AUDREY'S REDEMPTION
Marin stood outside the school, not quite leaving just yet. He stood at the front doors, looking out at the steady rain. It wasn't a strong rain, but it wasn't a soft one, either. He was lucky to have brought an umbrella.
As he opened the black umbrella in his hands, he saw someone step up next to him. He looked over and was about to politely acknowledge them before leaving and saw that he was staring at Audrey. His politeness turned to a frown. "Hello, Monica," he said bitterly.
Audrey winced. "I-I know you're mad, but hear me out, please. I was trying to get the gum off, honest."
"Why should I trust you?" Marin said with a glare. "If there's one thing I can't stand, it's liars. Liars and fakers and people who prey on others just because they think they're better than people. What makes you any different than Clovis?"
"Because I wasn't lying," Audrey said. "Monica is the name I have to use sometimes so I don't get recognized. I hate getting attention from fans, and it's difficult enough since my face is plastered on posters all over Paris. I am your friend, I promise. I was going to tell you, but I always freaked because then I'd think you'd want to be my friend because I was rich."
Marin scowled towards the street. "What's your name?" he said softly, finally turning to her.
Audrey blinked. "I'm sorry, what?"
He offered his hand. "My name is Marin Dupain-Cheng. I'm fourteen years old and I like to bake and design clothes for people."
Sensing what he was getting at, Audrey smiled. "Hello, Marin. My name is Audrey Agreste. I'm also fourteen and I'm a model for my father's brand of design, but I kinda hate it." She took the hand and shook it. "Are we good?"
"Not by a long shot," Marin said stiffly.
Audrey faltered. "O-oh."
Part of Marin knew that he may be acting tough, or too hard, to be behaving this way, but he just couldn't stand the thought of someone like Monica being best friends with Clovis. He couldn't stand the thought of being lied to for almost three months, couldn't stand the idea of someone as nice as Monica—Audrey, he had to remind himself—even being acquainted with the devil. But then, the niceness was all a ploy, wasn't it?
"I came to school because of you," he heard her say.
Marin turned to face her again. "What?"
Audrey cleared her throat. "My dad made it clear he didn't want me in a public school, but he actually gave in this morning. I wanted to come to school so I can... so I can see you more often." She sheepishly looked down, using her hair to hide her eyes. "I've never been to school before. I never had friends. All this, for me, it's... It's a bit new. And yeah, Clovis and I were friends when we were kids, but we kinda drifted apart when we got older, when I began modeling. Now, he's like a person I never knew or don't know anymore." She looked up briefly before she looked down again. "I'm sorry I lied to you, but I promise I won't betray your trust as a friend again. Please, Marin. You're my best friend."
Marin looked at her with an intense look that Audrey didn't see. He was good a spotting liars, and everything she just said was anything but. Had she really defied her own parent just so she can be with her friend?
"When were you planning to tell me?" he asked. He saw her shiver and he briefly wondered if it was from the cold or his question.
"I wanted to on the first day, because I knew we'd be in the same class, but Nathalie caught me when I made it to the front door of the collège and took me back."
"Nathalie?" Marin asked with a frown.
"My dad's personal assistant, and mine too, by an extension. When I managed to sneak out yesterday, you saw me trying to take the gum off and thought I was helping Clovis. Then Stoneheart showed up again and... yeah."
He noticed the way she shifted uncomfortably at the mention of the akuma villain, but that was a given since just about everyone was freaking out. He was glad he and his partner Black Feline received their Miraculous when they did, else the damage be worse than it already was. Now, here Audrey was, practically pleading for him to not go away and leave her alone. Because that's what she was. Alone.
She remembered back when they first met when Audrey talked about his parents. How his mother had disappeared one day and his father became closed off and cold. He more or less controlled Audrey's life, and their meetings were her little way of rebellion against her father. But when she was home, she mentioned once, there was mostly no one but herself. He knew the Agreste mansion had cleaning and serving staff, but Audrey was alone in a sense that meant she wanted the company of people close to her, not people payed to be with him and care for his needs all day.
"I don't know if I can fully trust you again, but I can tell you're telling the truth about the gum, at least," Marin finally said. Audrey's face brightened, but a sparkle in her green eyes flickered away when his words processed through her brain. "But I want to try again," he continued. "Start over. A new leaf."
