Fire in our hearts | Portgas D. Ace x OC

2. Teenage Years

- Let go of me, Luffy! I have to go to class!

- I don't want you to go! First Ace, then you... nobody else wants to play with me...

- I promise that as soon as I get home from school I will play with you, okay?

Grace Penelope was painfully going to the girls' school. Her mother insisted that she had to study, but she wanted to spend the whole day with her friends.

She was now 14, and it had been a few months since she had eaten that akuma no mi. So far, only her parents knew about it. However, it was only a matter of time before the Navy discovered that the fruit had sprouted in a small village in East Blue, and that a random little girl had eaten it.

Penny had transformed into a beautiful teenager. Her blonde hair, now less light, was long and flowing. Her blue eyes were still sparkling, but the look was more mature. Her body had developed quite a bit, but not completely. She was neither too tall, nor too short. Overall, the girl was still as beautiful as she had always been, but now she attracted more frequent glances from other people.

Math, history, and art classes ran throughout the morning, but Penelope only cared about meeting her friends. The siblings Gary and Lily had moved out of East Blue two years ago, and all that was left were herself, Ace, and Luffy.

She missed her two friends, of course. But her heart really tightened when she remembered Sabo. Sabo... who just wanted to be free and ended up dying for it.

The hours passed and Penny looked at her watch, ready to run out of there. She liked the other girls, but her real friends were others.

Ace had also grown up, and was now 15 years old. He was tall, strong, with his body drawn. He was still the same hot-headed jerk he always was. But something had changed in the girl's perception of him.

Every time she saw Ace, the girl felt her heart beat go faster. Whether it was because he was always grinning from ear to ear, because he was one of her best friends, because of his freckles... there were a number of reasons Penny could think of. It was the first time a boy had ever made her feel this way.

This made her think about him more than usual. She wanted to hug him, kiss him... damn, maybe she really was in love. But there was no way she wanted anyone to know about this feeling, least of all Ace himself.

Penelope left class at noon, and went directly to her house for lunch. Her plans after lunch were the same, always: to find the boys and help them train to be pirates. In this endeavor they laughed, joked, and enjoyed themselves as if no time had passed.

Upon opening the door to the house, Penny was met with some familiar faces in the living room. Her mother, her father, and...

- Mr. Garp? What are you doing here? It has been long time!

The girl ran to hug him, but noticed that everyone in the room was not happy. In fact, her mother was crying and her father was comforting her.

- Penelope... Penny... my darling girl. - Garp spoke with pain in his heart - I'm not here for a good reason.

At that moment, with that one sentence, the little girl knew. She simply knew.

The navy already knew of her existence.

The world government would already be after the akuma no mi.

Soon, they would show up to capture it.

Deep down, Penelope already knew that this would happen at some point. She just didn't imagine it would be so soon. She would have prepared more, enjoyed more...

The girl kept herself cold. She acted as cool as she could so that her parents would not be even more desolated. Inside, she cried, screamed, and whimpered of despair, of longing. Longing for home, for family, for friends. The only home she knew.

- How long do I have?

Penny asked just for asking. She knew she didn't have much time, but she would make the most of it.

- Tonight I will take you to a safe place. - Garp hugged her.

The girl hugged her parents, who were crying.

- I'll be fine. Mr. Garp will take care of me.

They both nodded. They had total confidence in the vice admiral of the navy, as they had known him for decades. They knew they could count on him to hide their daughter from danger.

Penelope only had a few hours. She had to pack as many things as possible in her suitcase. Clothes, shoes, souvenirs, everything that could fit in a single small bag. She was starting a new life, and she couldn't take everything from her old life.

After organizing her things, the girl decided to start saying goodbye to the people she loved the most.

She started by going to Makino's bar, she went to talk to the mayor and to Dadan. She said goodbye to the other mountain bandits, to some of her schoolmates, and to her aunt who lived around there.

Now it was time for the hard part.

Penny went to the place where she always spent her afternoons with Luffy and Ace. The two of them were there, in the same corner as always, waiting for her.

- You're very late today!

The girl smiled, trying to hold back her tears.

- Guys, I...

- Penny! Look what I've learned! Gomu gomu no...

Luffy was showing off his newest move, cheerfully.

Penelope began to cry.

She cried and cried, she even sobbed from crying. Ace and Luffy hugged her, not understanding anything. But they wanted to be there for their friend, no matter what.

- I'm leaving tonight. It was not my choice. You won't see me for a while,- she tried to formulate her sentences in sobs, - but soon we will meet again.

Luffy began to cry, perhaps even more than the girl. The thought of being without his friend devastated him, and he feared losing her like he had lost Sabo.

Ace remained serious, incredulous. Maybe even a little angry. He didn't understand anything that was going on, and he was extremely angry that Penny hadn't explained anything.

- What do you mean, Grace? Where are you going? What are you talking about?

- I... I can't tell you now. I'm sorry. I don't want you to be in danger.

- Oh, shit! It's navy stuff, isn't it? I'm sure the old man is behind this!

While the discussion was going on, Luffy kept crying.

- Ace, I didn't want to leave, believe me! Today is the worst day of my life! Can you at least say goodbye to me decently?

The boy stopped and thought. He would find out what was behind this for sure. But this was not the time to confront the girl who was extremely shaken.

The two agreed to take Penelope to the door of her house, where she would say goodbye to her parents and leave.

- Promise you won't forget me? - Luffy tried to hold back his tears - Promise we'll meet again? That you won't die?

- I promise, Luffy. - Penny hugged the boy, who was already almost as tall as she was.

- Luffy, can I speak with Penelope in private?

The boy stepped away. Ace began to speak.

- Grace, I don't know what is going on. But I know that you are not happy with the situation. I will find out what is going on and you will come back here, I'm sure.

In a totally impulsive gesture, the girl kissed him. She kissed her best friend Ace, a kiss she had been waiting for, her first kiss. An awkward kiss, with a touch of farewell, melancholy.

At first, the boy was surprised. But soon after, he reciprocated the kiss. He wanted to kiss her too, and he would miss her so much that he could hardly explain.