I took a good look at the people around me. Some were wearing the same maid's outfit I was, but others were wearing nurses' outfits. We were all in a dressing room for our restaurant. The Baratie was a very popular restaurant. People came and went, and on the outside, it was your average five-star restaurant. However, when the sun when down, the lights go on to reveal it to be a male strip joint. Not many people know about that little fact, but for those who did, the place gets packed. The odd part is that this place was originally meant for women, but more males kept on arriving, so it became a place for homosexuals. I looked next to me to see a tall, thin man with heavy make-up on, smiling in the mirror. An up-beat tune could be heard. One of the assistant managers, Sanji, called the strippers to get ready for the show, as we would open in ten minutes.
"Let's do our best today, right, Bon-chan?" I smiled. He turned to me and smiled back.
"Yes! We shall wow them as always, D-chan!" he addressed me by the name I went by here. It wasn't my real name, which was Luffy, but it fit. When I first met him, he gave me that nickname, so people here call me that, even my boyfriend.
My boyfriend was perfect. At first, people would get scared of the uneasy aura he gave off, but underneath, he was a swell guy. I'm not a stripper here, but a waiter –er- waitress here because he refused to have me 'exposed to perverted, hormone-driven men' as he put it. For protection of my identity, I wore a mask that covered half my face, even my scar. Scratch that, especially my scar.
When I first told my friends I worked here, they took it a lot better than I would've guessed. Usopp, my long-nosed liar of a friend, passed out when he heard the news. Nami, a money-loving, violent girl, squealed when she heard it. Zoro, well, I didn't exactly tell my moss-haired friend yet. I had perfect contact with him, despite him being in college. It wasn't that I didn't trust him, it was that I was afraid of what Zoro could do, or rather, tell that information. He could tell it to my elder brother, who he went to school with, and he would have me quit immediately. Ace would definitely disapprove of this job. But I needed the money, I knew Ace was in college, so I was alone, to fend for myself, and he was the one who wanted me to get a job.
However, I had made many friends out of this. The manager during the Night-Baratie was my boyfriend, so he was to one who gave me the job in the first place. Lucci was yet another thing Ace would disapprove of. Well, it was Ace's fault I ended up with Lucci anyway. Don't get me wrong, I love Lucci very much, but Ace was the one who drove me to him. Figuratively, of course. Oh, where to begin?
A deep secret of mine is very, very dark. I'm in love with my own elder brother. At first I thought it was normal, but I realized I needed Ace to be with me, I loved having him around, and I longed for him to kiss me. It's wrong, I know, and because of it, I went into a depression because I knew he would never look at me that way. Even if I told him, he'd reject me. That's what hurts the most. However, as I tried to avoid Ace more, in order not to lose control and frighten him, I began to notice someone else. Rob Lucci. He was silent, aggressive, and a lot of people feared him. But, for reasons unbeknownst to me, I didn't. I've caught myself eyeing him with pure curiosity. A little too much. Silently, I watched him. Every move he made fascinated me. His wavy black hair he either let move freely or tie up in a ponytail would shape his face without fault, the way sweat glistened off his arms as he worked out in P.E., how he was soft around birds, mainly pigeons, I just kept watching him.
I asked Vivi, a close friend, about it, and she told me it was love. Soon, Nami and Usopp found out. They made similar reactions to when I told them I worked night-time at Baratie. But this was before I worked there. I told them to keep it a secret, otherwise, Ace would find out. That would've been horrible. With a lot (and I mean a whole lot) of encouragement, I finally obtained enough bravery to ask him out. When I did, he just stared at me. I thought I would be rejected, which I expected, but however…
"I'll pick you up at seven." Those words made me happier than I've been in a very long time. He turned and walked away. That began our relationship. I'm seventeen, and Lucci is twenty, going on twenty-one, and we've dated since my freshman year, so that would make, including this year, four years we've been together. Ace still doesn't know about him. That was the one thing I was thankful for: Ace was thick-headed. How I managed to elude Lucci from him for one whole year, when he was still in high school, was a miracle.
Back to the present, the doors were open, and males began to enter the restaurant. I straightened my bow on the maid costume, pulled up the black lace stockings I had on, tightened my mask, just in case, and headed out. When I first tried heels, I fell over five times. Everyone was laughing at me. I saw that even Lucci had a ghost of a smile at that time. Eventually, I was used to them. When I opened the double-doors, 'Hips Don't Lie' was blasting through the speakers. I saw Bon-chan headed to one of his assigned tables, and I went to one of mine.
There were two kind gentlemen who were on a date together, neither one paying any mind to the strip show. I gave them each a copy of the wine selection. I was about to leave, but it appeared they already knew what to order. They each ordered a Bloody Mary, one of our many alcoholic drinks, and I nodded, jotting it down on my notepad. I gave them one of my infamous grins and went to the kitchen to tell/collect their order.
When I returned, I offered them the dinner menu, which they gladly accepted, whilst giving them their well-prepared drinks. I offered the specials, but they declined, politely, though. I kept smiling and took their order. It was rather rare to see such kind people here. Others were rather rude, drunk, or both, and would try to look up my dress. You would think they would go to the Day-Baratie instead. I guess they hadn't come out of the closet yet. Well, they looked happy together. Hm… Lucci hasn't taken me out in a while, maybe we should see a movie sometime. Yeah! That sounds nice.
I gave them their order and moved to another table. Two men, who looked like they hated each other, were sitting at a table, glaring at each other. They seemed rather familiar. I shrugged it off and asked for their order. One was a redhead with a gothic look, and a pissed off one, too. The other was tan, had tattoos on his arms, dark circles under his light, but clouded, grey eyes, and brown hair. I heard the redhead mumble "The strongest stuff you got," I turned to the tan man and he nodded.
"Same thing, wait…" he looked at me from head to toe. "Don't I know you from somewhere?" Uh oh. So I did know them. Just keep in denial.
"I'm sorry, but this is the first time we've met," I lied. I'm only a bad liar when I try to be a good liar. When I'm not thinking, I actually lie very well.
"No, I'm positive we've net before," he made a thinking expression. "What do you thing, Mr. Eustass?" he addressed the other man. Wait… Eustass? Eustass Kid? I have like eight martial arts classes with him!
"Yeah, Trafalgar. He looks a lot like that Luffy kid, doesn't he?" Trafalgar? As in Trafalgar Law? He sits next to me in math and English! I didn't recognize him at first because he was wearing a fluffy hat, covering his hair, and he wasn't in his school uniform.
Cold sweats began to break down my face. I couldn't really hold this charade up for much longer. "I-I'm afraid you have me confused with someone else." God, I hoped they believed me. It would mean trouble if the whole school were to find out about this. Or worse: Ace could find out. Before getting a response, I quickly excused myself politely and ran to the kitchen.
The rest of the hours went smoothly, so far. Not one jerk had ruined my night yet. I finished cleaning a used table and I turned around to my next table and I nearly dropped the pan with dirty glassed and dishes when I saw who was there. It was someone who I hadn't seen for three years. My older brother, Ace. I couldn't believe it.
Why was he here? Did he know I worked here? Wait… he was sitting across from someone. I didn't recognize, but he had a very funky hairdo. It made him look like a pineapple. He must be from Ace's college. I didn't know Ace was gay. And I've known him all my life! So he was on a date with this guy. My heart cringed at that realization. He was on a date… with someone else. I couldn't help but be jealous. I still had a crush on him, no matter how much I denied it. I bit my lip and walked to their table hesitantly.