Stay by my Side

Stay by my Side - Chapter Twenty-Five

This couldn't be true...

... could it?

In only a few brief seconds, Marinette's entire world shifted on its axis, skidding to a screeching halt. Adrien... was Chat Noir...? N - No, it... couldn't be him... Chat Noir was her best friend, her trustworthy partner, and Adrien was... Adrien was...

... the same thing.

As the hands gripping Ch- Adrien's phone began to shake with the realisation that her crush and partner were the same people, Adrien quickly grabbed hold of her wrist, and pulled her away from the school grounds. Lila and several other people stayed, apparently waiting for Lila's mother or something, but neither Adrien nor Marinette cared. Taking a deep breath and steeling herself for the inevitable truth she'd be forced to face, Marinette tightened her grip on Adrien's hand and started to run faster.

Marinette dragged him with her back to her house, and up to her room, as always, feeling incredibly lucky to be living so close to the building. Since her parents were also still there, they should have complete privacy to discuss... whatever this is.

As soon as she entered the room, she dropped her grip on Adrien's hand and sat on her bed, feeling like if she stayed standing any longer, that her legs may give out. She knew what the truth was - part of her felt like she'd known all along and was just too afraid to admit it - but... she needed to hear this from Adrien himself.

"Adrien... what's going on?" She asked, lifting her head from the droopy position it was in earlier to stare straight into his eyes. With each second that passed with no response, her arm itched more, like a fire burning underneath her.

Not now... she muttered to herself. Not while Adrien is here...

The thought alone seemed to calm down the pressure and she sighed, sparing a quick glance at her arm, covered by her jacket, before glancing back at Adrien. Adrien... he was here, he was going to reveal the truth to her, right here, right now-

Right here.

Right... here?

"Ah!" Marinette sprinted around, grabbing her drawings, pictures, photographs and diary among other items, and throwing them all into random drawers. It would be a pain to sort out later, but for the moment, it was completely worth it. She didn't need Adrien to see all those pictures and then leave her too - not when she was just about to discover a secret that could change her life forever...

She just hoped the change would be a positive one.

---TimeSkip---

Adrien's eyes followed her as she sprinted around the room, chuckling fondly, and trying to ignore what she was actually holding - not wanting to invade in her privacy. His smile gradually turned into a frown as he imagined... God, how does he explain something like this? Could he trust her to keep it a secret - this was Marinette he was thinking of, a clumsy, foolish, ditsy and spontaneous girl.

But she's also incredibly kind, and serious when she needs to be.

Adrien gently placed his hand on his chest and sighed. Yes, he could trust her. He could.

"Marinette...?" He muttered, as she shoved the last of her... photographs?... into her drawers. She quickly turned around, a light flush of embarrassment on her face.

He found it adorable.

"Y - Yes, A - Adrien...?" She muttered, struggling to get a handle of her stammering. She sat back down on her bed, and Adrien sat next to her, letting his feet comfortably dangle off the edge. He gently swing them back and forth, trying to work up the courage to tell Marinette the truth. Plagg hadn't tried to stop him yet, which must be a good sign for telling her.

He took a deep breath. "I should probably... explain what this is all about, huh?"

Marinette just glanced at him and nodded her head. Right, he's an idiot, of course he should explain. He looked back at Marinette, expecting her to be multiple things: annoyed that he's hidden such a big secret from him, maybe annoyance at his idiocy, maybe-

But no. She just stared at him with care and affection in her eyes, as if... no matter what he said... no matter what he's done... it would be forgiven immediately. Adrien felt himself relax. He could do this. He could do this. He could-

"A - Adrien? Are you... umm... alright?" Marinette asked, her eyes taking a concerned glaze to them as she stared at him, head slightly tilted to the left. Adrien fought down the urge to blush at her. Why did he even feel that way...? He liked Ladybug, and unfortunately, Marinette was not Ladybug. They're similar, but simply couldn't be the same person.

Maybe all the time he spent with Marinette as Chat Noir made him like her more? Either way, he couldn't say anything to her... he was devoted to Ladybug. And after her dad got Akumatised after that whole miscommunication about Marinette's true feelings for Chat Noir, well... he shivered slightly.

Ah, wait, he was getting off track.

"I'm fine, Marinette, but I have to tell you the truth." Adrien said, trying his best to calm down. He stared back in Marinette's eyes, slowly feeling less scared, less nervous and more... strange. The strange but loving feeling in his chest only seemed to grow, as he decided to put his faith and trust in her, with the most dangerous secret he knows.

"Marinette... I'm Chat Noir."

Hi everyone! I hope you enjoyed the new chapter.

Okay I probably need to explain a few things irl. So not only have I been feeling incredibly sick for about a week - my laptop also broke a few days ago. It's fixed now, which is amazing, but... the forced time away from writing led me to realise something - which is that I have many other things I love doing.

I've been spending more time on Discord for example, (there's a server dedicated for my wattpad account if you're interested) while I was ill, and I met some amazing friends there. I've been watching more anime with my family, when I used to refuse to spend a few precious hours writing away in my bed.

Most importantly though - is that my school work productivity has been declining. It's something I was really trying to avoid for a while, but... it's catching up to me, and I need to focus more now on myself and what's important for me, rather than what I want to do. I'm writing three books at once, which is incredibly difficult to manage.

This means updates will be slowing down, and I'm sorry about that. I'm trying as hard as I can to get updates out as fast as possible, and don't worry, this story WILL conclude. It's honestly almost over anyways, only a few more chapters left! I would never abandon a book, don't worry.

I hope you guys don't mind, this is important for my mental health. Thank you all for your amazing and wonderful support, and I'll see you guys in the next chapter!

But for now...

Peachy out! 😊