Chapter Ten

Marinette woke up feeling like she hadn't gotten much sleep at all. Her dreams had been strange and confusing. One minute she's in class with Adrien about to confess her feelings and then suddenly he would change into Cat Noir and they would be in the middle of fighting an akuma. Then once she's about to 'pound it' with Cat Noir he changes into Adrien and they're at a party together. Even in her dream state all the changing people and scenes were jarring.

After she dragged herself out of bed and had some food and a shower she was ready to shake the dreams off and get ready for the exciting day ahead. She was going to spend some quality time with Adrien!

"What to wear?" Marinette murmured as she stared at her closet.

"Why can't you just wear what you normally would? Aren't you just hanging out with some friends today?" Tikki asked from her spot on the desk.

"Kind of but Adrien is going to be there! It's almost like a date too since Alya, Nino, Adrien, and I are going and Alya and Nino are a couple and that leaves me and Adrien. It's almost like a double date." Marinette said aware of how stupid that sounded as she said it.

"Marinette. I don't think that makes it a date at all. Especially if the other person doesn't know it's supposed to be one." Tikki said gently.

"Yeah, I know. But it's not a crime to want to look good in front of my crush." Marinette said defensively.

"I didn't say it was but it would be a little suspicious if you showed up all dolled up for a casual event." Tikki explained gently.

"I suppose you're right. I can still dress a little nicer than usual though." Marinette murmured.

Finally, she decided on a black pleated skirt and a pink velvet sweetheart shirt. She twirled in front of the mirror before giving her reflection a nod of approval.

"See Tikki. Still casual, just a little cuter than usual." Marinette said.

"You look great Marinette. As long as that's all the improvement you're going to do you should be fine." Tikki chirped.

Marinette barely heard her as she decided to work on her hair. She let it down thinking a down hair style would be best since Cat had said he liked her hair down.

She froze at her own thoughts. She shook herself mentally reminding herself that it was Adrien she was trying to impress not Cat. Why would she care about impressing Cat? That didn't make any sense. Not that she didn't care what Cat thought because of course what her partner thought of her mattered but… not right now. Not about this subject.

She threw her hair up in her normal hairstyle frustrated by the sudden intrusive thoughts. It was probably just due to the weird switching that was happening in her dream the night before. Still, she didn't appreciate the feeling the thoughts gave her. She didn't even want to think about it.

She decided to do something productive until it was time to go meet Alya. Something that would require her to focus. She decided to work on the skirt and hoodie set that she had finally gotten the material for.

Before she knew it there was a knock on her trap door. The sudden interruption made her jump.

"Come in." she said.

"Hey girl. It's a bit early but my mom came home early so I didn't have to keep watching the twins." Alya said walking over to stand next to Marinette.

"Oh, well I'm glad I'm not late then." Marinette said relaxing in her seat.

When she saw Alya she had worried that she lost track of time.

"New project?" Alya asked gesturing to the clothing.

"Yeah. It's something really simple that really anyone could make. I didn't see any places selling it though so I'm making it myself." Marinette explained.

"Well, I can't wait to see the finished product." Alya said.

Even though she didn't know as much as Marinette about fashion she was always supportive of Marinette. As Alya put it she didn't need to know all the right words for different style shirts to know which ones looked cute.

"So, I was thinking we could head to the café down the street from the movie theatre. The boys can meet us there about half an hour before the movie and we can walk there without worrying about time constraints." Alya said.

"Sounds good. Let me just grab a jacket." Marinette said getting up.

"Cute outfit by the way. Trying to impress a certain someone?" Alya teased.

"Is it too much?" Marinette asked worried that Tikki had been right.

"Nope. I just like to mess with you girl." Alya said winking playfully.

The girls left the house after saying good-bye to Marinettes parents and promising that Marinette would be home by 10 at the lastest. On the way to the café the girls talked about normal things, school assignments, some rumors, all the recent akuma attacks, theories about who Hawkmoth could be, and theories on the civilian identities of Paris' heroes. The last three subjects were spearheaded by Alya and her boat loads of journalistic intel. The last subject always made Marinette uneasy but her friend never came close to claiming Marinette was Ladybug. At least not seriously.

"So how're you feeling? Any nerves I need to help calm down?" Alya asked.

They were settling down at a table outside with their drinks when Alya suddenly changed the subject.

"A little. Is it obvious?" She asked worriedly.

"Probably not to someone who isn't your best friend and knows everything about you. You did seem a little preoccupied with your thoughts during my last theory rant." Alya said smirking.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to space out on you." Marinette said quickly.

"It's okay. I kind of expected your nerves to be acting up anyway. You have nothing to worry about though. It's not like you'll be hanging out with Adrien alone. Though I do have some ideas to get you two closer during our little outing." Alya said.

"Don't tell me that! You'll just make me more nervous about this whole thing." Marinette chastised.

"It's nothing major. Just making sure Nino and I are mysteriously absent when its time to buy snacks and making sure Adrien sits next to you. You know, my normal dating service schemes." Alya said playfully.

"Please don't interfere too much Alya. It may end up only making me more nervous and it could make Adrien uncomfortable." Marinette pleaded.

"Why on earth would Adrien feel uncomfortable to be alone with you?" Alya asked raising an eyebrow.

"No particular reason. It's just that he expects Nino and you to be there the whole time. Being made to spend some unplanned alone time with me could make him uncomfortable. Especially since we aren't all that close." Marinette said.

"Mari, you've been doing so well around him. I don't know if you realize how much you've improved. You rarely stutter unless something embarrassing or slightly in the vein of romantic happens. You two have had plenty of conversations that Nino and I stayed out of. You two may not be super close but you're definitely close enough to spend some time alone without Nino and I." Alya assured her.

"I just don't want you guys to push him. I don't want to scare him away ya know? I would rather have his friendship than nothing at all." Marinette explained.

Alya frowned at her friend. She knew Mari and Adrien had the potential to be more than friends if they both just tried a little. Marinette just needed to believe in herself and not be flustered by being around Adrien.

"I won't lie to you and say I won't interfere at all but I'll at least hold back." Alya said, though she wasn't happy about it.

"I appreciate the honesty and the fact that you'll restrain yourself at least a little." Marinette said.

Author's Notes:

I know I keep saying the next chapter will be better to myself and sometimes to you guys but this is a slow burn story I think. Within the next few chapters things will get really interesting. Until I get to that twist I hope you guys enjoy the little bits of Adrienette and Marichat fluff. Thank you for all the kind comments and for any support. Let me know what you think so far ^-^