Are y'all ready? :)
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"Today is the day," Marinette told herself, looking into the bathroom mirror and trying to encourage herself, "You got this!"
"Marinette!" Sabine called, "You're going to be late!"
This sent the bluenette into overdrive as she began to multi-task, almost brushing her teeth with her hairbrush and brushing her hair with her toothbrush.
The teen quickly changed into some cute clothes she set out the night before (which took almost 3 hours of talking with Alya over the phone just to pick out a shirt and Tikki watching everything in confusion). It was all worth it in the end when Marinette looked into the mirror, still satisfied with what she is wearing.
Marinette quickly grabbed her school bag and a croissant before sprinting to school. Not even the teacher scolding her for being late could change her happy and excited mood. After all, she is going to the movies with Luka tonight!
The bell signaled the end of the first class and everyone began to pack their stuff.
"Girl! Is that really you? Wow!" Alya squealed, making her best friend sheepishly smile and softly blush, "You look good!"
"Thanks! I just hope it's good enough for tonight," Marinette timidly spoke and moved a strand of hair out of her face. Alya hooked an arm around her best friend's shoulders as they made their way to their next class.
"Believe me, girl. You're stunning," the ombré-haired teen complimented, earning a bigger smile from Marinette. Suddenly, the bluenette perked up in realization.
"Oh, shoot! I need to go grab my history book from my locker!" She panicked, "I'll meet you in class! Gotta run!"
Marinette practically ran down the nearest set of stairs and headed towards the locker room. Alya blinked her wide eyes before guilt began to take over her mind.
"Did you tell her?" A small voice came. Alya turned around to see a worried Mylene approaching. The ombré-haired teen shook her head, replying, "No...I just don't know how to tell her."
Mylene nodded understandingly before Alya let out a long sigh.
The calm has come to an end...
...and the two could feel an oncoming storm starting to form.
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Adrien woke to something soft hitting his face.
He didn't think much of it at first until the thing hit his face again. Green eyes fluttered open in confusion and tried to register what is happening.
That's when he noticed something black and green filling his vision and the close prominently it held. The blonde teen stared for a moment longer before being startled fully awake, shooting up in bed in fright.
Plagg flew off of Adrien's stomach and is unable to latch his claws onto anything. The black cat flew by the bed's edge and fell onto the carpet below. The teen rubbed his eyes before looking at the grumpy cat glaring daggers at him.
"Sorry, Plagg," Adrien sheepishly apologized, scratching the back of his neck. The boy looked over at the giant cat bed to see the red cat still all curled up and spouting z's.
The ex-model removed the blankets off of him and kicked his feet off the side of the bed. Plagg managed to get back onto his feet and limp over to join his partner. Adrien stretched his arms before standing up to check the cat's bowls. They still seemed fine on food and water so the blonde continued on to change clothes.
That is until hearing a knock on his door. Adrien froze, eyes locked onto the door like a deer in headlights.
"Adrien," Nathalie's voice came through the door, "Can I come in?"
"J-Just a minute," the blonde panicked, green orbs darting around for a solution. Without a second thought, Adrien carefully picked up the cats' bed and quickly placed them in the restroom, shutting the door.
He made sure everything else is out of sight before opening the door, a single drop of sweat sliding down his forehead. He is nervous, not knowing what Nathalie's reaction would be if she found the cats. With a giant smile, he greeted the woman, "G-Good morning, Nathalie?"
Nathalie raised an eyebrow before asking, "Are you alright?"
Adrien nervously chuckled, answering, "N-Never better."
His guardian slowly nodded, very suspicious about Adrien's odd behavior. She decided to ignore it for the time being and handed the teen a list. The blonde looked from Nathalie then at the paper he received.
"What's this?" Adrien asked, scanning the list.
"Well, if you're going to school next semester, you're going to need supplies. We can go get some after lunch," Nathalie explained. Adrien let a giant smile spread across his face. Yet, his answer didn't have time to leave his lips when a loud "meow" is heard within the room.
The blonde stiffened as Nathalie looked into his room.
"What was that?" She asked, making Adrien go ballistic within his mind. He spat out the first thing he could think of, "T-The w-wind probably. Definitely not so-some animal, that wo-would be absurd!"
