Disclaimer: I do not own Miraculous Ladybug or it's characters.
Chapter 16,
The following morning, Adrien was jumpy. He couldn't help the nervous energy flowing in his veins. It was as if he had woke up with all of the tension he should have felt yesterday. He put on his jacket inside-out, he kept dropping his fork during breakfast, and on his way out the door, he spilt his books all over the grand entrance.
By the time the blond model got into his classroom seat, he didn't know what to make of himself. Adrien places his elbows on the table and placed his hands in front of his face. It almost appeared like the boy was praying, except for the fact that he was anxiously bouncing his knee.
"Adrien?" He flinched at the sound, but he relaxed when he saw Nino and Alya.
"Oh... hey guys." Adrien said. The couple glanced at each other before they took their seats.
"Adrien, dude, what is with you?" Nino asked and Adrien hesitated before pulling out his textbook.
"Uh, nothing really, Nino. I just should have went to bed earlier last night; that's all." Adrien said a little too quickly and Nino eyed him.
"O-K then? Let's talk about this later." Nino said. Adrien took a breath to try and calm himself, but that's when Marinette walked into the room. And for a brief moment, the two locked eyes and the whole world froze in place.
Adrien stared at Marinette, taking in every detail of her. Her bright blue eyes, her soft hair, her smooth skin, her- ... her gray gloves. An image of Marinette's damaged hand flashed in his mind and his heart twitched with guilt. Marinette bit her lip to suppress her sorrow and tightened her grip on her bag strap before looking away.
This act only pained Adrien more, and he slumped in his seat. The boy had his eyes fixed on his textbook, when a white envelope slid into view. He looked up once more at his beloved Marinette, who gave him a tiny nod and went up to her seat.
"What was that?" Nino whispered as Adrien gingerly picked up the envelope.
"We, um..." Adrien hesitated, and he slipped the envelope inside of his jacket pocket.
"We kind of had a fight and I kind of crossed a line." Adrien whispered and Nino glanced back At Marinette.
"Well, what did you do?" Nino asked and Adrien bit his lip.
"I-I think class is about to start." Adrien said, avoiding the question. Ms. Bustier walked into the class and looked around the room, with a smile.
"Good morning, class." Ms. Bustier said cheerfully. The class responded in kind and she took a quick glance at the door.
"Before we start off with our morning compliments, we have a rather unique treat in stored for today." Ms. Bustier said and several of the classmates perked with excitement. Some of them made a few guesses as to what this surprise was. Jagged Stone performing, just for their class; a new holiday was declared, so school was canceled; being able to paint the whole school pink.
"Settle down, settle down. Ms. Sancoeur, would you care to take over?" Ms. Bustier asked and Adrien was surprised to see Nathalie walking into the room. What was she doing here?
"Thank you Ms. Bustier." Nathalie said in her traditionally stiff way before turning towards the classroom.
"It is my job to inform each class of the new competition the Gabriel company is initiating. Since the school did so well on the bowler hat competition, the Gabriel company is restricting it's contest to you. You all will have 72 hours to come up with the best way to advertise our product to Americans. The winner will be working rather closely with Mr. Agreste to oversee the project during it's duration. I will return Monday morning to receive your answers." Nathalie said and Ms. Bustier gave a gentle clap.
"Well, that sounds wonderful. Class I know that each of you have the potential to win." Ms. Bustier said.
"Anyone who enters has a potential to win, but only one will actually win." Nathalie said and Ms. Bustier blinked at this response.
"Thank you, Ms. Sancoeur." Ms. Bustier said. Nathalie gave her a curt nod before exiting the room.
Adrien couldn't help but become a bit annoyed at this sudden announcement. Clearly he had no idea what goes on in his father's mind, or what motivates him. But it hurt Adrien to learn that his father was willing to spend more time with the contest winner then his own son.
Adrien looked down at his textbook. Did his father even consider asking for his opinion with the contest? Was there a single moment where he wondered if his son had an idea? And now, if he wants to spend extra time with his father, he will have to enter some stupid contest in order to do so?
Then Adrien looked down at Marinette's letter and it felt like his whole world was crumbling around him. His father doesn't care if he lives or dies, and he probably ruined his friendship with Marinette. He started to wonder if his life mattered to anyone... even if his life had any value. Adrien day there, ignoring the lesson, feeling more depressed then he's ever felt, and with a sigh he asked to go to the restroom. He figured nothing could make him feel worse, so he decided to go read Marinette's letter privately.
"Adrien?" He heard Plagg say once he was alone.
"Yeah, buddy?" Adrien asked, his voice devoid of all joy. It made Plagg sad just to hear it.
"Are you ok?" Plagg asked and Adrien shrugged.
"Plagg, you've been around for a long time.
"Actually, yes." Plagg admitted and Adrien blinked.
"Really?" Adrien asked and Plagg shrugged.
