Hi there, my Miraculous readers!
I know it's been more than a week and I'm sorry for keeping you waiting. I should warn you that it might get even worse from now on. But don't fret. I will never leave this unfinished. I promise you that. I care way too much for this story. I might have to put in on hold for a bit sometimes.
I hope you like this chapter! Please let me know your thoughts!
Just a friend
"Don't chicken out, now!" begged Alice, looking at Zhi sprawled over her bed.
"But I'm soooo tired!" Zhi whined frowning with her eyes shut.
Zhi had started filming for the "Where the flowers grow" in London, where she would stay at Alice's house for the next week, followed by the last five weeks of shooting in Paris. The Miraculous movie shootings would start in two weeks, meaning that the last four weeks of "Where the flowers grow" would overlap the first four weeks of Miraculous. Thomas Astruc had managed to schedule her shoot to start on the third week; so technically, she would only have two weeks of overlapping.
"I know you are! But you're only in London for a week, and the rest of your nights are booked for the shooting! We have no other day to meet!" Alice waggled Zhi's arm as she tried to force the girl out of bed. "Come on Z! You don't have anything scheduled tomorrow morning! You can sleep then!"
Zhi groaned and let herself be pulled up from the bed. "Fiiine," Zhi already regretted agreeing to have dinner with the 'old gang', but Alice was just so excited that she couldn't back down now… Truth be told, she missed Lucie and Simon terribly too. Adrien would be there… sure, but they were grown-ups now. They didn't have to be buddies to get along.
They would definitely not be buddies.
It hurt to remember the heartbreak he'd left, but now the pain she'd felt seemed so far away… overshadowed by a fresh one. One that she had brought upon herself by trying to protect her heart from a greater threat.
Chat kept sending her texts. Only two per day now: a good morning greeting and a goodnight. It had been like that for a long time. Truth be told, she couldn't find it in her to sleep without his 'kiss goodnight'. And getting out of bed without his wishing her a good day was rough. She didn't even turn the Catphone off anymore, always wishful for more than those simple comforting texts. Some days, she was lucky and got another one through the day.
Like she had today, for instance.
[20h18 Today]
Chat_Noir999: Wish me luck, Bugaboo. I'm about to face one of my worst nightmares! But don't you worry about me, I'm super strong!
Zhi had received that text on her way to Alice's after the shoot was done, and she had laughed fondly, remembering his dramatic ways. Something important was happening to him today. Something he feared. If she could text him back, she would have let him know that she believed in him, that he could face anything. That he was amazing.
"Get dressed already!" urged Alice, pulling Zhi out from her daydream. "We should be there already! It's nine o'clock!"
"Okay, okay! Sorry! You can tell them it's all my fault we're late when we get there!" Zhi picked her dark blue dress from the chair and went to the bathroom. In the end, she was quicker than Alice thought. Zhi was already wearing fancy makeup from the shoot, so all she needed to add was a last-minute bun and put the dress on.
They arrived forty minutes late. ("Why didn't I pick a restaurant closer to home?" Alice had complained while they walked.)
Once they were at the restaurant's door, they both stopped to breathe in before entering. Neither of them wanted to admit how nervous they really were.
"Ready?" asked Alice with a hand on the knob.
Zhi felt a shiver, and even though it was a cold night, she knew that hadn't been the cause. She slowly expelled the air in her lungs and nodded. "Ready."
Alice opened the door and they entered, welcomed by delicious warmth. It was a Tuesday, so the restaurant was incredibly empty with only one table occupied apart from theirs.
Their long lost friends were already sitting, and when Zhi looked at their table and traded a glance with Adrien her stomach jumped to her throat and she suddenly felt very warm, like she'd just finished doing her cardio exercises. She rubbed her sweaty palms in her dress.
Pull yourself together.
Alice looked apprehensive too. None of them had any idea of how this dinner was going to go as they were both facing their first crushes for the first time in years. So, they took their time composing themselves.
When the waiter took their coats, the girls shared a reassuring smile with each other and walked to the table. They were in it together, as they always had been.
Lucie jumped off her seat the minute she saw them walking towards the table and met them halfway. She wore a white blouse with a dark green knee skirt.
"Hi!" she squealed opening her arms to hug them. Soon the three of them were hugging at the same time. It was a little awkward, but the laughter soon came and the embarrassing moment of the first meeting in so long flew away.
