Alya's plans were finally coming to fruition.
She and Nino had been plotting since the day after the akuma Glaciator had struck and finally, finally, they had a concrete plan to get Marinette and Adrien together.
She texted Nino, to check he was in position, while simultaneously assuring Marinette over the phone that of course there wasn't anything going on, she just needed to go pick up her satchel from school, because she'd left it there on Friday.
Everything was going according to the sweet, sweet plan.
"Gurrl, please tell me you aren't going to make us late for the cinema. If you take much longer picking an outfit, I'm going to come over there and drag you out myself. We deserve a bit of fun after that Chemistry test," she complained over the phone. Marinette needed to hurry up, or the timing would be off.
"I'm nearly there, Alya," Marinette squeaked, "I just need to find my purse."
"It'll be on your sewing table, Marinette," Alya sighed good-naturedly. Honestly, her best friend would lose her head if it wasn't screwed on.
"Right! So, where should I meet you?"
"I changed my mind – I came to drag you out anyway," Alya smirked and glanced up at the sign for the Dupain-Cheng bakery.
"Ah," Marinette squeaked and moments later, she emerged from the building – purse included.
"There we go," Alya said as she hung up. "That wasn't so hard was it?"
Marinette glared mutinously at her.
"I'm not always late on purpose. It just happens."
Alya waved her concerns away.
"We have to get to school. There's homework in that satchel that unfortunately needs doing."
Not that Alya actually wanted to do the homework, but leading Marinette to the school was phase one of her plan.
In no time, they were walking up the steps of the school. Wow. Alya was always surprised when she walked the distance between Marinette's house and the school. If she was so close, how was she so late all the time?
Alya discreetly checked her phone. Nino had texted her to say that Adrien's dad had held them up and they'd be another five minutes before they got here. Alya muffled a sigh. She'd known something was going to go wrong – she'd just known.
"I can't remember which classroom I left it in, come to think of it." Alya told Marinette.
"Shall we split up then? We'll find it quicker that way and we won't be late to the movie," Marinette suggested.
"Girl, no! We have ages till the movie starts and I don't want to be on my own in school after hours."
"How are we getting in, anyway?"
Alya smirked.
"Noo, Alya I know that expression. No. You can tell the teacher you forgot your satchel and the homework in it. You can copy mine. Just, no, I'm not going along with whatever you have in mind."
If only Marinette knew…
"It's fine, Mari," Alya placated her. "I've broken into school plenty of times before during akuma attacks."
Alya grinned wickedly as the blood drained out of Marinette's face.
"I knew it wasn't a good idea to let you take that lock-picking course," she said faintly.
"Don't you know it! But hey, the teachers won't mind. They leave the library open for access at the weekend anyway."
Marinette sighed, and Alya knew she'd won.
"C'mon. We need to get going."
Alya fiddled with the lock on the library exit. The lockpicks she kept in her pocket in case of an akuma attack in a locked building did not fail her. They emerged from the library out into the school corridor. Marinette still looked around guiltily as they walked into the school corridor and their science classrooms, but she wasn't protesting anymore. And even better, Nino had texted to say that he and Adrien were out front already, after all. Marinette's resistance to breaking and entering had bought them some time.
Alya tugged Marinette towards the passageway she and Nino had discovered last year, checking in each of their classrooms as they went. Her ears pricked up as she heard voices approaching from the other direction.
"Dude, no. You can't play that combo in UMS IV - it's just wrong."
"Au contraire, Nino. It's the easiest way to win."
Nino and Adrien rounded the corner.
"Boys, boys, what are you doing here?" Alya asked them.
"I thought I might have left my Mum's birthday present here. But we haven't been able to find it so far."
Here's where the manipulation kicked in.
"Well have you checked the art cupboard? Come to think of it, Marinette, that might be where my satchel is. On the other hand, I still need to check Mme. Bustier's classroom," Alya paused, as if in thought. "Why don't you and Adrien check the art cupboard and I'll go with Nino to check Mme. Bustier's classroom," she suggested innocently.
And like a fool, Adrien fell for it.
"That sounds like a great idea, Alya. Marinette?"
