Behind The Mask ~Ladynoir Fanfiction~

Chapter 10

Marinette...

I was so glad that we didn't have school the next day - Alya had called her parents and got permission to stay over at my house, to keep me company. Adrien had dropped us off beneath the building after the party was forced to end by the Akuma attack - and that was when the most strangest thing happened.

The night had become chilly and I hugged myself as the wind whistled and played around me. Alya had already gone inside and Adrien and I were standing face to face beneath the dull light of a lamp post. I was carefully avoiding looking at him.

'You sure you're ok?' he asked softly after I awkwardly said goodbye. I looked up at his familiar face - sincere worry was etched all over it. His intense eyes shook me and I blushed deeply, feeling heat on my face but shivers in my spine. Yet I felt a small twinge of annoyance somewhere deep within me; I'm not frail or fragile... He shouldn't worry so much.

'I'm honestly fine, Adrien,' I whispered, rubbing my hands on my bare arms, which were dotted with goosebumps. I was eager to retreat into the warm confines of my house.

Just as I took a step back, Adrien put a hand on my shoulder, the warm skin of his hand burning me. Like always, electricity flowed at the point of contact and my heart rate accelerated. He pulled me gently towards him as I stared with wide eyes into his calm, green ones. His eyes were as deep and as calming as still water.

His face moved slowly, torturingly, close to mine. I felt my legs tremble beneath me as I gazed at the mesmerising boy, close enough to kiss. He closed his eyes and brushed his pouty, warm lips against my cheek to my ear, leaving a trail of blazing red skin. My knees shook and heat travelled down my neck as Adrien moved back, releasing me from his grip.

'Bye, Marinette...' he said quietly, his eyes oddly blank. Unable to say a word, I turned around and opened the bakery door, feeling a gust of warm wind invite me inside. Before stepping in I looked back one last time to catch a glimpse of the boy who had just brushed a lingering kiss on my cheek. But he was gone.

Of course, Alya combusted with happiness when I stuttered to her what had just happened. 'He likes you, Marinette! He definitely likes you!' she squealed, dancing around the room.

I laughed breathlessly, my slow, numbed brain catching up with my body. He had... kissed... me.

A soft smile played on my lips as Alya celebrated in the room. I had been ecstatic, of course. But exhaustion was creeping up on me and the whole day felt like a dream. A beautiful, dizzying dream. But only one thing ruined it, like the wrong key in a chord, jarring a familiar melody.

Chat Noir - he seemed different. Detached, somehow. He hadn't looked at me, Ladybug, in the same way he used to. There was something guarded his usually playful eyes. And as I turned over in my bed, warm waves of drowsiness softly crashing over me, my mind left the scene with Adrien downstairs and went instead to Chat Noir...

~~

'Uh, Marinette, can I talk to you?' said a voice beside me. It was mid morning and the sunlight that fell in masses through the school windows was cold and faint. I was sitting alone at my desk as Alya had left moments before to use the bathroom. It was the end of our physics' class and we had a short fifteen minute break in school.

I looked up to find Adrien looking down at me, his mouth in a half smile. Instantly, memories of last night flashed before my eyes and I couldn't help but blush as I looked into his bright green eyes.

'Sure,' I smiled, standing up. We walked silently out of the classroom and with half a glance over my shoulder, I caught Nino giving Adrien an annoyed look.

'So... what did you want to talk about?' I asked as my heart rate picked up slightly. We were in the empty school hallway, beside the classroom door. Adrien leaned against the wall beside me casually and I froze where I was, close to Adrien's body.

'I was just wondering if today, instead of studying at your house, we study in mine,' he said nonchalantly, smiling down at me. I noticed his blank eyes; his mind was elsewhere.

'Why?' The word had slipped out before I could stop it and I mentally pinched myself. Don't go poking your nose into Adrien's personal life...

He sighed unhappily, looking at the ground. 'Well... you remember that party we went to yesterday?' he asked, frowning.

'Of course,' I said quickly, wondering what he was leading up to.

'My father... Well... I wasn't technically allowed to go out last night and when Father found out I went anyway... he got angry,' Adrien said dully, his eyes flickering with memories. 'We got into a fight. A... really bad one,' he said thickly, his voice cracking halfway through.

 Without thinking, I held his hand, instinctively trying to find a way to comfort him. He glanced down at my small hands clutching his own and smiled smally.

'Thanks... Anyway, he shouted at me pretty bad and so, I'm grounded,' said Adrien. 'Yay,' he added sarcastically.

'I don't get it... if he told you not to, why did you go last night?' I asked, confusion tinting the curiosity in my voice.

'I guess I just wanted to be a rebel - break out of the tight grip my father always has on me. Oh, and I wanted to see you, of course, and how you would dress for the occasion,' he teased, smiling crookedly at me.

A vision of my party outfit came into my mind and I immediately blushed, biting my lip. He began chuckling at my embarrassment.

'Well.. thanks?' I smiled smally up at him, the boy whose eyes shone like stars as he laughed.

'Anytime, little lady.' He winked at me before leading us back to class - Only when I spotted a furious looking Nathanael glaring at our hands did I remember to let go of him and went quickly back to my seat, hiding my face behind a notebook. Are they all staring at me? Oh, God...

~~