D CHAPTER 2
"Good morning." Marinette jumped, turning to look at who had greeted her.
"A-Adrien! H-hi! Too you to Morning good!" She paused reconstructing the sentence in her head before speaking again. " I mean good morning to you too!" She mentally slapped herself, attempting to stand up straight and not look like a complete idiot in front of him once again.
"How're you feeling? Your mother called and said you were sick yesterday." He had a worried frown on his face and Marinette swooned.
"Oh! No! I'm fine! Totally fine here!" He chuckled softly.
"Well that's good we were all worried about you. You work too hard, you need to take a break for yourself sometime. You should be more careful." She stared at him, mouth slightly open.
"Thank you, I will."
"Good good, I'll walk you to class." He offered and before she could answer, she tripped over her foot. He reached out grabbing a hold of her, preventing either of them from toppling over. "Didn't I just say to be more careful?" he teased.
It took a moment for her brain to realize Adrien had his arms around her before she jumped backwards wobbling on her feet but catching her balance. "Yes sorry I'm ok, thanks for catching me."
He gave her a comforting smile and nodded his head for her to follow him. "I feel like we haven't talked much recently."
"Oh? Really yeah maybe a bit." She clenched her fists cursing her awkwardness. "You know how busy it is with school and all. Final year of highschool, how crazy huh?" She added in attempt to actually add something to the conversation other than babbling agreements.
"Yeah, feels like forever ago when I started here, and met you."
"Who would've guessed the time would've gone by so quickly!"
"You have any idea what you're planning on doing after graduation?" He asked, stuffing his hands in his pockets.
Marinette nodded quickly though it was a lie. "Well actually, I have a few ideas but I'm not sure exactly what I'll be doing." She squeezed her fingers, tugging gently on them. "What about you?"
He seemed to think about it for a moment. "I have no idea." Marinette watched him in shock. "What? Is that weird?"
"N-No! No Adrien you could never be weird I mean no that's not weird. I had just assumed you'd be taking over your dad's company." She lifted her hands in defense, hoping he didn't think that she thought he was weird. However, instead Adrien smiled sadly at her.
"Yeah, that's probably what will end up happening." She chewed her lip debating if she should keep talking, she seemed to have already upset him.
"Well what would you rather do?"
"Honestly?" She nodded her head eagerly. What could Adrien want to do, she had never really heard him speak about his life goals. Now that she really thought about it, Adrien was a rather secretive person. "I think I'd want to be a school teacher."
Now that she could see. "I think you'd be really good at that Adrien!" He seemed to jump at the volume of her voice, but his smile seemed more genuine now.
"Really?"
"Yeah! You're super patient and kind and when you helped us all study for that math quiz we all did really good! Plus you didn't even get mad when I had you repeat the steps three times. I think you'd be perfect at it." She noticed the pink spread across his cheeks which only made her blush in return.
"Thanks Marinette. That means a lot to me."
She froze staring at him, her heart pounding in her chest. "N-No Problem! Happy to help! What're friends for?" She laughed awkwardly as they entered the classroom, capturing Alya and Ninos attention. They settled in their respective seats and Alya's stare burned into Marinette's head. The burn didn't seem to fade even throughout class, and she knew Alya was going to demand answers after class. Once the bell rang, she took a deep breath and tried to prepare herself for this conversation.
"Hey." Marinette finally said, turning to look at her best friends.
"Spill."
"What do you mean?"
"You were gone yesterday and never responded to my text. Something happened, or else you would've texted me back."
"Oh…" She paused, Lukas face flashing in her mind. Tears started to swell in her eyes before she could choke them down and Alya cringed.
"Marinette! H-hey! Don't cry I'm sorry!" Marinette blinked her eyes rapidly trying to get rid of the tears but it didn't help. She flung herself down in her self deprecating rabbit hole thinking about how she wouldn't be going to see Luka tonight. He wouldn't be holding her tonight, or watching a movie with her tonight. She groaned softly, slapping her hand over her mouth as her shoulders shook.
"Marinette?" And there was Rose.
"Is she crying?" That was Alex.
"Hey are you ok?" Mylene asked, and she tried nodding her head but the tears kept coming. Oh Marinette get over it already, this was all your fault anyway.
"Marinette?" Adrien rested a hand on her shoulder and she wanted to melt away and slide under the desk to escape quickly. How embarrassing, she was actually crying at school.
"What happened?" Alya finally asked, rubbing her arm gently.
"Luka broke up with me." She whispered. The group erupted into chaos, though she wasn't surprised when Juleka didn't say much. She must have already known, she assumed Luka had called to tell her.
"Why?"
"What could have possibly happened, you guys seemed super close!" Rose cried, clasping her hands together.
"Guys, I really don't want to talk about this in the middle of the classroom." She could feel Lila's eyes on her, and it only made her want to cry harder, but this time out of embarrassment.
"Marinette Dupein-Cheng, crying in school! What a drama queen!" Chloe sneered, striding out of the classroom, Sabrina close behind.
"Back off Chloe." Alya snapped, though Chloe just kept walking, a smile on her face. Marinette was sure her misery made Chloe happy, though there was no way she was sucking these tears back up.
