Chapter Seven

Adrien never considered himself refined, yet he had an ingrained manner of moving which had developed from many years of modelling. He was unaware of how his gestures invited attention. That the simple action of lifting his fingers to sift through his hair, to tug it away from his eyes, attracted the gaze of those around him.

He was ignorant to the way his unbutton shirt opened further when he rubbed at the back of his neck when anxious, or that his t-shirt beneath pulled tightly against his chest, drawing the eye of the female (and some of the male) populace. During these moments of nervousness, vulnerability lined his face and made him adorable to the onlooker. Those emerald eyes expressed so much of what lay beneath the surface, however Adrien was oblivious to his own magnetism most of the time. Had he been aware, he would have changed the way he moved.

Standing at the foot of the stairs, deep in conversation with Nino, the model was leaning an elbow on the railing when he noticed alarm flash in his friend's eyes. Adrien's lips had barely parted when a hand snaked around his bicep and he was forcefully spun around.

A warm body pressed against his side as he dropped his chin and pulled his face away from the besotted clinger better known as Chloe. Manicured nails began stroking his shirt below his clavicle.

"Adrikins!" Chloe attempted to purr, yet her screeching enthusiasm was far too close to his ear.

Cringing at both the noise and her nearness, Adrien clasped Chloe's wandering hand and gently pried her death grip from his arm. "Uh, hi Chloe."

Apparently, she took his greeting as a sign to resume the clinging. "Want to hang out this afternoon? Daddy just had my surround sound system upgraded. We can watch anything you like."

He swallowed as her finger drew lazy circles up his shoulder. His eyes darted to her hand, realising it was coming dangerously close to his face. No way was he letting her cup his cheek. Stepping back, Adrien adjusted his shirt and failed to look where he was going. His foot landed on an uneven surface and he tumbled backward as another set of arms and legs tangled around him before the owner left out an "Oomph" as they landed together.

Scrabbling to his hands and knees, Adrien began apologising profusely before he even caught sight of who it was he'd potentially squashed. His face flamed and his eyes widened as he took in the rumpled figure that was Marinette. Why did it have to be her? Adrien immediately extended a hand and pulled the girl to her feet. Her eyes narrowed at him before darting over his shoulder.

Marinette's spine straightened and a muscle under her eye twitched as she glared a Chloe. Adrien looked between the two girls, half expecting laser beams to start shooting out of their eyes. Then Marinette's gaze returned to his, somewhat less hostile.

"Hi," he said with an awkward smile.

The only acknowledgement he received was a slight lifting of the chin before Marinette stormed away from him.

"Well that was rude," Chloe scoffed as she crossed her arms.

Adrien didn't answer, his mood had lifted with Marinette's simple greeting. While Chloe had interpreted it as a snub, Adrien had caught the softening expression in her eyes. Perhaps time was all she needed. Before he could think too deeply on it, Chloe had snagged his arm again.

"Now that she's gone we can get back to our conversation."

It took a great deal of restraint not to roll his eyes. Nino on the other hand had no problem with doing so and the corner of Adrien's mouth quirked upward. Unfortunately, Chloe took this as a positive sign and laid her head on his shoulder as she gazed up at him with fluttering eyelashes.

"Actually, I was talking to Nino before you arrived."

Chloe threw a less than impressed look at Nino then waved her hand in dismissal at him. "I'm sure he can wait to talk to you later."

Adjusting the bag strap on his shoulder, Adrien decided the best course of action was to start heading to class. "What is it you want?"

"I told you already, a movie at my place this afternoon with you." She said as she fluffed her ponytail.

They reached the doorway to their classroom and Adrien waved Chloe inside with a genteel tilt of his hand and slight bow. Realising what he was doing, he quickly straightened up. That had been far too close to Chat Noir posturing. Nobody seemed to notice though. He followed Chloe in as she dumped her bag on her desk. He was about to do the same when she said his name.

"I can't. I've got piano practice this afternoon," he said when he realised he hadn't answered her earlier question.

Much to Adrien's surprise, Chloe placed her hands on his shoulders and shoved him back until his knees hit the side of his seat, causing him to sit unexpectedly. His mouth opened but before he could say a word, Chloe pressed a finger to his lips as she suddenly sat on his lap. She lifted her opposite hand and caught a lock of his hair near his temple, then began rolling it between her fingers. "How about I come to you instead?"

Adrien leaned so far back his fingers slipped along the bench to brush Nino's thigh. "I'm busy, Chloe."

A certain someone cleared their throat and the pair of blondes turned to look up at Marinette. "What Adrien is trying to tell you is that he's not interested." Her gaze turned sharply to Adrien. "You need to be more direct. Like how you were with me. Super blunt."

Green eyes widened as they darted between the two girls. Marinette had a point. He was far too gentle with Chloe's feelings and she was forever throwing herself at him. Channelling his inner Chat Noir, he scooped Chloe into his arms, which she was briefly elated about until he dumped her into her own seat. "She's right Chloe. I'm not attracted to you, if that's what you're actually wondering."

Chloe's jaw dropped and her eyes widened as she blinked furiously. "I-I…" She crossed her arms in attempt to recompose. "It was just a friendly question. Because you are my friend and friends do stuff together like watch movies." She glared at the other students as if daring them to refute her claim. Most of them were giggling behind their hands.

"Then you won't mind that I'll take a raincheck. As I said, I have piano practice."

This time Chloe didn't push the point and when Adrien turned back to his seat he threw a cheeky wink at Marinette. While she didn't blush, he did catch the amused twinkle in her eye.

The two days leading up to patrol were relatively uneventful. Adrien found himself counting down to when he could openly talk to Marinette as his alter ego. She'd continued to give him a wide berth at school and he hadn't made any further attempts to reduce the distance.

Closing the lid of his piano, the blonde stood and slid his hands into the rear pockets of his jeans. "Plagg, is it inappropriate for me to visit Marinette as Chat Noir?"

Silence was his answer. Cocking his head, Adrien strode to his computer desk and found Plagg's dark head propped on the edge of his cheese box, eyes closed and on the verge of snoring. He couldn't resist prodding his kwami with a fingertip.

Plagg's head snapped up and pivoted from side to side. "What? Is it my camembert? Huh?"

"I asked you a question but you missed it."

"Was it about cheese?"

"It could have been. Now you'll never know."

The kwami of destruction snorted. "Fine, be that way."

"Actually, it's time for patrol."

Plagg groaned. "Typical, I was having the best dream."

Adrien smirked and crooked his finger. "Plagg, claws out!"

I couldn't resist a bit of Chloe verbal smack down. More MariChat is on it's way! So please stay tuned. As always I appreciate the reviews, follows and favourites :)