The two of them were sitting in slightly awkward silence for a moment, when all of a sudden a wave of sound was heard. A mix of drums, aggressive metal gitar, and screeching vocals. Marinette quickly grabbed her phone, meeting Adrien's eyes with an apologetic smile.

"Hang on, I've got to get this…"

Adrien felt a sudden twinge of irritation as she quickly put the phone up to her ear.

"Hey Rose! What's up!"

The twinge faded away quickly, leaving a strange relief in its place. Adrien could only hear the up and down of Rose's voice, he couldn't make out any words, but that was alright. He enjoyed seeing Marinette like this - in her natural habitat, as it were. Helping those who needed it. Even Chloe knew that Marinette was the best at what she did, even if she wouldn't admit it out loud. Marinette smiled and finally spoke.

"Rosie, I think you might be overreacting. Maybe she's just busy."

Another spate of speech, and Marinette just kept listening. It went on for almost a minute, and even Adrien knew that tone of their classmate's voice. She was clearly upset about something, but Marinette didn't interrupt. Finally, it stopped and Marinette turned apologetically to Adrien, saying into the phone,

"It's fine, I'll call him. We'll figure this out - Rose, I'm sure it's nothing bad. You know how she is, maybe she just needs a little bit of space."

Another comment, and Marinette looked like she was fighting a grin.

"Okay, fair point. I'll call Luka and see what's going on. Talk to you soon."

She ended the call and smiled wryly, a tiny spot of color in her cheeks as she spoke again, scrolling through her phone as she did so.

"I'm so sorry, Rose is freaking out, apparently Juleka's not answering any calls or texts, I'm just going to call Luka really quick…"

Another moment, and the phone was ringing. Their eyes met awkwardly for a moment, then Marinette spoke up.

"Hey! Quick question - Rose is trying to get ahold of Juleka, apparently she's answering, do you-"

A pause, then she closed her eyes in resignation.

"Oh. Okay… that changes things. I'm really sorry, is there anything I can do?"

Mumbling from the phone. Adrien realized suddenly that he was strangely tense.

"Okay, I'll let her know." Marinette continued. "Just… let her know I'm here if she needs me, okay? We don't need another- Yeah, I know, I know. I'm just worried about everyone."

Another moment, and she quickly ended the call. Adrien spoke up for the first time since Rose's call.

"What's up? Anything wrong?"

Marinette sighed.

"Apparently Lila said something to Rose this afternoon after class, something about Juleka. Rose didn't say what, but I'm sure it's a load of- you know." She sighed again. "Anyway, apparently Juleka overheard and left school without saying anything to Rose. She's locked herself in her room and won't talk to anyone, even Luka."

"Which could lead to another Reflecta, right?"

"Right." Marinette began typing on her phone. "Luka said Juleka's been home for a couple of hours now, so the fact that we haven't heard anything bad is a good sign, right?"

"I guess so." Adrien shrugged. "But do you think she'll be okay?"

Marinette's eyes hardened.

"She'll probably be fine. Ladybug and Chat Noir have dealt with this before, right?"

Adrien felt a little jolt of happiness hearing her talk about his alter ego, but she was still talking.

"-and maybe this'll teach the two of them not to listen to that stupid- err, I mean… Sorry."

She broke off, and Adrien knew why. Ever since he'd mentioned that he knew about Lila's little stunts, she hadn't said a word about it to him. Anytime it came up, she changed the subject, but she always had the same look in her eyes. He couldn't quite place it, but it was as if she were more sad than angry to bring it up, which couldn't be right. He'd heard her argue that same point with Alya half a dozen times since Lila had joined class, and he was sure there had been more he hadn't witnessed.

So why didn't she talk to him about it, the only person in the class who knew the truth?

He realized it had been silent for several seconds only when the phone chimed again. This reminded him of a thought he'd had several minutes ago. He grasped at an innocent straw of conversation.

"I always forget Rose is a rock fan… what was that song you have for her? I've never heard it."

Marinette opened the phone, typed out a quick response, and set it face down on the floor.

"Huh? Oh, the song! It's Jagged Stone's newest."

"I thought I was up to date… weird. When did it come out? I must have missed it."

Mairnette gave a tiny, almost shy smile. It made Adrien do a double take - she'd been so confident that he'd almost forgotten she could flip on a dime and shut herself down.

"Actually… it comes out next week. He sent me an advance copy as a thank-you."

Adrien felt his grin widening as he put the pieces together.

"Did you design his cover again? Marinette, that's awesome! Can I see it?"

She grinned shyly, too, and pulled a tablet off of the desk. A few swipes, and she handed it over to him.

"No spoilers, though."

Adrien stared, openmouthed, at the bold, vibrant colors in the background, the clear image of Jagged Stone himself in the foreground, and then began to laugh.

"Is that… Fang in the sky?"

Marinette giggled, too.

"Jagged insisted. So we now have a new constellation - Fang, the great guardian of the western skies. Or something like that."

They both laughed as he handed the tablet back.

"I can't wait to hear it next week." Adrien said, then added quickly as she reached for her phone, "No, no! Don't play it for me now - I want to hear it for myself when it comes out. After all, I might have to owe you a favor if you did." he said, half joking, and not seeming to notice that Marinette had suddenly frozen.

"Okay, if you're sure…" she said hesitatingly, gathering up the last of the playing cards still on the floor.

Yes, I did subvert the trope of getting a call from the other side of the triangle. And then promptly reinstated it. But really, it was worth it to remind everyone that Rose, the brightest and bubbliest star in the sky since Luna Lovegood, is a rock fan.