A/N

Thank you everyone for your reviews, follows, and favorites. They brightened my day when I read them. I hope you will continue reading and enjoying The Consequences of His Wish. For future reference, my updates will be consistently weekly, but the chapter amount may vary. Enjoy!

-TheScarletofaRose

Max readjusted his glasses. "I believe that a PowerPoint, presenting graphs, tables, and diagrams, would be the most accurate way to show our progress as a group. If we go last, I could even adjust our information to reflect a comparison of our group and the others. It would only take a few minutes as I would be gathering the data from the groups as they present, and it would–"

"That sounds like a fantastic idea, Max," Lila interrupted, "but shouldn't we also include some footage to actually show our interactions? We could even show how each of us interact one on one, and which pairing has the most impact."

Lila smiled sweetly. Max and Juleka looked at each other and shrugged. Adrien nodded his head. "That doesn't sound like a bad idea."

Lila clasped her hands. "Great! Let's choose partners. Adrien! Would you be my partner first? You've already helped me so much, and I'm a little camera shy, so I think that if I went with you first, it would totally calm me down."

"No!"

Marinette stood up. Four pairs of eyes turned her way. Her face became flushed, a little embarrassed by her outburst. She immediately stiffened up, her mind racing to recover. "I-I mean… I disagree… b-because Miss Bustier said t-that… this was a group project. Yeah! A group project, so we should stay a group the entire time because otherwise it wouldn't be a group...project?"

She gave a forced smile and ran a hand through her hair. Lila glared at her. "Yes but–"

"Marinette's right." Adrien looked up at Marinette and gave her a reassuring smile. Her face reddened, and she looked away, a smile teasing through. "This is a project about how we interact with each other as a group. Like she said, we should stay together as a group. Instead of breaking up, let's come up with scenarios that we could do."

Lila gritted her teeth but quickly smiled. "Adrien, you are so right!" She rested her hand on his arm. "You're so smart; we're sure to get an A with you in our group."

Adrien blushed and looked away, his hand scratching the back of his head and simultaneously blocking Lila from seeing his discomfort. His gaze landed on Marinette chewing on the strap of her purse. Her face was pink and scrunched up in frustration. He chuckled. Marinette looked over and released her purse, awkwardly smiling. She turned back to the group. "What if we visited a couple of places for a short amount of time, like the zoo? There are a lot of animals to see, but if we limit our time, we'll have to agree on which ones to visit."

"That could work," Max agreed, "especially if we are vocalize our thoughts at each exhibit."

"We could bake," Juleka added.

Lila chimed in, her eyes bright, "Oh I love baking. My great-great-grandmother was a famous baker for a royal family in Monaco, so a lot of her famous recipes and tips have been passed down my family. If you guys want, I could totally ask my mother if I could share one of her precious recipes?"

Marinette smirked. "Really? What's her name?"

Lila looked at her in surprise, not expecting her to be interested. Adrien noticed the shock and said, "Marinette's parents are bakers. They're professionals with a shop right down from the school."

Marinette crossed her arms and leaned back, exuding confidence. "My father's side of the family is full of bakers. It goes further back than anyone can remember. If your ancestor was a renowned baker, I'm certain my father has heard of her."

All eyes turned to Lila expectantly. Lila tensed up. "Y-your family bakes? That's…" She chewed on her lip thoughtfully and suddenly perked up. "Fantastic! Since Marinette's family owns a bakery, that means we can do your idea, Juleka! You'll ask them for us, right Marinette?"

Lila clasped her hands together and looked at Marinette with pleading eyes. Marinette frowned and opened her mouth to call out Lila, but she felt a hand on hers and stopped. Adrien gave her a knowing smile. Marinette sighed. "Yes, I'll ask my parents if we can use their shop to bake."

Juleka and Lila high-fived. Max scribbled down some notes. "It would be an excellent display of teamwork if we managed to be able to do it. I hope your parents agree, Marinette."

