On Point
A Sell Out Success
By Rena Rouge
Can you believe it? With only one week left to go until the biggest ballet event of the season, the Agreste School of Dance has SOLD OUT! You heard me! The Nutcracker is completely sold out after only 4 days of tickets being available.
This is the quickest year so far which can only mean one thing… everyone is as excited to see the Miraculous performance as much as we are — especially the non classical ballet performed by Adrien Agreste (22) and Marinette Dupain-Cheng (19).
I'm not going to lie, I'm more excited about the duet than Christmas itself. Those lucky enough to get tickets. I'll see you all there!
It had been a few days since the performance at the community hub and they were now mere days from the Christmas Gala. Adrien was proud of everything they'd accomplished and even though his father was forcing him to perform the pas de deux with Lila, he and Marinette had been working double shifts in the studio — at Agreste, and with Tikki. They were ready to perform and Adrien was excited. For once in his life he was excited.
They were just finishing up their final rehearsal of the week when the studio was ambushed by an excited looking red head, one which was suddenly looking a thousand times more healthy.
After finding her late at night in the studios, Adrien had accompanied Alya home. They'd talked and talked, Adrien relaying his own experiences of dancers who'd 'disappeared' thanks to the cold, harsh words of his father and the impact that bestowed on their bodies. He hoped he'd made a difference as he threw compliments at Alya and cursed at his father. The more he thought about the famed and loved Gabriel Agreste, the more he hated the guy!
Most of the previous evening had seen Adrien reading and rereading his contract, trying to find a loophole wherever he could. He wasn't entirely sure what he wanted from this anymore, and the thought wasn't as scary as it had originally been. Maybe it was time to look for a new dream.
As Alya skidded to a halt, she looked between Adrien and Marinette, before nervously brushing her hair from her face.
"Hey, I didn't realise you'd still be here Adrien."
He let out a small laugh as he pulled his hoodie over his head. "The interview I had for the programme was changed so we've used the extra time to practise. Did you need Marinette for something? Sorry if I've been hogging her."
"I — um —" She looked past him, obviously glancing at Marinette, before turning back to him. "No, it's fine, sorry. I was just going to grab my girl and go. We — um — we have plans tonight."
Ahh, there it was! The awkwardness of going out and not inviting him. He didn't know why people always felt so uncomfortable around him, it wasn't like he thought he should be included, he didn't really care.
"Well, she's all yours now." He grabbed his bag and took another swig from his water bottle. "Have a good evening girls. See you tomorrow, Marinette."
He started to head to the door, considering which movie he should watch tonight when the sound of his name had him turning back.
"Actually?" Marinette sounded nervous only to be evidenced by her playing with her fingers in front of her body. "Would you like to come with us? It's only bowling and maybe laser tag, but it should be a fun night."
Bowling? Laser tag? He'd never done either of those before, but it always looked like a lot of fun from the American sitcoms he watched.
"I'd love to," he said far too enthusiastically for a guy in his twenties, quickly regaining some self control, he coughed before trying again. "I mean, as long as that's okay with everyone, I don't want you all to feel like the son of the owner is out spying on you or something – and I cannot believe I just brought up my father like that."
"There's only a couple of us going. I'm finally meeting Alya's boyfriend, and then my school friend, Nathaniel, is coming. I think he'd be a great match for Marc, so I'm trying to set them up." Marinette smiled at him, the tension he hadn't realised he held, suddenly evaporated.
Adrien nodded. They were all going in couples. Did that mean Luka would be going to? The last thing he wanted was for everyone to be pairing up and for him to stick out like the loveless loser he was.
"So, will anyone else be there?" He knew it was ridiculous to ask, he was a grown man for crying out loud, but he was also a jealous one… a very, very jealous one.
"No," Marinette said, looking as though to check with Alya. "Just us I believe."
The dam broke and relief flooded through his veins. No Luka and another night out with his new best friend? Why not?
"Great! I mean, sounds good. Where shall I meet you?"
"Nino will be at our apartment in about an hour, if you want to meet us there. You know where it is right?" Alya said, Marinette walking to stand beside her friend.
"Excellent, yeah! I'll see you in about an hour then. I'll just run home and shower because I smell, I mean, I've been sweating, like really sweating."
"Cool," Marinette said with a laugh, only to be echoed by Alya too. "Have a good shower and we'll see you soon."
As the girls exited the studio arm in arm and laughed excitedly, Adrien couldn't help the grin pulling at his lips. He was going out, with a group, and the girl he was crushing on…
Only one question played on his mind…
What the hell was he going to wear?
An hour later, Adrien was jogging up the staircase to the apartment block entrance, through the doorway and slamming straight into the back of someone else.
