Alya didn't mean to snoop. Promise. She just so happened to be crossing the street, Sunday morning, when she saw Chat Noir jump into one of the alleys. It was a near enough alley. Plus, she would never miss an opportunity to get an interview with one of Paris' superheroes.

She was going to call his name as she poked her head in.

What neither of them had been expecting was for her to do that just as he was dropping his transformation.

And in his place, Adrien Agreste stood – staring at her like a deer caught in headlights.

For what seemed like a full minute, Alya just stood there.

Then, just as everything sunk in, and she opened her mouth to scream in shock, Adrien leapt to her with speed and sleekness that she didn't know he possessed, and covered her mouth.

"Alya," he whispered, tone urgent. "Please, please, please calm down."

"Adri-hmmph h-"

He removed his hands from her mouth, eyebrows knit into anxious knots.

It was silent for awhile as she readjusted her face from the impact of his hand. Then she stared at him and pointed her finger.

"You're Chat Noir?" she whispered, sharply.

Adrien lifted a finger up, opened his mouth as his brain tried to come up with an excuse, and then gave up. "Yes," he grumbled, shoulders slumping. No point in trying to cover up for it now. Denying it at that point would be stupid.

"Omigod, I can't believe –"

"Alya!" he hissed. "Secret identity, remember?"

"O-oh right," she said, but the grin was huge in her face. "Don't worry, you can trust me. I totally understand the importance of secret identities."

She was Rena Rouge, after all, but he didn't need to know that.

Later, the two of them were sitting at a secluded seat in one of the nearby cafes. Adrien was actually glad that she insisted to take him out, just so that he could still keep an eye on her.

In a way, he knew that he was only prolonging the agony. Sooner or later, he needed to let her go and trust that she wouldn't spill his secret. But he wasn't confident enough yet. He was going to hold on to her for as long as he could.

He was stirring his cold coffee in silence – eyes darting to her in anxiety every once in awhile.

And Alya – curious as she was – wasn't going to just sit there and watch her friend pitifully stare at her like a nervous wreck.

"I meant it when I said that you could trust me," she stated, taking a sip of her own coffee. "As a journalist, I understand the importance of some things being better left unsaid. And as one of your biggest fans, I know how important this secret is to securing your safety and privacy. You don't need to worry about me slipping up."

A small smile found its way to his face. "Thanks, Alya,"

And then she leaned forward, a sly smile wiggling its way into her face. "Still, there are some things that I'd love to know."

He seemed to be a bit calmer now. He chuckled, and leaned back. "If only to satisfy your curiosity, sure. Just make sure not to post any of these on the Ladyblog,"

"You have my word," she said. "Do you know who Ladybug is?"

Adrien stopped stirring his drink, and leaned his cheek onto his hand. "No..."

She felt a tinge of bitterness in his tone. And with a jolt, Alya realized something. She gulped. "You...are in-love with Ladybug, aren't you?"

The smallest of smiles found its way to his face. "Very."

That was when her life started to get complicated. It was as if asking the question has opened up a lid, and Adrien was gushing about the red-clad superhero in a way that Alya thought only Marinette was capable of when it came to him.

She realized that just like how Marinette had pictures of Adrien all over her room, Adrien had pictures of Ladybug all over his phone.

It broke Alya's heart – seeing the boy that her best friend was in-love with gush about another girl. It also broke her heart, knowing that she was actually a big advocate of Paris' heroes getting together!

That evening, she deleted the articles in her blog that had anything to do about the romance between Ladybug and Chat Noir, if only to calm the guilt she felt for wanting Ladybug to end up with Chat Noir harder than she wanted Marinette to end up with Adrien.

That evening, she also raced to Marinette's house – face somber while she held up a tub of ice cream.

"What's up?" Marinette asked, raising her brows.

"I just thought that you needed a friend."

Marinette stared, and then said, "O...kay?"

She let Alya in, and they watched a lame movie. Then, Marinette gushed about how handsome, cool and lovely Adrien was.

Alya wanted to cry.

The next day, Adrien walked up to Alya's desk. Marinette, who was sitting beside Alya, almost fell off her seat.

"I noticed that you deleted some articles from your blog?"

She crossed her arms. "Yes, I did."

He looked disappointed. "Why...?"

Alya could feel Marinette staring at the boy. She could almost see the lovesick grin on her face.

Oh god, she was going to be devastated if she found out that the boy of her dreams was in love with the Hero of Paris, and actually had a big, fat chance with her.

"Nothing, it's just..." he sighed. "I'm a fan."

