Okay, so I just have to say something that happened to me today. So, I've been gone from school since Thursday last week because I have been like death. Saltine crackers and cold baths have been life. So, Coach texted me this morning, and this is the legit conversation she and I had:

Coach: Where are you?

Me: In bed

Coach: Get your ass to school, lazy!

Me: I'm dying .-.

Coach: Ooh, don't die. Just be sick.

Me: I'll try to come tomorrow.

Coach. If you don't come soon, I'm gonna make you a trending topic on Twitter.

Me: Pleeeeeeeease don't do that =_=

Coach: #PrayForWhiteChocolate

Me: Stop. Just stop.

Coach: And I'll use that picture I took of you during the field trip. *sends a picture of me digging out a wedgie at the aquarium*

Me: I'm gonna drop out -_-

Coach: See you soon! Fell better! Don't poop your pants! ;)

~END SCENE~

I'm gonna have to fight her when I go back tomorrow +_+

Anyway, I just needed to get that out there and let you all know the crazy people I deal with on a daily basis. Thanks for reading. I'll keep my AN short this time :)

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ONE PIECE

Chapter Thirty-Seven

For once, this submarine was sailing underwater, and I wasn't worried about something looming over my life and ruining it. The only thing I was worried about at the moment was a sick Chef Victor, which meant more run-ins with the young Chef apprentice, Dougal. His crush on me, over the last week, had been getting increasingly worse ever since he nearly walked in on me when I was changing one morning.

After the meeting with Marue on that island that we stocked up on, we all returned to the sub. Penguin had picked up the meat while I was being scolded in the woods—of which I never disclosed the details with him. When we boarded, Law was heading out of the infirmary when he saw my muddied and slightly red-eyes state. I at first tried to tell him what I told Nate and Killian—I had wrestled a bear in the woods. He knew it was a lie right away, so I told him the truth: I had been running, and I fell. It wasn't a lie, per se, but it wasn't the entire truth, which I believe he knew, but didn't bring it up again.

Now, those food supplies were being put to good use by Dougal as he prepared lunch for the crew. Everyone was in the galley, talking about who knows what, reading the latest paper, or simply resting their feet in their short time for a break.

I, having come in late from reading a book I borrowed from Law about the anatomy of humans, meandered over to the table where Tino, Carlos, and Killian were seated.

"Hey there, beautiful." Killian greeted in his usual way, sending me a wink before scooting over on the bench seat so I could place myself beside him. "Where's Nate, then?"

"He's stuck in the engine room with Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, trying to fix something." I gave a shrug and smiled when I heard Tino ask who I was talking about, and then Carlos explaining that it was Penguin and Shachi, which confused the boy kid even more. "Where's our resident psychopathic doctor?"

At this, everyone at the table shrugged, and I quirked a brow. "He's been cooped up in his office." Carlos explained, standing up to join the line that started to form for the food. "I haven't seen him since breakfast yesterday."

The rest of us stood and followed suit, joining the line. "At the last island, Captain got some new books." Tino shed some light onto the situation, and we all nodded in understanding. I may not have been with these pirates long, but I knew that Law liked to read and perform surgery—two things that contrasted greatly with one another.

"I guess this means that we all have Mara to ourselves for once!" Carlos proclaimed, slinging his arm around my shoulder and grinning, his green eyes squeezing shut with the expression. "No Nate to make you angry and steal all your attention, and no Captain to take you away and make you take your shirt off."

My face burned and I slapped his chest at the last part. "Don't make it sound worse than what it is, Carlos." I frowned at the green haired man, trying to cool my face. "He just had to make sure I was doing okay. It was just checkups." I don't see why I had to defend myself and Law's actions, but I did nevertheless.

Killian held up his hands in surrender and Tino chuckled. "Well," Carlos said, grabbing a tray from Dougal with a smile. "What the hell was he checking that he needed to make you strip every time you went in there?"

