*shoves this AU and horrible story title at you while continuing to drown in my unfinished fics and schoolwork*
(this was also inspired by a scene from Drake and Josh)
Rebel With a Cause
It was currently 8:30 a.m., and instead of Marinette Dupain-Cheng walking around with her eyes half-closed, her movements sluggish, while releasing a yawn every few seconds, like she was prone to do, she was instead talking animatedly with her best friend in front of her locker. She was positively glowing as she ranted and raved to Alya, her hands flailing around in her uncontainable excitement.
The reason for this kind of behavior at this time of the morning, from the girl who had a penchant for arriving late with drooping eyelids?
The new Ultimate Mecha Strike game was coming out that afternoon, and Marinette had been waiting months for it to release.
Alya looked on in fond amusement, silently letting Marinette go on and on about a video game she didn't really care for. However, they were best friends, and she wasn't going to ignore something that Marinette was so passionate about.
"There's so many new combos, and badges, and more stuff for XP, and oh my God, I can't wait!" Marinette bit down on her lower lip to contain the loud squeal as she wiggled in place. "Papa gave me the money so I can go down to the store right after school and buy it!"
"That's great!" Alya grinned and crossed her arms. "But I'm guessing that I can't expect a text from you for at least a week after you get this game?"
"Probably not," Marinette joked, playing along, until her features suddenly brightened again, akin to the elation she held just seconds before. "You should've seen the trailers, there's so many new cool moves!"
Alya nodded and smiled, following along for the most part (she usually got lost whenever she started talking about XP and special power-ups), until her eyes shifted past Marinette. Her smile abruptly slackened and she paled a little.
Marinette, still in her own little world, hadn't noticed her friend's sudden change in demeanor.
"Ooh, and you should've seen this one move!"
Alya's eyes were trained on the person sauntering closer and closer to her oblivious friend. He noticed and flashed her a devilish grin, then lifted a finger to press it against his lips in the universal gesture to be quiet.
Alya blinked, both startled and puzzled by his motives. What was he up to?
His gaze settled back on Marinette as he continued to amble closer.
"Uh, Marinette?" Alya spoke up, not about to let him have any sort of influence on her, contrary to how the other students practically kissed the ground he walked on.
"It went like this!" she continued, not even taking in Alya's voice as her blue eyes flashed recalling the special attack she saw in the trailers. "First, you take the fist and you slam it back like this-!"
As she was talking, Marinette had balled up her fist and proceeded to snap it back behind her as a demonstration. But while she expected to just punch empty air, her fist was instead met with something warm, fleshy, and her ears picked up a sharp yowl of pain.
A gasp tore past her lips as she spun around to see who she had unintentionally hit. She swore her heart dropped when saw the school's notorious bad boy holding his hand to his nose, eyebrows scrunched together in vivid anger.
Whether he was angry simply at being hurt, or solely at her, she wasn't certain. It was probably the second, though. Or a mixture of both.
Horror filled the pit of her stomach. She was so stunned she couldn't even apologize, let alone speak.
"What was that for?" Adrien Agreste demanded harshly, taking his hand away from his nose to inspect it for blood. With growing dread, Marinette saw two, twin trails of red seeping from his nostrils, dripping down to his lips. His fingertips were stained with red.
She gave Adrien Agreste a bloody nose. She gave the boy who wasn't, according to the rumors, against violence or revenge, a bloody nose.
She was definitely going to die. She probably wouldn't even live long enough to play one level of the new UMS game. That is, if he didn't kill her right there and then.
Somehow, miraculously, she found her voice. Maybe she still had a slim chance to keep her life.
"Adrien, I'm so, so sorry! I didn't mean to, I swear!"
Alya could only stare with her mouth hung open. In any other situation, she would have her phone out recording the aftermath of her shy and normally quiet best friend punching Adrien Agreste in the face. But the shock of it actually happening rendered her immobile.
Although, in hindsight she probably should've brought out her phone, in case Adrien decided to commit a murder.
