I Trusted You

Slight Suspicion

"Girl, you totally have to come. You're the fashion expert!" Alya insisted. They were discussing shopping for Alya's masquerade dress.

Marinette playfully rolled her eyes. "Alya, I'm not an expert."

"Oh please. Of course you are! Also, Nino's gonna come. He loves helping me out."

Marinette raised her eyebrows. "You mean, he wants to come or are you dragging him along?"

Alya snickered. "Of course he wants to come. Right, Nino?"

Nino nodded his head stiffly. "Yep! It's not as if Alya's pulling me along against my own will- Ow!" he yelped in pain as Alya elbowed him in the ribs. They all burst into laughter.

"What's so funny?" Adrien asked, smiling warmly. Marinette widened her eyes and turned pink. Alya smiled.

"Nothing. It's just that Nino, Marinette and I are planning to shop for my dress and Nino needs a suit too. Wanna come?"

If Marinette hadn't already been seated, she would've keeled over in surprise. "Alya, what are you doing?!" she mouthed. Alya simply smirked and turned back to Adrien for an answer.

"I want to, I really do, but my father-"

"Come on, dude! Your father allowed you last time," Nino pointed out.

Adrien frowned. "Yeah, actually. He was in a good mood, and that... doesn't happen often. But I've been going out a lot. I don't think he'll allow me this time. "

"But it can't hurt to try, can it? Come on, I don't want to suffer hours of shopping all alone- ouch!" Nino whined as Alya nudged him.

Adrien nodded. "You're right. It can't hurt to ask. If he allowed me to attend the masquerade, he can't refuse to let me go shopping for it, right? I have to buy a suit too. I can't find any which resemble Chat Noir from my old photoshoots."

He noticed that Marinette was impossibly red in the face. "Marinette, are you okay?"

She jumped. "Y-yeah, o-of course! Why wouldn't I be?"

Alya sighed. "Girl, don't return to your stuttering ways. It's not gonna help you," she whispered in Marinette's ear.

"I'll ask my father when I go home after I study Chinese. I hope he lets me go."

--

Adrien opened the door. "Can I... come in, father?"

Gabriel looked back at Adrien and nodded. He was busy tending to Nathalie. Even though it had been some time, Nathalie was still not fully recovered from the side-effects of using a damaged miraculous.

Adrien shuffled his feet. "So, I have to... attend the masquerade, and for that I need to go shopping for a suit. M-may I?"

Gabriel thought for a few seconds. "Who are you going with?"

"With Nino, Alya, and Marinette."

Marinette? That is the young lady Miss Rossi was planning to sabotage. With Adrien gone, I will be able to properly plan her scheme and we can finally get it over with so that I can finally go through with my big plan. "You may go then. But take your bodyguard with you. Have a good time."

Adrien gawked at him in disbelief. Usually, his father was always in a bad or neutral mood. This is a first.

"Thank you, father!" he exclaimed and skipped out of his house, with Gorilla following after, grunting to himself. "It's nearby," Adrien explained. "We won't have to take the limousine."

Adrien was confused with how his father was acting, and a little suspicious, but happy nonetheless. He figured that he was finally becoming more lenient and he was glad.