Persona

The Girl in the Row Behind

Adrien

After what felt like weeks of anticipation, morning finally came.

My eyes stung as I turned on the light in my bedroom, and my head was throbbing from thinking.

Everything that happened the night before felt like a dream.

A dream that I wished I could never wake up from.

But school was in the way, for both Marinette and me.

Marinette.

Her name felt weird in my thoughts, for I had never thought about her much until then.

She was a different person to me, a small stranger who felt like someone I had known forever.

And I was still in the mask, and she oblivious to who I actually am.

The best part was I already knew everything about her and more, since I knew her both as Marinette and Ladybug.

She told me secrets as a hero, and was shy to me as a civilian.

The funny thing is, she likes Adrien.

Me.

But not Chat Noir.

At least, I don't think she likes Chat Noir.

After last night, I wouldn't like Chat Noir myself.

I was so needy in those moments, so needy for her.

I should've left the first time I transformed, but then I wouldn't know who she really was.

I concluded that I had fallen into an impasse  with myself.

To me, she was everything.

To her, I was just a masked hero who happened to be at the right place at the right time.

Maybe she too thought in some ways last night was a mistake.

Maybe she regrets everything and wishes I didn't know.

Then again, she doesn't know who she told.

She just knows that I love her, and even that I'm blurry on.

***

I walked into school with what felt like a thousand pounds on my shoulders.

I was going to see Marinette in less than ten minutes.

Maybe even shorter, but I just kept on walking.

I tried not to think about it when I pushed open the doors to my school.

I tried not to think about it when Nino ran to my side.

I tried not to think about it when we walked into class.

All of this trying lasted about 2 minutes.

Then, I saw her siting next to Alya in the row behind me.

My world seemed to slow down as I watched her laugh with her best friend.

She looked so much happier and calm then she had the night before.

She looked...normal.

Nino had to shake me to turn around, and he smirked when I finally blinked awake.

"You staring at Marinette?" he asked, the smirk drawn on his face growing wider with every anticipating second.

"N-no, I was just about to say something to Alya," I lied, turning around again.

"Say what to Alya?" asked Alya, her attention on me.

My palms started to sweat as I tried to think of something to her.

"I...um...wanted to ask you if...it was okay to...do something?" I said, my voice shaky as I looked at Marinette once again.

"Oh? What's that?" she asked, an eyebrow raised with curiosity.

Then, fireworks went off in my mind as an idea came to me.

"Well, Nino was going to ask you to the movies later on, and I was wondering if I could come too," I said, and she smiled.

"Of course, it would be fun," she said back, Marinette slumping in her seat.

"But," I said, pausing and looking Marinette dead in the eyes, "I'll go, only if Marinette will be my date."

Marinette's eyes practically twinkled when she heard those words, and she jumped up.

"Of course! I-I mean-sure why not? I mean-"

"So it's a date then," I said, winking to Marinette and turning back around.

I smiled to myself as I heard the girls behind me talk about what just happened.

Eventually, I laughed a little and thought back to how cute she looked when I said "date."

To be continued indeed My Lady.