I Trusted You

Safety

The looks Lila got in class soon died down as everyone began ignoring her, pretending she didn't exist. Lila acted like she was unfazed by all this but in reality, she was hurt.

Adrien was a bit down the next day, still remembering the way Ladybug had screamed at him, saying he was a 'dumb cat'. Yet again, he hid his true feelings from everyone.

Marinette noticed the way he was paying minimal attention to her teacher as she droned on and on about a topic concerning physics. She too, could not focus as much as she was pondering the possibilities of Shadowmoth stepping up his game. She worried that if her and Chat Noir weren't careful enough, Shadowmoth would easily swipe down underneath their noses and take their miraculouses. That fear was beginning to haunt her.

She mustered up her courage and tapped him on the shoulder. "Adrien?"

He turned around, giving her a questioning look. "Are you alright?" she prodded.

He nodded back at her. "Of course I'm fine. Why are you asking?"

"O-oh, it's just that... you look down."

Adrien was amazed at how Marinette could tell how he was feeling in an instant. But he didn't want to bother her with his seemingly never-ending problems.

He forced a dull smile onto a face, which didn't look the least bit convincing to Marinette. "It's nothing, Marinette. I just... find this chemistry concept a bit difficult."

Marinette raised an eyebrow, still not believing him. She remembered that Adrien was quite good at physics. But she played along. "You do? I could help you."

"Uh, really, it's fine-"

"I insist, Adrien. Also, we have a fresh batch of croissants in the bakery. You like croissants, right?" she asked, smiling.

He simply couldn't resist the offer as his mind created an imagery of the mouth-watering treat in his mind. "Okay then. But I have to ask my fa-"

"Your father. No problem. I-"

"Adrien and Marinette, would you please pay attention?" Mrs. Mendeleiev scolded, tapping her chalk on the board. The whole class stared at the two.

Adrien turned back to the blackboard sheepishly. "Sorry, Mrs. Mendeleiev."

She continued with her lesson. Adrien turned to take one last look at Marinette for confirmation, and she winked back at him. For some reason, that made his cheeks color light pink.

Why am I acting so weird around Marinette?

--

Once again, Gabriel agreed to his son's wishes. Adrien was starting to suspect something about his father, but he brushed it off to the side.

He had come up with a stupid lie. Everyone knew he was clearly very good at physics, so he wondered how and why Marinette had believed him when he said he didn't understand it.

But he didn't really mind, because hanging out with Marinette never failed to make him happy.

In fact, he had a smile on his face just thinking about her as he sat in the backseat of his limousine, being driven to her house. Not that he noticed.

When he reached, he went up to their threshold and rang the doorbell. Marinette answered the door with a smile on her face. "Hi, Adrien!"

Tom leaned on his seat, spotting Adrien. "Oh, it's Adrien, the boy Marinette always talks a-mmph!" His voice was muffled as Sabine held her hands to his mouth. She smiled at Adrien. "Hello, Adrien!"

Adrien smiled back at all of them. "Hello Mr. Dupain, Mrs. Dupain-Cheng. Hey, Marinette."

He walked up with Marinette to her room and they sat down on her chairs. "So, what topic are you having difficulty in?" Marinette asked him with raised eyebrows.

Adrien was not in the mood to fake being bad at physics. He decided to come clean. He put his hand to his neck sheepishly. "Actually, Marinette... I'm not having difficulty in anything. I'm not bad at physics."

Marinette nodded. "I knew it."

"Wait, you knew?"

She snorted. "Of course I knew! You always get exceptional grades in all subjects, especially Physics."

He was confused. "Then why did you offer to help me?"

She sighed. "Adrien, I know something has been up with you lately. You seem so... down in the dumps."

He looked down. He figured there'd be no use of lying to Marinette as she already knew something was up.

"You're right. I am pretty... sad nowadays."

Marinette frowned, concerned. "Why?"

He took a deep breath. He recalled the day when he had cheered her up as Chat Noir when she was worried about him. Perhaps it would be alright if she cheered him up?

But, how would he talk to her about Ladybug?

"I..."

He glanced up into her blue eyes, filled with worry. He noticed how similar they looked to Ladybug's. He also took note of the shine in her eyes, and the beautiful bluebell color they had...

"Adrien?"

He snapped out of his daze and realized just how mesmerized he had gotten with her eyes. Great going, Adrien, he thought to himself, facepalming mentally.

"S-sorry. I just got distracted." Distracted because of your eyes.

"Does it have something to do with your father?"

"What? No. It's about a girl."

Her shoulders deflated at the mention of that. "Is it... the girl you like?"

"Um..." He wasn't even sure if he liked Ladybug anymore. There were still some feelings, but he wasn't nearly as head-over-heels for her as he used to be.

"I don't know whether I like her or not," he blurted out.

Marinette raised her eyebrows, puzzled. "Okay. What about her?"

"I'd rather not say. But what she did hurt." He said, looking downcast.

Marinette watched him sadly. She patted his shoulder.

"I knew something was up. Don't worry , Adrien. You've got me."

He smiled at her. "Thank you, Marinette. You're always there for me." He threw his arms around her, pulling her closer to him in a hug. She was caught by surprise as she felt her cheeks heating up, but she hugged him back. Adrien inhaled her sweet perfume and buried his head into her hair. He didn't feel like letting go.

That was where he felt safe most. Marinette's arms. And the feeling was mutual.