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Chapter Thirty-Three

Going to a party that night was the absolute last thing Marinette wanted to do.

She'd gone back and forth all day, debating whether she should even go in the first place. Around five o'clock she had herself convinced she wouldn't be going. She and Adrien had just 'broken up' after all. Wouldn't it be weird for her to attend a party at his house the very same evening? Talk about awkward.

Yet the thought of sitting at home, stewing in all of her hurt and regret and bitter longing while Adrien and Félix were living it up next door was infinitely worse than going and having a few potentially uncomfortable run-ins with Adrien.

With that in mind, Marinette stood, making her way to the shower.

Even if she felt like shit, that didn't mean she had to look like it too.

-x-

In a moment of petty weakness, Marinette had briefly considered wearing The Dress from last Friday night, as a subtle way of throwing everything back in Adrien's face. She had even taken it out of her closet, and almost slipped it on before she caught sight of herself in the mirror and thought better of it.

The memory was too important—too precious—to defile in such a way. The dress was a symbol; a reminder of one of the best nights of her life, and Marinette wanted to keep it that way. Pristine and preserved forever in her mind and heart—a beautiful flower lovingly pressed between the pages of a book.

So she promptly hung it up in the back of her closet, and gave up on finding anything cute to wear. By the time seven o'clock rolled around, she simply threw on a t-shirt and shorts over her bathing suit, slipped on her sandals, and headed out the door, making for the Agrestes' house.

The walk took nearly twice as long as it normally did, owing in large part to the fact that she kept stopping and starting erratically, even doubling back nearly all the way to her house while she debated—for the thousandth time—whether to go to the stupid party at all. She certainly wasn't in the mood for festivities, but she needed to check in on Adrien and make sure things between them were going to be okay.

Plus, if what Adrien had said earlier was to be believed, then she felt morally obligated to figure out what exactly was going on with Félix, since he appeared—for all intents and purposes—to be seriously Going Through It.

Her mind made up, Marinette forged onward through the woods.

-x-

Her indecisiveness meant that by the time she arrived, the party was already in full swing.

Both the inside and outside of the house were completely packed with people, which really should not have come as much of a surprise. The Agreste boys were celebrities after all, and usually notoriously hard to gain access to. They had never once thrown a party, so tonight everyone had come out—practically frothing at the mouth to get a glimpse at life behind the walls that for so long had kept their prying eyes out.

Marinette had to fight her way to the kitchen, searching for Adrien and Félix among the wall-to-wall crowds of people. Despite how loud the music was, she still managed to pick out a familiar voice over the din, coming from the other side of the great room.

She stood on her tiptoes, trying to peer through the mob.

One glance was all it took to confirm her suspicions. Although his back was to her, Marinette would know that silhouette and the cadence of that voice anywhere. Adrien sat on one of the white couches in the centre of the room, his arms slung casually over the backrest as he entertained the large group of people that had gathered around him. He must have been regaling them with some sort of amusing anecdote because at that moment they all burst into laughter, their enthusiasm carrying quite easily across the distance.

It was then that Marinette noticed another blonde head, tucked cozily under Adrien's arm, all but cuddled up against his side.

Chloe turned, meeting her stare head-on.

She couldn't get a clear read on the other girl's facial expression from where she was standing, but she could see how the blonde leaned in, whispering something in Adrien's ear. Whatever she said caused him to straighten, the crowd parting immediately around him as he pushed to his feet.

For a moment, Marinette's heart swelled with hope. Maybe Adrien was coming over to speak with her, to reassure her that things wouldn't be weird between them forever, and that they would eventually be able to return to being friends.

She watched him slip out of the room, sparing nary a glance over his shoulder.

Or maybe not.

Undeterred, Marinette hurried after him, trying to keep his blonde hair and rapidly disappearing back in her line of sight. She lost him at the last second though, her view suddenly becoming obstructed when someone stepped directly into her path.

Or perhaps staggered would have been a more apt description.

"Ah, Marinette. Just the person I was looking for."

Marinette looked up. And up. And then up some more, until at last, she met a pair of very familiar blue eyes.

