To Be a Hero | MLB

36: The Pest

I miss Antoine.

But I don't even know him that well.

But I feel like I do.

And I don't want to make impulsive decisions...

But I really want to be his girlfriend.

I've been sitting on my bed with my fingers hovering over the keyboard on my phone screen for the past twenty minutes, caught between wanting to accept his offer and give it more time.

Every time I feel myself starting to doubt his true intentions, I think back to what he told me on the bridge, and my faith in him is instantly restored.

I had no idea he felt that way when we were together. He always seemed so... confident—I never would have guessed he was nervous or embarrassed. And to know how he really feels about me...

I flop down backward onto my bed and reread my text thread with Antoine. We've added to it since our outing today, but our messages have seemed kind of tense, like we're both skirting around some important topic.

Which, of course, we are.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see a ladybug flit into my room through my open window. I roll my eyes and watch it flutter around my room for a few minutes before coming to rest on my nightstand to my left.

"What do you want?" I hiss at it, and it scuttles toward my lamp. "Do you want to steal from me, too?"

It crawls up the base of my lamp, over the neck, and onto the purple-tinted bulb. Slowly, I reach over and find the light switch on the wall to my right, keeping my eyes on the insect. Then I switch the light on and off once, and the ladybug drops back to my nightstand, dead.

I rise from my bed and sweep it into my palm. "I said I like butterflies, not ladybugs," I say, looking closer at it. Then I walk over to my window and flick it to the ground below. I may not have defeated the superhero Ladybug, but this pest was close enough.

Reminded of Ladybug and what she took from me, I grab my phone from off my bed and open my texting app again. Antoine is the only thing left to make me truly happy, so I have to keep him close. I can't lose him like I lost my Miraculous.

I just can't.

And as of right now, there's only one way I know to guarantee he stays with me.

So, I take a deep breath and text, hey, do you want to meet again tomorrow? i think i've made my decision.

A few minutes later, he texts back, Yes. But I have things to do with my family during the day, so does 20:00 sound good? A few seconds later, he adds, Sorry. 8:00.

I smile and type back, sure, sounds great. I don't have a curfew... right?

I settle back onto my bed and close my eyes, knowing that if everything goes according to the plan, by this time tomorrow, I'll have my first boyfriend.

Well, my first real boyfriend.