Hey Guys! Did you miss me? It's been like a month since I last uploaded anything and I'm super sorry to keep you all waiting for so long! Please forgive me! I've actually had this chapter finished for a while but I wasn't really ready to publish it yet. I've been making more and more changes and now it's finally done (thank goodness). So yeah, I'm super sorry I've been so behind, but at the same time thank you all so much for your continued support! Once again, I apologize for any typos I might have missed.
Without any further delay, here's chapter four!
Chapter Four- The Black Cat
It was a quiet morning for Adrien Agreste, just like any other. It started with the early morning sun bursting through his two story windows, illuminating the spacious loft. An orchestra began to play through the room's surround speakers at precisely seven o' five just like it always did. And just like always, Adrien moaned in protest, pulling a silk feather-stuffed pillow over his face.
Knowing Adrien would once again put off his responsibilities, the music began to grow in volume until even the plush pillow could not dilute the sound. Adrien's shoulders slumped in defeat as he reached across the bedside table to the remote. He pressed a button and silenced the music.
Now that the disturbance had been dealt with, Adrien stole the chance to crawl back into his sweet dreams. However, his efforts were short lived as Nathalie, his father's personal assistant, waltzed into his room.
"I hope you realize it's not necessarily my job to wake you up each morning. The overbearing music is suppose to do that," she explained. Adrien pouted in her direction, which was only returned by her natural emotionless frown. Finally giving up, Adrien hoisted himself out from under the luxurious and extremely welcoming blankets, and Nathalie excused herself to let him start his normal routine.
After a hot and extremely prolonged shower, Adrien dressed himself in a black t-shirt and a white button down, a comfortable pair of jeans, and his favorite red high tops. After evaluating himself in the full length mirror, making sure to check all of his good angles (habits of a model), he made his way downstairs to the dining room. He took his normal seat at the end of the table, which could easily fit twenty people or more. However, of all those seats, only one was taken.
Adrien would stare down the long table, and be reminded of just how lonely he was in this mansion. It was just him and his father, unless you counted Nathalie, but she technically didn't live at the estate. To Adrien, the mansion felt more like an expensive prison, with its endless, white walls with their unwelcoming doors.
However, something in Adrien's mind was putting him in a stellar, even giddy, mood. That night he had formulated a plan; it was an ingenious plan, really. He kept thinking about the girl everyone was talking about. She was truly incredible, he thought. She was a graceful fighter, had a desire for justice, and wasn't too sore on the eyes either. This girl was really something of a wonder in Adrien's eyes. Then again, he was sort of in the same league as she was.
"Oh please." A flying, black creature interrupted him. The mouse-like fellow was eyeing the slice of cheese sitting on Adrien's plate. "You're falling for a girl you've never even met."
Adrien smiled, unfazed. "And that's why we'll be meeting her tonight," he explained.
The hand-sized creature gave the teen an unimpressed smirk and reached for the cheese. Adrien swiped it away just before it was stolen.
"Plagg, if you eat this, you have to promise you'll have to keep your thoughts out of mine tonight. Got it? No "
Plagg looked up at Adrien with the eyes of a begging animal. With a sigh, Adrien tossed the cheese to his companion, and Plagg swallowed it in one gulp. "Whatever you say. Just make sure I get another one of those later. That was good," Plagg hummed, rubbing his satisfied stomach.
The two of them suddenly heard the clacking of high heels down the hall. Plagg dove for Adrien's book bag just as Nathalie strolled in.
"The limo is here. Do you have all your things for school?" she asked.
Adrein nodded affirmatively, grabbed his bag, and walked past Nathalie down the hallway to the front entrance where the family limo was waiting outside in the roundabout. The driver, Jameson, opened the car door and closed it after Adrien had ducked inside. As long as he could make it through school without wearing himself out, meeting with Ladybug tonight would be a breeze. Even though it wasn't his main objective, maybe she wouldn't mind filling him in on her identity.
If anyone was going to find out who Ladybug was, Adrien was absolutely certain that it would be him.
