Chapter 12: Expect the Obvious: How Did You Not See This Coming?
"And…times up. Put your pencils down and leave your tests on your desks face down. Please make sure you leave the classroom in an orderly fashion."
"Finally," Nino sighed as he walked out of the classroom with Adrien, "I thought these finals would last forever. Dude, how'd you do?"
"Pretty well I think." Adrien stated. "There was one question on the philosophy exam that I wasn't sure about, but I knew the answers to all the other exams. The tests were a lot easier than I thought they'd be."
Nino frowned. "Only you would think any of those tests were even remotely easy."
Slightly embarrassed, Adrien placed his hand behind his neck. "What can I say, I was highly motivated to succeed." Adrien flashed a smile at Nino.
"So dude, does this means your dad's gonna back off and give you some space?"
Adrien sighed. "I don't know Nino. I still have to wait a few days for my grades to come out and if they are not up to his standards, I might have to spend the entire summer locked up at home."
"Dude that's harsh." Nino placed a comforting hand on Adrien's back. "But I'm sure you did well, you usually get the highest grade in class anyways."
"Hey guys!" Nino and Adrien looked up to see Alya and Marinette approaching them from the bottom of the front steps.
"Hey babe," Nino greeted Alya with a short squeeze. "How'd the exams go?"
"Literature and math were a breeze, but I'm worried about how I did in science." Alya replied.
"Same here," Marinette interjected. "It's all thanks to Alya tutoring me in literature and me tutoring her in math that we both did so well on those two exams." The four friends proceeded to the side of the front staircase and sat down.
"So the Saturday group study was a success?" Adrien inquired.
"No man, it got cancelled due to the akuma attacks. Babe," Nino turned toward Alya and placed a hand on each of her shoulders. "I love how passionate and dedicated you are when it comes to super heroes, but sometimes I wish you'd think about your safety a bit more."
"You're such a worry wart," Alya stated. "Sure chasing after akuma maybe a little reckless, but it is not as dangerous as you think. I stay on the fringes of the fight and film from a safe distance. Besides," Alya gently caressed Nino's cheeks with her thumbs, "I have Ladybug and Chat Noir around to keep me safe in case anything ever happens."
I wish you wouldn't always count on us to save you all the time. We have akuma to fight and can't always be worrying about your safety. Adrien thought to himself.
Nino sighed, "I don't even know why I brought it up. There's no way you'd ever stop anyways, you're way too passionate about this."
"Nope," Alya gave Nino a warm smile, "but your concern is appreciated. Although even if I wasn't as passionate about superheroes, I'd probably still keep maintaining the Lady Blog. If I want to be a real journalist one day, independent projects such as the Lady Blog are what's going to get me noticed and land me my dream job."
"That, at least, I can understand." Nino stated while looking at his headphones.
Marinette thought about all the hard work she put into her clothing designs and the various fashion contests she entered. I guess I can't get too mad at Alya for always running towards danger, considering I'm just as dedicated to pursuing my dreams. And at least she does try to stay out of danger unlike some people I know. Marinette remembered all too clearly Chloe's interference when she and Chat were fighting Vanisher.
"You may try to stay out of danger, but that doesn't always mean the akuma will let you." Marinette thought back to the fights with Stoneheart. "Despite the danger though, I support your drive to accomplish your dreams." Marinette, Nino, and Alya shared a group hug.
"You guys are pretty amazing. You already know what you want to be and are taking steps towards your future careers." Adrien stated.
"By the way, what do you want to be when you grow up Adrien?" Marinette asked.
"I don't actually know yet, I can't really say I'm passionate about anything."
"What about your modeling?" Marinette asked with a hint of surprise in her voice.
"I'm not exactly that passionate about modeling. I don't hate it, but I don't think I want to make a career out of it. I'm not worried though," Adrien stated, "I still got time to decide what I what to be in the future."
"True that. By the way," Nino began looking around, "where's your ride? Usually your bodyguard and Nathalie are always on time to pick you up." Alya, Marinette, and Adrien all began looking up and down the street for Gabriel's car.
"You're right. Where are they?" Alya pulled out her phone, noticing an akuma alert that she received almost an hour earlier.
"No way!" Alya exclaimed standing up with excitement. "There's an akuma attack taking place right near your house Adrien."
"What!" Nino, Marinette, and Adrien shouted in surprise.
"Yeah, I had my phone on silent for the exams so I missed the alert when it first came out. Looks like the akuma's making it difficult to move around. Although I'm a bit concerned…" Alya paused for a moment.
