Part 21: Let's Rock'n'Roll
Note: I have never been to a live concert, so I have no idea if 7:00 is a normal time to start or not, but I'm going with it. Also, sorry this took so long. School started and I've had tennis practice, so I've been busy.
——The Day of that Jagged Stone Concert I Talked About in Part 18 and Have Taken a Really Long Time to Get Back to——
Marinette paced in her room, extremely nervous about the coming night. It was Friday, and Kat was at Marc's while waiting for the concert. Tikki had tried a million different tactics to calm Marinette down, but none of them worked for long.
At 5:00, Kat showed up out of nowhere. Marinette had turned, walked towards the wall, turned back around, and jumped because Kat was in the doorway, holding three boxes. Kat grinned.
"Nervous much, Mari?"
"I guess you could say that," Marinette replied sheepishly. A deep pink colored Marinette's cheeks. Kat chuckled and had Marinette sit down.
"Maybe this will help." Kat pulled out a see-through overskirt out of the first box and placed it between them. She took the second of the boxes she had, a shoebox full of fabric paint, and placed it next to the skirt. Kat explained, "You can doodle or put a design or whatever on it."
"Thanks, but what am I supposed to do with just an overskirt?"
"You'll see," said Kat with a mysterious smile.
The two of them spent the better part of the hour talking while Mari made the overskirt look magnificent. Most of what they talked about was how cute their crushes were, and then about how lucky it was that Nathaniel liked Kat back.
"Don't you worry, Mari," Kat said, "he'll figure out that you're meant for each other eventually. And if he doesn't, I'll figure it out for him. We're still technically kids, so don't worry too much if it takes him a while. You've got the rest of your lives."
Marinette smiled. Kat's words weren't quite what she wanted to hear, but they were comforting nonetheless. The two continued talking about the upcoming concert and making little designs on the overskirt. When it was finished, Kat pulled out a beautiful light pink dress (a shade lighter than Mari's pants). It was a casual dress, but would still make Marinette the belle of the ball. Mari's face lit up. The sweetheart collar finely complemented the skinny waist. Kat grinned.
"Go put it on," Kat said. Mari did, and when she came back, Kat attached the overskirt. "Ah, truly, the most beautiful of them all."
Marinette and Kat shared a smile.
——At the Agreste Mansion——
While Kat and Marinette were being creative, Adrien was excitedly getting ready.
"This is gonna be awesome, Plagg!"
"How awesome could a concert with your dad be? He'll probably put everybody to sleep."
"Oh, come on Plagg, it won't be that bad. It'll be fun."
"Somehow I doubt that."
Adrien rolled his eyes. He sighed and checked his phone. Still another hour and fifteen minutes. Frantic knocking came from his bedroom door.
"Adrien?" Came Nathalie's voice. "Adrien, you have a photo shoot right now, you need to go!"
Adrien opened his door, his brows furrowed.
"But the concert is tonight, Nathalie."
"Yes, well, you might be a little late. I'm sure it'll be fine. Now, come on, we're late."
Just then, Mr. Agreste came down the hall.
"Adrien, now," he commanded.
"But, Father, the concert—" Adrien's expression was one of hurt.
"Will have to wait. I've got a shoot lined up with a very prestigious photographer."
"Father, please," Adrien whispered. His bottom lip quivered.
"We're leaving now." Mr. Agreste's voice took on an edge.
"But Father—"
"You will do as you're told!" Mr. Agreste yelled, his hand cocked back as if to strike. Adrien screwed his eyes shut and shrunk back, preparing for the blow. Nathalie watched helplessly from the sidelines. Something swam around in Mr. Agreste's eyes, something he hadn't felt in a long time. Guilt. He lowered his hand. Adrien looked up and gasped softly. "I'm...sorry, Adrien."
"It's, well, I, er, it's all right, Father." As Adrien stood there blinking in confusion, Mr. Agreste smiled.
"I'll reschedule with Armando. Let's go to the concert."
Adrien took in an excited breath and leapt at Mr. Agreste. He threw his arms around him.
"Thank you Father! Thank you!"
