Treehouse

Reckless

Adrien had been doing homework when he heard the door of the room next door open and then close, and curious to know where Felix had gone, he crept out and to beside his door to first see if he could hear anything.
Felix was emptying his things from his bag then, to prepare for the next day, until he'd dug out the rock they picked up earlier. Peblo. He sighed, looking at the clumsily drawn face gawking back at him like he knew all his secrets and he pointed to it. "You're weird. And you smell weird," he said, narrowing his eyes towards it. He was going to throw it away later, he thought to himself, casting it aside on his desk before moving.
Adrien blinked, tilting his head to the side and narrowing his eyes at the door. What is he doing in there? Who's he talking to?? Me?? Does he know I'm here??? He kept listening, and heard a soft thud, which only puzzled him further, while Peblo just stared back at him with that crooked smile that Felix had put on him earlier, almost as if it were challenging him, and insulting him back.
It was odd, he felt like someone was watching him, listening in, and thinking that Adrien wouldn't ever spy on him since he's such a nice boy, he blamed it all on the rock. "Why do I have you anyway? Marinette likes you more. And stop. looking." He groaned, walking back to his desk and turned the rock around to face the wall, before returning to whatever he was doing.
Adrien's eyes widened hearing Marinette's name, and he eyed the door suspiciously, leaning closer, not realizing the door was just a bit cracked open, and suddenly he put too much weight on it and it swung open, him falling on the ground with a groan.
Felix immediately stopped what he was doing and looked towards the door, where he saw Adrien. "Oh would you look at that, and here I thought I was going crazy thinking Peb- the rock was spying on me. What are you doing?"
Adrien looked up at him and scrambled to his feet. "Why did you mention Marinette??? Did you do something??" he asked, ignoring his query.
"You were listening in on me?" He asked bewildered, scoffing. "We didn't do anything. You know she hates me." He waved him away, going back to what he was doing.
"Then what were you talking about???? And who were you talking to??" he asked, looking around the room, but it was all but empty. "Wait, you thought a rock was spying on you?" he asked, suddenly looking at the desk and seeing the rock with a face. He blinked, bewildered. "What... is.... that...?"
He ran to his desk and sat right before the rock, hiding it from Adrien. A futile move, yes, but necessary nonetheless. "Nothing. It's- I didn't- I was going to throw this away, seriously. Just picked it up off the road and-" he tried to explain.
Adrien glared at him and crossed his arms. "Why did you pick it up? You never pick stuff up, even when we were kids you refused to eat or touch anything that touched the ground even for a fraction of a second, or came less than 2 inches to the ground," he said, narrowing his eyes. "So why'd you bring home a rock?"
"It's not really just any rock, it's been... uhm. Cleaned. By someone's face," he said, nodding as that sort of made sense to him. Then he cleared his throat. "Why are you being so interrogative anyway? It's not like I did something bad to you. Go interrogate Chat."
He blinked and looked at him with a weird look before scoffing. "Cleaned by someone's face?? Whose face?!" he asked. "Come on, why are you being so protective about a rock? If you don't care, then throw it out the window, simple if you're telling the truth, and I'll leave you alone to... to whatever you're doing."  he arched his brows and smiled victoriously.
"That's stupid. I don't have to prove anything to you," he deadpanned, getting off his desk and tried to push Adrien out of his room. "Now go. I'm supposed to be cleaning my room. You're too big a dirt."
Adrien blinked bewildered and then pushed Felix back, dodging him and ducking under his arm, running over to the rock and picking it up, putting it in his pocket before smiling. "Okay, okay, then clean your room, I'm helping declutter."
"No, you're not. Adrien, I have a right to my own privacy. Definitely my own items too. Give me back Peb- the rock," he said sternly, trying to reach back for the rock.
Adrien tightened his grip on the rock and grinned mischievously. "You'll have to catch me first!" he stuck out his tongue and sprinted out the room, down the stairs, almost running into Nathalie. "Sorry!!!! I'm being chased!!!!"
