This story is not set in the One Piece style, just the characters, which are not mine by the way! Although if they were then Luffy and Zolo would be together by now.

Chapter 1: The new kid

Another boring day at school, Zolo thought as he walked along the hallways. Nothing to do, no-one to see and no where to go. So bored!

Girls looked him up and down, but Zolo didn't care. He didn't really pay much attention to girls. They giggled too much, or touched him and it just didn't feel right. Bah, he opened his locker and put his books inside.

"Hey moss head." a voice said behind him and he turned to see one of the few people he called a friend. Sanji. Sanji was cool, but he could be so rude, and was usually attached to a orange haired girl that Zolo often tried to avoid.

"Where's Nami?" he asked casually. Sanji pointed a thumb over his shoulder towards the girls bathroom and Zolo let out an involuntary sigh of relief.

Sanji raised a curled eyebrow, his hair moving slightly with the motion. "You still owe her money I take it?" Sanji asked. Zolo glared and then nodded.

Sanji sighed. "Look, if it'll help, I'll pay off your debt, but don't expect me to ever, ever do this again. You got it"

"I don't need your help." Zolo replied. Sanji frowned.

"Fine shit head, you don't have to take it. I was only offering to help." Sanji replied.

"As I said, I don't need it, now fuck off." Zolo said. Then Nami appeared and Zolo let out a yelp. He dashed around the corner and ran away as fast as he could. Nami walked up to Sanji who wrapped an arm around her waist.

"I'll get him next time." she said and then leaned up to press a kiss to her boyfriend's lips. Sanji laughed.

"I hope so, it's fun seeing him squirm." Zolo stormed into his English class and thumped down in his usual chair. Students filed in around him, and Zolo ignored them.

They meant nothing to him. He looked up though as the teacher came in, a weird look playing across her face. This wasn't the usual teacher, this was Miss Robin, the bitch who taught history. Zolo hated her, there was something shifty about that woman and he would rather keep away from her.

"Students." she said in that American, almost sickeningly sweet voice. "We have a new student. He is from another town and is very happy to be here." she said and then beckoned to what must have been the new kid through the door.

The boy walked in. He had short black hair and black eyes to match. He also had a curved scar under his left eye. He was very small, almost whip-like in his body and as Zolo gazed disinterestedly at him, Zolo noticed that the boy seemed to be a little different than any other person Zolo had ever seen.

"Roronoa." Miss Robin said aloud. Zolo's head snapped up and he couldn't stop the glare from escaping his eyes. Miss Robin seemed to ignore it. "Since you seem soooo interested in this particular subject, you can show him around the school. Now." she said. Zolo grumbled and got up, wishing that he could leave this place right now. He walked past the boy who gave him a bright smile.

"Come on kid." Zolo said. They walked in silence for a bit, Zolo occasionally pointing out a certain place or room. They were walking towards the lockers when Zolo spoke again.

"So, kid, you got a name or am I supposed to refer to you as kid all the time?" he asked. The boy looked up at him.

"My name? Luffy, Monkey D Luffy." he said and then glanced around as someone cried out behind him.

"He's so cute!" a girl's voice yelled. Zolo turned to see a girl flash past and launch into Luffy. Luffy yelped and tried to push the girl off, but she wouldn't let go.

"Please, miss, you're crushing my ribs." Luffy gasped. The girl was attached to Luffy like he was a giant plushie and she didn't seem intent on letting go anytime soon. Zolo watched for a little while, indifferent and then realised that if he didn't do something about this then he was going to end up getting in serious trouble for being late.

The bell went just as he was about to help. He groaned, now he was in for it. He reached down and grabbed Luffy's collar, pulling him up onto his feet. The girl was still fastened around his waist until finally Luffy pushed her off.

"Uh, sorry. I don't really like you." Luffy said straight out. The girl gave him an offended glare and hurried off down the hall. Luffy sighed. Zolo had to let himself chuckle. This kid was okay.

"Is it lunch time?" Luffy asked. Zolo nodded and Luffy almost ran over him as he bolted for the lunch room. Zolo followed a little less excitedly. He walked in, succeeding in walking straight into a soft body. Nami. Uh oh.

