Chapter 9

It was Zolo's shift for the night. He headed down the hall, but stopped in front of the girl's bedroom when he heard the sound of low sobbing. Huh? He pressed his head next to the door and listened closely.

"Please don't cry anymore."

"Yeah, everything will be all better!"

"Didn't you have a fun time with Sanji?"

"Y-Yes! B-B-But that won't change what h-h-happened!"

"Please Adella! Try to lower your voice!"

"I thought that i-if I was honest and brave enough to confess my feelings, he might feel the same!"

"Adella…I'm so sorry this happened. Zolo isn't worth a damn! He doesn't care about love."

"I didn't want to believe it, I couldn't. But I should have listened to you guys. Zolo broke my heart…but I haven't learned my lesson. I still love him. He's everything to me!"

Zolo's eye twitched. She still loves me? I can't believe I made her cry like that. I feel bad… He could hear a low humming sound coming from behind him, so he headed for the deck. He climbed into the crow's nest and sat down. "I remember Adella's first time up here. We had fun…" He looked down. "…Adella…"

"Hey, it's alright now, okay?"

Zolo leaned over the side of the crow's nest and looked down. Sanji was out talking with…Adella!

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"Sanji, you don't know what I'm feeling right now," whispered Adella.

"Adella," Sanji raised his eyebrow, "remember what we talked about? The first step of feeling better is forgetting about the past."

"Sanji how could I forget something that hurt me so bad!" She threw up her arms and turned her back on him. "I can't forget."

Sanji took a deep breath and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Adella…" He wanted to tell her that he loved her. "I…I think you can forget. Something like that doesn't happen instantly, you know."

She turned around. "You're right. I'm sorry I got mad. After all, you want to help me." She managed a smile. "And I need your help." She embraced him without warning.

He was a little surprised by the sudden hug, but at the same time, it felt good. He stroked her hair down, then kissed the top of her head lightly. Adella, I want to tell you how I feel.

She felt safe in his arms, a feeling she used to have in Zolo's arms. Zolo used to give me this feeling. I want to keep telling myself that I don't love him, but no matter what, I know deep down inside that I still love him. She closed her eyes and hugged tighter. I want to forget…

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Zolo couldn't believe his eyes. "A moment ago, she was in tears and crying over her love for me. Now she's putty in Sanji's arms! What the hell is going on?" He found himself making a fist. He suddenly began to relax. "Why did I get mad?" He thought for a while. "I'm not…? Am I?" He looked down at Adella. Why do I feel this way?