A/N: Hey! Sorry for the late update.:) But I am finally on break and will try my best to update every day –or even twice a day-. But I cannot promise.
Enjoy!
"Kid, if you like her, why don't you just tell her?" Plagg looked at Adrien as the boy tried to study. Plagg noticed Adrien's reaction when Marinette left with Luka. He could tell the model was uncomfortable. He'd even say a little jealous.
Adrien tapped his pencil on the desk, then looked over his kwami. "Plagg, I do-"
"Don't start again." Plagg rolled his eyes. He sighed, then sat on Adrien's book. "Listen, try to think about what you feel for her. Without immediately going for the She's just a friend. Think what you really feel when you're around her."
Adrien raised his eyebrows a bit, surprised. "I don't think I've ever heard you give me good advice in love." He looked back over his book, slightly pushing the kwami away from the page.
Plagg shrugged, "Hey, I care about you. I don't like love talk, because I've never loved anything other than cheese." Plagg said in a dreamy way, making Adrien roll his eyes a bit. "Anyways, it doesn't mean I don't care about you when I complain you annoy me with your love life." The kwami finished, then went to grab some cheese.
Adrien frowned a bit, looking over the Marinette lucky charm. He always had it with him. It was the first gift he got from a friend. A very genuine one. And he valued it a lot. Grabbing it, Adrien thought a bit.
Could he really like Marinette?
"Don't you think you've been a bit harsh with Cat Noir today?" Tikki looked at Marinette as she lay on the bed. The blue haired girl had a pack of ice on her ankle. It got slightly swollen, but it felt better than after the battle.
Marinette sighed, looking away. She knew Tikki was right. She accused Cat Noir, hurt him by doubting him. "I know I was wrong. I am going to apologize." Marinette murmured, then stared at the ceiling. "Is just…I don't know. Adrien has been acting weird around me these past days. It seems like he knows I love him…"
Tikki sighed a bit. Oh, dear, he knows…because you told him. But she couldn't tell her. "I am sure you're just overthinking. Maybe Adrien is just curious…after all, you and Luka are pretty close. I would've thought you're together, too." Tikki sat on Marinette's head. "Relax, Marinette." The girl smiled then closed her eyes.
Tikki was right, she was probably overthinking.
Marinette sat at her desk, doodling something in her sketchbook. She has been working on her designs between breaks. Being Ladybug didn't allow her to design as much as she'd like to; and now with the new responsibility of being the guardian, she had even less time in her hands. She squinted her eyes a bit as she focused on not messing the lines. But the hand slammed on her desk made her flinch and mess up. Marinette groaned, frustrated. She didn't even have to look to know who it was.
"What, Chloe?" The girl looked for her eraser, not even bothering to look up at the blonde. She heard a puff.
"Are you okay, Dupain-Cheng?" Marinette's eyebrows rose as she looked up at Chloe finally. The blonde had her arms over her chest, a frown on her face as she studied Marinette.
"Since when do you care?" Marinette asked, tilting her head. She saw Chloe caught off guard with this question.
"I, um...I don't! But I am surprised you haven't been mean with me in a while." Chloe frowned again. Marinette rolled her eyes. Jesus, this girl. She has never been mean to Chloe...unless Chloe provoked her, of course. But with everything going on, Marinette really was not in the mood of answering Chloe's bitchy remarks. She decided ignoring Chloe...which clearly bothered the spoiled girl.
Seeing that Chloe was still there, Marinette sighed. "If I tell you to get lost...are you going to leave me alone?" Marinette looked at Chloe, clearly bored. Chloe's lips parted. As much as Marinette annoyed her, she had her fun bickering with her. And now, when Marinette was so uninterested, she felt weird.
Before Chloe could open her mouth to answer, they both heard a male voice coming from behind Chloe. "Chloe, leave Marinette alone. Don't you see she's trying to work on something?"
Adrien. Marinette blushed a bit, looking down. Chloe looked at Adrien, then sighed. "Fine, Adrikins. I was just making sure this loser is okay." She rolled her eyes, walking past him. Adrien shook his head, then sat down next to Marinette.
"Thanks, Adrien." She whispered, erasing the messed line. She could feel his eyes on her, making her cheeks red. Thankfully, her hair covered her face. Yes, she had her hair down now. She finally gave up on her everyday pigtails and tried out different styles. From puns to ponytails to half up, half down to simply down.
