Chapter 1
Hello! This is my first ever fanfiction. I am no stranger to them, however, and I have been reading them for years now (particularly Miraculous fics). I have some experience in writing, however I have never written a fictional piece, so I guess we'll see how this goes! Without any further ado…
"Ughhhh I am SO glad finals are over!" Marinette exclaimed, collapsing into a heap on her bed as Alya took a seat across from her.
Alya sighed in agreement as they both began to decompress from the long week. "I know what you mean, girl. I don't feel like doing anything for the rest of break."
"Sounds like a plan to me. Hey, how did you do on the Precalc final?" inquired Marinette, looking over at her from under her pillow.
"Well, that was the only one I felt really confident in", started Alya, "But…" She trailed off. Marinette nodded understandably. "Yeah, that one got me too. I swear, she was just trying to trick us with that last question. Like, did we even learn about half of the stuff on there or am I going crazy?"
Alya chuckled lightly as her phone buzzed in her pocket. She pulled it out and checked her messages. "What's up?", questioned Marinette as she was finally able to get into a sitting position.
"Oooooh, girl, Alix is throwing an end of the schoolyear party at her house tonight! You wanna go or what?" Marinette thought about it for a second, before once again collapsing. "I don't know Alya, I'm pretty beat. I'd probably bring the party down if I were to go."
Alya pushed on. "Come on Marinette, this is just what we need to blow off some steam. It'll be fun!" Marinette remained obstinate. But not for long, thought Alya. "Well, if you don't want to go, that's fine. I'm sure Adrien will be at the next party too," she said, casually mentioning the name that drove her best friend crazy.
Marinette instantly shot up. "A-A-Adrien? Well, I, uh…" she started. Alya smirked. "You know what, that actually does sound like fun. Let's go!" exclaimed Marinette, now visibly hyped up.
Works every time.
1 hour later…
"Alya! Marinette! Glad you could make it!" greeted Alix at the door.
"Yooo Alix! How's it going?" returned Alya with finger guns. "Hey Alix! Great to see ya!" added Marinette.
"I'm fantastic, especially now that we're done with school. Come on in, enjoy the party! There's wine in the living room as well as some snacks, and…Oh hey! Glad you could make it!" she said, switching the focus to the person standing behind them. Marinette glanced backwards and jumped a good 12 inches off the ground.
"Thanks Alix! Oh, hey Marinette, hey Alya!" greeted Adrien as Marinette tried to get her heartbeat down below racing. Alya gave a friendly wave and ushered Marinette inside before she started foaming at the mouth.
"Girl, I think we need to get you some of that wine." Marinette just nodded and followed her into the living room to try and calm her nerves. Maybe I should try to talk to him, thought Marinette as Alya poured her a glass of the dark purple liquid. "Maybe you should just tell him how you feel already, Marinette," suggested Alya as she took a sip from her own glass.
"I know, Alya, but every time I try something goes wrong. I forget to sign a letter, or I have an entire confession in my head while he just stares at me. I just don't think it's ever going to happen." Marinette laughed at the absurdity of her many failed confessions. She took a sip of wine and immediately spit it back into her cup.
"Gah! Jeez, people like drinking this stuff?!"
Alya laughed. "Hey, once you get used to the taste it's hard not to have a glass or two at a social occasion. Helps bolster confidence, too. That's why I suggested you have some," she said with a wink. "Why don't you just start slow with him? You don't have to confess anything right away. Just have a conversation and get to know him a little!" Alya said encouragingly.
That seemed to lift Marinette's spirits a little as a small smile began to form on her face. "Alright, Alya. I'll give it a try. After all, what's the worst that could happen, right?"
"Right."
"Hello again Marinette. Alya," said a voice from behind, making Marinette throw her wine glass across the room in surprise.
"A-ADRIEN! Hi! H-How's it doing? Err, going?" Marinette stuttered out. Adrien smiled, politely ignoring her faux pas.
"I'm great, Marinette. Yourself?" he said before seeing Alya quietly sneak away behind her and disappear into the other room.
Marinette, trying to get her heart rate under control, poured herself another glass of wine and took a sip, grimacing. "Oh, you know me. I'm always doing great!" she said with a fake confidence as she tried to lean against the wall with one arm, narrowly missing the open door a foot to her left that would have sent her careening into the kitchen.
Adrien had grown accustomed to Marinette's unique mannerisms by now, so he thought nothing of the show she was putting on for him. "That's great, Marinette. I'm just glad to be here after this week. Talk about excruciating! But knowing you, I'm sure it was a piece of cake," he complimented.
"Oh, thanks." Marinette blushed and continued. "Yeah it wasn't too bad, except for Precalc. I studied all year and I'm still not sure about half the questions on that test," she said as she laughed nervously. "What about you? You usually get straight As. I would have thought it would be a palk in the wark- err, walk in the park for you!" she added.
Adrien laughed. "Oh Precalc killed me! Math was always my least favorite subject, just under chemistry," he replied. "But enough about school. How's your fashion designing going?" he inquired.
Marinette again winced as she swallowed another mouthful of the dark liquid, feeling it warm her stomach. "It's going very well, thanks! I just finished the design for a new skirt I'm making. Would you like to see it?" she asked, surprised by the lack of stuttering in her voice.
