Friday morning began with an early start. I woke up at five thirty for some reason, rolled over and tried to go back to sleep and realized a moment later that it was completely futile. So I dragged myself out of bed and padded to the shower.
When I was smelling like my favorite berry shampoo and just a little more awake, I yanked off the shower faucet and wrapped myself up in a towel. It took me about five minutes to get dressed, brush my hair and teeth and dust on my usual light layer of makeup.
After that was finished, it was barely six. I needed to get out of the house. I slipped on my coat, tucked my cell phone into my pocket, grabbed my school bag, and left the apartment.
Mom and Dad were heavy sleepers so slipping outside unheard wasn't a problem. I probably should have left them a note telling them I left earlier, but I decided that I just didn't care at the moment. The streets outside weren't as busy as they normally were, so it took less time to get to the bus.
The bus ride seemed much shorter than it normally did, too. And it was when I was walking off the bus did I realize where I'd unconsciously decided to go. I'd unintentionally been heading to the park.
I'd made it to the middle of the park and was just deciding on turning back around to actually head for school when I caught sight of Adrien sitting on a nearby bench, what a coincidence. I couldn't see his face, but I knew it was him and I knew he must've had a lot of his mind.
Before I could change my mind, I fast walked down the sidewalk toward the bench and dropped myself down beside Adrien. He looked up in surprise at me and raised an eyebrow, his lips pressed together in a tight line.
"What're you doing in here?" He asked quietly, scuffing his shoe against the sidewalk.
"Couldn't sleep," I said with a shrug. "And I wanted some hot chocolate."
Adrien gave a short laugh. "Very funny."
"I try."
I saw him fiddling with something in his hands out of the corner of my eye and turned to see that he was rolling a cigarette between his fingers.
Oh, please don't tell me he smokes.
There was a disconcerting look in his eyes as he twisted the cigarette between his fingers, like he was having a serious internal debate with himself. Maybe something happened when he got home last night that could be causing this debate? I didn't entertain the subject, not wanting to upset him so early in the morning.
"Need a light?" I asked, though I didn't have a lighter on me, frowning.
Adrien shook his head, the corners of his lips twisting in a grin. "I haven't smoked in awhile."
Well, I certainly hadn't been expecting to hear that. I guess hearing that he did smoke was better than hearing that he does smoke.
"Why is that?" I demanded, trying to keep my voice down.
"These things kill you and some annoying girl made me see reason," Adrien said nonchalantly. "No big deal, really."
Huh. Not a big deal? I happened to think it was a very big deal, but to each her own.
"I bet that annoying girl is very proud of you for it," I said in what I hoped was a cheery voice.
"Oh, I don't know," Adrien sighed. He bounced the cigarette in his palm for a second before he whipped back his arm and chucked it across the park. I lost sight of it a second later. "She probably is, but she's so confusing and I have no idea what she's thinking about all the time."
My heart started pounding against my chest at his words and I was hesitant to look him in the eye. I had rarely ever heard Adrien be so open before, even in a jestful manner. The only time he'd ever been open to sharing with me was probably that one time he told me about his dad in this very park.
But was I really that confusing?
I took a deep breath and glanced up at Adrien. His gaze was directed on something across the park and everything about his face was serious; the look in his eyes, his locked jaw, the way his lips were pressed together.
I don't know what made me reach out and grab his hand, but that's what I did a second later. Adrien jerked in surprise and flinched away from my touch. I winced out of embarrassment and immediately started mentally berating myself. How stupid was that?
But then it was my turn to jump in suprise when Adrien's fingers laced through mine. His hand was loose around my own, like he was afraid to touch me. For that moment, though, I didn't really mind it.
I desperately wanted to ask him if he was alright, if there was anything I could do to help him. However, I'd learned from past experiences that totally wasn't a smart thing to do. If Adrien was going to tell me what he was thinking or feeling, he'd have to do it on his own.
The thing was? I don't think I had the time to wait for that.
Adrien pulled himself up to his feet a few minutes later and helped me up next. I grabbed my school bag off the ground and tossed it over my shoulder.
I turned to ask Adrien what was going to happen next, but he beat me to the punch.
"What happened to your head?" He asked, a frown creasing his features.
My hand immediately flew to the shallow cut above my right eye and I gave a sheepish smile. "A book fell off one of the shelves in the library and hit me on the head."
He stared at me in amazement. "You are such a clutz."
I laughed awkwardly, trying to make it seem like I was agreeing with him. This was hardly the case.
That book falling off that shelf, hitting me on the head, was no accident and this definitely wasn't paranoia on my part. It took me probably a good half hour of thinking before I finally realized the relation between that stupid law book and the new game Snakes seemed fond of playing.
What had Adrien told me when he found me after school yesterday? He'd told me that he was afraid to go home. Why won't he tell someone that can actually help with the situation? Something about this didn't add up. There had to be more going on underneath the surface than anybody else was aware of.
