Just my Luck -Book 1

Chapter 1: The Worst Day of Mari's Life (so far)

This was finally it. This was the worst day of Marinette Dupain-Cheng's life.

For the past few years, Marinette had been able to get through each day in class without making a complete fool out of herself in front of her crush-- the handsome and famous teen-model Adrien Agreste. She even, on occasion, managed to bump into him when her best friend--Alya-- and Adrien's best friend-- Nino-- decided to drag them along on some activity.

Of course on those occasions, when Mari and Adrien were left alone together while their best friends commenced in awkward and over the top PDA's, Mari somehow always seemed to top it off by doing something even more embarrassing.

But today she would have traded just about anything to relive any of those humiliating moments again instead of the horrifying and agonizing sight of Chloé Bourgeois kissing Adrien Agreste.

Marinette ducked behind a park bench as she watched Chloé and Adrien stand in a frozen embrace, standing in front of a large water fountain. Everything was silent except for the rushing water and the ominous clicks of the camera lens. Mari quietly approached, hiding behind a tree as she watched the photoshoot unfold.

Of all the people in the world that could be lucky enough to kiss Adrien, why did it have to be Chloé?

At first glance, Chloé and Adrien appeared to be made for each other. They were both rich, they were both gorgeous blondes, and they were both in her class. Chloé's father was the Mayor of Paris, and her mother was the Queen of Fashion. Adrien's father was an even more successful designer, but his wife had been missing for years. Of course, Adrien never talked about that, so Mari barely knew anything about his mother.

Beyond that, when it came to personality, Adrien and Chloé wouldn't be more different. Where he was kind and thoughtful, she was snotty and careless. While he was hardworking, she pulled strings and got other people to do her work for her. It was one of the many reasons why Mari had a huge, unshakable, and almost disabling crush on Adrien. And also why she utterly disliked Chloé.

The photographer then stopped and motioned to Adrien and Chloé. "Move closer together, and put your hand on her hip. And more passion."

And then the kiss intensified.

Mari couldn't take it any longer so she took off running through the park, frustrated tears in her eyes. She thought she could hear someone call her name, but she didn't dare to look back. She had almost made it out of the park when a hand fell on her shoulder. She turned around suddenly and looked up into the green sparkling eyes of Adrien Agreste.

"Marinette," Adrien said softly. "What's wrong?"

"N...n...nothing's wrong," Mari said. Nothing 's wrong except for the fact that I'm just being my normal stupid self, again.

He gently touched her face and brushed away a tear. His eyes looked into hers steadily and she temporarily forgot how to breathe. "You ran from my photoshoot like a black cat crossed your path..."

"What?" Marinette blinked. It was kind of an odd thing to say, but also strangely accurate. "I... barely even noticed your photo-cat. I mean your Chloé shoot... " I mean just kill me now and put me out of my misery.

He gave her a slight smile. "It wasn't my idea, you know. It was her mother's. To help promote the new summer line. And I wouldn't want to upset the Queen of Fashion, or else she'd call me 'utterly ridiculous'."

Mari covered her mouth as she laughed at the stupid catchphrase that Chloé and her mother constantly used. "Y... you must kiss a lot of girls in your photoshoots."

"It kind of comes with the territory of being a model." He shrugged. "But you want to know my secret?"

"What secret?"