"Alya I'm telling you, nothing happened!" Marinette groaned exasperatedly into her phone as she walked around the mannequin.

"I'm just saying, you left school feeling all crappy, and then you come back with Adrien on cloud9" Alya said. "Explain to me how that's being totally over him."

"Yeah yeah, so I'm hopelessly in love with him." Marinette collapsed down on the chaise in a dramatic heap. "What do I do, Alya?! I can't go on like this! I'm gonna drive myself crazy!"

"As if you weren't crazy before…" Alya chuckled.

"I'm being serious!"

"Me too, girl!" Alya replied with a sharp laugh. "And I told you before, you gotta tell him how you feel. The boy isn't a mind reader and he's not gonna be unavailable forever. Either make a move or move on."

Marinette sighed heavily and slumped back into the chaise. Alya's constant chiding over Adrien was well warranted but still annoyed Marinette to pieces. What annoyed her more was that she was right; the only way to figure out how to deal with her feelings for Adrien was to find out how he felt about her. And as far as being available she was surprised he and Kagami weren't dating but she knew it was only a matter of time. After lycee they would all be separated and it would be harder and harder to see him.

Tikki buzzed around the room, ducking briefly and nearly dropping the cookie she was munching when a black figure jumped past the window. Marinette caught her kwami's strange behavior and leaned over to see out the window.

"Huh? It's not supposed to be his night to patrol…" she mused to herself.

"What was that? Marinette you still there?" Alya asked.

"Uh, yeah. You're totally right, Alya, I'll work everything out—I gotta go though, see you tomorrow!" Marinette said quickly before hanging up the phone despite Alya's audible confusion.

She hurried to the skylight above her bed, hauling herself up to the platform of her balcony and looking around. Chat Noir was vaulting from one rooftop to another, going unusually fast, worrying Marinette.

"Tikki, we should go after him. Spots on!" Marinette called her transformation and as soon as the pink glittery haze settled she tossed her yo-yo and swung after her partner.

"Chat Noir!" Ladybug called after him, but either he was ignoring her or didn't hear her because he kept running.

Ladybug tore after him, trying to match his speed but over the years Chat's stamina had begun to outmatch her own. From at least three rooftops away she saw Chat finally stop and drop to a sitting position, his face in his hands. Was he hurt? Did something happen? At least he stopped running so Ladybug was finally able to catch up to him.

"Hey kitty, I was trying to get your attention." She said, dropping beside him with an arm around his shoulders. "Are you okay? What happened?"

"I don't even know, I just feel...weird." Chat sighed, straightening his back and looking up at the indigo sky.

Ladybug didn't press him, but changed her position and sat crossed legged beside him, leaning against his muscular bicep until he was ready to speak again.

"Hey, in your civilian life have you...kissed someone?" Chat asked, breaking the silence.

Ladybug leapt off of him as if he'd given her a static shock and stared at him with wide eyes.

"Wh-what? N-no, not...not yet. I mean, have you?" Ladybug stammered.

Chat shrugged, still looking up. "Yeah, and now I don't know what to do about it."

Ladybug scooted back to her partner's side. "Well...usually people don't kiss unless they like each other. Don't you like this person?"

"Kinda. I think-I thought I did… it's this girl I've known for a long time."

"The same girl you told me about before?"

"No, different girl."

Ladybug gave an exasperated gasp. "Chat, you total player!"

"It's not like that!" He defended himself quickly until he saw the giggle playing on her lips and rolled his eyes. "Har har, make fun of the lowly feline. I'm not as big a Tomcat as people think I am, ya know?" He bumped her playfully in the side.

"Okay, okay," Ladybug began, her tone becoming serious again. "So there are two girls. You kissed one, you think you like her, buuuut…?"

Chat shook his head. "There was no spark."

Ladybug blinked in confusion. "No spark?" She repeated.

"Yeah. When you kiss someone shouldn't there be like, fireworks, rushing waterfalls, crackles of electricity…" Chat asked.

Ladybug shrugged her shoulders, giving an unsure half laugh. "I don't know, I think that stuff only happens in movies. But is there something wrong with the girl?"

