Chapter Text
Marinette Dupain-Cheng…
Marinette Dupain-Cheng was the girl Adrien sat in front of at school. She was the girl who adored fashion and the color pink. That was it.
Well, not entirely…
Sometimes, when his mind wandered during class, his eyes drifted around the room inspecting the classmates that surrounded him. He reveled in the feeling of belonging in the place. It was like a home away from home if you could consider the mansion to be home in the first place.
Today, Nino sat next to him as typical, eyes glued to the board or his phone. Chloe and Sabrina sat across the aisle, the former staring lazily at the chalkboard, the latter furiously scribbling down what looked to be extensive notes. Behind Adrien sat Marinette and Alya.
Sometimes, all he could hear was the scratching of a pencil, and other days, giggling and whispered conversations. He sometimes eavesdropped if they were loud enough, a habit he couldn’t shake.
Once he even heard her pun in history. The teacher had just announced that there would be a pop quiz, causing Alya to moan in frustration.
“Oh, come on. Girl, I have been so busy the past few nights that I didn’t even study! What am I going to do?”
“Oh Alya, don’t let this pop quiz burst your bubble, you’ll be okay. You do pretty well in history!” replied Marinette.
Adrien couldn’t focus for the rest of class.
Today, though, the room was quiet. The only sounds heard were the scritch-scratches of pencils and shuffling of pages as Miss Bustier explained the Napoleonic Age.
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On the second day of school, he remembered dropping his pencil in chemistry class, where it rolled down the steps, stopping next to Marinette's foot.
"Hey, um, could you pass me my pencil...?" he pointed to the yellow pencil lying on the musty carpet. Marinette jumped a little when he spoke, turning to face him.
She stared at him for a second with her big sky-blue eyes as if he were speaking another language. He glanced away nervously under her stare. Did she not forgive him? He thought they made up yesterday!
Adrien began apologizing immediately, "Sorry, nevermind, I'll just get-"
"Um, Blur! I mean, s-sure! Umm, sorry, yeah, okay..." Interrupted Marinette. She continued muttering under her breath as she jerkily picked up the pencil and passed it to him. In the back of his mind, Adrien noticed the rosy flush bloom across her face as their hands brushed. Her hands were small and spindly. Despite how delicate they looked, calluses covered them and scars pockmarked her fingertips, strata that depicted each needle-prick from sewing.
Flustered, Adrien sat back down with a thanks, breaking eye contact.
It was the first time that she started stuttering around him. He could empathize.
When Adrien was young, he would falter around the big, important people his father tried to introduce him to. Most of the words coming out of his mouth were choppy and uneven. Sometimes, he wouldn’t speak for the whole encounter or event. He remembered hiding behind his father or mother, whoever was with him then.
If it was Mother, he might be escorted away to another room.
“Remember, love, people won't hurt you, not as long as I’m around to stop them.” Mother said at his first gala, tenderly tucking a strand of hair behind his ear.
“Like a knight in shining armor?”
“Like your knight in shining armor, my little prince.” she ruffled Adrien’s hair affectionately.
If it was Father, then he could expect to be pushed along with a pat on the back or a faint squeeze on the shoulder.
Even that reaction was more than what he got from his father nowadays.
Adrien shook his head, clearing those cobwebby thoughts that came from the back of his mind. Adrien thought that he could generally understand Marinette’s attitude towards him. He was someone she was generally uncomfortable with. Someone that she didn’t know well, someone that intimidated her.
He didn't think she necessarily disliked him; she just liked him less than their other classmates.
Why though?
He knew she had a bad history with kids like him (ie. Chloe). Chloe targeted Marinette specifically from what he heard, so that could explain why the rest of the class was much more comfortable around him. And she liked fashion! Any admiration for his father may seem like a deterrent too, maybe.
So would she ever be ready to be friends?
Adrien Agreste was anything but a quitter. Ladybug herself mentioned how persistent he was when something was stuck in his mind (like her).
So he was going to be friends with Marinette no matter what. Once they knew each other better, they could become closer and better friends. BEST friends.
But a nasty little voice in the back of his mind whispered, ‘What if she knows you and doesn’t like what she sees?’