For the first time in her life, she—Marinette Dupain-Cheng—gazed into Félix Agreste's eyes and felt nothing but abject disappointment at the realization that he was standing before her in the flesh.

Oh, how the turntables… She mused, her lips twisting wryly.

"Glad to see you made it to my party," Félix leaned towards her, swaying slightly on his feet as he did so. "Are you having fun?"

If she hadn't been able to tell he was drunk based on his movements, his words all but confirmed it. Although his attempt at small talk sounded perfectly polite and welcoming, the fact that it was coming from Félix Agreste's mouth made it seem more like an alien had taken possession of his body than anything.

"As I understand it, parties are supposed to be something that most people traditionally enjoy. Although I feel that the sex, drugs, and alcohol may be significant contributing factors. Wouldn't you agree?"

Marinette stared at him in disbelief.

Make that a very inebriated alien—one that obviously had yet to figure out the whole 'normal human interaction' thing.

"There's actually something I've been meaning to discuss with you, if you would allow me—" Someone bumped into his arm then, causing his drink to slosh all over his wrist. Félix did not appear to notice.

"Lord above, I so do not have time for this," she muttered, tuning him out as she craned her neck to see around him, trying to figure out which way Adrien had gone.

But he was nowhere to be seen, having long since been swallowed by the crowd.

"Damnit," Marinette cursed.

"What?" Félix hollered, having obviously missed what she'd said thanks to the near-deafening level of the music. She winced. Had someone turned the volume up? At this point, her parents could probably feel the subwoofer rattling the dishes in their cupboards.

Her hopes of catching up to Adrien dashed, Marinette turned the full force of her attention back to Félix, giving him a perfunctory once over. His eyes were bloodshot, and everything from his clothes to the stubble she could just make out on his chin made him look… older. In a rumpled, worn down sort of way.

"Wow, you look like shit," Marinette blurted out, as stunned by the realization as she was to hear herself saying it out loud. And judging by Félix's raised eyebrows, he was equally as surprised to hear her speaking so plainly.

"Uh, thanks…?" He blinked at her as she took the drink from his hand, taking one sniff of it and scrunching her nose in disgust.

"How many of these have you had?"

"A few." He avoided her eye.

Marinette leaned to the side, dumping the contents of his cup into one of the many decorative plants lining the hallway.

"Hey!" One second too late—hello, delayed reaction time—Félix tried to grab it back from her, but she pulled away, easily dodging his uncoordinated swipe.

"Félix, please know that what I'm about to say, I say with all of the love in my heart," Marinette took a deep breath in, before levelling him with a glare.

"Get your shit together. You agreed to host this party—" because apparently we are living in the Twilight Zone now, she had the decency not to voice that part aloud, "—which means that you are responsible for all of the people here. Regardless of whatever you might be going through at the moment, now is not the time to be boozing on the job. Drink some water and sober up!" She punctuated her statement with a firm poke to his chest.

Under any other circumstances, Marinette might have been embarrassed by the fact that she was publicly scolding Félix Agreste like he was a puppy that had just peed on the carpet. But he was an eighteen going on nineteen-year-old soon-to-be university student—practically a grown-ass man—which meant that he should know better than to act like an irresponsible tool.

And so, she resolved, she would not feel bad, even if he did look a bit blindsided at being so thoroughly reprimanded.

Giving him a conciliatory pat on the arm, Marinette left Félix standing amongst the house plants, blinking down at his empty glass forlornly.

Then she turned her sights on locating his wayward brother.

A task that proved to be far more labour-intensive than she would have previously thought, based on the way she'd been at this infernal game of cat and mouse for what felt like hours. Adrien, as it turned out, was infuriatingly hard to pin down when he didn't want to be found.

Marinette would finally track him down in some far-off corner of the house—often surrounded by gaggles of giggling girls, she was irritated to note—only for him to somehow become alerted to her presence and flee the room before she could close in.

Initially, she'd been inclined to write the first few instances off as coincidences. After all, there was no way Adrien would be as petty as to go out of his way to avoid her. Right?

Wrong, Marinette thought, glaring daggers at the back of his head as she watched him dart through yet another doorway, deftly squeezing past people's shoulders. Slippery little bastard.

