Sweets And Smiles
It was like any day at Collège Françoise Dupont. The class was boring, Chloé was being her regular self and Marinette was currently distracted.
They were listening to a lecture about the equation of a line but the pig-tailed girl was too busy brain storming. She was trying to think of the best way to get Adrien's attention without seeming like a total moron. Unfortunately she was at a loss of ideas and could now only stare at the back of his head longingly.
Alya noticed her friend's sudden attention towards the blonde boy and nudged her. "Whatcha thinking about girl?" She whispered into Marinette's ear with a small smirk curling onto her features. Alya already knew the answer but chose not to make her friend too flustered.
The sudden voice in her ear jolted Marinette out of her staring trance and she glanced back at Alya. Heat rose to her cheeks and all that came out of her mouth was word vomit. "T-totally not Adrien or anything!" Her lie was clearly terrible which only made Alya's smirk grow.
Marinette gave up on lying and explained her dilemma quietly to Alya. "I just can't think of anything. I really want to find a way to get Adrien to notice me more. Sadly I'm always such a mess around him!" Marinette said in a low whisper. She then turned her gaze back to the boy in front of her.
Alya patted her back in sympathy. "Don't sweat it girl, that's why I'm here. I totally got you covered." She said with a wink. That gave Marinette a little bit of reassurance.
"Thanks Alya, I can always-" Her sentence was cut short when the teacher slammed a ruler down on the chalkboard.
"Marinette I can assure you that there are better times to chat, just not in my class." Miss Bustier said in a strict manner. Chloé and Sabrina snickered at her demise while Marinette apologized softly. Her body tensed up when all eyes were on her including her sweet Adrien. She sunk lower in her seat using her book to hide her face. Just seeing Adrien's face was enough to make her melt and her mind to grow fuzzy. His bright emerald eyes were intoxicating and Marinette was sure that if he continued to stare at her, she'd combust.
The lesson carried on for about an hour until the bell finally rang. Marinette watched as Adrien left the classroom and she so badly wanted to follow him. She wanted to push herself to have a normal conversation with him that didn't involve her stuttering every word she said. Marinette hesitated though. She didn't want to appear as some sort of stalker.
Alya noticed her friend falter and was quick to bring her spirits back up. "Don't hesitate! Go ask him to the movies like you've always wanted to!" Marinette glanced up at her friend's face which was full of encouragement. As much as she wanted to, Marinette knew that she'd only be able to make a fool of herself. She didn't have the guts to ask him out.
"I want to but whenever he looks at me I forget how to talk. It's like some sort of curse!" Marinette cried out and put her hands over her face. "I'll never be able to talk to him..."
Putting a hand on her back, Alya smiled at her. "Girl you have to have more confidence! Just get out there and talk to him! It's better to try than not at all!" Marinette uncovered her face and brightened up a bit at the reassurance. If Alya believed in her, she should believe in herself as well. Overthinking about it could make matters worse. Maybe Alya was right. She just needed to do it. She needed to talk to Adrien!
Marinette put her hands on her hips in determination. "You're right Alya! I'll go do it!" And before she knew it, her legs were moving on their own. She went to her locker to grab her lunch first before heading to the cafeteria.
The night before Marinette made crêpes along with various toppings to make it the perfect dish. If Adrien was in the cafeteria then she'd first heat up her food and then force herself to sit with him.
Her heart suddenly stopped. Wouldn't eating lunch with him count as a d-d-date?!
Marinette's whole body suddenly became numb and she found herself unable to take another step. She was just outside the cafeteria doors but she was now having second thoughts. If she were to eat lunch with Adrien she would surely choke.
Not knowing what to do next, Marinette looked to see if the coast was clear and then unzipped her purse. "Tikki what should I do?" She whispered desperately to the kwami in her bag. The small little ladybug lifted its head from the bag and looked up at Marinette.
"From what I heard there's nothing wrong with stepping out of your comfort zone. Just be you and you'll be fine Marinette." Tikki answered and gave her a bright smile.
"But what if I say something stupid? Or I choke on my food, or or I spill it on me..." Marinette rambled and then gasped. "What if I spill my food all over him?!"
Tikki shook her head at Marinette's dramatic outburst. "You won't, I trust you'll be fine. Now get in there!" Tikki's encouragement was enough to get Marinette to zip up her purse and push the door to the cafeteria open. She was instantly met with the smell of greasy food and the voices of many students all talking at once. The place was so crowded which only intimidated Marinette even more.
She reluctantly headed over to where the microwave was set up and began preparing her lunch. When she dropped one of her containers she hoped dearly that Adrien wasn't watching. Speaking of him...
Marinette turned around and did a quick sweep of the room. Just as she was about to go back to fixing up her food, she spotted him. Adrien was sitting at one of the furthest tables to the right accompanied with Nino.
Her heart leaped up in her throat. There he was. She never knew that it was even possible to look so perfect sitting there and talking. The two boys were smiling and chatting it up which made Marinette even weaker in the knees. Adrien's smile was just so adorable!
