Chapter 8

Adella woke up with her head resting against Sanji's shoulder. They were both sharing his coat as a blanket. She looked around at her surroundings. They were in the kitchen sitting on the floor with their backs against the wall. "We must have fallen asleep in the kitchen last night." She suddenly remembered what had happened. "That bastard…" She saw her flute case on the floor. She kicked it under the table. So many memories of her and Zolo were bound to that flute.

Sanji began to wake up. "That was kind of uncomfortable." He looked to his side. Adella shifted and brought her knees up to her chin. "Uh, were we sleeping…together?"

She nodded. "Uh-huh."

Sanji smiled internally. He knew that from now on, he had to be careful how he talked to Adella. She was still fragile after Zolo rejected her. He didn't want to ruin their friendship by saying something totally stupid without consent. "How are you feeling?"

"I…don't feel anything…"

Sanji looked down. "Oh…Well, I better get breakfast ready." He got to his feet and offered Adella his hand.

She took it and stood up. "I want to help you. I need to keep myself busy for a while after what happened between me and Zolo."

"Alright." It didn't take them too long to get breakfast ready since two people were working together. "Let's take this into the galley." They brought the delicious plates of pancakes, waffles, eggs, and bacon to the dinning table. Their other crewmates were already there.

"Wow!" exclaimed Luffy. "Did you cook all of this yourself Sanji! How early did you wake up for this?"

"Oh, Adella helped me, so it didn't take long," informed Sanji. "Don't forget to thank her."

"Thank you Adella!" shouted Luffy as he began to eat.

"I'm not hungry. You guys go ahead and eat." Adella left the galley and headed for the girls' bathroom. She disrobed and stepped into the shower. My emotions…what's wrong with me now? I'm not happy and I'm not sad. I'm…empty. She washed her body and hair then stepped out of the shower. After she put her clothes back on, she headed for the deck. She blankly leaned against the railing of the ship. I shouldn't have joined them. After all of the pain this has caused me… She looked down at the water.

"Is Adella home?" asked Usopp as he waved his hand in front of Adella's face.

She looked at him. "Huh? What is it Usopp?"

"Adella, is something wrong?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Well, when we first met you, a smile never left your face. But now you seem…sad."

Adella's lower lip quivered as the painful memory from the night before reenacted in her mind. Her breathing began to quicken as she looked around. "I...I…"

Sanji looked over to Adella and Usopp. He noticed the look on Adella's face and grimaced. Shit! He quickly made his way over to the two. "Adella, can I see you in the kitchen?" He grabbed her by the shoulders and directed her to the kitchen. He closed the door and released her. "Are you alright?" He tried to look her in the eye, but she didn't want to make eye contact. "Adella?"

"I…I can't do it? If I can't even talk to Usopp, then how am I supposed to do anything!" She forced her eyes closed to stop the tears.

"Adella, you just have to take it one step at a time. Please, don't cry. How 'bout I whip you up some ice cream? Or cake? Candy maybe?" He headed for the cupboard, but slipped on a rag on the floor. "Dammit?" He hit the floor, but not that hard. "Ow…my ass…"

She looked at him and cocked her head. Very slowly, her lips twisted, forming a smile. She began to laugh quietly, then louder. Before she knew it, she was laughing along with Sanji. She got down on the floor next to Sanji, still giggling. "A-Are you alright?" She put a hand to her mouth and puffed up her cheeks. She was trying not to laugh in his face.

"I'm fine, I think," laughed Sanji.

Adella fell over as laughter exploded from her mouth. "I-I-I'm s-s-sorry. I don't mean to…ha ha…mean to…laugh! Ha ha ha!" Sanji's trying his hardest to keep me happy, and it's working. Sanji is like no other guy that I've met. He's so…different…