"Oh my god, Lucie!" said Zhi, smiling proudly. "You look so beautiful!"
"You really are!" added Alice with a gentle nod.
Lucie giggled and blushed slightly. "So do you! Both of you look stunning!"
"Thank you!" Zhi and Alice replied at the same time, generating a new wave of laughter.
Lucie turned around and walked them to their table.
"We're so sorry we are late…" Alice started, mostly looking at Adrien and Lucie. She tried to sneak a glimpse of Simon and blushed deeply, making Zhi Ruo want to tease her. She didn't, though.
"It was all my fault. I was at a shoot today and it finished way later that it was supposed to," Zhi tried to explain with an apologetic smile looking at everyone, even Adrien, who nodded and gave her an unsure smile, and ended up blushing as hard as Alice.
"No problem!" said Simon, smiling widely at Alice, but she didn't see it BECAUSE SHE WAS LOOKING AT HER NAILS.
"We actually got here late too," chuckled Adrien lightly. "We arrived about ten minutes ago and we have no worthy excuse."
"Why are you still standing!?" asked Lucie, breaking the awkward one-second silence. "Sit here!" she pointed at the table. She was sitting at the head of the table, Simon and Adrien were sitting at her right leaving two empty seats at her left. Zhi sighed, relieved that she was lucky enough not to be sitting beside Adrien.
Alice moved and sat in front of Simon, and Zhi sat next to her in front of Adrien.
"Have you ordered?" Zhi asked, even before she finish sitting, trying to avoid Adrien's eyes as much as she could. Her job tonight was to make sure there was no awkwardness.
"We ordered our drinks"– Lucie pointed at their glasses and a bottle of red wine on the side table –"and some starters that should be arriving any time now."
"You girls want some wine?" Simon asked, picking up the bottle from the side table – which he was closest to.
"I will have some, yes," Zhi answered, and Simon poured wine into her glass. "Thank you."
"Alice?" Simon asked and everyone looked at her.
Alice was frozen and Zhi felt the crazy urge to shake the girl. Alice wasn't behaving like herself! She wasn't even behaving like she used to behave in front of Simon eight years ago! It was THAT bad.
"Sure, Simon, she'll have some wine too," Zhi replied politely, trying to save the girl from a very embarrassing moment. "We just need to go to the restroom and wash our hands. Excuse us," she added, getting up and dragging Alice with her.
Once they were out of their sight inside the bathroom, Zhi turned to face Alice. "Girl! You've got to pull yourself together! I thought I was going to make it awkward because of Adrien, but you're like a million times worse!"
Alice frowned worriedly. "I'm so sorry… I just have no idea what to do! It's like I can't think around him!"
"Al, you have nothing to worry about if you behave like yourself!" Alice gave Zhi an unsure look. "I mean it!" insisted Zhi. "You should have seen the way Simon was smiling at you when we came in!" Alice's eyes popped up surprised. "You wouldn't be so worried if you had done, would you? But of course, you were checking out your manicure!"
"I- How did he smile at me?" asked Alice, hopeful.
"Like he'd missed you," Zhi replied smiling, turning on the tap to wash her hands.
"What should I do?" Alice started washing her hands without looking at Zhi.
Zhi dried her hands with a small towel for that purpose and came close to Alice. "First, you don't look down," she said, gently pulling Alice's chin up with her hand. "Second, you be yourself. Pretend you are talking to me when you're talking to him, or something! If that doesn't work, act. You are an actress, a very good one, think of this dinner as a job. You have to act like yourself. Alice Martin's normal behaviour is your assigned character." Alice looked thoughtful for a minute while she dried the water from her hands, which prompted Zhi to ask: "Does that makes sense?"
Alice nodded slowly, with a brave smile growing on her face. "It does."
"Great! You'll knock him out!" said Zhi, and the girls laughed together as they walked out of the restroom.
The table was already filled with the appetizers they'd ordered. Alice and Zhi sat, still giggling, which made Lucie ask:
"What's so funny?"
"Nothing," Zhi replied. "I was giving Alice some weird acting hacks I learned recently."
Alice smiled and blushed slightly, but didn't look down.
"I saw Mulan, and it was soooo incredibly beautiful, Zhi!" sighed Lucie with delight.