"No, she's great but...I guess I am just overthinking things. This would be my first relationship and there's already a ton of speculation from people we know about if we're together or not..."

"She likes you, right?" Ladybug asked, swinging her legs out from under her and dangling them over the edge of the rooftop. "Maybe you should give it a shot. First kisses are always weird anyway, maybe you two turn out to be made for each other."

Chat Noir never thought he'd end up asking relationship advice from Ladybug but she was one of the smartest people he knew. He told himself earlier he'd try with Kagami, there was no real reason not to, and maybe things would make sense after a little while together.

"You're pretty good at giving advice." Chat said with a small smile.

"Well," Ladybug began, polishing her nails on her chest and pretending to admire them. "I am wiser than you."

"Alright, your turn." Chat turned toward Ladybug, crossing his legs like she had been doing earlier. "Did you ever talk to that guy of yours?"

Ladybug sighed and hugged her knees to her chest. "No, I didn't get the chance. I sorta chickened out."

"Awww come on, LB!" Chat groaned as Ladybug buried her face in her arms. "I thought you were all pumped to tell him."

"It's not that easy, okay?" Ladybug grumbled back. "He's a really important friend and I don't want to mess that up. Besides," Ladybug looked away from Chat so he couldn't see the tears welling in her eyes. "I'm pretty sure he might be dating someone else."

"Oh…" Chat began. "Do you know that for sure?"

Ladybug shook her head. "No, but I can't bring myself to ask him. Part of me doesn't want to know the answer."

"So, what do you plan to do? You just gonna pine after him for the rest of your life?"

"No….just until he leaves for university." Ladybug knew she sounded pathetic but she couldn't help it. Why couldn't being around Adrien be as easy as hanging out with Chat Noir or Luka? She looked up and shrank beneath the incredulous look Chat was giving her. His piercing green eyes glowed in the darkness, bearing into her.

"Why are you so afraid to tell him how you feel?" Chat asked.

Ladybug sighed. "I don't know. I mean it's not like I'm a fourteen year old girl anymore but the feelings I have for him are just as strong as they were back then and I just…"

Ladybug's voice trailed off and Chat turned so he was now leaning against her.

"I understand." He said softly as he felt her lean back into him, the corners of his mouth turning up in a small smile. "You know, this means we're the same age."

"Huh?" Ladybug peeked up at him through thick lashes.

"You said you were fourteen when you fell for him and I remember you telling me about three years ago or so about another guy you like. If that was when you were about fourteen then…"

"Aww damn it." Ladybug groaned and unfolded herself as Chat chuckled under his breath, hunching over. "You weren't supposed to know all that!" Ladybug was mentally kicking herself for giving so much away about herself. she couldn't play it off either, Chat wasn't dumb, so there was no denying it at this point.

"It's fine, Milady. I know you didn't mean to let it slip, but i feel like it goes to show how much we trust each other."

Ladybug took a deep breath and let it out in a long sigh, leaning her head on his shoulder. "I do trust you, kitty."

Chat leaned his head on hers. "I trust you, too. I'll always do whatever I can to make sure you're okay, you know that right?"

Ladybug's heart skipped a beat and her nose prickled like she was about to start crying. Maybe it wasn't so bad that he knew her age now, and maybe it wouldn't be so bad for him to know a little more? She shook herself mentally, pushing away thoughts of revealing her identity to her partner. They needed to protect each other and this was the only way, but that explanation she constantly rationalized her actions with suddenly felt so hollow. Pushing off of Chat, Ladybug stretched her arms up over her head.

"You okay? Sleepy?" He asked, looking over at her.

"A little. I have a pretty long day tomorrow." Ladybug sighed.

Chat gave a small chuckle. "Yeah, same here. Can I ask you another question?"

"Anything." Ladybug said, leaning forward to see her partner's face better since he'd turned his away slightly.

Unbeknownst to Ladybug, a crimson blush had crept over his face and he lifted his hand to scratch the back of his head as he thought about how he should phrase this question.

"Do you remember any of the times we've kissed?"

Ladybug shifted nervously. "Vaguely."

"Do you think...did you remember...did you feel anything?" He asked carefully.