"What do you mean? Is my dad in danger?" Adrien began to worry about his father's safety. What if this is another akuma after my dad!
"I don't think so," Alya scrolled through the news article, reading about the incident. "This akuma doesn't seem to be after him or targeting many civilians. What's got me worried is that it's been almost an hour since the akuma appeared, but there's no sign of Ladybug or Chat Noir anywhere."
"That's weird," Nino peered over Alya's shoulder to get a better look at her phone. "This akuma isn't exactly being low key; the attack been broadcasted all over Paris' new stations since it first appeared. It seems strange to think that Ladybug and Chat Noir haven't received news about its appearance yet."
Alya and Nino continued staring at the phone in contemplation. "Maybe they are unable to come for some reason," Alya thought.
"Or maybe the akuma already incapacitated them," Nino suggested.
"What do you guys think?" Nino and Alya stated in unison, turning towards their friends. However, both Adrien and Marinette were nowhere to be found.
"That's strange, where'd they go?" Nino began to look around.
"Nino look!" Alya pointed to the screen on her phone. "Ladybug and Chat Noir have finally shown up! This is fantastic, I gotta get over there and start filming." Alya began sprinting in the direction of the akuma battle.
"Be careful!" Nino yelled after her. "Alya running off after an akuma, Marinette and Adrien mysteriously disappearing, just another day in Paris I guess." Nino placed his headphones on his head, turned on his favorite tune, and whistled all the way home.
Ring, ring, ring
Adrien swiftly turned off his alarm and eagerly jumped out of bed.
"You know, you are allowed to sleep in sometimes." Plagg let out a huge yawn as he slowly got up.
"I know, but I'm just too excited to stay in bed. My first date with Ladybug, this is going to be epic!" Adrien raced to his bathroom and began showering. Plagg flew over to the mini fridge and began chowing down on his camembert while he waited for Adrien to finish getting ready.
"Kid," Plagg began as Adrien exited the bathroom. "I know your excited and all, but the date doesn't even start until 6:00. And before that you're still grounded."
"I know that Plagg," Adrien replied as he finished tying his trademark orange sneakers. "But I just can't help myself. How can I just lay around in bed on the day when we'll have our first official date? Just the thought of seeing Ladybug fills me with excitement."
"You just saw her yesterday during the akuma battle, remember?" Plagg replied in annoyance.
"Yes, but that was when we were performing our jobs." Adrien sat down at his computer and turned on his monitors; each one depicting a different image of Ladybug. "Tonight it's going to be just me and her, no crime syndicate, no akumas, no patrolling…"
"No having Ladybug rescue you from another akuma," Plagg smirked.
Adrien frowned but let the slight pass. He was in too great a mood for Plagg to ruin it. Adrien quickly turned off his computer, placed Plagg in his pocket, and headed downstairs for breakfast. After breakfast he spent the next two hours with his piano and then mandarin tutors. Believing he completed his scheduled tasks for the day, Adrien headed back to his room only to be stopped by Nathalie.
"Adrien, before you return to your room you have another assignment that you must complete." Nathalie stated in a monotone voice. "Please come with me."
Adrien turned around, following Nathalie out the front door and into the car.
"This assignment, is it another photo shoot?" Adrien inquired while looking out the window.
"No," Nathalie replied. She looked Adrien in the face before continuing. "I suppose this means that you have forgotten."
"Forgotten what?"
"Your father is still upset and disappointed in your behavior and places most of the blame on a particular bad influence."
"Nino," Adrien growled in annoyance. "I told him that he had nothing to do with my poor performance. And besides, I managed to turn things around. My final grade may not be out yet, but I'm positive that I met his expectations."
"Regardless," Nathalie continued while adjusting her glasses. "Your father wants you to spend more time around positive influences and arranged this get together." The gorilla parked the car on the side of the road and opened the door for Nathalie and Adrien.
"Positive influence," Adrien muttered to himself. "What could my father be…"
"ADRIKIENS!" Adrien quickly looked up and saw Chloe running towards him. She quickly grabbed Adrien, pulling him into a tight embrace. Oh right, I'm supposed to be spending the day with Chloe. Adrien thought to himself.
"I'll be taking my leave now," Nathalie said while walking away. "You two have fun now."
"Hey Chloe, how are you doing today?" Adrien asked as he peeled Chloe off him.
