37: Robostous
After the Don Juan incident, Adrien has been sort of flirting with me during school.
And sort of, I mean, he constantly gets behind me and gives me surprise hugs and I lean into them.
He tries a lot more to make me laugh and smile as we are in front of our friends.
But most of all, he's been giving me a single red camellia each day in front of everyone.
Of course I accept it with a smile as I place it on the left side of my head, being held by Bobby pins.
"Jolene?" Alya whispers after Adrien gave me another flower for the day.
"Yeah?" I asked her as I used my locker's mirror to place the camellia into my hair.
"Is there something going on between you and Adrien?" She asks bluntly.
I had to stay calm as I finally closed my locker and looked at her.
"Something like what?" I asked softly.
Alya's lips were pressing thinly as she looked between the flower and me.
"Adrien has been very… sweet towards you," She started. "And not in the best friend way. More like the boyfriend type of way."
My heart started to accelerate even though I already knew she was going to question me about that.
I've been preparing for this moment. Yet, it still felt like I was free falling from an elevator.
I started playing with my jade bangle, still thinking what to say.
"I've been noticing that too," I said instead.
"You know how Marinette feels about him," She frowns as she points accusingly towards me. "Why are you letting this happen?"
"Hey!" Alix suddenly shouts as she races at my side. "Alya, you need to chill."
"I'm fine," Alya grumbles, but her eyes were glaring at me. "This talk isn't over."
"It's not," I agreed. "Meet me at the park after school. And if you want, bring Marinette."
I definitely surprised her as she stopped glaring daggers at me, but I could tell she was mad at me.
No, not mad, disappointed.
"Fine. I will," She says as she leaves.
I let out a deep breath and felt so tired as I leaned against my locker.
"That was a bit intense," Alix says as she copies my actions. "Want me to come with you?"
I gave her a tired smile, "You don't mind?"
"Hey, we're friends. I'll be there for you," She grins. "Plus, I'm pretty sure you need all the backup you can. I wouldn't be surprised if Alya pounces on you."
I wouldn't be surprised either. I just hope she isn't as into fighting as her sister Anansi. Now, that would be terrifying.
Ms. Mendeleiev's class started interestingly.
Her computer got a virus. Mr. Damocles and she were trying to fix it, but then the class projector showed a T-Rex eating away codes.
Thank goodness Max got there in time. Along with a special robot friend that I haven't seen in a while: Markov.
"Jolene!" Markov shouts as he flies towards me. "I've missed you! You should come over again for video games!"
I smiled wryly, "I've missed you too. And I'm gonna have to take a rain check on that."
"No worries, my friend! I'm just glad to see you again," He exclaims, making me smile fondly at the little robot.
Then he flew around meeting everyone else.
But then Ms. Mendeleiev and Mr. Damocles insisted that Markov was just a toy.
Of course the AI robot and his creator didn't like that.
Mr. Damocles confiscated Markov, and it was heartbreaking to hear Markov yelling after Max.
But what could I do without getting in trouble?
"Marinette, to the principal's office!" Ms. Mendeleiev shouts.
"Thank you," Marinette smiles innocently as she struts out of class, definitely confusing our science teacher.
Marinette isn't perfect, no one is. But I'm still glad to be reminded that Marinette is a good person. She just sometimes makes impulsive mistakes without realizing future consequences.
I just hope she isn't going to absolutely hate my guts.
Afterall, she knows what she did.
It was unexpected that Markov could be Akumatized.
He isn't human, but then it means he is capable of emotions, an actual human quality.
Then it got me thinking if other sentient non-human beings can be affected too?
Nope.
I am not going to worry about that.
It's out of my control.
When we realized machines were taking over the country, Adrien locked me inside of the janitor's closet.
"I just need to know that you are safe," He quickly explains after kissing me and locking me in.
I understand where he is coming from.
I do.
But he forgot one tiny detail.
