(On Hold) A New Life

Chapter 9 (The new normal?)

SOO sorry for not updating sooner guys!  Things have been really complicated.

Your POV

So all of us got our lunches and sat down at our 'usual' table. The first thing that was talked about was Chloe's birthday, the very next day. I'd completely forgotten about that. "I hope everyone can go. Though, I'm sure Chloe invited a few people because she wanted extra gifts." Ayla said at one point. I nodded. "You okay n/n? You haven't really said anything." Marri asked. I shrugged. "I forgot about that party. I haven't gotten anything and my dad won't give me money to buy something. He's making sure he can pay rent." I made up after a second. Marri nodded. "I'm sure my parents would appreciate a pair of extra hands at the bakery. You could help out at the counter after school." She offered.

I half smiled. "Really? Thanks Marionette." I replied. Marri nodded with a smile. We ate lunch, mostly talking about which hero Chloe liked the best. I knew she liked Ladybug the most, but didn't really say anything. "What makes you think it's Ladybug? What about Starfire? She's pretty cool if you ask me." Adrien said quickly. I could feel my cheeks heating up slightly. "Oh really? Well if you think that, why don't you tell her yourself at the party Adrien?" Ayla retorted back. I gave her a 'don't-you-dare' look. Nino and Nathanael joked that Adrien had a crush on Starfire. I swore Adrien was blushing. "What about you n/n? You've seen the heros by now. Who do you like out of them?" Nino asked. I shook my head slowly. "I'm not really sure. I mean, Ayla told me about her blog so I checked that out. I think Chat noir is pretty great. Cats always land on their feet and he has a visible leadership role. I think if Ladybug didn't have a plan yet, Chat would find a way to give her time. His puns are comical but I think that more of who he really is rather than to just to say them. But then again, I'm partial to cats, so I might be a little biased." I answered. Well it was kind of true. Chat's puns were a part of who he was. (Oof got a little wordy there, ya'll understand what that means right? Got carried away.)

Marri, Nate and Nino each had a very concerned look on their faces. Maybe I sounded too much like the first time they asked me this question. "What? Did I say something wrong?" I asked, hoping that wasn't the case. Marri shook her head slowly. "That's almost what y/n said when we said which hero we liked. She liked Chat noir, but she also said she liked cats a lot. She even said something about how they landed on their feet." Marri explained. Oops, I really had to start watching what I was saying. I made a 'my-bad' kind of expression. "Oh, I guess you guys must miss her a lot." I said back slowly. It really was hard to not tell them. Everyone nodded solemnly. Adrien and Ayla were both really good actors. I already knew they were good at faking things, but just how good they were kept surprising me. We started talking about Chloe's birthday again until the bell rang. We met up after school to talk about the party. Adrien caught me when he was about to leave. "We can say my gift is from both of us y/n." He told me in a low voice. I half smiled. "Really? That's... amazing Adrien." I said thankfully. Adrien smiled, rubbing the back of his neck again. The little action always made me feel safe for some reason.

I got home, it was still weird calling this new apartment home, and looked at what I had to wear for Chloe's birthday. I could wear the dress I'd brought before, but then people would know I couldn't afford a different dress. I shook my head. "Y/n, when you get ready to go to the party, add the phrase "Change my look." after transforming." Yin told me. I nodded. "What'll happen?" I asked. Yang came out. "It'll give your transformation a new look, like a dress but you can still fight if needed. It'll also change your civilian form to have a different dress and a mask usually comes with it for reasons of hiding your identity. It'll look normal since everyone will have a mask on. The change will only last for a couple hours but it'll give you enough time to change out of the dress and into normal clothes again." He explained. I nodded. Okay, let's just hope I don't end up getting one of those really poofy dresses for a ball or something. That sounded interesting. I grabbed a pen and paper and signed it 'Happy Birthday to the team's biggest fan, Starfire. 🐾' That would make up for a missing gift, right?