More Than Trouble

Chapter 11: Interference, Or Something Else?

Nami dropped her bag onto her desk, exhaling as she pulled out her notebook.

Another day.

She flipped through the pages, barely paying attention to the classroom noise around her. A part of her was already preparing for the usual—Luffy slouched over his desk, complaining about school, dragging her into some dumb conversation before the lesson even started.

But when she glanced up, he wasn't even paying attention to her.

Instead, he was leaning back in his chair, laughing at something Usopp was saying, completely at ease like he hadn't just skipped two days of school without warning.

She didn't know why that annoyed her.

Not that she expected some kind of grand return, but at the very least, he could've acknowledged the fact that he disappeared.

She shook off the thought and turned back to her notebook.

Luffy stretched his arms behind his head, finally looking in her direction.

"Oh yeah," he said casually. "You were late the other day."

Nami's eyes flickered toward him, narrowing slightly.

"Two days ago," she corrected.

Luffy shrugged. "Still counts."

She scoffed. "And you would know because...?"

"I heard Usopp whining about it."

Of course.

She rolled her eyes and focused on her notes, refusing to engage any further.

Luffy grinned like he won something but didn't push it.

For some reason, that only made her more irritated.

Lunch was the same as always—loud, chaotic, full of nonsense.

Nami had gotten used to Luffy inhaling his food like a vacuum, Usopp telling exaggerated stories, and Zoro pretending to ignore everything.

But today, she felt off.

It wasn't anything obvious. Just small things.

Like how she almost made a sarcastic comment about Luffy being gone—but stopped herself.

Or how Vivi kept sneaking glances at her, smirking like she was onto something.

Or how, at some point, her mind wandered to what Luffy was even doing those two days.

Not because she cared.

Just—curiosity.

Obviously.

Vivi nudged her. "You're quiet today."

Nami clicked her tongue. "I'm eating."

Vivi's smirk widened. "Uh-huh."

She ignored her.

But she didn't ignore the way her fingers tapped against the table.

Or the way her mind refused to let go of something so stupid.

After lunch, Nami found herself drifting toward Luffy's desk before class.

Not on purpose.

She just happened to be passing by.

Luffy looked up at her, mid-doodle, raising an eyebrow.

"What?"

She crossed her arms. "Give me your number."

Luffy blinked.

Then grinned. "Damn, Nami. At least take me to dinner first."

Her eye twitched.

"It's so I know when you randomly disappear again, idiot."

"Ahh." He nodded sagely. "You mean so you can check up on me."

She scoffed. "So I don't waste my time showing up to school if my dumb student isn't here."

Luffy snorted. "Yeah, sure."

She held out her hand expectantly.

"Well?"

Luffy hummed, tapping his pen against the desk.

"Depends."

Nami narrowed her eyes. "On?"

"Are you actually gonna text me?"

She rolled her eyes. "Only if I have to."

Luffy smirked. "Good enough."

He scribbled something on the corner of a napkin, ripping it off and handing it over.

"There. Now you can keep tabs on me."

She grabbed it, stuffing it into her pocket. "Don't flatter yourself."

Alright, bro! Here's the proper continuation from the actual last lines of Part 1. This time, it will flow perfectly without any weird jumps.

Luffy leaned his chin on his palm, watching her with amusement.

"Y'know, Nami..." he started, voice annoyingly casual.

She paused.

"...Just 'cause you have someone's number doesn't mean you really know where they are."

Her fingers tightened slightly around the napkin in her pocket.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked, frowning.

Luffy just shrugged. "Dunno. Just something I heard once."

She stared at him.

He grinned like he hadn't just said something weirdly deep and went back to doodling on his paper.

Nami exhaled, shaking her head as she turned away.

This guy...

She walked out of the classroom, telling herself she wasn't thinking about it.

The rest of the day passed like normal.

Or at least, it should have.

But as she packed up her things at the end of class, she caught someone heading straight toward her.

Duval.

Great.

"Well, well, well..." he said, leaning against the doorframe, grinning like he was the main event.

She didn't have the energy for this.

"You got a second, sweetheart?"

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"What do you want?"

Duval smirked, running a hand through his perfectly styled hair. "I was thinking... a girl like you? A guy like me? We'd make a damn fine couple."

Nami blinked.

Then blinked again.

Was he serious?

She was already opening her mouth to shut him down when another voice cut in.

"She already hangs out with me all the time. Ain't that enough?"

Nami froze.

Her head turned slightly, and—

Luffy.

Standing just a few feet away, grinning like this was just another casual conversation.

Duval's expression twitched. "Who the hell are you?"

Luffy tilted his head. "Her friend."

Duval scoffed. "Tch. You got a problem, buddy?"

Luffy blinked. "Nope."

Duval grumbled something under his breath, but his confidence wasn't quite as strong anymore.

"You got competition, sweetheart," he muttered, flashing Nami a final attempt at a smooth smile before striding off down the hall.

Nami sighed.

Then rounded on Luffy.

"What was that?"

Luffy shrugged. "What?"

"You can't just show up and chase guys off!"

He blinked. "Why not?"

She threw her hands in the air. "Because it's weird!"

Luffy grinned. "Didn't seem like you wanted to say yes."

"That's not the point!"

"What is the point?"

She opened her mouth—then shut it.

She hated how he did that.

Luffy smirked. "Exactly."

She groaned, turning on her heel and walking away. "You're the worst."

"I know!"

She could hear the grin in his voice.

Later That Night

Nami stared at her phone.

Not because she was waiting for something.

She was just... thinking.

Her thumb hovered over the screen before she typed something.

    u owe me sanji's food for that stunt u pulled

A response came almost instantly.

    LOL i saved u tho

She scoffed.

    i had it under control

    nah u looked annoyed

Her fingers paused.

    so? i can be annoyed and handle it

There was a brief pause. Then—

    i know. but u don't have to all the time

She frowned.

That was... not what she expected.

Her fingers hovered over the keyboard before she typed back, almost without thinking.

    idiot

A second later—

    LOL

    gn

She exhaled and set her phone down.

She was smiling.

And if she checked her phone one more time before sleeping, well...

That was nobody's business.

Ended of Chapter 11