OKay but if you have not seen that photo, I just had to share it with all of you. It is beautiful! At least to me. I'm in love with it - the art style, the scenario, everything!
Art Credits: http://luciasatalina.tumblr.com/post/141745405498/phony-prince
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"Come on, you're going to be late for school." Tikki poked at Marin's cheek, trying to get him to stand up and start getting ready. Surprisingly enough, he had actually woken up on time, but he hadn't actually gotten up yet.
Marin lie sprawled out on the ground, staring up at the ceiling. He was stuck in his own thoughts, and he could barely hear Tikki speaking to him. Every sound around him was just a small incoherent ringing. That's how absorbed in his thoughts he was in his mind.
Ever since the previous night, he had been thinking about what Chat had said to him. It was really eating away at his brain. He couldn't exactly understand what she meant by it.
"Just keep in mind that things aren't always as they seem."
Did it have a special meaning, or did she just say it to say it? Was there a bigger picture that he was only seeing the corner of. He pondered over her words for a few minutes longer, until his brain switched to the other topic that was bothering him: Why did Chat and Adrienne have a bruise in the exact same spot? There was no way it could be a coincidence, he thought, but the only reasonable explanation his brain was supplying was completely illogical.
"Do you think..." He started to ask Tikki, but he trailed off as he realized how stupid it sounded. "There's no way she could--" He cut himself off, sitting up straight, it had knocked Tikki off his face and into his hands, which he had raised up to catch her. "Wait, do you think she could be? I mean, it just doesn't seem right." He scoffed, shaking his head with a small smile. "No, no way. Impossible. Adrienne is not Chat. They're too different." He finally stood up completely and stretched.
Tikki flew out of his hand and hovered in front of his face. "How do you figure?" She tilted her head and followed him around his room as he started readying himself for school.
Marin simply shrugged his shoulders in response. He thought it was completely obvious. Even their demeanor, aside from appearance is completely different. Adrienne always keeps herself in check. She doesn't tend to show much through her actions. She's calm, collected, relaxed.
Chat on the other hand is anything but. She always is laughing, smirking, or clearly expressing what she feels. She doesn't keep what she's feeling on the inside, she lets it all out. She is very verbal and physical when it comes to showing how she's feeling. She's outspoken, confident - at certain times - and never afraid to show what she believes in. He found that trait admirable and secretly found it quite captivating. It was one of the first things he noticed about Chat.
Marin took his bag and slung it over his shoulder, opening it for Tikki to fly in and hide herself as he made his way downstairs. Marin hugged both his parents and grabbed a piece of toast before heading out the door. He felt slightly proud of the fact that he was actually going to be on time, unlike usual. If only he could get into the habit of doing this on a daily basis, then he might have actually gotten somewhere.
~~~
The day started out well. Starting with him actually being on time. Then, after their last class, Adrienne had talked to him and told him how happy she was to have been able to spend time with him yesterday. This made Marin's heart flutter in excitement , but it didn't last very long, seeing as how Miles had overheard the conversation and was far from happy.
"What the hell? You blew me off for this loser?" Miles asked as made himself a wall between Adrienne and Marin. It was the exact same motion he had done when he Adrienne was with Ladybeetle. He had clearly made a border between them, not wanting them any closer together.
Marin was slightly surprised. He knew the Miles didn't like Ladybeetle at all, but he didn't realize that he didn't like him as himself either. He noticed Adrienne's worried face. He could tell just by her expression that she now felt incredibly guilty. There was no way he was just going to let Miles yell at her. "It was after her photoshoot. Her ride was late and she was lonely so I just kept her company."
"I didn't ask for your opinion." Miles huffed, taking Adrienne by her wrist away from the darker haired male. "Look, Adrienne, we need to talk." He started leading her outside the school building, leaving a very frustrated Miles behind him. He, without hesitation, followed them. There was no way he was going to allow him to ask her to Prom. He just had to delay it a little longer. Just until he could manage the courage to ask her himself.
"About what?" Adrienne asked, trying to keep herself as distanced from Miles as she possible could. It wasn't that she was grossed out by him, but sometimes he made her a little bit uncomfortable.
Miles was about to answer. This was the moment of truth for Marin. If he didn't stop it now, then he would be out of luck and unable to ask Adrienne out for a long time. He couldn't find an excuse though. That was until he noticed a small red dot on the side of Adrienne's head. He could barely see it, but he was sure it was there. He looked around. He saw someone on the top of a nearby, holding something. And if he had to guess, he would assume it was a gun. Even if it wasn't, he was not about to take any chances. He quickly ran towards Adrienne, pushing her out of the way.
As soon as he did, the bullet fired, but it didn't hit her, thankfully. It hit the wheel of a limousine that was behind her. The one belonging to Clovis.
When Marin had pushed Adrienne out of the way, she ended up losing her balance, which resulted in him losing his balance as well. He managed to keep himself standing, and wrapped his arms around Adrienne, one hand supporting her upper back and the other on the small of her back. It was a slightly awkward position, but it kept her from landing on the ground and him from falling on top of her, which could be even more awkward.
Adrienne's heart was racing, beating out of her chest. She stared up at Marin, getting lost in his bluebell eyes. She noted how similar they were to a certain hero that she knew, and it made her cheeks turn slightly red. Once she realized how close they were, and what position they were in, her whole face went red, matching Marin's.