And this was no coincidence. Snakes was trying to tell me something and the message had definitely been received.
"Do you think Charlene is awake?" I asked Adrien, lost in thought.
"Yes," Adrien answered slowly. "The salon she works at opens at seven, why?"
"I need to talk to her." I said.
That was the only explanation I gave before I turned on my heel and made my way for the nearest bus stop. Adrien followed suit, hot on my heels.
"Marinette, what's going on?"
"I need to talk to your aunt," I repeated. "About your dad."
Adrien reached out and yanked my hand back as I went to stand by the bus stop bench. He spun me around, gripping my shoulders tightly, digging his fingernails into my jacket.
"That's not a good idea. At all."
I knew talking to Charlene about Gabriel could've been something undoubtedly risky, but I had to do it. And besides, I knew how I could temporarily get Adrien away from Gabriel, but I needed help.
"You just have to trust me on this one, Adrien," I told him, cutting my eyes to his. Adrien looked as if trusting me was the last thing he wanted to do.
His eyes were narrowed, his posture rigid, and everything about him screamed overprotective, and all for his aunt. His breathing was a little ragged as he deliberated over an answer for what felt like several minutes.
He finally gave an exasperated sigh and said, "If you make her cry, or hurt her in any possible way, I swear to God you won't ever see us again."
I flinched backwards at Adrien's harsh, abrasive tone and the urge to take off sprinting was more than overpowering. But that wouldn't do me any good, because this was something that had to be dealt with right then and not sometime later.
Adrien's threat would definitely become a reality, I knew that, but I couldn't take the chance of not doing this.
"I can't promise that," I admitted, thinking of mine and Charlene's conversation on Wednesday night. "But I can promise that I'm going to help."
Adrien looked taken aback by my words and I turned and climbed onto the bus that just pulled up before he had a chance to say anything else. I slipped into a seat while Adrien sat beside me.
When I finally reached the front door of the salon, I was breathing heavily and my heart was pounding. The door was unlocked and I could hear the sounds of Taylor Swift playing from the inside.
By my surprise, Kai and Shane were seated on salon chairs, chatting and giggling like usual, oblivious to the fact that something horrible had just occurred. I let out a sigh of relief when I saw them, alive and well and unharmed. Snakes hadn't tried getting to them, yet.
Adrien slammed the door shut behind us and Charlene turned towards us in surprise, looking shocked to see us standing in the waiting area.
"Marinette, Adrien," Charlene said in a surprised voice. "What brings you here?"
Before I had the chance to answer, the boys all whipped around, shouted "Marinette!" and then took off running to tackle me in a tight hug.
"Hi, boys," I said quickly, returning their hugs, then turned back to Charlene. "I need to talk to you, Charlene."
Maybe it was something in my voice that made Charlene realize that this was going to be no simple conversation. She must have known what was coming, because her already pale face turned even whiter and I could see her swallow hard. Her eyes were already bloodshot and shinning and I hoped she wasn't going to cry. I really hoped she wasn't going to cry.
"Adrien." Charlene addressed her nephew in a hard, firm voice. "Go get the boys ready for school."
"But what about our haircuts!" Shane exclaimed loudly.
"You'll get them later," Charlene said. "Now go with your cousin."
Adrien scooped Kai up into his arms and ushered Shane towards the back, but not before turning back to me with a serious look on his face.
"I sure hope you know what you're doing." He muttered warningly before taking the boys into the back.
Yeah, I thought with a mental sigh. I sure hope I know what I'm doing, too.
I set my bag on the couch in the waiting area and walked further into the salon, toward Charlene. She was leaning up against a counter with her arms crossed and she had definitely seen better days.
"I'm sorry," I said honestly. "Adrien told me something happened yesterday."
Charlene inhaled shakily and gave a nod, not meeting my eye and didn't say anything.
"But I think I have a way to help."
Charlene snapped her head up and stared up at me with an incredulous look. "Marinette, you're sixteen. Unless you can stop an overpowered grown man—"
"I can keep Adrien away from Gabriel for at least two weeks." I highly doubted I could have pulled a more shocking turn on her than I did just there.
"Marinette. If Adrien had the choice to stay away from his father for two weeks i'm sure he would, but it's not his decision to make, honey."
"Well, me and my parents are leaving the city for two weeks to visit my aunt. Gabriel will never know that he is with us. He'll think Adrien just disappeared."
Charlene frowned, "I don't know..."
I knew this wasn't going to be easy, convincing Charlene that this trip could do so much to help Adrien. And my parents would probably agree with a lot of begging, because I couldn't remember the last time I'd ever asked my parents for anything and if I knew my father like I thought I did, then he'd let Adrien come along.
