they say that love is in the air. well, I guess that's why I'm choking right now.
/\\\\\\\\\\\
music was filling the room, making everyone jump and dance in joy. the sound of high heels ticking on the floor was echoing, and people's laughter was shared across the place. "Nami, you're too loud." a woman with long, obsidian hair ordered the person right next to her. "come on, Robin, let her be." a guy was standing behind the bar said. he had long arctic hair that was tight from behind with a ponytail and seemed to be busy serving a drink. "Franky, you know what happened last time when she laughed out loud like that. I never want it to get repeated again." the woman answered him back while forcing her friend to leave her glass filled up with whiskey and stop drinking. "yeah, Sanji got quite pissed, too. this place was gonna fall down because of it. . ." the moment giggled while slightly covering her mouth and the bartender kept on gazing at her secretly while washing the used glasses and cups. moments later and the door entrance was opened. the bartender and the woman were distracted by it. they turned to look at who opened it to see a young girl around the age of eighteen entering. "what the. . .? a kid?" the bartender wondered while putting the cup of glass down in a slow-motion. "I don't think the guards would let her in that easy, maybe she looks young but isn't really one." the bartender chuckled then looked straight at the women and said, "just like you. ." making her laugh right away. "stop it, Franky, I'm not that young. I'm almost thirty already!" she kept on laughing, again and again, even holding her stomach. was it really that funny? "gee, does it really matter? you still look good as ever." Franky started looking down to the glowing cups. he scratched his cheek in embarrassment while trying to look back at the women right in front of him but always cowered and looked back down again. "thanks, Franky." she started giggling while putting both of her palms under her chin to support her as she looked at him. Franky started chuckling in embarrassment, "you're. . . you're welcome. . ." the girl that just entered approached closer to the bar. she found an empty seat right next to Robin and decided that this will be the one. she adjusted herself on the seat then saw the bartender approaching her. "so, what do you want, young lady?" he sounded coy and his eyes held some sort of flirtation into it. the young girl was already crept out and felt like leaving. the woman next to her started laughing while looking at the bartender and the young girl was already too confused by whatever was happening. "Franky, stop scaring her already!" she started snickering at her friend and Franky fixed his position and cleared his throat. "okay, sorry for scaring you; it was all a joke. but in all seriousness, what do you want?" Franky started holding into some drinks and pointing at others as an example of what she could choose. "I just want a beer, please." she said in a small voice. Franky gave her a strange look, "what?" he asked while raising one of his eyebrows. "a beer, please." she stated once more, this time being louder. he slowly nodded his head then moved ahead to prepare her drink. the girl was anxious by what she just saw until she heard the woman right next to her giggling again. "you don't have to worry about Franky, he's a really nice guy." the young girl was confused as to who Franky was. "w-who?" she shyly asked and the woman sighed saying, "the bartender you just saw is Franky. he might seem weird but he's got such a nice heart." the women explained herself and the young girl slowly nodded. "what's your name, then?" the young girl asked and the woman grinned, "I'm Robin, and the drunk person right next to me is Nami." she pointed at her friend who seemed asleep, then suddenly she jumped out of her place and started saying words that didn't make sense. "don't mind her, for now. anyway, introduce yourself." Robin asked and the young girl straightened her back and cleared her throat. I'mm Rose." Robin raised both of her eyebrows while slightly parting her lips. "ah, nice to see you, Rose." Robin stretched her hand to shake Rose's hand and Rose accepted it. "me too, Robin-san." Rose gladly smiled while shaking her hand. "here is your drink," Franky came barging in, "by the way, how old are you?" he asked while shooting his cold gaze at her. "I just. . . turned twenty today. . ." she held her glass of beer tightly while looking down. "ah! happy birthday!" Robin cheered while patting her back, "happy birthday. this cup will be for free just for you, then." Franky's cold gaze turned into a warm up as he heard the news. Rose looked up at him and smiled, "thank you, Franky-san!" Franky gave her a weird look and huffed, "no need for 'san', you can drop it." he smiled before continuing his job and drying the cups. Rose nodded in return and started taking her first sip. she took a long one that she almost finished half of it. Robin was quite surprised by what she saw, "oh my, you sure were thirsty!" she said in delight, "it's my first drink, after all!" Rose cheered and sight laughter was escaping through her lips as she did. "oh, so that's why you're here, then?" Robin wondered and Rose nodded uncontrollably.
