Chapter 12: hoping
"Chat Noir can't be in love with me and not Ladybug. That's absurd!" Marinette grumbled for the tenth time this morning as she pulled on her sweatshirt. Once again she was tired and didn't feel like wearing a bra.
"You've already said that," Tikki replied.
"Because it's true! T-there's got to be some explanation as to why he was shouting my name instead of Ladybug."
"It could've been that he was really tired. He was really bubbly, and you know he gets that way when patrol goes too late," the Kwami pointed out.
"Even when he's tired he wouldn't just randomly blurt my name. He was probably thinking about me…a-and not in the way I'd prefer him to think!" She groaned and quickly slipped on her usual pink capris. Of course she was running late, why wasn't the entire world trying to fuck her up right now? She slipped on a pair of grey sneakers and tripped as she made her way to her door. It actually probably was.
Marinette bursted in to the classroom just as the bell rung. Every set of eyes were on hers, but for some reason she instantly connected with the green ones that sat in the front. She blushed and looked away as she made her way to her own seat. Adrien also liked Marinette. She remembered him telling Ladybug that. If only he and Chat Noir would trade places so that he was in love with her and Chat merely liked her. That would be a dream.
"Marinette and Adrien…" the teacher announced. She popped her head up to see what she was saying, but she only continued to read a list of students names. Why had she said their names? What were they doing? She leaned down and tapped Adrien's shoulder, almost holding her breath as he leaned back and looked at her. Those damn green eyes would be the death of her.
"What are we doing? Why did she say our names?" She whispered. Adrien couldn't help but smile. She must've been tired. He liked it when she was tired.
"We're doing a book report together. She was announcing partners," he informed her. Marinette nodded and examined the board closely while Adrien's eyes burned in the side of her head. His brain was locked on the softness of her lips again, and the cute noises that could spill from them. He shouldn't have been thinking of it but damn did he want to kiss her again. Not as Chat Noir.
"Okay, class. You have about a week to read ten chapters and present a report of what you read. You and your partner will just read off a report. There will be no other way to present it like last time-" the class groaned.
"Yes yes, I know a report is a lot less fun than putting on plays and reading poems. Remember this is a literature class and not a speech class," Bustier reminded them.
"Now discuss and make plans with your partner. I won't be giving you class time for this," she finished before letting the kids do what they needed.
"So how do you wanna do this?" Marinette asked looking back at Adrien. He blinked.
"Huh?" He had been too focused on her to hear the teachers instructions.
"For the report. Do you want to read it together? Or we could read each chapter separately and then meet up to discuss it and work out the report as we read the chapters. Or we could read it all and start the report like that. What do you think?" She reiterated.
"Oh um…I don't mind reading together," he said. His brain couldn't think of anything better to say. He was hypnotized by her.
"Okay, do you wanna meet up at my house or yours?" She continued. Oh god if he was to go in to her room again he definitely wouldn't be able to focus.
"I-I think it would be better at my house. Uh, N-Nathalie thinks I'm depressed so it would be reassuring to her if she saw I had at least one friend," he ended with a nervous laugh. Why was he stuttering? Marinette giggled. He wanted to die.
"Okay. I'll make sure to be extra friendly," she said with a wink. Wow, she wasn't stuttering. And was she flirting with him? Marinette needed to give herself a pat on the back for making some fucking progress. He blushed a little and laughed nervously again.
"How about we start today?" She suggested. He nodded.
"Yeah. That sounds good."
Marinette looked up at the gates that caged the Agreste mansion. She had only been here one other time to drop off a present for his birthday last year. She wondered if he still had it, or if he still thought it was from his father. It didn't bother her that the credit went to his father instead of her because he looked so happy thinking it was from Gabriel. She didn't have the heart to ruin that no matter how much she liked him.
The girl took a deep breath and cautiously tapped the button next to the front door. A camera popped out of the wall and was shoved directly in the Marinette's face. She yelped and held her book in front of her face. When she peeked over the papers she blinked and felt relieved that it had remained still before hitting her. She would never get used to that.
"Who are you? What is your business here?" A voice inquired.
"Um…I-I'm A-Adrien's classmate, and w-we're working on a project together," she stuttered and pointed to the title of the book.
"Uh, my name is Marin-"
"Come in," the voice interrupted and shot back inside the wall. The gates opened up and startled Marinette.
"Get ahold of yourself, girl. It's just a gate," she muttered to herself. She took another deep breath and stepped in to the courtyard. When she got up to the front door she paused and had to take yet another deep breath.
"Don't freak out. We're only studying," she told herself and reached out to knock on the door. She flinched when it opened to see and tall and clean looking woman with dark hair and a stern glare.
"Welcome. Adrien is in his room. I'll tell him you're here," she spoke coldly. Marinette nodded.
"T-thank you," she stuttered again.
"You can wait inside," she said stepping aside to let her in. Marinette peered inside curiously at the large home and took a careful step inside. The first thing she noticed was how empty and cold it was. It felt as if the air conditioning had been blasting all day. At least she wore a sweatshirt, but not much underneath it.
"Adrien will be with you shortly," she said as she made her way up the marble staircase.
"Thanks," Marinette squeaked as she watched her disappear from her sight.
The girl stood awkwardly by herself in the middle of the lobby. She wondered just how big this mansion was, and just how many rooms there was. Although she was familiar with Adrien's room, she had no idea how to find it from the inside. All she knew was that he had a lot of windows and a ridiculously ginormous room. What does a person do with all that space? A king sized bed, a couch with a TV, four freaking computer monitors, a fucking skating ramp on either side of his door, and let's not forget the fucking library on the second fucking floor. The space he had made her room look tiny, and she had a considerably large room compared to others which she was grateful for. But Jesus Christ his room was so big. Did he even use half the stuff he has in there? She knows he uses his computer to look at the Ladyblog and such and that he uses his bed to sleep (among other things), but everything seemed like there was no way one person could used it regularly. Like a fucking skating ramp? Seriously? She doubted he even owned a skateboard. Maybe it was just for decoration, or perhaps a way to suck some money from his dad. Or maybe-
"Marinette! You're here," Adrien beamed from the top of the stairs. Mari was snapped out of her thoughts and focused on the blond at the top of the stairs. She blinked and smiled back.
"Uh, y-yeah…I'm here," she replied. He jogged down the stairs and approached her.
"Have you been here long? I hate to leave you waiting," he spoke.
"Oh, no! I-I'm fine I wasn't waiting too long," she assured him. He grinned.
"That's good. I'm glad Nathalie didn't turn you away. She's can be a little…bitchy," he said glancing over at the assistant who was making her way down the stairs. Marinette giggled.
"No, she was fine. I brought my book, are you ready to get started?" She asked holding up the piece of literature in her hand. He nodded.
"Yup. I have mine too, but it's in my room. You don't mind us studying in there, right?" He questioned. She shook her head.
"I don't mind," she replied politely. Wait, in his room? Alone? With Adrien Agreste? As in just the two of them? She didn't think about that until after she answered.
"Great. Let's go," he grabbed her hand and lead her back up the stairs.
Holy shit holy shit holy shit he was holding her hand. He's holding her fucking hand. Marinette felt like she couldn't breath. He was holding her hand and leading him to his (empty) room this felt like it was out of a romance novel. Of course she's been in his room with him alone before, but he didn't know it was actually her. What if he tried to kiss her? Marinette? Not Ladybug. What if he really liked her? Did he? She couldn't tell. Maybe he was lying to Ladybug, or maybe it was just a fleeting thought. He could not like her at all. She really hoped that wasn't the case.
