Change of Plan

The Destination

Marinette had an even brighter smile than normal on Saturday morning as she worked the counter in her parent's bakery. That night was going to be the night. The night when she would officially meet her boyfriend.

It was crazy to think that she had fallen in love with someone without ever knowing his real name or what he looked like. Yet there she was, completely in love. And in the end, it didn't matter that she didn't know his name or how he looked. Because she already knew who he was; he was the most loving and caring person she had ever met. There was simply no denying the beautiful soul that was inside of him.

She carried that bright smile around all day. That is, until she noticed a particular person walking into her parent's bakery.

"Adrien!" her mother announced at seeing the blonde-haired boy. "How wonderful to see you again."

"Thanks Mrs Cheng," he replied before looking over at Marinette. "Hi."

"What are you doing here?" she asked coldly.

"Now Marinette, that's no way to greet one of your friends!"

"Who says that he's one of my friends?" she mumbled quietly.

"What can I help you with?" her mother continued, ignoring her daughter.

"I was actually hoping to speak with Marinette," Adrien replied.

"Of course. Sweetie, why don't you take a break so you two can talk?"

"I don't need a break..."

"Nonsense! Now go!" her mother commanded.

The girl groaned and reluctantly walked around the counter. Adrien opened the door and gestured for her to go outside. She obeyed with a huff.

Once on the sidewalk Marinette took a few steps away, making sure that she was out of reach. There was no way that she would let a repeat of last night happen.

Adrien took a deep breath when he faced her. "I wanted to apologize for yesterday. I was completely out of line and it was inexcusable."

She didn't respond.

"I'm really, really sorry Marinette. I feel horrible that I made you so uncomfortable. Please forgive me."

Half a minute passed before she spoke. "Let's just forget about it. I have to get back to work." She moved to go inside.

"No wait," he begged. "I wanted to explain what happened."

She stopped and looked at him. "Okay, explain."

He nodded. "I meant what I said in the car about my girlfriend. She is loving, and beautiful, and funny, and kind, and amazing. And she reminds me of you."

Marinette dropped her gaze to the ground.

"When you meet her you'll understand," he continued. "Yesterday I got mixed up for a second, and I made a huge mistake. I'm sorry." Then he stopped talking and waited for her reaction.

After a moment she looked back up at him. "Don't think that I'm going to forgive you just because you called me 'beautiful,' okay?"

"I understand," he whispered.

The tiniest bit of a smile crept onto her face. "I'm going to forgive you because you called me 'kind.' And I have to live up to the compliment."

Adrien smiled.

"And also because my boyfriend was really cool about the whole situation," she added. "So you should be thanking your lucky stars right now. But there is one thing you need to keep in mind, Adrien. If you ever touch me again I'm pretty sure that he wouldn't hesitate to beat the living daylights out of you."