Nathalie is very confused as Adrien can feel the palms of his hands grow sweaty.
"I sh-should get ready f-for the day! Thank you a bunch, N-Nathalie! You are the bestest!" With that, Adrien shut the door and left a stunned Nathalie standing outside.
Adrien sighed in relief, placing a hand over his racing heart. Green eyes shot over to the bathroom before marching over to the smaller connected room. He slid the door open to reveal Plagg snarling at him. The red cat has just woken up and watched the two quarrel.
"Look, I'm sorry that I hid you both in the bathroom but I can't let anyone know (besides Gorilla) that you're here. You might get sent back to the street or a pound before your leg gets a chance to heal," Adrien huffed, moving around Plagg to carry the bed back to its original spot before getting ready for the day.
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Marinette has arrived home for lunch that afternoon. She has an extra skip in her step and a bright smile filling half of her face. She greeted her papa with a kiss on the cheek before heading up the stairs.
The bluenette opened the apartment door and walked into her small home. Her stomach did many flips and a bubbly feeling rose in her chest, wanting to explode with pure joy. The dream-like look on her face didn't go unnoticed.
"Marinette?" Tikki questioned, innocently, "What is wrong with your face? It looks weird."
Sabine and Celine paused in their conversation and cooking lunch to see the teen with her head stuck in the clouds. Marinette sat down at the table and sighed, a little bit of pink dusting her cheeks.
"You look like you're in a good mood," Sabine commented, smiling at the younger bluenette. Marinette nodded in agreement before Celine set a plate of food in front of her and beside her.
"Tikki, lunch!" Celine called her daughter. The seven-year-old stopped playing with Marinette's dolls to join her cousin at the table. Just as Marinette is taking a bite, her aunt decided to continue the conversation.
"So," Celine began, wiggling her eyebrows, "Is it today? Your little date with a certain rockstar boy?"
The bluenette nearly spat her food out in surprise and coughed. Bluebell eyes narrowed at her aunt, who just looked at her innocently with her head in the palms of her hands.
"H-How did you know a-about that?" The bluenette stuttered, questionably. She only told Alya about her date with Luka. She didn't remember telling anyone else otherwise.
"One, these walls aren't soundproof. Also, we need to work on your "asking out a boy" skills. Really, Mari Bear, meow-vie? That's not how you get a boy to slide into your DMs," Celine explained, earning gurgling noises from the scarlet-faced teen.
"Two," The elder redhead continued, "Tikki tells me some interesting stories from what I assume is your "hush-hush" book."
Marinette knew that Celine is referring the "hush-hush" book" as her diary but it still didn't make it any less embarrassing.
"I need to hide my diary better," The bluenette thought, going back to eating her food in a rush. She wanted to get out of here as fast as possible to avoid any more of this conversation.
"If you are going out tonight, sweetheart," Sabine intervened, "there's going to be a storm tonight. So, I suggest you take a raincoat or an umbrella."
Marinette chugged down her water before answering, "Okay, I will."
The aspiring fashion designer hopped off the stool and grabbed her bag. Then, she kissed Tikki, Celine, and her mother's cheeks.
"Bye! I'll see you all later! I love you!" Marinette shouted before racing out the door. Tikki shouted back a "goodbye" and continued to eat her lunch. Suddenly, she felt goosebumps crawling up her skin and the hairs on the back of her neck stand.
Tikki stopped eating for a moment. She can feel the air become tense as a sudden chill washed over her.
Tikki's big, blue orbs glanced up at the two adults, feeling an unnerving aura coming from the both of them. She knew this feeling all too well. She didn't know how she gained this sixth sense but is thankful for it.
The young redhead placed her spoon down on the plate and rushed over to grab her dolls. The two adults didn't notice the little girl sneak out of the apartment and into the stairwell.
Tikki knew they didn't see her leave and what that dark aura meant.
Another fight is about to break out between her mom and aunt.
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"I don't understand why you can't tell her in the first place. Once she finds out, either way, Marinette will still be hurt in the end. But if you don't tell her and she finds out you knew all along, she'd probably be even more hurt than before for not telling her," Nino explained before clasping his lips on a straw and taking a sip from his juice box.
Alya paused in her pacing and pursued her lips in thought. She knew her boyfriend was right. In the end, Marinette will be brokenhearted. The ombré-haired teen growled, taking off her glasses and cleaning them.
