Chapter 19

~Marinette's POV~

I turned to face him with a smile as he looked up at me. Blue met green and I froze. My cheeks heated up, but I couldn't look away.

"Marinette...?" Adrien muttered to me with a slight laugh. "That was your cue."

"What?" My eyes widened and I blushed a bit in embarrassment. Why do his eyes have to be so green and beautiful...? "It was? I'm sorry!"

"It's alright." Nino said, cutting the tape and preparing to start the recording over again. "We weren't very far into it at all. Just... Don't get distracted."

I turned back forward away from Adrien as he stood up and walked back into the restaurant and stood behind the doors that led out to the outside area. I took in a deep breath as Nino started filming again. I can do this...

I waited until my cue. A few seconds later, during which Adrien walked outside, sighed quietly, looked around, sat down on a bench, and sighed a little louder, I then looked over my shoulder and saw him leaning over himself, his arm propping his head up with his elbow on his leg.

I smiled a bit then turned back away from him. "Hi." I said, then turned to face him as he looked up from the ground at me. This is where I messed up last time.

"Hi." He said and smiled. I let out a soft chuckle as I turned to better face him from my own bench. "The, uh... From the grocery store."

"Yeah." I nodded and chuckled awkwardly. "How's Ambrose?"

Adrien chuckled softly. "You remembered his name?"

"Of course." I said as if it were obvious. "Have you found him a home yet?

"No." He said. "No, not yet." He paused then looked at me with a serious, yet amused expression. "Who are you hiding from?"

"Oh, I'm not hiding." I said defensively, looking away. When I looked back at him, I couldn't help but stutter. "I-I'm just getting some fresh air." Gosh, why does he have to be so... him?

"Now, what does it say about the people we're with if we have to escape them to catch our breath?" He asked with a slight smile at me.

"That you love them too much?" I asked then nodded slightly.

"Or too little." He added.

I gave him a slight nod. "I'm here with my sister and her husband." I continued. "I love them a lot, but she's a little overprotective."

"I'm here with a date and her friends." He said, gesturing with his thumb behind him to the restaurant doors.

"Oh, you have a girlfriend?" I asked, trying not to let my disappointment show. I knew it was only for the film, but I didn't like saying the words to Adrien.

"Well," He said, shrugging slightly as he thought. "Girlfriend implies a possible future. She's someone I'm dating."

As he said the last sentence, he stood from his bench and walked over to sit at the bench across from me, so we could talk better. "I don't really believe in the whole happily-ever-after, fairy-tale ending thing."

"Well, I believe in true love." I said, shrugging slightly.

"Are you married?" He asked.

"No." I said in slight amusement. "No, I'm focused on my education right now. I'll think about dating after I graduate and get a job."

"Well, what if you meet him before then?" He asked, seeming genuinely curious.

"You can't find what you're not looking for." I answered.

"That's true." He said with a slight chuckle.

"You know what I just learned?" I asked and smiled at him with slight amusement. "Mountain lions actually take a leap of faith in love."

"They do?" He asked as if he didn't believe me.

"Yeah." I nodded. "When a male finds a female that he's attracted to, he jumps in front of her, stopping her in her tracks, and then he climbs to the highest peak he can find, and starts yowling and professing his love for her."

"Wow." Adrien said, as if I really knew all that and he were impressed that I did know so much.

"Yeah." I smiled at him, and looking back now, I can't believe I was able to smile at him for the scene without freaking out. "If she joins him at the top of the mountain, they'll be together for life. It's... very romantic."

"How do they know who to choose?" He asked.

"Instinct." I answered simply.

"What if I don't trust instinct?" He continued to question. "What if I need a guarantee?"

"I-I don't think love has any guarantees." I said as I thought about the answer I gave him. "I think you just have to have faith, and believe it'll last."

Adrien sat there for a moment as if he were thinking about my answer too. "Well, I should probably get back to my date and her pretentious friends." He finally said.

"Yeah." I nodded in agreement.

"Wish me luck." He said jokingly as he stood up.

"Good luck." I said with a slight smile as he walked away. "Bye, Green Eyes."

