Hidden away in a little town lay an old, tall mansion. It may have been a tall and elegant building in the past, but now it was just a shadow of its former self. It was the color of an eggshell, cracked like one too. From the outside you could see how grungy the windows were. It was as if the house was trying to keep people from looking in and discovering secrets that weren't there. Toppled and rusted lawn decorations hid in the overgrown grass that brushed his knees as he walked inside. His nose wrinkled in disgust at the musty smell that permeated the house. Why anybody would want to live here was beyond him. But to that girl the house might as well have been a castle.
Her blue eyes sparkled as she waltzed around the empty and dusty house. Her fingers delicately touched the peeling wallpaper on the walls. He coughed, drawing her attention from the wall to him.
"Miss Marinette, where should I put this?" he asks, holding out the box for her to see.
"Oh! Hm," she thinks for a minute, "how about in the living room with the other boxes."
He nods and walks past her towards said room. The floorboards creaked under his weight. He presumed that before today they had barely been walked on in the past twenty years, maybe even longer. He placed the box down in a safe spot and looked around. The house barely had any furniture so Marinette had to bring some of her own. It was quite a hassle moving furniture around in this old house. Two of his men hadn't returned from bringing a mattress upstairs. He returns to the foyer and finds his men talking to Marinette. Her eyebrows were crunched together in concern.
"Is there a problem?" he asks. His suspicions are confirmed when his two men stiffen. Marinette just gives a kind smile.
"Ah! It's nothing!" she laughs. "The bed frame and headboard are missing. I might have forgotten them."
"That's troublesome. Where will you sleep?"
"It's no biggie, really! I still have my mattress. I'll have my parents bring them over next week."
"Are you sure? The city is over an hour away."
"I'm sure!" she smiles. "Thank you for your help so far! Is there anything else that needs to be brought in? If they're light I'll carry them!"
"The box I brought in was the last one."
"Huh? Oh I feel like I barely helped!"
"It's fine Miss Marinette, we're movers after all. It's our job to move things."
"Still... Thank you so much for your help! I hope to see you at the end of summer!"
"You as well, Miss Marinette. I'm sorry about the bed frame and headboard. Now come on, men let's get going," he grabbed the two men by the collars of their shirts. They waved Marinette goodbye while anticipating the worst. When outside, he let go of their shirt collars. Closing the door, he put a hand on his temples. "Can I ask what that was?!"
"W-We swear we brought them up, but when we brought the mattress up they were gone!" the first mover cowers.
"We?! You brought them up! You probably misplaced them or something!" the other accuses.
"What?! Shouldn't I be saying that to you?! You brought up the bed frame!"
"Yeah but-!"
"Enough!" their boss cuts in. "I don't want to hear your excuses!" the first mover elbows the second one.
"Hey, maybe a ghost took them," he says.
"A ghost? You've got to be kidding me," the other snickers. "That's the lamest excuse I've ever heard."
"Hey! It could be true! I mean the house is old enough!"
"Just, be quiet you two. There's no ghosts," their boss groans.
"There might be," someone states. He turns around to see a blonde haired boy leaning against the fence. His green eyes watched the men with curiosity.
"Pardon?"
"There might be ghosts. It's only a town rumor," he explains. "Then again... Nobody can seem to stay more than a month in that house. I don't believe in ghosts so I think that rumor is bogus."
"See? There might be ghosts," the first mover smirks. It immediately fades when his boss sends him a glare.
"I'm assuming you're a local then," he says.
"Yup! I live nearby. Wanna see the new victim," he smiles at his own joke. "Didn't think they'd be such burly men though."
"No son, we're just the movers."
"Oh... I knew that..."
"She's inside. Don't know if she wants visitors or not."
"Ah it's fine! If not I'll come back another day!"
"Alright. Now come on men, we have a long drive back to the city," he starts pushing the two men towards the truck. "Have a nice day, sir."
"Yeah, you two," the boy waves. He stands there waiting for the truck to leave. "So it's a girl this time," he mumbles to himself. "Well this is going to be fun!"
Marinette hums a little song as she opens boxes. She couldn't really remember the lyrics nor the song's name, but the tune seemed to be ingrained into her head. She carefully unwraps the first item in the box. It was a framed picture of her and her family. Her fingers traced the smooth edges of the frame. It would be her first time away from her parents for so long.
"Excuse me," she lets out a loud eep when there's a sudden voice behind her. "Oh! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to scare you!" she cautiously turns around. She hadn't expected to see a boy around her age standing there.
"N-N-No it's fine," she tries calming her racing heart. "Um, how did you get in here?"
