Sibling Duo

Chapter 2 - 16 Years Later

"Emma! Hurry or you'll be late for school!" Emma heard her mom call up the stairs. 

"Just a minute!" Emma replied as she scrounged around for a hair tie. The teenager had woken up late that morning, after staying up late to practice fencing with her father, much to her mother's dismay. Finding a hair tie, Emma scooped her long, thick blonde hair into a high ponytail.  She grabbed her book bag and assignments before she scrambled down the stairs.

"Have a good day sweetheart." Marinette wished as her daughter flew by and out the door with only a simple wave. Adrien was already waiting in the car, Emma's two brothers waiting with him. Emma stopped in her tracks when she saw Louis in the passenger seat. 

"Get in come on." Adrien rushed the girl. Emma snapped from her daze and jumped into the backseat with Hugo. The blue haired boy slid over just enough for her to place her bag down between them. 

"Seriously Louis? You had to take the front seat?" Emma questioned bitterly.

"You were too slow." The younger blonde replied. Emma closed the door and buckled up. Louis bent forward in his seat and pulled a couple croissants out of a bag and passed them back to his older brother and sister. They took them happily, they'd much rather had crossiants baked by their mother than anything that the school could have provided. Adrien was a careful driver and managed to get to the high school at a decent enough time that Hugo and Emma could relax after their morning rush before their first class. Hugo stepped out of the car, and crossed around the back and onto the sidewalk. Emma fumbled as she left the car. The girl was attempting to swing both of her backpack straps onto her shoulders, carry her books and loose papers, all while trying to hold on to the croissant in her mouth. Eventually, she got herself situated and turned around to close the door. Hugo and Emma waved to their father as he drove off to take Louis to the middle school. Emma strode into the building looking for her friend. Hugo not far behind. Emma stopped in the court yard scanning for her BFF. Finally, she spotted her. 

"Jaqueline!" Emma called to her friend across the court. Jaqueline looked up from the kid she was talking to and saw Emma. She waved happily and motioned for her to approach. Emma made her way over and sat down beside her friend. The other girl excused herself and left Emma and Jaqueline alone. 

"Girl, what happened to you this morning? You're a mess." Jaqueline pointed out. 

"I'm aware Jackie. I woke late is all." Emma explained as she tucked a lose baby hair behind her ear.

"Here. Let me help you." Jackie suggested as she slide closer to Emma and took hold of her hair. Emma was always jealous of Jackie's hair skills, she never understood how her friend could deal with the thick mess of her hair some mornings.

"There." Jackie said satisfied with her work. Emma reached up to her hair. Jaqueline had tamed the messy ponytail and added a green ribbon.

"Where'd the bow come from?" Emma asked curiously.

"I found it in on my dresser this morning. I just thought I'd bring it along." Jackie informed her friend. Emma like her new hairdo. It went well with her green Chat Noir t-shirt and dark denim jeans. 

"Woah! Is that your dad's jacket?" Jackie asked  excitedly when she noticed the white jacket Emma was wearing.

"Oh, yeah. He gave it to me after  all the cold weather we had last week." Emma replied tugging at the hem. She had been surprised when father had given the jacket to her, after all it had been his favorite jacket after he had lost his mother. It was special to him. Emma wished she could have met her grandmother. Her father spoke well of her often, and if she was honest the woman sounded amazing.  It was unfortunate how things had ended up. Before Emma could further on the subject, the bell rang.  Jaqueline and Emma stood up from their seats and started walking to class. Emma was relieved when she arrived home that afternoon. The school day had been long and boring. Marinette was downstairs getting an early start on dinner before Adrien would arrive home after a long day of organizing a photo shoot. After setting her stuff down on her bedroom floor, Emma returned downstairs again to help her mother with dinner. Louis sat at the dining room table attempting his math assignment, Hugo was doing his best to assist the young boy. Though, they drove her nuts, Emma still loved her brothers and often enjoyed their company. She could recall countless times when the three of them came together to gang up on their parents or to simply wrestle on someone's bed. She couldn't imagine a life without them. Adrien arrived home just in time for dinner, though he was later than usual.

"How was your day Adrien?" Marinette asked her husband as she placed a side dish of roasted potatos on the table. Adrien leaned over and kissed her before setting his breifcase on the floor behind the couch and removing his tie.

"Fine. We had three models that showed up almost an hour late and somehow the coffee machine broke." Adrien explained as he found his seat at the table.

"Well that's unfortunate." Marinette replied as she reached between the boys to retrieve a pitcher of water.

"Eh. Could have been worse. Besides I honestly prefer the coffee you make in the morning for me." Adrien continued. Emma listed to her parents conversation with little interest as she ducked her spoon into a volcano of mashed potatos and gravy. At this point, stuff like this was normal to her. After all, she had 16 years under her belt.