"Don't you agree? If anyone's going to find out who Ladybug is, it's going to be me!" Alya argued on their way to school. Marinette had yet to decide if she should tell Alya about her...situation. But at the rate Alya was obsessing over Ladybug, Marinette wasn't sure if she could quiet her friend long enough to get the words out! Why did she have to be so determined to find out her identity? Ever since Alya first learned of Ladybug, all she had talked about was learning a name and matching it to a face!
Just the other day after school, Alya had dragged Marinette over to her house, just to show off her newly created blog, which was completely dedicated to Ladybug and finding out who she was under the mask. Marinette nearly had a panic attack thinking Alya had figured her out. After Ayla's explanation, however,Marinette realized that her friend didn't know anything, at least not yet. Marinette had suppressed her anxiety until she finally got home, and then released it as a fit of muffled screams into her pillows. It was nothing less than pure torture.
"Well, I guess the world's most prominent, upcoming reporter will soon make her debut, huh?" Marinette said with a smile. Alya pumped her fist with a grin.
"Oh, you know it girl! The 'Ladyblog' is going to get my name out there. People will know me as 'the girl who discovered the real Ladybug'. Not too bad, huh?" She lightly shouldered Marinette, who only shook her head in disbelief.
"I just can't believe how entranced you are by this one person. I really don't get why are you so hung up on this," Marinette admitted. Just like the changing of the tides, Alya had a reputation for an unstable attention span.
One week she would be completely focused on the newest social trends in America, and then the next she was stuck in the newspaper club room typing away about a disease outbreak in the middle east. She really was a busy bee, but Marinette hoped that Ladybug was just going to be another quick obsession. After this had all washed over, they could go back to talking about anything else. Really, Marinette would rather discuss the political corruption in the U.S. than discuss figuring out Ladybug's most effective moves. Well, maybe that was a stretch…
Alya looked like Marinette had just slapped her across the cheek. "How can you not understand, Marinette? She's incredible! Seriously, how can you jump from a three story building and be unscathed?" Alya saw Marinette's wide eyes and backtracked. "I mean, I just owe a lot to her. Sheesh, don't judge me, okay?" she suddenly defended, embarrassed how easily she was able to admit the reason for her obsession. Marinette giggled at her friend's blushing face. Yeah, there was no way she was going to be able to tell her about being Ladybug. At least, not yet. These embarrassed reactions were too good to miss out on.
She reached down for her friend's hand and dragged Alya down the street until they arrived at the front of the school, smiling and cracking jokes all the while. Alya turned ahead to walk up the flight of steps when a flash of white pulling up from the down the road caught Marinette's eye. When she looked over her shoulder, she saw a familiar white limousine pulling up to the curb.
She felt her knees weaken. There was only person who drove up in such a magical way. The suited driver parked and moved to open the door for his only passenger. She watched as a perfect head of blond hair appeared behind the tinted window and soon the most handsome boy she had ever laid eyes on followed.
Adrien left the limo behind and waved to his best friend, Nino, who had been waiting patiently, leaning up against the railing blowing pink bubblegum bubbles. Nino saw Adrien and his sudden jerk popped the bubble coming from his mouth and it splattered across his face. He pulled the mask of gum from his skin and the two friends proceeded to fistbump and climb up the stairs to the school's open doors.
Alya's waving hand in front of her face woke her from her trance. "Earth to Marinette! Hello? Did you hear that? That was the bell!" Marinette was in too much of a daze to recognise the significance of her words and Alya rolled her eyes in disbelief. "...Meaning," she continued, "we're late for first period, you lovestruck dummy!"
At that Marinette blinked the rest of the magic spell from her mind and together they rushed inside. Luckily, they were able to make it into their seats directly behind the two boys from earlier just as Mrs. Harrison made her way through the door greeting students and organizing her desk.
"By the way," she sidetracked, "we still need helpers to set up for the Bastille Day party next week. We're lucky enough to have the Dupain-Chengs supplying the celebration with their famous sweets." A few people stole a glance towards Marinette, including Adrien, whose sweet smile nearly snatched her soul out of her body. "...but if anyone's willing to set up decorations, the sign-up sheet will be on my desk after class for the rest of the week.
