A Little Bit of Bad Luck

Ch 3: The Man in the Mansion

Félix took the book off his head. "Usually people knock before they enter."

"S-sorry." Marinette knocked on the already open door. "Can I come in?" She smiled at him. She noticed he wasn't wearing his black gloves today, but he had a bandage wrapped around the middle finger on his right hand.

He rolled his eyes.

I'll take that as a yes. She approached his desk and took out her outline.

He approached her from behind and glanced over her shoulder, eyeing her work. "So you have been thinking about the project."

Her heart jumped in her chest.

She tried to ignore how close they were. "W-why wouldn't I?" 

He eyed the back of her head, then studied the outline. "I tried to talk to you about it today but you ignored me."

Marinette fumbled with her hair. "Sorry, I was distracted today." It wasn't a total lie.

"This outline doesn't look too bad," he said. "Let's use it."

"Behind this clam- I mean clueless demeanor is some intelligence." She laughed awkwardly and didn't dare to look him in the eyes.

He arched one of his eyebrows.

She could feel the heat rising in her face. "A-any chance I could get some water? You know what I'll look for it myself!" She lunged out of his room, tripping over the books he left scattered on the floor as she scurried out.

He called after her but she was already gone. For a small girl, she was quick.

As she rounded the corner, the slender lady's warning echoed in her mind. Crap! She had forgotten that she wasn't supposed to walk around alone. Oh well, she was only getting water and she didn't want to return to Félix that quickly. On her way in, she had mentally noted where she thought she had seen a door to the kitchen.

She crept through the house. It was enormous, but it felt empty. The chill rushed back down her spine. She felt an urgency begging her to run. Her skin crawled. 

CRASH. 

She whipped her head towards the noise. It sounded like pottery shattering. Her heart pounded in her chest.

"Who are you?" a deep voice reverberated through the room.

She spun around and met cold, judgmental eyes. "I-I'm sorry! I am working on a prong- I mean a project with Félix, and I got lost looking for a glass of water." Her throat felt dry as she tried to swallow. She could use that water right about now.

He towered over her. The dim hallway made his red pants less cheery. His white dress shirt looked disheveled, and his eyes bulged.

He stepped closer to her. "Did Nathalie not tell you not to wonder."

"No- I- she did! I just had kind of - had a moment- a craving! For water." She wanted to disappear. The man's eyes studied her in a way that made her feel vulnerable and exposed.  She felt more flustered and unnerved than she did around Félix. His eyes lingered on her ears and the red circular earrings.