"huh? a kid?" Robin's friend showed up behind from behind her. she supported her chin on Robin's shoulder and her drenched orange hair got mixed with Robin's hair. "Nami, you're too drunk. you don't want the boys to carry you home after they are done, do you?" Robin asked and Nami shook her head from left to right. "n-no. . . I have Luffy!" Nami raised her hands up in victory which made Rose giggle. "but he didn't even come with you today. he was too busy hanging out with Usopp and Chopper!" Robin explained but Namo started shaking her head in denial, "No, he always stays by my side. . ." Nami put her hands down and started looking morose. her tone was brittle yet she didn't seem like she cared. "Nami, Luffy is just your friend, remember?" Robin supported her friend to stand up while caressing her back. Nami started groaning and pushed Robin all of a sudden, "SHUT IT! he. . . he. . ." her knees started getting weak and she started falling down. Nami started crying and sobbing while choking into her tears, "I KNOW, ROBIN, I KNOW! BUT I LOVE HIM!" she started rubbing her eyes like a child while drool was dripping down from her mouth. Franky stopped doing what he was doing and got out of the bar to see if something happened to Robin, "Robin, are you alright?" he asked while holding one of her hands to stand up, "yeah, I'm fine, the problem right now is that girl." she said pointing at Nami that was on the ground crying. "god, not again. . ." Franky rolled his eyes while looking at Nami that was still sobbing like a little child. he went to her and took her hand to make her stand up, "No! leave me. . . I don't want you to do that!" she tried to push Franky but her body was too weak to support her. "oh, please, it's almost four in the morning; he's probably asleep right now!" Franky put her on one of the chairs and started cleaning her face to wake her up with water. "ugh. . . hic. . " Nami still continued choking and sobbing. "she's so ridiculous. . ." Robin sighed while shaking her head. Franky decided to just take her back home. he held her tight and waved at Robin and she waved back. "I'll be back once I'm done with her. ." he said before closing the door behind and Robin nodded with a smile. "who is Luffy?" Rose asked out of blue. Robin stopped smiling and looked at her. "well, you could say he was the reason why I'm friends with Nami and Franky right now. . ." Robin eyed the ground as a nostalgic smile was spread across her cheeks. "I see, but why was Nami-san. . ." Rose stopped thinking that it might be something that she shouldn't have known about but Robin accepted it. "it's okay, I'll tell you." Robin smiled before continuing. "Luffy's first friend in our group was Zoro; you'll see him in just a minute. the second was Nami. Nami and Luffy always had fights, always argued and fought, at least that's what Zoro told us when he tried to explain to us their relationship." she took a deep breath and let it out almost instantly, "from my understandings, it started off as hate, then later on Nami has grown fond of him, but of course Luffy didn't notice it. . ." Rose raised her eyebrows in a shock. she felt despondent hearing about Nami's love life, "Nami always refuses the fact that she loves him, but when she's drunk she would let it all out, just like now. . ." Robin raised both of her shoulders then pointed to the place where Nami was sobbing, "and that's it. . ." Rose was speechless. Love was something unique that Rose never experienced before, at least not in a romantic way. throughout her whole life before starting college the people around her that showed her love were her family, even her friends weren't that close to actually share a serious relationship. she loved the sound of love and how fascinating it felt yet she has never experienced it. "i. . . I feel so bad for her. . ." Rose blurted out while trying her best not to shed a tear, "you're making it sound so dramatic! so what? both of them are idiots anyway that doesn't know the meaning of love. . ." Robin sighed while looking for her glass of whiskey that she almost forgot about. "yeah, but she loves him, yet sheــــــ" Rose's voice was cut off by a sound of someone testing out the mic.
