risen

You watched as people entered and exited the gas station store, most not bothering to buy anything, which wasn't surprising. Most customers were passing through town on their way to someplace else, only stopping here to get some gas and pass some time by looking at the limited collection of snacks and essential items in the store. Usually, there would only be a handful of customers, many of whom lived in the town, but thanks to the beginning of summer, it felt like millions of people were coming and going.

The beginning of summer was always terrible to deal with. Especially with how many people would drive through your sleepy little town on their way to a summer vacation. What's worse is that the people who went to college were moving back in to live at home. Which unfortunately meant most of the people in your high school graduation class would be back in town. How wonderful. The only two you wanted to see were your friends Poppy and Tyler. Hopefully, you can avoid interactions with the other people in your graduating class.

A smile spread across your face as you thought about your friends. It felt like years since you talked to them face to face. Excitement bubbled to the surface as you thought about your summer plans with them, even if they weren't exceptionally grand. The three of you had decided to stay at a lovely Airbnb not too far from town but far enough away that people wouldn’t bother you and your friends. The house had originally been the home of a farmer, but after his death a couple years back, it was bought and renovated. Just remembering the pictures on the website had you nearly bouncing on the balls of your feet.

The snapping of fingers pulled you out of your thoughts. "Hello? Anyone home?" asked a guy who looked around your age.

"H-huh? Oh, yeah!" you said while straightening your posture. "What can I do for you?"

The guy chuckled and smiled wide, waving a hand a bit dismissively. "Hey, no need to get so flustered. Just want to buy these lighters," he said while placing at least five packs of pocket lighters on the counter.

Your eyes widened, and your jaw dropped at the amount of lighters he was buying. You heard the guy chuckle in response to your reaction, making you flush in embarrassment for gawking. Quickly, you began scanning the items for him to check out to move on from your embarrassing moment.

"That's a lot of lighters... Any reason you're getting so many?" you asked without looking at him.

"I tend to go through lighters fast, that's all," he simply explained. "My name is Ace, by the way, Portgas D Ace."

You raised an eyebrow while glancing at Ace. "Um... nice to meet you, Ace," you said while looking back at the register.

You thought it was weird that he introduced himself. You didn’t recognize him, so you assumed he was just passing through. Maybe he was just overly friendly? You weren’t sure.

Once you finished scanning the items, you quickly told Ace the cost of all the pocket lighters he was buying, and he tapped his card against the card reader. After seeing the payment go through, you put the lighters into a bag while the receipt printed out. The entire time, you could feel Ace drilling holes into you with his eyes.

"Here's your bag. The receipt is inside," you told Ace while handing him the plastic bag.

You expected him to leave now, more like hope, and when he didn't, you internally panicked. He leaned against the counter, eyebrow raised like he was waiting for something. An awkward silence settled between you two, and then your brain decided to take in his appearance.

At first glance, the most notable part of his appearance was the freckles on his face. He wore his button-up open instead of closed to show his chest and-- holy heck, those are some nice abs and a nice waist. You quickly blinked a few times to get your thoughts straight before looking back up at his face. You hated to admit it; that’s a lie, but he was handsome.

"Is... there something else you need?" you asked hesitantly.

"Aren't you going to tell me your name?" he asked, not missing a beat.

"H-huh? My name?" you questioned, visibly confused, while he only smiled again.

"Yeah! I told you my name; now tell me your name," he explained like that was supposed to be obvious.

"Oh... Why do you want to know my name?" you asked, still confused. "It's not like we'll ever see each other again."

For a moment, you saw something flicker across his face. It was an emotion too quick for you to identify, but it still had a chill running down your spine. A dry laugh fell from his lips as he slowly grinned, albeit more menacing now.

"Just humor me, will ya? You never know when you might meet someone again," Ace chuckled.

Something inside you forced you to hesitate. Your throat suddenly felt dry, and your hands clammy. Warning bells were going off in your head as your hair stood on end from how suddenly his temperament shifted. You hoped that your minor freak out would go unnoticed by him. Still, despite the freaking out, you swallowed hard and nodded in understanding.

"Right... My name is y/n l/n," you told him.

Suddenly, Ace's face brightened, and he laughed happily like he hadn't scared the living daylights out of you. He patted your head and ruffled your hair before sliding his hand into his pocket.

"Nice to meet you, y/n! Can't wait to see you again!" he said gleefully with a wave before walking out of the gas station store.

"Holy shit, are you sure you’re okay? That guy sounds like a total nutjob!" your friend Tyler said, a worried frown on his face.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m okay now,” you said to calm him down.

