A Lady's Choice

4

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   Adrien sat outside the room where the student council was having their after-school meeting. He could hear their muffled voices and them shuffling around inside. Yet, he chose to focus on writing in his notebook.

   There was a pile of crumbled papers next to him. It continued to grow when he crumbled another sheet and thoughtlessly tossed it onto the pile. He groaned in annoyance.

   "Why is this so hard?" he questioned to no one. His head fell back against the wall he was resting against and tried again at accomplishing his task.

Then, he heard the door creak open and a few of his classmates filed one-by-one out of the room. He could hear Marinette's voice drawing closer.

This caused the emerald-eyed teen to panic, glancing between the door and his pile of failures.

Adrien quickly stuffed all the crumpled pieces of paper into his book bag and zipped it shut. It earned him some odd looks from Max and Nathaniel. But they didn't question him on his strange behavior.

Max was extremely aware of Adrien's feelings for the class president. It was a no-brainer ever since the gaming tournament and in the months since then. Plus, most of the class (even Nathaniel) noticed how close the two had become.

Some thought it was bizarre how two polar opposite people, who had a mutual distaste for each other in the first place, could grow so close. They supposed opposites attracted. Others that knew better saw right through Adrien and Marinette as if they were glass.

   It was just too bad that Marinette was oblivious to Adrien's crush on her. Max theorized it was due to Marinette's lack of understanding of socialization and expressed feelings. She didn't know what his flustered or gibberish hints were supposed to mean.

Max honestly couldn't think of what other conclusion Marinette could have come up with. What else could she possibly think of Adrien's change and didn't she find it strange? Did she ever question it?

"Adrien, what are you doing here?" Max asked, having a sneaking suspicion that he already knew.

   "It's nothing, ner—I mean, Max," Adrien corrected himself, still somewhat frazzled.

   Max and Nathaniel both deadpanned before glancing at each other. That was Marinette's cue to walk out of the classroom and spot the three boys lingering outside it. She smiled at the blonde sitting on the floor.

   "Ah! Mister Agreste! Thank you for patiently waiting!" Marinette spoke with gratitude.

   "I see nothing has arrived," Max muttered under his breath, earning a snort from Nathaniel and a glare from Adrien. Marinette didn't seem to catch onto the comment though as she turned to her fellow student body.

   "Mister Kurtzberg and Kanté, I would also like to thank you two for your hard work today," she added, "I do not know if we could accomplish some of the crucial tasks for the dance without you both."

   "It was no problem, Marinette," Nathaniel said, waving off her compliment, "For how much you do for this school, it's the least we could do."

"Affirmative," Max agreed, "If you need any sort of assistance with anything, don't be afraid to ask."

Marinette's cheeks grew rosy from their modesty (making a certain blonde fume a little).

"That is very generous of you two. I hope you both have a lovely rest of your evening," Marinette said, waving Max and Nathaniel off. Adrien stood from the ground and slung his backpack on his back. There was an effective crunching sound due to how stuffed his bag now was.