I dedicate this story to two people. First off, I want to dedicate it to T. You're a great friend. And second, I wanna dedicate it to chibimaniak6916. I love your stories, I really do, and after following them for a while I decided to write a story of my own.

False Pretense 1

"You wanna go to the movies?" He paused, waiting for a response that wouldn't come. Sanji squinted through the dark, two room apartment, which in this case was much too large to hold what few belongings his friend Zoro owned.

It didn't make much sense, really. Zoro was freaking loaded (for a kid that was about to go into college); when his dad died he inherited fifty grand, and since he was the only person in their will, he had inherited everything from them as well, which was roughly worth one hundred fifty grand. What few things Zoro had wanted to keep he had moved to a storage garage (The key to which he wore around his neck), and the rest, was here.

The content of the room consisted of a queen sized bed and a blanket with one pillow, an old microwave, a refrigerator of the like, a toilet and shower with only the essentials in toiletries, a mobile phone that he never put down, and a small, dim lamp sitting on the floor in the corner, slightly chipped but working none the less. He also had a card table with two chairs sitting in the middle of the room. Everything else had been sold after the accident; then again, a lot of things had changed after the accident.

Three months. It's been exactly three months since he passed away… they passed away. Sanji, Nami, Usopp; they had taken it pretty bad, but Zoro, was definitely worse off.

After he had sold most of his belongings, things had only gotten worse. The windows had been boarded over; the light bulbs unscrewed save for that one little lamp, so dim that the other end of the room was plunged into darkness. When they'd asked him, he'd told them that they weren't getting much light, either. Sanji often had to remind him to eat, and even then he had been rapidly dropping weight. He hardly ever slept. Some nights, when they left him, sitting alone in the corner, he would still be there the next morning in the exact same position. He had hardly ever left the apartment these entire three months, and they knew that he wasn't going to accept their invitations.

Some days he would be fine, and he would chat away without a care in the world, maybe even go to a movie. But other days he was so detached that it was almost creepy, and, of course tomorrow was the anniversary, so it was to be expected.

"How about we go to the skate park?" Nami suggested. Yet again, ignored.

They'd tried to help him, but Zoro was so depressed. Every time someone had tried to comfort him, he'd just shut them out. At first they'd tried hiring just about every therapist in Rouge Town, but he'd never said a word to them, some he wouldn't even let in. In fact, Zoro had never cried, not at the funeral, not at home. It must be painful to bottle it all up and hold it in, show no weakness. She herself had cried for weeks after she heard the news.

Even now it was gnawing at her, tugging at her gut, leaving a knot in her throat. Luffy was dead, and nothing was bringing him back. At least she had had a shoulder to cry on; Sanji had been there for her whenever she needed him. Luffy was Zoro's shoulder. Of course he enjoyed the company, in fact, if they didn't come by every other day he would probably be a lot worse off; even if he hardly ever acknowledged them, never made eye contact, just knowing they were there was enough.

With them around Zoro knew he wouldn't just disappear. The world didn't need him; it didn't need anyone. If it did, time would have stopped right then, the day Luffy died. But no, time moved on, the sun rose and set, just like normal. Waves crashed against the shore and crickets sang; time didn't stop for anyone, so who's to say someone couldn't just disappear? No one would notice no one would care; humans are unnecessary beings. The world turns, people forget, graves erode, and soon that person never existed at all.

"Well, how about we all go over to my place?" Usopp suggested. "I just bought a PS3." Zoro didn't even blink, just continued playing Solitaire on the bed. Usopp sighed. "Zoro, it's been almost three months, and I don't expect you to be near getting over it, but this is ridiculous! People are worried, Zoro, we're worried. You need to get back on your feet, or you'll never recover. You haven't visited him at all…" Zoro was hit by a pang of guilt, but he didn't show it. Usopp shook his head sadly.

"Well, it's an open invitation."

The curly-haired boy turned, exiting the room with Sanji quickly following suit. Nami heaved a sigh, hopped from her perch on the table, and scurried after them. Turning as she reached the door, she looked as if she wanted to say something, but grabbed the door and pulled it shut instead.

She was gone, the door clicking softly behind her; Zoro was alone. Scooping up the cards, he shuffled the deck several times before re-covering them and slipping them into his pocket.

