"Faceless Future" Book 2 of "Secrets Unraveled" Trilogy |COMPLETED|

Chpt 16: Plagg's Pep Talk and a Dramatic Performance.

Adrien headed out of the house, slamming the door behind him and striding toward the gates.  Plagg zoomed out of Adrien's shirt and put his arms out to stop him, before they left the courtyard of the house so he wouldn't be seen.  Adrien stopped and looked at Plagg, surprised by Plagg's behavior.  He wondered what he wanted.

"Okay, so that didn't exactly go how you hoped, I'm guessing," said Plagg with a slight smile.  Plagg was trying to follow through on what he had told Marinette he was going to try to do- look out for his boy more.  It was obvious how upset Adrien was and he didn't blame him.  Gabriel could be a real jerk!

Adrien let out a snort and shoved his hands in his pockets.  His heart was still racing from his confrontation with his father and he couldn't even form any coherent thoughts in his head.  He was just so . . . so . . . furious! 

"But, you know, it could have been worse.  No one kept you from leaving.  You came in and showed your father that you wouldn't be controlled by him and you left.  One step at a time, right?" said Plagg encouragingly.

Adrien thought about what Plagg said.  "Yeah, I guess you're right.  When did you get so good at giving pep talks?" he asked Plagg, giving him a hint of a smile.

Plagg was relieved to see the smile.  "I've always been good at it.  It's just no one asks me, or really expects it, since I generally don't want to bother.  But, you know I have a soft spot for you.  You've had it rough."  Plagg gave Adrien a little hug.

"But, don't let it go to your head!  I can change back at any time!" said Plagg as a warning, pulling back from the hug.  "Now let's go see that nice girl who is probably waiting somewhere nearby for you, worrying!" he said as he flew back inside Adrien's shirt.

Adrien smiled, knowing Plagg was completely right about Marinette.  He got out his phone to text her.

"I'm done," he wrote. 

Bubbles appeared immediately and Marinette wrote back: "I'm at the new café halfway down the street.  Meet me here?"

"On my way!"  Adrien texted with a smile, knowing how lucky he was to have Marinette, Plagg, and Tikki all on his side.

Adrien opened the gates and headed down the block.  As he was walking he got the feeling that he was being watched.  He took a quick glance around but didn't see anyone suspicious.  Maybe I'm just imagining it, he thought. 

Adrien arrived at the café and saw Marinette at a table near the back.  He wound his way through the tables and sat down at a chair across from her. He saw that Marinette had ordered him a hot chocolate with a side cup of whipped cream. She must have expected that it hadn't gone well and she got him the same thing she got herself when she needed cheering up.  He noticed that she had already finished hers.

Marinette pushed the full cups over to him.  "Thanks!" he said, adding a big dollop of the whipped cream to his hot chocolate before taking a sip.  "You definitely ordered correctly," he said wryly.

She gave him a sympathetic look.  "If it had been anyone other than your father I probably would have been more optimistic.  Sorry!" she added quickly, feeling guilty.  This was his father after all!

"No need to be sorry.  I stopped by to see Nathalie and she wasn't any more help, either.  You'd think she'd want to take some kind of action to help herself, but she just seems to be resigned to suffering.  That's a messed up kind of love," he said sadly.

"So, nothing came from going there? At all?" Marinette asked, hoping to find some silver lining.

"Well, I did see my mom.  She seems unchanged, which I guess is good.  And, Nathalie doesn't seem any worse.  And Plagg reminded me that it wasn't so bad as I went in there, confronted my father, and then was able to leave.  One step at a time."  He took a bite of his chocolatey whipped cream. This is so good! he thought, momentarily distracted from his troubles by the sweet treat. Marinette really does know the right thing to order!

"Plagg said that?  Amazing!" she said jokingly.

"Hey, I can give advice!" said a muffled voice.

"I know that you are capable, just not always willing," she replied with a smile.

A tiny "humph" was heard coming from Adrien's shirt.

"You know I love you!" she said quietly.

"Yeah, yeah," Plagg conceded.

Tikki giggled softly from Marinette's purse.

The sound of giggling girls behind Adrien interrupted their conversation and he turned his head to see what was going on.  He saw a group of girls, maybe around age eleven or twelve, sitting a few tables over.  When he looked their way, they all looked down at the menus in front of them not meeting his eyes.

Marinette had noticed the girls earlier.  "I think they're some fans.  They came in a few minutes after you and have been glancing our way ever since they sat down. They may have taken a few pictures. So cute!"

Adrien turned back to Marinette.  "I wonder if that is why I felt that someone was watching me as I was walking here.  I would certainly prefer that kind of attention to many other kinds!" he said.

"Did your last ad campaign finally get released, do you think?  I have to admit I am not quite so up on your publicity these days," she said with a grin.  "I hardly even notice your billboards any more."  Marinette was surprised that that was the truth.  How things have changed!

"I'm not really sure how I should take that information," he said with a mock frown.  "Am I just so boring to you now that I have been your boyfriend for almost three months?  Or is it that I am unattractive to you now?  You're looking for someone new, aren't you?" he asked dramatically.

Marinette tried not to laugh, wondering what he was doing, but she was enjoying the performance.  This was really out of character for him. Trouble with his father did seem to bring out a different side of Adrien these days- more emotions and just a little bit unpredictable. At least he wasn't still brooding about how badly his visit to his father went.  She decided to join him in his drama distraction.  Maybe he was entertaining his fans?

She scooted her chair around the table so she was now sitting right next to him.

"No, Adrien!" Marinette exclaimed with enough volume that she hoped that the girls could hear, "I couldn't possibly be looking for anyone new!  You're perfect- I could never hope to find anyone as wonderful as you!"

Marinette leaned over, wrapped her arms around his neck, closed her eyes and gave him a kiss.  She could hear little giggles and the clicks of phones taking their picture.  

Adrien had no idea what he had been thinking when he started the fake drama, but he responded warmly to Marinette's kiss, putting his hands on her waist.

Marinette could feel all of the eyes on them and reluctantly pulled back from their kiss.  She had to admit that they hadn't had much fun the last few weeks.  Too many new things to adjust to and too many uncertainties.  Maybe I should start planning some fun dates rather than just waiting for Adrien to adjust to everything first. I've really missed the relationship we had before, she thought.

 She scooted her chair back to its original position.

Adrien finished his hot chocolate.  "Ready to go?" he asked, standing up and offering her his hand.

Marinette reached for his hand and stood up.  "Yes," she said.  They started walking hand in hand toward the door, passing by the group of girls.

"Hi, ladies," Adrien said to them as they passed by.  The girls blushed and giggled.  Marinette smiled at them and she and Adrien headed home.