Hi again guys! I am actually surprised by how long this chapter took but in the end I think it was okay :) I enjoyed writing this chapter, but its probably not my best writing because I'm pretty sick at the moment… anyway, here we go!

The next day at school, Adrien had walked right over to Alya and Nino, rudely not acknowledging them but instead focusing on not making it obvious that he was craning his neck in Marinette's house's direction. He had decided to try to make her more comfortable around him, for that, he knew, was the key to starting to get closer. He was plotting his schemes when he was quickly pulled out of his thoughts by a red Ferrari hybrid pulling up. Everyone at the school looked over in confusion; it was quite obvious that this was someone new by the ride him or her was in. Deciding that stopping his flowing gaze towards Marinette' house for a second would be okay, Adrien instead fixed it on the car, so he could see the newcomer just as soon as everyone else.

Marinette was very late. She hadn't started her morning great already from having slept through her alarm, but then Tikki had eaten too many cookies and was feeling sick, so, against Tikki's complaints, Marinette had snuggled her in a pillow and a blanket that was much too big for her, and fell asleep pretty soundly even though she had been pretty grumpy with Marinette for wasting time with it. (Well, as grumpy as Tikki can be) Now, finally, five minutes before the bell rang, Marinette was out the door and walking. As the school was very close, Marinette was almost immediately there. The sight that she saw made absolutely no sense to her.

Adrien automatically hated the guy. And it actually made him very sad why. He was basically Chat Noir in person but there was something slightly… different about him, like it wasn't just a sassy, joking personality, but he actually believed he was that great. He would have been a perfect match for Chloe.

The guy popped out of his fancy car wearing black skinny jeans, and a bright, obnoxious green T-shirt that glowed from underneath a black sweatshirt. He (annoyingly) rocked dark, wavy locks and intense violet eyes (the only thing about him that didn't match Chat Noir), along with a smug expression and a relaxed posture, as he was leaning on his car in a very authentic 'cool' look. All the other students noticeably liked him. A lot. Without even knowing his personality.

But Adrien could definitely guess it.

As the guy signed things (though he wasn't even famous), Adrien pushed his way up to the front. Maybe the guy wasn't so bad. Standing in front of the new kid, Adrien swallowed. "Hi! I'm Adrien! What's your name?" The kid, looking up with an expression that was obviously well trained, responded slowly, "The name's Aaron." Giving a little salute instead of meeting Adrien's hand for a handshake, Aaron studied Adrien with a now unreadable look. After a couple of seconds, Aaron gave a little smile, which really got on Adrien's nerves. It's like I've just told him everything about myself! Who the- Adrien's uncharacteristically mean thoughts ceased immediately when Aaron snapped his cool gaze over to the left, and as Adrien followed, he saw Marinette standing there, looking utterly confused. And then Aaron narrowed his eyes and his small smile morphed into a grin, his deep eyes glinting with some emotion… that Adrien suddenly decided he didn't like. So he would fix it.

Marinette was very confused, very consistently for about two minutes, just staring in wonder at the new guy who stood in front of his Ferrari as if he was the coolest guy in the world, as Adrien stood there, looking just as confused as Marinette felt. Deciding to keep her distance, she stood there, just waiting for one of her friends to find her, or the bell to ring. But then, the new kid caught her eye. And very quickly Marinette had a rush of emotion. At first, she was nervous. The guy was already looking like a bad-boy, and Marinette didn't quite understand his grin. Then, she felt pride that the new 'cool' guy in school had even noticed her. After that, though, Marinette had an even bigger emotion. One she'd only had for one person prior to that day. And, dreadfully, it came with a giant blush and getting lost in deep, mysterious violet eyes. And then Adrien looked at her, seeming more than a little irritated. And the strange thing was, she didn't blush nearly as deeply as she had when she had stared into gorgeous purple eyes as she had getting getting a sheepish look from Adrien. But she would have to deal with that later; for now, the bell was shrieking loudly for everyone to get in class.

As Marinette stepped behind Adrien to sit down, he locked eyes with Aaron, and gave him a silent dare to get closer than he already was to Marinette. Smirking, Aaron silently responded by sitting behind her. Dang it, this guy is going to ruin my life! Putting his notebook on his desk a little more forcefully than intended, Adrien tried to focus on his work as class went slowly by.

Marinette didn't know who this newcomer was, but she already really liked him. Then he walked in and chose his seat, making goosebumps run up her arm. Oh my gosh he's there he's actually sitting right behind me with a smirk on his face and knowing purple eyes and oh man when did I start doing this for anyone other than Adrien?! "Hey. What's you're name?" A gentle voice said in a whisper, increasing her already huge goosebumps. Without turning her head, Marinette calmed her nerves and responded coolly, "Marinette. And yours?" "Aaron. Are you doing anything after school today?" Heartbeat quickening, Marinette shook her head, knowing he would be able to see it since he was right behind her oh god why did he ask?

