He hadn't even gotten both feet flat on the ground, before hands had grabbed his shoulders and shaken him like a defective vending machine.
"Adrien!" Alya squealed, "You will never guess what happened yesterday!"
He gently placed his hands over hers and prayed her fingers off of his shoulders. He had a fairly good idea about what she was about to tell him.
"I got another interview with ladybug!" she announced, eyes shining.
"I cant wait to hear about it! Did you post it on the blog?" he asked, matching his excitement to hers. Of course, he already knew Alya had gotten an interview with Ladybug. He had been watching as Chat Noir. But he hadn't heard exactly what they had talked about.
"No, I was going to post it right after I showed you!" Aya replied.
Adrien laughed. Even in her excitement she was still being thoughtful. "Hurry and show me then! Before the first bell rings!"
Alya, always prepared, already had the video open when she unlocked her phone. The two friends huddled in the early autumn air as the video began to play.
He and Alya were still talking excitedly about the interview as they walked to class. Ladybug had been talking about Chat Noir, and he had blushed when Alya had asked her final question, 'Are you and Chat Noir dating?' I wish, he thought. I wish, I wish, I wish.
Ladybug had responded by giving a small laugh and a shake of her head, 'No,' she had said, 'we're just best friends, but,' she had paused then, getting an almost mischievous glint in her eyes, 'He does love to flirt.'
Adrien had been surprised. He would never have thought that she would mention that particular part of their friendship. But she had, and he found himself grinning from ear to ear with the thought of it.
After stopping off at their lockers, he and Alya made it to class and sat at their shared desk. Chloe was sitting atop her own, across the aisle from him, examining herself in a compact mirror. "So," she said suddenly, snapping the little case shut, "Are you and Alya dating?"
Adrien heard a little gasp behind him as the room went silent. Marinette. He thought, automatically putting a name to the sound he had heard. Beside him, Alya started laughing.
"You—" she gasped, pointing at Chloe, "you think— I'm—I'm dating— Adrien?" she asked between breathless laughs. Adrien himself started laughing. Chloe could be so stupid sometimes.
He tried to calm himself down so that he could explain to Chloe that he and Alya were just really good friends when he made the mistake of looking up and catching Alyas eye. This started a new round of laughter that he couldn't seem to stop. It wasn't even that funny for chats sake!
He could see Chloe out of the corner of his eye, waiting impatiently until he and Alya laughed their hearts out.
As he started to calm down, he turned to face Alya, and cracked a grin. "You're crying!"
"Oh my gosh, I haven't had a laugh like that in a while." She shot a grin over his shoulder in the other girls direction, "Thanks Chloe!"
"You still haven't answered my question!" She snapped back in annoyance.
Adrien opened his mouth to reply but Alya beat him to it. "Nah Adrien and I aren't dating, we're just good friends. He's totally in love with somebody else."
"What!" Chloe exclaimed, looking a little shocked, "Who?"
Adrien was saved from saying the answer to that question out loud as the teacher entered the room.
Ladybug, He thought instantly. There was no question. Of course it was Ladybug. He didn't even need to think about it. It was a no brainer.
The rest of the morning went by impossibly slowly. Between Alyas cheeky grins and Chloes demanding looks, going home for lunch was starting to look appealing. When the bell rang he practically shot out of his seat and raced towards his locker. He shoved his books into the top cubby, grabbed his jacket, slammed the door shut and spun around, knocking right into the person walking by. "Sorry!" they said in sync.
He smiled sheepishly at her, "No, it was my fault Marinette. I was a little over eager to get home."
"Oh," she replied simply, a blush spreading across her cheeks as she turned her attention towards the floor, "It's okay Adrien, I, uh—I mean, well. I—I wasn't really paying attention in the first place, so, um-yeah," she laughed nervously and glanced up at him before looking back down at her shuffling feet.
"Something on your mind?" he asked her. This was the girl who was always helping others, maybe he could return the favour.
"No…" she sighed, trailing off, "I just, I haven't been sleeping well is all."
Now that she mentioned it, Adrien could see the bags under her eyes. He, himself had barely been sleeping. Nights of patrol's and homework combined with days of school and fighting akuma's were taking a toll on his body.
He smiled at her, "I'm sorry i can't to anything to help with that."
She gave a tiny laugh and lifted her face to offer him a shy smile, "It's okay," She replied, "have a nice lunch Adrien." and with that she was walking towards Nino, who was waiting for her at the door.
When she reached him, Adrien saw him lean down and whisper something in her ear, and watched as her face turned bright red. She swatted at his arm as he burst out laughing.
Are they dating? Adrien wondered. Not that it's any of my business, he quickly added.
Pushing the thought aside, he pulled his jacket on and walked out to the waiting limo.