Unfortunate Circumstances (Ace x Reader; College AU)

When Pictures Mock

And so, you sat, waiting in the café agreed upon, with no Ace in sight. You gritted your teeth, trying to calm down before you started to verbally assault the innocent people sitting next to you for chattering a bit too loudly. If there was something you, without a doubt, hated, then it was waiting, and that was exactly what that freckle-faced raven was making you do. He was going to get it.

Scowling in the general direction of the door, you continued to wait for your partner, before deciding that you wouldn't have to deal with him for as long if you got some of the work done now. As your fingers started to click-clack away at the keyboard, you felt a presence, and you looked up, narrowing your eyes at the intruder.

"You're late."

"Only by fifteen minutes." Ace shrugged, removing his jacket and sitting down across from you.

"When you pester me into meeting you in person during the weekend, I expect you to be here on time. Not late." You said spitefully.

"Calm down." Ace rolled his eyes at you, not liking being scolded for something that he had no control over.

His father was the one that made him late, delaying him until the last possible minute. That aggravating man was always trying to make his life harder. But, it was nice to see you all angry with him again. Your subdued behavior at the other day was unsettling. He didn't know you very well, but there was something about you that he liked. Sabo and another friend thought that he was crazy for wanting to hang around you when you insisted on insulting him every chance you got, but Ace had his reasons.

"My dad was bugging me and made me late. Don't your parents do shit like that?"

"No." You responded, hoping he wouldn't question you further.

"Well lucky you."

Your eyebrow witched in annoyance as you opened your mouth, about to snap at him but decided against it. You really didn't want to go there, especially with him.

"Let's just work on our assignment." You mumbled.

Ace noted that you were acting subdued, again. And, just like last time, it was his fault. Fuck. Wasn't there some way to figure out what topics made you change so abruptly? He had two down already: your scarf, which you were wearing again today, and your parents.

"Can you give me a moment? I want to get a drink." He said, hoping for a scowl, or maybe a dismissive shrug, but you nodded slowly.

Seeing you like this felt wrong. Why did he care so much? It's not like he'd known you for very long. Ace met you less than a week ago. He gave the glass housing a collection of pastries a bitter smile - there was a reason why and he knew what the reason was, but it made him feel pathetic.

"Hey...I think you're in my Calc class." He heard a girl's voice, and he looked up, meeting the brown eyes of a green haired barista - her name tag read 'Camie'. Right then and there, Ace wasn't in the mood for this, but he still grinned and replied.

"Yeah, I think so. The clumsy Donquixote professor, yeah?"

"Yeah!" She agreed, smiling, a light blush dusting her cheeks. "You showed up late."

Ace shrugged. "It was my first class of the day and I don't like waking up early."

"You're Ace, right? Ace Gol?"

From your table, you heard Ace's voice, and looked in the direction of it, sighing as you noticed that he was flirting with some girl. You hated this - you just wanted to be alone right now. For a moment, you were distracted by a text from Nami.