"I'm doing great now that I get to spend the entire day alone with you! I have it all planned out right here." Chloe pulled up a schedule on her phone and showed it to Adrien. "First we are going to head to Antoine et Lili. I heard they recently received a new line of clothing designed personally by Nina Ricci that I'm dying to check out. Next we'll have lunch at the Epicure; I reserved us a table there at noon. After lunch comes the movies, there's this new movie that I'm just dying to see; you'll absolutely love it! And then we have…"
As Adrien looked at the extensive schedule a worrying thought popped into his head. "Um, Chloe."
"What is it Adrikiens?"
"Exactly how long is all this going to take?"
"We should be done around 10 or 11 tonight."
"10 or 11! That's way too late Chloe!"
"Oh don't be ridiculous Adrien. It's been awhile since we've had this much time alone together and I for one am not going to waste one second of it. Besides," Chloe continued, "I know you would rather spend time with me then sit alone in your room waiting for your father to lift your punishment. Now let's go to Antoine et Lili, we can have the gorilla carry our bags."
Adrien's bodyguard nodded in acknowledgment.
"Bu-bu-but." Adrien stammered out.
"No buts," Chloe grabbed Adrien by the hand and ran towards the shop. "Let's get this day started!"
Crap! Thought Adrien as he was dragged along. If this continues I'm going to miss my date with Ladybug. I have to think of a way to get out of this before 6:00.
"Good morning daddy!"
"Good morning pumpkin, you're in a cheery mood today."
"Oh, uh, yeah I guess." Marinette nervously replied.
"It must be nice to be done with finals and starting summer break. Ah, to be young again." Tom stated.
"Oh right summer break! Yeah, that's totally why I'm in such a great mood today, you definitely nailed it dad. Leave it to you to know exactly why I'm so happy right now." Marinette suspiciously grinned from ear to ear. The doorbell rang drawing their attention to the front of the shop where Alya had just entered.
"Oh look Alya's here, I better get going, bye dad." Marinette placed a kiss on her father's cheek before heading upstairs with Alya in tow.
"Have fun sweetie." Tom called after her. Continuing to stack the fresh loafs of bread on the shelves, Tom thought about his conversation with his daughter.
"If it's not summer break, then why is she in such a happy mood?" Tom mumbled to himself.
"So, how are you holding up?" Alya inquired when the two girls arrived in Marinette's room.
"I'm holding up fine, why do you ask?" Marinette replied, still displaying her cheerful demeanor.
"Well, I mean…wait, why are you in such a happy mood today?"
"What do you mean, why wouldn't I be in a happy mood today? Finals are over, summer break has started, what could possible put me in a bad mood."
"Well for starters, since school is out you won't be able to see Adrien on a daily basis anymore and today is the day that Adrien is supposed to be spending time with the Wicked Witch of the West, alone." Alya placed her hands on her hips awaiting Marinette's reaction.
Marinette froze. "That's right, I totally forgot! Poor Adrien, having to spend time with her." Marinette looked down, feeling dejected.
"Forgot? You FORGOT!" Alya screamed raising her hands in the air. Marinette jumped backwards in surprise.
"Why, why are you so mad Alya?" Marinette asked nervously.
"I've had it." Alya marched over to Marinette and stood a few inches away from her. "First the crying, then the cheering, then the posters, then the nonchalant attitude, and now this!"
"Alya…" Marinette cautiously began.
"Even without the schedule hanging from your ceiling, you know Adrien's routine by heart. I've seen you time and time again trying to setup instances where you two could spend time together. Considering how much time and effort you've put into memorizing absolutely everything there is to know about Adrien, the fact that you forgot something as huge as not being able to see him in class is suspicious. Moreover, the fact that you forgot he has to spend the entire day alone with Chloe is even more suspicious. I've watched you agonize over Chloe being together with Adrien more times than I can count."
Seeing Marinette's panicked expression, Alya calmed down and back up a bit. Sigh, "I respect your privacy and have been trying very hard not to pry these past few weeks, but this is getting ridiculous." Alya looked Marinette directly into her eyes. "What is going on with you?"
Marinette paused. Looking into Alya's eyes she could see the concern and love Alya felt for her. Alya wasn't asking out of any selfish desires to know the truth, but out of genuine concern for her friend. Marinette knew how much Alya loved to uncover the truth and how hard it must've been for her to suppress her inquisitive nature in order to give Marinette the space she needed. Marinette felt a pain in her heart as she tried to think up another lie to tell her. I can't. She relented after a few moments. I can't lie to Alya, not now, not again. Sigh. Marinette stood up straight, giving Alya a look of determination before speaking.
"Alya." Alya perked up at the sound of her name. "The reason why I've been acting so weird, the reason why I'm not as attentive about Adrien as I always have been." Marinette took in a deep breath. "Is because I've fallen in love with someone else."
