Chapter Text
The days are being counted down as the school term comes to an end. So, the miraculous class as a whole decided to have a nice picnic outside at the park during a nice, sunny, breezy day. It was fun and full of chatter as everyone pulled out what they brought for everyone to eat. The classmates buzzed with excitement as they ate their food. And to everyone's surprise, Kim pulled out a soccer ball to keep the entertainment going. The group wanted to make as many happy memories as possible during their most stressful and emotional times, some of their last times together for a while.
The boys joined Kim to play while the girls continued to talk each other's ears off about what they're expecting to see or do once they start the next chapters of their lives. It was heartfelt as it seemed as the time to graduate got closer, the more real their departures from each other started to feel. Of course, Rose kept the conversation lively when it seemed like the mood was going down a bit. Topics never lasted long as something more exciting was brought up, such as Mylene's promise ring given to her by Ivan then Juleka and Rose becoming roommates at college. Right now, they're talking about how Alya and Nino were thinking of going abroad together to finish their last two years of school.
"There's a really great program in the US for journalism. It was perfect for me, and since Nino always wanted to travel abroad, he found a program at the same school to master his arts. It seems too good to be true, but we'll make it happen. Two years here, then off to the US."
"Aww, that's so sweet!" Rose chirps, and others agree with her.
"So, it'll just be Marinette and Adrien?" Mylene points out, making everyone send knowing looks to the midnight haired girl, whose mouth was open about to welcome a piece of a pineapple. Marinette's crush on Adrien in her own words is "complicated" as she knows she'll always have some type of feelings for him, but now they have become the best of friends to one another. The green-eyed blond and bluebell-eyed girl could finally hold a conversation together without any awkwardness. As Alya likes to call it "improvement".
"What?" Marinette counters their stares in confusion. "We're just friends. I got over him long ago." She waves a dismissive hand at them.
"And what about him?" Alix teases, then dramatically falls against Rose's side with the back of her hand against her forehead.
"Oh, Mari, I bought you this coffee because I had a feeling you were up late last night." Alix mocks, dramatically, the one morning Adrien brought a cup of coffee for Marinette who he knew had been up very late trying to finish a fashion project before a very tight deadline. When the girls would bring it up, Marinette would only say "he's just being a nice friend." Oh, how the tables have turned?
"Oh, Mari, you can call me if you ever need anything." Mylene jumps in on the fun of doing impressions of the Adrien Agreste.
"Oh, oh, you guys remember this?" Alya stands up and prepares herself to commit to an act. "Oh, Marinette, that guy doesn't deserve you." Then concludes with a dreamy sigh making all the girls except Marinette squeal with laughter. The current center of attention grumbles while munching on her piece of fruit.
"Aw, chin up, girl."
"I'm telling you. He doesn't see me that way besides he's told me multiple times about the girl he's in love with." Marinette lets out a sigh before straightening her back. "I'm happy enough with being his friend. His really... good...friend." Her back hunches over as she grimaces quoting the repeated sentence the blond boy has told her. Her friends giggle before giving her sympathetic pats on the back.
"Woah! Nino!" A shout, suddenly, echoes in the park. It's just in time for the girls to see the ball fly over their heads and over the fence, landing outside the park. It bounced and bounced until it reached the other side of the street, cars barely missing it.
"I got it!" Marinette volunteers herself to go fetch the ball that has continued to roll down the street since it's a bit of a hill. She has to run to catch up to it, and when she reaches it, a foot suddenly steps on it to stop it's movements. Marinette eyes trances up the leg to see the mystery person who saved her from continuing to have to run after the ball.
"Thank you." The words come out as grateful as ever. It's easy to go down a hill, but not up one.
"Your welcome, cutie." The stranger flirts with her then picks up the ball. It takes everything in Marinette's power to not make a face when he calls her 'cutie'. Not that she's disgusted by him, but it seems like ‘cute’ has replaced her name. It's just not the adjective she’d initially want to hear about herself
"So, does the cute girl have a name?" The guy holds the ball out to her to take from his hands.
"Oh, yes, I'm Marinette." She kindly takes the ball out of his hands.
"Cute name for a cute girl. I'm Greg." He holds his hand out for her to shake, and she returns it. If he wasn’t trying so hard to look cool, he’s see Marinette’s eye slightly twitch.
"Thank you for saving our ball, Greg."
“Our?” He questions raising an eyebrow. And right on cue…
"Marinette! The ball?!" Kim shouts from across the street. She turns to see him leaning against the fence waiting for the one thing delaying their game.
"Oh! Coming!" Marinette shouts back, turning away from the stranger. "It was nice meeting you." Taking her leave, she runs back across the street, throwing the ball back over the fence before entering it herself. Excited, the boy chased after the ball that was flown over them to continue their game. Though only one person stayed behind.
"Are you okay?" Adrien asks, walking alongside Marinette on the other side of the fence until she reaches the entrance.