Ladybug blinked and turned her face away this time so Chat wouldn't see her blush. "I don't know. That one time with Dark Cupid I was more focused on saving you, I didn't register anything else."

"And those other times an Akuma cleared our memories." Chat said with a dejected sigh. "Would've been nice to remember. Anyway don't worry about it, I was just curious." Chat stood up and offered his hand to Ladybug, pulling her to her feet.

"Sorry." She mumbled, not being able to meet his gaze.

"Don't worry about it, Milady. Everything was pretty quiet tonight so it's fine if you want to turn in early." He gave a sweeping bow, kissing her hand playfully and giving her a wink. "Later Bug."

Ladybug watched as he straightened up and extended his staff, vaulting himself up over the rooftops and into the night. Although she couldn't feel much through her gloved hand Ladybug's skin tingled from Chat's absence. She was now fully aware of her heart hammering in her chest with him gone and her bottom lip quivered.

"Sorry for lying." She breathed softly into the air.

"Sooooo lemme get this straight…" Plagg began as he zoomed in front of Adrien's face once they were back in his room. "You are gonna ask Kagami out? Like seriously date her?"

Adrien was laying on his back starting up at the high ceiling thinking the evening over. "Maybe. There isn't anything wrong with her, so why not?"

"Are you only going along with this because of what Ladybug said? What makes her such a great relationship expert? She can't even take her own advice!" Plagg complained.

"That doesn't mean it isn't still good advice." Adrien replied.

"But do you even like Kagami?"

"Of course I like her, Plagg—."

"I mean like like her." The god clarified, folding his tiny arms. Tikki was gonna give him an earful about this later, but he should be getting on her about controlling her Chosen's blabbering mouth...

Adrien pushed himself up on one elbow, regarding his kwami closely. "Why do you care so much? I thought human romances were all nonsense and mush to you?"

Plagg gulped and turned his back. "I just think you're settling too soon without properly weighing your options." He recovered quickly. "If this all falls apart I'm gonna be the one that has to hear you complain, so I just want you to be absolutely sure."

Adrien gave a small chuckle and lifted a finger to scratch Plagg behind his ear. "Thanks for being concerned about me, buddy, but I think I'm good."

"Really?" Plagg turned and gave Adrien an unimpressed look. "'Cus if you were really sure about Kagami you woulda gone out with her ages ago. Instead you keep her at arms length."

Plagg had a point. In truth he wasn't sure about Kagami, resolving to date her just seemed to be the logical move.

"Well, maybe if I went out with her a few more times things would—."

"Kid, you've been basically going on dates with her for the last two years. Face it, your hearts not in it."

"That's not...completely true…" Adrien's voice trailed off. "Okay, so it's a little true. But what am I supposed to do? I made out with her tonight, practically screaming that I like her back, so how do I take something like that back?"

Plagg sighed and floated down, sitting on Adrien's knee and looking up sincerely at his Chosen. "You can't. You're gonna have to find a way to tell her that was a mistake or something. You can't force yourself to love someone."

Plagg floated away and Adrien laid back down, turning over on his side. He'd really made a mess of things, but now what? Honestly he wouldn't mind dating Kagami but shouldn't he love her to be with her? Was it a matter of taking more time or was it like Plagg had said? Adrien figured the best thing was to sleep on it and maybe tomorrow he'd have a clearer head.

The little deity waited until he heard the deep slow breaths indicating his Chosen had fallen asleep before zipping out the window and toward the Dupain-Chong bakery. He hoped he planted enough seeds of doubt for Adrien to hold out until Marinette got herself together enough to speak up to him. No matter what era he was in, teenagers were always so frustratingly angsty! His mind eventually took a detour and soon Plagg found himself thinking about the extra sweets Tikki always had access to and wondered if she would share when he got there. He'd just done her a huge favor, after all, so it's the least she could do for him.

"You've done it now, Stinky Socks!" Tikki practically vibrated with anger as she flew up to Plagg, wishing she could wipe that smug look off of his face. "I thought we wanted Adrien and Marinette to get together? What's he doing kissing other girls?!"

"Hey hey hey, your girl is the one out here playing matchmaker! What's she doing pushing him into a relationship?" Plagg countered.