"Aaron, Marinette, please stop talking! I don't want to give you detention on your first day of school here!" Stupid teacher. I was just about to ask her out, too! Brushing it aside and hoping for more classes with the cute raven-haired girl, Aaron pretended to look at the teacher, but was instead focusing on the beautiful head that he was so close to hooking. He needed her. He had never felt such an attachment to anyone outside of his family, and it drove him mad. The only problem was it would surely get in the way of his normal cool personality. But no matter. He would learn techniques so he stayed himself.

Through class, Aaron let his mind wander because frankly, he had been taught most of this stuff from his parents before. Instead of focusing on the lesson, he focused on Adrien's story. His eyes were full of a deep sadness, which implied troubles socially, and the way the girls around us had looked at him, it wasn't a friend problem. Guessing it was family troubles, Aaron dug deeper. He obviously liked Marinette (and disliked him a lot, but Aaron couldn't care less), but there was no way he could stop Aaron. Sure, he was Chat Noir, but no one else knew that and it was a very good thing to know, assuming Adrien would pull out every card he has to stop Aaron.

There was also something very forced about his posture and smile, though it looked well practiced and well hidden. Aaron would guess model from his skinny body and perfect face. Though from the forced characteristics, Aaron would guess he disliked being perfect and was obviously much more true to himself as Chat Noir.

After he had all of Adrien's secrets and feelings, Aaron tried to focus on Marinette's. But every time he tried to look into her eyes throughout the day, he just got lost in her pretty bluebell eyes. He lost his train of thought when he looked at her, and by the time third period came around, Aaron had nothing but 'cute' 'beautiful' 'caring' and 'perfect'. Oh, and 'shy', but that just went with cute in Aaron's opinion.

Marinette found it very hard to focus with Aaron behind her constantly. They had just started a free period when both Adrien and Aaron walked up to her, one very confident and one blushing slightly. "Hi Marinette!" They both called, not having seen each other. Instantly a glaring contest, Marinette stood there awkwardly.

No way was Adrien going to let Aaron go up to her and ask her out so easily. But Adrien's politeness won out and he let Aaron speak first, dipping his head in submission. "Marinette, I just was wondering-since you said you don't have anything planned… would you want to go out with me for lunch break?" Adrien could feel his head pounding, telling him to step in. But there was absolutely nothing he could think to do. With stinging eyes, Adrien started to accept his lonely fate, when his emotion took control of his head. "No!" Cheeks heating up in embarrassment when he realized what he just did, he decided he should just forge on. "Marinette, I really need to talk to you."

What is going on? I'm the shy, unnoticed, made fun of by Chloe girl, not the one getting asked out by one of the most popular guys in school, and having Adrien want to talk to me! Taking a deep breath, and knowing that she would regret this, she spoke quietly, "Okay. Talk to me." Adrien's eyes bulged and his mouth hung open. "I just-its just-can I-can you…?" Taking a deal breath and noticeably glaring at Aaron's smug smirk, Adrien restarted. "I just don't trust him. He comes to our school out of nowhere, and suddenly he's asking you out as the most popular kid in school?" Aaron's smile faltered, but he was obviously well practiced in keeping his cool. "Marinette, I'm asking you if you want to go out. You can say no if you're not comfortable. It's not my fault your friend here is jealous." Knowing what he said about Adrien wasn't true, Marinette brushed it off. "Adrien is not jealous, he's just being cautious for a friend and I appreciate it." Closing her eyes and accepting what she had just stated, Marinette calmly responded to Aaron's question. "I-I would love to Aaron. Just… maybe for dinner, instead? My parents own a bakery and they often need help when I'm on lunch break." Nodding his head, relieved, Aaron walked away, letting Adrien stay with Marinette.

Aaron knew all he had to do now was let Adrien get himself into an even deeper mess.

Desperately trying to get through to Marinette the rest of the day was not what she would have thought Adrien would have cared about doing. And, being perfect Adrien, he could only push so far before politeness kicked in naturally. Marinette was just glad Adrien cared about her.

Later that day, Adrien was exhausted. He had tried so many times, but he knew what he really needed to do was confront her as Chat Noir. Adrien was just too automatically polite. So, after school, he rushed into his limo (avoiding looking at Marinette and Aaron) and sped up to his room as soon as he was home. He checked the Ladyblog before just leaving, because he wanted to make sure Marinette wasn't with Aaron when he came. Looking at all of Ladybug's pictures, Adrien felt a pound of pride hit his heart. This was Marinette, and Marinette was her. Heart swelling with more than pride, Adrien looked at the clock and realized he'd been sitting at his computer for forty minutes already. Scooping a sleeping Plagg off his bed, Adrien shook him awake and called his "Claws out!" Before the annoying little kwami could protest. Jumping out his window, Chat Noir made his way to the bakery. When he saw she was out watering her flowers on her terrace, his heart once again jumped, her nice life growing more and more on him.

