Lila trotted past Adrien on the way up to her seat, blood sugar story be damned. Her cheeks were still burning from the memory even days old. It was closer to truth than she'd been in years, terrifying and a terrifying letdown all at once.

Felix wasn't here yet, just Nathaniel who'd moved the row down at the beginning of the year. His focused drawing left her essentially alone, at least that was familiar. Lila fished out her phone, she needed an app, a game, anything to keep her from staring holes in the back of that blond-

"Hey Lila."

"Adrien!" Lila jumped in her seat as if stung. Scrambling to keep from dropping her phone and only just catching it by rebound off her foot. She sat bolt upright for an instant then forced herself to relax, to act the part. Lila the model. She leaned her chair back just slightly, crossing one leg over the other at the knee and a curled smile on her lips. "What brings you all the way up here?"

He was looking radiant as always, the commercials really didn't lie. There was a grounded tone to it today though. He seemed bashful. There was something behind his back. Lila tried to crane unobtrusively to see. "Lila, I just wanted say- I do have free time in a few days, and thought maybe, if you'd like to catch a movie?"

Lila's world turned upside down. All four chair legs thumped to the floor. Every vile thing in the world seemed to shrink, every disappointment was trivial. They were all just bumps. She tried, and failed, to keep her cool. "Together, you mean go to the movies on a da-"

"As friends." Adrien cut in, dashing the sudden light, but continuing,"for now." he tilted his head and glanced to the side. "Maybe only ever, but I at least want to hang out?" he gave a small self deprecating smile halfway through, ending up with a slight cringe and tint to his cheeks.

Lila rose and fell through his word, ending up somewhere outside of herself, not quite in the clouds, but in a place she never expected to be. She was like a fisherman going to a dry hole every day, stubbornly throwing her line in and then just waiting to go home empty handed, and now a golden carp had jumped into her boat.

"I-" She glanced away to compose herself, unable to stop her hands from nervously petting one of her forelocks "I would like that Adrien." too simple, too easy. She needed to show more pride! He wouldn't respect her otherwise. Lila pushed her eyes back to him and stilled her hands, gripping her skirt to keep them in place. "It's about time you noticed me." she added with another curled smile.

The smile didn't seem to affect him. Was he still seeing her from the other day? Curled up small in that chair? She didn't need pity. Please let this not be pity. Her hands shook until she forced them to stillness again. He didn't seem to notice. "There's one more thing." Adrien said, his tone gentle but firm. "I'm hanging out with Marinette tomorrow, we've missed several study sessions already. You'll need to find someone else to help if you have to go somewhere for the evening. Is that okay?"

It wasn't really a question.. It was an understanding being offered, a bargain. Lila was proud of herself for keeping her eyes locked on Adrien, not even a glance for her foul little nemesis. She could hold out. She could demand more. Adrien was a gentle soul, but she knew there were limits. He seemed contrite though, had she gotten to him finally? Even as her mind was still trying to weigh the pros and cons her mouth was rushing ahead. "Yes. I can do that."

That simply the bargain was made. Her hands were tied. She told herself it was only the one single exchange but would she ever dare give it up? Where would her life be if she did? There was no stepping back from this now. One way or the other, it would be decided. Lila felt so nervous she bit her bottom lip to avoid being sick.

This time he noticed. He flashed her that soft grin,"I didn't know going to the movies with me was such a horrible notion. You'll make it through I promise. I'll buy popcorn and you can stuff the bucket on my head."

He made her snort a small laugh, in spite of herself. She didn't even have to act. A little tension unwound. She unclenched her hands, immediately they wanted to go to her hair again. She couldn't keep meeting those eyes. "I'll buy the popcorn, but you still might wear the bucket."

She got a laugh back. "Oh one more thing." he added, drawing her eyes back up. "These are an apology. I'm sorry I doubted you, and you probably need this back too." Adrien brought his hidden arm around and presented her with a small bouquet of flowers.

