My Fault - Adrienette FF

The Race

MARINETTE

After what had happened with Adrien, I decided to stay away from him tonight. That was what he'd asked for, after all.

What had happened between us was weird, but it was pleasant.

Then he'd opened his mouth and I'd remembered who I was dealing with.

Still, I'd gotten what I wanted. I'd gotten my revenge on , Jake even if deep down I realized that nothing could make me feel better after the two people who mattered most to me had betrayed me behind my back.

The photo Adrien had taken had shaken me.

I'd never taken photos of Jake and me kissing.

For that matter, Jake had never kissed me like that.

When I looked at the picture, I got goose bumps. You could see us in it in profile, his lips half-open and pressed into mine, our eyes closed, enjoying the moment. My cheeks were bright red, Adrien's face was hard, cold, irresistible. He really was attractive. Jake would be climbing the walls. I knew it. He was just that egotistical, even if normally he saved his self-centered attitude for other people and didn't make me a victim of it. I sent him the picture of him cheating, so he'd know I had it.

Then I wrote a text under the photo of Adrien and me before sending it.

All I needed was four hours to find a bigger man than you. Thanks for opening my eyes. By the way, in your picture you look like a fish sucking air.

Learn to kiss, douchebag!

I looked at the photo of him and Isabella kissing.

His face still drew me in, but I knew that with that message, our relationship was over.

I would never see him again, and for the first time, I was happy there was a border between us. As for Isa, I just wrote her a two-word message that I sent along with the photo of her and Jake kissing:

We're done.

I exhaled all the air I'd been holding in.

That was it.

With that, nine months of romance and seven years of friendship were finished. I felt my eyes grow damp, but I didn't spill a single tear.

To hell with them.

They didn't deserve it.

I put my phone in my back pocket and tried to find Adrien. Last I saw him, he was leaning against his black Ferrari and drinking a beer.

I turned around and walked straight over to Alya.

We danced, laughed, entertained ourselves.

My new friend was crazy. Now and then she'd run off to make out with her boyfriend, and I'd remember what had happened and feel depressed. I tried to distract myself watching the races; I loved the sport, and it brought back some of my favorite memories from back when going to the races was an everyday thing for me. I noted the techniques of all the different drivers.

Adrien's friend was pretty good, but Adrien was better.

His first race impressed me.

As the night went on, I found myself analyzing the different strategies and asking myself what was missing, how to increase our side's advantage.

The problem was the second curve.

If you hit it too slow, you fell behind; if you took it too fast, you risked spinning out.

I was dying to get on the track. I felt like I could do it better. I wanted to feel the wind in my face, the adrenaline in my body that speed always brought with it, feel that control over the car, knowing I was the one telling it where to go.