Author'sNote

Thank you to Agiani for pointing out it was the Glaciator ep, not the Evilistrator ep, where Chat shows Marinette the surprise he had for Ladybug.

Chapter2

Lending a helping paw

"Oh man Plagg, how can I help her if I don't know what to help her with?" Adrien had been pacing his room for the past half an hour, hands running through his hair, rubbing the back of his neck, unable to keep still.

"Have some cheese kid, that always calms me down." Plagg tried to ignore him, but Adrien's constant motion was starting to really bother him.

"I'm serious Plagg! Marinette is my friend, but how can I say that if I don't know how to help her? She's clearly overwhelmed, but why? How much is she trying to do on her own?" Adrien's pacing got faster.

"I don't know kid, maybe someone was in her room walking and talking all night, keeping her from sleeping?" Plagg layed on the bed, bored, since he finished off the last of his cheese. "Besides, you're no worse than her other friends if they haven't noticed anything wrong either."

"You're right Plagg! I should ask Alya or Nino." Adrien grabbed his phone, but before he unlocked it he saw it was already after 10. "It's getting pretty late though, I'll have to ask them tomorrow at school."

"Glad I could help, goodnight kid."

Adrien wanted to get to school as early as he could, so he could talk to Nino and Alya before Marinette got to school. When he arrived, he found Nino waiting for him by the gate, and jogged to meet him.

"Hey dude! What's up!" The two boys high-fived before heading inside.

"Hey Nino. I'm glad you're waiting out here, I actually wanted to ask you something."

"Go ahead man, shoot!"

As the boys made their way to their classroom, Adrien thought about how to broach the subject. Figuring the direct approach was best, he lowered his voice and said, "It's about Marinette."

At first, he had Nino's curiosity, but now he had his attention. In a teasing sort of tone, Nino replied, "What about Marinette, dude?"

Having now gotten to class, the two boys got settled in their seats, noticing both Alya and Marinette were not present. Adrien continued, a hint of worry in his voice, "Have you noticed anything odd about Marinette recently?"

Sensing the genuine concern his friend had, Nino thought a little bit before responding. "Sorry dude, I've only noticed the normal amount of odd when it comes to Marinette. Do you think something's up with her?"

"I don't know Nino. I'm not able to hang out with her as often as you or Alya, but she's seemed kinda quiet in class recently."

Hey boys, did I hear my name?" As Adrien finished explaining his worries, Alya had walked in and taken her seat behind them.

The two boys turned around, Nino answering his girlfriend, "Yeah babe, Adrien's worried about Marinette and was wondering if you thought she was acting weird."

"Worried about Marinette, are we?" A little teasing in her tone, Alya appeared to be intrigued by Adrien's sudden interest in her best friend.

Adrien, on the other hand, was getting annoyed at the lack of a straight answer. "Why do you two say it like that? Yes, I'm worried about Marinette, have you noticed anything lately?"

Not wanting to get Adrien any more flustered, Alya stopped with the teasing tone and answered, "Not really, no. Though I haven't really hung out with her that much lately. Ever since we've gotten back from New York, that girl's always tellin' me she's busy."

Just as she finished, the bell rang, followed closely by a frantic Marinette shouting, "I'm not late!" She took her seat like a six year old going for the last seat in musical chairs. Out of breath, she quietly said hi to her friends as Ms. Bustier started class.

Adrien's classes all went by in a blur. All he could think about was what was eating at Marinette. What all could she have going on that's making her pull away from her friends? Why doesn't she ask for help?

"Adrien!"

"Huh, what? Oh, yeah? What is it Nino?" Adrien shook his head, blinking away the thoughts that swam through his head.

"C'mon dude, it's lunch time, let's go get some food!" Nino was standing, bag packed and ready to go. Most of the other students had already left, except for Marinette, who was sleeping, and Alya, who was trying to gently wake her up.

Giving up on trying to wake the girl up, Alya turned to Nino. "Hey, can you two try and wake her up? I'll go find someplace for us to eat." And with a mischievous smile pointed at Nino, she left.

"Hey dude, you don't need two people to wake her up, right? Sweet, I'm gonna go with Alya then to find a place for lunch, see you two then!" And just as quickly as Alya had left, Nino was gone too.

Unsure on how to best wake her up, Adrien started by gently shaking her shoulder. When that didn't work, he tried shaking her a little harder. "Marinette, it's lunch time." Still nothing. Adrien dropped his head onto the desk, trying to think of something to wake up his classmate as nicely as possible. But with the sudden sound of Adrien's head hitting the table, Marinette sprung up.

"I'm not sleeping!" She blinked away the drowsiness, and looked around, seeing that the classroom was empty, save for the boy in front of her. "Oh, uh, A-Adrien, what are you, um, what are you hoing dere? I mean, uh, doing here? It's lunch time, right?"

Glad to see Marinette awake and acting like her usual self, Adrien smiled. "Nino and Alya went to find someplace for us all to have lunch and talk. They asked me to wake you up. So, did you have a long night?"

"What? Oh, um, yeah. I just have a lot to get done, don't worry about it. Let's, uh, let's go find Alya and Nino."

"She's alive!" Alya had decided they should eat lunch on the steps outside the school. It was a splendid day, only a couple of clouds in the sky. Adrien and Marinette made their way over to their friends. "So girl, what's with the Zs in class today?"

Marinette sat down next to Alya, then squeaked as Adrien sat next to her. "It's nothing Alya, I was just, uh, just up too late last night, don't worry about it. She tried to make herself smaller as she put her head down and ate her lunch.

Alya made a face at Marinette, like she was waiting for a mouse to pop out of her friend's hair. "If you're sure…"

Adrien, determined to help his friend, chimed in. "Marinette, if you need any help, you know we'd all be more than happy to help you out. If you need help studying, I could study with you. It's the least I could do after all the times you've given me your notes." Adrien hoped that putting some options on the table might make it easier for Marinette to accept some help.

"Yeah dude! Remember that awesome Hero Day picnic? Everyone was stoked to pitch in and make it amazing! You do so much for everyone else, let us do a little for you."

Marinette flung her hands up in defeat. "Ok!" She let out a sigh, then took a deep breath. "I get it!" She started to giggle a little as she continued. "You all want to help." She smiled at them all, very genuine, but a little strained. "I really appreciate it, but I'm fine. I'll let you know if there's anything you can do to help though, I promise."

Adrien, Alya and Nino all looked at Marinette, doubt written on their faces. Then Alya gave Marinette a little hug. "Alright girl. So long as you know what you're doing, we're here for you."

Marinette stayed awake for the rest of the school day, but Adrien still had trouble focusing on class instead of Marinette. If he didn't start paying attention, he'd be too busy catching up on school to help Marinette if she needed it.

School soon ended and everyone went home. Marinette had managed to slip out before any of her friends could talk to her. After Adrien got home, he studied for a little while, but his thoughts soon drifted back to Marinette. He was determined to help her, and really hoped she would let her friends know what was going on. He thought about going on patrol, then checking up on her, but Plagg convinced him it probably wasn't a good idea, and not just because Plagg wanted to read his latest cheese magazine. Adrien still worried though, and hoped that by tomorrow Marinette would be open to letting her friends help.

Author'sNote

Boy howdy was this something to write. For the most part I think I got what I wanted done in this chapter, but it feels kinda klunky/awkward. Let me know what you think.

Also, this past week has felt like it's been at least two weeks long. Very tired. With any luck though, I think I should be able to have ch 3 out next week Friday. Trying to have a weekly upload, but no promises.