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

19 | When He Sees Me

You squinted at her, puzzled by her sudden effort to make this a good party for everyone who was coming; she caught your stare, and faltered, her facade falling away for a moment, revealing a nervous, unsure, vulnerable girl, who just wanted to improve herself to get a friend back.

“Quoi?” she mumbled, her grip on her phone tightening.

“Rien,” you assured her, with a wry smile. “I’ll start on those drinks.”

Chloé paused, recomposing herself, before huffing, and strutting away — you got to work, starting out with a simple coffee, since some people obviously might need some caffeine to survive the night they were about to endure. Guests began to pour in, and you were required to make whoever approached you the appropriate beverage, and the fact that you weren’t getting paid for this was rubbing you the wrong way.

Everyone from your class was visibly surprised to see you helping out Chloé, but you were more surprised that people had even shown up. Perhaps Chloé’s privilege had scared them into attending, who knew? Wasn’t your place to assume, you were just the barista.

“Enjoy your drink,” you drawled dully, waving off another customer, before leaning on the table with a sigh. It had been about an hour by now, and you were exhausted, the music was too loud, and the chatter around you was making you want to throw up.

“There you are!” a familiar voice exclaimed, and you turned tiredly to face Adrien, who’d approached your little coffee stand — he’d made quite an effort to dress nicely, switching out his normal outfit for a little more fancier set of clothes. “I was wondering where you were. Chloé did post a picture on Instagram of you with her.”

“Huh?” you blinked blankly, before whipping out your phone, and checking the app he’d mentioned; sure enough, there was the picture, with Chloé winking with a smug smile, and you looking both awkward and confused, in your very British outfit.

The caption read: “Just found myself a volunteer to help me prepare for my awesome party!”

“Next time she posts a picture of me without permission, I’m going to break her sunglasses in half,” you laughed sarcastically, gritting your teeth. “And volunteer?! She begged me to come and serve these shitty drinks! The nerve of this girl!”

“I get why you’re angry, but you should know that Chloé never asks someone to help her,” Adrien remarked, leaning against the counter, tilting his head back towards you. “She’s very adamant on getting other people to do everything. I’ve known Chloé for a really long time, and I’m shocked she’s even putting in this much effort. She can be pretty cool sometimes, you know?”

You narrowed your eyes, and warily placed your phone back into your pocket, shifting the hat on your head. “Well, in any case, as Chloé would say, I look ridiculous, utterly ridiculous.”

Adrien laughed shly, and shook his head, “It… actually really suits you.”

“I can’t decide if that’s an insult or a compliment,” you responded, rubbing the back of your neck, although your heart almost imploded at the sudden remark. “But, uh, you too! You look, uh, really attractive.” You paused, then freaked out, shutting your mouth tightly, having intended to say ‘good’, not attractive.

All of a sudden, the uptempo dance music that Nino had been playing swiftly changed to a much softer, Bossa Nova track, intended for slow-dancing; the sound of horns and syncopated tambura echoed throughout the hall, and you raised an eyebrow, recognising the song from your mother’s ultra-lounge CDs. Everyone quickly got themselves a partner, and the atmosphere quickly turned from an energetic one to a romantic one.