[ Both of their reflexes spare them that embarrassing encounter, with Piper stopping short and startling at Adrien's sudden appearance. She almost jumped out of her skin, though, and then lets out a breath of relief. Just Adrien, not that guy again. ]
Sorry, I was just distracted. This guy was- ... Never mind.
[ Visibly, she hesitates, not because she distrusts Adrien. In fact, she actually would love to tell him the truth but ah... well...? Somehow it makes her feel kind of... gross... like she shouldn't be confessing any boy problems to him, even ones with guys who have one sided infatuations who won't take a polite no for an answer. ]
Some upperclassman, not from our class. It's nothing. [ Said as she looks Adrien in the eyes, though noticeably uncomfortable. ]
Oookay. He's not really sure what to say about that, other than doing the sensible thing and, you know, actually ask her what went down. But who wants to be sensible? Not him, no sir.
.........Ohhhhhhh. Well, he can pretty much fill in the gaps about what happened after that. And he sympathizes, because...you know, he deals with Chloe on a daily basis so he kind of knows how oppressing that kind of behavior can be.
He doesn't think he's done anything worthy of thanks (yet?), but he smiles anyway. Sure, he'll take it. ]
Yeah. No problem.
I was just about to get some lunch, so... I mean, if you wanted to get "lost" too, we could...
[ But on the other, if you're being sarcastic she might punch your shoulder.
HARD.
Thankfully Adrien will be spared from answering that, and Piper from explaining that she'd only meant to tease him a little, because THAT right there, just as she was opening her mouth to do so? That was a human scream coming their way. Absolutely, followed by a disgustingly suave voice calling out- ]
"Oh Piper? Where are you, ma petite oeuvre d'art? I've come to collect you!"
... [ Reluctantly she turns her head to look back over her shoulder, her stomach dropping to the pit of her stomach. ]
[ IT'S JUST LUNCH???? jESUS CHRIST he doesn't see the big deal and he definitely wouldn't have given it a second thought if she hadn't...phrased it like that......
As if he has the time to be worrying about asking girls out when fending off Chloe is close to a full time job as it is.
But the shrill voice pierces him and goes straight down his spine. He visibly cringes despite not even being the object of this dude's affections. ]
I guess he wasn't as lost as we hoped.
[ .........He's already looking for a place to transform. He grabs Piper's hand, pulling her forward as his eyes scan the hallway. His voice is hushed. ]
[ AND IT WAS JUST A TEASE. It wasn't a big deal until she thought he might be serious!!! Like, LOOK a first date is kind of a big deal it's not what she signed on for today she's not even remotely mentally prepared for the implications of ACTUALLY calling it a date. The problem being she doesn't know how to say she'd only been joking around without POSSIBLY hurting his pride??? or feelings????? And look he's the one guy she actually doesn't want to upset by being an insensitive jerk.
But then again there's really no time to mull on that before a gaudily dressed villain decided to announce his intentions. Now Adrien is leading her by the hand, the sudden contact jolting Piper back into action like nobody's business. She startles out of her surprise and nods at Adrien, following his lead. Her heart is pounding and yet she feels strangely calm for someone who has a currently-unhinged individual looking for her.
As they're making their way through the hall Piper spots the locker room door and hisses softly- ] There! [ Pointing out the doorway. There'd be plenty of places to hide in there, and plenty of windows to get out through, for that matter, so her "suitor" would have to try and figure out which escape route they took and had at LEAST a fifty percent chance of being wrong. ]
[ The locker room is perfect, though Adrien's approval is a silent one. He figures no one would be around without a P.E. class in session, so he doesn't hesitate to slip in first before beckoning Piper in after him.
Within, they have a little more freedom to speak, though how long that will last remains to be seen. He's looking around, hoping something brilliant will jump out at him, like "here I am!!!" ]
[ Once inside Piper ducks away from the door, but she feels uneasy. This is unreal. Piper isn't for sure that she even heard what she thought she heard, but for Adrien to mention Ladybug and Cat Noir so casually- like oh hey these are totally people who actually exist and NOT cartoon characters, what's even up with that?
