Adrien  grins as he enters the bakery!  He is glad to be back. He sure hopes that Marinette will be alright with the smoothie today.  He can hardly contain his excitement!  He thinks, to see her again will be just wonderful.

         Sabine sees Adrien come into the bakery!  Her jaw drops. She did not expect him to be here so soon. She thought he was in Thailand for a few more days!  She wonders if she should let Marinette know he is back yet, or what?

        "Do not tell her I am here!  I want it to be a surprise!" Adrien says.

        "Yes, I understand, young man." Sabine says. She grins just the same.

        "Well, look who we have here!  It is good to see you again, Adrien!" Tom tells him.

       "Tom, do not keep him to long. He is here to see Marinette!" Sabine says.

     "Well, go on then, lad!" Tom remarks. He gives him a thumbs up.

         Adrien climbs the stairs that leads to Marinette's room. He pauses at the top. He has no idea what to say to her. He thinks, will she even wish to speak with me anyway? He scratches his neck in uncertainty,but opens the door slowly.

       Adrien's  POV:

       He enters Marinette's room. He does not hear an answer. This troubles him, so much!  He looks for her and sees her face down on her bed.  He steps closer and hears her sobs. He cannot help,but wonder why she cries?  He does hope he is not the cause of her sorrow.

    "Marinette, I am h-here!" Adrien blurts out. He cannot quite make out what she says.

    "Go away!  Luka, get lost! " Marinette says.She does not even look at him.

     Adrien gently wraps his arms around her. He does not care how it looks. He just has to help her some how. He grins. He speaks again, "M-Marinette, it is me!  I  am sorry, I was gone for so long and..."

    Marinette finally looks up at him. She sees it is Adrien!  She blushes. She thinks, wait, he is here,but I thought that he...

    "A-Adrien, you are b-back!" Marinette says. She seems happy to see him, yet still full of confusion.

    "Y-Yes,so I am. It s-seems that I-I owe y-you a s-smoothie!" Adrien says shyly.

    "A smoothie?  Oh, my goodness you did promise me one!" Marinette says. She feels so silly that she should have been caught crying by her crush.

    "Ah, that I did, m'lady!" Adrien teases her.  He hears her gasp, and fears that perhaps he did say something wrong.

   "A-Adrien, you cannot call me like that anymore." Marinette tells him.

   Adrien's face falls. He looks upset. He might even cry. He thinks, what does she mean?  He cannot help,but hope it does not mean she found someone else when he was away?

   Marinette's  POV:
    She gets her purse, puts on some shoes, rebrushes her hair as Adrien stares at her. She pulls her hair back in its usual style, and is all set to go!  She cannot help, but notice Adrien's face. She can see pain in his eyes. 

   "Are you ready?" Marinette ask.

   "Yes, I am all set." Adrien says. He is unsure if it is okay to hold her hand or not. He follows her downstairs and says, "We will be back later!  Marinette and I are going out for smoothies!"

   Tom's  POV:
    He sees Adrien and Marinette come downstairs together!  His face lights up. He is glad to see they are happy together. He does wish one of them would confess so those two could be happy more often. He will not interfere though as he already made a promise to Sabine not too. He just stands there with a silly grin across his face as he waves at them.

   "Ah, yes, smoothies!  That does sound rather nice!" Tom says.

    "Pappa, do not tease him!" Marinette says. 

    "It is just that I did promise to take her out for one on my return." Adrien explains. Now that he thinks of it the whole thing does seem rather silly.

    "Well, good for you keeping it then, lad.  A promise is better kept than broken." Tom says.

    Sabine's POV:
    She hears Tom tease Adrien and Marinette. She can hear Marinette scold him!  She giggles. She thinks the whole thing to be quite amusing!  She is glad to see Adrien and Marinette still get along upon his return from his latest over seas photo shot. She sure hopes to see Adrienette become a real couple soon!  She does not interfere though as she did promise Tom not too.  She just stands there and waves with a silly grin across her face!

    "Tom do you not think that is enough?  Just let them be!" Sabine says. She scolds her husband just a little.  

   "Adrien, you take good care of her, you here?"  Sabine says.

   "I have ever intention to do so Madame, Sabine." Adrien says.

   Marinette's  POV:
   She rolls her eyes. She finds the entire ordeal to be full of embarrassment. She cannot believe her folks did what they just did and in front of Adrien too.  Goodness, she will never leave this day down, now will she?
 

   "Mom, Dad, that is quite enough!" Marinette says.