You sighed and leaned against the park bench, tilting your head back to look at the sky. It was later in the day now, and thankfully, Poppy and Tyler had arrived back in town just in time to hang out with you after work. The three of you had decided to get some ice cream before hanging out at the town park. You explained to your friends the weird interaction you had with that Ace guy during your shift, and, unsurprisingly, Tyler was worried, and Poppy was asking questions.

"Well, was he at least hot?" Poppy asked with a sly smile on her face.

“Poppy! Are you serious right now?” Tyler asked, looking at his friend with a scowl.

Poppy shrugged dismissively and licked her popsicle, “What? If a guy is going to be creepy, they should at least be hot.”

“That is a terrible mindset!”

Hearing that had you burst out in laughter, much to Tyler’s distraught, then you began sucking on the tip of your popsicle. He sighed and rubbed his eyes. “Can you two please be serious about this? That guy could be a serial killer for all we know!”

Poppy raised an eyebrow and stopped sucking on her popsicle. She moved her sunglasses down slightly to look at Tyler. “Ty, you're overreacting, like always. A serial killer in a little town like ours? That would be too cliche,” she said before readjusting her sunglasses.

“But-” Tyler tried to argue, but Poppy shut him down.

“I’m not here to talk about weird people y/n meets at work; I’m here to talk about how things will work with Airbnb. I mean, come on, people, we’re literally leaving tomorrow,” Poppy said before sucking her popsicle into her mouth.

Your eyes immediately lit up in excitement at the mention of the Airbnb. You pulled your popsicle out of your mouth with a satisfying pop and grinned. “Yes! I’ve been counting down the days to our little vacation since we decided on a date!” you exclaimed, giggling excitedly.

“But first, you need to answer my question from earlier,” Poppy suddenly said after biting her popsicle, causing you and Tyler to groan in annoyance.

After talking with your friends about the plans for the Airbnb trip, you all headed back to your homes to get ready to leave. You were giddy and restless the entire drive home, wanting nothing more than to finish preparing everything for the trip in a few days. Neither of your parents' cars were in the driveway when you reached your house, but you still decided to park on the curb. Turning off the car, you left to head inside but stopped when you noticed a moving truck in the neighbor's driveway. Your eyes widened in surprise, and you walked over to see who was moving into the house. It’d been empty for years, and you’re surprised someone actually bought it. You remember your parents talking about how the house price was ridiculously high. The garage door was open, and you could hear voices inside.

“Luffy, I swear to god, stop trying to help! You’re just dropping everything!” shouted a voice inside the garage.

“Huh? I’m not dropping things!” shouted another, much younger voice.

Soon after, you heard a loud crash, making your face pale, and dash to the garage entrance. Inside, you found a trio of boys moving boxes inside the house, one of whom you recognized as the guy you met this morning at the gas station. A semi-crushed box was at the feet of a boy wearing a straw hat, and a blonde guy with a scar on the left side of his face was coming into the garage from the house entrance.

You pressed your lips together and awkwardly glanced at the three guys. Internally, you were panicking since one of them was that Ace guy. You were about to say something, but the boy with the straw hat was the first person to speak.

“Oh, hi! My name is Monkey D Luffy! Nice to meet ya!” he exclaimed, greeting you with the biggest and purest smile you’ve ever seen.

You stare at Luffy in complete disbelief at how easily he forgot about the box he’d dropped on the floor. Ace lightly hit Luffy upside the head with a scowl on his face. “This is why I told you not to help! You broke whatever was in this box!” he exclaimed while gesturing to the box at Luffy’s feet.

“Oh yeah, guess I did. Whoops,” Luffy said while still grinning as he scratched the back of his head.

The blonde guy sighed and shook his head while stepping into the garage. “Sorry about them. Is there something we can help you with?” he asked with a kind smile.

“O-oh, um,” you began, “I live next door with my family and just got home. I noticed the moving truck, so I came to see who was moving in; then, I heard a crashing sound and thought someone might be hurt... you know the rest.”

The blonde guy nodded in understanding, placing a hand on his chin. “I see. Well, we were planning on introducing ourselves to you and your family along with our other neighbors, so now's as good a time as any,” he explained with a charming smile. “And thank you for your concern; it honestly means a lot.”

During the entire conversation, you could feel Ace’s gaze burning holes into you like earlier, seeming to completely forget about Luffy for a moment. You swallowed hard, tried to ignore his gaze, and stayed focused on the blonde guy.

“Of course. It would suck if one of you got hurt after just moving here,” you said with a small laugh to try to ease the tension you felt. “My name is y/n l/n, by the way.”

“A pleasure to meet you, y/n. My name is Sabo,” he said, gently taking hold of your hand and lifting it to kiss your knuckles.

