami didn't want to set her off again, so she figured she shouldn't say too much just yet. "I… just put two and two together."

"I see…" and almost awkward silence filled the air, but only for a moment. "Well you're correct."

Vivi turned to face her. Nami was almost stunned by the look on her face. Her strict, no-nonsense friend looked...embarrassed. Avoiding eye contact with Nami, the girl slightly swayed back and forth. Her face, the same crimson hue as before.

"Ace and I are… back together I guess." She finally admitted.

It took a moment for Nami to react, but when she did-

"EEEH FOR REAL?!?!" The orangette bounced around her blushing friend, with as much excitement as ten brides on their wedding day. Of course, she had suspected as much, but hearing her friend confirm it after all this time was almost surreal. 

"So did you sleep with him??" Nami enquired a little too loudly, earning the attention of a few passerbys.

Vivi's face somehow grew redder as she hushed her younger friend.

"Can you not tell the entire world about my sex life?!" Vivi whisper-yelled, as she avoided eye contact with some of the few schoolmates that passed them.

"S-sorry…" Nami apologized. "...So you did have sex...?" 

"Shhh!!"

Nami was fully aware about how far Vivi and Ace had gone in the past, but was slightly surprised that they did it again so soon. Maybe that's why she was in such a good mood.

"Okay, okay I get it! Give me all the details at lunch!" Nami half-teased, as the two continued walking down the sidewalk.

"Ah- can't. There's a student council meeting today." Vivi explained with sad eyes.

"O-oh. That's fine. After school let's do our homework together and then-"

"After school, Ace is going to pick me up…" Vivi interrupted. 

WHAT

Was she going to ditch her?! They've barely started talking again…

"I'm sorry, Nami… Ace is only going to be here for about two months anyway. I... kind of want to make up for lost time…" Vivi revealed.

He shouldn't be here anyway...

Nami changed the disappointed look on her face into that of a sympathetic one.

"Hey no I totally understand! I'm honestly happy for you. You seem a lot brighter." Nami said, smiling.

She was happy for her friend. A bit annoyed, but happy nonetheless. It was only two months, and in the meantime she could start the final phase of her plan: making Sabo fall for her. 

Nami thought about bringing Sabo up, but decided against it.

"We don't have much time, but tell me about it! How exactly did Ace win you back?!" Nami smirked as she prompted her friend to tell her what happened. 

Vivi told her love story as if it was a timeless fairy tale. Nami listened intently, laughed when she laughed, and sighed when she sighed. It had been so long since Vivi showed this much of herself. 

Nami felt a little jealous that she couldn't make Vivi this expressive, but was grateful that her friend was back to her old self. Sure she would lose her for a little while, but Nami was okay with that. Because no one could make Vivi smile this way. No one, but Ace.

~~

After realizing her feelings for Zoro, Perona just can't seem to act normal around him.

Considering how long they've lived together, of course she's gotten used to being around him. But now that she feels something more, it's really put things into context. 

She, a teenage girl, lives alone with a teenage guy. 

That realization alone prompts... interesting thoughts to say the least.

Yesterday morning he returned after disappearing for almost 24 hours, and of course she was adamant on lecturing him for worrying her! But the moment he walked through the door with those tired eyes of his, she couldn't bring herself to do it.

Instead she awkwardly told him to get some sleep before going to school. 

After school, however, instead of driving home with her, he insisted on making his way back later, as he "had something to take care of".

Usually she would yell, or force him to tell her what he was up to and why he was being so mysterious. But now she's more conscious about how she acts around him.

She likes Zoro and… wants him to like her too. Instead of acting like his obnoxious roommate, she wants to be the kind of girl he would date.

However, she has no idea what his type is in the first place.

Sure he's been on plenty of dates, but those girls always ask him out first! Plus he's never even been on a second date. Either because he finds the girl too boring, or she realizes how much of an inconsiderate pig he can be. Or at least that's how she's heard girls describe him.

Nonetheless, she has no reference to go off of. She'll just have to get a little creative and experiment.

By acting like different types of girls, she's bound to find out what his type is.

First, she'll try the cutesy girl act. Maybe with a little southern belle? Guys always go crazy over those types of girls, and she's always a fan favorite in tv shows.

And now, as they're about to drive to school, it's the perfect time to show off her practice.

As Zoro plopped into the passenger seat he yawned.

"We're actually going to be on time for once." He groaned.

Perona giggled cutely as she started driving, causing Zoro to eye her suspiciously. Deciding to ignore her, he closed his eyes and crossed his arms, seemingly in an attempt to get some last minute rest.

