For You

Chapter Seven

Marinette sat on the park bench as she waited for Nathanaël to show up. She didn't know why he wanted to meet up after so many years, but agreed to see him nonetheless.

She glanced at her phone's screen every few minutes, hoping for the time to speed up.

Ten minutes had passed, yet no sign of the artist. Her nerves were racing as she began to question her decision.

Her thoughts immediately left her when a redhead came into her periferal vision. She faked a smile while getting up to meet her friend.

She felt nervous, but she refused to externalize her internal frustration.

"Marinette?" The male with the red locks questioned himself, not knowing if he had found the right person.

"Yes, it's me..."

Without saying anything, Nathanaël gave the bluenette a soft smile and hugged her tightly. Marinette felt a little claustrophobic and didn't know how to respond to the unexpected greeting.

"I've missed you so much!" He exclaimed with enthusiasm while still holding onto her.

She gave her old friend a pat on the back. He seemed ecstatic to see her, but the same couldn't be said for Marinette. She missed him alright, but they hadn't spoken in years. It felt awkward; almost like meeting a stranger for the very first time.

They quickly separated.

"Yeah... I've missed you too..." She hesitantly replied. "So... How's everything been?" She quickly changed the subject.

He looked at her with his soft turquoise eyes, and smiled, "Life's been... Well life..."

The blue-eyed girl nodded in agreement, knowing how difficult life could be at times.

"Yeah, I know the feeling..."

"But besides that, it's been good. Especially at school," he gave her a smirk hoping that she would get the hint.

Unfortunately, Marinette didn't seem to catch on to what the redhead meant, but smiled to try and relieve the awkward silence that instantly came between them.

"Uhm... Really?" She stared at him with a blank face.

"Yep... A girl with deep, midnight locks and mysterious blue eyes came to my school about a month ago... She seemed really shy, and sort of unsure of herself. I was instantly captivated by her, but she didn't seem to pay any attention to me-"

Marinette didn't say anything, and looked at him with a very confused expression. It sounded like he was describing her, but she didn't go to his school... Or did she?

She quickly interrupted his rambling, "Wait... Are you talking about me?"

Nathanaël suddenly became very shy. He nodded his head before looking away.

"Yes... I've seen you a few times, but you never saw me..." He looked at her with a sad smile.

"I didn't know that you went to Francis Dupont... Since when did you change schools? And why didn't you come up to me and say something?"

He sighed then turned his head around, "I've been going there for three years now... And I didn't say anything because I was afraid. It had been so long since we had spoken and I couldn't help but feel as if you wouldn't want to see me..."

Marinette focused all of her attention on the boy who stood before her. She had many questions to ask, and was glad that he was being honest for once.

"I see. But I'm not like that, remember? Or did you forget?" She playfully giggled.

Nathanaël looked up  at his friend and smiled. He was relieved to know that she wasn't mad, which meant that he still had the chance to mend their broken friendship.