"She doesn't know who he is, remember!?" Tikki practically growled. "She didn't know she was talking to Adrien!"

Plagg's face fell. "Oh...right…"

Tikki took a deep breath and let it out in a long sigh. "I'll talk to her about that, but you've gotta convince Adrien not to go out with anybody!"

"Duh, why do you think I came all the way here? It's already done, Sugar Cube. I talked my boy down nice and easy." Plagg explained, feeling quite pleased with himself.

"Oh yeah? What makes you think he'll listen?"

"Puh-lease! Have you met me? Peter wouldn't have been 'The Great' if it weren't for me." Plagg boasted as Tikki rolled her eyes.

"Whatever, just make sure you keep an eye on him." Tikki sighed in exasperation. "I can see why kwamis don't have romantic partners, it's all so exhausting."

"You took the words right out of my mouth." Plagg nodded in agreement. "And speaking of mouths, is there any of that delicious cheesecake left?"

Tikki looked up at Plagg and rolled her eyes, too drained to bother with a response. She descended to the bakery and phased through the glass windows, Plagg and his appetite closely following behind.

The next morning Adrien woke up much groggier than normally, having tossed and turned all night. He was too anxious to get a proper night's sleep, his mind still running laps about what to do the next time he saw Kagami. He knew she'd be up early practicing with D'Argencourt and considered being a tad late to school to miss her, or even entering through the school's back doors. Transforming into Chat Noir and hopping down from the roof was also an option…

Adrien shook his head. This was insane, he couldn't avoid Kagami. She hasn't done anything wrong, it was him who had to own up to how he was feeling. Adrien stepped out of his car, waving off Gorilla lazily and walking up the steps.

"Wassup bro, what's with the look?" Nino's voice called from beside him as a hand slapped down on his back.

"Hey Nino. What look?" Adrien asked, trying not to wince at the headache that was forming as he spoke.

"Dude, you look like shit." Nino chuckled. "Stay up all night?"

"Yeah, something like that." Adrien grumbled as they walked up the steps of the school.

"Hey boys!" Alya waved from the top of the steps, where she'd been standing with Alix and Kim. She reached out to take Nino's hand, kissing him before her eyes found Adrien. "Wow, you look like shit. What's wrong?"

"Ya know, as a model that's not the kind of thing one wants to hear first thing in the morning." Adrien said, half-jokingly as his friends snickered at his expense.

"Sorry sunshine, but you look like you just watch a puppy be eaten by a bulldozer."

"Jesus, Alya…" Nino sighed, rolling his eyes at her graphic description.

Alya put her hands up in defense. "Sorry, sorry. But seriously, are you good?"

Adrien wiped a hand over his forehead and nodded, initially not looking any of his friends in their eyes. "Yeah, I'm good. Is Marinette running late?" He inquired, noting that a certain member of their usual foursome wasn't present.

Alya smirked and crossed her arms. "Well you wouldn't believe it, but Little Miss Snooze Button actually came in early today."

Nino put a hand over his chest in mock surprise. "Not our little girl."

"Yes, the very same!" Alya laughed. "She ran to the art department to sketch for a few minutes before class."

Adrien blinked a few times, impressed, and intrigued. "Huh, well how about that?"

"Boy I tell ya, when inspiration strikes with this one that is one train you can't stop." Alya shrugged her shoulders, smiling and pulling on Nino's arm.

"We'll see you in class!" Nino called, letting Alya drag him off.

"See you." Adrien waved as he headed to the locker room.

He had barely reached the door when Kagami stepped out from the girl's entrance and her eyes lit up.

"Good morning Adrien." She smiled, wrapping her arms around his neck in a tight hug.

"Morning. Did you sleep well after the dinner party?" He asked, hugging her back as she leaned back from him but kept her hands around his neck.

"I did, thank you for asking." Her cheeks were a rosy shade and Adrien got a better look as she leaned her face closer to his.

"Uh, that's good. I'm sorry I couldn't stay longer, I had to get some homework done and stuff…" Adrien trailed off, gently pulling her arms from around him and took half a step back. He held her hands in his and she seemed not to mind as she shrugged her shoulders.

