Marc writes in his notebook quietly, enjoying the silence of the area around him, as he sits in his usual spot beneath the stairs in the school's courtyard. He keeps writing, just the sounds of his pencil scribbling reaching his ears when suddenly, the silence is broken by the sounds of students' conversations. He peeks out to see Miss Bustier's class getting let out for the day.
Everyone from the class starts heading down the stairs he's hiding beneath. The shy boy doesn't make a sound and just listens to the semi loud clanging of feet making their way down to the courtyard below. He watches as people start heading out of school or to wherever they want. He breathes a sigh of relief at not being spotted and returns his attention to his notebook.
But his attention is caught by one student who hasn't left and instead decides to sit on a bench and balance a, what Marc assumes to be, sketchbook on their lap. Marc looks closely at the student and realizes that he's seen him around school a few times. Marc also notices how handsome he is with his red hair that shines like gold beneath the sunlight and his beautiful blue eyes that are as deep as the ocean.
The student sits there and just draws, eyes never leaving the sketchbook. Marc watches him for a little bit then decides to return to his writing. After writing for a little longer, he finds a stopping point and decides to head home. He puts his things away and picks his bag up before beginning his walk home, noticing that the student from before is gone now.
He leaves the school grounds and enjoys the quietness and calm of the sunny day as he takes the familiar route. While walking, he thinks about ideas for his writing. Lately, he's been trying to write things about Ladybug and the other heroes of Paris, but he has been struggling with coming up with ideas. Shortly, he finds himself heading into his house and going to his room.
He sets his bag down in its usual spot in the corner of the slightly messy room. He decides to go ahead and check the homework assignment posted on the school website by one of his teachers so he can get it completed. He takes his shoes off and sits down at the desk in his room before opening up his laptop and turning it on, mindlessly humming as it loads up. He enters his password and watches as the background comes into view.
He clicks on a browser tab at the bottom, prompting it to come up, then he types in the school's website and hits enter. He looks at the tabs lining the top of the school's page, scanning to find the teacher one when something at the top of the page catches his attention. It's labeled "Student Art". He clicks on it and the page loads to show pictures of someone's drawings of Ladybug and other heroes as well. He looks through all of them and is more and more amazed as he sees more pictures.
It doesn't take him long to reach the bottom of the page and all he sees is one sentence: "All of these drawings of our heroes have been done by Collége Françoise Dupont student, Nathaniel Kurtzberg."
Next to the sentence is a picture of a boy with nearly shoulder-length red hair covering one eye and the other bright, blue eye gazing at the camera as the boy has a slightly shy look on his face. Marc feels some heat creep into his cheeks as he takes in the other boy's appearance. He then realizes that he's seen this boy. He's in Miss Bustier's class and he's the boy with the sketchbook that was in the courtyard earlier that day.
Marc has noticed him around school before and always thought he was cute, but until now, he didn't know his name or anything about him. The writer wishes he could talk to him, but his shyness gets in the way every time he wants to talk to people. He starts thinking about how to get closer to the artist without having to straight out talk to him. Then it hits him. He should use his writing as the way to do it! He could make an anonymous letter to Nathaniel and sneak it into the boy's locker.
He smiles at the idea and pulls out a fresh sheet of lined paper before pulling out his favorite pen: a blue glitter one. He takes a deep breath and tries to gather his thoughts, but he finds himself struggling with how to convey his feelings properly. He thinks for several moments before deciding to take a snack break. He always finds himself able to think better once he's eaten something.
He goes downstairs and grabs a couple of chocolate chip cookies from a batch that his mom had made the previous night and pours himself a glass of milk to go with the sweet treat. He sits down at the desk in his room and munches the cookies while enjoying the cold, smooth milk and attempting again to think of something. He eventually settles with just writing a simple note about what he likes about the artist so he doesn't come across too strong or creep Nathaniel out. He puts pen to paper and starts writing.
Nathaniel,
I noticed that we are both passionate about our art forms and when I first saw your art on the school website, I was impressed with how much work you put into your drawings. The movement, the expressions, the attitudes, they're all so amazing. I've been inspired by your art so much that I plan to write stories to accompany your drawings. I admire the determination you have when doing your art and the way that you're not afraid to show people your drawings. I just wanted to let you know that I think you're pretty great and I would like to get to know you.