It wasn't a classical one, all roses in red and whites. It was Black Eyed Susans, Dahlias in orange and white, and a smattering of creamy spray roses that bridged the colors. They were the best bouquet she had ever seen, they were for her. She couldn't react. She had nothing. This didn't happen to her. It happened to other people. So, other people answered for her.

Lila smiled brightly,"Oh Adrien, you shouldn't have!" She tapped her fingertips together in glee then curled her hands into little fists to shake in excitement. Ever so daintily she reached out to pluck the bouquet from Adrien and cradle it in one arm. A glance at the flowers, a beaming smile back up at him. "They're lovely. I'll see to having them put in water as soon as I can. You really are too kind." That smile stayed fixed. She could name each of the actresses who made up this role.

Adrien shot a nervous glance to the side and rubbed the back of his head,"You're welcome, and I'm sorry again for doubting you Lila. I'll text you later about times?"

"That would be lovely Adrien. I'll be waiting." She held the smile until he turned and a little voice in her head whispered 'Scene.'

Lila turned the flowers over in her hands, seeing them again for the first time. They gave off a light scent, she didn't even need to bury her nose in them like in the movies. She discovered her empty medicine bottle tied with a little ribbon to the stems.

Mustard. The color always came so vividly when she looked at those bottles. The color of the yellow shag carpeting on the floor of her room in their apartment six years ago. Little Lila sitting with a bag of sugar in her lap, diligently spooning it into her mouth and down her throat. It stopped tasting sweet somewhere along the line. She still couldn't stomach sweets anymore. She had read on the internet, she knew what she was doing. Too fast the first time, she made herself throw up and had to start over. The second time she paced herself though. The jittery energy turning sluggish and making her head spin even as she sat. That was it. Little Lila stashed the sugar with tingling fingers then stumbled down the stairs to collapse in front of her mother.

She normalized in the emergency room. Her numbers were off ,but the doctors wanted to observe her. Her mother couldn't leave her, so they packed the girl home. It happened again. The third time they gave her these and explained she should be watched while taking them. Her mother would have to stay home now.

Only she wouldn't. Her mother would have to take on more shifts. Lila was introduced to the kindly neighbors who lived upstairs. She would stay with them to be observed until her mother came home. They made sure she did her homework, and paid her no mind beyond that. They didn't let her watch her movies, only the news for endless hours. Lila had made her first miracle recovery.

She kept the bottles, and with careful use of a razor blade the date came off, leaving the rest intact to be filled with sugar pills that made her gag but at least did not make her sick. Now they'd caught Adrien. What was it about the best lies having a kernel of truth?

Lila pulled the bottle off the bouquet and stuffed it in her purse. That would have to continue at least until she could make another recovery. She set the flowers on her desk and traced one long petal of a Black Eyed Susan. Maybe it would be the last recovery?

Lila looked down at where Marinette sat. Being up high was a curse. She could see every glance and sigh the girl made towards Adrien. She still needed to get even with that girl somehow. But, did she? Lila brushed her fingertip along the spray of roses and down to tap the prickly tip of a thorn. She was winning. At this point, perhaps she could kill her competition with kindness.

"I saw my cousin carrying those from the house this morning. I take it things are going well for you then?"

Lila nearly fell out of her chair. "Felix!" She clutched at her chest,"Don't push my weak heart."

"I thought it was low blood sugar." Felix deadpanned as he sat.

Lila crossed her arms and glared at him through her bangs,"I've got more than one medical condition,are you going to pick on me for it?"

"Perish the thought. You're an apothecary's dream."

Lila let it drop. She had another topic to deal with, and she was very sure he would not be pleased, she wasn't sure she cared. "My plan is dead. I won't be able to Akumatize Marinette," there, it was out.

Felix turned his head to look at her. Those green eyes bored into her hazel. "How did you come to fail so spectacularly?" his voice was cold and empty.

