Chapter 11: stupid cat

Marinette glared at her desk. She was burning up under her scarf, but if she took it off she would be even more uncomfortable. Thankfully her interest in fashion covered up the real reason she was wearing a scarf in such warm weather. She told everyone she liked the infinity scarf trend and wanted to try it out, but in reality she was covering all of the red and purple splotches up and down the side of her neck. If Alya saw that she'd freak out, and then Mari would have to lie to satiate her thirst for knowledge and gossip.

That stupid cat. Why did she let him do that? It was bad enough that she let him kiss her. Why couldn't she just push him away and say no? It was killing her brain how he made her so weak just by standing so close to her. He was…intoxicating, and it drove her crazy that he could paralyze her just by whispering in her ear. That stupid…stupid cat. She didn't care how nice it felt when he kissed her. She didn't care how warm and gentle his lips were, or how much hotter his mouth was against her neck. His careful teeth pulling at her bottom lip, or his hands drifting down her hips and the small of her back. How wild and needy his eyes looked when he pulled back, only to dive back in for more…

It was only when Alya nudged her did she realize the bell had rung and the day was over. She cursed herself for dozing off about that dumb cat and quickly gathered her stuff to join Alya outside. Despite the minimum amount of participation she put in to class, Marinette felt exhausted. She didn't even stay up that late last night. Of course she would've preferred to go to bed earlier, but her hands were kinda full. It took her a moment for her to notice what Alya was talking about and actually listen once.

"…like Nino was on the phone with him and he didn't even suspect I was listening in on them. How stealthy is that?"

"I'm sorry…what?" Marinette asked. She was completely lost. Alya crossed her arms.

"C'mon, girl, wake up. What's going on up there?" She asked tapping her temple. Mari winced and then shrugged.

"I got a lot on my mind," she said vaguely.

"Apparently, I've been talking about Adrien the whole time and haven't even noticed," she sassed. Mari blinked at her with wide eyes.

"Adrien? What were you saying?" She questioned desperately. Alya laughed.

"Mari, you're so cute. I was just updating you on that secret crush thing," she winked. Mari furrowed her brow.

"Huh?"

"His secret crush! The one I told you about a few days ago?"

"Oh, that one. I thought we decided it was just gossip."

"You decided it was gossip, but I didn't. I did some digging," she told her. Marinette frowned.

"C'mon, Alya leave the poor guy alone."

"It wasn't me. Nino did it," she said.

"Huh?"

Alya rolled her eyes.

"I was just telling you about this. Just a couple days ago I was at Nino's house and he called Adrien to ask him about it," she informed her.

"What? How did you talk him in to that?"

"Turns out he was pretty curious about it too, except he didn't want to annoy Adrien with questions. Fortunately I was there to push him to do it, and oh my god we hit the jackpot," she grinned. Mari lifted a skeptical eyebrow.

"Are you sure he wasn't lying to get you two off his back?"

"He was at first. Like he was so stubborn and so he decided to make up some one to throw me off his trail because he didn't know I was listening. He thought he was just talking to Nino. Ha! I'm so clever."

"Okay…?"

"Anyways! He was lying at first, but oh my god at the end he totally confessed to liking someone," she said. Marinette's eyes lit up.

"Really? Did he say who?" She asked. Alya shook her head.

"Unfortunately the name is still unavailable, but I set Nino on him to figure it out. Oh my gosh, Mari you should've been there he sounded so sincere. Like this girl has totally invaded his mind! And I think there's a good chance it's you," she smiled poking Mari's nose.

"What? Why?"

"He said that she had blue eyes and dark hair. Who else do you know that has blue eyes and dark hair?" Alya challenged.

"Maybe it's someone outside of class. Someone we don't know. Honestly, Alya I doubt it's me. I mean…he probably just sees me as a friend," she protested. Alya shook her head.

"Nu-uh girl. If I wasn't so sure I wouldn't be investigating so much. Trust me. Just give me a while and I'll be able to lure it out of him," she said with confidence. Marinette sighed.

"Sure. Whatever you say," she muttered.

"Okay, well I gotta get going. Nino is waiting for me," Alya announced after checking her phone.