"Roronoa Zolo. We need to have a little discussion on the matter of the money you owe me." she said holding out a hand under his nose. Sanji was standing behind her, a grin very apparent even from a distance. Zolo hesitated a moment and then saw Luffy sitting at a table already gobbling down food, almost like a vacuum cleaner.

"Uh, hey, I would really love to Nami, but, I have to show Luffy the school." Zolo said and then squeezed past her. Nami followed him, her hands on her hips.

Zolo felt himself sweating as he sat down next to the dangerously eating boy. He threw him a disgusted look but stayed next to him just the same. Nami sat down across from them, Sanji sitting down beside her and throwing an arm over her shoulder. A curly haired boy finally approached the table and sat down beside Zolo.

"Hey." he said and then looked across at Luffy. "New kid?" he asked. Zolo nodded.

"His name's Luffy, which I'm sure he would tell you if his mouth wasn't full." Zolo said. Luffy looked up at the mention of his name, swallowed and grinned. He wouldn't have noticed that they had been talking about him if his plate hadn't been empty.

"Hi!" he cried and waved.

"Luffy, the curly haired, long nosed freak is Usopp." Zolo said pointing beside him. Usopp ignored his mean description and waved.

"Nami." Zolo said pointing to the orange haired girl who smiled. "And Sanji." Luffy waved to each in turn and then smiled.

"So, where are you from?" Nami asked. Luffy gave her a quick glance and grinned.

"I was home schooled." he said. The bell rang and they all got up to go back to class. Luffy seemed to stick close to Zolo a lot in their afternoon lessons and at the end of the day, they went out of the school doors together. Luffy was barely out the door when a wide grin split his face.

"Trace!" (A/N: Over here he's known as Trace, but his real name is Ace.) he cried and ran towards the motorbike that his brother was sitting on.

It was black with red and orange flames going back towards the exhaust pipe. Trace himself was a powerful looking guy with an orange cowboy hat that had a smiling face and a frowning face on the front. He was wearing black shorts and no shirt revealing a tanned body. He had sleepy eyes and seemed to have a sly grin plastered on his face permanently. He had two necklaces, one which was made of orange beads and the other that was made of a strip of leather and had a weird looking skull disc thing on it.

"Hey little bro'." Trace said as Luffy approached. Luffy grinned and grabbed the helmet off the back and slid on. He beckoned to Zolo who was standing back, looking a little out of place.

"Zolo, come over and meet my big brother." Luffy called. Zolo gave a weak smile and walked over, admiring the bike.

"That's one helluva bike you got there." Zolo said. Trace grinned.

"Thanks man. Cost a heap, but she runs like a dream."

"Trace, this is Zolo, he's my new friend." Luffy yipped as he tightened the chin strap on the helmet. Trace looked Zolo up and down and then grinned.

"Cool. Well, we had better get going kiddo, you got work this arvo." Trace said as he kick started the bike. Luffy wrapped his arms around Trace's torso and grinned at Zolo.

"See ya tomorrow Zolo!" Luffy cried and gave a quick wave. Zolo gave him a small smile and watched as the bike whizzed away. Zolo gave a small smile and began walking down town to the local gym.

The next day, Luffy met up with Zolo at the lockers. He was grinning but he seemed just a little tired. It was then that Zolo realised something was seriously wrong. Luffy was moving stiffly, like he was in pain but was too ashamed to admit it. Zolo got him in a quiet place and asked him what had happened.

"Nothing. I just hurt myself at work yesterday." Luffy said, his eyes shifting. Zolo leaned in close, which seemed to make his stomach suddenly go banana's. He leant back again, Luffy giving him an odd look.

"Are you sure?" Zolo asked. Luffy nodded and then grinned.

A week passed and each day Luffy seemed a little tireder than the day before. He covered it well though, with a big smile and bouncy personality. Nami, Sanji and Usopp didn't really seem to notice how the boy was acting and Zolo thought it strange that he was feeling so protective of someone he had just met.

Is this good? I'll give you a Zolo plushie if you review.