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Derision

It was the day. The day that Adrien would finally meet the real Ladybug.

He woke up with a huge smile on his face. It was another night without a visit from Chat Blanc, so he knew that he was on the right path.

Now he would just have to get through school. Then he would go back to the fabric shop and wait for Ladybug. With any luck, she would be there.

Wanting to hurry the day along, Adrien quickly finished getting ready, ate breakfast, and went to school.

All day long he hoped for an akuma attack to strike. Which was a weird thing to hope for, but the last thing he wanted was for it to happen when he was at the shop. With the attacks happening daily, he knew that it was inevitable. Better that it happened before their fateful meeting than during.

But alas, the school day went by without incident. It was okay though. He was still going to find Ladybug, so everything was good.

At long last, the final bell rang.

"Are you ready to go?" Adrien asked Marinette as they both stood up from their seats in Ms Bustier's classroom.

She looked at him. "Are you sure that you want me to go? Gustave will be able to help you with anything that you need."

"Of course I want you to go," he insisted, giving her that megawatt smile of his. "Besides, you still need to get the rest of your stuff. I'll be happy to buy it for you. It's the least I could do after everything that you've done for me."

"But I haven't done anything for you," she said as they walked side by side out of the room.

"You have. Trust me."

"Well I still don't want you to pay for my things. I have enough money to cover it."

Adrien sighed. Marinette could be so stubborn sometimes. "Alright."

She nodded, happy that he agreed.

They walked down the stairs before going outside. Adrien opened the car door and let her climb in first. Then it was silent for a few minutes.

Finally, Marinette turned to talk to him. "So, did you make a list of all the things you need?"

"Uh, no I didn't," he murmured in embarrassment. In hindsight, he probably should have done something like that. Marinette must be feeling like the whole situation was really strange.

"Okay," she said slowly. "But you know generally what you need?"

"Yeah. Generally."

Silence again before Marinette looked out the window.

Adrien put his hand to the back of his neck, knowing that he should say something. "Thanks again for coming with me. I know that Gustave is there to help me with any questions I have, but I just really like having you around. It's... comforting to know that you're there with me. If that makes any sense."

All she could do was nod, too flustered by his words to face him.

There was no more conversation the rest of the way. Only the sound of Adrien's foot impatiently tapping the floor was there to interrupt the silence.

Finally they arrived. After getting out of the car, Marinette took a step toward the door but stopped when she realized that Adrien wasn't next to her. Looking back, she found him adjusting his hair.

Noticing her, he forced a smile. "Just a second."

Then she waited while he smoothed out his clothes and inspected himself. After that he ran his fingers through his hair again.