Well, I'm finally back. I thank everyone who reviewed this story, and i apologize for the lateness of the chapters. With all the work i have to do, i think i might only be able to update once or twice a week. This chapter's kinda random, but enjoy anyway.

Disclaimer: Blah, Blah, Blah... In other chapters.

" " - Dialogue

' ' - Thoughts

OoOoOoO - Scene Change.

Flashback

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Chapter 7

Terin followed Luffy past the crowds in the city. She hated crowds, but she had no choice at this point but to follow him. They snaked their way around them, and finally stopped at a outdoors café. He led her to a table with an umbrella, and left to order the drinks inside.

'I don't know what possesed me to come with him," she thought as she enjoyed the morning view of a nearby park. Then her eyes came across a shadowy figure. He was standing under a tree, wearing a cloak. She scrunched her eye brows in confusion. She had a weird feeling when she was looking him.

'What is this feeling?' she thought. He lifted his head and she saw his eyes. They were black as if they were empty. Her own eyes widened and her heart raced. She felt a sudden bolt of fear, and started sweating.

"What's wrong with me? I don't even know this person," she whispered to herself. He had a deathly smirk on his face that sent a chill down her spine. Suddenly, a car drove by and he dissapeared. She panted from relief and calmed herself down.

'Who was that person?' she questioned herself. Her left hand was on her chest where her heart would be, and the other was on her throat.

"Terin?" asked Luffy. She regained poise and looked up at him. He was holding two cups of coffee and handed one to her. He took a seat and looked troubled. She smiled lightly again, trying to reassure him that she was fine. But they both knew it was a lie.

"What happened?" he asked. She looked down at the coffee to see her reflection before she answered.

"It…" she began. Her mind wasn't sure if she should tell him what she felt, or just lie. She was too scared to be able to think clearly.

"It was nothing. A bird flew towards my face and kind of startled me," she finally answered. She took a sip of her coffee as Luffy grinned at her. He knew that wasn't true, but he didn't want to bother her about it.

"So… do you like it?" he asked shyly. She placed her coffee on the saucer and nodded at him. He smiled and took a sip himself. Then from out of the crowds, came a red haired man, and a black haired man with freckles. The red haired man tapped Luffy on the shoulder, and he turned around.

"Shanks! Ace!" cried Luffy as he got up to hug the two men. They had a laugh about something Terin didn't hear. She sat there quietly sipping her coffee as the three men spoke to each other. Luffy remembered Terin and turned around.

"Shanks. Ace. This is my friend Terin," he introduced with a wide grin.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," she politely said after standing up and bowing. The two men bowed back and shook hands with her.

"I'm Ace, Luffy's brother. This is Shanks, Luffy's mentor." Shanks did a small salute with his right hand. Terin immediately noticed he didn't have a left arm. She tried not to make it obvious, but Shanks was very clever.

"I lost it in a gun fight," he casually said, as if he'd been through this many times. Terin looked puzzled at first, but lightly smiled afterwards. Luffy was grinning, glad that she was getting along with the two men.

"Wanna have some coffee?" asked Luffy in usual cheerful manner. Both men nodded in a agreement and joined the two high school students. After getting to know one another a little better, all four of them went across the street to the nearby park.

"It's looks so nice in the morning," remarked Ace. They all walked around the park until they came across a fountain and decided to have a seat. Terin watched the water flow intently, deep in thought. Luffy was bored and looked along the ground. His eyes widened in curiousity as he picked up a penny which was heads side up.

"Hey! I found a penny with the head's side up! That means it's lucky right?" he asked. Shanks laughed as Ace, also laughing, nodded at his younger brother. Terin turned around to a smiling Luffy right in front of her.

"Here. Make a wish," he offered while putting the penny into her hands. His hand accidentally touched her's and he pulled it away, blushing. Ace laughed and patted his brother on the back. Terin looked at the old penny in her hands, puzzled.

"A wish?" she asked without looking at him. Luffy looked up at her from the noogie Ace was giving him.

"Yeah! You make a wish, toss the penny into the fountain, and your wish will come true. But you can't tell anybody the wish though." he explained. She looked at him and back at the penny. She held it in her hands as if she was praying, made a wish and tossed the penny into the rushing water.

Suddenly, a young girl fell in front of them, crying. Terin turned around and saw her being laughed at by a young boy. She held her hurt knee close as the boy continued to laugh. Terin, with glaring eyes, walked towards the boy.

"Get lost," she told the boy. He backed away, and then ran off calling for his mom. She turned around to the sniffling girl, and bent down to her level. After looking at the bleeding knee, she looked at the girl.

"Are you ok?" she asked in a kind voice. The little girl nodded, and Terin asked her where her mother was.

"I'll be right back," she told the three guys as she left with the little girl. Luffy watched with a sense of awe on his face.

'I didn't think she'd be so… kind,' he thought, then having an after-thought about how mean that kind of sounded. But then his face softened to a kind look as Ace looked over at his brother.

"You're lucky to have a girlfriend like her," he remarked, smiling widely. Luffy abruptly turned around, almost falling into the fountain. Flustered, he looked annoyed at his big brother.

"She is not! She's just a friend!" he cried. Ace raised an eyebrow to his statement, and then smiled mischeviously. Terin returned to the group and Ace stood up. She blinked at him, and he held her chin in his hand. He bent down close to her face and kissed her on the cheek.

Luffy yelled from shock and fell into the fountain wide eyed, leaving Shanks bursting into laughter. Ace smiled at the flushed Terin, and rubbed her white hair. Luffy shot up from the water, and onto the pavement. The two brother's started bickering as Shanks laughed and Terin stood there watching. She couldn't help, but smile.

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There's probably tons of things wrong with this story, and feel free to tell me. I might revise it if I can. See you next chapter... and there might be another story on it's way. If you read my other story too, that one's on hold for right now.