"Oh Marinette! Are you ok?" Lila cried, and Marinette glared at her, wiping her eyes.
"Leave me alone. Guys I'm really ok, I don't want to talk about it ok? There's a lot to it and I just don't want to think about it." She spoke, her voice cracking at the end.
"Ok, well how about we have a movie night?" Alya suggested, and the girls all squealed in agreement.
"I don't know, I'm just not really feeling up to it and I kind of just want to sleep and-"
"A movie night sounds fun, can we come?" Adrien asked, pointing to himself and Nino. Marinette froze and stared at him before speaking again.
"Well, ok I guess one movie won't hurt but we can't do it at my house, my parents are prepping for a big wedding and have been elbow deep in batter all day." She wiped her eyes again and took a deep breath.
"We could do it at my place." Juleka suggested. Marinette froze, although Luka didn't live there, she still felt awkward going, his room would be there. His room where they had their first kiss. His room where they had cuddled and ate snacks, where he had given her guitar lessons. She mentally slapped herself, she needed to control her thoughts or she would start crying again. Her brain felt like it was melting. How on Earth could she miss Luka so much but still hope for Adrien to give her a second look. Her brain also flashed to her late night trip with ChatNoir, but she waved it away, after all it was completely platonic.
"Ok, thanks Juleka." Marinette smiled.
"Juleka and I will set up! We can all meet up around 6!" Rose cheered. They all took turns giving Marinette a hug before packing up.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Alya asked as they walked out of the school together.
Marinette sighed. "I wasn't exactly trying to hide it Alya. It only happened two days ago and I've really just been trying to process it."
"What happened?"
"Do you think it's possible to like two people at the same time?" Marinette asked, hugging her book to her chest.
"Yeah I think so. After all, that is the plot of most romance movies. If you couldn't like more than one person then love triangles wouldn't be a thing." Was this a love triangle she was in? It sure felt like one, except, both parties didn't like her. It was more like a love line after all. A straight line, moving at breakneck pace away from Marinette. "Did this have to do with Adrien?" Alya asked quietly. Marinette took a deep breath and turned to her best friend.
"I don't know what's wrong with me Alya! I like Luka but I can't get Adrien out of my head!" She tightened her grip on her books.
"Marinette, maybe it's a good thing to take a break from Luka. Look at it as a way to clear your head. Listen to your heart girl, afterall, if you were with Luka and still couldn't stop thinking about Adrien then maybe Luka isn't your person."
"Yeah, maybe it's a good thing we broke up." She whispered, lip quivering.
"But knowing that doesn't make it any easier." Alya sighed, wrapping her arms around her best friend. "It'll get better Marinette, your heart hurts now but it'll heal. Focus on school and your friends and maybe the answer will find you when you're not trying to find it."
"Yeah…"
When Marinette arrived to Juleka's place, she had told herself she wasn't going to think of Luka but saying something and actually doing it were very different things. She sat on the couch, knees tucked to her chest as they put on a scary movie. Mylene had said no romance movies because it would only make Marinette feel worse. Marinette didn't care what they watched though, she wasn't really going to be paying attention. Besides, the scary movie only reminded her she didn't have Luka to cuddle up to.
She found herself missing Chatnoir though. Her heart jumped in her chest at the thought of just watching a movie with him. What the hell…
"Hey Adrien-Oh! And Kagami!" Alya sounded slightly shocked, as she gave Marinette a side eyed glance.
"Hey, hope it wasn't an issue that I brought Kagami. We were hanging out before and I thought I'd bring her along." He snuck a glance at Marinette and once again, her heart jumped in her chest as it had moments before. Why had Adrien looked at her? Well, maybe he wanted Marinette's approval, afterall, tonight was really about her.
"The more the merrier." Marinette said, though her words sounded forced.
"Thank you for having me." Kagami said, sitting down next to Marinette. "I heard about you and Luka splitting up. I am very sorry, that is truly unfortunate." Marinette stared at her eyes wide.
"Uh it's ok. Thank you." Kagami gave her a stiff nod, turning to the TV. Adrien sat down in between Marinette and Kagami, squished in the two person seater.
"What're we watching?" He asked.
Marinette zoned out, the warmth of Adriens side soaking into her and driving her heart into hyperdrive. She would not survive this night, not at all. Her head was already starting to hurt from the mere thought of her feelings. Things were too complicated; she truly wished she could just stop existing, maybe for an hour, or day. Adrien adjusted and his arm brushed hers. She sat up straight face burning. Or maybe forever.
The movie started and everyone settled into their spots watching the tv quietly. This was a horrible idea, she was now alone with her thoughts and her thoughts were anything but simple. She wanted to cry again. She missed Luka, but maybe Alya was right. Maybe it was for the best that they called things off, and who was Marinette to try again when she knew she wasn't over Adrien.