Noticing his lack of a seatbelt, Perona decided to sweetly tell him to put it on.

"Ah Zozo! Hon, you need your seatbelt."

Hm was that a little too southern?

Zoro opened one eye and glared at her as if she just called him a swear word.

"Never call me that again. Second of all, I can't sleep with a seatbelt on." He explained before closing his eye once again.

Perona inwardly sighed as she wondered why he always had to be so difficult. 

"You'd only get like- ten minutes of sleep anyway!" She tried to keep her cute tone. "And you can only say second of all, if you say first of all, first!"

"Nah, I'm just gonna do what I want." 

Perona's eye twitched at his words. She must've forgotten how irritating he can be. With one hand on the wheel, she reached over to grab the seatbelt.

"Just put it on sweetie!" She tried to force the belt on, while driving.

"Wha- quit being stupid. Get off!" He shouted as he tried to push the pink haired girl away.

"Stupid?! I'm stupid? Stupid is not wearing your seatbelt just to get a few minutes of sleep!" 

Wait, was she being her old self again? This probably wasn't very… cute. She got off of him and eyed the road once again. 

"I'm just saying that you have to be safe…" she murmured. 

"And I'm saying to quit nagging me!" He snapped back.

This… wasn't going very well. Not only had the cutesy act not worked but, now he was angry with her. Instead of continuing to argue, she sunk into her chair and continued the ride silently. 

That is, until Zoro abruptly told her to slow down. He rolled down the window and seemed to want to talk to these two girls walking on the sidewalk. Perona recognized them right away. Her class rep, Nefertari Vivi, and her younger friend, Nami. Did Zoro know them?

Before she could question his intentions, he shouted at the two girls. 

"I've always felt sorry for those who have to walk to school every morning." He shouted as they drove past them. 

"Piss off, Zoro!" The orange haired girl yelled back, as she threw her iced coffee at the car. Thankfully, she missed.

Zoro just laughed to himself and Perona sighed.

"Are you proud of yourself?" She inquired sarcastically.

"I am, actually." He smugly replied.

Do I seriously have a crush on this guy?

"Loser…" Perona said under her breath.

"Hey! Do you even know how annoying that girl is? She stole my gatorade yesterday!" He tried to explain.

Perona had never even seen those two interact, and they were this close? Was Nami the type of girl he liked??

Driving into the school parking lot, she no longer had any time to question him or try another plan.

As she was about to get out of the car, she noticed Zoro hadn't moved yet. 

Does he... have something to tell me?

As she braced herself for whatever it is he wanted, her thoughts ran wild . Had the cutesy act worked? Does he want to spend more time with her before school starts?

However, her thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a loud snoring beside her.

Noticing that his eyes were closed, a sudden anger surged through her.

"WAKE UP!"

The cutesy act was definitely not for her.

~~

Luffy could've sworn it was the weekend. Or some holiday. Or a snow day. Anything really. Somehow he genuinely did not know that there was school today. And that's what he tried to explain to Grandpa, as he yelled at him to wake up and get ready for school. 

The worst part is that Ace couldn't even drive him! He had some test to take? He's not even in school and he still has tests?

Will I have to take tests once I'm done with school??

Luffy usually wasn't one to worry, but Grandpa said he got an email saying if he's late one more time he would get detention!

Now Luffy's racing to school with teary eyes. Not because he's upset or anything like that. He's not a crybaby. But because the bruise on his head that Grandpa gave him was really starting to hurt.

Life was starting to seem unfair. Everyday, the same old thing.

Wake up, go to school, get in trouble for being late or not doing homework, try to squeeze in some type of fun before the day is over, then get in trouble at home for being late or not doing homework!

Not to mention, he barely got any sleep. School was basically prison!

Trying to find some sort of solution to this endless loop of terror, Luffy finally made it to the wretched building. Eyeing the time on his phone, he felt slightly relieved. 

7:57

Okay, I've got this!

Rushing into the school and to his locker, he emptied his backpack trying to remember what books he needed. Realizing that he only had a study hall, he grabbed a pen and a notebook and ran to the library.

The doors were in sight and he sighed in relief. Not being late means no detention, means no getting hit by Grandpa again!

However his relief was short lived, as he suddenly tripped over something.

On his hands and knees, he hastily tried to get back up but-

*RIIIIIINGGG*

That was the bell.

"Crap!" He shouted as punched he ground.

He was so close! Luffy snapped his head back to see what he tripped over, and was annoyed to see two older guys behind him. One guy was blond and smirking, and the other guy had a long blue ponytail and a big red nose. They were both really ugly.

