The bakery / Sabo

4.

A tired sigh came out of your mouth as you took a seat on one of the bakery's chairs. It was 5 p.m and the doors had just closed so everyone could start decorating the place.
Your first day went well, it did get a bit tiring but overall you fit in well with your coworkers and when you weren't tangled between batters and ovens, you felt really comfortable with the customers. You were happy that you liked not only the job but also the place and your coworkers, and you were proud that you didn't mess up anything important. It gave you reassurance and confidence.

When the final customer left, Thatch, you and the remaining workers took your aprons off before Thatch started speaking up.
'I placed all the boxes behind the counter, as usual you can decorate the place however you want, just make sure it looks good kids.' He said with a smile and a thumbs up.
'Oh also, Luffy's coming to help again, seems he can never miss an opportunity when we decorate this place.' He added.

Luffy? That name sounded slightly familiar but you couldn't remember exactly who it was, you were trying to think of it when.

'HELLLLOOOOOOOOO!!' Someone shouted as they busted into the bakery, earning laughs and smiles from everyone around.

That must be him.

You stood up to go grab a box and start with the Halloween decorations and the guy you assumed was Luffy spoke, rather loudly.
'Hey Thatch which one is your sister? I wanna meet her!!'
'I'll tell you once you're done with this box.' He replied shoving a full box in his younger brother's hands.
'Hmph this is boring.' Luffy replied sulking, suddenly, he dropped the box and made his way to the speakers, playing what seemed to be a top 50 radio hits which made you smile.
'This is way more fun this way.' He laughed as he started emptying his box.

This would certainly be more entertaining that way.

After a few minutes, you took a step back to have an overall look at the bakery, when you turned around you ended up face to face with a grinning Luffy.
'What's up Luna!' He said, the smile never leaving his face.
'Hi Luffy!' Your face copying the expression plastered on his face. 'I was taking a look at everyone's work, are you already done with your box?' You asked.
'Yeah and I got bored so I decided to come talk to you, everyone wanted to meet you and we got jealous because Marco saw you before everyone else.' A slight pout came to his lips.
'I didn't know I had a fanclub waiting for me already.' You laughed. 'I was practically dragged out the house by Thatch though, and he was tired too.'
'Ace really wanted to see you! And Sabo too even if he acted like he didn't care.' Luffy replied while taking some stuff out of your box, helping you.

Ace and Sabo huh?

'I bet I'll see them soon!'

After animated conversations with Luffy and several garlands tangled in your hair later, the bakery finally felt true to the Halloween spirit. Your corworkers started leaving one by one and it was just Luffy, Thatch and you still inside.

'Oh by the way Luna, do you plan on customizing your apron?' Thatch asked.

You noticed today that everyone had aprons with different drawings, notes and pins. It seems like it's some sort of tradition and you kind of felt naked with your plain apron next to everyone else.

'I do have a few things in mind, I just need some time to make it.'

'Can I draw something on it??' Luffy interfered.

You thought about what you had planned and told him he could, only in one of the corners since you would be using most of the center space. Luffy then took out a marker and drew a big smiley face with his name around it on the bottom right corner. It seemed fitting for a personality like his. You really enjoyed his presence and lighthearted ways, it felt fun and refreshing, always nice to have someone like this around.

'Say how do you plan on customizing it?' He asked after putting the cap back on the marker.
'It's a secret until It's done!' You shot him a wink and a smile, and with that you stood up and started walking towards the exit, saying goodbye to Thatch and Luffy, you made your way to your car.

'Your sister's really fun Thatch, I hope I can see her again soon!' Luffy said after you left, earning a smile from the tall man still behind the counter.

Shoving your plate and cutlery and tapping on a few buttons before closing the dishwasher, the sound of water inside notified you that the process had started.
Sitting down on one of the bar stools with a wandering mind, you could feel the all too familiar feeling coming back. You had felt nice the whole day being surrounded by everyone, now you were alone, with dishwasher sounds as your only company.
No one really knew about how lonely you really felt, since you were around people during the day it was hard for them to imagine this was a reality for you. However once you got home and closed the door, the silence felt heavy, way too uncomfortable and left you on your own with some thoughts and memories you'd rather forget about. And in those moments you knew texting someone wouldn't help, because no matter how you explained it, they didn't understand it. So you decided it was better to deal with it alone than to have someone dragged in your 'problems', you thought it'd be selfish from you. You were fine, just with some troubles here and there, a typical life you thought.

You knew that there would be no way to shake this feeling off completely so you decided to start with your apron customization plan.
Drawing was a stress relief for you, you weren't the best at it, sure, but it was never half bad. And now with a pen on hand, you started sketching the rough idea on a piece of paper, keeping in mind what Luffy already drew and making sure to leave some free spaces so other people could leave some things too. When you let out a yawn is when you knew it was time to doze off. Going through your little night routine and making sure everything was perfect and ready for the next day, you plugged your phone to get its battery full for the next day, but failed to notice the one text notification from an unknown number.

It was about stealing your number from someone, hoping you could meet again soon and how someone is excited to finally meet you tomorrow.