The sun was shining brightly in my eyes as I rubbed the sleepy dirt from them. I turned to kiss zoro good morning but he wasn't there. I looked around the room and there was no sign of him. I slowly walked down the steps and walked to the kitchen as if I was a zombie rising from my grave. Everyone was at the table. One thing I noticed instantly was that Zoro was sitting next Lily, leaving an empty seat for me. I sat there and made a grunting noise.

"Morning sleepy head, I tried to wake you up but you refused. You're not used to sleeping on the ground are you?" Zoro asked teasing. I gave him a fake laugh. I heard the stove and turned to find Sanji cooking with my mom at his side, giving her helpful hints on how to cook eggs and sausage. The smell was wonderful and a great way to start the morning. The smell put a smile on my face instantly. I looked across the table to find Marissa and Luffy wrapping their arms around each other and talking as if no one else was in the room.

"Lily and I are going for a walk to the village later; would you want to come along?" Zoro offered. I gave him a silly smile.

"Oh no, you guys go on ahead, I don't want to intrude. Besides, I'm going to be with you Zoro for the next couple of days and for the rest of my life. Go on," I insisted. Zoro acted as if that was not the answer he wanted to hear. After cleaning up, Lily walked through the door as Zoro hesitated. He turned me with a worried look.

"You sure you don't want to go?" he asked again. I nodded and waved my hands as if I was shooing a fly. I sat there for a few seconds and went up to my room to gather my things to get a nice warm bath. While gathering my things, I looked outside my window and saw Zoro and Lily heading towards the village. Lily suddenly held onto Zoro's arm and Zoro didn't bother to push her off. My heart stopped instantly and I backed away from the window. I hurriedly finished grabbing my things and headed for the bathroom but was stopped by Luffy standing in my doorway.

"How come you didn't want to go for the walk? Are you alright?" Luffy asked with concern.

"Didn't you hear my reason a couple of minutes ago?" I snapped at him. I walked passed him and was about to walk through the bathroom door.

"I just thought because you wouldn't think twice on passing any time spent with Zoro," Luffy spoke as if he was terrified of me.

"I'm sorry Luffy; I am just tired from all the traveling. I just need to get a bath and I will feel better in a bit," I closed the bathroom door and waited until I heard Luffy's footsteps go down the stairs. As I got into the warm water, I thought about the future and how Zoro and my relationship were going to go in the next few days.

I never thought that the next couple days were going to be hell for me. Zoro and Lily were doing everything together, either training or doing chores around the house. I was left with hanging with Luna, Luffy, Marissa or the others as I watched the two of them laughing and having fun as if there was no care in the world, as if I didn't exist. I could tell that Luffy and Marissa were noticing Zoro's behavior and mine as well. It was hard to keep a smile on my face. When I knew I was alone in the house, I would sometimes sit on my bed and cry. Zoro stopped sleeping in my room because he would be out late at night, probably drinking beers with Lily and reliving their precious memories. The very thought was killing me. I knew that deep down there was still room for me in Zoro's heart, I can't think that he doesn't love me anymore but I just have this feeling that some of that love is slipping away from my fingers, where I can barely reach it. Sometimes in my dreams, I would see Zoro in the distance and I would try running towards him but he would keep getting further and further away from me. I would call his name but I can only hear my voice echoing in the distance. Fed up with everything, I decided to go out on the porch and looked out into the woods that surrounded us. I thought I was alone but then I turned around to find Luffy standing there with a worried look on his face.

"Are you okay Jade? You're scaring Marissa and me. We're worried about you," Luffy asked.

"I'm fine," I lied as I put on a fake smile to hide my sadness. But I knew that Luffy wouldn't fall for that.

"Jade, we know it's because of Zoro, why don't you talk to us about it? We're your friends. We saw every day that he hasn't been treating you right. Why don't you confront him about it?" Luffy asked as he was about to put a hand on my back.

"I said I'm fine!" I shouted in his face. Luffy didn't even flinch. Instead he gave me a look like I was joking. I clutched my stomach and started to cry.

"I'm afraid, Luffy," I sobbed.

"Afraid of what?" he asked.

"I'm afraid of what he's going to say. I'm afraid that he is going to leave me," I looked at him with my eyes filled with tears. I allowed him to hug me as tight as he could.

"Come on Jade, you can't think like that. What about all those times Zoro saved your life? He wouldn't do that just for any girl," He comforted me with kind words but all I could do was cry, let out all my anger and sadness that I held in for the past couple of days.

"I'll talk to him if you want to, he has to listen to me, I am the captain after all," Luffy bragged. I shook my head with a fake smile.

"I think it will make things worse," I looked up at him.

"Come on, how bad could it possibly be?" he asked with his shoulders shrugged. After that, Marissa found Luffy and saw that I was upset. She ran to us and wrapped her arms around us. Surrounding me with warm hugs and making me feel loved.

While getting ready for bed, I heard some yelling outside my door. I could hear Marissa and Luffy yelling at someone who had to be none other than Zoro.

"What the hell is your guy's problem? Can't I just hang with my friend who I haven't seen in years? Is that a crime?" I heard Zoro yell.

"No, it's not. It's just the fact that you're ignoring Jade. Don't you get that you're hurting her by not speaking to her? I bet she doesn't mind you hanging with her sister, all she is asking for you to talk to her," Marissa shouted back. I could tell that Luffy was letting Marissa do all the talking, knowing how much the two of them don't get along, this would be the perfect opportunity for her to yell at him without me getting mad. I wish I could see their faces; especially Zoro's at all the rage she is giving him.

"What's it to her? I'm going to be with her for the rest of my life; can't she deal with this for a couple of days?" Zoro shouted back.

"Are you really that clueless Zoro?" Luffy shouted this time. "As your captain, I demand you to talk to her. If not, we are going to have a serious problem," Luffy ordered. I never heard him so demanding before.

"Did she come to talk to you guys? How do you know all of this?" Zoro asked.

"Well obviously, since she is terrified to talk to you," Marissa snapped. There was a little moment of silence.

"I'm done with this. I didn't do anything to deserve this," I then heard a loud slap.

"I'm done with you Roronoa Zoro! If you don't start treating my best friend with respect, I'll beat you so hard you won't be able to feel a thing," Marissa threatened and with that, Zoro stomped down the stairs. I opened my door and saw Marissa and Luffy standing there. Marissa's hands were curved into fists. They quickly turned to look at me.

"I heard the whole conversation, thanks guys; I don't know what I did to deserve great friends like you," The two of them smiled and I closed the door, feeling satisfied for the rest of the night.