Spots Off 🐞 (A Miraculous Ladybug Fanfiction)

12- The Carnival

Adrien's POV

Marinette rests against the piano, watching me as I finish my last song. The carnival's about to start soon and we're both excited. "You're amazing," She whispers, giving me the biggest smile. "Uh, an amazing pianist."

"Thank you," I say with a grin. I finish off with a quiet note and rest my arms to the side. "I love playing the piano, but when I'm forced to do it, it feels like a chore." Smirking, I lean in and whisper, "Wanna hear a secret?"

Nodding, Marinette walks over and sits beside me. "Yes. Always."

Pulling out my phone, I open the pre-recorded audio on my phone and play the first one. The same piece I was just doing plays off my phone. "Whenever I don't feel like playing, I leave this on and do something else. Take a nap. Do some homework. Go out and patr—" I stop myself. Great, Adrien. You almost told Marinette you're Cat Noir. "Or play some video games."

Marinette turns and looks at the broken TV. I still haven't gotten it fixed it yet. "I'm guessing you haven't played in a while, huh?" She teases, softly laughing.

I want to laugh with her, but the night I did that wasn't a good one. "I've been meaning to fix it."

She notices the frown on my face. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine." I shake my head, standing up. "Come on. We have a carnival to go to."

Marinette grins and grabs my hand. We run out of the house, leaving my bodyguard behind, and race to the park. "I'm faster than you!" She shouts as she picks up speed, leaving me in her tracks.

"Not fast enough!" I quickly pass her, laughing, and stop when Marinette trips and flies forward. She falls face first on the sidewalk, scraping her chin and part of her knee. "Marinette!" I rush back over, kneeling down in front of her, and help her stand. "Hey. I got you. Are you alright?"

"I-I think so," Marinette whispers as she struggles to stand. She places a hand on her knee and takes in a deep breath. "I'll feel better... after I beat you!" She pushes me to the ground and takes off running.

"You faker!" I shout as she keeps running, laughing, and I jog the rest of the way.

Marinette's waiting for me at the gate. "I win," She brags with a sly smirk.

"You're crazy, you know that right?" I ask with wide eyes. "You purposely tripped and hurt yourself just so you could win a stupid race?"

She nods. "I'm very competitive, Adrien, and I always win."

There's something about Marinette's newfound confidence. It's attractive. I can't help but feel mesmerized by her. She almost reminds me of...

"Come on. Let's go get some cotton candy." I let Marinette take my hand as we meet with our friends.

Nino and Alya wave at us.

"What's up, my dudes?" Nino asks, giving Marinette a fist bump before doing our signature handshake with me.

"What's up?" I say, laughing. "Marinette is a complete psychopath. Anything to win a stupid race."

"You're just mad that I won." Marinette taps my nose, giggling, and something flips in my stomach.

"So..." Alya looks between us. "When did you two start dating?"

Marinette and I stare at each other, eyes wide. I forgot she decided to tell everyone we were dating. My father was a nightmare when we got home from school. News travel fast when everyone has a cellphone. He gave me an hour lecture about dating and something else I wasn't listening to, but to my surprise he didn't make me "break up" with her. That was the most shocking part of our conversation.