It's Swapped Saturday!
But before we get back to the story, I just want to thank everyone again for their love and support. Your favorites, follows, and reviews always make my day. (And, for everyone who left a review, responses are posted at the end of the chapter)
Anyway, here's chapter three! Enjoy!
Edited: June 9, 2021
Chapter Three
Marinette Dupain-Cheng
Nearly a week had passed without another akuma attack. Marinette didn't mind the quietness from Hawkmoth and the lack of crime in Paris, but she desperately wanted to see her stunningly handsome partner.
"Marinette," Plagg groaned from his spot on her desk, "please don't tell me you're watching more Beetleblog footage."
"I just like seeing how we can improve our fighting," Marinette said as she typed the first few letters of Nino's blog. Because she had accessed the website so many times, the URL popped up instantly.
"Are you sure it's not because you wanna drool over Beetlebug?" Plagg teased, popping another piece of Camembert in his mouth. Marinette ignored her Kwami and focused on the footage projected on her screen. Plagg rolled his eyes and floated towards the mini-fridge Marinette kept in the corner of her room, in search of more cheese. Before he could reach his destination, Nathalie rapped on the door, startling both Kwami and holder.
"Marinette! You're going to be late for school!"
"Oh my gosh, I almost forgot," Marinette muttered to herself as she shut down her computer. "Coming, Nathalie!" She grabbed her purse, leaving it open for Plagg to dash inside, slung her schoolbag over her right shoulder, and raced out to the waiting car. Nathalie handed her a buttered croissant to eat on the way to school as Uncle Wang pulled away from the curb.
Adrien Agreste
Adrien couldn't deny his feelings for Marinette any longer, and his somewhat obsession with the girl showed through the various pictures he had printed of her and pasted on his wall. In the corner of his room, the black umbrella she had given him on her first day rested against the wall.
"You should talk to her," Tikki said, watching her holder pin another photo of his crush on the tack board above his bed. The blond turned around, pausing his actions to stare at the Kwami in disbelief.
"How do you expect me to talk to her when I can hardly breathe around her?"
Tikki sighed and began to munch on another cookie from the plate Adrien had placed on his desk. Her holder had turned back to his task and stepped back when he had finished.
"Perfect."
"Adrien! You better be ready for school!" Emilie called from the bottom of the stairs.
"I am!" Adrien yelled back, waiting for Tikki to nestle into his shirt pocket before grabbing his backpack and skipping into the kitchen.
"You're in a good mood today," Emilie teased, handing her son his breakfast in the usual brown paper bag.
"Yeah, I guess I am," Adrien said before kissing his mother's cheek and dashing out the front door. Gabriel and Emilie exchanged confused glances, then shrugged off their son's strange behavior and returned to their baking.
"There's no need to run, Adrien," Tikki giggled from Adrien's pocket. "You're much earlier than usual, and Marinette doesn't usually arrive until later."
Adrien scowled at his Kwami and slowed to a walk; Tikki merely giggled at him again and ducked back into his pocket.
Before Adrien could even step into the school, Nino tightly grabbed Adrien's wrist and dragged the blond through the gym.
"Ouch," Adrien yelped, wincing at the sudden pressure. "What's wrong?"
"I remember you saying you love photography, and it's blatantly obvious how much you like Marinette, so when I saw this, I knew I had to show you."
"What are you talking about?"
Nino stopped dragging Adrien and pointed to one of the posters tacked onto the Board of Announcements the teachers and principal used to display various events students were encouraged to participate in. The poster Nino was pointing to happened to be a photography competition. The winner got to spend a whole month following Marinette to each of her photoshoots and learning from the photographers.
"This can't be real," Adrien murmured, unable to believe his eyes. A whole month spending time with Marinette and learning about photography? He had to be dreaming.
"It's definitely real," Nino said, bumping his friend's shoulder and grinning widely. "And I have complete faith you'll win."
Adrien mentally shook himself out of his daze and turned his attention to the requirements.
"I dunno. The theme is Paris, but everything that makes Paris special has been photographed thousands of times by thousands of tourists. How am I going to find something so amazing and unique that describes our city?"
