Someone Like You (Cat Noir)

Chapter 38 Lady Klutz and Scardy Chat Noir

Lucy sat in room 33 with several other students while working on a medium-sized butterfly painting. Usually, Lucy would stick to doing her painting at home. A while back Marinette had told her about the little art group when she had learned about Lucy's painting hobby, up until just recently, the blonde had been appreciative but liked to paint in solitude. Since her experience with Sandboy, being home alone had been less appealing to Lucy, and after having a chat with her therapist, whom she had not seen in a few years over zoom, it had been suggested that she try to find a safe space until she felt more comfortable in her apartment again. Marinette came into the room and took a seat a few feet away. Sometimes she came to sketch, but there was also a sewing machine for when she felt like creating something in between classes among the many other kinds of art materials in the room.

"Hey, Lucy." Marinette greeted.

"Hey Mari, how's it going?" Lucy responded, glancing from her painting for a moment to acknowledge her friend.

"Good! Oh by the way everyone, I invited my friend Marc to join us today. He's always writing in his notebook. He's a little shy but I think he would like it here."

"Of course Marinette. That's very kind of you. Everyone is welcome here." Their art teacher told them as Nathaniel came up to showed him his latest work.

"This is a team-up of Ladybug and Mightillustrator fighting Queen Wasp together," Nathaniel says, holding the sketch.

"You mean Evillustrator?"

"He changed his name after Ladybug de-akumatized him and became a superhero." Nathaniel clarified, earning a smile from his teacher.

"Bad guy who comes over to the good side, great idea. You should make a comic book about that."

"Yeah, but I'm only good at drawing stories, not writing them." Explained Nathaniel as he sat back in his seat.

"Then you should team up with a creative writer." In the doorway, Marc peeks into the classroom, still hesitant to join the group.

"Maybe... But, I don't know anyone who's into that."

"Don't worry buddy," Alix says taking her spray paint mask off. "There's gotta be somebody out there just waiting to meet you. Red please!" Nathaniel throws the red spray can, passing it to Alix before she slides her mask back on and continues her mural.

Upon noticing Marc, Marinette gets up and rushes over to him, dragging the boy by his arm to meet the group.

"This is Marc, the boy I told you about! The one who's always writing." She introduced. Marc looks around awkwardly, hiding his book in his jacket.

"Uh... I'm sorry I didn't want to disturb you." The art teacher smiles at Marc warmly.

"Welcome to room 33, you're never disturbing anyone here. You can come whenever you want outside of class time or after school. Anyone can create what they want, any way they want. Rose is writing lyrics for a rock band. " Rose, who was jamming out off to the side with her headphones on looked up at their teacher lifted one. " Rose, I would like you to meet Marc."

"Hey there! Nice to meet you, Marc!" She yells her hearing off from the loud tunes.

"Lucy is our lovely painter." He points out and Lucy gives the nervous boy a small wave.

"Alix is our expert at street art." Alix flips the spray can in the air and catches it. "And Nathaniel-"

"He likes to draw people in skinny suits." Alix jokes, only for Nathaniel to throw a ball of paper at her. In the past, Nathaniel had been very self-conscious about his art. But after his art teacher encouraged him, the redhead boy grew much more confident and open to others seeing his work. Alix was his friend, but that didn't mean she wouldn't tease him every once in a while.