AN: I started writing this before 'Troublemaker' even aired. And then I went on a trip overseas for three months and when I came back home, I wasn't in the mood to write anything… for nearly two months! … Anyway, hope you enjoy this two-shot.

Chapter 1

In the Agreste mansion, specifically in Gabriel's atelier, Adrien stood facing his father, who was so focused on his work that he didn't even raise his head to look at his son. Adrien's green eyes were wide in shock and absolute disbelief. "B-But, Father, you promised to let me hang out with my friends today!" It was yet another disappointment made by the father to the son.

"I took it back after seeing your photos from your latest photo shoot," Gabriel stated bluntly, which caused his son to wince. "In many of your photos, you were slouching too much. I told Nathalie to arrange another photo shoot this noon to compensate for your underwhelming performance." He raised his head to look at Adrien; his face remained as stoic as ever. "Make sure to not disappoint me yet again, Adrien." His words were calm, and yet, they were laced with harsh coldness.

Adrien hung his head down; his expression morphed into a sorrowful one. "O-Of course not, Father…"

The place that Marinette and her friends decided to hang out in was the park near the school. In a certain spot in the park, she was sitting on a bench with Alya and Mylene, with Nino and Ivan standing. They were expecting some of their friends to show up. After a few minutes of waiting, Alya noticed three familiar figures. "Oh! There they are!" She raised her hands and waved. "Guys! Over here!"

Marinette turned her head to the direction her best friend was waving her hand to. She noticed Juleka, Rose and much to her surprise, Juleka's older brother, Luka. She also raised her hand and waved nervously at the older boy, smiling sheepishly.

When the trio approached the group, they all greeted each other. Luka then smiled at Marinette. "Hello, M-M-Marinette," He said. "How are you doing?"

A pout appeared on Marinette's face, but unlike last time, it wasn't because she really felt upset about him for making fun of her. She folded her arms. "Are you gonna do this every time we meet?" She asked in mild annoyance.

"Let's just call it our special greeting." He winked at her.

Marinette blinked few times before giggling, completely ignorant of the mischievous look and foxy smile that Alya had on her face. The compass is still going crazy as the day she first met Luka.

Suddenly, Nino's phone started ringing. Said boy picked it up. "Hey, Adrien! Wassup, dude?" He asked joyfully, and Marinette immediately shifted her attention away from Luka to Nino; a big, hopeful smile was on her face… which didn't go unnoticed by Juleka's brother… but that smile which was full of hope soon vanished when she heard Nino say this: "Whoa. That stinks, man."

She expected something like this to happen, because it wasn't the first time, of course. "Well, I hope you do better in your photo shoot today," Nino said. "Maybe your old man will let you hang out with us like last time. See ya, and good luck, pal." He hung up and turned to the group. "Adrien, unsurprisingly, won't make it, at least this noon… because his old man said that he was disappointed about Adrien's photos and so Adrien has to redo the photo shoot," He gave Marinette a quick look and a smile before turning to the others. "But! We can only hope that he'll be able to make it in the afternoon, right?" A huge grin appeared on his face, trying to brighten up the atmosphere and especially Marinette's mood.

However, said girl's expression didn't change. Nino felt really awkward and put his hands on Alya's shoulders as if he was telling her to go and cheer up Marinette. Said girl put her hands on her best friend's shoulders. Surprisingly, Marinette gently pushed Alya away. "I know what you're gonna say, Alya," She began. "But I'm so tired of getting my hopes up and then watch them fall every time!" She walked away from the group and sat down on another, nearby bench, putting her elbows on her thighs and resting her chin on the palms of her hands. Why doesn't Monsieur Agreste just let Adrien have his photo shoot another day? It was so not fair…

Seeing the dejected look on Marinette's face, Luka leaned closer to whisper in Alya's ear, never taking his eyes off Marinette. "She… she likes Adrien a lot, doesn't she?"

"'Likes Adrien a lot?!'" Alya repeated incredulously in a low tone, almost snorting when she said that. "That's the understatement of the century." She shook her head before smirking. "But you know? Maybe YOU will be able to cheer her up a bit." She patted his left shoulder. He raised his eyebrow and she nodded before turning to Nino and the others. "Hey, everyone! How about we give Marinette and Luka some alone time together?" They all agreed without hesitation and walked off.

Luka sat down near Marinette, which made her look at him before seeing her friends walking away. "Where are they all going to?"

"Alya suggested that I should talk to you and try to cheer you up," Luka began before scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "I don't know if I'll be able to pull this off since I don't have my guitar with me…" He then smiled. "But I'll try my best."

Marinette smiled gratefully. "Thanks, Luka."

"So… you really like Adrien, don't you?"

Quickly enough, Marinette's face made a panicky look. "N-N-N-No!" She stuttered. "W-W-What m-makes y-you s-say that?!" She giggled nervously. "I-I-I m-mean, s-sure I l-like A-Adrien. H-He's o-one o-of my c-close f-friends!" She grinned in a goofy manner.

A small smirk that also showed a hint of mischievousness formed on Luka's lips. "That's not what I meant, Marinette."