both Rose and Robin turned their heads to look at the stage, three boys were standing on the stage while adjusting themselves. one of them had an air guitar surrounding his body and a microphone right in front of his lips. "heya," he greeted and some cheers were thrown his way, "it's us, Venus, the name of the Goddess of beauty and love." everyone started clapping and whistling Rose was quite perplexed by what was happening. she turned to her right to see Robin gazing at the stage with a serene smile. a guy on the piano was testing it by flickering his fingers across the keys creating a short but beautiful melody. a smile grew bigger on Robin's lips after hearing the mesmerizing sound, "Zoro sure is doing it right. . ." she murmured while eyeing the guy playing the piano. Rose immediately recognized that name and looked at the guy sitting on the piano. "oi, you know it's not the time to play yet, right?" a blonde guy said while looking at the drumsticks he was holding. smoke came out of his mouth s he finished his sentence. "at least I respect the audience by not smoking on the stage, swirly eyebrows." the guy holding the drumsticks spat out the cigarette and gritted his teeth in fury, "WHO DO YOU THINK YOU'RE CALLING A SWIRLY EYEBROW, YOU SEAWEED FREAK!" he started hissing under his breath to not get people's attention. the one holding the guitar started examining the place before starting. his dark orbit starting roaming around left and right. all he saw were familiar people that he have seen before. but only one person made him think twice. her hair was what grabbed his attention. he stared at it, completely forgetting that he should start singing by now. "oooi, don't you freaking dare!" he heard one of his bandmates yelling and turned to look at them. both of them seemed to have gotten into another fight. he sighed, hoping that no one has noticed their weirdness yet. Robin, on the other side, was giggling while looking at her friends and Rose couldn't help but let a laugh slip. Franky was finally back as well and stood in his usual place while gazing at Robin from time to time. as he was about to talk to her, he noticed where she was looking. his expression was immediately changed from excited to gloomy. he decided to do what he usually do and dry the cups. "I'll be singing Clocks. it's my favorite; I hope you like it. . ." both of his bandmates stopped fighting and went back to normal.
the pianist started twinkling his fingers across the keys creating a captivating sound. his eyes slowly calmed down and started to shut as he ran his fingers through more keys creating an alluring melody that made everyone awe in return. later on was the drummer, he hit his two sticks together to tell everyone that it was finally his turn three times before finally hitting the drums. "heck yeah!" he muttered while hitting the drums in excitement. the thrilling feeling he got as he hit the drums and the vibrating sensation that was running through his body charmed him and made him excited. his head flew back then right to the front as he roughly hit the drum. and now, it was the lead singer's turn. he slowly closed his eyes, got the microphone close enough to him until it brushed his dry lips. at first, he let out some 'hmm' and 'ooh' and it wasn't long enough until he finally started with the lyrics.
lights go out and I can't be saved
Tides that I tried to swim against
as he started singing, Robin began to slowly clap. Rose was simply too focused on the guy that was singing. his voice was fascinating, captivating, something that attracted her. she slowly found herself taking steps towards the stage, closer to the band. her ears were being blessed with something that incredible. she was speechless by how the music was and how his voice was.
you've put me down upon my knees
Oh, I beg, I beg and plead singing
she raised both of her eyebrows in a shock after what she heard. his expression seemed painful as he finished singing the second part; she could see it, feel it. the way his face quivered was obvious and painful.
come out of things unsaid
shoot an apple off my head
and a trouble that can't be named
tiger's waiting to be tamed singing
his smooth way of finishing each sentence sent shivers down her spine. every second of this moment was something that she enjoyed. in fact, she wanted more of it, more of it until the very end of the day. she would have never got tired of something that alluring.