Alya's eyes widened in shock. "Fallen in love with someone else, who, when?" Marinette bit the inside of her lip before continuing. I won't lie this time, but I can't tell her the complete truth either.
"You don't know him." Not technically a lie. Thought Marinette. After all, no one knows Chat Noir's secret identity; not even me. "He doesn't go to our school, but I've been friends with him for almost a year." Marinette maneuvered over to her computer chair, while Alya went to sit down on the chaise.
"We hang out a lot outside of school, just goofing off and walking around mostly. He's had a crush on me for a while, but I never gave much weight to it or thought about it that much. To me he was always just a good friend; that was until one day when he kissed me out of the blue." Marinette took this moment to swirl around in her chair a bit, collecting her thoughts.
"What surprised me most were the depths of emotions I felt emanating from the kiss. The shock and confusion caused me to immediately run away. After thinking about the incident for a night, I decided to meet up with him the next day to turn him down. What I didn't expect though was for him to prepare this romantic dinner for two and for him to tell me his true feelings. I found myself captivated by him and ran away again without a word out of fear and confusion. I loved Adrien, but here I found myself desiring another. I spend the whole night crying and came to school the next day with bloodshot eyes. That was when I noticed Adrien's foul mood and began obsession over cheering him up. It was a good way to spend time with my crush, distract myself from the other guy, and help out a friend in need. All around a win-win situation." Marinette gave Alya a weak smile.
Alya took a moment to soak in everything Marinette had just told her before responding. "I'd hardly call that a win-win situation, it seems more like you were avoiding the issue." Alya glanced around the room. "Well at least now I know why you took down all the posters and the schedule; couldn't have been comfortable seeing your crushes face everywhere when you are falling for another guy. So what happened next?"
"After avoiding him for several weeks, I managed to sort out my feelings and went to see him. I told him about my feelings for Adrien and my confusion regarding my sudden feelings towards him. He said he didn't care that I still had feelings for another guy, so long as I was willing to move forward with him. So we kissed and decided to start dating. Our first date is supposed to be tonight."
"Eeeeek!" Alya jumped with glee. "This is wonderful Marinette, absolutely wonderful!" Alya ran over to Marinette and pulled her into a tight hug.
"Together in a healthy relationship with someone, it's a dream come true." Alya pulled away from Marinette, giving her a warm smile. "But there's one thing that I don't understand. Why didn't you just tell me this from the very beginning, I would've supported you and helped you out?"
Marinette froze. How am I supposed to answer that? "Um, well, you see my friendship with him was kinda this little secret between the two of us. I guess I just wasn't ready to tell you about him yet."
"I see, so when do I get to meet him?"
"WHAT!"
Giggles. "Don't worry girl, I'm not going to eat him." Alya placed a comforting hand on Marinette's shoulder. "I'm sure that if you like him, then he's a good guy who genuinely cares about you."
"I would love to introduce you two," gosh, what a flat out lie that this. "But the thing is, this relationship is still pretty new to me and I'd rather just explore it a bit alone with him before I bring anyone else into the mix. You understand, right?"
"Of course I do. If you need some time and space, I'll be happy to give it to you. But you better fill me in on all the juicy details later." Alya winked. "Now let's go do something fun to celebrate your new boo."
Ring, Ring, Ring.
"Hold up a second." Alya pulled out her phone. "Aw shoot!" Alya placed her phone back in her pocket. "It's my mom, she just got an emergency call from work and she needs me to babysit my sisters. And I was so looking forward to hearing more about this guy too." Alya pouted slightly.
"No worries," Marinette replied. "There's always tomorrow, plus by then the date will be over and I can tell you how it went."
"Sure thing girl, catch you later!" Alya gave Marinette a quick hug before heading down the trap door.
"Alya's such a supportive and caring person." Tikki stated as she flew out of the drawer she was hiding in. "She makes for a great friend."
"Yeah," Marinette agreed. "She's definitely the greatest friend a girl could hope for. I can always count on her and talk to her about almost anything." Marinette let out a sigh.
"What's wrong?" Tikki inquired.
"Nothing, I just wish that I could talk to her about everything."
Tikki knew without even asking that Marinette was talking about her secret identity as Ladybug. "I know it's hard, but it's for the best. For her protections as well as yours, your hero identity must remain a secret. Sometimes you have to make the hard choices when you're a hero."
"I know Tikki, I know." Marinette took out the newest Agreste magazine that she received earlier that day and quietly began reading it in the corner of her room.