A Game of ... Bug and Chat?

New Beginnings

Adrien lost count of how many hugs, kisses on the cheek, selfie and autographs he was asked for in the following few minutes. Especially the autographs, which all three girls, and even the mother, seemed to be determined to collect for everyone they knew. Then the coffee came, and he managed to get his hands back for a while. Although the fight for who was going to sit next to him started, and he had to be very careful while sipping his coffee, to avoid incidents involving his clothes. Or worse, the kind woman's couch. He ended up in the centre of the couch, with Janine and Josephine (he found out that this was the elder sister's name) on each side.

Eventually, his coffee finished and he managed to take advantage of the moment that Josephine and Juliette had brought the cup back into the kitchen to pick up the envelope and hand it to Janine.

"So... Alya told me what happened and I'm really sorry," he started, making sure that she picked up the envelope. "Has Nathalie been here yet?"

Janine's eyes hardened. "Yes, she has. She's a horrible woman, poor you for having to deal with a person like her every day."

Adrien sighed. If only she knew... that in reality Nathalie was one of the nicest people he had to deal with at home! But he didn't say that out loud; he didn't want his fans to pity him. "You say that because you haven't met my father," he said eventually.

"He does look very stern from what I remember of him on TV," Janine said and he nodded. "It must be hard for you since your mother disappeared." She gave him a dreamy look and sighed deeply, and he lowered his gaze, not feeling confident enough to look at her.

He didn't know what to say to that. But as he was thinking of how to get out of the question without digging a deep hole for himself, his phone started buzzing. He gave it a quick look and saw a message from Kagami.

[Kagami: Are you going to be long? Do you need rescuing?]

He sighed as he noticed the curious look Janine had given to his phone. Josephine and Juliette chose that very moment to come back inside the sitting room, followed by their mother who was carrying a tray with a few croissants and pastries.

"Was that your girlfriend? The Japanese girl?" asked Janine suddenly.

Adrien felt blood rushing to his face, but before he could answer, her mother intervened, "Janine! Are these questions to ask our guest? Leave him a bit of privacy!"

Adrien smiled brightly at the remark. "Thank you, madame. But it's okay, I don't mind answering this question." He turned to Janine and looked at her as he said it, "Yes, it's the Japanese girl. Her name is Kagami. She's a good friend of mine, she gave me a lift here."

"She's not your girlfriend?" Three sets of brown eyes looked at him hopefully, and he felt his face getting warmer.

"No?" He saw their eyes shining with happiness.

"But the media..." said the youngest girl, Juliette. She was a couple of years younger than him, he had learned.

"Oh, the media know nothing," snapped Josephine and then snorted. "All those programmes we watched saying that he was getting hitched, and here he is, telling us that she's just a friend."

Getting hitched? "What?" He couldn't stop himself, he had to ask.

"Ah don't worry, just stupid gossip programs." Then she gave him a sly smile and looked at him pointedly. "Then if you're not engaged with that girl, it means you're still available..." Janine and Josephine drew closer to him and he started feeling a bit hot.

"Not really," he had to say. They both moved back and he breathed better.

"So you do have a girlfriend?" asked Juliette.