I'm afraid of the dark, especially when I'm alone.
I couldn't play music to cope since I had to ditch my phone.
I couldn't sing or make noises to calm myself.
Eventually I felt like the walls were closing in. It was getting harder to breathe.
But just as I felt I was going to pass out again, Ladybugs filled my visions and I didn't waste time getting out of my prison. I laid on my back as I concentrated on taking deep and steady breaths.
"Jolene?" Kim sounded worried as he quickly kneeled down next to me. "Are you okay?"
"Just taking a breather," I answered as Kim wordlessly helped me to my feet. "Thanks."
"No problem," He grins. "Did you manage to escape the techno-invasion by hiding in a place with no technology?"
I nodded slowly.
"Did you?"
He puffed out his chest, "I hid inside my locker after breaking my phone! And I told others to do the same."
"That was smart," I acknowledged as we started walking back to class.
It was a silent walk, but then we both stopped when we reached the school's bulletin board.
In a neon green paper it announced the tryouts for the dance competition.
It will be held tomorrow.
"I'm gonna tryout," Kim states, making me surprised.
"Why?" I mean, it's still a sport, but I never thought he would be into this type of sport.
"I heard that the trophy is pretty cool, and I want it," He declares.
Now, that isn't surprising.
"Are you gonna tryout too? You have wicked dance moves," he asks.
"Yeah," I said with a shrug. "I'm doing it for charity. I have an organization in mind," I admitted.
It was a nonprofit for cleaning up the oceans.
"So you're not interested in keeping the trophy?"
"Not really," I shrugged.
"Hey, we should team up!" He declares. "I bet with both of our skills, we will be able to represent our school and win!
"Afterall, I think this is mostly a dancing duo completely," He scratches his head. "So, what do you think? Want to win?"
He's very confident that we'll win, but I have no doubt we are going to have some strong competitors.
"Tomorrow we'll see," I said instead. "Last time I remembered, I definitely had more dance moves than you," I teased.
Kim laughed, "Oh. You are so on! Tomorrow, we'll see who's the better dancer."
"You bet I'm not going to make it easy," I smiled wryly as we continued our path to class.
And so school continued as if nothing happened.
But something is going to happen.
When the bell rang indicating the end of school, Adrien waited for me.
"I'm going to have a private talk with Alya," I told him in Italian. "See you in my house?"
He nodded and he leaned towards me.
It seemed like everyone stopped and stared at us.
I wanted to push away, fearing that everyone was going to hate me, but instead he kissed my cheeks. A friendly gesture that is common in this part of Europe, but something that is new among us in public.
"See ya, Jolene," He smiled as he pulled out his phone.
Seconds later, I received a text in Italian.
Tell me when you get home.
I replied with: I will.
Then Alix approached me and soon we started making our way towards the park.
Behind me, I heard Alya whispering to Marinette.
It could be my imagination, but I swear I could feel their eyes glaring daggers at me.
This park holds several memories.
Birthdays were celebrated here. Marinette's and my own.
It's where I saw Lila trying really hard to seduce my boyfriend.
And most life altering was learning of Ladybug's real identity.
Alix and I were sitting down on the bench, waiting for the girls.
Though, not for long.
Alya and Marinette approached us, and we stood up.
"What's going on? Why do you need to talk to me so… mysteriously?" Marinette looked genuinely confused.
Alya was looking at me very carefully, waiting for my next move. Which I am grateful for. She gave me the opportunity to come clean to her, and not letting Marinette know second-hand before it's too late.
"I'm in love with my best friend," I started.
Marinette's jaw dropped, "Nino?"
I shook my head, "My other best friend."
"…Alix?"
"Whoa," Alix puts her hands up, while Alya looks ready to facepalm. "Jolene means her first best friend."
"Adrien Agreste," I confirmed to her.
This time I could see some color leaving her face, her eyes wide and starting to shine with the gathering of incoming waterworks.