Felix groaned and he had no choice but to run after him because, for some reason, he just had to retrieve that rock. He's not letting Adrien have that too. "Come back here!!!" He yelled, skipping down the stairs, swiftly avoiding Nathalie who in turn only sighed - it hasn't been that rambunctious in the house in years.
"Never!!!" Adrien exclaimed, laughing as he kept running. That was, until his father's office door opened, an annoyed and disturbed Gabriel stood there, as Felix ran into Adrien, the two boys grunting as they almost ran into him. "What are you two doing?" he asked, furrowing his brows.
Felix blinked, suddenly stepping back from the man, pulling Adrien along with him. "We were... practicing, uncle. Get those muscles moving, you know?" He said, rolling his shoulders and jogging in place to prove his point.
Adrien smiled sheepishly and nodded, doing jumping jacks as well. Gabriel stared at them, and wow, it was just like when they were seven, except now they were much older, and still up to the same antics as before. "Uh... huh... in the future, please practice your... muscle building outside. There's a large yard for a reason," he said, taking a deep breath. "We have lots of antiques in this house, special things that would not be good if they got broken, understood?" he reiterated, glaring down at them.
"Yes, yes, of course. Loud and clear, sir!" Felix exclaimed, obviously mocking, and he pulled Adrien by his arms as he walked towards the yard. With a glance back to his uncle as they left, he took it as a chance to swipe the rock out of Adrien's pocket, hiding it in his own.
Adrien, still in shock from the interaction with his father,
noticed nothing, and they went outside. Once he was out of his trance, he reached in his pocket, to find it gone. "Hey, where'd it-" he asked, turning around in circles, looking for it.
Felix turned to look at him, and had to once again make use of a few acting practices he'd done in the past. With furrowed brows, he turned to Adrien. "What are you looking for?"
"Your- your rock. It was right here!!" he replied. digging further in his pockets, pulling them out, but found nothing. "Sorry... um... guess I disposed of it for you?" he smiled sheepishly, shrugging.
He inhaled sharply and took a step towards Adrien, feigning a hit before sighing, glaring at him. "Thank you very much," he spat, pushing past him and walked away, still 'looking around in hopes of finding the rock' before he made his way back to his room.
It wasn't long after that that Adrien had decided he had more important things to do, and after completing his patrol for the night, made his way to Marinette's, hoping to find her there again. She was, in fact, there, but not waiting for him. Instead, she was in her room completing the assignments she'd failed to finish afterschool due to the akuma as well as her evening with Felix.
Chat was a little disappointed to find the lights on the balcony turned off, the seats completely cold. She hasn't been out in a while, huh? He contemplated not knocking, still wary of how she were to accept him after the day, but decided it better to chat for a bit. He rapped on her sunroof, audibly meowing. "Princess!"
Her head shot up as she heard him by her sunroof and her eyes widened, clearing her throat and making her way to her bed, standing up and unlocking it, opening it a bit. "Hi," she smiled.
"Hello," he grinned and looked inside, noticing the paperworks and lit lamp by the bed. "Oh, was I interrupting something?"
She shook her head and looked back at her desk. "No, not really. I'm just finishing a math assignment." she replied, scooting back to let him in. "How was your day?" she asked, and hesitated before kissing his cheek.
He smiled and hopped in, pecking her lips. "Great, until I saw you again. Now it's paw-some," he chuckled and sat on the end of the bed, legs swinging. "You seen the news?"
She paused, looking towards him with a sheepish smile. "Yeah. Everyone's been talking about it," she muttered, shrugging. "It's... um... are you okay with it? I still don't know how they got all those pictures," she laughed a little, shaking her head.
"I'm neutral about it. Unless it'd hurt you. Are you okay with it? You seem a little bothered by it," he said, cupping both her cheeks.
"It just feels like such an invasion of privacy," she sighed and shook her head. "You have... a whole other identity separate from this one, you don't have to worry about people bugging you, but this is my... my whole self. I can't exactly escape my own body," she laughed, shaking her head.
Not if your other self isn't really a model, he'd almost said, but nodded agreeably. "You're right. I'll.. um... I'll try to do something about it! And if you want, we can be more discreet about our relationship..." he looked down, fiddling with his fingers. "That means less dates though."
