Enemies With Benefits

Chapter 4: By The Minute

"You brought sweets?" Adrien asked staring at the basket in her hand, Marinette nodded. Adrien grinned as he took out a picnic blanket that he had hid behind his back, "Awesome. This'll be an interesting experience."

"Yup... Guess so." Marinette said and glanced around, looking for a spot to sit. "Don't worry, I got it all figured out. Come on, I'll show you." Marinette gasped as he took her hand in his, and guided her along the park.

She blushed, not expecting him to just grab her hand like that. She couldn't find herself to pull away though... It wasn't that long of a walk, however... Marinette didn't really mind if it was. She couldn't believe how incredibly warm his hand was.

And it was much bigger than hers, she did have quite a small figure, Adrien was tall and muscular. Not overly muscular, to be precise... He was just hot as hell. The expanse of his chest made her want to just cuddle in his chest forever- WAIT.

What was she thinking? No she didn't! He wasn't hot! This was Adrien Agreste she was talking about here--

"Well, here it is." Adrien said, saving Marinette from her thoughts. Her lips parted, they were on a hill and she didn't even know this part of the park existed. It had a perfect view of the Eiffel Tower and the sunset behind it.

"It's beautiful..." Marinette whispered under her breath.

Adrien smiled as he looked at her, if only you knew, he thought. "I come here to think. My mom used to bring me here, she said she would come here as a teenager too..." He smiled at the thought of his mother.

Marinette narrowed her eyebrows, it wasn't until then that she realized how hard Adrien's life really was. He had a lot of responsibility, being a model and all. He didn't seem to open up to a lot of people about his mom, no one really knew much about her.

She felt sympathy for him, she wasn't thinking clearly, as in that moment, Her arms were wrapped around him and she pulled him into a tight hug. Adrien blushed, speechless. He slowly wrapped his arms around her, but before he could enjoy it she slipped from his embrace.

"S-sorry... I know you have a lot on your plate, I-i figured you could use a hug." Adrien smirked, "Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Stuttering and giving me a hug? Don't let me get the wrong idea about you..." He teased.

Marinette laughed a little, "Don't push it Agreste." Adrien felt his heart flutter, he made her laugh? Even if it was slightly, her giggle was so cute! Finally... Progress. Hopefully she was starting to like him.

He set down the blanket and they sat next to each other, their shoulders touching. Marinette felt her cheeks flush at how close they were, she assumed she was only slightly attracted to him, but only because of his looks.

He was a model after all, a really handsome one at that. Not to mention his shirtless poses on the cover of a some magazines she'd seen at the store. But there was something about him that really intrigued her.

It made her want to hang out with him more, she wanted to get to know more about him. But she was just so stubborn, her pride had made her convince herself that he was just a naturally attractive guy. He had probably done lots of things like this with other girls anyway.

Maybe he had gotten bored or something and that's why he was being nice to her. Yeah, that's probably all it was. "How often do you come here?" Marinette asked.

"Whenever I can, this place isn't really public. I can just enjoy life without everyone snapping pictures of me." Marinette frowned, "You... You don't like the attention?" She said in confusion.

She had guessed he reveled in the attention, having everyone ask for autographs or pictures, and having so many fans. Perhaps she had just based the guess off of a stereotype. A lot of models really did thrive in the publicity.

"I hate it." Adrien answered, sighing. "I do it because it makes my father happy, but I also don't really have much of a choice. I'm sure a lot of people think I have the best life, living in a mansion and being a model..."

"But honestly, I wish I just lived in a nice little home with my parents. My father was different when my mother was around and... He doesn't even go out of the house much now." He narrowed his eyebrows.

Marinette looked to the side, how could she have assumed so much about him? He seemed really lonely. She had known him since freshman year and she was barely getting to know him.

"I'm... I'm sorry..." she said, looking up at him. He stared at her, "For what?" She sighed, "For miss judging you... I pictured you as this guy who thought he was better than everyone else, including me, and maybe that's why you were always teasing me..."

"A guy who loved the attention of being a popular model and somewhat of a Jock. A Playboy.." Her voice trailed off, "You're none of those things are you?" Adrien shook his head with a small smile, hoping she was beginning to understand.

"So... I'm sorry for miss judging you, Adrien." He shrugged, "Most people do. It's alright, blue." Marinette felt her chest tighten, a small blush coating her freckled cheeks. She should've been annoyed but...

She felt good about her little nick name this time. Despite how he had gotten the idea of it... it made her feel warm. She opened the picnic basket and set out the container of blueberries and macaroons.

He gasped, looking at her with a smirk and she rolled her eyes. "So the blueberry lives up to her name." He said, grinning and Marinette pouted her lip. That is... Before both of them broke out into laughter.

"These macaroons are delicious!" Adrien said, "You're bakery really is the best in Paris." He said. Marinette giggled, popping a blueberry into her mouth. "Agreste, Complimenting me? Don't let me get the wrong idea about you..." She teased.

Adrien laughed, of course she didn't know, it was exactly the right idea. And now that he was really getting to know her, he was only falling deeper and deeper, by the minute.