The goofy grin soon morphed into a childish pout. Marinette folded her arms. "Did Alya tell you this?"

"Well, I figured it out on my own when I saw you looked very happy when Nino was talking to Adrien on his phone," He started. "And then you looked really upset that he won't be able to come. Alya just confirmed it to me."

The girl sighed. "Yes, I do like Adrien a LOT!" She stated, putting her hands on her cheeks dreamily. "He's just AMAZING! He's REALLY nice, models perfectly, plays the piano flawlessly, speaks Chinese fluently, is the best student in our school's fencing team and excels at other sports too, like basketball!" She pointed out all of these cheerfully.

Luka rubbed his chin, frowning. "You forgot one thing, Marinette," He pointed out. "He's only a human."

She blinked her bluebell eyes, confused. "What do you mean, Luka?" She inquired. "I know that he's a human, but even for a human, he's just so AMAZING to be able to do all of these activities and perform PERFECTLY in all of them!" She gushed again.

Luka placed his hand on his forehead, closed his eyes and sighed, shaking his head. She really didn't get it, did she? "Listen, Marinette. Nobody's perfect, not even Adrien," He stated. "You should look at him for who he really is, not for who you want him to be. Sure, he's a nice guy and it's amazing that he's able to do well in all of these activities… but haven't you asked yourself before whether he liked doing these stuff or not? Didn't you think that he has too much on his plate? That he feels pressured?"

Bluebell eyes narrowed. This showed that their owner was stunned after hearing Luka's words. She knew deep down that what the older boy said was true. Had she really been so inconsiderate towards Adrien and his feelings…?

"And pardon me for saying this, but…" He began again. "I feel like you were somewhat contradicting yourself. You were sad to know that Adrien won't be able to show up because his dad forced him to redo a photo shoot, yet you proudly stated that he 'models perfectly', which not only confirms that Adrien did not 'model perfectly' according to his dad's standards, but also his relationship with his father isn't a good one due to Adrien being unable to live up to his father's expectations."

Marinette hung her head low, feeling ashamed. She finally realized how wrong she was about Adrien. "I-I always knew that he has a not-so-good relationship with his dad," She said. "And yet… I never gave myself the opportunity to get close enough to know him beneath the surface and be a better friend to him. Whenever I try to talk to him, my tongue gets tied and I become so nervous and start talking gibberish." She sighed tiredly. "This is why I opted to admire him from afar and worst of all… stalk him…" The look on her face showed genuine regret…

Luka smiled apologetically at the young girl. He took her hands in his. "Marinette, I told you this not only for Adrien's sake, but also for your own sake," He stated. He then sighed and gently squeezed her hands. "I'm sorry for being harsh on you. I already said that I may not be able to pull this off without my guitar…" He rubbed the back of his head nervously.

"No, no, no!" Marinette half-cried while waving her hands quickly. "Y-You actually did a great job, Luka," She reassured the older boy. A grateful smile formed on her lips. "Your words made me open my eyes and realize that I was wrong. Thank you, Luka."

Luka returned the smile. "You're welcome, Marinette."

There was a moment of silence before Marinette spoke again. "You know, Luka… now that I think more about it… I couldn't help but feel that the smiles that Adrien shows to the cameras… are not real," She stated. "It never occurred to me that behind his well-crafted façade… was an emotionally broken boy… even with me knowing about his relationship with his cold father… I still…" She trailed off as her eyes narrowed in sadness.

Luka placed his hand on her shoulder reassuringly. "Don't worry about it, Marinette," He said. "You're still young and have much to learn, but you also seem to learn quickly from your mistakes, Marinette" He smiled, removing his hands from her shoulders. "This is why I believe that you'll be able to get through Adrien."

She looked at him with eyes full of genuine confusion. "W-What do you mean?"

"If you just told him about what you thought about him, he may try to be more open about his own feelings not only to you, but also to the rest of your friends."

"B-But what if that doesn't happen and he becomes even sadder after knowing about what I thought of him?" Concern was evident in Marinette's tone when she asked that. It was clear that she didn't want to lose Adrien.

Once again, Luka placed his hands on Marinette's shoulders, squeezing them gently in reassurance. "He won't," He stated. "I'm pretty sure that Adrien is a very understanding boy who'll admire you for admitting this to him, and he will definitely listen to someone like you, Marinette." He smiled genuinely.

Marinette narrowed her eyes as a small blush appeared on her face before nodding; her eyes then flared in determination. "You're right, Luka."

All she had to do now was hope that Adrien will be able to show up earlier… because she couldn't wait to tell him the truth and hopefully get Adrien to not bottle up his feelings.

TBC…

Next chapter, Adrien will show up, and him and Marinette are gonna have 'the conversation'. How will things turn out to be?

I already made some edits, but I'll be sure to check later for grammar mistakes and missing words.

So, this is actually my second 'Miraculous' story. I have another one titled "The Rose That Goes with Her Costume". I have yet to finish it, but please check it out if you like to.

Do you like the title of the story? Can you leave better suggestions if you have and if you feel that the title isn't that good?

Thanks for reading everyone. Review if you want to.