This fanfic is going to have three parts. The basic idea of this was inspired by an actual dream I had. This can be seen as both romantic and not romantic. Here's part one!

"Stop it!" She screamed in terror, trying to remove the boy's hand from her hair, eyes wide as other kids laughed mockingly, pointing fingers at her forehead.

"She's a three-eyed freak!"

"A monster!"

Through her tears, she could make out the shapes of older citizens, their stares invisible, but the quiet murmuring was all she needed to see the disgust and fear on their blurred faces. "Let go!" This time she put more force into her grip, and the brunette successfully tore his hand off. Not wasting a second, she quickly stood and ran, readjusting her bangs to cover her third eye as she fled.

She stayed in her room the rest of the day, only leaving to eat when Lola, with the promise of staying by her side the entire time, persuaded her to go.

She was walking down the street, trying to ignore the stares she got. A hand grabbed her bangs and pulled them up, revealing her third eye. She screamed, once again reaching up to remove the offending hand.

"Look! She's a hideous three-eye!" The same voice. Suddenly, she could only see red, her eyes sparking as she pulled out a knife and cut into the boy's hand. "Ow! You cut me!"

She said nothing, the flame smoldering into a chill, the shadow only intensifying the icy glow in her eyes. "You think I'm just going to let you hurt me?" Realizing the danger he was in, the boy turned and ran in terror, the brunette wasting no time to give chase. "I'll kill you all! Every last bastard!"

She ran and ran, but the boy was always just outside of her reach until, in a last ditch effort, she threw the knife, but it never reached him. She stopped, panting heavily from the extended period of running. Hot tears of frustration filled her eyes as she made her way to the knife. Looking down at the knife, she suddenly felt ashamed. She sat and pulled her knees in, bowing her head down before beginning to sob. She had barely even started when she sensed someone was standing right in front of her.

"What's wrong?"

Looking up, she could see a blond boy looking down at her, sincerity shining in his visible eye. His eyebrow strangely spiraled outward, resembling a dartboard.

At her silence, he tried again, this time crouching to be at her level and asking, "Why are you crying?"

Afraid to answer, she replied, "Who are you?"

The blond boy seemed to hesitate for a second before he answered, "Sanji. What's your name?"

"Pudding."

The blond looked surprised but made no comment. After a few seconds of silence, he held out his hand to her. "Wanna watch the ocean with me? Only if you think it'll help you feel better though..."

She eventually nodded, only now noticing the edge of a cliff behind Sanji and hearing the waves crashing into the cliff somewhere below their altitude. Taking his hand, he was helping her stand up when a strong ocean breeze pushed her bangs out of her forehead, uncovering her hidden eye. Eyes going wide, she started to yank her hand out of his, but his grip suddenly tightened. Terrified of what she'd see, Pudding looked up from his hand.

He was staring right at her third eye, and she braced herself for his eventual disgust and derision.

"It's... beautiful..."

"Huh?" Before she could even process Sanji's words, tears were escaping her eyes. "You're lying..."

Sanji earnestly shook his head. "No, I mean it. Your eyes are beautiful." A look of realization crossed his features, his visible eye narrowing shortly after. "Are people making fun of your eye? That's what's wrong, isn't it?"

She nodded. Suddenly, she could feel herself being pulled toward him, arms wrapping around her and holding her to his chest. Too stunned to respond, she stood still, listening to the steady beating of his heart while he gently rubbed her back.

"You're beautiful, Pudding. Don't listen to what any of the others say."

Her shoulders trembled as sobs began to wrack her small frame. She could only nod before burying her face into his chest and crying. The blond remained silent, allowing her to release all of her buried pain, his steady hold on her comforting and secure. When she had begun to calm, Sanji gently guided her to the edge of the cliff and sat her down before sitting a respectable distance next to her.

For a while they sat in a comfortable silence, the peaceful view of the ocean soothing her remaining unease and doubts. "Thank you, Sanji."

The blond turned suddenly toward her. "Huh? I'm sorry, did you say something?"

Surprised by his response, she asked, "Is something wrong?"

"No!" As if realizing his answer had been too sudden, he smiled apologetically. "I'm fine, really."

She looked down at his hands only to find that they were trembling despite being so comforting and steady earlier. She frowned in concern. Gently resting her hand on his, he stiffened at the touch, almost pulling his hand away, his visible eye widening. "You're lying." He turned to face her. "You're not okay. You can tell me what's wrong." The blond hesitated. "Is it your eyebrow?" He shook his head. Out of ideas, she asked, "Then what is it? You're so nice."

The blond shut his eyes tightly, his whole body trembling. Trying to help, Pudding rested her hand on his back and moved closer to him. He flinched away from the touch, scaring the brunette into removing her hand. "Sorr—"

"Don't apologize. It's not your fault."

"I wanna help you, Sanji! You already helped me so much, so please... let me help you too."

Letting out a shaky breath, Sanji allowed himself to lean into her. After a moment of hesitation, Pudding gently rubbed his back, holding his hand in her other.

They stayed this way for a while, Pudding patiently waiting for Sanji to be ready to speak. Finally, the blond almost whispered, "My father... he... he locked me away in a dungeon." Pudding almost gasped but managed to stay silent. "He was ashamed of me..." The little control Sanji had of his voice was lost, his voice choking on itself. "M-My... br-broth-thers... they'd always... beat me up wh-whenever they could." The blond was half sobbing as he shuddered at what could only be the memory of what she had just heard. "It was so scary and dark and cold..."

She almost missed the sound of his stomach growling. Hesitantly, she asked, "Are you hungry?"

The blond stilled at that, but his face was out of her sight, leaving her to anxiously wonder what he could be feeling. Sanji slowly removed himself from her touch, looking out at the ocean in silence. "This rock... I almost starved to death on it."

Pudding couldn't stop herself from gasping. "Sanji!" Before she knew what she was doing, she protectively wrapped him in an embrace, tears filling her three eyes.

"Hey, don't cry! I didn't mean to make you sad! Please... just forget I said anything."

She vigorously shook her head. "No..." She looked up at him, his visible eye going wide as she tearfully exclaimed, "I don't want you to suffer alone, Jiji!"

The blond was speechless, tears flooding his eyes. "Jiji?"

"You are the only one who's ever called my third eye beautiful, and that makes you precious to me."

The blond's tears fell as he gave her a shaky smile before returning the embrace. Pudding could feel the blond tremble in her embrace. "Pudding... thank you."

Opening her eyes, Pudding sat up, looking around her bedroom before stopping at the mirror. She stood and walked closer, parting her bangs and staring at her third eye. Smiling to herself, she let her bangs fall back into place and walked to the balcony. "Jiji..."

And that's it for part one! I'd appreciate it if I received some reviews. As for part two, I'll be publishing it in one week. I already have the entire story written, so there should be no delays! Thank you for reading my fanfic!