"Adrien!" The call pierced the general murmur of the schoolyard.
Adrien noticed his friends wincing as Chloe's trademark call rang out. Adrien himself was used to it from childhood, but as he'd become friends with Nino, Alya, and Marinette, he'd come to see how Chloe was viewed by the class in general, and the ways that she could be cruel.
"Hey Chloe," he smiled precisely. While he was starting to understand the flaws of his childhood friend, that didn't mean that he felt inclined to abandon her. If only he could use this new found knowledge to influence her for good.
"Hello, dearest Adrien!" Chloe cooed, sickeningly sweet. Then she turned to the others, and her model quality face scrunched. "Hey, losers."
Marinette scowled and Nino rolled his eyes, but Alya actually stood up. "Hello yourself, Queen Bee," Alya snarked, folding her arms and returning Chloe's disdainful look. Alya usually didn't care enough about classroom politics to make fighting Chloe a priority, but when it came to her friends, her hackles rose.
They faced off, trading glares that could drill through stone, until Adrien intervened. "So, Chloe, you wanted something?" Chloe turned on a dime and switched back to her "Adrien" face. Alya rolled her eyes and let it go.
"Adrien, you're coming over today, right? Daddy is having the chef prepare a special dinner of Coq au vin. It will be magnifique!" Chloe fluttered her lashes. "And intimate, no hangers on."
Adrien sighed with relief. That was no big deal. "Sure, sounds great! I'll have my driver bring me by. Dress code?"
Chloe giggled. "I want you to be comfortable, dear Adrikins. No dress code. I know you'll be impeccable in whatever." Marinette, Nino, and Alya, who had been watching in apprehension, began to relax, sensing that the encounter was almost over. But then Chloe moved forward, pecking Adrien on either cheek.
"Chloe!" Adrien laughed bashfully. Alya looked at Marinette, and saw her clenching a pencil.
"See you then, mon amour," Chloe breathed, giving a wink as she turned and sauntered off.
Nino and Adrien let out a tandem sigh. "Well, I guess that went ok," Adrien said. "So I guess I'll be hanging out with Chloe tonight," he explained as he turned back to the group.
Nino smiled, rueful and good natured. Alya smiled, shaking her head in mild exasperation. Marinette…did not smile.
"Marinette, are you ok?" Adrien asked, confused. Alya and Nino turned to her, and Alya twitched.
"It's ok, Mari," Alya jumped in. "We can have fun on our own! It'll be a girl's night out!" Alya was trying to be upbeat, but there was an underlying tone of frantic. Oh, had Marinette wanted to hang out? Adrien felt guilty. Maybe he should say something-
"Why?"
"Huh?" Adrien, Alya, and Nino responded, simultaneously.
"Why do I want to hang out with you?" Alya questioned uncertainly. But Marinette ignored her, instead leveling a steady gaze at Adrien. Her blue eyes were clearer than he had ever seen.
"Why do you let Chloe treat you that way?"
Nino gulped, looking like he was about to jump and run. Alya was cutting her eyes back and forth between Adrien and Marinette, like she was watching a car wreck in slow motion. Adrien felt sweat stand out on his forehead. The tension was suddenly suffocating.
"Chloe? What about her?" Adrien smiled. It was an innocuous question, on its own, but the way Marinette asked had given it added weight.
"M-m-Mari! I've got something I need to talk to you about!" Alya stammered, waving at her seated friend. It was almost like she wanted to change the subject.
"Sure, we can end here," Nino agreed. "You've probably got girl stuff to talk about. Stuff us guys don't want to hear."
"Yeah!" Alya laughed, while leveling Nino with a grinning death glare.
Adrien felt like he had to be in a dream. Everyone was acting so strange! But he focused on Marinette, who, though she was acting strange, at least seemed earnest.
"You let her kiss you, and hang all over you," Marinette spoke in a low voice, and her gaze dropped. "Are you two really…like that?" Alya let out a pained squeal, and Nino just stared at the ground.
"Like what?" Adrien asked, not in confusion, not anymore, but in denial. She couldn't be asking…what he thought she was…could she? Could it be that confusing, even to his close friends?
"Sigh, she's asking if you two are an item," Alya stated. The attention of the table had turned to him again. Nino looked up from his side. Alya leveled her gaze, subdued, lacking its usual energy. And Marinette looked up from under her lashes, shy, waiting expectantly.
