unexpected feelings | marichat

chapter forty-seven

marinette's pov
   chat noir had been completely against the idea of me going to talk to lila. he hated that by doing so, i could be riling her up enough to grant her a connection to hawkmoth. after much arguing, though, he begrudgingly agreed that maybe the most logical choice would be to at least try and talk to her.
   i managed to convince him not to come with me, with the agreement that i'd be transformed when i went. it really didn't take much argument there, though. he didn't seem too bent on seeing lila, and i honestly wished i didn't have to either. but there was no turning back now. i sighed, knocking on lila's door and stepping back. after a long minute, she opened the door and smirked.
   "did your friend finally tell you? or did she act like you and let you figure it out on your own?" she taunted, still wearing the same annoying smirk. i rolled my eyes and allowed myself inside the rossi's home.
   "is there anybody else here?" i asked, looking around the cozy living room. she shook her head.
   "just us. why don't you detransform? there's nothing much you can hide now, is there?"
   "i'd rather not."
   "why's that, marinette? are you afraid of me? typical," she mocked, daring me with her eyes. i steeled my gaze, debating how much of a crime it'd be if i knocked her out with my yo-yo. if i played my cards right, maybe it could count as fighting crime.
   she finally gave up, rolling her eyes. i smirked, despite how petty it was. 1 point for me.
   "so, what exactly are you doing here? i don't remember inviting the most stupid hero in france into my home," she asked, sounding bored.
   "when did you find out?" i immediately questioned. lila laughed.
   "the better question is, how didn't anyone find out sooner? were you even trying to hide it?"
   "answer the question, lila." i was not here to listen to lila mock me, no matter the fact that i had been thinking the same thing all of yesterday evening and today morning.
   "fine. that day adrien's little fencer girlfriend got dumped, you detransformed behind a garbage bin. it was hilariously easy to capture," she replied.
the day kagami was akumatized... i tried to remember what had happened then, but all i remembered was going to her house afterwards to make sure she was okay.
i recalled being in a hurry, detransforming after hastily looking around the park to make sure nobody saw me. of course, i hadn't thought of checking behind any trees or bushes. i'd gotten lucky so many other times, i didn't think i had to bother.
   "who'd you tell?"
   "hmm... only alya. but i guess she was too scared to post it on her blog. oh well, i've got social media too. just a couple of clicks and everyone will soon know your secret. pretty cool, huh?" she asked, smiling and pulling out her phone. i lunged towards her, grabbing it. she scowled and snatched her phone back.
   "no! no. you can't post it."
   "and why wouldn't i? i don't owe you anything. you destroyed my chances with adrien because you were too jealous of the fact that he found me way more interesting than you. all i was doing was being nice, and then you butted in like the psycho you are!" she said, her voice becoming louder with every word.
   "you were lying to him on my name! was i just supposed to stand around and do nothing? all you do is lie! you're lucky people even believe it," i spit out, managing to back her up against the wall with my steps. she didn't cower, though. in fact, her expression had become more poisonous than i'd ever seen it, and i found myself backing up instead of standing tall as she stepped closer to me.
   "i'd watch out what i said if i were you, marinette. i could easily destroy you, and you know that. most of your friends have separated themselves from you, and you can't do anything about it now. i told you i'd make your life difficult, and soon you can bet you'll be left with nobody. not even alya or your blonde sidekicks will want to be with you. and it'll stay that way, unless you want me to accidentally slip that my best friend ladybug is none other than marinette dupain-cheng. wouldn't want that information in the wrong hands."
i looked at her incredulously as i processed what she said. "you're insane! whatever you tell people, they won't believe you. chat noir... alya... adrien... they won't fall into your trap," i assured her, though i was trying to convince myself more than anything. i trusted them, but did they still trust me after so many secrets?
