Guess Again [A Miraculous FanFiction]

Chapter Nine: Old Foes, New Friends

"I'm not bitter," Marinette muttered as she stomped to her next class. Her mind was reeling with images of Chloe and her childish actions. She was selfish, just as selfish as the day they met. As Marinette left JJ's classroom, Chloe stopped her outside and accosted her. She acted like her usual Chloe-self and normally it didn't bother Marinette. But today...

"I'm not bitter," Mari growled again under her breath. She was kidding herself though. Of course, she was. No one was immune to Chloe, not even cookie-hearted Marinette Dupain-Cheng. She was still muttering curse words about Chloe when she turned the corner and ran smack dab into...someone. A very tall someone.

"Ouch!" she complained as she lost her balance. Inwardly, she chided herself about watching where she was going. Really, she should pay more attention. She landed heavily on the hardwood floor and groaned.

Above her, someone apologized, "I'm so sorry!"

Mari opened her eyes to see the second-most-handsome boy she had ever met standing above her. His brown hair was in his eyes and he looked uncomfortable as he reached for her hand.

"I didn't see you! Are you alright?" The boy wrapped his fingers around hers and pulled her up. For a moment, his brown locks fell away from his eyes and their gazes met. His eyes were the most peculiar color she had ever seen. A deep blue that was almost...violet? His eyes were purple. How strange.

He coughed and let go of her hand. Self-consciously, she stopped staring and stepped back.

"No, it was my fault. Excuse me." She pushed around him as she rushed down the hallway, quite aware that she was blushing as-per-freaking-usual.

By the time she got to her next class, Chloe was completely forgotten. This was the one class she didn't have with her normal classmates. Since multiple schools had been damaged during the fire and subsequent break, her new school consisted of three times the amount of students she was used to. Somehow, she had ended up in a design class, which she was excited about. The only problem, of course, was that she was alone for the first time in years. No Alya, no Nino, no Adrien; not even Chloe. No one.

It felt surreal.

Mari took a seat in the second row from the front and proceeded to rustle around in her bag. She needed her sketchbook, of course. However, at first glance, it wasn't in her bag. She began to get frustrated and started pulling everything from her bag. She spread all of her things across the top of the desk, glancing at her watch to check the time as she did so. She still had about five minutes before class started.

"Aha!" she found her sketchbook. It was at the bottom, of course. She was about to start putting everything back in her bag when someone cleared their throat. She jumped, glancing up. Startled, she recognized the person. It was the brown-haired, purple-eyed boy from before.

"Is...anyone sitting here?" he asked, gesturing to the seat next to her. Quickly, she shook her head and pulled her books from the spot.

"Thanks."

Marinette waited for him to say anything else, but he didn't. After a moment of watching him settle down in the chair, she went back to what she was doing. In a significantly shorter amount of time than before, she had everything but her sketchbook and her pencils shoved back into the overstuffed bag.

Cautiously, she glanced at her table partner. He wasn't looking at her. He was drawing in a sketchbook and Mari tried not to stare at the artwork. It was better than anything she had seen on paper. It put her rough sketches to shame. He glanced up at her as if he could feel the weight of her gaze, and she blushed.

"Sorry, I, uh, didn't introduce myself before. I'm Marinette. Marinette Dupain-Cheng." She awkwardly held out her hand. He reached over and took it. They shook once, very briefly, and then he dropped her hand like she had shocked him.

"Xander. Xander Jamison. Nice to meet you." He turned away from her and went back to his sketching. She opened her mouth to speak again, but at that moment, the teacher walked in and class began.

As the bell rang, the design students stood and packed away their things. Everyone seemed to be in a rush to get to lunch, hurrying from the classroom at top speed. Everyone, that is, but a certain purple-eyed boy.

Marinette stood, hesitating as she hefted her books into her arms. Xander didn't move from his seat. She opened her mouth, but then bit her lip and told herself to shut up. Haven't you already done enough damage?

She walked down the row towards the door but stopped before she could push it open. She glanced back at Xander. He was sitting alone in an empty room. Even the teacher had left already. She felt bad leaving him there. With a quiet sigh, she walked quickly back to their desk.

"Aren't you going to lunch?" she asked.

He glanced up at her, "Probably not."

"Oh." Mari turned to leave but forced herself to not be a coward. "Are you new to the area? Did you maybe want to come meet some of my friends?" He looked at her and his expression was blank. She gave him a small smile and he shrugged. He stood, shoving his things into his bag and then he followed her without a word out of the classroom. Mari sighed. Making new friends was hard.