Chemistry & Timing: A Miraculous Moment

Silence (4)

Marinette POV:

What if I make it an off-shoulder neckline with lace trim? I sketch in my book an idea I have for a formal dress. I'm hoping to get the design finished by the end of the week so I can start working on it for the winter dance. Maybe Tikki will wear it when I'm done.

Who am I kidding? The last dress I asked her to wear she ripped the bottom half off and fell off her roller blades into a pit of mud.

Speak of the devil, Tikki bursts through my trap door and walks up the steps with an armful of macaroons (including one in her mouth). She flops on my day sofa and I look over at her from my desk. She just gives me a macaroon-filled smile before she swallows it whole. As she chews, she asks, "Whatcha workin' on?"

I smile and roll my eyes, "A new dress. Do you really have to clean us out of our macaroons before the shop even opens?"

Tikki shrugs and pops another one, "Not my fault your dad's a sugary-sweet maestro. I swear he should have more shops."

"Maybe one day," I go back to sketching, "And maybe he'll hire you if you stop stealing all of our inventory."

"Ha! I'll have you know that my baking skills have only gotten better with my constant taste testing."

"Taste testing? Right. Does this mean you're settling on the culinary track?"

"Probably, but I just hope I can keep taking chem. Ms. Mendeleiev might be a buzzkill sometimes, but I like the experiments," Tikki pops another macaroon (I swear this girl is made of sugar with how much she eats), "Plus I get the feeling it'll be a lot more entertaining with kitty cat in class."

I have to look over my shoulder at her after hearing, "Kitty cat? Who's that?"

Tikki gives me an amused smile, "You know, Adrien."

I blush a bit at the sound of his name (I have GOT to stop doing that!) then laugh a little, "Why are you calling him kitty cat?"

"Because he was like a lost kitten yesterday. All shy and sweet. You know what I mean?"

I think of Adrien's green eyes and they do kinda remind me of a cat's, but I shake the thought, "No, I don't, and I'm not sure if you should be calling him that."

Tikki gives me a side glance, "Oh? Why is that? Is it because you wanna call him that?"

I turn back to my sketch so she can't see my blushing face, "No! I just—think he'll think you're...flirting with him."

"And what if I am?"

I turn back around so quickly that I'm surprised my head didn't fly off. Tikki just lays back on the day sofa with her eyes closed and the same amused grin on her face.

Is...she being serious?

Hesitantly, I ask, "A-are–are you?"

She peeks one eye open at me to see my rigid posture. I think she can feel the thousand thoughts racing through my brain demanding an answer now. With every second she waits to answer, they become increasingly violent and self-hating.

Finally, she laughs, spilling all the macaroons on her chest onto the floor, "Oh my God, you should see your face! I swear you look like you were about to have a full system crash!" She keeps laughing as I slowly start to loosen the death grip I had on my desk chair. Finally, she says, "No, I am not gonna flirt with Adrien. I'm not into blondes anyway."

I get up quickly and punch her in the arm, "Not funny!"

"Ow!" she yells as I go back to my desk, "It's been so long that I forgot how territorial you get with your crushes."