Alya could just see Marinette's blood pressure rising, but Adrien had smiled in that way that did Marinette in and so in the end Marinette squeaked a yes. She also glared at Alya for suggesting she go with Adrien, but Alya just smirked back. Phase 2, accomplished.
They walked down the corridor towards the art cupboard.
Alya and Nino, however, did not go to Mme. Bustier's classroom. Instead, they waited until their friends were caught up in a very stilted, awkward conversation, consisting of a lot of stammering and screeching on Marinette's part. Then, they walked just a little way behind the couple of fools.
Adrien opened the door of the cupboard.
"After you, my ugh, urm, l-lady?" he stuttered.
Marinette blushed an even deeper red and tripped into the cupboard. Alya waited with baited breath until Adrien went in too.
"Now!" she half screeched, half hissed at Nino and they burst forward and shut the door of the cupboard. Alya put her back against it and leant with all her might, while Nino turned the lock and started shifting a teacher's desk to put in front of it. A lock would be useless – Alya wasn't the only one who could pick them.
Now the two lovebirds were right where Alya wanted them – trapped together in a small confined space. She thanked the stars Marinette wasn't claustrophobic. On the other hand, she'd probably have done this anyway. It was just so perfect.
LINE BREAK
"What's going on?" Adrien cried, slamming the door with his shoulder.
It stayed stubbornly shut.
Marinette stopped herself from hyperventilating. Deal with pressing problem now, freak out later. Compartmentalise.
What was there that could help them get out? There was a dusty window at the top of the cupboard, but it was too small for them to escape through. There were vents, but, again, they were too small for either of them to fit through. There was the door, but while Marinette had also taken the lock-picking course with Alya, she suspected that it wasn't the lock that was the problem, and that they'd been barricaded in.
"Why. Won't. It. Move." Adrien punctuated each word with a shove at the door.
So, if Adrien's strength wasn't working, she guessed she could give it a try – being Ladybug meant she had more muscle strength than the average person.
"Let me try. I carry bags of flour in the bakery sometimes."
Adrien looked like he was doubtful.
"Why don't we try together?" she tried instead.
Marinette took a few steps back and then went running at the door, in time with Adrien. The door shuddered, but didn't move. Marinette did think that she heard something crack from behind the door, though.
She was about to suggest that they try again, when she noticed that Adrien had given up and was sitting on the nearest box of paints. His breathing was heavy and he had one hand in his blazer pocket and the other covered his face.
"Are you claustrophobic?" Marinette asked. Surely Nino wouldn't have trapped his best friend in a tiny space if he knew he was claustrophobic?
"No. Not really. I just really hate being trapped. Small spaces? Not a problem. My room, as soon as I'm locked in it? Not very fun."
Adrien was spitting the words out, one after the other, in a torrent of anxious babble.
"You know, I love hide and seek. I'm surprisingly flexible and I can fit into almost any space I choose. I normally win when I can play."
Marinette choked on air. He'd had to say he was flexible. Nope, she couldn't do this. Sure, she did need to help Adrien! But on the other hand, there was no way she could hold a conversation with him while they were trapped together in a confined space!
"Try and change your mindset?" she suggested doubtfully. "This is just a long game of hide and seek and you can get out if you choose."
"I would try that, but I am not great at denial."
Well that felt like a personal attack. If maybe quite accurate. No. Changing your mindset wasn't denial. He certainly wasn't being accurate at all. Marinette didn't lie to herself. She could never.
"What do you do normally, if you're trapped?"
"Breathe heavily and expend a lot of energy trying not to panic? Talk to myself and try and distract myself," Adrien's voice steadily rose in pitch, "from the fact that I'm trapped!"
He took a deep breath.
"It's not even a rational fear, you know. Nothing bad is going to happen and Alya and Nino are going to come for us eventually. I'm comfortable here. I have good company – we'll stay entertained. But I have this insane urge to scream the cupboard down anyway."
Adrien's tone was conversational, but it barely masked the panic written across his face. Marinette wasn't sure he was even trying to mask his panic.
"Why don't we play a game, to take your mind off of it?"
