Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece.

Sanji waited at the school gates for Zoro. He had the bike stand on because it took a while for Zoro to find the main entrance. Other students who had bicycles were heading toward the bicycle parking lot, but Sanji brought his all the way where Zoro could see him (somehow, Zoro couldn't find the bicycle parking lot either).

Minutes later, he saw Zoro walking alone with a clouded expression. Sanji titled his head to wonder why Zoro looked so troubled. He waved so he could get Zoro's attention; his friend saw him but his reaction was slow.

Zoro silently sat on the back seat, and Sanji gave him his bag.

"What happened?"

"Nnn..." Zoro's answer came off short. Sanji decided to let Zoro think for a moment and kicked off the bicycle stand. As he yelled goodbye to the classmates who waved, Sanji couldn't help but look back at Zoro. His friend was silent and didn't say much, so Sanji relied on Zoro's actions. Zoro's aura was always calm and peaceful, and today those weren't the right words to describe them.

Sanji was dying to know what was tormenting his friend, so he purposely slowed his pedaling. He took alternate routes and circled a block twice because he knew Zoro wouldn't figure it out. Finally, when Sanji was pedaling through a long deserted area of trees and a shallow river, Zoro sighed. It appeared that Zoro shuffled some words together to say something.

"Sanji..."

"Yeah?" Sanji asked promptly on the question.

"I got asked out."

The bicycle came to a screeching halt, causing Zoro to collide into Sanji's back. Zoro held on their school bags tightly, so they didn't fall. But, his hip painfully slammed into the short back rest.

"Ow."

"By who?"

"What?"

"Who asked you out?" Sanji's words were covered in needles.

Zoro rubbed his face against Sanji's shoulder to soothe his friend, "Um...Haruka...something."

"There are a lot of Harukas at our school. What does she look like?"

"I don't remember...like, a group of girls came up to me and they showed me Haruka. They said she liked me and want to go out with me."

Sanji clicked his tongue and started pedaling again, "That's cheating. I hate-I mean, I don't approve when girls gang up on one guy to ask out. If a girl doesn't want a group of guys to approach her, I wish they do the same with us. So, what happened?"

"...I told her I'll think about it."

"Why?" Sanji interrupted, and Zoro bumped into Sanji again, "D-D-Do you like her?"

"No. Come on Sanji, I don't even remember what she looked like."

"Then, why did you say 'you'll think about it?'" Sanji turned his body to look at Zoro's worried face.

Zoro pulled a taut frown, "I never been asked out before, so it was unexpected...I didn't know what else to say..."

"You could've said no."

"I didn't want to hurt her feelings..."

"Hou, I didn't know you cared about others."

Zoro answered with a punch into Sanji's ribs. The blond recoiled, coughing a few times. Zoro put his hand back on the school bag, "What should I say to her?" He leaned in to peer down at the coughing Sanji.

"Um," Sanji cleared his throat and raised a pointer finger, "There's one excuse that works. You're saying 'no,' and you're not hurting her feelings."

"What?"

"You say to her that your dad doesn't allow dating until you're in high school. A few girls used it on me when I asked. It didn't hurt my feelings, and there's this little fear when the word 'dad' comes out."

Zoro nodded, "I like that."

"Maybe you should say 'college,' so people won't ask you out in a long time."

"Okay. Thanks Sanji."

"You're welcome." Sanji smiled and faced the front, pedaling his feet to take a u-turn. Zoro thought it was funny that his friend gave him advice to dump her and didn't encourage the slightest to try it out. Zoro believed that Sanji had more experience about relationships, so he knew everything about it. His friend must have gotten something from it after going out with so many girls. The heavy weight in his chest was gone, so Zoro pulled up a smile and leaned his weight on Sanji's back, never realizing that Sanji passed this road three times.

-.-.-

"H-Haruka..." Zoro called out to the girl who wanted to go out with him. He found her before she went inside the classroom. He didn't want that to happen because then he had to call her out, and her peers would be curious.

She hesitated but followed him to the hallway where there weren't as many students.

"Yes?" She asked.

"Yeah, about yesterday," Zoro scratched his head. Boy, this was embarrassing, even though he didn't even like her, "my dad told me that I can't go out with anyone until I'm in high school." He kept it as 'high school' because college seemed years ahead. Haruka's eyes opened wide, and she blinked a few times.

"O-oh, I see..."

"I'm sorry."

"But, can we be friends?"

Zoro shrugged, "I guess." Zoro, however, tend to be the type who gradually left the people he didn't like. She was probably the type to make him do it.

She waved her arms around, having an odd smile, "Thanks...and I think your dad's weird."

"Huh?"

It was Zoro's turn to look surprised as Haruka walked away to head to her class. He didn't understand why she thought his father was weird.

A/N: I don't think I ever heard a guy dump a girl like that. It's usually the other way around.