Author's note:

Chapters in the story may vary in length. The same word count is not guaranteed. Reviews are much appreciated. Constructive criticism even more so, since this is my first uploading any sort fiction on a public forum. Also, updates will come faster if I'm in a good mood, since I get writer's block easily.

Dedicated to my friend, who encouraged me to write fanfictions. Thank you. (And, also, you better pay up. I worked my ass off on this).

No smut, so beat it leery creepers.

Disclaimer: I do not own Miraculous in any way, and, if I did, Adrien probably wouldn't be so stupid.

Also, the lyrics I used in this chapter were of the song, California by Bahari. Go check it out, its a good listen. And, please do not confuse this chp for a song fic. I just used the song for plot reasons.

Please don't sue me.

Chapter 1: A Case of the Jitters

His eyes widened as he watched her.

He saw her hips move as she shimmied, and those shoulders. Oh, God, those shoulders. Did he have a thing for shoulders?

Wow.

He gaped at her as she danced behind her bedroom window. He gulped and his Adam's apple bobbed. She threw her head back and dipped, and his mind went reeling.

Anybody looking at him might've thought he was blissing out. They also would have thought he was a creep, peeping at her like that. Seriously. Who peeps on someone in their bedroom? Certainly, creeps do, and he wasn't about to include himself in that ungraceful bunch.

He was Chat Noir, for crying out loud! He had a reputation to keep as the resident half of Paris' current superhero duo.

And, currently, he was setting a horrible example.

Well, the streets were empty and it was the middle of the night, so nobody could see him, of course. And, he was hiding in a surprisingly handy spot on a roof opposite her attic bedroom, from where he had a good view of her.

But, there were no excuses for his outrageously inexcusable behaviour. No matter how stealthy he could be.

And, not to mention, she was his classmate; his friend! He was peeping on his friend!

He had to admit, when he first noticed Marinette, he was surprised.

It was his turn to patrol that night, and he was busy leaping across roofs, relishing the wind that hit his face. He had heard music- which was very unusual during the middle of the night-, and his cat ears twitched and he stopped. And, since curiosity had killed the cat, he discovered the source.

So, now, there he was. He wasn't exactly proud of it, but, yeah.

He gulped when he saw her extend her head, the softest of expressions lighting her face, her eyes half-closed, a far cry from the flustered expression she usually adorned when he approached her as Adrien.

He often wondered if she was afraid of him, or even intimidated. He knew how he could induce emotions like that in people, what with him being a famous model, and his father being a prestigious fashion designer. But, she certainly didn't look nervous now.

He felt a small drool pooling under his tongue, and he swallowed it down nervously.

To be honest, the moves she was executing looked beautiful. And her form was very pretty. He knew, since he had seen numerous talented, professional dancers at events before.

He wasn't very knowledgeable about dance -he had only learnt ballroom, and the style she was dancing, he recognized, was contemporary- but he knew talent when he saw it.

He briefly wondered if she took dance classes.

Suddenly, the music stopped, and he poked his head up. His heart gave a lurch as he noticed her moving out of his line of sight.

He gave a sigh of relief as the music started back up again. It was a new track, and the volume was higher too, as he could make out the words clearly, without him straining to.

He recognized the song.

'It's a state of mind, it's a state of grace'

He saw her bob her head, her arm tapping against her waist, her eyes drooping closed.

'Close your eyes, drift away'

He saw her roll her head back, smiling as she did so. She tapped her arms along to the beat.

He noticed that she was dancing in a style more laidback than her previous. Maybe it was just the song's playful tune.

Maybe it was just him.

He wondered if this was her favourite song, judging by the exhilirant expression she wore as she danced. He liked Bahari's songs, but watching her dance like she was now, he changed his mind.

He loved them.

'I can be your California, I can be your getaway'

He watched her dance with a twisted affinity. He shot down the urge to wet his lips whenever he saw her smirk, whenever her eyes shone with telltale mischievousness.

'I love you, but I have to warn you'

It was getting ridiculously late. He knew he couldn't stay long, but he found it hard to leave. He was too entranced when watching her dance.

'You can visit, but you cannot stay'

The expression did him in.

She looked calm but breathless, she looked happy but contained it all in one small, little smile. And when her eyes caught the moonlight, the cyan seemed to claim him. He stifled a gasp.

The music suddenly stopped, and he stilled. He turned his head away from her and looked upward. He shifted to lay back, grunting as he did so. His head was pillowed on his bent arms, and the glittering stars that littered the sky reminded him of her galaxy of freckles.