"How do you even know this?" He was silent at my question, and I sighed, grabbing my tray from Dougal and ignoring the way his eyes raked over my face and cleavage, which was extremely exposed in my bikini top. What can I say—it's hot! "In any case, I'm sure he had a good reason as to why I had to be half naked."

We exited the line and headed back to the table, food in hands. "You really think so?" Tino asked as he sat across from me, picking up his fork and pointing it at me. "Maybe he just wanted to see you without your shirt on. I mean, when I broke my ribs last year, I never had to take my shirt off." And at that, I couldn't think of a good response.

The three of us ate in near-silence. Sometimes, one of them would speak a few words, but other than that, there wasn't really any conversation at our table. I was busy thinking of what had been revealed to me. I never talked to Law about that kiss we shared—it was so brief and probably meant nothing, so why bring it up? But this whole shirt thing…It probably shouldn't have bothered me, but it did for some reason.

Towards the end of lunch, and when people started to clear out, I was nearly scared to death. The sub lurched downward, sending our trays off the tables for a brief moment before they clattered back down. I was also taken from my seat, and I don't know about anyone else, but I saw my life flash before my eyes. Images of the sub failing to work and then all of us dying from lack of oxygen ran through my mind.

I clung to the edge of the table and grabbed Killian's arm tightly. "Holy mother of Roger, we're all going to die!"

There was a beep that resounded through the galley, and then Nate's voice came over the intercom. "Sorry about that guys! Good news though—we fixed the problem!" You could practically hear the smile in his voice. "And don't sorry freak, we're not gonna die."

"Did he hear me?" I whispered to Killian, who shook his head in a negative. "Ohhhh he's good!"

Apparently, the engineers were done with their announcements because the intercom beeped again and everyone went about their business like nothing happened.

A thought struck me then. "Carlos—why weren't you down there helping out?"

He pointed to his unzipped boiler suit, showing off the bandages that wrapped around his middle. "I can't. Law said if I tried to do too much then he would tie me to a bed, and I don't want that." I thought back to how injured he was during my fight with Raven, and frowned slightly. "Don't worry sweet cheeks—I'm on a fast road to recovery and should be better by next week."

"On that note," Killian stood, stretching out with a grown. "Tino and I have work to get done. See you around, luv." He patted my head as he walked behind me, and I frowned at him, covering my head with my hands. Tino waved goodbye and followed his older brother from the galley and, I assumed, to the navigator room.

Carlos stayed at the table, picking at the last of his unidentifiable food before moving to stand. "I'm gonna go lay down." He seemed to be asking if it was okay with me, so I smiled and nodded. "You don't blame yourself, do you?"

I jerked my eyes to him at his sudden and unexpected question, mouth slightly agape and I looked at him. "I don't, well, I mean, of course I do. It is kind of my fault that Raven was even there on that island. But," I barreled on when he looked ready to interject. "I'm not beating myself up over it anymore. I think I've apologized enough to annoy you for the rest of your life, and there's nothing I can really do to change your condition or go back to stop it from happening altogether."

He laughed at this, but not in a patronizing way. He just seemed amused at my reasoning. "Well I'll be damned." He wiped a tear from his eyes before standing and walking to take care of his tray, patting my shoulder as he went. "See you later, sweet cheeks."

With nearly everyone gone from the galley, I trudged down the hallways to mine and Nate's room. He was lying in the middle of the floor when I came in, covering in grease with his arms and legs stretched out all over the place.

"Good to know that you're comfortable." I said sarcastically as I maneuvered around his body, careful not to step on any toes or fingers as I did so.

He grumbled something back, but I couldn't hear him.

I was ready to get back in bed, lay under my covers, prop myself up with a pillow, and read some more of the book that was loaned to me. However, I seemed to change my plans as I sat on the floor, leaning against my bed, and tapping Nate's arm with my foot lightly to get his attention. When he groaned and looked over at me, I smiled.

"Can I ask you a serious question?"

