CHAPTER 16: Telling the Friends Part 1

"Hey."

"Hi."

Nino and Alya stared at each other on the steps of the school. Not many people were there yet, seeing as both of them had arrived earlier than normal. Nino shifted awkwardly, while Alya looked down at her feet. Heat welled up in both their faces.

"Uh, can I give you a hug?" Nino asked, a bit subdued.

Like a snap of the fingers, the worried expression dissipated from Alya's face. She let out a small, embarrassed laugh. "Sure."

The tension between them flared up again as they moved towards each other but disappeared at the brief brush of their hands. The feeling of belonging they both felt caused them to hug each other tighter in reassurance, Alya going so far as to push her cheek against the side of his chin.

"I'm sorry about last night," she offered quietly, not wanting to ruin the moment.

Nino moved his face away from hers, and looked at her with a small, fond smile. "It's okay, I understand."

Her eyes turned a bit glassy in relief as she smiled back with more confidence. "Thank you."

He was about to reply, when a cough was heard from behind Alya. The two sprung apart, neither wanting to broadcast their new soulmate status yet.

"Hey, Nino," said Adrien, his eyebrow raised in confusion at the scene before him. "Alya."

Nino opened his mouth to try and explain but was unable to find words. The last time he saw Adrien, his friend was trying to help him get a date with Marinette. Oh, how things have changed…

"Well, good morning to you too, Adrien!" Alya cut in, maybe a bit too excitedly. "I gotta go make sure Mari isn't late today, so I'll see you guys later, 'kay?" She turned to leave, but then doubled back to lightly punch Nino's shoulder.

W- can talk lat-r… -kay? She nodded at him, and he nodded back, a bit dumbfounded. Did he just hear her voice in his head?

"-ude! Dude! Nino!" A snap in front of Nino's face made him jump.

"Yeah?"

"What the heck was that with Alya?"

Nino was silent before deciding to tell the truth… or at least part of the truth. "Dude, I don't even know." After all, it's not like he and Alya had talked in depth about it yet.

Adrien just stared at him, trying to decide if he should push for more or not. He had a sneaking suspicion that there was more to that interaction than Nino wanted to admit. But seeing Nino's uncomfortable expression, he decided to drop it in favor of another thing he needed to talk to Nino about.

"Hey, so I know yesterday didn't quite work out the way we planned. Do you want to try something else?"

"Yesterday?"

"You know, at the zoo, with Marinette?" Adrien once again searched Nino's expression with concern.

"Oh! Ohhh, dude!" The DJ smiled sheepishly. "Um, thanks for the help, man, but I don't think I'm interested in Marinette anymore."

"What? But Nino, that was only yesterday!"

"I know, but- er, stuff happened?"

"Stuff happened?" Adrien's tone was incredulous.

"Yes! Stuff happened! And I don't know how to deal with it!" Nino berated himself in his head for saying that last outburst. Of course, now is the perfect time for you to finally freak out about all this…

Adrien put a hand on Nino's shoulder, trying to calm him down. "What happened?"

"I… Alya…" Nino winced. "I can't talk about it yet."

Adrien's brow furrowed. "What do you mean? What's going on between you and Alya? Did she threaten you for wanting to date Marinette or something?"

"No! No, nothing like that!" Nino sighed and stepped back, Adrien's hand falling from his shoulder as he did so. "Sorry, man. I just… I need some time to figure it out for myself, if that's all right. I promise to tell you about it soon."

Adrien adjusted his bag's strap on his shoulder in a shrugging motion. "Okay, but you make me worry about you, Nino."

Nino chuckled and adjusted his hat in a nervous habit. "Thanks, bro, but I think I'll be fine. Just a little confused for the time being." Understatement of the year… Nino thought, as he held out his fist to his best friend in their customary greeting. Adrien smiled, nodded, and bumped their knuckles together.

As they started walking into the school, Adrien asked, "So, did you get that research essay done?"

Nino stopped dead in his tracks. "Crap, I knew I was forgetting something!"

"Alya, I can't believe you made me run!" The girls plopped onto their normal bench, panting a little.

"Hey, at least we aren't late!" The blogger glanced at the clock. Luckily, they had two minutes to spare.

"But Alya, my hair…" Marinette ran her fingers through her loose locks, frowning in displeasure when her hand stopped from the few tangles in it.

Alya rummaged in her backpack for a second, before motioning Marinette closer. "Come here, girl." Alya carefully ran a brush through her best friend's hair, while Marinette fidgeted with the hair ties on her wrist.

"There, girl, now you're all goo-"

Alya?

"Yes, Nino?" she asked, turning to her soulmate.

A moment of silence passed between the four friends. Alya slowly registered Nino's surprised expression and Marinette and Adrien's apparent confusion.

"Uh… Alya, Nino didn't say anything…" Marinette trailed off, securing the hair band around her second pigtail.

Alya's brow furrowed. "Really?" She glanced at Nino again. "Wait…" Did you speak to me in your mind?

Nino nodded, and Alya couldn't help the way her mouth dropped open a bit in surprise. We do have telepathy… Oh my gosh!

