Chapter Five: Wrong Choice
Saved by the beeping of his ring, Chat Noir fled as fast as he could to the comfort of his room. "Plagg, claws in," he said rushedly, struggling to wrap his mind around the information he just received.
Starting to feel faint, he sat down on the seat in front of his television, closing his eyes and controlling his breathing. Carefully, his kwami approached him with a slice of camembert in hand, "you want one?" He asked the boy, tossing it into his mouth when he shook his head. Plagg slowly fell to sit next to him, uncertain of whether to say anything.
"She loves me?" Adrien said, mostly to himself, while looking at absolutely nothing. Plagg nodded, finally, he's going to see how oblivious he's been.
Everything clicked in the boy's head all at once. Every moment, every sign, every word, every look, every touch, every feeling. It all made sense. His knee was bouncing uncontrollably and he was getting antsier by the second. He couldn't take it anymore, he exploded out of the seat and began pacing, mumbling incoherent phrases as he walked by, making his kwami increasingly more concerned.
The small black cat stayed still in his spot on the couch, "you alright, Adrien?" He finally asked after a minute of watching the boy. Either Adrien didn't hear him, or he was choosing to ignore him. Plagg sighed and approached his person, grabbing his arm and bringing him back to a chair, pulling him down to sit. He stared straight ahead, his eyes wide and his face pale except for the pink brushing his cheeks.
"What do I do Plagg?" He asked, his words barely a whisper coming out.
"What do you want to do?" Plagg replied with a question of his own, trying not to help Adrien too much. He has to do this on his own, for once. Putting his hands behind his head and leaning against the back of the couch, Plagg closed his eyes and adopted a relaxed look on his face, as if he couldn't care less about Adrien's problems, which is exactly the thought he had.
Adrien looked to his black being with an offended look and was about to retort about his lack of sympathy when he felt another wave of panic rush through him, reminding him about the problem. He got his phone out and pulled up Marinette's contact information, staring at her picture while deep in thought. Do I love her? I care about her a lot, and I wasn't even sure she merely liked me, let alone love! I appreciate her friendship, but do I want more than that? So many thoughts were repeating over and over in his head, clouding any rational judgement he might've had.
Closing his eyes and putting his phone down, he rubbed his face with his hands and placed his elbows on the table in front of him, leaning on his palms. "Isn't Marinette with Luka?" He said, suddenly remembering the blue haired boy. Plagg laughed, "and aren't you with Kagami?" Adrien groaned and leaned into his hands once more, seeing just how complicated the situation really is.
Kagami, Adrien wasn't even sure of their current status, what do I do about Kagami? He thought they were progressing in their relationship and he was okay with that. She was the first move he made to try to move past Ladybug, but obviously that didn't work. He considered her a good friend and a great fencing partner, and even though he was allowing their friendship to turn into something more, he was still left indecisive.
"So," Plagg started, tossing yet another wedge of cheese into his mouth, "what're you going to do?" His person leaned out of his hands and looked at his kwami, his expression having changed from torn confusion to determination. "I don't know Plagg, but I do know I have to talk to Kagami first."
After Adrien's decision, the two did their usual nighttime routine, which consisted of Plagg eating a slice of cheese when Adrien took a shower, eating another when he got dressed, and a final one before going to sleep. In the morning, when they woke up, Adrien was filled with dread as he pulled his phone out and dialled Kagami's number.
"Adrien? Why are you calling me at this time?"
"I... I need to talk to you Kagami."
"Of course you do... Can we meet at Andre's stand?"
"Yes, thank you Kagami."
"Bye, Adrien."
He ended the call with a sad sigh, and got ready for the day. "I hate doing this to her Plagg, but it's the right thing to do... Right?" He asked, suddenly uncertain of his decision. His kwami raised his hands, "don't ask me, it's your disgusting feelings that you need to go by." Adrien sighed once more before opening his bag for Plagg to fly into. Once he was settled, he headed to the black car and begged his bodyguard to take him to the meeting place.
"Thank you for doing this," he told his driver with a smile and quickly climbed out of the car and walked to the girl standing alone on the bridge. When he reached her, she turned and had her usual unreadable expression, "I assume this is it, then?" She stated more than asked, seeming to already know exactly what was going to happen. Adrien gave a sad smile and looked over the edge, willing her to join him, but when she didn't, he sighed very deeply before speaking.
"I don't really know Kagami," he told her honestly, not able to look her in the eyes. Beside the sounds of people walking by and cars passing, an uncomfortable silence encompassed the two.
"This is about Marinette," Kagami allowed herself to breath out audibly, but still not moving from her position. Adrien turned towards her, giving her a questioning look at her odd open statement. When he opened his mouth to speak, she put her hand up, silencing him instead. "Do not try to deny it, I could tell from the moment I saw you two interacting." She closed her eyes for a split second, composing herself so she could meet his eyes once more. Adrien wanted to deny it, but he knew he wouldn't be able to lie to her.
"Yes," he said simply, surprising even himself with his blunt response. Kagami was momentarily taken aback, then she quietly cleared her throat and stood straighter. "Right, so is my assumption correct in that you and I will no longer be pursuing a relationship?" The boy in front of her stiffened, then relaxed when he felt a hand briefly touch his arm, "I don't even know if I love her like that Kagami," Adrien said, also truthfully. Kagami sighed and tried to smile, "your decision has already been made Adrien, you trying to soften the blow only hurts more," she pushed her hair out of her face, "I will still be your partner and friend, as well as Marinette's." She said with a finality in her voice, and before Adrien could do anything, she walked away, only looking over her shoulder as she climbed in her car.
