Adrien jolted out of bed, running to get dressed. Marinette had actually accepted his invitation to ice skate as his partner and now, Adrien was trying his best to make it look less like a date and more like a comfortable occasion. He didn't want to pressure Marinette because he knew that she was the type of girl who'd get easily flustered.
He had personally talked to his father and had made arrangements for his entire schedule to be vacated and only to be occupied for Marinette. Adrien hadn't thought that his father would agree to his terms, but Gabriel had simply nodded a 'yes' as if trying to get the boy out of the house.
Without focusing on his father's good mood, Adrien simply left his house. Adrien patted his pockets for Plagg and once again went through his duffel bag with all the necessities for skating. He planned to pick Marinette up from her house and then drive to the ice rink. He was also in the mood for freshly baked croissants.
Adrien's car topped right outside the Dupain Cheng bakery and Adrien jumped out, slamming the door behind him.
"Hello, Adrien." Greeted Tom Dupain as the arrival of their customer rang the bell on top of the door.
"Hello, Mr Dupain." Waved Adrien looking around for Marinette.
"Give her a minute. She's still getting ready upstairs. Cookies?" Asked Sabine Cheng bringing out a freshly baked batch of chocolate chip cookies.
"Yes, please." Smiled Adrien already in love with the sweets.
Adrien sat at the table listening to the sounds coming from upstairs as Marinette hurried to get dressed. He could hear her voice and soft footsteps as she walked across her room. Adrien bit into the soft texture of his croissant praying that Hawk Moth didn't Akumatise someone today.
Hearing the creaking of the trapdoor behind him, Adrien turned around to see Marinette dressed in a long-sleeved red T-shirt dotted with black spots. Her legs were covered in black jeans and to top it all off, she wore black ankle-high boots. Her hair was let down and it cascaded onto her shoulders behind her. She carried a small black bag where Adrien assumed were her supplies.
She smiled at him from the top of the staircase while chocolate dripped onto the plate from Adrien's croissant where it was suspended in front of his mouth.
"Oh..." Whispered Sabine holding onto her husband's hand.
Marinette walked over to Adrien and shyly waved at him.
"Adrien?" Asked Marinette after receiving no response from the boy.
"Adrien?" She asked again placing her hand on Adrien's shoulder since he seemed to be staring into space.
"W-what? Oh, right! Let's go!" Cried Adrien, his face flushed.
Marinette smiled and walked beside Adrien as he walked over to the door to open it for her. Marinette smiled at Adrien and exited the bakery. They walked to Adrien's car and got in while the driver drove straight to the ice rink.
"Thank you for coming." Smiled Adrien.
"Anything for a friend." Replied Marinette going through her black purse.
The drive to the ice rink seemed to be surprisingly short and soon, Marinette and Adrien were sitting on the chairs putting on their skates. None of them noticed the two figures that stood to the side closely observing them.
"So? Are you sure about this?" Asked the girl crouching behind the seats.
"Do you want to lose him to Marinette?" Asked the boy brushing back his blue hair.
"No..." Replied the girl smoothing down her skirt.
"Exactly. That's why I asked you to join me, Kagami." Added Luka eyeing Adrien.
It had little to no effort to convince Kagami to join Luka since he had immediately told her everything that had happened that day at school. Once both Marinette and Adrien had left the school, Luka had come out of his hiding spot, a plan already in mind. He had waited for Kagami to walk through the courtyard before he had pulled her to the side and cornered her. Kagami had been very surprised but when she had heard about the day's events, she hadn't taken a second to agree to Luka's terms.
They had made plans to sneak into the ice rink that Adrien had reserved for himself and Marinette. The hard part was for Kagami to escape her mother but she had accepted the consequences when she had run away. And now, she was hiding behind some seats with Luka planning to ruin Adrien's day. She knew that he'd never love her after what she was about to do but she was willing to take the risk. The same went for Luka but he knew that Marinette would always come back to him when she realised that there were people other than Adrien who loved her.
Hearing the sound of skates on ice, Luka glanced over at the two teenagers who were skating hand in hand. Luka growled and clenched his fists.
"Screw the plan." Grumbled Luka taking Kagami by her hand and dragging her onto the ice.
"I'm not so sure about this Adrien." Muttered Marinette trying her best to hang onto Adrien and avoid falling down chin first onto the ice.
