I'm going to do it, Marinette told herself.
Of course, she had told herself that before, and, so far, nothing had come of it.
Day after day, she found herself staring at the back of that beautiful head of golden-blond hair, dreaming of being in Adrien's arms, of feeling safe and loved. But when she actually had the opportunity to speak to him, somehow, she just couldn't get her tongue to behave. All her words came out as a jumble and she never managed to say what she really intended. It felt like she was stuck in an endless loop.
But then she kissed him.
She couldn't get the words to come out right, but she shoved her anxiety aside and just went for it. With that kiss, she was hoping to say what she could never manage to say in words: I love you, Adrien.
She hadn't spoken to him about it since. In fact, they haven't really spoken much since that day, about a week ago. Both of them had been really busy, it's not like he was avoiding her or anything… Or was he? No, he was just busy, that was all, but Marinette was left unsure what he thought of the kiss, or how he felt about her. Did he think it was just a friendly thank you, or did he realize it was more than that?
Either way, it was time to get it out in the open. All year, Marinette had been letting her worries take control of her, but she wouldn't let that happen anymore. She was Ladybug, after all, the superheroine who saved Paris on a near-daily basis, unafraid of anything, so why should she be scared to ask her crush out on a date? She shouldn't be. She wouldn't be. Not anymore, at least.
Adrien was feeling… uncomfortable. He had been for the last week, actually, but he kept trying to convince himself he was being ridiculous. After all, Marinette was just a friend. Yes, he felt like they had grown to be very close friends over the past year. She was always ready to help him out, or give him advice, but she was like that with everyone. Marinette was very kind, even to Chloé – at least on occasion.
But she kissed him, and he couldn't stop thinking about her since. She was just being friendly, obviously. He had been praising her unbounded kindness, to him and to all their friends. She was overwhelmed with appreciation and kissed him as a thank you. That's all it was, just a friendly kiss.
The look in her eyes though… That image was burned into Adrien's mind. There was more than just gratitude in those deep, blue eyes of hers. She wasn't just trying to thank him, she was trying to say more than that, but he hadn't seen it before.
What really bothered him about it, though, was that he found he was happy about it. No, he told himself again, I'm in love with Ladybug; Marinette is just a friend. Still he couldn't help but wonder if maybe she weren't, if maybe she could be more than that.
Adrien felt so tortured by his conflicting emotions. It was so confusing, he could hardly think of anything else. Plagg offered no help, of course. He didn't care much for human relations, and his advice often revolved around his relation to cheese. Adrien smirked at the memory of some of his monologues, but it did nothing to quiet his jumble of emotions.
In class it was worst, knowing that she was sitting right behind him. Was she staring at him the whole time? He was too nervous to turn and face her most of the time. He had hardly even spoken to her since then, more because he was worried about betraying his clouded emotions than because he wanted to avoid her.
At some point, though, he would have to talk to her about it. He had not managed to complete a single homework assignment in the past week thanks to his distraction, and if he didn't step up his game soon, he'd be put right back in homeschooling. He had to deal with this, one way or another. He wasn't sure what worried him more, though: losing Marinette as a friend, or realizing that he loved her more than Ladybug.