Love by Design - Adrienette

Who?

"What do you mean you don't know who Adrien is? We both know you know very well!" Alya stood with her hands on her hips. She had been called as backup by Mylene, who feared Marinette had suffered from brain trauma. Alya knew that was somewhat correct, but that it was mental trauma as opposed to physical - Mylene had suggested Marinette sustained a blow to the head.

"Alya, please don't make it worse!" Mylene pleaded with her. "She could really be hurt!"

"No, she knows exactly what she is doing, and I know why. Adrien is... a touchy subject with her right now."

The subject of the discussion broke in, "What? Hehe, who I don't know? I mean... I still don't know who you are talking about."

Taking a better look at her behavior, Mylene could tell that Marinette was indeed acting, and not even very well. She should have known better; her father was a professional actor at the theatre! Her concern had delayed her assessment of the situation.

"What happened to them?" Mylene questioned Alya.

"I can't tell you yet, but I'm writing all the juicy details into an article for the school blog! Be sure to check in after a few days!"

Marinette gave Alya a 'You betrayed me!' look, but was unable to verbally challenge her on it without admitting that she indeed did know who Adrien was. Either way was a win for Alya; as it was she had access to a killer scoop without coming into conflict with her best friend. If her friend did choose to challenge her on it, it would still be worth it. That way she could force Marinette out of her "bonkers" mental state.

Alya opened the rough draft of her article on her phone. She had considered it done, but a gut instinct told her not to post it quite yet. She was glad for that now - she had more detail to add to the drama. To refresh her memory, she took a quick read over what she had so far:

Francois Dupont Students Forced to be Together?!

Ask anyone in school, and chances are, you can get some information about the many ways in which Adrien Agreste (10th) is micro-managed by his wealthy father. You will hear that Mr. Agreste subjects him to hours of private tutoring and frequent photoshoots, while forbidding him to spend time with those his own age. His newest demands on his son are on a whole new level; Mr. Agreste has now decided to exert control over his son's love life in an attempt to influence the girl he had chosen to work for his company. How do I get all my information? I have my resources, but this case has a personal connection. The girl chosen by Mr. Agreste was none other than my best friend, Marinette Dupain-Cheng (10th).

The situation didn't seem too bad at first; Marinette has been crushing on Adrien for ages and never could figure out how to tell him. I was excited for her when she got invited over to his house - even more so when he asked her out on his own soon after. I didn't think much of the parental nudge that got them started; that is, until Mr. Agreste took it too far.

Today, Nino Lahiffe (10th) and I were at the theatre with the couple. When we all left, we were surprised to find Adrien's father waiting for us. Mind you, this man is known for rarely appearing in public. We should have known something was up when the stingy man bought snacks for all of us, including his model son! He informed us he intended to arrange a marriage between Adrien and Marinette! His explanation was that he felt she was talented, and that he could supply the money to put her through college, but that he wanted some way to assure that she would go to work for his company when she was through. His *cough* drastic *cough* solution was a marriage. Adrien walked out on him; it was priceless! Poor Marinette choked hard enough it scared everyone there (she's fine now). Luckily, they won't have to go through anything they don't want to, as Marinette's parents won't stand for it. Mark my words though, they can only delay the inevitable. Those two are meant to be together.

She'd been satisfied with her article when she'd finished it the previous night, but now the news was already outdated. That would not do for her blog - her news needed to be sensational! She began a fresh draft, using her old one as reference material.

Francois Dupont Students Forced to be Together?!

Rumors have been flying around this school as of late, and as manager of the school blog, who better than myself to investigate them?! Especially when rumors involve Adrien Agreste (10th) having a vicious breakup with my very own best friend Marinette Dupain-Cheng (10th). I'd like to put that rumor to rest, but at the same time, reveal the even more dramatic truth.

The only accurate detail I have heard is that they did finally begin dating at the end of last week. However, this was directly after Marinette had been invited over to the Agreste residence by Adrien's father. Despite Marinette having crushed on Adrien for months (filled with failed attempts of telling him how she felt) it was Mr. Agreste that instigated their relationship - and he hasn't been able to keep his fingers out of it since.

Yesterday, Nino Lahiffe (10th) and I were at the theatre with the couple. When we all left we were surprised to find Adrien's father waiting for us. Mind you, this man is known for rarely appearing in public. We should have known something was up when the stingy man bought snacks for all of us, including his model son! He informed us he intended to arrange a marriage between Adrien and Marinette! His explanation was that he felt she was talented, and that he could supply the money to put her through college, but that he wanted some way to assure that she would go to work for his company when she was through. His *cough* drastic *cough* solution was a marriage. Adrien walked out on him; it was priceless! Poor Marinette choked hard enough it scared everyone there (she's fine now). Luckily, they won't have to go through anything they don't want to, as Marinette's parents won't stand for it.

So next time you see one of them taking the long way around the schoolyard to avoid the other, know it isn't in anger - it's in sheer mortification. Neither one of them has ended their relationship, so technically they are still together; it's just that they can't bring themselves to talk to each other. Or in Marinette's case, even about the other. I'm not going to lie; this development took me by surprise when reported to me by Mylene Haprele (10).

By only expressing a friendly concern, Mylene endured being scared half to death when she was the one to discover Marinette's "memory loss". That's right, Marinette is so adamant about avoiding the topic that she is pretending she doesn't even know who Adrien is anymore - a complete turn around from when she was worrying about him every day.  I'm positive she is faking the brain damage (she's not a good actress - sorry Marinette), but this is still a traumatizing time for her, and I'm worried for her. She has been dealt a difficult hand, but unless she learns to play with it she is going to force herself away from the one she loves.

Alya wanted badly to include the last two sentences from the end of the original draft, but she begrudgingly told herself it wouldn't be right to poke fun at her friends - this was serious to them. She posted it as it was.

She watched eagerly as her classmates around her responded to notifications on their phones; it warmed her heart to see how many people were subscribed to her blog. Their reactions in three, two, one...