She bit her lip, contemplating her options before sighing, trying to smile and shaking her head. "No, that's okay, I can handle it, I'm a big girl," she giggled and cupped his cheeks, pecking his lips. "Besides, what can go wrong when I have a hero to protect me from all my dangers??" she winked. "Well... maybe except for algebra," she giggled.
He looked up at her, blinking before giggling, nodding. "Mhm, I'll protect you!" He glanced at the papers. "Even in algebra! I mean, not to brag, but I ranked fur-st in a math pop quiz in our class once," he said, totally bragging as he nodded smugly, as if praising himself.
She blinked and then laughed, arching her brows. "Is that so?? Well then, there's nothing you can't save me from, my handsome-" she paused and cleared her throat, swallowing her pride before finishing, "paw-rince."
He looked at her surprised, a wide cheshire grin spreading on his lips. "It seems I was unable to save you from the depths of my own cat puns though," he giggled, flicking the tip of her nose before sitting on her swivel chair, suddenly holding her by the waist and sitting her on his lap. He moved closer to the desk. "Now! We shall fight our enemy!" He said, gearing her up with the pen.
She blinked, laughing a little as she held the pen, leaning back into him. "Well then, I'm so lucky to have such a skilled fighter as my mentor," she teased. "Now show me how to do this. I'm confused," she pouted, looking at the first question.
He nodded and taking another pen and a scratch paper, he taught her the basic formulae of the problem, hastily writing it down that he'd maybe kind of forgotten to change up his handwriting a little bit. Circling the final answer, he turned to her. "What do you think? Got it?"
She grinned as she finally got the gist of it, and nodded, completing the second problem mostly by herself, needing a bit of assistance every few minutes. This continued for a bit until she was finally done with the assignment and she took a deep breath, leaning back into him. "All finished," she sighed, leaning her head on his chest and looking up at him with a smile.
He returned the smile and planted a kiss on her cheek. "You did well killing that fur-midable op-paw-nent," he giggled, brushing his nose against her ear before nuzzling in the crook of her neck, hugging her tight and close to him.
She smiled and closed her eyes, turning to the side slightly as she brought her knees to her chest, wrapping an arm around his torso. "It was only be-claws of you," she whispered, resting there.
He blinked, a soft chuckle escaping his throat. "I see I'm a good influence when it comes to the pun department, huh? You sound adorable when you do it," he giggled, pinching her cheeks. "Makes me a very proud boyfriend."
She smiled and hugged him tightly, closing her eyes. "And you make me a very proud girlfriend," she whispered. "Thank you for everything, you make me really happy. I'm glad I have you."
"And you I," he says softly, gazing into her bluebell eyes, a hand tucking her hair behind her ear. "I've never felt as free and as happy as I do with you. Thank you for allowing me into your life." He planted a kiss on her forehead, lingering for as long as he can, pulling away with the most delicate smile of smiles.
A blush spread across her face and she had no words but just to smile, closing her eyes and snuggling into him with a soft sigh. It wasn't long though, before doubts crept into her mind, and to her surprise they weren't about Adrien, they were more about... well, Felix. She quickly pushed them away though, and tried to focus on Chat.
He pulled her close, resting his chin on her head as he stroked her hair, his eyes closed as he hummed. He was so satisfied, so content, so happy, to just be with her like this. It wasn't long before he broke the silence. "You know how... you've never been.. Akumatized, right? I mean, I hope you won't forever, but you know."
She was shocked by the question, and bit her cheek. She only had one reason for that, and to be completely honest, it didn't even make sense to her. If anything, being Ladybug had given her more reasons to be akumatized, and yet, she never was. "I... I don't know why. I'm sorry," she replied softly.
"What?" He pulled away and looked at her confused, somewhat concerned. "There's.. There's nothing to apologize for. It's a good thing! You're a good thing, you know!" He chuckled softly, patting her head. "Anyways, reason I asked is.. I don't know I... I really kind of maybe definitely possibly want to share my identity with you."