"Of Ladybug?" Marinette suddenly blurted. Alya turned around so quickly, as if giving Marinette a look would take back the damage.

"Yeah," Adrien replied, "She's so kind, selfless and beautiful."

Marinette's face suddenly became very red, for some odd reason. "Y-you really think so?"

"Yeah," he said. "Chat Noir is really lucky to have her for a partner."

"Ladybug is also really lucky to have Chat Noir for a partner," she stated, causing Alya to raise her brows and turn to Adrien to see his reaction. He was staring at the girl in wonder.

"You think so?"

"Of course," she replied. "He's a big dork, and he can be a bit over-the-top with his puns, but he's always got her back. She's really lucky."

There was a smile in Adrien's face. "Thanks, Marinette!"

The girl seemed to melt into her seat, too taken by his smile to notice to the fact that Adrien thanking her practically screamed, "I am Chat Noir!"

But Marinette was too oblivious. And Adrien was too unaware to notice his mistake. They were such lovesick idiots – both of them.

But with the way things were going, Marinette was going to get seriously hurt. She didn't know what she triggered when she talked about Ladybug. She was too over the moon – it pained Alya to see her like that.

For lunch time, she treated Marinette to a chocolate sundae.

"You've been treating me to a lot of sweets lately," Marinette said.

"You deserve it," Alya replied.

Marinette raised her brows, but shrugged. She sure as hell wasn't about to complain.

Marinette was sleeping over at Alya's, when they heard a large explosion a few streets away from the house. All over the news, it was confirmed to be another akuma attack.

It was so frustrating because just as they were about to hide out in the basement, Marinette decided to take the longest shower ever. And although she insisted they go on ahead to hide, Alya wasn't about to leave her best friend all alone. At first, she sounded really exasperated from the bathroom as she kept on telling Alya to just go ahead. Eventually, she completely stopped responding.

Then, just as she was about to break the door, Ladybug suddenly popped up from the window and asked her why she was standing so close to the window, in plain sight of the akuma. It was dangerous.

After Alya proceeded to tell her that her friend was in the bathroom, the superhero insisted that she would take over, and that she should hide out in the basement with the rest of her family. "And don't follow us around for your blog. Things are much too dangerous right now," she added, with the confident and dazzling aura that only Ladybug could seem to radiate.

Alya let out a sigh "Okay, thanks Ladybug," and ran for the door. Then, she paused. "I'm sorry. I know that this is not the time to ask," she said, turning around. "but I really need to know. What do you think of Chat Noir?"

Ladybug raised her brows at the question. Then, she smiled. Gently.

"Chat Noir is my partner. I trust him with my life."

Alya looked down. "Oh..." she opened the door. "Thanks for telling me."

After the attack, Alya ran right up to her bedroom's bathroom to check on Marinette, but the girl still wasn't answering.

Just as she was about to call out her name, she heard a knock from her window. Which was on the second floor of their two-story house. With no balcony for anyone to stand on. For awhile, she thought that maybe it was just a bird.

But there was another round of knocking, and Alya decided that it was too accurate and consistent to be a bird. She opened the window,

and saw Chat Noir perched on her windowsill like some kind of goddamn alley cat. She stared, and then gave up. "What are you doing?"

"Sorry for bothering you, Alya, but I need some advice, and you're the only one I could ask."

Alya turned to the bathroom door, then back to him. "Okay, but you'd better hurry up. Marinette might leave the bathroom and see you."

His eyes brightened up at the mention of her name. "Marinette's here?"

"Yes, she decided to take a shower during an akuma attack. Can you believe that?"

He chuckled, and continued to look fondly at the bathroom door. "Weird. I always use that as an excuse when I need to transform. I never realized that some people actually did it. Anyway, in that case, I'll stay out here. And if she sees me, you can tell her that I just wanted to check up on you. I saw Ladybug come here earlier."

Alya pursed her lips, remembering what Ladybug told her about Chat Noir. "What did you want to ask me?"

He looked a bit sheepish. "You know how I'm always flirting with Ladybug?"

It took everything for Alya not to look back at the bathroom, a sad look in her eyes. "Yes, everyone knows about that."

"So I invited her to a rooftop dinner tomorrow. I didn't expect her to say yes, considering what happened last time and..." he paused, and then looked at her. "Well, long story short, she said yes. And now I have the whole thing planned out. I will set up candles around the rooftop, and a little picnic table. Then, I will prepare some food. But that's the thing, Alya. How can I prepare food? I don't know how to cook! What if I make something, and she hates it? Then she'll regret ever coming to dinner, and she'll dump me on the spot, then she'll file for a restraining order against me, then I will never see her again, and –"

"Whoa," Alya chuckled, astonishment evident in her face. This was just like talking to Marinette. Well, who would've thought? "First of all, Ladybug loves you. She would never file a restraining order against you, especially for something like that."

