Chat Noir X Reader: The Muse

Chapter 42: Primavera

You glared at the back of the girl who would be posing for the Figure Drawing II class. It wasn't her fault that Marius wouldn't come, but you had to direct your anger somewhere else. You had planned to ask Marius some questions, and now your plan had simply gone down the drain. Julien was busy chatting with his partner for the class, so you couldn't ask him where the brunette was.

You passed a hand over your face. You were so tired. You had barely slept yesterday, since every little noise made you jump and clutch the pager in your hand, wondering if an akumatized villain would come and get you. And when you did sleep, your dreams were filled with images of Chat getting hurt.

You looked at the empty metal easel by your side. Adrien hadn't arrived yet. You didn't know if he was even going to come. He had sent you a message when he had arrived at his place after defeating the akuma, and that had been at 6 am. He was probably sleeping at the moment. You wished you could be doing the same, preferably by his side.

"Today we will be working with charcoal." Mrs. Boucher put her hands behind her back as she walked around the classroom. "Don't forget to exchange drawings with your partners. If you forget, your drawings won't be part of the exhibition at the end of the semester."

The classroom door opened and everyone turned to look at it. A heavy breathing Adrien walked in, his pale cheeks colored a faint red.

"I'm sorry for being late, professor," he said, a little breathless.

"I hope it doesn't repeat itself, Mr. Agreste." Mrs. Boucher's voice was firm, but it also held a softness to it. Now that you knew she had been Adrien's stepmom for a while, it made sense, but you wondered why the blonde was always so formal around her.

"It won't, professor." Adrien bowed his head a little and began to walk in your direction.

The dark circles under his eyes were more prominent and there was a colorful bruise around his left eye. If it was still visible now, it was either really recent or Adrien had been hit quite hard. It hurt just looking at it.

You moved your metal easel a little to the left, so that he could take the place by your side, but Mrs. Boucher held up her hand.

"Wait. You two won't be partnering up today," she said. You and Adrien exchanged a confused look. What happened to you two making a great pair? Mrs. Boucher motioned for a boy to move to your side. "Jean, exchange places with Adrien."

A scrawny guy with dirty blonde hair nodded and gathered his things. Adrien gave you a sad look as he walked away. You resisted the urge to run and hug him close to you.

"Hey, I'm Jean Durand. You're the Chat Noir girl, right?" Jean smiled as he put his paper on the metal easel by your side.

You pinched the bridge of your nose. "Please don't call me that."

"Oh, désolé." He pressed his lips together.

Thankfully, Jean seemed much more interested in paying attention to the girl posing than making small talk with you, and you were glad for that. Your brain was already having a rough time keeping you awake.

During the class, you kept glancing at Adrien to make sure he was doing ok. He seemed focused on his drawing, but sometimes he would crack his neck and roll his shoulders. He must be sore from the fight, you said to yourself. You wondered if he had any more bruises you couldn't see.

You felt someone's eyes on you and turned to look. Julien was staring at you. He seemed taken aback when your gazes met, but he soon smiled and waved at you before going back to his drawing. He reminded you of Marius. Maybe your blonde friend was spending too much time with him.