Chapter 11: Games by the Pool
The music blasting from the speakers did its magic. It was hard for one to keep still, when you had songs like Endor's "Pump It Up", or Sophie Ellis-Bextor's "Murder on the Dance Floor" playing. Right then, the Gran Paris' rooftop was the closest thing to a night club in Ibiza. Nino had compiled an amazing playlist, and after a couple of songs, everyone was in full party mode.
And though the music had taken full control of the party, some of the guests took the opportunity to rest a bit between songs, by grabbing a bite or drink. Two of them were Adrien and Marinette. Feeling thirsty, Marinette asked Adrien for some orange juice, which he was more than happy to pour for her.
"For you, milady." -Adrien said, as he handed her the glass of orange juice.
"Thank you, my silly kitty. And thanks for putting two straws on it." -Marinette thanked Adrien, as she and Tikki took a sip from each of the straws. –"Mmm… this tastes so good. Just what the doctor ordered, with this heat." -she said, before taking another long sip.
"Yeah, this heat." -Adrien agreed, as he looked at her. –"Did I already tell you that you look great in that bathing suit?" -he asked her.
"Not yet." -Marinette chuckled.
"Well, you do. I mean, pink is definitely your colour, but so are red and black." -Adrien praised her. –"And that bathing suit… it really makes you look beautiful and hot." -he told her.
"I'm not the only one. Those black shorts you're wearing; they make you smoking hot, as well." -Marinette flirted with him, as she blushed a little.
"Smoking hot? Am I hearing right? Did you just call me smoking hot?" -Adrien teased her.
"Yes! And don't make me say it again, or else, I'll blush even harder and end up looking like a tomato!" -Marinette chuckled nervously, before sipping a little more juice.
"Hey! Don't drink it all!" -Tikki exclaimed. –"If you do, all I'll have to drink are ice cubes." -she said.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Tikki." -Marinette apologized, realizing she had already sipped half the glass. –"Here. You can have the rest of it." -she said, which made the scarlet kwami smile, who promptly took a sip.
The way the sun illuminated Marinette's face that moment, made Adrien think of just how lucky he was in having her for a girlfriend. She was everything he wanted in a girl. Beautiful, smart, kind, compassionate, courageous, hard-working, and a little ditzy; all qualities that made her unique. Sighing, he felt that right then, it was one of the best moments of his life, and he wished he could freeze it in time forever, just so he could revisit it, time and time again. And without knowing it, his lips had begun to make an awkward, almost goofy smile, which caught Marinette's attention.
"What's the matter?" -Marinette asked Adrien.
"Uh… nothing." -Adrien chuckled nervously. –"I was just admiring you, and thinking of how lucky I am that you love me, as much as I love you." -he declared.
"Oh, don't say that. I told you already! You're going to make me blush!" -Marinette chuckled, as she kept feeling the blood rushing to her cheeks.
"Also, I wanted to talk to you about something." -Adrien stated.
"What is it?" -Marinette asked him, wondering what could Adrien want to talk to her.
"He went ahead and did something, which I think he shouldn't have, that's what." -Plagg told Marinette.
"Plagg!" -Adrien reprimanded him.
"Well, excuse me if I'm telling the truth." -Plagg shot back at Adrien. –"What do you think it's going to happen, when you tell Marinette you invited the girl to the birthday party, without asking first?" -he said.
"What's Plagg talking about?" -Marinette asked, wondering who they were talking about.
"I…" -Adrien sighed. –"I hope you don't mind, but I took the liberty of inviting Kagami to your party, tomorrow." -he told her.
The way Plagg had spoken, Marinette thought Adrien had invited a total stranger. But Kagami was not a stranger. Or at least, not a total stranger to her. The two of them had had the chance to talk a few times, and though she felt Kagami was quite reserved and a little stiff, when it came to how she behaved and talked to others, Marinette believed that in time, they could become good friends, if opportunity presented itself.
"You did?" -Marinette asked.