"My powers are too strong to use without an owner to use them for me. You're Cat Noir, and sure I give you powers, but at least you can use the power of destruction to help people. Even if I barely use my power, I'll destroy half of Paris and there is nothing so can do to fix it." Plagg said and Adrien stared at him.
"And what do you do, when you feel like that?" Adrien asked and Plagg looked away.
"I remind myself that my powers are important, even though I can't personally use them; and that I have friends who love and care about me; I'm kind and carefree; and lastly, I like myself." Plagg said and Adrien was impressed.
"How do you do that?" Adrien asked. Plagg didn't look at him, but it looked as if Plagg was actually blushing.
"I say 'I'm important, I'm loved, I'm kind, I like myself'." Plagg recited bashfully.
"That's cute." Adrien said, trying to be supportive, but Plagg got more embarrassed.
"Oh, will you just read Marinette's letter already?" Plagg said and Adrien offered him a little smile. Adrien opened the letter, and his eyes instantly fell on the colorful plastic beads in the bottom of the envelope. He reached in and pulled out Marinette's lucky charm and gasped at it.
"She's giving it back to you?" Plagg asked and Adrien found it difficult to speak.
"I... I-I... why? I... didn't earn it." Adrien said, and he turned to the letter and read it out loud for Plagg.
"Dear, Adrien, I don't know how to express the way I felt when we spoke at our fencing practice. I don't know what you were feeling when you said what you said, and did what you did. And I don't know what you could possibly do to earn my forgiveness. In truth, I feel like I don't know who you are anymore. I use to think that you were incredibly sweet and you were incapable of hurting others. So to see you like that shook my entire perspective of you." Adrien paused when Plagg whistled.
"She sure paints a picture, doesn't she?" Plagg said and Adrien's shoulders dropped.
"Let me tell you what I do know. I know that you have one of the biggest hearts in the entire school." Adrien bit his lip as he recalled her saying this yesterday to Cat Noir .
"You've shown me that anyone, even Chloe, can be a good person, you've supported me during the bowler hat contest, and later modeling it when I was discouraged and you helped me to speak to my uncle when I didn't know how. I know that you've shown me time and time again that you really do care about me, and all your friends for that matter." Adrien read and Plagg smiled at the blond boy.
"This seems positive." Plagg said and Adrien took a deep breath before continuing.
"My trust in you has shaken, but I know that you're a good friend; and I would like to continue being your friend. So as an act of good faith, I'm returning this lucky charm to you; you love it more then I ever could anyways. I know this may not be the answer you were looking for, but it's the best answer I have to give. I know that you'll do everything in your power to earn my trust back... and I want you to know that I want to trust you again... I just need some time before I can trust you the way I use to. But please remember, whenever you look at this lucky charm, that I still have faith in you, and we are still friends. Love, Marinette." Adrien's hands trembled as he read that last sentence.
His eyes started to water as a contradicting mixture of love and guilt flooded his system. He couldn't believe Marinette still considered them friends after what he did. Adrien didn't feel worthy enough for that alone, then to add her having faith in him AND returning the charm? It was overwhelming.
"Aw, come on Adrien, this is a good thing. Besides, you can't return to class with red puffy eyes. Then everyone will know that you were crying." Plagg said and Adrien nodded.
"You're right." Adrien whispered as he wiped his eyes and took a deep breath to calm his nerves.
"Of course I'm right. And anyways, even if Marinette isn't ready to trust Adrien right now, Cat Noir could still sneak around and see her." Plagg said and Adrien's eyes widened. It's true that Cat Noir could leave notes, letters, and gifts for Marinette. He always wanted to show Ladybug how much he cared about her, and this can help keep Marinette happy. If she's allow it.
"It's not like Cat Noir could see Marinette every day. Ladybug tried to be strict about our superhero identities." Adrien said and Plagg winked.
"Adrien, you're such a romantic, but you're sometimes blind. I've been around long enough to see that most people just want to be loved. A lot of guys, sometimes women, but it's normally us guys, will try to woo and win the heart of someone we love. But then once they win that person, they forget to treasure that person to keep them happy." Plagg said and Adrien was surprised that he said this.
"Ok, and what's your point?" Adrien asked, and Plagg rolled his eyes.
"Since you got to head back to class, let me simply explain it like this. Adrien, you love Ladybug and you try to win her heart. But dude, you already treasure Marinette; you just don't stop to realize you do." Plagg said and Adrien was speechless.
He put the letter and the charm in his pocket and he walked back to class, replaying Plagg's words in his head. It's true that he often helped her when she needed it, worried for her when she was sad and calmed her down when she was upset. She was his friend, one of his firsts, and he cared about her very deeply.
When Adrien stepped back into the classroom, he gazed instantly up at Marinette and they locked eyes. And for one brief moment, she gave him a small, sad smile, which took his breath away. And seeing that smile made Adrien realize two things. One, that Plagg was right. And two, if he didn't notice it before, he certainly did now...
That he was head over heels in love with beautifully flawed, miraculous Marinette.