He Saved Me

Chapter Eight

"Hey Luka! It's me...Marinette. But I-it's not like you didn't know that considering that my name probably popped up on your screen when I called you- but a-anyways. I was hoping you and I could catch up soon. I know you must be busy right now because you didn't answer your phone, but I still think we should-"

The answer machine cut her off. Marinette grunted. "Damn it!" She redialed his cell and waited for the phone to beep. "Luka, it's me again! Sorry, the answer machine cut me off, haha. Anyways, when you get the chance, please call me. We should hang out, I haven't seen you in a really long time."

And with that, she ended the call, and tapped her phone on her leg in anxiousness. "You think this is going to work, Tikki?"

"We'll see", Tikki reassured her with a smile. Tikki wasn't 100% sure the plan was going to work or if Chat Noir would get jealous, but they were running out of options.

"I really hope this works. It's been tiring just to get him to at least like me a little bit. I-". She was cut off by the sound of knocking on her trapdoor, and she immediately knew who it was. "Come in!"

Chat Noir slipped inside to her room and walked down the ladder to meet up with her. "Hey. So, how are you feeling today?"

"Like I've been ready for a while now to be out of bedrest. I mean, I really only listened to the doctor for the first, like, 3 days."

Chat Noir sighed. "I should've kept better track of you."

"Even if you did, I probably still wouldn't have listened", Marinette smiled.

"Worth a shot", Chat Noir returned the smile.

They were interrupted by the sound of Marinette's phone ringing. When she grabbed her phone from her desk and glanced at the screen, she saw that Luka was the one calling her.

"This is perfect. He can see me have a phone call with Luka", Marinette thought to herself. Marinette smiled and held up a finger at Chat, signaling to hold on as she put the phone next to her ear. "Hello? Luka, hi! Did you, um, get my voicemails? I sent two of them........You did? Okay, cool. So, are you down?.......Really? Awesome! I can't wait! Just text me the details and we can hang out, okay?.....Goodbye, Luka!"

Chat Noir cleared his throat. "Did you forget you're still on bedrest?"

"My doctor appointment is tomorrow", Marinette explained, sensing a bit of tension in the room.

"You don't know if the doctor will even clear you", Chat Noir folded his arms and leaned against the wall.

"Do I look like I still need to lay in bed?" Marinette asked, gesturing to her completely healed body.

Chat Noir sighed roughly. "I just don't think it's a good idea for you to jump at things so quickly. Especially when we don't know when or where Hawkmoth will strike."

"I can handle myself", Marinette narrowed her eyes. "Besides, if there was an akuma attack, you'd know about it."

"But by the time I find out and get where it's at, you could already be taken. Or worse, injured", Chat Noir stressed.

"What's the big deal? I've only made plans with one guy, and it's only one time."

"Hawkmoth could be watching for you to go outside any minute and strike", Chat Noir pointed to her window.

"He knows where I live", Marinette reminded him. "If he wanted to strike, he already would have."

"Can't you just stay home until I figure this out?" Chat Noir ran his hand through his hair.

"Figure what out? There's nothing to figure out. Just accept the fact that we won't know Hawkmoth's plans and when he'll strike. There's no preventing it."

"You can prevent It by staying here", Chat Noir's anger seemed to be knocked right out of his chest. "Please."

Marinette sighed. "Maybe I can just tell Luka to come here for our hangout. Would that make you feel better?"

"What if he draws attention to your house? What if Hawkmoth uses him to get to you? What if-".

"Chat Noir!" Marinette snapped to get his attention, a smile revealing on her face. "What's this really about?"

Chat Noir looked at her for a few moments, no words being spoken. Finally, he stood up, making his way out of her room. "You know what? Just go out and have fun with Luka." And with that, he was out of her room and out of her sight.

Marinette tried to process what just happened. "Tikki?"

"I'm here", she heard a voice coming up from behind her. 

"Did you get all that? What he was saying, doing, and his body language?"

"He's jealous", Tikki confirmed. "Majorly."

"Do you think he even realizes it?" Marinette questioned, kind of hoping he did realize it.

"Probably. I mean, if he didn't, he probably wouldn't have stormed out. But then again, I have a hard time understanding humans, so I'm no help", Tikki tapped her chin.

---------------------------

"If Marinette's on bedrest, then does that mean I don't need to visit her or check up on her anymore?" Adrien asked Plagg once they got home.

"Why? You disappointed?" Plagg smirked.

"Uh- n-no. Why would you think that?" Adrien stuttered.

"Because you stormed out of there as if you care about this "Luka" kid", Plagg responded, looking inside the cheese cabinet.

"I don't care about Luka. I just don't like the idea of her going out", Adrien defended.

"Going out with another guy?" Plagg tried finishing his sentence.

"No, Plagg! I just think she needs to be cautious", Adrien explained.

"Cautious as to who she goes out with?" Plagg smirked, knowing he was annoying Adrien.

"Plagg", Adrien called in a warning tone. "Are you seriously convinced that I like Marinette-".

"Actually yes", Plagg cut him off. "And don't you dare start the whole speech about 'I'm in love with Ladybug, she's the only one for me', blah, blah, blah. It's getting old, Adrien."

"Yeah, but I feel like I keep having to remind you because it seems to slip your mind quite often", Adrien placed his hands on his hips. 

"Or, you're just in denial that you've caught feelings for the baker girl", Plagg smirked.

"I'm in denial because it's not true. I'm done talking about this now", Adrien walked across the room and turned on the TV to let Plagg know he was done talking.

"You'll figure it out, Adrien. And turning on the TV won't stop me", Plagg laughed, turning back to the cheese cabinet.