Tutor Sessions ||Adrienette

10

The tutor sessions she used to have with Adrien were never the same anymore. There was no Adrien she could stare at for eternity, no fun moments with him, no croissants around for him to devour, no silliness; it was plain boring. Well, at least it was for her. Don't get her wrong, Marinette absolutely likes Nathaniel! It's just perhaps, nothing is the same without Adrien by her side in the library.

This didn't get past Nathaniel though. The redhead knew and noticed how bored the girl had been ever since he substituted Adrien. She was much more bored, yawns more than usual, and spaces out a lot. He couldn't blame her though; he was the most boring person he ever knew. He's just an awkward introverted artist who loves to admire her from afar, while Adrien's rich and a famous teen model who pretty much has everything, from the riches to the girls; he's just far too interesting than him.

But he couldn't just stop there and give up, right?

Presently, the two were seated at the center of the library and had books and notebooks laid out in front of them as they studied for the upcoming Chemistry exam. Nathaniel bit his lip as he scanned the given pages in the book for questions he can give Marinette. Once he spotted one, he immediately placed the book down and shut it, "Okay! Here's another question: which family in the periodic table contains elements with seven electrons in their outermost energy levels?"

He peeked his head from the book and stared at the currently spacing out fashion designer, making the artist sigh deeply. He cleared his throat to catch her attention, which he failed. He called out to her a couple of times before finally catching her attention. "The answer is the Halogen family." she replied without tearing her eyes from the sketch she was working on. Her cheek rested onto her right hand as her hands swiftly moved across the paper. Call him a tomato or a weirdo, but he finds it beautiful. Well, to him, she's the definition of beautiful.

He resorted to the decision to ask her about what was bothering her once and for all. He has to do it, even if it would either result to the possibility of pain and heartache. He took a deep breath and exhaled; he was going to do it.

"M-Marinette?" he shakily called out to the teen, who merely hummed in response. The redhead rubbed the back of his neck and leaned his back onto the chair's backrest. "Is there something bothering you? I noticed how bored and unenthusiastic you were lately. T-That is if you don't mind sharing it with me..." A nervous laugh escaped his lips, while a sigh came out of Marinette's.

"It's nothing, Nath. You don't have to worry about me, I'm fine. What's the question again?" muttered the girl. She reassuringly smiled at Nathaniel, who was unconvinced that she was truly fine. He could see past her broken smile and her excuses; there was definitely something bothering her.

Nathaniel sighed. "I don't believe you,"

Marinette stiffened in her seat and blinked at him a couple of times in confusion. What? Did she not execute the smile properly? Was it too obvious? She nervously rubbed her neck and chuckled nervously, "W-What?"

He shook his head and glanced at her through the corner of his eye, "I don't believe you, Marinette. You're clearly bothered about something. You can't fool me, y'know," She averted her eyes to the floor as she pondered on whether to tell him or not, while Nathaniel turned his chair in order to face her. Without a second thought, which was odd, he reached for her hands and enveloped them in his larger ones. She lifted her gaze from the floor to his eyes which had a concerned glint in it.

"Please, Marinette, tell me. I won't laugh, I promise!" said Nathaniel. Marinette bit her lip in thought. She didn't really have much of a choice, didn't she? She stared at him through her lashes and whispered, "Promise?"

Nathaniel warmly smiled at her and nodded. "I promise."

"Okay, I know that this is really silly but..." she trailed off as she deeply exhaled the breathe she has been holding for quite some time, while Nathaniel encouragingly nodded her to continue. "I just feel worried about Adrien. Sure he's in the hospital, well and alive, but I can't help but feel like something's wrong. I just can't put my finger on it," Nathaniel tensed up a bit, and he instantly felt absolutely guilty. He felt responsible for Adrien's injuries. Marinette noticed this, and she immediately attempted to try to make him not feel like it's his own fault, "H-Hey, it's not your fault. Hawk Moth did this to you, not you."