"Don't ask me. I'm a reporter, not a photographer, but whatever you do is gonna be great."
Adrien wished he was as confident in his abilities as Nino was.
Marinette Dupain-Cheng
The moment Marinette stepped into the school, she was overrun by hundreds of questions, all relating to the photography contest her mother had fashioned. Marinette tried her best to ignore the students, giving them a smile rather than an answer, but the more desperate students had begun to pull on her limbs and clothing in an attempt to gain her attention.
"Will the winner receive money?" one guy asked, grinning crazily. "I know you and your mom have more than enough to share."
"Uh, I don't—" Marinette started, but another student grabbed her before she could properly answer.
"Do you have any tips for photographers?" a girl asked, grinning sweetly.
"I'm not really into that kind of stuff, so I wouldn't—"
"Okay, okay, break it up, people. Give the girl some room." Alya stepped into the crowd, forcibly parting the students until she was able to drag Marinette away.
"What was that all about?" Alya asked once they were clear of the crowd.
"My mom and the school collaborated to make a photography contest," Marinette began, but before she could finish, Alya tripped into Nino's lap, her grip on Marinette's wrist slipping and causing the raven to fly into Adrien, knocking both of them to the ground.
They stayed on the ground for a moment: Marinette's head resting on Adrien's chest; his arms wrapped loosely around her waist.
Then the initial shock wore off.
Marinette pushed herself up and smiled sheepishly at Adrien. She intended to roll off of him and stand up, but her body refused to move. Instead, she continued to stare, transfixed by his eyes.
He reminded her of someone. Someone who made her heart skip a beat and her stomach feel as though it housed a swarm of butterflies.
But the moment was broken by Sabrina's shrill voice before Marinette could remember where she had seen eyes as green as Adrien's.
"Oh, Marinette! Are you alright?"
Marinette pushed herself onto her feet and smiled. "Yes, I'm fine. Really, Adrien is the one you should be checking on. He's—"
"Are you sure you're okay?" Sabrina asked, cutting Marinette off.
"Why wouldn't I be?" Marinette asked, her smile fading. She cocked her head at the redhead, confusion causing her brows to furrow.
"Obviously no one would choose to fall on Baker Boy, so I just assumed he had dragged you down."
Marinette blanched at the redhead. She knew Sabrina was a Class-A jerk, but she hadn't realized how awful the redhead was. How could anyone say such horrible things, especially in front of the person she was talking about?
"Well, I wouldn't choose to fall on anyone, but if I had to, Adrien would be one of my top picks," Marinette said, crossing her arms over her chest.
Alya Césaire
"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" Alya slid off of Nino's lap, extremely grateful for her dark skin. She knew with absolute certainty that if she was as pale as Marinette, she'd be as red as a lobster right now. Of course, she wasn't blushing because she liked Nino. No, she was merely blushing because she had fallen into a guy's lap. Anyone would be red after something as embarrassing as that.
She shook away her swirling thoughts, determined not to make a bigger fool of herself. But when she turned her attention back to Nino, she found the boy filming Adrien and Marinette, who seemed to be frozen in place as they stared at each other.
Alya opened her mouth to ask Nino what he was doing, but Sabrina's shrill (and clearly fake) concerned voice interrupted her.
"Oh, Marinette! Are you alright?"
Alya turned away from Nino in time to watch Marinette gracefully rise from the ground.
"Yes, I'm fine. Really, Adrien is the one you should be checking on. He's—"
But Sabrina merely cut Marinette off, and Alya had to clench her fists to keep from getting involved.
"Are you sure you're alright?"
"Why wouldn't I be?"
"Obviously no one would choose to fall on Baker Boy, so I just assumed he had dragged you down."
"Well, I wouldn't choose to fall on anyone, but if I had to, Adrien would be one of my top picks."
Alya had to suppress her laughter as she watched both Adrien's and Sabrina's faces burn red.
"Well, if you don't need my help, I'll go find someone who does," Sabrina spat, twirling on her heel. "Come along, Chlo. We aren't wanted here."
