"Just a Friend?" Book 1 of "Secrets Unraveled" Trilogy (MLB FanFic) |COMPLETED|

Chpt 29: Adrikins!

On Monday morning Marinette was hurrying through the bakery, her eyes on the precious project she was carrying. Her mind was completely focused on getting to school on time to hand in the project.  As she was exiting through the bakery door, Marinette felt a sharp tug- the door had shut behind her on her bag! The bag was inside and she and the bag's strap were outside and she had no free hand to get the door handle. She didn't dare risk letting go of the project- Adrien had trusted her to take care of it. She stood still and looked back at the stuck bag wondering what to do.  With no other ideas coming to mind, she decided to lean over and walk forward in hopes that the bag would be pulled through the door. 

Adrien had been waiting for Marinette outside her house and looking forward to his short walk with her to school. He stood off to the side of the bakery entrance, trying to stay out of the way of the crowds, and biding his time watching his classmates walk toward the school when a loud grunt caught his attention. He turned in the direction of the noise and smiled in amusement when he saw Marinette struggling with her bag. He was walking toward the door to help her when he saw her grab the bag strap, put her head down, back up, and then take a running jump.  Already predicting what was going to happen, Adrien started running so when the bag suddenly slipped through the door and rapidly propelled Marinette forward as expected, he was able to prevent Marinette from falling. 

"Oof!" Marinette said as she got the wind knocked out of her from her collision with what she finally comprehended was someone's chest.  She looked up at whose arms she was now in. A wave of relief went through her when she realized that at least she hadn't crashed into a stranger again but it changed into embarrassment when she noted that Adrien had had to rescue her. Again. "Oh, Adrien, um, hi!" she said as she straightened and tried to keep ahold of the project she cradled in her arms. "Sorry!"

Adrien smiled at her. "Did you need me to carry that?" he asked her.

Marinette handed it to him. "It would probably be safer! I'm surprised you entrusted me to hand in the final copy," she said as they crossed the street to school.

"You aren't that clumsy or irresponsible, you know," Adrien said to her, wishing she had a little more confidence in her Marinette self.

"No, not irresponsible, but obviously still clumsy!" she replied. "I'll feel so much better once it's in Ms. Bustier's hands!"

They went up the school stairs, stopped by their lockers, and headed to their class. Luckily, Ms. Bustier was already there and Adrien handed it to her as soon as they stepped through the door. 

"Whew! Done!" said Marinette giving Adrien a quick hug, not really realizing what she had done, and they then went to their seats.

Chloe gave Marinette a scorching glare. She could hardly believe what she had just seen between Marinette and Adrien. Hugging her Adrikins! "Unacceptable!" she muttered to herself. Chloe planned to put a stop to this. She knew she shouldn't have left it up to Sabrina to figure it out! There was no way that Marinette Dupain-Cheng was going to win! Chloe started to form her plan while Ms. Bustier began class.

Alya had seen Chloe looking completely zoned out during class and casting the occasional glare at Marinette. She had a feeling today was the day something was going to happen. She mentioned this to Nino and they both decided they would keep a close eye on Adrien and Marinette today to step in if Chloe tried something.

"I found a reference book that I think would be helpful for our science homework," Adrien said to Marinette as they headed out of class. "Want to see it?" he asked Marinette. "We could quickly stop by the library right now."

"Sure. The assignment looks complicated, so any help I can get would be good! But, first I want to drop this stuff at my locker," she said, indicating the pile of books in her arms. "Meet you there?"