Nine Lives~A Marichat Story

Chapter 3

Adrien left Marinette's house feeling confused and conflicted. Did he love Ladybug or Marinette? The more he thought about it the more unsure he became about the whole dilemma. If only he had someone he could talk to about this, usually he would tell Ladybug or Mari but considering the circumstances, that was kind of impossible. Little did he know that not so far away, the girl he was in love with was having the exact same problem. "Tikki! What do I do now! I love Adrien right? But Chat is making me confused! I thought he loved Ladybug!" she groaned in frustration and dropped onto her chaise. Tikki flew over and began to caress Mari's cheek. "It's okay, Marinette. Everyone goes through something like this at one time or another. It's just a part of life." Marinette turned to look at her. "You're right Tikki. I'll just give it sometime, think things over a little more," she gave Tikki a hug and decided that she should probably go to bed. All this stressing was making her tired. "Besides," Tikki chimes, "You are Ladybug. If anyone can handle this, it's you." Marinette smiled, grateful for her supportive kwami. She yawned and said, "Thanks, Tikki," and slipped into sleep. Both superheroes went to bed that night with muddled feelings about each other.

 By the time they arrived at school the next morning, neither of them had made any conclusions about their feelings towards one another. However, the moment Mari saw Adrien she blushed and so did he. She and Alya walked over to him and Nino, with Marinette expecting that she would become a blubbering mess as soon as she started talking. But to everyone's surprise - especially her own - she didn't stutter once during their entire conversation. When they parted ways Alya grabbed Marinette by the shoulders and steered her into the bathrooms. "Girl, what was that?!" she demanded. Marinette just stood there stunned. 

"I-I'm not sure," she said blatantly. "I think I might be starting to like another person," she said with hesitation. This was too much for Alya. "What?! And you didn't tell me?" she was practically shaking Marinette now. "Details!" she screamed.

"Okay, okay. Just stop shaking me!" Mari said and desperately tried to think of a way in which she didn't mention Chat. Alya looked at her expectantly. "Well, I started hanging out with this guy a little while ago, and yesterday he kind of told me he likes me a lot. And then I said I did too," she paused. The suspense almost killing Alya. "As a best friend..." she trailed off. Her friend just stared at her in amazement. "But I'm not sure," she continued, "that I like him as a friend, or if it's more than that," she looked up at Alya and saw her grinning from ear to ear in excitement. She looked just about ready to burst. "Oh my God!" in a blur she was lifting Mari up and spinning around. "Why didn't you tell me earlier? Who is this mystery man?" she asked, her eyes shining with delight for her friend. "I can't tell you," said Marinette. "Believe it or not, if I told you you would never be able to contain yourself. But soon I promise. Just let me figure out what my feelings are and then I'll tell you. How does that sound?" She looked at Alya who had an understanding expression on her face. "Of course, Marinette. Just know I'm here whenever you need to talk," she winked at her and the two of them hugged and exited the bathroom. Little did they know that the bathroom was not completely empty. Immediately after the pair left one of the toilet cubicle doors opened. And Sabrina Raincomprix walked out with a laugh.

Next door, in the boys bathroom, a similar conversation was going down between Adrien and Nino. "Dude! I saw you blushing when Marinette and Alya walked up, are you crushin' or something?" he said with a raise of his eyebrows and surveyed Adrien's face to look for signs that he might be lying or trying to cover something up. Adrien looked away and ran his hands through his hair. "I don't know, Nino. I thought I really liked this one girl for a while, but she kept rejecting me, so now I think I like another girl but I think she just sees me as a friend.." he trailed off. He looked back at Nino and shrugged. His friend patted him on the shoulder and replied, "Well, the way I think of it, bro, is you never know until you give it a shot. And, can I just ask something?"