Eustass kid first noticed something was off when the guy that sat next to him in his college english class did not show up one day.

Although the man, what was his name again? Trafalgar something...

Although Trafalgar something had never missed a day of school before (as far as Kid had seen), Kid just shrugged it off.

He only became confused at the concerned faces of those students close to Trafalgar.

But the dark skinned man was soon pushed out of Kid's mind as the redhead moved on to other things. They weren't friends, after all. It wasn't his business to worry.

It was only several months later that he realized that something was actually wrong.

Trafalgar still hadn't shown up for school, and the day Kid noticed that was the day he became curious.

Since when had the room felt so... Empty?

Curiosity killed the cat, or so the saying goes. But satisfaction brought it back, was what Kid liked to remind himself.

When class finished that day, Eustass Kid ditched his friends and walked over to the loudest, most obnoxious boy in the class; a college freshman named Luffy. He had seen the kid and Trafalgar hanging out before, so he decided to start there.

Upon asking the tattooed man's whereabouts, the energetic kid's smile faded and was replaced with a solemn look.

"Law... Law's in his room." He nearly whispered, grabbing his things and heading out of the class, leaving Kid stunned. He had never seen such a quick and drastic moodswing.

As the weeks went on, Kid's curiosity only deepened as he tracked down Trafalgar Law's friends, questioning each of them on the raven haired man's location.

The responses he got were either always the same in that solemn tone, or he didn't get one at all, the people he questioned just turning away from him.

To be honest, he was worried.

He was worried for this man he had only met a few times. Worried about where he had vanished to. Worried why his friends all became so sad at the mention of his name.

Another week passed and Kid found himself sitting on a bench at the far north corner of the campus.

His friends were practically strangers to him now, having no interest in looking for a man they didn't care about and advising Kid to do the same.

It was on that balmy August day that Kid once more found himself curious.

Since when has the world felt so... empty?

A muffled cough brought Kid to attention and he looked up to see a man with a penguin-shaped cap that completely obscured the top half of his face.

"Eustass Kid?" The man asked.

Kid nodded and the man let out a breath. "I hear you're the one looking for Law.

Kid nodded once more and stood. The man now had his undivided attention.

The guy stared up at him for a few seconds before sighing. "You really don't know, do you...?" He breathed, shaking his head a little then looking back up at Kid. "The captain's in his room. I'll show you."

Eagerly, Kid followed the penguin man, only to grow confused as they entered the college's familiar dorms.

Further and further they walked and the familiar halls graced Kid coldly.

They finally stopped in front of a room and Kid couldn't help but stare.

Trafalgar Law had lived next to him this entire time.

When Kid turned to ask the penguin man if this was some kind of joke, he was surprised to see that the man was already gone.

Mustering up the courage to finally face this Trafalgar guy, Kid took a deep breath and pushed open the unlocked door.

The dorm room was small and tidy, and Kid initially assumed that it had recently been straightened up, but the thick layer of dust on everything suggested otherwise.

The door shut behind the redhead as Kid ventured further inside.

Over every surface that Kid ran his fingers across he left a trail of clean lines and it confused him to no end.

What the hell was going on? Wasn't Trafalgar supposed to be in his room?

Kid made his way gradually to a small desk with only one thing resting on it, the only thing in the entire room that wasn't covered with dust.

A thin grey laptop with a Webcam attached, plugged in and perpetually turned on.

Kid opened the laptop and sat down in the small desk chair, cringing when it creaked beneath his weight.

In the unnatural silence of the room, even the smallest of noises seemed like a desecration of some sort.

Kid didn't know what he was looking for on the computer, but he didn't have to search for long.

A long list of videos ran onto the screen, the dates of which running far earlier than when Kid fist noticed Trafalgar Law's absence.

Not entirely understanding what he was doing, Kid scrolled up and clicked on the first video.

The screen was black for a moment, before what sounded like the shuffling of clothes came over the speaker and whatever was blocking the Webcam moved.

Trafalgar Law sat down at his desk- the same desk Kid sat at now- and sighed, his head in his hands. After a few more moments he ran his hands through his hair and looked back at the camera with a small smile.

"Um, hi, I guess. My name is Trafalgar Law, I'm twenty-four years old as of yesterday. My pre-med teacher, Doctor Hiluluk, thinks that making this video journal about my everyday life will help me get over whatever stress I have. Crazy old man... Anyway my laptop has a five minute limit for video length, so I guess this is it for this one. It's not like I have much to say anyway." The man gave a smirk and saluted to the camera just as the screen turned black. "Ciao."

Kid stared as the computer in confusion as it automatically began playing the next video.