Adrien had either developed some latent and extremely irksome psychic ability, or he had an entire network of people conspiring to help him elude her.

"That. Is. IT!" Marinette growled menacingly, the people around her backing away slowly; content to give her a wide berth as she stomped out of the room.

Luckily for her—and unluckily for Adrien—she had now begun to figure out his system, recognizing the subconscious pattern he was following. Whenever he would spot her somewhere—whether it was upstairs, downstairs, inside, or outside—he had a tendency to flee in the exact opposite direction, bouncing back and forth from one side of the house to the other like a demented game of human pinball.

Therefore, it stood to reason that if she laid her trap in the middle of the house, she would have the highest chance of success.

A theory that was about to be put to the test, judging by the head of blonde hair currently bobbing towards her.

But soft! What light through yonder window breaks? There went Romeo, cutting swiftly across the foyer, glancing behind him as though he expected to find the hounds of hell tearing up the polished wood floor at his heels.

Marinette watched him scan the crowd warily, making a break for the end of the hall once he realized the coast was clear. Her chest throbbed, a sharp stab of pain shooting through her at the all but incontrovertible proof that Adrien was indeed avoiding her.

And with the pain came a rising wave of anger.

Not yet… She shifted her weight, bouncing on the balls of her feet in anticipation.

Adrien moved closer, blissfully unaware of the predator lying in wait in the wings.

She would need to time her trap perfectly, when he was the exact right distance away. She stared until her eyes began to burn. Almost there…

When he came within arm's length, she sprang.

NOW.

Reaching out, Marinette grabbed onto his arm and yanked with all of her strength, dragging him bodily into her hiding spot. She knew Adrien had her beat when it came to weight and height advantages, so she needed to catch him off-guard; the efficacy of her plan entirely reliant upon the element of surprise.

"WAAAGH!" Adrien bellowed, startled and off balance. His wide green eyes rolled in his head as he tried to figure out what was happening, no doubt confused about suddenly finding himself under siege.

She felt the moment recognition dawned; his body relaxing infinitesimally as his eyes adjusted to the dim lighting.

He stiffened anew, however, when her hand came to rest over his mouth.

"Shh!" Marinette shushed him, peering through the foliage over her shoulder to see if anyone had noticed his sudden disappearing act. Thankfully everyone was either too drunk or stoned to care, and those that weren't wouldn't have been able to hear his ungodly hollering over the pulsating bass beat anyway.

She turned back to him, slowly removing her hand from his mouth when she was certain he had no intention of continuing his caterwauling.

Adrien inhaled deeply, his chest expanding under the arm she still had pressed against him. He appeared to be trying to gather his wits.

"Care to explain to me why exactly we are now having clandestine meetings in dark corners?" He eyed their surroundings, looking distinctly unimpressed. "Even though I know for a fact you're not after my virtue, this little rendezvous in the plants might give other people the wrong idea."

Whoever had designed the Agreste's summer home had clearly been a burgeoning botanist, because they'd filled just about every corner and cranny in the house with green, growing things. There were large, leafy plants strategically placed along both the main and upper floors, and thanks to the tall ceilings and windows that let in an abundance of natural light, some of them had grown broad enough to hide even a grown human under their boughs.

Or two in their case.

Ignoring his jibe, Marinette decided to cut to the quick, not bothering to waste any time with pleasantries.

"That's pretty rich coming from the guy who's spent the better part of tonight avoiding me," she threw his unimpressed look back at him tenfold. "You'll have to forgive me for my methods, Monseigneur Agreste. Apparently, employing guerilla warfare tactics is the only way I can pin you down long enough to speak to me anymore."

Adrien had the decency to look shame-faced. It didn't last long though—all signs of discomfiture disappearing behind a wall of ice, his expression turning stony.

"Well, excuse me for wanting to keep myself occupied and out of the way… I thought for sure you'd be on the prowl, too busy hunting to pay little old me any mind."

The word 'hunting' fell from his lips heavy with a meaning Marinette wasn't sure she cared for all that much. Adrien sized her up, his green eyes cool and dark as they raked over her features, starting at the top of her head and moseying slowly downwards, right to the tips of her sandal-clad toes.