Adrien shivered. So much pressure! But it was such a light matter! "Chloe and I aren't an item," he stated. Alya and Marinette sighed with relief, and Nino seemed to be thinking.
"She is a very important person to me," Adrien continued. Alya gasped and quickly looked at Marinette, but she and Nino were both watching Adrien intently, waiting for more explanation. "It's like…She was the first friend I ever had. And she's been my friend for longer than anyone. She'll always hold a special place in my heart."
"But sometimes we have to move on from old friendships," Alya began.
"No!" Adrien cut back, suddenly angry, and he couldn't tell exactly why. He noticed Marinette tugging on Alya's shirt and shaking her head.
"I-" Adrien began, "look, I know that Chloe can be mean. She can be selfish." Alya quieted down, and now everyone was paying attention. Adrien had this chance to set the record straight. He just hoped he could find the right words.
"She came into my life, when I needed a friend the most." Adrien paused, remembering. "And her just...being there...meant the world to me. I knew…that she could understand what I was going through." Everyone ducked their heads at the reminder that Adrien had lost his mother, and that Chloe had as well. Even if they still couldn't understand how the two could turn out so different from the experience.
"I want her to be better," Adrien continued. "I know that I need to be a better friend, and help her see the error of her ways." Adrien felt the guilt of knowing that he had often turned a blind eye to her worse traits. He'd known that it was a problem, but it hadn't been his problem, so it had been easier to ignore it. He grimaced in shame. It was only now that his other friends, who were no less important, were questioning his relationship with Chloe, that he realized he couldn't keep the status quo. He needed to act if he wanted these two parts of his life to go forward in harmony.
"Does any of that…make sense?" Adrien faltered as he finished. He'd said what he wanted to say, but he wondered if it made sense outside of his head.
Alya and Nino were nodding hesitantly, wowed more by his fervor than by his words. He looked at Marinette, who returned his gaze. "It does," Marinette replied. Adrien smiled. "She's someone very special to you." It came out in a near whisper, and Marinette bowed her head in resignation.
"NO!" Adrien shouted. Everyone looked at him in shock. "I mean, yes, that's right, but Marinette, you're special to me too!" Adrien wanted his true feelings to be understood, as he reached out and took Marinette's hands.
Marinette froze again, as the color drained from her face. Alya leapt up from the table like she had been burned, sputtering. Nino gaped from his seat. Adrien didn't know what was going on, but he could tell his message was getting lost in translation. Time to keep digging, he thought.
"And Alya," he said, turning to the other girl. Alya stood up straight at the mention. He took one of her hands. "You're special to me as well." He smiled, in what he hoped was a disarming manner. Alya blushed, but seemed to understand. Marinette watched them evenly.
Then Adrien turned to Nino. "And Nino, you're special to me." The girls stiffened with a blush at that.
Nino smiled. "Thanks man, you know we're homies."
Now the tension was broken. Marinette smiled again. "Thanks, Adrien. I should have known better."
"It's ok," Adrien replied, smiling. "I should have been clearer." Alya seemed to have calmed down as well.
"But does she feel that way?"
Adrien froze. Alya and Marinette looked puzzled for a moment, before realization dawned on their faces. Adrien turned to look at Nino. "P-pardon?"
Nino was giving him a firm look. "I'm saying, you know how you feel, but do you know how she feels?"
Adrien cocked his head. Why would that be in question? "Of course she feels the same. Like I said, we've been friends forever." He looked to the girls for backup, but they were apparently studying the architecture around them.
"I don't know man, she acts pretty possessive of you," Nino continued. "I get the vibe that she wants more than just friendship. Maybe you need to consider her feelings too."
Adrien gaped, and Alya perked up. "Nino! Adrien doesn't need to spend any more time thinking about that...that girl than he needs to."
Nino fixed her with his steady gaze. "Adrien just told us how much he cares about Chloe, as a long-time friend. It seems to me, a real friend would want to know these things."
Now it was Alya's turn to sputter.
"Nino's right," Marinette piped in. Adrien turned to her with wide eyes. She hesitated, and then met his eyes with her clear expression. "Adrien, I think Chloe feels like you two are something more, and that's why we all thought so too. And if you don't return those feelings," then Marinette stopped short. A pained expression flitted across her features. "If you don't feel the same, then you should tell her," Marinette finished.
Adrien stared back at her, then his shoulders slumped. "What you're all saying makes sense, but how? How do I do this? I have no idea!"
