Miraculous: Tales of Blaze and Artemis
MDM: Sorry for keeping you guys waiting for so long. College is back up and keeping me busy. And believe me, my co-author here has not exactly been helping with my stress levels on completing this. But I know that it was with good intentions. I just tend to overthink things a little too much.
PokemonFreak90: This is one of my favorite episodes of Season 1! And for Allen and Bianca, it's going to be a big turning point in their lives, relationship-wise! We hope that you enjoy!
MDM: For once, we agree that this was one episode we were looking forward to! So let's get on with it! Chapter 13, and roll it!
Chapter 13
The Animan Inside
It was a nice afternoon as Bianca came over to Marinette as they finished changing out of their gym clothes and were about to leave the girls' locker room. A little teasing smile was on the auburn-haired girl's face. "So how was it, playing video games with Adrien?" She asked innocently, the smirk on her face betraying her tone.
Marinette blushed red as she recalled when she and Adrien were chosen to be finalists in a video game tournament a few days earlier. If she was being honest, having that time with her crush made her begin to feel more confident around him instead of acting like a total spaz.
Flashback
Marinette was actually feeling pretty confident, practicing with Adrien as they were playing video games together for the Ultimate Mecha Strike III Tournament. In fact, she could've almost giggled at the sight of Adrien Agreste literally mashing buttons on his controller as fast as he could, trying his best to keep up with her. On the other hand, she was going through the level with impressive ease. All that time playing all of those video games with her dad had really paid off.
Finally, they managed to complete the level, breaking yet another high score. "Wow!" Adrien exclaimed, impressed. "We won again, thanks to you!"
Marinette laughed nervously at Adrien's compliment. So much for being able to keep her cool, but at least she could still speak coherent sentences. "Yeah, um, we did." She replied.
"We? That was practically all you." Adrien said, putting down his controller and pushing himself a little away from the desk. "You're amazing, Marinette. I guess you wouldn't even need me. I'm so lame, compared to you…"
In any other scenario, Marinette would've squealed with joy at Adrien saying that she was amazing. But she saw the sad and underappreciated look on her crush's face. She had to say something to cheer him up, and also make sure that she didn't stutter while doing it.
"No, you're not lame. You're actually really great." She said, mentally pumping a fist at her accomplishment for not stuttering. "I guess I'm just lucky, that's all."
Adrien looked over at her with surprise. She really thought that? About him? Oddly enough, that alone was enough to make his heart skip a beat.
Just then, Marinette had a conspiratorial grin on her face, a look that Adrien didn't think was really possible with her, as he carefully pushed himself back towards the desk. "Actually, you know what? I've got a secret." She said, a little knowing twinkle in her eyes.
She reached into her back pocket and pulled out a red string with colorful beads, the biggest one being green with a flower engraving in the center. "This is why I win." She revealed.
Adrien looked down at the pretty charm in his classmate's hand, and then looked back up at her with a raised and suspicious brow. "Are you messing with me?" He asked, not sure if he should believe it.
But Marinette was insistent, the kind smile on her face making it harder for him to not believe her. "Try playing a match with it." She offered.
Adrien looked down at the charm one more time before meeting Marinette's eyes again. Then, he gingerly reached out and took the so-called lucky charm from her. The beaming smile on the pretty Chinese-French girl's face sent his heart thumping hard and fast for a few seconds, and he soon found himself returning the smile shyly, but just as bright.
End of Flashback
When Marinette finished telling Bianca about that little moment, the Canadian girl had a proud smile on her face. "Nice job, Marinette." She said. "It's a good start. Soon, you'll be able to talk to Adrien like a normal person." Marinette chuckled nervously while rubbing her arm, her cheeks turning a nice rosy pink color, almost like the shade of cherry blossoms.
Bianca then looked over in the direction of the boys' changing rooms. "What's taking Allen so long?" She muttered. He should have been out of there by now, if not a couple of minutes ago.
Just then, Alya came over to Marinette. "Hey, girl." She said, and then handed her an issue of the latest fashion magazine, which, as usual, had Adrien on the front cover, representing his father's fashion line. "You left this in the changing rooms. You're lucky that I managed to get it before Chloe did so that she could torment you."
Marinette's blush went from a soft cherry blossom pink to a bright fire engine red and then excitedly took the magazine, the starry gaze replacing a brief look of horror at the thought of Chloe getting her manicured mitts on her magazine.