Finally, Audrey smiled. She showed her white teeth and the dimples on her cheeks made her look very cute. "Thank you, Marin, that's all I want. I-I'll be more truthful, honest!" She looked up and down the street. "My ride should be here soon."
"If you're going to wait, take this," Marin offered. He reached his arm out and handed the umbrella's handle to her, which she didn't take. Instead, she was staring at him with a warm look in her eyes.
Hesitating slightly, Audrey took the handle of the umbrella, her soft fingers brushing slightly against his rough ones, due to their respective jobs and activities. She smiled. "Th-thank you."
Marin nodded. "You're welcome. Oh, you'll want to be careful because it tends to–" He was cut off when the umbrella suddenly closed shut, entrapping her inside the wires. He couldn't help but laugh at her sudden shriek. He only laughed again when Audrey lifted the umbrella, trying to glare at him but giggling herself. "–do that," he finished. "Sorry, I broke it a while back when I fell and it hasn't been working right since. Here, let me help."
He reached under the wires folding the umbrella and stretched them to full capacity so that they were unfolded properly. In doing so, he moved under the umbrella and closer to Audrey. He looked down at her, as he was at least half a foot taller, and saw a strand of Audrey's usually neat hair fall over her face in strands due to being caught under the umbrella. Her hair was even getting a little wet from the rain. Thunder shook the air, the rain softening a little.
Without really thinking about it, he reached up with his hand and tucked the loose hair over her ear.
"There. Now your pretty eyes can be seen," he said with ease. It was then that here he was, talking to Audrey Agreste as easy as if she were Monica, because it was. He didn't really blame her for wanting to keep her real name secret, but then the only reason he felt betrayed in the first place was because she felt the need to lie for so long. Why couldn't she tell him sooner? He didn't really care about fame or fortune in a friend, he only wanted one that didn't think for him or herself all the time. Monica was a normal girl, but Audrey wasn't. If anything, she'd rather be Monica the rest of her life than Audrey.
Seeing the expression on her face under the umbrella, he only smiled. "Meet you at the park Saturday afternoon," he said nonchalantly as he began to walk away.
Audrey must have been cold because then she said, "W-w-wait, what?"
"The park. Saturday. Afternoon." He stopped halfway down the steps to look at her, squinting a little to keep the rain out of his eyes. "The usual hangout. I'll bring my friend Alvis and the three of us can hang out. Can you make it?"
Shivering from the cold, Audrey stammered again, "O-oh, yeah! Of c-course! Oh, I'm-I'm stammer-standing, why am I–?"
Unable to help himself, Marin let out a small chuckle. "Go home and get warm, Audrey. I don't want my best friend getting sick on her first week of school ever." Saluting her with two fingers, he made the rest of the way down the steps and across the street to the bakery. He hadn't yet reached the curb when he felt a rustle and Tikki pushed her way out into view from the inside of his blazer.
"You did really good," she praised. "I'm glad you decided to give her another chance."
"I am, too," he admitted. "Monica or Audrey, the name doesn't matter. She's still the person, I just know more about her. I just wish she didn't have to lie to me, though."
"I understand," Tikki said. "She'll make you a very happy boyfriend someday."
Choking on air, Marin almost slipped on the wet pavement as he felt his face heat up despite the cold temperature the late afternoon offered. "Wh-what, are you kidding me? She's my friend, and I'm still getting used to this new side of her. Besides, I think I hurt her pretty bad when I said I didn't trust her completely. And I think I'm a mean person because I still think that way, but I want to give her a chance."
"You should give her a chance," Tikki said. "And by that, I mean a chance on a date."
"Tikki!" Marin scolded, blatantly ignoring the kwami's giggling as she sought refuge in the warm blazer pocket. But a voice in the back of his mind wondered, maybe he did like her as so? Then he felt warm when he suddenly realized, he did. He liked Audrey a lot, but there was still the fake name situation to settle. Invigorated with his epiphany, he cursed silently at Tikki as he made his way home.
Still at the school steps, Audrey barely registered as her car came up to the curb of the school. She only saw it when Plagg pointed it out.
"It's amazing, you already have two boys hitting on you," Plagg said as she walked to the car, his head poking out of her shoulder bag.
"What do you mean?" Audrey asked, glad that her stammering voice was gone. It must have been colder than she thought.
"Well, I mean, Lucky Bug was already complimenting you. Not to mention the physical contact Marin did back there. And did I mention those eyes both of them adored?" He snickered as Audrey grew red again.