"The movers left the door open so I sort of just walked in here. I'm not gonna hurt you or anything!" he quickly adds.
"That's what they all say..." she eyes him suspiciously.
"I'm from this town! I live nearby!"
"Really?"
"Really, really."
"Alright, I believe you."
"Wait, you do?"
"Well you don't seem like you're lying, that's for sure," he lets out a sigh of relief. "Then again... You seem awfully relieved..."
"Well of course! I mean- yeah- um- you... Y'know, aren't gonna call the cops or anything- and that would be bad! Not because I'm a criminal! But because-"
"Relax, I'm just messing with you," Marinette giggles. "I'm Marinette Dupain-Cheng. I'm going to be living here for the summer."
"Adrien Noir, nice to meet you."
"Noir? That's a strange surname."
"Really? Because I thought it sounds pretty normal."
"Well it is what it is."
"You're right," a wide and mischievous grin slowly appears on his face. "Hey! Wanna see who can unpack boxes the fastest?!"
"What?! Who gave you permission to touch my stuff?!" she bristles. "But you're on! On your mark! Get set! Go!"
"Hey! No fair! I wasn't prepared!" Adrien sits on the ground and takes the box closest to him. He stares at the box for a few moments. There was no way he could open this by himself. Marinette, on the other hand, was prepared. She was using a pair of scissors to cut the tape on the boxes. On top of that, she was speedy, it was like she was made for this. By the time he had opened his first box, she was on her fifth.
"You shouldn't have challenged me~" she sings.
"I'll show you!" Adrien was not going to back down. It would disgrace the Noir name! Of course in the end he lost. Marinette clearly had unpacked more boxes than him.
"Told you you shouldn't have challenged me~! I do this stuff all the time!" she smiles.
"What? Are you a mover like the guys that just left?"
"What?! No! My parents are bakers. When we get boxes of ingredients, I would have to help unpack them. My dad and I would do the same thing, we'd see who could unload the fastest. Of course it made my mom upset so we had to stop."
"Sounds fun. My dad is constantly working," Adrien sighs.
"Is that so? What does he do?"
"He's in the fashion industry. He's starting his own company so he's been really busy with that."
"Well I guess good for him? He really shouldn't neglect his son though."
"Tell me about it," he sighs again. "Enough about my dreary home life, I want to know more about you! Where are you from? What's your favorite food? Do you have a pet? Have any cool friends?"
"Alright, alright, one question at a time, sheesh," Marinette laughs. "Before questions, I need to figure out your punishment since you lost.
"I never said there was a punishment!"
"And I never said you could touch my stuff."
"I-I didn't touch your stuff, technically. I touched the bubble wrap and stuff around your things."
"But it's still my bubble wrap," Adrien frowns, knowing she has a point. "I got it! You have to pretend to be a cat for an hour!"
"A cat? Why a cat?"
"I guess it suits you? I mean your eyes are green like some cats."
"But cats can have blue eyes like yours."
"Are you going to be a cat or not? Because I can think of much worse punishments. I'm only going easy on you because we just met. I don't want to scare somebody away on my first day in town."
"But, how do I be a cat?"
"Just meow and walk around on all fours. Purr or something if you want."
"Um... Meow?"
"That's not very convincing."
"Meow!"
"That's better," Marinette giggles. Adrien shoots her a dirty look. Marinette only laughs. "I guess I can call you Chat Noir now. Sounds like a villain name!" Adrien grins and immediately jumps up.
"Bonjour! I am Chat Noir! The cat burglar!" Marinette lets out a loud, but very cute (in Adrien's opinion) snort. "I run across the rooftops of Paris! I steal all that glitters as well as the hearts of maidens. You, my dear have caught my eye," he kneels and kisses the back of her hand.
"I am Lady... Lady Ladybug! I do not have time for silly kitties like you!" she replies in a pompous voice and a smile grin.
"Ladybug?" it was hard to miss the surprise and confusion on his face.
"It was the first thing I could think of? Something wrong with it?"
"No... Nothing..." his voice held a tinge of sadness, but he continued with his new role. "Madame Ladybug, it is a pleasure to meet you. Out of all the beautiful maidens I've met, you're the one who's caught my eye. Tell me, how long will you be staying?"
"Till the summer's end. But Chat Noir, do not get your hopes up, my heart cannot be easily obtained during those three months."
"Well we shall see, Madame Ladybug, we shall see."
Done! Finally done with the first chapter! This took so much longer than anticipated, but it's shorter than I had wanted it to be. Oh well...