Alya smirked. "Just go up to her and say, 'Bye Felicia!'" Nino laughed, and Marinette jumped up, scandalized.
Adrien just looked confused. "But that's not her name." Nino laughed even harder, and Alya was smiling wide at her own joke. Marinette giggled a bit, but then sobered up and grabbed Alya, dragging her off.
"Well, I'm sure you two can figure it out! We've got some other things to do," Marinette called back to them as she bodily dragged Alya away from their table. She looked at Nino. "I'm counting on you!"
Adrien glanced down to his friend, and Nino, for his part, groaned. "I gotta do this? What a pain."
Adrien sat down, his head spinning. He had just opened up his real emotions to his friends, and while nerve racking, it had been a positive experience. And they had been able to show him new things too. But he was still unsure as to how to proceed. After a moment, he turned to Nino, who was watching him. Nino startled, then settled down in resignation.
"Ok-" "So-"
They paused, then laughed. Nino nodded to Adrien, extending his hand. Adrien nodded back, smiling. If he was going to have this conversation, he was glad it was with his easy going friend.
"So, you're saying that you think Chloe might have…a crush on me or something?" Adrien asked, barely able to put it into words.
Nino nodded calmly, as if it wasn't a complete fantasy. "It would make sense. I honestly wondered about you two, especially since you didn't set boundaries with her."
"Set boundaries?" Adrien seized up. Was this his fault?
"Hey, cool it bro," Nino replied, seeing the stress coming over his friend's face. "It took a bit, but you set the record straight, with us at least. And who knows, maybe we're wrong. But I think it's worth it to go over it with Chloe. I mean, have you ever talked about it with her?"
"No, not really," Adrien responded. "We've been in each other's lives for so long, that it seemed so normal. I never expected it to change."
"And you've never had a girlfriend, either," Nino posited, almost more to himself.
"Ouch, man, what's that got to do with it? I haven't had the chance!" Adrien tried to defend.
Nino laughed. "Oh man, I didn't mean it like that. I just meant that you wouldn't have the experience to see it coming."
"Oh," Adrien said, "Yeah."
"Ok, so our goals are as such: 1) ascertain how Chloe feels about your relationship. If she feels the same as you do, then no problem. (Or rather, the same problem she's always been.) 2) If she is hung up on you, let her down gently. (Easier said than done.)" Nino nodded to himself. It always helped to have a plan.
Adrien seemed to be trying to work through the plan. "So, I just ask her how she feels about me? Straight out?"
"Straight out," Nino replied. "No games, no beating around the bush. I might say different if you did like her that way, but as it is, we're not concerned about maintaining the mystique, so to speak." Nino grinned.
"Ok, and if she says that she likes me…that way," Adrien gulped, "what do I say? What do I do?"
Nino hmmm'd. "Are you sure you're not interested in her at all?"
"Nino!" Adrien protested. "She's like a sister to me!"
Nino brightened up at that. "Hey, that's actually pretty good! You could use that line."
"What line?" Adrien asked, confused.
"That she's like a sister to you," Nino answered. "That seems to match how you described your feelings to me. She's important to you, she'll never be replaced, but you aren't romantically interested in her."
Adrien beamed. "Hey, that sounds perfect! And you think it will work?" Nino's unsure expression put a damper on Adrien's enthusiasm. "It won't work?!"
Nino held up his hand. "I didn't say it wouldn't work, but it also isn't a guarantee. You need to be ready for that."
"For what?" Adrien asked, feeling a bit desperate.
"For Chloe to react…badly," Nino grimaced, not wanting to imagine such a scenario, but able to all too well.
Adrien looked down, deep in thought. What he was considering could really jeopardize his relationship with Chloe. But the alternative was unacceptable. What if she was pining over him? He couldn't return those feelings, and it would only hurt Chloe worse. And maybe, just maybe, clearing the air like this could be the start of Adrien rehabbing his old friend, maybe into someone who didn't cause emotional death and destruction everywhere she went. In the end, there was only one choice.
"I'll do it," Adrien said, determined.
"Nice," Nino replied, seeing the expression on Adrien's face. "You got this bro. You know Chloe, and she'll listen to you. Good luck, man."
"Thanks, man," Adrien smiled.
"So, you gonna bring it up tonight?" Nino asked as they stood from the table and prepared to leave.
"Tonight?" Adrien asked, confused.
"Yeah, at that special dinner at Chloe's," Nino explained.
"Gack!" Adrien choked as he walked into the wall.