And I failed to update for another month again. I am trying to get my act together, I promise. I'm sure you all know how annoying real life can be. I wish I could just lock myself away in a room and write forever. But thank you so much for continuing to remain patient with me. I really appreciate it. And thank you so much for all of your amazing reviews! I can't believe I've already reached 100 reviews. Like…what? How did that happen? You guys are the best!

Chapter 10: Time To Move On

Tick tock. Tick tock. Tick tock.

Despite the noise of her fellow classmates, Marinette swore that she could hear the clock ticking, counting down every second until the end of the school day. It was the final period, and the whole day felt like it had gone by painfully slow. She had barely slept last night, but the butterflies in her stomach, alongside the rapid beating of her heart, kept her awake and hyper alert. Time seemed like it was purposefully dragging, just so that it could torture her.

Sighing to herself, Marinette tapped her pencil against her desk, pressing the graphite into the wood as her nerves continued to bubble up inside her. The anxious concoction inside her felt like it was melting everything in its path until Marinette was nothing more than a pile of goo on the bench. If only. At least then she would have an excuse to get out of her hang-out with Luka tonight.

But her heart ached at that thought. It was like Marinette's brain had split in half. On the one hand, she was excited for her meet up with Luka, but on the other, she was absolutely terrified and wanted to do nothing more than wallow around her room, feeling miserable over Adrien.

She could barely bring herself to look him in the eye all day. It was just too embarrassing.

Normally every day she woke up excited to see him, desperate to get to school just so that she could be around him and stare at the back of his head all day, just letting her eyes become lost in the golden locks she desired to one day run her fingers through. At this very moment, her eyes were tempted to drift down, away from the clock, and down towards the boy in front of her. She managed to resist though, the sudden pain in her chest reminding her of why that would be a bad idea.

However, a dark hand waving in front of her face suddenly snapped Marinette out of her inner turmoil.

"Earth to Marinette!" she heard Alya calling to her.

Marinette shook her head before leaning further back. Her eyes focused on her surroundings once again, jarring her back into reality to a point where she almost felt dizzy. Her grip loosened on her pencil before she turned to her left to see Alya staring at her with an amused expression. Nino was staring up at her awkwardly, and she could see Adrien's worried expression out of the corner of her eye. That stung her even more. Why did he have to be so amazing?

"Are you with us?" Alya asked, and Marinette blinked in confusion.

"Umm…yeah?" Marinette tried to reply as nonchalantly as possible, but it came out as rather fake and forced.

"Then what were we just talking about?" Nino tried to joke, though it was obvious he was concerned about her.

"That…ummm…that thing…" Marinette trailed off lamely.

"Are you okay, Marinette?" Adrien's soft voice asked from below her.

"Yes!" Marinette yelled, causing a few people in class to go silent and glance towards her with amused expressions.

Marinette's face instantly turned bright red and felt like it was on fire. Why had she done that? Why had she yelled? Was it even possible to embarrass herself more than she already had done?

"I-I mean yes. Thanks, Adrien," she tried to reply as normally and sweetly as possible, but it once again came out as awkward and almost monotone.

In the process of replying to him, Marinette made the mistake of finally looking at him, and the hurt and confusion in his eyes made her want to slap herself. He hadn't done anything wrong. He was just asking if she was okay, yet she had yelled at him and was treating him as if he had done something horrible to him. Adrien had certainly been acting strange around her all day. He seemed to be acknowledging her existence a lot more in that he kept asking if she was okay along with throwing occasional worried glances her way. It only served to torture Marinette even more.

"Oh, I get it," Alya laughed as she elbowed her best friend, "I think someone is a little nervous about tonight, huh?"

"Alya," Marinette hissed under her breath.

Alya, however, ignored the warning.

"Don't think I haven't noticed you clock watching, girl."

"I…I don't know what you mean." Marinette played dumb as she continued to try and shoot her best friend warning looks. She didn't want people getting the wrong idea after all. Least of all Adrien. But then again…why should that even matter? But still, this wasn't something Marinette wanted broadcasting everywhere.

"Why? What's going on tonight?" Adrien took an unusual intense interest.

"Marinette's got a date!" Alya proudly proclaimed, watching Adrien's reaction intently.

"A date?!" Nino exclaimed happily in surprise.

"That's great, Marinette!" Adrien replied cheerfully, making Marinette sink into her seat even more.

"I'm so glad you've quickly moved on from – ouch!" Nino yelped as he was cut off by Alya throwing a pencil at him.

Marinette cringed even more, sinking so much into her seat that she was almost practically laying on her back, staring up at the ceiling. She wanted to strangle Alya so bad right now. What exactly was she playing at? Alya knew very well that it wasn't a date, so why was she making things awkward like this? If anything, it just made Marinette feel even worse. Adrien's cheerful reply was yet another stab in the heart. He was happy for her. Because he had Kagami. He had never been interested in her.

"So who's the lucky guy?" Nino asked once he had gotten over Alya's sudden pencil assault.

"Luka!" Alya answered for her excitedly.