Wait… isn't that Bibi?

Luffy thought back to the person Ace said he was in love with and cringed at the thought. He really liked this guy??

Standing to his feet, Luffy ignored the two and attempted to walk away. Unfortunately, they seemed to have other plans. 

The blond guy grabbed Luffy's shoulder. 

"Hey kid. Shouldn't you show a little respect to your upperclassman?" He sneered.

"Yeah how dare you trip over his foot and not apologize??" 'Bibi' said as he got close to Luffy. 

Awe man, this guy stinks!

"I don't even know who he is." Luffy replied without turning around.

The two ugly guys laughed.

"The names Bellamy and this is-"

"Oh I know who he is." Luffy interrupted while turning to face 'Bibi'. "And you're no match for my brother!" He declared while pointing a finger towards him.

Luffy was okay with most of Ace's decisions, but he just couldn't come to terms with this one. He did NOT want this Bibi guy to be a part of their family. The thought made him sick!

They continued laughing. 

"And who the hell is your brother?" 'Bibi' asked in a demeaning tone.

"Ace!" Luffy told them proudly.

"Ace isn't here right now!" 'Bibi' said. While he continued to laugh, however, the blond guy stopped.

"H-hey actually- I'm pretty sure Ace is still in town…" the blond guy stuttered.

"Eh?! Who cares, I can take both of them." Bibi told the blond guy.

EW he wants both of us?!

This was going too far. Luffy knew he had to end this now. He would apologize to Ace later.

Winding up his arm, Luffy was about to throw the first punch to get rid of these guys. He already had detention, so he could care less at this point!

Noticing his intentions, 'Bibi' seemed to get into his own fighting stance.

"Awe Bellamy! Look how confident the kid is!" 'Bibi' teased.

This should take about… three minutes for the both of them.

Luffy smirked. It's been a while since he's been in a fight.

'Bibi' charged at him, and as Luffy was about to punch him-

"OUT OF MY WAY!" A voice boomed before them, prompting all three of the boys to stop and cover their ears.

As Luffy looked up, he was surprised to see Hammock. He forgot that she's in his study hall! She seemed… annoyed.

Not taking the hint, the blond guy approached her, rubbing his hands together.

"Hancock~, I didn't expect to see you so early, babe." He said as he got close to her. 

She ignored him as he continued.

"I sincerely hope you don't get dress-coded because, damn is that skirt shor-" before he could say whatever it was he was going to say, Hammock lodged her knee into his stomach. He hunched over and was on the ground in a matter of seconds.

Then she swiftly made her way over to 'Bibi'.

"Wait! Hancock I'm just an innocent bystander I-" before he could get his last words out, her palm had connected to his face and she forced him to the ground.

She walked up to Luffy, and he instinctively got into a fighting pose. The two made eye contact that seemed to last longer than it really was. She let out a small "hmph" before continuing into the library.

Luffy eased his stance as he watched her take her usual seat.

That was so…

Cool!!!

With stars in his eyes, Luffy left the two ugly guys that seemed to be in a lot of pain, and approached the tall girls table.

"Hammock you've GOT to teach me those moves!!" He told her with balled up hands. "You beat those guys in like- 30 seconds!!"

"19 actually." She corrected without looking up from her book. "And… my name is Hancock."

"So are you going to teach me?!" He asked again with hopeful eyes.

After a moment of contemplation she looked up at him.

"Absolutely not." She stated. 

"I- but- please?!" He pleaded.

"Will you leave me alone?! I wasn't trying to help you out. You guys were in my way." She explained.

"Then why didn't you fight me too?" He demanded.

She sighed and closed her book.

"A weakling like you, isn't worth the time of day." She snapped. "Now, go away."

"I- I don't believe you!" he revealed.

"What?" She asked.

"You're a lot nicer than you pretend to be. I can tell." He explained. There's no way she wasn't trying to help him. Luffy was sure of that.

"Even if that's true, my answer remains the same. Leave me alone..." 

Instead of arguing, he just put his hands behind his head and walked over to the table across from her.

"Mm, whatever you say I guess."

He wasn't content with her answer, but what else could he do?

Maybe she'll change her mind later.

He took out his pen and notebook and began to draw, not noticing the intent gaze of the girl across from him.

~~

Nonstop. The thought of her friendly smile had been nonstop. The daydreaming of the two spending time together again had been nonstop. The urge to approach her had been nonstop. 

However, the most Sanji could muster up near the orange haired girl had been a mere 'hello'.

They shared two classes, one study hall, and the same lunch period, but somehow, he never had the chance to have a proper conversation with her.

