Author's Note: I had a really rough night, and I ended up sleeping most of today. It's left me feeling bummed, but hey, I was able to complete 2 chapters today for each of my fics. So, it's still a good day, right? ^^ I just heard a Beyoncé song today, and now I'm hooked to it. It's the Pretty Hurts song. xD Anyways, on with the fic! Enjoy! :D

Devil in Disguise

Chapter 3

It almost felt as if she could not breathe, and she was sure by now that her heart should have calmed from being startled, but it was still pounding so hard within her chest. However, she was beginning to realize, it was not just from being startled. It was because it was him…

"Oh, it's just you," he said, his eyes narrowing slightly and showing his annoyance with her.

Feeling the jolt to her body from his actually speaking to her, she moved back, but then she felt the insult to his words. "What are you doing in here?" she asked, placing her hands on her hips and directing a frown onto him.

"Why are you asking me as if you have a right to know?" he countered, looking slightly confused to her asking such a question.

She opened her mouth as if she meant to speak, and sound even came out, but nothing intelligible. She then felt a bit of heat on her cheeks, because he had a point. She had just been annoyed with him for how she reacted to him, and now she was even more so. "Because it seems as if you're lurking!"

"Lurking? What does that even mean? I dropped my pencil and it rolled under my desk," he said and showed it to her. "I had to stay behind to write down the homework," he said and then pointed to the blackboard.

"Sh-Shouldn't that have been done before the bell rang for the class to end?" she asked, looking skeptical and unsure.

Reaching up, he placed his hand on his head as he glanced to the side and said, "Yeah, but I wasn't paying attention… I was sleeping. So, the teacher made me stay to write it down and made sure I understood. He had to step out for a moment though."

Her eye twitched. Was he a slacker then? How could one not care enough about their future and slack off in school? "I see… So you're an idiot," she said, crossing her arms over her navy blue sweater vest.

"Mm, I guess?" he asked more than said, tilting his head to the side and looking even more confused. He then scratched his chest over the matching sweater vest as hers, and then he pushed up his crisp white uniform sleeve, since it had slid back down.

"You guess?" she asked, now looking confused as well. He was agreeing with her instead of being insulted as most would have been? How could someone just agree with an insult like that?

"Hey, wait," he suddenly said out of the blue and pointed at her. "Are you sure you should be talking to me? Didn't that Fufu guy say no one was allowed to talk to me?"

Waving her hand to the side, Nami scoffed and said, "Furu doesn't make the rules."

"Still," he said, dropping his arm, "he would treat you badly if he found out. I doubt you want that -"

"I'm sorry…"

"A-Ah?" Luffy questioned and just blinked at her, though she was looking away from him, and her cheeks were a bit flushed. "S-Sorry?"

"For making your situation worse, but I don't like it when Furu bullies other students. It was your first day at this school, and already he was bullying you," Nami said, rubbing her arms through the sleeves of her own crisp, white button up shirt.

"Oh," Luffy replied, just looking back at her for a moment, but then he said, "Don't worry about that."

Her body tensed, surprised by his words, and then she looked over to him. "What?"

"Well, I mean, it was kind of annoying, but you were just trying to help," he said and shrugged. "Thanks for trying anyway."

Why did his words only succeed in annoying her more? Even if he was the one being bullied, he still seemed cocky. He had no right to be cocky! "I hear he's still bullying you," she said, placing her hands on her hips again and lifting a brow as her eyes drooped slightly in her annoyance.

"Ah, yup," he said with a nod as if it was nothing consequential.

Nami held the same expression, though her brows dipped down a bit more as she regarded this boy, but then she said, "You really are a strange one."

"I am?" he asked, his already large eyes going larger as he pointed to himself. "Oh, I guess I am."

"Where are you from?" She might as well quell some of her curiosity by asking the one person she wanted to know about.

"I'm not from here," he said, dropping his arm to his side again and just giving her that same blank expression with those big eyes of his.

She scoffed and nearly laughed at such an answer. "Obviously you're not from here. I asked you where you are from."

"Somewhere else," he replied, making her frown at him.

Was it just her, or was he avoiding the question? He was definitely avoiding the question. His eyes had gone back to being intense, or perhaps they were guarded. Why would he feel guarded? "Somewhere else," she repeated quietly as she regarded him. She had a feeling he would not be answering any of her questions. "Why?"

"Why?" he asked, going back to looking confused. "Why, what?"