"Well, I'll leave you two to it, then." Bianca said, taking that as a cue to leave. "I'm going to have to wait for Allen to come out of the changing rooms."
"Okay." Alya said. "We'll see you later, Bianca."
"Bye, I'll see ya." Bianca replied, before going over to the doors of the locker room.
She liked hanging out with Marinette and Alya, but when it came to girls gossiping about hot teen models in magazines, she'd take a pass. Plus, it was kind of annoying to listen to things like that. But on the other hand, it was kind of sweet and funny to hear Marinette swoon over Adrien.
She was about to knock loudly onto the changing room doors when she saw a human shape hiding behind a nearby wall. Curious, she cautiously came over to the wall, peering closer to it, and immediately, she was pulled behind it. She was about to scream and try to defend herself, but then quickly relaxed when she saw who it was.
"Geez, Allen!" Bianca exclaimed. "You scared me!"
Allen quickly pressed a finger to his lips, quieting her. "Yeah, sorry about that." He apologized to her. "But I had to get you alone." He then took a deep breath. "Today's the day. No more hiding, no more chickening out. I'm finally going to tell Alya how I feel about her! I just need to figure out a good place to do so."
Bianca's annoyance faded when she heard Allen proclaim this, and then smiled at him. "I'm really proud of you, and happy, too." She said, gently patting his shoulder. "I have an idea. How about you invite her to the zoo?"
Allen raised an eyebrow and asked, "Why the zoo?"
"It's a place where everyone can enjoy themselves." Bianca explained. "And it's casual enough so that Alya won't suspect a thing at first. Plus, they just opened a new exhibit there."
Allen thought about it for a few seconds. Inviting Alya to the zoo did sound kind of nice. And Bianca had a point. It was casual enough to where Alya could think that it was just a friendly hang-out, not suspecting that he was going to confess to her.
"Okay." He said, taking a deep breath. "That sounds like it could work." Bianca smiled at her best friend and gave him a thumbs-up.
Minutes later, Allen and Bianca were hiding behind the stairs outside the entrance of the school, waiting for Alya and Marinette to come outside. Just then, they heard their voices coming from above them and Bianca silently motioned to Allen to go over there and ask Alya out to the zoo. He nodded, took a deep breath, and then walked out of his hiding spot to casually approach her.
"Um...h-hey, Alya." He said to her with a slight stammer, getting her attention as she looked up at him. "So, I, um…I was wondering if…maybe you and I can…hang out at the zoo later this afternoon? After all, that science test we took today really fried our brains, so we can certainly use some time to relax and have some fun."
Alya blinked at him, a little surprised at his shy offer. Well, he wasn't lying. The test that they'd taken was quite a monster to finish, so she could use some time to relax and hang out with a good friend.
But then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw Adrien and Nino watching their little exchange a little ways away. With a brief glance over at Marinette, who looked oddly excited at her best friend being asked to go to the zoo, a little smirk appeared on Alya's face as she stole a glance back over at Adrien and Nino. And then just like that, Marinette's excited smile was replaced with a defensive look, and Allen looked pretty confused himself.
"Sure. But I'll be a little late getting there. My mom has something for me to do, right when I get home. So Marinette will keep you company while you wait for me." She said, pushing her friend towards Allen. "I'll meet you guys there." Before either Allen or Marinette could say anything, Alya ran off towards her house.
Watching them from her hiding spot, Bianca stood there, agape. "Well, that wasn't what I thought might happen." She said to herself.
Then, she saw Adrien and Nino a few yards away from them. Her eyes widened when she realized Alya's plan and shook her head. But she wasn't sure what she was more surprised about; the fact that Alya was using Allen in a plan to get Adrien to notice Marinette, or that the blonde model actually looked a little… peeved at the thought of Allen and Marinette hanging out at the zoo together, judging from how he was suspiciously narrowing his eyes and his hands slowly clenched up into fists.
Minutes later, Allen and Marinette were sitting on a bench, awkwardly waiting for Alya to arrive. Kim and Max had passed by earlier, wanting to check out the new panthers. But by now, they had already figured out what Alya was planning.
"She set this up, just for you and I to be alone together, didn't she?" Allen asked his classmate, crossing his arms, feeling both annoyed and slightly hurt.
"Yep." Marinette agreed, popping the 'p', as if it was obvious.
