Chapter Two – The Unhappy Truth

In the stifling quiet of his bedroom, Adrien sat at his piano wondering what to play. His day had been tiring due mostly to boredom. Another photoshoot tainted with the seething displeasure of his father at the photographer for taking so long. The model rolled his head in attempt to free up the muscles in his neck. Holding poses for long lengths of time in awkward positions meant aches and pains later.

Lifting a hand to his nape, Adrien massaged the base of his scalp as he flicked through his sheet music, trying to decide what to play. Pursing his lips, the model couldn't decide on a particular piece and glanced at his kwami. Plagg was busy snoozing on the windowsill in the fading afternoon sunlight. So, there was no point in asking his opinion.

Picking up his phone, Adrien considered calling Nino but then remembered he was supposed to be using Instagram to raise his profile and promote his image. It wasn't something he was necessarily comfortable with, but Adrien tended to do what he was told. Well at least when he wasn't sneaking off to be Chat Noir.

With nimble fingers, the model selected two pieces he enjoyed playing and decided to ask his followers their opinion. Surely, he'd get some responses pretty quickly. With his photo snapped, posted and linked with his question there was nothing to do but wait. It wasn't particularly surprising when he got the usual responses of 'Will you marry me, Adrien?' or more disturbingly 'Forget the piano, come make beautiful music together with me.'

Adrien shuddered. Chances were some of the people responding were probably as old as his father. But as he waited a number of genuine responses came through with their opinions of which piece he should chose. A grin lit his face as he saw Marinette's handle appear. Green eyes hungrily digested her response then confusion lined his brow.

'Play what makes your heart sing. Knowing you're happy brings a radiance to you as a person. You're so beautiful, Adrien, and it's more than skin deep. Your very soul calls to mine. I just wish I could express how much you mean to me, and how much I love you.'

On one level, her words touched him on a deep level but as he'd continued to read, dawning apprehension pushed aside that blissful feeling. This wasn't the first time he'd gotten the impression that Marinette felt more for him than friendship. But when he'd questioned her in the past she would brush it aside saying it was a silly joke, a prank even. Was this meant to be serious or was she pulling his tail? Not that he currently had one. Yet his gut feeling screamed that her words rang of truth.

Over and over, he read her post, analysing her words as he considered their meaning. Up to those last two sentences he could accept it as the words of a thoughtful friend. After that, he was certain he was reading a confession of love. Now that was something he was familiar with, at least as his alter ego.

How many times had he told Ladybug that he desired her? He cringed at the thought. Time and time again she rejected his advances and claimed to love another. It was a point of contention between them, and one she tended to ignore. Letting out a heavy sigh, Adrien picked up his phone as he considered what to do. Discovering your feelings weren't reciprocated by the object of your affection was heartbreaking, and he didn't want to break Marinette's heart. Yet he didn't feel that compelling need to be with her the way he felt for Ladybug.

While he liked Marinette, that like didn't go deeper than devoted friendship. Adrien felt a strong sense of loyalty to his school friend, which was only going to make this harder. She deserved a response, even if it wasn't the one she was hoping for. Swallowing back the sudden sense of guilt that ate at him, Adrien dialled her number.

The phone rang five times before Marinette picked up. Anxiety laced her voice with her simple greeting of "Hi."

Clearing his own throat, Adrien launched straight to the point. "I got your message."

And since the chapters are so short, I need to stop there. I know, cliffhanger - boo, hiss. On the bright side, having such a short chapter aim of 500 words minimum means I've already drafted nine of them - happy days.

Thanks for reading, and please don't clobber the review section with your frying pan. It has feelings too XD