Marinette wasn't sure she could explain anything. After they left the park, they held hands and watched the sunset. The beautiful colors: pink, orange, purple, and the fading blue; it all seemed surreal. Marinette tried not to be nervous about the situation, but her sweaty palms made things worse, and in her case, she swore Gaberiel could feel her heartbeat from the touch of her hand. Marinette wanted to say that it was awkward between them, but it didn't.
It felt like old-time friends recollecting over memories, trying to make up for lost time. It only proves more so because of their bright smiles. It seemed nothing could dim their happiness.
Not even the future.
Whether they were together or not, they couldn't say, but what they did know was that it was about to get more complicated.
When they finally arrived Marinette's house, it was a little awkward to say goodbye, not knowing how to properly phrase it. They tried to go in for a hug, but went in the same direction; they both felt that a handshake would be too awkward, so instead they leaned in for a simple kiss on the cheek. Except they weren't sure who sure who was doing what, and they ended kissing each other. Not that it was a bad thing. The bad thing was when her father opened the door and catching them in the act. Alarmed, they quickly broke apart, creating as much space without looking too suspicious. "Papa...it's not what it l-looks like."
Her father didn't look angry, but looking angry and being angry are two different things. "I-I think I should go." Marinette nodded slowly, not sure if she did want Gaberiel to go- they had so much to discuss- but at the end of the day, they would have to separate anyway. They could talk tomorrow- if she could wait that long.
She smiled, waving goodbye. She walked into the house already prepared for the long talk about staying out late and boys, but it never came. She rocked back and forth on her heels, as she stared at the floor, wanting to avoid eye contact with her parents, ashamed and embarrassed. When she didn't hear any yelling or talking at all, she looked up and she saw her parents smiling at her. She was taken back; confused at the situation, "Aren't you mad at me?" She questioned.
"Why would we be mad, sweetheart?" Her mother asked.
"You were just hanging out with your friend," her father answered, "there's no harm in that. Plus, you're a good kid. I know you won't let anything happen." He pulled his wife closer, holding tight, "We trust you."
Tom and Sabine pulled Marinette into a hug that gave her warmth. It seeped into her body like a seed and grew. It gave her strength and courage; all things she had seemed to lack until now. They all pulled away smiling. "Thank you."
They kissed her goodnight and left to sleep, leaving Marinette in the living room. She stood and thought about everything that had happened just today, and realized that it was just a misunderstanding.
By the time Monday rolled around Marinette had been comfortable with the idea that she did- indeed- kiss Gaberiel, and she did- in fact- like it. For school, she had chosen something simple: black shirt, white pants, a grey jacket and red tennis shoes. She had been rushing out the house earlier, and forgot put up her hair, and let it stay down until further notice.
Marinette walked through the school doors, and suddenly felt the pressure of all the people that had never spoken to her. She remembers how she hadn't shown up to school in the last week, and had forgotten all about her performance at the ice rink. It had barely been two months for the school year, and everything was falling apart for Marinette; more of a good thing than a bad thing, however she didn't like the stares she was receiving. They made her feel small.
She tried to hide as much as she could, keeping her head down and walking as fast as she could to her locker. She opened the pale gray locker, and threw in what she didn't need and tucked whatever she needed in her old, brown over-the-shoulder bag that had been used way too much. Brushing away the strands in her face, Marinette turned, ready to close her locker until she did a double take. At the top of her locker, on top of her other school books on the small shelf, sat a folded piece paper. She was confused. How did a note get in her locker? Who put it there? Curious, she reached up to gather the note, and opening it she read the note.
I think you were great.
Marinette read and re-read the note. Five words, no person to claim them. She stood there confused, it was evident that the person was scared to approach her and used the note to get her attention, but for what? Were they afraid? Shy? She didn't know, but the only question that ran through her head was why? Her mind was trying to process this new information when she was interrupted. She jumped at the voice that broke her from her thoughts, quickly crumpling the paper and throwing the note in the locker, shutting it with a loud slam.
Taking a deep breath, she tried to settle her beating heart, and looked over to the person. Marinette froze, unable to understand what was happening. Standing in front of her was Alya Césaire, the school's blogger. She remembered seeing Alya the night at the ice rink. Marinette pulled herself together, and looked at Alya, "Y-yes?" Feeling shy, Marinette didn't hold her gaze for very long, looking towards the floor.
"You're Marinette, right?"
Marinette nodded, "I'm Alya." Looking towards her, she saw that she held out her hand, just like Gaberiel did on the first day they met. She stared at it, and hesitantly she took it.
"Is there something you needed?" She questioned, keeping her gaze towards the ground.
"I just wanted to tell you that I saw your performance last week, and I wanted to say it was incredible!" The excitement in her voice caused Marinette to look up in shock. Marinette leaned on the lockers for the fear that she might faint. Alya seemed to continue on her conversation by herself as Marinette tried to hide the blush creeping on her face due to the compliment given. Finally, zoning in to the conversation, Marinette knew she didn't miss much, "Um...actually, do you mind if I sit with you at lunch?"
