Chapter 38

~Adrien's POV~

After school, I met with Marinette and we left campus to go to the Christmas tree farm. As we decided to wait for Nino and Alya to show up so we could record the next scene we talked for a little while about things that happened at school, then decided to skim through our lines.

When the director and cameraman showed up, Marinette and I continued to flip through the few pages of this scene to go over our lines another time. I knew I didn't really need the extra practice, and I didn't think that Marinette did either, but there was an awkward tension between the two of us. Though maybe it was just me who felt it rather than the both of us.

I was ecstatic to know that I had Marinette's parents' support and my own father's to pursue a relationship with her, but it made me impatient knowing that it would be best to wait to talk to her about my feelings after we finished filming the movie.

It couldn't be much longer, right? We had over an hour's worth of film, and Alya told us a while ago it would be about an hour and a half long. If it was almost over, that also meant I would get to kiss Marinette in not too long either.

My cheeks started to burn at the thought as I smiled to myself. Maybe I would mess up the scene a few times after the kiss. She wouldn't mind too much, right? Or would that be pushing my chances with her? I shook my head at my own thoughts and let out a sigh, though it was apparently louder than I thought.

"Are you okay?" I heard a calming voice ask me and I looked up from the paper I had been staring blankly at to see Marinette looking at me with a look of curiosity and concern. She was also holding the script in her hand for the scene we were about to record.

"Yeah, I'm okay." I answered as I looked back down at the papers in my hand to skim over one of my lines again, then looked up at her once more. "Are you ready to film this scene?"

Marinette smiled and nodded, glancing down as she flipped her script back to the first page. "Yeah, I am." She said then looked up and met my eyes again. "It'll be a shame when it's all over. I really enjoy acting with you."

I had to avert my eyes from hers in hopes that it would help me hide my blush, but I nodded in agreement. "I really enjoy it too." I said. "I hope that we can still spend more time with each other after it's over."

I didn't see her reaction to my words as I kept my eyes down, going back to the first page of the script in my hands, but when she spoke, I could hear the smile in her tone. "I'd like that."

I instantly looked up to meet her eyes again and I saw her bright smile. I knew the smile I gave her in return probably came off a little shy, but I didn't mind so much. "We should go tell Alya that we're ready." She continued, and I only nodded in agreement.

"Are you two ready to film the next scene?" Nino asked me as I stood with him as he prepared the camera. I heard him, though my eyes were fixed on Marinette as she spoke with Alya quietly a little way away from us.

"Yeah." I said, but took a few more seconds before I looked away from Marinette. I probably wouldn't have looked away except I noticed her eyes flicking in my direction and I would have been embarrassed if she had caught me looking at her.

"She and I were running through our lines while we waited for you and Alya after school." I added as I looked towards my best friend. Thankfully, his attention had been on his camera the whole time so I knew that he hadn't seen me looking at Marinette either.

"Yeah, Alya and I saw you two leaving school together." Nino commented before his head lifted and he looked at me questioningly. "What was up with that, by the way?"

"What do you mean?" I asked after thinking for myself for a couple seconds what he may have meant by that.

"I mean, you seem to be spending a lot more time with her lately." He clarified, and I had to look away from him as I hoped that my cheeks weren't becoming as red as they were starting to feel. "A lot more time than usual at least. Is there something going on between you two?"

"No there's not." I answered, forcing myself to wait a millisecond longer before responding, not wanting to give anything away. "She and I are the leading roles for the movie, and we have a lot of scenes together. It helps to run through them with her."

"Right." Nino said with a nod and grinned slightly to himself as he looked down at the camera again. "Right, but that doesn't exactly explain why you keep looking over at her."

I quickly looked at him again, and it was only then that I realized that my eyes had wandered to rest on her once again. This time I was sure my cheeks showed my embarrassment.

So, he has noticed me looking at her…

"She's just a friend." I said, though I didn't like the feeling of my heart dropping at the statement. "Nothing more and nothing less. There's nothing going on between us."

Nino chuckled softly in response. "I see." He said, though he obviously wasn't taking me completely seriously. "But Adrien, just know it wouldn't be bad if you had feelings for her."

"Why do you say that?" I questioned curiously as my eyes landed on Marinette again.

"She's pretty cool." Nino explained. "Remember, I had a thing for her before I got to know Alya better. Plus, if you and her got together, we could double up on dates."

Despite the feeling of my cheeks heating up a little more, I really liked that idea of going on double dates with Alya and Nino, but I really liked the idea of going on solo dates with just Marinette. All I had to do was wait until this film was over, then I would ask her on a date. I still had time to decide what it would be, but I really hoped she would enjoy it enough for it to lead to more to follow.

I don't know when, but suddenly I saw blue and I instantly knew it was Marinette's eyes. She was looking right at me, catching me looking at her, though I wasn't just looking at her; I was smiling as I imagined what it could be like if she were my girlfriend.

I didn't have time to look away before she noticed, but I felt my cheeks heat up so much more to the point I knew I had to be visibly blushing. My smile vanished, but it was still a couple more seconds before I could finally look away from her.