Chat smiled sheepishly back at her.

"Besides," Alya gulped. She clenched her fists, feeling like she was about to betray Marinette. But Adrien was also her friend. And Adrien also needed her help. She needed to be honest – for both of them.

And when the time came for Marinette to become heartbroken over this, she was going to do everything in her power to be there for her.

"There's a reason that girls flock to you, Adrien. You're an amazing guy, and I'm sure that Ladybug will see it. It's only a matter of time."

He paused, swaying his weight from one foot to the other. Then he looked at her, green eyes bright. "Thanks, Alya. That means a lot." Then he asked, causing Alya to cringe, "Do you think Marinette could help me cook for my date?"

"Absolutely not!" she cried, causing Chat Noir to flinch. "W-what I mean is...we've already got plans. I'm gonna...take her out to see a movie. Then we're gonna eat ice cream."

A lot of ice cream. Then they would watch a lot of comedy.

Yup. Sounds like a good plan.

"Okay then," he said, sounding a bit unsure. Then he sent her a salute as he extended his baton. "Thanks for this, Alya."

And he was off.

Slowly, ever so slowly, the bathroom door opened. In peeped Marinette – face a deep shade of red, for some odd reason. Was she okay?

"Was that Chat Noir?" she asked, voice soft.

"Yeah," Alya replied. "He was checking up on me. Ladybug came over earlier to ask why I was standing next to the window. I guess he was a bit concerned."

"I see," she mumbled. "He's so thoughtful."

Alya raised her brows. Marinette squeaked, and then covered her mouth. "I mean, of course he's thoughtful. He's gotta be! He's a superhero, after all."

Alya just kept on giving her a look, before asking, "Are you free tomorrow evening?"

Marinette was suddenly very rigid and bright red. "W-what? Tomorrow? What's going on tomorrow evening? Is there something –"

"Wanna watch movies over a tub of ice cream?"

Marinette gave her a look. "You've been doing that a lot for me lately."

"I've just been in the mood to give you all the love you deserve."

Marinette wasn't convinced. She kept on fixing Alya with a strange look, until finally she replied, "I need to help my parents with the bakery tomorrow evening. I'll be busy."

"O-okay then. Just make sure to call me if anything happens, okay? I'll always be here for you."

She stared, beginning to look suspicious. "Okay..."

The next day at school, Adrien walked in with a bright and chirpy look on his face. He was obviously very excited about the date.

And Marinette stared at him, eyes full of love. "Adrien..." she slurred, like an idiot.

Later during break time, Alya gave Nino an exasperated hug and cried into his arms. "Alya, what's wrong?"

"He's such an idiot!" she wept. "And he's going to break her heart!"

"Who is?"

"I can't tell you."

"Why?"

"Because it's a Ladyblog secret."

"I'm confused."

"You don't have to understand anything. Just hug me,"

And he did.

At the evening of their date, Alya sent Marinette a text, basically telling her how loved she is by the people in her life.

She didn't reply until it was a little past midnight.

I don't know what's gotten into you, Alya, but I really appreciate this. Thank you!

The next day at school, there was a bounce in Adrien's step as he walked into class.

"I'm guessing that it went well?" Alya whispered, leaning over to his seat. He smiled at her.

"It did. She loved what I cooked. Our chef helped me, of course. But she loved it, and she said yes when I asked her out again."

Marinette came in, not too long after that.

There was a glimmer in her eye, and she was humming a soft, cheerful tune under her breath. "Morning," she chirped.

Alya raised her brows. "Someone's awfully cheerful today," she said as her best friend scooted to her side.

"I guess so," she smiled. "Dinner was great."

For the rest of the day, both Adrien and Marinette had dopey, lovesick smiles on their faces that nothing could seem to wipe off.

Alya knew what Adrien's was about. As for Marinette, she had no clue. She decided to ask her best friend about it after class.

They were in Marinette's living room, watching the comedy Alya wanted to watch with her the night of Ladybug and Chat Noir's date, when she decided to ask, "What's gotten into you?"

"What do you mean?"

"You've been smiling all day."

Marinette dropped the remote off on the table and, for the first time since that morning, then turned to Alya with a more serious and guilty look on her face. "Actually...I wanted to ask you about something."

Alya shifted into a more comfortable position as she prepared herself for the conversation.

"There's this...boy."