Mr. Agreste's usual scowl softened. He didn't consciously admit it, but acting like a father, a real father, made him feel good. And truth be told, he hadn't felt like this since Adrien was little.
——At the Concert——
"Kat, over here!" Adrien waved at his pretend sister. She excitedly waved back. Adrien watched as a look of realization passed over her features and she disappeared not the crowd again. She quickly re-emerged with Marinette. Adrien gasped. The tightly fitted dress complemented Marinette's petite frame. (And yes, I know I've already said that the dress compliments Mari, I just want to emphasize it.) Adrien stared at the blushing Marinette. He stuttered out a greeting and asked her to sit down. Mr. Argreste, who was sitting next to Adrien raised an eyebrow. Kat smirked. She knew it would work. Maybe if she could get Mari to say more than a few words in front of him, they'd start to fall in love.
"But I shouldn't get ahead of myself," Kat whispered under the roar of the crowd. Now all that was left to do was to lure Mr. Agreste away to give them some room. It would have been even harder if Nino had come, but he had already planned a date with Alya. Which Kat thought was adorable.
Anyway, back to what was actually happening. Mr. Agreste thought the dress was exquisite, though didn't say it. Adrien thought Marinette was exquisite, though he didn't say it. The three kids chatted while they waited for the next song to start. Well, sort of.
"That song was awesome!" Kat said over the deafening cheers.
"Yeah, it was!" Adrien replied. Kat nudged Marinette.
"What did you think of it Mari?"
"I loved it," she said shyly, just loud enough to be heard. Unfortunately for them all, Chloé happened to be there.
"Adrikins!" She through her arms around Adrien and he leaned back. He didn't want to be mean, since she was his first friend, but he really didn't want to deal with her right then. He mouthed the word 'help' to Kat, and she jumped up.
"Hey, Chloé, what's up?" Kat fake smiled. She put her arm around the bully's shoulders and dragged her away. "Let's just talk, me and you."
Mr. Agreste waited a minute, and then followed, his curiosity getting the better of him. He wanted to know what Kat was doing. When they reached the snack place, Chloé angrily pulled away. Mr. Agreste stood off to the side.
"What do you think you're doing?" Chloe exclaimed. "You can't keep me away from Adrien!"
"I can and will," Kat countered.
"A piece of trash like you? Ha! You've got less upper body strength than a noodle! And you're ugly! You're hair is atrocious, your clothes are even worse, and you will never have a boyfriend!"
"Actually," a certain red headed individual timidly interjected, "she does have a boyfriend."
Kat looked to her left and smiled. Nathaniel sheepishly smiled back, holding one arm self-consciously.
"I mean, if you want to be my girlfriend."
"I'd love to, my little tomato." Kat slid an arm around Nathaniel's waist.
"Oh, puh-lease. You're both ridiculous. It's not like it'll last. You're not pretty enough."
"I don't think any of this is called for, Miss Bourgeois," Mr. Agreste intervened. Three pairs of eyebrows raised in surprise.
"This gremlin pulled me away when I was talking to your son."
"Is this true, Kat?"
Kat walked closer and lowered her voice.
"Adrien mouthed 'help' to me while she was hugging him. He seemed really uncomfortable." Kat took a few steps back to Nathaniel.
"Ah. Miss Burgeois, please leave my son alone for the rest of tonight."
"What?" Chloé screeched. She whirled around. "This is all your fault! You, you, you horrible little peasant!"
"Sticks and stones, Chloé," Kat said, shaking her head.
"And your boyfriend is nothing but a stupid little artist!"
Nathaniel shrank into himself, and Kat growled. Chloe smirked, thinking she had won. But she didn't count on Kat. The corner of Mr. Agreste's mouth lifted a bit as Kat took two steps forward and punched Chloe as hard as she could.
"No one talks about my boyfriend that way! He's not a stupid little artist, he's a brilliant, talented, cute, artist who's got more creativity in his pinky finger than you have in your whole body!"
Mr. Agreste smiled. He quietly muttered, "I'm proud of her."
Kat glanced up at Mr. Agreste and shared his smile.