He rolled onto his back and proceeded to stare at the ceiling. It seemed like it was so long ago. Even now, after only three months, he had already begun to forget their voices, their faces. Why did this have to happen? They had offered to bring him too. He should have gone with, then maybe things would have been different! Zoro had been a man of faith, but that was so long ago that it seemed like he was a different person. Before his adoptive father had been 'accepted' into an institution for the criminally insane when he was 10 years old and died three years later, before his sister ran off when he was 15, before this.

He and Luffy had just recently graduated from Rouge Town high; they'd had everything going for them. Luffy had graduated at the top of his class. Zoro had received a football scholarship to the prestigious Grand Line University (GLU). Luffy got a small, three thousand dollar scholarship, which hadn't mattered; Shanks and Makino weren't poor.

The three had been going on vacation as a celebration for Luffy's achievements. It was a foggy night and visibility was low. There was a man driving drunk on the wrong side of the road and Shanks hadn't seen him until the last minute. Swerving to avoid the car, they ran through the guardrail. The car plunged into the icy waters of the Red Line; later analysis revealed that they were dead before they hit the water.

The bodied were mangled; the experts had to identify them via clothes and the car's license plate. They had decided that that a closed-coffin funeral would be best.

He yawned and slowly closed his eyes.

"We're lost aren't we?" Makino questioned.

"No, we are not lost; I know exactly where I am going. This is… uh… the scenic route." Shanks replied sheepishly.

"Scenic? Shanks, it's so foggy, you can barely see the road; we can't see the scenery."

"Yes, that's true, but when it clears up you'll thank me." Shanks replied to his wife with a smirk. Zoro sat in the back seat of the Cadillac, Luffy sitting next to him staring out the window while Shanks and Makino discussed which exit to take next. Declaring that exit 71 was the best way to go; they drove in silence for several minutes.

"So… Luffy, where ya going for college?" Zoro asked awkwardly; he already knew the answer, but the car was too quiet and conversation was good. He sat waiting for a reply, but the other passengers ignored him completely as if he hadn't spoken. After another minute or so, Shanks twisted around in his seat to face Luffy.

"Have you applied to any colleges yet?" Shanks asked idly.

"Oi, I just asked that, and you didn't-"

"Ya, I'm planning on going to Grand Line University." Luffy replied, cutting Zoro off mid-sentence. The two began chatting, ignoring Zoro's attempts to make them include him in the conversation. Giving an irritated grunt, Zoro gave up on the two and turned his attention towards the window.

"Car." Zoro stated, but Shanks continued to ignore him. "Hey, Shanks, there's a car coming… Shanks!"

"Look out!" Makino shrieked. Shanks jerked his head up, pulling the steering wheel reflexively to the right and driving the Cadi straight into the guardrail. Tires screamed as the car lurched forward, jerking its passengers violently as the car began a nosedive towards the water.

Greasy fingers of nausea slithered through Zoro's stomach as the car animatedly drifted towards the murky depth below, as if traveling in slow motion. Zoro couldn't scream, couldn't think, and was entirely set upon one, sole, thing. The fact of the matter was, they were going to die.

As they plunged into the water, cracks began to spider across the windshield; most likely from both the impact and the added pressure from being underwater. All at once the window exploded inward and the car began to rapidly flood. Zoro gasped; instinctively squeezing his eyes shut and holding his breath, only to find that he could breathe normally and was entirely dry, untouched by the water. The other passenger's weren't so lucky, however, they were struggling to free themselves from the vehicle.

Zoro tried to reach them, to pull them over to where he was sitting, dry and safe, but his vision began to blur, and their image began to fade. He cried out in frustration, vainly trying to grab his friend at a last minute attempt to save him. He blacked out.

Zoro woke in cold sweat, breathing heavily, still unnerved from seeing his friend suffering. He blinked twice, before sighing deeply. It was just a dream; he had had the same one so many times that it seemed more like a vivid memory than anything else, but still it raised so many questions. Had they really died upon impact? That's what the experts say, but they had been wrong before. Did the car flood or did they just run out of oxygen? Were they even conscious? Was it painful? And of course, the question he was considering constantly: Why? He tried to calm the swarming bees of his mind; they must have felt terrified and alone, or at least that's how he reacted in his dreams.

Zoro's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a phone ringing. What time was it…about nine am? He sighed, reached into his pocket, and pulled the phone out.

"Hello?"

"Zoro? It's Luffy."

Review if you like, please.

Co-authored by Jesse and Jenna