Since the ancient times, Communication has been the greatest tool mankind has ever made to survive in a foreign land. This very thought was the single reason why the teenagers were so lenient to the fact that they were actually lost.
...not only to each other but still.
They assumed that being a French citizen in a French soil would mean that the people would speak French there.
They forgot to consider the other factor:
Dialects.
It wasn't a big deal. The eu-s, eud-s, euq-s, and eul-s were much appreciated, but everything became awkward once the locals responded with jé-s, dé-s, qué-s and lé-s - not that they minded it. Accents weren't much of a barrier since the people were very accommodating.
"Are you sure we're on the right track this time?" Marinette asked. She could've sworn they passed the same alley thrice already.
"Peutétre ben que oui, peut—étre ben que non" her companion uttered idly.
She was grateful that Adrien was a polyglot, and even though she was head over heels for him, that doesn't mean she would spare him from her murderous intentions.
Because that beautiful ball of sunshine that was too good for this damned world was only affluent with puns.
His lack of social interactions might've been the factor of such ludicrous attitude, which she totally empathized by the way, and she couldn't blame him that he never applied his diverse language lessons into day-to-day conversations as often as he could, except during her Uncle Cheng's visitations. But that was not a valid excuse for him not to be condemned.
"Adrien," she called him again but with accentuated voice. "We've been seeing the same row of timber houses for the last thirty minutes and we still haven't reached that place called 'nearby'."
"I Normandy don't say this but..." the blond mulled over while chewing his lower lip. "I Caen tell Eure mood was kinda Rouen-ed."
He didn't miss how her eye twitched there.
"Unfair," she grumbled under her breath. "Why must you be so sinfully adorkable?"
"I'm sorry, what did you say?"
She cursed incoherently.
"Marinette?" he failed to decipher her words. "Mari?"
Another groan followed.
"Hey, are you alright?"
"I should've stayed in Paris instead." the pig-tailed girl sighed exasperatedly. "Because you're driving me in Seine."
She knew it was so bad she had an urge of facepalming herself, but his toothy smiles that beamed at her won over.
"I know you have it in you, Princess!"
There he goes his 'Princess' again.
Marinette didn't mention about that moniker after his first blunder. She doubted it since he was calling her the same way as Chat Noir did for several times without bothering to correct himself anymore. It was either he was unaware of it, or probably he was aware but decided not mind it at all, or he decided to christen her of an endearing nickname he thought was original.
That, or he wanted to give himself away.
As she thinks about it, Adrien was perfectly fit for that dark-clad feline hero's bill. True that there were thousands of blond males in Paris, she couldn't imagine anyone but him. From the physical semblance down to personality - including the horrible sense of humor - he totally nailed everything.
Maybe for once, her luck has finally endowed her love life.
"Why don't we stop here for a while," she suggested. "And ask some people who can help us instead."
By some people, she might or might not have referred him to their best friends who may or may not be in the middle of a romantic date.
Sitting on a bench, Adrien pulled his phone out and dialed Nino's number. It took him five rings before the call was answered.
"Dude." was the abrupt greeting, and it was evident in the tone that he was pissed.
"I know, I know. Sorry." the model muttered while rubbing his nape. "This is an important issue."
"Pray do tell why this important issue cannot be discussed through text?"
"Because..." he glanced his companion grimly. "We got a-strayed...?"
A chuckle sounded on the other line. "What, you and Chloe got lost?"
"I'm not with Chloe." he sighed. "I'm with Marinette."
Nino placed him on mute. A few seconds later, Marinette's phone rang with Alya's caller ID flashing on the screen.
The pigtailed girl immediately hit the Answer Key "Hi Al - "
"YOU'RE WITH ADRIEN?!"
She had to yank her phone away from her ears before responding. "Uh, yes...?"
Her call went on mute for a minute, probably for her best friend to vent out her squealing mess, before returning to the conversation. But this time, her tone was full of anger.
"AND YOU TWO GOT LOST?!"
"Erm, something like that...?"
"ARE YOU, WHAT, A KINDERGARTEN?!"
She felt overly insulted.
When Alya placed her on mute again, Nino went back to Adrien.
"Not only you two were damn oblivious, you both got no sense of direction." the DJ mused much to the blond's disgruntlement. "Now why don't you tell Daddy Nino and Mommy Alya where the fuck you two ended up instead."
After they painstakingly described the landmarks they've passed while utilizing the wonders of GPS, the four friends finally mapped their locations and where they should go to their class' meeting place.
The friends decided to end their discussion and hang up.
.
.
.
.
The two haven't found the location yet
"Adrien." Marinette huffed. "Are you sure you know where the hell are we are going, or you're just doing this to get us lost?"
She was expecting him to reprimand her for stating that L-word. Instead, he gave her a phony bewilderment.
"How did you know?" he gasped as he clutched his chest.
She rolled her eyes, but before she could spout something back, her companion stopped his tracks. She saw his invisible kitty ears perked up on top of his head, and without any warnings, he grabbed her hand.
"Hey, Mari! Mari! Let's go there!" Adrien dragged her languidly without noticing her flusters. "C'mon!"
"Wa - wait! That's not the right way!"
"But there's something I want there to see." he glanced at like a cat that was kicked out in the rain. "Please?"
Her mouth quivered. Why can't she say no to his infamous Kitty Eyes™?