you are
you are
the piano that was played in the background and the aggressive drums struck her. this part became her favorite right away. she suddenly, without realizing, found herself repeating what the singer was saying. 'you. . . are. . . you. . . are. . . yo-' her voice was dead with no emotions to be felt. she wasn't even sane anymore after listening more to what was being played. as the instrumental part went on, she suddenly found herself dancing. her hips were swaying left and right. her fingers started making a snapping sound, and suddenly she found herself closing her eyes and only enjoying the music. as the lead singer was waiting for the instrumental part to end so he could continue, his eyes wandered around to look for the girl he just witnessed not long ago. while looking for her he found her in the middle of the crowd enjoying the music like everybody else. his eyes were locked on her that he almost forgot it was time for him to start. his voice was husky, yet calming. Rose opened her eyes once he started singing and started looking at the singer to see him looking at her. once their eyes met nothing else was able to break it.
gonna come back and take you home
I could not that you now know
singing
as he was saying this line, he started smirking while looking at her. Rose didn't get what was happening but somewhat had an excitement feeling running through her veins.
am I a part of the cure?
or am I a part of the disease?
singing
he shut his eyes once more and started singing the main chorus once again. Rose's jaw was slowly dropping from how beautiful his voice sounds when he said 'you are'. she couldn't help but sing along with him. as he continued saying the same sentence, his two bandmates started repeating it in the background as well. who would have thought they would sound so angelic once they all sing together. the drummer boy and they pianist were both shutting their eyes while singing and playing their instruments. the image was unbelievable. Rose was in silence as she heard them all sing. everyone had their own unique voice and mixing it all together created a great harmony. the piano then got more aggressive and louder, same with the drums in the back. it all was too beautiful to endure. the pianist started flickering between the keys even harder while closing the gap between his two eyebrows. he was too focused on it that he didn't even notice his whole body was moving spastically. and the drummer started swinging his arms harder as the music continued on, creating a loud thud right behind him like an explosion. everyone was clapping in excitement while listening to them while only Rose was frozen in her place astounded by what she was listening to. the lead singer couldn't help but gaze at the girl that was staring right back at him. it always made words escape from his mouth as soon as he met with her eyes. sometimes he would even say 'you are' and let his two friends say it without him because of it. he then slowly closed his eyes and took a deep breath while playing with the strings on his guitar to create a calming harmony.
and nothing else compares
he kept on repeating the same phrase while saying his head slowly from left to right. his eyes were calmly shut as he continued going through the strings. the pianist also started singing while having the same expression as the lead singer and playing the piano more aggressively than ever. banging his fingers on the keys over and over again and creating a beautiful melody for everyone to enjoy was his passion. the drummer was constantly throwing his body back and forth in excitement as he hit the drums harder and harder each time. everyone seemed to enjoy this moment while Rose found it just too arousing to look at. every second was amusing to her that left her with no words. then suddenly, the excitement stopped. only calm music was being played. the pianist played magic through the keys like they were a game. Robin from afar was watching and slowly clapping while staring at him doing his job. the look on her face was unexplainable and only Franky could understand it. he tried to avoid seeing that expression by doing anything and was almost about to break a cup of glass or two because of it. he then sighed and put the glass and the towel down and went inside to the staff room. not long enough and the music kicked in again, maybe louder than ever. Rose sighed in relief once she saw the drummer kicking the drums like they were nothing. she started wondering when will the singer utter another word; he just seemed to be staring blankly at her direction. it confused her but still made her somewhat happy. he then once again started repeating the same phrase 'you. . . are. . .' and it made Rose smile out of blue. it's as if she was waiting for him to say it, eager to just hear it from him and only him. he continued repeating it while closing his eyes and enjoying the music with the others. then, out of nowhere, the drummer started kicking harder than before.
home, home where I wanted to go
he carefully opened his eyes and faced the girl he was thinking about and started singing once again. the words felt like he was directing it exactly to her. Rose slowly started clapping then put her arms down to her side and stared back at him. their eyes once again were locked together. as he repeated the same sentence, all he was looking at was her. the excitement from the music filled him that his voice started going wobbly. one time it would be high and the other time it would be low. no one really did mind it since they were enjoy the music way too much. he then stopped singing and playing the guitar and the drummer has stopped too; the only one was going was the pianist. it continued on and the gazes between those two people couldn't be broken.
