59August 14, 2015
Dear Diary,
It's been 3 weeks since Chat Noir told me that he knew I was Ladybug and… that he loves me. It's been 3 weeks since I realized that I can't have a romantic relationship with ANYONE until Hawkmoth is defeated, in case I put that person in danger. It's been 3 weeks since I shoved my feelings for Adrien into the deepest, darkest corner of my heart… along with… WHATEVER I'm feeling for Chat Noir.
Basically it's been a LONG 3 weeks.
Both Adrien and Chat Noir have been sweet and attentive (strangely more than usual) and it doesn't feel like either one is expecting anything in return. Is this what it feels like to actually be friends with a boy? (Nino doesn't count; he's practically a brother to me)
Adrien especially has been very helpful and friendly. Alya's taken to inviting Lila whenever our group hangs out together. Best guess: She still has hope that the 2 of us can be friends. Alya and Nino don't seem to notice the jabs or looks Lila gives me, but Adrien's always there to redirect the conversation and make me feel better. It feels… nice to have Adrien as my friend. I'll admit that it's taken me a while to not stutter and act 'normal' around him, but I'm getting there. Even if it years to defeat Hawkmoth and friends is all we can ever be… it's enough.
On another note: Jagged Stone's assistant Penny Rolling contacted me recently! It's been almost 4 months since I designed Jagged's latest album and almost 6 months since I first met him and made the Eiffel Tower sunglasses he likes so much. (Side note - the checks from Jagged's commissions will cover at LEAST my first year of university! HOW COOL IS THAT?)
Anyway… Penny called with an idea that could help Jagged and the bakery. SInce we have to be closed during the month of August as per French law, all we've done is test new recipes and fix things that needed fixing. Alec Cataldi with KIDZ+ TV wants to film a live pilot of a new series where a celebrity tries a 'regular job' to see if they can 'fill the shoes' of the person who normally does the job. Mamon and Papa aren't entirely sold on the idea, but I convinced them that this will be great exposure for the bakery once we reopen! Maybe we can get Jagged to do a Boomerang with us for the bakery's Instagram! That would be AWESOME!
I can hear the camera crew downstairs setting up. I'd better go help get things organized. Goodbye for now, dear diary!
The sound of cheering fans could be heard through the walls. The director counted down, signalling the cameraman.
The Fill My Shoes into played. Alec's face filled the screen.
"Hey there, viewers! Welcome to the first episode of FILL MY SHOES! And we're LIVE so ANYTHING can happen! Don't forget to keep up with everything happening LIVE on our FILL MY SHOES Twitter!" A Twitter handle appeared along the lower third of the screen. "Our first celeb trying their hand at a normal job is… the ONE and ONLY… JAGGED STONE!"
Jagged entered the frame throwing an apron over his neck. He held up his hand in the classic 'rock-on' gesture. "Rock & roll, baby!"
Alec clapped a hand on Jagged's shoulder. "And today he'll be filling the shoes of a… baker!"
Tom awkwardly entered the frame, towering over the other two men. He gave a shy wave.
The feed switched to a pre-shot video package of various shots of the bakery and its offerings. Alec's voice continued over the footage.
"Today, we're filming at Tom & Sabine's Boulangerie Pâtisserie, one of Condè Nast Traveller's 20 Best Pâtisserie's in Paris for 2015! Congrats, Tom!" The feed cut back to Alec giving Tom a high five. "We've got THE Tom Dupain running us through the paces today. You ready, Jagged?"
"Ready to rock, Alec!" Jagged nodded his head to an unheard tune as he tied his apron.
Off camera, Marinette crept over to her mother, a plate of fresh croissants in her hand. She just finished handing them out to the crew.
Sabine chewed her nail. "I'm still not sure about this, sweetie."
"Mamon, this'll be nothing but good for the bakery!" Marinette patted the older woman's shoulder. "When we reopen, people will want to try the foods they saw on the show and visit because Jagged Stone was here."
Back on camera, Tom was trying to not squash Jagged's enthusiasm like the man was currently squashing a pile of unkneaded dough.
"Hang on, Jagged. I'm loving the energy, but you've got to be gentle with dough. Here - let's do it together!"
Across town, Adrien and Plagg sat watching the Fill My Shoes pilot. Well, Adrien watched. Plagg…
"What's the point of bread without cheese? Move faster!" Plagg smacked the image of Jagged Stone on Adrien's flatscreen before returning to his charcuterie board of cheeses next to his boy. "Since when are you into reality TV?"
