{+}{+}{+}
"Adrien, we need to talk," Nathalie sternly said, nursing a cup of coffee. After rummaging for his favorite chips, the teen only gave the woman a side glance before heading to exit the kitchen.
"What did I do?"
This made Adrien pause at Nathalie's question.
"Please, just tell me what I did wrong? Why do you hate me so much?" His step-mother asked, begging for answers. The blonde kept looking forward, blankly staring into the next room. The silence and tension were thick in the air between the two.
Finally, Adrien spoke, "It's kinda hard to hate something when I pretend it doesn't exist."
With that said, he walked out of the room and left a heartbroken Nathalie in his wake. Adrien walked out of the house and left for the arcade to practice for the gaming tournament with Marinette. He failed at both talking with the stubborn bluenette and figuring out where she went yesterday. So, he decided to use the rest of his free time after school to practice.
The blonde teen entered the arcade.
The first thing he noticed, was the prize counter with his best friend once again flirting with the same girl running it. Rolling his eyes, Adrien went to meet Marinette at a new game they were going to try out.
"Even after frustrating me the day before, you still decide to test the waters by arriving late," Marinette spat, scowling with crossed arms.
"We scheduled times to meet?" Adrien asked, raising an eyebrow. Marinette sighed before the two began to play. About halfway through practicing Space Defenders, Adrien glanced for a second over at a calm, focused Marinette. He was surprised to see a small genuine smile on her lips.
"So" Adrien started, once he lost the game, "What are you going to use the money for?"
"We have already been over this. It is none of your business," Marinette snippily replied.
"Oh, come on. How about I tell you what I'll do with my half of the prize if you tell me what you'll do with yours?" Adrien tried to negotiate with his charms, having no intentions of telling the bluenette what he'll do with his money.
"No, Mister Agreste," Marinette stubbornly answered, "I have no intentions on sharing what I shall do with my portion of the money."
"Princess, I said you can just call me by my first name," Adrien grumbled, digging into his pocket for another token. Just as he pulled out the token, a question started to bug him, "Besides, how can you be so sure we are going to win? There are probably going to be elite gamers there."
Just as the blonde was reaching forward to place the token into the slot, Marinette answered, "We need to win."
Adrien froze when hearing the intensity and rawness of her voice. Green orbs turned away from the game's slot to stare at the determined girl. Her hands were clutching the controller and kept her held chin high to make herself known.
"There will be no loss as long as I hold onto hope, even if it is the tiniest and thinnest of threads," she finished, passionately. To Adrien, it seemed as though Marinette was referring to some sort of other situation and talking with a whole different person.
Adrien felt his heart lurch and hairs stand on the back of his neck. He could hear Marinette's inner turmoil, see hidden scars under layers of a perfectionist's skin and bones. This feeling speaks for itself of untold stories through the window of her brilliant but dull eyes.
For a moment, he could almost see a younger version of himself standing in Marinette's place.
The blonde shook off his shock, pushing all his mixed emotions into the depths of his mind and let his arrogant personality shine over again.
"Cut the whole "hope is the answer" crap. That's for suckers who actually believe in that stuff and risk it all on pure luck. That's not how the world works. You can only cheat your way through life. So, I think cheating is the way we're going to win," Adrien proudly spoke, letting his selfish pride talk for itself.
"I bet you did not always think like that," Marinette spoke, making the blonde flinch, "I assume you were just as naïve before something changed it all."
Adrien grew very uncomfortable and did what he could do best, run away from his problems.
{+}{+}{+}
"Forgive me for being so irrational yesterday. I did not mean to take my negativity out on you."
Adrien was expecting a lot of things during his usual mornings at school. Whether it was Chloe draping herself on him, getting looks of awe or disgust from passerby's or talking with Nino. However, Marinette suddenly appearing out of the blue, bowing, and apologizing was the last thing he expected to happen.
Wide, emerald green eyes blinked dumbfounded for a moment at the sudden apology. Marinette straightened her posture and looked up at the blonde, waiting for his reply. Recollecting himself, Adrien replied, "It's fine. I probably deserved it anyway."
Adrien was about to walk away when Marinette grabbed his bicep.
"It is not fine, Mr. Agreste," Marinette said, "I did something that hurt your feelings."
She sighed, letting go of the blonde's arm, "We need to stop arguing over silly matters and work together if we want to win."
