Part 7: A Development

Ashley slammed herself onto her bed. She gave out a long dreaded sigh. She was glad that the concert ended well, but was not happy that everyone teased her with Nathanael. The boy himself was not much of a help as well. They both were stone cold frozen while the rest of the company teased them.

"Why can't they just leave me and Nathanael alone…?" she said to herself.

Her phone suddenly rang. She checked who was the caller; Nathanael. She was hesitant to answer.

"Hello?" she heard his voice.

"H-Hi. Is something the matter?" she asked.

"I just wanted to check how you are holding up after today," the boy explained.

"Exhausted, but I had fun," she confessed.

She heard a chuckle. "I'm glad."

There was a brief silence in the air. Ashley rolled her eyes and bit her lower lip. She was feeling nervous.

"Uhh.. so, about our project, would you like to meet up for breakfast tomorrow? My class starts at 2pm," Nathanael asked.

"If it's okay with you, yes. I am free the whole day," she replied, squealing inside.

"Alright then, I'll meet up with you at this one cafe. I'll share with you the location," he said.

"O-Okay, see you then," she replied.

The call ended. Ashley slammed her face on her pillow and squealed. She was excited about meeting Nathanael again. She went to sleep smiling that night.

Nathan took a seat at a table beside the window of his chosen cafe. He was nervous about meeting Ashley alone without anyone else bothering them. Ashley entered the cafe. A waiter greeted her. Nathan watched as the waiter gestured to his table. He sat there, stiff.

"Hi, sorry to keep you waiting," she said to him.

Shaking his head, he replied, "Not at all."

She took a seat opposite of him. She flashed a small smile. Nathan took one look at her and then turned to look at the table. A waiter came to take their order. They both chose their breakfast and drink.

"So, would you like to go over the details again?" Nathanael asked.

Ashley nodded. "Okay, so I was thinking like before, we can do it on the last day of the funfair?" she suggested.

"Sure, but won't it be too crowded?" he asked.

"Umm…" Ashley stuttered.

The waiter interrupted them. They turned to look at him. He served their food and drinks. Ashley's eyes sparkled as she stared at her food. Nathan found that amusing. She started to eat her toast roll up. Nathan munched on his cruller doughnuts. He was enjoying watching her eat.

Swallowing, she said, "Yes, it will be crowded. Which is why I was thinking of doing the project before sunset."

He pondered for a few seconds. Ashley took a sip of her cup of coffee. She waited for Nathanael to speak.

"Sure, I think that's a good idea. I can tweak the colors to make it into nighttime, if you are okay with it," he offered his idea.

Ashley nodded rapidly. "That'll be great!" She took another sip.

Nathanael noticed she was still wearing both of his gifts. He gave out a small smile. She caught his smile. She took a glimpse at what he was looking at.

"Yeah, I still have them. They're very precious to me," she said.

"I'm really glad you like the gifts," he said to her.

Ashley nodded to him. They were done with their breakfast. When Ashley was about to reach for her purse, Nathan stopped her.

"Allow me," he offered.

Nathan paid for their food without hesitation. In return, Ashley accompanied his walk to his class. The cafe was not far from his college. As they were walking, a biker passed by them. Ashley was abruptly pushed closer to Nathan's side. She grinned sheepishly, holding onto his arm. The boy looked at her.

"Sorry…" she blushed.

"It's okay," he said, taking her hand into his.

Ashley's face was beat red. Nathan rolled his eyes to the other side, embarrassed. They continued their walk. Two blocks away, there were a few pairs of eyes watching.

"I can't believe they're holding hands~!" Marinette squealed.

"Shhhhhh, they'll hear us!" Nino shushed her.

"My God, who would have thought Nathan had it in him.." Alya remarked, taking a few photos.

"Yeah, I can't believe he's very sweet to her," Adrien smiled approvingly.

Ashley and Nathanael stopped at the entrance of the college. The girl looked a bit sad that their walk had ended. Nathan scratched his temple.

"Well this is my stop," he said.

"Y-Yes…" she muttered, looking down at the ground.

Nathan gazed at her face. He was about to say something, but someone came out to the entrance to greet Nathan.

