Growing Up

A Display Of Analysis

Adrien took the time alone to think about everything. It was good to review what has happened before and try to understand other people's points of view. Thing is, he just couldn't think. Instead, Marinette's unknown confession distracted him. Her words echoed in his mind like never before. He couldn't even process that he was crossing the street at the wrong time.

"Watch out!" Someone called.

Before he knew it, he was being swept off his feet and flung into the air. He shut his eyes tight from the shock and couldn't manage to open them. "If your looking f-for r-ransom," he stumbled, "my f-father isn't a very reasonable person so y-you won't get any money!" He crumbled into a ball.

"Adrien, I don't think it's appropriate for a hero to kidnap a civilian and use them as ransom." The kidnapper laughed and set him down.

When he opened his eyes he realized that the person who had picked him up was Ladybug. Her raven hair lightly fluttering in the wind. He blushed at his cowardice. She had saved him from getting hit and was nice enough to drop him off at a park by his dorm. "H-hey LB, can I call you that? LB? No? Okay, Ladybug's fine, I'll stop now." He shifted his weight awkwardly from front to back while rubbing the back of his neck. "Anyway, thank you for helping me back there..." Looked down at the shorter girl with a bright and warm smile.

Ladybug stumbled back a bit. "Anytime Adrien. It's my duty to ensure the physical and emotional wellbeing of all Parisians." She patted him on the shoulder and turned to leave.

"Wait!" Adrien found himself calling out before he realized it. He didn't want her to leave. He wanted to talk to someone. He wanted to get someone's opinion on his current predicament. Maybe he could talk to Ladybug. She is an unbiased person since he's never told her about his social life as Cat Noir or Adrien. "Can we talk about something?" He gently held her hand, barely touching it as if it would break at the slightest pressure.

While Adrien was seeking solace and comfort, Marinette was having a mental battle about the ethics of the situation. She did want to hear what was bothering, but what if it was something that he didn't want Marinette to know about. Maybe that's why he was asking to talk to Ladybug. Either way, she knew she had to accept his request after claiming that she takes care of emotional health. "Oh, sure Adrien." She squeezed his hand pulled him close. "Hold on tight." Putting an arm around him, she used her yo-yo to hoist them onto the roof of the nearest building. "Be warned that I'm not a professional." She sat with him on the ground.

"That's okay, all I need is someone's opinion..." He frowned. "I've gone through some trouble with my cousin..." He leaned back onto his arms. 

"Can you tell me more?" Ladybug relaxed too. "Can you tell me about your overall relationship with your cousin?" Of course, she already knew all this but needed to act like she didn't.

"Well, Felix has never been the nicest person in the world, but he's basically the only family I have who cares about me in the slightest. He's not exactly a quiet person, just uninterested in most things so he comes off rude or mean."

Boy, is that Felix's only personality trait? Marinette asked herself. Being mean? "Okay, so what did you have an argument about?" She questioned.

Adrien hesitated. Was it okay to tell Ladybug that Felix likes Marinette? How would he feel if Felix told Ladybug that he liked her? But, right now is about me, he reminded himself. "There's a girl that he likes and..." He paused again. "Well, how do I say this without... The girl he likes actually likes me and it's a mess." He curled into a ball again and sighed. "I don't know what to do anymore."

Ladybug didn't say anything. She felt her heart speed up as it hit her that she could possibly be the girl. She then reminded herself that it would be ridiculous if Felix liked her... Although he was getting surprisingly friendly lately. Even then, she was in no position to give Adrien advice because she 1, liked him, 2, took Adrien's side as soon as she heard Felix's name, and 3, could possibly hurt Adrien by giving him bad advice which would hurt their relationship.

Adrien waited for Ladybug to say something. Anything. But she didn't. She started at the concrete beneath them in silence. He was sick of silence. "So then, he blamed me because apparently I'm her first love or something and I've 'ruined' her standards by making them too high just because I'm a generally nice person." He was getting anxious. "But maybe it is my fault because I don't like Marinette like that and maybe I've been leading her on, which would make me a terrible person, and I just want to go apologies to her." He was pacing now.

"...Why would you apologize to her?" Ladybug said with a blank face still looking at the ground.

"Because there have been so many guys who've walked up to her... Great guys too!" He ran his fingers through his hair. "I mean, at one point Nino liked her, but besides him there was Nathaniel who would've been a great match for her because they connected on a creative level." He stopped pacing and slapped his face lightly. "And don't get me started on Luka." He whipped his arms through the air making gestures. "He treats her like a queen, and I've seen the way he looks at her! It's the same face Felix makes when he looks at her..." He walked back over to Ladybug and sat with her again. 

"And then there's Felix who likes her too?" Ladybug now looked at Adrien with stone-like eyes.

"Yes, and then there's Felix. I can't tell her that he likes her because it would hurt him... But I don't know if I want her to be with Felix." He crossed his arms.

"What do you mean?" 

"Ladybug, we all think we've grown up or are growing up in one way or another, but I don't think that's the case... I mean look at me. I can't even sort out my problems by myself." He sighed. "And Felix says that the four of us, Alya, Nino, Marinette, and I haven't changed a single bit over the years and that it's our fault but doesn't placing the blame on others make him childish too?"

They sat in silence for a bit before Ladybug managed to speak. "I know you wanted to talk to me about a lot of things Adrien, and as a hero, I should be a mentor and guide the people I help towards the right path but..." Her voice cracked. "I don't know what to tell you." She quickly wiped a tear and apologized. "I shouldn't be crying, but it's hard to know I can't help you." She stood up and walked towards the edge of the building. "All I can say is, the sooner you let that girl know that she should move on, the better. I know I would appreciate it if the guy I liked did that." She motioned for Adrien to come closer so that she could drop him off.

When they reached the dorm, they couldn't bring themselves to say goodbye. Instead, Ladybug gave one more tip. "Don't force things, Adrien. Just because you don't want her with him, even if she doesn't end up with Felix, you shouldn't rejoice because you knew he was immature. Forget that he told you he liked her because you interfering with their relationship in any sort of way will only make things worse." And with that, she disappeared.