"I know," Alya grumbled, "but it'll be hard."
"That's why Mylene asked for you to break the news," Nino advised, "You're Marinette's best friend. You can help her better than anyone else at school."
"Yeah," Alya sighed, dejectedly and placed her glasses back upon the bridge of her nose, "Hopefully, I can tell her face to face before school ends since I have to babysit tonight. It'd be brutal to tell her over text."
Nino nodded in agreement before perking up when his phone went off. He checked his device before sliding it back in his pocket and stood up from the bench.
"Lunch is almost over. You ready to head back?" Nino asked his girlfriend, weaving his fingers with Alya's.
"I suppose," Alya replied, a little glumly but appreciated Nino for holding her hand as a way of comfort. The couple made their way back to school quietly hand in hand. The reporter is in a daze, mind in a whirlwind. She is trying to figure out a solution, a good way to tell her best friend the news without it hurting too bad.
Yet, every scene that played out in her head ended in failure.
"Hey, Alya and Nino!"
The aspiring reporter is snapped out of her thoughts by the very person that plagued them. Green eyes looked over at the cheery, smiley bluenette frolicking over.
"Hey, dudette," Nino greeted with an extended fist bump. Marinette returned the gesture before turning to Alya. Marinette's bright smile switched to a frown when seeing Alya trying to hide her distress.
"Is there something wrong, Alya?" Marinette asked, worried for her best friend. Alya forced her grimace away with a fake smile.
"Yeah, just wondering how well I did on that math test yesterday," Alya lied. Marinette nodded in agreement, "I don't think I did very well on it either. It was harder than I expected and had stuff we didn't even learn."
The bluenette continued to complain about the math test as Alya bid Nino a farewell for the time. This is Alya's chance to spill the beans before classes started.
"Hey, Mari. Can I chat with you quickly before classes start?" The ombré-haired teen asked. Bluebell eyes gazed upon the troubled reporter for a moment and grew concerned all over again. Before Marinette can get a word out, she wasn't paying attention and bumped into something...
"Oops, my bad."
...or someone.
Marinette is about to apologize for bumping into the victim of her clumsiness until seeing who it was. Bluebell eyes narrowed, muttering, "Lila."
"Hey! I couldn't help but overhear your conversation. Sorry for eavesdropping, I heard Alya has a problem and wanted to see if I can help," Lila lied straight through her pearly white teeth, smiling.
Marinette rolled her eyes and knew it wouldn't be worth it to argue with the fox. In the end, Alya will probably seek out the "oh so wise, Lila Rossi" for help. Alya practically worshiped Lila.
Besides, she can't be late for her next class and possibly get in trouble right in front of her crush. That will be all kinds of embarrassing. With a sigh and glance at the clock, Marinette gave a small smile to Alya.
"I have to get to class so I'm not late. I'll talk with you after school," Marinette promised before heading to her class. Alya is about to stop her when a hand is placed on her shoulder.
"So, what do you need help with?" Lila asked, chirping. Alya groaned, saying, "I have to tell Marinette something but I can't do it after school. I have to babysit my siblings."
The brunette pursed her lips in thought before a devious smile inched across her face.
"I'll tell her for you," Lila offered. Alya seemed skeptical about the offer, not sure if it is a good idea. At the reporter's hesitation, Lila frowned and removed her hand from Alya's shoulder.
"I see. It must not be that important or you don't trust me enough to tell her. It's okay, I understand," Lila acted sheepish with a little bit of "hurt" as the cherry to top her homemade manipulating ice cream.
"No, it has nothing to do with that!" Alya reassured quickly before scratching the back of her neck, "It's just, Marinette doesn't seem very fond of you for some reason."
The warning bell rang, students having five minutes left to get to their classes. Alya switched her gaze from the clock to Lila, unknowing of what to do. Alya growled in frustration at the situation.
"Okay," Alya finally relented, "just don't tell anyone else about this. Promise?"
"Cross my heart and hope to die," Lila promised, drawing an "x" over her heart. Alya sighed in relief, gratefully saying, "Thank you."
"No problem!" Lila chirped, an arm slyly bent behind her back with two wicked fingers crossed.
"No problem at all."
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