Adrien's perspective:
Adrien paced around his room.
This seemed to become a recurring thing.
His heart was still racing, his heartbeats mimicking the sound of her footsteps. Adrien shuddered.
His mind was whirling, repeating and replaying the secret he had uncovered.
Adrien couldn't believe it. The coincidence was too good to be true. There was no way…
And yet… He had seen it with his own two eyes.
...
Alya was Rena Rouge. Alya, his classmate, his friend.
Adrien had recognized her apartment as soon as she and Ladybug got there. He had thought, Oh, Rena lives in the same building as Alya. But as he saw the pair climb into her window, his heart practically stopped. It had taken him a minute to comprehend.
Now that he knew, Adrien didn't know how he hadn't known before. They talked alike, acted similar, and hell they even looked alike. God, He was dumb.
One thing was certain. Ladybug knew Rena Rouge's identity. Adrien remembered thinking about it as he watched Ladybug climb from Alya's window alone. Chat finding out had been mere chance, but somehow, Ladybug got to know before he did.
…
Chat really didn't know how to feel about that.
There was the whole matter of getting a new miraculous and there was only one person that could be. Adrien had never met Master Fu, but Plagg talked about him once in a while and Ladybug referenced him sometimes. If it wasn't Fu, Adrien had no idea where it could've come from, so he committed to that idea.
Adrien was hurt. Not only did Ladybug go and get a new partner to add to the team (right after he confessed to her, no less) but she had done so without his permission or even knowledge. Also, why her? Why should Ladybug get to know who their new teammate was? Adrien wasn't usually one to complain, especially about Ladybug, but he had to draw the line somewhere, right?
Has she forgotten that we are partners? That it's Ladybug and Chat Noir, not just Ladybug?
Adrien tried to forget about that for a second. It was concerning, yes, but Adrien had more immediate problems to deal with right now.
God he was such an idiot. What kind of plan...
Course it didn't work, it was Ladybug you dumb…
Funny part was… Chat had been convinced that it would work. Following Ladybug had seemed like a stellar idea. And it had almost worked. Almost. But, Ladybug was Ladybug. Nobody could really ever pull a fast one on her.
But now he had to try again...
Chat had left Ladybug when she had entered the Louvre. If he had pursued any farther, he knew he would've gotten beat up.
Stupid stupid stupid stupid. Adrien wished he hadn't been so obvious. With his powers and suit, it should've been easy for him to remain quiet and hidden. He had been more reckless than anything, shaken up after learning Rena Rouge's true identity and amped up from the chase.
It had been terrifying, Ladybug constantly spinning around trying to catch him. Terrifying and… exhilarating. Something about being on the run and hiding in the shadows… Adrien couldn't describe how he felt then. Like… for the first time ever, he was using his powers and gifts to do what they were meant to do. Like for the longest time he had been charging out into the open when he should've just crept along the ground, remaining hidden until his prey was right in front of him. And then he would-
Adrien tried to forget about that feeling. It felt right, but just not… right. He blamed it on Plagg's cat-tiness (?). Anyway.
Adrien couldn't stop now, though. He had already alerted Ladybug of something. She was smart, she would've figured someone was after her identity. The gig was up, so there wasn't any harm in not holding back. He would have to trick her or misguide her into leading him back to her house without her having knowledge of him following her. He had chosen to be careless, now his motives were out in the open. So, like he said, Adrien would have to try again.
Adrien sighed. Nothing else he could do. Wouldn't do any good to mope and dwell.
For once, Adrien got a decent amount of sleep (for him, anyway) and arrived at school the next morning.
Wow, Ladybug was right, sleep really does change your life. Adrien was feeling a lot better.
Anyways.
Adrien couldn't shake off this feeling. Sure, now he knew that his classmate had become a superhero and all that jazz, but you wouldn't think that it would mess with him like it did.
To him, everything had changed and seemed different. At every corner he was expecting to run into him, all he heard were the whispers about a new superhero and how much better than Chat she was. About Ladybug's new partner. About the new savior of Paris (which was ridiculous Ladybug was the savior of Paris, yet that's what Adrien heard).
He knew he, or at least his mind, was being ridiculous. Of course nobody was saying that. Alya wouldn't have been likely to post about Rena's debut, seeing as she was her. Strange how the only person's privacy people protected was their own. And since Alya hadn't written about Rena on her Ladyblog (the main source of superhero news for the city), nobody would know. Adrien knew all this.
And yet…
Adrien shook his head (God I really do that a lot) and told himself to get a grip.
People were not talking about Rena Rouge. That wasn't going to be a problem that Adrien would have to face.
His running into Alya issue was a different story.
It wasn't like he could tell himself it wasn't going to happen. She was in his homeroom where he had to be in 10 minutes.
Adrien tried to shake off the jitters before heading there. Even, it took him almost all his time to drag himself to class.
He walked into his classroom. Everyone was there. Seemed he was the last one in. Adrien blamed his dread to see Alya.
The girl sat in her usual spot, talking to Marinette. Both girls and Nino smiled and waved at Adrien. He walked over to his desk, avoiding Chloe's stare as she waved at him and tried to get his attention. Adrien shrugged his bag off his shoulder to the floor.
"Hi Marinette. Hi Nino," Adrien said. "H-hi Alya."
Stupid. Act natural.
