A/N - let me make one thing clear. This is a multi-ship story meaning I will be breaking ships up, pairing ships up, and rebuilding ships up. I plan to make this story somewhat long, which will allow me to dive into the different relationships of not only my character and the other characters. Enjoy the chapter :)
~*~
A week later
Claire made her way to the nearby bakery, where she planned to meet the rest of her newly found friends. She had grown closer to Marinette as she discovered her parents owned her new favorite bakery. They bonded about their love for fashion. Marinette wanting to design the outfits and Claire wanting to have the latest fashion trends.
Claire had grown more comfortable around her friends, she no longer stuttered to the point where her sentences were unable to be interpreted. She stuttered less but still was shy to speak up in the group.
"Umm.. h-hi. Can I have a chocolate scone please?"
Claire nervously said as she rummaged through her bag for her wallet.
"No worries Claire, it's on the house."
Claire shook her head, insisting on paying. The short black blue-haired lady shook her hood and smiled.
"T-Thank you Mrs.Dupang-Cheng. I-I will repay you for your kindness.
"Just remember you are always welcome here at the bakery. No matter what. And call me Sabine dear."
Sabine held Claire on the shoulders and gave her a tight squeeze. Claire couldn't help but smile, she felt so loved by Sabine every time she would come by the bakery.
"Hey, Claire!"
Alya and Nino had just walked in through the doors of the bakery. Alya held an empty picnic basket and Nino was holding a tray of smoothies.
"Who's ready for a picnic at the Pont des Arts!?"
Alya excitedly walked towards me, holding the basket in her hands. She handed me the basket and I looked up at her.
"It's such a beautiful day outside. I really hope I get to find some inspiration."
Marinette came down to the bakery as she held a stack of sandwiches. Alya and Nino instantly laughed at the sight of Marinette.
"Marinette, watch out!"
Claire gasped as Marinette tripped over a bag of flour. She immediately fell onto the floor, knocking the sandwiches into the air. Claire immediately reacted and sprinted towards Marinette, catching all the sandwiches before they hit the ground. Claire quickly set the sandwiches on the counter and helped Marinette off the ground.
"Wow, Claire."
A faint voice came from behind Alya and Nino. Claire patted Marinette down, releasing the excess flour from her clothes. She looked up at the door and saw the blonde boy standing in the doorway. Her face immediately flushed with pink as she quickly hid her face away from Adrien.
"Thanks, Claire! Our sandwiches would've been ruined if you didn't catch them!"
Marinette immediately hugging Claire from the back. Claire smiled and held Marinette's hand as they were around her.
"N-No problem."
Adrien picked up the empty picnic basket off the floor and handed it to Claire. Their hands touching for a slight moment, causing Claire to immediately pull her hand back and blush. Claire turned around, helping Marinette put the sandwiches in the basket.
"Are we ready guys?"
Everyone smiled and laughed.
~*~
The group was laid out around a tree, which provided the perfect amount of shade and sunlight. Alya and Nino were up cuddling on one side and Marinette was sketching something out in her journal, and Adrien sat beside her watching her sketch.
Claire was cleaning up the area they had ate their sandwiches ate. She looked over at Marinette and Adrien being all friendly towards each other. Claire sighed as she quickly looked away. A sad smile formed on her face, she could feel tears start to form.
Poor Claire. She really thought someone like Adrien could actually like her. Pathetic. No one will ever love you, Claire. Accept it. You are nothing to Adrien.
She wiped the tears away and plugged her earphones into her phone. She laid back down and looked up at the sky whilst she listening to her soft piano tunes. A dark shadow approached over her.
"Hey, are you okay?"
Claire sat up to look at the figure and all she saw was blue hair. Claire looked up at him confused. He had his hand extended out, he helped Claire up, and then Marinette's voice could be heard.
"Luka!"
She ran over to the blue-haired and immediately hugged him.
"Hey, Marinette."
The rest of the friends came together around the boy.
"I didn't know you invited Luka, Marinette!"
Alya said as she excitedly pulled onto Marinette's arm.
"Hey, we haven't met yet. My name is Luka."
Luka smiled at Claire, and Claire awkwardly waved back. Marinette let go of Alya and put her hand onto Luka's shoulder, facing Claire.
"Luka! This is Claire! The girl I've been telling you about!"
"Uhmm-hi, I'm Claire."
Claire felt embarrassed. She had finally gotten used to everyone in the group, now there's a new person she has to get used to great.
"Nice to finally meet you!"
Luka was a tall fair skin slender guy, with black hair with blue tips at the end. He had black studs in and his nails were painted black. Claire thought he was attractive.
"N-Nice to m-meet you too"
Claire quietly said, hiding her face away from Luka. The rest of the group talked with Luka. Claire felt out of place like she didn't belong with the group.
Oh, Claire. You really think they are gonna include you in their conversations. You're still the new girl, you'll always be the new girl. No one cares much about the new girl. Get over yourself, Claire.
Claire moved away from the group. She walked towards the edge of the river and stared out. She took a long deep breath, taking in the view among her. A smile came across Claire's face as she did this.
I've always loved the outdoors.
Claire thought to herself.
"Claire?"
Claire turned around to see Adrien standing beside her.
"Hey, Adrien."