"Sorry," he said, freezing on the step. He closed his eyes tightly, waiting for the guy to turn around and punch him in the face.
"No harm done, man." Opening one eye, Adrien caught the man lifting his hat from over his face. He was around Adrien's height, with caramel eyes and blue glasses.
"Are you going up?" he asked. The guy pointed to the elevator, Adrien looking at the buttons like they were foreign objects. Was he going up? Yes, yes he was.
"Yeah," he finally said. "Are you here to see someone?" Adrien asked.
"Yeah, my girlfriend goes to school here and I'm meeting her new bff."
"Sounds fun."
"Yeah, not really! I don't exactly come across well when people first meet me," he laughed, reaching out and pressing the up button.
Adrien laughed, completely understanding the guy's dilemma. "Tell me about it. I'm like the worst person ever for first impressions."
"You're doing an okay job now. Name's Nino, by the way." He offered a hand out, Adrien confidently taking it into his own.
"Adrien."
"Agreste?" Nino's eyes shot open and Adrien could feel the unease surface which usually came from someone recognising his name.
"Um – unfortunately, yes."
"Awesome! I've heard a lot about you. It's great to finally place a face to a name."
The elevator slowed to a stop, suddenly opening and letting them both out. "You've heard about me? How?"
Nino smiled and slammed a hand down on his shoulder. "Now, that would be telling man. I've been sworn to secrecy. Here we are." Nino loosened his grip on Adrien's shoulder and knocked on the door to the apartment.
The sound of giggling was heard behind it, backed by the smooth Canadian tones of Michael Bublé. The door flung itself open and his knees almost gave way.
He'd spent a lot of time with Marinette over the past month or so, and even when they went out she was never 'dressed up', but now… seeing her prepared for a night without pressures or expectations, hair down and curled, tight jeans and high heeled boots. She looked divine.
His eyes soaked her in. From the top of her head to the tips of her toes. She looked gorgeous, and it hurt to know she would never be his.
"Hi, you must be Nino. And you?" she said, tapping her lower lip and drawing his attention to them in all their precious pink glory, so much so he now couldn't look away. "I think I've seen you somewhere before."
Adrien rolled his eyes, stepping forwards and placing a kiss to her cheek, his hand resting on her waist and lingering a little too long. His palm tingled from the contact, and Dear Lord, he should not have come here tonight. He wasn't going to make it through the first 10 minutes without self combusting.
"Alya's just finishing up and then we'll be ready to go. In the meantime, I want to know a little more about you." Marinette stepped away from Adrien and headed to Nino, slotting an arm through his and leading him into the apartment.
As she laughed and smiled with Nino, the two seemed to hit it off straight away, he had to take a moment to remind himself that the girl wasn't his and the more he stood and looked, it got harder to control his feelings.
Bowling had been great fun and although it had taken him a while to get into the swing of it (literally), by his third frame the bumpers were gone and he was knocking down those pins with a practised ease. He was having the time of his life. Fantastic company, festive music and now fabulous food. This was almost ranking as the best night of his life.
"I don't know what she thought she was going to do, but it definitely didn't work out."
Everyone started to laugh at Nathaniel's anecdote as Marinette covered her face in embarrassment. It seemed the two had been friends for years and had quite the history.
"You're making me sound like a chaotic mess," Marinette whined, Nathaniel taking the opportunity to hit his shoulder into hers.
"Well, if the shoes fit."
They all started laughing again, the chatter flowing as easy as the fries.
As everyone continued digging at Marinette, Adrien found his eyes homing in on Alya. She was messing around with the food on her plate, every now and then picking up her slice of pizza and taking the smallest of bites. Obviously their conversation had been forgotten or ignored.
"Excuse me, nature calls." Alya pushed back from the table, standing up and heading towards the restrooms. She moved quickly, obviously getting out of there before Marinette could offer to join her, which only confirmed the suspicions about what she was going to do.
"I thought girls went in twos," Nino laughed, Marinette looked down the corridor to where Alya had gone, her eyebrows creasing in response, yet no answer left her lips.
"I think I need to go too." Adrien didn't wait for a response as he pushed back from the table and spotted the women's restroom. Choosing to wait outside the door.
A couple of minutes later, it opened, revealing a red eyed Alya.
"I thought you were going to try and stop," Adrien said, Alya only coming to notice him once he spoke.
"Adrien," she whined. He stepped forward and grasped onto her shoulders.
"Let me help you, please! If you're that desperate to lose weight I can show you safer ways of doing it. This can only lead to bad things."
"I haven't got time, Adrien." Her eyes glazed over, a misting which showed the emotions of how she was feeling.
"What's my father done now?"