A bright red blush bloomed on your face from the gesture; all you could do was nod while looking away. Sabo laughed softly while lowering your hand from his lips. “I didn’t expect you to become so flustered,” he said with another small laugh. “Luffy already introduced himself, but this is-”

“Oh hey! Nice to see you again!” Ace suddenly butted into the conversation, moving himself between you and Sabo, making the blonde let go of your hand. You immediately stepped back, looking up at him with a forced smile.

“Y-yeah. Good to see you again,” you responded with a nervous laugh.

Sabo’s eyes widened, and he stepped back, then laughed awkwardly while folding his arms. “So you two have met each other?” he asked, seeming almost disappointed.

“Yep!” Ace answered before you could open your mouth. He turned on his heel and moved to stand right next to you. “I met her when going to the gas station this morning. She works there as a cashier. Though I did recognize her since I saw her leave the house next door really early this morning.”

“Wait, what?!” you exclaimed while scowling. “You already knew we were neighbors? Is that why you introduced yourself? You could have, oh, I don’t know, told me that instead of letting me think you were some creep passing through town!”

Ace grinned down at you and laughed joyfully, his aggression toward Sabo seemingly forgotten. “Whoa, whoa! Sorry! I didn’t think you’d freak out so much from someone being friendly!” he said playfully.

“I do when someone is being so pushy about knowing my name!” you retorted, which made him laugh more, much to your dismay.

“Ace,” Sabo suddenly said, his eyes narrowed as he frowned. “... Why did you go to the gas station this morning? We filled the car with gas when we arrived last night.”

Ace's playfulness instantly disappeared when Sabo questioned why he went to the gas station. Ace laughed while waving a hand dismissively. “That’s… not important right now!” he said, placing his hands on your shoulders, pushing you forward a little. “Let’s focus on the fact we have such a kind and cute girl as our neighbor!”

Sabo didn’t stop looking at Ace with narrowed eyes. He turned his gaze to you, a somber expression on his face. “You work at the gas station, right? What did Ace buy?” he questioned.

You furrowed your eyebrows in confusion, looking back and forth between Sabo and Ace. “Um… He bought a bunch of pocket lighters. Is that a problem?” you answered, then asked in confusion.

You saw Sabo’s jaw visibly clench as he sighed through his nose. He slowly shook his head, the expression on his face showing disappointment as he stared at Ace. You looked at Ace to see him looking away and whistling like Sabo wasn’t giving him a death glare. You pressed your lips together and tried to ignore the tense air between the two guys.

“So… should I go, or…?” you asked while stepping back.

You flinched a little when both Sabo and Ace answered simultaneously, the former saying yes and the latter saying no. You laughed nervously and took a few more steps back while pointing behind you with your thumbs.

“I-I think I’ll come visit you all later with my parents so we can all officially introduce each other. Because we’re neighbors and stuff,” you explained quickly, saying anything that came to mind to get away from the tension between Sabo and Ace. Before either of them could respond, you turned away and rushed back to and inside your house.

When your parents got home later that day, you told them about meeting the new neighbors next door. However, you left out the part where Sabo got upset with Ace about getting pocket lighters. You figured it would be better for you to forget that ever happened. Now, you were in your room checking over everything you had packed for the trip with your friends.

Music was blasting through your headphones, and you hummed along to the beat while looking through the clothes you had picked out. Deep down, you knew you didn't need to put this much effort into getting ready, especially since the Airbnb was an hour's drive from town, but you were just so excited to hang out with your friends for a whole week! Just thinking about hanging out with your friends with no one else around made you smile.

A sudden movement in the corner of your eye from your window had you yelping and turning to see what had moved. When you saw nothing, you furrowed your eyebrows in confusion and hesitantly walked to the window to look outside. Your face paled slightly when you noticed that your neighbor's window was across from your window, and you saw Ace leaning out the window with a big grin. He said something, but you couldn't hear him with the window closed and your headphones on. Hesitantly, you paused your music and removed your headphones before opening your window.

"Um… hi?" you said with a slight wave.

"Hey! How are you?" he asked, a grin still on his face.

You frown and lean against the window ledge. "Good… How are you?" you asked, not sure what Ace wanted.

Ace sighed and shrugged while placing his chin on the palm of his hand. "Could be better. After you left, Sabo lectured me about a bunch of stuff, but I honestly didn't listen to most of what he said," he responded, then chuckled softly.

"Oh. I'm sorry, that doesn't sound too great…" you said with a slight frown.

Ace just smiled and chuckled. "Don't apologize. I should be the one apologizing. You shouldn't have seen me and my brothers like that. You seemed uncomfortable."

Your eyes widened in surprise, and you quickly shook your head while waving your hands. "No, don't apologize! I didn't want to intrude on your family business!" you explained, then paused. "Wait, you three are brothers?"

