A Miraculous Tale of a Cursed Crane

Chapter 10: An Errand

Master Fu let me stay home today to rest and I needed it. I got out of bed at 11:20am and walked to my kitchen. "Vina! Lunch!" I looked at my hand to see the black swirled mark on my hand. I guess this won't be going away soon. Someone knocks on the door. "Hello Li." It was a small elderly asian women hair tied neatly back showing some greys. She wore a simple long sleeved shirt, pants, a vest, and teacher shoes. I don't know how to explain them but my previous grade school teachers had them. "I'm Mrs. Wong from the herb store." "Oh hello, I'm Li." "I know who you are here, and I hired you on recommendation of Mr. Fu. I just came to drop off some soup and to make a request." She hands me the soup. "I know Mr. Fu said you were resting today, but could you deliver these herbs to this address? I have to stay here for a delivery." "I can do it. Is there a specific time it needs to get there by?" "No no no take your time. I know you have studies. Thank you so much for this!" "No problem." She gives me the package and address and I close the door.

After completing previous and today's assignments I check the clock, 2:10pm. I guess I can make that delivery. I dress in casual blue jeans, a white shirt, a grey sweater, some converse, and cover my hand with a black bike glove. I finally get a good look at the address to see it was... you have got to be kidding me. It was the Agreste Mansion. I bet it's Natalie's stress meds or fancy tea. I take the bus and start walking. This is going to be awkward if anyone of that household recognizes me, because last time I was there I blew up in front of THE head of the family. Wait! But if they do recognize me, they would know that I am in association with Mrs. Wong and then she could lose business because of me! ARGH. Before I walk to Adrien's, I take a slight detour to a costume shop. There I got myself a long red wig, like Erza Scarlett from Fairy Tail, and black frame glasses. I stop at a public restroom, put the wig on, add some makeup to my face, put on the glasses, and headout. I walk past the school across the street and see people about to leave. Classes should be ending soon. I walk around the corner of Adrien's place and finally make it to the front. I was at the corner and pretty much had to walk around half the block just to get to the front! I stood in front of his house and wow it looked amazing just like the first time I saw it. Alright time to ring the doorbell, as I waited for the response I heard a car pull up behind me. It was Adrien and his bodyguard. I turned back around hoping he didn't see my face. I was supposed to be "sick." The intercom rang, "If you're a fan girl put your fan mail in the bin and leave." "Um, I'm here to drop off a herb package from Mrs. Wong." "I can bring it in," I turned around to see Adrien talking. "It's for Mr. Agreste, right?" "Yeah... I think so," I look at the ground. "Oh I need someone to sign this receipt as proof that he got it." "I don't know if my father's home right now, but I think Natalie can sign it. You can come inside." "Okay." Adrien seriously doesn't recognize me? I shouldn't be surprised there is only one girl with Marinette's type of hair, height, eye color, and voice in our class, and he still hasn't figured out she's ladybug. As we walk through the gate, Natalie starts running out towards the car. "I'll be right back, your father needs me in town." "Wait! You need to sign-" She's gone. She left. "If it's alright with you, you can wait inside." Adrien says. I nod my head. "So what should I call you?" "It's not important right now...But Celine is fine" BAKA! "Well...Celine, you can come with me." He walks through the main hall and up the stairs to another hallway. He opens a large black door to reveal his room. "Wow... Your room is incredible! Is that a fireman's pole?" He puts down his bag. "Yup! There's a climbing wall and foosball too." "Um thanks for having me over, but you really shouldn't invite strangers to your room." He just looks at me and smirks leaning against a wall. "Li, I know it's you, but I'm guessing that you wanted to disguise yourself so no one in this household would kick you out or take their herb business somewhere else because of your delivery." "Oh! For a second I thought you couldn't recognize me." "Well it's a pretty good disguise but you're still you." Surprising how he doesn't try to connect me to the Cursed Crane. I take the wig and glasses off and sit on the couch. "Sorry to bother you Adrien." "It's cool, but why weren't you at school today?" "I didn't feel well, but I'm fine now." "Uh huh... And you came all the way here. I wish it was to see me." "Ha! That's pretty flirty of you, but yeah I had to drop off a package. We can hangout now though since I'm waiting." "Yeah that sounds good." "Wait. You have homework... Don't let me keep you from your studies." "I can do it later." He flips himself onto the couch. "You wanna watch One Punch Man?" "YES!" I say jumping on the couch. "But before we do that, can I explore your room?" He looks at me strangely. "Like I wanna try the fireman's pole, and climb the wall." "Alright!" I run up the stairs and go down the pole. "Hey Adrien, can you spot me while I climb?" "Sure." I slowly climb and felt eyes scan my body, I look down to see Adrien with his arms out. I got to the top and I can't get down. "Hey Adrien." "Yeah?" "I can't get down." "Oh... Why'd you climb that high then?" "It's a climbing wall and I don't like quitting half way!" "Hahaha! Don't worry I'll catch you." "You want me to jump off?!" "Well how else are you gonna get down?" "MMMMM okay. Are you sure? I'm heavy." "I'm strong." "You're also delicate and if I break you or hurt your face your dad's gonna kill me!" "Come on just jump already!" "Okay then... 3 2 1!" I turn and jump onto Adrien. He stumbled back from the force and landed on the couch. "Ah geez...sorry Adri-." I am way too close to Adrien. As you can imagine, our faces were 3 inches apart. "Uh..." As I sit up, I find myself straddling him and blush. I climb off him and fall from the couch with embarrassment. I immediately get up and look out the window. "Wow... You have a nice view." I didn't dare turn around. My cheeks were hot and red like a tomato. I take a couple deep breaths and turn around. As I did, Adrien avoided eye contact. Yup... It got awkward. "Hey Adrien, sorry about my body weight crushing you... And stuff." "Huh! Oh it was no big deal! Just your friendly neighborhood hero!" "What?" "Um... Nothing." Insert awkward laughing here! "...Adrien? Is it too much to ask for a tour of your house? I would like to see the rest if this is your room." "Yeah, it shouldn't be a problem. But my dad probably doesn't want strangers in his office or room." "That's fine with me!" I wonder if the observatory is in this house's attic. So we walked through the hallways. Besides the essentials, there was a saloon/ hangout area, theater, indoor sauna, a few guest rooms, and a small pool?! "Your house is amazing!" "Yeah it's pretty nice..." He looked sad all or a sudden. Probably because I complimented his cage. I touch his shoulder and say, "Your house looks great but I'm not sure if this is a home. Ya get me?" "Yeah I do."