"Finally, something we both can agree on," Adrien muttered, turning towards the short girl, "So, how are we going to make this work, Milady?"
Marinette began to think of a solution until something popped into her mind.
"I suggest that we rendezvous at the park tomorrow at one o'clock sharp unless you are busy," the bluenette schemed up a plan.
"Is this your way of asking me out, Princess? It's quite adorable," Adrien quipped, a flirtatious grin spreading across his face. Marinette's face was painted a nice shade of red before she walked off in a huff without any sort of retort. Adrien chuckled before he headed towards his first class.
Hopefully, tomorrow they will be on better terms.
{+}{+}{+}
Marinette glared at the approaching blonde.
"You are late," she said, not surprised. Adrien checked the time on his phone before scoffing out, "By five minutes!"
"When I say, "one o'clock sharp," I expect you to arrive right on the dot," the bluenette simmered, earning an eye-roll from the male. So far, this meet-up was turning in all the wrong directions and couldn't afford anymore mess-ups.
"Anyways," Adrien began, changing the subject, "What do you have planned for our team bonding?" Adrien wasn't the least bit surprised when Marinette brought out a small notepad with a shortlist of things to do, including times for how long they should be there.
"I do not know what sort of things you consider...enjoyable besides video games," Marinette started, "But, I tried to conduct a small list of things I assume we both would enjoy for today's bonding experience."
Adrien looked over the short bluenette's shoulder and scanned the list of activities. His eyes blew wide open at the things written neatly in cursive.
It wasn't the matter of how Marinette's handwriting could rival one of those old jurassic dudes he's supposed to learn about in history class. No, it was the things they were going to do for an entire evening.
Activities
[ ] 1. Watch an anime movie (1:10-3:00)
[ ] 2. Laser tag (3:15-4:15)
[ ] 3. Visit comic book store (4:30-5:00)
[ ] 4. Andre's ice cream (5:20-5:45)
[ ] 5. Arcade (6:00-7:00)
"You truly are a geek at heart. Aren't ya, Princess?" Adrien mused, grinning at her flushed face, "But, I've gotta hand it to you, this all sounds really fun."
Marinette sighed in relief and smiled.
"Splendid!" She rejoiced before clearing her throat and refraining herself, "Let us not waste anymore of our time and begin our activities. What film shall we watch?"
The two teens quickly agreed to watch Your Name and sat up against a tree, setting up the movie on Marinette's phone. Every once in a while, one of them made a side comment about the characters or laughing at some funny parts.
Soon, the movie ended.
Marinette and Adrien both stood up and stretched their limbs.
"What an exquisite masterpiece! Did you enjoy the movie as well, Mister Agreste," Marinette asked, jollity.
"Nope," Adrien answered, making the bluenette deflate and frown slightly. Then, the male grinned and continued, "I loved it!"
Marinette huffed, punching the laughing blonde in the arm. Yet, she couldn't help the feeling of the edge of her lip twitching up before frowning, rolling her eyes.
"Let us continue," Marinette said, walking away with her chin up and arms crossed. Adrien followed the bluenette before remembering what the next event was.
"How are we going to do laser tag? I don't have much money on me and I highly doubt you do either," Adrien asked as the two boarded a bus. Once finding a place to sit, Marinette pulled two slips of paper out from her pocket and flashed them in Adrien's face.
"I have obtained two free tickets to play a game of laser tag," Marinette explained before putting them back into her pocket. Adrien blinked in astonishment, asking, "You're going to waste them for our bonding day instead of saving them to like...do it with your pals?"
"The tickets are about to expire soon and I do not have anyone to go with," Marinette answered back. The blonde leaned back in his seat and hummed, concluding, "So, your friends don't know how much of a geek you are."
Marinette seemed to wince at this, making Adrien think his theory was correct until she uttered, "Something of the sorts."
Emerald green eyes cast upon the properly sitting girl, who seemed uncomfortable in her own skin. Adrien narrowed his eyes in suspicion, feeling the hairs on the back of his neck stand.
She was lying.
{+}{+}{+}
"Remind me to never play laser tag with you again," Adrien said, walking out of the building with the bluenette in tow. Marinette smirked, proud of herself for winning all three rounds in a row without breaking a sweat.
"I mean, what are you? Some kind of secret ninja that works for the government?" The blonde joked, "I could never see or hear you coming. It's like you were everywhere and nowhere at the same time! You showed me no mercy and hurt my pride, woman!"
