Marinette tied her hair up. This time it was not because she hadn't washed it in a few days but because she was supposed to be pouring over her designs. Putting her hair up always made her feel like she worked better. It was probably because her hair was out of her face and she felt less inclined to twirl it between her fingers. In actuality, her pink journal laid on the tabletop long forgotten as she had busied herself with looking up the cat themed vigilante.
She bounced her leg under the diner table and bit her lip as she scrolled through the blurry photos of him. They didn't do Chat justice. The pictures must have been after thoughts from the people who encountered him as he was almost always turned away or in motion. She supposed she understood, she was a bit starstruck when she met him too. So much so that she still found her thoughts wandering to him even days after meeting him. Marinette wondered if he had that affect on everyone who crossed paths with him or if she had gone mad. The whole thing seemed absolutely crazy to her. Maybe he was insane? Who in their right mind willingly dressed as a cat themed superhero? Part of her hated that she had looked him up.
The young designer continued to comb through the various social media posts about Chat. It was an endless stream of either squeaky positivity or bashing negativity. It didn't seem like he was all that liked by law enforcement and low level criminals. Apparently, he had a tendency to break bones. Learning that about him made her wonder if it was true. She wished she hadn't looked him up at all. The memory of him smiling at her clashed with what she read. She couldn't see him as a violent force. One report had even compared him to a calamity, a vengeful storm. Marinette didn't want to even think of him as something so inherently negative, but it did nothing but leave a lingering thought in her mind. It became a scratch she couldn't itch, a little voice of doubt that mumbled incessantly. How could someone who helped her, who made her chest ache pleasantly, be bad?
Chat Noir didn't seem like the type to do something violent, at least without prompting, but what did she know? She saw him during the day when there were other people around. There were news stories from sources claiming to have been dragged into dark alleys and beaten by Chat. These claims dated back months which shocked her. The young designer had never heard of the vigilante that frequented her neighborhood. Marinette wondered what she had been doing for the past couple months as she hadn't heard of him until their fateful encounter. Considering he had been on the evening news she was surprised to see how long he had actually been around. Her thought were interrupted when Alya cleared her throat. The designer to be picked her head off the table to look at her friend.
"That doesn't look like designing to me," Alya pointed out. She was typing away at her laptop. An untouched soda sat in front of her and Marinette was almost wanted to reach out and take a big gulp of the drink. They had to order something in order to stay in the diner. Sodas just happened to be the cheapest thing on the menu. Marinette rolled her eyes but sheepishly closed the multiple tabs she had opened.
"When's Chloé coming?" She asked just to change the subject because she could feel the judgement rolling off of Alya. "I need to see if she vibes with this color." Marinette nodded toward her new sketches. A multitude of new designs filled the pages. The designer had been feeling a bit inspired lately. She had filled pages upon pages with ideas for the new projects for her class. The colors were vibrant and the designs beautiful. She eyed the noticeable inclusions of green with a sort of disdain for herself. It was obvious where the inspiration had suddenly come from. A certain hero with snarky remarks fluttered through her mind frequently. However, she would never be caught saying that he was her muse. That would just be too much considering that they only met once.
"I think, Chloé would say that it didn't matter if she liked it or not and that you should just go with your gut. Nine times out of ten it's always right." Alya hadn't even stopped typing as she uttered the phrase. Her eyes scanned the screen with a precision that rivaled that of Marinette's stitching.
أنت تقرأ
All That Remains » Marichat
أدب الهواة"I'm kinda like a superhero." "The news says you're a vigilante and a menace." "Same difference really." In which a girl who just wants to pass her classes gets caught up in something that's entirely too big with a guy who's dressed like a cat.
