Secrets, Lies, and Everything Else Chapter 8: "More Than a Friend Part 1"
So I know Lila hasn't appeared much in the story.
But she will, don't worry...actually I'd worry if I were you cos she's gonna ruin everything rip sunshine boiiiiiii ;w;
Oop I'm giving away too much- U NEVER HEARD THAT xd
On a totally random and unrelated side note, yes, the cover art has been redone. I tried to make it like the original one but like actually have their face showing, and I wanted to try out this blending tool to make a sunset in the background. :3
~ Reviews ~
Miraculousfan: The kidnapping thing was when Juleka said in the series that maybe they should just kidnap Adrien instead of Marinette confessing to him, lol. 😂
TikkiCookieBean: 😨 Oh no! Is it the fonts maybe? Idk because I can see them from my device, but perhaps the fonts don't work on every device. Here I'll just clear the formatting and fonts and copy and paste here:
Alya: we need 2 talk
Nino: about wut?
Alya: Adrien
Nino: Wdym?
Alya: I think I made everything like 10 times worse ngl...apparently him and Kagami aren't getting along so well.
Nino: wut does that have to do with u?
Alya: Bc I was the 1 that basically caused iy
Nino: U DID WUT?
Alya winced at his response, pausing before typing another message. She clicked "send."
Alya: well more like we did actually
Nino: wutttttt
Alya: ill explain later
Lol enjoy :)
(In the gym...)
Alya watched as Adrien left, eyes widening in alarm.
"Luka! Why'd you do that?! Marinette and Adrien were supposed to work together!"
Luka, who had been laughing about something with Marinette, looked up at her.
"They were?" Luka asked innocently.
"Yes! Where did he go? He's Marinette's partner!"
"I thought we could work together as a group, but Adrien seemed a bit colder than before, so I just figured he wanted some alone time."
"You mean time away from me?" Marinette looked hurt. Had Adrien left them because he didn't want to work with her?
"No, I'm sure he wants to work with you, Marinette." Alya told her, "Maybe he just wasn't feeling it."
"Or, maybe he was just feeling left out." A new voice entered the conversation. Nino, who had gotten up from the bleachers (since the performance had ended) walked towards them.
"What?"
Nino fidgeted with his cap, "He told me that you guys were having so much fun together, and that he didn't want to interrupt that."
Marinette's eyes widened, "But we were partners! Of course we were having fun together! As a team! Alya, me, Luka, AND Adrien!"
Alya rubbed her chin thoughtfully, remembering the intense look Adrien gave Luka. She narrowed her eyes. She WOULD find out what that was about. But first, she had something else to discuss with Nino.
"No worries girl, Alya and Nino have this covered." Alya grinned.
"The last time you said that-"
"Seriously! Everything is under control!"
;.;.;.;.;.;. ❤️ ALYA ❤️ .;.;.;.;.;.;
"...you don't have anything under control, do you?" Nino raised an eyebrow at his girlfriend. Alya and Nino were standing in the hallway next to the lockers.
"You know I said I'd explain something to you?" Alya started anxiously.
"Yeah?"
"Well...when I told Adrien that Marinette hated him, I didn't really think of the consequences, and now...him and Kagami are drifting apart."
"So? Wouldn't that create more opportunities for Marinette to confess to Adrien? I'm lost. How exactly is this a bad thing?"
Alya rubbed her temple in frustration, "OF COURSE it's a bad thing! I never meant to ruin his current love life! I just wanted for him and Marinette to spend more time together! Imagine what will happen if-" She sighed, "-when him and Kagami break up. He'll be the talk of the school! And not in a good way!"
"Where are you going?" Nino noticed that Alya was walking away.
"To find Adrien, and apologize to him. For everything." Alya said quietly.
Nino's looked bemused, "WHAT?! He's going to be so mad when he finds out! Don't tell him! He'll NEVER talk to me again!"
"He's going to be even madder when the truth finally does come out, and he finds out that we've been lying to him! The best thing would be to just TELL him!"
The sound of guitar music interrupted their thoughts.
"Luka!" Alya exclaimed. She asked nervously, "Have...have you been here the whole time...?"
"No, I actually just got here, but I heard you guys arguing about...telling something. Right?"
Nino nodded, "You see...we lied to this friend of ours...and it was for a good reason! But now...we think that it might not have been such a good idea after all."
Luka played another chord on his guitar.
"If you want my opinion, I say you wait things out." He explained, "Maybe your idea could work out in the end. No need to rush things. You could easily cause a problem that wouldn't even have happened if the thing does work."
"Good thinking, Luka." Alya said.
Luka waved goodbye before running back to Marinette.
;.;.;.;.;.;. ❤️ MARINETTE ❤️ .;.;.;.;.;.;
Marinette ran right into something, stumbling back. The person she had bumped into, did the same, rubbing his head.
"Luka?"
"Marinette? I was going to come get you from the gym. What are you doing here?"
"I'm going to find Adrien. Since Yearbook is the last class of the day, I think he might be on his way to fencing right now in the small gym. I just want to talk to him."
Luka smiled, "Great...I'll come with you!"
Little did Luka know that he was just adding fuel to the fire.
;.;.;.;.;.;. ❤️ ADRIEN ❤️ .;.;.;.;.;.;
Adrien couldn't believe it.
This was happening.
This was actually happening.
No, this couldn't be happening.
He knew it would happen at some point.
Just...not now.
"You're...you're actually..." Words failed him. He stared at her in shock.
Kagami went silent, shoving her fencing gear inside her bag.
Adrien swallowed, his voice barely audible, "You're...breaking up with me?"
Kagami sighed, opening the combination lock on her locker, tossing the bag inside, and then closing the door.