Ace hummed with a nod. "Yep! Not by blood, of course, but we're still brothers," he answered.

"Huh…" you mumble. "I thought you three were roommates."

Ace chuckled and straightened his posture while leaning out the window slightly more. "Yeah, we get told that a lot," he said. "That, and most people think Luffy and I are blood-related since we look so similar."

"I did think that too, actually. Sorry…" you admitted sheepishly.

Ace laughed softly and waved his hand dismissively. "You don't need to apologize. People make assumptions about people all the time; I know that better than most," he said and explained calmly, but you could see a sort of bitter sadness in his eyes.

"But enough about me, what are you doing?" he asked while peeking over your shoulder.

You quickly moved to hide your room from his gaze. A small, awkward laugh forced its way out of your lungs. "I'm just finishing up some packing for a trip I'm going on with my friends, haha…" you explained and hoped that satisfied his curiosity.

"Oh yeah? Where are you going?" he asked, genuinely interested.

You swallow hard and quickly glance back into your room. It wouldn't hurt to tell Ace, right? He somewhat redeemed himself from this morning when he told you he already knew you two were neighbors. Plus, he even apologized just now for having to see him and his brother argue. Now that you knew him a little, he didn't seem that bad.

"We're going to stay at an Airbnb for a week. It's about an hour's drive away from town," you answer, albeit hesitantly.

Ace stared at you for a couple of seconds before starting to laugh. "That doesn't sound like much of a trip to me," he commented.

Your face turned bright red, and you scowled. "What?! It's definitely a trip! You wouldn't be saying that if you saw how pretty this place looks!" you argued, which only made him laugh more.

"Really? Then why don't you show me, Firecracker?" he teased with a shit-eating grin.

Without a second thought, you stepped away from your window to pull your computer from where you packed it. You were grumbling under your breath weak insults about Ace as you pulled up the website. Once you had it up, you walked back to the window to show him the screen.

"See! This place is definitely worthy of a trip!" you said with a grin.

"Well, I can't see anything with you scrolling through the webpage so fast," he said, trying and failing to hide his laughter. "Why don't you come into my room so I can look at it properly."

"Huh?" you said, and your eyes widened. "Wait, you mean, like, come over to your house?"

"No, I mean climb over to my window. Hand me your computer first, then I'll help you over," Ace explained, leaning out the window more with his arms outstretched.

You quickly shook your head while backing away from your window. "I am not doing that," you say with a nervous laugh.

Ace pouted and let his arms drop. "Aw, come on! I promise I won't let you or your computer fall, okay?"

You swallowed hard, taking a moment to decide if you trusted him enough to pull you over to his room and be in his room. You knew it was a bad idea, a terrible idea even, but the need to prove him wrong about the trip with your friends outweighed your rational thinking.

"Fine," you eventually grumble while returning to the window. A wide smile spread across Ace's face as he lifted his arms again. "But I'll kick your ass if you drop my computer or me."

"Fair enough," he laughed.

Hesitantly, you stretched out your arms to give him your computer, and you could feel your heart pounding against your ribs when you let go of your computer. Your heart nearly stopped when he jokingly acted like he would drop your laptop. A scowl formed on your face as you glared at Ace, but he just laughed while pulling your computer into his room.

"Alright, now your turn," he said once he had his arms outstretched again.

"R-right…" you mumbled while nervously reaching out your arms for him to grab.

His touch was warm, much warmer than you expected. You tensed up as you felt his hands grip your forearms. He smiled at you before quickly yanking on your arms to pull you over to his room. A short scream ripped from your throat, and you crashed into Ace, making you both fall onto his bedroom floor. You groaned and rolled off of him to lay next to him on the floor.

"That was awesome," Ace said, turning his head to look at you with a giant grin.

"That was the opposite of awesome," you scowled.

After a moment, you sat up and went to his bed to grab your computer. You glanced around his room to see many fire-patterned things, even though most had just been pulled out of boxes. Even his bed's blanket had a flame pattern. You returned to Ace and sat beside him while your computer turned on. He sat up with a slight groan and placed his hands in his lap. You glanced at him, noticing how he was drilling holes into you again.

"Why do you keep looking at me like that?" you asked while logging into your computer.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" he asked with an awkward laugh.

You rolled your eyes and shook your head in disbelief. "You keep staring at me, and it's honestly kind of unnerving."

"Oh shit, really?" he asked, seeming to genuinely feel guilty. "You're just so pretty I can't take my eyes off you.

You tensed up for a second and looked at Ace. You narrowed your eyes at him, trying to see if he was lying or messing with you. "... Thanks," you eventually responded, focusing back on your computer as a light blush appeared on your face.

"Aww, Firecracker is embarrassed," he sang while poking your cheek.

