Oh well... Yes, I know. Kid is a walking talking idiot!

Disclaimer: Oda's still

Enjoy!

Facing Law at school the next day was a nightmare. I knew I had hurt him and I didn't understand why. I am so much into that guy, I can't even deal with his affection. I stood in front of the school building and stared at the empty spot where he should have been standing.

He should be there. I should have been able to just walk up to him and pick a cigarette and apologize. But he wasn't there. I wasn't sure if I should hope he was ditching again or not. If he was, I could drop by his place and explain. If he wasn't and was just up to plainly ignore me… I didn't know what I should do then.

Apparently Fortuna was disappointed in my behavior. Law was sitting in the classroom on a different table than usually and the seat beside him was occupied already. I tried to ignore the pain that ripped through me and sat down at my normal place. Looking as non-caring as I could, I followed the lesson. I never used to join the first session until I met Law. I never used to sit on a certain place until me and Law had claimed the last two desks in the classroom for us.

My heart clenched. What had I been thinking? I couldn't answer. There simply was no answer. When he confessed his feelings to me and I rejected him... There was no reason for it. I let my head drop on the table when the bell rang to the break. I couldn't cope with this situation. Yes, I had feelings for the raven haired man but I never expected to stand even the slightest chance.

I managed to endure school until the end of the third lesson then I went to see the nurse and got myself an excuse for the rest of the day – raging headache. It wasn't that far from the truth. I did feel like shit. But as long as I could remember, heartache was never accepted as an excuse to not show up for school. Since when did I even get an excuse? I just fucking ditched the classes… Not that much anymore since I spent my time with Law.

Wandering through the city, I suddenly found myself standing in front of the Louge Town Coffee. The shop was closed because it was rather early still. I could see Shaki through the window and raised a hand to knock on the door. I needed someone to talk at the moment and she seemed to know Law quite well. Maybe she could help me. Dropping my hand I turned around. This was ridiculous. I messed up the situation with Law so if anyone could solve it, it was me alone. I had only made a few slow steps away from the coffee shop when I heard Shaki calling my name. Relieve flooded through me. Well, maybe I could at least get a coffee…

Only a few minutes later I was sitting at a small table close to the counter, a huge cup of hot chocolate in front of me. Shaki took the seat opposite me with a coffee. Wait… How did I end up with a hot chocolate? I didn't do the sweet stuff, and I was certainly no girl who would go for chocolate to cheer herself up. Nevertheless I sat here now; with hot chocolate.

"So and now tell me how you end up in town instead of sitting in school? Especially without Law?" I sighed. Did I really want to talk to this woman about my problems with Law? I didn't know what she thought about people like me… about men who preferred another man above any woman…

"I kind of disappointed him. A lot… And now he ignores me." I felt the blush on my cheeks and hoped that it wasn't too strong. I was trying to go for a rather safe option: Telling her about the problem without actually mentioning the problem. Well, in theory that was the plan. The only issue was that Shaki was a lot cleverer than I wanted to see. She smirked at my comment and my blush deepened.

"Good. And now please tell me what really happened. I am worried about Law. He usually doesn't get attached to people. Not that fast." The small information was painful. He got attached to me and I hurt him. Swallowing the guilt that built up inside me I started telling Shaki about what happened yesterday; leaving out a few more personnel details.

When I started stuttering about my reaction to Law's feelings she gave me an understanding smile. "He really means a lot to you." Actually, Shaki seemed rather satisfied with what she just learnt. I raised an eyebrow, looking at her in confusion. "Shaki… I rejected him. I probably hurt him really badly." "Oh sure you did." I grit my teeth and tried to ignore the new stab of pain and guilt.

I couldn't meet her eyes anymore. She obviously cared a lot about him and I told her that I just broke his heart. "Kid, I know you have hurt Law a lot. But I think you really do care about him. Am I right?" I nodded. "You just didn't expect him to really have feelings, right?" I nodded again, feeling increasingly uncomfortable. "Do you like him?" I nodded, hesitantly this time. She smiled again.

"You are afraid. If I'm not mistaken you expect yourself to know how to deal with this and how to lead this. But in the end Law surprised you again and again and again. You are not alone in this relationship. Don't ever forget that. Neither can you decide to kiss him without him letting you, nor are you able to make this work all on your own."

For a moment I couldn't say anything. "Let me make one final guess. You bought a Christmas present for him, right?" I blushed and tried to hide it behind my cup. Shaki laughed.

Hope you liked it... Law is back tomorrow.

Read & Review please - Thanks!