Chapter Three:

Adrien watched the live broadcast of the districts nervously. His palms were sweaty, his heart was pounding, and his mind was racing. He watched as both girls and boys were chosen from the Charm bowl, though there were a couple pairs of boys and two pairs of girls. One pair he wasn't exactly pleased with was from one of the richer districts. A blonde girl, announcing her name was Chloe Bourgeois and that was the daughter of the leader of her district, and a redhead named Sabrina gave him the odd sense of caution. He didn't want to spend time with those girls, that's for sure. Some of the others he thought were okay and all.

One of them caught his eye, though.

He watched as a girl with midnight black hair and bluebell eyes stand up for a seven-year-old. Her simple red and black dress reminded him of a ladybug. What was her name? Marinette?

"Find any you like yet?" His one and only friend, Nino, asked over his shoulder.

He shrugged. "I'm not allowed to give an opinion at the moment, Nino, you know that."

"Come on, man. You have to at least like one."

Adrien rolled his eyes, ignoring his friend's pestering. Nino finished picking up Adrien's untouched lunch and placed it aside.

"Alright, dude, if you don't choose one just by looks, how are you going to learn to love your future 'betrothed'?" He made air quotations with his fingers as he said the last word. The mockery of his father was amusing to Adrien, but he decided not to comment on it.

"Fine, I'll make you a deal. If you bring me an extra croissant when you bring me dinner, I'll tell you."

"You've got a deal!" Nino exclaimed then slid into the seat next to his friend. Adrien smirked then pointed at the tablet he was watching the broadcasts on.

"That girl."

"The one in the red dress and ponytails?"

"Yup. She's the one I've got my eye on."

Nino rubbed his chin. "Not bad, not bad. Personally, I like the girl she's standing next to in this frame." He used his finger to point to who he was talking about. Adrien zoomed in. It was blurry, but he could make out a few of the girl's features, such as her brown to blonde ombred hair and the fact that she was holding the girl that Marinette had saved.

"She's not a bad looker either," Adrien agreed. Nino nodded and stood, starting to dry off some of the freshly washed glasses that had just arrived. Adrien watched him for a while, then sighed. "Nino, I'm really nervous about all of this."

"Why do you say that?" he asked.

Adrien rubbed the tablet anxiously. "It's just... don't you find it odd that my father decided to offer me as the prize? Do you think he's just trying to get rid of me."

Nino stopped rubbing the cup and thought for a few minutes. Finally, he responded, "I dunno, man... Your dad makes you do a lot of things, but this seems a little bit too extreme. Maybe he's trying to satisfy a crowd or something."

"If he's trying to satisfy the country, let's just say he's doing a brilliant job at that. Half of all the districts are probably having to protect their Charms."

"Protect them? Why?"

Nino laughed and set the glass down. "Really dude? Why do you think?"

"Um... because my father's rich?"

Nino shook his head and rubbed the bridge of his nose, his glasses shifting up as he did so. "Dude, I swear, you drive me crazy sometimes." He spread his hands, gesturing toward Adrien. "All the girls want to be able to be with you! You're all over the news, for one, and then on top of that, have you seen how many magazines are dedicated to just your face?"

Adrien chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck as he blushed. "Alright, I see what you're getting at. That doesn't mean I'm okay with it, though. I'd rather not cause other people pain just because my father wants to give me away..."

A sad silence fell between the two friends, and when Nino was ordered to go by Adrien's assistant Natalie, he didn't protest.

"I'm so glad I was able to catch you on a down time," Natalie stated simply, then took a seat in one of the high-backed chairs. "Your father wishes to see you."

"Joy. Let me guess, is it about the decorations? The parade? The rooms?"

Natalie lowered her head and gave him the serious eye. Obviously, she wouldn't be giving him the look if he was wrong. He sighed.

"Okay... Let's go, then. No use keeping him waiting."

"Indeed," Natalie agreed seriously.

Adrien got to his feet, dusting himself off, then followed Natalie. He glanced back one last time at the tablet. With his curiosity brimming, he decided he would have to learn more about each girl, and especially the black-haired blue-eyed one. Marinette...

* * *

Marinette sat dejected in the visiting room, writhing her hands in her lap. What had she just done? Had she really just saved a little girl from going through a mentally scarring experience or had she just put herself in line to finally have a chance to win over her crush? Now that she was thinking about it, she didn't know which one sounded better. Probably the one that sounded less selfish.

She jumped when the door swung open. Her mother and her father came into the room, tears streaming down both of their cheeks.