Her eyes widened and she looked at him shocked, her entire body freezing. That was, to her, one of the most raw and meaningful statements anyone had ever said to her. And she hated that she was hesitant about it. "But... what about Ladybug?" she whispered, cupping his cheeks. "Won't she be upset?"
He furrowed his brows and looked down to her hands that copper his cheeks, cupping his over her own. "Ladybug... I promise I'm not as irresponsible as I sound right now but she has someone, why can't I? Besides," he looked away kind of bitterly, a small pout present. "She's always upset with me. It can't be any worse."
Her look of worry just turned to sadness and she realized how unfair she had been with him. Her eyes glossed over with tears and she bit her quivering lip, looking away. Maybe if she hadn't been so stressed, so annoyed with everyone and everything, she wouldn't be upset with him, but she honestly had no reason why she had been acting the way she did. She didn't have words. She couldn't apologize, or he would know who she was. She couldn't side with him, because she wasn't trying to be so short with him, it was all because of this stress that had been placed on her back, she tried telling herself. "O-oh." she said shakily, and stood up, pacing the floor as she tried to decide what the right choice was to do.
He blinked and reached out to her, before realizing she definitely needed that pacing. She was looking kind of stressed too. He pressed his lips to a tight line, so did his ears, somewhat regretful he'd brought it up - even more annoyed at himself that he brought it up now. "I- I'm sorry, it doesn't have to be now! I just suddenly thought it was right in the moment but then I forgot you had a rough day and I definitely should not have dumped that baggage on you and-" he sighed. "Just forget it for now, really. It's fine."
She paused and then turned on a heel towards him, her face a look of anger. "I'm sorry, but you can't share your identity. Not with me, and not with anybody. What would happen if Hawkmoth found out who you were? What if, and this is not true- what if I was working for Hawkmoth? You can't trust anyone, Chat. It's too dangerous. And so what if Ladybugs already upset with you, maybe- maybe she knows how- how reckless you can be, and she only wants to protect you! I'm sorry, but sharing your identity is not the way to keep a relationship going. Besides, you've only known me for a few days," she muttered, turning away.
He was surprised at her sudden outrage, lips parting a little to try and explain himself but the way she's told him off feels so belittling, so familiar. And he didn't wanna think Marinette could do or be that to him. "I won't tell you my identity, then. I just... sorry, I don't even know why I brought it up. You're probably right," he chuckled drily, scratching his nape. "I'm just being reckless."
She clenched her jaw and looked away, sitting on top of her chest, crossing her arms. "Mhm," she muttered, and then took a deep breath. "Well... thanks for the help with homework. I should probably go to bed," she said softly.
"Right. You should," he echoed, just then the soft pitter-patter of an oncoming shower filling the silence between them. He smiled sadly and turned to her, presing a quick kiss on the top of her head. "Rest well, Mari." He opened the window and left her room, leaving it the tiniest bit agape as his own hurt and disappointment clouded his thoughts.
She opened her mouth to reply but he was gone, and she sighed and crouched on the floor, then rolled onto her back and hugged her knees to her chest, wondering what to do. If he was willing to reveal his identity just days after dating... what would he do if he was dating anyone else? Anyone special enough to him that didn't care about his safety like she did? The thought enraged her, and so she quickly transformed, disregarding the rain, leaving the balcony, mostly because she couldn't think straight. But before going there, she stopped by Alya's and tapped on her window, hanging upside down hoping to surprise her.
There barely were anything else that could have caused a knocking sound to Alya's window, so she immediately locked the door to her room, rushing to the window. She gasped to see Ladybug, and a small grin grew on her face before she opened the window to let the hero in. "You are drenched. Did you miss me that much, you barely cared about the rain?" She laughed, getting a towel and tossing it to her.
Ladybug laughed nervously and dried herself off with the towel, shrugging as she made sure her feet were dry before stepping in further, closing the window. "Um... just freaked out a little," she said, and quickly detransformed, sighing. "It's about Chat. He... he wanted to reveal his identity to me. And... and then he said that it didn't matter what Ladybug thought because, you know, apparently she's always mad at him anyways. Is that really how I come off?!? Am I always upset with him??" she asked, wincing.
