Sixty Beats Per Minute

Chapter 11

"By the way," Marinette put on a pair of ice skates, "I've never gone ice skating before. Sorry if I'm bad"

Adrien laughed softly, "Don't worry, I'm not exactly good at ice skating either"

The two of them sat side by side and watched as Alya and Nino skated around the rink, gliding right through the crowd of people on the ice. The two of them skated hand in hand, performing a number of tricks and twirls that must have taken some time to perfect.

Alya and Nino let go of each other and jumped high, spinning gracefully in the air and landing safely on their feet. Their hands reconnected, and Nino spun Alya towards him. She landed with her back against his chest with her arms crossed in front of her, smiling.

Marinette's mouth opened in awe at the sight of them dancing and doing various tricks on ice.

"I never knew Alya and Nino were so good at this!" She exclaimed.

Adrien smiled and stood up in front of her, holding his hand out to her.

"Shall we go, then?"

Marinette nodded nervously and placed her hand in his. She nearly lost her balance the second she stood up on the skates, startled by how thin the blades were underneath her feet and how much taller they made her.

With a small yelp, Marinette fell back down on the bench, bringing Adrien down with her. Adrien quickly slapped his hand on the bench right next to Marinette's thigh to keep his balance, his other hand still intertwined with hers.

"Are you okay?" Adrien asked.

Marinette nodded, blushing at how close his face hovered to hers. He was so close that she could practically feel his body heat radiating off of him. He could have fallen right on top of her if he hadn't reacted quick enough.

Adrien gulped from nervousness as he examined her facial features up close. This was the closest they've been in a while, and Adrien was now noticing the beauty in her eyes. Those shining orbs the exact color of bluebell flowers that sparkled like pearls, and the irises that must have held the galaxy in them at some point. His heart thumped lightly against his ribcage the longer he looked into her eyes. No matter what, he couldn't take his eyes off of hers. It's like he was born to look into them.

Marinette found herself drowned in his eyes that were the dazzling, viridescent color of emeralds. She never knew he had such eyes until now. It was as if she had been looking straight into a whole new world. Like she had discovered a new color. The sight of his compelling stare sent shivers down her spine while her heart performed a million backflips.

The two young adults remained silent, getting lost in the elegance of each other's eyes. At that moment, no other colors mattered to them. It was as if the whole world had turned black and white, and the only color in existence was green and blue. Together, the two of them have traveled into their own little world, their hearts echoing one another as they breathed in sync.

Adrien slowly slid his hand out of Marinette's, moving it to her bangs. He gently tucked them behind her ear, where her eyes were now even more visible. He rested his hand on the side of her face, not taking his eyes off of hers even for a millisecond. The two of them could stare into each other's eyes all day.

"What are you two doing?"

Adrien and Marinette jumped in surprise and pulled away from each other. Their hearts pounded madly in their chests as intense heat rose to their cheeks from embarrassment. Alya and Nino stood in front of them with their arms crossed over their chests. Both Adrien and Marinette rubbed the back of their necks, which were as warm as a preheated oven.

"Sorry," they mumbled at the same time.

Alya and Nino chuckled lightly.

"If you're gonna make out, save it for when you get back home," Nino laughed, "Get your asses on the ice already, you've been sitting here for like ten minutes"

A flustered Adrien reached for Marinette's hand again.

"Alright, let's get going"

Marinette nodded. She stood up slowly, her legs wobbling from her attempt at balancing on the blades. She shakily tried to take a step, but lost her balance and toppled forward with a small scream. Adrien quickly grabbed ahold of her shoulders, saving her from the fall.

"Just take it easy," he told her.

Adrien turned to Alya and Nino, "You two go on ahead, I need to help her get on the ice"

The couple nodded. Alya and Nino turned back towards the ice rink, leaving Adrien to deal with the clumsy bluenette.

"I'm sorry for making you do this," Marinette sighed, "I don't have very good balance"

Adrien laughed softly, "It's alright"

Adrien led the wobbly Marinette onto the rink. The second her skates touched the slippery surface, she yelped and threw her hands on the wall for balance. Adrien skated up to her and slowly took both of her hands in his.

"Just relax," he told her, "If you fall, I'll catch you"

Marinette nodded. Skating backwards, Adrien slowly led her around the rink, glancing over his shoulder once in a while to make sure he wasn't about to run into someone. Marinette's knees trembled, making her slip and nearly lose her balance for perhaps the one hundredth time. Adrien had been ready and caught her with his catlike reflexes as she fell into his arms.

"It's okay," Adrien reassured her, "I got you"

Adrien continued leading her around the rink at a slow pace. After a couple minutes, she was beginning to get the feel of it. Adrien let go of her, ready to catch her if she were to fall again. Marinette picked up her speed, and Adrien followed close by. A wide smile spread across Marinette's face.

"I'm doing it!"

Adrien smiled back, "You're doing gre一"

Adrien was cut-off when one of his skates slipped out in front of him, making him topple backwards. He hit the cold and hard surface on his behind, landing with a small grunt as a tingle spread through his body from the impact.

Marinette giggled at him, "Looks like I'm not the one falling anymore"

Adrien smirked, "Oh yeah?"

Adrien quickly rose to his feet and skated towards the clumsy girl. Marinette screamed from joy, attempting to skate away as fast as she could while Adrien trailed behind. She wasn't fast enough to stay away from him, but Adrien adjusted himself to a speed slower than hers to let her win.