"Nino? Why is he waiting for you?" Marinette inquired.

"We're gonna hang out and do some more investigation," she replied with a smile a little too big.

"Oh okay…have fun."

"Thanks, Mari. I'll see you tomorrow," Alya said and gave her a quick hug.

She waved as she ran off. Marinette waved back and watched her as she approached Nino. He was just walking out of the school with Adrien by his side as usual. As Alya approached them his green eyes settled over Marinette. He smiled to himself when he noticed the scarf around her neck and ignored the two friends greeting each other next to him. She was checking her phone before putting it away and walking off in the direction of her house. Adrien quickly said goodbye to Nino and Alya before going off to catch up with her.

"Have you noticed how much Adrien's been paying attention to Marinette lately?" Alya asked Nino.

"Huh?"

"Adrien and Marinette," she repeated. Nino thought for a moment and shrugged.

"I dunno. What do you mean?"

"Like that one time they were both late and walked in to class together, or just a couple days ago he was talking to her and he was like completely focused on her. Now he's walking with her," she told him.

"Really?" He questioned. Alya nodded and pointed over at Adrien and Marinette walking side by side.

Once he had caught up to her Marinette was pleasantly surprised to to see him. She smiled the moment she saw him and had completely forgotten about Chat Noir who was previously invading her thoughts. She was thankful to have someone to distract her thoughts, but she was also just happy Adrien was talking to her.

"Hey, what's up?" He greeted with a smile.

"Oh, I-I'm just walking home," she replied.

"That's nice. Do you live far?" He asked. She shook her head.

"No, I live in the patisserie nearby," she told him.

"Oh right, your parents are bakers, correct?"

"Yup." She nodded. His smile widened before glancing down at her scarf. It was woven and cream colored. The texture and shade went excellent with her skin and burgundy top.

"Nice scarf," he said. Marinette blushed and looked down at the garment.

"O-oh thanks. I've had it for ages. I think it's from one of your dad's older lines," she responded.

"Can I?" He asked reaching out to feel it. Marinette hesitated but nodded. Adrien smiled and touched the soft fabric. He wasn't really interested in the texture. What he really wanted was to see the marks he had left last night. It was a shame she covered them up so well.

"Very soft. I don't really pay much attention to my dad's stuff, but I think I remember modeling this one time," he spoke as he continued to search with his eyes.

"I-I remember that issue. It looked amazing on you," she blushed even deeper and failed to realize what he was doing.

It got to the point where Adrien's impatience got the best of him and he gently pushed the fabric to the side for a clear view of her neck. Marinette's face turned bright red as she felt her neck become exposed, and saw where his eyes were pointed. Adrien was too focused on examining the marks on her skin to notice her horrified expression. He tilted his head as he looked a little closer and gently ran his finger over the purple and red skin. Marinette shivered and he couldn't hold back a smile.

"Nice," was all he said as he pulled his hand away.

"I-it's not w-what you think," she stuttered desperately. He laughed.

"It's okay. I won't tell anyone, although I am kinda curious who left it."

"N-no one! Uh…it was…from my vacuum cleaner," she lied turning an even brighter shade of red. Adrien raised a brow, a little disappointed she lied.

"Oh?"

"Y-yeah. We got a new one, a-and I was trying to figure out how to use it," she continued. Adrien took his time to really take in her reaction. Yes, it was disappointing that she lied about who did it, but everything else satisfied him enough to smile at her.

"You must be a really clumsy girl to get so many…bruises from a vacuum cleaner," he teased. Marinette laughed nervously.

"Y-yeah, that's me. Clumsy Marinette," she said. Adrien noticed his chauffeur pulling up to the side of the school and frowned.

"Sorry, but I gotta get going. It was nice talking to you," he told her.

"Oh, yeah. I-it was nice talking to you too," she grinned. He patted her shoulder and hesitated.

"One thing, Marinette. Next time just say you don't want to tell me instead of lying, okay?" He spoke. Marinette wore a guilty expression and furrowed her brow.

"Um…okay," she murmured. He smiled and winked at her before walking off leaving her embarrassed and red faced. So far, she was just where he wanted her.