Adrien waited anxiously for Marinette. He stood in front of the school, tapping his foot with his arms crossed across his chest. He checked his watch. Class was supposed to start in two minutes. If Marinette didn't get here fast, she'd be late. Adrien groaned and searched for any sign of his girlfriend approaching. He pulled out his cell phone and was about to call her when Nino walked outside.

"Dude, class is starting. Come inside."

Adrien sighed. "But, Marinette…"

Nino shrugged. "I don't know, man. Maybe she's sick."

Nino walked inside and Adrien muttered, "She would have told me." He took one last glance around him before following Nino inside. He took his regular seat. Alya leaned over to Adrien.

"Hey, Adrien, where is Marinette?"

He turned to Alya. "I thought you knew. She hasn't called me."

Alya checked her phone. "She hasn't called or texted me, either. I hope she's okay."

Alya leaned back in her seat and Adrien sighed. He decided to call her after class ended. Before class, he and Ladybug were in a battle, but it ended with enough time for Adrien and Marinette to get ready for school. Maybe Marinette was fighting another battle as Ladybug. But then she would have called Adrien. He concentrated on the lesson and tried not to worry too much about Marinette.

Ladybug landed in her room with twenty minutes until class started. She heard her earrings beep one last time and waited to transform back into Marinette. But, nothing happened. One spot was left on Ladybug's earrings, but it should have gone away. Why didn't she transform back. She decided to try it the manual way.

"Tikki, spots off!"

Nothing. Ladybug began to panic. "Tikki…SPOTS OFF!"

Still, nothing happened. Ladybug's heart started to pound. What was happening? Why couldn't she transform back? She thought about the battle she had just finished with. The akumatized victim seemed especially adamant to retrieve her miraculous. He almost succeeded, too. Maybe he had done something to her? His akumatized identity was a type of wizard. The victim was a video games addict, so maybe he cast some sort of spell on her. She wished she could talk to Tikki about this, but she knew she couldn't.

She pulled out her phone. "Maybe Adrien can help."

She tried to call him, but her phone wouldn't work. "What? What is happening?"

Her phone was just dead. She couldn't contact him. Ladybug panicked about what to do. She couldn't contact Adrien, and she probably couldn't go to him without revealing her identity. Maybe she could contact him as Cat Noir.

She pulled out her communication device for Ladybug and tried to call him. No answer. He wouldn't answer unless he was Cat Noir. Ladybug groaned and fell back on her bed. She would just have to go see Adrien at his house.

She paced her room for a while, but then decided she couldn't be cooped up anymore. She jumped out the window and swung for a while until she reached the school. She saw that class was just now being released. She saw Adrien run out of the building and then pull out his cell phone. Ladybug knew he would just be disappointed because her phone wasn't working. Adrien furiously hung up his phone. He went to talk to Nino and Alya, and they looked just as confused as him. Ladybug wanted to go to them, but she knew she couldn't. She had to wait until Adrien was alone.

Adrien started to walk away from them. He yelled something at them and then started running towards Ladybug's house. Ladybug swung down and grabbed Adrien. They landed on a roof and Adrien's expression changed from surprise, to anger, to relief.

"Ladybug, there you are. I've been trying to contact you!"

Ladybug nodded and felt tears on the brim of her eyes. "Adrien, something has happened. I can't transform back to Marinette. I've tried, but nothing works."

Adrien's brows furrowed. "What do you mean? You're stuck as Ladybug?"

Ladybug shrugged. "I honestly don't know. And I tried to call you, but my phone is dead. It won't work at all. Only my communication device as Ladybug works. I'm afraid that this is permanent."

Tears fell down Ladybug's face as Adrien wiped them away. "No, don't think like that. We'll figure this out."

Ladybug sniffled. "Maybe…maybe this is a good thing. I mean, I've always enjoyed being Ladybug."

Adrien sighed. "I know. As Ladybug, you can escape. But what about Alya? And what about me? You won't be able to spend time with me unless I am Cat Noir, or else people will become suspicious."

Ladybug nodded. "I know." She sighed and lifted her chin. "I have a theory of what happened. Remember the wizard we fought earlier?"

Adrien nodded, and Ladybug continued. "Well, I think he might have cast a spell on me. If I'm Ladybug full time, it will be easier for Hawkmoth to get my miraculous. At least as Marinette, I can hide from him."

Adrien thought about her theory. "I think you might be right, Ladybug. We'll find a way a fix this." He hugged her. "For now, we'll meet only at night, so that people don't become suspicious. We can also meet when I am Cat Noir. I'll try to transform whenever I can." Adrien pushed her back to look into her eyes. "We will figure this out. I promise."

He gently kissed her cheek and Ladybug hugged him tightly. Adrien whispered to her, "Just lay low, and don't cause attention. If we need to fight, I'll be there as Cat Noir. Don't worry, darling. It will all be okay."

Ladybug smiled and slowly nodded. "I'll, uh, drop you off at your house."

Ladybug wrapped her arm around his waist and swung to Adrien's house. She dropped him off and then gave him a small peck on the cheek. As she was leaving, Adrien said, "I love you!"

Ladybug smiled at him and disappeared.