"No, I'm not! Now look at the Airbnb," you quickly said while turning your computer a little so he could see the screen.

Ace hummed softly as he looked through the pictures of the Airbnb farmhouse. A small smile appeared on his face as he looked at you. "I guess it looks like a nice place," he said.

"What do you mean 'I guess'? It's a stunning place!" you argued, then sighed and closed the computer before putting it aside. "By the way… What's with all the fire and flame in your room?"

Ace's eyes lit up, and a genuinely happy smile appeared. "I've always liked fire. Just looking at it soothes me and makes me feel whole. I go through lighters fast because I sit and watch the fire," he explained before standing up and walking over to one of the boxes in the room.

"So that's why you bought all those lighters?" you asked.

"Yep!" he answered while digging through a moving box. "Sabo calls it an addiction and says I should stop wasting lighters just to stare at the fire, but when I'm stressed, I can't help myself from lighting one."

You slowly nod, not fully understanding, but you still kind of get it. "Yeah, I guess fire can be pretty to look at sometimes," you agreed.

"More like all the time," he said with a chuckle while pulling out a lighter. "This here is my favorite lighter. A friend gave it to me a long time ago, and every time I light it, it looks like the fire is alive."

Ace quickly came back over to you and sat down next to you. He carefully handed you a bright orange lighter with red circles wrapping around just under the lighter's lid. On one side was a blue smiley face, grinning, and on the other was a similar smiley face but frowning instead of grinning. You could tell it was old, with some paint chipping at the edges, but it looked pristine.

"Wow…" you mumbled while handing it back to Ace. "It suits you."

"Thanks," Ace said with a slight chuckle. He flipped the lid open and ignited the lighter to create a small fire.

You and Ace sat together for a while; you weren't sure how long. You just stared at the fire created by the lighter. He was right when he said the fire looked like it was alive. The flame danced and flicked constantly like it would go out, but it never did. Eventually, you glanced at Ace's face to see him intently staring at the fire, almost like he was jealous of how it burned.

The moment ended when someone knocked on Ace's bedroom door. You and Ace flinched in surprise, and he closed the lighter before standing up.

"Ace! Sabo said we had to wait for you before eating, but I'm huuuuuungrrrrry!" whined Luffy as he kept knocking on the door. "Come downstairs already!"

You scrambled to the window, strangely scared to get caught in Ace's room. Ace quickly began helping you climb out his window and back to your room.

"How am I supposed to get back over?" you whispered to Ace. "I know this was a bad idea; I shouldn't have listened to you!"

"Yeah, well, too late for that," he whispered back. "Okay, I'm going to hold you by the waist and stretch you out the window so you can grab hold of the window ledge. Got it? Okay, let's go"

"Wait, no, I don't get it-" you tried to say, but he was already pushing you out the window.

You squeaked, quickly reached the window ledge, and grabbed it as tightly as possible. Much to your dismay, you slowly began pulling yourself through your window and back into your bedroom. You heard a door opening behind you, and suddenly, you were pushed inside your room and fell onto the floor.

"Ow…" you mumbled while slowly getting up.

You looked back at the window to Ace's room, seeing it was now closed and the curtains pulled together. A slight frown appeared, and you sighed before closing your window and the curtains.

The following day, you woke up bright and early, excited to meet up with your friends before heading to the Airbnb. The three of you planned to only use one car to save gas because you didn't see a reason for having three cars when you’d be staying at Airbnb the whole time.

You put your suitcase and all your bags into the trunk of your car and said goodbye to your parents before getting in to pick up your friends. Tyler didn’t have much luggage to put in the car, but Poppy practically filled the back with all her bags. Most of it was her health care products and other things she used to care for her skin.

Once everything was squished into the car, you and your friends headed to the Airbnb. The drive there was full of karaoke and excited talk about the plans to be lazy for the next week. The drive felt short as soon as you pulled up to the farmhouse. It was huge, and surrounding it were fields with no other buildings in the distance. It's the perfect place to forget about the rest of the world for a while.

You parked the car, and then you and your friends exited the vehicle. You quickly bring in all the suitcases, not bothering to unpack yet as you explore the farmhouse. The three of you went through each room slowly, taking your time to enjoy the house's atmosphere, and before you knew it, the sky had already grown dark.

Now that it was night, you and your friends began to work on unpacking the things you will need immediately tonight and for tomorrow morning. However, as you pulled items out of your suitcase, you realized something was missing.

“Oh crap,” you mumbled while pulling everything out of your suitcase.

Tyler looked over at you and furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “What’s wrong, y/n?” he asked, worried.

“I think I forgot my computer at home,” you quickly say while looking up at your friend with panic.

