Unmasked

Chapter Nine

Dedicated to cosmicgirl033005

Word Count: 984

I sat in class next to Adrien, he made consistent jokes, but I was too busy looking at my classmates to take them in. Someone was missing, the same girl I had seen earlier on the phone. Chloe Bourgeois was missing from class.

Normally I wouldn't be worried, but I had seen her in the halls this morning, and now, during the first period, she was missing.

The teacher didn't seem worried, she didn't even call her name in attendance, just accepting that she wasn't in class. And if that wasn't weird enough, Chloe walked into class halfway through the period and the teacher just nodded at her.

Something was off.

My eyes met Adrien's green ones and he shrugged in response. Now that I basically knew that Adrien was Chat Noir, it made communicating in class easier. We've known each other basically our entire lives, I could read him like an open book, just like he could to me.

Adrien gave a worried glance at Chloe and gave me a look I knew all too well, danger, his eyes read.

In a flash lunch had arrived, Alya and I sat with Adrien and Nino again, but this time someone sat next to us. Adrien gave me a sly smile as he leads Chloe to our table, "hey guys, I asked Chloe to have lunch with us!"

He was practising an age-old tactic, keep your friends close but your enemies closer.

We didn't know for a fact that Chloe was an Akuma, but today she was showing some weird behaviour, and I'd rather we have her close so if she was an Akuma we could easily grab the knife before she stabbed us in the back, vs, her sniping us from far away.

Anyways, if she was innocent then we could make an ally.

Nino and Alya said hello to Chloe and I smiled at her as she sat down at our table. Adrien slid in beside me a little closer than I would consider professional.

Stupid cat.

Nino leaned forwards and stared at the necklace that Chloe had around her neck. "What's that?" he asked as she played with it.

She cleared her throat and put up a mask of arrogance, "Designer necklace. Nothing you could afford, Nerd."

Nino leaned back into his seat and gave a strained laugh. I watched his reaction with calculating eyes.

Alya broke the tension by talking about all the homework. "It's all so much!" she exclaimed in frustration. "And on top of that I joined the newspaper club and I still need to write an article!"

"You joined a club?" I asked her in surprise. That was a pretty good idea for getting information if I could join a club that gossiped a lot they might just end up on the topic of Akumas if I nudged the conversation a bit...

Warmth flew through me as I felt Adrien's hand draw circles on my leg under the table.

He and I were going to have a long talk about professionalism one day, and that this was a perfect example of getting off task. When I looked over at him he just gave me a mischievous smile, not unlike the one the character Cheshire Cat portrays in Alice in Wonderland.

It took all my strength to keep my train of thought on track, so I subtly moved his hand off my leg and instead put my hand on his leg, "Adrien, are you going to join a club?" I asked him, trying to give him a glare that said 'yes you are mister.' If he was going to be so adamant about being a distraction, as the leader of the group, it was my job to keep him focused on the mission. Also, he was really getting on my nerves.

His eyes widened and gave me a boyish grin, "Of course, Princess. Probably fencing or band."

Chloe chimed in this time, "You play an instrument?"
He nodded and looked over at her, "I actually play the piano."

We stood in the lobby of the hotel we were at. "What are you doing, Chat?" I asked him quietly as I played with the hem of my red dress.

He just grinned before pulling me to sit on a chair before sitting at the piano. He played a gentle tune, his fingers dancing over the keys effortlessly. "Playing you a song, of course."

I rolled my eyes as he continued to play a song. Only he would take me to the piano to keep me occupied during a life-threatening mission. He was never one to take things seriously.

"Calm down M'lady, we still have fifty minutes before it's all done... Until then let's get to know each other." The song drifted from a soft melody into a more intense tune.

I gave him a wicked grin and sat down beside him on the piano bench. "I thought we were going to get to know each other in... other ways." I admitted as I placed my hands over his so I could pretend that I was playing the song too.

He soon switched our hands so that mine were on the keys and his were over mine, guiding them to the correct keys. "That way is always fun, but I love your voice. I just want to hear all about you in this wondrous voice with no boundaries."

My head settled itself on his shoulder as I leaned against him. "How about truth or dare?" I asked him.

He gave me an amused laugh before countering, "okay you first, truth or dare?" His emerald eyes stared at me as if daring me to make a decision that I would probably later regret.

I kissed his cheek and stared down at the piano as he guided my hands over the piano keys, creating a sweet sounding song to play. "Dare."

-=-

Sorry so short.

I've run out of excuses, just haven't felt like writing latley, and that's on me.

But I hope you enjoy what I have somehow managed to write! The story is also on Archive of Our Own under my username, secretsinmyhead. No real difference, but it's another platform to read on if you want.

-SecretsInMyHead