"Great." Allen muttered sarcastically.
Marinette looked over at Allen and saw the slight betrayal in his eyes. "I'm sorry, Allen. But I don't have those kinds of feelings for you." She said, trying to reassure him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Sometimes, Alya runs away with her brain when she comes up with a scheme."
The Canadian boy scoffed. "Don't I know it?" He said rhetorically.
At the same time, hiding in the bushes nearby, Adrien was watching them. He couldn't really explain it, but there was something bothersome bubbling up in his stomach at the simple thought of Allen and Marinette hanging out at the zoo together. They were friends, right? Friends hang out at the zoo... so why did this bother him so much?
"All of this looks pretty boring, if you ask me." A voice suddenly piped up, making the blonde model slightly jump up. He immediately turned over to the side and saw Bianca crouching beside him. He quickly pulled her into the bushes before Allen and Marinette saw them.
"What are you doing here?" He asked her in a low whisper.
"I should be asking you that question." Bianca quietly retorted back, narrowing her eyes suspiciously at him. "Everyone knows that Allen likes Alya, so you don't have to worry about him making a move on Marinette."
"I'm not worried about that." Adrien denied, turning away from her. But Bianca saw a fleeting tinge of red on his face.
"Then…?" Bianca trailed off, wanting him to elaborate.
Adrien sighed and admitted, "I don't know. She's always so jittery around me after the dumb gum incident, and while it's… kind of cute… it's kind of frustrating to get her to make her more comfortable around me. We made some progress when we were training for the Ultimate Mecha Strike III Tournament and I guess… I'm kind of hoping that nothing could set it back to square one."
Bianca looked a bit lost in thought, pondering Adrien's words. He made sense, explaining his growing friendship with Marinette. She supposed, due to Marinette's nervousness and stuttering around him, that had been sending him mixed signals about if they really were friends.
Maybe she could talk to Marinette about that, and with less nervousness, she could subtly show Adrien how important he is to her. Then he might start to see her in a different light. That might make more progress than anything hare-brained that she or Alya could come up with.
Finally, after twenty minutes of waiting, Alya finally arrived. "Whoo! Sorry I'm late." She exclaimed, slightly out of breath. "I hope that I didn't keep you guys waiting for me too long."
But she was only greeted by narrowed eyes and crossed arms from her friends. "Drop it, Alya." Marinette said, accusingly. "We both know what you were really planning, and it was another flop. In more ways than one."
Alya raised an eyebrow at first, then looked indignant at her best friend's sassiness. Okay, so her friend's model crush didn't show up like she had hoped he would, but they could come up with something else while they were hanging out.
But then, Allen cut her off, looking downright livid and hurt. "You used me." He said coldly, trying to keep his anger in check.
"Allen, I'm sorry, but I-" Alya began, but he cut her off again.
"Sometimes, I think you're a little too nosy for your own good!" Allen shouted, failing miserably at controlling his anger.
From behind the bushes, Bianca and Adrien stepped back, slightly afraid of Allen's explosion, as well as Marinette and Alya. "I didn't really mind that much because I know that you were just trying to help, but sometimes, you go a little overboard, not taking notice of other people's feelings! This is one of those times, Alya. This plan of yours really backfired. Plus, you-know-who didn't show up, so all of this was just a big waste of time! And to think that I finally got the courage to ask you out, because I actually AM in love with you!"
Dead silence rang out after Allen finished his rant. Marinette slowly brought her hands up in horror when she saw the realization appear on Allen's face when he realized what he had just said. In the bushes, Adrien visibly winced at the scene while Bianca felt deep remorse and sympathy for her best friend when she saw the embarrassment on his face. But Allen was focused only on Alya, who looked shocked at his indirect confession.
"You're… what?" She asked.
Allen felt a stone settle deep in his stomach, making it start to churn. But he kept whatever dignity he had left, and confirmed again, "You heard me. I'm in love with you, Alya Cesaire."
Alya swallowed thickly, hearing his confession. "But Allen, I-"
Already, the Canadian boy sensed a polite rejection coming and turned away from her. "I don't want to hear it." He said coldly. "After all this time of hiding my true feelings, I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up."
With that, Allen started to walk away, feeling like he had embarrassed himself enough. But thankfully, he was already trying to calm himself so that he wouldn't risk getting akumatized.
"Allen, wait!" Marinette called after him.