Alya's jaw dropped, and she sat down on her bed, completely astonished. "He wants to what? Hey- I mean-" she scratched her head nervously, trying to think of the right answer. "Maybe yes, maybe no? If that's what the boy thinks then maybe you gotta listen to him, no? He hasn't told Ladybug, but he told you, well Marinette- but kinda proves my point further yaknow."
She groaned and buried her face in her hands, shaking her head. "Stupid, stupid cat," she whined and collapsed on the bed over Alya's lap. "Help me, please, I don't want this anymoooorrreee," she said, and then opened her eyes again. "So you're saying I need to make things better as Ladybug and then see what happens???"
"Yes? If you think things could be better then they definitely should!" She exclaimed, nodding and patting the bluenette's head, before chuckling softly. "And not to be pushy but you knoooow...... Scarabella's just waiting to be put back in action while you get your resttt....." she teased.
Marinette blinked and then laughed a little, flicking the brunette's forehead. "As tempting as that sounds, I need to make things right before I even think of the possibility," she said, and then sighed. "Not tonight though. Um... I'm not gonna go to school tomorrow. I need time to think and... and I'll just work on catch up work at home. Will you get the work for me?" she asked with a sheepish smile.
"Yeah, yeah, I'll have someone bring it to your house after school. I kind of have somewhere to be," she said, a coy smile on her face. She cleared his throat. "I'll make sure I'll get your work to you aaaaall nice and perfect."
She looked at Alya weirdly and then laughed a little, nodding. "Alright, alright, sounds good. So what's this 'somewhere to be', huh??" she smirked a little, sitting up and crossing her legs.
"Oh shut up, it's nothing serious," Alya rolled her eyes and pushed her face away, trying to avert the topic. "You tell me why you suddenly disappeared on us! I was really worried about you, you know!"
Marinette blinked and bit her lip, looking at her feet. "Um... I guess I just didn't want to deal with people anymore?" she laughed nervously, scratching her nape. "And... and then uuummmm.... Felix and I maybe sorta kinda made up. Or at least I thought we did. We saw a movie and then as soon as it was done he went right back to being cold so.... yeah."
"Hey, maybe he's just trying to get a free ticket out of you. Movie tickets are so expensive these days, you know. Nino and I can barely buy for our dates anymore," she huffed, lying down on the bed with a heavy sigh. "Turns out he's just a cheapskate, huh."
She laughed softly and shook her head. "No... no, he paid for the tickets. I just bought the popcorn," she said, laying next to her. "He's not all that bad, honestly. I was wrong about him."
"Aw, look at you and your character development. I am very much proud of you," she said teasingly, wiping an imaginary tear out the corners of her eyes, holding Marinette all motherly. "How did you just make up with him though?" She gasped. "Do you have his number?"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, this is not another love story, you know?? We already had a little mix up at the theater," she muttered, rolling her eyes. "He was pouting at the park so I went and... I dunno, I just told him the truth. That I didn't think he was as cold as he comes off, sort of. And then we were okay. But then after the movie and all, he just... he shrugged me off like I was nothing. Kinda hurt."
"I'm gonna be really honest with you, that sounds like what you just did to him," Alya shrugged. "I'm not at all talking about romantic chemistry here, but you two bantering yesterday was definitely something fun," she started, "and then suddenly you were pushing him away for god knows what reason. Still though, I didn't peg him for a revenge - if I suffered so should you kinda guy."
She blinked and suddenly it all clicked, and she slapped a hand to her mouth. "What the hell..." she whispered and then sighed, shaking her head. "I have never in my life felt like such a brat. What's wrong with me???" she whined and buried her face into the mattress. "Must just be my lot in life to be the girl that breaks everyone's heart, I guess."
"Hey, don't say that. Not your fault for being such a femme fatale, ya know?" She giggled and nudged her arm. "Look, you're just overwhelmed. Ladybug, school, and then your hobbies, how you're still sane, I wouldn't know. Which is whyyyyyy-" Alya stood up and looked through her drawers and took out a bunch of DVDs and tossed them on the bed. "Take your pick while I go and get us some snacks." She blew her kisses and walked out of her room.
