Marinette Dupain Cheng sat on the floor of her bedroom. In one hand, she held a bright pink pencil. The other, a piece of paper. She placed the paper down in front of her and started to draw. She began with a light outline of a rectangle, then added lines and shading until a dress appeared. Just as the final lines were being made, she heard a snap. Led rolled across the paper leaving a large dark mark over the entire page. "Tikki", she cried, "at this rate, I'll never get this design finished!". Marinette tried wiping it away, only to make things worse. The led smeared across the paper leaving a trail of dark smears. She crumbled up the paper and tossed it into the corner. Her trash can was already overflowing with earlier attempts. "I don't understand Marinette...The dance is still a month away, Why are you so worried?" Tikki asked. Marinette let out a sigh as she laid back onto the floor. "I don't know Tikki...". Her face started to get red. "I just wanna look the best I can. You never know who will be there...". Her voice trailed off. She knew exactly who would be there, or at least the only person who mattered. Adrien. Adrien Agreste. The same Adrien Agreste who she had fallen head over heels for. Their best friends, Alya and Nino, had suggested the foursome go to the dance as a group. This made her very nervous, but at the same time excited. It was her chance to finally get close to him. "Besides, it would mean a lot more if I made the dress myself" she continued. Marinette stood up and walked over to her desk. If she was gonna get this design finished, she was gonna need a new pencil and a lot more paper.
After restocking with supplies, she sat back down. She decided to start fresh. This time, she started with an outline of an upside down triangle. She added vertical lines coming from the top two points, then connected them towards the bottom. "Let's see where this goes!". Tikki could tell Marinette was much happier with this idea already. She knew deep down that the girl was worried about way more than just a dress, but she knew Marinette would be fine. She always had a way of figuring things out.
About half an hour had passed when suddenly the two heard a knock. Tikki quickly flew up to the loft bed and hid under a pillow. Marinette looked up. "Well well well" she thought. "Check in time so soon?". She walked over to the balcony doors. When she opened the door, she saw Chat propping his arm on the railings. "Its about time! I was worried you wasn't gonna let me in, Purrincess" Chat Noir smiled. She should've know. Ever since her encounter with the Evillustrator, an akumitized version of a classmate, Chat Noir had decided to stop by for weekly check ups. It wasn't really neccessary, she was Ladybug after all, but she had decided it wouldn't hurt. Noone knew she was Ladybug, even her partner. It would be hard to explain that she didn't need protecting without giving that away. Plus, she liked when he visited. Not only did he make sure she was safe, but it gave her a chance to check on him as well. "Silly kitty, you know I wouldn't leave you out in the cold!". Chat walked in and closed the door behind him. "I was about to take a snack break, would you like to join me?" She asked. "You know it!" He replied. "I'll be right back" she said as she made her way across the room. Chat thought to himself about how lucky he was to stop by right in time for snacks. He knew the girls family owned the bakery below the apartment, and was usually stocked up on the most delicious treats in Paris. He started to sit down when he noticed the pile of paper wads in the corner. He was about to investigate when he heard footsteps. It was Marinette. She walked up the final few stairs and made her way over to Chat. "Bon appitete"! She smiled as she handed him a glass of milk, and sat a plate of cookies in between them. The two both went to grab a one, but stopped when their hands met. They looked up as their faces got red. "Oh, sorry" she said as she pulled her hand away. "I see how it is Purrincess, wanting all the cookies for yourself" he teased. "Mmmm, these are amazing!" He grabbed another cookie and dipped it into his glass. "Thanks, I made them this afternoon" Marinette replied as she took one for herself. The two made small talk as they finished their snack. Marinette snuck a small cookie into her pocket for Tikki, then picked up the empty plate. She walked over to her desk and put the cookie where Tikki could see it. She winked in her direction, then placed the empty plate down.
"Hey Marinette," Chat said as he nodded towards the trash, "is everything going okay? Your room seems a little more...uh... disorganized than last visit .." "Everything is okay... I'm just having a little trouble with a new design I've been working on. See theres this dance at my school so I wanted to make and wear my own dress, but I can't seem to get it right...". She picked up the latest sketch and handed it over. "I really like the top, but the bottom isn't right yet" she explained. "It has to be perfect! What do you think?" Chat looked at the dress. "I think its good," he smiled. "I do have an idea though if you would like some help. May I?". She handed him the pencil without hesitation. All ideas are good ideas, right? She watched as he drew lightly over the bottom of the design. Starting from the waistline, he added layers coming down to the bottom of the dress. "What about instead of straight, you do something like this?" He handed the drawing back to Marinette. Her eyes lit up. "CHAT! That's it! That's just what it needed! Thank you!". Before he could say another word, Marinette threw her arms around him, pulling him in for a big hug. "No problem, purrincess". He blushed. "Ya know, if you don't already have a date to this thing, I'm a pretty good dancer". He stood up and tried to moonwalk his way across the floor, only to end up tripping over his tail. "Sorry kitty, I'm already going with some friends. Maybe next time" she smiled. "Can't say I didn't try" Chat laughed. What Marinette didn't know is that he would be there as well.