From, Your Secret Admirer
He smiles as he finishes the letter, feeling confident that it's good enough to get the point across without coming off as weird. He folds it neatly before grabbing an envelope from his desk drawer. He writes the other boy's name neatly across the front before slipping the letter into it and sealing it. He puts the letter into his backpack so he won't forget or have the chance to chicken out. He won't let himself.
He's tired of not taking chances and passing on opportunities to do things that are important to him. He then does his original task of completing his homework for the day and gets it done rather quickly. After that, he looks at Nathaniel's drawings again and spends most of the night writing some things to go along with the art before getting tired and deciding to get some sleep.
He does his usual nightly routine of brushing his teeth and taking a quick shower before getting into bed and falling asleep rather quickly due to his eventful day. In the morning, he wakes up to the sound of his alarm. He sits up and turns it off before stretching and getting out of bed. He then begins his morning ritual of getting dressed, brushing his hair, and carefully applying some makeup.
After that, he goes to the kitchen and snags a blueberry muffin and an apple. He eats them then leaves the house to head to school. As he's walking, he remembers the letter and starts feeling nervous. He's really going to do this? Maybe he shouldn't. What if Nathaniel thinks it's weird and finds out it was him? He would have to change schools so he would never run into him again!
While he's debating whether or not to follow through with the letter, he arrives at school and walks in among the sea of students that are relaxing in the courtyard enjoying the time before the bell rings. He finds a place to sit on a staircase and just messes around on his phone to pass the time. After a few minutes, the sound of the bell echoes through the courtyard and everyone starts heading to their classes, Marc included.
The dark-haired boy spends the first half of the day with his nerves eating away at him slowly but surely about what he'll be doing later in the day. By the time he gets to his class that precedes lunch, he feels like a storm is wreaking havoc in his stomach. He spends a majority of the class jotting down notes as he nervously taps his fingers against his leg. He wishes this class would end already.
He looks up at the clock and notices that it's only ten minutes until the bell rings for everyone to go to lunch. He could just ask to go to the bathroom and not come back since the class only has a few minutes left and they're done with notes and are just having some free time right now, so he won't be missing anything important. That way, he'll have time to deliver the letter without anyone noticing. Marc sheepishly raises his hand and the teacher notices.
"Yes, Marc?"
"May I be excused to go to the bathroom?", he quietly asks.
"Yes, you may.", the teacher simply says before resuming grading papers.
Marc makes sure he has his bag and leaves the classroom before heading to the area he has in mind. He pays attention to his surroundings as he walks, making sure that he's alone. Besides seeing a couple of students along the way, there is no one around. He heads to the locker room reserved for Miss Bustier's class and goes in quietly. As he knew would most likely be the case, the room is empty, save for him.
He looks around at the lockers, wondering which one belongs to Nathaniel. He starts opening them one by one and looking at their contents to see if it's the right one. After a few tries, he finds one with sketchbooks and hopes that it's the right one. He places the letter into the locker and closes it. He walks away and heads to the door leading out to the hallway before his nerves can get the better of him and make him frantically try to take the letter back.
He goes through the door to hear the sound of people approaching from one end of the hallway. He darts into a small custodial closet and stays hidden as a group of people go by. He sees a flash of red through the small window on the door and looks to see that Nathaniel is in the group. He waits until the hallway becomes quiet once again before leaving the room and heading back into the hallway.
He looks around, wondering where they went and starts hearing noise from the locker room he was just in. He tenses up, realizing that his letter will be read any second now. He should probably leave, but his mind tempts him to sneakily approach the door of the locker room and stand outside it and he gives in. He doesn't make a sound as he listens to the voices filtering out from the room and the clanging of locker doors opening and closing. After a few seconds, he hears one voice in particular.
"What's this?", the voice asks in a confused tone.
He hears the rustling of paper before a couple of minutes of silence. Marc keeps listening before hearing someone approaching the door from inside the room, causing him to freak out and run away, heading to the nearest bathroom. He feels relieved at the sight of the empty bathroom and goes to stand in front of the mirror. He takes deep breaths, trying to calm his racing heart, cursing it for causing this whole mess in the first place.