I can still hear you, dude. Nino held her gaze for a moment before turning forward in his seat with the ringing of the school bell. Alya groaned, embarrassed that he had heard her internal freak out.

"Hey, what was that all about?" Marinette whispered to her as Mrs. Bustier started class.

"Later," was all she whispered back.

Alya knew she needed time to process all of this before telling Marinette anything. She wanted to talk with Nino about everything in more depth, and she was also still adjusting to the fact that she even had a soulmate. Sure, she wasn't quite freaking out like she had been last night, but even just the last few minutes had proved there was still new soulmate related things to discover- including telepathy, apparently. Alya had read somewhere once that most soulmates were able to communicate with their minds, though it seemed to vary couple to couple. When she was younger, she thought telepathy would be really cool to have, even if it was just with one person. But telepathy had always seemed more like science fiction than something real.

Alya buried her face in her hands. This is actually happening.

Hey, we'll be okay. Alya couldn't see Nino's face, but felt the equivalent of a comforting expression being sent her way.

I know, she responded, looking up and acting like she was paying attention to Mrs. Bustier. Just a little overwhelmed here.

Nino's voice sounded a little shaky when he responded. Yeah, same, dude.

She breathed a sigh of relief, dwelling on the reminder that she wasn't the only one going through this. Nino was riding this rollercoaster with her too, which was a weirdly comforting thought.

Hey, do you wanna-

As Nino's voice suddenly cut out, Alya focused her eyes on him out of concern, but nothing seemed to be wrong with him. Yet, she could no longer hear him in her head. What the heck?

-ya! Al—a! Alya! His voice started to come to her in bits and pieces, getting clearer over time as she concentrated.

Nino, can you hear me?

There you are! Why weren't you responding?

You, like, cut out or something.

Weird.

Yeah, not sure what happened there. For a while it felt like I could only hear half of what you were saying.

Hmm, maybe it's like tuning into a radio station?

She snorted out loud, ignoring suspicious glances from both Marinette and the teacher. Only you would think of it like that. But I suppose so. We probably just need to practice more.

Well, what better time to practice than now?

Alya couldn't help but smile as she heard the hopeful tone of Nino's voice. Sure, DJ, we can talk for a while. I'll just get today's notes from Marinette.

Nino chuckled over the link and there was a comfortable silence between the two.

So... Nino thought, who do you think we should tell?

Good question. Alya hummed to herself in thought, flipping her pencil in her hand. Well, I know I need to tell my family. And I'll probably tell Marinette at some point. But those are the only people I feel like I need to actively tell.

Yeah, same for me, but my family and probably Adrien. Are you alright with that? Nino turned back to briefly look at Alya.

Of course! He's your best friend! Alya reassured, nodding to him. Speaking of Sunshine, what did he think about this morning?

You mean our hug? At Alya's mental assertion, he continued. He knows something is going on between us, but doesn't know what. I told him I would let him know when I was ready. Er, when we're ready.

Alya nodded to herself, only to get distracted as a piece of paper slid across the table from Marinette: What is going on?

I'll tell you later,Alya wrote back.

Well, she thought to Nino, if Marinette's and Adrien's reactions to us this morning are anything to go by, we should probably tell them soon. Maybe even today.

Today? Nino asked, a bit hesitantly.

If you're okay with that. Ayla paused nervously, only to plow forward with her reasoning. I mean, I get not wanting to tell them until we get more of a feel for this, but I honestly don't know how long I can keep this from my girl here, she said, mentally pointing to Marinette beside her. Plus, I would rather tell them than them accidentally finding out. While a large part of me wants to keep this to ourselves for a while, I also feel weird keeping secrets, especially if they both already suspect something is up. I know if Marinette was acting this way with a guy, I would be relentlessly asking her questions about it.

Yeah, I see where you are coming from. When do you think would be the best time to tell them?

Maybe during lunch? Alya suggested. I know, at break I'll go to the bathroom with Mari and ask if she's free to eat lunch together. Can you ask Adrien if he's free?

Nino nodded, his voice brightening. I can do that. Then we can surprise them by saying that we're all eating together. Yeah?

Alya felt a grin come to her face at his sudden playful vibe. They won't even know what hit them.

"Alright, class! Let's have our five-minute break, and then I'll talk about our new group project!"

Alya stood up to stretch with the announcement of the break. "Hey girl, wanna run to the restroom with me?"

"Sure, Alya!"

As they walked down the hall together, Alya could practically see the gears turning in Marinette's head. Luckily, they were the only two in the hallway; maybe having their conversation here would be better than a potentially occupied restroom?

Alya stopped suddenly, turning to her best friend with a raised eyebrow. "Mari, I know that look. Let me guess, you're wondering what is going on between Nino and I, right?"

Marinette gaped for a moment, then nodded, scowling a bit. "Alya, you better not be involving Nino in your schemes to help me with Adrien…"

Alya stared at her for a second in surprise before promptly bursting out into laughter. "Ooohhh, that is so not what this is about, but that's not a bad idea," Alya responded, a mischievous smile plastered on her face. "Too bad Nino doesn't know!"