Alya straightened her back. "A boy?"

"Yes. Well, lately I've been thinking about him almost as much as I've been thinking about Adrien. Which is really weird. But recently I was wondering if I might actually have a crush on him too. And if I do, wouldn't that be bad? I can't like two guys at the same time!"

Alya mostly felt relieved. What great timing. This would surely soften the blow when Marinette found out that Adrien was in-love with someone else. Her best friend was going to be alright. She leaned back, and smiled.

"It's perfectly okay, Marinette. I mean, Adrien is great but it's not like you guys are official."

A strange look crossed Marinette's face, and Alya was sure that it was strange of her to be so quick to encourage her best friend to move on from said boy after supporting them for so long. "Who is the other boy?" she asked.

Marinette suddenly looked shy. "Um...you're gonna laugh and tell me that it's just a celebrity crush." She shifted in her seat and wrapped the blanket tight around herself. "It's Chat Noir."

Alya turned back to the TV, and silently handed Marinette a bag of chocolate chip cookies. "Alya, why are you..."

"You can have it," she croaked. "I suddenly lost me appetite."

After getting back home, Alya gave Nino a call.

When he picked up with a very groggy, tired voice, she realized that it was actually already one in the morning. "Hey, babe. What's up?"

"Sorry about calling you so late, Nino," she started. "Lately, I've just been feeling really...guilty."

She heard shuffling from the other end, as if he was sitting up from his bed. "What happened?"

"Well...what if you find out that the person that your friend is crushing on is already interested in someone else?"

Another shuffle, and a sigh. "Are we talking about Marinette and Adrien?"

She paused. "Um...no?"

"Well, I'm honestly not really sure what to do, Alya. You've always been better at stuff like that."

Alya chuckled a bit at that. "It's just that...my friend doesn't know, and she's still so hopeful. But I can't tell her about it. It's not my secret to tell."

"You're an amazing person, and a remarkable friend," he told her. "But you can't always save your friend from getting hurt if the dude really isn't into her. She'll find out soon enough, and sometimes, maybe being there for them when they're in pain is the best thing we can do."

Alya sighed. "I love you."

"I love you too." Then he paused. "But seriously, are we talking about Marinette and Adrien? Because Adrien never told me that he was interested in anyone."

Alya suddenly heard a knock on her window, and almost screamed when she saw a pair of bright, green eyes peering at her from outside.

"Adrien?"

"What?" Nino asked. "Alya, are you okay? What happened?"

"Nothing. I just saw a stray cat pass by. I'll see you tomorrow, babe," she smiled. "Thank you. And good night."

"Good night, Alya."

And they both hung up.

Alya stormed over to her window and opened it.

"Adrien, it's one a.m.," she hissed. "What are you doing here?"

"I couldn't sleep," Chat shrugged. "I was doing patrol around the city. It's my turn today. I passed by your place, and saw from the window that you were still up. Sorry, we could talk tomorrow if you want."

Alya sighed. "You can talk to me. What's up?"

"It's about Ladybug," Chat sighed.

"Why the long face? I thought that your date went well." She scooted away from the window so he could sit properly on the sill.

"It went well. But we also talked about...something."

"Which is... ?"

"The boy that she told me she was in-love with," he sighed. "I'm sure you've heard about it. You were there when she mentioned it after...Oblivio."

His voice had turned into a soft squeak at the mention of Oblivio, even though it's been years. The kiss obviously still flustered him.

"I remember," she said. She remembered mentioning that in her blog. However, she didn't dwell on it too much because she was so blinded by their kiss.

"Well, she told me that she wasn't sure if she could let go of her feelings for him. Don't get me wrong, we had a great time, but she's still really torn. Alya, I've been thinking...if Ladybug is still in-love with this boy after all these years I've been trying to pursue her, then could it be that all of my efforts are for naught?" he sighed. "I know nothing about her relationship with this boy. I don't know what he's like."

For awhile Alya stared, wondering how she ended up becoming Chat Noir's love guru. She supposed that it wasn't that strange. She's had a lot of practice with Marinette.

They were both so similar, with how loyal and dedicated they were to the person they pined for.

She sighed, and held him gently at the shoulders. "Listen," she breathed. "You've got a second date, don't you?"

He looked up at her, eyes hopeful. "Yes."

"Then none of it could've been for naught."

Around three days later, Marinette called Alya at around five in the afternoon.

Alya expected Marinette to ask about the physics homework. She was having a difficult time with it during class, after all.

She did not expect sobbing on the other line.

"Marinette?" Alya gaped. "Are you okay?"

