Please, Don't Leave Me

Chapter 5

Marc's eyes widened. The girls told others that he liked Nathaniel?? He looked away, embarrassed. Marinette stood up and hugged him. "Don't worry, Marc. The girls wanna help you catch your chance to tell him how you feel. Besides, they saw how you two have been interacting tonight," she said softly. Alex stood up and patted his shoulder. "Trust me, that boy definitely has taken an interest in you. He normally isn't this outgoing, even with spiked punch." This, of course, made Marc get even more bashful than before. Alya jumped to her feet, "I have an idea!! What if we 'forget' Marc when we head home so Nathaniel will offer to walk him home??" The girls looked like they liked the idea, which made Marc a little excited until it faded. "No, thank you, Alya... He and I don't even know each other so I can't tell him yet...." Alya smiled softly and explained that he could use this chance to get to know him. Marc nearly facepalmed; he should've figured that himself. After a minute to think it over he nodded, "Let's do it, then..."

The girls get excited and break off into groups and Juleka takes Rose to the dance floor to dance while also keeping an eye on Nathaniel. Alex and Mylene were over at the punch bowl talking about random things, having volunteered to keep an eye out for Chloe,who would have a fit if she knew about the plan. Marinette and Alya were talking to Marc, telling him some of the things they know about Nathaniel so he'd be ready for when they commence Operation Rainbow. They told him about Nathaniel's comics and how he was a huge Ladybug fan. Meanwhile, Nathaniel was at a table talking to Adrien. "I think I really like him,ya know..? He was so cute at school today and now... DAMN! He showed up here tonight dressed so hot that he's nearly irresistible... And I have no idea what to do, " Nathaniel explained. Adrien chuckled; he and Nathaniel had become pretty close ever since he was deakumatized. He smiled at his friend softly, "Why not offer to walk him home? It's still too soon to tell him you like him, but maybe you can get to know him a little bit and then befriend him. When you've known each other a bit more and you still like him, then just ask him to get something to eat like to a cafe or somewhere where he'll feel comfortable." Nathaniel sat quietly and absorbed his advice like a sponge. He had a point; if he told him now, it might scare him away. He nodded and went back to trying to have fun; that is, until he saw Marc going around searched frantically for something.

Nathaniel walked over to him. "Did you lose something?" he asked. Marc looked at Nathaniel almost in tears. He explained that he set his rainbow purse on a table so he could dance, but now it's missing. "That purse has my mini diary in it... If someone finds it and reads it...." Marc started shaking and Nathaniel instinctively held him close, "It'll be OK... I'll help you find it... I just can't guarantee in time so you have prepared for anything, but we can hope no one reads anything... However, we won't be able to find it if you're in distress like this.. Take deep breaths and try to calm down, OK?" Marc tried to do as told and before too long they hear Alya scream "FOUND IT!!!" Marc immediately tore himself from Nathaniel before running to her and took the purse from her and checked inside, only to go pale and almost faint; the diary was missing. He fell backwards into the chair behind and stared at his purse. Who would have taken the diary? Why would they want it? Nathaniel started to run over, but Alex stopped him. "Hold on, Casanova. Let Marinette and Alya try to calm him down. If you keep getting so involved right now, it might scare him. Someone stole his diary out of his purse." Nathaniel's eyes widened and he looked away. "Are they going to take him home...?" Alex shrugged.

Adrien saw Chloe try to sneak off and spotted a little notebook sticking out of her tiny handbag. His eyes filled with a rage he very rarely felt as he went and grabbed her wrist. "Stop. Right. There," he said with a tone that made her stop dead in her tracks and almost try to shrink. She knew he was pissed beyond measure. "Give me that notebook sticking out of you bag." Chloe's eyes widened and she tried to use the "But it's my diary" excuse, which was a really bad idea because he was only giving her one chance to give him the book so because she pulled that card he took it himself and opened the front cover. His eyes widened before he growled almost animalistically. "This is Marc's diary! How could you stoop so low??? This is low, even for you. Leave. And don't even think about coming around me or the others until you learn to not be a thief!!" And with that, he stormed away from her and stopped to recompose himself so he wouldn't upset the others. It took a good few minutes and he still didn't trust himself to not scare Marc.

He instead went to Alex, who was talking to Nathaniel. "Here, can you give this to Marc for me...? My temper still hasn't cooled and I don't want to scare him..." This wasn't like Adrien but he didn't argue. He took the diary and walked over to Marc, who was crying by this point, ruining his beautiful makeup. Nathaniel knelt in front of him and gently took his hand, unsure of how he'd react but wanting to offer comfort as best he could. Marc jumped and looked at him, black stained tears trailing down his cheeks. Seeing him like this broke Nathaniel's heart. He gently used his thumb to gently wipe away his tears. "Hey... It's alright... Adrien found and retrieved your diary... see...?" he said softly as he presented him with his diary. Marc's eyes went huge and he just jumped up and hugged Nathaniel so fast Nathaniel almost fell backward. When he regained his footing, his eyes softened, and he just held him close, his arms around his waist. He wasn't entirely sure what to do; Alex never was like this. After awhile he felt Marc go limp so he almost panicked. Marinette patted his shoulder, "He's OK... he fell asleep...." Nathaniel nodded and gently scooped him up bridal style. He looked at Marinette, "You three walked, right? I'll carry him home, if that's OK..." The girls nodded; they couldn't do it, and if they woke him up he might panic again. And so, Nathaniel walked the girls home while carrying his sleeping crush.