I own nothing not even this computer. Thank you for all of the great reviews, please keep them coming as these give me life, a reason to continue writing. So onto the actual 'date'
Marinette wasn't having a panic attack like back at the apartment. She was having a heart attack. She was absolutely positive that she was having a full blown heart attack and at any moment would die. Forcing her body to flop over onto Adrien or Kim and causing the entire car to swerve even more recklessly than it currently was now. Adrien wasn't faring much better in the very thick and very hot leather jacket he was wearing, he could feel each individual drop of sweat trickle down his skin before getting absorbed into the leather. His heart was on overdrive and that just caused him to sweat all the more. The bright green town car that they had bought and were currently in was very small, and the driver insisted that all four of them sit in the back seat, he was paranoid that one of them might try to mess or talk with him. So there the four of them were, with Alix by the left hand window, then Kim, followed by Marinette and finally Adrien pressed against the last window.
Now the back seat is really only meant for around three people, and with Kim being so large he almost took up two seats. This meant that they had no place to go or shift. They were squeezed in shoulder to shoulder, their legs almost entwined together on the floor, every single bump in the road that they would go over would jostle everyone. Alix and Marinette would be jostled up into the air and land on the boys laps before moving back down off of them.
Alix finally just huffed and shifted so that half of her thin stick like body was on Kim's larger muscle bound lap. He shifted uncomfortably trying to distance himself from her. This caused MArinette to elbow Adrien in the ribs and practically get forced on top of him.
She pushed back so that she was off of the blondes lap. She had to control her breathing, or her heart rate. She was touching her fingers to her thumbs in order to relieve a little bit of stress, she was trying to think of how to make the perfect croissant, she was trying to focus on the fact that they all had school tomorrow but were spending the night going to a dance club and then a cafe!
She was trying to think of anything and everything besides Adrien's bright red cheeks where she had slapped him, or how warm her shoulder felt rubbing up against his side. And how the driver was really incredibly horrible and every time that they went over a bump or cobblestone she would end up elbowing the model in the side.
Alix cleared her throat. She was wondering when the two were actually going to start talking or something, really what was taking the two of them so long?She wanted to see them two of them actually start flirting so that she could win the idiotic bet and go home early. She glared at the two quiet dorks who seemed to be vibrating in their seats. She chalked it up to the horrible driver that they had and not for one second thought that it might just be the adrenaline that they had pumped into their veins not even a solid hour ago. Alix cleared her throat again before kicking out with her leg closest to Marinette.
"OW!" Adrien shouted out as they had gone over a bump and he had just gotten kicked in the shin and elbowed in the side again. "What was that for?" He snapped at the two girls. Marinette covered her mouth in embarrassed terror while Alix simply glared back at him, she wasn't about to apologize.
"Sorry!" Marinette let slip out, "The driver elbowed-I mean I elbowed-that is to say-" She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Then she began to think that she might not ever be able to open them again since her eyelids were so dark.
Seriously when had they gotten that dark? Maybe she just hadn't seen the inside of them for a while. After all it wasn't like she had been blinking that often after getting that shot of 'confidence'. Mostly she had just been staring at his lovely marred face.
Something went off in Adrien and Marinette's pockets. They both stiffened before awkwardly they reached down and felt around in their pockets before pulling out their phones. Adrien was very cautious when he reached down between the two of them to pull out his phone, he didn't want to accidentally touch her butt or anything and get labeled as a horn dog.
Marinette looked at the number and the text message. It was very simple. Only one word. From Alix.
FLIRT!
Marinette shot a distressed and angry look over at Alix who was putting her phone away as if nothing had happened. She had delivered the message so really why should she have to care about anything else now.
Kim was also putting his phone away, unbeknownst to the two of them they had just sent out a text that read the same thing. Alix to Marinette, and Kim to Adrien.
FLIRT!
Adrien chewed the inside of his cheek. He knew he had promised Kim that he would do this for him, but with how everything was turning out...He didn't know how invested in it all he was anymore. After all so far he had been caught by the Gorilla in a compromising position, he had been slapped twice, acted perverse, injected by a needle, and now was getting his side royally tenderized by sweet little Marinette's incredibly bony elbow. This was more pain than he had experienced being Chat Noir.