"Don't worry, Marinette. I've got you." Smiled Adrien tightening his grip on her hand.
Luka and Kagami slid onto the ice determined to get in between Adrien and Marinette.
"Oh! Hey, Luka!" Waved Marinette still tightly gripping onto Adrien.
Hearing Marinette say the blue-haired boy's name, Adrien turned around to see Luka and Kagami skating with them. Adrien was sure that he had reserved the whole place for just the two of them and he was surprised to see both Luka and Kagami in there with them. What worried Adrien the most was Luka's presence and the way he seemed to be sending glares towards Marinette. Marinette seemed to notice nothing as she kept smiling at them and waving.
Letting his jealousy take over, Adrien pulled Marinette toward him and placed his hand on her waist. He looked into her eyes asking for permission. Marinette smiled and let herself be guided by Adrien. With one of Adrien's hands on her waist and the other holding her hand, Adrien spun her around. Letting go of Marinette's hand, Adrien gently placed his other hand on her waist, gliding forward on the ice with Marinette in front of him.
She seemed to be a natural as her Ladybug reflexes kicked in. She slid smoothly across the ice bending her knees and leaning her head on Adrien's shoulder. Adrien smiled as Marinette's head rested on his shoulder, lightly tickling it. He quickly glanced back at Luka who seemed to be frozen right there while Kagami's eyes burned with hatred. Adrien honestly felt bad for Kagami since she had been dragged into this but right now, all Adrien was cared about was Marinette.
Adrien turned Marinette towards him and held her mere inches from him. He slowly picked her and spun her in the air above him. Marinette gasped but soon closed her eyes and spread out her hands enjoying the chill of the wind through her hair. Adrien slowly brought her down and held her close to his chest. Marinette stared at Adrien only seeing the green eyes that belonged to Paris's hero, Chat Noir.
Adrien saw someone shift on the ice from the corner of his eye but his reflexes kicked in too late. Both Marinette and Adrien were thrown across the ice, their skates carving deep scratches in the ice and sending up flakes of ice flying in the air. They slid across the ice and hit their backs on the walls. Adrien groaned as he sat up and rubbed his head. Marinette shifted beside him, slightly whimpering as she tried to sit up. Forgetting about his pain, Adrien moved to help Marinette lean against the wall.
"Are you okay?" Adrien asked checking her for any wounds.
Marinette nodded but flinched as Adrien pressed down on the back of her head.
"I'm sorry." Apologised Adrien parting Marinette's hair to take a closer look at where she had hit her head against the wall.
A shadow loomed over them as Luka skated towards them. Adrien shot him a threatening look silently conveying the message that Luka is messing with the wrong person.
"I'm sorry. I slipped." Lied Luka.
It was obvious that what he did had been on purpose. He had never meant to hurt Marinette but the way they had danced on the ice had made Luka lose his control. Kagami had grabbed onto his arm to stop him but Luka had simply pushed her aside, already blinded by hatred and jealousy.
Marinette groaned as she lifted her head to look at Luka, her hair spilling over her right shoulder. The bright lights of the ice rink shone behind Luka illuminating his back but his face was darkened with nothing more than mere shadows. The shadows of his anger, the shadows of betrayal and the shadows of hate and jealousy. Marinette looked into Luka's soul through his eyes seeing everything except the lies and his desire for revenge. Luka masked all of his emotions excellently, fooling himself that he wasn't so bad underneath.
Marinette smiled easily buying Luka's lie while Adrien moved in front of her to help her up off the freezing ice. Marinette saw flames in Adrien's eyes as he looked anywhere and everywhere but at her, trying to avoid her gaze. Steeling himself, Adrien turned around to face Luka holding Marinette behind him as if to protect her from someone dangerous who was without a doubt, Luka. Seeing Adrien's change in mood, Marinette prepared for the worst but decided to step in just in case something went wrong. Adrien calmed down at Marinette's touch and turned back to smile at her, the fury in his eyes gone.
But Luka was having a hard time trying to douse the flames licking at his heart. His hand lifted despite his forced control and shot forward to throw a punch at Adrien. Seeing what was about to go down, Kagami stepped in and clasped Luka's hand in hers. Still running on pure adrenaline, Luka growled trying to shake off Kagami but she was stronger than he had expected. Soon, Luka calmed down and looked back at Adrien and Marinette who were staring at Kagami's hand wrapped tightly around Luka's.
