When You Switch Upon a Star

Chapter 17

The sharp noises of the sewing machine stuttered like a machine gun as Adrien ran a piece of black fabric underneath the needle, leaving a trail of threads behind its path. As Adrien clipped off a line of string, a soft thud rattled from the balcony above him. Curiously, Adrien stood up from his desk and climbed up the ladder to his bed.

The second Adrien pushed the trapdoor open, he spotted a certain superheroine perched up against the railing. Lady Noire. She stood with her back turned to him, like she hadn't realized he was watching her. Adrien stepped fully out of his trapdoor and took a couple steps towards his teammate.

"Lady Noire?"

Lady Noire's ears twitched as she swung her head over her shoulder, where Adrien stood right behind her. The superheroine fully turned her body around to face him.

"Oh, hey," Lady Noire said, "Sorry for visiting all of a sudden."

"I don't mind," Adrien stepped up next to her and leaned his back against the railing, "What brings you here, though?"

Lady Noire shrugged, "I just wanted to get out for a little bit."

"I see," Adrien tucked his hands in his jean pockets, "By the way, I think I know how you feel now."

Lady Noire blinked and glanced at him from the corner of her eye, "What do you mean?"

"When the person you love, loves someone else," Adrien muttered, "I should be grateful, though, because she sees me as a good friend. But it still hurts."

Lady Noire's lips sank downwards, her ears following the same path.

"Who is she?" Lady Noire asked, "If you don't mind answering."

Adrien turned his head to the side, where they landed on a large billboard displaying a picture of Marinette. Taking a deep breath, he opened his mouth to answer her question. However, he was cut off before he could even make a single sound.

"Nevermind that, I'm sorry for asking," Lady Noire said, "You don't have to tell me."

Adrien eyed the trapdoor on the floor of his balcony as he pushed himself off the railing, stopping just in front of Lady Noire. At the sight of his back turned to her, a very brief image of him holding a black umbrella crept its way into her vision.

"It was nice talking to you again, but I need to get back to work," Adrien said, "I have some aprons that I need to make by tomorrow night."

"Oh, that's right," Lady Noire swiped her fingers along a strand of her black bangs, "Would you like me to help? Maybe you can even teach me how to sew while you're at it."

Nervously, Adrien slid one hand out of his pocket and scratched the back of his head. As helpful as that would be, he would die of embarrassment due to the hundreds of Marinette pictures plastered all around his walls. It's not like Lady Noire was Marinette herself, but still. He couldn't let anyone see those pictures other than Nino or Tikki.

"It's okay, I only have a few left to make," Adrien responded.

His other hand brushed against something soft and light that had been hidden inside his pocket. Curiously, Adrien wrapped his fingers around this object and pulled his hand out. In his palm sat a small black rose made of some sort of thin, almost transparent fabric. He turned his head to look at Lady Noire, who had her head tilted to the side.

With a soft smile, Adrien turned around and took a single step forward, leaving just the smallest amount of space between him and Lady Noire. Lady Noire's lips parted as her vision showed a blond haired boy with black cat ears and a mask covering his eyes一the same boy that had appeared in her dreams a few times.

"Thanks for the offer, though," Adrien reached out, sliding the rose between her hair and ear, "You can keep the rose, it goes with your costume."

A faint cloud of redness colored her cheeks as Adrien turned away from her again. That last line he said echoed in her head, replaying over and over again like her favorite song on repeat.

You can keep the rose, it goes with your costume.

Before Lady Noire could say anything, Adrien opened up his trapdoor and jumped down. The trapdoor closed shut as he disappeared from view, leaving Lady Noire on the balcony in broad daylight. With the blush still on her face, the cat girl tilted her head down and gently placed a finger on the fake black rose in her hair.

~

"Adrien, are you falling for Lady Noire now?" Tikki asked.

Adrien flinched the second his brain processed the question he was being asked. In his distracted state, a sharp sting dug into his finger. Gasping in pain, Adrien took his hands off the sewing machine and held his finger up to his face. A small droplet of blood had broken through the skin on his fingertip.

"Sorry," Tikki apologized.

Adrien sighed, "It's fine, it's not that bad."

Adrien pulled a bandaid out from his desk and peeled it open. He wrapped the bandaid around his finger before turning around in his chair to face the kwami.

"But to answer your question, I don't really know to be honest," Adrien muttered, "It just doesn't feel... right."

Tikki blinked, "What do you mean?"

"You know I'm still in love with Marinette," Adrien said, "I can't fall for two girls at the same time. Besides, Lady Noire is more like a good friend to me."

Adrien glanced sadly at a picture of Marinette on his wall, taking in the joyful sight of her smile that lit up his entire room. With a smile like that, she might as well have created the sun.

"You have quite a few things to learn about Lady Noire," Tikki mumbled under her breath.

~

Seated at the foot of her bed, Marinette rotated the small black rose between her fingers, examining it from multiple angles. Her heart thumped roughly against her ribcage as thoughts of Adrien flooded through her.

"I see you're catching feelings for Adrien now aren't you?"

Breaking out of her thoughts, Marinette jumped at the voice of her kwami, who had been floating right beside her this entire time. Using her fingers, Marinette tucked a strand of dark hair behind her ears.

"Adrien?" Marinette laughed, "No way, he's just a friend! I'm in love with Misterbug."

Plagg rolled his eyes, "Whatever. Who needs love when you have cheese?"

Plagg flew off to help himself to some more cheese, bringing Marinette back aboard her train of thoughts. The train drove constantly between Adrien and that cat boy from her dreams.

Something about those two side by side sparked an unusual similarity that her mind struggled to grasp onto.