"Now that we have that out of the way, let's continue our discussion on the reason we're celebrating Bastille Day in the first place! It was all because of the Parisian revolutionaries who fought for what they believed in and look where we are now…"
At first, Marinette wasn't sure she would ever get used to running freely through Paris at night, but now, she was sure she never would. The crisp air felt great against her face as she sprinted over the rooftops through the city of lights. After practicing the with the yo-yo for a few nights, it became more and more comfortable for her to use, and now she rarely swung into a wall. She had a few bruises all over her body from little accidents that she was luckily able to hide under her regular street clothes; however, it didn't make them hurt any less. Now she was able to successfully get from block to block with only hitting the occasional chimney.
Over the nights of personal training, Marinette had discovered a rooftop secluded away from popular, tourist crowded streets. Despite that fact, from the rooftop balcony, the view was utterly stunning. This was always where she went when her muscles refused to jump anymore, or on a few occasions, where she went to just remember who she was without the whole 'saving-the-day' persona. It was her favorite spot in all of Paris. It was easy to do some serious thinking here, and, of course, Tikki was always there for advice or just a friendly talk.
It wasn't easy to get up to the rooftop without being spotted, but after pulling on the yo-yo with enough force, it had the strength to sling shot her up without anyone noticing. Her feet landed lightly on the concrete roof. She moved to the railing and leaned over it, taking in the lights. She wasn't a tourist, but the view from that roof would never get old.
She put her chin in her hands and looked into the distance dreamily. Alya would love this. If there was ever a time where she could speak to her freely about who she was, this was definitely on the list of "must do's".
"Hey Tikki, do you think things could stay like this forever?" It was a childish question, she knew, but one she still wanted an answer to.
She could sense Tikki's intense thinking as she waited. "Well, it's impossible to guess what could pop into our lives when we least expect it-"
"Good evening, Mademoiselle."
Marinette nearly jumped out of her skin and she more or less gracefully leapt onto the ledge, turning to face the person who had successfully snuck up on her. She wasn't exactly sure who she was expecting, but definitely not someone like this. Whatever this was exactly she didn't know.
The teen was standing a few paces away and was eyeing her like she was amusing to look at. His chaotic, golden hair flared out in all directions, and directly under his bangs, piercing through her, was the largest, greenest pair of eyes she had ever seen; they were protected by a black mask that covered everything from the tip of his nose nose to his wide forehead. The midnight-black, skin-tight bodysuit he wore was very similar to hers in style. However, she noticed an extra long belt that hung from behind him, almost like a tail, and a golden jingle bell that hung just below his neck. He laughed freely at her quick response to his presence and she could have sworn his teeth had a certain pointiness to them.
"Not bad for a first impression, huh?" He straightened himself and took a step forward while she took a step back. Looking disappointed by her reaction, he kept his distance but did not divert his attention. "The name's Chat Noir, but you can call me tonight, my lady," he purred through a cocky smirk. Suddenly, all her worries seems to ease. This guy was just trying to cause problems. Well, she wasn't about to just let him walk over her like a runway during fashion week!
"Is that the best you can do?" Ladybug teased. His eyes widened in surprise, if that was even possible with how large they already were. "If you're trying to catch my attention, first you'll have to, well, catch me." She stood from her crouch, extended her arms out and let gravity take its hold on her as she leaned backwards.
Chat opened his mouth, but there was no longer anyone there to listen. He ran to the ledge and leaned over to find a red figure already swinging down the block before landing on a roof. She glanced back at him over her shoulder, revealing the same playful grin that was starting to take over his own face.
Extending the baton from his belt, he started to follow her, jumping from the balcony and feeling the wind rush through his tangled locks.
Ladybug sprinted across the roof shingles, maneuvering around various obstacles. What was with this city and its insatiable desire for chimneys? But they weren't really a problem to get around. In fact, they made it extremely easy to lose Chat's trail on her, even if he ended up finding her again anyways.
