Adrien
He was squished in the back seat, leaning his forehead against the back of the driver's seat. Alya told them to sit still while she got Nino, and she had already been gone ten minutes. Her car was already small, but with the magazines stacked in the seats next to him, it felt even smaller. He wished he had offered to drive. How could anyone stand their car being this cluttered? He rolled down his window, praying a breeze would help the muffins stop churning in his stomach. He hated feeling trapped like this.
"You okay?"
He looked up at her, she had turned around in the passenger seat to face him. He shook his head, trying to get a deep breath. If they didnt hurry up, he was going to have a panic attack.
"Do you like going to the mall?"
He nodded, turning to look out the window. It was so open out there. Not cramped and suffocating.
"Yeah, it's nice."
"Remind you of old times?"
He smiled, thinking back to the first year he had gotten to attend school.
"Yeah. All of us hanging out like we used to. I missed that."
"Me too."
Alya opened her door, and a breeze blew in, giving Adrien a breath of fresh air.
"Alright Mari. You know the rules. In the back."
Adrien looked down at the small space left on the seat, trying not to groan. He glanced up at Marinette, who was watching him. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. He didn't mind sitting close to her.
"Alya, I dont think that's a good idea. There's barely any room back there, and Adrien is already-"
"It's all right Mari. When we get moving again I'll be fine."
He interrupted, opening his door and stepping out. Nino came out of the house, and Marinette walked around the car, sliding onto the seat. She was halfway in his seat, and she was squeezing as tight as she could against the stack. Adrien waited until Nino got in to sit down, and he had to shut his door twice, the first time it actually bounced off of him.
"You two comfy back there?"
She sounded way too giddy about the situation, and he turned his back against the door, trying to give Marinette a little room.
"Just step on it."
He grumbled, and both Marinette and Nino turned to him in horror.
"Babe, wait. He didn't mean it."
Alya grinned, pulling the car out of the driveway and onto the street. She hit the gas and they lurched forward.
"Oh god, we're gonna die."
Marinette whispered, and he looked at her. Why was everyone freaking out?
"Hold on."
Alya chimed, and he suddenly realized his mistake. She took a hard left, barely slowing down. Adrien was shoved against Marinette, pinning her against the magazine stack.
"Alya!"
She squeaked, and he managed to right himself, looking at Nino. He was sinking lower in his seat, clutching the seatbelt for dear life.
"Alya, I didn't mean it. Slow down."
She didn't respond, flipping on her blinker. It was only a second, and she whirled the car to the right, tossing Marinette onto him, the magazines toppling on top of her. She was bent over his lap, her head between his leg and the door. His heart started pounding, his thoughts immediately racing to places they shouldn't be, not at a time like this. He starts shoving the magazines off of her, while in the front seat Nino tried talking some sense into Alya.
"Baby please. Pull over and I'll drive."
Nino pleaded, and her response was to turn the radio up higher. She took a left again, and some of the magazines slid off of Marinette, enough so that he could slide his arm underneath her chest, forcing her to sit back up. Her face was now bright red.
"Alya pull over!"
She shouted, trying to slide over as far as she could from Adrien, sitting on top of all the now ruined tabloids. Most of them littered the floorboard, so they wouldn't have to worry about the stack crushing her anymore.
"Relax guys, we're almost there."
Her gaze locked on Adrien's in the rearview mirror, and his stomach turned.
"Don't you dar-"
She turned again, tossing him onto Marinette. She was flat on her back, one leg pinned under his, the other against his hip. She covered her face, and he struggled to get up, his hands kept slipping on the papers. Alya suddenly slammed on brakes, and he started to fly forward. He grabbed onto Marinette, succeeding only in pulling her down with him. He landed in the floorboard, and she slammed against him, knocking the breath out of his lungs. He was dazed for a moment, and Marinette lifted her head, blushing madly. She started squirming, trying to get her arm from underneath him. She was grinding against him, and electricity coursed through him, heading straight for where she was rubbing against.
"M-marinette stop."
He pleaded, but she kept squirming.
"I just need to get my arm free."
He could hear Nino and Alya getting out, arguing loudly, and his face got hotter.
"Marinette."
She froze, not because he had said her name, but she finally realized what she had done. She could feel it.
"I...I'm so sorry, I didn't- I I wasn't..."
Of all the times to get a hard on, why did it have to be now? He closed his eyes, wriggling his hand free from his side. He grabbed her hips, his breath catching when he started to lift her up. He just needed a little of her weight off of him. Especially off of there. He managed to lift her up enough to turn his torso, and she quickly yanked her hand out. She grabbed the seat and pulled off of him, scrambling out of the car. He turned completely on his side, pushing himself up out of the floorboards. He was going to kill Alya. He got out of the car, slamming the door. Nino was already arguing with her, and Adrien felt a small amount of relief that he had the keys. It wouldn't have been so bad, if Marinette hadn't been in the back seat with him. He looked over at her, she was staring at the ground, her face still crimson.
"Hey, I'm sorry."
He said quietly, and she shook her head.
"It's my fault, I shouldn't have..."
She trailed off, and he looked over at Alya.
"If anything, it's her fault."
Marinette nodded, and Alya looked over at them.
"Come on, let's go in."
