CHAPTER 26 – CONFESSIONS

By the time Cat Noir had laid Marinette on her bed his ring was beeping profusely. He barely had time to duck behind a screen before his transformation wore off. He could still hear Marinette sobbing profusely.

Adrien handed Plagg a slice of camembert. "Sorry buddy, but Marinette needs Cat Noir. Could you eat quickly?"

Plagg glared at him before nodding and gulping down the cheese. Soon after Cat Noir emerged from the screen once more. He sat next to Marinette, wrapping his arms around her.

"What's wrong Princess?" he asked.

"Nn...nnn… nothing," sobbed Marinette, burying her head in his shoulder.

"There, there Princess," said Cat, stroking her hair. "I know you've never been akumatised before, but you'll get over it. I purrromise."

"Oh you silly kitty," said Marinette, a weak smile on her face. "You always could make me smile. It's not the akuma though."

"You want to talk about it?"

Marinette looked at Cat. His emerald eyes looked deeply into hers, filled with concern.

"Your secret will be safe with me. Cross my heart and hope to die … nine times."

Marinette giggled.

"You and your silly cat puns. Ok, it's about a guy."

"A guy? Anyone I know?" Cat asked.

"I doubt it kitty. It's a boy in my class. I've liked him almost from the first moment I met him. He was kind, caring, stood up for what is right …"

"Good looking?" asked Cat, winking.

"You have no idea," said Marinette.

"Gosh Marinette. A guy in your class. I always thought you liked Luka." Cat Noir wondered who Marinette's secret crush could be. Nathaniel maybe?

"Oh, Luka is amazing, but he's a friend. He gets me, but he doesn't make my heart sing like this boy does … did. When the boy didn't ask me out I actually tried dating Luka, but I always felt like I was cheating on the boy. And I definitely was cheating on Luka – I couldn't give him my heart while the boy was around so it just wasn't fair on him. I know it sounds silly, but that's how it is."

"It doesn't sound silly Marinette, I know exactly how you feel. There's a girl that I like too, but she always thinks I'm joking when I ask her out. She's really amazing, so I'm happy being her friend, but I do wish she would give me just one chance."

Marinette giggled a little. "Cat Noir has a secret crush! Who would have thought! Don't tell me its all clichéd with you going for Ladybug?"

Cat Noir's cheeks glowed red.

Marinette covered her mouth in embarrassment. "It IS Ladybug? Sorry Kitty, my joke was a bit too close to the mark there. Do you really love her?"

"What's not to love? She's kind, caring, resourceful, confident, beautiful, talented, loyal. Just amazing. I've tried so hard to tell her. You remember the rooftop setting from last Valentine's Day?"

Marinette nodded.

"That was for Ladybug. But she told me she liked another boy." Cat Noir's ears drooped as he recalled the incident.

Marinette's brain whirled as she looked at her dejected kitty. "He really does love her," she thought. "I would never have guessed." Her chest tingled slightly at the thought.

"Anyhow," continued Cat Noir, "I also tried dating a girl who I do sport with. She's very similar to me, but I kept thinking about Ladybug. It wasn't fair on her or me."

"But you don't know who Ladybug is, right?" Cat Noir nodded. "So she could be anyone, even the girl you were dating?"

"It wasn't her, I would know," said Cat dejectedly. "There is another girl in my class that I once thought might be Ladybug, but I saw her and Ladybug together once, so it can't be her."

"This other girl sounds interesting," said Marinette.

"Oh, she is. In many ways she is so like Ladybug. Helpful, brave, honest, friendly. She goes out of her way to make people feel special." Cat Noir sighed. He couldn't tell Marinette that it was her he was thinking of.

"She sounds amazing. Have you ever thought about dating her?"

Cat Noir chuckled. "I have, but I think it would be like cheating on Ladybug. Anyhow, I don't think she likes me in that way."

"Why do you say that?"

"Well, if we are in a group she is great, a fantastic friend. But if I talk to her alone she clams up and struggles to talk to me. She clearly doesn't like me on my own. I can respect that.

But we are here to talk about you, not me. So what happened with your crush?"

"Well, yesterday he asked me out. I was over the moon! He was so romantic. This morning there was a rose on my desk, and this afternoon he took me to the park. We had André's ice cream and … well … we kissed. It was amazing!"

"Sounds like it," agreed Adrien. "So how did you end up in tears?"

"I'll show you." Marinette ducked downstairs to fetch her phone.

-000-

Marinette returned a minute later, clutching her phone to her breast.

"You remember Lila?"

"You mean Liar-la," quipped Cat. "She was akumatised not so long ago."

"That's her. Anyhow, this afternoon she posted the video I'm about to show you. The problem is that it was taken AFTER he asked me out."

Marinette showed Cat the video of Félix passionately kissing Chloé. "Félix, you've been a busy lad" he thought to himself. Then suddenly the penny dropped.

"You like FÉLIX?" asked Adrien.

"Of course not, that's not Félix, that's Adrien Agreste, Félix's cousin."

"No, it's not, That's Félix. Adrien has been unconscious at home for the last couple of days."

Marinette's eyes opened wide. "Are you sure? It was Félix? Not Adrien?" Her face broke into a grin.

Cat Noir nodded. Suddenly he computed what Marinette had just told him.

"Hang on. You like ADRIEN?"

"Oh, so you do know him. Well, what's not to like? He has an amazing heart. He is so nice. When I found out Lila was a liar he knew too, but told me not to do anything about it because it would only cause hurt. He even stood up for Chloé once. We were all partying when she was going to move to New York. He said that losing someone was no reason to party. He's absolutely amazing."

If Marinette had looked at Cat Noir right then she would have caught him blushing, but she was too enraptured with talking about Adrien to notice.

"Trust you Marinette to fall in love with a supermodel over his heart rather than his looks. Always looking for the good in people, you really are my Everyday Ladybug," he said, beaming at her.

Marinette turned and looked at him.

"What did you just call me?"

Cat Noir gulped.