Claire remained quiet, she didn't know what to say or what to do. They both stared onto the river, taking in the scenery and the sounds. The birds were chirping, you could hear the water splash, the casual bystander who would walk past the bridge.
"This is my favorite spot in Paris by far."
Claire quietly said as she looked over to Adrien. Adrien looked back at her and smiled.
"It is very beautiful."
Adrien looked back at the water. The tension between the two had only grown quieter.
"Adrien?"
Claire turned to face the boy. He looked down at her and smiled. This caused Claire to smile back. She didn't notice this until his cheeks turned pink.
"You have a pretty smile, Claire."
Now Claire's face was pink. Before Claire could respond, both their names were being called by Alya.
"Claire! Adrien!"
They both walked back to the rest of the group. Alya and Nino had their bags on them.
"Me and Nino are going over to my place to... umm hang out?"
Nino immediately looked away embarrassed. Marinette and Luka laughed as Claire and Adrien awkwardly stood there not understanding the joke.
"I don't get it?"
Adrien said. This caused both couples to look at Adrien. Claire had looked away, knowing this will lead to an awkward conversation.
"Don't worry about it, dude! She was just kidding.. right Alya?"
Nino playfully punched Alya on the arm. She laughed and shook her head. Adrien was still confused, not understanding why Alya was laughing.
"Adrien, you are too adorable and innocent! Just know it's not kid friendly!"
Alya laughed as she waved the rest of us goodbye.
"I have to get home too, see you soon Claire!"
Marinette had said, picking up the picnic basket and blanket. Luka took these things for her and held them for her in one hand. They waved goodbye and I could see her and Luka holding hands as they walked away.
"Are those two together? Like dating?"
Claire had asked Adrien, who was also watching them leave. Adrien rubbed his neck and looked at Claire.
"I think so? I think it's relatively new."
Adrien explained. They both stood there in silence as they waited for the other to speak.
"Do you wanna go for ice cream?"
The blonde quietly asked. Claire couldn't help but smile.
"Of course."
This made Adrien instantly smile. The two walked to the ice cream vendor who's set up in the middle of the bridge. The sun was setting and the two grabbed their ice creams and sat on the same bench Claire and Chat Noir sat at.
This made Claire remember this memory, she smiled at the thought. Adrien had also remembered this memory, he turned to look at Claire. He saw her smile and he looked in the other direction and smile.
"What are you smiling about?"
Adrien had curiously asked. Claire's face flushed with embarrassment and she nodded.
"This is where I first met Chat Noir. He was really sweet and kind."
Claire looked out at the water, the sun was setting over the river. Adrien looked out as well, reflecting back on this memory.
"Is he everything you ever dreamed about?"
Adrien gave a small smirk. He hid this but looked back at Claire.
"To be honest with you, I didn't know Paris had superheroes at all. But meeting him was nice, he was really a very smooth cat."
Adrien's heart started racing when he heard this. The way Claire talked about Chat Noir made Adrien feel nervous.
"So, do you like this Chat Noir?"
Claire was caught off guard with this question. She sighed and looked at Adrien.
"I appreciate him, being one of Paris's superheroes after all. But I don't know the guy, I'm just not head over heels for him."
Adrien felt a pain struck his heart. But he did understand what she meant. Adrien hadn't visited Claire as Chat Noir since that night. The one reason is that he didn't know how he could have feelings for Claire both as Adrien and Chat Noir.
Claire had scooted closer to Adrien. She put her head on top of Adrien's shoulder. Claire had grown more comfortable being around Adrien the most, she still felt like a nervous wreck but she felt like she could be honest with him. She gathered up the courage and looked up at him. Adrien looked back at Claire's green eyes as they reflected with the sun.
Claire.
Her name lingered around in his head. He smiled at her. He slowly gave in and leaned in towards Claire's lips. Claire's heart was racing out of her chest.
This is it.
Their faces were inches apart. Claire could tell Adrien was nervous as she was too. They continued to lean closer and closer...
Ring. Ring. Ring.
Adrien's phone went off. Claire immediately pulled away, all embarrassed. Adrien frustratingly looked away and picked his phone up.
"Hello?"
Nathalie: Adrien where are you? You were supposed to be back by dinner.
"I was with my friend Claire."
Claire could feel her heartbreak when Adrien called her a friend. She quickly looked away and got up and walked away from Adrien. She waited a couple of minutes until Adrien finished his phone call.
"I'll be back soon."
Adrien hung up and approached Claire who had been leaning against the railing of the bridge.
"I'm sorry Claire, I have to go home."
Claire was looking out to the water. She inhaled the air and nodded to Adrien.
"I'll see you soon Claire."
Adrien headed towards his car which was waiting for him near the tree they were at earlier. This left Claire looking out at the water. She let a few tears stream down her face before returning back home.
——
A/N - I know I'm writing a lot recently but I have been on a roll recently so before I lose this I wanna take advantage of it. I know a lot of people aren't reading my stories which is cool, these are mostly for me. I like writing as a creative outlet, I just share these stories so I can feel good. I am currently loving my own ship, Claire X Adrien. Also yes Lukanette is amazing, we all know who's endgame though. But before I do that I wanna do all this beforehand, to make the story fun and interesting. Anyways have a great day if you are reading this :)
-purplebuckethat
*January 28, 2021*