   "didn't you say that about everyone else? and look where we are now. so stay out my way, or the ladybug gets squashed. and her kitty with her," she warned. i huffed angrily, hiding my fear under a scowl. it was no use arguing, as chat had said yesterday. it would only add fuel to the fire.
as i exited her house, lila followed, pulling out a sweet smile and waving goodbye to me. "bye now, ladybug! don't worry, you can trust me with your secret. after all, we're both helping each other out here."
i went away as quickly as i possibly could, knowing i couldn't believe her for a second. so much for talking it out.
as soon as i made it into my room, i debated the options i had on things to do. i could delve into as much work as possible and not focus on the lila drama, or i could sulk in bed for a few hours. at the moment, the second option seemed best.
and i would have pursued it, had it not been for a knock on my door.
"marinette! are you in here?" a voice called from the outside. i furrowed my eyebrows, knowing that as much comfort as that voice brought me, now maybe wasn't the best time for it's owner to be here.
"look, chat, i've missed you too but..." i trailed off as soon as i caught a glimpse of the person behind the door. he looked confused, probably because of my quick assumption of who he was.
"adrien! hi! oh, i'm sorry! i thought you were chat noir for a moment," i apologized, smacking the palm of my hand against my forehead. "you two sound so alike," i giggled, and adrien laughed.
"ahaha, yeah... i guess all my time practicing his voice for the ladybug and chat noir movie really rubbed off on me," he said, rubbing his neck.
"you've got it down! oh, um, wanna come in?" i offered, and he happily stepped into my room.
   "you were right. it is too small in here for me to ever live in," he quipped, recalling our conversation from a few days earlier. i rolled my eyes.
   "okay, big shot model boy. if it isn't housing you came for, then why did you come? i love that you're here but... you know," i raised my hands in the air, and he gasped, as if remembering something.
   "oh, right! so, my father wants you to do a modeling shoot, with me! he wants to see how well you perform under the camera before giving you an internship," he explained excitedly, and my eyes practically bulged out of my head. a photoshoot? for agreste fashion?? with me in it???
   i nearly jumped into his arms out of pure joy, but a thought struck me. what would lila make of all this? i could bet it wouldn't be anything good.
  "oh... that's awesome! but, i don't know, adrien... i have no clue how to model, i'd probably cause a disaster on set," i said, adding a nervous laugh for extra effect. though i was afraid of that, it wasn't nearly enough to stop me from taking the chance. what stopped me was something much, much worse.
   "marinette, i know you can do it. there's no need for you to worry! plus, if you need help, i'll be with you the whole time," he assured me. i looked away, still not sure i wanted to risk it. "please? i know my father wants this to be a shoot with more than one person, and i really don't want to see lila before school starts," he pleaded, putting his hands together and pulling puppy dog eyes.
"school doesn't start for another few months! you can't possibly avoid her for so long," i argued. adrien furrowed his eyebrows.
"school starts in two weeks, marinette," he said. now it was my turn to be confused. because, last i checked, school had just ended. i hadn't checked the calendar since then. and now it was starting again?
"ugh, this is a nightmare," i muttered under my breath. adrien tilted his head and frowned, and i backtracked. "not the modeling shoot! the shoot is amazing. really, adrien, that's... wow. i just thought we had a little more summer left."
he chuckled and looked down. "yeah, summer was pretty fun. i miss seeing everyone everyday, though," he smiled, looking me in the eyes. i smiled back at him, and i could feel all my resolve crumbling. how could i say no to this face?
i groaned. "fine! i'll do it," i conceded.
"huh?"
"the photoshoot! i'll do it," i said again, knowing i was setting myself up for disaster but not finding the energy to care right now. it took a moment for him to register the words, but when he did, he smiled widely and threw his arms around me.
"yes! thank you marinette! you'll do great, i promise," he said, holding on tightly to me. i smiled. why in the world was he thanking me if he was the one giving me the chance of a lifetime?