Down the halls we walked until we heard footsteps. My instinct told me to hide, so I ran to the nearest door which happened to be a coat closet. "Father!" I heard Adrien say. Through the crack of the door I saw Adrien leaning against the closet. YOU'RE MAKING IT OBVIOUS IDIOT! Mr. Agreste spoke,"Adrien, I heard there was a paper I needed to sign from Mrs. Wong." "Uh... Yeah... I have it my room." "Good. Hand it to me and I'll have Natalie send it back." I heard a pair of footsteps walking closer but I didn't know whose. I decided to hide myself in one of the long furry trench coats. Just in time, I heard the closet noise open. Some ruffling behind me and a "tch" noise. The door closed. I waited there until I heard Adrien's voice. "You can come out now." I crawl out from the coat to see Adrien looking somewhat relieved. We had an understanding why I had to hide. "I guess I'll take my leave now but it was nice to hangout with you." "Yeah, let's hangout another time." I went in for a hug. The hug felt nice. When we broke apart I felt colder. WELL OF COURSE IT DID. Is it okay to love you Adrien? This conflict in my head is super annoying because my thoughts around this keep twisting and twisting. You know what. I'll just go with the flow and see what fate gives me! But it wouldn't be right to Nat tho. AHH WHY CAN'T FEELINGS BE EASIER?!

A/N: I'm happy that people actually read part(s) of this story. Sorry for poor grammar if there is any!

Thank you! :)