"Uh huh," Marinette dead-panned, leaning against the hallway wall. "Nino 'doesn't know' I have a crippling crush on Adrien Agreste." She put up finger quotes to emphasize her sarcasm.

Alya winced as the guilt inside her resurged, and decided Marinette needed to know the truth. "Okay, fine. I didn't outright tell him, but he kind of guessed when we were talking about using the headsets yesterday."

"Alya!" Marinette slid down the wall she was leaning against and hid her face in her hands.

The blogger crouched down in front of her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Sorry girl, but I couldn't stop him from knowing. I'm pretty sure he isn't going to tell Adrien anyway; I'll make sure of it. I promise everything is going to be fine."

Marinette was silent for a few seconds before she peeked her head out of her hands. "Really?"

Alya merely nodded. "Really-really."

"Okay…" Alya stood up and offered Marinette a hand up, which she accepted. "So, if Nino isn't helping you plan ways for me to embarrass myself in front of Adrien again, what is actually going on between you two?"

Alya sighed, about to respond, but then heard Nino in her head. Adrien says he's good to do lunch. What did Marinette say? You guys might want to get back soon.

"I'm getting there," Alya reassured Marinette. "On a side-tangent, did you actually need to use the restroom?"

"What?" Marinette was startled a bit at the abrupt change in subject, but answered nonetheless. "Uh, no."

"Good, neither did I. Let's go back to class." And with that, Alya took Marinette's arm and started dragging her back down the hallway.

After a few seconds, Marinette pulled Alya back, twisting out of her grip. "Wait! You never answered my question!" she accused, hand settling on her hip. "What is going on, and why won't you tell me?"

Alya deflated at Marinette's tone, and uncharacteristically wrung her hands together in a nervous tick as she looked away from her friend. Was she really ready to tell Marinette? "I promise I'll tell you soon. I just… there's not enough time right now. How about I tell you at lunch?"

Marinette seemed to be vaguely placated by her offer. "Fine, as long as you actually tell me!" She then stuck her tongue out at Alya, intentionally being silly.

Alya laughed, relieved to know that their friendship was fine. She hip-checked Marinette playfully before walking back down the hall. "Trust me, girl, I don't think I could keep this from you."

Thirty seconds later they were walking back into the classroom, and Alya nodded subtly at Nino before sitting down on her bench with Marinette.

3…2…1… Nino turned around in his seat to face the girls. "Hey Alya, we still good for lunch today?" He winked at her not-so-subtly, which both Adrien and Marinette caught sight of.

"Yes, of course!" Alya tried to hold off a smirk, but couldn't help herself. This was so much fun, having a partner in crime. "Adrien, will you be joining us?"

Adrien turned in his seat to face the girls more, before raising an eyebrow at Nino. "Yeah, I'll be there. What about you Marinette?"

"Uh- yeah! I mean, yes! Yes, I'll there be. I mean! I'll be there! Yes." Marinette breathed out an anxious breath while nodding rapidly at the person of her affections. Alya could only lovingly shake her head at her friend.

"Great! I'm looking forward to having lunch as a group, then!" Adrien beamed at Marinette, before turning around in his seat again.

Alya suddenly heard Nino's laugh in her head. Oh, wow, dude. How did I not see it before?

Because guys are oblivious. She raised her eyebrows at him, challenging him to argue with her.

He shook his head, a smile on his face as he looked up at her. Well, then I'm glad I'm no longer oblivious.

Ayla could feel a blush on her cheeks. Heh, me too.

The four friends walked into the cafeteria together, heading towards an empty four-person table. Alya and Nino quickly sat together on one side of the table, leaving Adrien and a nervous Marinette to take up the other half.

Alya hid a smile, laughing in her head at the subtle glare Marinette leveled at her for making her sit next to Adrien.

Jeez, Nino said, observing Marinette in a whole new light, it's like my eyes have been opened to a new reality. How did I never notice before? He turned to look at Alya.

She snorted out loud, amusement clear on her face. I told you, guys are oblivious. And Mr. Sunshine over here the most oblivious one of them all. She nodded towards Adrien, who she noticed had just picked up a sandwich. However, Adrien wasn't eating yet, instead staring at them with his eyes narrowed.

"Okay, seriously, what is up with you two?"

Adrien's question seemed to shock Nino and Alya out of their little bubble, as both of them realized there had been near silence around the table ever since they sat down.

"Yeah, Alya, you promised you would tell me what's going on!" Marinette crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair to eye her friend with scrutiny.

Alya and Nino looked nervously to each other at the same time, unsure exactly how to respond. Uh, I'll tell them, Nino said after a moment, and turned to address their friends.

"Umm, I don't really know how to say this…"

Alya recognized his faltering and laid a hand over his to calm him. The soulmate bond zinged through them at the touch. Don't worry, Alya murmured comfortingly. I got this.

"We're soulmates," Alya said, keeping it as simple as possible. "Me and Nino. Uh, Nino and I." She cringed a bit at her awkward words. "Yeah."

"Yeah," Nino echoed. He squeezed her hand in gratitude.

Here we go.

A/N: Cliffhanger? Lol, you'll get to see Marinette and Adrien's reactions next chapter!

*Edited 11/25/19*