What else was one meant to do, but distract someone if they were panicking? They could scream for Alya and Nino, but Marinette wasn't sure if Alya and Nino were still there. They might have gone out to watch the movie. Everything was uncertain. Marinette needed to get it together. Someone needed to, and it wasn't going to be Adrien.
"We'll probably be here for a while." Marinette winced. Maybe she shouldn't have said that. "A game of riddles to keep us occupied?"
It was something she and her Maman did when they were bored.
"Sure. I have plenty of good riddles," Adrien replied.
Marinette breathed a sigh of relief. She could do this. Adrien was too close, but she could do this. She was Ladybug, with or without the mask.
"I'll start:
Only one colour, but not one size,
Stuck at the bottom, yet easily flies.
Present in sun, but not in rain,
Doing no harm, and feeling no pain.
What is it?"
"So, we aren't starting off easy then. It isn't light, is it? No, I suppose not. Light isn't only one colour. Don't laugh. I may have many riddles I've memorised, but I'm not very good at figuring out the answers to them. So if the main clue is present in sun, but not in rain…"
"Do you always think by talking?" Marinette asked, smothering a laugh. He was just a little off track.
"You know, hydrogen is a gas, normally, so it is only one colour - colourless. It is present in the sun – all stars are partially made up of hydrogen. But I suppose rain is hydrogen dioxide, isn't it. What does no harm and feels no pain? That's a sign it's a concept, right? This has got to be a chemistry joke. What element is in the sun that is not present in rain? All elements are only going to be one colour – it's probably a heavy element, so it's stuck at the bottom, but then if it easily flies, it has to be a gas, right?"
Marinette stared very hard at the watercolour palettes on the shelf next to her. She wasn't going to give this away.
"I am not giving up. I'm going to figure this out. This is a challenge."
At least Adrien didn't seem to be worrying about being trapped anymore – leaving time for Marinette to freak out about how perfect this boy was. He rambled on and was so cute and oh she needed to make funeral arrangements, because she was going to die of close proximity to too much pure sunshine child. It felt like the temperature inside the room was rising. Would Adrien take his top off, showing those rock-hard abs? Marinette sighed dreamily and then shook herself. Adrien hadn't noticed. But this was not the time to be drooling over Adrien's abs. They were trapped in a cupboard, for goodness sake! Yes, and isn't that cupboard the perfect place to kiss him. It's so private. You aren't going anywhere for ages yet, whispered her bad judgement. She felt the heat rise to her cheeks with a vengeance.
"Are you ok, Marinette? You look too hot."
Trust Adrien to pick this moment to be observant.
"No, I-I'm fine. Have you figured it out yet?"
"Well I'm currently thinking that if it's only one colour, it's probably no colour, because otherwise it could be multiple different shades you see? And if it's present in sun, but not in rain, and it's a concept, then it has to be to do with light. It has to be. And the only thing I can think of is…Oh." Adrien paused. "It's a shadow, isn't it? Present in sun, when there's plenty of light, but not in rain. It can't feel pain, or do harm, because it doesn't really exist. It is only one colour – the absence of light. And it's stuck on the ground – I just don't get how it can fly. I suppose, there could always be a shadow on a plane."
"Yeah, it's a shadow," Marinette nodded over-enthusiastically. She probably looked like a maniac. Oh, she was going to ruin this. Who was she kidding? She couldn't keep it together! She could barely stay in his presence for more than five seconds without self-combusting! She was pretty sure this was her record for longest time spent without making a complete fool of herself. She was going to say something really embarrassing and then Adrien would panic that he was stuck in a room with a pyscho and it would be so awkward and he'd probably manage to push the door down with the force of his anger and then move to another country so that she'd never see him again and…
She felt a little nudge against her pocket from Tikki, who could probably sense her meltdown. She couldn't talk, in case Adrien noticed, but Marinette drew courage, just from knowing that her kwami was there.
Wait. They hadn't tried their phones. They could call someone to get them out!
"So, like I said, I know lots of riddles," Adrien was saying smugly.
"Adrien! We can ring someone and get them to free us!" she interrupted him in excitement.