He got in the backseat and told "Gorilla" to go ahead to the school, and when he looked at him concerned, Adrien assured him that he was perfectly fine with a smile. The ride there wasn't as long as he imagined it would be, and when he saw Marinette riding on the back of a bike, he realized the ride wasn't long enough.
Taking his time to get out, Adrien said a goodbye to "Gorilla" and walked past the front gates. When he almost reached the front doors, someone bumped into his side and he whipped around to catch the person who was now falling. He grabbed their arm, but swiftly let go when he saw someone had already caught them.
"Are you alright Marinette?" Luka asked the girl in his arms as he helped her stand up. Marinette, who was now blushing violently, looked back and forth between the two guys before nodding excessively and saying a rushed 'yes' while sprinting inside the doors. Adrien smiled fondly, watching the girl leave. Turning towards the other boy, he produced a different smile, but still one of friendly origin. "I'm guessing you finally realized?" Luka said vaguely.
"I... realized what, exactly?" Luka quietly chuckled and strapped his bike helmet back on, "just how much Marinette likes you," he said distantly as he looked towards the school, where the girl had just disappeared to. Adrien's eyes widened, "but she's with you, she likes you," he tried to assure the other boy that he was not trying to ruin whatever semblance of a relationship they had. But Luka only laughed once more, "Marinette may like me as well, but she hasn't given me a straight answer on where we stand. I assume because of her remaining feelings for you," Adrien's mouth hung slightly open, but Luka just hopped on his bike and rode away, waving at Adrien before disappearing from view.
Getting over his moment of being stunned, he hastily walked into the school and into his first class, risking a quick glance at Marinette, who was already staring at him. When they made eye contact, she looked away and he could see the beginning of a blush spread on her cheeks. He then felt his own face start to heat up.
Having sat in his seat, he noticed Nino was not to his left. Confused, he turned around and saw Marinette apparently realizing the same thing he did.
"Where's Nino?" They both asked simultaneously, causing both of their blushes to burn brighter. Adrien was about to say something else when Mrs. Bustier walked into class.
"Where's Nino?" The pair asked, again at the same time. Their teacher walked over to their desks and leaned down, so only they could hear. "He's taking today off and starting his weekend a day early," she said with kind eyes and the two nodded in understanding.
The day went by as boring as usual without his best friend there to make him laugh and smile, but at least he had Marinette. Well, somewhat.
After the last bell rang, Marinette scrambled her things together and practically sprinted out the door, but Adrien ran after her, following closely behind. "Marinette! Wait!" He desperately said, trying to get her attention. When he yelled her name the third time, she finally stopped dead in her tracks, causing Adrien to run right into her back, leading her to fall with him tumbling over her.
"Owww," Marinette groaned in pain and she clutched her right arm, rolling over on her back. Adrien moved over and crouched over the girl in pain, worry etched on his features. "I'm so sorry! Are you alright Marinette?" When she heard his voice, her eyes shot open and she stopped wincing for a second before feeling a wave of pain again. He slid his hand under her torso and lifted her until he could grab her with both arms. Once he got her all the way standing, she tried to take a step but ended up falling back against him, immediately being caged by his arms.
With her chest pressed to his, all rational thought left Marinette's head, all except the feeling of pain radiating from her right wrist. "Sorry," she said muffled against him. She could feel the boy laugh and she risked a look up, and she wished she hadn't because he was looking down at her with that look that makes her heart swoon. When his hand on her back began rubbing circles, she tensed up and needed an escape before she said something stupid like always.
Feeling her struggle to get out of his arms, he pulled away, but kept a grip on her shoulders. "Are you okay?" Marinette was still holding her wrist, but Adrien reached out and took her hand in his and examined it, turning it carefully so as to not pain her more, stopping when he felt her flinch under his touch. "I think it's just sprained," he said sheepishly, handing her wrist back against her body, not letting go until her other hand met his.
Marinette smiled a little too widely, "Oh I'm fine! Your chest is very hard- the ground is very hard. Thank you for falling for me, catching me, I mean," she stumbled through her words, internally kicking herself. But Adrien was still looking down at her in adoration, still not letting go of her shoulder with his hand. "Do you want a ride?" He asked, sounding strangely shy. "Oh, no! I mean, I don't want you to go too out of your way for me!" Laughing nervously, she went to pick her bag up with her left hand, careful not to bump the other.
Adrien bent down to help her when their hands touched and Marinette yanked her hand away as soon as the contact happened. Handing her bag to her, he smiled sweetly, "it's the least I could do after causing you to hurt your wrist," he gestured to the car waiting for him then shoved his hands in his pockets, rocking back on his feet. She grinned nervously and walked beside him to the car, sliding in first, not noticing the boy on the bicycle to her right.
When they got to her house, Adrien grabbed her arm, carefully avoiding her wrist, "maybe we can hang out? Sometime when my father lets me out?" He asked slowly, trying not to sound too pushy. Marinette offered a natural smile, "def... definitely, Adrien." Then with a wave, she got out and closed the door, keeping eye contact with the blonde boy until he drove out of view.
Adrien sat back and faced the front of the car, sighing happily. I know this isn't the wrong choice.
Author's Notes: Hiya! I'm sorry it's been a while, I've been dealing with things, but I'm doing better now so I hope I will get back to updating consistently! Thank you all so much for reading!