A/N: Hello again fellow Miraculous Ladybug fans,
We are here again with another special chapter. My good friend, Dean actually helped me out with this one because I am a girl and have no clue what a guy feels when he sees his girl crying. He gave me some helpful tips. So Dean, this chapter is dedicated to you.
Stay Miraculous and enjoy the newest chapter of The Band Competition.
-geekygirl20000
"Hi, Chloe," Marinette said flatly as she walked down the stairs. "Why are you here?"
Chloe pouted. "I wanted to see how you were doing. And that's no way to speak to me, Marinette,"
Adrien watched the scene, it was making him uncomfortable. He watched Marinette roll her eyes, then looked at her mother for help. "Uh oh," It was very rare for Marinette to ask for help. This must be serious.
Sabine took charge. "Miss Bourgeois, you are an uninvited guest and I must ask you to leave,"
Chloe turned towards Marinette's mother and sneered at her. "Fine, then I'll have my daddy close down your bakery.
Adrien finally had enough. "CHLOE!"
Chloe looked at him in shock.
"That's enough Chloe. I told you that you were uninvited and you came along anyway. On top of that, you came right on in and threatened Mrs. Cheng,"
"But Adrikins, I…"
Adrien shook his arm free from her grasp and grabbed Marinette's hand. He felt her squeeze it.
"No Chloe, I want you to leave. I won't let you close down the bakery, and I certainly have had enough of your attitude," he turned around and pulled Marinette up the stairs. When he got to her room, he pulled her through and slammed the door shut. Then, he turned around and breathed a heavy sigh of relief. He looked at Marinette and saw tears. She was silently crying on her bed. Adrien felt his heart sink.
"Uh, Mari?" he asked as he slowly moved to her bed and sat down next to her. "Are you ok?"
Suddenly, Marinette was in his arms and she was hugging him, hard. Adrien wrapped her in his arms and pulled her closer. She was violently shaking as she cried. This wasn't good. After a while, Marnette sat up and wiped her eyes. Her bangs were sticking to her face and a few strands of hair had fallen out of her pigtails. She looked adorable. He wiped a tear off of her face.
"Are you ok?" he asked again
Marinette smiled and nodded. "I needed that, thank you,"
"You're welcome. Are you ready to play now?" he asked.
Marinette nodded and Adrien stood up. "Alright, let's do this thing!"
Marinette giggled and pulled out her case. It looked new, but he turned around and pulled his cello out of it's case. When they were both done tuning, he turned back around and gasped. Marinette had let her hair down and had a brand new flute, it was red. Both her hair and the flute suited her.
Marinette looked at him, she looked terrified. "What?" She pulled out her hair ties, but he rushed to her side and grabbed her hand.
"No, I like it. It looks pretty. It suits you!" Adrien felt a blush coming on and could see her blushing. He let go of her hand and turned to his music stand he had already set up so she wouldn't see his red face. He felt a hand on his shoulder and a sheet of music was placed in front of him. "What if I did it? What if I turned around and kissed her?" But before he could turn around, the heat of her hand was gone, and in it's place was the sound of a flute tuning.
He sighed with longing and leaned back to listen to Marinette as she tuned. There was something about what happened downstairs he didn't understand. What was it all about and why did Marinette look at her mom for help? He held his question at bay until they had finished playing the song the first time. It was the first time that they both finished it without missing a note or speeding the beat. Marinette jumped out of her chair and punched the air with a whoop. Adrien smiled. She was incredibly cute when she was excited. As Marinette sat down so that they could play the song a second round, Adrien couldn't hold his question back any longer.
"Marinette," he said as she began to play her first note. She stopped and put her flute to rest on her lap.
"Yeah," she said. Her eyes were red, but full of fire. Adrien couldn't pull his eyes away.
"Uh, Um," before he knew it, his answer came tumbling out. "What happened between you and Chloe?"
"Please don't hate me!" he thought to himself as he watched her eyes grow a bit bigger and a tear slide down her cheek. He looked down.
"I'm sorry. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," he said as he brought his bow back up to start his first note.
"No, it's alright. I-I want to tell you,"
Adrien put his bow back down and looked at her over his music stand. "Alright, I'm ready,"
Marinette took a deep breathe and told him the story. "Chloe sent Sabrina here to destroy my solo music for the Music in the Parks Competition," he gasped in awe. When Marinette paused in fear, he nodded in encouragement, so she kept going. "When I got home after lunch with you, my room was trashed, my closet was wide open, my flute case was on the floor, the mouthpiece gone, and my solo music for Music in the Parks was in shreds on the floor,"
Adrien's mouth gaped open as she finished. The fact that Chloe could be so cruel was not something he didn't expect, but the fact that she would try to ruin a musical career? That was a lot worse than anything she has ever done. And the fact that Marinette had the solo, that would explain why she did it. Marinette was quiet and sobbing again. Adrien stood up, put his cello down, and walked over to her. He took her in his arms once more and held her as close he could without hurting her.
"Mari, it'll be alright. I've got you," Adrien felt her pull him closer as she cried more. When she had stopped, he just continued to hold her until she sat up. Her hair was sticking to her face again. Adrien looked at her worriedly.
"Are you ok for another round of the song? Or do you want to quit and go get coffee at Starbucks or downstairs?"
Marinette looked at him as she wiped the tears off of her face. "Can we do both?" she whispered.
Adrien laughed and shrugged. "Why not,"
Marinette giggled and pulled out her flute again.
After playing the song again without a missed note or missed beat, Adrien and Marinette put away their instruments and went down the stairs to the bakery.
"Momon, I'm going to Starbucks with Adrien, is that alright?"
"Sure Marinette, come up front and I'll give you some cash," Sabine called back from the front counter.
Adrien just shook his head and followed Marinette to the front, but stopped her from taking cash from her mother.
"I'll pay for it,"
Marinette looked at her mother and her mother nodded.
"Thank you,"
"You are so very welcome,"
Sabine gave Marinette a look Adrien couldn't decipher, so he shrugged it off.
Upon entering Starbucks, Adrien was swept off of his feet with the aroma of coffee and the warm and cozy atmosphere mainly found in a coffee shop. After ordering a venti Iced Caramel Macchiato for the both of them, he and Marinette sat at a table next to the window. Marinette was being oddly quiet. He didn't like that.
"Are you alright?" he asked after the silence became unbearable.
"Hmmmm? Oh, yeah. I'm fine. Just a little upset,"
Adrien's eyes shifted from her eyes to the unoccupied sofa in the other corner. An idea hit him and he smiled.
"What are you smiling about?"
Adrien pointed at the sofa. "Mind if we sit over there? My back can't take much more of hard chairs,"
Marinette smiled and nodded, then their names were called. Meaning that their drinks were ready. After they grabbed their drinks, Adrien grabbed Marinette's hand and pulled her onto the couch. Once they sat on it, Adrien looked at her and couldn't help but look at her lips. Marinette didn't notice, she had let loose a giant yawn.
"Whoa, are you tired or something?"
Marinette shrugged and nodded. "Crying does that to me,"
"Do you want me to take you home? We both have school tomorrow,"
Marinette shook her head. "Naw, I'd rather get to know you,"
And so they talked till closing time. When the coffee shop closed, Adrien walked Marinette home, grabbed his cello, waved goodbye, and went home. Once he was safely inside his room and laying on his bed, he smiled and drifted into a peaceful and happy sleep.