"Yeah…." Marinette propped up her chin, disappointed. Adrien squeezes her hand and whispered, "Cheer up, Marinette. I have your back."

Marinette glanced at their clasped hands, realizing he never let go. Her face rapidly began to change shades. She squeaked. "Y-yeah. Okay."

Is two enough, Max? Do you think we have time for one more?" Adrien asked, turning back to the group. Max looked up from his notes and adjusted his glasses. "The project is due the day after tomorrow. If we began today after school, we could evenly split the time up to accommodate one more activity. However, if we keep it at two, that gives us more time for each."

"It might be best to just do two. I don't have anything scheduled for today after school, so I'm good to start today. Is everyone else free as well?"

Everyone muttered in affirmation. Marinette added, "Since I still have to ask my parents, we can go to the zoo today. I'll text everyone what they say tonight."

"Do you have everyone's number, Marinette?" Max asked.

"I think so…." Marinette replied. She pulled out her phone and began scrolling through her contacts. "I have Adr–I mean, just Juleka's."

Marinette handed Max her phone, and he typed in his number. Returning her phone, he asked, "What about Lila's?"

"Lila?" Marinette and Lila made eye contact and quickly looked away, both unhappy with the idea of having each other's number. Lila gave a tight-lipped smile and extended her hand. Marinette looked down at her phone and begrudgingly handed it over. Lila typed her number in and handed it back. It took all of Marinette's willpower not to snatch it away.

"My turn," Adrien said.

Marinette's cheeks flushed. "Y-yeah, hold on."

She quickly deleted Adrien's number from her phone and handed it over. She lazily smiled as she watched him re-enter his number into his phone. "Great," he said, handing it back. "That's everyone."

Marinette sent a group text, and a moment later, everyone's phones lit up. Adrien looked down at his and saw Marinette's name across his phone. "That's odd. Marinette, I already had your number sav–"

The bell rang, cutting off the end of his sentence. The students dispersed to their seats and continued their school day. Time flew by, and soon the last bell sounded out, signally the end of classes. Adrien said goodbye to Nino and stood out front, waiting for his group to show up. Within a few minutes, everyone was there.

"Is everyone ready?" He asked. Max scrolled through his phone. He said, "The weather is 22 degrees Celsius with little to no chance of rain. It is also mildly cloudy, so there is no worry of being sunburned."

"Great. Let's–" Adrien's phone dinged. He looked down, and his mood immediately dropped. "Sorry guys, my father says I need to come home. Do you think we can fit both in tomorrow?"

"It'll be a tight fit," Max began, but Marinette finished, "but I'm sure we can do it. Don't worry about it, Adrien. We all know how strict your father is."

"I'm sure if I talked to him, I could convince him." Lila offered, but Adrien shook his head. The Agreste limo pulled up. Gorilla got out and opened the door for him. "Thanks for the offer, Lila, but you've never met my father. He doesn't speak to anyone. He barely even talks to me. I have to go though. See you guys tomorrow."

Adrien waved and gloomily made his way to the limo. As the car drove away, Adrien watched his friends grow smaller. He sighed and turned back to the tinted window that separated him from the driver. Plagg flew out from his shirt. "Don't be so down. You'll see them tomorrow. Besides, this means we get to eat cheese!"

Adrien stayed silent and just gazed out the window. They shortly arrived back at the Agreste mansion. Adrien opened the door to his house and quietly made his way inside.

"Adrien."

Adrien looked over to see his father in the doorway of his office. "My office."

Adrien bowed his head and entered his father's office, wondering what kind of trouble he was in this time.

"Hello Adrien." A soft voice called out. Adrien looked up. A young woman with blonde hair and green eyes, sat in a chair a couple feet away. Her smile matched the pictures he kept upstairs, and though it had been a couple years, she looked exactly as she had before. Adrien gulped.

"Mom?"