So this is my first fanfiction ever, and as of right now I think there's going to be at least 13 chapters in this story… I'll update every weekend, and hopefully post more than 1 chapter. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter, it pretty much leads up to the main plot afterwards, so yeah :)
Chapter: 2
"Can't you walk any faster?"
"Shut up, I'm going as...fast...as I can."
James Cornfield watched in annoyance as his drunken friend stumbled up the stairs like an idiot. Obviously, Zee hadn't been intoxicated enough times to be able to handle his surroundings.
James, on the other hand, who'd had access to limitless amount of alcohol thanks to his dad, was able to control himself quite well. Quite honestly, James could hardly remember the reason why his parents decided to drag him to the hotel, all he knew was that it was for something important.
He'd stolen his best friend away from his parents and introduced him to alcohol. The rather plump and short figure of Zee, with a newly shaved haircut and dull gray eyes, fell on his knees when he reached a landing by an exit door.
"Man - why we gotta do this, anyway? This is making me so tired, I forgot why we're even doing this," Zee complained.
James smoothed his hand sloppily through his messy mass of mousy brown hair. He was so much more skinny and frail than his friend, who laid on the ground and panted hard. "I told you like two minutes ago for the hundredth time; we're being chased. You're lucky I pulled you out of that tight spot back there," James said. Once his parents had found out what he was up to with his friend, they quickly panicked and demanded that half the staff in the kitchen go out and look for them.
James leaned against the stair railing, but slipped off and decided to just lean against the wall; he was too drunk to properly steady himself.
"Bro, my eyesight is going," Zee said, flailing as he sat up. Sweat rolled down his round face and he blinked hard, shaking his head.
"Let's get to the roof," James said, ignoring Zee and taking an unnecessary gulp of air as he stumbled clumsily towards his fallen friend.
"Oh, you gonna make me climb up more stairs? That's bullshit, man…" Zee flopped forward, reaching out slamming his clammy hands against the hard concrete.
"You wanna get caught or no?" James blinked rapidly as he was forced to grasp Zees legs and heave him up the stairway, very slowly in order to stop every other step to regain his strength. James wiped sweat from his brow as he continued to pull Zee up the stairs, reaching the next landing and spinning him on his stomach.
"Huh?" Zee seemed to almost go unconscious, letting his friend drag him without realizing what was happening.
"We don't got too much more to go, I don't think," James muttered, determined to reach the roof in order to avoid the horrid wrath of his terrible parents.
…
"Great, guys, just great! My mom says that now, because we came in so late, and apparently half of the chefs are looking for some rogue teenagers, we have to wait like thirty minutes for our free meal," Alya snapped angrily.
Marinette and Adrien blinked, watching Alyas rage ensue.
"Damn, Alya, I didn't know that this was so important to you," Marinette sneered, gesturing to Nino, who stood right beside her. Alya suddenly realized what her friend was implying when she saw her gestures.
"Girl, I told you, this has nothing to do with me and Nino!"
Marinette groaned in frustration. "Then why can't you just tell Adrien and me what this is all about?" she exclaimed.
Alya paused, glancing at Nino, who only shrugged.
"I told you, I'll tell you later, it's just that…" Alya began.
The four of them suddenly froze when they heard a voice pierce through the air like knives. "Oh my God, don't tell me that's…" Marinette said, her eyes flying to the top of the stairs, searching at the point where they forked off to either side.
"Chloe," Nino mumbled, searching the stairs as well.
"Hide for your lives, you guys!" Alya whispered, turning to them all frantically and pushing the group behind the jumble of comfy chairs.
"Guys, maybe we shouldn't…" Adrien muttered helplessly, but didn't try to stop his friends as they ducked behind the chairs on the carpet. He knew more to Chloe's background then they did, but he couldn't blame them for their disgust in her; she was cruel and mean, not to mention a complete brat and too self conceited to make any friends.
Adrien kneeled beside Nino, searching the lobby for the presence of Chloe. "Oh my gosh, it's her…" Marinette groaned, gritting her teeth when she saw the skinny figure of her enemy.
"We are not letting that spoiled brat come anywhere near us," Alya hissed, deciding to sit on the floor. "Nino! Get down, don't let her see you!"
"What are you talking about? I'm as low as I can get!" Nino replied.
"Sit on the ground, then!" Alya said, tugging on his arm.
"Fine -"
Marinette scowled as Nino was unable to lower himself down any further.