"Y-Yeah." -Adrien said. –"I know I should've asked you first, if you were okay with it, but…" -he declared, hesitating a bit. –"… well, she's been feeling a little bit down lately. I've been trying to find out what's the matter with her, but she's not. And I thought…"
"You thought that if she came to the party, she would be more willing to speak about it?" -Marinette asked, finishing his sentence.
"You read my mind, Marinette." -Adrien smiled at her. –"I know it's your birthday and I should've asked if you were okay with me asking her to…" -he said, when he was interrupted.
"It's okay, Adrien." -Marinette smiled at him. –"You're worried about her. That's just how you are. You care about others well-being." -she said. –"Besides, there's always room for one more in all of my birthday parties. And I'll be more than happy to have her there."
Hearing her say that, Adrien smiled back, knowing that he had done the right thing. And he was not the only one who thought that. Tikki also thought the same, and could not help but to tease Plagg, on him being wrong about the matter.
"Guess it wasn't such a bad idea of Adrien to invite Kagami, huh?" -Tikki teased Plagg.
"Yeah, well, maybe not." -Plagg said. –"But that's just because Marinette isn't the kind of girl who gets mad at this kind of things." -he added. –"Because if she was…"
"But she's not… pew! Turn your mouth the other way, and go drink something to get rid of that bad breath of yours, Plagg! It reeks" –Tikki told him, disgusted with the stench of Camembert coming from his mouth.
"Is it my fault that Chloe is serving aged Camembert? And the good kind too, let me add." -Plagg asked her.
"As if you never ate the good kind." -Tikki sighed, rolling her eyes. –"You think I don't know Adrien gets you the most expensive Camembert there is?" -she asked him. –"Here! Take a sip of orange juice, so your breath smells a little better."
"Thank you, sugar cube." -Plagg said, as he took a sip.
"Don't call me that. Or else, I'll call you stinky sock." -Tikki warned him.
"You can call me anything you want. I don't mind." -Plagg smiled, not really caring if she called him that, or not, when he saw Chloe coming towards them.
"Excuse me for interrupting." -Chloe said. –"But I was wondering, if I could borrow Adrien to dance with me, for a little bit?" -she asked Marinette.
"If he wants to, he's got my permission to do it." -Marinette told her, while smiling at her boyfriend.
"So, Adrikins?" -Chloe asked Adrien, winking at him.
"How can I say no to the birthday girl?" -Adrien smiled at her, as she grabbed him by arm.
"Just make sure to bring him back in one piece, Chloe." -Marinette playfully warned the blonde.
"I make no promises!" -Chloe chuckled.
All that dancing, quickly made everyone feel like taking a dive. Because of the heat, the pool's water felt cold when entering. But after a few seconds, that coldness became pleasant. And it did not take long for some of them to jump into the pool.
"Banzai!" -Alix shouted, as she jumped into the pool.
"Jeronimo!" -Kim shouted, as he too jumped into the pool. –"Brrrr! Dang, it's cold!" -he yelled.
"And you call yourself a swimmer?" -Imp told him, as he landed on one of the beach buoys shaped like a glazed donut. –"Start swimming, and you'll get warm in a minute. That's what your coach tells you." -he says.
"Last time I checked, you weren't him, or my mother, to give me orders." –Kim shot at the antelope kwami.
"Oh, just do what he tells you, and shut up and start swimming! The last thing I need is having you, complaining that you're cold!" -Alix taunted him. –"I bet you don't complain about how the water's cold, when that other girl is around… what was her name? Oh, yeah, Ondine!" -she exclaimed. –"I bet you don't do that around her, just like I bet she's faster than you are!"
"For your information, I'm still faster than she'll ever be in a pool, and tomorrow, I'm taking her with me to Marinette's party." -Kim declared.
"And do you think I care if you're bringing a girl with you to the party? It's not my party, so why should I care?" -Alix shot at him.
The two of them continue to squabble like little kids, and their kwamis kept watching the whole thing, wondering how they could be so blind to the fact that they got on each other's nerves, because they were in love with each other.
"They're so stubborn." -Daria said.
"Tell me about it." -Imp agreed. –"It's like they have this desire to try and outmatch one another, no matter what the situation is." -he added.