Luka sharply withdrew his hand and Kagami moved her hands behind her back, shifting from one foot to the other. Not wanting to give off the wrong vibes, Luka glared at Kagami making her edge away from him. Marinette shifted on the ice, her skates scraping off most of the ice. She glanced down and saw that her skates had been ruined. It was a miracle that she was standing upright when the blades of her skates were on the verge of breaking off. She sighed and with the help of Adrien, walked over to one of the seats of the stadium. She started taking her shoes off and placed her bare feet on the floor.
"I'm sorry, Adrien." Sighed Marinette leaning against the back of the chair.
"It's okay, Marinette." Smiled Adrien.
He looked towards the ice rink where neither Luka nor Kagami seemed to be. Decided that it was now or never, Adrien took a deep breath and calmed his nerves.
"Marinette... There's something I've been wanting to tell you for some time now and I know that this might not be the right time but I want to make this work. I really do. So I'm going to take this moment to tell you how I really feel. Marinette Dupain Cheng, I'm in love with you. Ever since I saw you outside in the rain, I felt a spark in my heart but I was too blinded by someone I could never have, to notice how important you were to me. Every time I see you come into class, I can't stop smiling. You brighten up my whole day and I wan-"
"Adrien." Called Marinette, her eyes full of surprise and something else... Sadness.
"Marinette?" Asked Adrien reaching for Marinette's hand that was on her lap.
Marinette pulled her hand away from his reach and focused on the ground finding it more interesting than anything else. Adrien stared cluelessly at Marinette not knowing what was to come next.
Meanwhile, Luka was hiding a few seats behind Marinette and Adrien. He shifted when he heard Adrien's confession but Kagami pulled him back down as he was starting to get up.
"What? You want them to end up together?" Whispered Luka gripping Kagami by her wrist and making her let go of his hand.
"No. But what you are about to do isn't the right thing to do. Just wait." Kagami whispered back looking back at Adrien reaching forward to take Marinette's hand.
"Adrien, I- I don't... Feel that way... About you." Marinette finished still not looking up at Adrien.
"W-What?" Asked Adrien finding it hard to process what she was saying.
"I... I-" Began Marinette.
"She doesn't love you, idiot! Get that through your head!" Shouted Luka standing up.
Adrien turned around to see Luka and Kagami standing side by side looking back at them. Adrien gritted his teeth, the nerves in his neck standing out as he was finally losing control. Even though he felt his heart shatter into a million tiny pieces, Adrien got up and looked Luka dead in the eye.
But Luka was faster. He walked confidently down the steps on the side of the stadium and stood in front of Adrien. The fire of anger coursed through his veins blending with his blood, sending up clouds of steam of jealousy which suffocated his mind and heart only making way for more anger to bubble up inside him.
Adrien too was furious but was more heartbroken that his strength and anger was nothing compared to what Luka had boiling inside him. Luka simply pushed Adrien back onto the seat he had been sitting on and moved closer to Marinette. Adrien collapsed onto his seat and slid onto the cold hard ground like a discarded rag doll which he was at the moment. He helplessly watched as Luka knelt beside Marinette, placing his hands on her lap.
"Marinette. You might already know this but I'm in love with you. I've always been there to comfort you whenever Adrien didn't return your feelings even though you never confessed to him. And now, when you are the one who is rejecting him, I'm still here to hold you and comfort you. He has never held you all those times you were having a bad day. But I was there for you! And he was never there to touch your heart with music that you have come to love after all this time. But I was. And now wh-"
"Stop." Whispered Marinette.
"No. You need to understand how worthless he is! It's because of him that I have to be here, begging you to love me! If he wa-"
"Stop!" Shouted Marinette pushing Luka off his feet and standing up to face both the boys.
Adrien limply leaned against the chair while Luka sat on the ground beside him, shocked. Adrien shifted away from the blue-haired boy not wanting to be near the one person who was responsible for all of this. He didn't blame Marinette for any of this but deep down, he knew that it was his fault all along. He was too late. And now, he lost her forever. Kagami was nowhere to be seen and Luka guessed that she had gone home. But that wasn't his main concern right now. His eyes were focused on Marinette as she blew out air through her mouth.