"Dude!"
Nino Lahiffe unexpectedly arrived at the scene, running past the students who had begun to gawk and whisper. He slid to Adrien's side, took one look at the injury, and immediately grimaced.
"That looks pretty bad, bro."
"It feels pretty bad, too," Adrien shot back with a scowl, before straightening and wiping more blood from his nose. "Got anything to clean this up?"
When Nino shook his head, Marinette feebly reached into her purse and shakily offered a pack of tissues to Adrien. Every little gesture that could possibly save her life mattered.
He turned to her in surprise. For a few seconds they locked eyes, neither one able to look away. Marinette in frightened stillness, and Adrien in…admiration? Gratitude?
"Thanks," he murmured, taking the pack and removing a few tissues to press to his nose. Marinette nervously looked on, mentally praying that she could somehow be forgiven for this.
"Adrikins!"
Oh no.
If she had any hope of forgiveness and her life remaining intact, it just went out the window.
Chloe Bourgeois rushed as fast as she could in her heels that were not made for running, making a beeline straight for Adrien. Marinette shrieked as she was not-so-gently shoved aside by the Mayor's daughter in order to make room for her to pass. Alya quickly caught her and narrowed her eyes at the culprit.
"I heard what happened, are you okay?" Chloe tittered worriedly, gasping when she saw the bloodied tissue still pressed to his nose. Meanwhile, Adrien rolled his eyes and nodded.
"Yeah, Chlo, I'm fine. It's nothing."
"Nothing?!" Chloe repeated dramatically. "This peasant," she paused to point one perfectly-manicured nail in Marinette's direction, "savagely punched you in the face! Is your nose broken? Want me to kiss it better?"
"No!" Adrien protested in uncharacteristic fear, jumping away from her arms that were set to wrap around his neck. His eyes darted to Marinette for a split second before he resettled his attention on Chloe. "No, you don't have to do that. I'll be fine, I just need an ice pack."
"Ice pack? Adrikins, you could die! This is unacceptable, I'm calling Daddy and he'll get you the proper medical care you need." No sooner had she finished the statement that her cell phone was in her hands.
"Chloe, all I need is an ice pack," he stressed, becoming agitated. "I can get one from the nurse and after 10 minutes I'll be fine. Put your phone away."
Chloe sniffed, but did as she was told.
"Well, at least let me walk you to the nurse-"
"Actually," Adrien interjected with a smirk, "I think Marinette should come with me to the nurse. She is the one who punched me, after all."
"It was an accident!" Marinette squeaked, flailing her hands in a panic. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to, I didn't even see you!"
"Don't you dare try to apologize, Dupain-Cheng," Chloe hissed, practically spitting her last name. "You might've broken my poor Adrikins' nose."
"She said it was an accident," Alya said lowly, stepping up and placing a hand on her friend's shoulder. Her hardened eyes met with Chloe's icy ones. "She didn't mean to punch him, so shut up."
"Excuse me?" Chloe challenged, taking a step closer to the budding journalist, who met her cold glare without flinching. "Do you know who my father is?"
"The Mayor of Paris, we know," Alya drawled, rolling her eyes. "You only remind us every day."
Chloe looked even more upset at that. Her hands balled into fists and her upper lip curled up in a snarl.
"You-!"
"In case you have forgotten, I still need to go to the nurse," Adrien interrupted dryly. He nodded his head toward Marinette, who was still apprehensive of going with him. They would likely be alone during the walk there, what if that's when he decided to kill her?
Then again, maybe if she followed through with his demand, she would please him, and thus he wouldn't kill her.
It was a chance she would have to take.
She wordlessly nodded, cast one helpless glance back to Alya, pointedly ignored Chloe, and walked with her head held high to Adrien's side. She could do this. She would survive. If he tried anything, she could just punch him again.
Adrien looked down at her with surprise written clearly over his features. Marinette rose a questioning brow in return. Did he honestly not expect her to go with him?