While Kim and Alix jumped into the pool in the blink of an eye, others took a little bit longer to get in the water, like Rose and Juleka. Juleka went in first, and just like Kim, she shivered, as her skin came in contact with water. But she did not complain. On the other hand, Rose complained and said that the water was cold.
"Brrr… I think I'm just going to stay here for a bit." -Rose said, as she sat by the pool.
"Oh, come on, Rose. Come inside. The water isn't that cold." -Juleka told her.
"No, thanks. I'd rather just stay here, and enjoy the Sun, while dipping my feet in the water." -Rose declared, as she dipped her feet in the pool.
"Would you come into the pool, if I let you sit on my shoulders?" -Juleka asked her.
"Do you promise not to make me fall into that cold water?" -Rose asked.
"It's not as cold as you say it is. But yes, I promise." -Juleka promised.
"Okay. And you better not have been crossing your fingers, when you said that." –Rose warned her.
"Have I ever done that to you before?" -Juleka asked her, while raising an eyebrow at her.
"No." -Rose said. –"But there's a first time for everything." -she said with a smile, as Juleka approached her.
"But today it won't be it. I'm a girl of my word." -Juleka declared, as Rose climbed to her shoulders. –"W-Whoa… okay, try not to move too much. If you do, I can't guarantee you'll remain high and dry, Rose." -she warned her.
"Okay." -Rose smiled. –"Giddy up, pony!" -she joked.
"And what's that supposed to be?" -Juleka sarcastically asked the blonde
"Come on, Juleka. Give me this." -Rose begged her. –"Just pretend to be a pony who went into the water for me, a little bit." -she said. –"My beautiful and Goth water pony… please!"
"Fine." -Juleka sighed, as she neighed, imitating a horse. –"Here we go!" -she exclaimed, as she began to trotting in the pool. –"Hope you're enjoying this, Rose."
"I am, thank you." -Rose giggled. –"I've got the best girlfriend in the world." -she thought to herself, as she kept enjoying herself in that little play.
"Hey, Rose! Heads up!" -a voice called her. It was Kim, who had just thrown a beach ball at her.
Surprised by it, Rose quickly caught it, forcing Juleka to do her best to keep her from falling off her shoulders.
"Nice catch!" -Alix exclaimed. –"Do you girls want to play some water polo?" -she asked them, before turning to Kim. –"Let me up on your shoulders!"
"Why?!" -Kim asked her, as Alix climbed on his shoulder, not giving him the chance to argue with her.
"Because you're taller than I am, and because I'm faster than you are at this game." -Alix told him, already on top of Kim's shoulders. –"Now, don't make me fall, and let's do this." -she said. –"Your serve, Rose!"
"I guess we're playing against them." -Rose said, while leaning her head down and looking Juleka in the eyes. –"Get ready to move, and please, try not to let me fall in the cold water." -she said, as she served the ball.
"Guess we don't have much of a choice." -Juleka said, with a mild amusedly voice. –"It's a good thing I'm not against a little competition." -she thought, as Rose shot the beach ball at Alix.
Seeing Kim, Alix, Juleka and Rose having fun in the pool, more people decided to enter it, and joined the improvised game of water polo. And seeing that happening, Sabrina also felt like joining the game. But she did not want to go alone. She wanted Chloe to come with her.
"How about we join them in the pool, Chloe?" -Sabrina asked the blonde, who was finishing drinking a cherry smoothie, after dancing with Adrien.
"No, thanks. You go. I'll stay here, enjoying the Sun for a bit." -Chloe declared.
"Oh, come on! I don't want to go in alone. Let's get in the water and play water polo with the rest! It'll be great!" -Sabrina challenged Chloe.
"No, thanks." -Chloe said. –"I don't want to get my hair wet, just yet." -she told her.
"If you didn't want to wet your hair, you should've chosen a different kind of party, Chloe." -Sabrina smirked at her. –"Come on, get in the water! Let's show them we can also play water polo." -she said, as she grabbed her by the arm, trying to pull her into the water.