He was surprised. He was. Undoubtedly, so. And he was sure he was blushing up a storm.

He needed to go. He needed to go home, he fervently thought, as he became absolutely adamant in not thinking about Marinette at all. He shifted to stand up, stretching out his sore body.

He hadn't seen anything interesting that night- sans Marinette- and he assumed Paris was safe for the night.

He heaved a big sigh, bringing his patrol to a close. He extended his baton, and leaped himself roofs upon roofs away from her. As he made his way home, he wondered how he would face Marinette the next day in class without remembering her dancing.

Unbeknownst to him, the girl in question gaped at him with wide eyes as he disappeared into the night, having finally noticed him through her bedroom window.

He had seen her.

He had seen her dancing.

Chat -freaking- Noir had seen her, Marinette, her dancing. In her room. In the middle of the night.

She was glad Tikki was asleep,- although, she wasn't sure how she could've fallen asleep amid all that loud music, but she had assured her, jokingly stating that she doesn't have any ears, which, now that Marinette thought about it, was kind of true- or he would've seen her and connected the dots!

She didn't mean any offense to her feline partner, but she wasn't ready to reveal her identity to him just yet.

She wasn't sure what he was even doing there. Well, yeah, she knew he was patrolling and all, but what if he had seen her? Dancing? In the middle of the night?

Oh, God, this was so embarrassing.

Marinette, She mentally scolded herself, We're over this already. So what if he had seen you?

The inner Marinette was right.

She was blowing this way out of proportion. She was only dancing in her room. Many people do that. In the middle of the night. Right?

But that isn't it, is it?

She had to admit, she had felt a secret thrill when she had found out he was watching. It was a weird feeling. She had even wondered if she was a creep for even thinking that. She wondered if she had the music on too loud. Then again, Chat Noir did have sensitive ears. He could've easily heard the music echoing in the quiet night. Even if she had her windows closed.

She was pacing her room, fuming in agitation, brow furrowed in thought.

Why was he watching her?

Was he judging her? Was he surprised? Was he a bad dancer, and was just observing her in means of picking up some tips?

She snorted at the last thought. Of course he wouldn't, she was a crappy dancer.

Ugh.

She didn't need to think about this. She didn't have to dwell on this. She knew it would only complicate things further. The better- and only- thing to do, was to forget about it.

He had seen her; he hadn't seen her. So what?

If he was watching her, she was sure her kitty didn't have any ill intentions. And if he wasn't, she could just assume he was passing by. Since he was patrolling the city, after all.

She needed to give her mind a rest. She needed to sleep. She checked the time.

It was quarter past two. A good half hour had already passed during her internal ramblings. She climbed the steps to her bed with a dejected sigh.

As she twisted underneath her covers, she looked upward at her ceiling which was plastered with sheets of moonlight, and tried not to think about Chat Noir.

At all.

It was a beautiful, sunny morning.

Unfortunately, Marinette didn't care.

She was running late! Well, she was late. Most of the time.

But this time, she was very, very late.

Alya had left, like, 30 texts on her phone, and she knew that when she had woken up by the endless tings of the notification ring and not her alarm, she knew she was in some serious doo-doo.

As she shrugged into her shirt and pants at the same time, she tried to tie her hair up in pigtails.

Tikki was watching her, perched upon her desktop, and cocked an eyebrow amusedly.

"Rough night?"

Marinette only struggled. "Yeah, you could say that."

She hadn't told Tikki about the previous night's ordeal. She figured if she wanted to forget about it, she shouldn't chat about it. It wasn't a problem. Although it did keep stinging a corner of her mind, she tried to focus on other things. Like, getting to school on time.

She bounded down the stairs of her attic bedroom and shrugged on her purse and backpack. She grabbed a cookie jar from the table countertop, and stuffed three into her purse for Tikki to snack on. She also stuffed a toast her kind mother had left out for her into her mouth, and headed for the door.

As she bound out of the bakery, her mother who was manning the register, noticed her, and smiled knowingly.

"Bye, Marinette! Be safe!"

"Bye, Mamanph."

She managed around the toast in her mouth and briefly twisted to incline her head. She ran into the street and headed for her lycée. She'd be damned if class hadn't already ended yet.

Adrien fidgeted in his seat, adjusting his shirt collar as he did so.

He was anxious.

He wasn't sure why, but he just was. He didn't know what he was anticipating, but he just wanted something to happen.