What was she thinking? Ladybug thought remembering her earlier conversation, as a mortified blush traveled across her cheeks. She just wanted to put herself on the same playing field as him, show him she wasn't so easily taken. But why did she have to entice him? Ugh, she shouldn't have said anything and should have just walked away. She had dug her own grave and didn't know how to get out! It must have been the miraculous! It had been secretly boosting her confidence! That must have been it. She would have never flirted with a stranger as Marinette, but as Ladybug…
She was doomed, and she had to get out of here; she had to get out fast and by whatever means necessary. Scanning her surroundings, she quickly changed directions toward an outward extending, glass roof, and crawled up and over the adjacent, back-to-back brick chimneys. Hopefully, she would at least be able to catch her breath here, and maybe formulate how to get out of this terrible situation she had gotten herself into. But that wasn't going to happen.
By the time she had heard the footsteps and turned around, his face was just inches away from her own.
She couldn't bring herself to yell or scream. She couldn't even get her mouth open for crying out loud! And so they just stared at each other. All her confidence had completely vaporized, leaving her at the mercy of the black-masked blonde. Alya would be disappointed, she thought. Someone she looked up to so much was helpless against this boy. She felt her hands begin to tremble, so she hardened them into fists. He apparently noticed her uneasiness and lost his playful smile.
Chat looked away and moved out of her personal space, taking a few paces back. Ladybug released the breath she had been holding and willed her body to relax. Gosh she was pathetic.
"I don't intent to harm you," he said simply, massaging his neck, making the bell twinkle. "So don't get the wrong idea."
Ladybug relaxed her hands and tried to compose herself. "Yeah, I don't know what I was thinking saying all that stuff. But why did you use such a cheesy pick-up line?"
"What? Was it that bad? I planned that scene in my head all week." He laughed into his hand.
Ladybug raised an eyebrow, "Oh really? All week?"
Chat's laughing died away, but he kept his face in his glove to hide a spreading blush. This was not how he planned this conversation to go. He should have practiced more. "Well, if I'm going to meet someone like 'The Famous Ladybug', I might as well prepare myself, right?"
"I'm hardly worth the effort, but thanks," Ladybug insisted, a small blush betraying her relaxed tone.
An awkward silence filled the space between them and was really starting to crawl into her skin. She'd rather be giving a presentation in front of a hundred Adriens than be standing here with this total stranger. This was worse than talking to Alya about how amazing Ladybug was. She had to say something, anything to get rid of this unbearable silence!
"You're really fast," she found herself admitting. It wasn't an amazing start, but it was better than nothing. "I ran as I could but you still caught up so easily. You could have easily taken the Tech Reaper from that time without any issues."
Chat let his hand fall to the staff in his other hand and shortened it to twirl in his hand. "I'm not the 'save-the-day' type, really. I'm no good."
Ladybug stared at him aghast. If he was capable of keeping up with her, she knew he was just as capable as her, if not more, since he could easily sneak up on her without fail. So why was he determined to stay out of the spotlight? It definitely didn't match his character.
"I don't believe that for a second. You're more than capable of doing whatever you want."
The words seemed to strike a chord somewhere in him, as his cheeks turned red from under the mask. "Thanks, but I've learned the hard way that that's not true." For some reason, Chat constantly putting himself down was starting to get on her nerves.
Suddenly, a loud crying caught their attention coming from the park across the street. The two looked over the railing to see a young girl wailing on the swing set. Ladybug prepped herself to drop down and looked at the unaffected blond.
"Well?" she offered nodding to the girl. The corners of his mask furrowed.
"Well, what?" he asked confused. "I already told you I'm not the hero type. You can take this."
Her patience had finally run out and there was no way she was letting him off the hook easily. Ladybug closed the distance between them before he had the chance to back away.
"You said your name was Chat Noir, correct?" he nodded nervously when his mouth refused to say words.
"Well Chat, this is your lucky day because tonight you're going to be the 'hero type'."
In an instant Ladybug wrapped her hand around the bell at his neck and dragged him towards the edge of the roof, ignoring all his protests.
The updraft sent chills down his spine as he eyed the three story drop to the concrete sidewalk below. "Let's see if cats really do have nine lives."
He had started to form words just as he felt himself falling.
Ahhhh what? It's a bit of a cliffhanger this time so maybe it'll force me to write faster. Yay for me.
Thanks as always for favoriting and reviewing! See you in the next chapter!