"That's not fair," he pouted, "I had to struggle through your riddle and as soon as it's my turn to give you one, you think of an escape plan?"
Marinette re-evaluated her crush for a millisecond. There was so much wrong with his priorities. But then she saw his pout, and she was forcibly reminded why she had a crush the size of the Eiffel Tower on him.
"You can tell me the riddle while we're uh, waiting?" she squeaked. After all, it had almost sounded like he wanted to spend more time with her. She was going to spontaneously combust. They should just write her obituary now.
'Marinette Dupain-Cheng, dead by spontaneous combustion, after she was cruelly trapped with the human representation of sunshine in a small cupboard by her evil ex-best friend. Said representation of sunshine may have suggested he wanted to spend more time with her and she died before a rescue attempt could be made.'
She whipped her phone out to cover her blush. He probably hadn't meant that anyway. He just wanted to…share his knowledge of riddles.
She tried calling Mylene – Rose wouldn't help them, she would think their situation was romantic, and she'd make sure Juleka didn't help either. Alix would just make fun of her. And there was no way she was calling her parents to tell them she was in school after hours, trapped in a cupboard with a boy. She'd never hear the end of it.
Her phone wouldn't ring. She hit it against her leg, and tried again, but it still wouldn't ring Mylene. She tried Alix as well, only to get the same result.
"What did that phone ever do to you?" Adrien muttered.
Marinette didn't even manage to formulate a sentence. She looked up and he was watching her with an intense stare. She thought she might have garbled something, but her brain had gone AWOL so she wasn't sure.
She considered banging her head as well, to see if that would help. Instead, she focused on the presence of Tikki in her purse. She could do this. Talking to Adrien was not as scary as watching Chat Noir fade away (and look how well you dealt with that, part of her subconscious whispered). She suppressed the memory, and the voice, with extreme prejudice.
"My call to Mylene isn't going through."
"Check your signal?"
Marinette cursed, much to the surprise of Adrien, who she doubted had ever heard her say anything stronger than 'brat'. She'd forgotten that the school was built in a signal black spot. The school had done it on purpose, so that students would be less tempted to use their phones in lesson. No signal meant no data – and as only the staff had access to wifi – they were screwed. Of course, Alya had hired Max to hack into the school's wifi and give her the password to it, but Marinette had refused her offer of the password. She wasn't taking anything that was gained illegally – and she thought it was nice to have some time away from her phone, anyway. She regretted that now.
"We won't be able to use our phones. The school is built in a spot with no signal. We don't have a chance."
"That's great!" Adrien perked up, and then seemed to remember that they were stuck in a cupboard together. "Well, it isn't great, but it means I get to give you a riddle now."
Marinette was too depressed by the failure of their escape plan, that she didn't even blush until fifteen seconds later. So he did want to spend time with her. She dug a nail into her thigh to snap herself out of it. She needed to listen to the riddle.
"What has a neck and no head, two arms, but no hands?"
Marinette furrowed her brow in disbelief. That was easy! "A shirt, of course."
Adrien sighed. "Let me have another go? I'm sure I can come up with a better one. It isn't fair you got that one so easily. So I was thinking…"
Marinette shrugged. Anything to take her mind off the fact that he was HOLY MOLY leaning closer to her in challenge. She burst to her feet, hitting her head on first an overhanging shelf, and then the pot handle above it. The whole shelf came crashing down, pushing Marinette over, so that she ended up sprawled over Adrien with her face in his hair.
"You could have just said no," he murmured into her ear. She sprang back up, avoiding a mishap this time.
"I'm so sorry," she yelled. "I…uh.. I'll, clear, I'll clear this right up. Right away, Er good bye. I need to run away now." She whispered the last sentence under her breath.
"It's alright. I think I know how to put the shelf back up," Adrien offered.
Marinette smoothed her top down. She was going to die of embarrassment. She was sure her whole body resembled a fire-engine in colour.
"Y-yeah."
Adrien stood up, and grabbed the shelf from underneath the other scattered debris. He leaned over her to put the shelf back and she slipped away from him with all the grace of a bull in a china-shop. She was just lucky nothing else fell down.
