Marinette raced out the door determined to make it to school on time (on a Monday nonetheless) for once. Maybe that'd make Adrien notice her. She raced across the street thankful that for once luck was on her side as the walk icon was green. She slowed to a walk as she went up the steps in a bid to avoid tripping. She made it inside the school and quickly walked to the classroom miraculously managing not to trip on her way up. Dieu. Just thinking about Adrien made her heart race and her needs even needier.

She wished for a hot second that she could detour over to the bathroom but alas, the bell was about to ring and so she calmed herself down as best as she could not letting her mind drift too far away. She took one last deep breath and walked into the classroom. She plastered a smile on her face hoping to cover up the thoughts she'd just been having and pointedly avoided looking at Adrien (a difficult feat as he had already arrived and was in the seat in front of her). She greeted her BFF, Alya and got a greeting in return. Nino (Alya's boyfriend after Animan) also gave Marinette a welcome. Which of course led to Adrien giving her a greeting as well. She quickly greeted them both barely stammering although blushing what she was sure was beet red.

She quickly sat down and Alya jabbed her in the ribs using a sharp elbow. "So are you gonna tell him today or are you chickening out again, girl?"

Marinette blushed and looked away, that was all Alya needed to know that Marinette was going to chicken out. Alya sighed, "You're going to tell him by Friday. No excuses, no chickening out. I'm going to make sure of that. You've been trying for years to do this Girl! I'm not holding you back and I'm not letting you chicken out anymore!"

Marinette mentally died, her schedule was so full, she had school Monday through Friday. Superhero duties and patrol as Ladybug whenever an akuma showed its ugly face. Her part-time job in her parent's bakery. Writing applications for various colleges (I don't know a thing about French schooling so American schooling here I go) and other part-time jobs and internship positions for fashion design companies like Gabriel (Adrien's father's company). In addition, balancing homework and taking care of herself... well... she was busy all the time, making time for friends barely happened (although they didn't know that).

Over the past few years (If we assume she's 14 in the show then she's around 18 in this fic) her massive crush on Adrien had only developed to be even larger and more painfully obvious to everyone but the cinnamon roll himself. She briefly thought of Luka whom she had dated for a few months back in high school when she was just starting, they didn't last very long because of her Ladybug duties and she was constantly making excuses to run off during akuma attacks and he tried to stop her from leaving in an attempt to keep her safe unknowingly endangering the city farther. So, in the end, she had broken up with him although they agreed to stay friends. She still harbored minor feelings for him but knew deep in her heart that it would never work out. Plus she'd also rather be with Adrien than pining for him while with another man.

Just then the bell rang signaling the start of the long school day. Miss Bustier walked into class and began calling attendance. Everyone replied "Present" as she called out their names. She then instructed them to take out their tablets and begin reading over the reading material for their French class. It was the same monotonous schedule every day, French, LA (Language Acquisition they were currently doing either English, Spanish, or German), History, Lunch, PE (or Study Hall), Science (of one type or another, depended on the teacher), and to end the day a bit of Math (Marinette's least favorite class). After school, there were also extracurricular activities such as arts classes and various clubs (including a book club). The activities varied depending on the day so Marinette could actually be part of several.

After Marinette stumbled through her school day which ended at 4:00 (the usual stuff happened, she worked in class while sneaking glances at Adrien, and made a fool of herself in front of him) she went back home to do her hour and a half shift at the bakery. After she did that, she had dinner with her parents (it finished at 6:30 and was spaghetti with a wonderful dessert of strawberry ice cream) and she went up to her room hoping she could have her homework done by 7:45 at the latest. She clawed her way through her Math, Science, and Language homework finishing at 7:50. She then grabbed her purse (with Tikki inside) and walked out the door leaving a hastily scribbled note saying she'd be back before 9:30 and not to worry, if she needed to be contacted she'd be at Alya's.

She hastily made her way over to the Césaire apartment and after being greeted at the door by Alya, both girls retreated to Alya's room. Alya showed Marinette her latest addition to the Ladyblog (which Marinette had already seen more times than she'd have liked). Then began the scheming. "So when are you gonna tell him, Mari? We've got to set a date or else you're gonna chicken out!"

Marinette sighs, "I'll tell him on Thursday, okay Alya?"

"Girl, this time you're not chickening out and I'll even help set you up with the perfect opportunity."

"Thanks, Alya, but I can do it! I know I can."

"Yeah, sure you will 'cause you're getting help from Nino and I on this one."

"What?! You've roped Nino into this too?!"

"Of course, who better to help you guys get together than your BFF's?"

"You are aware that this is going to miserably backfire because I can't say a coherent word around him?"

"Ahhhh! That's the genius part of this plan. We get a recording of you confessing to Adrien, except it won't actually be you confessing to Adrien so when you're all tongue tied we just have Adrien listen to the recording!"

"You're right! That is brilliant! Except for the fact that now that I know Adrien is going to hear it, I'm not going to be able to say anything if I know I'm being recorded!"

It's Alya's turn to sigh, "You talk about him so much to me over the phone that the last few conversations we've had about the topic I've recorded in preparation for this because I knew this was going to happen."

"Alya, you what!?"

"Yeah, you heard me, I recorded you rambling to me about how hot Adrien is without your knowledge during our last couple phone calls."

"ALYA!"

Alya bursts out laughing, "Maybe you should tell him 'Je t'aime' in a foreign language, like Danish, 'Jeg elsker dig', Spanish, 'Te amo', English 'I love you', or another language."

"Huh, you might be onto something with this foreign language thing! I suppose I could try to tell him tomorrow... in a foreign language and if that doesn't work then I guess I'm suffering your plan on Thursday."

"That's the spirit, Girl! Now, don't you need to be getting home?"

Marinette glances at the clock it reads 9:20. "Oh heck, you're right! See you at school tomorrow!"

Alya chuckles once more. "See you then! Remember, don't chicken out!"

As Marinette races out of the apartment she calls back to Alya, "I won't!"

And this is where I leave you, hope to see you next week for the next chapter... although this isn't much of a cliffhanger it seemed a reasonable point at which to leave the story. I'm sorry for my crazy writing style, I can't wait to continue it and I love you guys. Reviews, follows, and favorites are always appreciated, see you next time, frustration