When the Cat Met the Wolf

34. Origins Part 5: How Arianne Fell In Love With Adrien

"Oh, there's my sweet pie!" said Arianne's grandmother when she saw her thirteen year old grandniece getting into the hospital room.

"Hey, grand-mère" greeted the girl with a smile, approaching the bed where her grandma was currently resting "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine, dear!" said the old woman, but she was lying. She knew her time was coming, and she knew that Arianne did, too. She was a very intelligent girl "How are you and your parents holding up?"

"Fine, I guess" replied Arianne, shrugging. She didn't really know what to answer to that, because they were clearly not alright "We've all been distracted, though. Working on other things. Mom has been quite busy with the restaurant, and I...well, I've been practicing a lot"

"I see you brought your violin!" observed the old woman, upon seeing the case hanging from the girl's back "Would you care to play a song for an old lady?" if she was gonna die, she wanted to die with Arianne's melody in her heart.

The girl's face lit up upon hearing that, and she nodded excited as she took out the violin. She got in position, and started to play 'For the Love of a Princess'.

As she played, tears filled her grandma's eyes because of the beautiful melody. She loved seeing her grandniece playing the violin, because she had real talent, and she was sure that she would get far with it.

Once she was done playing, her grandma clapped enthusiastically.

"That was beautiful, dear" she said, wiping a tear off of her eye "I'm glad you decided to learn to play the violin" Arianne smiled at her grandma upon hearing that "Come, I wanna tell you something" 

When she reached the bed, her grandma held her hands softly.

"You are a beautiful young lady, sweet pie. I'm really proud of how much you've grown, and of who you'll become. I remember when you were a little mouse and were always begging me to play the piano for you. You used to say 'c'mon, grandma! Please, I want to hear more!' and I always did as told because I loved seeing you happy" some tears filled Arianne's eyes now, because she knew that this was her grandmother's way of saying goodbye "And now...look at you! You don't need me to play songs for you anymore, because you can play your own now! That's all I ever wanted for you!"

"Grandma..." said Arianne with a broken voice, as a couple of tears fell from her eyes.

"It's alright, dear" assured the woman "We all get our time in this earth, and mine is already over, but yours is just beginning! And you have to spend it to the fullest! Live, love, have fun, play...you only have one life. If you are gonna live it, you have to live it right. Promise me you will"

"I promise" she nodded with tears on her eyes "I promise"

That was the last time Arianne saw her grandmother.

Thirteen-year old Arianne stood on the street, leaning against the rail of pont de arts bridge and staring at the boats in the distance, which were a blur because of her tears.

She had just received the news that her grandmother had died in her sleep, of old age. Arianne knew that her time was coming, and she knew that the last time she saw her she said her goodbye, but even so, she wasn't ready, and she ran out of the house immediately after her parents broke the news to her. They were probably worried about her, but she couldn't bring herself to go back, because her house was full of pictures of her grandmother, and she wouldn't be able to stop crying.

Her grandma used to be like a second mother to her. When her parents were working, they always left her at her care, and she would tell her stories about her childhood, and she was the person that encouraged her to become a violinist. Her grandmother was the reason for her being the way she was.

And now she was gone. And Arianne didn't think she would be able to cope with her death. She was devastated.

"Hey, Aria!" she heard the very familiar voice of Adrien, and quickly wiped her tears away, before turning around to look at him with a fake smile.

"Hey, Adrien!" she greeted in the most cheerful way she could handle, and he didn't seem to notice that she was sad "What are you doing here?"

"Just taking a walk" he replied casually, and she knew he was lying.

"You ran away again, didn't you?" she could see through him easily.

"I had to!" replied Adrien, leaning against the rail besides her "I needed some time on my own, I can't step outside without a bodyguard or a limousine following me everywhere"

"That's the life of a supermodel for you" said the girl, staring back at the horizon.

"I didn't want it to be like this" replied Adrien. It was sort of overwhelming.

"I know it's not the best way, but I'm sure you'll get used to it"

"I don't think I can ever get used to it" replied the boy sadly, but quickly changed attitudes "But enough about me. What are you doing here? Don't tell me you ran away, too" he joked good-heartedly, but Arianne didn't answer as the reason why she was there hit her again. 

She pressed her lips together to hold back the tears, but Adrien noticed her bleary eyes, and concerned was soon written all over his face.

 "Hey, are you okay?" 

Arianne couldn't hide it anymore, and tears started to flow from her face, much to Adrien's worry. 

"H-hey, what happened?" he grabbed her from one shoulder, and leaned his head to the side, to see the crying girl clearly, but she just sobbed "Arianne, talk to me. Tell me what's going on" the girl sniffed, and turned to look at her best friend with puffy eyes.

"M-my grandmother" some more sobs came out of her mouth, making it hard for her to talk clearly. Adrien opened his eyes wide upon hearing her mentioning her grandma "She-she is gone" after she let those words out, she broke down, and the boy looked at her with pain in his eyes. He didn't want to see her like that.

"Aria, I'm so sorry" he knew that wasn't of much help, so he just proceeded to wrap his arms around her. He was taller than her, so he placed her head against his chest. The girl sagged against him for support, as she kept crying, soaking his t-shirt with her tears, but Adrien didn't care. He only cared about the girl in his arms, and in trying to make her feel better somehow, but he wasn't sure he could.

Losing family was always hard, he knew that because, even though he had his mother with him, his father was extremely distant. But he never felt truly alone, because he had Arianne. She had been there for him many times when he was upset about the situation with his father, and it was time for him to return the favor.

Once she calmed down a bit, Adrien broke apart softly, and looked deep into her eyes.

"Listen, Aria" he started silently "I know how you feel right now. You feel depressed and like the world is against you, like you are alone, but you are not. You are never alone. You taught me that, and I have to return the favour to you" the girl sobbed a bit, because Adrien was right. That was exactly how she felt "Shh, it's okay" he wiped some tears that were falling softly away with his thumb, and held her face in his hands "I'm here for you, I will always be here for you. It's you and me, always. Whenever you feel alone, let me know. I will be by your side in a heartbeat, to let you know that you are not, okay?" Arianne stared at him deep in the eye for some seconds, and saw something different. Felt something different, that she had never felt before.

And when she nodded, and Adrien took her in his arms once more, Arianne knew that she was in love.