Marinette
She stood looking in the windows of one of the shops, not even paying attention to what was inside. She had just grinded, on Adrien Agreste, in public. She was going to die of embarrassment. She was angry with herself, because she knew her heart was pounding from excitement, not embarrassment. That stupid love sick puppy was still in there, and she had to kill her. She needed to talk to Chat. He could get her mind off of Adrien. He had proven that last night, with just a kiss. Imagine what else he could do. Alya grabbed her arm, yanking her away from thoughts of a certain sexy black cat. She pulled her into another clothing store, and the boys trailed behind, looking bored.
"You should try this on Mari!"
She looked at the outfit she was holding up, and her jaw dropped in horror. It was a lacy white tube top, that was clearly see through, paired with a black mini skirt. What was this store? Skanks galore? She snatched the outfit from Alya, hanging it back up.
"Alya can I talk to you?"
"Sure girl."
Marinette grabbed her arm, dragging her a few feet away from the boys.
"Please stop."
"What? I'm not doing anything."
Marinette sighed, crossing her arms.
"I told you. I'm over him."
Alya frowned, picking at one of the shirts on the rack next to them.
"I don't think you should just give up on true love."
"True love isn't one sided. Please Alya. Stop."
Alya looked at her, and she was relieved to see defeat on her face. She opened her mouth to say something, and Nino walked up.
"Hey, have you showed them the M store yet?"
Alya grinned, her eyes sparkling.
"Let's go."
"Where are we going?"
Marinette called after her, but she didn't respond. Adrien and Marinette had to jog to keep up, Nino just seemed used to her pace.
"It opened last week. I can't believe I forgot to show you!"
"Show me what?"
She asked as they turned the corner, her pace slowing. A shop with the name 'Miraculous' was in front of them, and through the windows she could see all kinds of Ladybug and Chat noir merchandise. Alya rushed forward, and the others joined her, much less enthused.
"Alright Mari. I'll make you a deal. If you try on an outfit I pick for you, not only will I buy it, but, I'll even stop talking about you and Adrien for all of next week."
She whispered the last part, and Marinette crossed her arms.
"You promise?"
"I pinkie promise."
She took a deep breath, slowly nodding.
"Nothing Ladybug styled, please. I don't look good in red."
It was the easiest lie she could come up with, and one she knew Alya would buy. She squealed, running off further into the shop.
"That was a lie."
She felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, and she looked over at Adrien. No one had really called her out on her bullshit before. Because Marinette wasn't like that. Marinette wasn't a liar.
"What?"
"You lied. You do look good in red."
Her face flushed, and she turned her attention to the action figures displayed on the wall.
"And when have you ever seen me wear red?"
He moved next to her, picking up a yo-yo.
"Remember that music video we were in? I was Chat Noir and you were Ladybug?"
Her face flushed harder at that. She didnt need to associate Chat with Adrian. It would screw up the entire plan.
"I forgot about that."
She mumbled, turning her gaze to Nino. He had picked out a Rena Rouge figure, and was walking back towards Alya.
"Those two are perfect for each other."
She commented, to draw the attention away from her. Her life had become a web of lies, and if he tugged too hard on one, the rest would break.
"Mari!"
Alya shouted from the door of the dressing room, and Marinette was actually relieved.
"Pray for me?"
He chuckled, giving her a gentle nudge. She walked up to Alya, who wore a smirk.
"Is it bad?"
"You already agreed. Go change and come out and show us."
Marinette groaned, stepping into the changing room. Her face burned when she looked at the outfit Alya had picked. Of course, it had to be Chat Noir.
"Alya!"
"No! You promised. Put it on!"
Marinette shook her head, pacing the floor. The one time she trusted Alya to pick out her clothes, and this is what she does. It was a black crop top, with a large cat shaped cleavage window, and a pair of skin tight black leather jeans, with a lime green paw print on the thigh. She quickly changed into it, her face burning hotter than it had in the car. The sooner she did it, the sooner it would be over. She looked in the mirror, avoiding looking at her scarlet face. She actually looked pretty good. Kitty would like it. She thought for a moment, grabbing her phone. She snapped a quick photo, from her torso down to her thighs. That would be enough to give him the jist of the outfit. Without giving herself time to over think it, she sent it, with a winking cat emoji. She set her phone down and opened the door, looking at Alya. A loud whistle echoed through the shop, and Marinette grinned at her.
"Damn girl! It looks even better than I thought!"
She glanced at Adrien, who was blushing, staring at something on his phone. She quickly looked away, her heart sinking. She had expected something from him. Some kind of reaction. He didn't even look up.
"I held up my end, so I'm gonna go change."
She walked back into the changing room, just as her phone went off.
"Holy shit, that looks amazing on you."
She smiled at the text, her heart starting to beat a little harder.
"I can model it for you, if you'd like."
She quickly changed, handing the clothes back to Alya. She headed for the checkout counter with Nino, and Marinette turned away from the two when her phone buzzed.
"Mmm. Will it be a private showing?"
"I could show you something private."
She cringed when she hit the send button. That was way too forward. It had just popped into her head. Chat's probably going to get weirded out and stop responding. She started typing, writing out an apology, when another text came in.
"Are you teasing me princess?"
She bit the inside of her lip, deleting the message she was going to send, instead, typing a new one.
"That depends. What would you do if I was?"
She glanced up, Nino was already done with his purchase, and Alya was being rung up.
"Can't say. But I can show you. Are you home?"
She shivered, her eyes darting to the time. It was already nine, she had spent two hours walking around the mall with them.
"I'll try my best to get home Chatton."
"Will you wear that for me?"
She paused, butterflies swarming her stomach as she typed her reply.
"I'll wear anything you want."
"Mmm. See you soon princess."