When she turned around and opened her mouth to scream, Chat swooped forward to cover her mouth with his hand. "Sorry. You scared me just jumping out of nowhere…" Dipping his head, Chat simply apologized, knowing he had to play his cards right to get through to her. "An apology? From Chat Noir? I'm honored!" She teased him, but the only thing on his mind was don't mess this up as he chuckled absentmindedly. Frowning, Marinette put down her watering can. "Chat? Are you okay?" Shaking his fuzzy head, he muttered "Yeah." "Is-is there something you wanted to talk about?" Looking up at her beautiful bluebell eyes, Chat nodded. "Yeah, Princess. I think I caught my own tongue." Laughing, Marinette stated, "You are still a human, Chat. Just… less so in this form…" For whatever reason, this seemed so funny that they both cracked up and only stopped when Chat remembered that he had a reason for being here. "Anyway, Purrincess-" A groan from the pretty girl. "-I wanted to talk to you about this new kid I've heard some talk about… Aaron, was it?" This earned him an even bigger groan. "Yeah, I'm going out with him, so what?" She asked it so sharply that Chat was starting to regret coming to the small bakery. "I just-I don't think that's a good idea, that's all. He's only just gotten here and he's already asked some one out? It doesn't seem right to me." Rambling through his brain, he got one reasonable fact out. "Plus, didn't you just go on about how much you love that kid Adrien?" Stepping on to dangerous ground, Chat was getting nervous. "Sure, but he'll never think of me as anything other than a friend that apparently needs protecting." Irritably, Marinette grabbed a pillow and started squeezing it. No doubt she was imagining it as his head right now. He felt bad getting her upset, but he wanted to not let anyone get in the way of his relationship with her. Leaning forward, Chat said slowly, "Marinette, I can assure you that he's just jealous. Frankly, I'm kind of jealous too." There. Went right out and said it. Eyes widening, she responded, "You-you are?" As I leaned in closer, I slipped my hand over hers, which was still clutched to the pillow. "Why wouldn't I be? You're an amazing, amazing girl. We both just want your safety and…" This is wrong. I have no right to confuse her even more. You can't do this. Stop. Stop! Don't say it! Do not say it! "… your heart." You had to say it. Waiting for her response, I used hand that wasn't covering hers to do a swift motion of rubbing my neck and then swooping down to cup her face. You have no right to do this! … But it feels so right… Leaning in, she whispered, "That's the problem. You both do have it." Looking into her eyes, her beautiful eyes, Chat understood. She was getting mad at Adrien and Chat because one guy she starts to like starts to noticeably take a liking in her, and the two others were just too late. She was mad because he was confusing her. Tears pricking at both of their eyes, both of their faces burning bright red, Chat closed the gap. You had to do it. Oh, yes he did.

After an embarrassingly long amount of time, they both pulled apart slowly. Oh, what did I just do? I still have a date tonight! Blinking slowly, beginning to purr, and grinning like an idiot, Chat just stared at her. I wonder what he's thinking about this… Looking down, Marinette put her fingers on her temples and rubbed, trying to soothe the headache she had. It was so confusing… "Chat?" She started timidly. "Mm?" He hummed through his purrs. He was still grinning stupidly. "I still have my date tonight." And there goes the happiness. "You can cancel, you know…" Shaking her head, Marinette came to a clean decision. "I can't stay with you, Chat, I'm not… I can't… I'm not exactly much safer with a guy in a mask." She laughed nervously, but he frowned. "I'm a superhero and you're my purrincess. How are you not safe with me?" Shaking her head, she tried to focus. Stupid kiss! You're not letting me think! "You could be anyone behind that mask, Chat, and I-I trust you, I really do, but it isn't fair to me to go out with a guy I don't even know…"

Of course, Chat knew what she meant. She was right. But he still longed for it to happen. Deciding to take a risk he stated, "I don't have to be in a mask." She looked at him like he was crazy. "Of course you do, Chat! It's not safe…" Jumping into truth, Chat told her, "M'lady, its as safe as we make it." Eyes widening. A couple blinks. She pinches herself. "What did you say to me?" "Just what you heard." Chat responded levelly, but inside he was freaking out. Gasping, Chat guessed she had figured it out. "You-you saw it. In my diary… you know, how could I be so stupid!" Grinning, Chat nodded eagerly. "So… does that change anything?" When she didn't respond, I explained. "Princess, if I already know your identity, how would anything change if you knew mine?" Closing her eyes to think, Chat waited patiently.

Oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god how was I so… how could I… Freaking out on the inside, Marinette made herself seem calm. Or at least, calmer than she was on the inside. She understood his reasoning. She was just… scared. She almost didn't want to know who she had fallen for behind the mask.

"Ok, Chat, you can reveal yourself to me. Once I'm done with my date tonight."

So how did you like it? A slightly intriguing ending, you'll just have to wait to see what comes next XD By the way, it might take me another week to update, but I'll try my best to get it out sooner!