"I know, right?!" exclaimed Alice, very excited. "She took me to the movies to see it and I love it so much!"
Zhi giggled grateful. "Thank you!" her gaze focused on Adrien's and he looked down, very uncomfortable. She started wondering if sitting in front of him had actually been worse than sitting next to him. His light blue sweatshirt fit him so perfectly that she found herself admiring his toned body, only to immediately want to slap herself in the face.
Bad Zhi!
"You're shooting a drama now, aren't you?" Simon asked with interest, saving her from her thoughts.
"Yes, it's my first."
"And do you like it?"
"Hum... It's been a really good experience, but it's making me very depressed, you know?" she answered, sneaking a glimpse of Adrien, who was following her words carefully.
When their eyes locked, it was like she couldn't move them away. It didn't take more than a second, but it felt like an eternity. His green eyes were threatening to hold her prisoner and…
"She is going to film Miraculous and this one at the same time," announced Alice proudly, finally giving Zhi a reason to look away.
She smiled, more relieved than anything else. She saw Adrien from the corner of her eye and he seemed very relieved too, which made her smile more real. This wasn't easy for him either.
"Wow!" said Lucie, impressed. "Really? But that's crazy! How will you manage?"
"With help from my friends and my manager," Zhi shrugged. "And it's not that crazy, Thomas arranged the schedule for the shoot to make my life easier and I won't shoot with you for the first two weeks. The movie I'm shooting right now will last for five more weeks, meaning that only the last two weeks of the shoot overlap with the other one. It will be fine."
"Still, how will you even sleep?" Adrien asked, impressed and… concerned?
"I'll make sure she sleeps! I'll go with her to Paris next week and stay at her place!" interjected Alice excitedly.
"Oh, that sounds so fun!" Lucie said smiling happily. "We'll just stay at the hotel, like everyone else does…"
"You are invited to come over anytime you like!" said Zhi, smiling too. "All of you," she added looking at Simon and then Adrien.
The waiter came to take their orders and the night went by like a breeze from that point on. Alice still blushed slightly whenever Simon spoke to her, but she answered as she would have if it had been anyone else talking, making Zhi proud. Adrien and Zhi still shared awkward gazes at each other, but they also traded shy smiles.
By the end of dinner, the atmosphere between them was light and friendly, like Zhi never thought it would be again.
They split the check, and went outside, into the freezing cold. It was very late.
"Aw, I'm so sad it's already over…" whined Alice, looking at the ground for the first time since their bathroom talk. She was hugging herself because of the cold and shivering slightly. Zhi made a move to hold her; she wouldn't mind some human heat too, but Simon was faster. He promptly held Alice with his right arm and rubbed gently, trying to warm her up.
"Me too," he said with a sigh, making Alice lose her ability to talk.
"We don't have to go home just yet!" suggested Lucie, who didn't seem cold at all. She had a huge furry coat on, making her look very small in it.
"True!" Simon replied, holding Alice a bit tighter. "Why don't we go somewhere?"
"Actually, Simon, I'm way too tired to go to a bar or club right now…" Zhi said sadly. "Plus, Alice and I aren't dressed for that." Their dresses were way too fancy. Suitable for the restaurant they'd been at but not for dancing.
"Then why don't we go to our house?" asked Lucie, looking at Adrien as if she was asking for his permission.
"Hum- Lucie, that's not such a great idea… The house isn't in condition to welcome anyone," he answered as if there was more to it than an untidy house.
Wait! What the actual hell? Lucie and Adrien were living together?
As in… together?
"We could go to mine!" proposed Alice with regained courage, looking up at Simon, who looked back at her smiling. "Let's go to mine! My dad has been staying with me sometimes, but he isn't in London, so we have the house to ourselves!"
Alice's parents had travelled to Switzerland, to attend a health retreat. Alice usually lived alone, but with her mother on the hospital, her dad had almost moved in with her so that he wasn't lonely.
"Sounds good to me," said Simon with a shrug. Zhi could see that he was impressed at Alice's loosened attitude, but she could also tell that he didn't see how infatuated for him she still was, and what that innocent little embrace was doing to her.
Lucie looked at Adrien, begging with her eyes. He rolled his eyes and suppressed a smile. "Fine," he said as she laughed and cheered.
Zhi sighed. "Let's go, then!"