Chloé began to trudge away, but Marinette grabbed the blonde girl's arm, stopping Chloé in her tracks. Alya leaned closer, trying to hear what the two girls were saying, but they were too far away and spoke too softly for Alya to pick up more than a few words. After struggling for a moment longer, Alya gave up and turned her attention to Nino, who was now watching the video he had just taken.
"What's that for?" Alya asked, pointing to the video.
"Two things," Nino said without looking up from his phone. "One, to embarrass him" —Nino motioned towards Adrien— "and, two, to relish Sabrina's defeat."
Alya raised her eyebrows, opening her mouth to ask another question, but Marinette appeared, smiling widely, before Alya could even get a word out.
"You guys wouldn't mind if Chlo hung out with us, right?"
Alya and Nino didn't hesitate. Both were nodding their heads in agreement the moment the words were out of Marinette's mouth.
"Of course we wouldn't mind," Alya said, smiling warmly at Marinette and the blonde girl standing awkwardly behind her.
"Yeah, we're all for that," Nino said, still nodding.
And then everyone's attention turned to Adrien, who had finally gotten off the floor.
Adrien Agreste
Marinette was staring at him, and Adrien couldn't remember why. His brain had short-circuited when she had fallen on him, and he still hadn't managed to make it work again.
And then it all came crashing back. Sabrina insulting him, Marinette standing up for him, Sabrina stalking away, Chloé…
Oh, Chloé!
That's what Marinette was asking! If he was okay with Chloé tagging along.
And, of course, there was no way he could say no.
"Y-yeah, that's fine with me," he managed to stammer out, his face burning with embarrassment for what felt like the hundredth time that morning. He could see Nino smirking behind Marinette and shot his friend a scowl when the raven turned her back.
"Perfect!" Marinette said, grinning at Chloé. "Welcome to the gang, Chlo!"
Sabrina Raincomprix
I can't believe Chloé ditched me for those losers! Sabrina raged, kicking her feet angrily against the bench she was seated on. I'm so much better than them! Why didn't she choose me over them!?
Her feet began thumping harder on the bench until it was quivering under her. She could hear the teachers whispering among themselves, watching her slowly destroy school equipment, but she didn't care. Her feet began pumping faster, banging harder on the bench.
"Er, Sabrina," a voice called, interrupting Sabrina's tantrum. The redhead looked up, coming face-to-face with Miss Bustier. Upon seeing the teacher, Sabrina's steely glare softened.
"Sabrina, dear," Miss Bustier said, "I understand you're upset, but there's no need to have the bench feel your pain."
Sabrina found herself giggling softly at Miss Bustier's comment and nodding apologetically when the teacher continued, saying that Sabrina could come talk to her rather than taking her anger out on school property. Then, Miss Bustier stood back up and started towards her room, Sabrina following behind.
Chloé Bourgeois
Adrien, Marinette, Alya, and Nino had turned towards the ruckus, curious as to what was causing the strange banging. Chloé, however, did not need to turn her head to know the noise belonged to Sabrina. It wasn't the first time Sabrina had thrown a tantrum because she hadn't gotten her way. Most times, Chloé had been the cause of the scene, and so the role of quieting the redhead also rested on her. This time, however, she merely averted her gaze, not wanting to see her friend making a fool of herself.
Marinette had asked Chloé a few days ago why she was even friends with Sabrina, and Chloé had tried to explain that, years ago, Sabrina had been nice. In fact, once upon a time, when Chloé had been the new girl in grade one, Sabrina had been the only person to welcome her.
Then, in grade seven, everything changed.
It started small, with a penny here, a hairclip there. Chloé had been able to ignore her friend's behavior, and, when the teacher became suspicious, Chloé covered for Sabrina. Miss McCree would ask if Chloé had seen Sabrina take anything from Rose, and Chloé would shake her head solemnly and lie, saying she had seen Rose drop the stolen item on the playground.
As the years went on, Sabrina's behavior only worsened until, rather than just stealing a small item now and then, Sabrina was forcing their classmates to give up portions of their lunch, and, if they dared refuse, she'd "convince" them using blackmail or by poking at various insecurities.
