Ch 13 the truth
I'm back! As promised here's another update. I've been busy signing up and researching scholarships so I'm not sure how that may effect the update dates. Some updates may or may not take longer I'm not sure. But there will be updates just not in a routinely fashion like I usually do.
Marinette was…Ladybug?! She was Ladybug…That's why she's never around when an Akuma attack happens…That's why she's grown as a person. Last year she was more reserved…this year she was confident and brave. Well of course she's Ladybug, why wouldn't she be confident and brave in herself…It was this change that had caused me to develop my crush for her…Regardless…the discovery of who Ladybug truly was, was so simple I wondered how I hadn't noticed it before. Same bluebell eyes, same pigtails, similar body structure…Marinette is Ladybug…I thought as I paced around my room, I don't even remember the walk home that's how scattered my thoughts were.
My phone started vibrating. I looked to see who was calling…Lila…I let out a sigh I had not known I was holding. Seeing that name on my phone screen calmed my jumpy nerves. I was so relived she was alright, without a second thought I answered.
"Lila…?"
"Nathanael! Are you okay?! Where are you!? We got separated and I couldn't find you. Are you hurt!?" I was being bombarded with worried questions and I felt horrible for making her worried.
"Lila, calm down. I'm fine, I'm at my house….If anything I'm the one who should be asking you all those question. I'm used to akuma attacks you're not….Please tell me you're okay…Are you at home?"
"No, no I'm fine…Don't worry so much about me…"
"I feel like I don't worry enough…" I replied honestly. Lila was a very overprotective friend. In many ways I think she views me as her younger brother; always looking out for me.
"I'm coming over."
"Huh…?"
"Don't worry I'll be over in a bit!" I looked around my room…it was a mess...crumbled pieces of paper littered the floor alongside drawing utensils and randomly thrown clothing.
"No, no, no It's fine you don't ne-" She hung up…
Crap! I have to clean up I can't let her see this mess! I quickly made a mad dash around my room picking up random sketches and papers from off the floor along with any dirty clothes I may have stuffed in little corners. Oh god there's so much to do….I don't even know how much time I have to clean everything! And just like that the 'Marinette is ladybug' revaluation was left forgotten, put on the back burner for now…as of right know the only thing going on in my mind is vacuuming and stuffing random crap in my closet so it looks clean. The only repeating thought I had was Lila was coming over, Lila is coming over! Can't let her see this mess…
Lila hung up the phone and made a mad dash towards Nathanael's house. She could hear her heart beat pound louder and louder as she ran. Gotta make sure Nathanael is okay, Gotta make sure Nathanael is okay. She kept repeating this in her head as she made her way through the streets of Paris, finally arriving at Nathanael's home. She rang the doorbell once then twice then she was just practically raping the doorbell, constantly pressing it non-stop, until she heard the sound of footsteps.
"I'm coming wait!" That was Nathanael's voice…Finally the door was open, reveling the small redhead. There was no sign of distress Lila thought in relief as her eyes scanned the boy's body to make sure he wasn't hurt before launching up and tackling him down with a bear hug.
"Are you hurt?!" She asked…even though she knew he wasn't hurt, but she just needed the reassurance.
"No, no. I'm fine. What about you? Are you hurt?" Nathanael asked with concern as he pulled away from the hug scanning Lila up and down looking for any signs of bruises or cuts.
"Who cares?"
"I care, you idiot." Nathanael replied with a small smile and once again embraced her, and then she hit his shoulder. "Ow!" he cried out.
"That's for making me worry idiot!"
"Sorry." He replied sheepishly. She huffed out.
"I expect more than an apology."
"How about I get you something, whatever it is I'll get it for you." Lila flushed and grinned.
"I want compensation; I think some strawberry macaroons and a few other pastries from Marinette's bakery will do, what you say?" Lila asked.
Nathanael froze when he heard Marinette's name and millions of questions began to whirl in his head, questions like: 'what do I do know', 'do I tell her I know', 'Should I tell anyone…should I tell Lila', 'if I like Ladybug does that mean I still like Marinette', 'should I not even mention to her how I know her secret', 'what do I do when I see her', 'how is this going to change the way I look at her?'
"Nathanael….Nathanael…..Nathanael!"
"Huh…? I'm sorry what…."
"I said that we can go to Marinette's bakery and get some macaroons ….You okay you were kind of spacing out a little bit there….?" Lila asked in concern.
