Adrien the Bad Boy (Miraculous Fanfic)

Part 10

Adrien's POV

Needless to say, Nathaniel was expelled. The principal recognized what happened after Marinette and I explained with Nathaniel waiting in the room next door. Nathaniel was given a serious talk, and sent home to never return to school. Marinette was asked if she wanted to press charges—which was what I wanted her to do—but in the end, she didn't charge. After the entire hour of sorting out the whole ordeal, I could tell Mari wouldn't want to go class. We walked out of the principals office, and began to walk to class.

"Marinette, why don't you go?" I suggested with a supportive smile. "I'll give you a ride."

She looked at me then back down to the multicolored tile floor. She walked slowly which was a dead give away; she was trying to stall going into class.

"I would, but I don't want to worry my mom," she told me with her eyes on the floor. "She didn't want to let me come today, and if I went home right now, she wouldn't ever let me come back."

I understood what she was saying honestly. Her mom was really worked up about the entire thing—rightfully so. I know that if my daughter wanted to go to school with the guy who almost raped her again, and with the entire school knowing what happened, I would forbid it. I don't think Marinette would want that for our, I mean, her future children. I kind of felt that she came into school today to prove something to herself. Maybe to prove that she's strong.

"Who said anything about you going to your house?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. "You could come to my place. How about that?"

She and I had stopped in the middle of the hall at this point, and I was staring down at her staring at the floor. I don't know what come over me, but I put my finger under her chin and lifted it so she was looking into my eyes. I saw something flash in her eyes that sent a jolt down my spine.

"What do you say, Marinette?" I asked her in a whisper.

Her face turned a little pink and she bit her lip. Finally, she nodded with a shy smile. I stepped away from her and it felt like any tension was released. I pulled out my phone to call my driver who said he'd be there in three minutes. Marinette and I made our way to the front of the school, and she and I waited in silence for my driver. Gorilla arrived and I held the door opened for her. She and I rode to my house in complete silence. We got to my house soon enough, and I quickly brought her up to my room. I closed the door behind us, and turned to her.

"What do you want to do?" I asked then stared at the clock sitting at my desk. "We have about six hours and forty-five minutes to kill."

She looked around my room then back at me.

"Netflix marathon?" She suggested.

I nodded at her then went to the white leather sofa to turn on the TV. I flipped on the flat screen, and went directly to Netflix. I pulled up my account.

"What are you in the mood for?" I began scrolling through all of the options. "Friends? Stranger Things? Criminal Minds? Grey's Anatomy? The Office? Or anything else?"

From her spot, Marinette replied, "Let's watch The Office."

I turned from my spot on the couch to see that she hadn't moved a muscle. I jumped over the back of the couch toward her. I walked until I was in front of her. I stuck my hand out to her, and she flinched back. Her eyes were closed as she angled her body away from me. I winced backward.

"M-Marinette?" I asked in a hushed tone.

I hovered over her not wanting to crowd her. She opened her eyes, and looked at me. She didn't say anything, and for a while I just watched as she looked straight at the ground.

"Marinette," I started after an eternity of silence. "You know I. . .you know I would never hurt you, right?"

She looked up a few seconds later, and I could see she was holding back her tears.

"I-I trust you, b-but I trusted Nathaniel. H-he h-hurt me. He r-ruined me. H-he. . ." she trailed off probably seeing that I understood what she was saying.

"Marinette, Nathaniel is a piece of shit, and I would never, never, ever hurt you," I explained to her.

She crossed her arms over her chest, and told me, "I-I know that. I just saw a flash of him as you reached out to me, and I. . .I was brought back to that awful moment."

"I-I'm sorry that I brought you back to that," I sighed.

I was an idiot to push her. I should've known. I basically had her in a confined place and didn't even think about the traumatic experience she just went through.

"It's okay," she told me. "You had no way of knowing."

I nodded, but still felt like a prick. We stood there for a few seconds before she grabbed my hand.

"The Office is waiting, Adrien. You get the snacks, and I'll get the blankets and pillows," she ordered with a smile.

I smiled back, but like her own smile, it was forced. She went toward my bed to grab pillows and blankets, and I went toward the intercom. I asked the kitchen staff to bring up some popcorn and other assorted snacks. In minutes, they had arrived with a trifecta of snacks. Marinette carried every blanket and pillow in sight to the couch. And in that moment, I didn't care that I was breaking my strict diet or that I was skipping school or that I would have to make my bed later. I was focusing on the amazing girl sitting directly next to me. Honestly, I felt like Jim and I thought she was like Pam. And we all know how that ended—a marriage and children.

Eventually, Marinette fell asleep right next to me. She was resting her head against my shoulder and she was snoring peacefully. We had about three more hours to hang, so I decided to let her sleep. All of a sudden, I heard a vibrating noise. It wasn't my phone because mine was on silent, so I assumed it was Marinette's. I didn't want to eavesdrop or intrude, but I wanted to see who was calling her. I expected to see her mom or dad's name pop up, but instead I saw a name that made my fists clench. I answered the call, and tried to sound as calm as possible.

"Babe, thanks for picking up for once. So I know that we didn't get to go all the way, but now that I don't have school, we can finally. So why don't you drop by after school. I'll get myself situated," the male voice said to what he probably assumed was Marinette.

"She won't be coming over to your place anytime soon," I spat into the phone.

"Oh, shit," the voice cursed. "Adrien, what are you doing with her?"

I almost laughed at how he sounded worried about her.

"I'm treating her right," I simply said.

The voice laughed a mocking laugh. "For now. But just know I won't rest until I get her. I don't care where you go with her, I will catch up."

I felt my jaw tighten as I told him, "You won't as long as she's with me."

"You know just as well as me that you can't be with her every second of every day," the voice warned.

"We'll see about that," I replied.

With that, I hung up the phone before I could yell or let him respond. I looked down at the sleeping girl next to me as she scooted closer to me. I took that as a sign of trust. I would never break that trust. As she snored lightly, I made a vow.

I would protect Marinette Dupain-Cheng until I physically couldn't anymore.