'Tikki, that didn't just happen, did it?' Down under the loft came a small giggle. In a blur of pink and red, Tikki joined Marinette once again.
'I heard every word. Honestly, I think the relationship you share with Chat Noir is beautiful.' This was more than the blunette could handle. She bore her heart to him, and now she felt the relief of having her thoughts heard, but the stress of the choice that lay before her. Chat was right. Adrien needed to know how she felt, and the whole reason why. How on earth was she going to do it though?
'I want to follow through with this. I want to give Adrien a chance to know how I feel, without the fear of rejection. If that fear bothers me forever, then I'll always be a spectator in my own life.' Pride welled up within the kwami. This was it. She was going to actually face Adrien, and no matter what happened next, she was going to stand with pride. 'I think I need to actually sleep tonight, and maybe I'll be able to go through with this.' The two tucked in for the night and turned out the dim light.
They began to doze off, until they heard it. The crash outside the window. Paris was in danger. Again.
•••••••••••
After the alarm went off, Adrien glared at his phone and smacked the screen until he finally hit the snooze button. He tipped the phone on its side to view the time.
'8am, huh. Only one… two… uh, four-ish hours of sleep. Just great.'
'Kid, just stay home. Your dad doesn't even like you attending school, so just skip and catch up on sleep.'
'Plagg, you know he wouldn't allow it. If I don't go today he'll find a reason for me to never go back.' They both pursed their lips in silent agreement. Mr.Agrest was not the most understanding or caring of people. Pushing back the sheets and dragging himself to the edge of the bed, Adrien willed himself to his feet and into the shower.
Warm water pooled in the palms of his hands, and slowly spilled out between his fingers. Steam rose all around him and made the world disappear for a moment. He laughed under his breath. "Of course Alya's sisters where akumatized last night," he pondered. A stupid argument set them off and then he and Ladybug were on a wild goose chase most of the night. Thinking back over it brought out more laughter. Not due to it being funny, but to prevent him from crying. "Sapotis is the last enemy I wish to go up against when I am tired." Water fell over his face and cleansed his mind. Tired or not, he was determined to make the most of the day.
•••••••••••
The first bell rang to start the day, and trailing behind was Marinette. Running as fast as her feet could carry her, she burst through the homeroom door just in time to start roll-call. As she was seated, Adrien caught the door swinging shut and glided into his seat. He was not as cheerful today. He didn't even say good-morning to them like usual. It was a little disheartening.
'Alright, class. I'm going to start homeroom.' Madame Bustier opened the roster and began to call out each student.
'Adrien,' Marinette whispered over his shoulder. He turned his head slightly so he could hear her. 'Good morning.' It was a bold move to go out of her way to greet him. He seemed to notice and smiled wide, whispering "good morning" back to her. No matter how exhausted she felt before, the lethargy was suddenly gone. With two little words and a heavenly smile, the young heroine was ready for whatever today could throw at her. Smiling gleefully to herself, she listened absent mindedly to the class.
20 minutes into class, a small, green piece of paper landed on her desk. Adrien lowered his head and placed his hand back on his notebook. A note from Adrien? Scrambling to pick up the note, it read:
"Meet me at the front steps of the school when lunch break starts. "
What are the chances? Maybe this was fate, and she was being handed an opportunity to give it her all. How could she not be happy with the turn of events? She pocketed the note and began staring off into space. Alya peered across to her friend and saw her huge smile. Shaking her head and writing out a note, she passed it to Marinette.
"What happened?" was scrawled out in black ink. She sent it back.
"Nothing. Just happy its such a beautiful day." Not convinced, Alya hurriedly wrote a reply and shoved it back into her friends hands.
"Liar! It's raining outside. S P I L L." Shocked she looked straight out the window. Gray skies and the beginnings of rain in the distance. Her head snapped back to look at Alya. Wide eyed, she had to lie.
"I'm happy to see Adrien made it today." Not a total lie, but enough to get away without another questioning.
"Not entirely convinced, but I'll drop it for now. Have a better answer by lunch." Chewing her pen, all her thoughts moved from class to how on earth she was going to face her feelings head on.
•••••••••••
'Girl, where are you going?'
'Oh, mum needs me to hurry home today so I can't stay and chat. See you in next period.' Rushing out the door, Alya gazed on in disbelief.
'Nino, she just blew me off and lied to me. Can you believe that?' Her friend had never been a good liar, but still tried to get away with it. She noticed it more and more lately, and it was pissing her off. 'Can't she just come to me if she has a problem? It hurts knowing she feels the need to hide stuff.' Sadness washed over her face, leaving Nino at a loss for words. He placed a hand on her shoulder and the other on her cheek, Alya smiling in response. It did make her feel better, even just a little. Looking up to him, she noticed he was no longer giving her undivided attention. 'What's up?'
'Uh, I think I know what she was lying about.' The pair swiveled around to face the doors out to the front of the school. There: Adrien and Marinette were talking. And Marinette wasn't stuttering. Just smiling her usual goofy smile. This was huge. No one set them up and they were talking with no problems. It was a serious scoop, and Alya needed all the details. Quickly pulling out her phone, she began recording and slowly got closer. She needed to hear what was going on, and then later on she would get Marinette to spill.