Lilanette: Love at Second Sight

Chapter Nine: Date-I MEAN HANGOUT (pt.2)

-Lila-

Am I hallucinating? Did Marinette Dupain-Cheng...just ask me to hang out?

No, no that can't be right. But a small smile tickles the corner of my mouth. Suddenly, I flip over onto my stomach and squeal into my pillow.

Okay, that got way too girly. Keep calm, Lila. Just keep calm, deep breaths....

"AHAHAHA WOOHOOOOOOO!" Screw it. I don't care if the whole world hears. "I got a date with Marinette Dupain-Cheng!" Then my composure comes back and I swoop the hair out of my face and bring my hands in front of me to calm down.

"Wait, no, Lila, calm down. This is not a date. It's just two friends hanging out, rehearsing for the play where their characters are in love. Nothing more."

...

"AHAHAHA WOOHOOOOOO! I get to hang out with Marinette Dupain-Cheng!"

The rest of the week passes by slowly. Ever notice that whenever you're looking forward to something, everything before it takes forever? Yeah, me neither. But I had been thinking about it all week, which did get me into some trouble with a few teachers.

It's finally Friday. I'm laying on my bed, staring at the ceiling while tossing around a small rubber ball. I glance at the clock. 6:42 pm. Sighing, I get up and call Maman. Correction, try to call Maman. It goes straight to voicemail. No surprises there.

After throwing on a coat and boots, I call a cab and head over to Marinette's. I thank the cab driver and step outside to stare up at a tall apartment. I glance up at where Marinette's balcony must be.

Ring ring. The bell jingles as I step into the bakery. A large man with a chef's hat and a petite woman with black hair are laughing and rolling out dough.

"E-excuse me? Are you Marinette's parents? I'm here to work on something for school." I explain.

The woman perks up and her face blooms into a wide smile. She holds out her arms and squeezes me until I swear I'm going to pop.

"You must be Lila! Yes, yes, Marinette told us about you. Welcome to our bakery!" she says, releasing me.

"We've been looking forward to meeting you," says the man. He walks around the counter and shoves a small little package into my hand, tied with a bouncy yellow ribbon. "I hope you like macaroons, we've got plenty!" The corners of his eyes crinkle as he smiles.

"Marinette is upstairs, she just took a shower so you may have to wait a bit but I can give you a tour of the house. My name is Sabine by the way, and this is my wonderful husband, Tom!" Sabine smiles.

I just stand there, stiff as a statue, red in the face with a box of macaroons and a sweaty forehead. I guess I'm not used to adults being so interested in me. Especially parents. We walk upstairs as Sabine points out everything from closets to the fire escape.

"And here we are, Marinette's room!" She swings open the door and I almost gasp out loud. Marinette's room is almost exactly how I imagined. Pink, messy, colorful, and cute. Just like her. Although to be fair, pretty much anyone who's met her could guess that. I step in and inhale the familiar scent of vanilla and lavender that is her perfume. There's only one problem.

Why are there so many pictures of Adrien?!

-Marinette-

I step out of my bathroom, gently patting my wet hair with a towel.

"Ack!" I almost drop the towel. "O-oh, Lila!" I say, giving her an awkward smile. "I didn't see you there."

"H-hi, Marinette," she says, looking flustered. We stand there, uncomfortable and silent. 

Maman stares at us, her eyes going side to side. "Well okay then! I'll leave you girls to it." And with that, she shuts the door and leaves Lila and me alone.

I clear my throat. Enough of this. "So, how have you been?" I ask, glancing up at her.

"Um, you know, fine. How about you?"

"Good!" I say, trying to be cheerful.

She nods her head. "Well, um, I brought my script," she holds up a stack of papers, "Should we get started?"

"Sure."

A few hours later, I glance at the clock and see that it's getting late. We've been practicing so much that our throats are dry and our eyelids are drooping.

"It's getting late," I remark, "Maybe you could ask your Mother if you could stay the night?"

She looks surprised but happily agrees. "Sure! Ahem, I, uh, I mean...sure. That sounds nice." Even though she's blushing (again) she gives me a small smile. 

I feel heat rise to my cheeks and say, "Hey, it's getting kind of warm, don't you think? Let's go outside." 

What is happening?

I stand up and offer her my hand. She stares at it until she snaps out of her trance and gently takes it. A jolt of warmth and giddiness shoots up my hand and across my chest. I feel my stomach tingling, butterflies whirling around. I inhale deeply and hurriedly pull my hand out of her grasp. 

Surprise flashes over her face. Guilt stirs in my stomach but I push it down and climb up the stairs and onto my balcony.

"Here," I offer her my hand once more, trying to put all the kindness I can muster into my eyes. She looks at it suspiciously. A smile forms on my face when she takes it. Another jolt runs through my body but I ignore it as I pull Lila up and onto the roof.

The tense look on her face turns into awe as she inhales the crisp night air and spins around, taking in the view of the city.

She laughs and it fills me with joy. "Wow!" she exclaims. "It's gorgeous up here!"

"Haha!" I laugh at her amazement. 

Her smile fades as she calms down. We walk over to the railing and lean on it.

"What's on your mind?" I ask her.

She shrugs "I don't know," Her tone is soft as she gazes at the moon.

"Looks like the rabbit is pretty busy tonight," I tell her, following her gaze.

"Huh?"

"The rabbit! In the moon? It's making mochi. Each and every night. Look, you see?" I move behind her and bring her hands up to frame the image of the moon. 

"Ohhh, you're right!" she smiles again. "It must be so peaceful up there..."

I stare at her bright and smiling face. Her eyes twinkle as the city lights reflect off of them. I trace her face with my eyes until my gaze lands on her peach-colored lips.

She turns her head to look at me and we gently drop our arms. Her olive-green eyes look into my bluebell ones. Her gaze drops to my lips then back into my eyes. We slowly start moving towards each other.

Then, a picture of Adrien pops into my mind and I pull my head back quickly. 

"Maybe we should, um...head back inside. It's getting cold out here." I mumble.

Hurt and disappointment flash in her eyes along with something else. Understanding. Lila nods her head and we disappear back inside.

After settling into our sleeping bags, Lila asks me a question.

"Marinette?" she inquires. "Are we friends?"

It takes me a second for the question to register in my brain. My expression softens. "Yes, Lila. We're friends."

She doesn't answer but I can feel her smiling. I flip onto my side and close my eyes, letting sleep devour me.