"I need a friend," she wept. "And ice cream. Lots of ice cream."

Alya's brows creased, and she went over to her closet and grabbed her coat. "I'm on my way."

"You really don't have to come here." She sniffed, sounding incredibly pitiful. "Tomorrow's a weekday."

"So let me sleep over so I don't need to walk home late?"

Marinette paused, the only sounds from the other line being that of her sniffling and sobs. "Okay."

Alya got to Marinette's place about fifteen minutes later, holding up a box of ice cream. Her parents looked like they'd been expecting her.

"She's upstairs," Sabine whispered. Alya nodded, thanked them, and made her way to her best friend's room.

And she looked sad, curled up in her couch under layers of blankets. Alya sank to her knees beside her, and slowly nudged her at the shoulders.

"Hey, girl," she breathed, gently. "What happened?"

"Adrien's going on a date tomorrow evening."

A sad looked crossed Alya's eyes. She knew about Chat's date with Ladybug. She didn't know that it would be tomorrow evening.

"How did you find out about it?"

"He came over and pre-ordered a box of red velvet macaroons to surprise her with. Alya, he looked so in-love. He said that those were her favorite." A round of sobs rocked her body. "They're my favorite too! I want those macaroons."

"Oh," Alya cooed, pulling her into a hug. "Want to go out tomorrow? We can go bowling. Or biking. Whatever you want."

"I-I can't..." she cried. "I have...something."

She raised her brows.

"G-gotta help my parents with the bakery."

"I'm sure they'll understand if you don't –"

"No," she said. Alya noticed that her voice had gone a little hoarse from crying. "I want to help them with the bakery."

Alya sighed. "If you say so."

The next day, just as expected, Marinette called Alya at six in the evening.

"Adrien came in today to pick up the macaroons," she blubbered into the phone. "He's on his way to prepare for the date right now! He told me how he was gonna do it. He made braised chicken! And they're gonna drink it with wine under the stars, after which he was going to surprise her with the macaroons – which I made!"

Alya winced. "You didn't poison it, did you?" she asked, trying to sound joking.

"No, but it was most definitely not made with love." she cried, dramatically. "What will become of our big house, and the three kids? They will never come to be, and I will forever live in loneliness with my hamster named Solitude."

Alya could already imagine Marinette crying the whole time she was baking the sweets.

"Did you at least wear a face mask?"

"Yes, and gloves. And a hairnet. My parents insisted since I kept on crying."

Alya let out a sigh of relief. If her parents were watching over her, then the macaroons were definitely safe enough for Paris' heroine to eat.

"Alya, he looked so good, and he smelled so nice, and he looked so excited. It's horrible! This is all so horrible!" she blubbered.

"Are you sure you don't want me to go there?"

"No," she sobbed. Alya could hear her rummaging around her drawer for something. Then a clatter, and the pop of a small box. She sounded like a mess. "I'm going somewhere."

"I thought you were helping your parents with the bakery."

Marinette paused. "I'm going out to run errands for them as I help with the bakery."

Alya felt dread begin to creep in. "I hope you're not going to follow him to his date."

Marinette choked, and then cried, "What?" she seemed to be readjusting her phone as she continued, "I'm not that big of a creep. I'm actually going...oh god, I look terrible."

"Huh?"

"I mean, I've got snot running all over my face, and my eyes are puffy, and my hair is a mess, and I'm all sweaty. I can't go out like this! Maybe I shouldn't go."

"Marinette, where are you going?"

"Out to...uh...pick up some flour for the bakery!"

"You don't need to look your best for that."

"You're right."

"Are you sure that you're going to be okay?"

She could hear Marinette blowing her nose from the distance. Then, in a hoarse voice, "I-I'll be fine, Alya."

She still sounded like she'd been crying.

Alya took a breath. She knew that it wouldn't be such a good idea to bring up the celebrity crush, but she wanted to bring the topic away from Adrien's date. Since Marinette didn't know any better, she wouldn't think that they were related at all.

So Alya said, "Girl, that's good. Because what would Chat Noir say if he were to, say, save you and you didn't look your cutest?"

Marinette snorted, which was a good sign "That's not gonna make a difference."

"Because you're still cute even if you don't look your cutest?"

"Because I'm sure he'd be too busy trying to come up with some dorky pun to notice whether or not I looked cute while he was saving me."

Alya laughed. Knowing what she'd seen so far, Marinette was right. "That's so on-point. If I didn't know any better, I'd actually think that you knew him personally. So tell me, have you been talking to him? Is that how you developed your crush?"