Well, whatever, it's obviously real, Adrien doesn't seem like the kind of guy who'd fake this kind of thing so it's clearly a regularly occuring thing, and it's her fault that this happened in the first place. It must be if that guy is looking for her by name. ]
Yeah.
[ She sounds a bit distant as she says it, still coming to grips with the fact that this is now her reality, a world where superheroes and super villains exist. Even so, when she looks at Adrien again she doesn't look afraid. She looks surprisingly calm. ]
You should be the one to go for help. If I'm the one he's after then I can lead him away. If he's seriously after me it'd probably be a pretty bad idea for him to catch us together.
[ ...SHE IS MAKING THIS SO EASY he could literally?? cry tears of joy??? right now. but he won't, because he is stoic Adrien Agreste. For the next few minutes, at least.
A bit of Cat Noir seeps into his grin prematurely. It doesn't even occur to him that, being new, she might not really be used to his and Ladybug's special brand of heroing, buuut since she insists, he will definitely accept.
Oh, but not the whole Piper-being-bait thing. Yeah, that's not happening. ]
Better yet, I'll lead him away. You just wait here. They'll wrap this up in no time.
[ A wink, annnnd he leaves the locker room with a pointer finger over his lips ("shhh") before she can protest.
[ Pretty little eyebrows immediately furrow, her expression clearly saying "THAT IS THE STUPIDEST IDEA I HAVE EVER HEARD.". If this guy is after HER why would he even take an interest in Adrien, for one? And if Adrien is planning on MAKING him pay attention, how the hell does he know this guy won't kill or seriously hurt him for getting in the way?! She wants to throttle you, Agreste, but before she even has a chance to strangle out the first syllable of her protest he's on his way out the door shushing her.
She actually feels her mouth settle into a disapproving line, not only because she still hates playing the damsel, but because she has to stop herself from yelling after him about being an idiot- a brave idiot, but an idiot none the less.
Instead, with a frustrated exhale under her breath (not that she's ungrateful! SUCH NOBLE MUCH CHIVALRY) Piper turns her attention to the room in search of a weapon. A baseball bat, a fencing sword, dodge balls, ANYTHING she could use as defense or diversion.
She gives it a bit of time, a minute tops, settles on a bat from the supplies on hand, and goes out the window to find a good vantage point... or ambush point. There's no way she's leaving him to deal with that guy on his own. ]
[ It's not a stupid idea if Adrien lies and tells him he saw her go the complete opposite direction!
Of course, this only works for so long, but it's enough.
The next time Piper sees him (or hears him?), it will be as Cat Noir, using his plucky wiles to stall as the approached the room where he'd left her. Ladybug is his back up. ]
What's the matter, tough guy? "No," too big of a word for you to understand?
[ THAT... is actually a fair point. ALRIGHT she apologizes.
Well, she would if she were there and they'd had this actual discussion. Instead she's ducked down behind an open door, just below the window and safely out of sight (for now). Imagine her surprise to hear Adrien not only still engaged with the "Akuma" guy (Casanova, Piper), but sounding as if he's actually FIGHTING him??
She dares to peer around the corner, spotting the two in the distance nearing the locker room on the other side of the hall. She's limited on where she can actually hide and stay out of sight. The school's layout is too open, even the stairs have large gaps that one can easily see through even when encased in shadow. The open courtyard style interior sees to that. That means it's just a matter of time before she's spotted if she doesn't move, so there's little other choice but to do just that.
[ Alright, so it's less that Ladybug is his backup and more than he is hers. Still, if there's one thing he's good at, it's stalling, so he keeps it up hoping to buy time for Piper, wherever she is.
By the time they make it into the locker room, it's with a very loud and flashy bang. Cat looks around and doesn't see Piper immediately.
He can only hope this is a good thing, because they're a little cornered now.
Well!! Sort of.
