My Crush's Evil Cousin (A Miraculous Ladybug Fanfic)

Nightmare

Felix pushed open the door to the Agreste mansion, feeling slightly better after spending a good portion of the afternoon talking to his mother and eating ice cream. They hadn't gone to Andre's, as the memory of the time he had gone with Marinette was too painful to bear, but there were plenty other ice cream parlors in Paris with ice-cream just as delicious.

The sound of a familiar voice echoing around the large entry hall froze him in place, and Felix lifted his eyes to see Marinette and Adrien standing on the large staircase, facing each other. Felix couldn't see Marinette's face, but Adrien stared down at her from the top of the stairs, his head tilted to the side, his eyes narrowed in confusion.

They hadn't seen him yet, so Felix softly shut the door and crept closer, his heart in his throat, tears stinging his eyes once again at the sight of Marinette. What was she doing here? What were they talking about?

"Adrien, do you remember the first day we met?" Marinette asked, her voice soft and meek. Her shoulders were slumped forward, and she seemed so defeated Felix had to bit his lip to prevent himself from calling out to her.

She hates you, remember? he reminded himself, stopping at the side of the steps and peering upwards. He could hear them clearly now, and they wouldn't see him unless they walked to the side of the steps and looked down, which he doubted they would do.

"Yeah. You thought I put gum on your seat." Adrien chuckled, and Felix envisioned him placing his hand on the back of his head like he always did. It was hard not being able to see them as they talked, but Felix could imagine the interaction well enough.

"Yeah . . . and after you gave me your umbrella." Marinette laughed, and Felix's eyes narrowed. Why did it sound like she was on the verge of tears?

"You never gave that back." Adrien laughed, clearly not expecting her to actually return it.

"Right. Sorry." There was a long moment of silence, then Marinette took an audible breath of air. "That was when I realized . . . just how special you are. To me."

"What do you mean?" Felix's heart stopped pumping, and his entire body began to shake as he realized her intention. She was going to confess her feelings for his cousin, now, finally, after everything that had happened. Why was she doing this when she knew he would reject her? Unless she planned on revealing her identity . . .

"I mean that I love you, Adrien. You don't have to like me back, I just wanted to tell you . . ." Her voice trailed off, sounding hopeful.

Adrien didn't respond for a moment, and Felix shut his eyes, imagining the look on Marinette's face. She would be so heart broken when he rejected her. Just tell him who you are, he urged, almost as if she could hear him. You can be together like you were meant to be.

"I'm sorry, Marinette. I'm in love with someone else," Adrien finally replied, sounding truly sorry.

"Right. Ladybug." Marinette's voice was bitter.

"How'd you know?"

"Never mind. I'll see you later." Footsteps echoed around the hall as Marinette ran down the stairs toward the door. Felix burst from his hiding place, wanting to see her face one last time despite his instincts telling him to stay hidden. He managed to catch a glimpse of her face before she ran out the door. It was a bright red, her mouth open in a sob, and her eyes squinted, clearly trying to see through tears.

Felix held out his hand to her as if that could help, but he knew he was the last person she wanted to see right now.

"Marinette, wait!" Adrien yelled, coming down the stairs, but he stopped next to Felix, peering helplessly out the door as Marinette ran out the gate and turned down the street, soon disappearing from view. "I wish . . ." he muttered.