"I can't sit there, your hand's in the way, Alya!"
"Nino, that's my foot. You can sit on my foot, can't you?"
"I swear to God, you guys are so annoying," Adrien told Nino with an annoyed shake of his head. Chloe hurried down the left side of the stairs and proceeded down the middle set to the lobby.
Her blonde ponytail was swinging behind her head in anger, her hands clenched into fists by her side. Marinette could recognize that figure anywhere; the most annoyed and conceited bitch face she ever saw, with a voice that came close to a screech whenever she talked.
"Daddy!" Chloe bellowed, running through the lobby like a five year old.
She came up to the mayor, who was still in deep conversation with the hotel butler. "Daddykins, Sabrina and I were only minding our business when some ten or so chefs came running down the hallway and causing a huge racket. Would you, like, tell them to head back to the kitchen or something - if you ask me, they belong on toilet duty - so I won't be bothered?"
The butler glanced at Chloe and back to her father. The mayor grinned apologetically at him and turned to speak to his daughter. "Chloe, could you maybe repeat that?" her father said. She threw her hands up in total annoyance and let out a frustrated scowl. Her expression softened when a certain thought appeared to have entered her head.
"Wait, have you seen Adrien come in?" Chloe asked, her mood seemed to have changed dramatically, and peered at the lobby entrance in interest.
As she rambled on with her father about Adrien Agreste, the group hiding behind the chairs turned to face one another. "Oh shit," Adrien mumbled under his breath, glancing worriedly at Chloe.
"There's no way we can stay here," Alya told them. "Not if she's onto Adrien."
"I agree. What do you suggest? We make a run for it?" Nino asked.
"I mean...I guess," Alya said, glancing around the lobby worriedly, making sure that Chloe, her dad, and the butler were the only pairs of eyes in the lobby.
This is just perfect, Marinette thought. They were hiding behind lobby chairs to avoid Chloe, and there was no way she wouldn't clumsily embarrass herself like always.
"Just get to the stairs and run as fast as you can," Alya directed. She crawled past Adrien and Nino to the last chair on the row, peeking her head around the corner to check if the coast was clear.
Marinette peered around Adrien to watch as Alya began to make her way on all fours toward the stairs. Nino shrugged at his friends before following the crazy girl out in the open.
"Oh damn, are they actually doing it?" Marinette shook her head, still kneeling with Adrien behind the cover of lobby chairs.
"Let's go," Adrien whispered, and Marinette gulped as she crawled up next to him, peeking around the chairs to see if Chloe was watching. Before Marinette had safely determined that they could proceed out into the open, Adrien started hurrying after Nino and Alya on all fours, and Marinette was forced to crawl beside him.
Adrenaline pumped through her blood quickly, desperate to not be spotted by Chloe. The fear of being seen, since all it took was one glance, was rushing through her rapidly and she grit her teeth. Chloe's words were faint in the air like a distant conversation, and Marinette feared the moment that Chloe would stop babbling to turn and spot them.
Marinette glanced ahead, noticing that Alya and Nino had both made it to the foot of the velvet covered stairs. Alya dashed up quickly and turned left, hiding behind the wall that concealed the stairway that forked off to the left. Nino stood up when he reached the stairs and began to run upwards after her. He'd only taken about three steps when he tripped and fell, yelling as he regained himself.
Alya smacked her forehead.
Marinette and Adrien stopped dead. They turned with worried expressions to Chloe and her father.
"At least it wasn't me who tripped," Marinette muttered to herself. Her face went pale and her heart sped faster by the second when Chloe was stopped mid-sentence to turn around and face them.
"What is going on here?" came Chloe's demanding voice. Nino hurriedly scrambled up the stairs and quickly took cover beside Alya. Chloe angrily started marching towards Adrien and Marinette, who were sitting on the floor dumbstruck.
"Run, you idiots, run!" Alya shouted, trying not to burst out in giggles.
Adrien didn't care that the mayor of Paris was watching at this point, or that an enraged Chloe was stomping her way over to them. He grabbed Marinette's wrist and heaved her off the floor, practically dragging her behind him as he sprinted away from Chloe.
"Adrikins, where are you going? Get back here! How dare you run away from me!" Chloe darted after the pair, screaming at the top lungs.
"Get into that elevator!" Marinette shouted, pointing to one on the far right that had opened up, just as a businessman carrying a suitcase walked out. Luckily for them, the row of elevators was behind the group of chairs they'd been hiding behind, and they didn't have too far to run. Adrien plunged quickly into the elevator, startling the businessman and causing him to spin around wildly.