It was still too new. Lila's stomach knotted as she tried to say it. She couldn't focus enough for a role. Fine, it was just Felix anyway, gone in a couple weeks. "I have to be decent to Marinette, in order to keep hanging out with Adrien. It's too much to risk getting caught. He'll believe her if she blabs to him now. I mean, it might happen just from us hanging out but I can't guarantee it. I definitely can't instigate something at the bonfire to get her riled up enough. We're supposed to be going together and," the next part stuck in Lila's throat, "so are they."

Felix's gaze was a frigid judgement. "You give up too easily."

Lila growled and clenched her fists, "It won't work! If I get caught picking on her he'll just abandon me and she'll just love that. Making her happy doesn't get her akumatized."

"So, change your target. If you disappoint him so thoroughly I'm sure my cousin would make an excellent victim for akumatization." Felix's eyes glinted. He knew what he was asking.

"Absolutely not! No." Lila shook her head, one hand touching her bouquet. "I am not losing this. Not for Marinette. Not for Ladybug. Not for anyone."

Felix rolled his eyes and let out a long suffering sigh. "Common girls are always so emotional."

"What about you?" Lila only just resisted the urge to shove him clean off his chair. "What about your 'ingenious plan'? Won't that work?"

Felix's superior smile didn't falter. "Actually, I think it will. Though the target might have to change." Felix waggled his fingers down towards Chloé. "I might do something with her, but it seems more likely at this point that a few dropped hints leading to something at this bonfire might push her childish fling over the edge instead."

That gave Lila a little satisfaction back. She let the sarcasm flow over her words. "Luka? You want to try to akumatize Luka? The single most chill guy in all of Paris? It's happened, but can you really pull it off?"

Felix's smile only got worse. His eyes narrowed in thought. "I can be extremely persuasive. Everything is already in line for the little canary to be stolen. I need only snap the door shut."

Lila rolled her eyes, but Felix wasn't looking at her to notice. She huffed as homeroom started officially. "I can still guarantee an akuma. Just make sure you don't disappoint."

Marinette fussed with the hem of the orange sweaterdress. It wasn't actually too short, it was just shorter than she was used to and even with deep navy leggings(to compliment her hair) left her feeling exposed; that could have simply been standing in front of Adrien's house too though.

Alya's warning hadn't stopped ringing in her ears since yesterday. Alya had been helping Marinette dress for the study session with a powerfully determined look on her face. For Marinette it was a matter of love, for Alya it was pride at this point.

Her newly finished dress, really more of an experiment, had caught and kept Alya's gaze while they were dressing Marinette for the meet up. Marinette felt it could stand to be let out a hint but there was no time. She had wriggled into the softness for the first time since completing it and taken a turn in front of the mirror. The little changes over the last couple years hit home. It was easy to turn every measurement into cm while working and abstract it all out on a daily basis, but snugged into something that clung everything came back into focus. Would it work on Adrien though? He didn't feel like the kind of guy to notice but as Alya had said, every little bit might help.

The imprint on the dress, the silhouette of a black cat on a rooftop under a full moon, still looked good even when worn. Marinette was slightly concerned about the positioning of the moon in relation to her figure but it was too late now, and every little bit, she supposed.

The last touch was french braiding her hair, tight up against her head to leave her neck bare and add 'a mature look.' she felt overdressed and overexposed for a study session; every little bit.

Marinette took a deep breath and keyed the intercom.

"Hey Marinette." It was Adrien's voice that greeted her surprisingly. "I'll be right down."

Down? Marinette waited in confusion. The gates began to open as Adrien appeared, pack on his shoulders. He greeted her with a smile as he approached. His eyes stuck in place and he missed a step. The gate clipped him, spinning him around and leaving him to rub his shoulder sheepishly. "umm, hi Marinette."

Marinette shifted her feet in place,"Are we not studying today?"

Adrien blinked and shook his head once. "Oh I just umm thought we might uhh skirt uh skirt my security and since dress I mean dressed, I mean you are dressed for it; maybe we could study at a cafe. I know a place that's supposed to be pretty hips, -hip."