“How did you forget your computer?” Poppy asked in a mixture of disbelief and annoyance. “I thought you were all packed up days ago!”

“I-I was! Maybe I pulled it out to use it sometime? I-I don’t know, but I need to go get my computer!” you explain while standing up and grabbing the car keys.

Poppy quickly blocked your path as you walked to the front. She folded her arms and glared at you while shaking her head. “We all agreed not to leave the Airbnb unless it was an emergency. I don’t think not having your computer is that big of an emergency,” she frowned.

You groaned in frustration and shook your head. “Yes, it is! All the plans I had for this next week are there, plus the three of us can’t play video games together if I don’t have my computer! I swear I’ll be fast, and it’s late enough that most people won’t be on the roads. Please, Poppy, just let me go back to get my computer real fast,” you pleaded with your friend.

“I-I agree with y/n,” Tyler chimed in. “Besides, it wouldn’t hurt for her to head back. It’s our first day here, Poppy.”

Poppy glanced between you and Tyler a couple of times, the frown on her face becoming a scowl. “Fine. Go get your computer. I won’t be waiting up for you,” she scoffed before walking past you.

You frown at your friend, suddenly having a sinking feeling in your gut, but only nod and wave before you rush outside. You unlocked the car and got inside while reaching around the wheel to start the car. Once you were buckled in and the engine was on, you drove off into the night.

When you were about halfway back to town, you remembered where you left your computer. It was in Ace’s room from when you showed him pictures of the Airbnb. You cursed under your breath, then sighed before turning the car around. It was late, and you didn’t want to bother your neighbor at this time of night. You knew Poppy would be pissed with you, but it’d be better to get it in the morning. A slight frown appeared as you thought about how much this might affect the rest of the trip. Poppy will probably be agitated for the next few days,

You saw the smoke and flames before reaching the farmhouse's driveway. Panic flooded your senses as you floored the gas pedal, hoping you could save your friends from a fiery death. Your mind reeled as you tried to imagine what could have caused a fire. Your friends could be dumb sometimes, sure, but not that dumb.

When the farmhouse came into view, you slammed on the brakes to slow down even though you knew you'd need to get a replacement. You scrambled out of the car when it came to a stop and went to rush inside. However, you stopped short upon seeing the outline of a person standing in front of the building. 

You couldn’t tell who he was because of the mask he wore, but your body froze when you saw the lighter in his hand. He absentmindedly flicked it open and closed, sounding like nails on a chalkboard to your ears since you recognized the bright orange lighter. He had yet to notice you despite how loud your car probably was when you slammed on the brakes. He looked too focused on watching the flames destroying the farmhouse. Swallowing hard, you carefully and quietly began to approach him. You really, really hoped that you were wrong and that this freak just happened to have the same lighter as your new neighbor.

He stopped messing with the lighter as you got close enough to touch him. You immediately stopped moving, adrenaline pumping through your veins. He groaned in annoyance and rolled his neck to lean his head to the side.

"I swear to god, Luffy, don't fucking try to sneak up on-" he started talking, but you quickly pounced on him before he could finish.

He wasn't wearing a shirt, so it was hard for you to get any leverage while wrestling him on the ground. Though it didn't seem to matter from how easily he overpowered you, despite your best efforts. You were still kicking and fighting against him when he pinned you to the ground with his body weight. He didn't bother with pinning your arms down and instead focused on keeping your body under him.

"... Holy shit," he mumbled, grabbing you by the hair to pull your head back to look at your face.

The man who pinned you to the ground took off his mask and then threw it to the side. Tears welled up in your eyes at the sight of your new neighbor, Ace, hovering above you and staring down at you in what looked like disbelief. However, that didn't last long, as a grin soon split across his face.

"Holy fucking, shit," he laughed while moving down to have his nose touching yours. "I thought you were in the building with your friends… I should’ve guessed you were gone since I didn’t see a car when-"

"Go to hell!" you screamed at him, tears of frustration in your eyes as you kept trying to get out from under him.

Ace's eyes narrowed, and he glared down at you, a scowl quickly replacing the grin on his face. A scream tore from your throat as he yanked your hair, pulling out some strands. He forced your head to tilt back as he moved his mouth to your ear.

"Don't fucking interrupt me. I don't want to kill you but keep interrupting me, and I'll turn you into a charred corpse like your friends inside," he growled into your ear, practically kissing it with how close he was.

His threat made you tense up and stop struggling. A shiver ran down your spine from feeling how his scowl turned into a grin. "That's better," he hummed, lifting his head to look down at you.

You began trembling in fear as he stared down at you; a mixture of lust and obsession swirled in his eyes. There was also a spark in his eyes that was terrifyingly similar to the ones you'd see in the eyes of someone who just won the lottery. He tilted his head slightly to the side as he wrapped a hand around your neck, squeezing slightly.