"Well, don't just stand there! Grab them!" Chloe yelled, furiously pointing at the two teenagers, scowling when the man only turned to her and stared confusedly.
Marinette couldn't help laughing as she encouraged Adrien to close the elevator door quicker, his hand still grasping her wrist tightly. "Adrien, she's getting closer!" she said, grinning when she saw Chloe shriek as the elevator doors closed shut in her face.
The couple collapsed on the floor, laughing and panting from the excitement. "Nino - that idiot, he can be so clueless sometimes-" Adrien started saying.
"Did you see Chloe and how mad she was when she chased us?" Marinette exclaimed, leaning her head backwards as she laughed.
Adriens laughter began to fade. He felt sorry for Chloe sometimes, and right now he didn't want to have to deal with her wrath, since he was unsure of how she'd respond to seeing him run away from her. Sometimes he told himself that returning her cruelty would only make her a more vicious and mean person. But people like her would never learn otherwise; who would talk to her and teach her a lesson?
Her father? Of course not.
That was a problem.
Adrien was tired especially of her love interest in him, since he was sure it was fake and all she did was add on to his personal stress. Besides, they weren't exactly being cruel to her; Chloe would definitely do much worse in this situation.
Adrien looked at Marinette, at her lively spirit, and thought he hadn't seen her this happy around him before. He loved the way her black hair fell around her face, the way her eyes shone triumphantly. It all reminded him of someone else, like this was all way too familiar.
Marinette couldn't believe her luck of being in this strange situation, and suddenly looked down to notice that Adrien was still holding onto her wrist. They both suddenly became silent, and Adrien quickly let go.
"Sorry," he said, unable to take his gaze away from her bluebell eyes. Marinette felt her face flush hot pink, and she rubbed the back of her neck nervously.
"No, you're fine," she said, showing a warm smile. "I'm sorta surprised I didn't freak out and panic, I mean I was, but I was surprised I wasn't the one who tripped."
Marinette became confused in her actions, wondering why she was suddenly able to talk to him without stuttering and able to begin conversation. "I'm kinda surprised I ran from Chloe like that. I fully expected myself to surrender," Adrien said. Marinette looked up at him meekly, feeling as though she was continuously shrinking smaller and smaller. She glanced past his head above her and saw the buttons with floor numbers imprinted upon them, and her eyes suddenly went wide.
"Wait a minute - are we even moving?" They both staggered to their feet, eyeing the door wearily as if Chloe would plunge through at any second. Adrien pushed the second floor swiftly, and they filled with relief as the elevator began to rise.
…
"Get back here, you pesky brats!"
Alya and Nino were sprinting as fast as they could to avoid Chloe. She had almost been right on their tails, but she paused to complain about how running was ruining her hair before chasing them again.
They dashed down a hall from the lobby and headed to a kitchen door at the end. "Get in here, Nino!" Alya said. She stopped at the door, frantically turned around to check for a girl with all yellow apparel, and shoved Nino through the kitchen door.
"How'd you know this place was here?" Nino asked, staring around at the big room. There were constant rows of crates on wheels spread out in front of them, and counters with various cooking utensils behind the crates. The place was deserted; no chef was in sight, and the kitchen looked pretty clean against the checkerboard floor and walls.
"My mom - duh," Alya shrugged, and turned to glimpse through the circular window in the door. "Dammit - Nino, she's coming!"
"Shit, I thought we lost her," Nino groaned.
"Hide!" Alya hissed, and ran past the row of carts and disappeared behind a counter aisle. Dumbstruck, Nino glanced at the door, then followed the direction that Alya had gone, but he was too late. The door flung open with a loud bang, and Nino was forced to throw himself somewhere within the rows of carts.
"I know you're in here, Miss brat," came the outraged voice of Chloe. Nino peered through the legs of the carts and saw white capris begin to walk around the kitchen, her footsteps echoing loudly off the walls. Suddenly nervous and sweating, Nino rolled onto his stomach underneath a cart, pressed against the floor, hidden from being out in the open aisle. He tensed and felt adrenaline pump through him as he watched the menacing way Chloe slowly walked, past his row without seeing him, thankfully, and she proceeded to search elsewhere.
"You know, my daddy will kick you two out of this hotel," Chloe shouted. "And that bitch brat Marinette. Adrikins is an exception, but only if I forgive him for siding with you."
