In the Home of Chat

Lunch Date

"There you are!" Alya called out as she approached the small round table that Marinette was sitting at. The future designer had her head bent forward and her hand constantly moving as she added bits and pieces here and there along an intricate design she was sketching out, in a much smaller sketchbook than she used for school. Her head shot up at the sound of her best friends voice and a wide smile crept across her lips when they made eye contact. Alya could tell just by looking at her that she had had a good first day at university, she was practically glowing from the excitement that her eyes flashed with as she gave the reporter a once over.

"Hey Alya, love the dress." Marinette gave her a smirk as Alya slid into the chair directly across from her. The bespeckled woman chuckled as she adjusted her glasses and motioned to her friends three piece ensemble.

"I could say the same for you girl, check you out. Rocking the colors of Paris' resident superhero for some added confidence?" Alya wiggled her eyebrows at Marinette who looked down at her green and black outfit as a swift chill washed through her body from her head down to her toes. Her lighthearted smile slipped into a small frown as her hand clenched tightly to her drawing pencil. How had she not even thought about wearing Chat Noirs colors that morning? She had been riding her high of the first day back at school long enough for that fact to completely slip her mind.

"Yeah, I guess so..." Alya gave her a heartwarming smile as the young design student returned her attention to the sketchbook before herself. Marinette didn't look up at her best friend as she used her thick fringe to hide the fact that she was blinking away the tears that were suddenly stinging the edges of her eyes. She thought she was moving on when the thought of Chat earlier that day didn't have her breaking apart on the inside. However, if the amount of pain that was washing through her heart was anything to go on, she was clearly using the excitement of her first day at school to suppress it.

"Is that homework?" Alya's voice brought her out of her thoughts nearly as quickly as it had shocked her into them.

" Huh ,"Marinette began as she shook her head to clear it, " o-oh, um. Not really, it's just something that a friend inspired me to do today." She mumbled as she added a bit of piping to a jacket she had drawn on a model.

"Don't you tell me another girl's swooping in to take my place." Alya joked as she waved over a server who was walking past a table a few feet away from them. Marinette barely even looked up at her friend before answering her.

"No one could ever replace you Alya, but no it's not a girl. It's a boy actually." She knew what would come next and braced herself for the onslaught of questions from the reporter. When none came she looked up slowly to see Alya nodding her head towards the approaching server. They waited politely as the young woman read out the specials, then placed their orders before smiling as she walked away from them.

"A boy?" Alya raised her eyebrows once they were alone, Marinette sighed and scooted down in her chair a bit as she nodded in return. She should have known that the reporter in her wouldn't let that small comment slide. The smile on Alya's lips was enough to tell her that she was in for an interview and a half on the new male in her life.

"Look, it's not a big deal okay. He's just partnering with me for one class, and he's nice and a really good designer."  She looked down at the design that remained half finished before her as she spoke, "He spent all last class designing this beautiful dress and, I don't know, it inspired me to make a suit to match." She frowned at the black three piece suit she had drawn and studied the piping around the shoulders. Her eyes wandered from the image to her best friends face and she groaned at the intense smile that she found there. The questions were many, and intense; going from his full name, which she did not know, to his favorite color, which she was pretty sure was red but she didn't really know if she was right. She spent so long answering Alya's questions that their orders came and were eaten long before the reporter was finished.