Suddenly, there was screaming in the distance. Kim and Max were running for their lives. "HE'S COMING!" The former yelled at the top of his lungs.
"Get outta here!" Max added.
Everyone, both out in the open and hidden in the bushes, saw the horde of zoo animals chasing after the two boys, being led by a large black panther. But for a brief moment, Bianca saw a purple claw bracelet around one of the big cat's ankles. It was an Akuma, caused by Kim. Both she and Adrien groaned.
"Will that guy ever learn to keep his mouth shut when it's not needed?" The auburn-haired girl asked with disdain.
"I guess not." Adrien replied in exasperation.
"You think you can get out of here without getting attacked?"
Adrien smiled knowingly, taking Bianca aback for a moment. There was something about that grin that was really familiar. "I happen to be pretty sneaky." He said confidently. "I have to be, so that I can avoid any crazy fans."
"Good." Bianca said, pushing away the familiarity of Adrien's smirk out of her mind for the time being. "When I say 'go', we go and then split up. There's no way that so many animals will follow us at the same time."
Adrien nodded in agreement, and then he and Bianca readied themselves. "Wait for it." Bianca said, waiting until the stampede had lessened just enough. "Go!" She exclaimed, springing out of the bushes, Adrien following her lead. Then, Bianca took left while Adrien went right.
After a minute of running, Bianca managed to find a hiding spot behind one of the animal exhibits. Claaw then appeared out of her purse. "Geez, it's like 'Jumanji' out here!" He exclaimed. "But this ain't the board game or the video game."
"Well, get ready, my little predator of a friend." Bianca said, a confident smirk appearing on her face. "Because the hunt has begun. Claaw, Let's Prowl!"
With a flash of silver light and ice, Bianca transformed into Artemis. She came out of her hiding spot and went out to find the Akuma. Hopefully, Ladybug and Cat Noir were already on the case. She soon found her two superhero teammates, but both of them were currently preoccupied at the moment, being chased by a small horde of wild animals.
Artemis scanned the area and saw that Alya was still running to look for a hiding place so that she could record the battle, while Allen was hiding behind a nearby tree, getting ready to transform. An idea then came into her head, but it was kind of risky. Not to mention that her best friend would be ticked off at her for the rest of eternity. But those two really needed to talk things out.
Without second-guessing it, Artemis fired her transformed grappling gun towards the empty monkey exhibit. She then ziplined across it, first grabbing Alya by her arm and Allen by the collar of his shirt. Once they all got close to the exhibit, she threw those two inside, jumped off, and then slammed the door.
"Stay in there and don't come out until this is over!" She shouted before she fired her grappling gun again to catch up to Ladybug and Cat Noir.
I'm going to kill her for this. Allen thought bitterly as he searched around the exhibit, hoping that there was another way out of the cage.
He was NOT in the mood to talk to Alya after her rejection. He still needed some time to cool off, and helping his superhero teammates fight against escaped zoo animals and an animal Akuma would really help blow off some steam.
But no, his best friend and partner had to make her own plan. Sometimes, he wished that she didn't take the wingwoman thing so seriously. But then again, she wasn't as bad as Alya when it came to her matchmaking schemes. Some of those schemes were way too extravagant!
However, with the silence between those two as Allen ran around the perimeter of the cage, searching for another exit, while Alya was just standing there awkwardly, it became too weird for them to ignore. After scouring the perimeter of the exhibit for the fifth time, and feeling his anger finally fading away, Allen took a deep breath, and then turned to face Alya, putting on his best poker face.
"Tell me the truth if I'm wrong." He said to her stiffly. "And say it right to my face. Do you not feel the same way about me as I do for you?"
Alya opened her mouth to speak, but then closed it, thinking about everything that she and Allen had been through during the past few months. When she first met him, to when he helped clear her name after the whole Lady Wifi debacle. When they went to the movies together for the first time, when they spent Valentine's Day together, and when he actually managed to get her an interview with Blaze himself.
Allen had done so much for her in the short time since they'd met. He was kind, smart, sassy, fearless, funny. And his looks certainly didn't hurt, either. He definitely made her feel special, she just didn't realize it until now, and she really liked feeling like that.
But after their argument, with him accusing her of playing with his feelings, Alya realized that she WAS kind of doing that with her scheme. And Marinette didn't like that, either. She put two of her closest friends in an awkward situation to try out a plan, but that really backfired. Because of her eagerness and zealousness, she nearly lost a really good...