I was horrified with myself and it took all I had not to jump when I heard Nino call out to the girls that the camera was ready to film the scene. I took my time walking to the starting place with Marinette, my hands already in my jean pockets as they were supposed to be for the scene.

I was nervous, knowing that Marinette caught me staring at her. The feeling was horrible since she showed no sign of awkwardness and it only made mine more noticeable.

"Are you okay?" She asked in a quiet tone as she crossed her arms for the scene. I didn't look at her, but I forced a smile. I hoped it didn't look as awkward as I felt.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I answered, relieved that my voice was steady as well. I risked a glance at her, but seeing that small frown on her face told me that she didn't quite believe me and that she could tell that something was wrong.

I remembered our conversation that we had in her kitchen not long ago, and I felt incredibly guilty. I knew she was worried and cared about me, but I couldn't bring myself to tell her that it was her that made me nervous. I also knew that I couldn't just tell her I was fine either.

"It's just…" I trailed off, trying to think of a way I could tell her what was on my mind without giving away the fact I had a rather large crush on her. "I guess I'm just a little nervous about this scene."

"Why would you be nervous?" Marinette questioned with a small amused smile. "You've been the star of this movie for just over an hour now, and now you're nervous?"

"I don't know." I said, shrugging it off with a small smile of my own as if I found it amusing too. "It might be because I know that the ending of the movie will be coming soon, and I'm anxious to see how it ends."

What I said made literally no sense in relation to why I was actually nervous, so I closed my eyes and mentally cursed myself for sounding so ridiculous. I thought that I was probably just confusing her, so I was surprised when I heard a quiet hum in agreement.

"I get it." She said, and suddenly I detected nervousness in her own tone. "I'm anxious to see how this story ends too."

"Ready?" Alya called out before I could question her further and the two of us looked up at her. Alix stood near with the clapperboard with a smile on her face. I looked at Marinette one more time to see her nod, and suddenly her earlier nervous was gone—vanished as if it hadn't ever been there.

"Scene fifty-one, take one." Alix said, then snapped closed the clapperboard. At Alya's call of, "action!" Marinette and I started to walk together to begin the scene.

"I haven't had a Christmas tree in a while." I said to Marinette as we slowly walked together side-by-side through many evergreens. I still had both of my hands in my jean pockets while she had her arms crossed over her chest.

"Really? Why?" Marinette responded.

"Well," I answered. "I buy houses, I fix them up, and I sell them. I never usually stay in one long enough to care about the holidays."

"I can't imagine Christmas without one." Marinette responded after sighing softly and shaking her head slowly. "It's my favorite part about it."

With a last smile in my direction, which I returned, she turned her attention to a tree. I was quiet for a couple seconds before I said my next line. "So how do you choose which one?"

Marinette took in a big breath as if she were more than happy to explain. "Well," She started, looking at me when we stopped to look at the tree. "That is pretty scientific."

I nodded, muttering a "okay" in agreement, though I smiled at her playful tone. "First, you got to check to make sure it's fresh." She continued then paused to touch and feel a branch full of green needles. "Then you got to inhale deeply to see if the scent is Christmassy."

I thoughtfully leaned closer to the tree and smelled it before I turned my head to her and gave her a skeptical look. "That's not a word."

"Yes, it is." She argued with a wide smile. "'Christmassy' is definitely a word. It's an adjective. It means: to be filled with Christmas spirit."

I smiled to myself in amusement before nodding. "Okay, I see." She chuckled softly in response.

"Then you're going to give it the lean-test." She continued, turning her attention back to the tree. "You going to look straight at your tree to make sure that it's even. Then you got to lean to the right." She paused as we both leaned to the right, giving me an amused smile. "Then you got to lean to the left." She paused once more as we leaned to the left and looked at the tree.

"And then back straight," She continued, both of us straightening our stances. "And if it's all good, you found your one."

I nodded as I looked at the tree, then turned to her with a small, amused smile. "That is very scientific."

"Yes." Marinette agreed with a laugh. I couldn't help but smile as well at the sound and sight of her smile, but suddenly it vanished as her attention fell onto a different tree a short distance away. "There's the one!"

I followed her with my eyes as she walked over to the other tree, my smile vanishing as I suddenly took on a worried persona and almost looked like I was panicking on the inside.

"One?" I questioned. "There's only one? How do you know? What if you're wrong?" She turned her head and looked at me, giving me a confused, amused and concerned smile. "What if you commit to it then find out it's not the one, and then you—"

I stopped myself from talking and looked away from her, feeling embarrassed. I wasn't just acting the part, I had really found myself starting to rant on about what Zachary was getting at. I didn't just say the lines and act worried, I actually felt the part because I was so lost in the thought.

"Yeah." I said, looking back at her to finish my line and that scene. "That's a good tree."

"And that's scene!" Alya called out excitedly. "Wow, one take! You two are naturals! Made to star together!"

"I agree with that!" Alix called out, and Nino grinned as he gave me a look. I looked away, unable to meet his eyes as I felt embarrassed.

"Let's just head over to Marinette's home." I said quickly to dismiss their teasing comments. "And get the tree decorated." I glanced over to Marinette to see her smiling at me, showing no sign of awkwardness in response to their teasing. I wish that I was like her—Not affected by our friends' teasing remarks.