This is my first fanfic. I'm usually the reading and reviewing type but I had this idea and I decided to put it down as a story. It might seem strange at first but bear with me, it gets fun.
Okay, so what we have here is a Marco and Anne (female Ace) fanfic. Anne is a 20 year old second year college student and Marco is a sophomore in high school. There's an obvious age difference, hence the title. It's going to be in this format for the first three chapters but after that it's the normal storytelling mode. I hope you have fun reading it as much as I did writing it.
Disclaimer: All rules apply.( As in I don't own One Piece, but wouldn't it be cool if I did?)
You're annoyed. You've had a pretty bad day, and for good reasons too. You were late to class this morning, really late, which wasn't your fault. You tried to explain to the teacher why. That your really sweet, really old neighbor just couldn't drive by herself to the store in the next town, you barely stopped her before she took off from her driveway. That she wasn't allowed to drive, doctor's orders. Her eyesight isn't what it used to be. You reminded her, like you always do when you see her attempt to sneak-drive off in her Mini Cooper. But she is a stubborn old goat. Wouldn't settle for the local store, said the next town's produce was better, fresher. She wouldn't settle for taking a bus either, afraid she might get lost. You tried to reason with her. Told her you would drive her personally to the store the next two towns if she wanted if she would only wait 'till you got back from school. But noooo, that would certainly not do.
"My grandson's finally visiting me, tonight!", she had told you with all the excitement she could muster, without giving herself a heart attack. "For the first time since he got his big job in the city. And I'm going to make him his favorite meal. But I gotta go to the store first. And I'm going, even if I have to run you over Marco"
She wasn't serious, you think. But you wouldn't take any chances with her on the road. So you did what any good neighbor would do, and drove her there yourself.
You keep telling yourself that if you had known about the ridiculously long traffic, the ridiculously long distance to the store and the ridiculously long time it took for old ladies to decide whether zucchini or cucumbers was the better choice (but then deciding to get both anyway), maybe you would've thought twice before offering your services. But you highly doubt it. You've known her since you were about two, consider her kind of your own grandmother. She's a pretty cool lady and you wouldn't want anything to happen to her, and so you become a good Samaritan, kind of.
You try to get your teacher to understand all this. Try to get him to see reason. But all it does is get you a stern, "Marco! Like I said before, this isn't a do-whatever-you-want school. This is a school for future leaders and entrepreneurs," he says coolly, then raises his hand up in a claw. You roll your eyes. He can be so dramatic.
"People who want do something in the future, be someone in the future. People who other people want as their role models. Now, tell me, if I let you go take your seat right now, do not give you your proper punishment and forget this whole incident happened, how are you to learn your lesson and be a positive role model to the young'uns behind you, hm?" You don't give him an answer or try to explain yourself further. He doesn't expect either. It's made obvious by the way he dismissively turns back to the whiteboard.
At that moment you decide you've never disliked Mihawk-sensei more. You slouch to your seat among your classmates' snickering, which is silenced by a sharp 'whap!' by a ruler against the teacher's table in front. A stern looks shuts everyone up before it is directed back to the whiteboard.
As you sit down at your usual spot at the back of the class, your classmate and best friend Thatch, who sits on the desk to your left thumps you on the back and gives you pitying look. You look away with a frustrated 'humph' and mutter, "This is stupid yoi"
"I know", he agrees, "and also, who the heck says "young'uns"?"
Your punishment had been to wipe every whiteboard in the whole building pristine clean. This wasn't so bad, you thought, when you finished the first board. But then you realize there are 16 classrooms, four on every floor...and no stairs. And all you want at that moment is for the day to be over.
You're on your last but one board when you see a figure peek through the widows on your right from the corner of your eye. You ignore it, but then said figure moves to the door and tentatively eases it open and pokes the top half of it's body through. Your actions freeze and with your hand on the cleaner on the board you turn to look at your visitor.
It's a student, probably a freshman you realize as you turn to him. He's a scrawny kid, with curious obsidian eyes and a mop of dark straight hair that looks like it's suffered one too many head-scratches.
He studies you for a while before he asks, hopefully, "Are you Marco?" When you nod he gives a sigh of relief and enters the classroom fully. He's carrying a big box. And you stare at him with interest as he drops the box onto the nearest desk and says, "Thank goodness. I've looked everywhere for you. Mihawk sent me. He said you are to help me with my project". Your face takes on a frown. You weren't informed of this! Your hand clenches the cleaner tighter.
"He said to tell you that it was time to fulfill your role model duties..?" You sputter incoherently. "And something about me being enough punishment, whatever that means".You don't say anything. You can't. Taken your silence as consent he starts looking around the classroom, already looking bored and starts talking about how delicate this project is and that you'd have to come over his house. But that all soon turns into background noise as you fume and silently thump your head against the whiteboard.
You really hate that teacher!
There are quieter chatterboxes than Luffy, you conclude. His constant chatter is like the endless meaningless blabber of a gibbon or perhaps gibbons you correct yourself when he starts a monologue about meat and how great it is. You're on your way to his home, on foot, and with his constant chatter, you feel like you can't get there fast enough.
"This is me", he states when when both of you reach a quant little two-storey house in a nice enough neighborhood. With a neatly trimmed lawn and pretty flowers planted all around the house towards the back, you think it's a very nice house. You find yourself staring at a flagpole positioned at the corner of the lawn with a flag attached to the very top flapping proudly in the wind. You've seen it somewhere before...just can't remember where...
"Marco!", Luffy calls from the doorstep. When did he get there? "You coming?" He looks at you expectantly before he opens the door and let's himself in. Let's just this over with, you think and follow him in...
A/N: What do you think? Please lemme know. See that little button down there?...Go on...press it...*breathes deeply in your ear*