Uptown, Downtown (Chat Noir x Reader) - Book 1

6 | Circles

"Wait, do you like him?" Juleka gasped, her eyes widening.

"No!" you spluttered in defense, "I just… I want more friends." You groaned, shaking your head in defeat. "I'm not good at communicating with people, so I figured… deeds not words?" you offered weakly, as a last resort.

Juleka smiled, reaching out and giving your shoulder a tentative pat; "You're a good person, (Y/n)," she mumbled, "I think Adrien will really appreciate it."

"Thanks, Juleka," you chuckled quietly. "I feel a bit guilty though. You have your other friend, Rose, in class, you should spend more time with her."

"You're… my friend too," Juleka responded, somewhat upset by what you'd said. "You should sit with us at lunch sometime. I don’t want to sound rude, but… you always look stressed when you sit with Alya, Marinette, Nino and Adrien."

"That's because Marinette and Alya talk way too much, and it drains my social battery," you explained bashfully, shrinking into yourself at the notion.

They were nice enough people, but bloody hell, they were also exhausting. They had so much energy, and for what?

Juleka giggled slightly, "I understand, don't worry."

"I think I'll just give it to him and get it all over with," you stood up, with a sigh, "no point in working myself up over something that won't have huge consequences."

Juleka nodded, also coming to her feet, and mumbling, "I'll see you in class then."

"Yes," you replied, but momentarily paused, turning back to her, before she left, calling out to her, "Juleka?"

She glanced back at you in surprise, obviously not accustomed to your British accent on her name.

You took a deep breath, before smiling weakly, and saying in English, "Thank you."

Juleka blinked, before smiling in return, confirming that she'd understood what you'd said; then she continued on her way back up to class. You sighed, hyping yourself up in your head, before purposely walking over to Adrien and his little group.

"Ah, (Y/n)! Hi!" the birthday boy was the first to notice you, waving at you in greeting. The others also turned their attention to you, which made you falter in your step a little, but you swallowed hard, and kept your approach.

When you reached them, you held out the plastic bag to Adrien in an embarrassed manner, whilst muttering, "Bon Anniversaire."

Adrien's mouth dropped in shock, as he hesitantly took the bag from you before smiling bashfully. "You really didn't have to get anything for me, but… thank you," he expressed.

"Mmm," you hummed awkwardly, locking your gaze on your scruffy shoes, not daring to watch him react to your presents. You could hear the other three exclaiming with amazement, possibly at your gifts, which made you even more embarrassed.

(Why was this making you so nervous? Oh fuck it, it would be over soon.)

"(Y/n)..." the sound of your name in Adrien's French accent caused you to heat up, and peer at him awkwardly. He was clutching the plastic bag in his hand tightly, his eyes shining with immense gratitude, looking like he was about to cry of happiness.

You didn't get time to ask him if he was alright, because he embraced you, wrapping his warm arms around your waist, and pulling you into a hug. You vaguely heard Marinette squawk behind you, while Alya and Nino both just gasped in glee. A shiver ran up your spine, and your eyes shot wide open, jolting at the sudden contact—you had not expected that as a reaction.

“Thank you,” Adrien whispered, resting his head on your shoulder. “Thank you so much, (Y/n).”

“No problem…” you responded robotically, practically short-circuiting, since you never exchanged much physical contact with anyone outside your family.

Was it a cultural difference?

However, before you could say anything else, Adrien quickly backed off, waving his hands in a panicked fashion; “I’m so sorry, that was so out of the blue! I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable! I was just really happy!...”

“It’s ok, really,” you reassured him shakily, though it had most certainly caught you off guard. “I’m glad you like your presents.”

“Yeah…” Adrien smiled, looking oddly cute as he did so, rubbing the back of his neck. “I hope it wasn’t too expensive…”

You became stony faced, remembering your now almost empty savings. “You can’t be broke if you don’t check your bank account,” you assured yourself quietly, tapping the side of your head for extra measure.

“What?” Nino asked in confusion, clearly not having understood a word you’d said in English.

“Oh, nothing!” you forced a laugh, and sweating nervously, gestured in what you hoped was the direction of your classroom, “Shall we, uh, get to class now?”

“Good idea,” Alya piped up, “we might be late otherwise.”

You let them all walk ahead of you, before releasing a huge sigh of relief, and wiping away some sweat from your forehead. “I’m never showing my face in public again,” you whispered half-heartedly, fiddling with the strap of your watch, before anxiously following the group up the stairs.