She then stopped her train of thought. Why was her heart beating faster and harder, the more she thought about Allen? Well, she had been singing praises to him in her mind, but that shouldn't really affect her, right? Oh gosh, she was just like Adrien right now. She was acting so blind to the fact that one of her closest friends was in love with her, and that she'd hurt him because of her ignorance. Well, no more!
As the epiphany hit her, there was one thing she was going to do differently as Allen took her silence as a negative answer. She won't lose what had been in front of her the entire time! As the Canadian boy turned to head back to the perimeter of the cage, Alya grabbed his arm.
"Alya?" Allen asked her. "What's-"
He was cut off by Alya pressing her lips to his. Allen felt like he was frozen stiff at the soft contact, his brain short-circuiting. But a small flicker of hope started to build up in his heart as he closed his eyes and began returning her kiss.
Meanwhile, Artemis, Ladybug, and Cat Noir were all starting to get exhausted. They had managed to trap the Akuma, who was called Animan, twice. But he had escaped both times by transforming into different animals, first from a fly to a panther, then to a bear.
Right now, he was actually a real-life Tyrannosaurus Rex to escape his bigger cage, which Cat Noir had deemed was cheating. But the girls both agreed that technically, the T. Rex was still an animal, even if it was extinct.
Currently, all three heroes were hiding behind one of the upturned cars, away from Animan's sight. Seeing that there was no other choice, Ladybug grabbed her yo-yo, throwing it into the air. "Lucky Charm!" Ladybug exclaimed. With a swarm of red and pink ladybugs, a car jack painted red with black spots appeared and landed in her lap.
"Too bad Animan doesn't have any flat tires." Cat Noir muttered, looking down at the car jack.
"I don't think that dinosaurs rode cars in the Cretaceous period." Artemis muttered sarcastically.
"Remind me again why Blaze can't make it this time." Cat Noir asked her.
"He, uh, got a little bit held up with some…personal things at the moment." Artemis quickly lied, but it was considered to be a half-truth, knowing that he was actually kind of held up.
While her teammates were bantering, Ladybug was trying to understand how to use her Lucky Charm. She then took a brief look over at the T. Rex Animan before hiding again. "Look how small his front arms are." She pointed out.
"So it won't be great at basketball." Cat Noir muttered. "What are you getting at?"
"You two climb on top of him where he can't swipe at you, and while you're distracting him, I'll floor him!" Ladybug explained her plan.
Cat Noir then smirked. "Sounds like a good plan. I can be very distracting." He added that last part while leaning in close to Ladybug's face. She huffed in annoyance and pushed him away with a finger.
Suddenly, Animan threw away the car that the heroes were hiding behind with his huge head, with Artemis letting out a brief scream. Who wouldn't scream at the sight of a real-life Tyrannosaurus Rex appearing above them?
But then she and Cat Noir quickly got into position and jumped as high as they could onto the dinosaur, Cat landing on the top of his head and Artemis sitting on his back. The dinosaur thrashed around, trying to throw the superheroes off, but they both held on tight.
Finally, Ladybug threw her yo-yo, using it like a tripwire. The enormous theropod then tripped over it, landing on his stomach, unable to get back up because of his short front limbs. She then picked up her unused car jack.
"Well, that's weird, we didn't have to use this." She said, holding it up. "What does it mean?"
Cat Noir shrugged. "Well, I guess it only means that we rock as a team." He said, before going to get the bracelet around the dinosaur's right arm.
Ladybug and Artemis looked at the car jack, and then back at their teammate approaching the carnivorous dinosaur. Suddenly, they realized something. The T. Rex may not be able to get back on its feet so easily, but it can still BITE!
"Cat Noir, wait!" Ladybug shouted as she and Artemis jumped forward and pulled Cat Noir away from the dinosaur's jaws, and just in the nick of time, too. "I know what to do." She added confidently before racing back towards the T. Rex.
"Ladybug!" Cat Noir and Artemis shouted towards their leader, but she just kept running.
"Bon appetit, T. Rex!" Ladybug shouted before she jumped forward into the T. Rex's awaiting jaws. He then clamped his jaw shut, trapping her.
"NO!" The other two heroes screamed in horror. Then, they both got up, readying their weapons, cold glares on their faces.