"As if!" Marinette chuckled. "There are plenty enough videos of him going around. Besides, Chat Noir only has eyes for Ladybug. Totally out of my League. It's really fun to crush from afar, though."

Alya smiled. "A few days ago, I thought that you were serious about him."

"It's a serious celebrity crush, alright," she said, voice going soft for some odd reason.

"Just a celebrity crush then?"

Marinette didn't say anything for awhile. But when she spoke, her tone was different. "Alya, I've got to go."

"What?" she said, raising her brows. "Okay then. Call me if you ever need anything?"

"Sure," she replied. Marinette's voice was still hoarse from crying, but Alya could detect the smallest hint of a smile in the way that she said that. "Thank you."

For the rest of the evening, Alya made it a point to keep on checking up on Marinette. Just like the time of Adrien's first rooftop date with Ladybug, she didn't reply until it was past midnight.

However, unlike the time of the first date, Marinette's text was less chirpy and more ambiguous.

Sorry for not responding earlier. It's been a pretty strange evening. But I'm okay.

Alya asked about what happened, and even tried to call.

Marinette neither responded nor picked up.

The next day at school, Alya was surprised to see her best friend already in her seat. She didn't look devastated, like she'd thought she would. She kind of just stared into the window across their classroom – a thoughtful look on her face.

In fact, she looked so preoccupied with her thoughts that she never noticed Alya coming in and settling in her seat beside her.

She almost jumped when she tapped her on the shoulder.

"Alya!" she cried.

"Marinette," she smiled, brows raised. "What's on your mind?"

In an instant, she had her hands all over the air as she tried to collect her thoughts and think of a story – like she always did when she was rattled. The result was, nothing she said made sense.

Until Adrien walked in.

Then Marinette froze, and her breath seemed to hitch. Nothing different from how she normally reacted when she saw him, except this time there was a calm smile on her face.

And Adrien actually turned his head to her the very second he walked into the room.

And now that Alya thought about it, weren't they both unusually early?

"Hey, Marinette," he beamed, walking over to her table. There was a look on his face that Alya never saw on him before. A kind of cocky, lopsided smirk. And she knew that Chat Noir could pull that off, but it was a little strange to see it on Adrien. She wasn't sure why he was pulling it now, of all days. And in front of Marinette too!

Greeting her in the morning and then smiling at her like that wasn't going to make it easier for her best friend to get over him. She wanted to smack him at the head, especially when she heard Marinette giggle and say, "Good morning, Adrien."

"And good morning to you guys too," Alya butted in, officially confused. "What's going on? Did I miss something?"

That seemed to pull them out of their reverie. Adrien turned to her with his brightest smile.

And wasn't he standing unusually close to Marinette?

Marinette looked like she was about to melt in her seat, which was only to be expected.

But considering the fact that he was Chat Noir and was in-love with Ladybug – and therefore, would probably never ever see Marinette in any romantic way – that was bad.

Very bad.

"Nothing," he said, before walking to his place.

She thought that that would be it for the morning's weirdness, until he turned back to the pair of them the second he got to his seat and actually leaned up so his elbows were resting on Marinette's table and he was kneeling up on his seat.

With the strangely clingy behavior and cat-like movements, it was suddenly very easy for Alya to recognize Chat in Adrien.

"Were you able to do today's homework?" he asked.

"Yes, were you?"

"Yes. You told me that you found it difficult though. Need any help?"

Marinette sent him a sly smile. Which was weird.

"I've got this."

"Really?"

She bopped him at the nose, causing Alya's jaw to drop. "Really."

Nino and the rest of the class came pouring in a few seconds later. He was a bit surprised to see that Adrien actually managed to make it on time that day considering his absences and tidiness that week due to akumas.

Her boyfriend's presence seemed to drive Adrien's attention away from the back.

And with the classroom's usual buzz, Alya turned to Marinette.

"What's up with you and Adrien suddenly being so chummy?"

Marinette paused.

"You do realize that he just came from a date, right? You were crying about it yesterday."

"Um...he told me not to worry about that."

Alya froze. And then, "What?" She pinched the bridge of her nose. "When did he say that?"

"Uh...last night. We chatted a bit."

"Last night was his date."

"Yeah, um...he said that it didn't...work out?"

"So he started talking to you out of nowhere?"

"No, um...I started talking to him. I asked him about the macaroons. I was genuinely curious!"

"And he told you that the date didn't work out?"

"Uh...yeah. And I guess we ended up having a good conversation. So we've been getting really close."

Alya raised her brows, and then turned to Adrien.