The closed off nature of the locker room complicates things, but he can tell Ladybug is already looking for their escape route. ]
[ Luck seems to actually be on her side for a change, something Piper is grateful for as she edges towards the locker room with bat in hand following their explosive entrance. She can hear the currently psychopathic student on the other side of the door demanding to know what Cat Noir has done with his... eugh... beautiful little Piper... ]
"First, I'm taking yours and Ladybug's Miraculous, then once YOU two are out of the way I'll be free to convince my beautiful little songbird that we are meant to be! I will NOT let you stand in my way, Cat Noir!"
[ "Oh, that's it." She mutters, then steps inside and swings with all of her anger. The force of the blow to the back of the head is more than enough to take the man by surprise, and as he drops face first to the ground Piper tosses the bat to the floor. ]
Sorry, pal, but I'm not anyone's little anything.
[ ... And with that she looks up, at Cat Noir.
... SERIOUSLY. The hell is Adrien doing looking like such a good fit in black leather? It's weird! ]
[ Cat is far too distracted to be concerned about being recognized. He visibly winces at the loud metallic clang that rings out when the bat connects to the guy's head, and when the guy drops to the floor, Cat can't help laughing. ]
Damn.
Well, that should give you some time to find the akuma, Milady. In the meantime, maybe I should put some distance between him and his little songbird.
[ He doesn't do the air quotes, but it's pretty obvious. He approaches Piper, keeping an eye on their akuma victim all the while, in case there are any surprises. ]
[ .... So they don't think they're recognizable. Huh. Well then. Piper isn't gonna be the one to burst that bubble with a villain on the floor, in a public place. She's not dumb enough to take that risk, even if the odds of others being around are slim. Some kid could be hiding in a locker.
... Then again, maybe she's wrong. Maybe she should test i-
"... put some distance between him and his little songbird."
She IS going to groan at the nickname, though, rolling her eyes for a second before shifting gears. ] Anyway, thanks... Wait, did you guys see my friend? Another blond kid being chased by this guy?
[ She looks between the two, feigning worry- okay not COMPLETELY, on the off chance she's absolutely BONKERS for seeing a resemblance, but she's about 99.9% sure this is Adrien and Marinette. ] About my age, green eyes, about this tall? [ Pantomiming his height here- ] He took off trying to lead this guy away.
[ She looks at Cat Noir, and he might see something glinting in her eyes while Ladybug is distracted. ]
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Sorry, I was just distracted. This guy was- ... Never mind.
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Well, that answers his first question, that being, "What did Chloe do this time?" He's a bit relieved to learn he was wrong on that assumption. ]
What guy?
[ He asks, because he was never going to let it drop at "Never mind." ]
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Some upperclassman, not from our class. It's nothing. [ Said as she looks Adrien in the eyes, though noticeably uncomfortable. ]
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Oookay. He's not really sure what to say about that, other than doing the sensible thing and, you know, actually ask her what went down. But who wants to be sensible? Not him, no sir.
...Maybe he can get it out of her over lunch. ]
Sure... I mean—if you're sure.
[ Wait. ]
Uh, are you sure?
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Pretty sure. I... asked him to get lost. He got the hint after that.
[ It's taking a LOT of self control not to ask if he's maybe being a little protective.
It takes a lot more to admit that she kind of likes it. ]
Thanks though, Adrien.
[ Piper rewards his concerned approach with a crooked little smile, completely oblivious to the mess she'd just unwittingly created. ]
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.........Ohhhhhhh. Well, he can pretty much fill in the gaps about what happened after that. And he sympathizes, because...you know, he deals with Chloe on a daily basis so he kind of knows how oppressing that kind of behavior can be.
He doesn't think he's done anything worthy of thanks (yet?), but he smiles anyway. Sure, he'll take it. ]
Yeah. No problem.
I was just about to get some lunch, so... I mean, if you wanted to get "lost" too, we could...
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Shut up and take the thanks Agreste or she'll make you take it.
