Troublemaker

4 - Back at school

It's hard to say who went to school with a heavier heart – Marinette or Adrien. She wanted to wear a paper bag on her head. He... - well... - he had his head full of thoughts about her. And he still didn't know how to behave in front of her. Plagg had told him that there was nothing to worry about, because Marinette wouldn't connect these facts with him, so if Adrien wasn't going to kiss her as himself, it would be the best to forget about the case.

When Adrien arrived at school, he noticed that Marinette hadn't shown up yet. He sighed. Disappointment – from all the feelings inside him this one was the strongest at that moment. It seemed that one evening of meditation was too little to overcome the fear of comeback. That meant he wouldn't see her for the next three days. Monday was so far...

Adrien joined Nino and Alya. She was very concerned, probably with news from Marinette that she wouldn't come. Well... At least he would be able to visit her again this evening. He smiled to this thought. It wasn't so bad prospect, after all.

"She keeps ignoring my calls." Alya sighed.

"I understand her quite well." Nino said for the hundredth time. "If it happened to me, I would change the school."

Adrien could tell them that Marinette had had the same plan. He felt shivers when he reminded how close she was to do it. He had already missed her for the last few days. And after yesterday even more... No, he shouldn't go there. It was too close to... a longing? And something more...

Suddenly they saw her at the gate. For a moment, it looked a bit like the Cinderella's appearance at the ball. All conversations died down and everyone was staring at her. Marinette looked as though she was about to turn back home. Fortunately, Alya left Nino and walked quickly to her friend. She took her hand and pulled her toward their little group.

Marinette looked down. She could expect Adrien to be one of the first people she would meet in the morning. Cat Noir had said yesterday that Adrien was worried about her. That could mean he'd been spending time with Alya and Nino.

"I'm so glad, you're here!" Alya whispered.

"Sometimes you just have to face your problems..." Marinette said, moving slightly away from Adrien.

He couldn't miss that. At the same moment he felt irresistible desire to take her hand. He blushed at the thought of it.

An awkward silence arose. Alya looked at Nino with a desperate question in her eyes – they both felt the growing tension between the other two, but they had no idea what they should do now. All of them had focused their efforts on bringing Marinette back to school. No one thought about the consequences. How could they overcome her embarrassment in their company? Or rather the company of Adrien...

"Would you mind if I talk to Adrien in private?" Marinette suddenly asked, still staring at her own shoes.

They looked at her with astonishment. In her voice they could hear a hint of determination.

"Sure, honey!" Alya smiled and took Nino's hand.

"See ya..." Nino mumbled before his girlfriend dragged him to the opposite corner of the school yard.

Marinette looked up at Adrien. She still had sad eyes. But they were no longer swollen from crying. He felt a relief. But only partial. Because she was still sad.

"I ..." she began and looked down again, and an unbearable blush showed on her cheeks. "I wanted to apologise."

"Apologise?" he gasped, surprised. "But for what?"

"Well, you must have been hurt too. You know... because of those pictures..." she blushed even more. "And I... I behaved like a coward. I hid in the house and you had to face it. Well, I'm sorry for that."

"Marinette, what are you talking about?" he grunted, taking her hand. "Don't apologise to me!"

"I was too scared to come to school." She continued, staring at his hand clenched in her hand. "And yet... The fact that I wasn't at school didn't mean that people didn't talk. They talked. Only I didn't hear it. I'm a coward."

"Stop saying that! I think you're brave. I... I don't know what I would do if it happened to me. Probably I would lock myself at home. At least my father would be happy, because he could stop worrying about me." He joked.

She looked at him briefly with a half-smile.

"Paradoxically, in that case he should start..." she murmured, and he was – again – surprised with her answer.

"But finally, you came. You faced the fear. So, you are brave." He said.

"Actually... I would never leave the house, but someone helped me..." she confessed. His heart started beating faster.

"Who?" he asked breathless.

"A friend." She whispered, and her hand went unconsciously to her lips. Adrien felt warmth on his cheeks.

"A friend?" he asked quietly.

"Yes." She smiled. "You know... He helped me to understand that the whole story hadn't influenced only my life. And that I have friends I can rely on. At that moment I realised that it wasn't only me who became the object of gossips. And then I concluded that I should apologise to you. And support you."

"Marinette, I told you not to apologise to me! What can we do about a musician taking hasty conclusions from several observations? It was unfortunate that he shared these assumptions with the whole world."

"Uhm... By the way... You know..." Marinette stuttered, blushing.

"Yes?" He asked, and his heart stopped beating for a moment.

"Well, about these conclusions... You know... They weren't so hasty..." she confessed with embarrassment.

"They weren't... What?" he stammered, additionally embarrassed by muted croak of Plagg, coming from his bag. He hoped that Marinette would think it was his phone.

"Well... Jagged Stone was right a little..." she said with determination.

This morning she had promised herself that she would end up with burying her head in the sand. If her reputation was in ruins, let it be useful at least a little. It wouldn't be any worse.

"What are you saying, Marinette?"

"That... As if a bit... I mean... Oh, God! Why is it so difficult?!" she exclaimed with irritation. But she noticed he was still holding her hand. The situation couldn't get more uncomfortable. "Oh, Adrien... Well... I am... a little bit... likewise... I mean... in love... Uhm... with you. A little."

Finally! She threw it out of herself. God, what a relief! Now she had to wait out his reaction. He would let her hand, for sure. He could start laughing. Hopefully not. He would say he was very sorry, but they couldn't be friends anymore. That was the most likely.

He didn't release her hand. He didn't burst out laughing. He didn't say he was sorry or that they couldn't be friends anymore. Actually, he didn't say anything. He was looking at her. Flushed. Well, she was blushed too. What an embarrassing situation. For both. Rather obviously...

Suddenly he pulled her closer and kissed her. In front of all colleagues! Alya grasped her heart and whispered to Nino that she could die happy now. And Marinette and Adrien stood in the corner and kept kissing, not hearing the boys' whistling or the girls' sighs.