The town car finally came to a shuddering stop and Alix and Adrien took that opportunity to jump out and stretch their legs. Alix reached her hands up as high as they would go over her head, they didn't even graze Kim's chin as he unfolded himself out of the car and cracked his neck. Adrien stretched one arm across his body. His shoulders moving slowly underneath his jacket, Marinette had to bite her lip and debate whether or not she should reach out and touch them, after all wasn't that one of the things that Alix told her to do? To fawn all over a guy?
She shifted a little uncomfortable, even though the ride over had been bumpy she was probably the only one who hadn't needed to stretch getting out of the car, she hoped that she hadn't taken up too much room while in the car. She could just imagine what they all must have been thinking, her with her legs spread like a jerkish cowboy and taking up all of the comfortable leg room while everyone else had to scooch and sit on each others laps.
"Okay lets get this started!" Kim shouted and wrapped his arms around everyone's shoulders pulling them all close enough that Adrien and Marinette were once again shoulder to shoulder and her elbow was driven painfully back into his side. Marinette and Adrien blushed uncomfortably as they were once again forced to get almost uncomfortably close together. Alix attempted to shrug out of his grip but only got him to hold onto her all the tighter.
They approached the enormous black metal door that was by a plate glass window, why the two were side by side made no sense to Marinette. Were they trying to go for an industrial nineties grunge vibe or a psychedelic eighties disco vibe? The two just did not go together. Then she realized something else that didn't go together.
"Wait are you two each others date?!" She shouted spinning around between Kim and Adrien. Adrien's hands went upwards into the air once he realized that her back and rear were to him and he didn't want to accidentally brush up against her yet again. It made sense in his mind.
"What! No!" Alix protested.
"That's crazy talk!" Kim continued.
"Why in a million years would I go on a date with him?"
"Or me with her!"
"Well then who are you two meeting up here or whatever?" Adrien asked confused.
"Dude what's with your arms?" Kim asked. Everyone looked up at his arms including the now embarrassed Adrien. His mind feeling as if it were sprinting a mile a minute began to think of something. And then it thought of something.
With one hand he slicked back his hair, the gel still holding it in place, and his other arm he reached down, and with electric tingle pulsing through his mind, body and spirit he wrapped the arm around Marinette's bare bright pink shoulders.
'Sorry my lady.' He thought to himself, he wished that he was on this date with Ladybug, that he had his arm around her shoulders instead of Marinette's, he had nothing against the girl. But she was no superhero, of that much he was positive.
Marinette stiffened, she brought a leg upwards straight in front of her, preparing to make an escape by sprinting all the way to Timbuktu, then she short-circuited and left her leg dangling in the air. He was touching her, hell he was doing a lot more than that. Adrien Agreste was straight up holding her in his arms. It was like a one armed hug. She slowly and steadily lowered her leg once it began to shiver, her face a bright pink and her eyes wide and darting all around like a caged ferret.
"Nothing you need to concern yourself with." Adrien said without a smile. He tried to make his voice drop an octave or two, that would make him sound cool right? "Seriously though, are you two going on a date or what?"
Kim and Alix exchanged a couple of looks, their eyebrows wiggling and making a few hand gestures. Marinette recognized what they were doing immediately. Trying to talk with their bodies, her parents would do it all the time whenever they didn't want her to know what they were saying. It was adorably romantic.
"Whatever, you two keep on doing your thing. Adrien you can keep a hold of your thing, and I'll keep a hold on mine." She said leaning back into Adrien's chest and wrapping, actually wrapping, actually positively no doubt about it putting her arms around his perfect chiseled model waist wrapping, an arm around Adrien Agreste. She really wished that what she had said hadn't come out sounding so catty but she was willing to risk catty if Alix had taught it to her.
"We aren't dating though!" Alix protested as they walked into the dance club. "We're not!"
The club was broken into two stories, a balcony looking over a tiled dance floor. The balcony had a mixture of bean bags, tables, lounge chairs and places to sit, since the music speakers were directly underneath the balcony only a little bit of noise came up and into it, the DJ and all of his equipment were right underneath it, across from him and by the front door was a bar. Mixed with beverages, alcoholic and otherwise.
The foursome walked through the blasting beats, and the blazing laser light show until they got to the staircase leading up to the second floor. Once they reached there they found a space and sat down. Marinette and Adrien were still linked at the hip, the two of them had gone too far with their training to turn back then and there and untangle themselves. Once they got to the top floor they tried to get seats that were not directly next to each other. Alix and Kim however had other plans and quickly took the two seats next to each other, that way they would have no other choice but to sit near the other.