Switching her attention back to her food, Marinette finished heating up her crêpes and made her was over to Adrien's table. Lucky for her there was no sign of Chloé.
She kept on walking and walking until she was just a few steps away from the table. Marinette faltered for a moment but then pushed herself to move onward and stand just in front of Adrien and Nino.
"Uh H-hi mind if I sit here?" Marinette stuttered grabbing the attention of the two boys. They both shared eye contact and then looked at her at the same time. They were slightly startled by her sudden entrance but invited her to sit nonetheless.
"Sure Marinette." Adrien said her name so cutely. That alone was enough to make her almost miss the seat when she made the movement to sit down. Her heart fluttered in her chest as she sat right across from her crush.
Her brain went to mush in an instant and could only force herself to prepare her food to try to seem casual.
"Are those crêpes? Dude they smell mighty fine." Nino spoke up once the lid was lifted off of her container. Marinette stopped what she was doing and blushed once she notices all eyes were on her.
With a shaky voice Marinette decided to respond to Nino's comment. "Y-y-yeah I made them last night. I even brought some whipped cream, chocolate syrup and berries to go on top. It's really easy to make." She was slightly proud how she was able to talk without sounding too awkward in front of Adrien.
To her surprise Adrien had been listening the whole time and looked interested. Marinette watched as his eyes could not take themselves off of her lunch. She was beginning to get slightly concerned. What was so great about her crêpes that Adrien was so memorized by them?
Adrien must have noticed Marinette staring at him because his face flushed and he quickly looked away. "They look great." He simply said seeming pretty shy all of a sudden. Marinette decided that his behaviour was a bit unnerving like he was hiding something. She peered over in front of her and noticed that Nino had food with him while Adrien did not. That alone set off alarms in Marinette's head that made it impossible not to comment on the fact that her crush had no lunch.
"Have you already eaten?" This time Marinette did not stumble over her words. Her concern filled the spot of her usual nervousness. Adrien took a second to realize that she was talking to him but when he did he waved her off.
"Oh no, my ride broke down so I couldn't go home for lunch and I don't have any money on me so..." His voice trailed off and he peered over at Marinette. He could see that she had concern written all over her face and he hated it. He didn't want her to worry about him.
"But I'm fine, really." Adrien laughed it off like it was no big deal but truthfully, he was starving. The last meal he had was breakfast but it had been small. An apple and granola bar was definitely not enough to hold him down until dinner. Adrien slumped slightly in his chair. This was such a horrible situation. Marinette stared down at her food and then back to Adrien. Her eyes kept darting back and forth until she made her final decision.
Sliding her food across from her, Marinette smiled warmly. If Adrien didn't have a lunch then she would give him hers. She knew that her stomach would regret it later but her heart wouldn't. Marinette almost died right there on the spot at the anticipation.
Adrien blinked a couple of times at the crêpes that were just pushed in front of him. He glanced at them and then back to Marinette. "Go ahead. The toppings make it so much sweeter!" She blushed like crazy when she saw Adrien smile back at her.
"Thanks Marinette, I can't thank you enough!" Adrien said gratefully. The aroma of the crêpes was enticing and the toppings looked amazing too. Just as he was about to assemble the crêpes he paused. This was Marinette's lunch, not his. If he ate it, that left her with nothing to eat. How could he be so selfish?
With a frown weighing down his features, Adrien put the fork down and faced Marinette. "I can't eat your lunch. It wouldn't be fair." The way he said it made butterflies flutter in her stomach. His genuine concern for her almost made it impossible for her to maintain her composure. Even though he was right about it being her lunch, she wanted him to have it. That was why Marinette decided to lie in order to make him not feel so guilty.
"D-don't worry about it, that was just my dessert. I already had my lunch." Marinette fibbed trying to sound the most convincing. She gave herself another mental pat on the back for sounding more composed than usual.
Adrien considered what she said for a moment and then gave her another smile. "Ah okay, thank you!" The way his face lit up when he put the toppings on was a huge reward for Marinette. She almost forgot how hungry she actually was.
The sound of pure bliss met her ears when Adrien took his first bite. He hummed in contentment showing how obvious it was that he was enjoying them. "It tastes so good! Like more than just good!" He beamed causing Marinette to almost squeal out loud. Adrien loved her cooking! It was like a dream come true for her crush to eat her food and enjoy it. Marinette could barely contain herself.
"W-Wow uh thanks you're good too!" Marinette stammered stupidly. She was so excited that he like the crêpes that she was transitioning back to her usual awkward self. When she looked back up to see whipped cream on the tip of his nose, she completely lost it. Marinette's face turned a deep shade of red and her mind turned all hazy. He was just so cute!
Adrien continued to eat the crêpes politely not even noticing the whipped cream on his nose. All Marinette could do was watch not even caring if people were looking at her. She was glad to have shared her lunch with Adrien. As long as her crush was happy, she was happy too.