Marinette smiled a little and looked through the movies with a sigh, then up at the window. She decided to save the treehouse for the next day, since she'd be there more often than not probably, and then after a little more searching, decided on Pride and Prejudice, waiting for Alya.
Alya comes back later with an entire plastic bag of snacks and chips, plopping the heap down on the bed, before she did too with a heavy sigh. She nodded at the selection. "Going with the classics I see. Go put it in, too lazy to stand up now," she giggled.
Marinette laughed a little and nodded, putting the DVD into the player before plopping back on the bed, taking a handful of chips. "It's such a good movie though!!" she exclaimed.
"Mhm, no one said it wasn't." She rolled her eyes and sprawled on the bed, both arms outstretched to the ceiling. "Prejudiced country girl meets prideful um. Rich man. He becomes a simp. They fell in love." She made her bunched up fingers kiss. "And they lived happily ever after. The end."
"Oh be quiet, it's so much more than that," she laughed and cleared her throat. "It's actually more like... okay yeah nevermind, you have it right, but that's not the only plot point, you forgot about the literal child molester," she snorted and rolled her eyes. "Screw you, Mr. Wickham," she stuck her tongue out at the screen.
"Oh, you were totally geeking out over him until you found out about the truth from the storyline itself, though," Alya rolled her eyes, sticking her tongue out to the latter with a giggle. "Now shush. I'm trying to enjoy the movie." She lightly hit her arm.
Mari giggled and went back to the movie. "Okay, yeah but he was very misleading," she whispered, and then shut up as the movie began. The girls watched their movie until it reached the end and by the time it came to a close, Marinette was cooing over it like always, and the last scene, the Mrs Darcy one, was squealing and slapping Alya's arm in excitement. It was obviously her favorite part.
Alya barked in laughter at her friend's excitement, trying to save her arm before it was all beaten up to a pulp. The movie ended and Alya could only look at Marinette with an exasperated smile. "What. Go on. Ramble about Mr. Darcy," she coaxed.
She bit her lip and looked at Alya, it was true she knew waaayy too much. "HES SO PERFECT AND UUGGHHH WHERES MINE?!" she groaned and laid back on the bed. "It's not fair, how do fictional people have better guys than us. I mean, you have Nino, but- but- it's so unfair, as good as they are, they'll never be as good as Mr. Darcy. Sorry not sorry. I mean, where are you going to find a guy that not only is extremely in love with you, makes a ton of money, and- AND is well versed, but also just... he's every girls expectation. Can't be met by any earthly man."
"There, there," Alya comforted the blunette, patting her knees all motherly with a laugh. "Totally not to make you jealous or anything but I follow this couple online and the guy's literally just as you explained. Soooo. Don't lose hope, my very very hopeless romantic girlfriend. Maybe if you tell someone prideful they're prideful, they might fall in love with you." She poked her waist.
She snorted and giggled, moving away from her and shielding her waist protectively. "Like who??? I'm sure there's nobody with the same type of pri-" she paused and suddenly a face flickered in her mind. Crap. "Don't say it. I know we're both thinking the same thing."
"Last I checked, Felix was definitely not a thing," she narrowed her eyes and lied down next to Marinette, propped up on an elbow. "Technically, you've already got like, two of the turning plot points done. He confesses to you, you go ahead and be all shouty, all Ms. Minchin at him. All there's left now is for your non-existent sister to elope with a child molester and- well- for them to be found by Felix. Sounds realistic enough to me."
Marinette blinked and then rolled her eyes. "I am not falling in love with Felix. He and I are only fr- buddies?" she smiled awkwardly and then sighed. "And you're the closest thing I have to a sister, so I should probably make sure Nino isn't a child molester, no?" she teased, poking her arm.
"Oh, I doubt he'd have the balls to be a molester in my presence," she rolled her eyes and batted Marinette's hand away. "And geez. Who was it that said that line a lot? Was it Adrien? You know, the one who you almost kissed?" She scrunched her nose up.
