Chapter 11: oh no

"Adrienne!"

The sound of his friends greeting him instantly made him feel better. He smiled and waved as he approached the table Nino, Alya, and Marinette were sitting at outside the frozen yogurt shop. They're cups were empty and that filled him with relief. Maybe they wouldn't make him get a cup of his own.

"H-hey guys," he stuttered a little. Mostly because he was still a bit tired, but also because Marinette was grinning so widely at him.

"Where have you been, dude? We've been worried about you," Nino asked as he took a seat at the table.

"Oh, um…I had a stomach ache this morning and Nathalie insisted I stayed home," he told them.

"Aw, that's too bad. How are you feeling now?" Alya inquired.

"Better…but I don't want any ice cream or anything," he said.

"That's okay, we totally understand," Nino assured him. He nodded and couldn't resist looking over at Marinette. Her blue eyes darted down to her cup and her cheeks were pink. It was pretty obvious she had been staring…

"What did I miss at school today?" Adrien asked.

"Not much really. It was a good day to miss because pretty much nothing happened," Nino answered.

"That's good," Adrien nodded. He looked at Marinette again. She looked at her cup. It was…suddenly awkwardly silent.

"Um-"

"Well! Would you look at the time! I need to skedaddle!" Alya announced looking down at her bare wrist as if she was checking a watch.

"Alya, you said you were free-"

"Sorry Mar, but I totally forgot about this important thing I have," Alya interrupted.

"Now that you mention it. I need to skedaddle too!" Nino said standing up. Alya stood up with him.

"So sorry to bail on you guys. And just when Adrienne got here," Alya said with false pity. Marinette glared at her best friend. Adrien was confused.

"It's not very fair to Adrienne…"

Oh no.

"Mari! Why don't you hang out with Adrienne for a little while since she just got here?" Nino suggested.

Adrien cringed at the word "she". He was starting to notice how much he fucking hated it. At least when it was used referring to him. Mari blushed.

"Um…s-sure. I guess," she muttered and stared down at her empty bowl.

"Wonderful! Nino and I will get the fuck out of here and you two can enjoy each other's company!" Alya grinned and tugged on Nino's arm. Before Adrien or Marinette could respond the two had ran off and out of sight leaving them alone. They looked at each other and blushed before looking away. This was gonna be difficult.

Marinette mindlessly scrapped her spoon against her empty bowl. She was totally gonna kick Alya's ass the next time she saw her. The air was thick and heavy with discomfort and just…plain awkwardness. What if Nath told Adrienne she liked her? What if she figured it out by herself because Marinette is so fucking obvious? What if she had straight up accidentally told it to her face without realizing it? Damn that sounded like something she would do. Mari was so caught up in her panic that she barely realized Adrienne had said something. She looked up.

"What was that?" She asked.

"Um…I-I said I really like your new haircut," Adrienne spoke shyly. Mari blinked and then turned bright red.

"Oh, t-thank you! It was last minute really, but I like it quite a bit," she said.

"You're…really brave for doing that. I could never cut my hair shorter than my shoulders. My dad would totally freak," the blond replied looking at her hands as she fiddled with her bracelets.

Marinette took her time to appreciate the golden waves cascading down the side of Adrienne's face. It was curly and shiny and healthy. She bet it smelled good too. If only she could reach out and gently comb her fingers through those gorgeous locks. It went so perfectly with her skin and her fringe swept over her face in such an angelic way. Mari had to blink to break the spell Adrienne always managed to put her under. Damn she was fucking gay.

"Your hair is…"

Gorgeous? Devine? Pristine?

"…neat."

Neat.

"A-and I think it looks really good long, but if you want it short hair grows back so…it's not that big of a deal," she finished. Way to go Mari.

"I guess you have a point, but my dad doesn't know I'm…a-and I haven't told him so if I cut my hair he might suspect…" Adrienne told her.

"Oh, right…do you want to cut your hair short?" She asked. The blond shrugged.

"Maybe. I'm not sure what I want these days…"

His head was spinning in circles. Why did chopping off all his hair sound so attractive to him? As if shedding even half of his length would make him that much happier? It was so strange to think about, but now it was obvious. He wanted to cut it much shorter than half.

"I think you would look very cute with short hair," Marinette said cheerfully. Adrien returned his attention to her and smiled.

She was amazing. Her eyes sparkled like jewels and her cheeks were so flushed like a peach. Everything about her screamed sweet from her candy blue eyes to her sugary smile. He could feel himself want to kiss her again. If she was any closer he probably would if he lost track of himself.

"Thanks, Mari. That's very…n-nice," he stuttered as she shifted her chair closer. She smelled like caramel.

"Y'know…Nathanael was talking to me the other day," she said. Adrien's eyes widened. Oh no.

"W-what did he say?"

"He told me that he likes me," she told him. Shit. His felt face heat up.

"W-wow! Um, what did you say?" He asked.

Mari paused for a moment to take a moment to watch Adrienne's body language. She was obviously nervous, and stiff with wide eyes. She was clutching the sides of the chair and slightly leaning away from her. Her leg was bouncing and restless, but her gaze was locked on Mari.

"I told him I like someone else," she answered simply. Adrien let out a deep breath he wasn't aware of holding.

"Hopefully he took it ok-"

"It was kind of disappointing if I'm gonna be honest. Him telling me he likes me," she interrupted. Adrien blinked.

"Uh…why?" He was on edge again. Mari leaned her elbow on the table and sighed.

"Well…you told me that about that misunderstanding, remember?"

"Y-yeah…we like totally separate girls," he stuttered. Mari bit her lip. Was the little hint Nath gave her worth the risk? She looked back to Adrien. He was leaning closer now in anticipation.

"When he confessed it meant that you don't like me…and that was really disappointing," she said.

Adrien froze. Holy shit. Did that mean she wants him to like her? Does she like him too? If she liked him back then who was this other girl who liked him? What was even going on?

"U-um…"

"Because if you did like me I'd actually be really happy about that," she continued. She…wait…

"And in all honesty when I told Nathanael I like someone else I was talking about you."

Adrien's eyes widened. Marinette…likes him. She likes him. She was telling him that she likes him. This was not a drill.

"Mari…" was all he could say. She blushed. All of her previous confidence seemed to melt away.

"I-I mean…um…shit. I-I'm sor-"

Marinette couldn't finish her sentence because Adrien's lips were suddenly planted over hers. He didn't know what he was doing. All he knew was that it felt so right to do it. It felt better than kissing Ladybug the other night. It felt better than the expensive massages his father booked for his birthdays. It felt better than wearing a sports bra. She felt better than anything and everything in the world.

When he pulled away her eyes were wide with shock. He still took a little while to realize what he had done, and then the panic started to set in. Adrien kissed Marinette…holy shit. He quickly stood up from his chair. His face was beat red.

"Uh I-I have to go," he announced suddenly.

"What?" Mari asked.

"Uh home. I gotta go," he repeated and pushed his chair in.

"I'll see you later…bye!" He called as he started to run away. Mari watched him run off in to the street and then watched his usual limo follow him.

"Bye…"