Shattered

31) Truce

Hugo's POV
Monday morning came around and something was definitely off. Our friends kept their distance from us, and we treated them like strangers.

All day we would glance up to see them looking our way or vice versa, and no one was willing to acknowledge it.

"Come on guys!" I whined to Alya, Nino, Mari, Adrien, and Emma. "We don't have to tell them anything, but this is getting out of control! Avoiding them is only making them more suspicious!"

"Then what do you propose?" Questioned my twin.

"I'm glad you asked, Em. Movie. Tonight. 6:30. The others already agreed. Only requirements: act normal, don't say anything that could clue them on, no questioning my movie selection, and no cute couple-y stuff. I'm talking to you, Mom and Dad."

"Got it," Adrien shrugged taking a step back, "but are you sure this is the best idea?"

"I think it's better than what we're doing, and for what it's worth, even if we are in the middle of some unspoken rivalry... they're still our friends. Our family. And family sticks together."

"Okay then," Nino decided, "I'm in."

"Me too."

"I'll be there."

And soon everyone chorused in their response.

"Great. I'll see you there."

- • - • - • - • - • -
Adrien's POV
We decided to go out to an actual theatre compared to our home set up, partially because we didn't trust our friends at the moment to come over without snooping around.

"Hey guys!" I greeted as Alyssa, Jessie, Janson, and Cole met us in the cinema lobby.

"Hey." Cole uncomfortably responded.

After a long silence we purchased our tickets and made our way towards the screen.

"Okay," replied Hugo, attempting to lower the levels of awkwardness surrounding us, "food on us?" Everyone happily agreed, beginning to warm up to the idea of being in the same room as the people with whom they shared their feud.

Maybe "feud" wasn't the right term. Half of us were just trying to figure out what was going on, and the rest of us were trying to protect secrets they didn't know we had.

It wasn't so much an argument or battle as it was simply avoiding each other and being quite uncomfortable in one another's presence.

Despite that, Hugo attempted to make the situation a bit more normal for either party.

"Popcorn?" Everyone looked at him until he asked again, this time quite agitated. "Popcorn?"

"Got it!" Cried Alya, finally understanding his request, as she grabbed Nino by the arm and dragged him towards the counter, walking back over with enough popcorn for the ten of us.

"Icees?" He continued to check off.

"Yup."

"Ridiculously overpriced candy?"

"Over here!"

Soon everybody met back up at our seats, snackage in hand, and all previous awkward and uncomfortableness quickly disappeared.

For two hours, it was like everything was forgotten.

The secrets, the lying, the avoiding, and the searching.

But nothing lasts forever.

- • - • - • - • - • -
Janson's POV
Tuesday and Wednesday went by quickly, and despite our theatre time truce, the questions settled back in.

But right now, no one was focusing on the secrets and unsolved questions.

No. Tonight was the prom, hero themed, and everyone was busy making final preparations.

"Hey!" I yelled, catching up to Emma, "I know, I know everything has been, well, kind of awkward lately for some reason, and I know that it's been kinda weird... but, are we still on for tonight?"

I held my breath waiting for her to respond, scared of the worse. She finally smiled.

"Of course! We've been planning this for months, haven't we? Just because things have been off lately doesn't mean I was going to cancel."

"Great! 6?"

"Yup."

"I-I'll see you tonight."

She gave me a peck on the cheek before joining her brother, Kayla, and Kaleb up the hallway.

- • - • - • - • -
Marinette's POV
Everyone was eager for the prom. Our timing was perfect, and luckily this tradition hadn't disappeared over the last twenty years.

The best I could tell, I was going with Adrien, Alya with Nino, Emma with Janson, and Hugo had asked Jessie.

"Ready, Bugaboo?" Adrien asked from out side the bathroom.

Due to our older selves returning home, we got relocated downstairs to a guest apartment space, complete with a bathroom, kitchen nook, couch, and bedroom.

"Almost!" I touched up my makeup as I glanced at myself in the mirror.

My wavy hair hung to my chest, it's midnight hue complimenting my dress.

My nails were painted a natural beige which matched the simple heels wrapping themselves perfectly around my feet.

The straps of my mint green dress hung off my shoulders and clung to my figure before it reached the waist. From there, it hung freely, and my leg could be seen through a long slit making its way up the skirt.

I had spent most of my free time over the last week in the sewing room, spending many sleepless nights completing the dress.

The final touch to the ensemble was the beige, lacy mask that covered my eyes, requested by the school as another way to honor Ladybug and Chat Noir.

Even though the dance was hero themed, no one was required to stick to the generic red, green, and black... so we decided to stay somewhat true to our costumes and just use a lighter, calmer shade of green.

I smiled as I stepped out of the bathroom door, an anxious Adrien eyeing me up and down.

"W-wow." He finally replied. "You look beautiful, m'lady."

I quickly looked over his tux, a basic black complete with a tie matching my own dress.

"And you look handsome." He continued to look at me, awestruck, before finally remembering the corsage sitting in his hand.

"May I?" I nodded as he slipped the mint, navy, and white flowers onto my wrist.

"Junior prom, take two." I decided was an accurate description of the dance.

"Take two." He agreed.

And with that we made our way upstairs, meeting Alya, Nino, Emma, Hugo, Janson, and Jessie.

After many pictures from our future selves, future Adrien focusing more on me than the camera, we, along with the rest of the class, made our way outside and into the cars they rented for the event.

As soon as Adrien and I buckled into the Bentley, I noticed who we were riding with.

Nothing can go wrong now, I thought, noticing Jessie and Janson giving us suspicious looks, not tonight. Tonight will be perfect.