Marinette's eyes widened and she slapped a hand to Alya's mouth. "He said friends. Not buddies," she said, glaring. "I said buddies. I did not say what he said. Got it?" she gave her a sweet smile and then cleared her throat. "And kissing doesn't mean anything. That would mean that there was something between Felix and I, and I can assure you, there is not."
"Wait wait," she rubbed the bridge of her nose and looked at Marinette, after recognizing what she meant. "Have you and Felix kissed?"
Marinette blinked. Oops. Let that one slip. She cleared her throat. "Well....... yes. But it was an accident!!! There was popcorn, well more like there wasn't popcorn. And we both turned and then oh look our lips got friendly. Nothing serious." she said, waving it off.
"You kissed Felix!! Marinette- wait- you have- did anyone see you? Together or.. or I don't know?" She suddenly shot up, sitting down and looking through her phone. "Girl, you're basically celebrity now, you have to be careful!!"
Marinette gulped and bit her lip. It was what she got for dating a superhero, apparently. "I- I don't know! We were in the dark, so I don't think so... but I mean, there was this little girl and I tried telling her we weren't dating but then she just had to open her mouth and was like oH lOok sHe hAs a sEcOnd bOyFrIEnD!! I have never hated kids in my life until today, Alya."
"I thought Manon's already done that for you years ago but apparently not, huh," she deadpanned and sighed in relief as somehow, there still weren't any articles on it. "There's no articles out yet, so hopefully it stays a not for forever." She turned off her phone and put it down, looking at Marinette sternly. "Seriously though. Be careful. Other than Chat Noir being obviously fragile, I'm sure literally every fangirl of his is tenfold."
She sighed and shook her head. "I should've thought about all this before I started dating him," she groaned and facepalmed. "It would've been easier as Ladybug. So much easier. But it's been rocky for so long," she shook her head and laid down, looking at the ceiling.
"Hey now, you were... you were just taken by emotions. It's alright. You like him, and he likes you, and I'm sure it'll all work out in the end." Alya tried to comfort her, taking a can of iced tea she brought earlier and gave it to her. "But anyways, do tell me. Were Felix's lips like, soft or what?"
Marinette blinked and looked at Alya bewildered, her cheeks burning red. "I- Alya!!" she exclaimed. She cleared her throat. "Um... I mean, yes, they were, but that's not important!!"
"You still managed to take note of it though," she raised an eyebrow and giggled, sitting cross legged on the bed. "Since we're on the topic of kisses anyway, is Chat a good kisser? Who's better?"
Her jaw dropped and she narrowed her eyes. "I can't answer that because Chat was trying to kiss me and Felix wasn't!!" she crossed her arms. "It's not comparable."
"Ohhhh so Felix has to actually try to kiss you before it becomes comparable huh? I'll take note of that and ask you next time," she smiled sweetly and popped the can open, taking a sip.
She stared at her and sighed. "There won't be a next time, I can assure you!!" she exclaimed, shaking her head. "That was a full accident. I don't like him. He doesn't like me."
"Wasn't he the one who walked out with teary eyes and wished you well with Chat?" She laughed and then yawned, noticing that it was already 11:01. She turned to Mari. "Are you sleeping here or going home?"
She blinked and then shrugged. "He said he didn't like me anymore. Or at least he implied it. So Im going with that. And umm..." she looked at her phone and texted her parents. 'Can I stay at Alya's tonight?'
Her parents quickly sent her an 'okay!' and Alya, who had been reading over her shoulder, squealed in her ear and hugged Marinette. "SLEEPOVERRR!!!" She giggled and rushed to her closet and got her her pillows.
Marinette grinned and waited for Alya, but then stood up. "Hey, do you still have those Ladybug pajamas I got you for your birthday?" she asked, giggling.
"Duh???? It's like part of my Ladybug cosplay get-up," she rolled her eyes and gave her her blankets, taking out the pyjama set as well and handed it to her. "Some of your stuff is in the shower still. Go get that warm shower in."
