[[AUTHOR'S NOTE Ok, this chapter's a little corny, cheesy, random, and... weird. But hey, over the years of writing this story I've gotten better and more realistic with the story, ok? Bear with it until we get to some of the other stories. ;; ok...
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CHAPTER 2: Love's Enchantment
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Another month went by, and so far Lacy managed to meet the Straw-Hat pirates without getting caught. She even had some of the gang to help her with homework (mostly English and econ/government homework). She felt closer than ever to them, everyone that is, except Zoro. Nothing awkward was going on, really. Zoro was his same ol' self; always sleeping, drinking, training, or silently keeping to himself in one corner of the room. At first she decided to just leave him alone for the time being, but then she though he might get away from her and so she began to "casually" hang around him; that is, until someone noticed her actions around him.
"What is it with you always being around Zoro?" Nami asked, pulling Lacy to one side one night.
"W-w-w-what are you talking about?!"
She giggled. "I can tell you like him. Is it true?"
Lacy blushed, hesitant towards the question. "Y-Yes... But you can't tell him or anybody!! Got it?" She thought about keeping this secret to herself, but if she doesn't tell someone soon, her opportunity may pass now that everyone's real.
Nami squealed. "KYAA! That's so cute! But who would ever like that big oaf?"
"I don't like him!! I... love him."
"WHAT?! Seriously?! You barely know him!"
She shook her head. "I've loved him for nearly 5 years. I know all about him already from the anime. But... I can't stop thinking about him. And now that I know he's real, I can't help but wanting to be closer." She paused a moment and looked up at Nami's face. "Nami?"
"Yeah?"
"I... want him to like me. More than just on friendly terms. I want him to eventually love me back! But I'm afraid it may be hard to do..."
Nami began to blush. "Aww! That's so sweet! I can't believe that oaf has a secret admirer! It's so cute!"
"Do you think you can help me? I hate to admit it, but I'm desperate to even have him noticed me!!"
"Of course I'll help you, silly! Besides, this is something I'd love to see!"
"Thank you, Nami!!" She hugged her tight. "You're the best!!"
"Well, there isa price!"
Lacy backed up and looked sadly up at her. "I should've known... Nami, there's one thing you have to learn about me that everyone else knows greatly about besides my fondness of Zoro."
"What is it?"
"I'm always broke. My mom's in charge of my money and I can never have it. Besides, you charge way too much for things and our currency's different from yours. Even if I paid you, our money's no good in the Grand Line."
Nami sighed with a depressing look on her face. "Aww... this sucks! Fine! I'll help you out of the sake of love. But! You have to pay me some other way, ok?"
Lacy smiled again. "Ok! I promise! Thank you!!"
After their conversation, Nami did everything in her power to get Lacy and Zoro alone. Most of the time it worked, other times caused Zoro to become stubborn and all he wanted to do was sleep. When they were together, most of the time was silence, but just being with him made Lacy happy.
"Zoro?" Lacy asked one night when they were alone on the deck a couple weeks later.
"What?" He said, never looking at her, but instead staring off into the abyss.
"Um... what do you think about when you stare at the ocean?" She asked him shyly.
"Things."
"What things?"
"Just rethinking past events."
"Like... battles with other people?"
"Yeah. I'm always trying to figure out better ways I could've handled the situations."
Lacy smiled at his long response. "I see... I'm curious, have you thought about your battle against Mr. 1? Back in Alabasta?"
Zoro closed his eyes and sighed. "I really had no choice in that situation. I had to find out for myself at that moment on how to beat him."
"You're talking about the whole being able to slice iron thing, right?" Zoro turned and looked at her with a shocking expression. She chuckled. "Remember, I know all about you guys. I know about the thing with your sensei and slicing stone and paper."
"Souka."
"Personally, I didn't like that battle."
"Oh? Why not?"
She knelt her head. "W-well... you were hurt pretty badly. I mean, he turned his arms into saws and sliced your stomach. I cringed when I saw that."
Zoro stared at her for a moment and looked back at the ocean while scratching the back of his head. "Why is it that you always talk about my battles? Why not anyone else's?"
She blushed and looked the other way at the ocean. "I-I just find your battles more interesting is all."
"What about Luffy? He's the one that always fights against the leader or someone important."