Alix and Kim looked expectantly at Adrien and Marinette who were just busy trying to wrap their minds around everything that had just happened, and had been happening and was continuing to happen. Kim and Alix had said that they needed their help for a blind date...but it was with each other...and then they roped them into it...for what purpose?
Adrien shifted uncomfortably, the humidity in the room causing him to sweat through the leather jacket and adjust himself occasionally to keep it from sticking to himself. Kim continued to try to catch his eye and finally did. Kim raised his eyebrows and nodded his head as if to be encouraging, encouraging what Adrien had no idea. Then he got it. Flirting, more and more flirting.
Marinette tried to look around the dance club a little, but since it was so small and basic she couldn't just continue to do that. It was like any other dance club. If you saw one then you saw a million. Finally she had to look Alix in the face. The shorter girl was glaring at her, trying to intimidate her, what she was trying to intimidate her to do was obvious. Flirt, flirt like there was no tomorrow. She of course didn't want to, but the pink headed rebel was not going to take no for an answer.
Marinette took a deep breath and turned with lidded eyes to Adrien. She moved one shoulder upwards a little so that one of her pigtails fell across it, framing it nicely. She took a deep breath causing her chest to rise slightly before settling down again. Why was the adrenaline making her want to start kissing his beautiful perfect face?
"So Adrien, this must be nothing compared to some, bigger and nicer...places you've been to. I bet that you have, alllll kinds of stories about them. I would love to 'ear' them." She said playfully reaching up and grabbing one of his ear lobes and pulling at it playfully. Just enough to cause him to move a little with it, not enough to actually hurt him.
"Yeah. Places like this. It's fine. Not really measuring up to other's I've been to." He said brushing her question off. Just like Kim had shown him. Aloof. Aloof. Aloof. That was how he should do it.
Suddenly he replayed what she had just said. 'Ear?' Did she mean 'hear'? Unless of course that she meant the pun. He sucked his teeth so that his lips pulled down in a frown. Why were puns so funny?
Marinette's bright blue eyes shifted restlessly all over his jacket clad body, before being attracted to how the red lights danced across his face. She was loosing him, the look on his face made it clear that he was not having a good time. She felt her heart skip a few beats, it was like it had turned into a pair dancing the rumba.
The colors made little clicking noises over his face and perfectly proportioned shoulders. She shook her head wildly, she couldn't be listening to the colors right now! In fact she should not be able to hear them in the first place! Taking a moment to readjust herself she thought hard. Then she thought of something, his jacket! She could work with that, she just needed a snazzy pick up line...something...something...she got something.
"I bet that you bought your jacket on sale right? If you had gotten it at my house it would be one hundred percent off." She said with as much bravo as she could muster and ignoring the ringing in her ears that she was certain was just the blood running there.
Adrien's eyes widened before settled down. The jacket of course! He could discuss his own clothing, after all Kim never said that he couldn't discuss his own clothes. Marinette even though she was acting strangely out of character had just given him the perfect conversation starter. Plus he could probably move to giving her compliments from there!
"Actually my father bought it for me. He said that it was almost two thousand United States dollars. Should have sent him to you if it were free. But I wouldn't take it for free." He leaned down, empowered by the false confidence in his veins. He whispered in her ear that was giving off heat like a furnace. "I would find some way to repay you and your family."
Alix slapped her forehead, even when the two were being dirty they were naive! How dumb could they really get!
"Don't your parents own a bakery?" Kim confusedly butted into the conversation. Alix scooted down a little and kicked out with her heel trying to hit the boys shin.
"YOWCH!" Kim shouted before kicking out himself.
"OW!" Marinette said jumping from the table and grasping her shin. "Do you just kick me?"
"I was aiming for Alix! She kicked me!"
"It was a leg spasm track brain!" The shorter girl responded. Kim stood up and angrily glared down at her.
"Whatever I'm getting a drink. Any of you want vodka?"
"Kim you're fifteen, the drinking age is-and he's gone." Alix said in disgust as she jumped up after him and followed, dodging through the crowd and was soon lost from sight, leaving Adrien and Marinette alone.
"Well since you're already up and it would be a hassle to save the table." Adrien said snootily. He had to mentally channel some of the things he had seen Chloe say and do to get those words out. He stood and with an eyebrow tweak offered Marinette a hand. "Care to dance?"
"This is it? It looks like a dump." Alya complained as Max walked towards the front door.
"I am telling you that everyone is inside. I assure you that I am being honest."