They walked to Alice's house, which took them around thirty minutes. Once they arrived, Zhi could see the disappointment in Alice's face when the girl realized that she had to step away from Simon's embrace to open the door. Alice is going to get soooo teased when they leave… Zhi thought to herself, barely containing a grin.
They got in and Alice gave a small tour of the house showing them the kitchen, where the bathroom was, and ending in the living/dining room where they all stayed.
"You guys want to drink something?" Alice asked, letting her coat fall on an arm-chair.
The guests copied her move and put their coats on the armchair. Alice lived in an old house that had been remodelled, so all of the rooms were small. It had a couch and two armchairs facing a television and a coffee table in the centre. One of the armchairs was now occupied, which meant two of them had nowhere to sit. Apparently, Adrien was the only one that saw that too, because Lucie sat on the free arm-chair and he was kinda glaring at Simon that had just sat on the sofa.
"Do you have more wine?" asked Lucie, smiling.
"No more wine for you, little miss!" said Adrien, making Zhi feel displeased. Just because they were together it didn't mean that he could just decide that!
"Aw! Come on!" she frowned, like a little kid.
"You're already tipsy, Lucie," he said pointing at her. "Why do you want to get wasted? We're here to have fun, right?"
Lucie sighed and shrugged, agreeing with him. Zhi could see that he was just worried for her, and he did have a point… but she didn't like that he had talked to her like he was her parent.
Simon chuckled and said: "I wouldn't mind some more wine, but since lil' brother there won't let Lucie drink more, I'll have whatever."
"Lil' brother?" asked Zhi, not being able to stop herself.
Adrien looked at her with half smile. "It's kind of a joke between us, but yes. Lucie's parents didn't want to let her come to university in London alone, so she has been staying with dad and me," he explained.
So, they weren't a couple…
It made sense now.
What didn't make sense was the huge wave of relief Zhi felt hearing that explanation. She had been distressed since the moment she thought Adrien and Lucie were a couple, and now that she learned they weren't, she just felt like a huge weight had been lifted from her chest.
Zhi just nodded at the explanation and turned to Alice, who was still waiting for their answers. "I could drink some tea."
"Sound good to me," added Adrien, looking at Lucie.
She sighed. "Guess I'll have some tea, too," generating a chorus of laughter.
"So, tea for everyone?" Alice asked Simon.
He smiled, making her heart race. "Yes."
"Okay, I'll be right back!" Alice said, walking to the kitchen.
"I'm going to help," said Zhi, following her friend.
But Zhi climbed the stairs to her room before going to help Alice. She wanted to check her Catphone. Hopefully, Chat would have texted her the outcome of facing one of his 'worst nightmares'.
She picked her phone that she'd left in the drawer of the bed table and opened the Red Thread, only to find the inbox empty.
It was near three in the morning and Chat hadn't said a word. It wasn't normal. He usually sent his text between eleven and midnight even though she knew he didn't go to sleep that early… Did something happen to him?
Zhi shook her head as the laughter downstairs brought her back from her worrying state. She stuffed her Catphone in the pocket of her dress and walked downstairs to go help Alice.
She was almost done with the tea, so Zhi helped her take the teacups to the living room. Once the teacups were served, Alice sat on the sofa near Simon and Zhi sat on the floor over her knees, not minding the slightest, but then she looked at Adrien, still up, and she made a motion to remove the coats of the armchair so that he could sit.
He stopped her. "No. You don't need to do that. I'll just sit like you," he said, kneeling in front of the coffee table, next to her.
Zhi smiled and sat back where she was. If she'd felt self-conscious of her wandering eyes at dinner time, now she was fully conscious of her whole body, which was so close to his. She could even smell him… His scent was so familiar it hurt. She looked at him from the corner of her eyes and found him looking back at her. They sheepishly smiled at each other and looked at Simon, Alice and Lucie who were happily talking about the Miraculous script.
Zhi blushed and glimpsed at Adrien, catching him looking at her again, and rather flushed too.
"Oh, I'm really looking forward to the hot scenes!" said Simon sipping on his tea, looking evilly over his tea cup at Zhi and Adrien, who blushed darker.
"No more cheese for you!" yelled Adrien, trying to dodge the subject by lightening up the mood. And he did. They laughed, and Zhi smiled gratefully at Adrien. He had caused the problem a long time ago, but he also was the only person that understood her embarrassment, and she could see that he was trying to put all the bad memories behind.