Adrien scrolled through the live tweets of the Fill My Shoes Twitter account, please at the positive feedback thus far. "I'm not. You know that Marinette texted the class group chat about them using the bakery for the pilot. I'm watching it to support her."
"She hasn't even been on screen once!" Plagg flopped on Adrien's phone screen, smirking. "You're watching because you're so in love with Pigtails!"
Adrien shook the kwami off his phone. "That has nothing to do with it! For now, we're just friends."
Their attention was drawn once more to the TV when Jagged dragged Marinette into frame. He shared how she designed his latest album cover along with his favorite set of sunglasses. Despite his earlier protests, Adrien stared at the screen with a stupid, love-struck grin.
Plagg rolled his eyes at his Chosen. The kwami got a swipe from Adrien for cackling when Marinette managed to spill an entire sack of flour on herself and Jagged Stone. Alec's face popped in frame.
"Like we said, folks - LIVE TV: ANYthing can happen! We'll be cleaned up after a quick commercial break."
The screen cut to the new Adrien: The Fragrance ad Adrien had modeled for last month. He rolled his eyes at the cringe-worthy ad. The boy opened his text thread with Marinette.
Adrien: Everything looks great! Good job turning Jagged Stone into a ghost BTW! LOL
Marinette (Princess): That was a disaster! I'll be in the road waiting for a bus to run me over. Nice knowing you!
Marinette (Princess): I can't believe they caught that on LIVE TV! Was my mom right? Was this whole thing a huge mistake?
Adrien: Hey, hey! Don't spiral. It all looks top notch. It'll be fine. Don't forget to breathe!
Marinette (Princess): Thanks, Adrien.
Adrien: No problem, Marinette.
Adrien looked up, surprised to see the commercial break ending so soon. Alec's face filled the screen surrounded by a very familiar pink room.
"Welcome back to FILL MY SHOES! Looks like Jagged Stone wasn't able to get all that flour off during the break. Let's see how he rolls with it!"
"More like 'Rock & Roll with it!'" Jagged quipped.
Adrien frowned. "That looks like Marinette's room. Did they get permission to film there?"
Jagged, Alec, and the camera crew inspected the designs, pictures, and posters scattered around Marinette's workspace. Jagged stopped in front of a cork board filled with pictures of Marinette among friends, solo pictures of Adrien, and a couple clearly selfie style pictures of Ladybug and Chat Noir.
"Look at all these pictures! Marinette's got a great group of friends. Between you and me, I think she's got a crush on this blonde bloke!" Jagged tapped one of the pictures of Marinette and Adrien together.
"Not good, not good!" Adrien frantically FaceTimed Marinette. If anyone looked too closely at the pictures of Ladybug and Chat Noir, there would be questions. Marinette finally answered on the eighth ring, her hair damp from where she rinsed her hair from the flour.
"Adrien?"
"Hey! Did, uh… did you give the producers permission to film anywhere else in your house?" He asked nervously.
"No…" She responded cautiously. "Why?"
"Well, uh… " He swallowed hard. "They're in your room right now."
"WHAT?" Marinette screeched.
Adrien turned the camera to show her the TV. Jagged was now inspecting a box with a little pink book inside.
"No no no no no no no no!" Marinette hung up, already running.
"Marinette?" Adrien stared at the blank screen of his phone.
"There she is!" Plagg pointed at the screen. Sure enough, Marinette launched herself through her bedroom's trapdoor. The poor girl kept urging everyone to leave while Alec and Jagged's manager Bob Roth called for the camera to keep rolling.
The camera feed cut out, the static quickly replaced by a car ad.
Adrien flopped back on his couch, happy that he helped his friend before too much damage had been done.
"Never a dull moment with Pigtails, is it?" Plagg finished off his last piece of cheese.
"Nope!" Adrien pushed himself off the couch. "I'm running down to the kitchen for some lunch."
"BRING ME BACK SOME CHEESE!" The tiny black void hollered.
Ten minutes later, Adrien returned with his lunch and a new roll of cheese for his bottomless pit. He found Plagg cackling once more at the screen. The boy'd never seen his kwami doubled over in laughter before.
"What's wrong with you?" Adrien set down the plates on the coffee table.
It took a minute for Plagg to regain his ability to speak. "OH boy, did you miss some quality television!" He pointed at the screen. "Looks like Jagged's assistant was akumatized. She's pulling all kinds of pranks on the crew, it's HILARIOUS!" The kwami couldn't contain his laughter anymore.
