Anything For a Friend : A Miraculous Ladybug Fanfic

Chapter 6

"Me and my new girlfriend, Marinette! Isn't she the cutest?"

That was the captain on his instagram post. Marinette wasn't sure which part was more astonishing; that Adrien had called her cute, that the picture had close to a thousand comments, or that he'd actually used correct punctuation and capitalization in a typed sentence. A secondary shock set in when she realized that she'd begun to criticize Adrien at all, even in play, as though he were just anybody else. Or, more specifically, as though he were Chat Noir.

"It's a really good picture," Alya said, looking at it on Marinette's tablet.

The two were sitting in class, having not gotten to see each other properly since Nino's quiz idea on Sunday. Alya had already seen the picture once, having been told about it over text, but Marinette was so ecstatic about it that she felt the need to show Alya again and again. After all, the only other person she was close enough to to brag was Chat Noir, and she got the feeling he wouldn't take it well, even if she photoshopped a mask onto her face.

"I only wish the comments were...nicer," Marinette said, wincing as she glanced through them. Perhaps because of the low profile she generally liked to keep, but this was likely the first time she'd been called a bitch--especially 37 times consecutively.

"Some of them are sweet! Look, this is Rose's account. She said that she's glad you found true love," Alya said, scrolling through them. "Though I have the feeling she might have said that if he'd been posing with a horse or a really good sandwich, too."

Marinette laughed, punching Alya lightly in the arm. Alya rubbed her arm, looking like Marinette had genuinely hurt her, and Marinette made a mental note to either work out less, or pretend to be weaker. She didn't have a good explanation for why her biceps were as large as they were, and it would be best if nobody asked her.

Chloe stormed in a split second later, and didn't even bother going to her seat before coming over to harass Marinette.

She waved her phone in front of Marinette's face, Adrien's instagram page pulled up for her to see. Sure enough, there was the picture Adrien had taken. Somehow, it was even more satisfying to see it in Chloe's hands.

"What's the meaning of this?" Chloe demanded.

"Well, I...uh..." Marinette couldn't think of a comeback quite quick enough, so Nino took over.

"Chloe, I don't know how you manage to text so much for someone who doesn't know how to read," he said, laughing. "The picture's explained in the caption."

Chloe didn't dignify his jape with a response. Her blues eyes were still glued to Marinette's, demanding an explanation. Marinette smiled, but said nothing, allowing the picture to do all the explaining. Chloe reeled back, looking at her phone with visible disgust, and finally settled on an acceptable insult.

"It's pretty pathetic, actually," Chloe said, sneering. "You two doing this elaborate act just for my sake, alienating hundreds of Adrien's loyal fans..." She leaned closer, whispering now: "Once I find out how you tricked him into this, he'll never speak to you again."

With that, she stormed to her seat, and Marinette began to laugh. The idea that she would bribe or blackmail Adrien into dating her was already farfetched, but the truth that he thought he was bribing her was just silly. But, really, on a day to day basis she dressed up in a magic costume and beat up costumed dorks--her life was silly. It was just new that her lovelife matched up for once.

When Adrien came in, it wasn't long before Chloe started acting up again.

"Adrikins!" she cooed, stepping over to him. "Did you know that my father is throwing a charity ball in honour of Ladybug saving his life last month? Your father already RSVP'd, and the invitation was only for one, but I'm sure you can afford a ticket."