You were lying in bed the next morning, not wanting to go to school. Marco had walked you home after your conversation yesterday, leaving you still confused about some things.

According to him, Ace had disappeared after the fire burned everything to the ground. There were no traces of his body found anywhere on the property. And until now he had been searching for him, believing that his friend was still out there somewhere.

You sighed and got up, readying yourself for a long day at school. The drive going there was rather quiet, which only made your mood worsen.

When you entered the classroom, Luffy was the first to greet you with a big hug.

"(NAAAAME)!" He whined, pouting at you like a child. "I missed you yesterday! What happened!?"

"Sorry, Luffy, but I had some things to figure out." You confessed.

The company of your new friends lifted your spirits a little bit. It wasn't long before all of you engaged into a conversation about what you found out from Marco. You had told them mostly everything: the fire, your old memories, your old friends. Everyone was shocked to hear about the news.

"I'm more surprised that a petty fight actually what caused you to lose your home...and your only relatives...and your memories...then you were transferred to a foster family..."

Nami frowned at him and stepped harshly on his foot. "Not. Helping." She hissed, then turned to you with curiosity. "So, (Name), what are you going to do now?" She asked in concern. "If this Marco guy says that your friend might still be out there, then..."

You sighed and shrugged. Honestly, you don't know what to do at this point. You can't exactly tell them that your missing friend had been a ghost that's been lingering around you this whole time, could you?

When the bell rang for class to begin, the four of you returned to your seats as the teacher strolled into the classroom. You took down notes or stared out the window, anything to keep your mind off of Ace. When the lunch bell rang Luffy jumped for joy and ran straight to the cafeteria, leaving you and the others behind.

"Jeez, couldn't he wait?" Nami sighed as she waited for you by the doorway.

"Well, he loves food. So it's understandable." You said, trying to ease her anger.

You, Nami, and Usopp stopped by Law's classroom and asked him if he wanted to join for lunch again. But the ravenette had walked out the door as soon as you were heading inside. You bumped into his chest and squeaked, but Law paid no mind to the soft collision.

"(Name), Marco asked to see you." He stated. You blinked and peeked inside the classroom but the blonde in mention wasn't found.

"He's waiting at the school gate. He said it was important so you should hurry." Law pointed out the window where Marco stood, he seemed to be staring at something which immediately piqued your curiosity.

You told the group that you would catch up with them soon and hurried downstairs to meet with him. Marco had his hands in his pockets and his eyes fixed on something that seemed to be bothering him.

When you had reached the meeting place, you looked over to his line of sight and saw a young man wearing a black hoodie talking to the Vice Principal. "Who is that?" You asked.

When the hooded boy turned and caught the two of you staring at him, you felt your heart stopped.

"Ace...?"

As he saw your lips move and mouthed his name, he gave a cheerful smile and a friendly wave. Garp looked over and noticed you and Marco standing there.

"Oh, perfect timing!" He grinned and waved for the both of you to come over. "(Name)! Marco! I'd like for you to meet someone!"

Following Marco's lead, you walked to them and nervously started fiddling your fingers.

"This is Portgas D. Ace. He wants to enroll here in the school." He gestured to the hooded boy beside him with a grin. "The three of you are the same age so I'd like for you two to accompany him around. Give him the grand tour and all."

Ace took off his hood and bowed, "Nice to meet both of you."

You blushed and stared at him. "This guy seems way too polite to be Ace..." You thought.

Garp gave Ace a light pat on the back before leaving to a meeting. You and Marco stood there in silence as Ace continued to smile at the both of you.

"It's lunch break now so why don't we eat together, Ace-yoi?" suggested Marco.

"Sure thing! I'm starving!" Ace gave a thumbs up as his stomach started growling. "By the way, what are your names? I never asked."

Marco smiled and pointed at himself. "My name is Marco and this here is (Name)." He introduced then pointed to you. You gave a meek smile and waved.

Ace blinked and tilted his head, knitting his eyebrows together in thought. "Marco and (Name)... That kinda sounds familiar..." He mumbled to himself.

You frown sadly, "Does Ace not remember us?"

Deciding to shrug off the weird feeling, Ace let you and Marco lead the way to the cafeteria. You would occasionally glance at him as he walked beside you. He and Marco were both attracting a lot of attention from the girls.

You slowed down your pace and allowed them to walk ahead of you. It was bad enough that you're the new girl. You didn't want any of the other girls hating you for hanging around those two.

"Hey (Name)! What are you doing so far back?" Ace suddenly called out. You stopped walking and glanced around, feeling the glares of hostility.

Ace walked over when you were busy looking at the other girls then grabbed your hand and started to pull you along. You felt your cheeks burn from the blush as his warm hand enveloped yours in a tight hold.

"Something wrong, (Name)?" He asked worriedly as he peered at your face. You began to panic inwardly, all this attention was too much to handle.

"U-Um, Ace? C-Can you please let go of my hand?" You whisper quietly so that only he could hear you. The jealous screams and growls from the entire high school female student body made you cringe. "Those girls are starting to throw death glares... Please let go..."

Ace raised a curious brow and glanced over his shoulder at the crowd that had formed. "Whoa, you're right." He mused. Then he looked down at you and saw your uneasiness. He frowned and stopped walking, turning to the crowd and wrapping a protective arm around you.

"A-Ace?" You looked up at him and saw him sending a glare back at the girls.

"HEY! Leave her alone, would you?" He yelled above the noise.

The halls became quiet as they all stood there and stared at him. After seeing the sad and frustrated expressions on their faces, Ace immediately changed his scowl to a gentle smile.

"Though I shouldn't say this to beautiful girls like you all, but..." He narrowed his eyes and examined each one of them carefully. "The way you're treating her is kind of...annoying. Which makes all of you annoying too. So please leave her be."

A simultaneous shriek of disbelief erupted from the group as he simply turned around and walked back to Marco with you by his side. You could hear their wails and whines. It made you feel bad but, at the same time, happy that he stood up for you.

"H-Hey... Ace...?" You stammered.

He hummed in response and looked down, eyes widening as he saw you flash a soft but shy smile.

"Thank you..."