school time

Chapter 5

Marinette smiled, letting go of his arm. "Would you be able to come by tomorrow, then?"

Adrien smiled back. "Sure! I'll be here at around 9:00. Sound good?"

Marinette nodded. With that, Adrien took off towards his house, his mind a cacophony of "Shit"s and "Fuck"s. Why did he just agree to that?

Marinette

Marinette fell into her bed. "What did I just do, Tikki?"

Tikki swooped up, giving Marinette a strange look. "What do you mean?"

"I just asked Chat Noir if he would tutor me in physics! Doesn't he have better things to do with his time?"

Tikki giggled. "Well, if he is willing, you might be able to learn a thing or two about your partner!!"

Marinette sighed, looking up at her ceiling. "Well, I was actually thinking that I should ask Adrien, as well. I mean, he seems to be trying so hard to become friends with people. But, what would Alya and Nino think? They seem to think that he is the spawn of evil, no matter what I tell them."

Tikki clasped her hands behind herself, swinging back and forth. "Well, things will work out, one way or another."

Marinette sighed, and went back up through the skylight to grab her book. Then, she turned off her lights and went to bed.

The next day, Marinette had a hard time focusing on her teacher. She was going to be tutored by Chat Noir tonight! She wanted to tell Alya, but she knew that Alya would want to be there, so she could interview Chat Noir. Also, Alya would want to know how Marinette managed such a thing as that.

Marinette was relieved when the school bell rang, and she practically ran out of the school, walking back to her house. Alya and Nino had some sort of thing going on, which they wouldn't tell Marinette about. But, it involved a lot of whispering and looking at Marinette during lunch.

Marinette was almost home when she spotted a familiar figure a ways away. Adrien stood on the sidewalk, waiting to cross. It was the same crosswalk that Marinette used to get to her house, something that did not bother her as much as she would have thought.

She stepped up next to him, wondering what to say. She didn't have much time to think if over, however, since Adrien suddenly jumped into the air, letting out a clipped cry. "Ah! Marinette! I didn't see you there!"

Marinette looked at him with wide eyes. "Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to startle you!"

Adrien gave a weak smile. "It's fine. I was just spaced out for a second. School just let out?"

Marinette nodded. "Yeah. I'm just on my way home now."

"Allow me to walk you home, then."

"Sure. It's not too far away." Marinette glanced behind herself, feeling like she was being watched.

They started to cross the street in silence. There was some tension in the air, which Marinette had no idea how to break. Adrien cleared his throat. "So, um, what do you like to do with your free time?"

Marinette raised an eyebrow. "Interesting conversation starter. I like to design things sometimes, but I don't get too much free time to myself, between school and the bakery."

Adrien smiled slightly. "I bet that you're pretty good at designing. Do you also create the things you design?"

"Sometimes." Marinette was still feeling slightly awkward talking to Adrien so freely.

Adrien frowned slightly, but Marinette couldn't figure out why. "That sounds like fun."

Marinette let the conversation lag slightly, trying to think of something to say. Eventually, she settled on: "What do you like to do?"