WHO Alya Cesaire and Adrien Agreste.
WHAT. Partner Thread; Persuading Adrien.
WHEN. Backdated; May 27.
WHERE. Alya’s house.
WARNINGS. None.
STATUS. COMPLETE.
“Come on,” Alya practically whined. “You know you really want to do this.” Okay...so maybe it was Alya who really wanted Adrien to do this but still. She nudged the tablet closer and closer to him,
Alya could be a little pushy about things, especially when she thought she was right. She thought Adrien needed to join the world that she was all about. If she wasn’t blogging or streaming then she was asleep or taking care of her monsters siblings.
She moved over to the fridge and grabbed two drinks from the fridge before sliding back to her chair with an eager grin.
***
“No I don’t. I don’t want to turn into one of those people that just...stare at screens all day when they’re not in class or at work.” Adrien said, trying to argue with her still even though he knew that she wouldn’t take no for an answer. She was just going to keep pushing until she wore down his resistance. And by this point he wasn’t entirely sure that he wasn’t resisting just to annoy her.
***
Alya wanted Adrien to join the network because she thought he could benefit from making some friends. She knew the demands placed on him by his father between school and modeling. He didn’t get much time for fun or friends, other than made up projects and studying, but maybe using the network he could.
“I’m honestly surprised your father hasn’t been the one to make you do it.” His father never seemed to miss a beat when it came to opportunities.
***
Adrien ran his hand back through his hair, messing it up slightly with the nervous gesture as he looked away. “Well...Nathalie and he don’t exactly know that there’s an Orange County social media platform. I’ve kept them from finding out about it.” He said somewhat awkwardly. He wasn’t very good at keeping things hidden but some instinct had kept his mouth shut when it came to the Network.
***
“Probably for the best,” Alya agreed with him. She was pretty sure his father knowing anything about Orange County would have him finding some reason to go home. Or elsewhere. And she did not want to see Adrien go anywhere.
“We already know I am going to win this. Just give in and sign up.” It was true. She knew she would eventually wear him down. Alya Cesaire could be incredibly, annoyingly persistent when she set her mind to it.
*******
“We know you think you’re going to win this. I might surprise you though. Maybe this will be the time I resist your peer pressure,” Adrien teased, sipping at his drink. He knew in reality keeping the Network secret from the adults in his life had been more about keeping the option of something that was just for himself available.
****
“I don’t think anyone can resist my powers of persuasion.”
Some might call Alya pushy but she? She liked to call it being persuasive. It’s not that she thinks she knows better. Alya just thinks Adrien would like being on the network.
“What downsides are there to giving in?”
****
"Have I ever really tried though?" Adrien asked, leaning back in his chair and looking at her.
He got serious at her question though. "People trying to take advantage of my relationship to the brand, my celebrity status, me as myself. Only instead of it being to my face like at school it'll be online. There's also Nathalie finding out and telling Father and them deciding to hire someone to take over running it for me and then I lose what little freedom on my computer I have after being deemed 'untrustworthy'. Then we have how much of my free time is this going to eat into?" He knew she'd have no trouble countering his arguments. He was hoping for her too deep down.
****
Alya smirked at Adrien’s words. “Because it’s impossible to do,” she teased.
“There’s always going to be negatives, Adrien.” Which was a hundred percent true. And he listed a lot of them. “But there are positives. More friends. Networking. Stay up to date on things,” Alya added. “For every negative I’m sure we could argue a positive. Sometimes you just gotta do it.”
****
Adrien sighed as he reached for the tablet. "If this backfires I'm blaming you. Just so we're clear."