"Nothing, never mind…" she said and just walked into the classroom to the teacher's desk. She set down what she was supposed to deliver and then turned back to him, pulling her backpack straps more onto her shoulders. Who was he and why was he hiding it? It was suspicious. Was he someone important or no one at all? "You really are a strange one," she said again and scoffed before heading to the exit again.

"Oi," he called, causing her to pause and turn to him. He glanced to the side again, placing a hand on his head, which seemed to be a habit of his. "Do you know a girl named Hancock?"

Now why was this question such a shock to her? She was not sure, but it sent a jolt through her and something else she could not place. "Hancock?" she asked and turned to face him. "You have a crush on her?"

"No," he replied immediately and finally looked over at her, "just curious."

This time, she did laugh a little, but then she said, "She's a very popular girl and some say the prettiest. Don't you think so? I bet you do. I guess you can say I don't really get along with her. She's conceited, vain and a real bitch, and she treats people like crap."

He regarded her in silence, just listening, but he did not speak right away, which unsettled her a little. Finally, he took in a breath and said, "The other says you're one of the prettiest in the school."

"Huh?" she asked, but only because she was speechless to his saying such a thing, and she even felt her cheeks heat. Why would he say such a thing? It was unsettling!

"Do you not think so?" he asked, tilting his head to the side curiously.

"W-W-Why would you ask me something like that, and why would you say that?" she asked, feeling frazzled and annoyed at the same time. "I don't care about any of that."

He again regarded her in that irritating silence, and it was beginning to really unsettle her, as if he was trying to find out about her as well. Why did she feel as if he was succeeding more in that aspect than she was? "I believe you," he said finally, and then he suddenly smiled, which startled her even more than all the other things he said. The jolt was much stronger.

"Wh-Wha-What is this all of a sudden? You believe me? Wh-What is that supposed to mean? Wh-Why does it matter if you believe me? Just who are you?" she asked, feeling far more frazzled than she should, and she covered a hand over one of her hot cheeks at an attempt to hide the flush there. He had a very cheery smile…

"Ah, sorry," he said, his eyes growing huge, but then he appeared a bit concerned as he rubbed over his head. "I'm Luffy, but you knew that already, because you said my name when you first came in. I didn't think you would know my name."

The flush spread, and so she covered both of her cheeks with her hands. She had said his name when she first came in! Why was she so ruffled, and why was she blushing? She was so irritated, and he was the reason for it! That was not what she meant! He really was an idiot, but why was he always in her thoughts, and how was he able to make her feel this way? "Forget it!" she snapped, causing him to stiffen and his eyes to once again go wide. Whether or not she was speaking to him or to herself, she was not even sure.

"Ah, s-sorry…" he muttered, looking nervous and glancing about as if looking for a quick getaway.

"How can you possibly be okay with what Furu said? How could you possibly be okay with having no friends?" she suddenly asked, wanting to understand something about him, at the very least.

"Okay with it?" he asked, looking more and more nervous and confused. "Who said I was okay with it? There's nothing I can do about that now. No one wants to be bullied, and if I try talking to anyone, it would only cause trouble for them," he said and again placed his hand on his head. Why did he always do that, as if something should be there? "Speaking of which, you should go before someone sees. It would cause you trouble-"

"Why don't you let me worry about that?" she said, finally having composed herself while he spoke, and instead leveled a frown at him.

He stared back at her for some time, but then he finally said, "Oh, okay."

She was not sure why, but she found this amusing, and so she laughed. "You are so strange."

This time, he did seem bothered by her saying so, and it showed in his expression as his lips bunched up into a strange frown, and his brows furrowed softly. "I guess," he muttered, nearly under his breath.

"That's okay. There's nothing wrong with that, I guess," she said and just smiled. She was not sure why, but he made her want to smile with such a face, and oddly enough, she felt happy. He really was so strange, and he brought on strange feelings within her. She wanted to know more about him, and she did not care what Furu said. She would find out all she could in any way she could. "As long as no one sees that we're talking, it won't cause trouble, right? Will you still be my friend?"

She watched as his jaw dropped slightly, and she found it amusing as he just gaped at her. He then looked down as he brought his knuckle to his lip as if he was thinking about it, but then he suddenly gave her the brightest smile she had ever seen. "Sure!"

To Be Continued…

Author's Note: D'aww, Luffy! *U* You always make me smile! :3 Still, there are some unanswered questions. ;) What's in store for them, I wonder. :D Haha, stay tuned for the next chapter! :D