To Be a Hero | MLB

39: The Rose

Bright and early the next day, I meet Antoine in front of my apartment building, and he greets me with a grin and a hug. When we part, he reveals a single red rose and extends it to me.

"I wasn't sure if it was too soon for flowers," he admits, and I smile up at him.

"Trust me, it's never too soon for flowers." But then I realize I don't really have anywhere to keep my rose, so I tell Antoine I'll be right back and run back up to my apartment, thinking I can just stash it in my room and run back to him. But on the way to my room, I spot Jaxon on the couch, bent over something he's working on.

I creep up behind him and whisper, "What are you doing?"

He sits up in shock and turns to glare at me. "Don't do that. My pen almost slipped."

I lean over his shoulder to see what he's drawing, but he flips his paper over. "Come on, just show me. I'm sure it's good."

"It's not finished," he mumbles.

"So?"

Grumbling, he flips the paper back over, displaying a black-and-white sketch of a girl's face. I instantly recognize it as the girl who kissed him in school a few days ago, and I let out a squeal.

"Aw, Jaxon, you're in love with her, aren't you?"

He rolls his eyes. "This is why I didn't want to show you." He glances back down at the picture and sighs. "Something is off, though. I can't get her mouth right."

"Looks fine to me."

He consults something on his phone, then nearly throws it as he grabs his pen again and adds something to the page. "She has a dimple. How could I forget—it's so cute..." He leans back to examine his addition to her portrait, and a warm grin slides across his face—one I'm not used to seeing very often. "Better."

I step back, gripping my rose a little tighter and barely avoiding a thorn on its stem. "I, uh... I'll leave you to it, I guess." Jaxon ignores me, returning to his work, and I find my way to my room. I place my rose in a water bottle I set beside my bed, then race back outside and take Antoine's hand. "Ready?" I ask him.

"Only if you are."

We set off together, and I ask him where we're going.

"Anywhere. Nowhere. Wherever you'd like," he answers, and I raise an eyebrow. "Or... we could just walk."

I squeeze his hand. "Sounds perfect."

So we walk. And the sun is bright above us, and Antoine's hand is warm in mine, and every time someone glances at Antoine, I realize my spike of possessive feelings is now completely valid. He's my boyfriend now. My official boyfriend.

I grin to myself. That simple fact makes me so happy—happy in a way I haven't felt in... a while.

It feels nice.

"Tori?" Antoine asks, drawing out of my haze. "Are you all right?"

"Of course!" I say, nodding up at him. "I'm just... so happy to be out here with you, that's all."

He looks for a second like he doesn't believe me, but he eventually gives in and wraps an arm around my shoulder. "I am, too."

We slow on the sidewalk, glad it's not too busy, and I step in front of him. But just as Antoine starts to pull me into a kiss, a loud boom resounds from somewhere around the corner, and I jump.

"What was that?" I hiss, and Antoine groans.

"Another attack?" He shakes his head. "I knew we should have met later today."

He takes my hand and starts to pull me toward the nearest shop, but I stand my ground, an idea forming in my head. A potentially very bad one, but an idea nonetheless.

"Antoine, I want to go to the fight scene," I tell him, feeling my lips twist into a frown.

He sees and shakes his head slightly. "What? You can't."

I tug him toward me. "It's okay, I have a plan."

"No, I... I don't want you getting hurt."

"Antoine, I'll be fine. I promise—" Suddenly, something launches through the air toward us, and Antoine instantly moves to shield my body with his.

"We need to go—"

But then I realize what it is flying through the air and scowl, stepping out from behind Antoine.

"Tori!"

I ignore him and focus instead on the spotted figure landing in a crouch in the road in front of us.

"Hello, Ladybug," I spit, and she turns to glance at me, surprised. "You just had to ruin my date, didn't you?"