After a few minutes, he's calm and he exits the bathroom. As soon as he steps through the door, the bell rings signaling that's it's time for lunch. Marc makes his way to the lunchroom and grabs what's being served that day before making his way to his usual spot, which is a table in the corner of the cafeteria. He sits down with his food and glances around the room, looking for a specific person.
He spots the red hair and watches Nathaniel talk quietly with his group of friends. He knows that he's probably being a creep by staring at the other boy, but he can't help himself. He just admires Nath's red hair and beautiful blue eyes as he eats his lunch. Then he spots a familiar letter in the redhead's hands and tries not to blush. From the distance, it looks like Nathaniel is telling his friends about the note that he found in his locker.
Marc decides to stop watching and focus on finishing his lunch. He jumps when another tray is placed onto the table and someone takes a seat across from him. He looks up to see blue hair, blue eyes, and a smile. Marc shakes his head and huffs before addressing the other boy.
"You scared me! A little warning next time, please."
Luka gives an apologetic smile. "Sorry. I'll give you a heads up next time. You seem awfully jumpy today. Is something wrong?", he questions his younger cousin.
Marc blushes slightly as he thinks about the letter and the person he wrote it to. "N-nothing's wrong.", he lies.
Luka raises an eyebrow before smiling kindly at Marc. "I can tell you're not being honest, but if you're not comfortable telling me, that's okay. I don't want you to feel forced to talk about what's on your mind."
Marc simply nods. "Thank you, Luka."
The two simply sit and eat in silence until the bell rings and they part ways to head back to their classes. As Marc is leaving the cafeteria, he fails to notice the blue-eyed girl with pigtails watching him with a thoughtful look on her face. The writer walks quietly to class and enters the room before sitting down, already wishing he could go home. The rest of the school day passes in a blur and he's soon heading home, ready to just unwind.
He spends the night just listening to music and writing some more, using Nathaniel's art as inspiration. He gets ready for bed just like the night before and slips into a comfortable, dreamless sleep. The next morning, he wakes up and gets ready like usual before making his way to school. He walks into the courtyard and keeps to himself, trying not to bump into anyone. He goes and sits on a bench in the emptiest area of the courtyard.
He sits down and starts writing in his notebook. He hears footsteps around him but doesn't pay the sound any mind, too absorbed in writing. That causes him to miss the short blue-eyed girl in punky attire watching him from not far away. She notices him writing in his notebook and narrows her eyes thoughtfully, the gears in her mind turning. After a few seconds, she smirks and walks away, heading over to a certain redheaded artist.
The rest of Marc's day is uneventful and he fights boredom as he takes notes and works on homework when he has free moments to do so. Once the final bell of the day rings, he leaves the room and heads down the hallway. He quickly walks into the room where his locker is and goes to it before opening it. He puts his stuff in like usual before noticing a piece of paper resting among his things.
He picks it up and faces it to himself to see what's on it. His eyebrows rise in surprise and his eyes widen as a blush appears on his face. The only thing on the paper is a drawing of him and Nathaniel embracing each other while sharing a gentle kiss. The drawing is colored in beautifully and Nath's trademark exclamation point, which is on every drawing on the school's website, is in the bottom right corner.
He hears a throat clear behind him and jumps slightly, not expecting the sudden noise. He turns around and sees the redhead that's been on his mind lately. Marc just quietly looks at him, noticing that Nathaniel's cheeks are tinted light pink. The artist swallows nervously before saying something.
"Hi, I'm Nathaniel, um... you already know that, don't you? I really enjoyed your letter and I would like to get to know you too, so I was wondering something. W-would you like to go out to have a coffee or something since school is over for the day?" Nathaniel awkwardly rambles while rubbing the back of his neck.
Marc fights back his nerves before replying. "Yes.", he says in a sure tone.
Nathaniel blinks once and stops mid-word as the blush on his cheeks intensifies before he responds. "Okay. There's a cafe not far from here."
Marc nods and the two then leave the school while giving each other shy glances with blushes on their cheeks as they head to the closest cafe to the school.