Nino gritted his teeth in anger. He may have let his crush for Marinette go, but he still cared for her more deeply than most girls. It was confusing, but once he developed a crush on someone, that particular attraction to them never really went away.
Angrily, Nino slid himself out from under the cart and stood up, his expression mean and unfriendly.
Realizing he wasn't supposed to purposely get caught, Nino dove back to the ground just as Chloe turned and caught a glimpse of him. He was on the floor again, helpless, and out in the open. Chloe marched over to the row just ahead of him.
"Oh, you're seriously playing this game, Nino? Like a baby? What the hell do you think this is? Child's play?"
His one goal was to get to Alya and run from an impeding Chloe. Nino bolted down the aisle, on all fours, quickly crawling to the end of his row.
Chloe bent down and peered under the carts to try and reveal Ninos hiding spot. When he glanced over and saw her occupied with searching under the carts, he took his chance and sprung from his row, across the aisle with Chloe, and to the corner of a kitchen counter.
He sighed quietly in relief, watching as Chloe began to look around confusedly and walk around, back in front of the counter aisle he was hiding in. Unfortunately, the counters lacked an empty bottom to hide under like the crates, so in panic, Nino scooted around the edge of the counter to hide where she wouldn't see him.
As he rounded the corner of the counter, he saw a body moving at the same time to the same spot behind the aisle. The body, Alya, and Nino both jumped in startlement, before realizing that their bustle caused Chloe to quickly turn around.
Alya brought a finger to her lips, angrily glaring at Nino. She peeked around the corner of the counter silently, sitting pressed up beside Nino.
To her shock, Chloe was headed down the aisle, about to reveal them if they didn't move soon.
Alya turned to Nino and pointed to a stray cart that loomed ahead of them, one that was outcast to the rows in the kitchen.
Making sure Chloe's eyes were trained somewhere else as she walked down their aisle, Alya dove under the cart in front of her, rolling onto her back.
Nino saw her gesture to follow her, but he wasn't stupid; there was no way he was going to fit with her down there. Shaking his head, Nino curled into a cowering ball as he heard Chloe's footsteps approach him from behind him.
Alya waved her hand again, with anger and more movement. Glancing from behind his shoulder and back to Alya, Nino shut his eyes and dove beneath the cart just as Alya had done. He felt her hands grip his arms and heave him on top of her in order for them to fit fully concealed.
Nino went red when he felt his blue t-shirt slide up, his exposed stomach pressed against Alya's fleece jacket. He couldn't help staring down at her, her determined expression peeking out from under the cart to spy on Chloe.
Alya's hands were like vice grips against his arms as she pulled him steady against her.
"Ugh, I don't have time for this stupid shit. You cowards will eventually come out of the dirty holes you're hiding in, anyways. Just know that all I'm really after right now is Adrikins and that annoying Marinette. Later losers," Chloe said as she strolled out of the kitchen, obviously trying to remain calm and cool but failing.
She was still enraged as she stormed out, anger and hatred just boiling under her skin. When she slammed the doors shut behind her to indicate her presence was no longer near them, Nino finally took a breath.
"Finally, she's gone," he said with relief.
"This is all your fault, you dumbass! Why the hell did you have to trip, you lousy, stupid jerk?" Alya rolled her eyes and shook her head, pinned between Nino and the floor. "This whole night is ruined. All I wanted was to get Adrien and Marinette together, and now I'm going to be grounded!"
Nino smirked. "Don't worry, they are together. Because of me, don't forget. I mean, you helped, of course, this night was all your idea, but I mean, I got them together just now because-" Nino was unsure of the cause for his sudden stuttering problem.
The next thing he knew, Alya had leaned upwards and planted her lips against his. They shared the kiss for several seconds before Alya quickly brushed her tongue against his and pulled back, grinning at the red face of a speechless Nino.
"Great story, Nino. Can you get off me now?"
…
The elevator didn't take long to reach the second floor. Adrien and Marinette eagerly looked out when the automatic door opened, but they were horrified by what they saw.
Marinette dimly recognized the short and tiny figure of a girl down the hall, with large glasses, a nerdy outfit, and short cut brown hair. She was on the phone, and she slowly turned around to face the elevator without noticing the two teenagers.
"Is that Sabrina?" Marinette asked.
Adrien squinted harder and nodded. "Yep. Chloe's servant," he mumbled.