"You're so gonna pay for this!" Cat Noir shouted angrily.
But then, Animan's mouth was starting to open up against his will. Cat Noir and Artemis then saw an unharmed Ladybug prying the dinosaur's mouth open using the car jack. She then got out of the mouth, smiling at her relieved teammates.
Then, Ladybug went over to the bracelet on Animan's right arm and smashed the purple tooth charm in her hands. After she did that, a purple and black butterfly fluttered out of the remains, attempting to make its escape. Ladybug then opened her yo-yo, revealing the sparkly pink inside and began to swing it around.
"Time to de-evilize!" She shouted as she swung her yo-yo and captured the escaping Akuma.
After she brought her yo-yo back, she opened it back up, and a pure white butterfly flew out of it, fluttering away into the sky. Artemis then used her grappling gun to pull the car jack away from the powerless Animan and handed it to Ladybug, who then threw it into the sky.
"Miraculous Ladybug!" She shouted, and the car jack turned into magical swarms of red and pink ladybugs, returning everything back to normal, putting all of the animals back in the zoo, and Alya and Allen out of the cage. (They both looked like they had been making out for the past five minutes!)
A cloud of black and purple bubbles appeared over the powerless Animan, transforming him back into a normal zookeeper. Ladybug then turned to her teammates. "Pound it?" She asked them, holding up her fist.
For a brief second, there was a brief angry but relieved look on their faces when they faced her. Then, Cat Noir reached forward and enveloped his partner in a hug. "Ladybug!" He exclaimed, sounding utterly relieved, which somewhat startled the red and black-spotted hero. "You're okay." He said quietly, making Ladybug smile at his tenderness.
But then, Cat Noir realized what he was doing and quickly broke away from the hug, chuckling sheepishly. However, Ladybug didn't look annoyed by his actions. In fact, she actually looked rather flattered by his genuine concern.
Suddenly, his Miraculous beeped out a warning. "Whoops!" He exclaimed, looking at his ring and seeing that he only had two minutes left, since he had used his Cataclysm earlier. "Better take my whiskers and run!" He exclaimed, leaving the scene. "See ya, ladies!"
Ladybug smiled in the direction where her partner retreated. It actually felt kind of nice, being hugged by her silly kitty. Who knew that he had a soft side behind all that leather, swagger and dorkiness?
"See you next time, Cat Noir." She said, before turning over to Artemis.
The wolf superhero lightly punched her shoulder before she brought her into another hug. "Don't do something like that again." She said. "I think you almost made Cat lose one of his nine lives with that little stunt."
Ladybug slightly giggled at Artemis's attempt at a joke to lighten up the situation, but she knew that it was needed. Then, the two heroines went over to the zookeeper.
"Oh! What happened to me?" He asked, looking around in confusion.
"Everything's okay." Ladybug assured him as she and Artemis knelt next to him. "But you should get back to the zoo and check on your animals."
Artemis smiled kindly at the zookeeper. "You take great care of your animals, and you clearly love them." She added. "But never take petty threats and claims too seriously. You already know what they're capable of, and that they can take on any challenge they know they can win." The zookeeper smiled at the two female heroes before they both leapt away, going in different directions.
Artemis soon managed to get back to the zoo, landing behind some thick enough bushes. "Claaw, Let's Hide." She said. With a flash of silver ice trailing up her body, Artemis became Bianca Snow again.
An exhausted Claaw landed in her hands and he began moaning for some meat. "What's a wolf gotta do to get some beef jerky around here?!" He exclaimed dramatically.
Bianca rolled her eyes while chuckling. "Chill, drama king." She teased, putting her Kwami into her purse for some well-deserved rest. "I have plenty of mini beef jerky sticks in there for you, and they're the ones you like the best."
Immediately, she could hear the quiet munching and chewing of Claaw as he tore off the wrappings and began gobbling up some beef jerky. She shook her head with amusement as she left the bushes after making sure that there was no one around.
But before she could start making her way towards the exit of the zoo, Bianca froze in her tracks when she remembered something. "Oh, boy." She muttered, and then hurried back over to the exhibit, where she'd thrown Allen and Alya in as Artemis several minutes earlier. She found both of her friends just outside of it, smiling at each other, their hair slightly messed up.
"Oh, uh..." Bianca stammered, cheeks flushing a slight red. "Was I interrupting something?"
