Rose sat in the art classroom while she listened to music and wrote down lyrics. She bobbed her head along when she saw her watch. She gasped at the time, turned off her music, and packed up. She paused when Marinette returned with a journal in hand. She tilted her head as Marinette took the book and grabbed an eraser. She raised a brow as she peeked a glance to see Marinette erase the name “Marc Anciel” from the inside before Marinette gave it to Nathaniel.
Rose pursed her lips as she watched the conversation and Marinette did not tell Nathaniel who wrote it. A foul feeling rose in her gut as Marinette sat back down and Nathaniel read the journal. She shook herself off as she hurried along to get ready for her afternoon classes. She looked back at Marinette and Nathaniel before she ran off.
Rose kept an eye on Marinette throughout the day. She had spied Marinette spying on Nathaniel with a tall, lanky boy with long black hair that was partly put up in a ponytail. She blushed slightly seeing the boy. She hadn’t seen him before, but he was cute. Adrien showed up and startled Marinette as she gave her usual stammered response. She shook her head when the bell rang.
Rose hurried out of the school and lingered near the entrance. She sat on the railing and watched as Marinette came out, then Nathaniel. She listened carefully to their conversation as the horrid feeling in her gut got worse. Marinette instructed Nathaniel to meet the mystery person, likely Marc, at the Place des Vosges square fountain.
Rose bit her names as Marinette left and Nathaniel ran off. She didn’t like this. Nathaniel looked too eager, but she doubted it was to meet with Marc. She wondered what was in the journal and what could happen. She could go to the Place des Vosges herself, but that’d be wrong. This wasn’t her business, but that left the question of the bad feeling. She didn’t like it and didn’t want something bad to happen, especially to Marc.
Rose hummed as she considered. She supposed there was nothing wrong with showing up and just happening to be there. A total coincidence, nothing more. That way she could see if this feeling was important, or if it was just her imagination. After all, nothing bad could really happen, right?
Rose pursed her lips at the thought and ran off. She headed to the Place des Vosges and lingered around the square fountain just out of sight by a tree. She worked on homework until she saw Marc arrive and sit on the fountain. She peeked out from behind the tree and looked at him. Her eyes sparkled as she gazed at his beautiful black hair, vibrant green eyes, and stylish clothes. He was too stinking adorable.
Ros turned back and put away her homework as she saw Nathaniel arrive. The bad feeling clawed at her as she watched Nathaniel enter the Place des Vosges and up to the square fountain. She moved closer to hear them as she saw Nathaniel blush. She raised a brow when he looked at Marc, with his red hood up now, and called him Ladybug. She furrowed her brows when Marc announced himself and asked if Marinette had told Nathaniel.
Rose grimaced as she saw the betrayal in Nathaniel’s eyes as he looked away and up. She glanced in the same direction and saw Marinette on her rooftop balcony, watching them just as she was.
“Oh, Marinette, what have you done?” Rose whispered.
“You were trying to make a fool of me, weren’t you?” Nathaniel yelled.
Rose gasped and looked back to Nathaniel and Marc.
“Do you think it’s funny to toy with my feelings?” Nathaniel demanded.
No! Not at all. I… I just wanted to make a comic book. If you want to, that is,” Marc admitted.
Nathaniel glared down at Marc as he opened the journal and gripped a page. Rose gasped and ran in as Nathaniel refused Marc. She swatted the journal out of Nathaniel’s hands, resulting in only a small tear to the page.
Nathaniel gasped. “Rose?”
“For shame! What do you think you’re doing, Nathaniel?” Rose demanded.
“He toyed with my feelings. I was just showing him how I felt.”
“And how did he toy with you?”
“I… he wrote a diary of Ladybug, and I thought it was the real deal. I thought it was her. I thought I was finally going to meet my hero… and, well, more.”
Rose frowned and crossed her arms. “Did anyone tell you it was Ladybug’s diary or did you assume?”
“What? But… the title…! It literally says diary of Ladybug. Who else would have written it?”
“Right. Why would a superhero keep a diary and label it their diary?”
Nathaniel opened his mouth, then shut it.
Rose shot Nathaniel a side glare before she grabbed Marc’s journal and handed it back. “Are you ok?”
Marc took the journal and held it close to his chest. “Yes.”
“You know, if you were able to fool Nathaniel into thinking that was Ladybug’s actual diary, then you are a phenomenal writer.”
Marc’s eyes widened as a slight blush crawled on his cheeks. “Th-thank you.”
Rose blushed and glanced down before she looked back up at Marc. “Would you by chance want to do something? Maybe get some ice cream?”
Marc looked at Nathaniel, then at Rose. “Sure. I… I’d love to.”
