~ Warning- this chapter contains underage drinking, which I do not condone. You have been warned. ~
Marinette
She tapped her pencil against the desk, staring at the still blank page. She didn't know what to write. She didn't know how she felt about graduation. Relief? But she already knew it would be short lived. Then she'd have to go to college, if she could even get into one. She was running out of local options. Adrien turned around in his seat, looking down at her paper.
"Having trouble?"
She had told him she had a boyfriend this morning, and he seemed happy for her. Not at all jealous, which still made her heart ache a little.
"Just can't find the words."
She whispered back, and he nodded in agreement. His page was blank too. Graduation was only a few weeks away. She'd figure something out, eventually. The bell rang, and she quickly put everything in her bag.
"Wanna walk to gym together?"
He smiled and nodded, slinging his bag over his shoulder. This felt so much easier than when she had always been worrying about trying to get him to notice her. It was easier being his friend, and though it still hurt, it didn't hurt nearly as much as it used to.
"You going to Kim's party tonight?"
She wanted to say she didn't have a choice, but then she'd have to explain that to him.
"Yep, are you?"
"Yeah, I told my father that I had a study group tonight. He wasn't too fond of how late it was, but I somehow convinced him it was fine."
They got to the locker rooms, and she grabbed her gym clothes, heading into a stall to change. Gym, then his fencing lesson, then home, then party. She wanted to be mad at Alya for blackmailing her, but she knew even if she didn't go that Alya wouldn't tell anyone. She just wanted them to spend more time together, which she understood. They hadn't had alot of time to hangout, because Ladybug had a job to do. She quickly changed, heading out into the courtyard. Adrien was standing next to Alya, and she walked over to them.
"Alright kids listen up. Today we're gonna play freeze tag. Who wants to be team captain?"
Alya's hand shot up, and he nodded at her. She jogged to the front of the group, grinning from ear to ear. The coach scanned the crowd, and nodded at someone else. Lila. Ugh. Alya called Marinette first, and Lila of course went with Adrien. She smirked at Marinette, who rolled her eyes, grabbing a red Jersey. After several other names were called, the coach stopped them.
"Everyone else get on the blue team. The red team are the taggers. If you get tagged, dont move until one of your teammates untaggs you. We clear? Everyone spread out, taggers, line up in the middle."
Marinette smiled, there was one person in particular she was going after. And she really wished she could actually freeze that bitch to death. He blew the whistle, and chaos broke out. Alya was right next to her, but in a second she was gone. Marinette charged towards Lila, who seemed to have known she was going after her. She started running, but Marinette had much more practice at that, being Ladybug and all. She caught up almost instantly, tagging her. Lila glared, and Marinette gave her a wink before turning and heading after someone else in blue.
* * * * *
Class was almost over, they had already had three rounds. If a round went on longer than ten minutes the coach called it, saying that the taggers lost. Marinette had tagged Lila almost every single time. She waited for the whistle, running straight for her. Lila's pace had slowed alot, and Marinette assumed she was getting tired. Apparently not. Marinette barely brushed her fingers across Lila's jersey, and she fell forward, landing hard on the pavement.
"Owww! Marinette why did you shove me?"
She cried out, and the coach jogged over.
"I didn't, I barely touched you!"
She snapped, and Lila looked at her with tear filled eyes.
"What did I ever do to you?"
"You want a list?"
The coach knelt down next to her, and she winced when he touched her knee.
"Relax girls. I'm sure it was an accident."
"Can I go to the nurse's office?"
He nodded, and got up, helping her stand. Oh the drama. Adrien jogged up, and seemed a little annoyed.
"What happened?"
"Your girlfriend pushed me. Can you help me get to the nurse's office? I don't think I can walk by myself."
Marinette clenched her jaw, looking at Adrien. The coach nodded at him, and she saw a flash of anger cross over his features, but it was gone instantly. He grabbed onto Lila's arm, and she clung to him like her life depended on it.
"Get back in the game Marinette."
Her coach shooed her, and she turned, walking away from them. Why did that hurt? Him touching her? Because he was her friend, and Lila was her enemy. That's why. Nothing more, nothing less. She looked around her, and headed after the closest blue jersey. She suddenly wished she really had pushed that frigid bitch. Hard.
* * * * *
She took a sip of her water bottle, barely listening to Alya drone on about the party. She had already changed out of her gym clothes, and Alya was trying to convince her to wear something nice. Her phone dinged, and she pulled it out, staring at it. It was a message from Lila. She opened it, her face getting hot. It was a picture of Lila and Adrien kissing. The caption read 'My knight in shining armor'. Jealousy seeped into her skin, and she quickly shut her phone off. He could kiss whoever the hell he wanted. She wasn't his girlfriend, and she wasn't in love with him anymore.
"Alya, can you drop me off at home?"
"Uh, yeah, but I thought you normally rode with Adrien."
