A/N: I hope everyone had a happy Easter yesterday! This is the only update for today since I just finished my essay for my English class and writing for a class always seems to wear me out. However, if inspiration strikes, it strikes and I might just whip out another chapter tonight. Otherwise, expect to see more tomorrow or the following day.

I guess I'll start the countdown now...

Five minutes and twenty seconds in the movie, four scenes, and four more chapters left until it's all over.

Chapter 46

~Adrien's POV~

I've decided that I no longer care if I wait until the end of the movie or not to talk to Marinette and confess my feelings to her. I needed her to know that I lied to her and was really sorry for it. I loved her and I absolutely hated seeing her look so miserable.

And yet, I couldn't allow myself to force her to hear me out. If she didn't want to listen to anything I said, I wouldn't push her too. I deserved her silent treatment after all. I was a jerk and I knew it wouldn't be fair of her to just instantly give me a chance and forgive me.

But that didn't stop me from trying to talk to her either.

That one day at school, Monday of the last week of filming the scenes of the movie, seemed like it could have made up for the entire week. Any time I saw Marinette I desperately wanted to call out to her. Most of the time I did, but it always resulted in one of two things: Either she completely ignored me and pretended not to hear me, or she turned my way with either a very sad or very angry expression. Either way, she refused to talk to me. And even though I knew I deserved it, it hurt.

The long eight hours were finally over, during which Marinette showed absolutely no sign of offering me any forgiveness. Not that I expected her forgiveness anytime soon. But what I think hurt the most was noticing that she had slight dark circles under her slightly reddened eyes, and my guess was that she was sleep deprived and had done more crying.

And it's all my fault…

"What's got you down?" Ivan asked me with a concerned tone. It was very obvious that Marinette and I weren't getting along at the moment to everyone in our class and to anyone who may have seen me try to get her attention in the hallways.

"I don't really feel like talking about it." I answered dejectedly. My thoughts about Marinette were depressing enough. I didn't want to say them aloud and thankfully Ivan didn't press.

We were currently in a storage closet of the fire station for the second to last scene that we would be filming there, our hands full of firemen supplies that we were using as props as we waited for Alya's cue for us to walk down the hallway and go into the room where our scene would be. It was that same breakroom that we used a while ago where Ivan was in the small kitchen area and Kim and Max were playing cards while their characters teased Zachary for the first time about Marilee.

"Alright." Ivan shrugged, but I could still tell that he was worried for my relationship with Marinette, whatever it was right now. I could almost bet that she wouldn't even want to be my friend anymore after she heard that I had lied to her.

It was only a minute or so later that Ivan and I were given our signal through the open doorway and started to walk down the hall. Just before I took my first step, letting Ivan through first, I let out a small sigh to collect my thoughts and remind myself to focus on this scene.

"She just moved out." I said as I walked behind Ivan. "Found a new place to live. It's probably for the best; I don't want to lead her on."

"Oh, you wouldn't want to do that." Ivan answered with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

I was quiet for a second. "Well, it's not like I was in love with her. I-I liked her; I mean who wouldn't. She's wonderful."

"Zachary," Ivan said, turning to me and slowing down to allow me to walk past him to turn into the breakroom first. "What are you so afraid of?"

"Nothing." I answered instantly, but didn't move, so Ivan went in first.

"Harriet and I have been married for twenty-six years." He told me. "And… I don't regret one day of it. She and the kids give my life meaning."

I let out a slight breath of amusement. "I know." I said with a smile as we approached the table. "And that's a great life for you." I paused as we started to put the supplies on the table. "It's just not for me."

"Because you're different?" He questioned in an unconvinced tone.

"Exactly." I shrugged.

Ivan gave me a disapproving look. "What about Ambrose?" He asked, glancing at the ginger cat on a red chair at the table. "Do you care about him, or have you just gotten used to him being around?"

"Well, that's different." I said with a slightly amused tone. "He's a great cat. And he needs me."

"But you don't need anyone." Ivan asked, shaking his head at me.

I felt a pang in my heart at the statement. Although I was in the zone of playing Zachary, I knew for a fact that it wasn't true about me personally. I knew I needed Marinette, or at the very least to apologize to her if she no longer wanted me.

After thinking for just that moment, my mood changed to one of disappointment and longing, which was actually very good timing because that was how Zachary was supposed to be feeling at the same moment. "No." I said after I let out a long sigh and sat on a chair near the one Ambrose was on.

"Do you remember when you were a kid," Ivan started, walking around me to stand in front of me. "And I crashed through your bedroom window that night and saved you from that fire?"

I paused for a moment before I gave him a nod. "Yes."

"You decided that day to become a firefighter, right?" He paused and I gave him another slight nod, looking at him with confusion as if I had no idea where he was going with this story. "That was years ago, and you still know that it was the right decision."

"That was a defining moment." He continued after a slight pause, then paused again. "This, right here right now, this is another defining moment. If you care about that girl, you need to go find her and tell her how you feel."