"A-Adrien?" She whispers. "But- but you know I-"
"I do know that," I said softly. "And when I realized my feelings for him… I felt so guilty."
I started my confession.
I told her that I tried to think of him only as just a friend, but it was just harder to do as time passed.
"But I thought you had a thing with Cat Noir," She blurts out without thinking. And that's when the other two girls looked at me.
"Wait, I only told her that one time," Alya quickly says.
"Ah, yeah, she did," Marinette says quickly, "And I thought that you two would be a cute couple.
"I was starting to think that you would be Lois Lane and he, Superman," Marinette says weakly.
"What I had with Cat was… impossible," I started, trying to reel in the anger this girl caused me that day. "I do still care about him, but not as a romantic companion.
"Plus, I could never compete with his first love, Ladybug."
It was a little satisfying to see the look on her face when she realized the consequences of her actions. Ignorantly deciding something that is not of her business.
"So I gave up on him, and the love I felt for Adrien came back much stronger than before," I continued. "Marinette, I have been meaning to confess what I feel of him to you, but there hasn't been an appropriate time to say it.
"Or there wasn't until Alya decided it was time that I said something."
"And I do not regret this little meeting between us," She stated firmly. At least she wasn't glaring daggers at me anymore.
There was still disappointment, but she looked resigned.
"And honestly, I have no idea what to do now it's out in the open," She admits as she turns to her best friend. "You deserve to hear the truth coming from her. And now, it's up to you to tell her what you think about it."
Marinette nodded slowly, "Well, I- umm- I don't know." She groans, "I mean, I'm kind of glad you told me, but that just means that there's someone else wanting to go after Adrien.
"Because now it's you, Lila and Chloé," She frowns. "And out of the three of them… I have to admit, you have the highest chance of winning."
"This isn't a competition," I frown.
I mean, it isn't. At all. Because if it was, I already won miles ahead from the race.
"I'm not going to try tricks or confess.
"I've hidden the truth this far and it will be that way," I took a deep breath to calm down my nerves. "I've been noticing Adrien being more attentive towards me. And I'm not going to push him away, but I'm not going to pull him either.
"I know how I feel towards him. Now it's his turn.
"Adrien has a right to choose who he wants as his girlfriend.
"If you were in my shoes… what would you do?" I asked him softly.
Marinette blushed, mostly likely envisioning herself in my place.
"I wouldn't let him go," She answers with a dreamy smile on her face. But then I saw her noticing the flower still in my hair. "I wouldn't do what you are willing to do for me."
"You are being too nice," Alya points out. "Why are you so calm about having your crush being stolen by someone else?"
"Because I am honest in feeling guilty that I fell in love with Adrien knowing Marinette's feelings towards him. However, I decided not to feel that anymore since I'm not forcing him to love me back.
"If he's going to love either one of us, it's going to be his choice.
"So Marinette, I'm giving you the opportunity to do your best. I'll just stay where I am and go with the flow.
"If Adrien returns my feelings for him, confesses that he loves me first… I'll not let him go.
"I'll understand your anger towards me, but at least I told you now. You can't accuse me of stealing something that was never yours to begin with."
Somewhere deep in my heart, I was feeling a little guilty. But squashed that feeling. I truly fell in love with Adrien as him, as Cat Noir, as both.
Marinette only loves the nice supermodel who gave his umbrella to her that rainy day. She doesn't know him like I do, yet she still thinks that Adrien is the love of her life.
I learned to love all of him, flaws and all.
She only sees him as Adrien Agreste, the perfect supermodel that the cameras see.
"You're right," Marinette says softly. "I'm going to try really hard to get his attention. And you promise you wouldn't do anything."
I sighed deeply to control my anger, "I promise."
"But if you break that promise, I'm going to tell the rest of the girls," Alya says without remorse.
"Sounds fair," I frown softly.
"Hey, no, that's not fair!" Alix comes to defend me. "Just like you have Marinette's back, I have Jole's!"