everyone howled once the song ended. the pianist opened his eyes once again and waved at the people that were cheering him and his bandmates. the drummer took a cigarette out of his pocket and light it up immediately with a smirk on his face. "you did amazing, Law." he praised as the cigarette was between his two lips. the lead singer didn't notice his praise, though. the pianist looked at his friend who was staring blankly at nowhere and wondered what was wrong with him. "hey, Law?" he called him. it somewhat was effective, he started blinking few times then looked to his other side to face his friend, "yes?" he asked, "we said that you did an amazing job." the pianist repeated what his friend said, "oh, thanks." Law, the lead Singer, scratched the back of his head since he felt somewhat embarrassed by the praise. he looked back again to see the girl still standing, still looking at him with awe. he chuckled and a smirk was formed on his lips.
"Hey, what got you this far away?" Robin surprised Rose from behind, making her jump in her place with an expressionless look. "my my, you seem quite lost. did you like the music my friends made?" Robin winked at her as a giggle escaped her lips. "it's. . . it's more than amazing. they are just. . . I can't even describe how good they were. . ." Rose was lost in words. she couldn't find the perfect word to describe them. they were fascinating to the point that they became indescribable to her. Robin nodded in agreement then said, "you are right. they deserve more recognition, in my opinion." Rose stared blankly at her new friend, "I agree. . ." she then looked down as a smile slowly started spreading on her lips. "anyways, let's go have some drink. it's still okay to drink a little bit more." Robin took Rose's hand and pulled her to the bar where Franky was supposed to be.
"Dude, what happened to you?" Zoro asked his bandmate, Law, while hitting the back of his shoulder. "there was that girl, I don't know who is she but I'm sure she's new here. . ." he murmured before taking a huge sip of water out of his water bottle. "yeah? and so what? don't tell me that perverted eyebrow freak did something to you. . ." Law silently chuckled at his friend's action, "Sanji doesn't even know about her or else he would have talked about her all day as if she was his life savior." he then mocked his friend who wasn't with them at the moment. "I totally agree, bro. but seriously, what's about her that made you lose focus out of nowhere?" Law took some time to think. what made him act that way? he started wondering and remembered her face as he did. that innocent look, that calming smile, those dancing moves. it was as if tranquility surrounded him as soon as he remembered her. "I don't know, Zoro. something about her is just. . ." he couldn't find words to define her. Law took a long breath and sighed it out. "I seriously have no idea. . ." he let out those words before resting his face in his palms. Zoro was perplexed by his friend's action. he didn't get him and felt lost by his words so he decided to just ignore and shrug his shoulders in return. soon enough, the drummer known as Sanji came out of the room that was right next to him with different clothes on indicating that he was changing his clothes. "yo, what up with you." he asked while looking down at Law who seemed down a bit. "nothing, don't worry about it." Law explained before getting up and entering the room that Sanji was in. "wait, Robin-chan and the rest are waiting for us outside. won't you come?" Sanji caught Law off guard before he was about to open the door. "Nah, I'm tired." he opened the door and closed it behind him right away before Sanji could utter another word. "hey, seaweed head, what's up with him?" Sanji asked with fury covering his face. "I have no idea," Zoro answered, "AND DON'T CALL ME THAT AGAIN!" he yelled back at him. Sanji turned around, anger can't leave his look by now, he evilly chuckled while looking back at his friend. "what? you wanna get your ass beat up?" the water bottle that was in his hand was being crushed like a little insect, "you'll fucking regret it, you perverted freak. . ." and with that, both boys started fighting. not so long until they remembered some people were waiting for them and decided to leave.
