Chapter 1

That morning, Paris was quiet and overcast with the smell of rain starting to linger in the air. The city was gently awakening as the cars and people begun to find their way through their regular Monday morning routines.

A bell at the local school chimed and kids began to drowsily shuffle into their classes where they were hushed so that the lectures could commence. The school started to settle down as the people found their seats and classrooms closed their doors. Outside in the December chill, a black car pulled up in front of the school and the passenger door swung open. Adrien gracefully climbed out and turned to close the door. He was tall and strong with blond hair that gently framed his chiseled features, but his face was melancholy. His countenance reflected the mood of that overcast morning perfectly.

He turned and broke a smile to wave goodbye to the inhabitance of the car, but it drove away and his hand wilted in defeat. His face darkened once again as he began to walk towards the school that loomed over him. Then, for a split second, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Marionette sprinting full speed around the corner of the building.

*SMACK*

Adrien had a second to brace himself before impact with Marionette, who went flying onto the disarmed boy. The two teens were sprawled on the ground in a daze as pages from a drawing book floated down around them. Marionette's drawing book, along with all of the loose-leaf pages stuffed inside haphazardly, had gone flying out of her arms and skidding onto the ground.

He was a little stunned when he first hit the ground, but was happy to see that it was Marionette. She, on the other hand, blushed intensely at the feeling of her cheek laying on his chest and started to get drunk on the gentle aroma coming from him. Marionette could have laid there all day indulging in his presence if she had not been called back to consciousness by Adrien's bubbling laugh.

"Haha, wow Mari, you sure do pack a punch."

Marionette suddenly came to the realization that she was laying on Adrien and began to franticly fish for something to say back to the boy.

"Ah! Adrien! Uh.. I-I'm so sorry! I should have been watching where I was going!"

Her blush becomes even more glaring as she begins to scramble awkwardly off of the model and onto her feet.

"Don't worry about it, I wasn't paying attention either," he said happily.

"It's not you're fault. It's mine. Are you ok? You look you are fine. Well, you look more than fine you look great and… Ack! I mean!… I shouldn't be running so fast around corners even if I am late for class…"

With that last comment, Marionette remembers that she is once again late for class.

"Class!" she squeaks.

She starts rapidly picking up the papers strewed about them, throwing them once again into her design book.

"Oh here let me help… you…" But before he could finish his sentence she had already gathered all of them and started running off for the doors of the school again.

He sighed.

'Alone again,' he thought as he began collecting his book bag and brushing himself off. As he started to walk towards the doors to the school, he started contemplating why Marionette always runs from him. After a few months of trying to befriend her, Adrien started to accept the conclusion that she simply did not like him.

Adrien sank back into his somber mood as he walked up the steps to the school. As he sulked up the stairs, he began to notice a piece of paper laying on the steps. Out of curiosity, he picked it up and found a design of a model in a suit. The drawing style and the design were unmistakably Marionette's, but upon closer inspection, he found it oddly familiar. Then it struck him, this design was similar to what he was wearing for his latest photo shoot with a magazine. He also took notice of how similar he looked to the model Marionette drew and could not help but smile to himself as he walked to his class.

'Wait a minuet,' he thought to himself, 'Marionette runs from me like she doesn't like me, but then draws pictures inspired by me?' This thought left him more confused than ever.

Before entering the classroom, Adrien decided that all he could do is be as friendly as he could and return Marionette's design. If she did not like him and ran away then let her be.

'You aren't a jar of Nutella, Adrien. Not every one will like you.'