Chapter Nine:
"Gather round!" Juleka called. "Alec is about to announce your scores to the country!"
Marinette and Nathanael both looked up from their food as Rose turned on the TV. The two designers had been invited to come eat dinner with the two Charms in honor of the broadcasting. Marinette had to admit, it had been very lonely without the two of them.
"Am I allowed to bring my food in there?" Nathanael questioned. When neither of the girls answered, he shrugged at Marinette and picked up his plate, walking into the living room and plopping on the couch.
Marinette bit her lip, glancing down at her own food. It was untouched. She was so nervous. It had been about two weeks into training when Master Fu had decided that they were ready to be tested and scored. Luckily, she hadn't fallen off of the climbing wall, which what she had been the most worried about. Now, after receiving the scores from all the other Charms, Alec and Mrs. Chamach were ready to share the numbers with the country.
The national anthem played in the living room as the broadcast began.
"Welcome, everyone, to the reporting of the Charm's scores!" Alec announced, his voice way too happy to have been realistically believable. "We're going to start with our first district and work our way down the line."
Mrs. Chamach pulled out several envelopes, each stamped with the Agreste crest. She opened the first one.
"Chloe Bourgeois, five."
"Yikes," Rose muttered. "For being scored out of twelve, that's not very good."
Marinette couldn't help but smile. If she could get better than Chloe, she would be eternally grateful. Hopefully, her hard work had beaten Chloe's half-effort. They continued to read off the scores. Kim, nine. Ivan, seven. Alix, six. Sabrina, seven.
Finally, they got to the last two envelopes. Marinette and Nathanael were on the edge of their seats, staring at the screen. They both held their breaths.
Please be higher than a five, she pleaded for Nathanael. Please, please, please.
Mrs. Chamach ripped the flap open, pulling out the slip of paper.
"Nathanael, eight."
Juleka and Rose smiled, patting his shoulders happily.
"That's a great score," Juleka complimented. Nathanael was beaming with pride. He looked back at Marinette and gave her a confident thumbs up.
With his score having been said, that only meant that the last envelope was Marinette's score. She began to sweat. She could feel the droplets roll down the back of her neck, causing the neckline to become slightly damp.
Mrs. Chamach opened the final flap. Unfolding the paper, her eyebrows shot up in shock.
Oh no, it's horrible! Marinette panicked. I'm going to be sent home to face my family because I sucked so bad! I'm never going to get a job, much less my dream job, and I'll have to live on the streets. My parents will disown me and hate me for the rest of my life and Alya will never want to be around me ever again. OH NO! I'll never get to be with Adrien!
Mrs. Chamach glanced at Alec as if looking for reassurance, then cleared her throat.
"Marinette Dupain-Cheng, eleven."
The room erupted. Rose and Juleka both cheered, running to her and enveloping her in a giant group hug.
"You did it! Marinette, you did it!" Rose celebrated.
Marinette sat in total shock. Nathanael gazed at her from the couch, giving her the biggest smile she had ever seen. She couldn't help but give him a relieved smile in return.
Mrs. Chamach turned to Alec. "Have we ever had a score that high?"
Alec rubbed his chin. "I do believe so, but only once in the entire history of the Miraculous Games."
* * *
Adrien stared at the screen, a ridiculous grin sprawled across his face. He knew Marinette could do it. Her eleven didn't surprise him one bit. She had worked so hard and had come so far in the past two weeks.
"Have we ever had a score that high?" Mrs. Chamach questioned.
Adrien watched as Alec rubbed his chin. "I do believe so, but only once in the entire history of the Miraculous Games."
Next to Adrien at the head of the table, President Agreste stiffened. He watched in confusion as his father glared at the screen as if daring Alec to say more. It was an expression Adrien didn't dare want to cross, but his curiosity got the best of him.
"Father?" He asked. "Is something wrong with Marinette's score?"
His father silently got to his feet, but before he left the room, he looked back at Adrien. His eyes were harsh and cold, but Adrien had a feeling that the coldness was trying to hide deeper feelings.
"I do not want you near that Miss Dupain-Cheng, are we clear?"
"But Father--"
"Are we clear?" His father shouted.
Bowing his head, Adrien nodded. "Yes, Father..."
The President left, shutting the door firmly behind him. Adrien slumped back against his chair, longingly looking up at the broadcast. Pictures of the Charms in their costumes were lined up in a ranking style. Up at the top was the stunningly beautiful and strong Ladybug.
Adrien was supposed to stay away from Ladybug, but Chat Noir wasn't. Chat was a free spirit. He could visit her whenever he wanted. Why couldn't Adrien have that same ability?
* * *
Marinette stood on the rooftop of the Charm's housing building. The night air was cold, but a warm breeze tickled the hair on her arms. Her hair was a rats nest from tossing and turning in her bed. Her number kept spinning around in her head. She could still hear Alec saying it.
Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Eleven.
Eleven.
Even though Nathanael's Eight was impressive, and she was happy for him, she couldn't help but feel a little proud. Then again, she had been given way too much credit. The testing had been fairly simple, after all. Climb this, fight that, shoot those. Had her hard work paid off? Or...