She started picking up the things that had fallen off the shelf, scowling at the pot that had clipped her head on its way down. Now that she was out of the initial panic phase, she could feel her head burning where it'd been hit.
"All done," Adrien announced proudly. "Need any help?"
Marinette juggled the many things in her arms.
"No. I'm cool!" she insisted desperately.
"Here." Adrien took most of the objects out of her arms and placed them on the shelf before she could cause another incident. "Is your head okay? You hit that shelf with a lot of speed."
"I'm fine," Marinette lied. "I can hardly feel it at all."
"Ok, if you say so," Adrien said reluctantly.
He finished putting the objects back on the shelf and they sat down again.
"So, my next riddle," Adrien began, as if the events of the last few minutes hadn't happened. "It can't be seen, can't be felt, can't be heard, and can't be smelt. It lies behind stars and under hills, And empty holes it fills. It comes first and follows after, Ends life, and kills laughter. What is it?"
"I'm not sure. Wait! That's…" Marinette thought furiously. "That's the dark, isn't it?"
"This isn't fair," Adrien complained. "You're too good at this."
"I have a riddle for you. I think you'll like this one," Marinette tried.
Adrien perked up again. "Ok. What riddle have you got?"
"How do you write eight eights so that they add up to one thousand?"
"That's a simple maths problem right? All you do is take 888+ 88 and you have 976 and three eights left. Three eights are 24 and 976 plus 24 is 1000, so 888+88+8+8+8."
"That took me three days to get," Marinette said enviously. "Maman refused to tell me the answer."
Adrien smiled. "Your Maman sounds evil."
"She is," Marinette assured him. "Completely evil."
"All the same, I would love to trade riddles with her." Adrien's tone was wistful.
Marinette was reminded of Chat and how he was always wistful when she talked about her parents. She made a decision. Comforting him took priority over some stupid crush.
"You should come over sometime. I'm sure Maman and Papa would love to have you. In fact, you're welcome anytime. We love company."
Adrien reached over and hugged her. She let out an undignified squeak.
"Thank you, Marinette," he smiled.
She let out another squeak as half her brain cells died from excitement and overuse.
"Is someone in there?" came a rough voice from outside, interrupting the moment. Adrien slowly pulled away.
"Yes!" Marinette yelled. "We've been trapped inside this cupboard."
"I'll just move this desk and then I can get you out."
Adrien smile dimmed a bit, or maybe that was Marinette's imagination. It was definitely Marinette's imagination, right?
After a lot of huffing and puffing, the door opened, to reveal the school's janitor.
"What are you kids doing in here?"
"We came to help our friends look for their things and they trapped us in here," Adrien said with a diplomatic smile.
"How did you get in?"
"The library door was left unlocked," Adrien lied.
"All right," the janitor looked distrusting, "I'll let you go. It doesn't look like this was your fault anyway. I won't tell the principal, so long as you don't come into school after hours again. Promise me?"
"We promise," they chorused.
Adrien took Marinette's hand and pulled her out. His hand did not let go of hers till they found Alya and Nino hiding in the bushes outside the school.
Alya swiftly pulled Marinette aside.
"Gurrrl,we are going to be having a long conversation. That hug? I'm so mad that that janitor found you," Alya sighed
"How do you know that he hugged me?" Marinette asked and then continued furiously before Alya could defend herself. "I can't believe you locked me in a cupboard with Adrien!"
Alya's eyes widened just a fraction, and then she shrugged.
"I was spying on you from that old window. Nino and I found the corridor it looks out onto last year. Besides, he hugged you, what are you complaining about?"
"Alyaaaa," Marinette whined.
"Bye guys," Adrien yelled as he was dragged away by Nino. Marinette shyly waved back, before Alya copied Nino's example dragged her away, for a long, long talk.
A/N:
I have been waiting to write this chapter since forever. I promised you in chapter 8 that there would be stuck-together-in-a-tiny-space-to-avoid-detection-trope later – and I delivered. I'm thinking about having Chat and Mari having a riddle-fest. Review if you have any ideas for riddles I can use :)