A Recorded Life - Miraculous Ladybug

30 - Arm-Wrestling Match

Words: 2671
Chapter Summary: Two days after talking to Master Fu, they give the cure a shot. At school, Marinette's friends have a small debate and come up with the perfect idea. After school, the gang hangs out, and Marinette and Adrien finally have a chance to play their favorite video game.
Author's Note: Sorry for the missed upload last week! This chapter wasn't finished and I didn't want to rush it. And I'm glad I didn't, because I love how this chapter came out! 

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Thursday

Adrien walks around his house carefully. He can feel eyes on him at all times, and though his father and Nathalie say he's paranoid, he doesn't believe them. He thinks they're prepping to tell him the decision about school is final, and he was going to be stuck in his room until Hawkmoth is defeated.

He hoped Marinette and he could figure out a way to convince Gabriel he was fine being in school.

They got Fu's cure and used it for the first time last night. It was a little different than Fu had told them, instead of affecting the Miraculous directly, it was to make Adrien and Marinette more alert and aware of things around them. For it being only one night, Adrien didn't feel any different. But Fu had told them it would be a slight change, just enough to catch something strange, even in their sleep. Adrien wasn't so sure about it, but if it meant Marinette would be sleeping through the night, then he would believe it.

Nathalie and Gabriel have been asking more and more questions about him being Chat Noir. It's like that's all they have on their minds these days. He gets it, they're worried about him, but they're overdoing it a bit. He's been escaping the house a lot more often, and even going to school a little earlier. At least Gorilla didn't speak much; he didn't kill him with questions.

On the way to school that morning, Adrien kept thinking about all the times he's escaped this car. As they pulled up and Adrien was getting ready to get out, he leaned forward. "Hey, I'm pretty sure you knew a long time ago. Thanks for keeping my secret."

For the first time ever, Gorilla turned to Adrien and had a hint of a smile on his face. It was slight, but just enough to show emotion. What was even more shocking was when he opened his mouth. "It is my job to protect you," Gorilla said, very soft-spoken. Adrien has rarely heard him talk, but whenever he did, it was always heartfelt. Adrien's face glowed, and the biggest smile appeared.

"You're the best!" Adrien said as he got out of the car, running into the school. He was a little early, but he was okay with that. Dropping some things at his locker, he saw Alya and Nino sitting at a table, and they were also there early. When he approached the table, he noticed most of his class was surrounding it as well.

"She's probably the strongest out of all of us!" Alya said. "She could beat Kim in an arm-wrestling match."

Kim scoffed. "Yeah, right!"

"There's an eighty-nine percent chance she would win," Max backed up with facts. "Sorry, Kim."

Adrien chuckled as he walked up to his friends. "What are we talking about?"

"If Marinette is stronger than Kim," Nino filled in. "He's the only one who thinks he's stronger."

Adrien's eyes widened. "Trust me; she's stronger."

"Got any proof?" Kim crosses his arms.

Deadpanned, Adrien stared at Kim like he was crazy for asking that question. "I have personally been thrown across Paris by Marinette. Multiple times."

"He does have a point," Alix laughed, standing right next to Kim and punching his shoulder lightly. "If anyone would know, it would be Adrien."

"Ooh! I've got the best idea!" Alya jumped in her seat. "After school, we could record an arm-wrestling contest between anyone in the class that wants to take down Marinette, and post it to her channel!" Alya said. "Maybe then, haters would see that she is fit to be Ladybug, and she's not a fake."