Did his date really not work out? If so, she needed to talk to him. Knowing the boy, it probably bothered him to no end even if he didn't show it.

And because the boy was so oblivious to Marinette's affections, her checking up on him probably made him see an opportunity to talk to a friend. Either way, the hopeful, lovesick grin on Marinette's face told her that she misunderstood his vulnerability and saw it as an opening. Maybe she even saw it as him liking her back. And she probably jumped to conclusions.

Like she always did.

The crush was back one-hundred percent. And she was going to get seriously hurt.

"He's really so cute. I think I'll tell him that."

Alya gulped. "Don't you think that you need to give him some time to get over this girl?"

"I'm sure it wasn't that big of a deal. He'll be fine," she grinned.

Alya began to panic. "No, Marinette. I know that you should give him some time to get over this girl."

"Adrien," she slurred, lovingly staring at him from the back. And it was then that Alya knew – she had lost her.

As if on cue, Adrien turned to Marinette for no freaking reason with a soft, gentle smile.

A soft, gentle smile, which to Alya translated to, Oh god, I love Marinette so much because she is such a good friend. I am such an idiot. I'm gonna keep leading her on and later destroy her heart without even realizing it.

"No!" Alya cried, slamming Marinette's arm down before she could wave it at him. Then she turned to Adrien. "We need to talk."

"Miss Cesaire, is there something you'd like to tell us?"

With the commotion in her mind, Alya never noticed that the teacher already walked in and was in the middle of a discussion. She sort of just sat there, mouth gaping.

Until Adrien stood up.

"U...um...yeah. Your shoes don't match your outfit."

And thus, the both of them were thrown out of class.

Alya continued to pinch the bridge of her nose on their way to the principal's office. "You're Chat Noir, and that's your attempt at offending someone?"

"Hey, it worked, didn't it?" Adrien grinned. Still, she had to hand it to him. She didn't think that Adrien was the type to purposely get himself thrown out of class. However, with the amount of times that he used the bathroom as an excuse to get out, it was beginning to look suspicious.

He's been opening himself up to new excuses to leave class. Getting sent to the principal's office was new, but they knew that his father wouldn't be called if he didn't do it often enough.

Besides, kids got thrown to the principal's office plenty of times. Adrien's excellent records and performance in class was large in comparison to a few blunders.

They rounded a corner, and it was then that he asked, "What did you want to talk about?"

Alya suddenly looked very serious as they stood before Principal Damocles' office. She turned to him, eyes growing soft. "How did your date go?"

"Oh, it went great," he beamed. There was a glint in his eye as he looked at her. "Ladybug and I are dating now."

Alya found her mouth hanging. Just before she could say anything else, however, Adrien turned the knob and walked into the room.

She couldn't bring herself to pay any attention as the principal lecture them about respect. She was too confused. She'd been meaning to ask Adrien to clarify once they were allowed to leave the office, but they found out that it was break time by the time that they got out.

The second that they left the door, Chloe was all over him.

Nino and Marinette followed to check up on their best friends, and the way that the girl looked at Adrien with such fondness made Alya want to scream.

Because it was so obvious!

The both of them had clearly misunderstood everything.

Adrien clung unto Marinette, obviously thinking that he'd gained a new best friend, and Marinette smiled and giggled thinking that something was blooming between them.

It was wrong!

They got it all wrong!

By the time that they got to the cafeteria, Alya just wanted to slam her head against the table.

"Babe, are you okay?" Nino asked, setting his tray beside her.

"No," she grumbled. "My best friends are idiots."

"What happened?"

She paused, wondering how she could tell him a few details without revealing who they were and what she knew about Adrien's secret identity. She settled with, "They've misunderstood everything."

"What did they misunderstand?"

"Well, one of them clearly thinks that the other is interested when he isn't."

"Why would you think that Adrien isn't interested in Marinette?"

"He's already dating – wait, I never said that it was Adrien and Marinette."

"Okay. I believe you." He nodded, and took a sip of his juice. "Go on."

"My friend is obviously not interested because he's already dating another girl."

"Wait, Adrien's dating someone?"

"We're not talking about Adrien and Marinette," Alya groaned.

He furrowed his brows, for once looking like he'd finally been convinced. "You're right. I'm sure we'd both know if he was actually dating someone, right?"

Alya chuckled nervously, and took a sip of her juice.

In the silence that followed, she noticed the empty seats in front of her. She almost choked.

"Where are Adrien and Marinette?"

"Probably in the school garden. Marinette said she needed to talk to Adrien about something.

Alya choked. "What?"

Nino suddenly looked very alarmed. "What's wrong?"

