Chapter Seventeen:
Adrien was fuming. Storming around his room and kicking the furniture was the only way he could express how angry he was. Luckily, he was alone so no one had to see his boiling temper. He wasn't the type that got angry very often, but when he did, everyone knew. Maybe that's why he hadn't been bothered.
Cursing, Adrien flopped back on his bed. He was breathing hard, but he didn't care.
How dare Fox kiss his lady! Marinette was supposed to fall in love with him, not that tomato-head Fox-Face! Only because he couldn't be there one time, Ladybug had chosen Fox over him. Not only did it rub Adrien's heart in the dirt, but it made him feel useless. Did Marinette even care? He told her how he felt about her. How rude could she be?
Sighing, Adrien glanced over at his alarm clock. It read 8:34pm. He grumbled. He could go join Ladybug in the arena if he really wanted to. But did he? Did he really want to go inquire about it and/or confront Fox?
He smirked. That could be fun. He could dangle him from a tree and give him a piece of his mind. Yeah. That sounded like fun.
Getting to his feet, Adrien peeked out into the hallway outside of his room. A few maids were moseying around, but no one paid him any attention. Good to go.
He popped back into his room and rushed to the bathroom. It was time for an adventure.
* * *
Jumping into the arena, Chat's green eyes scanned the forest floor for anyone who would think of coming after him. His high-tech cat ears, as well as his own ears, listened intently. After hearing nobody nearby, Chat got down on all fours and began to run. Occasionally, he would jump up into the trees to avoid bushes, creeks, and nasty traps that blocked his path. Even though he couldn't see them, they were there, waiting for the slightest pressure of a foot to go off. He had installed the map of the arena into his glasses, giving him the full layout of the entire arena.
What also was nice about the map was that there were small color-coded blips that represented each Charm. Ladybug's was red, Fox's orange, Queen Bee's yellow, etc. Finding Marinette was the easy part. What he also saw was kind of discomforting. Fox's orange blip was right next to, and partly on top of, the red one.
Suspicious?
Oh yeah.
After climbing through the trees for a little while, Chat found the area where the two Charms were hanging out. He dropped to the ground, glanced around, but saw nobody. They should have been right here.
Then, his high-tech ears heard something. A variation of smacking, only softer.
Furrowing his eyebrows, he scanned the area. There was nothing but trees, rocks, and-- Rocks.
Making his way over to the pile of rocks near his right, he noticed a hole that stuck out of the grass. He crept forward, leaning down to look into the pit. He froze. It wasn't smacking that he heard.
It was kissing. And what didn't help was that he could hear Marinette moaning.
Oh, he was pissed now.
Jumping down into the hole in a single bound, the ground rumbled under his feet. Nathanael and Marinette spun toward him, surprised at his presence, but before either could say anything, Chat stormed over to the Fox.
"What in the name of the President are you doing?!" Nathanael squeaked as Chat gripped his t-shirt, lifting him off the ground a few feet. "This is no time for making out with my lady! You two are in a fight to the death, and if you were smart, you'd get involved with the action out there and not what's going on between you and Ladybug!"
"Chat!" Marinette scolded.
He looked down at her with blazing eyes. "What? Do you have anything to defend yourself with?"
Her glare could have melted him back into submission on any other day, but this was a special occasion. If Chat didn't get an answer right away, he was going to explode.
"Chat, he was only putting ointment on my leg, you dimwit! Look!"
He looked at where she was pointing. In Nathanael's trembling hands, he saw a small jar of clear ointment in one hand while the lid was in the other. Narrowing his eyes into slits, he studied Nathanael's trembling chin, fearful eyes, and runny nose. With a growl, he dropped him like a rag doll. The poor kid landed on his butt in the dirt. Chat turned to Marinette and folded his arms.
"I deserve a better explanation that just the ointment. I've seen the news recently, and no one needs to tell me that you two had a little kissy-kissy session."
Marinette swallowed, then sighed. "Look, Chat, I can explain when this is all over, okay?"
"How about you explain right now?"
She glared at him, throwing daggers with her irritation, but she eventually turned her gaze to Nathanael.
"Nathan, do you think you could get us something to eat? It's dark out, so you won't be seen as easily."
"Y-yeah. Of course."
And, just like that, Nathanael was out of there like a startled deer. Once he was out of the hole and, presumably, out of earshot, Chat let his words spill out.
"What is going on, Mari?"
She sighed, then winced as she tried to move her burned legs. Even though he was angry with her, Chat had to admit that part of him wanted to drop it all just so Marinette wouldn't strain herself. But answers came first.
"We're being watched; you know that better than anyone."
"And what is that supposed to mean? That you can run around with any boy your choose?"
She scowled at him. "You're being overdramatic."
"Well, excuse me, but you're the one in the deadly arena kissing your partner. I figured you would like some of your own medicine."
"Will you shut up and listen to me?!" Marinette hissed. "I can't tell you everything right now. If I say the wrong thing, it could blow everything out of the water." She let some her anger ooze away, her sincerity shining through in her eyes. "I still haven't forgotten what you told me, Chat, the night when you whisked me away. I would never have done what I did unless I believed that things could work out. They may be complicated right now, but I can promise you that everything will make sense in due time. Once the eyes stop watching, I will tell you everything; any detail you want to know, I'll spill. Just..." she trailed off as she dropped her irritation completely and stared into his eyes. "Just please don't give up on me... I haven't given up on you."
Chat's anger slowly slipped away, and he had the desperate urge to kiss her, but he bit his lip and turned away. No, they still needed to heal. He couldn't play mind games with her, he refused to.
"I trust you, Ladybug," he muttered quietly, "I trust you with all of my heart. I hope you understand how much that means to me and how serious it is..."
They didn't meet each other's gaze, yet they both knew that everything would be alright. It would take time, but Chat could eventually show her how he really felt.
Curse those cameras, he thought. If they weren't there, all of their problems would be over.
* * *
The Game Master mumbled, scratching his chin as he stared down at the arena's map. Things were getting very complicated extremely quickly.
"A love square, huh?" he muttered to himself. "Maybe this can be my chance to put my plan into action..."
He flicked his finger, causing the holographic map to zoom in. After pressing a button, a camera's view popped up. It showed a timid, redhead teenager drawing in the ground with a stick. The fox miraculous gleamed on his jacket. The Game Master smiled cruelly, analyzing the boy with more curiosity.
Fox had just made his plan a whole lot easier.
---
A small update, but at least we had some awesome angst going on, am I right?
Hopefully, now that I have @keverbloom helping me, I can start cranking my updates out a lot quicker. Who knows? Maybe I'll have up to chapter 20 done by the end of the month. Looks like we'll have to see.
Don't forget to vote and comment before you leave! It really helps me out, thanks!
And, as always, have a miraculous day!