"Adrien. I know that I hurt you but you've got to listen to me. I did love you. I was head over heels in love with you but you never seemed to notice me. You'd always consider me as a 'friend' and that hurt me. That's why I decided to move on. I cried every day you walked past me without noticing me. I'm sorry I hurt you but I'm in love with someone else now." Said Marinette taking a closer look at the broken boy in front of her.
"Ha! Finally! You got what you deserve!" Cried Luka pumping the air with his fists.
"Luka." Began Marinette looking down at him, every inch of her face and posture radiating anger and contempt towards Luka.
"I really appreciate what you did for me, Luka. But what you are doing right now is wrong. I've always seen you as a very good friend and nothing more. I know that this might hurt because I've suffered the same fate when Adrien didn't care about me. But I do care about you. I'm not in love with you and you can't force me to fall in love with you. Love cannot be forced and you should know that. I can't do this anymore. I'm sorry."
Adrien closed his eyes as he felt tears pricking at his eyes. He had been numb ever since the first word of her rejection had hit him and now, his body was slowly starting to work. But it lacked air. The air that was drifting away from him with Marinette. The air that was Marinette.
Adrien got onto his feet, eyes still closed hoping that this was all just a bad dream and that everything would fade away as soon as he opened his eyes. So, he did just that.
Adrien opened his eyes looking at Marinette fading into the distance, tears brimming at the corners of his eyes. He had thought that this was the right decision but it seemed like it wasn't. Adrien collapsed onto the floor feeling the cold biting at his skin. But he couldn't care any less about himself. All he wanted was to know why. How?
How? How had everything gone wrong in just a matter of seconds? How?
Adrien reached into his pocket and fished out the Lucky Charm that Marinette had given him. He clutched at it desperately hoping to have one last memory to hold onto. One last happy memory.
"You!" Shouted Luka lunging towards Adrien sending them both crashing into the ice rink.
They slid across the ice, their clothes taking up all the damage. Luka and Adrien lay sprawled out on the ice with many scratches and bruises. Adrien tightened his hold on the bracelet that was so precious to him and got up to face Luka. The blue-haired boy was on his feet, his breath coming out as misty clouds. His eyes burned with his thirst for vengeance. Adrien felt something inside him break. The wall that had kept Adrien's anger, sadness, and heartbreak separated from the Adrien that he let everyone see, crumbled to dust. Adrien let all the negative emotions take control of him as he positioned himself, ready to take Luka down.
The heartbreak he had felt when his mother suddenly disappeared, the sadness that he had felt when his father became the cold man he now was, anger that he felt when his father made him obey the rules that he didn't want to obey, resurfaced as Adrien lost all control on his mind. The only thing that had him anchored to the real world was Marinette's Lucky Charm which was now tightly grasped in his right hand.
Adrien and Luka shot towards each other, their unremoved skates sending up ice as the two collided. Adrien lowered and attacked Luka's leg which sent him spinning through the air. Luka landed hard on the ice while Adrien skidded to a stop. Despite his bleeding nose, Luka shot up and barrelled towards Adrien. Adrien threw punch after punch while Luka dodged and delivered his own punches at Adrien. Adrien too dodged, his Chat Noir reflexes giving him an advantage. With no one to stop them, they continued fighting each other, neither of them losing nor winning.
Luka finally delivered a blow that hit home and sent Adrien tumbling across the ice. Adrien lifted his face and stared at Luka from where he had been thrown. Wiping the blood dripping onto the ice from his forehead, Adrien fisted his right hand but felt nothing.
He frantically looked around until he spotted the colourful bracelet lying on the plain white ice dotted here and there with both Luka's and Adrien's blood. Seeing the bracelet Adrien was looking at, Luka slid forward to grab it. Adrien got onto his feet without a moment's hesitation and slid across the ice. He leapt into the air hoping to get his hands on the bracelet before Luka. But their hands landed on top of each other at the same time with Luka grasping onto the charm.
"Ahhhh... Two hearts... Broken by the same girl. Young love... So fragile and so... delicious. Fly away my little Akuma and destroy these already shattered hearts!" Cried Hawk Moth twirling his cane in the air.
He watched as the black butterfly flew out of his window in the light of the evening sun, casting its shadow of evil over the city of Paris.
Word Count: 3544 {Excluding this}
~Edited~