Or he didn't. He was just stupid like that, sometimes.

He'd be lying if he said he wasn't thinking about the previous night, and he wasn't sure whether to apologize to Marinette or not. His alter ego wasn't overtly familiar with her, and he worried he might scare her by revealing his little stakeout.

Plagg had teasen him about Marinette,- calling her 'his little princess', but he waved it off. Although, the nickname weirdly stuck to him.

His little princess.

He blushed furiously. Of course, she wasn't 'his' anything, and he hastily pushed the thought out of his mind. He glanced at the vacant seat beside him. Nino was running late. It was three minutes till the bell.

As if answering his thoughts, Nino suddenly entered the classroom. He rushed to his seat, peeling of his bag and catching his breath.

Adrien eyed him.

"Hey, man, you okay? You just beat the bell,"

Nino twisted his cap and adjusted his glasses. "Yeah? Yeah, I'm fine. I kinda stayed up all night."

He yawned.

"Doing what?" Adrien pried.

"Been working on a new project. So far, it's being a bitch."

Adrien laughed.

"Heh, well, tell me all about it when it's done, dude."

Nino smiled. "Sure will."

Someone tapped him on the shoulder. Nino twisted back, his face twisting into a grin when he saw who it was. "What's up, Alya?"

Adrien also turned his head.

She was frantically typing on her phone, a worried expression on her face. "Have you seen Marinette? The girl isn't answering my texts, and I've left like 50 of them. She's crazy late. I'll be surprised if she makes the bell."

Nino wrinkled his eyebrows. "I haven't. I'll try texting her."

He twisted back and pulled out his phone.

Adrien gaped at Alya, wondering if Marinette was alright. He spoke up. "I'll try contacting her, too."

Alya smiled at him thankfully. "If it's you, she'll probably pick up in a heartbeat."

Nino snickered under his breath.

Adrien didn't understand what that meant, but he blushed nonetheless.

Just as he was rummaging around his bag for his phone, -"Missing your princess?" Plagg teased, nestled in his bag. "Shut up," Adrien hissed- the doors burst open.

Adrien looked up, startled.

Marinette was standing there, clutching her bag and huffing. Her bangs were in her eyes and strands of her hair were caught in her mouth.

Adrien couldn't understand how someone could look so effortlessly adorable. He heard Alya breath out a sigh of relief.

Marinette trudged towards her desk, looking out of breath. As she passed by his desk, he caught her eye.

Keep calm, Adrien told himself, trying not to blush.

He issued her a slow smile, politely holding up a hand in greeting, and she blinked. She sputtered for a moment, then twitched her lips in some semblance of a smile back. He heard her shuffle into her seat.

Alya knit her eyebrows together, eyeing her mess of a friend.

"Where were you, girl? I've been calling and texting you nonstop."

Marinette let out a small breath. "Yeah, I'm sorry. I was in a rush. Forgot to check my phone."

Alya looked at her closely. "Were you busy last night?"

A long second passed before Marinette stuttered hastily. "Yeah. No. Uh. Um, something like that."

Something about her tone was urgent, and Adrien couldn't stop the heat from rising to his cheeks as he instantly remembered her dancing.

"Yeeeeeeaaahhh," Alya drawled, conspicuous.

Marinette waved her off. "It's nothing to worry about. Honest. You know me."

A half- hearted chuckle broke off her last sentence, and Adrien knew instantly that Alya was suspicious.

Suddenly, Mrs. Bustier entered the classroom and Adrien heard Marinette let out a sigh of relief as they all stood up respectfully.

Adrien had an inkling that this was going to be a long class, and his thoughts drifted back to that moment that Marinette had smiled that small smile, and his heart skipped a beat.

Adrien strode out of the classroom; the bell had already rung for lunch. He stood outside the door, waiting for Nino. He was staring blankly at the crowd of people moving in the hallway, bustling and socializing.

His eyes slipped over a familiar mob of bluish- black hair and he spotted Marinette, her arm wound around Alya's. They were at the further end of the hallway. They seemed to be laughing, and he felt tremors in his chest.

Should I talk to her?

He had thought about coming clean to her. The guilt was eating him away, and he couldn't stop the jittery feeling he got whenever he looked at her. But, wouldn't she be disappointed? Scared, even? He couldn't even comprehend the thought.

He tched at himself.

This wasn't the time to be thinking pessimistic. He had to figure out a way to apologize to her, that didn't involve her pushing him of the railings of her terrace in fear.