"M-mom," Marinette choked out before her parents wrapped her up in an earth-crushing hug.

"Oh, my little girl..." Her father wept, holding her close.

"No, don't cry, Dad," Marinette pleaded. "I'm sorry I said something. I should have stayed quiet. I knew you needed help at the bakery the next few months and I didn't mean to--"

"I am so proud of you..."

Marinette stopped. "W-what?"

Her parents pulled away but didn't let her escape their circle of arms. "We are so proud of you," her mom explained. "We knew that once little Manon's name was called that you would say something. We just knew that you would save her from the Games."

Marinette was in total shock. She glanced between her parents, trying to deduce if they were joking or not.

"But... what about the bakery? What about school?"

"Don't worry about those, Mari. You stood up for someone who was helpless, and we couldn't be prouder." Her mother nodded, agreeing what her father had just said.

Marinette was speechless. Somehow, her parents had just lifted a huge weight off of her shoulders. She had been so worried they would be upset with her for doing something so rash, but they had only supported her.

"You guys are the best parents ever." She gave them another crushing hug before one of the bodyguards barged into the room.

"Your visiting time with your parents is over."

"Don't forget to be kind," Her mother reminded her as she was being shuffled away.

"And be the superhero everyone already believes you are!" Her dad exclaimed just before the door slammed closed.

"I won't..." Marinette muttered, her voice echoing in the empty room.

Just when she thought she was going to be led to the train in order to be shuttled up to the Capital, three more people came barreling into the room.

"Mawinette!" Manon exclaimed, running toward her and wrapping her arms around her legs.

"Hey there, little angel," Marinette replied with a forced smile.

"Mari, what have you gotten yourself into?" Alya asked, giving her a pitiful smile.

Marinette spread her hands helplessly, and as she did so, Mrs. Chamach stepped toward her.

"How will I ever repay you?" she asked, taking Marinette's hands in hers.

"There is no need," she replied. "I'd rather have little Manon happy and safe than myself."

Alya came toward her and wrapped her arms around her best friend. "Oh Marinette, you have what people call a heart of gold."

"And I hope that heart is what helps you survive in the Games," Mrs. Chamach added. "If you're willing to stand up for the innocent, you deserve to win."

Marinette humbly bowed her head. "You are very kind, but I'd rather play fair than cheat because of a good deed. It's contradicting, don't you think?"

Alya and Mrs. Chamach nodded. Manon tugged on Marinette's dress.

"You'll win, won't you? Pwomise?"

Marinette bent down and wrapped her arms around the little seven-year-old. "Manon, I can't promise anything, but I can promise that I will do my best."

Manon broke into a buck-tooth grin, her smile warming Marinette from head to toe. "I bewieve in you!" She cheered. "Mawinette will win!"

Mrs. Chamach chuckled and scooped her little girl into her arms. "She'll definitely try her best. Now, it's time to go home. We have to get you ready to go over to Alya's house."

Manon's expression fell. Marinette's heart panged with sadness as she realized that she had planned on babysitting Manon after the choosing. Now Alya had to watch the little angel.

Alya noticed Marinette's sudden change of expression when Mrs. Chamach and Manon left. She stepped forward, putting an arm around her friend's shoulders.

"Hey, I'll watch over her and make sure she doesn't get into trouble, okay? You won't have to worry about her."

"That's not what I'm worried about..." Marinette's sad eyes found Alya's. "What if I don't come back to ever see my family or my friends again?"

Alya scoffed, but Marinette could tell it was forced. It was nice to hear that her friend was at least trying to brush it off like no big deal.

"Pah-lease," she said dramatically. "Girl, when you get back, we're totally having a party. The whole district would come and celebrate your return!"

Marinette shrugged, wrapping her arms around herself. "I guess so..."

Softening her expression, Alya put her hands on each of her friend's shoulders and looked her straight in the eye. "Mari, I believe in you. You can do hard things. Besides, you heard Alec. You have a high likelihood of living through the ordeal. Even if you lose, you can still come home. Just stay alive, okay?"

Marinette, with tears forming in her eyes, embraced Alya in a sudden hug. Her friend was surprised at first but then hugged her in return. A few minutes later, Alya was forced to leave with the bodyguards. One stayed behind and ordered Marinette to follow him. She mindlessly did. Though she may not have known what would have happened, she knew what she was going to do: she was going to be the superhero her parents, her best friend, and little Manon believed she was.

Her heart of gold was going to shine. 

---

Woohoo! Marinette is officially in! And then on top of it all, Adrien is starting to get curious. ;) 

Comment if you can't wait for the parade!

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