"Of course. The next head of Gabriel can't be a slacker when it comes to his studies. I understand, maybe next time we can get together and not have so many obligations the next day." Kagami purred, taking that half step closer to Adrien.

"I'll let you know."

Kagami smiled and Adrien noticed her leaning closer still, no doubt about to kiss him. He cleared his throat and turned his face away, looking back down at her as her eyebrows furrowed slightly in confusion.

"I um, look I need a little time to figure out what we are." He said in a low voice.

Kagami shrugged with a hopeful grin, giving his hands a soft squeeze. "As long as this means we are something."

"We are, I just…" Adrien let go of one of her hands, scratching the back of his neck. "With the press and everything I just don't want to have my relationship business all out there, you know?"

It wasn't a total lie, but it was one Kagami bought. She seemed to think for a moment and then nodded.

"I understand."

Adrien let out a relieved sigh. "Great, thanks. But hey, I have to get to class, so we'll talk later, okay?" He said, dropping her hands and backing away toward the stairs, not giving Kagami a chance to keep him.

As he ascended the stairs he heard a familiar voice and if his headache wasn't bad already hearing Chloe bickering bitterly with someone first thing in the morning wasn't helping.

"Ugh, you've been doing these stupid little doodles for like, what, eight years? Don't you think if they were any good you'd be somewhere by now?" Chloe said in her usual condescending tone.

"Chloe, you know full well my designs are featured ones already. Why do you even bother with this first thing in the morning?"

Adrien's heart leapt when he heard Marinette's voice next and saw her standing with her arms folded right outside the classroom door.

"Because the preliminary showing of our designs is tomorrow and I'm not convinced you've even got a snowball's chance in hell of matching what I've got." Chloe shrugged nonchalantly, polishing her nails on the lapel of a designer jacket.

"So what do you care?" Marinette asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Because I'm still curious. I just want to gloat ahead of time." Before Marinette could react Chloe had snatched the sketchbook from the open pocket of her bag and turned away from Marinette, flipping through the pages. Marinette tried to take her sketchbook back but Sabrina, who had been at Chloe's side the whole time held her back.

Chloe flipped and flipped the pages, the smug look on her face slowly disappearing with each design she saw until finally she turned around and rolled her eyes.

"Well, I'm sure some department store will consider them for their bargain rack or something."

Marinette reached around Sabrina, and plucked the book back from Chloe's hands, her bluebell eyes staring daggers into the blonde's.

"Gee thanks." She said simply.

"You know that red one looks a lot like a design I saw in Vogue a few seasons ago. It would totally suck if the judges recognize your work as a cheap knockoff." Chloe baited with a smirk.

Marinette narrowed her eyes and stepped up to Chloe. "Good to know I have a vote of confidence. So I'm curious, how's your design coming along? Or are daddy's seamstresses not done making it?"

Chloe let out an indignant "hmph" and pushed past Marinette into the classroom with Sabrina in tow. Adrien waited a bit for Marinette to go in before clearing the rest of the steps and then walked into the classroom, seeing everyone settling into their seats.

Marinette's feisty attitude and witty comebacks never ceased to amaze him. Adrien placed his bag down on his desk, looking up at his classmate who was pulling books out of her bag. Their eyes met and Adrien gave a small smile which Marinette returned but with an incredulous look after.

"You look terrible, are you okay?" She asked.

Adrien nearly laughed as Alya and Nino both tried to stifle theirs. "Well if that's the general consensus then it must be true." He said to the other two more so than to Marinette.

"I'm sorry Adrien." She let out a light, sympathetic chuckle. "You just look like you didn't really get much sleep last night. Did the dinner party thing not go well?"

Adrien was about to speak when he remembered he'd only mentioned he was going to a dinner party, but now whose. "Yeah no, it was fine. You know the usual boring, stuffy suits were there and whatnot." He shrugged off.

Marinette nodded in understanding. "If you want to go straight home after school and rest it's totally fine with me." She leaned forward on her desk toward him.

"No, I can't bail on you two nights in a row." Adrien shook his head, his chest swelling at her concern for him.

"Okay, if you're sure." Marinette gave an understanding nod as Ms. Bustier walked in, starting the class on their lecture.