A hand clapped him on the shoulder and Adrien looked back, startled.

Nino was standing there, with his ever-present lop-sided grin plastered on his face.

"What's up, dude? You look like you've seen a ghost."

Adrien solemnly picked Nino's hand off from his shoulder, then shoved his own in his pockets. He started to head down the hallway. Nino jogged to catch up to him.

"I wish that was all I'd saw," Adrien mumbled under his breath.

Nino had a concerned look on his face.

"Hey, man, you okay? You seem a little... out of it."

They had reached the courtyard now, and as they were settling down on a table, Adrien sighed. "I'm okay. It's just, -work's been a little overbearing, lately," Adrien lied.

Nino placed his hand on his friend's shoulder in assurance.

"Dude, take care of yourself. You hear?"

Adrien shrugged his hand off, snickering, and nodded his head. "Yeah, yeah. Thanks."

Nino's eyes went warm behind his glasses. "Hey, tell you what. Let's call the girls over here. Maybe that oughta cheer you up."

Adrien instantly whirled on him, eyes wide.

"Hey, hey, wait-"

He tried stopping Nino, but he had already stood up from his seat and strode over to where Alya and Marinette were sitting. Adrien sighed ,defeated, and settled back into his seat, staring at Nino, who was chatting with Alya and Marinette and motioning towards their table.

He assumed his offer was accepted as soon as Alya gave him a grin and started pulling Marinette along, who was blushing and sputtering for whatever reason. He was eyeing Nino, who was sending a way-too-big smile at Alya. Adrien wondered if Nino was really inviting them for his benefit, rather than his own.

Adrien turned his eyes on Marinette who was walking a little sideways behind them. She had her eyes downcast, and her hand was at her cheek, seemingly holding her hair in place.

And then she looked up, - or peeked, was what it more looked like- and her eyes caught Adrien's and, God, Adrien could've died right then and there. She instantly rounded her eyes away from him and stared at her feet, fighting a fierce blush.

Adrien also turned his eyes towards his lap, and pretended to fidget with his phone, trying not too look awkward. It seemed like an eternity had passed before they reached the table.

Adrien looked up, pretending to notice them just then, and greeted them. "Hey, guys."

Alya reciprocated, and Marinette smiled.

They sat down and Marinette squirmed, her hand on her purse.

Alya spoke, eyes twinkling behind her thick-rimmed glasses. "It's been a long time since we all had lunch together."

They all stared at the vacant table.

Nino laughed. "Heh, more like, been a long time just sitting down together since we already finished our lunch."

Marinette pulled her lips between her teeth, and smiled apologetically. Adrien stared at him blankly. Alya just pushed her glasses up. Nino put his hands up, seemingly surrendering. "Okay, okay, guys. No need to be such sore dudes."

Adrien broke into a grin, and Alya waved him off. Marinette was suddenly very interested in the strap of her purse.

Alya suddenly looked at Nino, remembering something. "Didn't you want to tell us something?"

Now, Adrien was curious. Marinette was also leaning forward in her seat.

Nino cleared his throat.

"Hm, well, I got this DJ-ing gig at this party on Saturday, and you're all invited. I'll text you all the location when I get home. And you-" Here he eyed Adrien, eyebrows twitching. "You have to come. Even if I have to break you out of your home."

Adrien grinned. He was so happy for his friend. This was Nino's first gig ever, and he was going to be there, for sure.

"I'll see what I can do, man. I'll text Nathalie right now, and ask her to clear my schedule for Saturday. I wouldn't miss this for the world, dude."

Nino smiled widely. "Much appreciated."

Alya wrapped her arms around Nino's waist, her head resting on his shoulder. "I'm so proud of my boyfriend."

Nino blushed lightly, and rested his chin on the crown of her head. "Well, I can't deny that I am that cool."

Adrien went warm looking at them. He had to admit, he was a little envious. Only a little. He was mostly happy.

He wanted someone like that too, and his thoughts instantly wandered to Ladybug. But an image of a certain someone else with pigtails appeared in his mind, and he instantly pushed that thought down.

Not right now, brain.

As if answering his thoughts, Marinette spoke up. She had been quiet for a long time,- only smiling and so, from time to time- and her clear voice cut through the tenseness ringing in his mind. He looked at her.

"What are we supposed to wear? Um, I mean, what kind of party is it?"

Nino directed his gaze at her, his expression switching to that of thoughtfulness. "Uh, I guess it's a casual party. 'S nothing fancy. You could wear whatever."