"No, Sabrina! Besides, that's not water polo! They're playing it with a beach ball!" -Chloe protested, as she tried to break free from Sabrina's arms.
"Let's agree to disagree on that!" -Sabrina laughed, as she managed to get the blonde to edge of the pool.
"Sabrina! Don't you dare!" -Chloe warned her. –"I'm warning you!"
"And in, you go!" -Sabrina laughed, as she pushed Chloe into the pool.
The blonde still tried not to fall into the water, but gravity sealed her fate. When she came back to the surface, she looked like a wet poodle. Her magnificent hair was completely wet. And the look on her face was anything but friendly. She was glaring at the redhead. If looks could kill, Sabrina would have died before hitting the ground.
"I'm in so much trouble." -Sabrina thought to herself, as she kneeled by the pool. –"You're not angry, are you?" -she asked Chloe, who was glaring at her.
The way she was glaring at Sabrina, reminded the redhead and everyone else of the times in the past, whenever Chloe became furious, because things did not go according to her whims.
"What do you think?" -Chloe asked her, with a serious voice, as she continued to glare at her. And then, that glare disappeared and a smirk appeared on her face. –""Get over here!" -she exclaimed, as she grabbed Sabrina by the wrist and pulled her inside the pool.
Caught off guard, Sabrina was pulled into the pool, diving head first. Just like it happened with Chloe, when she came to the surface, she looked like a wet dog. A fitting look to her, given the prank she had pulled on Chloe, or so the blonde believed.
"That's not fair!" -Sabrina said, as she wiped the water from her glasses, using her fingers.
"Neither is what you did to me, and yet, here we are." -Chloe smirked at her. –"You better than anyone else, should know that when I want to, I play dirty." -she chuckled, as she playfully splashed Sabrina.
"Oh, so you want to play dirty? Well, I can play dirty too." -Sabrina smirked, as she splashed her. –"Nino! Nathaniel! Give me cover!" -she told the boys, as she dashed Chloe's attempt to splash her again.
"Roger that!" -Nathaniel exclaimed, as he and Nino backed her up.
"Mylene! Max! Your queen is being attacked! Help me!" -Chloe shouted at the two of them, who quickly came to her rescue.
"Don't worry! We got you covered!" -Mylene exclaimed, as she threw herself in front of her, protecting her from the splashes.
When Ivan, who had gone to the bathroom, came back and saw the water fight that was happening in the pool, he failed to grasp what had happened while he out. And because of that, he immediately assumed that everyone was just having fun, and decided to join them. There was just one problem with it. Though he was not the biggest fan of swimming, there was one thing that Ivan loved to do, when going to pool parties, and that was practicing his famous "cannonballs". Not hesitating, he took balance, ran to the pool and jumped.
"Cannonball!" -Ivan yelled, as he jumped into the water.
"Ivan, no!" -Juleka yelled, as Ivan hit the water.
Due to his size, when entering the pool, Ivan made everyone, humans and kwamis, inside it even wetter than they were, by splashing them all; not to mention the amount of water that splashed out of the pool. Upon returning to the surface, he screamed out of joy, feeling phenomenal. But this feeling quickly disappeared, when he realized that everyone was looking at him.
"What?" What did I do?" –Ivan asked, confused.
"Ivan!" -Chloe yelled, while looking at him. –"What were you thinking jumping in like that?!" -she asked him. –"You ruined my hair!"
"In his defence, your hair was already ruined, Chloe." -Rose told her. –"Sabrina did it."
"Yes, but now it's even worst!" -Chloe exclaimed, glaring at Ivan. –"Do you know how long it takes me to get my hair right? Now it's going to take me even longer to get it the way I like!" -she told him.
"Uh… I'm sorry." -Ivan apologized, as the blonde glared at him.
"If you think that I'm going to let this one slip, you're dead wrong. You're dead, Ivan." -Chloe told him, as the glare subsided, and a mischievous smile appeared on her face. –"Get him, everyone!" -she ordered to everyone in the swimming pool, as she herself threw herself at him.
"Where did I get myself into?" -Ivan thought to himself, as he quickly dived, his head disappearing, hoping to escape.