"You'd better be-or else." Alya threatened the smaller boy who shrank up in fear. Alya turned back to the door. "Don't worry girl I'll save you."
"ALYA!" She paused before she could push open the door. Nino was running up to her breathing heavily, as if he had been chasing a car the entire way.
"Nino. Hey." She said, "Sorry I can't talk I have to save Marinette from these guys." She gestured to an embarrassed Max who was adjusting his glasses and trying to stay out of the way. "They had this bet that-"
"Flirting thing. I know. I'm here to save Adrien. Want to team up?" Alya grinned and held out a fist bump, Nino returned it and the two entered the thumping club. Nino wrinkled his nose in disgust at the music. He could do a hundred times better than the trashy mainstream noise that they were pumping into the French Youth. Alya gave the place just a passing glance, she was too busy searching for her friend or the jerks that had dragged her there.
Marinette was trying to act aloof and above it all. But she might have sqeed just a little when Adrien took her hand and lead her onto the dance floor. Even though she couldn't dance to save her life, she had a body full of adrenaline, a hand holding with her crush and a lot of music that while bad at least had a beat she could jump around to.
Adrien was trying not to overthink the entire situation. He had taken dancing lessons when he was younger, but those skills had disappeared, while his fencing and Chinese lessons continued he had neglected to brush up on any moves. Then again ballroom and black tie dancing was probably vastly different from the loud pulsing sounds that engulfed him completely.
The two got to the edge of the horde of people and turned to face each other. He smirked triumphantly and she grinned back in what she had read would look sultry. The two entered the fray and were almost immediately knocked off of their feet. Pulled and pushed Marinette grasped a hold of Adrien's hand and tried not to shout in fear as the two were pushed and pulled steadily closer into the center of the crowd of people. Adrien tried to keep a hold of MArinette. She was a lifeline for him, he felt as if he were drowning in this enormous sea of sweaty bodies.
He pulled her forward so that they were face to terrified face. They looked around in surprise and couldn't even say anything. This wasn't dancing so much as it was survival now. He began to jump up and down, his jacket flying wildly like a cape around him, Marinette tried to copy him, the two looked over the heads trying to find a way back out that was not too intrusive on the other dancers. Marinette squawked as he pulled her towards him so that she would not get bumped into by another dancer who had no respect for personal boundaries.
Marinette landed heavily against his chest and let out a puff of air. Adrien instinctively wrapped his arms around her as the two continued to jump and hop to the tune of the mosh pit. Marinette saw two men with full drink glasses angrily pushing each other, unaware of anyone in their immediate range. Marinette planted her feet and putting all of her force behind the pivot actually spun Adrien around so that the sticky and medical smelling liquid didn't land on his jacket.
Adrien paused his jumping and just looked down at the tiny girl in front of him. How did she possibly lift him just now? He must outweigh her by ninety pounds! He grasped her shoulders between his hands and ran his thumbs over her slightly sticky flesh. She shivered underneath him. Adrien tried not to pay too much attention behind it. But it ate at him.
Did his touch disgust her? Was he disgusting to her?
Why should that matter so much to him?
Marinette leaned closer against Adrien to avoid a couple of women who were aggressively grinding on anyone who came near, man, women, people of intermediate gender, didn't matter.
The song stopped and the two paused for a moment. Just standing in a sea of people. A strong scent of sweat pulsed over the room and the last few deafening thumping notes faded away as the DJ went on a brief break.
"Finally it's over." Adrien said relieved. Marinette felt her heart twist painfully at that, did he not want to dance with her? Was she acting too clingy? Did he just ask her to dance because he thought she wanted to?
"I-" She began to say before something yellow and white and hurtling at blurring speeds bumped into her and caused her to loose her grip on the taller blonde boy.
"ADRIKIN'S!" Chloe shouted grabbing a hold of him and giving him a kiss on his sweaty cheek, pointedly the one that she had not scratched when she slapped him. "I am so glad to see you! I know that we didn't part on the best of terms and I just wanted to say how sorry I am when I heard that little flour harlot cut open your cheek! The nerve of some people am I right?" She shouted even though the music had stopped and it was much easier to talk in an indoor voice.
"Actually Chloe I think you cut my cheek with your nails. And Marinette isn't a harlot she's right there." Adrien said pointing at Marinette who was glaring at the blonde rich girl out for a night on the town.