And raising an eyebrow at the question. She shouldn't.
She shouldn't.
She really, really shouldn't- ]
Are you asking me out?
[ Damn it Piper. ]
1/2
What? N-No! I—
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Just. Never mind. ]
Just kidding. I totally am.
[ In the most flat, defeated tone he can manage. Naturally. ]
1/???
...
......
.........
............
AFSDLKJASLDKAS??????? SHE WAS ONLY TEASING! He'S ACTUALLY ASKING HER OUT??? ]
2/????
[ Because with that tone of voice she really can't tell and she's not sure if she'd prefer it to be for real or not.
Because like
dude if you're asking her out you don't have to sound like you're volunteering for watching paint dry. ]
3/3
HARD.
Thankfully Adrien will be spared from answering that, and Piper from explaining that she'd only meant to tease him a little, because THAT right there, just as she was opening her mouth to do so? That was a human scream coming their way. Absolutely, followed by a disgustingly suave voice calling out- ]
"Oh Piper? Where are you, ma petite oeuvre d'art? I've come to collect you!"
... [ Reluctantly she turns her head to look back over her shoulder, her stomach dropping to the pit of her stomach. ]
Oh, I do NOT like the sound of that.
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As if he has the time to be worrying about asking girls out when fending off Chloe is close to a full time job as it is.
But the shrill voice pierces him and goes straight down his spine. He visibly cringes despite not even being the object of this dude's affections. ]
I guess he wasn't as lost as we hoped.
[ .........He's already looking for a place to transform. He grabs Piper's hand, pulling her forward as his eyes scan the hallway. His voice is hushed. ]
Come on! We need a plan.
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But then again there's really no time to mull on that before a gaudily dressed villain decided to announce his intentions. Now Adrien is leading her by the hand, the sudden contact jolting Piper back into action like nobody's business. She startles out of her surprise and nods at Adrien, following his lead. Her heart is pounding and yet she feels strangely calm for someone who has a currently-unhinged individual looking for her.
As they're making their way through the hall Piper spots the locker room door and hisses softly- ] There! [ Pointing out the doorway. There'd be plenty of places to hide in there, and plenty of windows to get out through, for that matter, so her "suitor" would have to try and figure out which escape route they took and had at LEAST a fifty percent chance of being wrong. ]
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Within, they have a little more freedom to speak, though how long that will last remains to be seen. He's looking around, hoping something brilliant will jump out at him, like "here I am!!!" ]
We need Ladybug and Cat Noir.
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Well, whatever, it's obviously real, Adrien doesn't seem like the kind of guy who'd fake this kind of thing so it's clearly a regularly occuring thing, and it's her fault that this happened in the first place. It must be if that guy is looking for her by name. ]
Yeah.
[ She sounds a bit distant as she says it, still coming to grips with the fact that this is now her reality, a world where superheroes and super villains exist. Even so, when she looks at Adrien again she doesn't look afraid. She looks surprisingly calm. ]
You should be the one to go for help. If I'm the one he's after then I can lead him away. If he's seriously after me it'd probably be a pretty bad idea for him to catch us together.
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A bit of Cat Noir seeps into his grin prematurely. It doesn't even occur to him that, being new, she might not really be used to his and Ladybug's special brand of heroing, buuut since she insists, he will definitely accept.
Oh, but not the whole Piper-being-bait thing. Yeah, that's not happening. ]
Better yet, I'll lead him away. You just wait here. They'll wrap this up in no time.
[ A wink, annnnd he leaves the locker room with a pointer finger over his lips ("shhh") before she can protest.
BYE, PIPER. ]
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Wait, what?
[ Pretty little eyebrows immediately furrow, her expression clearly saying "THAT IS THE STUPIDEST IDEA I HAVE EVER HEARD.". If this guy is after HER why would he even take an interest in Adrien, for one? And if Adrien is planning on MAKING him pay attention, how the hell does he know this guy won't kill or seriously hurt him for getting in the way?! She wants to throttle you, Agreste, but before she even has a chance to strangle out the first syllable of her protest he's on his way out the door shushing her.
