Seven Seconds

Under Your Skin

All the students in Ms Bustier's class were confused.

Here were Adrien and Marinette walking into the room together. Neither of them seemed to be upset. If anything, Adrien seemed happy.

Everyone had different theories.

They were walking together, so were they dating again? But they weren't holding hands. Did Marinette forgive Adrien already? She didn't look upset, but she didn't look happy either. Well they were being friendly toward each other. Maybe they were back to being friends? What was going on?

Alya immediately leaned over to Marinette when she sat down. "What's all that about? You're not back together with Adrien, are you?"

"Of course not," she replied. "We're just friends."

And Adrien felt a sinking feeling in his chest as he overheard them. That word. 'Friends.' It felt like an arrow straight to his heart.

"Hey," Nino said to him, leaning over. "You two dating again?"

"No," Adrien replied with a sigh.

"Then why did you walk in together?"

"Because we're friends," he explained.

Nino nodded in approval. "That's awesome, man."

No, it's not awesome. Things were definitely better than they were yesterday. But no, 'awesome' was not the correct word to describe the situation.

Turning around in his seat, Adrien made eye contact with Marinette. His heart filling with happiness again, he gave her a bright smile. She responded by giving him a faint one.

Better. Definitely better than yesterday. He just had to be patient. Eventually he and Marinette would be together again, and all of this suffering would be forgotten about. He just had to hang in there.

So with that comforting thought in his mind, Adrien turned back just in time for the beginning of Ms Bustier's lesson.

************************************

Word got around to everyone in class that Adrien and Marinette were friends again. Some people thought it was great. Others thought that it was too soon, that Marinette was being too forgiving of him. And still others, like Chloé, couldn't care less.

They watched as Adrien stayed close to Marinette all day. Every second of downtime in between classes, he was right next to her.

Except for one crucial moment. After their lunch break, Adrien was delayed coming back from home so he wasn't with her when Marinette got back to class.

Seeing that she was alone, one of their classmates decided to take her opportunity. "Marinette," Lila said, sauntering up to her. "You've had a rough few days, huh?"

"Hi Lila," the girl mumbled back. This was not going to be pleasant.

"You poor thing!" Lila continued with a fake sigh. "Just when you think your dreams of dating Adrien are finally coming true, a reality check dressed in red and black brings you back down to earth."

"Is there something I can help you with, Lila? Or are you only here to bother me?" Marinette asked dryly.

"Oh, I was just wondering what excuse Adrien gave to you for kissing Ladybug. It looked like he was really enjoying it, so I was curious."

Marinette wasn't going to let Lila get under her skin. She knew that she was only there to aggravate her, so she maintained her composure. "The only thing Adrien told me is that it was a mistake. So you'll have to ask him yourself."