"Adrien, come on! We need you!" Nino calls for him, but he doesn't move.
"Yeah, I'm okay." Marinette responds back, giving him a smile that she's fine.
"He didn't-"
"Nope." She shuts down any thought that might be going through his head. "Your team is waiting on you." She points to Nino sending a look at Marinette since he has to settle for Adrien giving his back to him.
"And they were going to have to wait until I knew you were okay." The blond shoots a wink at his 'friend' before running over to the guys who awaits him with annoyed, impatient looks on their faces.She watches as he catches back up to his friends who shakes their heads at him.
"Dude, your girlfriend was okay, but we lost a point because you wasn't here."
"She's not my girlfriend." The distant voices fades away as they get farther away.
As Marinette reaches her friends, the dramatics starts again.
"Oh, Mari, I would stop the world for you." Alix starts twirling a piece of Alya’s hair like a lover would to his own.
"Oh, Adrien, no need to be jealous." Mylene continues taking Rose’s hand into hers and patting the top of it. “You’re the only girl for me.” Then she places a light kiss on it making Rose giggle.
"Oh, Mari, I won’t let you date anyone but me." Alya finishes, making them all giggle. “You’re mine.” She makes a monstrous face like a character from a horror story capturing its prey of the night. The laughter increased tenfold to the point Marinette's mouth was left ajar.
"Oh, stop." The weak command did nothing but make everyone laugh harder as a pink blush grew across Marinette's face.
"Did he get your number?" Mylene asks Marinette in between choking on her laughs.
"Who?" The question comes out before thinking. As soon as she asked it hit her whom Mylene could be talking about.
"That guy who seems really into you."
"Oh, no. I just thank him for saving the ball."
"Well, did he say anything else to you?" Rose, the ever romantic she is, leans forward wanting more details.
"He called me cute a few times." She couldn’t hide the disappointment in her voice.
"He was totally into you." Juleka mumbles but we can tell she was happy for the bluenette. Though, the bluenette wasn’t happy at all about her recent encounter with Greg.
"Cutie, Cute. It was all he could say." The girls know how Marinette typically feels about that certain adjective after discussing what's a compliment that's such a turn off. They were shocked to hear ‘cute’ would ruin the mood because Marinette was indeed cute, adorable in fact. It sent giggles through their bones when anyone else called her that because they knew how much self-control it took for her to not roll her eyes.
"Aw, Marinette, I'm sure he was just being nice." Rose chimes in to cheer up her friend, patting her gently on her back.
"Yeah, girl, there's nothing wrong with being called cute." Alya adds in, rubbing the top of the girl's head.
"I'm tired of being seen as cute." The midnight haired girl pouts, proving herself to be wrong in every aspect as her friends, silently, coo at her. "I'm 18 years old, I don’t want to be called cute. I want to be called hot!" Marinette suddenly stands up and poses, jokingly like a model. Mylene and Alix, who had been giggling the entire time, laugh at her antics, not able to contain themselves any longer.
"Marinette, you are hot, but you're cute too." Rose chirps, smiling.
"And beautiful." Juleka quietly adds in.
"And sexy."
"Sexy? Mhmm..." Marinette held a hand to her chin in thought. "Hot, beautiful and sexy. I like the sound of that!" Marinette spins and does a dance causing more laughs.
When lunch was over and everyone was packing their designated dishes getting ready to head back to class. Though the excitement has yet to cease as anyone can barely wait for the fun that will come later tonight.
"Are you guys ready for the sleepover?" Alya asks, standing up straight throwing her bag over her shoulders.
"Oh, yes! I can't wait!" Mylene squeals.
"Me either! This is going to be so fun!" Rose joins her squealing too.
"I'm ready." Juleka mumbles out, excited.
"My bags are packed." Alix crosses her arms proudly.
"Babe!" Nino out of nowhere jumps onto Ayla's back, causing her to drop her bag to hold both herself and him up. It's their thing to sneak up on one another, especially when Nino loses at something.
"I got your bag." Marinette offers to get her best friend's backpack so she can carry her sad boyfriend, who as you figured out lost the soccer game.
"We were so close." He cries into her neck dramatically.
"And you need to be so close to a shower." Is the reply Nino gets back from his girlfriend, who pinches her nose. You can bet he smells like sweat and outside.
"Just get me across the street, woman." Nino TRIES to stand his ground.
"Don't make me drop you." A warning from Alya, though, puts him back in his place.
"Yes, ma'am." Nino shuts up and tucks his head back into her neck to wail and mourn the lose of his victory.
"Ew! You stink!" Alix's voice fills everyone's ears.
"I think I smell manly." Kim flexes his muscles in the air like Hercules.
"More like nasty." And then they suddenly deflate, Kim slouches down accepting defeat at Alix's response. His friends laugh at him as they walk past him leaving him behind to gather himself but running to catch back up with his friends.
"Hey, guys, wait up!"