Robin started playing around with her empty cup. a silent smile could be seen on her lips. Rose chugged on another beer after the music and couldn't help but think about the moment that past not long ago. "Robin-san, what's the name of the singer?" she asked out of curiosity and Robin silently giggled, "his name is Law, but don't get too close to him; he's dangerous." Rose rose her eyebrows in a shock. he didn't seem that bad. in fact, to her, he seemed like someone who was kind and understood, she didn't have the courage to approach him but still wanted to, anyway. "why?" she asked for more details. somehow her mind only cared about him, only wanted to know about him. "he's not the type of person you would hang out with. he got a screwed up mind that will fuck up with yours so you better not try to think about it." Robin warned Rose before calling Franky to get her one last drink. Rose started wondering, why would he be that bad? what did he do wrong? all these thoughts ran around in her mind that it almost gave her a headache. "oh, who's that beautiful lady?" she heard someone saying from behind. as she turned around she saw the two boys that were with the lead singer. "idiot, you'll scare her." Zoro hit the back of his friend's head, "WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!" his friend turned around and was ready to punch him until he remembered Rose was still here. "oh, excuse my manner. what's your name?" Sanji's tone was flirtatious but not something you would be worried about. Rose giggled and Sanji started taking a deep breath and sighing, "haaah, that was so cute!~" his heart was beating fast as he saw Rose giggling. "my name is Rose." Rose later introduced herself and Sanji had a wide smile that was stretching across his cheeks. "ah, such a beautiful name for a beautiful lady like you! mine is Sanji. nice to meet you, Rose-chan!" he got closer to her seat while introducing himself to her but Zoro held him from the back of his shirt saying, "you're too creepy, pervert." he then pulled him back making him lose balance then left his shirt. Sanji was almost about to fall but fixed himself by holding onto one of the chairs. he was about to hold into Rose but prevented it right away which made him fall. he hit his face into one of the empty chairs while falling and let out a slight moan. Zoro laughed at his idiotic friend and Rose couldn't help but giggle at him while Robin was far away from them drinking without even realizing they were here. "ha. . ha, did that make you happy, Rose-chan?" Sanji asked while he was on the ground groaning in pain. Rose gasped and started shaking, "i. . . I didn't mean to make fun of you, Sanji-san. I'm sorry. . ." she started getting teary once she realized what just happened to him. she just met him and got to talk to him and that's the first thing she did. of course she had to feel horrible. "R-Rose-chan, you don't have to be sorry. . ." Sanji got up and tried to console Rose. as he was looking at her he noticed that her eyes were already filling up with tears. "are you okay, Sanji-san?" she asked in concern while checking his body if there was any injury. "Rose-chan, I just tripped. . ." Sanji tried to clear the misunderstanding as he saw her tears willing to fall. he didn't understand why would she act that fragile and it deeply wounded him. seeing a woman crying was his number one pain, after all. while Rose was crying and Sanji consoling her, Zoro was in the background flabbergasted by their action. he suddenly saw someone stumbling to him. he looked to his right side to see Robin approaching him. she was all shaky and wobbly and had a confident mask on. "oh, Robin, how's it going?" he greeted his friend but no answer was received. "don't tell me. . . you got yourself too drunk again?" he asked but of course she didn't answer him back due to slowly losing consciousness. he took her hand to one of the chairs and sat her down. "when we leave, I'll make sure to take you home or let someone do it for me. you can't do it alone anyways." he started looking around for Franky but couldn't find him, "where is that cyborg freak?!" he hissed while trying to fix Robin before she falls down. her body couldn't support her anyone and if Zoro wasn't here then maybe she could have been on the ground right now without anyone noticing.
"Huh?" Rose looked through her phone to check on the time. she wiped her tears then looked up at Sanji, "I should go home by now. I almost forgot I have college!" she got out of her place, leaving Sanji dumbfounded behind, and jogged towards the door. Sanji kept on looking at her as she took her steps to the door, but she all of a sudden stopped and turned around, "by the way, the song you guys played was more than awesome. I'm glad I got to see you play today!" she then turned around and continued walking towards the door. Sanji raised his left hand up and touched his left side of his chest. he let out a sigh of relief and looked down. "she's. . . amazing!" he started getting all flustered and covered his face in embarrassment. "what a weirdo. . ." Zoro murmured while looking at his friend making weird moves.