~R~

I shifted slightly, uncomfortable in the awkward silence. There was only the sound of waves and the hum of the Striker. I leaned towards Marco. "Did something happen?" I whispered, nodding toward Ace and Thatch.

"Nope." He replied curtly. "Nothing."

I blinked. I knew he was lying, because he'd been leering at the boys the whole time. I didn't push it though.

That morning, Ace had told me the old man was sending him to pick up supplies. As usual, he asked me if I wanted to go, and I did. Apparently Marco was supposed to come too, and when Ace found out, he looked like a scolded puppy. And then when Marco found out I was coming along, he made Thatch join us, who also looked like he'd been punished.

I have no idea what's going on. I wasn't in any trouble as far as I could tell. But Ace and Thatch were. And it has to with me, I know it. But what did they do? This was going to bug me all day.

~...~

I somehow ended up stuck with Marco while looking for stuff that the chefs needed. Spices, new tools...It was kind of boring, but I happy enough to help out and carry some of the supplies.

Ace and Thatch had gone off to look elsewhere as soon as we got here. They looked they had some business to settle amongst themselves, so I decided not to go with them. That doesn't mean I wasn't curious though.

"Marco, are you ever going to tell me what happened?" I asked.

"Nothing happened." he replied with out looking up. He was checking a list of some things we needed.

"Liar." I said.

"Just let it go. Its been taken care of." Marco said.

"But I wanna know!" Apparently my whining was amusing, because I saw Marco smile.

"Curiosity killed the cat, you know." he said.

"Satisfaction brought it back." I countered.

Marco glanced at me. "Knowledge tortured it forever."

I don't have a comeback for that one. "Please tell me!"

"No."

"Ugh! Fine..." I gave up. For now. I walked away so I wouldn't be tempted to ask any more questions. And who knows? Maybe I could figured it out myself if I had some time on my own.

~A~

"You know you could have saved me from getting into trouble..." Thatch muttered.

"How? You were were going through Rory's stuff." I said.

"You ratted me out!"

"Well I wasn't about to take the blame for-" I stopped mid-sentence, looking over Thatch's shoulder.

"What?" he asked and turned around.

We both stood there frozen in place, unaware of how much she heard.

"For what? What were you gonna say?" Rory asked. She looked genuinely curious, so I guess she only heard the last bit of the conversation.

"Nothing." Thatch and I said in unison.

She frowned. "Tell me." she said.

"It's nothing. Forget it." Thatch said.

Rory narrowed her eyes and grabbed the collar of his shirt. "Thatch...What was he gonna say? What did you do?"

"W-what? How could I possibly know what Ace was gonna say? I can't read minds!" Thatch said. He wouldn't dare... "You know, I'm kind of curious too, Ace. What were gonna say?" he asked.

He would dare! From the look on his face I could tell he was trying to save his own hide. And get back at me for ratting him out. Rory turned her attention to me. Thatch you traitor! "Nothing! I wasn't going to say anything!" I said.

"Ace..." Rory stepped toward me. I stepped back. "You'll tell me won't you?"

"I...I don't..." I struggled to figure out what to say. I started backing away.

"Ace, friends don't keep secrets from friends, do they?" Rory asked as she followed.

"Um..." I didn't know what to say. I wasn't paying attention, so I tripped over the corner of a crate and fell backwards.

Rory stood over me, her feet firmly planted on the ground on either side of my hips. I sat up a little bit, only to feel heat rush to my face when I realized she was bending over to look me closely in the eye. "You won't leave me in the dark, will you?" I tried to tip my hat in such a way it would block her intense gaze, but she snatched my hat right off my head. She put it on so I couldn't get it. Well, I could if I just reached up and grabbed it, but she must have known I wouldn't in this situation.

She definitely didn't plan on leaving me any means of escape. "Uh..." I couldn't keep it from her. "Well, you see-"

"Willpower, Ace! I know she's cute, but don't give in!" I heard Thatch say. Oh, now he's on my side.

Wait, what does Rory being cute have to do with it? Actually, now that I think of it, that might be why I felt compelled to confess. I had to resist though. She's being nice now, but if she knew what we did, she might turn into a devil and try to kill us. I knew she wasn't going to let me up, so my only choice was to bring her up with me. I wrapped my arm around the back of her legs and pushed myself to my feet. She squeaked as she lost her balance and fell over my shoulder.

~M~

"Now where did she get off too...?" I wondered aloud. I got my answer soon enough. As I searched around, I spotted Ace' hat. I was curious as to why Rory was wearing it, but was even more curious as to why Ace had her slung over his shoulder. I walked over to find out, giving him and Thatch a questioning look.

"Hey, it was either this or you'd have a couple of corpses to deal with." Thatch said.

"I take it she was harassing you?"

"Yep."

"Put me down already!" Rory whined.

"Are you going to attack me if I do?" Ace asked.

"What do you think? This is degrading! I'll get you for this!" Rory growled. She started kicking and squirming.

"Please stop moving so much..." Ace said. He held onto her legs so she couldn't kick him. "I'm not gonna put you down if you're just gonna attack me." he said.

"Hmph..." Rory crossed her arms and pouted. "You're lucky Marco has my bow and arrows..."

I chuckled. When she started asking about what happened, I insisted I keep her weapon so she wouldn't be able to hurt anyone.

"Are you ever gonna give my hat back?" Ace asked.

"No way!" Rory put her hand on top of the hat on her head. "Not until somebody tells me what happened!"

"So you're holding my hat hostage." Ace mused.

"Yes!" Rory replied. "And besides, I need it." She pulled the hat downward to cover her face. "This is embarrassing!"

Ace, Thatch, and I laughed.