Be prepared for a short chapter. My apologies for it not being as long as the others (^_^;)
Apparently neither Marinette nor Adrien were good at hiding their new relationship status. Not only did Nino and Alya find out, but their entire class heard rumor. This was all courtesy of the over-excited dark-haired girl with glasses that shouted "I knew you two would get together sooner or later!"
Everyone in the lunch room froze and moved their gazes to the pair that Alya referenced.
"S-shhhh!" Marinette waved her hand in a flustered manner at her loud friend. Her face went scarlet red as she felt the weight of what seemed like a hundred stares on her. Not even the boy who was well accustomed to being observed could hold his own against the news outbreak.
"We told you not to overreact!" Adrien said, defeated with the outcome of this. He pressed his hands against his face with his elbows planted on the table top.
Alya looked around at the crowd she had gathered together and sweatdropped nervously. "Oh… Uh, sorry about that," she apologized to the couple and continued with "nothing to see here, everyone! Move along!"
Despite her arm movements to move everyone away, they all came closer in awe.
"Is that true?"
"Adrien Agreste is off the market?"
"How long has this been going on?"
A montage of questions and comments hurdled at the two but they silenced when one topped them off.
"How could you do this to me, Adrikins?! This has to be some sort of joke! There's no way that someone like you could date someone like her!" Chloe shouted from across the room.
Adrien heaved out a long sigh. "Chloe, you are nothing more than my childhood friend. I'm sorry you're so upset about this, but I really care about Marinette."
"Just forget about her! I'm so much better! I-"
"Can't even compare to one of the good qualities that Marinette has," Adrien finished her sentence for her. "Don't downgrade her because of your own social standing. It's not even yours. You're just hiding behind your daddy. Marinette on the other hand does things for herself. Plus, she doesn't start shooting people down when she sees someone in the way of something she wants."
The atmosphere gradually got a heavy feeling to it as Adrien snapped. With the gentlemen that he is, even his snapping point has its boundaries. Chloe on the other hand didn't even think that he would go so far as to directly insult her, nonetheless in front of a large crowd. The model stood up and placed a hand on Marinette's shoulder.
Marinette flinched slightly on contact and moved her eyes up to see him. "Adrien…?" She asked quiet enough for only his ears. There was some worry in her voice, hoping that he wouldn't get so worked up over her that he would become akumatized.
"I have power too, you know. I'm just not as selfish as you to use it." With that, Adrien took Marinette by the hand and escorted her away from the now defeated queen B., ignoring the collage of murmurs between everyone.
"Hey… Adrien…" Marinette whispered in the boy's ear once they were finally out of ear and eye shot of the rest.
Adrien stopped walking and leaned his back against a column, letting out a long sigh. "I won't stand for it." His tone was much softer at this point. He didn't want to freak out. And definitely not in front of Marinette. He looked at his hand that was still wrapped around hers. He gave it a small squeeze and rubbed his thumb over the back.
"Don't worry… Really. I'm well used to Chloe's unnecessary commentary."
"You shouldn't be," Adrien stopped her. "That's not a good thing to be used to. You're my princess, my lady, and Paris' favorite hero. No one should talk so badly about you."
Marinette felt heat rise to her cheeks at the sound of that and looked into his eyes, speechless. Self-esteem wasn't quite in her vocabulary. She always saw herself as clumsy and quirky, though she didn't believe in what Chloe had to say about her. But hearing all of that praise from Adrien gave her a new perspective.
With a slow movement, Adrien brought one of her hands up with his and kissed the top of it. "I need to cool off some. I'll be back before the end of the day. I promise."
Marinette nodded slowly and looked down at the ground before finding herself embracing him with a hug. "Don't stay out too long, kitty," she whispered softly to him as he transformed himself into Chat Noir. She stood there for a few seconds after he extended himself out of sight with his staff.
Chat Noir propelled himself off of the school's premises and onto a lonely roof where he rested up against a chimney. He pushed a hand through his hair with a sigh, wanting to clear his mind. He looked down at the scarf around his neck that was made by his beloved. He gripped it with his hand tightly. "She can't keep acting like this. I won't let her say those things about Marinette. I won't."
"You know what you have to do, don't you?"
A grin spread across the white cat's face "Of course. And with your help, I'll accomplish it."
"Go now and put the diva in her place, Chat Blanc."
And here's another cliffhanger! What will happen next, no one knows! Not even me~ (seriously, that's the fun thing about writing. you start with one thing and find yourself going down an unexpected path)