Rose gasped and grabbed Marc’s hand. “Yay! I saw Andre’s ice cream cart on the way here. Let’s go there!”
Marc yelped as Rose dragged him away but didn’t stop her. They arrived at Andre’s ice cream cart, each got an ice cream, then took a seat. Rose ate her ice cream, but Marc stared at his.
“You sure everything is ok?” Rose asked.
“I just… thank you. I was afraid Nathaniel was going to destroy my journal. I thought being rejected would have been the worst thing to happen, but seeing him with my journal like that, it was terrifying.”
“Hey, don’t mention it. I don’t condone or excuse him, but I have always known Nathaniel to be little on the emotional side. He does tend to lash out a bit when pushed far enough. However, it’s still no excuse.”
Marc smiled, then sighed. “What am I to do now? I wanted to make a comic book with him, but after all that, he’ll never agree.”
“Why did you want to make a comic with him?”
“I… it’s a little embarrassing, but I saw his work on the school website. I was so in awe and inspired that I wrote out what I felt when I looked at his drawings. I kept them to myself until Marinette said she could help me and, well, you see how well that worked out.”
Rose hummed. “Well, if you still want to work with him, let him cool down first, then ask.”
“I can’t just ask that. It’s too embarrassing!”
“What if I were with you when you did?”
“Of course! This means a lot to you, and I know Nathaniel, so it works out. What do you say?”
“Well, I guess, so long as you’re with me, ok.”
Rose squealed. “We’ll give him a few days before we approach him again.”
“Ok. And, thank you again.”
“Oh, don’t mention it. I’m always happy to help. Say, would you like to hang out again? I really like you and think it would be fun to hang out.”
Marc’s eyes widened, then he smiled. “Sure. I’d love that.”
Warmth spread through Rose as she gazed in awe of Marc’s soft, genuine smile. She squealed and hugged him when her phone went off. She looked at it to see a message from her mom asking where she was.
“Oh no! I need to get home! Oh, but before I go!” Rose squeaked
Rose ripped out a scrap of paper, wrote her number down, and handed it to Marc.
“Make sure to message me later. Ok? Ok! Bye, Marc!” Rose exclaimed.
Rose sat in art class as she tried to work on her song lyrics. She had her music, but she found her mind often wandered to Marc as she worked. She gave in not long after and worked on lyrics about him when Marc tapped her shoulder. She jumped a little as she looked at him with his book close to his chest. She pulled her headphones back as she looked at his worried, anxious face.
“I’m… I’m ready,” Marc whispered.
Rose nodded and put her stuff aside. She motioned for Marc to follow as she approached Nathaniel. Nathaniel stopped and looked at Rose, then Marc, then back to Rose.
“Nathaniel, we’d like to talk to you about something very important,” Rose started.
“Is it me working with Marc to make a comic?” Nathaniel said plainly.
“Yes, indeed. See, Marc was very inspired by your drawings.”
Nathaniel gasped as he perked up. “My drawings?”
“That’s right! You inspired him to create that diary. It’s all based on your drawings.”
Nathaniel looked at Marc. “Is that true?”
“So, what do you say, Nathaniel?” Rose asked.
Nathaniel considered, then smiled. “What do you say, Marc? Would you like to work together?”
Marc’s eyes lit up as he looked at Rose, then Nathaniel. “Yeah! Absolutely.”
“Would you be available to work on it tonight?”
“Oh, uh, I promised Rose-,” Marc started.
“It’s ok, Marc. This is too important. We can hang out tomorrow,” Rose interrupted.
“But… could you be there? I would feel better if you were,” Marc admitted.
Rose’s eyes widened as she smiled softly. “Nathaniel, would that be ok?”
The bell rang to warn them to get to their next class. Rose and Marc watched everyone pack up and leave. Rose started towards the door when Marc took her hand.
“Hey, thank you, for everything,” Marc whispered.
Rose smiled. “It’s no trouble. This meant a lot to you, and I wanted to see you happy.”
“And I appreciate it. A lot. Thank you.”
Marc hesitantly moved closer to Rose, then pecked her cheek. Rose blushed as Marc immediately shied away with a beet red face.
“Sorry. That was the first time I ever kissed a girl. I… I didn’t think I liked… I only thought I liked… but then you and I… I’m sorry.”
Rose gently touched Marc’s arm. “We can take things slow, if you’re interested.”
Marc looked up sheepishly. “Are you?”
“I… I think I’d like that.”
Rose smiled softly and squeezed Marc’s hand. “Let’s get going. We’ll be late.”
“Oh, right! We better hurry. Uh, see you later?”
Patreon || Discord || Ko-Fi