Though, this didn't surprise him. Nami-san is a fairly popular girl, so that's to be expected. Nonetheless, Sanji prayed for an opening, as staring at the back of her head in class had proved to no longer be enough.

Ever since Monday evening, at the Baratie, Sanji realized that a friendship with her was within reach. But at the same time, he didn't want to rely on Luffy for such things. That seemed so… backwards.

Realizing he had been lost in his thoughts, Sanji jolted at the sound of the teacher calling his name.

"And for group three, we'll have Sanji, Nami, and-"

Had his ears deceived him? His eyes widened as the oranged haired girl turned around in her chair, and gave him the sweetest smile.

Sanji was awestruck. 

It appears that… the gods are truly on my side!!

A group project with Nami-san?! This was more than an answer to his prayers. This was in fact divine intervention. Sanji was now convinced that Nami-san must be fated to be a part of his life.

"Alright get into your groups, and discuss the project for the rest of the period." The teacher instructed before laying her head on her desk.

Nami grabbed a chair and approached his table.

"Ahoy there!" She greeted sweetly.

"Na-Nami-San! I'm so glad we're partners!" He told her earnestly.

"I am too! Honestly, I wish it was just you and me." She admitted as she rolled her eyes.

Huh? Is it not just us?

Sanji looked to the left, and instantly got annoyed. 

Green. All he saw was green.

"How are you going to say you don't want me here, as if I'm not here?!" Zoro demanded.

"Maybe because I don't want you here!" She spat back.

Time stood still as the two argued. Wait, does she hate Marimo? Somehow, that makes her ten times more attractive.

But wait… why is he here??

"Marimo, why are you here?!" Sanji asked angrily.

"Not my choice, bud. Teach put the three of us in this group." He explained

This was finally his chance, but this mosshead was here too??

While this situation was definitely not ideal, this was still his chance to further his relationship status with Nami-san.

"Let's just ignore him for the duration of our project, Nami-san." Sanji suggested.

"Fine by me." The green haired brute agreed as he laid his head on the table.

"No way! That leaves too much work for us. This is a GROUP project!" Nami-san explained.

She was right… how could he not think of that?!

"Let's just divide our tasks, and work separately. At least then, all the work will be done." She suggested.

Sanji did not like the sound of this. If they worked separately, how would he get to spend more time with her?!

"Alright let's do that. As long as I don't have to see your thieving face." Zoro stated.

"Oi Marimo." Sanji started, causing Zoro to look up at him. "How much of a low life do you have to be to talk to a nice girl like that?!"

"Oh shut up. You have no idea what you're talking about. She's a damn thief!"

"I for one would be thrilled if a cute girl stole a gatorade from me!" Nami-san stated "Wouldn't you, Sanji-kun?"

"Ah of course!" Sanji definitely agreed. Marimo was way out of line.

"Cute where?" Zoro asked avoiding her gaze.

"You little-" Nami-san stood up and seemed like she was about to leave. Sanji knew he had to fix this quickly.

"Nami-san! Obviously, Marimo is an idiot and I wish he wasn't in our group." Sanji started. "But unfortunately, he is. So, we have to work together…"

Was that convincing enough?

She sighed and sat back down.

"You're... right." Is all she said

I'll definitely make this up to her.

"Let's just divide the tasks." The brute stated. Can't he take a hint?

"Sure." She began, as she rolled her eyes. "Zoro you do the research, Sanji will write the paper, and I'll present it."

"Sounds good!" Sanji agreed.

"The hell?! You're pinning all the work on us!" Was the green gremlin still trying to argue?

Nami-san opened her mouth to rebuttal, but was interrupted by the bell. 

"I guess we'll have to continue this conversation later." Sanji said sheepishly.

Thankfully, the brute stormed off, leaving him alone with Nami-san.

He was slightly disappointed at how little he got to talk to her, but was hopeful for the times to come! They were officially partners, and nothing could change that. He'd just do his best to ignore the mosshead that refused to shut up.

As he gathered his belongings, he was shocked to see Nami-san still there.

"Oh! I- uh what's- what's up, Nami-san?" He inquired as she gazed at him with those beautiful brown eyes of hers.

"I was just wondering if I…" she hesitated for a moment.

"Yes?" He prompted her to go on.

"Could I sit with you guys at lunch? You know, you, Luffy, and Usopp? Vivi is busy with student council stuff so I just thought that-"

"Yes of course! I'd love that! I mean- we'd love that! We love you- I mean-" 

Thankfully, her giggling interrupted him.

"Thanks, Sanji-kun!"

Ah yes. The gods were definitely on his side.