She took a deep breath. "Okay."
Flashing a Cheshire grin, the model held her hand as they rushed towards a musical sound wherein a small crowd began to form. A Street piano painted in red with black spots was being played by a man who, based on his attire, was more like a physician than a musician.
"Look, look! It's a Ladybug's Piano!" the blond hollered like a kid who got a candy, and his enthusiasm grew when the man began to play Chopsticks.
It was a renowned upbeat piece that most of the audience, including the foreigners, clapped their hands to the rhythm. The crowd was too hype when he made a ragtime impromptu. Some kids ran to the center and began to dance.
"You're such a toddler," she bemused at her companion's childish behavior. "No wonder we're going circles because you're so easy to distract."
"I'd rather call it as a tunnel-vision." he winked at her teasing. "Besides, your beauty was more than enough to keep me distracted."
The way she blushed really stroked his ego. He didn't even give her any chances to recover when he nudged her for a dance.
"Adrien!" she blurted with a beet-red face. "I have two left feet!"
"Follow my lead then!" he offered with glee.
It was a silly dance because all they did was laughing and turning around. How many times they stumbled and fell on the ground, they didn't know. Nobody even cared.
They stopped dancing when the song was ended with an encore. They clapped their hands and realized that the crowd was applauding them for their strange performance, especially when the pianist extended his arms to their direction.
Much to her surprise, Adrien waved and curtseyed.
Curtseyed!
So she was obliged to do the same.
"That was a fabulous dance." the pianist congratulate the flustered teens.
"Sa - same goes to you, Monsieur..."
"Marcelo. Call me Marcelo."
"You must be a professional pianist, Marcelo," Adrien commented as he looked at the upright. "And that must be a fine piano too."
"I'm not a pianist, though. It just so happened that my hobby is playing the piano," he replied with a sheepish grin. "And that is a free-to-all piano. Anybody can use it. Care to try?"
"Really?!"
Marinette was quite tempted to remind Adrien about their class meetup but decided to hold back after seeing his smile.
The blond was able to sense her worries though. "As much as I would like to, but my friend and I got separated from our class, and we need to find our bus stop."
"Friend?" Marcelo's brows perked up with confusion. "Not girlfriend?"
Both shook their heads despite their mutual desire to make it real.
"I see." the man gave a short laugh. "If you're looking for the place where most of the tour bus stay, then just follow this road."
The teens looked straight ahead and saw the landmark that they were looking for.
"Sometimes you don't need to look around for the answer - you just need to look forward." the man told them. "You never know, the answer is just right in front of you."
Adrien and Marinette looked at each other as they gave the man a knowing look. They were sure they've seen him before...
"Marcelo!" a voice bellowed nearby. "Let's go! Attorney Dubois is here!"
"Whoops. I have to leave you, kiddos. My brother Felipe is here." the pianist hoisted his suitcase then patted their shoulders. "Saying 'Good Luck' sounds appropriate, but as a religious person, I'd rather bid you 'God Bless.'"
The teenagers waved their hands as the man left the premise.
Marinette cleared her throat. "Since we're just a few meters away from our bus stop, and obviously our classmates are not yet there, then why don't you play the piano?"
She immediately retracted her words when she saw the surprise that ebbed on his face.
"You - you don't have to oblige yourself to play the piano for me, but you were so excited back then and I don't want you to be sad because you can't play and..."
"It's fine, Marinette. I understand." he chuckled at her adorable stutters. "Besides, I made a promise to play the piano for you right?"
Did he?
The blond held her hand again as they walked towards the newly-vacated piano. He pulled the small bench for her, but she settled for a small space on the edge so that they could share a seat.
Their elbows didn't brush when he sat down beside her. He positioned his long fingers on top of the ivory keys, and with a deep breath, he struck the first note.
It was an Elvis Presley's song.
The people began to gather again as they sang the lyrics with a melancholic hymn.
Marinette might not be musically inclined, but she was very familiar with songs, even if it was released during the '60s.
"Wise men say only fools rush in, but I can't help falling in love with you."
Who doesn't know the King of Rock and Roll? And who doesn't recognize something that was featured in several films with various renditions made by several artists?
"Shall I stay? Would it be a sin if I can't help falling in love with you?"
It wasn't because of that, she thought as she squeezed her eyes. She was trying to keep her emotions at bay.
"Like a river flows surely to the sea. Darling, so it goes some things are meant to be."
She remembered.
She finally remembered everything.
Everything from the time they fought Twiddle Doom to the part wherein they cleansed Twiddle Gain.
She finally remembered the moment they were left behind.
The one wherein they fought the bad guys in Gare St. Lazare and the drunkards in a pub somewhere in Evreux.
The one wherein they met a mother and son stranded on a road and led them to a wedding in Argentan.
The one wherein they became ridiculous cosplayers and fought on a piece of pretzel.
The one wherein he almost lost her when a gun was aimed at her head, and again when he fell over the tower of Notre Dame.
And most of all -
The one wherein she found out that Adrien was Chat Noir.
"Take my hand, take my whole life, too. For I can't help falling in love with you"
.
.
.
.
When Adrien finished the song, he looked at his companion with fervor. And while he was expecting some reactions there, he ended up with none.
In fact, the space beside him was empty.
Not only he was alone, his beloved abandoned him and left.
Marinette was gone.