Marinette tried her best to pay attention and not stare at the back of Adrien's perfectly coiffed hair, watching the way his muscles constrict beneath his shirt as he stretched, or how more than once he'd turn to catch a glimpse of her. Every time he glanced back over his shoulder she had to quickly look away, hoping he wouldn't notice her staring at him. it had only been a day since she'd hung out with him, but she was very excited to be spending the afternoon with him again. She thought about her conversation with Chat Noir from the other night and figured she should really take her own advice and tell Adrien how she felt about him, but when would be the right time? Maybe tonight while they're hanging out at her house? After the preliminary dress viewing, or after the showcase maybe? yeah, after the showcase for sure...just before the school year ends...

Marinette put her head down with a groan. This was exactly her problem, why was she so scared to tell him her feelings?why couldn't she be bold like Chat Noir and just come right out and say it? Marinette envied him in a way, he was always so sure of himself and so confident, unbothered and unburdened by the responsibilities of being a Guardian as well as being a hero. She felt Alya pat her on the back and when she turned her head her friend was giving her a concerned look. Marinette tried to muster a smile and gave Alya a thumbs up, gesturing to her abdomen.

"Cramps?" Alya mouthed.

Marinette nodded and then picked up her head, trying to look normal, as she sat determined to pay attention to the lecture. it was going to be a long day.

Adrien couldn't quite concentrate on class today. Whether it was from lack of sleep or still trying to figure out what to do about Kagami and his father's new plans for his future he couldn't be sure. What he was sure of was that every time he could sneak a glance at Marinette he felt a little more at ease.

"Yes, finally it's lunchtime!" Nino gave loud sigh as they were dismissed for the next hour from class. "I'm starving, where do you guys want to go?" Nino threw an arm around Alya's shoulders as the girls made their way to the door to meet him and Adrien.

"I could go for something fried." Marinette offered.

"Yes, bring on the calories!" Alya whooped as they started down the stairs. "I'm sure once Sunshine gets some food in him he'll feel better."

Adrien scratched the back of his neck, following behind the three of them to the sidewalk. "Yeah probably."

They chose a cafe a few blocks away from school, Nino unable to decide between two dishes so Alya got one and he the other to pick off of. Marinette thought this was a good idea so she and Adrien did the same and soon everyone was picking off of everyone else's place.

"Aht Aht! This one's mine." Adrien said, stabbing his fork into the last meatball on his plate before Nino could.

"Aww, dude!" Nino made a noise halfway between a whine and a laugh as Adrien stuffed the meatball into his own mouth, happily chewing away as Nino picked the last bits of penne off the plate.

"You were right, Alya, I did need some food." Adrien nodded his head as he dabbed the corner of his mouth with a napkin.

"When are you all going to realize I'm always right?" Alya gave a smug smile and picked up a fry from the plate she and Marinette were now sharing. "So what was wrong with you today, anyway?"

Adrien shrugged his shoulders and dusted his hands. "Busy schedule, mostly. After that dinner party I had to do some extra work and ended up not getting to sleep til late." It wasn't a total lie, but it was believable enough.

"Work for what? Don't tell me your dad has you doing photo shoots at night now." Nino asked, leaning on the table.

"Well no, but I am gonna have my hands really full after graduation." Adrien began, pulling his drink closer to himself. "I'l be-"

Adrien didn't get a chance to finish since all four of their phones began to buzz with the same tone, as did most of the other patrons in the cafe. There was no doubt; it was an Akuma alert. Alya pulled her phone out of her pocket and tuned into the live news feed Nadja Chamack was giving as Nino leaned closed to get a look, Marinette and Adrien listening closely as well.

"We are live from Le Grande Paris Hotel where a supervillian with petrifying abilities is.-"

"I need to use the bathroom!" Marinette and Adrien announced in unison before exchanging embarrassed looks as Alya and Nino stared over at them.

Without another word the two stood up quickly and Marinette dashed to the back of the restaurant , unaware of how closely Adrien was following behind. She approached the bathroom door just as Adrien did and both tried to avoid each other's gaze.

"I, uh, had a lot to drink and uh..."

