Whiskers on Kittens -- (ML)

[5]

'Can we-' Marinette broke off, taking a shaky breath 'Can we- we speak outside for a minute, Adrien?'

'Uh, sure.' He replied, standing up and following the shorter girl outside into the hall, being careful not to step on any of the books. As soon as the door clicked shut behind them, Nino turned in his seat to face Alya.

'Dude, what just happened?' he said. She glanced down, scooping up her phone and staring at the black screen. She had locked it long before now, but the photos were seared into her mind.

'I... uh....' Alya fumbled. 'Nino, you did see that, right?'

'The-?' Nino motioned to his face. Alya nodded in response.

'So he's-'

Another nod.

'Which means that she's-'

Another nod.

'I think so.' Alya's mind was spinning too fast, trying to make sense of the events unfolding. How hadn't she caught on sooner? Why was it now that it all became clear?

Alya took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment. As she opened them she locked her phone and placed it face-down on the desk. The awkward and silent tension that had filled the room moments before was slowly lifting.

'Did you see Adrien's face?' Kim said.

'Most of us sit too far back;' Nathaniel said in return, pushing his hair from his eye and leaning back in his seat. He jabbed a thumb at Ivan. 'Plus, I sit behind Ivan. If they can't see me, I can't see them.'

'Do you want me to move?' Ivan mumbled, turning to look at Nathaniel.

'N-no, sorry, I like it here.'

Ivan shrugged, turning to the front again. He hunched over the paper on his desk again, scribbling down a couple of words. Alya assumed Ivan was writing a song in his spare time.

The boy looked up again. 'And before you ask, Kim, no, I didn't.'

Kim let out a sound of disappointment, folding his arms. 'That's boring.'

'So what was it?' Alix demanded. She was sitting on her desk, facing her rival. He laughed.

'Not even you saw?'

'I was too busy thinking up another way to whoop your butt!'

Kim tsked, shaking his head. 'Never gonna happen, Al. What about you, Chloe? Sabrina?'

Chloe's head shot up at the sound of her name, having been distracted by filing her already perfect nails. 'Pardon?'

'Did you see Adrien's face?'

Sabrina shook her head. 'We saw him this morning, but he had his scarf up to his nose,' she said, glancing at her friend. 'I think he's got a cold or something.'

'And as much as I love Adrien, I'd hate to catch his germs!'

Kim rolled his eyes. 'Mylene?'

'I don't pry into other people's businesses, Kim!'

'Alright, alright. Jules?'

She shook her head. Rose did the same. 'The poor thing, he shouldn't come to school when he's sick.' Rose said.

'He misses a lot of lessons because of modelling and stuff,' Juleka pointed out. 'He probably doesn't want to fall behind.'

'I suppose...'

'This is getting nowhere;' Kim announced, throwing his hands in the air. 'Alya and Nino, you must have seen that, right?'

Alya cursed under her breath. 'He's onto us,' she muttered. Nino snorted at the prospect.