Adrien felt his heart drop to his stomach. How was he supposed to respond? He knew he had to think of something soon because Marinette's eyes were becoming wider by the second. They were basically the size of saucers now. He quickly looked around to see if anyone had seen him without his hat and glasses. Thankfully, no one had, Marinette being the only excuse, so he hastily put the sunglasses back on. He looked back at Marinette, who was still staring at him with her jaw hanging. He let out a nervous laugh, feeling a bit uncomfortable under her disbelieving stare.

"Chat Noir's here? Where is he?" he tried. He never was very good at feigning innocence. He seriously doubted she would fall for his attempt at being naive.

Marinette lifted her finger to point at him, her eyes not leaving his for a minute. Those eyes seemed to burn holes in his very soul.

Adrien gulped. He could feel his sweat dropping onto his lap. She was too smart for his lies. He should have known.

"Y-you're Chat?" she asked quietly, as if not daring to ask to loudly. Her eyes held an unreadable emotion.

Adrien felt his shoulders slump in defeat. Nodding slowly, he looked at his feet. Oh, Ladybug was going to be so mad that a civilian had found out his identity. Images of her angry face were already forming in his mind.

He had to say, it could be way worse, Ladybug had to trust Marinette at least a little to have her work with him against Evillustrator. Besides, Marinette seemed like she would be good with secrets. He didn't know her that well, but he did know she would always do her best to help someone out. She might not like him very much, as obviously proven from her stutter, but she would probably keep quiet about his alter ego.

After Adrien's silent confirmation, Marinette's eyes bugged out even more. The weight of the situation finally set in. Chat Noir was Adrien.

The amiable, compassionate, exuberant boy she fought alongside with was also the quiet boy who sat in front of her. He was the generous boy who gave her his umbrella. He was the smart, sincere, and wonderful boy who she's had a crush on ever since the beginning of the school year. Oh, her poor heart couldn't handle this.

Then, she realized something.

She had kissed Adrien on Valentine's Day when they were fighting Dark Cupid.

She then proceeded to do the only thing her mind and vocal chords would allow her to do.

She screamed.

Adrien flinched as Marinette's high-pitched shriek filled the quiet schoolyard. After she was finished, worried murmurs sounded from all around them, unable to locate the source of the scream. Some even tried to call out to her. Marinette yelped when she realized what she had done.

"I'M OKAY, DON'T WORRY! I JUST SAW… A BLACK CAT! IT STARTLED ME, THAT'S ALL!" she yelled back to avoid anyone checking in on her.

Adrien looked at her sadly. Did she really hate him so much from the gum incident that being Chat Noir just made it worse? He knew that Ladybug was the real hero, but he thought that maybe Marinette would like him more if she knew he at least helped a little in saving Paris. He looked at his feet dejectedly. He had been so wrong.

Marinette covered her face with her hands. Oh gosh, what was she going to do? She couldn't tell him she was Ladybug, he'd be so disappointed that his amazing partner was just plain old Marinette. After summoning some courage, she finally removed her hands from her head and looked up at Adrien. Her heart broke at what she saw.

He had the most depressed look on his face. He probably thought that he had somehow disappointed her. She wanted to reach out to him, to tell him that wasn't the case, that she wouldn't want her partner to be anyone else.

Although she restrained herself from wrapping him in a fierce hug, she did grab his shoulder. He looked up at the touch. His breath caught when he saw Marinette deeply looking into his eyes with a small smile on her lips.

"I'm so sorry, I think you got the wrong idea. Adrien, you make an amazing Chat Noir. I honestly can't think of anyone else who I'd rather be Chat. I know my scream might have been a little hurtful, but that's not how I meant it. I was just… surprised, that's all," Marinette said soothingly, warmth radiating from her eyes and smile.

Adrien didn't know that Marinette could speak so well. She always stuttered around him, and he had just guessed it was because she was still mad at him from the beginning of the school year. Maybe that wasn't the case. Maybe there was more to Marinette Dupain-Cheng than he had previously thought.

There was one thing that was bugging him. Why had she immediately assumed he was Chat Noir? He could have been cosplaying or just goofing around for all she knew. He didn't even have his usual cat eyes that went with the mask.

It wasn't like anyone knew that Chat Noir's mask was acting up either, well, except for Ladybug of course. If she was the only one who knew, why was Marinette so quick to realize he was Chat Noir?

It just didn't make sense to him. He knew that Marinette was really intelligent, maybe she just figured he looked like Chat Noir? It confused him that no one else had realized he was Chat Noir.

How could you not put two and two together when he had the same hair color, same build, and basically the same eye color as Chat Noir? He knew if he every saw anyone that looked like Ladybug he would figure it out. He liked to think that he had a knack for that kind of thing.

The only problem was that he had never noticed anyone that looked like Ladybug.

But he was getting off topic now.

That was how he had decided that Marinette just must be really observant. Maybe he would ask her about it later, but for right now he felt satisfied with his conclusion. He then realized he had gone about a minute without replying, and Marinette's smile was starting to look more worried. Gosh, she was so caring.

"T-thanks, Marinette. T-that means a lot t-to me!" he spluttered out, face red.

Wait, he had a stutter now?

And why was he blushing?

AN: Thank you all for the get well wishes! I am feeling much better this week. I apologize the slightly late update, while this chapter is a bit short, I wanted to make it as good as possible. Also, thank you so much for the reviews, follows, and favorites! The last chapter got many comments, all of which made me smile. Please, feel free to leave more if you want, I love reading them! You guys are funny! Anyways, thanks for reading and be prepared for more drama next weekend!