She knew things would never be the same as they had been, but that didn't mean they couldn't have a healthy relationship now. As acquaintances. Or maybe even friends.
"Anyway, you aren't getting much from them," Lucie added, pointing at Adrien and Zhi. "Adrien is using a double."
For some reason, Zhi felt her heart sink.
She didn't want to kiss him! Did she?
Zhi had been so worried about preparing herself for it, that she never really stopped to think if she might want it. She thought she didn't… but now… Why was she disappointed? And why did it matter so much to her when she had thought Adrien and Lucie were dating?
Did she still have feelings for him? After all he did to her? After all the pain? After all this time? She couldn't... but his presence still made her heart rush on her chest, her cheeks red and–
A phone vibrated and Zhi immediately reached her pocket.
Chat.
Adrien took his phone out and said "Dad is wondering where we are," he explained, looking fondly at Lucie.
Zhi carefully took her Catphone from her pocket and checked it under the table, while Adrien was distracted, typing on his.
Still no messages from Chat. It had been Adrien's phone ringing, not hers.
Zhi was seriously beginning to worry about Chat.
[20h18 Yesterday]
Chat_Noir999: Wish me luck, Bugaboo. I'm about to face one of my worst nightmares! But don't you worry about me, I'm super strong!
She reread that text, feeling terribly anxious. He had typed that he was about to face his worst nightmare… Did something go wrong? Did he put himself in danger somehow? She needed answers…
Slowly breathing in, trying to calm herself, she put her Catphone back in her pocket and caught a glimpse of a question in Alice's eye. She shook her head to let Alice know it was nothing, when Lucie asked: "Are you okay, Zhi? You suddenly looked very worried."
All heads turned to Zhi, apart from her own which was looking surprised at Lucie.
"Ahm~" Zhi managed to giggle, but it came out more like little nervous hiccups.
She looked at Alice, as if to ask for help, but Lucie spoke again: "Ohhhh! This is about a boy! Isn't it!?" She left the armchair and ran to Zhi's side, excited to hear 'more'.
Zhi felt Adrien go stiff beside her, but couldn't know for sure if it was for Lucie's sudden movement, or the path the conversation was heading.
"How-" did you know that? She wanted to ask, but she could see that Lucie wasn't going to give up, so instead, she said: "You know what… Never mind. Yes. I'm worried because a very good friend of mine had important things to do today, and I haven't heard from him yet."
"Your 'friend'?" asked Lucie sceptically, making Alice snort.
Zhi glared at Alice, trying to make a straight face, while her stomach was filled with butterflies.
"Yes. He is just a friend."
"Because he wants to be just a friend, or because you want him to be just a friend?" asked Lucie with a smug smile.
None?
"I-... It doesn't matter. We are just friends, and we'll always be just friends. There's no other path for us," she said, frustrated with Lucie's insistence. "I'm just worrying over nothing. He's probably asleep. I'll talk with him tomorrow and everything will be okay," she lied, feeling her throat swollen.
"Okay, if you say so…" Lucie shrugged, finally giving up. "But if you ever need advice… Let me know!" she finished with a wink.
"She wouldn't take it," pointed Alice with a smirk, earning herself another glare from Zhi. Alice lifted her hands with palms facing Zhi, in a compliant gesture. "Hey, I'm just saying that you never take advice when it comes to your friend."
Zhi lifted her nose up and said: "That's because I know what I'm doing!" making the other girls and Simon chuckle. "Anyways! Let's just talk about anything other than this!"
"If it gives you any consolation," Simon said, looking at Alice. "Adrien over there never follows our advice about his friend either."
The three of them laughed, forming a comradery against Adrien and Zhi Ruo.
Zhi and Adrien looked at each other, both saying with their eyes 'See what I have to put up with?' and then smiled understandingly.
"That's enough," declared Adrien. "You've already made enough fun of us. Aren't you satisfied?"
"No!" said Simon, still laughing.
"Oh, come on…" protested Adrien, frustrated.
"I know!" Zhi interrupted. "Who wants to play a board game?"
Lucie, Alice and Simon traded looks.
"We could play truth or dare!" suggested Lucie with a grin emerging on the corner of her lips.
"No!" Both Zhi and Adrien replied way too quickly, making the others laugh again.