"I do not recall you waving a white flag. So, I assumed you were not going to give up," Marinette replied, teasingly. Adrien blinked for a moment in confusion, asking, "There were?"
"No," the bluenette answered, snickering.
"You're so mean!" Adrien whined, over-dramatically. Even though he lost, he did admit that he had a lot of fun. When was the last time he ever had that much fun? He couldn't recall.
"What are you? Some sort of—what do they call it again—a man child?" Marinette questioned, thoughtfully. Adrien scoffed, crossing his arms as Marinette laughed.
"What's the next thing on the list, you jerk?" The blonde grumbled like the sore loser he was.
"Visiting a comic book store," Marinette answered his question after looking at the list. She put a checkmark in the box next to the activity they had just completed before tucking the small notepad back into her pocket.
The blonde scrunched his nose, wondering how a teen could look so professional when placing a checkmark in a box.
"Since we're trying to get to know each other better, mind if I ask why you act the way you do?" Adrien asked, curiosity getting the best of him. Marinette looked up at him in confusion, "What do you mean? I have always been this way."
"I highly doubt a thirteen-year-old could make their handwriting look like a fancy font on a computer and know five different languages," Adrien bluntly stated, making Marinette's face flush in embarrassment.
"It is actually six different languages," Marinette mumbled, behind her hand. She wasn't helping prove her point in the slightest which only made Adrien want to know more about the mysterious class president.
The green-eyed male gave his gaming partner a look. Marinette let out a relenting sigh in defeat.
"I did not always live in Paris. Until I was thirteen, I used to live in China with my grandparents and they always had high standards for me. I was taught under the sternest and most proper teacher you will ever meet. She instructed me for years on how to become a perfect lady prodigy," Marinette explained, whimsically.
"This was until my lessons were complete and allowed me to live here in Paris with my parents to continue my studies at College Francoise Dupont."
"Man, that stinks. I can't imagine myself becoming a perfect gentleman. That would be weird," Adrien said before asking, "I assume video games weren't allowed in these lessons. So, how did you become so good at video games?"
Marinette softly smiled, fondly recalling the memories of her early days after arriving in Paris. Then, a wave of sorrow washed over, making the happy memory bittersweet.
Sometimes, good memories like this made it hard needing to be remembered and more wanting to be forgotten. Especially, during the present time and the situation that's being held. A selfish thought, nonetheless.
Marinette glanced up at Adrien before looking away at the stores they passed. Adrien raised an eyebrow in confusion at the mixed emotions that had just crossed the bluenette's face all at once. There was definitely some sort of meaning behind what he asked and decided to mentally take note of that.
This could give him leverage to possibly blackmail the class president for future purposes. He just had to figure out what sort of meaning was behind it. Her weakness.
It was like fishing. Bait the fish with some food and reassure it that it's okay to let their guard down. Once they fall for the trick, quickly reel it in and the fish is now helplessly in your grasp. Yet, this wasn't any ordinary fish he was dealing with. This one is clever and will not be easily fooled by just any trick.
"We are here!" Marinette said, avoiding the question and entered the small building. Adrien pursed his lips, following right behind the bluenette into the comic book place. The two began to look around at the many different comics. From Marvel superheroes to Manga, the teens bantered and joked around.
Even with the change of topic and distraction, Adrien wouldn't let their conversation be left forgotten. He was getting very close to discovering the truth and unlocking the secrets about Marinette Dupain-Cheng. He could be even more powerful than before with the class president's help.
He would be invincible.
"Are you ready to depart?" Marinette asked, checking her watch, "We will need to stick to our schedule since it will take us some time to find Andre's ice cream cart."
"Andre? You mean that weird guy that sings about love and magic ice cream all the time?" Adrien asked, scrunching his nose.
"Yes, him," Marinette answered, bluntly annoyed with the blonde teen. Adrien grinned, flirtatiously teasing, "Are you sure this isn't a date, Princess?"
"Are you sure on when to bite down on your tongue before unnecessary gibberish comes out of that giant hole on your face?" Marinette replied, sassily before heading towards the exit.
"Ouch, Princess. Why you gotta hurt your bf like that?"
Adrien laughed when he heard Marinette groan.
{+}{+}{+}
"My feet are killing me," Adrien whined, exhaustedly.
"He is just over on that bridge. So quit your whining, you hooligan," Marinette stated just as tired. The two had been walking around Paris, trying to find the location of the famous ice cream cart with a map on Adrien's phone.