"Oh." Chloe said dissmissivly. Marinette ignored her, she only had her eyes on Adrien. And more importantly how he looked and sounded...he looked like Adrien. For the first time in two days he looked like his sweet caring self. Not the cocky American version that he had been pushing forward for so long.
"Well anyway." Chloe began grasping his arm and in front of a wide eyed Marinette and shocked Adrien actually pulled his hand down until it was resting on her hip, his fingertips brushing her rear. "Do you have a dance for your best friend in you?"
Adrien's face turned dark red and his hair began to stand on end. In part from the humidity and dancing, but it began to bristle like a cats would when startled.
"I-I-I" Adrien began. Then almost as if the two had choreographed Adrein and Marinette turned and ran in opposite directions. Adrien for the mens room and Marinette for the women's. Leaving a fuming Chloe behind. A man walked past and looked Chloe up and down appreciatively. She turned and gave him a glare that would freeze over the sun.
"WHAT?" She bit out and he quickly continued running on towards the front door.
"Oh man." Adrien said in the locked bathroom stall, his head in his hands and staring down at the stained red tile. He was so screwed. His life was so screwed. Why was this happening to him? What he done wrong? Why was he in a bathroom stall in a leather jacket, covered in sweat, senses on high alert and his fingertips tingling from where he coped a feel of Chloe's butt.
"What am I going to do Plagg?" He said looking up at the Kwami sitting on the toilet paper dispensary. The black cat was eating some cheese that had slightly melted in his master's pocket, it wasn't the consistency that he cared about though but the flavor. And it was as disgustingly as foul smelling as ever.
Plagg looked at his master before sighing and licking his nubby hands. He floated up and looked Adrien directly in the face.
"Plagg?" Adrien asked frightened by the serious look on the black cats face. Suddenly Plagg zoomed forward and began swiping at Adrien's combed back hair. Adrien shouted and slammed back against the bathroom wall as the Kwami finished his work and looked at it one way and then another.
"That should help a little." Adrien quickly shot up and out of the bathroom stall to the nearest mirror, horrified to see what Plagg had done to his hair. Staring back at him was what he looked like on any normal day.
"How is this going to help? At all?"
"Remember what I said earlier about you not having to do this? Well you don't. If you don't want to flirt with her then don't, just be yourself. Because yourself is pretty great Adrien." Plagg finished before flying back into the stall to retrieve the cheese. He popped the entire thing back into his mouth and flew into Adrien's pocket.
"And get rid of the jacket. It makes your shoulders look weird." Adrien took off the jacket. Folded it and put it on top of the trash can.
"Thanks Plagg...I needed that." He took a deep breath and centered himself. He just had to be himself, if Kim didn't like it then fine.
"What is Chloe doing here? What am I doing here? Tikki what am I doing?" Marinette said pacing in the locked women's room, the blue tile clicking underneath her heels as she wobbled occasionally on them. Tikki flew out of her purse and looked at her holder in concern.
"I must have sounded like an idiot. Adrien will never like me now." She said before leaning against the sink and staring down at the black hole of the drain. Tikki's only response was to fly over to the towel dispenser, take out a few and fly back to where Marinette was standing.
"Look up please." Marinette's eyes were a little wet and they widened when Tikki flew full force and began to vigorously rub up and down the girls face. Marinette stepped back and gagged.
"What was that for?"
"I wanted to get all of that stuff off of your face." Tikki looked down at the now painted towels and tutted. "Look Marinette, Adrien will only like you for being you. Not for pretending to be something that you're not. And if he does like you for being something that you're not then he isn't worth getting to know. You are an incredible person, you are kind and considerate...you don't have to do this if you don't want to. I would suggest you either go home, or you go out there act like yourself and have some fun for tonight. The choice is yours." Marinette blinked, looked back down into the sink, scratched her cheek and then smiled lovingly at her kwamii.
"How did you get so smart?"
"Live for a few hundred thousand years and you learn a few things." Marinette held open her purse and Tikki flew right in. Marinette took a deep calming breath and prepared herself to go back outside and deal with everything. Including Kim,Chloe who had shown up at the last moment, and Alix and most importantly Adrien.
Just for review Marinette is wearing blue jeans and a red sleeveless top with a black spot on the back. Adrien has on a leather jacket with dress pants and a blue button up. Alix plaid skirt, leggings and white top. Kim yellow button up, ironed jeans and running shoes. This is for me and for you guys, it keeps me focused. Please remember to read and to review, it keeps me going. Sorry if this was a long one.