Zhi couldn't contain her smile when she said "No truth or dare. What are we? Ten?"
"Oh, truth or dare sounds really fun!" said Simon amused.
"Yeah!?" replied Adrien. "You might know all my secrets, but you're forgetting I know yours as well!"
Simon narrowed his eyes, thoughtful. "I can just choose 'Dare' every time…"
"I'll dare you to tell us your most hidden darkest secret," replied Adrien with a sly grin, making Simon frown. "And since I happen to know what it is, you can't just make one up." The girls were watching the match of words with a mix of amusement and curiosity.
"Fiiine," Simon gave in, and Adrien chuckled relieved. "No truth or dare!"
"Then… what?" asked Lucie, looking a bit disappointed.
Zhi shrugged. "Alice has Monopoly, Cluedo and UNO."
"I also have normal playing cards," Alice added with a nod.
"We can play UNO," suggested Adrien. "It's been years since I last played. It was fun…"
They all agreed, and for the next hour and a half they played UNO.
Some cheating, laughing and teasing later, the fourth game of UNO had come to an impasse. Lucie, Zhi and Adrien had their hands full of cards, Alice had one, Simon had two and it was his turn to play. If he played a card matching Alice's, she would win for the third time in a row. So, naturally, everyone was rooting against her.
Simon's hand flew to place a yellow card on the deck on top of the table as he said: "UNO"
Alice made a disappointed face as she looked at him. Simon's grin started to widen, but it disappeared the moment Alice also placed her last card on top of the desk and laughed victoriously as she threw her hands in the air, triggering a wave of disappointed groans from everyone else.
"Ahhhh!" Alice sighed and laughed spitefully. "That was way too easy. You guys suck!"
Everyone but Simon laughed with Alice.
"I will make my goal in life to beat you at UNO," he said with an intense smoulder, generating another round of laughter and making Alice blush deeply. "Let's go again!"
"Actually, I need to go to sleep," stated Zhi with sadness. She didn't want it to end, because it was so fun being with them… but she really had to. It was nearly five in the morning! "I work tomorrow. Not in the morning, but still… I should be asleep right now. You can keep the game going, of course, but I can't stay any longer."
Adrien got up from the ground. "I have to work tomorrow too."
Lucie got up as well followed by Simon and Alice.
"Let's go home, then," she said with a sad smile. "This was great! I loved every moment of it."
"Me too," nodded Alice, hugging Lucie. "I missed all of you so much…"
"We did too," Simon said, receiving a shy hug from Alice when she let go of Lucie.
Zhi and Adrien traded uncomfortable looks. Were they supposed to hug too? Zhi's mind was bustling while Lucie pulled her for a tight embrace.
"Thank you for reconnecting with us," Alice whispered when she let go of Simon. He had been the one texting her, asking for a dinner with her and Zhi.
"Don't look so sad!" chuckled Simon. "We are going to do this a lot of times from now on! Right guys?" Adrien, Lucie and Zhi replied affirmative in a chorus. Alice giggled and he kissed her on the forehead. "Take care," she only nodded.
Simon turned to Zhi: "I'm gonna take you up on the invite to your house. I will practice my UNO skills, and then we can have a decent winner on game night!" They laughed, and Simon hugged Zhi while Alice hugged Adrien.
It might look weird, all the hugging, but it wasn't. They had really missed each other, and even though they were going to meet again very soon, they were already missing the time not spent together.
Alice walked to the door after Adrien and Zhi awkwardly patted on each other's back, both hearts racing like crazy in their chests.
After the final goodbyes, Adrien, Simon and Lucie left and the girls climbed upstairs to the rooms to put on their pyjamas and sleep. Zhi was staying in the guest room, but their routine was to stay for a bit in Alice's room and talk before going to sleep. The girls lay down on Alice's bed and, for several minutes, they just laid facing the white ceiling, lost in thoughts.
"It was so fun…" sighed Alice in a sleepy voice.
"It really was. I loved every moment of it," Zhi said, agreeing. "I thought it was going to be like… hell, but it wasn't. Seeing Adrien didn't make me suffer as much as I thought it would. Past the first moments, I felt good with him around," she confessed.
"I saw," grinned Alice suggestively.