He smirked and rolled so that he was lying on his side and facing me. "I'm not gonna kiss you again, so don't waste your breath."

I kicked out at him and knocked his arm down that was supporting his head, causing him to knock his head against the floor. "Don't be dumb, I'm serious about this."

"Alright then, I guess I can kiss you once the cheek, but—" I poised my leg to strike again, but he laughed and back away. "I'm kidding, freak! What's up?"

Suddenly, I felt foolish for coming to Nate about this. He may have been the closest friend I had on the sub, but he probably didn't want to hear about my problems; especially when they were concerning his Captain and childhood friend.

My silence and red face made Nate more alert. He sat up completely and leaned back against his bed, stretching his legs out so that they were resting alongside my own.

"What's going on?"

I looked down at my hands and frowned. "What do you think Law's opinion of me is?"

The silence that hung over us was heavy and uncomfortable as hell. I was scared to look up and see his face, but I did notice that his legs tensed at my question.

"What's your opinion on him?" Nate countered, sounding a little off. "Mara, do you like Captain? Is that what this is? Do you have a crush on him?"

My face turned red, but I covered it up by giving an awkward laugh and kicking his leg lightly. When I looked up, I realized that my playing it off probably wasn't working very well. So, I went to convince him. "Of course I don't, Dick Face. I was just curious, that's all."

"Why don't you ask him?"

"He, first of all, probably wouldn't even respond. And secondly, if he did respond, he would probably say something creepy or mean."

Another silence followed, but it wasn't as uncomfortable as the last. This one was more suspenseful, as I could practically see the wheels turning in his head. I waited, looking calm on the outside, but preparing myself for something terrible on the inside.

"Well," He began after an excruciatingly long amount of time. "He doesn't hate you that I know for sure. If he did, after we went to save Ace, he would have killed you for sure." I nodded, because that made sense. The only reason Nate would have been alive is because of the fact that he and Law have been friends for a very long time. "You also amuse him a lot somehow."

I frowned at this, my brow quirked up slightly. "How do I amused him? When have I ever been amusing?"

"I don't really know." He admitted. "It's just that he acts around you like he does around the rest of us. Like, he's comfortable with you." Nate groaned then and met my eyes with his. "This is weird. Can we be done now?"

With a small smile and a nod, I stood up and sat on the bed, taking off my socks and shoes. "Yeah, I guess so. Go ahead and get some food. I'm taking a nap."

"Don't tell me what to do." Nate replied jokingly, standing with a stretch and sighing in relief. He slipped his arms through the sleeves of his boiler suit, which had been tied around his waist, and grinned. "I can't believe you have a crush on Law." He laughed and I scowled at him. "This is rich. First you attack my mouth in the galley, and now you want to attack him in bed—"

My shoe successfully hit the engineer in the forehead, silencing his teasing and causing him to laugh his way out of the room. I harrumphed a few times as I settled into bed, pulling the blanket tight around my body and burrowing my head onto the pillows. All thoughts of reading the book were gone—now I needed to sleep off this uncomfortable feeling that everyone's words were giving me.

Law just wanted to see me half naked?

I want to sleep with him?

He liked me? And I liked him?

They all seemed ridiculous on the surface, but if I dug deeper and thought back to all of our interactions—to the brief kiss that we shared in his bedroom—then it's obvious that there is something there that I hadn't noticed until now.

Just the thought of him was starting to make my chest hurt. I would get a tingly feeling in the pit of my stomach and I would start to blush. Sometimes, my knees would, as cliché as it sounded, start to feel weak. This could only mean one thing.

"Holy shit…"

I think I have a crush on Trafalgar Law!

[A/N:] Dun dun duuuuuuuuuun!

She's finally starting to figure some things out and realize that Law is the finest piece of pirate out there on the Grand Line ;)

Please review, tell me what you like and don't like, and tell me how your day is going. Love you guys and see you next time ^_^

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