"It's okay, Alix," I said softly. "To be honest, ever since I realized my feelings for Adrien, I've been preparing for everyone to hate me."
"That's harsh," Alix frowns. "You already know what I feel about this."
"And I'm thankful," I smiled sadly.
"But it still isn't right," She frowns as she looks at Alya, "You really want the girls to hate Jolene for falling in love?"
Alya was speechless.
"I'll make sure to tell them not to hate you," Marinette surprisingly says. "We are all good friends. I would hate for us to be divided."
"Then it's settled," Alya said softly. "All the cards are on the table. Now we just have to wait for Adrien to decide."
"Agreed," I nodded.
"Oh, one more thing," I said as I looked at Alya. "Nino doesn't know I have a crush on anyone. So please don't be mean to him."
"Thanks for telling me that," Alya said softly. "And don't worry, I won't."
And so we went on seperate ways.
When I got home, I texted Adrien I arrived and what I was making for dinner if he wanted to come over.
That was hours ago.
Now, I was setting up the table for three.
I heard the footsteps coming behind me as I turned around just in time to see Cat holding a single red rose.
"For my little lady," He kisses me.
I smiled as I wrapped my arms around him after accepting the rose.
"Mi Felino," I leaned my forehead against his, "I'm glad you came."
He kissed me again, "If it were up to me, I would be living here."
"That sounds like a wonderful dream," I admit. "But I'm starving and I've worked hard for this dinner." Then I leaned closer to him, my lips brushed against his ear, whispering in my most seductive tone, "Then we have a second dessert in my room."
I gasped when he growled as he grabbed my ass and pulled me very close to him.
"Let's start with that first," He says as he lifted me up and was about to leave the kitchen, until I pulled on his leather ear.
He whined and stopped.
"Nuh uh, amore," I tsk'ed. "We are going to enjoy this dinner. The three of us."
He pouted as he let me down.
"What about a sneak peak?" He asked as he did his own version of the kitty-eyes.
I smirked, "I think you'll like it more if it's a surprise."
Instantly I knew he was going to be impatient as I saw him squirm.
"A little hint?" He begs.
I shook my head, "Come on. And let's eat while it's still hot."
He still pouted as I turned around and went to the kitchen to get the three cheese and meat lasagna.
Dinner was done. And the ice cream sundae cleaned our pallets.
Plagg immediately went to watch his novelas on Chez Chat.
"I'm ready for the second dessert," Adrien smirks as he sits me on top of the island counter and spreads my legs.
His sudden actions were so unexpected that it made me blush hard. But it also turned me on.
"Well," I coughed as I tried to stop blushing, "Maybe later, but first we need to talk."
He nodded as he stood in front of me, his hands on my hips, "What happened?"
I sighed as I explained to him what I had to say to Alya and Marinette.
I watched his reaction, trying to figure out what he was thinking.
But then he kissed me feverishly.
I smiled as I felt his love, his tongue dominating my mouth before he continued his love attack along my neck.
"I love you," He said after he was done. Our foreheads touched as we stared into each other's eyes. "Let me say it tomorrow, please."
Tears were gathering as I smiled, "You don't know how much I would love for you to say it, but we both know why have to wait just a little longer."
He smiled sadly, but he gave me a tender kiss as he caressed my face, "When the world knows that we belong together, there's nothing that is going to stop me from showing that I love you."
"When that day comes, expect me to do the same," I smiled softly as I brushed his hair back.
"…I have a feeling you need to tell me more," Adrien comments.
"Don't get your hopes up too much," I started, "But I've been apartment hunting."
"You're moving?"
"Well, my lease is almost up and the options are either stay here for another year, or move to a different apartment."
"But you are still going to be nearby, right?" He pouts.
"Of course," I said. "And since I'm earning a lot of money because of the Jagged Stone album, I could get a bigger or fancier place.