She began to sweat a bit and her cheeks grew hotter. "I-I-I know. B-but yours is just... uh... better." She didn't know how to explain it to him without him knowing of her incredible crush.
"Hm. Souka."
She looked back at him and he was still watching the ocean. Something caught her eye and she looked up at the night sky. She noticed a shooting star flying across them overhead and her smiled widened as she stood up. "Wow! Zoro, look! A shooting star!" She pointed at the sky and he looked up.
"They're ok." He shrugged.
"You mean, you've seen more than one before?!"
"Once or twice."
"Now that I think about it, you didsee some on an ending theme where Robin was watching the ship for the night. Anyways, this is my first one ever! It's beautiful!"
Zoro looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "You find a star that exciting?"
"Of course! Especially when I've never seen a shooting star before." She sighed and rested her hands on the railing. "The night sky on the ocean looks better than the city. I hate it. The city's so overpopulated and smoggy and disgusting. There are barely any stars out. But here or the mountains... there are millions of them so close and bright. They really stand out." She reached out towards the sky, as if trying to touch them.
Zoro stood up and placed his hands in his pockets. "You're a strange one." Lacy blushed, not realizing what she was doing. He sighed. "Why are you always hanging around me? I thought you wanted to get to know everyone?"
"I-I do! I-It's just... I uh...I've been hanging out with everyone else a-and you aren't around most of the time and... um..." She looked up at him and noticed he was getting impatient with her stuttering. She took a deep breath. "O-ok. There's something... I want to tell you, Zoro..."
"Yeah?" He leaned against the railing as if it was going to take a while.
"Well I... have this... uh... you see... What I'm trying to say is... um... i-it's really hard for me to say this, but... I uh... um..."
He grunted. "Geez. You like to stall, don't you?"
She blushed and walked right in front of him. "I-I love you, Zoro!"There! I said it! She thought. I finally, after nearly 5 years, have said it to you!! Face to face! "Everyone knows about you, Zoro." She continued. "I tell my friends about you all the time! They know my fascination of you and I like you so much!! I can't bear it any longer!!"
He looked shocked at her sudden outburst and took a step back.
"Everything you do, everything you say, whatever you do, I can't help but swoon for you! My face turns red whenever you do a cool move or say something cunning! And you always make me laugh whenever you don't remember someone's name or get lost easily! I have always and willalways love you til the day I die! And now that you're here, in the flesh, I just wanted you to know that. I'm not forcing you to like me or anything, I just wanted you to know how I felt before anything happens!"
He noticed her shaking. "O-oi. Just um..." He didn't know what to say, she was putting him in an unusual situation that he's never been in before.
She stood back and wiped her face. When she looked up, he noticed she was crying. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I'm not a freak. Really! Just... a fan girl. Yeah... that's all I am. A fan girl..." She ran off the Going Merry and disappeared into the night, heading towards where her house was.
Zoro just stared at her direction. "What... was thatall about...?"
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The next few days, Lacy acted as if she never told Zoro about her feelings for him. She laughed and went about doing her own thing. But Zoro noticed she was avoiding him a little by spending more time with everyone else. He wasn't feeling lonely he convinced himself, he was just wondering what her deal was.
The next night was the beginning of the weekend. Lacy lied to her parents saying she was spending the night at a friend's house so she could stay with the Straw-Hat gang.
Zoro walked out onto the deck and found Lacy lying on top of the head of the ship. He thought Luffy was very protective of "his seat" on the head, but he figured he didn't care this once or didn't know she was on it. She was on her stomach with her head resting on her hands staring off into the ocean. She was wearing black pants and her white "I love cowboys" shirt on. It was chilly, but he guessed it didn't bother her much.
I'm going to find out what's going on, he thought. Now she hasto talk to me about what happened that night. He approached her with a determined attitude. "Oi, Lacy!"
His voice startled her. Her body jumped and turned quickly around to see who it was. But she was startled more than she thought. She jumped too far to one side and slide over Going Merry's head.
"Aah!"
SPLASH!
She fell into the freezing cold ocean water and sank a bit to clear her mind of what happened then swam to the top. As she surfaced, she saw a large splash in front of her. Before she knew what was going on, she was grabbed from under the water and picked up onto Zoro's shoulders.
"Z-Zoro!! I'm fine! I can swim! I'm an excellent swimmer! Put me down!"
