Chapter Three

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"I see you got your car fixed," I mumbled bitterly, as I slipped into the passenger side of Adrien's car.

"Yeah, no thanks to you," Adrien replied, starting up the car and pulling out of the driveway.

I scoffed. "We both know you were just as wrong as I was."

"So you admit that you were wrong?" Adrien smirked.

Does he ever stop smirking?

"Shut up and turn left here," I scowled.

Adrien obliged then glanced at me.

"What is it?" I asked.

"How are you so pretty?" He asked back making me turn red.

"You can't just say things like that!" I exclaimed, covering my face with my hands while Adrien laughed.

"Tell me about this 'Home For Girls'," He said stopping at a stoplight.

"Well, it's owned by this very sweet lady named Matilda Patterson. She takes in young girls from ages 1 to 17. She's not the only person that works there though. You have about ten other ladies who are just as nice as her. They take care of the girls, school them, teach then how to cook, clean and more. They're like parents to these kids," I felt a smile spread across my lips.

"You have a soft spot for the little girls that live there?" Adrien asked, driving off when the light turned green.

"Yeah," I answered when the building came into view. "There it is! You can park in that spot right there."

Adrien parked and we got out of the car. We unloaded the car and headed into the building. Immediately, I was met with the smiling face of Ms Patterson.

"Marinette!" She exclaimed, coming from behind her desk. "It's been a while. All the girls miss you!"

Ms Patterson then glanced up at Adrien. "And who is this handsome young man?"

"This is my friend, Adrien Agreste," I introduced him and he gave her a smile.

"Nice to meet you, Ms Patterson," He greeted.

"Nonsense, call me Matilda," She waved him off. "Anyways, come! Come! The girls should all be up, it's still early."

Matilda led us to where the girls were chattering and playing.

"Girls!" Matilda shouted to catch their attention. "Marinette is back and she brought treats for you all."

The girls stopped what they were doing and rushed over to me and Adrien, who looked scared.

There were about 20 to 25 girls living here, all different ages, colour and size.

"Hey Mari!"

"It's been so long, Mari!"

"Who's your friend?"

"He's so cute!"

"What have you brought for us this time?"

I clapped my hands loudly, calming them down. "Okay, girls, we know the drill! I'll set up the table and you'll all line up! Youngest to oldest!"

The girls murmered, but complied nevertheless.

Matilda, Adrien and I set up the table with the food and the girls lined up.

Adrien was surprisingly good with all the girls. He smiled and joked with them as he handed out pastries.

After all the girls got and went back to their chatter, Matilda tapped me on the shoulder.

"Yeah?" I turned to look at her.

"I almost forgot!" She said frantically. "We got a new girl last week. She doesn't really communicate with the other girls, she just stays in her room."

I frowned, "What's her back story?"

"She comes from an abusive family. Her mom's an alcoholic and her dad's a drug addict. They beat her badly, she has so many scars. The poor girl is only five years old," Matilda explained, shaking her head sadly.

"Oh my God," I gasped. "Is it okay if I bring some of these up to her?"

"Sure. It'll take a miracle for you to get her to talk though," She replied. She pointed to the stairs and said, "Her room is the one next Josie's. Oh and she's allergic to strawberries."

I nodded, understanding what she meant then I tugged on Adrien's sleeve, "Follow me."

He looked at me with a confused look on his face, "Where are we going?"

"Upstairs," I answered, gathering a few treats into my hands. "Let's go."

Adrien trailed behind me as we went up the stairs and I felt his penetrating gaze on me.

"Adrien?"

"Yes, Marinette?"

"Stop staring at my ass."

I heard him chuckle.

The stairs finally ended and we started to head down the hall.

When I finally saw the room I was looking for, I stopped and turned to Adrien, whose eyes were wondering.

I snapped my fingers in front of his face to get his attention. "The little girl up here is new. She's not used to people and she came from an abusive family, so be careful with how you talk and what you say. Okay?"

Adrien nodded understandingly and I knocked on the door before opening it.

There was a little girl that was seated on the single bed. Her blonde hair in two pigtails and her big, blue eyes widened in fear when she saw us.

"Hey," I said softly and I saw her shoulders relax a bit.

"Hi," She replied, her voice shaking slightly.

"I'm Marinette," I started the pointed to Adrien, "and he's Adrien. We're good friends of Ms Patterson and we brought you some treats. Would you mind telling me your name?"

She hesitated, but answered nonetheless, "I'm Emma."

"That's a very pretty name!" I smiled brightly and I saw her lips quirk up a bit. That's a good start. "So, Emma, which treat would you like first? I have cupcakes, cookies, a slice of cake and macaroons."

"A cookie, please," She said, her eyes lighting up. I handed her a chocolate chip cookie. She stretched to take it from me and I had to hold back a gasp. Her arm was full of burn marks and supposedly knife scars.

She took a bite out of the cookie and smiled brightly. I felt my heart swell.

We stayed up in the room and chatted for a while. Emma eventually warmed up to Adrien and was joined to him by the hip.

There was a knock on the door that pulled us away from the conversation. The door opened and Matilda poked her head in.

"It's bedtime," She informed us. Adrien and I nodded and she closed the door.

"You're leaving now?" Emma pouted and I felt my heart break.

"Yes, but we'll be back soon," Adrien said, giving her a smile.

Emma's eyes watered and her bottom lip trembled, "Please don't leave me."

"Emma, don't cry," I said, using my thumb to wipe away the tear that fell. "I promise we'll be back the day after tomorrow."

She sniffled and glanced up at us, "Promise?"

"Promise." Adrien and I said in unison.

"Okay," She said, wiping her eyes.

We told Emma goodbye and headed down the stairs to bid the other girls and Matilda goodbye.

When we were seated in the car, Adrien let out a sigh.

"That was nice."

I nodded in agreement.

"Emma is so sweet," I said as Adrien made a U-Turn to head back to my house. I saw him nod in agreement.

"We're going back tomorrow for real, right?" He said worriedly.

"Of course."

* * *

I shut the car door and rounded the car.

Adrien wound down the window with a smirk, "You sure you don't want to come to the photoshoot with me?"

I rolled my eyes, "Yeah, I'm sure, Agreste. I have work in the morning."

He sighed then said, "Okay. Remember our date tomorrow."

After that he wounded up the window and drove off.

"Goodnight to you too," I muttered before heading into my house.

* * * * *

Another chapter.

How was it?

What are your thoughts on Emma? And Ms Patterson?

This chapter is a bit late because I didn't have any internet at all from Friday, but I'm back home now so I'll be updating pretty soon

I hoped you enjoyed the chapter, I'll update soon❤.

Bye bye little butterflies🦋.