"Hello again, video journal." The snarky voice chuckled as Law came into view once more. The man sighed and rested his cheek in his hand. "Oh, I can't believe I'm actually doing this... My classmate, Chopper, asked me today why I wanted to go into pediatrics. I just told him 'why not', but the truth is..." Law took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "When I was nine, my little sister Lamie died of leukemia. I want to make sure that other kids get the chances at life that she never did." The tattooed man paused for about a minute, his head once more cradled in his hands. After a few more seconds he looked up at the camera with redened eyes. "Yeah, I think that's all for this one..."

Kid watched a few more videos go by of Law just talking about his day and his life before slamming the laptop shut in a frustrated and confused rage.

What the hell was going on? What was he seeing? Why was the room full of dust? Where was Trafalgar Law?

"It was an accident."

Kid jumped and swiveled the chair to face the penguin capped man, sending dust billowing around the room.

Penguin stood with his eyes obscured in the middle of his friend's dorm room.

"I know what you're thinking, and it was an accident..." He repeated just barely above a whisper. He didn't trust himself to speak any louder than that.

Kid stared at the man with wide eyes as he pulled the bill of his cap further down over his face.

"It was late... The guy driving was drunk... He didn't see Law crossing the street..."

Kid's eyes widened. He looked at the computer, then at Penguin, then repeated the process a few more times as tears began to slide down Penguin's face.

What?

Trafalgar Law... was dead?

"He's... dea-"

Penguin left the room before Kid could even get the terrible word out.

The shocked redhead was left alone in a dead man's room.

Every day Kid returned to Law's room, and if Law's friends knew they didn't say anything about it.

A few weeks went by and Kid found himself no longer staying in his room, but in Law's. Falling asleep either on the dusty chair, or in the bed that still smelled faintly of antiseptics.

What he couldn't understand was why.

Why did he only start paying attention to the tattooed male now? Why was he so inexplicably drawn to that deep voice that came from the speakers?
Why did he feel so empty? Why did Law have to die?

Throughout his weeks watching Law's videos, Kid saw the older man's ups and downs. He watched Law celebrate birthdays, mourn losses, and everything in between. He learned the man's likes, his dislikes, what he thought of his friends, everything.

But nothing changed.

The world remained bleak and the emptiness Kid felt only grew to the point where he felt it would consume him and swallow him whole.

Three weeks after his initial discovery, Eustass Kid sat down at the pristine desk and opened the precious laptop.

All traces of dust had been swept away, Kid had made sure of it, and the once cold dorm room seemed almost inviting now, as if it were wrapping Kid in a tender embrace whenever he walked in.

Scrolling through the videos, Kid stopped at one he hadn't seen and pressed play.

There he was, that raven haired man, with his head in his hand and smiling to himself as he chuckled.

"Oh, you will not believe this." He chuckled to the screen. "I think I have a crush on someone, believe it or not. Me! A crush! How much more cliché can I get?" Law laughed and, as always, Kid found himself smiling with the man. Law sighed as he calmed down. "I barely know the guy, but I think I'm starting to develop feelings for him. He sits right beside me in my new english class. Eustass Kid, is his name."

Kid's eyes widened and his stomach dropped. His breath hitched but he continued to stare at the screen.

Law waved a hand by his head, a smile still on his face. "The crazy thing about it is that we've never actually had a conversation before, but I just know... There's something special about him."

Law smiled once more and the video changed.

He was laughing again, his hands running through dark locks. "Oh, if Kid ever finds out about this I will be so screwed! It's been a couple days, sorry, but I've just been trying to figure out my nonexistent love life, I guess you could say. I know it makes me sound like some love-sick teenager, but I honestly can't stop thinking about him. Nami says it's love, but I don't know."

As Kid watched, he could hardly feel the tears running out of his eyes.

He was glued onto every word, tears pouring down his face as video after video flew by, all about him.

Now... Kid knew. He knew why the world was empty, why he was empty.

Because Law was not there, nor would he ever be.

"That's it!" Law exclaimed in one video, slamming his hands down in the desk. "I'm gonna do it! I'm going to ask him out tomorrow! Penguin and the guys invited me over to their place tonight to try and syke me out, or something, but I'm not going to let them. I... I like Eustass Kid. I really, really like him."

And with that same wonderful smile, Law turned off the Webcam and the screen went dark.

Kid waited patiently for the next video to start, but nothing came.

Frantically, he searched for the date of the video.

The numbers flashing on the screen would have forced him to his knees had he not been sitting.

March twenty-third.

The day right before Trafalgar Law went missing.