"No," Zhi shook her head feeling exhausted. "Don't even think of it." Alice let out a little giggle. "Anyways, I'm very happy with you and your new confidence around Simon. I never thought it would go that well after those disastrous first five minutes."
"Me neither! You were my saviour! I would have ruined everything if you didn't pull me back to earth."
"You would have figured it out," said Zhi. "But you probably wouldn't have been so adorable. And you would have lost to let him win… That was really fun to watch."
"It was fun to play," Alice laughed. "I don't even play UNO that much. It was pure luck."
Zhi laughed at her confession. "Of course it was luck! Unless you know how to cheat, UNO is a game of luck."
Alice nodded. "Simon is going to practice and it will make zero difference," she laughed and Zhi followed.
"He just wants an excuse to spend more time with us as a group. Didn't you hear him? 'Game night' in my house?" Zhi bended her fingers mimicking a quotation mark with both her hands.
"You think?" Alice's head popped up to look at Zhi's face.
"Yes. I'm not sure if he wants to make like a game night a month, or so, but if he doesn't suggest it I will," Zhi smirked at Alice's hopeful face. "I've never seen so much progress between you too."
"I know right? It wasn't just my mind playing tricks, right?" asked Alice way over excited.
Zhi got up and supported her head on her elbow. "Don't get me wrong," she carefully said, "Al, I don't think Simon ever looked at you like that… I'm sorry if I'm being brutally honest, but I'm just so very scared that you get hurt…"
"But you just said…"
"Yes, I think you might have a chance now, but only because you were behaving like yourself." Zhi smiled and held Alice's hand, "I think he was very impressed with the real you." Alice smile sprouted back. "That's why we need more nights like this."
Alice nodded. She didn't have false hopes now; her hope was tiny, but real.
"Did something happen with Chat?" Alice asked abruptly, looking at Zhi, concerned.
Zhi shrugged and let herself fall to the bed on her back. "I don't know," she felt her eyes itchy and her heart had jumped to her throat making it hard to breathe. "Around nine he told me he was about to face his worst nightmare… I didn't think it was important, because Chat is dramatic like that… but he hasn't said anything since then…" Zhi looked at Alice, and a tear ran freely down her cheek. "What if something happened to him?"
Alice shrugged. "Like you said, he could have just fallen asleep…"
Zhi looked at the ceiling, knowing in her heart it wasn't the case.
"Let's get some rest now…" Alice said carefully. "If he doesn't say anything in the morning, we will deal with it then, hum~?" Alice squeezed Zhi's hand that was still in hers.
Zhi nodded. "I guess you're right. If he did fall asleep there's no point in worrying like this."
"Exactly."
"I'll go to bed, then," Zhi said, slowly getting up.
"Okay, sweet dreams."
"You too."
But Zhi barely slept, and when she did, her dreams weren't sweet at all. When she couldn't stand to stay in bed for longer, she got up and took a shower, trying to wash away her fatigue.
It was already eleven o'clock when she got out of the shower. She'd stayed in bed for five hours, tossing and turning, and Chat Noir hadn't said a word. Her stress levels were growing by the minute. Something must have happened to him.
Part of her wondered if he'd just given up on her… but if he had, he wouldn't have texted her something saying he was going to face his nightmares! The more she read that text, the more it sounded like a warning to her… Did he want her to know he was facing danger before doing it? Had that been a goodbye text?
Zhi forced herself to breathe and she washed her face with cold water. She had to pull herself together. She had work to do and a schedule to follow. Zhi had to be at the Buckingham Palace in two hours, go to makeup – that she much needed, after that awful night of sleep – and start shooting. With her heart in her hands she walked downstairs to prepare something to eat, even though she wasn't hungry and all.
Walking by the living room, where she had had so much fun with her friends last night while her Kitty might have been suffering, made her eyes fill with tears and she had to hug herself.
Zhi could face a world where she didn't talk to Chat. And she could face a world where he didn't talk to her. But she just couldn't imagine a world where he was hurt, or … gone.
Without giving it another thought, Zhi grabbed her Catphone, sobbing heavily and typed:
[11h28 Today]
Buggzhinette: I'm so sorry for everything I put you through… I know I have no right to ask you for anything, but please tell me you're okay.
Her heart was beating fast, scared of what his answer might be or that there might be no answer at all. Her tears rolled down her cheek while she waited.
Review, puuurretty please!?