Previously
"Plagg, claws out!" I say. The mask covers me and I smile, despite the situation. All I have to do now is meet Mari and comfort her as someone she's only met once or twice. This'll be interesting.
I leap out of the passageway and leap to the top of a building. I bounce across the street and land on Marinette's balcony.
I can't believe I'm about to do this. I knock.
Adrien
I hear scurrying down below. Suddenly, the trap door I am leaning over flies open, knocking me to the side. Marinette pops out, armed with a metal stick. She quickly lowers it, realizing its Paris' superhero.
"Chat... Noir?" she questions, burrowing her eyebrows. Her face is red and puffy. She must of been crying.
"Hey Princess?" I say. Princess? Where did that come from? I wave a bit from the ground, hoping that my blush isn't visible.
"Oh my gosh, Chat, why are you here?" Thankfully she doesn't even notice my accidental nickname. To be honest, though, Princess fits her. I smile.
"Chat?" she asks again.
"Oh, um... I saw you running into your house and wondered if you were okay. Can I help?" I nervously mutter. She purses her lips and looks into my eyes as if trying to figure me out.
"Chat, I'll be fine. Thanks for coming over, though. I appreciate the thought." she says and is about to close the trapdoor. I keep it open.
"If there's one thing I know, is that when a lady says fine, she isn't fine." I explain. Before she can say anything, I hop into her room. Marinette's face pales before checking her desk worriedly.
"What is it?"
"Nothing!" she explains, but then comes to her senses, "Chat! What are you doing? Get out of my room!"
I fold my arms: "Not until you tell me what's wrong." She lowers her eyes. I notice her face is less red. I sit down in her desk's chair. She rolls her eyes at me and gives her mannequin back a metal rod. She sits down on her chaise lounge and lowers her eyes. It kind of looks like the look Plagg gave me a few seconds ago. Plagg yells, 'SAY SOMETHING!'
"I mean, you don't have to tell me anything, but..." I manage to gain me cool back, "I'm there for you, Princess."
Marinette remains skeptical. I change position and rest my arm on her desk, my arm accidentally landing on Marinette's sketch pad.
"Oooh, what's this?" I intentionally squeal.
"Give that back!" Marinette yells, "You should be so glad my parents aren't directly downstairs!"
"Ah ah ah!" I tease and stand up with the pink sketch pad in the air.
"Chat! Give it back!" she yells. I open the book, cooing at the (awesome) designs. Suddenly, Marinette lounges at me. We topple over, and she lays right on top of me. Shes snatches the sketch pad away while I am in shock.
"Aha! Gotcha!" she exclaims, jumping up in victory. She's smiling. A warm feeling reaches from my chest to my toes and I smile, too. She eventually plops back down into her chaise lounge. I sit down beside her.
"Thanks, Chat," she whispers to me. She starts to cry again. I let her lean into me.
"Shhhh. It's going to be okay," I whisper to her, handling her pale hands, "What happened?"
"I... I don't know! I have this crazy crush that Alya's always been supportive of and today... today when I asked her, she told me I should give up and then I got upset and then she told me I would alright without him and she thought that she knew him better and I yelled at her and she yelled at me, because she was trying to lookout for me when she was hurting me and..." Her word ran on, I only catching a few: Alya, crush, supportive, upset, better, yelled, lookout, hurting....
"Princess..." I start but pause to think. "It'll be okay."? That's what Alya said basically. "Chase your dreams."? Better but may not be a great message if this guy, whoever he is, has a girlfriend, then that's a no go. As if Marinette would do such a thing.
"...you are beautiful. Hey, look at me." She glances up. "I'm sure Alya was just trying to keep you safe. If you believe in something, Marinette, reach for it. I'm sure this guy won't be able to resist you."
She softly laughs to herself.
"Thanks, Chat. I'll best be going off; I do have to go to school again, sorry," Marinette says and I pretend to be extremely disappointed by hanging my head and pouting. Princess laughs and enters the trapdoor. I watch her disappear before jumping out of her room.
I watch as Marinette comes out of the bakery with one last wave to her parents. She walks alongside the park to get to school, and I follow her.
To make sure she's not going to get akumatized.
'Awww. You spying on your quote unquote "princess"?' Plagg taunts.
"What! No!" I whisper back to him. I stumble and quickly hide.
"Chat?" Marinette calls, "Chat, I know you're here." She stops in front of an ally. She peeks her head in.
"Chat, get out! I know you're in there!" I nearly laugh because she thinks I'm hiding somewhere else. When she steps into the ally, I seize the opportunity to run.
