unexpected feelings | marichat

chapter four

marinette's pov
   i arrived home around 8 pm, and luckily my parents didn't notice i was gone. alya, however, was a different story. i opened my phone to find 60 missed calls and about 100 new messages, all from her. i look at tikki for help, but she just shrugs at me with a smile before retreating to my purse to eat a macaroon. i sigh and click the call button, not exactly knowing what to expect after alya saw the photos with chat.
   "hey aly-"
   "GIRL!!! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? WAIT NO, WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?? OH MY GOD WE HAVE SO MUCH TO DISCUSS," she yells excitedly into the phone, and i have to turn the volume all the way down to avoid any ear damage.
"FIRST OF ALL, when were you going to tell me you were friends with chat noir ?!?! and that you hung out with him ?!? this isn't something you hide from your bff!!" she rambles on excitedly. i smile, but just as i am about to talk, i yawn. barely eight and i'm already falling asleep? nice.
"alya, i didn't even know we hung out until he came over! it was so weird because i was all sad bec-"
   "sad?? why sad? WAIT, what happened with adrien??" i had already forgotten all about my failed love declaration from earlier today, but now the memory was fresh and i felt my heart crack a tiny bit.
"i.. didn't tell him."
"what, girl, why not??"
"i saw him with kagami, and their faces, and it was just, they looked so... happy. i didn't want to ruin that. so, i decided i'm just going to be his friend. it works better like that, anyway. i can talk to him and actually be normal when i'm just his friend," i explain sadly, and i hear alya sighing through the phone.
"marinette, i saw the way he was looking at you in new york. the way he hung out with mostly you before he left. he likes you! maybe he doesn't even realize it himself, but anyone paying attention can see it," alya tells me, and i frown. i guess we were kinda inseparable on the trip. but, that doesn't mean anything. right?
   "i don't think that really, means anything alya. he's just really nice, and we're friends. friends hang out," i argue, mostly with myself. the faster i get over the idea of him even slightly liking me, the faster i'll get over him.
   "it's gotta be worth something, marinette. but hey, if you wanna get over him, i'm with you. i'll support any decision you make. plus, im sure theres a certain guitar-strumming boy with teal hair who'd be glad to hear you're getting over adriennnn," she sing-songs, and my heart flutters a little. luka.
   "whatttttt? nooooo, luka's just a friend," i lie, or, semi-truth. me and luka aren't dating, but we certainly aren't just friends. i've been so caught up in adrien that i forgot all about luka, and what we talked about before i headed off to new york.
"you know what's important marinette? that this trip helps you get some clarity," luka says, smiling at me before i board the bus.
   "thank you, luka," i tell him, kissing his cheek before i walk onto the bus. the doors close, and i turn to find a seat, but instead find adrien's face looking at me. i blush. clarity.
   "uh huh, i wonder where i've heard THAT ONE before," alya says, knocking me out of my memories. we giggle before she seems to remember the sole reason why she called me.
   "soooo, you and chat noir? how did that one happen?" she asks, clearly on the brink of explosion. i move to my bed and lie down before starting the story.
   "well, actually, i'm not too sure. i mean, we've talked occasionally, like when i helped him defeat the evillustrator, or when he's saved me from akumatized people, but i guess we never established friendship until he saved my dad without ladybug's help," i smile at the memory, thinking about my silly confession of love for him so he wouldn't discover my identity.
   "hold on a sec, you helped him defeat the evillustrator?? how come no one knows about this?? that's actually really cool, marinette!" she says, and i laugh.
   "it didn't seem cool that a supervillain was in love with me, but suree alya. plus, adrien knew about it, i thought many people knew???" i say, and, come to think of it, i never told anyone about it. how did he know i helped chat noir?
   "he probably saw you out his window or like, passing by or something. anyway, chat noir, you were sayinggg?" alya says, and that's probably it. he was probably passing by after a late photoshoot and saw me, so decided to ask me about it.
   "oh, yeah, so i didn't really think about the fact that we had said we were 'friends' until he came over today. i really just thought it was the title but that we would never hang out. well, i was wrong, and he showed up at my house today out of the blue. it turns out, underneath all the puns, he's actually a really nice guy," i say, though i've technically known that for a while. when we first got our miraculouses, i thought he was just immature, but as i've gotten to know him better, i see that he's an amazing friend and partner. i hope that when we defeat hawkmoth, we remain friends. after what happened in new york and him nearly renouncing his miraculous, i see how much it would really hurt me to lose him.
   "SO COOL, AH!!! i can't believe you're friends with one of THE heroes of paris, do you think one day he'll bring ladybug to your house???" she asks, and my eyes widen.
   "er, uh, no hahah i doubt she's one for, hanging out at a bakery, probably not," i stutter.
   "okay then girl. well, i have to go help my parents with my sisters, i'll see you tomorrow at school. bye!!" she says, and we hang up.
   "tikki, i'm so tired, do you think it's too early to go to bed?" i ask, and tikki flutters next to me.
   "it's never to early to sleep! plus, you have school tomorrow, it'll be better if you're well rested," she advises, and i yawn.
   "you're right tikki. goodnight," i tell her, and fall asleep just as my head hits the pillow.