Chapter Five
Marinette POV
"Whew, that was pretty quick, right Tikki?" I said, walking into my room from the balcony.
"Yeah I'd say so," she said.
I flopped on my bed and looked at the clock. It was only 2pm.
"So what do you want to do for the rest of the day, Marinette?" Tikki asked.
"I think I'm going to try and finish the dress I've been making."
"The one for the dance?"
I had totally forgotten about the school dance. My hand flew to my forehead.
"No! I was just making a dress to make a dress, I completely forgot that the dance was even a thing!"
"Don't worry, you can make a dress in time. I believe in you."
I smiled.
"I'm not worried about that, I'm worried that I won't have a date. Even worse, I'm worried that Adrien is going to go with Chloe."
"I'm sure everything will be fine. You know, if you ask him to go first and he says yes, he can't go with Chloe."
"You and me both know that's mission impossible. Besides, even if I worked up the courage to ask him, what are the odds that he would say yes?"
"You never know Mari. Maybe you'll thank yourself for making the first move."
"Maybe. But it's easier said than done."
"I understand. But hey! You've got a dress to make either way."
I laughed and stood in front of the fabric haphazardly pinned onto the mannequin. That I did.
Adrien POV
I ran into my room and slammed the door. I had no idea what to think. Marinette was my lady. The girl that sat behind me every day. The girl that stuttered and couldn't string together a single sentence around me, who stuttered and tripped over her words. The kindest person in our whole class, the girl I threw up on for god's sake. She slept on my couch! NeXT tO mE.
"Plagg I think I'm going insane."
"I think you're already there."
"Marinette?"
"What? Are you disappointed?"
"No! No it's nothing like that it's just, I threw up on her! I thought she hated me since the gum incident, and since she can't manage to say a coherent sentence to me, and just yesterday I barfed all over her clothes, and she just happens to be Ladybug?!"
"Relax, kid. She doesn't have to know you know. In the meantime, become better friends with Marinette, get to know her a little and maybe you can find out what she really thinks of you. She seemed to be able to talk to you perfectly fine the whole time she was here yesterday."
For once, Plagg was actually making a bit of sense.
"That's actually...a really good idea!"
"I think you owe me some camembe-"
"But how do I get to know her if she doesn't talk to me that much!"
"You make the first move! Talk to her yourself. Isn't there some kind of school dance coming up soon? Ask her to that."
"Brilliant!"
"Cheese."
I rolled my eyes, but I wasn't actually too upset about getting him cheese this time. He deserved it.
I ran down to the kitchen and got him some cheese, came back, and sat at my desk.
"So I'll ask her to the dance on Monday, which would give me two weeks before the actual dance. We could coordinate outfits and go on a double date with Nino and Alya and-"
"Slow down there, loverboy," Plagg said through a mouthful of cheese. "Don't you want to start with just asking? Who knows if she'll say yes. Who's that other kid, Nathanael? Doesn't he have a crush on her too? Don't get too carried away, especially because you have no idea what she thinks of you."
"So are you saying I should get to know her before I ask?"
"The only issue with that would be someone else could ask her in that time."
This really was a dilemma. I sighed, trying to think of the best option.
"I think I'm going to ask her to the dance on Wednesday, no matter what, and then get to know her as much as I can until then. That makes it so I'll know at least a little more about her than I already do, and it's still pretty early on so that no one will ask before me."
"I mean, nothing is guaranteed but I think it's a pretty good plan," said Plagg.
I smiled to myself.
"So how do you plan on asking her?"
"Using my words? How else would I ask?"
"No big sign or anything?"
"Isn't that a little emotionally manipulative?"
"What? Asking with a sign?"
"Yeah, I mean a big sign is definitely going to draw a crowd and what if she wanted to say no? Now she's got the pressure of the entire crowd too, because they'll think she's some kind of a jerk if she says no after I went all out to make a big sign."
"Touché."
I sighed.
"So are you going to tell her that you're Chat Noir?" Plagg asked.
"No way. She wouldn't want to know, not now. And, I want her to like me for Adrien, not just because she knows I'm a superhero."
"Adrien. She's a superhero, I doubt she would care all that much."
"I know, but still. And I want to like her as Marinette, not just as Ladybug."
"Well it's a good thing, then, that she's both. And you're Adrien and Chat Noir. You two were picked for a reason, because Ladybug and Chat both brought out sides in you that haven't been shown before. Just because you act different with the mask on doesn't mean it's not you. It just enables you to show a different side of you, people are more complex than just one personality trait, you know that. And Marinette has all the same traits as Ladybug, you just don't see them that often. Minus the superpowers, of course."
"Wow, Plagg that was really well said. I don't feel as conflicted now...thank you."
"That's my job."
Monday morning, I prepared myself. I was going to act like I usually do, but casually ask Marinette out to lunch. That would be a great way to get to know her, but I didn't know why I was so scared just now. Was it because I knew she was Ladybug? I guessed so. I was worried she'd know that I know, that she'd see right through me.
"Adrien get in the car or we're going to be late!" Nathalie called.
I grabbed my bag and hurried out to the limousine, where Gorilla drove me to school.
"Adrien you know you have your Mandarin lessons after school today, right."
"Yes, Nathalie."
We arrived at the school less than a minute later.
"See you after school," I called, jumping out of the car.
I could see Marinette standing with Alya and Nino, all talking.
"Hey guys!"
"Hey Adrien," Nino said. "Feeling better?"
"Very much so, thank you."
"How about you Marinette? Catch the cold?" Alya asked.
Marinette let out the most adorable laugh.
"I'm fine, thank you. Did you hear about the akuma Saturday?"
"Yeah I got some great footage let me show you! I didn't get the chance to upload it to the blog yet."
Alya pulled out her phone and showed us a video of Chat and Ladybug running towards the akuma. We ran right past Alya.
"This is actually really cool, Alya," said Nino. "If I were filming I could never hold the camera steady."
She looked up at him.
"You really think it's cool?"
They were having a moment. Marinette and I exchanged knowing glances, and she held back a laugh. I felt butterflies in my stomach just looking at her. But, I felt kinda bad about it... why didn't I notice before I knew she was Ladybug? Shouldn't I have felt this way anyway, knowing whether she was Ladybug or not?
In an attempt to make myself feel better, I reminded myself that I was going to get to know her better over the next few days, and then the dance.
Which, in turn, reminded me that I still needed to ask her to lunch. She was turned back to the phone, Alya was showing more pictures she had taken.
I looked a little to my left, and saw Chloe coming my way. I knew I'd never get the chance to ask once Chloe snagged me, so I just spit it out.
"Marinette, do you want to go to lunch with me today?"
All three of them turned to me.
"Uhh, I'd love to-"
"ADRIKINS!"
And she was pulling me away.
"See you guys later! And at lunch Marinette!"
They all gave little waves as Chloe pulled me away. Chloe was saying something to me, but I didn't hear it. I was focused on Marinette's confused, yet flustered face.
Author's Note:
I think this one is a little shorter than a few of the others, but thank you anyway for reading! Again, reviews are seriously encouraged, I want to read your ideas and suggestions! School is starting soon, so I'm not sure how often I'll be able to write and update, but stick with me on this one. Thank you, I hope you enjoyed chapter five!