AN: Hope y'all enjoy this one :D
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, and am not making profit off of them.
Chapter 2:
Marinette slept until the sun creeping through the blinds could no longer be ignored. On a typical Monday morning, she would've gotten up much earlier as she was trying to interrupt the teacher's image of her to be always famously late for school, but today was too much for her. With the lack of quality shut-eye she'd gotten the night before, what with the party and all, Marinette was still exhausted. However, she knew if she didn't get up at that moment she'd be in her bed for the rest of the day.
Groaning, she sat up and rubbed her eyes. The clock read 6:56 AM; thirty-four minutes until school. Marinette threw her legs in front of her, got up quickly, and began the race of getting ready. Her outfit she'd slept in would have to suffice, as there simply wasn't enough time to brush her teeth and pick out new clothing: a pair of grey sweats overlined with a black Jagged Stone T-shirt that sank down to almost her knees.
As she descended the steps down to her bakery, Marinette slipped on a pair of white tennis shoes beat to a cream color and stuffed the remainder of her school supplies that hadn't been packed back up into her backpack. Grabbing a pastry from the counter and running out of the door was the only time she had to see her mother that day; she had only twelve minutes remaining to run all the way to school.
Marinette allowed her mind to wander back to this weekend as she ran to school. The whole party had been a huge blur for her; she could remember bits and pieces, but to be honest, she wasn't quite sure she wanted to remember more than she had. Her utmost confidence had completely died away along with the alcohol, and the burning memory of her and Adrien, a kid she'd never even met before, in the closet filled her with embarrassment. Sure, it was only her and the blonde that knew exactly what had happened, but she'd have to face him today at school; she hoped he'd just forget about the incident like she was planning on doing. A small part of her felt the lick of butterfly wings across her insides at the thought of seeing him again, but she quickly pushed the feelings away—she didn't want to ruin the small chance she had of becoming friends with Adrien after that eventful Saturday night due to only a developing schoolgirl crush.
Lost in her thoughts, she was completely oblivious to her surroundings. Marinette had actually passed the school, and by the time she noticed, she had hardly any time left to get to class on time. She pivoted quickly and found herself colliding into something solid, falling backwards onto the ground as she whimpered, "Ouch."
A light chuckle could be heard above her line of vision. Marinette cranked her head upwards and found herself staring at just the boy she'd been terrified to see two minutes ago. Blue eyes locked with green.
"Hi, Marinette," Adrien said. "Would you believe me if I told you that you weren't even the first person I've helped up today?" he chuckled, offering out a hand to help her up off the ground. For a second, she considered not even taking it, before mentally chastising herself and reaching out, grateful for the assistance. Her hand sparked slightly when she placed it in his.
"H-hey, Adrien! Thanks! Funny to see you here, am I right? I mean, there's nothing wrong with you being here, because you go to school here—I mean, because it's before school so of course you'd be walking out here—I mean, good morning?" Marinette offered, her insides twisting up into a ball and threatening to force themselves out along with the stuttering. She'd never had this much trouble with words before; it puzzled her.
Adrien smiled lightly. "Would you like to walk to class with me, Marinette? I'm new here, as you know, and I only really know Chloe…." he trailed off, tossing a look in the direction of the blonde girl who was holding up an underclassmen boy by only his underpants in order to scream at him. Marinette had to bite back a giggle at Adrien's facial expression.
"O-of course, Adrien," she said, brushing off her pants to ensure there was no dirt on them left over from her fall. At this point, she'd given up on being on time to class.
"Are you nervous?" she questioned him as they began their ascent of the stairs to Ms. Bustier's classroom. She could already tell by his body language what her answer would be; as someone who'd just moved countries, he still carried himself extremely well, but his arms were crossed tightly over his chest as if to make himself as small as possible, his legs were facing slightly inwards, and his lips were twitching slightly out of his control.
The lips that had grazed her neck—the soft, caressing….
Marinette shook her head as she regained control of her thoughts.
"To be honest, yes," he said, shifting his gaze from the floor to peer directly into her own blue globes. "But don't tell anyone," he contradicted, gaining a slight ooze of confidence she'd seen in him all too well two days previous as he winked. She chuckled.
The classroom's door loomed in front of them after what felt like hours—or possibly milliseconds. As she reached for the handle, Adrien's hand grabbed her wrist before she could make contact with the smooth metal. She turned her head up to look at him.
"Thank you for walking with me," he breathed. She nodded quickly. His gorgeous green orbs locked her in that position; the combination of his jawline cut so cleanly it could've been seen a mile away and the blonde hair spread neatly yet sporadically across his scalp contrasted with his spring-time eyes could've left anyone in a coma for as long as he lived.
