Marinette screamed and sat up, her body drenched in cold sweat. She couldn't shake the image of Chat Noir, wounded and bleeding, out of her mind. She only relaxed once she reminded herself that she was sitting in her bed. It was only a dream, she told herself firmly, slapping her cheeks to wake herself up. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, her mind spinning with memories from her dream.
Why had she dreamt that Chat Noir was injured again? Was she remembering that night, many years ago, when he had showed up by her door - literally - with such a terrible wound? While her eight-year-old self had jumped at the chance to help him and hadn't bothered thinking about anything else, she had an inkling that if she hadn't aided him that night, he may not have made it...She drew another breath. No, she had to stop delving into the past. Chat Noir was now alive and well, and nothing bad was going to happen - she had probably just been thinking about how he had left that night, that's all. There were more important things for her to be concerned with, like the fact that she was going to see Adrien again today.
Oh no, Adrien!
Her eyes grew round, and she practically jumped out of bed in her haste to get ready for school. She almost bumped into her mother on her way to the bathroom.
"Good morning, Maman!" she greeted cheerfully as she ran past.
"Good morning, dear," Sabine smiled warmly back at her daughter. Marinette had inherited her mother's dark blue-colored hair. "You're rather energetic today. Is anything going on at school?" Trust her mother to know everything.
Marinette poked her head out of the bathroom with her toothbrush in her mouth. "Mmm! Afien comfing!" she mumbled around a mouthful of toothpaste. "I mean, Adrien is coming to speak to us today!" she elaborated after spitting out the toothpaste into the sink. She quickly rinsed the minty taste out of her mouth, then followed her mother downstairs for breakfast.
Her eyes glowed at the delicious-looking baguette sitting on the dining table. Her stomach rumbled in hunger.
"Good morning, Papa!" Marinette said cheerily as Tom came out of the kitchen.
"Good morning, Marinette!" Her father was a man with a large build, and probably one of the warmest and kindest people Marinette knew. He grinned as his wife and daughter sat down to join him for breakfast.
The family chatted merrily as Marinette stuffed her mouth with the fluffy, fresh-out-of-the-oven baguette. The best part of her family owning a bakery was the fact they had fresh, delicious bread at all times of the day. That was something she wouldn't trade with the world.
She finished her meal in a few bites, then quickly slipped on her backpack and headed to the door. "Well, I'm off for school!" she called back to her parents. She heard them wish her a good day before the door closed, and then she was off.
The class was buzzing with excitement as Marinette walked into the room. After all, today was the day that Adrien would be coming to speak to them. Alya was already seated by the time Marinette made her way to her desk.
"Hey Alya!"
"Morning, girl! Can you believe that Adrien Agreste will be coming to our class today? I'm going to get the juiciest scoop for my blog!" Alya said in way of greeting. She was a huge fan of celebrity gossip, and even had her own blog in which she wrote about France's latest celebrities.
"Good for you, Alya," Marinette said with a smile. While Marinette wasn't especially into celebrity news, she still supported Alya in following her dreams of becoming a journalist. The other benefit of being Alya Césaire's best friend was that she kept Marinette updated on Chat Noir's latest escapades. While Marinette would never openly admit it to her, she secretly appreciated being able to follow the news about him and get updates on how he was doing.
Her friend pulled out her trusted journal from her backpack and chewed on her pen thoughtfully. "What do you think are some good questions that I should ask him? How about...What kind of girl is your type? Oh, imagine him answering 'My type is the girl sitting in front of me, with dark hair and blue eyes!' Wouldn't that be romantic, girl?"
Marinette's cheeks turned red at what the other girl was suggesting. "Alya, please! There's no way he could be interested in me! And besides, he's here to talk about careers, right? Not his love life!"
Luckily, she was saved from further teasing when Madame Bustier walked into the room with non other than Adrien behind her. Instantly, the girls in the classes started screaming, and Marinette could only hide behind her science textbook in hopes that he wouldn't recognize her. Once she saw the coast was clear, she cautiously peeked at him from behind her book.
Even though he was a famous celebrity, Adrien was charming but modest. He wasn't like certain others, who were stuck-up and used their fame and wealth to get what they wanted. As he stood in the front of the class, he appeared almost nervous, which Marinette found rather endearing.
"Well, thank you for that warm welcome, everyone!" Madame Bustier said, clapping her hands to bring the class's attention back. "May I introduce, from our very own Collège Françoise Dupont, Adrien Agreste!"
The class burst into applause.
