Chapter 21

~Marinette's POV~

I knew this would be an easy scene, knowing there was no Adrien around to distract me. Just Rose and I filming a scene, and even though I stood with her, each of us holding a cup of coffee, I couldn't help but feel excited.

And then our cue came when we heard Nino say, "Action!" From around the corner.

Rose and I started walking, turning the corner to walk through a doorway into the room where Nino had been waiting to film us.

"I told my sister and brother-in-law that I would bring him to a holiday Christmas party on the 23rd so they could meet him!" I said, emphasizing the last couple words to show I was 'distressed' over the situation Marilee was in.

Rose was quiet for a second as she walked next to a table on the other side than I did. "That's not a problem." She said as she looked at me. "We have… two weeks…" She paused slightly as we each set our coffees down on the table and sat across from each other. "To find you a date who has green eyes."

We looked at each other and I pouted slightly to show that I, or rather Marilee, wasn't liking the situation at all.

"I'll make you a profile on Just Dessert." Rose said with a satisfied smile as she looked at the yellow laptop that had been open on the tabletop.

"No, I could never do that." I argued, pointing at her before biting at my fingernail and looking away nervously.

"Do you want to get your sister off your back?" Rose asked and I looked at her as an answer. "Then sign up, go to a Just Dessert gathering, find a date for your sister's party, then shut down the profile."

"I don't know…" I answered, looking away again.

"Do you want to die old, alone, and in a houseboat surrounded by cats, and dogs, and shattered dreams?" Rose asked me seriously. When I looked at her with an alarmed expression, her expression changed to an apologetic one. "I'm sorry, that's what my mother says to me."

I was still looking at her with alarm and concern as she let out a breath and looked down as she used the laptop. "Anyway…" She muttered as she sat up straighter in her chair. "Name? Marilee White. Age? 26—"

"I'm 29." I interrupted with a skeptical look.

"Same thing." Rose dismissed. "Work?"

"That's a student." I said, my exasperation with this profile setup obvious. "And a pet supply store employee."

"Veterinarian." Rose said as she typed. "Loves animals, red wine, and long walks on the beach."

"I like white wine." I said impatiently.

"What are you looking for in a man?" Rose asked, clearly ignoring my dislike of setting up this profile.

I made a face at her and took in a long breath before I answered. This really reminded me of some of the things Alya's done with me concerning Adrien. "A nice guy who likes animals. And understands that I just want a date to a party."

Even though I gave her a look, Rose said, "Looking for a professional man," I rolled my eyes. "Who loves animals, is handsome, athletic, sexy, and has green eyes."

"Don't write that." I said, threatening her by pointing a finger at her, but she ignored it as she picked up her phone, held it up, and snapped a picture of me, then put the phone down again. "What did you just do?"

"You'll thank me when you're happily married to a sexy lawyer and you have three children and a house full of animals." Rose said smugly before looking at the laptop again.

I made an unintelligible noise in response as I covered my face with my hands. I heard a few clicks, a few dings, then uncovered my face when I heard Rose say, "Wow." And responded with "What?"

"You already have three happy cupcakes!" Rose said in surprise and excitement. I only made a face of confusion.

"Huh?"

"That means that there are three guys that want to meet you!" Rose said excitedly. "You have to go to the next party. It's… a holiday mixer this Friday at a members house, I'll text you the address, promise me you'll go?"

I had been shaking my head at her as she spoke, but when Rose used that pleading tone, I looked at her with slight annoyance. "Promise?" She asked again with a whining tone.

I hesitated before rolling my eyes. "Fine." I said in defeat, and Nino ended the scene just after.

"That was so much fun, Marinette!" Rose squealed as she stood, hurried around the table and gave me a hug. "I can't wait for our next scene together!"

"Me neither." I said with a smile and watched Rose hurry off, probably to go find Juleka.

I looked behind me when I felt a tap on my shoulder. "Hey, Alya." I said with a smile.

"You're doing amazing, girl." Alya told me with an excited grin, and I knew she was happy about more than just my acting.

"Well, you created Marilee based on me." I pointed out. "But what's up?"

"I have the next six scenes finished!" Alya said happily before handing me a rather thick packet with said scenes. It was the first time I noticed the large pile of papers in her arms, and I knew it was the newly finished scripts to hand out to everyone else.

"That makes… is it nine..?" I asked curiously as I flipped over the pages in the packet, glancing over the script.

"Eleven scenes ready to be filmed." Alya said proudly. "Out of about forty more."

"Forty?" I questioned with surprise as I looked up from the paper to glance at her before I looked back down at the script and flipped to the last scene.

"Forty." Alya confirmed. "Give or take, of course. The point is this movie will be amazing."

"You can say that again." I said with a grin that only grew the more I read over the script. "Adrien's breaking up with Chloe in scene 31?"

"Well…" Alya drew the word out but when I saw her grin, I only felt more excited. "Zachary breaks up with Blair, but yes. That leaves Zachary, Adrien, free to become more interested in Marilee, you."

"You make it sound as if it could actually happen outside of script." I said with a disbelieving tone and blushed, though inwardly I felt excited by the thought.

"You never know!" Alya said happily before she turned away to hand out the packets to the others. I sighed with content as I flipped the packet back to the first page to start reading through the script, though I knew I still had to go over the others again at home.

I knew it was unlikely for Adrien to actually fall for me like his character was supposed to do for mine in the movie, but the thought was very nice, and I didn't want to give up all hope just yet.