His gaze shifted, and Marinette blinked, coming back to her senses abysmally as a ferocious blush became evidently painted across her cheeks. She went back to her task of opening the door; it seemed much harder than it had before. As soon as it was opened, however, the familiar smell of the classroom slithering up her nose did a nice job of clearing her mind. Catching a glance at Alya, she let the distance grow between her and the new kid as she sat in the seat beside her bff.
Alya was staring at her suspiciously, but Marinette didn't allow it to get to her head as she fiddled with the zipper of her backpack and took out the needed supplies for the day listed on the whiteboard by Ms. Bustier. The redhead was speaking with Adrien, as it was his first day, and possibly discussing seat arrangements. It didn't come as a large surprise to Marinette as he plopped down into the seat directly in front of her, next to Nino, but her heart still fluttered a bit involuntarily.
Boring holes into her own paper, she started writing the bellwork for the day. Mari knew her cheeks must've looked crisp with red as she began to overthink everything once again. She chastised herself; since when did a boy literally sitting in front of her turn her mind into overdrive?
It just wasn't fair. She'd hardly even talked to him… what was making her feel this way?
During lunch that day, Alya had offered Mari to study together after school, which she had politely declined. Something in her gut told her she needed to be alone today to think everything over. Alya seemed to be slightly worried for her friend, but she was peppy nonetheless, speaking about her comic books and 'real superhero sightings'. As much as Marinette wished she could believe in things like that, reality hit home with her way too hard. The world was a cruel, dark place, but if Marinette could hold up a flashlight, it really was beautiful. Kindness was Marinette's own version of superheroes.
As the end of the day neared, Marinette became antsy. Sitting in a room with Adrien was almost torture—all she could do was think of his lips on hers everytime he spoke. She could tell he didn't feel the tension, but she was grateful for his friendship anyway. When the bell finally rang, she sprinted out of the classroom; she had no desire to partake in any conversation.
Marinette darted off campus. As she approached her bakery, however, she noticed a small, frailly old man struggling to cross the street and shortly after stumbling onto the ground. Even as the sheets of Marinette's bed called for her, she quickly walked to aid the old man.
"Are you alright, sir?" Marinette asked, voice full of genuine concern. The man's small goatee quivered as she offered a hand to him and picked up his cane in the other.
"Quite, dear. Thank you for your help, young lady," he answered as he regained footing. He seemed nice enough, and Marinette was grateful she'd been around to help him up, because although there were plenty of people around, no one had made any effort towards him before she'd gotten there.
"Of course. Would you like me to walk with you to wherever you're going?" She questioned. At this point, the two were out of the street and of the way of any cars passing by.
"I'll manage. But I appreciate the offer," he said, bowing slightly with his hands held together before hobbling off into the distance.
Marinette shrugged, walking into the bakery as it was only a few feet from the point she had helped the old man. Sabine was inside, churning away at a large bowl as Tom was fiddling with the oven's notches. There weren't any customers at the moment, so Marinette pulled out a nearby chair and sat down to speak with her parents.
"How was your day, darling?" Sabine questioned, hardly looking up. Mari could tell she was a bit overwhelmed, so she truly appreciated the attention from her mother.
"It was… interesting," Marinette responded truthfully, almost stuttering over the last word. Why couldn't she have just said it was good? Her parents were too intuitive, too smart, to just let that go.
"What's his name?" Sabine shot out, losing complete interest in whatever she was making to lean her face into her hands as her elbows came to rest on the counter. Her dad had thankfully left the room fifteen seconds prior to fetch something from the pantry. Marinette sighed.
"Really Mom, it's nothing," Marinette replied, blushing. "It's only a small, barely existent crush." She giggled awkwardly as she scratched behind her ear. Mari knew her mother would let the subject drop for the time being, but eventually Sabine would expect an answer which Marinette just didn't desire discussing.
"Alright, dear. Do you have a lot of homework?" she questioned.
"Actually, yes. Would you mind if I went up and started working on it?"
"Of course. Come back when you're hungry for dinner."
Marinette nodded gratefully, beginning the ascent up to her room. When she arrived at it, perfectly organized as she'd left it due to Sabine's wishes, a huge weight lifted off her chest. Finally, a little bit of alone time to think.
Marinette threw her backpack onto her bed, and was surprised when she heard a small clunk. Carefully, she lifted her bag back up to see what it had collided with.
There, contrasted darkly against her baby pink quilt, lay a wooden ornate box with unique red markings unlike anything Marinette had seen before.
AN: AHH! Cliffhanger! Will be back with an update before y'all know it ;) I'm glad to finally introduce the Ladynoir side of the story.
See you all soon,
The Nightly Stars