"That's great." I said. "But I just—I don't know where to find her, Sam."

Both of us went quiet after Ivan let out a sigh. "Ambrose," I said as I leaned over to the other chair and scooped him up then held him up, speaking directly to him. "Where is Marilee?"

And how do I get Marinette to give me another chance?

Ivan narrowed his eyebrows at me slightly in amusement. "He's not Lassie. He's not going to lead you to her." I lowered the cat so he could settle onto my lap.

"It's Christmas Eve, though." Ivan continued. "A time for miracles. Maybe—maybe she'll walk right through that door right now," he pointed toward the door we walked through earlier for emphasis. "And tell you she loves you."

We both looked towards the door as if it was her cue to walk in. Part of me really hoped that Marinette would walk right through the doors and interrupt the scene and give me a chance to explain myself. But I knew it wouldn't happen.

"It was worth a shot." Ivan said, turning back towards me. He smiled at me knowingly, and I knew that now the obvious thing for Zachary to do would be to go and figure out where Marilee was.

"After a moment I gave him a very small smile back. "Thanks for coming down and hanging out with me."

"Hey, no problem." Ivan said, and he seemed to know that the thanks in Zachary's behalf was more than just for keeping him company. "Merry Christmas, Zachary."

"Merry Christmas, Sam." I responded as he turned and walked back out into the hallway. Once more I was left alone with my thoughts about Marinette and wondered just what I'd have to do to get her to talk, or at least listen, to me.

The following day at school was the same as the last. The only exception was that Marinette wasn't even giving me a chance to call her name. There were several instances that I saw her and opened my mouth to call her name, but she noticed each time and walked away from me instead of just ignoring and facing the other way or giving me looks.

This hurt so much worse because it made it so much more obvious that she didn't want anything to do with me anymore.

"You and Marinette aren't doing so hot, are you?" Kim asked me late in the afternoon after calling me from my seat up to his. We were in the last class of the day, but I had gotten there earlier than usual. Kim was already there with Max since Kim needed help with last minute homework, though it seemed that it was more of Max just doing it for him.

"Not really." I admitted the obvious. "Not at all."

"What happened?" Max questioned but didn't look up from the paper he was writing.

"Well…" I started as I rubbed the back of my neck nervously since I'd never admitted my feelings for her to anyone, yet now I guess it was painfully obvious. "Do you guys remember that kiss I improvised for scene fifty-four?"

Both nodded. "A little while after that happened, Marinette asked me if it meant anything." I paused as I noticed both immediately snap their full attention on me then continued. "I told her it didn't."

"Why would you do that?!" Kim demanded in shock. "Dude, no wonder she hates you now!"

"She… hates me?" I asked, my heart dropping in disappointment.

"Did you really mean your answer to her question?" Max asked, and I quickly shook my head in response. Immediately a grin stretched across Kim's face.

"So you didn't just kiss her for the movie?" He asked. When I looked down and felt my cheeks heat up with embarrassment, he let out a whoop of triumph. "Ha! I told you, Max!"

"I didn't doubt you." Max said quickly before Kim continued.

"So you like her." He said with a slightly teasing tone. "No wonder you're trying so hard to get her attention. How do you plan to apologize? Just talk to her about your lie?"

"Well… Yeah?" I answered, though I was instantly unsure of myself.

"There's no way she'd give you the chance to just talk to her." Kim said as he shook his head at me disapprovingly.

"What am I supposed to do?" I asked, suddenly very more desperate for Kim's input. "She won't even look my way anymore."

"That's because you really hurt her, Adrien." Kim reminded me. "It's really obvious that she really likes you. I'm sure that you've figured that out at least since she's so upset by your answer. Just talking to her won't cut it. You'll have to go big."

"Go big?" I questioned. "Like what? What do you suggest?"

"Do something really special for her that she won't be able to turn down. Then you talk to her." He explained. "You have to do something first that makes up for your mistake before she'll give you a chance to explain your mistake."

I instantly went quiet as I thought about what I could do for Marinette that would be good enough to get her to at least look at me again. Though before I could ask Kim for more advise, more of our classmates started to come in since it was much closer to the start of class.

I gave Kim a quick thanks before I hurried back down to my seat. Nino instantly looked at me curiously. "Are you alright, Dude?" Of course he knew that I was struggling with knowing Marinette was upset.

"Not really," I answered, though I had the slightest bit of hope now. "But I think I will be."

"That's good." Nino responded.

Not even a minute passed before I saw Marinette and Alya come into class together. Alya greeted Nino with a smile, then looked at me with a frown mixed with disappointment and sympathy. Marinette on the other hand completely ignored me as if I wasn't even there.

I wasn't surprised, even though it still unsettled me. I had to fight my desire to turn around and look at her all during class, but instead of just feeling sorry for myself, I started to try to think of ways to 'go big' as Kim said to beg Marinette for her forgiveness.