With the morning mail came Ladybug's parcel, signed on the front with a ladybug doodle. Adrien brought it into his room, holding the gift close to his chest.
He tore into the plain brown wrapping, balling up the paper and tossing it smoothly into the trash bin. The shirt she had sent matched her description; it truly was rather ugly. Not that he cared—Adrien was going to wear it anyways.
He pulled his shirt over his head, replacing it with the tee. Adrien admired himself in the bathroom mirror, flexing for good measure.
I look good in anything, he concluded, nodding to himself.
When leaving for school, Adrien received a strange look from Nathalie and a lingering gaze from his chauffeur. It wasn't from his father's clothing line, which was what he normally wore, but Gabriel Agreste wasn't here to stop his son from this disastrous fashion faux pas.
During the limo ride, Adrien checked for any new messages he might have received from Ladybug. Inbox bare, he sent a quick note that he had gotten the shirt and that he absolutely adored it. But not as much as I adore you, he wanted to say—couldn't say.
The trip to the collège was short. Adrien exited his ride to a waiting Nino. The way his friend's eyes widened at the sight of the blonde was almost comical.
"What in the world are you wearing, dude?" Nino wiped down his glasses, double checking if he was seeing right.
Adrien grinned sheepishly, rubbing his neck. "Do you like it?"
"Frankly, no. Why are you wearing that?"
"It was a present. From a friend."
Nino raised a brow dubiously. "A friend? Who would send you that?"
Adrien coughed into his fist. "Er, an online friend. But enough questions for right now. Let's go to class, okay?"
The two went to their first period, Adrien drawing in the attention of everyone in the halls with his shirt. Whenever Nino started prodding about it, Adrien brought up another subject.
"Did you give this person your address? Do you know if you can trust them?" Nino asked.
"Yes, of course! I can definitely trust her, or else I wouldn't have given it to her in the first place," he replied.
"Her? So they're a girl?"
Adrien paused. Would he recognize Ladybug's name if I told him? Would he connect the dots (ha ha, dots) and figure out that I'm kittycatblack? The thought of Nino finding out Adrien's shitposting tendencies warmed his neck in embarrassment. It was bad enough having an official Adrien Agreste Instagram.
Alya and Marinette entered class together, giggling over who-knows-what. It was Marinette's pink sweater and black flats that caught his eye.
"Marinette new outfit looks cute, don't you think, dude?" Nino gave the girl a thumbs up she passed, to which Marinette smiled.
Adrien felt his cheeks warm. "Uh—yeah, it is."
The memory of last night's voice call bubbled to the surface. Heat tinged his cheeks as Adrien recalled falling asleep at his desk, the sound of Ladybug snoring softly drifting through the speakers.
She had asked him for clothing advice, and his answer coincidentally matched his classmate's outfit.
Huh.
Marinette met Adrien's stare and blushed. Her eyes dropped down to his shirt, widening at the sight. Marinette quieted as she plopped down into her seat behind his.
"Woah, Adrien, what's with the shirt?" Alya raised her brows pointedly, lips twinged up at the corners. Marinette fiddled through her bag, trying not to stare.
It's just a coincidence. I mean, they had a lot on sale… and what are the chances Chat Noir is Adrien? Extremely slim, I would say. Yep. Extremely slim.
"Someone gave it to me. I thought I'd wear it today; it arrived in the mail this morning," said Adrien. "It's kind of a gag gift."
See? Anybody could have given it to him. Maybe any old fan, hoping for a laugh. Adrien isn't Chat.
"Who gave it to you?" Alya inquired.
"Oh, you don't know her. She's a close friend, but she doesn't go here."
Marinette's breath hitched. "H-her?" she asked without thinking.
Adrien turned to Marinette. "Yeah, La—she's really great. We met online a couple of years ago. Sometimes she sends me things, like this shirt." He gestured to it proudly, waving his hand dramatically.
A weight dropped in Marinette's stomach. Adrien sounded like he really cared about this girl.
Does her have a crush on her? lamented Marinette. Do I even have a chance? Did I ever have a chance in the first place?!
She forced a smile. "She must really like you."
Adrien's cheeks turned a faint pink. "I don't know. I hope so. I've asked if she wanted to meet—she lives in France—but she doesn't want to."
It sounded much like Marinette's decision about she and Chat. Did Chat think she didn't like him? The thought didn't sit well with her.
"That's too bad," Marinette said, "but I'm sure she has good reasons."
"I'm sure." Adrien smiled wistfully, a dream-like quality to his eyes. Marinette's heart fluttered.
Marinette taped a neon-blue flyer to the wall. Standing back to adjust its placement, she moved on, satisfied.
As class president and part of the party planning committee, Marinette was helping out after school to advertise for the upcoming Winter Dance.
Stack of flyers depleted, Alya pulled some from Marinette's bundle. She laid an arm on her friend's shoulder, eyeing the bright blue announcement. "So, are you going to ask Adrien to the dance?"
Marinette jumped. "W-what? Ask him to the dance? I-I can't."
"Why not? If you don't, someone else will… someone like, per say, Chloe?"
Marinette wilted. "I know… but if he rejects me, I'm going to die of embarrassment. That video of Hawkmoth crying would be the perfect soundtrack to my demise."
Alya tutted. "Girl, you are not going to die, and you will not face your demise. The worst that could happen is he says no and goes with someone else—which is what surely will happen if you don't ask him out."