"Whatever you say, your highness," Adrien muttered.
"I am going to pretend I did not hear that," Marinette said, agitated with her gaming partner's snarky attitude. The teens finally arrived at Andre's ice cream cart, the sound of the very man's singing filling the air.
"Well, hello!" Andre greeted, enthusiastically. A huge, jolly smile spread across his face as he continued, "My, what a cute pair of lovebirds!"
"I beg your pardon, sir, but we are not together in that way," Marinette spoke, politely. Andre only raised an eyebrow, not believing a word the bluenette said.
"I will conduct ice cream flavors that are everlasting and timeless," Andre began, scooping ice cream flavors into a cone, "To make sure your love is true and endless."
The ice cream man held out a cone with two scoops of ice cream and small spoons stuck in the sides. Adrien leaned in close to Marinette and whispered, "I think I'm going to get cavities if I stay with this guy any longer."
Marinette elbowed the blonde in the stomach before graciously taking the ice cream.
"Thank you, sir," the bluenette said, handing over the exact amount of money needed to pay for the cold treat. The man waved off the cash, smiling brightly, "It is on the house for meeting such a wondrous duo."
"I think I've come down with a case of diabetes," Adrien bluntly uttered.
After stepping on Adrien's foot, Marinette dragged him away from the cart and over to a nearby bench with the ice cream in hand. They sat down, both relieving their aching feet.
"I do not think we will have enough time to engage ourselves in arcade games," Marinette informed, scooping a bit of ice cream.
"Why not?" The blonde asked, taking out the other small spoon from the sweet treat, "Do we really have to go by your scheduled time?"
"Yes, we do," the bluenette confirmed, eating the small scoop on the spoon, "I have to be home by 8 o'clock sharp."
Adrien raised an eyebrow, eating his scoop, "You have company coming over?"
The face that the class president made before turning her head told the blonde teen that it was something else. Then, it hit.
"Wait, don't tell me you have a-"
"Do not proclaim it out loud, Mister Agreste," Marinette spoke, embarrassed and feeling her face heat up a little. Adrien let out a raspberry and laughed, "I can't believe this! The almighty class president has a curfew!"
Marinette didn't say anything and kept looking away in shame. Her heart and pride were a bit beaten by her gaming partner's obnoxious cackling. She didn't like being looked down on as some child that needs managing.
The bluenette wanted to be well-respected after years of disrespect from her own family and classmates. She had to build her way to the top after being bullied and a social outcast. It wasn't her fault that she had little social experience before she came to school.
Yet, she understood why she was given a curfew. It wasn't that she was unable to take care of herself or wasn't capable of being out longer. There was a deeper meaning behind it. One that only a handful of people knew about.
Getting tired of Adrien's laughing, Marinette stood up and walked away, bangs casting a shadowy cover over her eyes. The blonde calmed his laughing when noticing Marinette starting to walk away. He stood to his feet and caught up to his partner.
"Going home already? Wow, you must be really committed to your curfew. Are you some loyal lapdog?" Adrien joked. He stopped laughing when watching Marinette throw away the unfinished ice cream into the trash. She shot her body around, making her partner stop walking.
"Would you just shut up?" Marinette snapped, glaring and catching the blonde slightly off-guard by the malevolence in her tone. Sure, she has been snippy but never this mad.
"Chill, Princess. I was just teasing," he replied, placing his hands in his pockets.
"Your teasing went quite far and I do not appreciate it in the slightest," she replied, explaining, "Do you really think I want a...curfew? I do not have a choice whether I have a certain time arriving home. My mother is a paranoid and worried woman, especially with..."
She trailed off, not daring to continue her rambling. This made Adrien very intrigued with whatever Marinette was about to say and wondered why she hesitated to spit it out. What was the mystery of Marinette Dupain-Cheng?
"Especially with what?" Adrien urged the girl to continue.
Marinette narrowed her eyes before turning around in a huff, "That is none of your concern. I think I have already said too much as is. Goodnight, Mister Agreste."
With that, Marinette made her way home.
Adrien sighed, feeling something in his chest tighten and stomach churn. It was a kind of pain he hadn't felt in a long time. He groaned in annoyance when recognizing this annoying coiling feeling.
"Great, I feel bad."
{+}{+}{+}
"Girl, you seem troubled."
