Home Again
Cara was greeted with a warm hug from her mom and welcome home from many of the people who lived on the island.
"Cara!" Her mom, cried. "I was so worried about you!"
"You must have been so scared!" an elder of the village said.
"Glad you're home," a man said. "I'm sure Whitebeard will be thrilled. He worried about you so."
Cara gritted her teeth. She didn't reply to any of them, even her best friend, as they kept saying how worried they were about her and how happy Whitebeard would be.
She ignored them all.
Keeping her head down she headed to her home with her pirate escort following in close proximity. Ace stood to her left as Marco stood to her right. The latter was glancing around for any signs of trouble that might have followed them home.
She did her best to ignore him and let her thoughts wander back to the ship. Before they arrived she had overheard some of the pirates talking about staying on Sphinx for a few days before heading back to Whitebeard. She figured it was Marco's idea. The older man wanted to make sure no one followed them back.
Reaching her home, Cara entered, slamming each door behind her as she went. In her room she fell upon her bed and screamed into her pillow.
...
"I was really worried about you," Ami said for the hundredth time.
"Hn." Cara stared out her window as Ami paced her room.
"It must have been so scary!"
"Hn."
"Well, it would have been for me. You don't seem to fear anything. But still!" Ami paused to hug her friend. "I'm glad your back! You could have died out there!"
Cara kept her eyes out the window. A week had almost passed and she hadn't heard about Ace coming to see her. Though she had no idea why she even cared. He was a pirate. A Whitebeard pirate. And she was his mission. Now that it was over it made sense that he wanted to stay with his crewmates.
"Though I will admit that I'm a bit jealous you got to travel with such a hotty!" Ami chuckled at her own joke.
Cara rolled her eyes.
"I mean it, despite his devil fruit, he is hot!" Ami released a dreamy sigh. "I wish I could travel with him." She went silent for a moment. "Cara, are you sure you're okay?"
"Yeah. Fine."
"I'm not buying it." Ami waved Cara's words away. "You've barely left your room since you've been home. And you haven't left the house at all. You really need to get out and enjoy the sunshine. It's a nice day."
"Yeah. Maybe I will go for a walk." Cara stood and headed for the door.
"Great!" Ami followed. "I'll come with you."
Cara headed out the back door where no one would see her. She bolted for the forest as Ami called out for her to wait. Guilt pounded at Cara's chest for leaving her friend behind, but she needed some space. And there was only one place she could get that.
...
Cara stared out at the ocean. Listening to the waves licked the sand before retreating back.
"And here I thought you learned your lesson the first time."
Cara sighed. "What are you doing here, Ace?"
Ace sat beside her, dispelling the cool breeze that was lifting as the sun was setting. "Is that anyway to greet your new best friend?"
Cara rolled her eyes. "We're not friends let alone best friends."
"Keep telling yourself that. Here. I made this for you." Ace held out a necklace identical to his.
Cara gave him a questioning look. When a guy gave a girl jewelry it was a romantic gesture. They were no where near that level. So why would he give her a necklace like his?
"It's my promise. I promise I will come see you as often as I can."
"You believe Whitebeard will let you?"
"He won't have a choice." Ace smirked.
Cara shook her head. This guy was an idiot no matter what.
"I mean it, Cara. I will come back and see you."
Cara studied Ace's eyes. They held nothing but the truth. Ace would come back. She shrugged, unwillingly to let him know she was glad to hear it, even if it turned out to be untrue. She took the necklace and put it on. "Thanks." A moment of silence. "So you're ready to leave."
"Yeah." Ace nodded. "Day after tomorrow we'll be heading back to rejoin Pops."