"L-Luka?" Adrien gasped, his eyes widening.

"It's about time," Nino chuckled, "that dude has clearly had a crush on you for a while now."

"He has not!" Marinette protested. "And it isn't even a date!"

"So, is it a date or not?" Nino began looking confused.

"No!"

"Yes!"

Marinette and Alya both answered at the same time.

"We're just two friends going out for a milkshake. That's all. It's no big deal," Marinette explained, shooting another glare at Alya, still not understanding what she was playing at.

"Says the girl who turned into mush when she was on the phone with him." Alya rolled her eyes.

"I did not turn to mush!"

"Oh, Luka! How does tomorrow sound, Luka?" Alya teased, putting on an exaggerated dreamy voice.

"I did not sound like that!" Marinette growled. "If you don't believe me, fine. See if I care."

"Chillax, girl, I was only teasing." Alya placed a hand on her shoulder, and Marinette relaxed slightly, though still not appreciating being embarrassed like that.

She didn't sound like that when she was on the phone to Luka. Did she?

"So…when did this happen?" Adrien asked timidly.

All Marinette could do was stare at him with wide eyes, unable to answer.

"Last night!" Alya answered for her, growing even more excited. "Luka gave Marinette his number at the park the other day, and she finally called him."

Marinette could feel her face heating up again at the memories. She bit her lip and looked down awkwardly, letting stray strands of hair cover her face. Alya was almost making it sound like she was desperate. And she still wanted to know what her game was with telling Adrien and Nino it was a date when she knew very well that wasn't the case. She was simply hanging out with Luka to thank him for being so kind to her, and because she felt like he was a good friend and that they needed to hang out more. That was all. There was nothing else to it. Nope. Nothing. Nada.

"Oh…wow…that's great, Marinette," Adrien sounded unsure as he replied. "I hope that you have a great time."

"Thanks, Adrien," Marinette managed to force herself to reply. She even briefly managed to shoot him a small smile, though no doubt it appeared to be more of a sad smile than a happy one.

It really didn't matter to him. She was nothing more than a friend to him. Today had been even more of an eye opener as to exactly how Adrien felt towards her. How could she have been so blind? How could she have ever deluded herself with the idea that he might like her back? It was a good job that Kagami didn't go to the same school as them, as seeing them together would have made things extra painful. Kagami was so lucky.

Before the green eyed monster could ravage her, Marinette forced herself to take a deep breath and glance back at the clock again. Only one minute and fifty seconds to go before the final bell rang. Then she could make her way towards the milk bar she had agreed to meet Luka at. This was going to be the longest one minute and forty-eight seconds of her life.

Tick tock. Tick tock. Tick tock.

She could vaguely sense Alya and Nino smirking and sniggering at her behaviour. She didn't even dare to bring herself to try and figure out what Adrien was doing right now. Because it shouldn't matter to her. And thinking about him was only going to hurt her even more. Today was supposed to be about herself. Just her and Luka.

The sound of that thought in her head caused Marinette's cheeks to heat up and her stomach to do an excited flip. Her and Luka. It had a nice ring to it. It made her feel all warm, happy and safe. It calmed her nerves down for a brief moment as she imagined them together, laughing and talking about anything and everything. Maybe they would even listen to some Jagged Stone together. Maybe he would play another song for her on his guitar. Marinette would definitely like that. His music was always so soothing to her. She could already hear the beautiful notes filling the air right now…

Riiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnggggg!

The sudden sound of the bell startled her, snapping her out of her peaceful and happy daydreams. The classroom erupted into even more loud noise as everyone stood up and began packing their things away. Meanwhile, all Marinette could do was sit there and stare down at her desk, suddenly unable to move. Her excitement vanished, being replaced once again by never ending anxieties over what was coming next.

She couldn't do this.

She was probably going to be miserable company.

Luka was probably going to get sick of her.

"Come on, Marinette, school's over. You've been dying for that bell to ring all day," Alya urged as she finished packing her things away.

Marinette couldn't bring herself to answer as she remained frozen in place. Nino and Adrien were already heading out the door, with Adrien shooting her one last worried glance. That was all it took for Marinette to lose all of her nerve. Her eyes burned with tears, and her throat began to close up and suffocate her. This was all too much. She couldn't cope.

"Hey, what's the matter?" Alya asked gently, quickly wrapping her arms around her best friend's shoulders.

"I can't go. I can't do this."

"What? Is this because of me teasing you earlier? Aww, Marinette, I was only kidding around, I'm sorry. I didn't meant to upset you," Alya apologised.

"It's not that," Marinette sighed as her voice continued to quiver, and tears trickled down her cheeks.

"Come on, let's leave before Miss Bustier sees," Alya urged again, quickly packing Marinette's things away for her before grabbing hold of her hand and pulling her out of the classroom.

School was now pretty quiet as most people had already dashed home after a long, arduous Monday. Only a few students stuck around, some of them heading to after school clubs or heading to the library to get some work done. Luckily, Adrien was one of those people who hadn't stuck around. Not that his father would have let him anyway. Marinette just couldn't bear the thought of him seeing her like this. Especially after everything that had already happened.