He dropped her back into the water. She surfaced with an angry face to show him he didn't have to drop her like that. "Sorry. I thought you were going to drown."
"Well, I guess you didn't know I can swim."
They both swam towards the docks and Zoro climbed out of the water. He turned around and grabbed Lacy's hand and pulled her up.
"GOD THAT'S COLD!!" Lacy was shaking uncontrollably and her lips turned blue.
"Wait a minute. I'll go grab a towel." Zoro rushed off into the cabin of the Going Merry and came back out with 2 towels. He tossed one to Lacy and she thanked him. As she was trying to dry her hair, she saw Zoro staring at her out of the corner of her eye. Why is he... blushing? She looked down and noticed her shirt, which was now pinned tight against her body, was revealing her bra underneath.
She quickly covered herself up and her face turned red. "Z-ZORO!!"
He snapped out of it and turned his head away. "I-I didn't see anything!"
They went up onto the Going Merry, when Nami came out of the cabin. "What on Earth are you guys doing?! Taking a midnight swim?! You're crazy!"
"Shut up. We fell in the water." Zoro snapped.
Nami raised an eyebrow. "At the same time?" She turned to look at Lacy, who's lips where a dark blue. "Oh my God! You must be freezing your ass off! Here, take off those clothes and I'll dry them for you. I'll get you some other clothes for now."
"Thank you, Nami."
Lacy was offered flannel pants that fitted her comfortably. But Nami's shirts were too small for her, so she decided being in her bra was ok until Robin came back to the ship with supplies so she can try on a shirt of hers. Until then, she was going to keep the towel on anyways since it was cold. After getting another towel from Nami, Lacy walked upstairs back onto the deck. When she closed the door behind her, she stopped abruptly. Zoro was wringing out his shirt. She blushed as she stared at his dark skin glistening in the moonlight.
"Oi! Have some decency!"
Lacy looked down and noticed her hands were losing their grip on the towel. "S-sorry!"
He sighed and turned away, placing his shirt over the side of the railing. He took his towel and wrapped it around his neck.
"So..." Lacy began. "Was there something you wanted to talk to me about?"
Zoro kept his back to her as he spoke. "Yeah, there was. Why are you acting weird?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, you've been acting weird ever since that one night you ran away from me. What's the deal?"
"I don't understand...?"
He turned around to face her. "So... what? You 'confess' your feelings for me and now you're blowing me off?"
"I-I uh... I didn't know you–"
Zoro walked up to her and grabbed her shoulders. His grip was tight and he shook her. "Did you eat the Devil's Fruit and put a curse on me or something?!"
"W-what? You're not making any sense! And for one thing, if I ate the Devil's Fruit, then how was I able to swim a moment ago?"
"Then you must be some sort of... witch or Siren or somethingto place a spell on me! You got a lot of nerve! Do you know who your messing with?!"
"Z-Zoro! You're scaring me! I don't understand what you're trying to say! I don't possess any power at all! I swear!"
Zoro tightened his grip and Lacy shuttered from the pain. "Then explain something to me! Whyis it that whenever you're around me, I feel strange?!"
She looked at him puzzlingly. "Strange? Like you feel sick?"
"No! Like..." His face began to twist as he tried to find the right words to say. "Like I'm floating."
Lacy smiled. "Floating?"
Zoro shook her again. "Stop it!"
"Stop what?"
"Smiling! Just stop it! Whenever you smile like that I... I feel weird!"
Her smile widened. "R-really?!"
"I said stop it!"
"Zoro, let me ask you something. When you see me, is it a... good strange feeling?"
"Yes! What did you do?!"
A tear rolled down her cheek. "Oh... my God! ...Zoro... do you... like me?"
"Why are you crying? I didn't insult you!"
"Do you like me?"
Zoro released her and slammed his fists against the railing. "DAMMIT!! You're intoxicating! Why is it that whenever you're not around I feel empty? Why is it that whenever you smile I can't help but smile as well? Why do my cheeks feel hot whenever you laugh?! Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! What's going on?!"
Lacy stood where she was, not wanting to make him even more mad... or was he? "Zoro..."
Zoro looked back at her. Her tears had stopped, but her cheeks were a light pink. Just like her lips... He shook his head vehemently and continued in a calmer tone. "What... did you do to me?"
"I'm not sure. I actually didn't do anything. You... um... did this yourself."
