unexpected feelings | marichat

chapter nineteen

adrien's pov
   i'd never seen so much people hugging and crying at once. the final bell had rung, signaling the start of summer. given what most people had told me, everyone was happy that it was summer. so why were they crying?
   "i'm gonna miss you so much!!!" kim cried into max's shoulder. max rolled his eyes.
   "you're coming to my house today. as well as tomorrow. you do not have time to miss me."
   i laughed. however, i felt a twinge of sadness in me. would my father even let me hang out with my friends over summer? or would i be lonely for a full three months?
"-and then i'm gonna go to achu to spend time with ali! we've gotten reallyyy close over time, you know," i overheard, immediately knowing who was talking. i turned to see lila with a surprisingly large crowd of people gathered around her. marinette's friends stood in it, with marinette scowling on the outside.
i smiled and joined her, being careful not to get too close. what happened on sunday would not happen again if we were to keep being just friends.
   "want some company?" she jumped at the sound of my voice. "sorry!"
   "ah, oh, adrien! um-"
   "adrien! what're your plans for the summer?" lila interrupted, fake sugary sweetness dripping from her voice. i fought the urge to roll my eyes and instead smiled at her.
"probably just fencing, chinese and modeling. nothing too special," i answered.
"ohh, we should totally model together again! that last photoshoot we had was incredible," she gushed, proceeding to tell the crowd of how "amazing" it had been. yeah, sooo fun, especially the part where i'd made her prove marinette innocent after lying about her. the rest of the shoot had been tense, with me making it clear i had no interest in being close to her unless absolutely necessary, and the feeling being very much returned. apparently she'd forgotten all about that.
"so, what were you saying before we were interrupted?" i asked a fuming marinette, which prompted her to look at me. she smiled, any thoughts of lila seemingly fading.
"um, i'd love the company," she giggled. "do you.. really only plan to do that this summer?"
"most likely. my father probably won't let me go out much, so it'll be back to how it was before i began school for three months." i tried to hide the obvious disappointment in my voice, but i couldn't. school had become one of my only escapes; a whole three months without my friends sounded awful. she frowned.
"that's so unfair."
"well, it won't be fun, but i try not to complain too much. i know he just wants the best, even if he is very... protective of me. anyway, what do you plan on doing this summer?"
"hmm, i wanna just rest for a little bit. of course i'll hang out with my friends if i have time but um, i don't think there's anything too exciting happening for me either."
"don't worry, i'm sure you'll have time. it is summer, after all."
she pressed her fingers together and looked up, seemingly nervous. "oh, yeahh, of course! there's nothing i really have to do over summer, nothing at all! just normal summer fun," she moved her hands around wildly as she talked. i smiled at her.
"well... anyway, i think my bodyguard is waiting for me outside, so i have to-"
"wait! since it is the last day of school, don't you want to um.. hang out for a bit? my friends and i are gonna go get ice cream right now... you want to come? that is, if you want, you know, i wouldn't wanna force you or anything," she rambled.
"marinette, i'd love to go. my father's supposed to be working on designs all day, so i doubt he'll notice my absence. you don't think your friends will mind, though?"
"what? of course not! i lo- i mean, THEY love you! besides, luka and nino are coming too, so it's not like it's a 'girls only' thing."
i tried to ignore the feeling i got as she said luka's name. it was stupid, i already knew marinette liked luka. besides, he was a really nice guy, i couldn't blame her for it. there is absolutely nothing between me and marinette, therefore there is absolutely no reason to feel jealous. i nodded my head at her happily, pushing the feeling deep, deep down.
"count me in, then!"