"It's fine, I had cramps earli-" Marinette stopped herself, her face growing hot before she ducked into the ladies's room. She slammed the door behind herself and slumped against it as Tikki flew out of her purse, trying not to laugh at her Chosen. "Ugh why did I say that? It wasn't even true! Now Adrien's gonna think I'm gross and-"

"Marinette you have nothing to be ashamed of, you know Adrien would never think bad of you. Now get it together, we have an Akuma to fight!"

"Yeah, you're right. Tikki, spots on!"

Lin a flash of pink light Ladybug was standing where Marinette had been and with one leap had bounded out of the restroom window, swinging herself up to the roof of the building. She swung out her yo-yo again and launched herself across the rooftops in the direction the Akuma was reported at and kept following the screams of terrified Parisians from there.

"Gorgeous day for an Akuma, huh Milady?" a familiar voice said from her left as she landed on one rooftop.

Ladybug smiled and rolled her eyes with a half laugh as her partner landed beside her. "Always is, Kitty. I was just saying this morning how i missed these midday attacks on the city."

"Good to know we're both in such high spirits." Chat Noir laughed as they stood at a vantage point high enough to survey the Akuma's activity on the streets below.

"Oh yeah? What's got you in such a good mood today?" Ladybug asked.

Chat winked and twirled his staff. "Seeing you, of course."

Ladybug didn't even try to hide her blush or her smile as she looked back down at the chaos. "You go right, I go left?"

Chat nodded and prepared to leap off the roof. "You've got it Ladybug!"

Meanwhile at the cafe, almost fifteen minutes had passed and Alya sat slouched in her seat as Nino polished off the rest of the fries at the table.

"Those jerks are gonna leave us with the tab, aren't they?" She asked aloud, drumming her fingers on the table.

"I'll get Adrien to pay me back later." Nino shrugged, digging his wallet out of his bag. "Akuma alert means today's a half day so there's no point going back to class."

Ladybug had used her magical ladybugs to cure the Akuma's damage and after bidding farewell to Chat Noir she zipped back to the school, and detransformed in the girl's locker room there. The place was mostly free of students since most of them and the staff left for the day following the alert. Tikki floated at Marinette's side as she handed the Kwami a macaroon and she munched happily as Marinette pulled her books from out of her locker.

"Is there really a point in coming back to the school? Classes are cancelled for the rest of the day."

"Well I'm still meeting Adrien after school today, so i figure i should wait for him here. Plus, I didn't want to forget this." Marinette said, holding up her sketchbook.

Tikki nodded in understanding as she munched on the rest of her cookie, floating over to Marinette's bag just as she was shooting a text message to Adrien and an apology to Alya about leaving. After only a few moments Marinette left the locker room, seeing Adrien standing at the front of the school waiting for her and she hurried to his side, waving to him.

"So I brought my sketchbook in case inspiration strikes while you're doing your photo shoot." Marinette held up her book proudly as she and Adrien descended the steps of the school when he suddenly stopped walking.

"Oh man, I completely forgot to tell you…" he began.

Marinette turned around to see Adrien facepalming and placed a hand on her hip. "What is it?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"My dad rescheduled my photo shoot today."

Marinette shrugged her shoulders. "That's...good, right? Wanna go straight to my place?"

Adrien walked up beside her just as his car pulled up. "Not exactly. He rescheduled it because he needs me to go to his building today. I know it's late notice but it shouldn't take long, are you gonna be okay with that?"

"Wait, we're going to the Gabriel building?" Marinette gasped, clutching her sketchbook to her chest.

Adrien couldn't quite read her expression. Was she excited? Terrified? He didn't have to wonder long before she playfully swatted him in the arm with her sketchbook.

"Ow, what's wrong?" He laughed as she pouted.

"You should've told me sooner, look how I'm dressed!" She gestured to herself.

"Marinette you look fine, it's not the first time you've met my father." He chuckled as they approached the car, Adrien holding open the door for her.

"Ooh, you say that like I'm some gentleman caller." Marinette giggled, about to slide in.

"With your eye for design? I'm not sure why my father hasn't already tried to arrange a match." Adrien joked.