"I thought it’d be easy to kill you, like Sabo said," he whispered, and you felt disgust form in your gut from how sensual his tone sounded. “Should’ve known the love of my life wouldn’t go down so easily.”

"The only reason I tried was because fucking Sabo said getting close to anyone would end badly. It was him who convinced me to kill you along with your friends," he continued, slowly sliding his hand down your neck to your body.

"Wha-" you began to say but quickly stopped when Ace glared down at you.

He sucked in some air and shivered, a light flush appearing on his freckled face. "Fuck you're so easy to scare into submission," he groaned while rutting his hips against you.

You screamed and thrashed under him, only to hear him laughing with genuine joy. You flinched when you felt his warm hand slip under your shirt. Shaking your head, you tried to push his arm away from under your shirt, but he didn't budge even a little bit.

"Even your screams are gorgeous," he sighed, leaning his forehead against yours.

"I've wanted to make you mine since the first time I saw you," he admitted with an almost shy grin. "Everything about you turns me on and makes me happy..." he continued, rutting his hips against you again, watching with a sick glee as more tears welled up in your eyes.

“Like that time a few days ago when you were at the park with your friends. I was so jealous of that popsicle you were eating. I couldn’t stop imagining that instead of a popsicle, you were sucking my cock. Swallowing my cum like a good girl,” he explained, his breathing heavy. “Or when you came into my room to hang out. God, I wanted to burn off your clothes so badly to feel your skin against mine.”

He slipped his hand under your bra and roughly cupped your left breast with his hand. He squeezed, making you cry out in pain, and slowly began to massage it. He bit his lower lip while looking you in the eyes, trying to keep his breathing steady. “That’s why Sabo wanted you dead,” he admitted like it was completely normal. “He said you would be a distraction from our work. He actually wanted to kill you himself since you were so cute, but there was no way in hell I’d let that happen. If someone was going to kill you, it was going to me. I saw you first, I met you first, you’re mine.”

If you didn’t think he was out of his mind before, you were sure of it now. You continued trying to push Ace away, but everything you did went completely unnoticed by him, and you swore he was actually turned on by how much you were struggling. What’s worse is that you could feel unwelcome arousal starting to boil in your core.

“You like me too, right?” he suddenly asked while swiping his thumb over your perky nipple, causing you to yelp and squirm. “You trusted me enough to pull you over into my room. Hell, you trusted me enough to come into my room.”

“I only went into your room to prove you wrong,” you hissed angrily. “How could I ever like the person who killed my two best friends? I fucking hate you, Ace.”

Ace froze and stopped moving. He stared down at you, his eyes widening and gaining a far-off look. He swallowed hard, making his adam's apple bounce. Suddenly, he tore your shirt and bra off while his breathing got heavier. A chill ran down your spine from the lukewarm air brushing against your skin. The gravely road rubbed against your back, making you whimper in pain while trying to push Ace away. He buried his face into your neck and aggressively kissed and nipped at your skin.

“You’re lying,” he hissed, letting go of your hair to grab your shoulders and pin you to the ground. “You do love me. You have to love me; there’s no way you don’t love me,” he continued, his voice cracking slightly with desperation.

 You shook your head, grabbing the back of his head with his hair before trying to pull him away from your neck. “No, I don’t! I don’t love you! Maybe I liked you once for a second, but that was before you murdered my friends!” you screamed while tears started rolling down your face.

The reality of your friend’s deaths was slowly sinking into your thoughts, but you tried to push away the way you wanted to mourn your friends right now. Before you can do anything, you need to get away from Ace.

“SHUT UP!” Ace yelled, his voice frantic, mixed with anger and desperation. “I love you too much to let you not love me! You do love me! You will love me!”

Suddenly, he took a hand off your shoulder to move down and lift up your hips. He quickly began pulling off your pants and underwear, ignoring the screams and insults you threw at him. He tossed the last of your clothes behind him and wrapped your legs around his hips. A dry laugh came from him when he saw how some of your slick was staining his pants.

“You keep saying you don’t love me, but clearly you do since you seem to be enjoying how I’m treating you,” he said in a deep, rough tone. “Does my Firecracker have a filthy brain? Such a naughty girl… not that I’m complaining.”

You yelped and threw your head back as he thrust the bulge in his pants against your bare cunt and clit. He let out a deep, shaky sigh while leaning his head against your shoulder. “This wasn’t how I planned our first time together would be, but this is as good a place as any,” he mumbled, continuing to move his hips against you. “I wanted us to fuck in my room, make it all romantic while making you cum over and over. Then I’d fuck you properly and make you feel nice and full. Maybe we can still do that sometime, huh?”