After spending a good chunk of time in the pool, they all got out of it. Drying themselves, they proceeded to grab another snack or a drink. Some like Marinette, Alya and Max went for a couple of macarons, while others like Alix and Mylene decided they wanted something a little colder, like ice cream. So, each got an ice cone. Alix's was strawberry, while Mylene's was vanilla. Savouring them, both girls agreed that they could have not picked a better snack to satiate both their hunger and their thirst. But a little incident, cut this pleasure short, when Alix accidently dropped a bit of her ice cream on Mylene's bathing suit.
"Oops… sorry, Mylene." -Alix apologized to her.
"It's okay." -Mylene said, as she looked at the ice cream stain. –"Oh, I better find something to clean this." -she said. –"Pin, would you hold my snow cone for a minute?"
"Sure, Mylene." -Pin said, as she was handed, the snow cone and gave it a good lick.
"Hey! Don't eat it!" -Mylene warned her. –"You want one, get your own, after I clean myself up." -she told the deer kwami.
Little by little, they finished eating and then made their way to the next activity; karaoke. Taking a seat, everyone took their turn in looking through the list of musical options. The number of songs at their disposal was so long that it took them a good 10 minutes to choose what they were going to sing.
"Okay, it's all set." –Nino said.
"Let's see which of us will do justice to the songs chosen, and which of us are going to murder them." -Max said. –"A little warning, I know I'm going to murder the one I chose, because my singing voice sucks." -he warned everyone.
"Max, it doesn't matter if your singing voice sucks. This is karaoke. Anything goes." -Mylene told him.
"Come on, let's start the competition. I want to get some birthday cake!" –Kim exclaimed.
"Hold your horses. That birthday cake isn't going anywhere." -Sabrina warned Kim.
"Besides, you don't need more birthday cake. You already ate more than your fair share today." –Ivan pointed out.
"Look who's talking. I ain't the only one who ate more than his fair share, big guy." -Kim shot at Ivan.
"Uh, changing the subject for a little bit… how are we going to decide who wins this?" -Adrien asked.
"We'll let the kwamis decide on who wins. That way, it'll be fair." -Mylene suggested.
"I think that's a great idea." -Marinette said. –"Who's in favour of it?" -she asked, with everyone, including her and some of the kwamis, raising their hands. –"Then, it's settled. The kwamis will decide on who's got the best voice."
"And don't play favourites, okay?" -Alya said, while looking at Trixx. –"I know you think I rock in everything I do, but don't vote for me, just because of that. You know I've got a very lousy singing voice." -she told her kwami.
"Your singing voice isn't as bad as you say it is, Alya. But don't worry, I'll be impartial in my vote." -Trixx promised her.
"Hey! Is there a prize for the winner?" -Kim asked, curious. –"I mean, there doesn't need to be one, but if there is…" -he said.
"Of course. Bragging rights for the rest of the day." -Alya joked.
"I can work with that." -Kim smirked. –"You guys might as well give up. Because I'm going to win this." -he said, with a cocky voice.
"And I wondered if his ego couldn't get any more swollen." -Nino whispered at Wayzz, who chuckled.
"Yeah, keep dreaming, Kim." -Marinette joked. –"You've got as much chance of winning this competition, as I do." -she laughed.
"I'd say you have better chances than he does." -Alix told her.
"We'll see about that." -Kim declared.
Beginning the contest, Mylene went first, singing a beautiful rendition of "We Are the World", followed by Adrien's rendition of Elton John's "This is My Song". Singing the songs chosen perfectly, or completely out of tune, they were all having a great time. And then, came time for Juleka to sing "Poison" from Hazbin Hotel, almost everyone felt like they had found the winner of that competition, even if there were still a few of them
"Any way you want me, baby, that's the way you got me. I'll be yours. My story's gonna end with me dead from your poison!" -Juleka sang, without even looking at the lyrics on the screen; her voice filled with passion. –"Poison, I'm drownin' in poison. I'm fillin' up my glass but it's always hollow. Full of poison, I'm sick of the poison. Wish I had somethin' to live for tomorrow."