"Uh, h-hi. Are you o-okay?" Marin was stiff as a board now. He couldn't move a muscle. Here he was, with Adrienne, his crush, was in his arms. He had just saved her life, and he didn't have to be Ladybeetle to do it.
"Dudette, did someone just shoot at you?" Nina came and interrupted the two's lovestruck gazes, and pulled Adrienne away, pulling her into a hug. "Are you alright?" Nina squeezed the blonde tightly, as if she would never see her again. When something like that happens, it makes it feel that way.
"Don't worry, Nina, I'm f-fine." Adrienne managed to get herself free from the hug. She turned back to face Marin. She looked into his eyes and smiled. "Marin saved my life." She tackled him in a hug, nearly knocking him over, but he managed to keep himself standing to keep her up.
Marin was startled by her hug, but he was more than willing to hug her back. Her style of hugging was almost identical to the way Chat had hugged him last night. It brought him back to his thoughts earlier in the morning.
No. He mentally shook his head. That's impossible. Get that thought out of your head, Marin. There's no way that Chat is Adrienne. He took a deep breath, trying to keep himself relaxed. He needed to focus on the matter at hand. He couldn't think about something so small and trivial. Adrienne's life was in danger and he needed to do something about it. Quick.
"It was what anyone would do." He reluctantly had to pull from the hug, but he kept his hands on Adrienne's shoulders. "But someone had intentions of shooting you. Of hurting you. Do you know who it could be?" He was definitely going into "hero-mode" as he would sometimes jokingly call it. Where he would take the role of trying to make sure everything would go back to normal and everyone was safe. It was just part of his character. It was very "Ladybeetle" of him. It made Tikki wonder how no one figured out who he was.
Adrienne looked down and shook her head, "I... I don't know of anyone. I didn't think I had any enemies." She frowned, looking up at Marin with sad eyes. Even if she didn't want to show it too much, it was clear that she was scared. Anyone would be. She just had her life threatened. Even though Marin wanted to clear that thought from his head, it kept coming back: The despondent look in her eyes was almost identical to Chat's last night.
"Don't worry." Marin wanted to make sure she wasn't too panicked. He wanted to keep her calm. He wanted to protect her. "Just make sure you're always with someone. Never go out on your own. I know I might be sounding like an overprotective parent, but..." He sighed, running a hand through her hair. "I just want to make sure you're safe." He leaned in closer to her, about to kiss her forehead. He had read what each type of kiss meant in a book.
"The forehead kiss usually means that you are just friends. Depending on how it is planted, it can also be used as a means of showing deep affection to a loved one. Most people use use it as a starter kiss when they meet someone new, to express that they like them."
"Are we just going to ignore the fact that there's a hole in my limo's tire?!" Clovis screeched, making Adrienne and Marin jump away from each other.
Marin was going to yell at him, but Nina beat him to the cut. "Are you serious?" She stomped towards him. "My best friend's life was almost taken right in front of everyone here's eyes and you have the audacity to complain about a measly tire? A tire can be replaced, you dimwit. A living person can not. She is a real person. That tire is an inanimate object, incapable of feeling anything. Anything! I knew you were a complete dick, but I didn't think you would go as low as to put a god damn tire over Adrienne. I will beat you into the cement--!"
Before Nina could continue her rant and actually hurt Clovis, Adrienne wrapped her arms around her, pulling her away from the blond boy, whose eyes were wide in shock. "Calm down, Nina. It's not worth it." Adrienne was glad in this moment to have gained all the strength she had from both fencing and being Chat Noire.
"He basically called a tire more important than your life! I'm not going to let him say something so shallow and get away with it!" Nina tried to free herself from Adrienne's grip, but Adrienne kept her grip strong, pulling Nina to the side, away from Clovis. She waited until Clovis had walked away with Sebastian close behind him.
Adrienne sighed heavily, knowing that very well that her best friend was no where near being calmed down. She looked over at Marin, frowning as if to ask for help controlling her. But Marin just gave her a sympathetic look. He agreed with Nina. "Look, it's not a big de--"
"Not a big deal?! Adrienne, your life is a huge deal, are you insane?" Nina continued complaining, but Adrienne tried her best to ignore her. She didn't want to ignore her, but when Nina complains, she really complains.
"Nina." Adrienne whispered, but she could barely be heard over Nina's dominant voice. Almost all their classmates were surrounding them, impressed by Nina's ability to go on for this long on one subject. Usually the one who gets angry at Clovis and makes it verbal was Alyn.
"Nina." Adrienne repeated herself, this time even louder. Her voice was still overpowered by Nina's prominent. She wanted to stay completely calm, but she really didn't want to listen to her best friend's rant any longer. "Nina!" She nearly screamed, but it wasn't too loud. It was just loud enough to snap Nina out of her rant. "Shut up! Quiet! Please, just... Stop." As soon as she finished speaking, her eyes widened and her hands slapped over her mouth. "Oh, my god. I-I'm so sorry. I-" She backed away from her friend and started running off away from the school.
"Adrienne! Wait!" Nina yelled after her. She started to chase after her, but to her own surprise, Adrienne was much faster than she expected.
Marin ran around the side of the school, getting Tikki out of his bag. "There's no way I can let Adrienne be on her own. And the only way to make sure she's completely safe is to be Ladybeetle and watch over her. Spots on, Tikki!"
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Annnddddd I'll end it there. I've told you before that I love assassin's and so I'm going back to that idea. Wow, I know, I'm literal trash. But story is conflict. Conflict is story. Plus I need excuses for Ladrien~
Love you guys. Kisses <3