Still, Chloé covered for Sabrina, often getting herself in trouble as well.
She thought about leaving Sabrina and finding new friends. In fact, the very idea crossed her mind more than a few times, but each time she considered it, she instantly threw the thought away. How could she ditch Sabrina now, after all these years? And the longer she waited, the more her classmates began to hate her. If she chose to leave Sabrina's side and throw away their friendship, she'd have been completely friendless and most likely bullied by Sabrina even more.
But everything changed when Marinette began attending school. Now, escaping from Sabrina's clutches seemed possible.
And Chloé had just made the first step towards freedom by staying with Marinette.
It had been a difficult decision, especially when Chloé saw Sabrina's reaction, but Marinette's encouragement made it easier, and the smile on her friend's face made every fearful moment worth it.
Adrien Agreste
Adrien was surprised by how much fun he actually had with Chloé. The blonde girl had sat with them at lunch, and Adrien found himself laughing at nearly everything she did. If he hadn't already been so infatuated with Marinette, he might have even developed a small crush on Chloé.
It wasn't until he had arrived home and received a text from Nino that he remembered why he had been stressed that morning.
And after spending the entire day with Marinette, Adrien wanted to win that competition even more than he had before, so he set out to scour the streets for inspiration.
He found himself seated on the steps, fiddling with his camera as he watched a man sprinkle birdseed along the ground and the brim of his hat. The man cooed happily towards the sky, spreading his arms and displaying more birdseed piled in the palms of his hand. Pigeons swooped down and began pecking at the birdseed, bobbing along at his feet or perching on the bench. The man twittered happily with the pigeons, and Adrien found himself absentmindedly snapping a couple of pictures of the birds.
"Hey!" someone shouted, causing both Adrien and the birdman to jump. Adrien whipped his head towards the sound and saw the man who had spoken was Roger Raincomprix, Sabrina's father.
The cop waved his arms, shooing away the pigeons and ignoring the birdman's protests.
"You can't feed them," Roger said, turning his attention to the birdman when the pigeons had mostly disappeared. "I don't want them scattering their droppings on the tourists here."
The birdman frowned. "But—"
"No buts. I'll let you off with a warning this time, but I better not catch you feeding them again." Roger stormed away, leaving the dejected birdman without his birds.
Marinette Dupain-Cheng
Sabine wasn't at dinner that night. Marinette should have expected this, but even knowing her mother was most likely going to be too busy for dinner didn't keep her heart from sinking. She ate the last few bites of her dinner and retreated to her room, fighting tears. Plagg was gnawing on a piece of Camembert when she entered. As if sensing his holder's unhappiness, he popped the cheese in his mouth and flew over to perch on her shoulder.
"Cheer up, Mari," he said, patting her cheek comfortingly. "Why don't we watch a movie to take your mind off it."
Mari smiled sadly. "I'd like that."
But their plans were interrupted as soon as she turned on the television. Nadja Chamack was commenting on live footage from Notre Dame, where a giant flock of pigeons had begun to wreak havoc.
"The pigeons appear to be controlled by a man who calls himself Mr. Pigeon," Nadja was saying. "The citizens of Paris are desperately awaiting the arrival of our two heroes. Will Beetlebug and Chat Noire be able to save us again?"
Marinette turned to Plagg, her features set in steely determination.
"You know what this means...Plagg, claws out!"
Adrien Agreste
"Uh, Adrien?" Tikki's worried voice drifted through the room. Adrien glanced down where the Kwami was seated and followed her gaze until he saw the television balanced above his desk.
"That's the man from the park," Adrien murmured, crawling down the ladder from his bed to get a better view of the footage. "He must have been akumatized."
"Then we better get out there and stop him," Tikki said, floating up from her perch on Adrien's desk until she was eye-level with her holder.
"You're right. Tikki, spots on!"
Marinette Dupain-Cheng
Marinette dashed along the rooftops of Paris, now dressed in her black, leather supersuit. The wind whipped through her hair; adrenaline pumped through her veins. She felt more alive than ever.
