Cupid's Canvas《Marinette Dupain-Cheng》

˚₊· Her Heart

˚₊·

CLAIRE FORCED HERSELF OFF THE STEPS, and the two of them started walking. Past the park and the complexes they lived in, but still close enough to experience the city in the evening.

Things were quiet between them at first. And Claire hated every second of it.

What do I say? Shit. I can't just go this whole time without talking. What do I--

Before she could finish her thought, Marinette spoke up. "I'm sorry you had a bad first day," she said suddenly.

Claire quickly mustered a smile. "No, it's okay. Today went well."

Marinette nodded, and the two of them went quiet again.

Crap. This is where the awkwardness starts, Claire thought. She wasn't sure what else to say. She wasn't good with people. Or words. Or saying words to people.

Just then, she remembered a question she'd been meaning to ask. "Uh, why did you start talking to me?" she asked. When she noticed Marinette raise an eyebrow, she quickly added, "Out of curiosity."

Marinette shrugged, tapping her chin in thought. "Well, to be honest," she started, a teasing smile on her face, "I thought you were cute."

It took a second for the sentence to fully process. But when it did, Claire stopped in their tracks. Marinette just kept walking while she hummed to herself.

Wait, what?

Once she'd recovered from her shock, Claire couldn't stop herself from letting out a laugh. Marinette covered her mouth with her hand in an attempt to hold back her own laughter. But she failed miserably. Only seconds later, the two of them were a mess of laughter and tears and biting their lips to hold back their giggles, only to let them escape seconds later.

"Well, thank you," Claire said, still trying to catch their breath.

Marinette quickly fanned herself, the last bit of laughter leaving her body. "My turn."

"Wait, what?"

"My turn to ask questions, of course," she said, carelessly twirling around a streetlight they'd stopped by. "Okay, favorite kind of sweet."

Claire actually had an answer this time. "I'm not big on sweets, to be honest," they said shyly. "Oh, favorite type of coffee?"

Marinette stopped spinning and stuck her tongue out. "It needs to be iced," she said with a laugh. "Otherwise, I'm a tea person all the way."

Claire laughed, too. Their coffee-loving heart wasn't even bothered in the slightest.

As the hours went by, she learned a lot about Marinette. She learned that she was the one who used the mannequins in the art room, and that the notebook in her backpack contained her fashion design dreams. She learned that she hated math, because it ruined her day when she couldn't understand it. She learned that despite the ribbons and the hoodie, her favorite color was actually baby pink.

Another thing Marinette mentioned was that her favorite flowers were roses. "Basic, I know," she said. "I just think they're so romantic. I want someone to give me some one day."

That little detail made Claire's heart flutter. She didn't know why, it just seemed like such a sweet thought.

"I hope so. You deserve roses," she said.

Marinette looked surprised for a moment, but that surprise quickly faded into a warm smile, while a light blush became noticeable on her face.

This was another thing that sort of confused Claire: Marinette's contagious smile. Even when she was already visibly happy, her smile made it seem like she could light up a room. It was kind of overwhelming, but at the same time, it was beautiful. Overwhelmingly beautiful.

Even as the lights of the Eiffel Tower glimmered above them, Marinette somehow managed to shine brighter than all of them combined.

I guess the cool girl across the street is cooler than I thought.

When the breeze began to turn icy, Claire allowed her to walk her back to her house. They began to walk faster as the sky became darker, and both of them sighed in relief when they reached the white exterior of Claire's house.

"So," Claire started, "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Definitely." A sudden gust of wind hit them, and Marinette shivered as if a chill had gone up her spine. "Yep. I'm leaving," she said jokingly. "Good night, Claire!"

"...Good night..." Claire mentally cursed herself for almost stumbling over her words.

She wanted to say something else, but she couldn't. All she could do was watch Marinette walk across the street, her dark hair blowing in the evening breeze.

The night had gone well. She'd managed to go a day without completely embarrassing herself. So why couldn't she stop from thinking...

Idiot.