She smiled at him. "Hi Adrien." She looked a bit off too. Adrien relaxed a bit. This wasn't so hard. Alya was just trying to act normal too. He smiled back at her and sat down. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad knowing that his classmate was a superhero. Even if she didn't know that he was one of her new partners, it would be nice to keep track of his teammate and talk with her. It would be a bit more personal than with Ladybug. Adrien knew practically nothing about her identity. Sometimes it proved a challenge for Adrien to love her when he knew so little, but in the end his feelings always won out. Adrien was glad he would never experience this kind of doubt with Rena.
Before turning around and facing the front of their classroom, Adrien looked over at Marinette. She was looking at him, however when she saw him look at her, Mari reddened and looked back at Alya, trying to talk with her again. Adrien wasn't phased. She normally acted like this. He didn't look away like she did.
Adrien noticed small eye-bags under her eyes. Not exactly strange, the girl usually had eye-bags despite advocating about the importance of sleep, but her eyes seemed kind of… jumpy? Was that the right word? They kept glancing around, never really fixating on one point. That was a bit weird. She looked… unsettled. Adrien shrugged and looked away, realizing he looked like he was staring. He heard Marinette take a deep breath as his eyes left her. Marinette was strange. Adrien was sure it was nothing.
Class was about to start when Adrien heard a loud noise behind him. Almost instantly, he spun around in his chair, his instincts lightning quick. What he saw was Nathaniel lying on the ground behind Marinette's chair grimacing. Adrien guessed Marinette's own instincts were having a bit of a lazy day because it took her a second to react.
Marinette jumped in her chair and spun around, arms up, ready to punch (?) anything behind her. Adrien couldn't see her face, but for a second, poor Nath looked terrified. He scooted back and threw his own hands up, more in a protective manner.
"Ma- Marinette! I, uh, I didn't mean to startle you!" The read head babbled, obviously as unnerved as he had supposedly made Marinette. She gasped and covered her mouth, realizing her mistake.
"Oh Nath, I am so sorry! I must have been nervous and heard- oh god, please forgive me!" Marinette squeaked quickly, her unease instantly making way for embarrassment. Adrien chuckled quietly. Nathaniel looked away. He got up and brushed off his pants.
"My fault for tripping… well, kind of." He grimaced. "Don't worry about it Marinette," Nath said. He looked kind of… red… and flustered?
Oh, Adrien chuckled to himself. That's right.
Nathaniel had a crush on Marinette.
Adrien smiled to himself as he watched the conversation unfold.
She smiled at Nathaniel. "Well I feel bad anyway. These past few days have been kind of rough for me." Marinette sighed. "I feel like I never get a break. God, there's always something popping up and I guess it's gotten to my nerves now."
"Busy schedule? I get that. Seems like it's every week that I have to attend some art show or I'm working for hours on a new piece I'm making. I would think it would be similar to you and your fashion stuff. It's never made me jumpy though… Are you sure you're okay?" Nathan looked genuinely concerned for Marinette. Adrien smiled. It was nice having someone care for your friends.
"You're asking me that? You just fell!" Marinette laughed. "Yeah, I'm fine, just a bit wound up. I'm sure things will calm down for me soon enough," she said.
"So what've you been working on? I gotta know what's warranted this jumpy behavior," Nath teased.
"Oh you know," Marinette mumbled, "five things at once and wanting to finish all of them, yet not wanting to at the same time. It's just been an endless cycle of artist's block and total inspiration. I'm a bit dizzy." She giggled
Adrien had no clue what she was talking about, but it seemed that Nathaniel did.
"Ah yes. That happens to me every couple of months. Half your time is spent creating, or drawing in my case, and the other half stressing about not doing it." Nath sighed. "Hopefully you get over it soon. I would love to look at your work sometime. You seem like someone who would really dedicate yourself to a piece, Marinette. I feel like I could really get some inspiration from you!"
"Oh, sure! Who knows, maybe we can something up and work together. That sounds nice." Marinette and Nathaniel started talking art and fashion stuff, or whatever. Adrien wished he knew what they were talking about, his Dad worked in fashion for heaven sakes.
Adrien turned back around to face the front of the room. Best to stop eavesdropping regardless. He would let Marinette and Nath chat it up. He quite liked the guy and it seemed like he calmed Marinette down, something Adrien rarely managed to do.
Adrien thought back on what Marinette had said. He too had been feeling a bit wound up recently. With the whole confession fiasco a few days ago… Adrien was still settling into that. It felt a bit numb at the moment. And last night… Rena and Ladybug. Things were definitely speeding up in Adrien's life. Hopefully he would get a break soon.
The teacher walked to the desk in the front of the classroom and cleared her throat ready to call out the attendance. One by one, Adrien's classmates answered with a "here." Adrien drifted off slowly, staring at the board at the front of the room.
Suddenly, he was jostled awake as someone barreled past his elbow and out the door. Adrien's mind quickly gained its bearings and he watched as Alya left the room closely followed by Marinette. Alya seemed kind of pale… Adrien instantly glanced out the windows fearing the worst. And what did you know…
Ms. Bustier called his name. "Adrien?" She looked around the room before spotting him.
Before she could say or write anything, Adrien stood up. "Better mark me as tardy, Ms. Bustier." Nino glanced up at him, confused, but Adrien was already halfway across the room.
He should have expected it. Even though it had been a couple of days of crazy events, there hadn't been any attacks recently, which was odd for Paris.
He followed Alya out and prepared himself to fight the akuma.