A Buggy Program

Chapter 2

'Allow this application use your camera and microphone' popped up on the screen. Marinette clicked allow.

Sudden the screen turned white. "What the heck? Is this supposed to happen?" Marinette asked as she rapidly clicked her mouse.

"Yes, it is" A voice spoke out of her speaker. Suddenly a boy walked into the white room on her screen. "What is your name?"

Marinette was surprised, she didn't know what she expected, this wasn't it. He didn't look digital at all, he looked human. His hair a golden blonde and eyes shining green. He wore a a hoodie, jeans and sneakers, all a spotless white. He didn't look like a computer, he looked like a teenager.

"Umm... Marinette."

"Nice to meet you Umm... Marinette."

Confused, she chuckled. "And who are you? Is this some kind of video chat?"

He smiled shaking his head causing his blonde hair to sway. "This is not a video chat and I am an A.I. designed for you."

"I'm confused," Marinette said looking into her computer screen. "What's your name?"

"Advanced Dating Relationship Immersive Engineered Netscape." He said. His voice was soft and sweet but it was the only thing about him, even remotely robotic. "But you can call me, A.D.R.I.E.N."

"Adrien." She said as if testing out his name for her own. "Dating huh?"

"Yes, I was created, programmed to simulate the dating experience."

Marinette chuckled. She was crazy. There was no way she was doing this! "I must be nuts!" She exclaimed.

"No you are Umm... Marinette." Marinette couldn't help but laugh. A bright and joyful laugh, and though he was only made of 1's and 0's, Adrien smiled at her pure amusement.

"So if your an A.I. designed to date me, what do we do?" Asked a finally not so giggly Marinette.

"Well Umm... Marinette, we can do whatever you want, talk about whatever you want, I am programmed to listen to you." Adrien volunteered. When Marinette didn't speak, Adrien put forth a topic. "Why did you download me?"

Marinette looked away from the computer, tearing her eyes away from the screen and reminding herself that Adrien wasn't reality, this was just a computer game, not real life. "Well I like this guy, Luka, but well I don't know how to talk to him let alone get him to like me or tell him how I feel."

"You want me to help you?" Adrien asked. He paused for a moment as if thinking. Marinette had no idea who made Adrien but they did a fine job making him seem realistic. "Ok. I can do that but first, I know nothing about you Umm... Marinette..."

A smile crepted onto Marinette's pale face as she adjusted her glasses. Adrien stared patiently at her pale freckled face, her sapphire hair curling around it, framing her face perfectly. Her round glasses magnifying her dazzling blue eyes.

"Well for starters, my name isn't Umm... Marinette, it's just Marinette."

"Ok Just Marinette."

"No no, Marinette."

"No no, Marinette?"

She groaned a chuckle. "Just call me-" Marinette froze when a notification popped up in the middle of her screen.

'Allow this application permission to call you Mari'

Marinette bit back a grin as she moved the cursor hovering over Allow but she hesitated, maybe if she didn't click this button she could delete the file and go to bed, pretend this never happened. "Can I call you that or not?"

"Mari it is then!" She exclaimed as she hit allow. The widest smile hit Adrien's virtual face. "So where to begin..."

-

Marinette tucked her sapphire curls into a bun with a scrunchie. Looking herself in the mirror, Marinette noted that she needed to get her bangs trimmed. They weren't long enough to cover her eyes but just long enough to bother her.

Sighing she grabbed her bag and headed downstairs. Both of her parents were in the bakery getting ready for the day so neither of them could greet her with a good morning.

Sighing at the emptiness of the house, Marinette grabbed a banana and left the safety of her home to go to a teenage infested school. Deciding not to go through the bakery, Marinette exited through the side door.

She stood patiently waiting on the sidewalk for the cars to pass when a voice spoke out to her. "Mari. Did you know you could overdose on bananas?"

Startled Marinette jumped and her hand jolted to her phone, you guessed it a simulated blonde boy's face was casted on the screen. "What the heck are you doing?! I downloaded you on my computer not my phone!!"

Adrien chuckled. "Well your computer was linked to your phone so any device it's connected to, I'm able to be automatically sync to."

Marinette groaned loudly. "Grrrr... Fine! But during school, you don't talk to me randomly unless I talk to you first, got it?" She snapped but Adrien just smiled away unfazed. Duh he's fake, he doesn't feel emotion.

"As you would say, totally got this!" Adrien agreed. Marinette just rolled her eyes and crossed the street.

She stared at his plain white clothes, there was too much white, it was actually kind of annoying... "Hey why do you wear that?" Marinette asked.

Adrien blinked as if he was a cartoon character. "Oh this is my default outfit. You being the user can change me into anything you'd like."

Marinette thought for a moment. "What about some faded grey jean overalls with a black t-shirt." Adrien snapped his fingers and suddenly he was dressed in what she described. "That's awesome!"

"What's awesome?" Asked Alya from behind her. Marinette pulled her phone to her chest protectively, praying that Adrien couldn't see her boobs. "Come on girl what's up?"

Marinette searched her brain for an answer, then at the last minute thought of an excuse. "Oh I just saw a video of an elephant painting a sunshine! That's all!" She didn't want to tell Alya about Adrien yet. She would think it's weird, talking to a computer, what was she crazy?

"Oh okay!"  She said clearly buying it. "How'd you sleep?" Marinette sent Adrien a glare before shutting off her phone and stuffing it into her back pocket, praying he wasn't looking at her butt.

Marinette sighed as the two girls began entering the school. "I didn't."

Alya stopped and looked over the girl. "What? Why?"

"KIM GIVE IT BACK!!!" Marinette turned to see Rose flailing around trying to grab something out of the athlete's hands. The boy chuckled as he flipped through pages of the pink book.

Suddenly a rollerblade hit Kim straight in the face. Kim tumbled to the ground and Alix snatched the book out of his grimy hands. "Dude reading a girl's diary is not cool!"

Rose took her diary back and clutched it to her chest crying. Storming off she ran down the school steps and and plopped down at the bottom.

All the girls exchanged glances but Marinette was the one to sit next to the sobbing girl. She wrapped an arm around Rose's shaking shoulder and wiped away her tears. "It's okay..." She whispered to her.

Meanwhile the Couffaine siblings were walking to school. Juleka and Luka chatting about the most simplest things, when Juleka spotted the crying Rose. She sprinted over to check and make sure her girlfriend was okay, while Luka stayed put observing the situation.

So Marinette's comforting her huh? He thought peacefully. She was so kind.