She began to panic. This could only mean one thing. Fuelled by hope, Marinette was going to finally confess her feelings to Adrien.

Meaning she needed to be there for her when he rejected her.

She stood up from her seat so quickly that the things on the table seemed to clatter.

"Alya?" Nino spluttered as she dashed off. "Alya!" He called again, running after her. The zipped past the other students, and ran to that little corner alley in the school garden where she knew Marinette always went to sulk when she was troubled.

Upon getting there, she expected Marinette to be crying while Adrien stood with a guilty look on his face. If not, maybe she was still stumbling over her words – trying to get her confession out.

She did not expect to see Marinette and Adrien locking lips.

It made her mouth run dry.

She could hear Nino gasping from behind her. She turned around, and saw that he had a large smile on his face. But he did not know anything. Alya's hands were shaky as she stormed towards the both of them.

"Adrien, what do you think you're doing?" she cried, voice trembling. "How could you do this?"

Adrien froze, pulling away from Marinette. "Alya, this isn't what it looks like."

Marinette flinched, brows a confused knit. "What is that supposed to mean?" She turned to Alya – who looked hurt, at Adrien – who looked like a guilty deer caught in headlights, and then at Nino.

Nino looked just as confused as her. He obviously didn't know what was going on either. However, there was a look of recognition in his eyes when he saw tears beginning to brim his girlfriend's eyes.

"Alya..." he started, suddenly looking weak in the knees. "Are you and Adrien...actually together?"

Marinette looked absolutely confused, but shock was beginning to form in her face when neither Adrien nor Alya said anything to debunk what Nino had suspected.

But then Adrien started coughing in astonishment, and Alya stared at Nino as if he'd grown a second head.

"What?" Adrien spluttered. "That's...no! No! Absolutely not! I would never try to hurt you," he looked at Marinette.

The fire was back in Alya's eyes as she stared at him in indignation. "Really?"

Adrien suddenly looked horrified. He backed away from her, and Nino just stood there, confused. "But you just told me that you're dating someone else right now, you two-timing jerk." she grumbled. "You lied to Marinette. Does she even know about Marinette?"

"What?" Marinette cried. Adrien looked back at her, eyes pleading and downright confused. "This really isn't what it looks like, Bugaboo. You know that I'd never lie to you."

"What's with that nickname, you liar?" Alya cried. "I never expected this from you, Adrien. I thought that you were better than that!" Her voice was trembling. She wanted to cry. She's always thought so highly of of the superheroes, so she was hurt to see Chat commit that kind of deed. She also loved her best friend to bits, and she never wanted to see her hurt right after thinking that Adrien finally loved her back.

"This is a mess," he cried, back touching the wall as Alya cornered him. "A total mess. A disaster."

"Just tell her the truth," Alya said.

"Marinette," Adrien sighed, turning to the girl. "She knows that I'm dating Ladybug."

Marinette blinked.

Oh.

Nino looked like he was about to have a seizure. "What?"

At the recognition in Marinette's eyes, Alya felt her fire drop. Now she just looked incredibly disappointed. She slumped against the wall. "Marinette, you knew?"

She didn't say anything to deny it. She just pursed her lips and looked down, brows furrowed. She seemed to be thinking hard about something, but the lack of surprise only seemed to confirm Alya's suspicions.

"I didn't think that you of all people would...kiss a guy who already has a girlfriend."

Nino looked between all of them, face still pale. "What?"

"She knows about Chat Noir too," Adrien whispered, turning to Marinette. "She's known for almost a month now. I'm sorry I forgot to tell you."

"What about Chat Noir?!" Nino yelped. "What does Chat Noir have to do with any of this?"

Adrien gave Marinette a look. She raised her head and nodded at him.

Alya stared at both of them, mind a mess. However, one sentence from Adrien made everything click.

He held Marinette at the waist and pulled to his side as he said, "Chat Noir would never cheat on Ladybug, Alya."

"With or without the mask," her best friend added, wearing a smirk that much too dazzling for Marinette Dupain-Cheng

Alya's jaw dropped, and she sort of just stared at the two of them in shock. For what seemed like a full minute, no one said anything.

Until Alya pointed a shaky finger at Marinette. "Does this mean that y-you're..."

Her best friend nodded as she rested her head against Adrien's chest.

Alya slowly directed her finger to Adrien. "And you're..." She zigzagged her finger between the both of them. "Meaning the two of you are..."

Marinette and Adrien smiled. "Yep."

"Oh for god's sake!" Nino suddenly cried, causing all of them to jump. "Would somebody please tell me what's going?!"