Warped Reality

Chapter 9

Marinette

She hated him. So, so much. One minute he seemed so genuine, then the next he was back to being snarky. Though, she couldn't place all of the blame on him. She was suffering through that same thing. Old habits really do die hard. They ate in silence, neither of them looking at the other. She was starting to hate herself too. Or her heart at least. It always chose the wrong person, and over and over again, it chose him. Even now, it was choosing him. Why? She didn't trust him. Not completely. She didn't know what was fact and what was fiction when it came to him.

"You know you mutter when you're upset?" Adrien asked softly, and she finally looked over to him.

"What?"

"You mutter. Softly, enough that no one around you can understand what you're saying, but you do it alot. During tests, or when Nathaniel does something. Even now. So, what's wrong?"

She didn't realize she did that. No one had ever mentioned it to her. She stared at him for a moment, trying to tell if he actually cared, or if he was just looking to make conversation.

"When we're done eating let's play a game."

"What?"

It was a game she used to play with Nathaniel, but she'd never tell him that.

"Do you know how to play war?"

"Yeah, but what does-"

"Each round, we bet secrets. You have secrets, don't you?"

He stared at her, before giving a small nod.

"Yes."

"We play in rounds. For example, If you go first, you can choose a question like 'what's something you've stolen' and we both write down an answer to the question. Whoever loses has to hand over their secret."

"I bet you haven't stolen anything in your life." He snickered, and she flashed him a smirk.

"You'd be surprised."

He stopped smiling, watching her curiously.

"Okay. I'm in."

"You write down your secret, and when you lose, you give up that slip of paper. On your round you're allowed to look at your card before you ask the question, but your opponent can't."

He nodded in agreement, and she left the table to hunt down a deck of cards. She returned with a cartoon themed card deck, slapping it on the table along with a note pad.

"I'll shuffle. You can come up with a question."

She wasn't sure why she even wanted to play this game. Maybe to loosen the tension around them? Maybe to distract her from her traitorous thoughts? She dealt the cards, finally finishing when they both had a half of a deck. He grabbed the card on top, glancing at it before looking back at her.

"What's the worst thing you've ever stolen?"

She smirked, writing down her answer, 'nothing.' She had known he'd get hung up on that. When he finished writing his, he flipped over his card, revealing a ten. She flipped hers, revealing a three. He grinned, grabbing the paper. His grin immediately fell.

"You lied to me."

"No. I just said you'd be surprised. And look at you. All surprised."

He scowled, sitting up straighter.

"You wanna play like that then I'll play. What's your question?"

She glanced at her first card, an ace. Easy win, nothing beats that. So it had to be a good question.