"Just a Friend?" Book 1 of "Secrets Unraveled" Trilogy (MLB FanFic) |COMPLETED|

Chpt 19: Marinette becomes a bad influence?

The next time Adrien and Marinette met to work on their project was Monday at Marinette's. Marinette let him in with a smile, which Adrien returned, and she led him up to her room. Marinette's mom smiled to herself after they were out of sight. I knew it. So cute! she thought, also thinking that it was about time. Marinette had had a crush on Adrien for what seemed like forever!

Marinette and Adrien sat down next to each other, closely, at her desk and started kissing, which lasted for a few minutes before Marinette pulled away and scooted her chair out of reach. "Okay, um. . . we need to. . . um. What?" She slid her eyes side-ways and noticed Adrien was looking at her curiously. She couldn't remember what she was saying if she looked at him. And his lips. She turned her focus on her papers. "Oh. Yes, we need to concentrate on our project. We need to do a good job on this and turn it in on time or we are going to be in so much trouble!" she finished.

Adrien nodded. "Yes, you're right." He gathered his resolve. "Okay, where did we leave off?" he said looking down at his papers, trying to remember what he was supposed to be doing, which was really difficult when Marinette and her lips were sitting so close to him.

Adrien heard the squeaking wheels of Marinette's chair. He looked up from the papers in surprise and saw that Marinette was scooting closer again. She leaned over to give him another kiss. "Right there," she said. He wasn't sure whether she meant the kiss or the paper she had her hand on.

"Marinette, I think you may be a bad influence," he said as he gave her another kiss. "Not that I'm complaining!"

She blushed slightly and reluctantly scooted away, bringing up their project on her computer.

"You know, Marinette, I really like this take charge side of you. I hadn't really noticed it before we started working together on this project."

"You mean because I could hardly get out a sentence around you and was constantly falling over," she asked him while blushing a bright pink.

"No," he squeezed her hand lightly, "because we haven't really spent that much time together. I've always noticed your kindness, which I know everyone sees daily, but this project allowed us to be more ourselves, I think, away from everyone else's expectations of us."

"I hope you know that I wasn't interested in you because you were famous. I have to admit I had no idea who you were when Chloe announced to the class that you were going to be coming to school. Do you know when I first really became interested in getting to know you?" 

He shook his head.

She remembered that day very clearly. I noticed how sweet he was and then our hands touched. And my stammering and crazy behavior around him started right then, she thought. "It was when you talked to me after school on that rainy day, telling me the truth that you were only trying to get that gum off my seat, not put it on, and then you handed me your umbrella."

"Which then promptly closed on your head!" He laughed at the memory. "I'd had that umbrella for years and that never happened to me, but the first time you hold it it does that. I've often wondered how you managed that!"

"Ha, ha!" Marinette said sarcastically. "I think I pushed the close button on the handle. I am always clumsy. So very, very clumsy!" she complained.

A distant memory of her saying that rang in Adrien's head, but he couldn't quite remember it. Was that her? He shook his head at her in disagreement. "No, you aren't always so clumsy. Actually, I haven't seen that clumsiness in quite awhile. Or the awkwardness." He leaned over for another kiss. Marinette was pretty sure he was wrong about the clumsiness, but it was still nice to hear. Adrien straightened up. "Okay, I'll take charge this time. We need to get to work!" They bent their heads over their notes and started on their project.

They took a break awhile later. "Adrien," Marinette said as she turned to look at him, "would it be okay if, just for now, we kept our new relationship to ourselves? I really like what we have and if it's brought to school, we're going to get a lot of attention, some not so great, and I don't know if I'm ready for that."

Adrien completely understood what she was saying. Chloe would go on the attack for one and he didn't want to see Marinette get hurt. And, he wasn't sure he was really ready to share this with anyone yet, either. Not to mention he didn't want his father to hear about the relationship and somehow stop him from seeing Marinette.  On the other hand, he really didn't like keeping secrets. 

"Are you sure you want to keep this from Alya and Nino, though?" he asked her, feeling conflicted about keeping something so important from his best friend but also knowing Marinette should have a say in something that involves both of them. "I think I'm okay with that for a little while until we figure things out, but not forever, right?"

"No, of course not forever. I just feel like we have a lot on our plates right now and I don't need any more distractions. Beyond you, anyway," she said to him before giving him a kiss. She stood up. "So, snacks?"

Adrien's stomach rumbled. "I guess that's a 'yes' " and he followed her downstairs.