"Why are you doing this, Marinette?" She asked, her voice dead serious as she stared at me.
I frowned. "What do you mean?"
"You're going to get yourself into not very nice things if you do this," She elaborated. "I'm not trying to be rude, but you're asking for trouble. You've never dealt with things like this before, have you?"
I shook my head, realizing she was right, but kept my ground anyways. "I haven't, but I honestly don't care. None of you deserve this and I promise you I'll do everything I can to help. You all are honestly like my second family and I don't want to see something bad happen to any of you."
Both of us were quiet after my rather long winded speech. I was shocked at myself that I'd even spoke up like that. But I'd meant every word I'd said. Over these last weeks, I'd spent more time with the Agreste family than I had my own and I wasn't about to let anything happen to any of them.
"I'm not sure whether this is going to work or not," Charlene said in a strained voice a moment later. "But it would be rude of me not to accept your offer. And I'm honored that you consider us your family. You're a great young woman, Marinette."
It was probably because I'd never been told that before that made me rush forward to throw my arms around Charlene in a tight hug.
But through all of this, let's just hope Adrien agreed to tagging along.
"You want to tell me what that whole talk with my aunt was about?" I glanced over at Adrien as we walked towards school, a little hesitant to tell him what was going on.
"You probably don't want to hear it."
Adrien's eyes narrowed. "Try me."
I blew out a sigh, keeping my eyes trained on my feet as we walked. "You and your aunt are going to need to come over to my place after school. We've got some begging to do."
That was definitely enough to shock Adrien speechless. "What?" He gasped.
"I know you think I'm stupid and incapable of doing much, but I'm going to try and help with your father," I told him seriously. "It's in your family's best interest to just trust me. I know what I'm doing."
"I don't think you're stupid," He told me with an eye roll. "I think you're ridiculous. But I wouldn't keep talking to you if I didn't think you were something."
"Okay," I snorted. "If you say so."
Adrien gave me a slight smirk before tapping me under the chin with a single finger, "Come on. We've got class to get to."
I rolled my eyes, gave an annoyed huff, and followed after him as we walked into school.
What a day this was turning out to be.
I left the cafeteria during lunch and went out into the nearest hallway to call my Dad. I crossed my fingers after dialing his number and hoped that he would answer in a timely manner and that I wouldn't get his voicemail. I think I'd called Dad all of three times at work since I first got a cell phone and that had been a good six years ago. He had to answer his phone, didn't he?
"Marinette?" Dad answered on the third ring. "Is everything okay? What's wrong? Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, Dad," I quickly reassured him. "Everything's alright."
"You're still at school, aren't you?" Dad asked, sounding confused.
"Yeah, I am. But listen. I called because I need you to be at the apartment around five tonight. We've got to have a serious talk with mom."
Dad fell silent over the line for a few beats before answering, "Is this about going to your aunts? Trust me I don't wanna go either but there isn't anything we can do about it."
I let out an exasperated sigh. "Dad, would you please just meet me at the apartment."
I waited with baited breath with my eyes squeezed shut for Dad's response. "Okay, Mari. I'll be there."
I smiled brightly, "Thank you!"
Dad gave a laugh over the line and I figured he was smiling. "You're welcome? But this is all your idea, though. Sabine hates when we team up and try and make excuses to not go to your aunts."
"Right... okay. Thank you again, Dad. This means a lot."
I was feeling very pleased with myself after I ended the call with Dad and returned to the cafeteria. So far, everything was going according to plan. And I was hoping that everything was going to be in our favor, too.
"What's that smile on your face for?" Adrien asked as I took my seat across the lunch table from him.
"Nothing, nothing," I replied nonchalantly, shrugging a shoulder. "Nice day, isn't it?"
Adrien looked out the huge, pane-glass windows towards the front of the cafeteria. The sky was covered in thick, gray clouds that threatened rain. Then he looked back at me with a blank expression.
"You're so weird."
"So I've been told."
Charlene was waiting outside school for Adrien and K after the final bell of the day. It was Friday and all the teens around us were packed together in a rush to get home for the weekend, but I could easily spot Adrien's aunt almost anywhere.
She looked downright nervous with her bag clutched to her chest as the two of us made our way over to her. She must be worried my parents were going to say no.
I kept my distance as Adrien pulled Charlene off to the side and murmured something that I didn't understand. Charlene replied in a quiet but frantic voice. What she said made Adrien wrap his arms around her in a tight hug.
Adrien and Charlene joined me a moment later on the sidewalk. Charlene appeared to be super nervous, but there was a renewed sort of vigor in her step that had me a little reassured.
"The'll say yes," I reassured her, giving a small smile.
"I really hope so." Charlene replied.
As we walked along the sidewalk and toward the bakery, I couldn't help but feel horrified. Adrien was about to find out that I suggested he leave the city with me and my parents and on top of that, I had to ask my mom if he could come and she wasn't a fan of Adrien whatsoever.