As the song reached the end, Juleka's performance was applauded by everyone, who were amazed by her. She herself did not think it had been that good, but the others did not share that opinion, and were not shy about telling her just that.
"How the heck do you do that? This song was released just two weeks ago, along with the show." -Nathaniel asked her, amazed with how Juleka had sung the whole song, without looking at the lyrics on the screen.
"It's a talent I have." -Juleka said, as she placed the microphone on the coffee table. –"I just need to listen to a song once, to memorize its lyrics." -she declared.
"Well, that alone should be enough to disqualifying you." -Max joked. –"You already have the best singing voice of us all. It's not fair that you also use that ability of yours, to beat us at karaoke." -he went on.
"Yeah, well, karaoke's rules don't contemplate disqualification." -Juleka giggled. –"But you're wrong when you say I've got the best singing voice around." -she stated. –"Rose's singing voice is better than mine."
"You're exaggerating." -Rose blushed lightly.
"I'm not, and you know it." -Juleka smiled at the blonde. –"From lullabies to hardcore metal, you got a voice that outshines us all." -she told her girlfriend. –"I've heard you singing one too many times, to know that."
"Like I said, you're exaggerating. I'm not that good." -Rose told her.
"Let's agree to disagree, Rose." -Flint told her. –"Once more, I'm with your girlfriend on this one." -the flamingo kwami said.
"Hey! Excuse me?!" -Chloe called them out. –"Now, I don't want to sound like I'm not interested in that, but this is a karaoke competition, and some of us want to compete." -she said.
"You're just saying that, because you want to prove to us all that you can sing better than everyone else." -Adrien joked.
"Guilty as charged, Adrikins." -Chloe chuckled. –"Now, give me the microphone. It's time for your queen to prove herself." -she declared, as she was given the microphone.
"Just don't sing "Let it Go", okay? I think we can all agree that is one song that we've heard enough for one lifetime." -Kim joked, as Chloe looked through the list of songs.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to choose any Disney song." -Chloe told him. –"y beautiful voice deserves to be used to sing something truly fantastic… something like… Jagged Stone's Dark Velvet." -she smirked. –"Care to join me, Pollen?"
"With pleasure, my queen." -Pollen told her.
"Hey! You can't ask your kwami to join you, when she's judging us. Also, this isn't a duet competition, Chloe!" -Alix exclaimed.
"And why can't it be? It's my party, and I say that if anyone wants to, they can ask their kwamis to join them." -Chloe shot at her, as the song's melody began. –"Now, hush, because it's time for us two to shine." -she said, playfully winking her left eye.
"Just let her have her way, Alix." -Marinette whispered at her. –"It's her special day, anyways." -she added.
"Fine… But you better not give her extra points, just because she's got Pollen singing with her." -Alix warned the kwamis.
So, this chapter was shorter than I initially expected it to be. But not everything is bad about it. It came out a little bit funnier than I had envisoned it. It also proved to be a chapter where we explore a bit more the different relationships between our heroes. I wish I could say it's one of my best works, but I would be lying. My path towards full mental recovery is slow, so, writing doesn't come as easy as it usually does.
The choice of songs sang by our heroes was done with me listening to the radio, and picking the ones I liked, xD The only one that didn't get this treatment was Juleka's, which is a nod to the Hazbin Hotel fandom which I recently got into. I felt it would be a nice reference to it, if we had Juleka singing Angel Dust's "Poison" and nailing it.
In other news, I managed to progress a little bit further in the planning and development of season 2 of this AU, and that is a win, given that it's been hard for me to even have a decent idea these last couple of months. Also, I just acquired a little treat for myself, the Rena Rouge statue from Zag Store (I hope one of these days they decide to do the rest of the heroes as well). It's a beautiful statue and a nice acquisition for my collection of figures and statues.
As always, feel free to comment, fav and leave your suggestions to improve this and/or future fics in this saga. :)
P.S. I'm also working with Chouboy on something special to celebrate the Olympics in a couple of months, so be on the look out for it.