She actually feels her mouth settle into a disapproving line, not only because she
stillhates playing the damsel, but because she has to stop herself from yelling after him about being an idiot- a brave idiot, but an idiot none the less.Instead, with a frustrated exhale under her breath (not that she's ungrateful! SUCH NOBLE MUCH CHIVALRY) Piper turns her attention to the room in search of a weapon. A baseball bat, a fencing sword, dodge balls, ANYTHING she could use as defense or diversion.
She gives it a bit of time, a minute tops, settles on a bat from the supplies on hand, and goes out the window to find a good vantage point... or ambush point. There's no way she's leaving him to deal with that guy on his own. ]
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Of course, this only works for so long, but it's enough.
The next time Piper sees him (or hears him?), it will be as Cat Noir, using his plucky wiles to stall as the approached the room where he'd left her. Ladybug is his back up. ]
What's the matter, tough guy? "No," too big of a word for you to understand?
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Well, she would if she were there and they'd had this actual discussion. Instead she's ducked down behind an open door, just below the window and safely out of sight (for now). Imagine her surprise to hear Adrien not only still engaged with the "Akuma" guy (Casanova, Piper), but sounding as if he's actually FIGHTING him??
She dares to peer around the corner, spotting the two in the distance nearing the locker room on the other side of the hall. She's limited on where she can actually hide and stay out of sight. The school's layout is too open, even the stairs have large gaps that one can easily see through even when encased in shadow. The open courtyard style interior sees to that. That means it's just a matter of time before she's spotted if she doesn't move, so there's little other choice but to do just that.
But seriously, Adrien
is Cat Noir?!
??????????????????????????????????????????????? ]
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By the time they make it into the locker room, it's with a very loud and flashy bang. Cat looks around and doesn't see Piper immediately.
He can only hope this is a good thing, because they're a little cornered now.
Well!! Sort of.
The closed off nature of the locker room complicates things, but he can tell Ladybug is already looking for their escape route. ]
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"First, I'm taking yours and Ladybug's Miraculous, then once YOU two are out of the way I'll be free to convince my beautiful little songbird that we are meant to be! I will NOT let you stand in my way, Cat Noir!"
[ "Oh, that's it." She mutters, then steps inside and swings with all of her anger. The force of the blow to the back of the head is more than enough to take the man by surprise, and as he drops face first to the ground Piper tosses the bat to the floor. ]
Sorry, pal, but I'm not anyone's little anything.
[ ... And with that she looks up, at Cat Noir.
... SERIOUSLY. The hell is Adrien doing looking like such a good fit in black leather? It's weird! ]
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Damn.
Well, that should give you some time to find the akuma, Milady. In the meantime, maybe I should put some distance between him and his little songbird.
[ He doesn't do the air quotes, but it's pretty obvious. He approaches Piper, keeping an eye on their akuma victim all the while, in case there are any surprises. ]
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... Then again, maybe she's wrong. Maybe she should test i-
"... put some distance between him and his little songbird."
She IS going to groan at the nickname, though, rolling her eyes for a second before shifting gears. ] Anyway, thanks... Wait, did you guys see my friend? Another blond kid being chased by this guy?
[ She looks between the two, feigning worry- okay not COMPLETELY, on the off chance she's absolutely BONKERS for seeing a resemblance, but she's about 99.9% sure this is Adrien and Marinette. ] About my age, green eyes, about this tall? [ Pantomiming his height here- ] He took off trying to lead this guy away.
[ She looks at Cat Noir, and he might see something glinting in her eyes while Ladybug is distracted. ]
Would you help me look for him?
1/2
Well, it's not the first time he's run into a situation like this, so of course he's smiling it off like it's no big deal. ]
Of course we can. He probably just got cold paws. Poor lost, little kitten.
[ Cat shakes his head, like ah, what a shame, before turning to Ladybug. ]
Milady, would you—?
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