"I hate it when you have a point," Marinette whined. "Okay. I-I can try asking him."
"That's my girl. Oh, speak of the devil! It's your lucky day, now you can ask him." Alya plucked the flyers and tape from Marinette's arms. "I'll just finish hanging these up and—bye!"
"Wait, what?" Marinette squeaked, and whipped around.
Adrien was coming down the very hall, paper snowflakes in his hand and muttering to himself.
Just my luck, indeed! This is horrible; I'm not ready!
Adrien looked up and jumped. He used his free hand to smooth out his jacket and cleared his throat. "Hey, Marinette. Are you done putting up the flyers?"
Marinette scratched her arm. "Uh, yeah, I am." Only half of the hall had flyers up, but Alya had taken the rest of them who-knows-where.
"Okay, that's great. Do you mind helping me hang these up, then?"
Marinette nodded, eager to assist the boy. "Sure!" She accepted the small stack of paper snowflakes he handed her.
"I only have one roll of tape, though, so we'll have to share."
"That's alright, I don't mind sharing," she reassured. I'll have to stay by Adrien… yes!
The two worked diligently in silence, making their way around the school. At the halfway point the pair crossed Rose and Juleka's snowflakes and decided to call it quits.
"I think that's it for today," Adrien said. "My ride should be here about now. I'll see you tomorrow?"
Marinette smiled shyly. "Y-yeah, I will."
"See you then!" Adrien turned and walked down the hall.
Marinette started after him in a daze before remembering her task. She dashed after him, catching him in the courtyard. "Adrien, wait!"
He faced her, lips turned up in a patient smile. "Yes?"
All her blood rushed to Marinette's face. The only thing she could see was Adrien, a halo of light framing his silhouette. "Uh, um. D-do you want to," she gulped, clenching her fists. "H-help me again tomorrow?"
Noooo!
"Oh, yeah, of course. Anytime, Marinette." And with that, Adrien left, leaving Marinette standing alone in the courtyard.
Marinette stared at the empty space before her, mouth agape. "Are you serious?" she yelled at herself, "you had one job, Marinette! One job!"
Adrien stepped off the last stair and out onto the sidewalk. His usual limo was not yet waiting for him at the front.
Moments later, Alya and Marinette came down beside him, the brunette's arm slung comfortingly around her best friend's shoulder. After bidding goodbye, the two parted ways, Marinette towards her home across the street and Alya to stand idly by the side of the road.
"Hey, Alya," Adrien called.
Alya walked towards him, smiling. "Hi. Are you waiting for your ride, too?"
He nodded. "Marinette and I finished a bit earlier than I thought."
Alya smirked. "So, the million-dollar question: who is Adrien Agreste taking to the dance?"
Adrien rubbed his neck. "No one, actually. I don't have anyone to ask. I thought I'd just go with Nino, if I show at all."
"Ooh," clucked Alya, shaking her head. "That's too bad; I'm taking Nino."
"You are? He never told me that."
Alya laughed. "Well, maybe because I haven't officially asked him yet—but I will, and if he says yes, which I'm sure he will, then you need a backup plan. Isn't there anyone you'd like to ask?"
Adrien immediately thought of Ladybug, but asking her to his school dance would not end positively. "Yeah, but she'll never say yes."
"Oh? That sucks." Alya tapped her chin. "Hmm, maybe you can ask Marinette? She doesn't have a date, and if I do go with Nino, poor Mari will be all alone. She already bought tickets, too. It'd be a shame to waste her night."
"Marinette? Yeah, I guess I could ask her. Do you think she'd agree?"
"Seeing as only moments ago she was complaining about having no one to go with… yes."
Adrien grinned. "Great! Thanks, Alya."
She winked. "No problem." Alya whipped out her phone, her ladybug themed charm glinting in the late afternoon sun. "While I'm referring you to amazing girls…" she turned the screen towards Adrien, holding it up close to his face. "Have you heard of them? I know the person who runs the blog."
It was ladybugger. The header was a familiar montage of Ladybug's various fashion projects. Adrien nodded. Without thinking, he laughed and said, "What, you know my bestie?"
Alya blinked. "Uh, your bestie?"
Adrien's heart skipped a beat. "Well, I-I mean I've been following her for a while, and I sometimes like to think I know her pretty well… and stuff." He shrugged stiffly.
Alya narrowed her eyes. "Okay…."
Miraculously, Adrien's chauffeur pulled up, punctuating the conversation.
"Oh, heh, look at that: my ride is here. I'll see you tomorrow, Alya." He threw a wave over his shoulder and hopped into the limo.
Once hidden inside, Adrien let out a deep breath. That was a close one. There's only one person who would be considered Ladybug's "bestie"; kittycatblack, memer extraordinaire.
...Wait a second. Alya knows who Ladybug is?
Asking Alya to reveal the name was, admittedly, quite tempting, but Adrien had more respect for his lady than that.
But maybe he knew her anyways.
Marinette was laying dejectedly on her bed when her phone buzzed once.
She felt around for the device before bringing the bright screen to her face. There was a text from Alya:
[ fixed ur little problem. u can thnx me ltr ;) ]
Marinette's lips pressed together. Oh, Alya, what did you do? The worry that Alya had said something embarrassing to Adrien about her ate at her mind. The only thing left for Marinette to do was place her trust in her friend.
How Alya could have possibly fixed her "little problem" was a mystery. There was no way she could ask Adrien to the dance now—messing up one time was enough for her.