"Hello everyone," Adrien began as the clapping finally died down. "I'm Adrien Agreste, but just Adrien is cool. I'm a model for my father's Gabriel brand. Honestly, if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be here right now, figuratively and literally - " the students couldn't stop laughing at that, and Adrien grinned at the welcoming response - "and I'm very honored for him to be so supportive of me and to always have my back. But today, I'm not here to talk about my father. I'm here to talk about you, because you all are incredible students and I'm sure you'll all do amazing things in the future. If there's anything I can do to help out, just let me know. Before we get into the Question and Answer portion, I also wanted to introduce an exciting opportunity!"
Marinette sat up a little straighter in her chair. Like the other students, she too was curious to see what this opportunity would be.
"The Gabriel brand is looking for a fashion designer. And as a way to give back to my alma mater, we've decided to hold a fashion design contest for students in the Terminale class. The criteria are simple: it has to be your own work, and follow the theme of our upcoming collection, Red and Black. Other than that, feel free to use your imagination to make your designs as creative as possible. The deadline will be one month from now, on April Thirtieth. The winner will be announced at my next fashion show in two months, where I will be modeling your designs! We're looking forward to reviewing every entry."
Alya leaned closer to Marinette, her eyes shining. "This could be your big break, girl!" she whispered.
Marinette could only nod as she eagerly listened to Adrien. The gears in her brain were already spinning, brainstorming ideas that she could use for the contest.
"Please feel free to take a flyer if you're interested in participating, it contains additional details like how to submit your designs. But now, we'll be moving on to any questions you might have!"
Instantly, hands shot up from every corner of the class.
"Yes?" Adrien pointed to Alya, one of the first to raise her hand.
Marinette groaned inwardly, almost expecting her to ask the dreaded 'What's your type of girl?' question. Instead, she was surprised when Alya smirked and asked, "Are there any restaurants that you'd recommend in Paris?"
"Hmm, I wouldn't say a restaurant, as I have to follow a strict diet as part of being a model. I do take an occasional break from my diet, though. And one bakery in particular has especially delicious macarons. The name of the bakery is the Tom and Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie if I recall correctly," Adrien replied with a sheepish smile that melted the hearts of all the girls in the class.
Marinette's mouth dropped open. He had just revealed to the entire room that her parents' bakery was his favorite Paris eatery! She was touched that he remembered the name.
"Wow, how sweet! That's my friend's place!" Alya declared, pulling Marinette's textbook away so Adrien could notice her. Marinette squealed and tried to hide behind Alya, but it was too late. He had already recognized her.
He gave her bright smile. "Do tell your parents how delicious those macarons were."
She swallowed nervously, playing with a strand of her dark blue hair. Was it her imagination, or were half of the class suddenly glaring at her? She tried to make herself smaller as the questions for Adrien resumed.
By the end of the session, even Marinette had to admit that some of the questions were ridiculous, ranging from "What do you like to do for fun?" to "Are you seeing anyone?" (Marinette was surprised that he said no to that one). In other words, none of them were even remotely related to the actual topic they were supposed to be discussing. But Adrien was a gentleman and patiently answered all of them.
The bell rang just then, signaling the start of lunch and sparing Adrien from having to answer any more of the class's questions. Everyone groaned, for once too engrossed to be excited for the end of class.
"Well, I'm afraid that's all the time we had. But please thank Adrien again for coming and for answering all your questions!" Madame Bustier concluded the session, and the students once again clapped enthusiastically.
Marinette was the first one out of her seat, eagerly approaching Adrien to pick up a flyer. "Hi, again!" she stammered. "I-I'd like a flyer. I'm a designer fashion. I mean, I'm a fashion designer!"
Alya followed Marinette and swung an arm around her shoulders. "Mari here even designs all her own clothes! Isn't that so cool?"
"That's amazing! I'll be looking forward to your submission!" Adrien beamed at her, then looked thoughtful when Marinette's movement caught his eye - he had seen a flash of gold from her neck. "That's an interesting necklace you have there," he noted.
Marinette instantly went beet red. "Oh, this? This is nothing! Just a family heirloom!" she said the first thing she could come up with. She hated lying, but there was no way she could tell Adrien that the necklace was really a ring that belonged to non other than Chat Noir!
He shrugged. "Well, if you say so. But I still think it's nice!"
"T-Thank you," she stuttered, then practically ran out of the classroom with Alya in tow. She still couldn't believe she had a conversation - no, two conversations now (not that she was counting them) - with Adrien, and he actually had been really nice to her.
He watched her go, his lips widening into a sly, cheshire grin. He was pretty sure that she had been lying when she had responded to his comment about the necklace. After all, he was a part-time criminal, which meant that he had to be quite good at reading people. And if she had been lying about the necklace, that meant she didn't want other people to find out the truth behind it. He hadn't seen her wearing his ring - he knew she smart, and wouldn't reveal her connection to him away to others. But perhaps...that necklace...