He must've gotten over it rather quickly, for only a few seconds later he murmured a "come on" and headed off down the hallway. Marinette swiveled her head around one last time to Alya, who gave her a lopsided smile and a thumbs-up. Her eyes shifted to Chloe, who immediately reminded her of the saying 'if looks could kill' if her hatred-filled glare was anything to go by. Nino's lips were actually twitching, as if he was trying desperately to conceal a satisfied grin. But why-?
"Marinette!"
Marinette flinched at the calling of her name and spun around to see Adrien standing a few feet away, looking cross while still holding the bloodied tissue to his nose.
"You coming?" he asked, sounding almost bored but with a sarcastic lilt to his tone. Normally she would've rolled her eyes and retorted with something witty, but this was Adrien Agreste. She already injured him, she didn't want to add more fuel to the fire that was likely already an inferno.
Marinette nodded wordlessly and jogged to catch up to him, just in time for the class bell to ring. She paused in her next step, unsure of what to do. She should go to class, since she would actually be on time for once. However, Adrien wanted her to go with him to the nurse. She would be in trouble no matter what she chose.
Adrien seemed to sense her inner dilemma and rolled his eyes. "You can get a note from the nurse, Princess. You won't get in trouble, now come on."
With the looming threat of what he would possibly do to her if she didn't follow through with the command, she swallowed her fears and nodded again, then went to stand next to him. Adrien made a noise of approval from the back of his throat and strode on ahead, not caring to look to make sure she was following him.
She spent the silent trek studying his outfit, since she didn't think that actually talking to him was an option at this point. What would she say, anyway? 'How are you, except, you know, besides having your nose nearly broken?'
She recognized the black leather jacket he wore from the latest issue of 93STYLE. It looked incredibly well-made, with not a stitch out of place and the zippers and buttons placed strategically to make the jacket look perfect, per the Gabriel standard. The sleeves were pushed up to just below his elbows, and the zipper was fully open to reveal a black t-shirt with stripes of varying colors running across the front. His jeans were form-fitted, just so that they appeared neither too tight nor too loose.
Overall he had a great sense of style, as he should considering he was Gabriel Agreste's so-
Oh.
Oh no.
Marinette looked up at the school's bad boy in renewed horror, an audible gasp entering her mouth.
She just punched her idol's son. She gave her very rich idol's son a bloody nose. That same idol was known to be extremely protective of his son, to the point where he had a bodyguard stationed by Adrien at all times except for when he was at school. Although, she did hear that Adrien sometimes was able to ditch him, but it did nothing to cool Marinette's nerves.
Adrien peered down at her with curiosity alight in his green eyes. Huh, now that she thought about it, they really were a vivid green, kind of like the grass on a hilltop in spring. Or maybe like-
"What is it?" he asked, and…was he concerned? Was he showing concern for her of all people? The very girl who punched him in the face? "I thought you were done being afraid of me?"
"I-it's not that," she stuttered, prepared to go on to share her latest worry when she suddenly clamped her mouth shut in a newfound panic.
"N-not that you're not s-scary! Because you are, really scary, that is! You're the scariest guy I know!" She chuckled in an attempt to lighten the tense atmosphere, yet even in her own mind she knew she utterly failed. Unfortunately, the words kept tumbling out of her mouth like vomit. "Yeah, really scary. I wouldn't want to go near you. In fact, I feel like running away right now!"
Adrien was quiet throughout the entirety of her rambling. So lost was Marinette in her desperation for him not to be furious with her, she failed to take notice of how his eyes dulled with hurt and how he turned away, a visible grimace marring his handsome features. If she had focused a little more, maybe she would have seen how she was literally stomping on his heart and crushing it into pieces.
"Go on then," he finally barked out. "Run away. I won't stop you, since you're so scared of me." He spat the word as though it was a bitter poison.
Marinette paused, her cheeks pink from the loss of breath as she gaped at him in surprise.
"Wh-what?" she murmured in disbelief. So he didn't want her to go with him to the nurse now?
