Secret Kitten

Chapter 3

Adrien used his staff to jump into his room and sighed. This had been the fourth time that he went to check up on Marinette since their fight four nights ago. She had been skipping school because apparently she was sick, but he knew she was probably just avoiding him. So he decided to go to the building across her balcony and wait for her to show up, then he would try to talk to her and explain but he didn't. Not on the first day or the second or the third and not even on the fourth day.

It was a vicious cycle. Marinette would come to the balcony and stayed there almost every night staring at the horizon for a very long time. Adrien felt like jumping in there so they could talk but he found himself too weak or scared each time. So instead he just stared at her. She didn't seem upset or angry or even sick. In fact, when Adrien looked at her, he recognized hopelessness and loneliness in her. With a mixture of relatability and guilt, he stayed there looking at her while she stared at the skyline. Eventually, the cold would get to her and she would walk inside. Only then would Adrien return to his house with the promise that tomorrow would be different, but it never was.

He never intended to hurt her this way. Adrien understood deeply how she felt since loneliness and hopelessness were his best-sworn friends. There was nothing he could do to change what happened between them, but he would stop at nothing to preserve their friendship.

The problems between them were his fault and he blamed himself for it. He liked Marinette deeply but she was nothing compared to his lady. Sure, Marinette was kind and brave and creative. However, Ladybug was all those things plus more.

There was nothing that could compare to the rush of fighting beside his lady. There was nothing that made him feel the same way when she touched him. There was no one, he could love besides her.

Why couldn't Marinette understand that? Adrien couldn't explain why or how it happened that night. There was just something in her eyes that reminded him of his lady. He wasn't able to resist. The sunshine boy was lost on that ocean of her baby blues eyes that night. Sure she was a friend, but at that moment it felt like they were more. There was a connection that he couldn't explain.

To tell the truth that scared him. He never considered he'd feel this way for Marinette. No! He had to stay loyal to his lady. That was what he was desperately trying to tell Marinette on the night of their fight. They hadn't talked about it before. Adrien knew the longer he waited the worse it would be for all. He had already waited four weeks. Continuing not to talk would be leading Marinette on, and that would be wrong, especially her being the awesome person she was. His only solution was honesty.

Exhausted, Adrien jumped to his bed and went to sleep with his mind thinking of Marinette.

The next day, he woke up early for his morning fencing practice, despite not wanting to go.

Today he was a little off, and that was proven by the many times Kagami had beaten him. Kagami also seemed to notice. "What's wrong with you today?"

Adrien got up of the floor and brushed the dirt off his suit. "Nothing."

"Is this about Marinette?"

"What?" He rubbed the back of his neck confirming Kagami's theory.

"Why would it be about her?"

"Come on Adrien, I am not stupid. She disappears for a few days and you look like a rescue puppy with those eyes."

"Me? Haha! I told you countless times we are just friends."

Kagami grinned before adjusting her epee. "Right! Listen to me! This thing between both of you isn't healthy. To be a good fencer, you can quit or be fierce. My advice is either you quit, meaning you find someone else, or you attack, meaning you go all in. You will lose if you continue this way."

With those words, Kagami attacked, surprising Adrien, and he fell hard on the ground again.

"See? Waiting around and doing nothing won't work. Let go or move forward. It's your choice!"

Adrien got up and watched as Kagami left, already tired of winning.

"So letting go vs moving forward?" Adrien told himself as he pondered what to do next.