"Come on, Plagg! Marinette needs us! Looks like we're headed to the bakery!"
That sobered up the kwami. "Nice! Be sure to save me some cheese bread!"
Chat Noir found Ladybug hunkered down on the balcony atop the bakery. He landed softly, lightly tapping her on the shoulder. He quickly raised his hands when she whirled on him.
"Hey, hey, Bug. It's me! Didn't mean to startle you."
Ladybug lowered her yo-yo. "Sorry, Chat. It's been a day." She sighed.
"I'm here to help. How're your parents?"
"Trouble Maker activated the shop's lockdown protocol. Everyone's still trapped in the front room." Ladybug paused. "She hasn't hurt them, or hurt anyone really. She's been moving throughout the house before settling in my room and messing with my stuff. I'm DONE with people messing with my stuff." She hissed. The heroine turned as Chat Noir laid a hand on her shoulder.
"We'll stop her, Ladybug. I promise."
And stop her they did. The team had a couple of close calls, but a Cataclysm and a Lucky Charm later, all was restored.
Marinette stood between her parents in the bakery as the production crew packed up their equipment.
"I will never persuade you guys to film anything here ever again." The girl leaned into her dad.
Tom wrapped his arm around her. "I don't know, honey. It's all in how you spin things, right? Maybe we can create a pastry or something inspired by Trouble Maker. Roll with the hand dealt to us, right?"
"More like 'Rock and Roll with it!'" Jagged Stone and Penny sheepishly walked across the bakery to meet the Dupain-Chengs.
Jagged rubbed the back of his neck. "Listen, Marinette. I'm sorry I barged into your room. I should've left the minute I realized it wasn't the bathroom. I just saw your raw, unfiltered creativity… it reminded me of someone I used to know." Jagged smiled wistfully. He placed his hand on Marinette's shoulder. "If you're willing, I'd love to still collaborate on projects in the future."
Marinette took a deep breath before extending her hand. "I'd love to, Jagged." She squeaked as the rockstar pulled her in for a bone-crushing hug.
"Brilliant!" He dropped Marinette when Penny tapped his arm. She extended a sheet of paper to the young designer.
"Here's a list of projects Jagged has coming up. If you'll send the ones you're interested in to the email below, we can get contracts and things set up. And don't worry- we won't let Bob Roth anywhere near them."
Everyone chuckled as the front doorbell chimed.
"Sorry, we're closed for the month!" Sabine called out.
Marinette perked up at the familiar blonde head standing awkwardly in the doorway. Jagged nudged her conspiratorially.
"Hey, isn't that one of the guys from your pictures? The Agreste kid?" He wriggled his eyebrows.
Marinette puffed out her cheeks. "He's my friend, Adrien. My whole class was watching today."
Jagged winced as Penny smacked him upside the head. "Oh… that's my bad."
The girl sighed. Better to deal with it now than when school starts back. She picked her way around the lighting crew taking down their lightboards. She fiddled with the strap of her back as she approached Adrien.
"H-hey." She stammered, mentally slapping herself. She'd made so much progress!
"Hey! I saw everything on TV! I can't believe they aired all that." Adrien stuffed his hands in his pockets.
"Yeah…" Marinette took a breath. "Now when you say everything… did you happen to stop watching after you called me?" The poor girl knew her face resembled a strawberry about now.
Surprisingly, Adrien's face turned red as well. "Ah… no. I, uh…" He fiddled with his ring. "I saw the pictures."
Marinette groaned, burying her head in her hands. "I really am going to let a bus run me over."
The boy chuckled, pulling her hands away from her face. "Marinette, I've got pictures of you too."
Her eyes went wide. "Y-you do?"
"Well, yeah! Because we're friends. I don't know why Jagged was so focused on that one picture, but I saw a collection of moments between friends." He bent down further to meet her eye. "Nothing about today changes anything. I'm good if you're good."
He tensed for a moment as the girl of his dreams rested her forehead on his shoulder.
"I'm grateful to have you as my friend, Adrien." Marinette hesitated only a moment before reaching up to kiss Adrien on the cheek. "I-I'll text you later?"
The boy seemed stunned. "Uh… yeah."
Marinette beamed. All was right in her world once more. "Great! Bye, Adrien!"
Adrien mechanically exited the bakery, reaching a hand up to touch his cheek. "A friend…" He sighed. "She's just… a friend."