Marinette picked up her bag, and shook her head.
"Yeah, I just thought I could go ahead and get home, shower and get ready for the party. Instead of waiting around for an hour because of his fencing practice."
Lies. When had it become this way? When had lying become so natural to her? She followed her out to her car, and Marinette climbed into the front seat.
"Where's Nino?"
"He went with Kim to get everything set up for tonight."
Marinette nodded, looking out the window. Tonight she would have to look Adrien in the face and she wanted to be polite, because they weren't actually dating. But he could have warned her. Now Lila was going to think she had stolen Adrien from her. She closed her eyes, trying to get the picture out of her mind. She didn't love him anymore. It shouldn't matter so much. No matter how hard she thought about that, she just couldn't make herself believe it.
* * * * *
She paced outside the bakery, clutching the trenchcoat tighter around her. She was suprised her parents hadn't asked about it, but she was eighteen, so it kind of made sense. Alya pulled up, and she hurried over to the car.
"Umm, I hope you're wearing something hot under that."
Alya commented, and Marinette opened the trenchcoat, revealing the Chat Noir outfit she had bought for her.
"Hell yeah."
Marinette blushed, straightening the top. This outfit was her choice for two reasons. She wanted to look hot, after all, she didn't normally go to these parties. The second reason, was for Chat. If he did show up, she wanted him to see her wearing it again, in front of everyone. She had even switched out her red hair ties for green ones.
"Adrien is going to pick up Nino and meet us there."
She didn't care. Adrien wasn't her concern. Not when he stabbed her in the back. He made her a fool in the eyes of Lila, and she couldn't just forgive and forget. Not when it was Lila. She would have been less pissed if it had been Kagami, or even Chloe. But Lila? Of all people, why her?
"Marinette, are you listening?"
"What? Adrien and Nino are meeting us there, I heard."
Alya glanced at her, and Marinette squirmed out of the trenchcoat.
"No, I asked if Chat was coming."
"Oh. No, probably not."
Alya shrugged, pulling into Kim's yard. They were more on the outskirts of Paris, and she wondered how long she had been lost in thought. It only felt like a little while.
"Time to party."
Alya jumped out, and Marinette followed, fixing her outfit. She was suddenly second guessing it.
"Don't. You look hot. I'm not taking you back to change, and the coat stays in the car. You're going to enjoy yourself tonight."
Alya insisted, looping her arm around Marinette's and dragging her inside. The livingroom was filled with people, some she recognized from school, more that she didn't. Alya drug her through the crowd, and Marinette found herself smiling. This is what being a teenager was supposed to feel like. Loud music, underage drinking and dance moves that looked like they belonged in a bedroom instead of in public. It was actually kind of fun. They made it to the kitchen, where a game of beer pong was being played.
"Alright Mari. First rule of partying, never accept an open drink."
Alya said loudly in her ear, in order to be heard over the music. Marinette nodded, that was literally just common sense. Alya grabbed a small unopened bottle of liquor, and opened it. She took a small sip, making a face.
"But remember, you dont have to drink to have fun. These parties can be awesome if you're perfectly sober. That being said, all I ask, is you take one sip with me."
Marinette took the bottle, taking a small whiff of it. Wow that burned. She could do this. For one night, she could be a completely normal teenager. She could be as reckless and carefree as any of these other idiots. And she was going to, she didn't care how. She held her breath, taking a big gulp. Fire erupted in her chest, and she made a face. It actually wasn't so bad. Just... spicy.
"Jeez Marinette, I think that was a bit more than a sip."
Marinette looked at her, and held up the bottle as a toast.
"To enjoying yourself."
She tipped the bottle up, chugging as much as she could before the burning became too much. Alya stared at her in shock, and Marinette passed her the bottle back. She never did stuff like this, but tonight she was determined to do it all.
"Marinette, uh... maybe you should slow down."
Alya sounded worried, and Marinette fought not to roll her eyes. Alya forced her to come to the party. What did she expect to happen?
"I'm fine Alya. I don't even feel anything."
"Not yet, but you will. You almost drank half the bottle. Have you ever been drunk before?"
Marinette shook her head, watching them play beer pong. She had never actually seen anyone play, and it actually looked kind of fun. Alya cringed, and Marinette moved around her, looking at the different bottles on the counter. She picked up a wine cooler, uncapping it.
"Marinette, I really, really insist you slow down. Liquor sneaks up on you, just give it a little time before-"
Marinette locked eyes with her, also turning the bottle up. This one was much easier to chug, it didn't burn going down and it had a sweet taste. Alya frowned at her, taking another small sip of the liquor.
"Are you drinking like that to spite me? I just wanted you to come and have fun. You haven't come to a single one of these parties, and we're about to graduate. I wanted you to have a good time, not get trashed."
Marinette finished the bottle, setting it on top of the overflowing trash can.
"You're right. I never do any of this stuff. So I'm going to enjoy it."