She looked away, an obvious sign that Gabriel Agreste had once again stuck his unwelcomed nose in.
"Adrien, I've got it covered ok! I'm alright, you don't need to babysit me."
"When you're throwing up everything you eat to get to the 'perfect size', which FYI doesn't exist, then you're not okay. You're far from it."
She sighed and looked away. His eyes stayed on her, his mind unable to let him blink in case she ran away.
"Please," he begged again. "You're beautiful as you are."
She looked at him before dropping her head, and giving it a small shake.
"I can't make any promises," she said quietly.
"I know," Adrien agreed.
They stood for a moment in silence before heading back to the table, both of them a little more sombre than before.
… until Nino's next idea.
"Who's up for a game of laser tag?"
Marinette tried to control her heartbeat as she stood silently in the pitch black room. She worked hard to keep herself unseen, closing her eyes and trying to hold back any loud exhales from her previous run.
A red laser shot over her head and she pushed back into the wall, hoping to hide herself enough to be ignored. Which would be easy really, if the 6 foot guy next to her wasn't giggling like a maniac.
"Will you stop it!" Marinette hissed from behind her clenched teeth.
"Sorry," he whispered back, pulling his laser gun back into his body.
She glanced at him, his hand coming to his mouth and pretending to zip it and lock it before throwing away the key. He smiled at her and she rolled her eyes in response.
It was amazing how little Adrien had done in his life. The evening's events being his first time bowling and his first time playing laser tag, and to say it was like taking a child out on a day trip she was sorely mistaken… it was worse.
He giggled again, this time she slapped him gently on his arm.
"You're going to get us caught," she whispered, peeping around the corner again.
Where the others had gone she had no idea. There were no flashing lights or indications of life anywhere. She looked down at her gun and saw her score. She was a decent player at this, so was Adrien when he wasn't laughing. It seems they both had quite a liking for video games and in Adrien's own words, it was like being in a real one.
"Okay," she finally said, pulling him deeper into the corner. "We're going to split up. You take the left and I'll take the right. Shoot anything that flashes."
"What if I shoot you?"
"Then I shouldn't have gotten in the way." Feeling like that was the perfect line to leave on, Marinette ducked low and made her way out of their spot and down the ramp into the main arena.
She scurried along like a mouse behind a wall, waiting patiently for any additional signs of life.
Nothing.
Great!
She continued to move against the wall of the main area knowing full well she was completely on display.
"Come out, come out, wherever you are?" she muttered to no one in particular.
A red laser shot over her head followed by the obvious sound of feet pounding against the runways. It was to the left. 3… 2…
She turned sharply and shot off three lasers in quick succession. The second one took her opponent out of action. Yes!
"Oh man! Alya's going to kill me." Without waiting for Nino to say anything else, Marinette charged off in the opposite direction, gun poised and aimed ready for her next unwilling victim.
Moving at speed up the ramp, she kept checking behind her, making sure Nino hadn't decided to follow her during his pause – ready to shoot her when he was back up and running again. She moved nimbly around the corner, finding herself in a tiny maze of walls and windows. Ducking down, she made sure her head couldn't be seen, and continued forward.
A red beam flashed through a window. She'd been spotted.
"You attacked my boyfriend, Marinette, so now you have to deal with me."
The sound of Alya running behind her caused her heart to pound hard against her chest. Her blood was pumping more than it ever did on stage and she had the uncontrollable need to giggle — oh dear! She was turning into Adrien. She quickly turned another corner, only to hear the footsteps behind her speed up. Alya was closing the distance.
Without a second thought, Marinette spun around and aimed her gun only to be pushed back against the wall and pinned between two arms. The sound of a laser pack deactivating echoed around her. Damnit! She'd been shot. Her eyes moved down to check the flashing red powerpack only to be confused when she noticed that there was a flashing light, but it wasn't hers.
"Take her down, M'Lady." Hot breath hit her neck, her eyes lifting to catch a glimpse of her partner's glowing, green emeralds.
She glanced around the side of him, aiming her gun at Alya before firing off her shots, taking her best friend down as she waited for Adrien's to reload.
"So that's Marc, Nathaniel, Nino and Alya. To make sure I win, there's just one more person I need to shoot." She started to giggle, keeping her eyes locked on Adrien as he slowly realised what she was going to do.
"Run!" she chuckled.
"I thought we were on the same team," Adrien called over his shoulder, moving away in the same direction as Alya had disappeared.
"We were," Marinette replied. "But now I'm out for myself."
Amid the pulsating neon lights and the echoing hum of excitement, they faced each other in the labyrinth of the arena. His eyes were determined and focused, yet contained a spark of playful challenge. As the first shots of light pierced the darkness, their laughter echoed, creating a symphony of adrenaline-fueled moments. In the heart of the illuminated chaos, she felt their connection deepen, and every laser beam marked a shared adventure etched in the canva of their memories.