"Oh! No I'm fine I was just…" Should I tell her….No. I need to-I need to confront Marinette first…just not right now… "You know I was just wondering if you would rather go to this real nice restaurant I know of! After all I bet a few messily macaroons won't make up for the scare I gave you….you need a full meal." he said nervously.
"Y-you want to take me out…t-to a restaurant…just the two of us…." Lila asked nervously eyes shining bright with hope.
"Yeah sure."
"W-well what are we waiting for?! I'm starving!" Lila exclaimed happily as she wrapped her arms around Nathanael's arm happily walking off towards the streets of Paris, with Nathanael being dragged along behind her.
In her mind this was a date…well sort of…he was just doing this to make up for scaring her half to death, but still! However, Nathanael only let out an inwards sigh…happy he dodged a bullet…then he realized…he had no idea where he was going to take Lila….Shit! What restaurant should I take her to? It has to be nice…But I don't want to walk all the way and I don't have that much money! I didn't think this through! Oh god…!
The sound of impending demise could be heard resonating within the walls of his room. It was the deathly shriek of the alarm clock. Nathanael groaned. His arm instinctively reached out and hit the snooze button. He curled up in his bed welcoming the comfort of silence as he slipped into a deeper sleep then….Beep Beep Beep…the alarm went off again. There was another groan, a sigh, a grunt, and the shuffling of bed sheets as he reluctantly got up and went to get ready for school.
School…Marinette! His thoughts finally caught up with him. I have to tell her I know! Nathanael thought as he quickly got ready. He rushed out the door; he didn't bother to eat anything.
Finally he made it to school, out of breath. He scanned the incoming students and searched for the two familiar midnight blue pigtails. There! She was walking next to Alya…Nathanael gripped his satchel nervously…I'll tell her later…when she's alone…Nathanael thought as he ducked his head, hoping Marinette didn't see him….he started to have second thoughts…what if Marinette wipes my memory or something like that, will she threaten me, will she get mad…will she stop talking to me if I tell her I know….
"Hey little red! Stop ignoring me!"
"Huh! I'm sorry what…?" Lila puffed out her cheeks in annoyance.
"Jeez…You've been spacing out quite a bit since yesterday…Are you sure okay…? Nothing happened right?" She asked with concern.
"Oh no I'm fine! I just…had to pull an all-nighter you know. With the akuma attack I totally forgot to do my homework." Nathanael lied
"Oh man that sucks! You should have told me I would have let you copy my homework."
"I didn't want to bother you."
"You're never a bother." Nathanael smiled, his anxiety was washed away as if it never existed and his heart beat was strong and steady, only Lila could make him feel better when he was down even if she did it unconsciously.
They entered the classroom and low and behold there stood Kim in a gaudy pink frilly princess dress. They both burst out laughing and laughed even harder when Kim brought out an orange and confessed his love to Alix whose face turned a bright red. Marinette can wait…Nathanael thought…Really though he was just procrastinating.
I took a deep breath to calm my nerves. I had a short minute window of free time to talk to Marinette. It was now or never. Okay…I got this… I took one step then a few more and I finally closed the space between us…I stood near her and I opened my mouth to talk to her...You got this…
"Oh hey, Nathanael." Marinette said acknowledging my presence. I don't got this! Abort! Abort!
"You okay?" Marinette asked with concern. I gulped. Ok….calm down….what would Lila do…Please let me have Lila's confidence….
"I-I'm fine…I just…You see…I'm having trouble in science and I was wondering if you could help me study for the upcoming quiz." I lied….
"Oh like a study session? Yeah sure! I need to study some more to!" Marinette said gleefully. Oh thank god…I did it…! Sort of…
"Cool. How about after school? Will that work for you?"
"Yeah! Let's meet up at my place." Marinette offered.
I just nodded in agreement. I walked back to my seat where Lila was taking a nap and let out a sigh of relief.
"So what were you guys talking about?" I jumped back in surprise. I thought she was sleeping! Did she see…?!
"Oh….just school stuff…" I replied blandly. She raised a suspicious eyebrow.
"What kind of school stuff?"
"Well we're going to have a study session after school. I need some help with science." I replied dryly as I got out my sketchbook and began doodling, I almost missed Lila's eyes widened in despair…she didn't look happy.
"You could have asked me." She murmured…wait was she….