She laughed and took the pajama set. "It's so weird, thinking your best friend has a cosplay of you, you should show me sometime," she winked and then went to the bathroom. "Okay, I'll be right back!!" she said, and then got in the bathroom, sighing as she took out her phone. She was a little groggy and wasn't exactly thinking right, and so when she saw the contact in her phone, she had the sudden urge to talk to Felix again. She hesitated before typing up a message. 'Thanks for today, I know it's late but I had a lot of fun, have a good night! :)' she said, her thumb hovering over the send button. She closed her eyes, biting her lip and then just clicked, hearing the sending sound. She then quickly got in the shower after throwing the phone on the counter, almost as if she was scared to receive a reply.
Felix had just finished taking out his things as he settled down in his new room, heavily sighing as he plopped on the bed. His phone buzzed and he took to look at it, brows furrowing as he saw the message. He glanced at Peblo, back on his desk, though behind his computers, and then rolled his eyes. He replied to Marinette, suppressing a cheeky smile. 'Who is this?'
Once she'd gotten out of the shower, she heard a notification and upon seeing the message, the smile she had dropped. She waited a few minutes and then replied. 'Nevermind, wrong number xx'
He turned on his back and looked at the device, biting his lower lip. 'No wait, come back. I didn't expect you'd be saving my number, hedgehog.' He sent, changing her contact name as such, along with the emoji.
The next message brought a smile to her face and she sat on the toilet, replying. 'It was in my recent calls. I figured it would be at least proper to thank you in writing. Unless you'd rather a letter.'
'I actually would.' He sent and then realized that that was definitely way too little and left way too much for imagination, so he added some more. 'But ah, the wonders of technology so you don't have to. Today was.. decent. Glad you enjoyed though.'
'Mhm, I hope you liked it too. Um I won't be at school tomorrow so I hope you can pay attention better in class lol' she sent and then got into the pajamas, walking back out to Alya.
He frowned, and frantically sent her a reply. 'Oh. Why won't you be there? Are you sick after all?'
She waved hello to her friend and then felt the buzz again and laughed nervously. "Sorry. Um. Someone texted me," she said, and then replied. 'No, at least not yet. I just need a day to myself.'
'Oh sure. Rest well then.' He replied, turning off his phone because he found that he was getting too invested than he should have. Alya tried to look over her shoulder to read. "Who're you talking to?"
She bit her lip and glanced at Alya from her shoulder. "Oh, um... it's.." she paused and muttered, "Felix...." she finished, making sure it was muffled and hard to understand. 'Thanks, you too!'
"Fuh who now? Felix?" Alya asked, teasing and snatched her phone away from her, gasping from surprise as she saw she was right, even further that Marinette had been the one to message first. "Oh my gosh, wait- for reference, what movie did you see earlier?"
She tried to get her phone back, but failed and plopped on the bed with a pout. "um.. the new chick flick. Sunflower Effect," she muttered, avoiding her gaze.
"The what now? Doesn't matter though. Is it romance romance?" She asked, sitting down with her as she made it a point to mouth and mumble their shared messages, batting her lashes at Marinette whenever her messages came on, like she was badly flirting with her eyes.
Marinette rolled her eyes and sighed. "Yeah, it's romance, but it was just cuz it had a lot of classic art and stuff. Totally didn't see it for the romance aspect," she scoffee.
"Yes, yes, definitely not. So you and Felix went to watch a classic art filled indie movie, one that's totally out of the books. And then you kissed accidentally. You're then hurt by what he thinks of you and now you're messaging him first." She returned her phone back to her. "That's really cute. You're like an untuned compass or something."
Marinette looked at her and although she knew the point, she rolled her eyes. "So what, you're saying I like Felix? No way, that's insane. I like Chat Noir. Period. That's it. Felix is- is just- he's- he's too conceited anyways."
"And how'd that go for Elizabeth," Alya mocked and she laughed, settling down under her covers, yawning again. "Whatever, girl. I'm literally just repeating whatever you tell me. You're the one driving yourself to your own conclusions."
Marinette took a deep breath and laid down next to her. She hummed in reply, and as the brunette went to sleep, she stayed awake, looking at the ceiling in thought. Did she really like Felix? Or was it just... something else? And if it was, what was it? She closed her eyes, unable to sleep though, and just laid like that for most of the night.