Apparently, it could.
Marinette took a deep breath. "What you said was very rude," she said.
"I apologized," I said. "I meant it."
"Then why did you call him stupid?"
"I was thinking it," I said softly. "Because he… he doesn't notice the way you look at him."
She paused. "That's none of your business, Nath."
"I know," I said. "I...I really didn't intend to say it."
She paused. "I believe you." She looked away. "Well, we're alone now. Do you want to show me that drawing?"
"I… I actually wanted to talk to you, Marinette," I said softly. "About the new akuma that appeared in town."
"The fox one?" she asked, tilting her head to the side. "He seems a bit weird for an akuma, right?"
"Yeah. That's what I mean I-"
She put up her finger, shaking her head. "I don't want to talk about him. Not right now. Not unless he appears.
This… it's a celebration and I… don't get to experience these a lot, do you? I think we should have some fun while we wait for the others to get back."
I felt a little frustrated at that. "But-"
"No buts, Nath," she said, giving me a scowl, one so cute I couldn't help but melt. Then she smiled, reaching out and grabbing my hand. "There's a ferris wheel over there. Let's ride it."
"Are you sure?" I asked, letting her pull me along.
"Of course!" she said, looking at me with a grin. "No complaints, got it?"
She pulled me towards the Ferris Wheel, right through the crowd of waiting people. Everywhere, there were posters and merchandise involving Chat Noir and Ladybug. Couples were dressed up as them and children held toys-primarily of Ladybug-in their tiny hands. Marinette clearly noticed, looking around with a much happier eye.
So far, so good, I thought.
"I love you, Marinette," I said in a soft voice, stopping the two of us short. I turned her around to face me, then leaned down for a kiss.
"You called Adrien stupid," she said in response, putting her finger over my lips. "I love him. Not you."
"I can teach you to love me," I said. "I promise, I'll never hurt you."
Stop it, Nath! I scolded myself, watching the ground as we ran. I wanted so much to just...admit I loved her but…
"Hey, Nathanael," she said, slowing down. "We're here."
I looked up, meeting her eyes. For a moment, she froze, just looking back at me, then blushed, dropping my hand as if she just realized she was still holding it.
"Sorry," she said. "So, um, you want to get in?"
"Sure," I said.
"C'mon." She led the way to the line, walking up and getting in last, trying to peer at the front. "We're going to be waiting a while."
I nodded, holding my sketchbook up to my chest.
"Hey," Marinette said in a sweet voice. "Can I see?"
I could never say no to her when she asked like that.
"Um, yeah," I said, holding it out for her.
She took it from me, leaning back against the railing, opening it up.
I felt a little anxious, having her look through something so private, but it wasn't really as bad as if it were someone else.
"I really like your art," she murmured, her eyes focused. "There's an awful lot of me though…" she looked up. "And me as Ladybug. Why?"
"I…" I swallowed. "I just like drawing you like that. She's… really pretty and smart and…"
"You like her?" she asked.
"I like you!" I blurted and then bit my lip.
She blinked. "I know…" she said.
"But you like Adrien," I muttered.
She gave a soft smile. "I… I do understand," she said. "I feel the same way about Adrien…" she flushed. "But… I can't-"
"I know," I said. "Please don't say it outloud."
She closed the sketchbook and handed it back to me. "Then I won't," she said.
"Thank you," I said, relaxing a little bit.
"Next," the person in charge of the ride said, opening up the gate.
I hesitated a moment. "You still want to go?"
She gave a nod. "I want to see Paris from above."
Don't you do that a lot? I was tempted to ask, but kept quiet, just following her to the seat.
She scooted over to the edge and I sat down next to her. A moment later, we were rising up into the sky.
Marinette leaned forward, gazing out over the railing. "I love this view," she murmured. "It's always so…"
"Those are a lot of people," I intelligently noted, staring down.
She laughed. "That would be something you'd be worried about."
"Am I that predictable?" I asked.
"I've been going to school with you for over a year," Marinette said with a soft smile. "I know you're antisocial."
I paused. "I don't think I'm antisocial. People just… make me nervous."
"Oh," she said. "So you don't dislike people?"
"Not most of the time, no."
"Oh," she said.
I fell quiet, a little disappointed that she didn't even figure that much out about me. Well, it couldn't be helped, I supposed. She was so in love with Adrien, it probably said something about her character that she noticed me at all.
"Well," she said after a moment of awkward silence, right as we reached the peak. "I know I can't… feel the way you do, but we can still be friends, right? Maybe find out more about each other and all of that… I… I think you need more friends."
I shrugged, looking over at her. "Everyone always says that," I said in response. "I figure everyone in class is fine. Maybe people don't talk to me a lot, but that's fine. I've still got Juleka and Ivan and…"
"So that's a no?" she asked, her blue eyes growing wide.
There was a twisting in my gut. "It's not a no," I said in a low voice. "Just don't feel obligated, okay?"
"It's not an obligation," she said, shaking her head. "It's…"
Remember what I said about things apparently getting worse?
"Agh! Someone help me!" I heard someone screaming below.
The crowd was parting like a sea, everyone running in one direction while an akuma laughed maliciously. And we were stuck at the top of a Ferris Wheel.
"Ladybug and Chat Noir!" the akuma yelled, loud enough that we could hear him clearly from up here. "Come out, come out to play! I am Jubilee! This party was about you but it'll now be about me and what I want! And what I want right now are your miraculouses!"
"This is bad!" Marinette said beside me. "Where's Chat Noir?"
I scanned the crowd, but it was nearly impossible to spot Adrien when we were so high up.
"I bet he's finding a place to transform," I said. I glanced at the other passengers on the Ferris Wheel, straining my neck to look back. "None of the other passengers can see us where we are," I said.
"Marinette, it's okay. Take him out."
She glanced over at me, her eyes widening. "Nath-"
"I know, okay?" I said. "I know what you run off to do. We can talk about it later. Right now you need to stop that akuma."
I almost said that. It would be so easy at this point, so easy to just say something like "Hey, I know your secret", but something about the intense look she got on her face made me pause.
"Marinette-"
"How's this for a little motivation?" Jubilee called suddenly and then raised his hands, fireworks flashing from his fingertips, heading straight for the spoke on the Ferris Wheel.
"Marinette, transform now!" I managed to gasp out just before the fireworks hit.
Ka-Boom! The ferris wheel listed to one side and then started to fall.
"Tikki, Spots On!" Marinette shrieked beside me.
There was a flash of light and then.
"Lucky Charm!"
I could feel her moving beside me, quickly trying to adjust as the Ferris Wheel fell, trying to come up with a solution.
I shut my eyes tightly, gripping the railing hard.
And then the screaming stopped.