"But also," I frown, "I don't want Ladybug to know where I live."
Adrien frowned as well, "I think it would be for the best."
"Hey, cheer up," I said, "If you want, you can come with me if I get an appointment for a viewing."
"I would love that," He grins. "Now, I'm more than ready for that second dessert."
This time I grabbed his wrists before he could pull my legs even wider.
"I have something that I'm sure you would like to have in the bedroom," I gently nipped his ear.
Immediately he carried me to my room and closed the door behind us.
It was another close call.
We were very close. I was about to sit on his dick, but I froze.
Adrien immediately noticed and he carefully moved his cock so it was resting against my lower abdomen. It was hot, hard, and twitching.
"Don't force yourself," He whispers as he hugs me. "I love you. And I can wait."
He puts his cock inside his boxers and pulls my panties up.
"For now, this is more than enough," He says as he starts grinding against me. "Feeling better?"
I nodded as I kissed him, grinding each other until we both climaxed.
We both laid on my bed, wearing only my panties and my shirt. Adrien was just in his boxers and his signature black shirt.
We were recuperating our breaths as we cuddled.
"I do want to make love to you," I whispered my confession. "I dream of doing it with you."
"Then in that case we are sharing the same dream," Adrien replies. When I looked at him, there was lust and love in his eyes. "Care to share any details to make the first time… unforgettable?"
I blushed, "We start out slow. Lots of foreplay as we get completely naked, giving each other oral before I feel wet enough to have your cock inside-"
Adrien immediately started kissing me.
I could feel his dick getting hard again.
"I want to take off all of your clothes," He says once he stops kissing me. "I want you to be in missionary. But I'll only enter you once you ask me to finally put it in."
I kissed him as I then straddled him, my hips moving against his cock getting bigger by the minute.
"I want to practice my oral technique," I breathed out as I continued rubbing against him. "Can you tell me what you think?"
I heard him grunt before he grabbed me and sat us up.
"Only after you tell me how to improve my fingering technique," He says as he slips a hand under my panties.
I moaned in delight as I felt his fingers already touching my clit.
I could only nod as we entered round two of four.
Omake 24
Jolene released one of the worst things she could ever reveal.
She is in love with Adrien.
But I was already seeing the signs, but a small part of me wished that it was just a platonic kind of love that she shares with Nino.
I don't know what I was thinking when I told her that if she decided to go after Adrien, I would tell the girls her crush on Adrien.
I just felt protective for Marinette as her best friend. She's been crushing over him much longer than Jolene.
But now after Alix and I had a private conversation, I felt like a terrible person.
"I know that having loyalty with Marinette wants you to root for Adrien and her, but even you have to realize that Marinette doesn't know Adrien the way that Jolene does.
"They started as friends before she fell for him. And it's been crushing to her knowing that Marinette, who is also her friend, is in love with him too."
For the first time, I saw Alix look defeated, "This isn't going to be easy for any of us, no matter what happens.
"Someone will be heartbroken. And personally, I don't want it to be Jolene.
"Just like you don't want it to be Marinette."
Our conversation started to make me think.
All of us are aware of what is happening and their feelings.
And Alix is right, I don't want Marinette to be heartbroken.
So I'm going to invite her to a sleepover where we can discuss strategies on how to win Adrien's heart.
I'm sorry, Jolene, but Marinette is my best friend.
AN: Sorry for the delayed updated, but hopefully you guys still enjoyed this chapter.
Thank you to SailorSedna052, shadowdark7, Gingersnap515, Oc Bourbeau, DanDropZ, catgirl7771, el baro, ChaosSyndrome, wolfki05, and Melixa70 for following and/or favorited this story.
And special thanks to starrat, queenkaylina, and SailorSedna052 for reviewing.
You all are amazing and I hope this chapter was worth the wait. And for waiting this long, next chapter will briefly be about The Sapotis episode as hinted in the omake.