"Okay Chloe, sure, I'll start looking for them and I'll bring them to you right away." Sabrina ended the phone call and glanced up at the elevator. Adrien and Marinette failed to move quickly enough out of her sight, and she gasped when she saw them.
"Adrien? Wait, come back here! Chloe wants you!"
Sabrina started jogging over to them, but Adrien pushed Marinette around the corner and down another hallway.
"Come on, Marinette, run!" Adrien shouted.
Confused and unsure of the situation, yet having fun running from Chloe and her evil assistant, Marinette laughed as she bolted beside Adrien down the hall. "Which way are we supposed to go?" She shouted, pointing to the hallways ahead that forked off in either direction.
"Left!" Adrien yelled.
They were impressive runners, and usually the best during PE. Both of them had gained that skill from their superhero alter egos, since running played a major role in their everyday tasks.
Sabrina was somewhat way behind them, waving her arms and shouting for them to stop.
"She'll never catch up," Marinette giggled.
"I know," Adrien said, flashing her a mischievous grin.
"Chloe is not happy right now about all this! Why are you running away, Adrien? You're choosing to follow her instead of Chloe?"
Adrien ignored Sabrina and laughed with Marinette. "Where would I even follow Chloe to? The gates of hell?" he said so only Marinette could hear.
Marinette snorted, never thinking she'd ever hear those words come out of Adrien's mouth, and causing herself to stumble forwards and trip. Excitement and fear filled her all at once as she glanced behind her and saw Sabrina gaining on them.
"Crap!" Adrien shouted, and retreated backwards to seize Marinette's forearm and pull her to her feet. Sabrina was much closer now, and they approached the two new hallways in panic.
"Chloe is going to make sure you both are kicked out of this hotel!" they heard Sabrina uselessly shout.
"Hurry, let's go right," Adrien whispered into Marinette's ear, putting his hands on her shoulders and guiding her around the corner.
The pair rounded the corner and out of Sabrina's sight, but they only had seconds before she'd show up behind them.
"Get behind this door!"
Adrien guided Marinette behind the hallway door. It was pretty massive and was held open all on its own. The couple had no problem squeezing through the small space between the door and the wall and hiding from Sabrina.
Marinette's heart rate was beyond infinity. She couldn't believe she was able to spend this much time alone (almost) with Adrien, even if they were being pinned by a wall and a hallway door. His shoulder brushed hers as he peeked out the door to spy on Sabrina, checking to see if the coast was clear.
"Okay, we're good. She went straight past us," he said.
Adrien retracted from the space and Marinette followed him out into the open, happy but sad at the same time to be free from the doors enclosure.
"Where do we go now?" she asked. Adrien looked and saw that her eyes were filled with a wild excitement and eagerness to break the rules.
"I say we go to the roof," Adrien said, grinning. "I'll phone Nino and tell them to meet us there when they get the chance."
Marinette glanced behind Adrien to confirm that Sabrina really had gone down the right hallway and didn't see them now walking in the opposite direction.
"What if they're in a tight spot right now and calling isn't the best idea?" Marinette asked, making her way farther down the left hall. Adrien followed her, overjoyed by Marinette's normal behavior she was finally portraying.
"They can always run and escape. Or I could just text them," he replied simply . They walked with a fast pace, but slow enough to have a normal conversation.
"This is...pretty intense," Adrien said thoughtfully. Marinette laughed.
"Well, usually anything that has to do with Chloe is intense, but this is definitely the most, um, strangest thing I've been through when it comes to her," she remarked.
"I guess this night was worthwhile after all," Adrien said, debating whether or not he should put his arm around her shoulder. "Not that it wasn't before, but I mean it won't be centered around Alya and Nino anymore, instead it can just be…"
Marinette tensed slightly, wondering what he was going to say.
What did he mean, that it was more centered around them now?
"Well, y'know," Adrien said shyly as Marinette looked up at him.
"I guess we can be more involved, right?"
Marinette and Adrien blushed at the same time and turned their gazes away from one another.
"Y-yeah, I know what you mean," Marinette stuttered, knowing that what she wished Adrien had said was too good to be true.
She has no idea what I wanted to say, Adrien thought miserably, wanting to punch himself. Why did he feel this attraction to Marinette anyways? He was already so deeply in love with Ladybug.
He figured that he'd be fine falling in love with Marinette if Ladybug was going to reject him.
Then why was he trying to get Marinette to like him as Adrien?
Wasn't Chat Noir the one he wanted her to like?