Chapter 10: close

"A-Adrien! H-he…did you hear w-what he said?" Chloé stuttered and stammered as she cowered away from Marinette. Adrien made his way up the stairs to where they all were, disgruntled with Chloé's reaction and sympathetic to what Marinette must be feeling.

"Yes, I did hear what she said. The important question is did you?" He snapped. Chloé blinked up at him and glared.

"How can you condone this? It's unnatural and freaky," She sneered.

"You're one to talk! You're face has 200 pounds of unnatural!" Alya called. Chloé shot her a glare, but quickly turned back to Adrien.

"Honestly, this must be some kind of joke-"

"Chloé, shut up," Adrien said sternly. Her jaw dropped again and she gasped.

"How dare you-"

"You have no idea what you're talking about, Chlo. Leave Marinette alone," he interrupted her again.

"Adrien, y-you can't really be defending him-"

"Her," he corrected.

"Because if I didn't know any better I would think you like him," she blurted. Adrien kept himself steady and still, but he couldn't stop the discomfort settle through him. Of course he liked her, but the way Chloé said it made him feel uncomfortable.

"She's my friend, of course I like her," he replied calmly. Chloé rolled her eyes. Marinette wasn't even paying attention to her, she was in too much awe that Adrien was going to such lengths to defend her.

"I mean that you have a crush on him," she snarled.

"I…" Adrien couldn't bring himself to finish his sentence. He glanced over at Marinette and felt a wave of relief when he saw her. Her eyes were wide with wonder and her cheeks still flushed from when she dropped the bomb on Chloé. She looked so innocent and harmless. He couldn't let someone so shallow and heartless hurt her. He looked back at Chloé.

"That doesn't matter. Listen to me. Do not tell anyone about Marinette. You're going to pretend that this never happened, and you're not going to tell anyone about her. Got it?" He instructed.

"Oh yeah? And what if I do decide to tell everyone in the entire school?" She challenged.

"You'll only get 15% off of my father's designs instead of 50%," he threatened. Chloé's face with pale.

"W-what! You can't do that-"

"Yes. I can, and I can also take away your Agreste designs membership card," he added. She groaned.

"I don't know why you're trying so hard to protect him, but fine. I'll keep this quiet," she agreed.

"Same goes for you Sabrina," he told her. The girl nodded nervously without question. Adrien looked back at Marinette who still looked as shocked as when he first butted in. He walked over to her and gently took ahold of her shoulders.

"Are you okay?" He asked softly. She nodded.

"Yeah…I-I'm fine. Thank you," she replied. He gave one quick nod and picked up her bag for her when he noticed the scraps on her arms.

"C'mon, let's get you to the nurse's office," he urged and slipped his arm around her shoulders to guide her up the stairs.

Alya followed until they entered the school when the bell rung. Adrien assured her that he would take care of Mari and to tell the teacher where they were. Once they got through the crowd of kids rushing to their classrooms they got to the nurses room. The only time he let go of her was to hold the door open for her, and returned his arm around her waist instead as he brought her to the front desk and then in to the small infirmary. He stayed with her as the nurse disinfected and patched up her scrapes, and even after as she took some time to rest. The nurse had gifted her with a couple of Advil that she was more than happy to take. After that the two of them were left all alone. The nurse was at her desk out of sight from the poorly padded bed that Marinette sat on and the cold folding chair that Adrien occupied right next to her.

"Are you feeling better?" He asked for what must've been the millionth time. Marinette smiled.

"You already asked that," she told him.

"I still wanna know."

"I'm the same. I feel fine."

"Well, I want you to feel better than fine. I want you to feel great," he replied with a smile. She laughed.

"Okay then…I feel great," she said. He grinned, glancing down at her lips for a second and back to her bright blue eyes.

"That's good."

They were close. Their knees brushed against each other as he ran his finger down the seam on the side of her pink jeans. She had taken off her blazer for the nurse to properly bandage her up and was yet to put it back on. She wore a black and white striped shirt with five buttons down the front under it, and the top two were undone from sheer laziness. Over the course of the week and a half that they sat together they had gotten physically closer as well. It felt normal to touch her knees and to feel the soft hairs on her forearms. It felt natural to inch closer so their knees bumped together, his between hers and hers between his. It felt good to tuck her hair behind her ear and finally get a taste of how soft her hair actually was.

"You really didn't have to stay. You could've gone back to class," she told him as his fingers lingered behind her ear.

"And endure class without you? I don't think so," he smiled. She giggled and scratched the back of her head. Adrien found himself digging his fingers in to her hair, running his digits through the silky soft strands. He didn't mean to, but he was so thankful that he did. Her hair was even softer and better than he imagine.

"It can't be that bad without me," she said turning pink as he continued to indulge himself in her short locks.

"You're more important than you think, Mari," he told her in a serious tone. His eyes were focused on where his fingers tangled with her hair, but he didn't dare miss the expression on her face. Her smile stared to fade from the shift in his tone. Her eyes were wide as a subtle amount of shock settled over her face. Adrien Agreste was full of surprises.

"W-well…it's not like I'm vital. I'm just a person, y'know?" She stammered as his hand moved to stroke and cup her cheek. Marinette inhaled sharply and exhaled slowly in attempt to calm herself.

"You're important to me, Mari," he murmured and look down at her lips for a little longer than a second. Marinette turned red and found herself at a loss for words. The way he looked at her was so familiar, so full of love that it almost made her feel guilty for not showing the same affection. She felt nervous yet calm at the same time. He was looking at all of her. Her freckles, her made up lashes, her glossed lips, her red cheeks, and her glistening blue eyes. He wanted all of it.

"I'm sorry about Chloé. I don't know why she bothered you," he spoke.

"She said you talked about me a lot," she informed him as he rubbed her cheek with his thumb. He chuckled.

"I'm surprised Alya didn't tell you that first," he smiled. She smiled back and ran her finger over the top of his knee.

"She told me you mentioned me a couple times," she admitted.

"It was more than a couple. Maybe a couple times each hour," he replied. She giggled.

"I didn't know I was such a popular subject. How do you talk about me for so long?" She asked.

"It's easy. Talking about you is gonna be harder now since Chloé is being rude."

"Oh whatever will you do?" She teased.

He laughed and she laughed along with him. His eyes darted to her lips again, but this time he found himself fixed on her mouth. The same mouth that he had kissed a hundred time without her even knowing it was him. He wanted it again. He found himself leaning closer, craving the contact and re-lacing his fingers in her soft hair. Marinette noticed him approaching and didn't hesitate to lean in as well. She stopped when she met him in the middle, and even pulled back slightly, but he only kept going and brushed his lips against hers. His breath was hot against her bottom lip, and she could feel herself start to melt.

"I'll simply get more of you," he murmured before gently pressing his lips to hers. She shivered as she usually does when he first kisses her, and he briefly bit his lower lip. She was driving him crazy, and he couldn't help but enjoy every moment. He shifted his head to kiss her again, but they both jerked back when another student entered the room. Nino stood at the door way with a mildly shocked expression and his hand holding his elbow. Adrien and Marinette both turned red as the room filled with awakened silence. It was only broken when Nino spoke.

"Well, I can't say that I'm surprised."