It was all she could do not to shrink from his gaze.

This wasn't the same kind of appreciative look he had given her in the past; the kind that sent her heart racing and her skin tingling with pleasant little zaps. This one left her feeling hollowed-out and exposed, as though Adrien had seen straight through to the very core of her being, and whatever he'd found there, he didn't particularly like.

"How is my brother, by the way?"

Hating his snide tone of voice and the vulnerable feeling it gave her, Marinette crossed her arms, side-stepping his question as she fired right back at him. "Oh, you've definitely been keeping yourself occupied all right. I saw you entertaining your legions of adoring fangirls in the living room earlier. Great job looking torn up about our breakup! We're really selling the fantasy." She forced a laugh, tasting the bitterness on her tongue. "At this rate, no one's going to believe you ever liked me at all."

Now it was Adrien's turn to shrink back, her words landing with unexpected force. Marinette's stomach sank, the guilt lodging itself like rocks in her abdomen even as she cursed herself for it. He was the one who had hurt her by treating her like a leper. So what if he was looking at her like she'd just told him she accidentally ran over his new kitten? She had no reason to feel bad.

So why was she having such a hard time meeting his eyes?

The corners of Adrien's mouth were pulled down, little frown lines etching themselves between his brows. Even still, he was so beautiful Marinette felt her heart swell, pressing against the underside of her breastbone with a painful sort of longing. She wanted to reach out and smooth the creases from his brow, tracing the line of his jaw first with her fingers, then slowly with her lips. She wanted to leave her mark on even the deepest parts of him, the way he had indelibly imprinted himself on her.

She wanted, she wanted, she wanted.

But it wasn't meant to be.

Adrien bristled, his hurt giving way to anger in the space between one blink and the next.

"I hope you have a good plan for impressing my brother because you certainly didn't come dressed for the part." His teeth flashed in the dimness, lips pulled back in a cruel facsimile of a smile. "If your intention was to woo him in shorts and an old t-shirt, then I'm sorry to say you'll have to do way better." Her jaw slackening, Marinette gaped at him, uncertain whether she was bothered more by the petty insults, or by the fact that it was Adrien who was lobbing them at her. Never before had he stooped so low.

Marinette felt her tenuous grip on reality slipping, the foundations of the world as she knew it shifting beneath her.

Oblivious to her inner turmoil—or perhaps relishing in it—Adrien leaned in close, his hair tickling the side of her face as he backed her up against the wall. The warmth and scent of his body wrapped around her, intoxicating and irresistible at this proximity. Marinette couldn't help but lean into him, craving the physical contact even as his attitude repelled her. Anyone passing by them right now would probably assume they were two lovers taking advantage of the dense greenery to share a private moment, wrapped up in one another and off in their own little world.

Yet there was nothing of love or tenderness in their embrace, or in Adrien's eyes as he delivered one final parting shot.

"Make sure you put on a good show," he murmured, his lips lingering by the shell of her ear for just a fraction of a second too long to be unintentional.

And then he was gone, robbing her of the warmth of his body and any chance at a response.

Like a puppet with its strings cut, Marinette slumped back against the wall, her heart hammering wildly in her chest. She stayed there for several minutes, waiting for the jelly-like feeling in her legs to pass. She had never expected Adrien to behave like this—like she was somehow betraying him by continuing to pursue his brother. It wasn't like this was anything new or unexpected. He had known from the very beginning that this was her plan, and now he knew about her promise to his mother as well. Which meant that Adrien should, more than anyone, understand why this was something she had to do. Regardless of whether she really wanted to or not.

Marinette stared up through the leaves, searching for some kind of divine signal or message in the rafters.

But all she was left with was the thrum of the party around her, and a niggling voice at the back of her head that wondered why—if she knew what she was doing was right—she still felt like the bad guy.

-x-

notes:

uh oh. the besties are fighting... these poor children are under a lot of stress...

( - she says, knowing full and damn well she only plans on adding to it.)

ehehehehehe

(￣∀￣)

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this work has been cross-posted from AO3