Marinette turned to see the girl that maned the prize counter, Alya Cesaire. Marinette assumed she was on her break at the moment. Yet, Marinette hadn't a clue why Alya had randomly started to talk to her.
"Why do you claim that?" The bluenette asked, raising an eyebrow. Alya pursed her lips before saying, "No reason, just that you were at this punching game for about an hour with a pretty nasty scowl on your face."
Marinette didn't say anything, deciding to stop releasing her anger out on this game for the day. She sighed, walking over to her disposed bag left leaning against the wall.
Alya seemed to watch the bluenette with a careful eye before coming to a conclusion.
"Oh, I see. Boy problems?" The ombré girl said. The bluebell-eyed teen fished out her water bottle from her bag before turning her attention back to Alya in surprise.
"How did you know?"
"It's a girl's intuition. You know...my Alya senses were tingling," Alya answered, jokingly before giving a sad smile.
"Wanna talk about it?"
Marinette raised an eyebrow at Alya again. Ever since Marinette started to come to this arcade, never had she interacted with Alya unless it was to get a prize. So, it was odd to suddenly have a conversation with the said girl.
"I do not exactly feel very comfortable telling my problems to a person I hardly interact with," Marinette replied, slinging her school bag over her shoulder. Alya pursed her lips for a brief second before nodding in agreement.
"You make a fair point," The ombré-haired teen said.
"Is there a reason why you wanted to acknowledge my problems?" Marinette asked, curiously, "If you are looking to benefit something out of me in return, your request is indeed denied."
"I don't want anything in return," Alya reassured, approaching the bluenette and slipping an arm around her shoulders, "Think of it as a girl wanting to help out a fellow girl."
Marinette thought it over when seeing the genuine look in Alya's eyes. She meant no harm and seemed like she just honestly wanted to help.
"I do not know. I should be going home before my mother gets too worried..." The bluenette trailed off, trying to make up an excuse. The prize girl rolled her eyes then dragged the bluenette to a nearby empty table. Alya seated Marinette down before taking her seat across the table.
"I've only got ten minutes left before my break is over. So, spill the beans, girl," she said. Marinette still didn't like the idea of laying out her troubles onto someone she barely knew. Their relationship was merely one of worker and patron. Nothing more, nothing less.
"I do not think this is relevant, Miss Cesaire," The bluenette tried to convince the prize girl. Alya gave a confused look, mumbling under her breath, "Miss Cesaire?"
Bluebell eyes glanced down at the watch on her wrist to see she had five minutes left until Alya's break was over. Marinette looked back up at the ombré-haired teen, pointing out, "For all you know, I could just be stalling on time. So, why do you keep on pestering me to talk?"
Alya didn't seem to like that answer, narrowing her eyes in frustration before calming down, relenting, "Look, I was just trying to be nice and maybe...make a friend. I don't get out very often unless it's for work or something. Is that so wrong?"
The bluenette grimaced, replying, "I suppose not. Yet, with your kind of personality, I assumed you had many friends at school."
Alya smiled, whimsically, "It's kind of hard to meet people when you're homeschooled."
Marinette felt sympathetic for Alya, understanding the situation a bit more and her pursue. Between the two of them, Marinette was the lucky one who had a chance to make friends while it was harder for Alya.
"Although," Alya added, thoughtfully, "I did meet a cute boy. He's nice and all but I was hoping to be friends with someone the same gender as me. It'd be a little weird inviting a boy over to my house for a sleepover."
The two teens giggled before the sound of the song "Single Ladies" played. Alya took out her phone and frowned, tapping the screen. The song stopped playing before Alya let out a sigh of disappointment.
"Well, duty calls," Alya said, standing up and pushing her chair in. She began to walk towards the prize counter. Marinette watched her every move. The bluenette admitted that it was really nice and fun talking to Alya. It was something Marinette never really experienced before with another girl.
Usually, she was either assisting, mentoring, or yelling at them. It was a very nice change.
So, Marinette hurriedly made a last-minute decision and asked, "Would you care to accompany me tomorrow on your break?"
Alya paused, looking at the bluenette stunned, "Really?"
The bluenette gave a nod then flinched when Alya gave a high-pitched squeal and hugged her.
"Girl, of course! That would be totally awesome!" Alya said before letting go, "Alright, I have to go back to work. I'll see you later!"
With that, Alya practically skipped away and Marinette smiled, making her way towards the exit. Then, she paused realizing something.
She just made a friend.
Her very first friend.
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