When she reached Notre Dame, the location where she had last seen Mr. Pigeon, she stopped and surveyed the area. It was completely vacant, which was a strange sight as there always seemed to be tourists photographing the building. The surrounding greenery, which was almost always in pristine condition, was completely trashed with litter that had blown out from the overturned trash cans, random objects (most likely dropped from fleeing people), and bird droppings. It was sad to see their beautiful city in such disarray.
Good thing Beetlebug can put the city back in order when this is all over.
As if on cue, Beetlebug appeared beside her, clipping his yo-yo to his belt as his gaze traveled along the ruins.
"So what's his goal? Proving how destructive pigeons are?" Beetlebug murmured to no one in particular. Marinette furrowed her brow, confused.
"What do you mean by that?"
"I'm pretty sure Mr. Pigeon is this guy I saw in the park earlier today. He got in trouble with an officer for feeding the pigeons. The officer said the birds would just flood the area and scatter droppings everywhere." He motioned at the mess before them. "This is just proving that point."
Marinette nodded. Beetlebug was right; it didn't make sense. But, then again, akuma victims were always unpredictable.
A crash drew both of them from their thoughts and back to the matter at hand.
Adrien Agreste
Chat Noire dashed towards the noise, Adrien on her tail.
But by the time they arrived at the park, where the crash had come from, the pigeons were gone, leaving only chaos in their wake.
"So what are we going to do, Seigneur?" Chat Noire asked, plopping down beside him. Adrien turned to her, eyebrows raised.
"Seigneur?"
She shrugged, and Adrien was almost positive she was blushing. "It seemed fitting."
He stared at her for a moment longer, then turned his attention back to the chaos in the park below them.
"As a matter of fact, I do," Adrien said, answering Chat Noire's original question. "Follow me."
Marinette Dupain-Cheng
Marinette followed Beetlebug into the park. The red and black hero stopped and ducked behind a nearby tree, motioning for Marinette to do the same.
"Okay, here's the plan…"
Minutes later, Marinette was pushed in front of the trees, wearing a park keeper hat and whistling as she paced back and forth. Utterly bored, she began dancing, swaying to her own tune and adding in some flips and spins for good measure. Beetlebug popped his head out from behind the trees.
"What are you doing?! You have to act natural or Mr. Pigeon will never show up!"
"I am acting natural," Marinette replied, still swaying. Beetlebug merely groaned and ducked back behind the trees. Marinette stopped dancing and turned back to face the trees.
"Do you really think this will work?"
"Not if you keep acting like a lunatic and talking to me."
Marinette huffed and turned her attention back to the perfectly manicured lawn.
Adrien Agreste
Adrien was leaning against the back of the tree, playing with a random pinecone and glancing towards his yo-yo, which he had opened and was using as a mirror. A loud sneeze caused him to jump and spin around. Chat Noire had her face buried in her elbow as another sneeze caused her shoulders to rise and fall. She groaned and raised her head but then forced it back into her elbow with a third sneeze.
And then Adrien heard the faint flapping of wings. He looked up just in time to see a huge flood of pigeons swoop down and scoop Chat Noire up.
"Chat Noire!" he yelled, grabbing his yo-yo and racing after his partner. The cloud of pigeons led Adrien to the top of a nearby building. They released Chat Noire, who landed in a crouch, still sneezing, but Mr. Pigeon was still nowhere to be seen.
"That's strange," Adrien muttered, walking towards Chat Noire. "He's not-"
"AH HA!" a voice shouted, and Adrien found himself surrounded by metal bars.
Review Responses:
laurabavcon123, thank you so much! Rena Rouge and Carapace will be in this story, but they're also Kwami swapped! Queen Bee will likely be in as well, and I'm planning on making this story as long as I'm able to!
GuardianAngel1234567, be patient! Chloé has to break free of Sabrina's tyranny before she can become besties with Alya! ;) As for Hawkmoth, I would have loved to make Hawkmoth a guy and not you-know-who, but I'm trying to stay as true to closeted_demon's au as possible!
I hope you all enjoyed this week's chapter! The next update will be February 16!
See y'all then!