Marinette pinked, the barrage of words didn't quite make sense to her but she felt like it was a good thing. She didn't have bangs to brush or a pigtail to tug so her nervous hand just ended up rubbing the back of her neck, catching the short hairs that escaped the braid,"That sounds nice. Is it far?"

Adrien shook his head, turning up the street, but almost tripping when he turned back to smile,"If it was, I wouldn't have been able to search around and find it."

'

They shared a laugh at that, Marinette catching up to Adrien so they could walk side by side. Marinette stole glances, but every time she did Adrien was looking away. Was her dress that bad? Make conversation! "So… You've been hanging out with Lila a lot lately." Oh, good job.

She's been having medical issues. And I know what you're going to say." His tone wasn't upset. It was conciliatory. "I actually asked, and saw the medication. Some friend I am eh?"

"That's not fair!" Marinette protested. "Lila's always lying it's perfectly normal for-" The look had changed. Marinette snapped her mouth shut. Something else, something else. "Are you two… you know… together?" Really? Should I just switch off then?

Adrien's eyes went wide. He looked anywhere but Marinette. "She's... a coworker, a classmate, I think maybe a friend?" he took a deep breath and returned his gaze to Marinette as he walked. "I'm really out of my element with anything beyond that. I just… don't know." he shrugged his shoulders in defeat. "Even when Kagami and I… I had no idea what I was doing half the time." His expression turned fond. "She tended to do most of the decision making."

Marinette digested all of that. A Kagami chaser was at least a little more palatable. Her long distance friend was definitely a better pick if it was anyone else. Still, there was the question. You'll sound like a five year old. Marinette squeezed her bag straps and wet her lips with her tongue tip. She looked up and realized Adrien was watching her again. That didn't help at all, except for adding rose to her cheeks. "AmIafriend?" she pushed out.

That smile, radiant. Not even smile #34 from his fragrance commercial, but a real radiant smile. "Marinette, there are no friends like you. I really don't know what I'd do without you some days."

Marinette tripped over hard air, but thankfully didn't fall. She straightened up in a panic, but that only made her feel like her hem was rising too much and she shrunk back down. She needed safer topics for conversation. I need to keep pushing. I can't keep pushing, I'll explode and get his clothes messy. He called me a friend, that has to count for something right? Lila's a friend too. Hey, Alya said he was giving Lila a shot, maybe that means he'd give me one too. I just have to ask! … … Do you even hear yourself?

"Marinette controlled her blushing enough to give Adrien a much deserved smile and say,"your friendship means a lot to me too Adrien." This is just depressing. "Who else would I have gone to Nino and Alya's bonfire with?" Better!

Adrien seemed to actually consider the question. Why was he considering it? He said, "Well, even if I am a last resort, I still appreciate it."

Marinette eeped,"No no, you're not a last resort. You're a first resort! A top of the line resort! You're the Hilton of resorts, Seven stars out of five with pools and jacuzzis and a buffet so big you'll never eat from one of it to the other. You're the kind of resort everyone wants to stay at, but you can't get a booking for like months because it's just so popular and so you have to buy tickets from a scalper for way too much and then you need to rearrange all your travel plans in order to-" stop any time "-afford to do anything there. But it's still really lovely and you don't mind, because you could just hang around the resort all day talking about nothing and just staring up into it's big green windows and imagining little motels and maybe a bed and breakfast named Louis."

Adrien stopped as she ran out of air in her lungs. The look he gave her was quizzical but amused. Marinette expected to burn a whole through the sidewalk at any moment from embarrassment. She dipped her head, "I'm sorry, that was weird wasn't it?"

"We're here Marinette."

"Oh!" Marinette looked up. The Cafe was indeed 'hip', or at least trying to be. It looked like it was trying to mix Art deco with retro-futurism. That meant bright lights and lots of silver and gold. There was actually a line to get in stretching out along the sidewalk from the other direction. "It looks busy. Maybe we should try somewhere else?"

Adrien shook his head and playfully cupped his chin between thumb and forefinger. Modeling pose #198. "Don't you worry about that, lines mean nothing to a Paris supermodel." He let out a laugh at his own posturing. "I reserved a table hoping you'd say yes. C'mon."