“F-fuck you,” you hissed angrily, hating the way he dragged out the arousal deep inside you.

“I’d rather fuck you instead,” he whispered into your ear.

“I know I should help you get ready to take my cock, but fuck I can’t wait any longer,” he suddenly whispered while shifting a little to take off his pants.

Your eyes widened in panic, and you quickly shook your head and pounded your fists against his chest. He didn’t take his pants and boxers off all the way, just enough to let his cock spring free. You glanced down to see how pre-cum was smeared all over the rip and dripping down the shaft. There was no way you’d be able to take him right now, so you desperately began trying to get away from him.

“Let go of me! Go away! I hate you!” you screamed while tears rolled down your face.

You watched how his eye twitched slightly while he carefully aligned himself with your hole. “Ya know, I was going to be considerate and let you take me in slowly, but since you keep saying shit like that and I’ll just push in all at once.”

He thrusted his length inside you before you got the chance to respond. You threw your head back and cried out in a mixture of pain and pleasure. You heard how he groaned and sucked in his breath, and you weakly lifted your head to look at him. He was staring down at you, taking in every little movement of your face as you got used to him inside you, and you hoped with all your might that he wouldn’t move yet.

To your disgust, Ace gently wrapped his arms around you and pulled you close. Touching his skin felt like you were in the burning building; everywhere he touched, it felt like a burn should have been left behind. Still, his body's warmth was unnaturally comforting, and you hated it.

Soon, Ace slowly pulled out of your pussy till only his tip was inside, then sharply thrusted back inside you. Your body jolted, and you gasped while trying to cling to him the best you could. He chuckled softly while rubbing circles into your back as he slowly began repeating those motions, the sound of skin slapping ringing in your ears.

“F-fuck, you're tight,” he mumbled before kissing you hard on the lips, keeping that steady pace as he carved a path deep inside you.

A small sob fell from your lips while he kissed you passionately. You closed your eyes and tried to ignore the feeling of his lips on yours, but that only made you acutely aware of how well he was fucking you. He forced his tongue into your mouth and explored wildly while his pace slowly sped up. The way he kissed you felt suffocating, and soon, you harshly bit his lower lip in an attempt to make him pull away. Instead, he just groaned and kissed you harder, like he was trying to swallow you whole.

Soon, a fog of pleasure began settling in your mind despite your best efforts to ignore the arousal and pleasure Ace was giving you. You slowly started to cling to him more desperately, aching to reach a high you never wanted in the first place. That fog only solidified as Ace began rubbing circles against your clit. Your fingernails dug into his back, making thin crescent marks that started to turn red.

“G-gonna make you cum first,” Ace mumbled against your lips. “Wanna see the cute fucked out expression you’ll have.”

You absentmindedly nodded in agreement as you began rocking your hips to meet his thrusts. The heat in your core grew hotter by the second, threatening to go past the metaphorical boiling point. A small squeak got caught in your throat, and your eyes rolled back a little as you felt the rush of your high washing over you all at once, your cum coating his cock and spurring him to keep going. Ace pulled away from the kiss to look at your face, admiring the tear streaks and drool leaving your mouth.

“You're so cute,” he whispered in a husky voice, biting his lip while staring down at you. “You can cum one more time for me, yeah? I-I don’t wanna stop feeling your pussy yet.”

You quickly shook your head as the pleasure slowly crept into the area of pain. “‘s too much-” you babbled with a small hick-up.

“No, no, you can do it. Give me one more. Wanna feel your cute cunt sucking me in again,” Ace groaned as he rubbed your clit faster.

A whimper left you as you leaned your head against his shoulder, clinging to him as your body shook from the overload of pleasure running through your veins. Your toes curled, and you moaned with each harsh slap of his hips against yours. You could barely think, let alone pay attention or remember the crimes he had committed just while you were away from your friends.

A scream of pleasure ripped from your throat as you creamed on his dick again. Your head leaned back, and you breathed hard to get air back into your lungs as you recovered from reaching your second high. Ace squeezed your body against his while beginning to thrust into you wildly, chasing his own release as he basked in the feeling of your gummy walls around his dick.

“L-love you,” you mumbled, not thinking straight. “Love you so much,” you continued while moving to lean your forehead against Ace's.

Ace’s eyes locked with yours, little hearts practically in his eyes. “Say it again,” he demanded. “Say that you love me.”

“I-I love you,” you repeated, slowly beginning to say that repeatedly under your breath.

Hearing that, Ace thrust deep inside you, groaning as he released his seed into the deepest parts of your cunt. He breathed hard, still squeezing your body against his as a wave of tiredness began washing over him. “Love you too, Firecracker,” he mumbled, a manic grin on his face before he fell asleep on top of you.