"You heard me," he snapped, his lips set in a scowl she wasn't sure would disappear anytime soon. "Go. Go to your class. I can go to the nurse myself."
And with that, he turned and headed off down the hallway, without any more indication of a farewell.
However, instead of heeding his orders, she could only continue to stare off after him in bewilderment. What was wrong with him? Did she really manage to offend him, even when she made sure to assure him that he was indeed scary?
She sighed; she'll never cease to mess everything up and make things worse.
…
Nino gave his friend a sympathetic smile as he took his seat on their shared bench. Adrien didn't bother returning it, the firm line of his lips never lifting as he took out his electronic tablet. Hey, he might be a rebel, but he wasn't going to abandon his studies and flunk out of school. Oh, the conniption his father would have if he even so much as got a 14 on a test…
"How is it?" Nino whispered, eyeing the gauze sponge secured by the white strip of tape over the bridge of Adrien's nose.
"Not broken," he muttered before he looked up to copy to the notes he had missed. "But it might interfere with modelling for a few days."
Nino winced, already imagining the rage his father would have when he would find out what happened. He returned to his own notes, until a thought struck him and the corners of his mouth curled into a sly smirk.
"And what was it like going with Mari to the nurse? Did she kiss your nose better?" He muffled a few snickers when Adrien pointedly glared at him. "But seriously, you two had to have talked. Did you finally ask her out? You know, since you were delayed by that punch?"
Adrien shook his head. If anything, his eyebrows drew down deeper, a sign of his inner frustration.
"No."
Nino adopted a confused look when Adrien didn't bother to elaborate.
"No, as in you didn't talk? Or no as in you didn't ask her out?"
"Both," he growled. Nino noticed the knuckles of the hand holding his stylus were turning white. "She's scared of me. She wouldn't have said yes anyway."
Nino blinked, surprise evident all over his face. "How do you know that?"
"Because she fucking told me so right to my face!" he hissed, his voice bordering dangerously close to above a whisper. "She said that I'm the scariest guy she knows, then went on to say how much she wanted to run away from me. You really think she would've gone out with me after that?"
Nino didn't answer, hopelessly struck dumb by the revelation.
Adrien's shoulders slumped as he calmed down, despondent eyes straying back to the tablet in front of him.
"It was stupid, Nino. I told you I had no chance."
Too bad they forgot that Alya Cesaire happened to sit behind them and could hear every word they said.
…
"Marinette! Marinette!" Alya shouted as she ran down the hallway after class, desperate to find her best friend. "Mari-oof!"
In her haste to find said friend, she didn't see the person right in front of her. He turned around, and in his shock of seeing her so suddenly he froze. Although he was prone to do that whenever he saw her.
"Nino!" Alya panted, wildly looking about for a head of black hair in twin tails. "Have you seen Marinette? Sorry about running into you, but have you seen her?"
Nino's mouth remained tightly pressed shut, his eyes wide as he stared into her own in what she assumed was horror. Curiously, his cheeks were also starting to turn an interesting shade of red.
She sighed in exasperation. "Yes, I know I probably look terrible, but this is important! Have you seen-"
She stopped, and all of a sudden her face lit up in recognition upon seeing the familiar head of her best friend.
"Never mind, see you!" she called out as she ran away, leaving Nino to mentally kick himself again for not being able to get even a single word out. He always scolded Adrien for not doing anything about his crush on Marinette, yet he had no right to talk at all.
…
Marinette's body remained on auto-pilot for the rest of that day, the information she got from Alya made sure that there was nothing on her mind except for Adrien, who apparently had a massive crush on her and was going to try to ask her out before she accidently slammed her fist back in his nose.
Adrien Agreste liked her? Her? Not Lila Rossi, who was considered to be one of the hottest girls in school and whose parents were wealthy diplomats? A match with her would be strategic in terms of secure connections and riches.