Adrien just smiled, placing a hand on her shoulder. He felt her tense, but he kept the hand there. "No worries...the design is very beautiful." He complimented, watching the unfinished dress Marinette was drawing.
"Oh, thanks." She answered, smiling.
"How's your site going?" He asked, moving the hand away from her shoulder. Marinette sighed a bit, then shrugged. She leaned to trace the line again, finally getting it the way she wished.
"Alright, I guess...but still not done with it." Marinette laced the pencil down, biting her lip, "I am not even sure I am going to launch it.."
Adrien frowned a bit, "What? Why not, Marinette? "
"I...I am not sure. I just feel like my designs are not good enough and nobody will like them." Marinette looked over her hands, starting to play with one of her rings.
Adrien shook his head. "No, that's not true...look at me..." He whispered, moving a finger to her chin, turning her head to look at him. Her blue eyes were wide, her cheeks turning red at his touch. Adrien tried his best to focus and not get lost in her beautiful eyes. "You're extremely talented. My father told you this...hell, you even impressed Audrey, one of the harshest fashion critics! Don't be so hard on yourself." He smiled a bit.
Marinette smiled back, a genuine smile. "Thank you, Adrien." She whispered.
Adrien nodded, then tilted his head. "I can show my father some of your designs...he has been talking about needing a new vision for the brand. I am sure he'll pick you for his next collection." Marinette's eyes widened and she frantically started shaking her head.
"No, no, no! Adrien, please, don't talk with your father about this!" Marinette looked horrified at the thought. "Please, I...I appreciate you wanting to help me. I really do. But...I just, I...I am not ready! My designs are not good enough to be seen by him! Besides, if I am ever going to get discovered, I want to be because I worked to have my name known by others, not because your father helped me after you talked with him."
Adrien frowned a bit, "Well, my father is not the type to help others or do anyone a favor..." He trailed off, then sighed. "But fine, if that's what you wish."
Marinette smiled, "Thanks...for everything."
"Come in." Gabriel said loud enough to be heard, swiping on his tablet, examining every single detail in his design.
Adrien walked inside his father's office. "Hello, father...can we talk a bit?"
"Any problem, Adrien?" He asked his son, not looking at him. "Also, I hope you know you have fencing in 20 minutes." He continued, this time his eyes fixing his son.
Adrien sighed, "I know, father. It won't be long." Gabriel sighed, then nodded. Adrien smiled a bit. "Do you remember my friend Marinette, right?"
"Ms. Dupain-Cheng? Yes, how can I forget her." Gabriel kept looking at the design on his tablet.
"Well...you know how talented she is...remember when you talked about needing a new vision for your brand?" Gabriel looked at his son with one eyebrow raised.
"Let me guess, you want me to talk to her and have her design some clothes for my new collection." Gabriel's expression showed no emotion.
Adrien shrugged a bit, smiling, awkward. "I mean...she is talented. She has been struggling to start her site with designs for a while. She has barely any confidence, which is sad, because she-"
Before he could finish, Gabriel cut him off. "Fine. I am going to talk with Ms. Dupain-Cheng about it. Nathalie will take care of it." Gabriel looked past his son at his assistant. She just nodded, then walked away.
Adrien looked surprised. He thought his father would simply reject his idea. Seeing his son's surprised expression, Gabriel sighed. "I've had my eyes set on her for a while, son. Since she refused leaving Paris with Audrey, actually. She is a talented girl for her age."
"Thank you, father!"
"No need to thank me. I am not doing this as a favor for your little girlfriend." He looked back at his tablet. Adrien blushed madly, rubbing the back of his head.
"She is just a friend..." He said, looking away. He sighed, "I need to go. Thank you again, father." He turned around, about to leave.
Gabriel nodded, "Alright...and son," He stopped, looking in Adrien's direction. "You may want to reconsider the word 'friend' in your relationship with Ms. Dupain-Cheng."
Adrien blushed more, walking away from his father's office. He was finally starting to see it. What Plagg has been telling him the past few days...what his father just told him.
She may be more than a friend to him.
A/N: Hope you liked it! I can't wait for the next chapter! Because, let me tell you, it'll be...intense. Really intense. The real action is going to start from there.;)
I may update today again later...if not, probably tomorrow.
Please let me know what you think by reviewing and, if you wanna read more, favorite and follow the story!:)
Kisses. xx