"Don't be ridiculous, he's just a friend," Audrey reminded him. But she couldn't help a smile as she added, "My best friend." She stopped for a moment and turned her head to see Marin walking down the street and enter a building. Wow, he meant it when he said his parents' bakery was in front of the school. She blushed again when she remembered the close contact Marin gave when he pulled her hair over her ears. He probably thought nothing of it, but it made Audrey feel... something. She couldn't put her finger on it, but she knew she wanted to feel it again. She wanted Marin to touch her face softly like that again. Was it possible that she liked Marin? Wow... She did. A lot.
Had either of the two stayed behind a moment longer, they would have seen a familiar old man standing on the opposite side of the sidewalk, looking at the two of them from a distance.
"Wise choice, Master," Wayzz said with a relaxed smile on his face.
Master Fu only chuckled as he rubbed the hairs on his chin. "Those two are made for each other," he said. They always are.
He knew in time that their identities would come out into the open, but whether with each other or the public, he didn't know. But they always did. He recalled back in the last century, slightly lamenting his one mistake. But these two, he knew, would be a pair of the best Ladybug and Cat Noir in history. Or rather, Lucky Bug and Black Feline. He chuckled as he turned around and walked away from the school; such imaginative names the two of them gave themselves.
"Alvis, I could really use your help right now!" Marin practically shouted into his phone as he paced his room that night, running his free hand through his already disheveled hair.
"Man, it's midnight. Couldn't this wait until morning?" Alvis asked on the other line. He sat up in his bed as he yawned, rubbing and pinching the skin between his eyes to help keep him awake.
"I need your advice on something. You could totally not say anything if you want, but I could use your advice on something. You don't have to say anything if you don't want to, but I could really use your advice."
Alvis frowned at the way his friend rambled. "Whoa, Mars, man, calm down. What has you so riled up?" He payed attention as Marin took deep breaths on his side before he spoke. And what he said was not what Alvis was expecting.
"Wait, you're what?"
"I know!" Marin exclaimed. "I don't understand how it happened, either! I was just talking to Audrey and then... well, you know!"
"Audrey? The same Audrey you didn't even speak to today?"
"Long story. So... What do you think I should do?"
If Alvis wasn't awake then, he most certainly was now. "Okay, Mars, you just need to relax," he tried. "Sort everything out and go over why you think this is happening with yourself. Make a list or something and we'll talk again tomorrow before we meet up at the park with Audrey, okay?"
Marin nodded back on his side of the conversation. Remembering Alvis couldn't see it, he added, "Yeah, sure. Write a list. I'll do that in the morning. Anything else?"
"Will you be able to function like a normal human being around her?" Alvis asked. "If you can't, your chances of being found out are pretty big."
"She is pretty," Marin said, more to himself than anything. Catching himself, he quickly added, "A-ah, I mean, yeah, pretty big! Heh, um, no, I think I'll work just fine. Uh, I-I should probably go now. Sorry to bother you so late."
"Ah, it's nothing," Alvis said with a yawn. "Just text me or something next time you have a midlife crisis, okay?"
As soon as he hung up, Tikki flew next to him. "Are you okay, Marin?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Marin said distractedly. "I mean, the realization just came to me, but I'm not freaking out since it hasn't fully hit me yet, apparently."
"Calling your friend after midnight is not freaking out?" Tikki questioned disbelievingly.
"Believe it or not, yes." He yawned, deciding to at least try and put a pin on it. "Good night, Tikki."
"Good night, Marin."
The kwami slid into the makeshift bed of fabrics and pin cushions as Marin lay back down on his back. He looked at the ceiling where the photo of him and Audrey was posted, back when she assumed he roll of Monica. It was a photo of them in the park, just hanging out. It was one of the more special moments, just being with Audrey. He smiled at the times of being at the park and simply talking as he closed his eyes to sleep.
Before jolting upright in a cold sweat.
"I'm in love with my best friend!" he exclaimed.
This so something I've planned for a while, even before starting Miraculous the Musical. This chapter was a little horrendous for my poor soul as I was almost lazy to stop it, but this is the finished product. I'm only posting this excerpt from a chapter to see what you people think. If it gets enough positive reinforcement, I'll re upload the true first chapter, then see how it goes from there. Until then, this will remain a one-shot as it is.
Word Count: 2914
~Corona Crown~