She wasn't ready for this night to end. But as soon as her laser struck Adrien, she knew it was coming to a premature close.
An hour later, Marinette found herself being pulled back into the ballet studios, Adrien holding her hand tightly as he unlocked the doors and headed downstairs to a studio she'd never been to before.
"Where are we going?" she giggled.
After she annihilated the group at laser tag, they all departed for the evening in their couples – not that herself and Adrien were a couple, but the idea was getting more and more appealing by the second.
She'd seen a whole new side to him, and she wasn't ready to let go just yet. When Adrien had said he wanted to show her something at the studio, she'd jumped at the opportunity knowing it would prolong the time she was spending with him.
"This was my mother's studio," Adrien said, opening the door and turning on the light. It was an old fashioned studio, decorated in dark woods with a baby grand piano in the corner. "I've found myself coming here often recently. Ever since I've been dancing with you."
He made his way over to the piano and sat down on the bench.
Adrien reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, finding the song he wanted and lifting the lid carefully. After listening to the opening counts, his fingers began to caress the keys in the most effortless way. He was so talented.
She felt herself swaying to the music, eventually slipping off her boots and walking into the middle of the studio – letting herself go. Her graceful movements caressed the harmony of the delicate piano notes, lost in the enchanting rhythm of the music as Adrien played alongside it.
Smiling, she made her way to him offering out a hand and inviting him to join her.
Their impromptu dance moved effortlessly to the remaining sound of Adrien's phone. Their eyes locked, communicating emotions that words struggled to express – the dance changing to one from their hearts.
As they moved closer, the lifts grew bolder and the touches lingered a little longer, tension filling the air between them – a thick fog of want and need. Marinette wrapped an arm around his neck, pulling him closer to her.
A sudden tension filled the air. Was she going to kiss him? Did he feel this undeniable pull too?
Eyes tightly closed, Marinette moved closer, her head tilting upwards and lips pouting ready to meet his. They moved closer and closer until he gently pulled away, leaving a respectful distance between them.
"I'm sorry." His voice was thick, a hesitation in his steps as he moved further away.
He increased the distance between them, and she had a choice: either let him go, or stop him. The latter being the scariest, yet, only option.
Marinette grabbed his hand before he could get too far away, a silent plea in her eyes. The music on his phone continued in the studio, the melody echoing the complexity of their feelings.
"Stay, please." She was almost begging him. Needing him to know she wanted this, that she wanted him.
"Marinette, I can't. I don't want you to do something you'll regret."
"There's nothing to regret, Adrien. Luka and I broke up and you're taking over my thoughts, my soul… my heart. Tell me you can feel this too, whatever it is between us. You must!"
Her confession hung in the air. A revelation that transformed the dance into a moment of vulnerability and truth.
Stepping forward, Marinette placed a hand delicately on his cheek, his face rubbing against the palm of her hand. In the tender moment, she found solace within the depths of his green eyes. A symphony of emotions played across that verdant canvas – desire, vulnerability, and an unspoken promise of love.
Lost in the labyrinth of his gaze, she discovered a world where time stood still, and every heartbeat echoed the sweet melody of their shared connection.
"What if this is just because of the dance? What if it's nothing more than just a role we're playing?" Fears of uncertainty clouded his expression, her heart hurting to see him not believe this could be real.
"I know you don't believe that."
"Marinette." Her name, spoken so softly from his lips, was the only answer she needed. She knew he felt this too, whatever it was, it would be impossible for him not to.
In that moment, a subtle warmth enveloped her, giving her the confidence she needed. She closed the gap, sealing their connection with a heartfelt kiss.
Their first kiss was hesitant, marked by a delicate dance of uncertainty. She was nervous, and from the tremor of his hands, he was too, yet underneath there was a spark of curiosity and a hint of excitement. And she wanted to do it over and over again.
He pulled her closer; their bodies connected as though two poles of a magnet. In that moment, as her lips met his, there was an eloquence in the way she pressed into the kiss. It wasn't just a meeting of mouths; it was a merging of sentiments. The small quiver of anticipation, the warmth that radiated from her, and the way her fingers delicately traced his skin—all these details wove together, creating a kiss that became a silent language of unspoken desires.
A radiant smile painted both their lips, as they pulled away and revealed a shared happiness. It was a moment suspended in joy, a delightful connection blossoming between them.
"Thank you," he whispered, pulling her into his body and swaying to the last bars of the music. His cheek resting on her head, as she settled against his hard beating heart.
"What for?"
"For believing in me when no one else would."