And not Chloe, the Mayor's daughter, who was the most popular girl in school and reigned supreme over their class? Not her, with her striking icy blue eyes and glossy blonde hair? Marinette heard that every guy in the school was attracted to her.
So why would Adrien be interested in herself? It didn't make any sort of sense. Sure, she thought she was pretty great. Her self-esteem wasn't so low that she regularly put herself down. But she didn't have anything to offer Adrien, and he must know that. He wasn't stupid by any means.
Which brought her back to the most pressing question of all: why?
She was so deep in her thoughts that she didn't notice the rain until a drop hit her head. Looking up, she took in the dark gray sky and immediately took refuge under the roof over the school entrance. With a resigned sigh, she kept back, willing to wait until the rain lightened up so she could make the quick run home without getting too wet.
The door behind her opened and she instinctively swiveled her head around to see who it was. When she locked eyes with Adrien, she quickly withdrew her gaze from his and settled it on the ground. Should she say something? Or nothing at all?
Out of the corner of her eye she saw him pause beside her for a few seconds until he turned away. Her ears picked up an umbrella opening.
"Hey."
Her head snapped up to the sound of his voice. He looked sullen, the crestfallen expression he wore in that moment was nothing like the grins he usually displayed. Something tugged at her heartstrings upon seeing such a look from him.
"I'm not mad at you, I just wanted you to know that. You don't have to worry about my nose either, I'll tell my father I ran into a locker or something. So you don't have to be scared of me."
His gaze slid up to the sky.
"But I understand if you want to keep your distance, I don't blame you. I've heard the rumors, you'd think I was a murderer out for everyone's blood in this place. I just don't like to take shit from anyone, and I guess that mindset set me up for this persona. It's the only way I know how to survive here."
He shrugged, then turned around fully and held out the umbrella to her. Marinette was only able to stare with her mouth parted.
"I do have a bit of a temper that I need to work on, but I'm not heartless." The ghost of a smile flitted across his lips. "Maybe one day I can prove it to you."
She couldn't move, couldn't speak, could barely breathe. How could she, after such an honest, heartfelt confession? In her mind, she was seeing less and less of the violent rebel and more of the boy with his own slight faults who only wanted a place in their school.
He said he needed to work on his temper. From what she had seen, it wasn't that bad. With just a little love and patience, something she felt he lacked at his home, he could truly gain the gentleness that shone in his eyes.
She took a step forward, reaching out to hold the umbrella in her own hand, but didn't move back. Adrien's eyebrow slightly rose, a clear sign that he was confused by her decision to not take the umbrella and leave.
She smiled. "Would you like to come to the bakery for some mille-feuille?"
His eyes widened in disbelief, until they steadily sharpened with playfulness.
"I would, but I heard the new UMS game is coming out today, and I wouldn't want to miss out."
"You like UMS?!" Marinette gasped excitedly, not having expecting this new development at all. Adrien Agreste liked to play video games? She had to admit she never considered the possibility.
"Of course, as the best player in the world should," he boasted, grinning mischievously. "No one has ever beaten me before."
"Well that day is today," she vowed with pure determination in her voice. A battle-ready smirk etched its way over her own lips. "Because I'm going to beat you with the new combo I learned."
"You mean the one you demonstrated earlier today on me?" he shot back with a cheeky twinkle in his eyes. Marinette's cheeks heated with embarrassment, but she took the comment in stride.
"Well I had to test it to see if it worked," she replied, trying not to laugh as she spoke. It was hard not to, especially at the way his grin simply spread wider.
"I was thinking of letting you win, but I'm not anymore. I'm showing you no mercy."
Marinette easily matched his confident grin.
"Bring it on, hot stuff."
She froze, the brevity of her words catching up to her. Hot stuff? Did she cross a line? Did she just make it awkward?
Adrien seemed just as shocked, his cheeks even darkened into a rosy red hue. He managed to quickly recover, leaning down closer to her and watching with satisfaction at how her own cheeks turned into a pretty pink.
"I plan to, Princess."