"How?"
"I don't know..."
Zoro began to walk closer to her. She stood there staring into his dark eyes. She didn't dare move. His approach made her body freeze and she waited for him to say something or do something. He leaned his face closer to hers, so close they were almost touching...
"YOU'RE CLOTHES ARE ALMOST DRY!!!" Luffy came springing out of the cabin door with a piece of meat sticking out of his mouth.
Lacy and Zoro lost their balance, dropped to one side.
"B-B-BAKA YAROU!! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT?!" Zoro screamed at him.
"Why are you getting so mad, Zoro? Nami wanted me to tell Lacy her clothes were almost dry."
"Er... thanks, Luffy." Lacy replied, trying to sound calm rather than glaring angrily at him.
Nami came up behind Luffy in the doorway and hit him hard on the head; sending him face down in the ground. "YOU IDIOT!! I DIDN'T WANT YOU TO TELL HER NOW!! NOT WHEN ZORO'S THERE!!" She paused and looked up to see Zoro and Lacy staring blankly at her. "Aheh heh heh..." A sweat drop ran down her face and she stepped backwards, dragging Luffy with her. "S-so sorry to bother you two. C-carry on!" She quietly closed the door behind her.
"What... was that all about?" Zoro asked, looking at Lacy.
She hid her face in her hands and blushed. "I uh... I d-don't know."
He lifted up her face with his forefinger and stared into her eyes. "Lacy, I–"
"TEE MEE!!!! HOW DARE YOU, YOU BASTARD!!" They fell over again as Sanji came storming out of the cabin with veins popping out of his forehead. "I SAW EVERYTHING!! HOW COULD YOU, YOU ASSHOLE?!?!"
"What the hell are you babbling about now, you damn cook?!" Zoro snapped.
Sanji yanked Zoro by his shoulder and lifted up his fist. "YOU DARE TO MAKE A MOVE ON LACY-CHAN?! AN INNOCENT GIRL LIKE HER?! WHY I OUTTA–"
Lacy tried pushing the two of them away from each other. "G-guys! C'mon now! Sanji! Please stop! Let him go!"
"Stand back, Lacy-chan! I'll protect you!!"
"SANJI-KUN!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
Nami came stomping out of the doorway with a her arms on her sides and her hands balled into fists.
"Nami-swa! Zoro's trying to hurt Lacy-chwa!"
"What?! What did he do?"
"He didn't do anything!" Lacy tried to shout above everyone else.
"He tried to seduce her!!" Sanji shouted.
Nami, like Luffy, hit Sanji hard on the head. "YOU IDIOT!! That'ssuppose to happen!! God!! Doesn't anyone listen to me?!" She turned to Lacy. "Gomen, Lacy. I'm having a difficult time trying to control everyone. I didn't ruin anything, did I?"
"Actually, you–" Zoro was about to say something insulting, Lacy knew. So she cut him off.
"N-no! You didn't. In fact..." She scooted closer to whisper in Nami's ear. "I... told him about my feelings a while ago."
Nami's eyes glittered. "REALLY?! AND?!"
"CHIKUSO!!" Zoro turned his back on everyone and slammed his fists on the railing again.
"What's with him?" Whispered Nami to Lacy.
She smiled. "He... likes me back and he's being... well, 'Zoro' about it."
"Being 'Zoro'? And what exactly is that?"
She giggled. "You know how he is."
Nami sighed. "Sadly yes. But he likes you?! Oh my God!! You two have to go on a date!!"
Zoro whipped back around and stared at Nami. "A date?!" Lacy just blushed, embarrassed that Nami was talking so loudly about it.
"Yeah! Aw, c'mon! It'll be fun! You two can hold each other's hands as you walk down the street, have a romantic candle lit dinner for two, then stare into each other's eyes til you must sadly depart! Ahh..." Nami drifted off into her own world as Zoro and Lacy just started at her.
They looked at each other and Lacy smiled. "Um... that could be fun. Maybe not everything she said but... maybe... we can?"
Zoro spat and rubbed the back of his neck. "I guess." Lacy jumped and hugged him, catching him off guard. "W-wha–?"
She smiled up at him. "We'll be able to hang out. You know, just the two of us!"
Zoro scratched his chin and slightly blushed. He turned to the stars and smiled a bit. Ok. Yeah. Doesn't sound too bad...