"Lila….Are you jealous?" As soon as those words left my mouth her shoulders stiffen and her cheeks gained a pink hue of embarrassment which she tried to hide by turning her face away. "Oh my god you are jealous…!" I stated out loud a little surprise Lila was the jealous type. I giggled at the notion.
"I-I'm not jealous!" She exclaimed "I'm just mad you didn't think to invite me along, I mean I AM your BEST friend!" She stated. I giggled.
"Well I already made plans maybe next time…" She pouted…
"Don't tell me you still have a crush on her…." I blinked…did I have a crush on her? I mean I did…but then I liked Ladybug….but she IS Ladybug….so…..
"I-I don't know…" I mumbled quietly….Lila stayed quiet before muttering…
"….That's not very reassuring…." I sighed…who knew the truth could make things so complicated.
In the corner of my eye I saw Nathanael walk up towards me. I greeted him and he seemed to flinch. I was worried as to why he did that so I asked if he was okay. He seemed very fidgety. Finally he seemed to have composed himself and he asked me if I could join him in a study session. I obviously agreed, right now my grades were slipping again. With me being Ladybug it's very hard to devote time to school and studying...
"Cool. How about after school? Will that work for you?" Nathanael asked politely, he was always rather polite it was a good trait I liked in him.
"Yeah! Let's meet up at my place." I offered.
He just nodded in agreement with a small smile and made his way back towards his seat where Lila was currently napping…I slightly frowned…Lila…Well she was….she wasn't the best person….I really hope she isn't influencing Nathanael…They been spending quite a lot of time together…
"Hey Marinette! What was all that about?" I jumped back in surprise. It was Alya.
"What was what?" I asked confused.
"What were you and Nathanael talking about?"
"Oh! He just wanted to know if we could study together." Alya smirked wolfishly.
"Oh…so like a date?" she asked coyly. I flushed…I didn't think of Nathanael that way.
"No! You got it all wrong! Remember I like Adrien." I said.
"Girl, listen to me. You've been after Adrien since the beginning of school and you haven't made ANY progress…maybe it's time to think of other options. I'm not saying give up! I'm just saying maybe Adrien doesn't want a relationship right now…or maybe he isn't the one for you." Alya explained.
I couldn't comprehend what she was saying. Give up on the love of my life?! There's no way!
"You don't know that!" I stated loudly. Alya held her hands up in mock surrender.
"Look I'm just saying Nathanael's a decent guy and he used to have a crush on you, maybe he still does…If things don't work out with Adrien at least give Nathanael a chance…"
"Hmm….I guess..." I mumbled quietly though I didn't really mean it.
"But you may wanna hurry because I think Lila's trying to state her claim on him."
"Huh? Lila?"
I asked in surprise and stole a quick look behind to find Nathanael and Lila casually talking. Nathanael was laughing about something and Lila seemed very abash by it her cheeks a rosy red, she was pouting…No way! Where they a thing?! Nathanael and Lila!? That's can't be right…Lila can't be the girl Nathanael ends up with…!
"They can't be a thing! Lila isn't right for Nathanael!" I stated.
"Oh is someone jealous..?~" Alya teased.
"N-no It's just…I don't know I don't think Lila is a good influence on Nathanael….I mean just a while ago she was all over Adrien and now she's moved on?! That's very fickle and she's a liar!" I stated trying to justify my feelings.
"I see where you're coming from….But Lila has changed very quickly ever since she started hanging out with Nathanael. If anything I say he's a good influence on her. She still has her quirks and she doesn't really talk to anyone…but I do see her talk with Rose and Juleka from time to time. Although….when they talk it seems too formal…and polite…I think Nathanael's the only person she's really close to. I mean…Anywhere Nathanael goes she wants to go to…Haha it's kind of funny she's like a lost puppy dog…" Alya explained.
"I don't know, Alya, I feel like she's just lying to him…Well in any case I could ask him during our study session…" I stated….
"Oh! I almost forgot what I came to show you. Look at this! Jagged Stone released a teaser for his new album called Roses and Thorn bushes!" Alya said in an ecstatic voice.
"Oh wow really!" I exclaimed as I leaned over to look at Alya's phone.
that's it for now I hope you enjoyed this new chapter. The plot (whatever the plot is) is thickening. To be honest the plot is really blurry oh well I'm just gonna wing it. Thank you for your reviews! They make e feel all giddy inside! I'll see you in my next update.