Marinette almost choked on her own tongue. The question was completely random and out of the ordinary. She didn't have any words to say, and all she could do was stand looking dumb for letting the question sit for too long.
Finally, she was able to say, "A-are you sure? Most people don't."
Alya replied, "Well, I'm not most people."
"Who am I to stop you?" Marinette answered, pushing herself away from the lockers. She walked passed Alya, trying to hide a smile with the sleeve of her jacket.
"Marinette, wait." She stopped as she lost her smile, kind of disappointed that she had changed her mind so quick. She turned around with a look of annoyance and sighed. She saw the bright smile on her face, and her face fell. "See you at lunch." She said walking in the opposite direction. Before she knew it, her smile made its way back on to her face.
With that notion in mind, Marinette was able to stand a little straight, keep her head up, and feel a little more confident.
Having Gaberiel in her classes appeared to be a blessing on her case. He was the only person that actually talked to her besides the teacher. All throughout their morning classes and walking on to their fourth period right before lunch, Marinette and Gaberiel had been holding hands. It was a conscious decision that was never discussed between them. It just...happened.
Marinette had gotten comfortable with Gaberiel, and she liked that Gaberiel had gotten comfortable with her too. She had done more with Gaberiel than she had ever done with anybody before. Sometimes the thought sadden her, but she always forced herself to never think about it, and appreciate what she had. Her negative mind had become something entirely different than what she knew.
She liked it.
The duo made it to the classroom just before the bell rang, still holding hands, and when they entered everyone in the classroom was in a different seat- except for Chloé, who stayed by the seat near the window on the opposite wall. She had always said it had brought the best lighting for her selfies in class when she wasn't paying attention. Marinette knew Chloé to be self absorbed in her own self image; always looking perfectly doll-like, in Marinette's opinion, with all the makeup caked on her face and the expensive clothing she always got. Chloé knew she would get whatever she wanted, she was the Mayor's daughter after all, and that made her feel entitled to pick on and bully whoever she so chooses. Sadly, Marinette was one of those victims. For a quick moment, she frowned, her seat had been changed. The seats in the back of the classroom were taken by two of her other classmates. The only other open seats were next to Nathaniel Kurtzberg and Alya. "Because you're the last to be here, I guess you can choose which seat you would like." Miss. Bustier said, gathering papers and trying to control Chloé's constant nagging about how her precious Adrikins and Alya shouldn't be moved so far away from her. Marinette sneered, entitled rich brat!
Marinette couldn't decided where to sit; more like she couldn't decide which one was worse. Sit next to the red-headed boy who had gotten teased in grade school for having supposed feeling for her by Chloé, or take a seat next to the person who asked to have lunch with her out of the blue and -maybe- face rejection? She took the latter. Quickly and quietly, Marinette and Gaberiel took their seats, sitting right behind each other.
It felt weird for Marinette to sit next to someone else that wasn't Gaberiel. It was uncomfortable; strange and it made her anxious.
All she wanted to do was get this period over with, and be able to sit right next to Gaberiel like she used to. Marinette tried to pay attention to the lesson, focusing on what the teacher was saying, but her mind traveled elsewhere. They were random thoughts, small things that ran through her mind, things that never stuck with her in particular. Except, something kept nagging her. Pulling her attention away and snagging it for it owns. As weird as it seemed, it was the color of yellow that seemed to bother her the most. She couldn't pinpoint why something as simple as a color would get on her nerves, but it did. It churned her insides and made her brain go haywire. She stared at the small yellow bracelet on Miss. Bustier's arm; all she wanted to do was rip it off her arm.
Secretly, she turned to look at Chloé, her favorite yellow jacket that she wore to school almost everyday, and as of right now, it really annoyed. She wanted to rip the jacket in half and cover it with dirt. Hell, she wanted to rip Chloé in half, but that would be impossible to do...without help at least.
It was getting to be too much for her to handle, her brain pounded against her skull, and her vision blurred for a couple seconds. Marinette closed her eyes momentarily, breathing slow, calming the pounding headache. It felt peaceful.
When she opened her eyes, everyone in the classroom was gone, all the chairs empty and Gaberiel standing next to her. She looked around the room, confusion written on her face like an open book. Marinette could have sworn they were just in the middle of class...weren't they? Time couldn't have gone that fast, and she didn't even hear the bell!
"Come on Marinette. It's time for lunch."
She looked towards Gaberiel, as he gave her his sweet and patient smile. Marinette smiled too, packing and gathering her stuff to get ready to leave the classroom, but something still didn't feel right. She looked towards Miss. Bustier as the teacher gave Marinette and Gaberiel a small polite smile, she looked towards her wrist. Not wanting to seem weird, Marinette interlaced their fingers together, and walked out classroom, more confused when she came out than came in. Something weird was going on with her: the fact that Marinette couldn't remember what she did in class or the fact that Miss. Bustier bracelet wasn't yellow, but blue.
Maybe I had just seen it wrong, she thought, but what were the odds of it being a misunderstanding?