————
"okay, here is your first outfit, please put it on carefully, and do not smudge your makeup. if you need help with putting the dress or jewelry on correctly, just stick your head out the trailer and someone will assist you immediately," a crew member instructed, handing me a garment bag with a jewelry box then shoving me back into the makeup trailer. i gulped.
last week, when adrien had proposed this photoshoot idea, i had considered the whole 'photoshoot' portion the least of my worries. now, however, i could feel my legs shaking worse than gelatin, and i hoped none of the photos would require handholding, because my hands were sweating bullets.
   the set was beautiful, with a whole section of the park closed off specifically for the shoot. it looked like adrien's dad had gone all out with it. if i wasn't so afraid of fainting on the spot, maybe i'd love it here.
   "tikki, what if i mess up? what if i trip, or break a prop? what if i hurt adrien while posing? what if i break the whole set?" i gasped, mortified of the possibilities as i zipped up the first dress, which was a gorgeous shade of red with black accents and the softest inner fabric i'd ever touched.
    "marinette, you've done shoots as ladybug with chat noir before. how is this any different?" tikki asked. i frowned.
"it's totally different! ladybug is... cool and confident and strong! marinette is... marinette! she can't pull off a photoshoot," i argued, opening the jewelry box. "plus, chat was a natural at it! he did most of the work."
tikki sighed. "adrien is a natural at it too. just relax, marinette. everything will be just fine," she assured me, sitting on the open box. "these earrings are really pretty. who's wearing them?"
i smiled meekly. "me," i squeaked. her eyes widened.
"oh, no, no, no, marinette! you know what happened last time you took yours off for a shoot," she said pointedly. i groaned.
"i know, tikki, but they won't just let me walk out without them! i asked adrien if they were necessary when he showed me the outfit, and he said they were. i tried arguing that my earrings were too emotionally important to take off, but he said he'd already discussed it with his dad and he didn't budge!"
tikki scrunched up her face. "what if there's an akuma while you're out there? you won't be able to make it on time," she noted.
"if anything at all happens, i'll make sure to head straight to this trailer. no detours or distractions," i promised. tikki shook her head.
"it's still super risky, marinette!"
"i know, tikki, i'm sorry! i would have talked to mr. agreste myself, but he's always so busy! i'm not even sure adrien has much time with him," i remarked, removing my miraculous and replacing them with the ruby teardrops that were in the box.
tikki looked disappointed as i examined my outfit in the mirror one last time.
"i promise, everything will be okay, tikki," i assured her, rubbing her head softly. she shut her eyes and smiled a bit.
"i warned you just in case it isn't," she called out in her tiny voice as i walked out the trailer. i shook my head and wiped my sweaty hands on my dress. the outside had tons of tulle, though, so they just skidded right off, not helping me in the slightest. i narrowed my eyes and kept walking towards the set.
"marinette! hi, hey, i- woah," adrien paused when i turned around, staring at me with wide eyes. i blushed, and he shook his head as if to clear it. "you look beautiful."
"thank you. you look, um, beautiful too," i replied, and he laughed. in all honesty, he did look beautiful in his getup, with a sharp black tuxedo that had some neon green embellishments on it. they'd even put some green eyeliner on him.
"guess the theme was ladybug and chat noir," he observed. i took another look at us and gasped, barely noticing it. we looked like a much classier version of chat and i, with my dramatic red and black makeup and dress and adrien's black and green outfit. i laughed at his eyeliner, a stupid thought crossing my mind.
"oh, of course! cat-eye," i said aloud, and adrien grinned.
"i hadn't even thought of that one! chat noir taught you well," he smirked, coming closer to me. i rolled my eyes and laughed at him, pushing him away as i used to do to chat.
"oh, shut up. they put you in a chat noir themed outfit, and suddenly you're just as bad as him!"
"i think him and i are both pretty meow-velous, but okay! are you ready for us to kill it?" he asked, extending his arm. i straightened my dress and looped my arm through his. he steadied me, and i took one deep breath before nodding.
"as ready as i'll ever be!"

(a/n: school activities have begun so idk how often i will be posting but i will be posting enjoy a totally normal shoot today xoxo)