Alya just smiled and kissed Allen's cheek, which turned a nice shade of pink. "Nah." She assured her.
Bianca exhaled with relief, but her cheeks were taking on a deeper shade of red at the public show of affection. "So, did you guys work things out?" She asked.
"Well, I was almost ready to make Artemis the bane of my entire existence," Allen began, briefly narrowing his eyes at his best friend, "But I guess she was the reason why Alya and I finally worked things out."
"I would think so, too." Alya agreed, taking Allen's hand in hers. "Otherwise, I would've lost the best thing that's ever happened to me, and I wouldn't have noticed it until it was too late."
"So what exactly was the misunderstanding?" Bianca asked.
"When Alya didn't show up at the zoo, leaving Marinette and I alone, we assumed that Alya had tried to get us alone because she thought that Marinette and I secretly loved each other." Allen began.
"But in truth, I was hoping that Adrien would decide to tag along on his own and Marinette could use this experience as a first date with her secret crush." Alya continued.
"I also assumed that by trying to set me up with Marinette, Alya was showing me that she wasn't interested in me. Fortunately, that wasn't true."
"Then, when he suddenly confessed his feelings for me out of nowhere, it was quite a shock and I was taken aback."
"Well, I... didn't exactly plan on confessing that way, but I was very emotional at the time."
"But while we were locked up together, the initial shock of his words wore off, and I was able to consider my feelings clearly, to see if I felt the same way about him. And this was my answer..."
Alya then leaned in and shared a kiss with her new boyfriend, right in front of Bianca. Allen smiled at Alya before removing his hand from hers and then wrapping his arm around her shoulders.
"So I'm gonna spend the rest of the day with my new girlfriend, if that's okay with you, Bea."
"Go ahead, Allen." She said, the blush fading from her cheeks as a sly smile appeared on her face. "But I will want details afterwards."
Allen playfully rolled his eyes at her teasing words before he and Alya headed into a different direction to explore while Bianca left through the exit. She was overjoyed for her best friend, finally getting the girl of his dreams.
Later that night, Bianca had met up with Allen, excited to learn more about how his day with Alya had gone as they started their trek home. "How was it, Romeo?" She asked him with a slight teasing tone in her voice. "Finally confessing to Alya and with her returning those feelings?"
"I couldn't be more happy... and relieved!" Allen exclaimed, feeling like he was on Cloud 9, almost like how Marinette would act when she would get the chance to be near her own crush. But at least he wasn't dancing on air like how the French-Chinese girl would act.
"I'm glad that all of your advice paid off, Bianca. You told me to find the courage within myself that I have when I'm Blaze, and I finally did! I love Alya, and now that I have her, I'll do everything that I can to make her happy!"
However, after he said that, a small frown came on his face when he remembered something that he did, but didn't tell Bianca about. It was the little kiss he gave Alya as Blaze after their battle with the Mime a few weeks ago. Allen wasn't sure if he should tell her about it now, but now that he and Alya were finally together, he decided that his best friend deserved to know the truth. Plus, she was right all along; Alya preferred Allen Flint over Blaze.
"But...there's something that you don't know." He said hesitantly, getting a confused look from Bianca as he braced himself. "I...may have given her an earlier kiss as Blaze, since she didn't remember the one that we shared when she was under Dark Cupid's spell. But now that she and I are a couple, that's just water under the bridge...right?"
Bianca was silent for a few seconds, processing what he just told her. Allen started to mentally brace himself for her chewing him out. "If you had told me about it right after you did that, I probably would've exploded at you." She admitted. "But now that she is in love with you as yourself, rather than as your other persona, then I'll let that slide."
Allen let out a sigh of relief at her words. "But if you do something like that again with another girl, since you are keeping your heart open, I will slap you and then whoop your butt in front of her! Got it?" Bianca added.
Then she lightly slapped his arm, making him cry out in mock pain. "That was for keeping it from me for all this time. But honestly, I'm too happy for you to really be angry." Bianca said, rolling her eyes at Allen's over dramatization.
He then gave her a light slug in the shoulder in return, saying, "And that was for locking me away in that cage. I wanted to help you and the others fight that Akuma, you know. But honestly, I'm finally with Alya, so I'm also too happy to really be angry."
Bianca laughed. "Hey, I saw a chance for you to man up and finally tell her, and I took it!" She explained. "Plus, the three of us had it under control. But I'm happy for you."