"Well if he does," Marinette reached up her hand, caressing Adrien's cheek and gazing at him in a way that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, "I'll make sure to take good care of you."

Marinette pulled her hand away and dissolved into giggles at the look Adrien was giving her as they both slid into the car.

Kagami had stopped in her tracks at the top of the stairs of the school building. She had planned to surprise Adrien after school since her tutors let her end her lessons early, but she was the one in for a surprise. There on the walkway heading to his silver car was Adrien with Marinette. They'd been laughing about something and Kagami was even more surprised to see him open the car door for her. Normally Kagami wasn't the jealous type and she had nothing against Marinette, but seeing her touch Adrien's face and smiling tenderly at him set her on edge. Kagami turned around, about to head back into the school to wait for her ride when someone bumped into her going the same was.

"Oh, I'm sorry, are you alright?" Kagami asked politely as she turned to see who she had bumped.

She saw the girl, now on the floor on her knees, with her head down, thick chestnut bangs hiding her face.

"I'm alright." The girl sniffled in a small voice.

Kagami didn't think she bumped her hard enough to knock her to the floor but she held her hand out to the girl to help her stand.

"Are you sure you're alright? Are you hurt?" Kagami asked again as the girl looked up, her olive green eyes shining with tears.

She shook her head and wiped her eyes. "I'm fine, it's nothing...I just...I…" she began before bursting into sobs.

"Oh umm, uh…" Kagami was stunned. What was this girl's problem? Unsure of how to properly react in this situation, she tentatively placed a hand around the girl's shoulders and guided her inside the school and sat down with her on a bench.

The girl sniffles and sobbed, hiccuping before letting out a shuddering breath, seeming to calm down.

"I'm sorry, I feel so stupid right now." The girl mumbled as she dried her eyes. "I just...I just cannot believe she'd stab me in the back like that."

She shouldn't ask. "Who?"

"Marinette."

Kagami was taken aback. Marinette? Stab someone in the back? That didn't sound right. As far as Kagami knew Marinette was a sweet girl who always looked out for others, was there another "Marinette" that scorned this girl?

"Um, are you sure about that? Do you mean Marinette Dupain-Cheng?"

The girl picked her head up and stared intensely at Kagami. "So you know her? That little boyfriend stealing bimbo just won't stop!"

Now Kagami was really confused. "What exactly happened?"

The girl sniffled again. "Well, it all started with this guy I used to go out with. He's really nice, he plays lead guitar in a band, and has the coolest style. I even convinced him to get these awesome blue highlights…" she said dreamily.

"Do you mean Luka? The one who lives on the houseboat?" Kagami asked, thinking the description seemed very familiar.

"Yeah." The girl sighed dejectedly. "I'm not surprised you know him."

"But I thought Luka and Marinette were sort of together…" Kagami wondered.

"Only because she convinced him that I was no good for him. I mean we had been through so much together until I confided in her about our relationship, and now he acts like I don't even exist." The girl broke down into sobs again. "She...she did the same thing when she heard I liked Adrien."

"A-Adrien?" Kagami blinked.

"I mean he's so sincere and was always nice to me, but that was a long time ago. I think she has it out for me because she pounced on him too!" She sighed and looked up at Kagami with a small sympathetic smile. "I've seen you two together, you know? In magazines and on tv sometimes. So I know you two are together."

Kagami slowly nodded, still wondering about if what this girl said could be true.

"So that's why it upset me so much to see them just walk off like that and you standing there...it was like it was happening all over again."

Kagami took a deep breath, trying to sort everything out in her mind. She knew Marinette liked Adrien and she suspected at some point he had liked her...

"Anyway I'm so sorry for dumping all this on you. You don't even know me, why would you care about my problems?"

Kagami shook her head. "No, no it's alright, I didn't mind being a listening ear. I'm sorry to hear about all that." Was Marinette really like that? She and Adrien did seem friendly lately, but Adrien liked Kagami. He all but told her so the previous night and earlier that day.

The girl sniffled again and held her hand out to Kagami. "It's nice to meet you though, I'm Lila."

Kagami politely took her hand. "Kagami. It's nice to meet you, too."

"If you want," Lila began, "I'd like to help you out."