Chapter 86 Chapter 86

Chapter 86 Chapter 86
Aria's Pov.

The restaurant overlooked the bowling lanes through floor-to-ceiling windows, the evening crowd spreading out beneath us in a blur of coloured lights and moving people. It felt quieter up here, the music softer, the crashing pins muffled enough to become part of the background instead of swallowing every conversation. 

We got a table by the window. Outside Paris moved past in its unhurried way, all lit windows and wet stones from the earlier drizzle.

We ordered food and drinks, alcoholic ones and Adrien knew the wine list better than I'd expected.

The food arrived a few minutes later, filling the table far too quickly for two people who’d sworn they weren’t that hungry.

Somewhere between stealing chips off each other’s plates and arguing over whether pineapple belonged anywhere near pizza, the conversation drifted from school to basketball, then somehow to the time Jules had tried to microwave foil because he thought it “would probably be fine.”

“Théo tried convincing Coach that stretching was a mindset.”

I blinked.

“You’re lying.”

Adrien laughed.

“Coach made him do twice as many laps.”

At some point, all the food was finished but neither of us moved to leave.

"Another glass?" Adrien said, tilting the bottle.

"Why not," 

The restaurant slowly emptied around us until only two other couples remained. Paris outside the window had gone properly dark.

"We should probably go," I said eventually.

"Yeah we should," he agreed.

The waiter returned with an apologetic smile and began clearing away our plates

Adrien frowned at the table as the waiter stacked another empty wine glass onto his tray.

“Hang on.”

He looked back at me.

“How many drinks have we actually had?”

I tried counting the empty glasses on the table but I was so tipsy, i couldn’t tell if it was three or four we had each.

I pointed vaguely at the glasses.

“One…”

“Two…”

“Three…”

I frowned.

“…Maybe four.”

Adrien groaned.

"You don't know?" I muttered.

"I genuinely don't."

"Three." I finally decided.

"...That explains a lot."

"It really does."

He rubbed a hand over his face before laughing at himself.

"I was wondering why everything suddenly seemed so funny."

We both laughed 



A few minutes later we stood, thanked the staff and walked towards the restaurant's entrance.

Adrien held the door open.

The instant it swung outward, cool air rushed inside.

Then came the sound.

Rain.

It crashed against the pavement in thick silver sheets, bouncing off parked cars and flooding the gutters within seconds.

I stopped dead.

"...Well."

Adrien stepped beside me.

"...That's unfortunate."

Lightning cracked across the sky, washing the street in white for a heartbeat before plunging everything back into rain and darkness.

I folded my arms.

"We need to run to the limo," 

Adrien looked out at the rain.

Then slowly, a grin spread across his face.

I immediately recognised that grin.

"...No."

"What?"

"I know that face."

"What face?"

"The face that gets us into trouble."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Adrien."

He looked back at the rain, then at me. 

"What if..." He continued. "What if we just ran all the way home."

I stared at him.

"Are you actually insane?"

His grin only grew wider.

"I think it'd be fun."

"Adrien, last time we ran in the rain we got into trouble and you got sick.” I said hoping he would change his mind.

He shrugged without a trace of regret.

“Worth it.”

"It absolutely wasn't."

He looked at the rain again, then back at me, his eyes sparkling with the same reckless excitement that always meant I was about to make a terrible decision.

"I bet I can beat you home."

I folded my arms tighter.

"You are unbelievable."

"And yet..."

He held out his hand toward me.

"...you're thinking about it."

Annoyingly he was right.

I sighed dramatically.

"I hate how persuasive you are."

His entire face lit up.

"That's not a no."

"It wasn't."

Adrien intertwined our fingers before gently tugging me towards the entrance.

The automatic doors slid open and cold air rushed over us immediately.

I sucked in a breath.

"Oh my God..."

The rain crashed against the pavement only a few feet away, bouncing off the stone steps in shimmering waves.

Adrien looked at me.

"Ready?" he asked quietly.

"No."

"Good enough."

Before I could protest, he squeezed my hand and took off.

I let out a startled laugh as he pulled me after him.

"Adrien!"

The rain hit us almost instantly.

Ice-cold water soaked through my hair in seconds, splattering across my face and shoulders. My trainers slipped slightly against the wet pavement before I found my footing again.

I squealed, half laughing, half gasping.

"It's freezing!"

"I know!"

We both dissolved into laughter as we sprinted through the rain, dodging puddles that neither of us actually managed to avoid.

Cars hissed past on the soaked road and water splashed around our ankles with every step.

Within moments my yellow tank top clung to my skin, my hair plastered to my neck, and I was laughing so hard I could barely breathe.

Adrien looked over at me mid-run.

His own hair had completely collapsed over his forehead, water dripping from the ends as he laughed with me.

"You look ridiculous!" I yelled laughing.

"So do you!" He snorted.

"You started this!"

"And you joined me!"

"I clearly wasn't thinking straight!"

"No," he agreed between breaths. "You definitely weren't!"

I shoved his shoulder as we ran.

Adrien exaggerated the stumble so dramatically that I burst into another fit of laughter.

By the time the gates of the Montclair estate came into view, neither of us had enough breath left to keep talking.

We were simply running.

Laughing.

Trying and failing to outrun the rain that had already soaked us completely.