Alya began to pull Marinette towards one of the bathrooms, and finally Marinette didn't have to worry about hiding her face anymore. The rest of her strength was sapped away as she collapsed onto her best friend's shoulders, grateful that she had someone there for her in that moment. As much as she wanted to be alone right now, she also felt like she needed a huge hug as if she needed holding together. She felt silly and pathetic, and that only served to make Marinette feel even worse.

"I'm sorry, I'm being stupid." Marinette sniffed as she pulled back slightly.

"Well it would help if you would tell me what's going on in that head of yours," Alya tried to playfully joke as she tapped Marinette on the forehead. Though she wasn't able to completely hide her concern.

"I'm just…I'm so confused," Marinette admitted. "Seeing Adrien today…the concern he showed for me, only to then be happy I have a date…I don't know what to make of his behaviour."

"See, that's why I was teasing you like I was," Alya began to explain, "I wanted to see his reaction and try and figure out how he really felt. Because I'm telling ya, there's something fishy going on here, and I'm going to investigate it."

"Oh, Alya, please don't. You promised," Marinette reminded her as she did her best to wipe her cheeks free of tears and mascara stains.

"Something tells me model boy is jealous," Alya carried on.

"See, this is exactly what I'm talking about!" Marinette began to shriek. "I can't take this! I feel like I'm going crazy! I'm better off just accepting that Adrien doesn't like me like that. At least then I can come to terms with things rather than chasing an unreachable dream just because it showed a vague hint of possibility. I just don't know if my heart could take much more of it."

"Marinette…I'm sorry…"

The two girls stood in silence for a few moments while Marinette tried to pull herself together. Her mind was spinning with dizzying thoughts and emotions. If this was what Adrien did to her, then how could it be healthy for her to chase after him like she had been doing? She was still devastated, sure, but she didn't want to start playing stupid games like Alya had clearly been doing back in class. It would only cause her more pain and misery.

"I'm not going to date Luka just to try and see if I can make Adrien jealous," Marinette sighed out. "In fact, I'm not going to try and date Luka at all. I'm not interested in that right now, and I don't want to put myself through that kind of pain again. Luka is a friend, and that's all he's ever going to be. And he has been an amazing friend to me. I don't want to sacrifice or jeopardise that like I have with Adrien. Because I don't think I could cope with that again."

Alya bit her lip before nodding in understanding.

"It's…" Marinette took a deep breath. "It's time that I moved on."

Alya smiled softly at her. "You know I'll support you no matter what."

"Thanks, Alya." Marinette finally managed to smile back as they both pulled each other into a tight embrace.

However, it wasn't long before Alya pulled away again.

"You still gonna back out of seeing Luka tonight?"

Marinette stared down at the floor miserable. "I don't know."

"Well, I don't think you should," Alya offered her opinion. "You could do with a good distraction rather than pining after Adrien all evening. I know you said you wanted to move on, but you and I both know that it isn't going to be that easy. Besides, you said so yourself that Luka was really nice to you, so would it really be fair to bail on him? You deserve this, girl."

Marinette chewed on her lip and thought for a moment. She instantly knew that Alya was right, but the nervous and cowardly side of her continued to fight against that fact. The temptation to head home right now and burry herself under layers of blankets was too strong. But Marinette had to be stronger. She deserved this. She shouldn't waste time pining after Adrien because that wasn't going to change things. She needed a distraction. She needed to just relax and have some fun. And Luka was always the perfect person to help her with that.

"You're right." Marinette forced a determined smile.

"Aren't I always?" Alya jokingly bragged before turning serious again. "However, before you show up, we should probably fix your face."

Marinette gasped, realising how much of a mess she must look right now. She already knew that some of her mascara had probably leaked down onto her cheeks, and no doubt there were huge bruises under her eyes. She was also willing to bet that her eyes were all puffy and bloodshot. Overall, she probably looked disgusting right now. Not exactly ideal for a da – err – meet up with a friend.

"Don't worry, Alya to the rescue once again," she laughed.

"Forget Ladybug," Marinette chuckled, "you're the best superhero in Paris."

Alya rolled her eyes before she started rummaging through her bag for her make-up supplies. She also grabbed some tissue from the dispensers and went to work on cleaning Marinette's face up. This simple act was already starting to make Marinette feel better. She felt refreshed and rejuvenated, almost like she had been re-born. Maybe she had. It was time for a change, and with the final stroke of Alya's eyeliner pen, Marinette felt like she was ready and complete.

She could do this!

The new and improved Marinette was ready to take on the world!

This chapter was a little on the short side again, but this just seemed like the perfect place to end it. I was going to include some more, but the added pieces felt clumsier, and like they more belonged in the next chapter, which incidentally, I'm super excited to write! All the cute fluff will be coming your way, guys, so watch out! Will her "date" with Luka go as planned? And what exactly is going on with Adrien? Let me know your thoughts, and I'll see you again soon!