Marinette lips puckered, forming an 'o', and nodded. Adrien's eyes were instantly drawn to the movement.

"Congrats again, Nino."

Alya twisted out of his embrace, and Nino settled back in his seat, smiling. "Thanks, Marinette."

Alya recalled something, shuddering. "It's this Saturday, right? I gotta find something to wear. If I don't-" She looked at Marinette."-I'll just raid your closet. You always have something."

Marinette laughed, a sweet sound which reverberated inside Adrien's chest. "Feel free. I'll probably be trashing my own closet."

"Oh, I almost forgot," Alya put a finger to her chin. "How will we go there? I'll probably be going with Nino, since he lives nearest to me."

She suddenly turned her head towards Marinette. "Hey, Marinette. Could you carpool with Adrien?"

Marinette sputtered, instantly blushing. "Oh, no- uhm, I don't-"

"It's fine with me."

Marinette turned her eyes on him, surprised. He couldn't blame her. He had surprised himself by cutting her off. But he had felt bold when he saw her turning red, -when he saw her bite her lips.

And he still felt bold now. "I could take you, if it's alright with you?"

He unconsciously leaned forward in his seat, leveling his gaze with hers. He didn't know why, but he felt both amused and breathless when he saw her- or made her - blush. She turned her eyes away from him, and directed them down towards her hands which were resting in her lap, still blushing something fierce.

"Okay," Marinette mumbled, in a tinny voice, and Adrien suddenly realized that he was holding his breath. Alya, who was watching this unfold with a self-satisfied smirk, clapped her hands together and rubbed them.

"So that's settled. How long will the party last?"

Nino laid back in his seat, arms resting behind his head. "Dudes, even I don't know. It'll probably end at like two- ish. These parties go out strong, you know."

Adrien blinked.

Huh. Could he stay out that late?

"Sorry. My curfew starts at eleven," Marinette sighed. Adrien realized something, and he grinned at her. "Well, then, I guess I'll be dropping you off, too. I suppose I gotta get home by eleven, anyway."

Marinette smiled at him, all traces of her blush gone. "Thanks, Adrien." His throat constricted, and he tried to look anywhere but her. He knew he was being immature, but everytime she smiled at him, his brain stopped working.

The ringing bell snapped him out of his reverie. All of them stood up, getting ready to get back to class, and chatting about the test, which was next period.

Meanwhile, Adrien tried not to blush when his shoulder bumped into Marinette's.

Adrien stood outside the doors of the school, waiting for Gorilla.

He briefly saw Alya and Nino linking hands and walking down the street. He had heard something from Nino that they were going to have an after-school date. Honestly, he was happy for his friend, and he couldn't help but wonder if he would have that kind of connection with someone.

As he shifted his weight onto another foot, he closed his eyes, feeling the breeze that lightly hit him.

But, right now, he had other worries. The first one of them being how he was going to apologize to Marinette. He had thought about chickening out, but he couldn't ignore the part of his brain that felt immensely guilty. Well, she hadn't exactly seen him, so what she didn't know wouldn't hurt her, right?

No, no. He couldn't be so heartless. The only thing left was to figure out was when he was going to apologize to-

"Um, Adrien?"

He turned his eyes, surprised when he saw Marinette standing there, looking up at him. He gulped. "Yes?"

Marinette looked down, wringing her hands. "I just wanted to thank you."

His eyes went wide. "What for?"

"You know, for offering to pick me up for the party..."

He waved it off, laughing. "No, no. It was nothing. What are friends for, right?"

She smiled gratefully at him, eyes crinkling. He suddenly felt like he was drowning. "Thanks."

She said it in a small voice, almost soft, but her tone was confident. He shot down his blush, and grinned at her. "No problem. Oh yeah, um, when do you want me to pick you up?"

Marinette blinked. "Uh, I'll- I'll text you."

Now, he really did feel like gasping for his breath. That meek tone of hers was basically inviting him to do something he didn't want to do. Or, atleast, he thought so.

He smiled instead.

He heard a honk, and he looked back to see Gorilla, standing at the rear of the car.

He sighed. "Well, that's me. See you." He waved at her as he ran to the car and settled himself into the seat, and Gorrilla closed the door on him. When he looked at the rear-view mirror, he saw Marinette, still standing there, waving at his moving car, her expression of longing.

A jolt surged through his chest, and he thumped his head back on his seat, sighing. He decided.

Chat Noir was going to visit her tonight.

~End Chp. 1~