"Adrien...you're...you're a nice guy. It's just...I can't...I can't date someone who has feelings for someone else. That just sounds unfair."
Kagami tried to meet his gaze, but Adrien turned away, his expression unreadable.
"...so yes. I guess I am breaking up with you."
"Fine." Adrien said softly,
"We're...we're still friends though, right?" Kagami asked hopefully.
It was Adrien's turn to go silent.
"Adrien-"
"Don't." The model stopped her. Kagami looked puzzled.
This wasn't fair.
How come Marinette and Luka got along so perfectly? How come Luka was able to forgive Marinette for her mistakes? How come they didn't have the same problems he had?
"...wow. That just happened." Plagg blinked, poking his head out of Adrien's pocket, "I kinda expected that to go worse."
Oh no.
It was about to get one million times worse.
"Adrien! I- woah, what happened here?!" Marinette's eyes widened at the sight of Kagami and Adrien eyeing each other ruefully. Both teens turned to face her.
Adrien's demeanor almost instantly changed, "Hey! Heh... Mari! You go by that, right? I can call you that? Yes? No? Hehehehehehe ok." He was saying too much. He should stop.
Adrien would have described this as the most awkward moment in history.
"Is...something going on between you an Kagami?" Luka asked. Adrien itched to face-palm. How was he just SO observant?!
"NOPE! We're as close as could be! HEH! YUP!" Adrien sucked in a breath and tried to look tall and confident, like he was when he was Chat Noir, but with his awkward stance, he most definitely didn't look anything like his superhero self. Kagami gave Adrien a confused look as he elbowed her, signaling her to play along.
"Totally." Kagami said dryly. Adrien looked over at Marinette for any signs of jealousy. Even if she was feeling jealous, Marinette did a much better job at hiding it than Adrien. Disappointed, Adrien rubbed his arm.
"W-We just came here to wreck- peck- check on you." Marinette told him, rocking back and forth on her heels, hoping she wasn't interrupting something.
Luka looked at his watch, "We should get going. I need to practice for our next Kitty Section concert, and Marinette's going to design the new costumes."
"Oh." Adrien mumbled. He'd forgotten all about the concert in the first place. He certainly didn't blame Marinette for liking Luka. He'd been nothing but nice to Marinette, and seemed to be a perfectly calm person. Adrien didn't understand how he did it. How did he always manage to keep his cool?
"You can come with us if you want." Luka offered.
Adrien chewed on his lip. He wanted to go with Marinette. Not with Luka. Not with them. He wanted to go with her.
"No thanks. I've got fencing anyways."
"I'm sure your father won't say anything if you miss one lesson. Why don't you go have some fun?" Kagami asked. While she was trying to be helpful, it was only making things harder for Adrien.
"No, really. We have a fencing match today."
"You could always come in for tutoring."
"I'm busy during tutoring periods."
"You could stay longer after school."
"Can't, I have to practice Chinese." Wait, did Kagami seriously have a counter for every one of his excuses?
"You can practice Chinese later."
"But then I'd have no time to practice my piano." Adrien said through gritted teeth. He gave Kagami a look, stop.
Kagami ignored him, "You can wake up early then and practice your piano before you go to school."
It was like they were having a whole conversation with their eyes:
Seriously, stop!
I'm trying to help you!
This is the least helpful thing you could do!
I thought you said-
JUST STOP!
"No, I can't! I've gotta go to fencing class. Bye." Adrien said hurriedly.
Luka asked him, "Since you're having a fencing match, couldn't we come watch you play?"
"I guess you could." Adrien blinked slowly.
Marinette looked excited, "W-wow, the only other time I'd witnessed a fencing match was when- when I watched you and Kagami. I-It's going to be so ice- uh- nice- uh...good...no...cool?" She stuttered shyly.
"Thanks, Marinette. I..." Adrien paused, feeling his face heat up. He put a hand on her shoulder, "I'm really lucky to have a friend like you." As he walked away, Plagg scoffed from inside his pocket:
"Really Adrien? A friend?!"
I think that Adrien getting jealous over Luka could very much happen in canon. I feel like the BIGGEST hint of all, were all the moments in Frozer:
1. Somewhere in the nine minute mark, when Luka prevents Marinette from falling, you can see that shocked/confused/surprised/very slightly agitated look on Adrien's face as he looks over to Marinette and Luka. THEN he looks over to Kagami. I think this means that Kagami is, and always will be, his second choice.
Don't believe me?
2. When Marinette decides to leave, Adrien stops ice skating with Kagami and goes to check on her. Also, keep in mind that Marinette didn't exactly loudly announce/say that she was leaving. She spoke quietly, and she spoke directly to Luka in response to him. I think that this implies Adrien was distracted by Marinette, and secretly had his eye on her the whole time. If Adrien was really concentrated on ice skating, I don't think he would have noticed her leaving.
3. This is probably the most major one of all. When Plagg says that Adrien was going after Marinette, if you watch Adrien's face carefully, you can see that he goes from surprised, to angry, and then he just laughs it off. I don't really have much to say about him being surprised, but when he's angry, he looks like he's thinking something. In the frame, he looks away from Plagg and seems deep in thought. I would say he's thinking about Marinette, but WHY would he be mad, if he was thinking about Mari? I think he was thinking about Luka, because technically, he's the main thing that would prevent him from getting to Marinette, if he did have a crush on her. And when he smiles/laughs, it looks like he's faking it. If you pause the frame, you can see that Adrien looks sad from his eyes. His eyes aren't all the way open like when he usually smiles, and instead look softer. His eyebrows are also slightly slanted. (13:23 is when he looks surprised, 13:24 is him looking upset, and 13:25, is him "fake smiling." And yes I just opened Netlix and checked all of these times XD)
(づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ —-(bye!)