I turned to look at him and noticed that he had paused by the door. He was looking at me with a curious and amused expression. "I just said that out loud, didn't I?"

"You kind of did." He said with an amused smile, then walked inside the restaurant.

I turned back around so I was facing forward and made a face that clearly showed my, or Marilee's, embarrassment. "Could I be anymore embarrassed?" I muttered to myself as I put my hands to my head as if to shield my face from the imaginary people around me.

I slowly turned around again when I heard singing, and realized it was Marc, Kagami, and Luka. Marc was holding a small cake with white frosting and two lit candles, and Kagami and Luka were each holding a sparkling candle in each hand. They were singing For She's a Jolly Good Fellow in Italian, moving their arms to match the rhythm.

I sighed deeply and looked down before shaking my head in amusement before looking up at the three again and giving them a slight smile of amusement.

"And that's scene." Nino said after a few more seconds of not doing anything. "Good job, Marinette." He flicked his eyes upwards and continued, "And Adrien." As Adrien came back in. "You two are doing great with your scenes."

"It almost seems to come naturally." Adrien smiled and looked at me. "Don't you think?"

I smiled and nodded. "Yeah, it does."

As I looked at him, I suddenly thought back to my, or rather Marilee's, answer to his, or Zachary's, question. I sighed softly as I looked at him, silently wishing that what was happening between our characters was really what was happening to him and I in reality.

I was snapped back to reality as Alya said, "Let's go and film the next scene. It's really short. Then we'll meet tomorrow after school to continue with the next few scenes."

Everyone agreed, and we made our way back to the mayor's hotel to film in Marilee's room. I was walking by myself, lost in thoughts, before jumping slightly and looking to my right. Adrien had started walking by my side without me realizing it.

"Nino's right, you know." He said with a smile. "You're doing a great job as Marilee."

I felt my blush come on and smiled back at him. "It's not all me, you know." I said. "You're doing great as Zachary. The role really fits you."

"You think so?" He asked with a hopeful smile. "I was hoping that I would be able to fit into the role easily. That way Alya wouldn't get too upset with me for not playing Marilee's love interest well enough."

I couldn't help but laugh a bit. "You're worried about that?" I asked in amusement. "You have nothing to worry about, trust me."

"Why do you say that?" He asked curiously.

"I..." I trailed off in embarrassment as I realized that I was referring to the way that I saw him. Adrien is MY love interest, and if Alya really did base our characters off of our personalities, it wouldn't be too hard for him to act as my love interest in film because he already is.

I was just about to continue stuttering and searching for an answer that wouldn't give away my undying love for him, when Alya spoke up. "Now that we're here at the hotel, same rules apply." I sighed in relief and smiled at her thankfully. She gave me a questioning look, but continued to speak. "Only Nino, Marinette, Kagami, and I go in. It limits distractions. Any questions?"

No one said anything, so we went in. I got Queenie again and settled onto the floor where I was supposed to hold Queenie, and tell her about my, or Marilee's, night out.

"Action." Alya spoke for Nino after they exchanged a nod.

I took in a quiet deep breath and let it out slowly before starting. "I saw Green Eyes today." I smiled as I stroked Queenie under her chin. "Yeah..." I added as I looked away from the cat and straight out in front of me.

"We talked for a long time." I continued then waited, looking at Queenie for her added meow before softly clicking my tongue and looked away from her again. "Don't look at me like that. I'm not even interested."

"Even if I was, he has a girlfriend, or rather somebody that he's dating." I scoffed. "He doesn't believe in love."

I paused for a few seconds during which Nino would insert a sound clip to make Queenie sound like she was purring. "No..." I said quietly then held the cat closer to me and pressed my cheek against hers. "It's just you and me..."

I hummed slightly as if asking her if she agreed as I pulled my face away and stared at no particular spot just above Nino's camera. "And that's all I need for Christmas." I looked down at the cat again with a smile. "Yeah."

Even as I said these lines, I couldn't help but think about what I wanted for Christmas. Sure, Christmas would be nice with my friends. It always is. But... let's just say that if I could have Adrien for Christmas, as MORE than a friend, I wouldn't be complaining.