It Takes Time

Chapter 6

Running away probably wasn't the smartest move, but Adrienne didn't know what else to do. She acted on impulse, and knew that she would probably regret this decision. She had made it quite far, ending up at least half a mile, if not further from the school. She looked around. She was in some kind of park, though she wouldn't be able to name it. She recognized it. She had modeled in it multiple times before. She took a deep breath as she halted, panting slightly to try and regain a steady breathing pattern. 

She looked at one of the trees, analyzing it for a moment. It seemed easy enough to climb, she figured, and began to hoist herself up the trunk of the tree. There was no one else around, for whatever reason. She found it quite odd. As soon as she reached the first sturdy branch, she sat down upon it, her legs dangling off the sides for a moment before she moved them to be secured on top of the branch. She let out a sigh.

She was definitely terrified, to say the least. Here she was, just trying to figure out how to get all her relationships and friendships in check, and then someone comes along and tries to shoot her. It was completely ridiculous. She didn't understand what she had done to anger someone enough to want her dead. "Have I been mean enough to someone to make them want to kill me?" She whispered, intending for Plagg to answer, but when she heard a different voice, she was slightly surprised. 

"You? Mean? Impossible." Adrienne glanced down to where the voice came from, slightly surprised to see a certain hero waiting on the ground with his arms crossed. Ladybeetle. "And may I ask why my fair maiden is in a tree?" He laughed a little, leaning on the trunk of the tree.

"There's no fair maiden in this tree, m'lady." She replied with a little bit of sass, then covered her mouth. She was doing it; she was letting her Chat show. And she wasn't the only one who caught it. Ladybeetle noticed her comment sounding awfully similar to something Chat would say. No one else called him "M'lady," just Chat. That can't be right.

He didn't comment on his observation though. He didn't want to go and put that kind of accusation on her shoulders when she, A, most likely not Chat, and B, already dealing with enough stress. "I'm looking right at her." He smiled flirtatiously, making Adrienne's cheek turn a light shade of pink. "Can you come down, or do I need to rescue you?"

Adrienne wanted to laugh. Here he was trying to get her out of a tree. It was very similar to the movie trope in which a fire-fighter would save an old woman's kitten from a tree. It was quite hilarious to her. She barely realized that she was laughing. She felt so tired from today that she didn't really have to energy to stop herself from doing so.

"What's so funny?" Ladybeetle asked, laughing a little himself. He had never seen Adrienne laugh this much before and it was honestly one of the most amusing things he had ever seen. 

She shrugged a little, even though she was still laughing. She even let out a small snort, which the hero on the ground thought was incredibly adorable. "I just think it's funny. You're all dressed in red like a firefighter and I'm like a kitten stuck in a tree. Like in all those movies and books." She continued with her giggling, but it slowly started to settle down.

It was now Ladybeetle's turn to blush. Her analogy made him think of that same thought that seemed to always come back no matter how hard he wanted it to go away. Adrienne is Chat Noire. "Come on, let's get you out of there then, kitten." He said in a joking manner. He didn't expect for that simple joke to make Adrienne blush as much as she was. He mentally told himself to get a grip. It was not the time to be flirting without even intending it. He wanted to keep her relaxed and keep her mind off of the shooter, but she also needed to make sure she was safe. Her safety was his top priority. 

He made his way up the tree, sitting in front of her. "It's time to get down. You could fall, and I don't want you getting hurt today." He gave her a comforting smile, and she nodded. "Can you get down on your own?" Once again, she nodded without a word. He sensed something was off with her, but disregarded it for the time being. He would definitely go back to it if it continued. The first thing on his to-do list though, was to get Adrienne down from the tree.