Today was the day. And for real this time.
Marinette was gonna tell him.
She had mentally prepared herself all night, and as she was walking to school, excitement and anxiety contaminated her every thought.
But today was her day. The day she would confess to him.
Marinette had baked a chocolate-covered croissant for him. Her father complimented her skills, which only boosted her enthusiasm. If her father, the master baker, liked how the pastry looked, then he was bound to love it.
Marinette reached the school. She took a deep breath and walked inside.
There he was, off to the side, talking to Nino. Marinette felt her cheeks flush at the sight of him. No, she told herself, relax. Be brave.
She walked into the courtyard of the school and waved to Alya, who was standing near the other side of yard, giving her a thumbs-up. Marinette walked towards Adrian and Nino, mind racing with thoughts and excitement.
"Hey Adrian, Nino." She reached them and smiled to both.
Adrian was surprised she wasn't cowering from him, trembling, or even stuttering. He smiled back to her. "Hi Marinette."
Nino waved. "What's up, dude?"
"Actually, Nino, would it be okay if I talked to Adrian for a minute?" Marinette tried her absolute best to sound calm.
Nino shrugged. "Sure." He walked over to where Alya was sitting.
"What do you wanna talk about?" Adrian asked her.
"This... Well, this is kind of hard to say. First, I made something for you!" Marinette took out the small paper bag with the croissant and gave it to Adrian.
"For me? Wow, thanks!" Adrian reached inside the bag an took out the chocolate croissant. "This looks amazing!"
Marinette felt a blush rising to her cheeks. "Thanks, I baked it myself."
Adrian looked at Marinette. "So what did you want to tell me?"
Marinette felt her lip trembling, but she took a deep breath and cleared her throat. "I-I have a crush on you, Adrian. I really like you. And I'm really sorry if I seem like another fangirl of yours..." Marinette looked at the ground. "But you can't help how you feel about someone."
Adrian was speechless. "I'm really sorry, Marinette. But I like someone else..."
Adrian continued talking, but Marinette no longer heard anything but the echoing words "someone else".
Marinette looked away to hide the tears in her eyes. "Don't worry about it." She tried to stay calm, but she felt sobs building up in her throat.
Marinette speed-walked to the girl's bathroom. She didn't even glance at Alya, who was trying to get her attention.
----------------------------------------
Alya was worried about Marinette. Class was about to start and she was still gone.
Adrian walked into class a few minutes before, and Alya had to resist the strong urge to slap him. How dare he break Marinette's heart? The nerve!
Then, just as Alya was about to stand up and march after her best friend, Marinette walked into the classroom. She looked at the ground, trying to hide her red eyes. She avoided Adrian's gaze and sat in her seat.
Marinette had been crying in the bathroom, with Tikki trying her best to cheer up the heartbroken girl.
Alya looked at her friend with pity and sympathy. "Are you okay?"
When Marinette didn't answer, Alya placed a hand on her shoulder. Marinette shut her eyes to hide her tears as she shook her head.
"No." Marinette whispered silently. "I'm not okay."
Adrian, having his heightened senses from his alter-ego, had overheard Marinette and Alya's exchange. He felt really bad about rejecting Marinette, but he couldn't lie to her. His heart belonged to Ladybug, and he only thought of Marinette as a friend. Like she said, you can't help how you feel about someone.
The teacher walked into class. "Alright, students, turn to page 61 in your Algebra books. We will be continuing the lesson from yesterday, and..."
Marinette was only half-listening to the lesson. She felt numb and unresponsive. Her mind was still echoing those two heart-shattering words.
Someone else.