"Phew, that's a relief to hear." Allen sighed. "Thanks, Bea. So how long will it be until you find your soulmate, too?"
His best friend just rolled her eyes while looking away. "I doubt anytime soon." She answered. But Allen could see that for a brief moment, there was a sad look in her amber eyes. So he opted to change the subject.
"So now that we're together, I'm guessing that it's okay for me to tell her that I'm Blaze?" He asked her, trying to sound nonchalant. "I mean, she loves me as Allen, remember."
But Bianca saw through his act as she narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't even try it, lover boy." She said firmly. "The answer's still no. Until she can prove that she is worthy of keeping a secret this big, she stays out of the loop."
Allen huffed when she saw right through his somewhat innocent question. "If she can keep something secret as big as getting a kiss from one of the city's heroes, then how's that for 'proof'?" He asked her.
"Not enough." Bianca answered. "She'll need to do more than that to show that she is absolutely trustworthy."
Allen huffed again, mentally cursing his best friend's stubbornness. However, he did see her reasoning, so he decided to change the subject again. "Well, now that I'm finally dating Alya, you do know that this means that I won't be able to spend as much time with you as I did before, right?" He asked.
"I was aware of that fact from the start." She admitted. "But I want you to be happy. And we'll always be best friends, even if our lives lead us onto separate paths."
Allen smiled gratefully at her. "But I do want you to know that even though I love Alya, nobody can ever take your place." He said. "After all, it's like you said. We're best friends. Alya may now be the most important person in my life, but this changes nothing between us, okay?"
Bianca just smiled back at him. "Thanks, Allen." She said. "Friends to the end, right?"
"That's right." Allen confirmed. "Whether we're Allen and Bianca or Blaze and Artemis, we're always friends to the end."
The two of them then shared a warm, friendly hug before they released each other. Then, they continued on their walk home. They'd had a long and eventful day. But at least it ended on an even better note than usual when it came to them defeating an Akuma. Allen had finally gotten the girl of his dreams and Bianca couldn't have been happier for her best friend.
The next day, Bianca and Allen arrived at school, where Alya was in the center of her group of friends, and judging from the excited looks on their faces, she had told them about the events that had happened the day before, and that Allen was now her boyfriend.
Marinette had flipped the tables on her, practically grilling her best friend for details, while Rose was swooning as she imagined how Alya and Allen's new relationship would work in the future. The other girls; Alix, Juleka, and Mylene were just smiling, happy for their friend.
But then, Chloe and Sabrina came over after they heard the girls talking about Alya's new relationship. "Hah!" Chloe scoffed when she heard about Alya's new relationship with Allen. "That basketball loser only asked you out because you've never had a boyfriend. He just feels sorry for you."
The other girls just narrowed their eyes at the prissy blonde, mentally berating her for killing the mood. But then, Marinette had a smirk forming on her face. "Well, what about you, Chloe?" She asked her. "You don't have a boyfriend either, so should I ask Adrien about that?"
Chloe's face flushed red in embarrassment at her failed attempts to charm Adrien, before turning puce when the girls started to laugh at Marinette's quip. "Ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!" She shouted before stomping away.
The other girls started laughing at Marinette's sassy remark, as did Bianca as she walked over to them. Allen was laughing as well, but then he went over to where the guys were talking to tell them why he and the girls were laughing. Bianca then patted Alya on the shoulder.
"Don't listen to anything that stuck-up queen bee says." She assured the ombre-haired girl, giving her a playful wink. "I can tell you this much with great confidence: I think Allen pretty much fell for you the moment he saw you. If that wasn't love at first sight, then I don't know what is."
Alya blushed a nice crimson, but there was a big smile on her face as she looked over at where Allen was chatting with the guys. He caught her gaze and waved to her with a playful wink. She giggled and waved back to him. It seemed like things are only going to get more interesting for her.
PokemonFreak90: Allen finally gets the courage to confess his love for Alya, and after a brief misunderstanding that could've kept them apart forever, she reveals her love for him, too! Hopefully, you like how we made them a couple!
MDM: This episode was a major pain, but super fun to write, though. Once I got into the groove of it. Now let's see if you can guess what episode will be next after this.
Until then, we'll see y'all! Please leave a review about what you think. They are highly appreciated, and remember to stay healthy!
Got to fly! ;)