Her thoughts flashed back to the viewing balcony. As the two weeks had progressed, Adrien had ever so slowly started to stay longer to watch the Charms train. Though it sounded kinda stalkerish, Marinette had noticed every girl he watched. Alix was one of them, along with Sabrina and Chloe.
Ugh, that "Queen Bee" made her want to puke.
And then... there was her. Logically speaking, Marinette had a chance to win, but Adrien hadn't even given her a second glance. How was she going to have a relationship with him -- if she won -- if he didn't even notice her? The dance had been one thing, but was that just because she was all dressed up and he was obliged to talk to her? Was that a bad sign? Was she not good enough? Did she not--
"Well, hello."
Marinette squeaked and spun around, her hands balled up in fists in order to deck whoever had scared her. A black figure was crouched on the edge of the building. Furrowing her eyebrows, Marinette studied the figure. It was a young man with disheveled blonde hair, but everything else he wore gave her no clues as to who he was. He was wearing a black leather jacket, dark wash jeans, combat boots, leather gloves, and a black belt that blew in the breeze behind him. High-tech ears stuck out of his head, flicking in every direction, and a silver cylinder was tucked in his left hand. What caught Marinette's attention the most, though, were the sharp green eyes that glinted through a black cloth mask.
"W-who are you?" She stuttered, taking a more defensive position.
The black figure smiled. "The guy of your dreams."
Marinette couldn't help but snort. "Yeah, sure. I just met a guy dressed in black in the dark and I totally agree with his judgment."
"Allow me to introduce myself, then." The figure jumped forward, doing a somersault in mid-air before landing in front of her hand bowing sarcastically. "The name's Chat Noir." He took her hand and kissed it. "And it's a pleasure to meet you, my lady."
Pulling away a little shocked, Marinette popped a hip. "Alright, Chat Noir, if you're going to play with childish charm, you might as well know who I am."
Chat smiled and straightened. "Oh, but I do. You're the purr-fect Marinette Dupain-Cheng." She froze, a little scared of what he would say next. Realizing that he had frightened her, his eyes widened and Chat tried to correct himself. "I-I wasn't spying on you or anything, I swear! It's just, you're all over the media, being a Charm and all."
"Oh. Yeah, it's kinda a curse," Marinette muttered, rubbing her arm.
"I know what it's like," Chat agreed, his voice soft enough that Marinette had barely heard him. Before she could ask what he meant, he continued. "Anyway, I wanted to stop by and give you some support. This whole thing is probably driving you up the wall, huh?"
Marinette was quiet for a long moment. She turned away and leaned against the edge of the rooftop railing, looking out at the buildings of the city. "I dunno, Chat... Part of me wants to be here while the other is lodged back at home with my family and friends."
Taking cautious steps forward, Chat walked up next to her. His green eyes were cast down at his hands as he rested on the railing.
"What's your family like?" He asked softly.
Marinette couldn't help but let a small smile twitch at the corner of her lips. "I wouldn't be able to choose the perfect words to describe my parents. They've always supported me in my endeavors, even if it doesn't match what they wanted for my future. They roll with my Marinette punches. My best friend, Alya, is the same way..." The thought of her friend made the small smile fade away. "I miss them, but I have a job to do here." She turned to look at Chat. "Do you know what that's like, oh mysterious boy in the cat mask?"
He didn't look up at her even though she had made a joke. "Marinette," he replied, his voice barely a whisper, "I know we have just met, but I want to tell you something." Sighing, he hung his head lower and closed his eyes. "I know exactly what you're talking about. For the past little while, I've wanted to go out and chase my dreams, but I feel like I have a re-paw-sibilities on my shoulders." He smirked at his pun but it didn't last long. It soon faded away into the determination in his voice. "I want to let you know that I will be there to protect you whenever you need me, okay?"
Marinette studied him, confusion taking over her features. "What do you mean?"
"I said what I meant and I meant what I said." Looking up at her, Marinette didn't need to see the smile on his lips. His eyes smiled told her he was beaming. "Chat Noir's faithful one-hundred percent."
"Oh, so you're my savior now?"
Chuckling, he looked back out at the skyline. "If that's what my lady wants me to be, I will gladly take on that role."
Marinette faced him. "Why do you call me that? We just met."
"Because someone very close to me told me that bad things were coming. He told me that he wanted you safe, so wala, here I am." He looked at her and held up a fist. Marinette was puzzled for a minute, but soon figured out he was looking for her fist. She gave him the fist pump he was looking for.
"Pound it."
---
Hey guys!
Sorry if these past few chapters have been kinda short. I'm honestly just trying to build up important details for later.
There is something REALLY important in this chapter, not just the beauty of the Marichat, but a very important clue as to what is going on. I hope you guys can find it and figure it out before I have to reveal it, haha.
Quick question for all ya'll, what do you think of the new cover? Did you like the other one better? Please leave a comment with your feedback!
Alright, I'll try my best to keep up with updates. Don't forget to vote and comment before you go!
And, as always, have an amazing (sun)day!