"Hey, Nath, I've been looking all over for you…" the boy's words were interrupted.

Ashley looked at the black haired boy with a red hoodie. He had feminine feature which made him look somewhat cute.

"Oh, you had company. Sorry, I didn't know…" he said.

"Oh, hey, Marc! This is Ashley," Nathan said.

"Ashley? Oh, Adrien's cousin, right?" Marc asked.

Ashley nodded. "Nice to meet you."

Marc nodded. He turned back to Nathan. "So, Nathan. We need to pick up where we're left off about our next comic," he said.

"Comic?" Ashley was curious.

"Yeah! I work with Marc. He's the writer and I drew them. Our comics are a hit," Nathan explained.

"O-Oh… That's interesting. I'd like to read one, if you don't mind?" she said.

"Sure, we'll get you the next copy. Right now, he needs to get to class," Marc said, reminding Nathan about his class.

Nathan ran to his classroom, leaving Marc and Ashley alone. They smiled at each other.

"So, how long have you known Nath? You two seemed close…" Marc asked.

"When I visited Adrien a few years back, he was one of the people I met. He gave me a drawing of myself," she explained.

"I see. Funny how we didn't meet at the time," Marc remarked.

"Umm nobody mentioned a comic yet at that time. Maybe you haven't spoken up to Nathanael yet at that time?" Ashley shrugged.

Marc nodded. "I think so too…"

Nino and Alya appeared. They greeted the two.

"Hey, Marc!" Adrien called.

"Hey…" he replied with a smile.

"Nathan already went off?" Marinette asked.

"Yeah, he has a class," Marc replied.

"Oh, right! I almost forgot," Marinette slapped her forehead.

"Well, I'll remind Nath to get you the next copy of the comic. Was fun talking to you, Ashley!" Marc excused himself.

"He's very close to Nathan. They've been working on their comics since they got to know each other," Marinette explained.

Ashley nodded. "That's good to know."

"I hope you're not jealous," Adrien teased.

Ashley smiled sheepishly. She excused herself after that, making her way to the park.

Ashley took a seat on a bench at the park. She took a deep breath. Her thoughts lingered to Nathan. A text was received on her phone. She opened it and was quite surprised at the content. She put her phone away and continued her walk.

"I wonder what he wants…" she muttered to herself.

"Ashley, there you are!" Lilianne called when she saw the girl walking into the building.

"Where have you been?" Adrien asked.

It was late in the evening when she decided to return to the Agreste Mansion. She giggled nervously.

"Sorry, I was in deep thoughts… I didn't realize it was so late," Ashley apologised.

Adrien texted his friends that Ashley was back. He had his whole college mates searching for her around Paris. Marinette hugged the girl when she saw her. She was worried that Ashley would get akumatized, like the last time.

"I'm fine…" Ashley insisted.

Marinette turned to look at her fiance. Adrien nodded to her. He made a call and went to his bedroom. Marinette accompanied Ashley to her bedroom.

"Are you sure you're okay?" she asked again.

Ashley nodded. "Yes, I'm fine…"

"You can tell me anything, you know?" Marinette offered.

Ashley bit her lower lip. She showed the text she got that day and started to talk about it.

Meanwhile, Adrien was making a call in his room. The recipient picked up the phone.

"Hey, Nathan. Do you think you can drop by?" he asked.

"W-Why…?" Nathan asked.

"It's about Ashley…" Adrien started.

A few minutes later, a knock on Ashley's bedroom door was heard. "Ashley, someone's here for you," Dylan said.

"I'll be down in a sec," Ashley replied, stood up and looked at Marinette, "Thank you for your time, Marinette."

She opened the door to see that her brother was still there. He told her to go to the dining room. She nodded.

"Who's the guest?" she smile asked.

"Like you have to ask," Dylan replied.

As she was about to enter, Ashley stopped. A familiar redhead was seen with her mother. They were having fun talking with each other. The redhead did seem nervous but he was having fun. Ashley felt awkward. She approached them.

"Ashley!" Nathan exclaimed, standing up.

"Hey…" she smiled at him and took a seat beside her mother.