Marinette adjusted the straps of her backpack over her shoulders. Taking her lunch break at home wasn't something she really enjoyed, but it did provide her a much-needed break from all the Lila drama, if only a short one. As she headed for the exit, she heard a gentle voice call out to her. She glanced over her shoulder to see Henri standing there, smiling. "Where are you going?"
"Home for lunch.", she said plainly. "Its the only way I can get a break from you-know-who." He followed her line of vision to the class, all crowded around their teller of tales, who was drinking in all the attention. The only ones who were absent from her shrine were Marinette, Henri and Adrien, who was taking his lunch break at a fitting.
Henri smirked. "If you're worried about being lonely, I'll sit with you." Marinette brightened a bit. "Really?" It felt like such a long time since someone had sat with her at lunch. Everyone always flocked to Lila's table to hear more stories about her totally awesome, totally fake life. For Mari, it was either sit alone or join the others at Lila's place, and heaven knows that last one wasn't going to happen.
Henri nodded. "Really. We'll sit far away from those dumb sheep." Marinette winced. Whether or not they chose to believe Lila's stupid stories, she wasn't very comfortable with someone calling them "dumb sheep". On the other hand, they weren't really making a good first impression on Henri, and he was only trying to make her feel better. So she decided to let it slide just this once.
He offered her his hand. "Shall we, m'lady?" Marinette blinked at that nickname. M'lady. That was Chat Noir's name for her when they saw each other in costume. Even though she found the name cheesy and a little irritating, she wasn't sure she was comfortable with someone else referring to her in the same way. But Henri didn't know. So she just took his hand and didn't say a word.
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Alya got some napkins from the lunch supplies table and placed them onto her tray hastily. Lila was in the middle of the story of how she had been offered a movie deal, and the journalist did not want to miss a second of it. However, as soon, as she spun around, she caught sight of something that, for once, made her forget all about Lila for a minute.
Marinette was sitting at a table far away. But she wasn't alone. The new guy was sitting with her, just like he had in class. They looked just as comfy and cozy together as they had in the back row. Alya picked up on their dynamic right away. Even though they had only just met hours before, they were chatting and laughing like they had known each other for ages.
Then something bug happened, so big, Alya might have never forgiven herself if she had missed it. Marinette blushed. Her cheeks turned a soft pink, her cheeks swelling as the corners of her mouth pressed up against them, as she looked at Henri. Alya recognized that blush right away. It was the exact same blush that was usually saved for Adrien, and on occasion, Luka. It surprised Alya. This guy must have been smooth to get that blush on his first day.
Alya hadn't realized that she had arrived at the table until she bumped into the ledge, bruising her hip. "Yow!" The others immediately asked if she was alright, and she quickly said she was fine. Satisfied with her answer, they all turned their attention back to Lila, who picked up where she had left off. Only this time, Alya was paying no attention.
She knew she should be happy that Marinette had a new friend. But there was something about Henri that just gave Alya a funny feeling in her stomach.
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"No! No! This is all wrong!" Vincent groaned in frustration as his subject refused to work with him. "Come on! Show me Adrien Agreste's smile!" He tried again, but still, the boy's smile did not appear. Finally, Vincent ordered a five minute break in hopes that the model would use the time to take care of whatever was ailing him.
Adrien knew that he should be more cooperative, but he didn't feel like smiling. All day, the sinking feeling that he had gotten from Henri's nasty look had stuck with him, and he hadn't been able to shake it. All he could think about was the cruel smirk on the other boy's cocoa lips, and the scheming glint in his eye. How could he get such a bad feeling in his gut from one look from a guy he didn't even know?
Not to mention, the way he had switched from nice guy to wicked and back again so fast was baffling. The exchange was as quick as lightning. Blink at the wrong moment, and you'd miss it entirely. And it had all hinged on whether or not Marinette was looking. Did she have something to do with it?
"Hey, kid. You ready to get back to work, or are you still lost in la la land?" Plagg's voice piped up in the privacy of the dressing room, jerking Adrien out of his thoughts. The green-eyed boy sighed as he ran his hands through his golden hair. "I just can't stop thinking about that new guy, Plagg. I don't know what it is, but something about him bugs me."
"Maybe its jealousy.", suggested his kwami. Adrien looked flustered at such an idea. "Jealousy? Why would I be jealous of that guy? I just met him!" Plagg rolled his eyes. "No reason." Adrien glared at his friend as the tiny cat ate his beloved Camembert, back to minding his own business.
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"So, Adrien knows, but he's not doing anything?" Marinette sighed. She had just finished relaying the entire story to her new friend, no details spared. She had tried her best to give others perspectives as well as her own, so that her friends would not look like total jerks, but he still seemed entirely disgusted by their actions, especially Adrien's.
"Its not entirely his fault. He missed a bunch of stuff, and I've left out a few details when talking to him as well." "Why?", asked Henri. "Don't you want him on your side?" Marinette fidgeted. "I dunno...I mean, Lila's already gotten akumatized three times. And each time, she's been a tough foe for Ladybug and Chat Noir. I don't want to trigger her a fourth time. What if next time, she actually succeeds as a akuma? I can't set that into motion!"
Henri rolled his eyes. "If you want, Marinetre, I won't say anything. But if you ask me...I think you'd be better off not listening to Adrien. In fact...dare I say, I think you're better off without him, period. And that goes for your other so-called 'friends'. You deserve better." Marinette beamed, her stomach full of butterflies, the good kind, not the kind used by Hawkmoth. "That's so sweet of you."
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Adrien arrived back at school for the rest of the school day and sat in his usual seat at the front. Lila was still there, and Nino and Alya sat in the row behind him. Marinette had not arrived back at class yet, but Adrien was hoping when she did, she would get her seat back so he did not have to sit next to Lila.
Moments later, she walked into the classroom. Adrien brightened a bit—until Henri walked in right behind her. They were engaged in yet another conversation, and it was really starting to cheese off Adrien that every time he saw them, they were chitchatting as if they were the best of friends, considering how Henri still gave him a churning stomach feeling whenever he entered his vision.
Still, he put on his usual fake smile, the one he had perfected from years of nonstop modeling, and said cheerily, "Hi, Marinette!" To his shock, she didn't seem to hear him. She didn't even glance in his direction. Her blue eyes were locked onto Henri's brown ones as they climbed the stairs, passing by Adrien and all the others as if they weren't even there. It was once they reached the middle of the steps did Adrien notice they were holding hands.
Alya noticed the sad, surprised look on Adrien's face, and leaned in towards him. "They spent all of lunch together.", she whispered, catching Nino and Lila's attention. "He was talking her up like he's known her all his life! And get this—once, when I was looking at her, she blushed!" She hit that last word hard. "Hit" being a good word to describe her tone, because that one word made Adrien feel like he'd taken a hit to a gut.
Nino looked baffled at the idea. Here, he and his girlfriend had been plotting and scheming for months to get their two best friends to date one another. And now, just like that, her interests had changed? What a turn of events! It was a discovery that needed a few moment to process in his head.
Lila, on the other hand, could scarcely contain her delight. She knew now that she had made the right choice bargaining with Henri. Not only was he steering Marinette away from her friends, but he was actually catching her eye and her heart. Which meant one less girl Lila had to compete with for Adrien's attention. She managed to keep her cool as she commented slyly, "I think they make a lovely couple. Don't you, Adrien?"
Choking down the urge to vomit, the blond boy mumbled out, "Sure.", and turned to Mme. Bustier, hoping that the focus on his lessons would distract him from the fact that that sickly feeling he had caught from Henri had been increased by a thousandfold.