When I opened the front door of the apartment, I saw Dad's coat tossed over the couch in the living room, so that was good. Definitely good. Dad had kept his promise and didn't chicken out because he was afraid of Mom.
"Uh, come in..." I said awkwardly, gesturing towards the living room. I didn't exactly know how to describe the look of disgust on Adrien's face when he walked into the apartment, shutting the front door behind him. It looked like this was the last place he wanted to be at the moment.
I opened my mouth to say something to him, but my words fell short by the arrival of my father.
Dad shot Adrien and I a nod as our hello but addressed Charlene much differently, "Hi, you're Charlene?" he asked, leaning on the couch.
Dad knew Charlene?
"That's me," She stepped forward and they shook hands. "are you sure you're okay with asking your wife such a favor?"
"One hundred percent. I'm glad to be of help."
Charlene seemed momentarily shocked at Dad's answer. "Thank you, again."
"Well, Sabine is upstairs," Dad said sweetly with a chuckle, he motioned for Charlene to follow after him.
Charlene didn't leave before she pulled Adrien to the side, telling him something that made his eyes narrow and his lips tighten in a thin line.
Charlene left with Dad and Adrien turned toward me, "Care for a walk, Marinette?" he said in a stiff voice, his eyes still locked on his aunt as she headed up the stairs.
"Uh... sure," I replied quickly, throwing my bag on the couch. "See you in a bit, Dad. Charlene."
I seen my mother at the top of the stairs, greeting Charlene when I glanced back as I was walking out the door, Adrien close behind me.
I'd wanted to be present for the talk, but I could understand that Charlene may have wanted to say some private things to help with the convincing.
Neither of us said anything as we walked down to the bakery and stepped outside into the crisp night air. Dusk had already fallen and the street lights had long since flickered on.
We stood outside on the sidewalk for several moments, the cold air cutting through the tense atmosphere like a knife.
"What we're you thinking?"
I looked over at Adrien in confusion. "What do you mean?"
Adrien gave a disgusted sigh, scuffing his shoe on the sidewalk. "Why on Earth are you asking your parents if I can come on this trip with you. You didn't even ask me."
That was the last thing I was expecting to hear.
"Sorry? I was just trying to help." I demanded, my voice rising sharply.
"Has it ever occurred to you that I don't need your help?" Adrien asked me.
"Adrien, i'm always going to help you, Whether you like it or not."
"Whatever. I'm not going anywhere with you. I don't even know you." Adrien snapped.
Hmm.
"Well, I hate eating vegetables, uh, I love drawing designs. My favorite color is pink. I eat about a box of waffles on the weekends and I am obsessed with marvel. Someday I hope I'm going to get married and have kids, maybe a hamster. Oh, and, I absolutely adore polka dots." I stopped talking when my voice started shaking— whether out of nerves or anger I wasn't sure.
It was really foolish of me to believe a few little facts about me would have Adrien say he "knew me" now, but it didn't hurt to try? I was silently hoping that Dad was going to call and say it was alright to head back up to the apartment and that Adrien and Charlene could head home. This had been a more than stressful past two days and this sudden outburst from Adrien was completely overwhelming.
"See? That wasn't so hard, was it?"
I stared up at Adrien, a little confused and shocked as to why he was giving me a slight smirk.
"What are you talking about?" I asked.
Before Adrien could answer, my cell phone started ringing loudly in my pocket, cutting off whatever he'd been about to say.
"Dad?" I answered quickly.
"You and Adrien can go ahead and come up," Dad said over the line. "We've finished talking."
That was quick... Dad didn't sound too stressed or anything, so maybe everything had gone alright. Adrien and I returned to the apartment without saying anything. This time, though, the silence wasn't all that uncomfortable. It was probably even a little nice.
I opened the door to the apartmenth and peeked inside cautiously. Mom and Charlene were conversing in the living room, their voices considerably friendly and at ease.
"Hi, you two," Charlene said with a smile as we stepped inside. "Nice walk?"
I scowled, rolling my eyes. "Tremendously nice."
"We'd better be heading home, Adrien," Charlene said, addressing her nephew. "Gabriel will be waiting." She stood as she talked, heading for the stairs."Oh, and Marinette? Adrien should be here, ready to leave, by three tomorrow." She added.
My jaw dropped and I turned to stare at Dad sitting on the couch with an incredulous look. He just grinned in response.
Looks like Adrien will be tagging along after all.
— ᴀɴ ✍︎︎
Hey! Me and my buddy Mikey wrote this chapter together, but when I reread it, checking for mistakes I noticed that it was a little confusing to myself... but if it happened to be confusing to you... no it wasn't. ;) ;)
update: rewrote this chapter and it's still confusing... how :0:0:0