He hadn't meant to go inside the bakery the day before. He'd promised not to see her again unless she asked for his help, which he hoped was a day that would never come because he'd hate to see her in danger. After all, he was a criminal, and she shouldn't involve herself with someone like him. But he'd remembered how adorable she had been when she had offered him a macaron as a child, and he couldn't stop himself. He'd developed a soft spot for the sweet treats ever since, not that he would ever let anyone else know. Chat Noir, Paris's most wanted criminal, had a sweet tooth? Yeah, no doubt even the Paris Police Prefecture would laugh at that. He scoffed as he imagined Roger Raincomprix, the bothersome policeman assigned to his case, laying out a mouse trap for him and using a macaron for bait. That would be ridiculous.
Anyway, back to Marinette... He thought that maybe if he approached her in his civilian form, he could pretend that everything was normal, that he wasn't secretly a criminal who stole anything and everything valuable. The idea of stealing from her bakery had crossed his mind a few times - she would probably get a kick out of that - and it was so tempting. But he didn't want to bring her under the spotlight, especially under Hawk Moth's radar.
He curled his fingers into a fist as he thought of Hawk Moth. If Chat Noir was the number one criminal in Paris, Hawk Moth would be considered number two. But he was as vile and ruthless as criminals got. Unlike Chat Noir, who never killed anyone no matter who he crossed paths with, Hawk Moth couldn't care less about morals. He would kill anyone to get what he wanted, and he even recruited lackeys who snooped around to do his dirty work. He was disgusting. And it frustrated Chat Noir to no end that he had never beaten Hawk Moth.
Ten years ago, he had nearly died by Hawk Moth's hands. If it hadn't been for Marinette's quick-thinking and first aid that night, he probably wouldn't have survived. He owed her his life, and he could probably never fully repay her for her kindness. She really was too good for him...he smiled fondly as he thought of the sassy eight-year-old girl. She'd grown up to become a beautiful woman.
"Ahem," a cough interrupted his thoughts.
Adrien blinked to see a girl with blond hair and blue eyes standing in front of him, clad in a white top with a yellow jacket over it. He thought he had seen her somewhere before. "Hi," he said, switching back to his friendly persona.
"I'm Chloe," the girl introduced with a smile. "Chloe Bourgeois."
Bourgeois...Bourgeois...why was that name so familiar? His eyes widened when he remembered that she was the Mayor's daughter. No wonder she looked familiar. "Nice to meet you, Ms. Bourgeois," he said politely. "Would you like a flyer for the contest?"
"I'm not interested in some stupid flyer," she said with a roll of her eyes. "But do you know what I am interested in?"
Adrien was saved from having to respond to Chloe when his phone rang. He fished it out of his pocket to see that the caller ID read Nino, his best friend and manager who also worked part time as a DJ. Adrien smiled apologetically at Chloe. "No, sorry. I have to take this call. Excuse me."
He hit the answer button. "What's up, Nino?"
"Hey, dude!" Nino's familiar voice came from the other end. "How'd your talk go?"
"It was great. Fantastic. You really saved me back there. Some girl was hitting on me." Adrien confessed, shooting a furtive glance at Chloe. Thankfully, she was now talking to another girl and was no longer paying attention to him.
Nino chortled with laughter. "What can I say, Mr. Model?"
"You're flattering me," Adrien joked. "Anyway, got to go. I have a photoshoot at one. I'll see you later?"
"You bet. Oh! Before you leave, I have to ask. Did you meet any cute girls while you were there?" His friend asked teasingly.
"Nino, you know that's hardly appropriate! Although..." Adrien trailed off as an image of Marinette flashed in his head. Damn. He couldn't get her out of his mind.
"You have, haven't you?" Nino asked. "I'm gonna get all the juicy details from you later!"
"No! I have not!" Adrien protested, a little too late. "Anyway, I better go! See you later!"
Adrien quickly ended the call before Nino could question him further. He said goodbye to the teacher, Madame Bustier, and promised to leave the rest of the flyers with her. He then exited the school - making sure to put on his hat and sunglasses to prevent students from recognizing him - to find his personal chauffeur, whom he dubbed the Gorilla due to his bulky build, waiting dutifully for him at the front of the building. He walked up to the black car and pulled the door open.
"I'm ready," he informed his driver. The other man grunted in response, then pulled away from the curb.
Adrien cast one last, longing glance at his former school - not just the school, but a certain dark-haired, pigtailed girl he'd left behind - before they turned the corner, and the school disappeared from his view.
A/N: Thank you again for all your lovely reviews! Here are some virtual macarons, hope you like them! ;) And some of you were asking for Adrien's POV, so I've written some for this chapter! Hope I did his character justice!
Fun fact: Terminale is the term used to refer to 12th grade in French. I did some research about the school system in France :)