"Definitely!" he replied.
Marinette took out her phone and scrolled through her camera roll until she landed on her latest design. It was a knee-length scarlet skirt with a smattering of various sizes of black polka dots. On the hem was Marinette's signature in dark orange. Marinette looked over at Adrien, who was admiring the patterns with an impressed look on his face.
"Wow, Marinette, this is really good!" complimented Adrien.
"R-really? Th-thanks! I think this one turned out really well!" said Marinette with rosy cheeks. Then, a surge of confidence arose in her as she poured another glass of wine and turned to Adrien. "Hey, so um… do you want to sit down and get to know each other a little more? I've known you for so long and yet we haven't talked all that much" asked Marinette, somehow without stuttering or transposing any letters.
Adrien looked over with surprise for a split second, before smiling. "Of course, Marinette. That sounds like fun!" he exclaimed cheerfully.
Marinette, now at a complete loss for words, followed Adrien into another room, which she guessed was Alix's den. There were various landscape paintings and bookshelves lining the walls, as well as a large TV hanging over the fireplace. Adrien walked in and sat down at one of the armchairs in the middle of the room, facing the coffee table. Marinette opted for the couch in order to be sitting as close to Adrien as she could without, well, being in the same chair.
"So, Marinette, what do you want to know about me?" Adrien prompted, taking a sip of vino as he relaxed into the chair.
Marinette's eyes lit up with excitement at what was happening. Me and ADRIEN AGRESTE are sitting together. ALONE. A million questions flew through her head, many of which she already knew the answers to, before she decided on a simple one. "Which one of your hobbies do you like the most?" she inquired.
Adrien thought for a second. "Hmmm, well while I enjoy learning Chinese and playing the piano, I'd have to say that fencing is definitely my number one" he concluded with certainty.
"That one does seem like the most fun" Marinette agreed, remembering the brief time she fenced against Adrien. The sharp, quick motions of the sword and the sounds of them clinking against each other gave her a rush of excitement.
"Okay, my turn. How did you get so damn good at Ultimate Mecha Strike III?" he asked with a small chuckle.
Marinette gave him a sly look and answered, "A true Ultimate Mecha Strike III player never reveals her methods." She laughed and added, "If you want I could probably help you get to about 50% of my skill level."
Adrien laughed too. "It would be an honor to learn from the legendary Marinette Dupain-Cheng" he said dramatically. Marinette rolled her eyes playfully. "Well Marinette, your turn. Hit me."
She thought hard about questions she actually didn't know the answer to, before she got an idea. The very thought of asking him made her face turn red, which Adrien noticed.
"Hey, Marinette, you okay? Your face is all red" he asked, concerned.
"YEAH yeah fine!" she sputtered, trying in vain to get ahold of her body's sympathetic nervous system. "J-just the wine, haha! Whenever I drink it my face tends to get that way" she fibbed. "Anyway, um, here's my next question: Do you, um, you know, like anyone?" she asked, her face getting even more red despite the liquid courage running through her veins.
Adrien looked at her in confusion. "Of course I like people Marinette, I'm friends with nearly everyone in our class" he explained innocently.
"N-no I mean, do you like-like anyone?" she clarified. At this, it seemed that Adrien became even more confused, so Marinette stopped beating around the bush. "Doyouhaveacrushonanyone" she said at relativistic speed.
At this, it was Adrien's turn to blush, as he began to rub the back of his neck and look at the ceiling. "Oh. OH. Um, well I…yes. Yes, I do have a crush on somebody" he finally answered with another wave of red inhabiting his face.
Marinette's heart began to beat a millions miles per minute again as her thoughts accelerated. He likes someone? Who? What if it's not me? Oh no! What if it's Chloe?! OH NO! WHAT IF IT'S LILA?! No, no. It can't be. That's impossible, right? I mean, he KNOWS that she's a total liar, there's no way. Oh God, do I even want to know who it is? He probably doesn't want to tell me anyway. I don't want to force anything out of him, either. That would make me a pretty lousy friend. But I don't want to be JUST a fr-
"Marinette? Hellooo? Marinette, you okay?"
Marinette snapped back to reality. "Huh? What? Oh sorry, I was just, um, thinking about…stuff" she lied poorly. "Um, Adrien, if you don't mind me asking, who is this girl that you like? Y-you obviously don't have to tell me if you don't want to!"
Adrien looked surprised. "O-oh, um, well I don't know Marinette. You'd probably laugh at me anyway. It's just a stupid crush" Adrien said, forcing a small laugh, still rubbing the back of his neck.
"No of course I wouldn't laugh at you! I'm your friend! Plus, I, um, kind of have experience with crushes so maybe I could give you advice" Marinette reasoned.
Adrien smiled. "Really? Well, I guess I haven't really been getting anywhere on my own. Maybe I could use an outside perspective" he considered. "Okay, Marinette, I'll tell you. But you have to promise not to tell anyone, okay?"
"O-of course!" Marinette promised. Oh my God. This is it. I'm going to find out if Adrien likes me. If he doesn't, I can't let it show on my face. I'm supposed to be a supportive friend, and that's what I'm going to be no matter what.
"Okay, here goes nothing" Adrien started, "I have a crush on…Ladybug."