    "Marinette, is okay!  They just like having me around that is all." Adrien says. He winks at her as he speaks.

    "A-Agreste d-did you just w-wink at m-me?"  Marinette says.

   "Yes, well so what if I did?  you are my smoothie companion after all." Adrien remarks.

    Adrien walks with Marinette to his car. Then, he drives to the smoothie shop in silence. He feels awkward about the entire thing. He cannot help,but feel nervous when they arrive outside the place. He parks, gets out, opens her door for her and looks away in embarrassment.  

   Marinette grabs his hand. She does not why,but she did!  She is glad when he does not pull away.  She thinks, so far, so good!

   Adrien and Marinette enter the smoothie place. Once inside, Adrien orders his smoothie, then Marinette's.  As they wait for them, Adrien says, "M-Marinette, remember the last time we c-came h-here?"

   Marinette nods her head.  "Yes, I remember it well!  Why do you ask?"  Marinette says.

    Adrien sighs,he longs to tell her he likes her and to confess to the gifts, notes, all of it. He is not sure if he can yet. He stares into her eyes.

    Marinette sees him stare at her and she stares back. She hears some clear their throat in annoyance,but continues to stare at him, as the person places a smoothie in front of him. She feels like she is in a daze.

   A smoothie is put in front of her and just like that she feels like whatever it was is broken!  She blushes. She plays with her straw, then licks the end of it. She puts it back into the smoothie and drinks it.

   Adrien watches her in wonder. He thinks, man she is just more lovely ever time I see her!  He wants to kiss her,but is sure she would only shove him away.  He drinks his smoothie without taking his eyes off her.  He feels drawn to her some how.

  Marinette finishes the smoothie. She looks up to see those emerald eyes as they look at her. She blinks. She blushes again. She wonders, why is he in so much pain? She cannot help,but wish she could kiss it all away!  She stands up and runs!  She cannot do this  to herself or to him. She feels tears stain her cheeks.

   Adrien chases after her. He sees trip over a mud puddle in the sidewalk. He sees her about to pass out. He runs to her. He catches her. He holds her in his arms and does not care who sees. He could care less what anyone else thinks. 

   "M-Marinette?  Beauty, speak to me!" Adrien says. His eyes full of  love for her.

    Marinette looks at him. She thinks, he caught me. He actually caught me!  She looks at him in wonder as she says, "A-Adrien, the smoothie was delicious! Thank you ever so much!"

    Adrien carries her to his car. He puts her in the passenger side, fastens her seatbelt, closes the door and climbs into the drivers side. He drives her home in silence. He hates how quiet it is right now.

    Adrien carries her inside once they reach the bakery. He takes her to her room and sets her down on her bed. He turns to go when she grabs his hand. He blushes. 

    "A-Adrien, I cannot choose between you two!  I just cannot!  I want to be with you, but then he sends me all this wonderful stuff and I fall for him.  What do I do?" Marinette tells him. Her eyes full of tears once again.

    "M-Mari, I..." Adrien begins, but Marinette pulls him closer, and whispers, "it is not about the smoothies is it?"  She sees him blush. She cups her hands around his face.  She leans in and just like that  Adrien pulls away!  He knows he will regret it later, but he has too. He cannot let her kiss him. Not like this!  He sees her crestfallen face and wishes he could take the decision to leave back,but he cannot.

  "Mari,I will s-see you l-later, beautiful lady!" Adrien says. He leaves.

     Marinette watches him go!  She does not want him to leave. She does not understand. Why did he reject her kiss?  Does this mean he does not love her?  She flops down on her bed and thinks, oh, Adrien!  Adrien, I love you!
   

   Marinette's  POV:
   She thought the smoothie would mean something!  She thought for sure, he would ask her out and soon she could forget all about her secret admirer. Only,he did not.  She cannot understand it!  How could he let her love him only to reject her? She thought...Oh,nevermind her thoughts are just stupid anyways, right?  Like how could he ever see her as more than just a silly girl? 
 

 Adrien's POV:
  He goes home. He arrives safely!  He still cannot get their almost kiss out of his mind. why? why did she have to go and try to kiss him? Why did he refuse to allow it?  He knows he wants her kiss, so why?  Why did he reject it?  He shakes his head. He cannot compete with himself!  He can tell she appears to be in a state of confusion and he longs to reveal all, but how?  He is never been in love with anyone else as he has her.

  to be continued in Chapter  16   Purple Roses, Notes, Adrien Ignores Her?