Hopping gracefully onto the ground of behind a building, I detransform.
"Awww. You like her, don't you?" Plagg coos. I moan.
"Plagg, Marinette's just a friend," I state.
"You won't be saying that in less than a week. You LLOOOOOOVVE her!"
"Plagg, you already know that Ladybug's My Lady: the only girl for me." I grab him and stuff him into my jacket. An angry, muffled "hey!" shouts back at me.
Nino
Oh man. What should I do? Alya's sobbing into my cheast and I'm standing, stricken by fear in front of our school. My cheeks grow warm, but I manage to wrap my arms around her torso just as hers are wrapped around mine.
"Alya... shhh... it'll be alright." I rub her back. My only experience with soothing others comes from my dad soothing me, and you can tell.
Alya rubs her eyes. I guide her to a bench. I had to chase her down, but she didn't make much of an effort to resist me. It makes me wonder what could've possibly happened between her and Marinette.
"You don't have to tell me what happened. I'm here for you," I say. Her eyes glaze over with a fresh coat of tears as she pouts facing me. My stomach drops. She's really hurt. I look down, unable to bear her misery.
"I... I was just trying to protect her! I know something she doesn't, and can't, learn about; it changes things! I warned her... I just didn't want her to get hurt," Alya bluest out. I purse my lips, trying to think of what Alya possibly could have told Marinette.
She saw my confusion and threw new words at me: "I told Mari that she should give up on Adrien."
If Alya's head wasn't resting on my shoulders, I would have fallen off the bench.
"What?" I sputter, "Why?" Alya's been supportive of Marinette's crush long before the day we went to the zoo when Alya told me about it. She never told Mari she confided in me, though.
"Nino, Adrien is.... I... never mind, I can't say," she says. She glances at me with a look that says, 'I wish you could know'.
"Don't worry. I have a secret of Mari's that you don't know." The words flew out and I quickly cover my mouth. The movement forces Alya to sit up.
She gives me a half smile and says, "It can't possibly be a bigger secret than mine."
"Pfft. Doubt that." My bro Adrien couldn't be keeping much from me. What could possibly be bigger than one of our friends being Ladybug?
"You think Mari is keeping a bigger secret?" Alya says.
Oops. I said that out loud.
"I... eee... yeah, you're probably right. Marinette's secret is actually SUPER small. Small. Like doesn't mean much. Ha ha. I've got to..." go? Noooo... I've got to keep her reporter brain off my case during school, "When's Team Ladyblogger's next meeting?"
"Yeah, I was just wondering the same thing," Adrien pops up beside us. He was grinning his blonde head off and panting a bit like he had just been running.
"Where's Marinette?" I almost immediately ask, worriedly. Adrien suddenly looks defeated.
He scratches his neck. "I never actually got to her."
Poor Marinette...
I spot Marinette making a final word with Tikki at the corner of the street.
"Well. She looks good." I say. Alya shifts, probably worried about the squabble the two just had.
"Hey. It's going to be fine," I comfort her. Adrien doesn't help and just watches me help Alya. "Just see if you two can talk. She'll understand."
Marinette bounces up next to us. She sucks her lips worries my and raises her eyes at Alya. "Can we talk?"
"Um. Yeah.... Sure." Alya says, standing up.
Adrien
I silently beg Marinette not to tell Alya about me going to Marinette's house as Chat Noir. Alya knowing who I am complicates so much!
"So, what's the big, bad secret you and Alya share?" Nino asks as if trying to stir up a conversation.
I almost can't believe my ears; Alya told Nino we have a secret? Better than telling him I'm Chat Noir, but seriously Alya?
"Ha! It's nothing big. What did Alya make it seem like? Bro, it's seriously nothing big. You'll find out eventually." And that's true. I'll have to tell him someday.
"Woah- dude. No need to sweat it," he soothes, "So when can I come over tomorrow?"
"Oh right. Just let me check my sched. on my phone." I check my daily email. My schedule is insane; and it'd make me insane having to memorize it.
I have piano lessons after school today and my patrol (although that's obviously not on my schedule). Tomorrow is just basketball again, a shirt photo shoot in the morning, and patrol.
"Yeah, you can probably come right after school. I can see to it that you can ride with me and Gorilla." I say.
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Hi guys!
So apparently this story has 400 reads. How did that happen? ThAt'S cRaZy! Thank y'all so much!
I struggled with this chapter to be honest. It's so much dialogue! I'll do better in the next chapter. I think I can say that I'll have this updated again by next Monday (hopefully with a good chapter) so please continue reading!
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