Marinette woke up the next morning, and quickly remembered the previous night's events. She didn't want to believe it, but she had almost kissed Chat Noir! She didn't know what had come over her, but she remembered his raw emotion and how awful she felt for not realizing he was being sincere sooner. Then almost as if on instinct, she had leaned into kiss him! Her! Making the first move! And with Chat Noir of all people, it was just so unlike her. But then again she wasn't Marinette, she was Ladybug.
She glanced at the clock and realized she had overslept. Leaping out of bed she got dressed quickly and grabbed a croissant from the bakery on her way out the door. She arrived with only seconds to spare, and sat down next to Alya, who giggled when she saw her disheveled appearance.
"You woke up late again?"
"Yep, I know I know, I need to go to bed earlier." She glanced down at the blonde boy sitting in front of her, and noticed Adrien seemed to be in a forlorn mood. His head was hanging low, and he wasn't concentrating on the lesson.
"Is he okay?" Marinette whispered to Alya. She shrugged in response.
"He'll probably cheer up by the time auditions roll around today." Alya said. Marinette groaned, having forgotten all about the play. The rest of the school day passed by quickly, and Alya was right. Adrien did seem to cheer up as time went on, much to Marinette's own joy. But soon, it was time for what Marinette was dreading, the auditions.
The teacher released them but the majority of the class stayed behind for the auditions. Chloe began boasting as soon as the teacher left.
"Oh I just know I'm going to get the roll of Ladybug. Who else is more perfect to play her than I?" She flipped her hair and Sabrina smiled at her. Marinette glared at her but was surprised when Adrien shot a glare at her.
"Don't you think you've pretended to be Ladybug enough times?" Her normally perfect complexion blanched at the hidden meaning behind the words, and she actually stopped talking for once. Alya and Nino took this moment to step down to the front and begin auditions.
"Hello everyone, thank you all for coming and auditioning for The Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir!" Alya announced, everyone applauded like it was the actual show. "Now we will all hand you a monologue that you must perform. After viewing all those we will pick those we think are suitable candidates for our starring leads, and have those actors perform a scene together. Those who do not get picked shouldn't fret, we have other roles as well. Any questions?" Silence greeted her. "Okay great, so let's get started!"
The monologues were handed out, and Marinette was relieved to see it was a simple sample monologue, and not something Ladybug had actually said. Everyone went up, and each one had their perks and downfalls. Rose was so sweet but too quiet, Kim didn't know when to be serious or joking. Mylene didn't express enough confidence, and Ivan continuously flubbed up the words. Chloe didn't convey any sort of emotion except snobbiness throughout the entire thing. But then it was Adrien's turn. Marinette was surprised how natural he sounded, even though he had already proven his acting skills before. He even got an applause at the end. Then lastly, it was Marinette's turn.
Hands shaking, she walked up to the front and took a deep breath, calming herself. She unknowingly put on an aura of Ladybug, and was able to deliver her lines with confidence and pride. She got an applause as well, and blushed when she noticed Adrien was one of the ones clapping. She was happy with herself, and started wanting to get the role. She figured no one would ever suspect shy Marinette could be Ladybug, so she decided to try as hard as she could for it.
Nino and Alya dutifully took notes and went into another room to deliberate. In the meantime, Adrien turned around to speak to Marinette, much to her surprise.
"Great job down there! I told you you'd do good, you're a great actress!" She blushed fiercely at the praise.
"Thanks- and um you did amazing out there!" He seemed surprised at the compliment and smiled his beautiful smile again. Marinette was relieved when he turned away. Right then, Alya and Nino walked back in.
"We have deliberated and have decided who we want to see for partner scenes. These will be done in a different room. Can I please have Mylene, Adrien, Ivan, and Marinette join us?" Marinette's eyes widened in surprise and Adrien turned around to beam at her once more. Chloe was outraged.
"WHAT?! No way! I should be considered for the starring role! I should be Ladybug!" She declared.
"Oh you're totally being considered for a star role alright. You're being considered for the akumatized villain!" Nino said. She let out a shriek of rage as everyone laughed and stomped out of the room, followed by her lackey Sabrina. Once that drama was out of the way, the group called went down and followed Alya and Nino into the same room they had deliberated in.
"Great job dudes! You guys all had the best performances! So now we will pair you up and have you perform the partner scene, which is an actual transcript from a recording of Ladybug and Chat Noir, courtesy of the amazing Alya! Totally awesome right?! Our pairings are Adrien and Marinette and Mylene and Ivan. Here are the scripts." Nino said. Marinette began blushing yet again when she heard she was paired with Adrien, but was also startled that she had to perform something she actually said. She immediately recognized it and saw it was from a day several months ago when they had been working out a strategy to defeat another villain. Adrien and her went over the lines together, and she was surprised how natural it felt. She didn't stammer when acting to him, and was able to not deepen the red in her cheeks! She already felt amazing and they hadn't even performed yet.
Mylene and Ivan went first and the same thing happened. Mylene did great but she didn't exude the confidence Ladybug had, and Ivan still messed up his words, but not as much because of the kind looks Mylene kept giving him. It was over in minutes, and Marinette's heart pounded as it was their turn to perform. Alya said action and the scene began, and Ladybug's confidence radiated within Marinette suddenly.
"I think the akuma is hiding in her bracelet," Marinette said.
"Yeah that seems right, how do you propose we get it?" Marinette was taken off guard by Adrien's suddenly spot-on impression of Chat Noir, he even lilted his voice the same way.
"I think we should sneak up behind her and jump through the skylight. You distract her and I'll try to grab the bracelet. If that fails, use Cataclysm on the pillar she's standing on." She realized she was speaking just like Ladybug, and Adrien was looking at her with confusion and surprise.
"Sounds like a great plan m'Lady," Adrien said in the perfect Chat voice, even tipping an imaginary hat as Chat tended to do.
"Let's go!" She said and the scene ended. The four others in the room immediately erupted into cheers. Marinette blushed and the duo bowed.
"Oh my god that was amazing! If I'd been blindfolded I would've sworn that was the actual Ladybug and Chat Noir speaking! I think we all agree that you are now our leading roles!" Alya said, hugging Marinette. Mylene and Ivan didn't seem upset, they were congratulating them as well. They walked back out to the group and the room cheered when it was announced, and Marinette felt very happy.