Luka had said he would be there for her if things with Adrien hadn't worked out and they hadn't. He had kept up his side of the bargain, tending to her heart, but he never seemed to be able to truly heal it. And there it was, she liked Luka, maybe even loved him but not the way she loved Adrien. If luka was the warm fuzzy feeling then Adrien was a blazing fire. Being with Luka made her nervous, he was her first boyfriend and she really liked him, he made her feel important and warm but Adrien burned. He made her feel like her skin was on fire, a flame that never seemed to die out even after all of these years.
Tears trickled down her cheeks, but she found herself smiling. She loved Luka, but she was in love with Adrien. It felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders, she needed to admit that to herself. She could be sad, and like her mother said, grieve the loss of her relationship, but she could also move on. She could move on knowing Luka would find a nice girl who felt the same flame with Luka, that she felt with Adrien.
She noticed Adrien look over at her and she furiously scrubbed at her eyes. He gave her a sad smile and gently rested his hand on her thigh. Her skin seared under his touch and her breath caught in her throat. The rest of the movie was lost on her because all she could think about was their skin to skin contact. She sat through the first movie and two sequels before everyone was ready to go home.
"That was good! Really scary huh Marinette?" Adrien smiled, tilting his head at her.
"Huh? Y-Yeah! Really scary, super scary even! Probably the scariest movies I've ever seen!" The group laughed standing up and stretching their stiff limbs.
"Well, we should probably head out."
"Yeah, thanks a lot Juleka. It really means a lot to me. Sorry about everything." Marinette hugged Juleka tightly and smiled as the hug was returned.
"You're welcome Marinette. I hope it gets easier."
"I'm feeling better already." She assured everyone.
"Need a ride home?" Alya asked but Marinette shook her head.
"No, no I think I'll walk."
"Well ok. Be careful ok?"
"Always am." She hugged her friends, and ignored the ache in her chest as Kagami and Adrien got into his car together.
She hugged herself walking slowly down the street. Her heart already felt lighter, she'd have to apologize to Luka and let him know that she didn't think it was a good idea to get back together. They would only be prolonging the inevitable.
She was a tad disappointed when she got home and ChatNoir wasn't waiting for her. She really enjoyed their time together. She wondered why she never wanted to be with him before, though she supposed she never had a reason to. As the new guardian, Marinette shouldn't even be risking having ChatNoir in her house let alone her room. But she had the miracle box well hidden and she was sure there was no way anyone could find it. As Ladybug, it was easier to push him away, it was her duty to protect Paris and everyone in it, including ChatNoir, even if that meant protecting him from himself.
But Marinette, marinette didn't have any obligations to ChatNoir. She could just be herself, and she was realizing rather quickly, she liked who she was when she was with him.
"You're deep in thought."
She screamed, hands gripping the iron bars on her balcony. "ChatNoir, you almost gave me a heart attack!" She scolded, watching him sit on the hand rail. "You really need to warn me or something!"
"Sorry I couldn't help myself. I saw you walking home alone so I just wanted to make sure you got inside alright. Paris isn't very safe at night, especially to be walking around alone."
"Well, when I have ChatNoir looking out for me I don't think I have anything to worry about now do I?" She smiled, leaning back against the railing.
"You flatter me, but you really ought to be more careful Marinette."
'Yeah yeah, I will. Oh!" She straightened up, disappearing into her room and coming out with a plate of Macarons. "My parents made too much, they're out catering a wedding so they told me I could have the leftovers. And I think I remember promising a certain stray cat some treats."
ChatNoir hopped to his feet, his hands grabbing the air excitedly as he tried to make a decision on which one to grab. "The rose ones are my favorite." She said, pointing to the pretty pastel pink ones.
"Then I guess I'll try that one." he took it from the plate and bit into it, his eyes closing in bliss. "God Marinette, these are so good. You shouldn't have let me try them, now you'll never get rid of me."
"That's a risk most people face when feeding wild animals. At least you're cute." She froze, eyes wide. Did she really just say that? She hoped ChatNoir wouldn't feel uncomfortable, but alas he was stuffing another macaron into his mouth.
"The cutest!" He laughed, and it sounded so genuine it made Marinette laugh along with him.
"Wow, modest too. The complete package." He playfully shooed her away, taking another macaron.
"Did you catch up on all of your schoolwork?" He asked, mouth still slightly full.
"Yeah, I did actually. Although, I'm not sure how well I did, I'm happy it's at least complete."
"That's good, if you ever need any help i'm pretty good at math and chemistry!" He smiled, wiggling his eyebrows at her.
"Oh hush kitty. I'm perfectly fine with finding my own tutor."
"Suit yourself, but i've been told I'm a pretty good teacher."
"Oh I'm sure." She laughed softly, looking towards her bedroom. "Did you want to come in?"
"No, sadly I must leave early tonight, but like I said, I just wanted to make sure you were ok. Are you ok?"
She realized he wasn't talking about the walking home alone and smiled warmly at him. "Yes, I'm ok. I've had some time to really think about what I want, and I think what I want is to focus on myself. No Luka, no Bob." She winked at him. "Just me and my friends."
"That's a good idea." He looked towards the street and back at her. "I'll see you tomorrow then." Her heart fluttered in her chest but she ignored it and nodded.
"Yeah, see you tomorrow."
