Umbrella - a Miraculous Ladybug fanfic

Part II

When she first saw Adrien, she didn't hate him. She was pissed off.

When she first saw Chat Noir, she didn't like him. She was curious.

If her curiosity killed the cat, then her feelings was the best example.

It's not that she wanted to kill the cat, or that her feelings was killed by her curiosity. The revelations killed her feelings that led her curiously to the cat.

"Am I a shallow person, Tikki?" Marinette asked without moving from her chair. "Falling in love with a guy who is actually my masked partner-in-crime?"

She was slumped on her desk for hours, and for the first time, didn't care if she'd be late for school.

Tikki was staring at her for hours as well, thinking of comforting words that would not be twisted by her illogical mind. She could feel her human, really feel her, and willing to do her very best to appease her fragile heart. But her patience was on the edge already, and about to snap in a minute.

How many times did she tell her that love blurs everything? That love is blind? That logic didn't exist in love?

"I've been blind-sided by my feelings." her human murmured, with tears threatening to fall again. "It was him all along, and I never noticed it."

"Now that you know that Adrien is Chat Noir..." the red kwami asked, "Did your feelings changed?"

"That's the frustrating part. It didn't."

"Then tell him how you feel."

"I can't. He's in love with Ladybug, not Marinette."

Here we go again, Tikki rolled her eyes. If only she could trade places with Plagg.

"But I have to gather myself and not let my emotions rule. We have akumas to hunt and Paris to save."

One thing she liked about Marinette was her sensibility. Though it pained her to see her mental struggles, she didn't say it.

She has to realize everything by herself.

"Marinette." Tikki smiled. "We're late."

The designer sighed, stood up and gathered her things. She bid goodbye to her parents and went straight to school.

"You got lucky, Marinette!" Alya greeted her as she entered the room. "Our teacher was late!"

Marinette gave a weak smile, then frowned when she saw the blonde hair sitting on the front.

"Hi Marinette, how's... "

Adrien's voice trailed off when she looked away until she settled on her seat. He even looked behind to see her but her eyes were focused somewhere else.

Their best friends noticed the interaction, but before they could ask them about it, their teacher entered.

"I'm sorry I'm late. The traffic was congested due to this bad weather." Ms. Mendeleiev narrated as she began her roll call.

"What was that, girl?" Alya interrogated during their lunch break. "You snubbed Adrien back there. What's wrong with you?"

"Snubbed? I didn't. I... " was trying to hide my embarrassment, Marinette wanted to add.

"You did. And you ruined your chances. He wants to talk to you and you brushed him off!"

"You know I can't say coherent words to him."

"I might believe you." Alya countered with a beady eye. "If this happened several months ago."

Marinette was silent.

Her relationship with Adrien improved recently. She was able to hold a conversation without stuttering anymore. She was able to hang out with him even outside school. She even considered him as her best friend next to Alya.

But that was before she knew he was Chat.

She felt stupid, acting like a child being tricked by treats, even though nobody tricked her in the first place.

She didn't want to give Adrien a cold shoulder, but because of the revelation, she didn't know how to act anymore.

"There's no problem between me and Adrien, Alya. I'm okay. He's okay. We're both okay."

"Really? Then prove it."

Marinette bit a curse when she spotted Nino and Adrien walking towards them. The three must have talked behind her back, and knowing the aspiring reporter, Alya was the one who planned this entrapment.

Green eyes locked her blue ones, trying to pry her consciousness as the bearer drew closer. It took Marinette's strength to shut her eyes and control her conflicting emotions to pour out.

"Hi, Marinette." Adrien greeted.

She opened her eyes upon hearing his voice. Why didn't she noticed how he sounded like Chat?

He was still looking at her, with bright eyes and smug face. He looked like Adrien, and at the same time, like Chat.

And that annoyed her the most.

Marinette abruptly stood up, made three steps backwards, and gave a robotic wave. "Uh, ah. Oh well. Gotta go. Now."

Then she ran away, leaving her three friends with shocked face.

"Okay, dude. You freaked her out." Nino said as she patted Adrien's back. "This was worse than what she usually did before."

Adrien didn't say anything at all, even after he was grilled back and forth mercilessly by Alya. He filled his mind with everything about Marinette, replaying the sight before she escaped.

Before the day ends, he'll capture Marinette.

By hook or by crook.