Adrien took her hand and led her up the steps. Marinette tried to keep up, but her legs weren't quite working right. She stumbled and hopped after him, blushing and bumping into the bouncer. What kind of Cafe had a bouncer? Marinette ping ponged between the stanchions and the door, until she was inside and *he was still holding her hand*. Inside the tables were spaced wide apart and the food came on large plates with tiny portions. A maitre'd showed them to a table towards the back, Adrien didn't let go until they had to sit. Marinette was finally able to think about their surroundings a little more clearly. "Is this really a cafe?" she whispered, leaning in close and feeling now underdressed for the surroundings.

Adrien scooted his chair closer and admitted, "I thought if I said restaurant you might think it was weird and say no." He paused, then added,"I do want to study though! We can just eat overpriced food while we do it."

This was… was this a-? Did it count? Marinette squirmed in her chair. She swallowed and once again moved to brush back hair that was already restrained. She turned it into casually fiddling with one of her earrings as she tried to form an answer out of letters and sounds that had suddenly betrayed her. "That sounds nice." It was so insufficient, but it was all that would come out.

Adrien smiled and for some reason seemed to let out a breath before turning the smile into a grin. "Let's get started, I get the feeling this isn't an immediate waiter type place."

They pulled out their books in the middle of a restaurant built for luxury and Marinette took one more deep breath, trying to regain her focus. She held it, counting ten before letting it out and opening her eyes right into Adrien's staring expression. He blinked in response to her blink and looked away quickly. What had she done wrong? You're the only one who can blow a not-date.

"What do you want to start with?" she asked, hoping to distract him from whatever she'd done.

"I umm." he looked down and shuffled his papers. "I- Astronomy? The moon is umm big-rr -nice. I mean, don't we have a test on that soon? Or is that next week?"

Marinette flipped through her own notes. "Next week." she confirmed. Her panic slowly subsided.

"Then calculus. I still need help finding out the area under your curves THE curve." Adrien picked up his book and set it down again, fidgeting. "You like black cats?"

For the second time tonight Marinette was lost. Black Cats? Did he know? How could he possibly know? Unless… You're wearing one, genius.

"Oh!" she sat back in her chair and lifted her hips slightly, to better display the full picture when she tugged the fabric taut. "It's kind of an homage to a friend. You know I've actually met Cat Noir? It's sort of supposed to be him on the rooftops, guarding us at night."

Marinette lifted her eyes from the image to Adrien and caught something in that green eyed gaze she couldn't explain. He didn't flinch away or blush when their eyes met; they just held each other's gazes for a long breath before he finally spoke. "He's lucky to have a friend like you, Marinette."

It wasn't the words. It wasn't even his gaze. There was something in the way he spoke. Marinette's blush rose from her neckline and didn't stop until it hit her hairline. She let go of the dress and immediately leaned forward, all but hiding behind her side of the table. She squirmed in her seat. She was sitting and *still* the dress felt too short.

Luckily she was saved by the waiter. Menus and greetings and all the appropriate little details pushed themselves in the way and allowed her to recover. Still the words echoed in her head. They bounced around until they lost meaning and only the sound remained. That sound that shot sparks down into her belly.

Adrien seemed to be having trouble looking at her too. Marinette realized she was still hunched over. He was probably embarrassed for her so she made herself sit up, taking a deep breath and putting on a smile. Adrien accidently knocked his calculus book off the table. In the moment when he stooped to pick it up Marinette had a reprieve enough to get her brain working again. Oh now you want me. Get to homework, you'll survive that better.

She did exactly that. With a focused determination she stood and moved her chair around to sit beside him then opened her book. She *would* do calculus if it killed her. It totally didn't matter that the chairs were so wide they were either awkwardly apart or half-sitting on the same chair as they tackled problems.

The dinner came, but the portions were so small and contained it was like eating snacks. They were their own bubble in a bustling environment. They synched up as homework always let them do and it wasn't until near the bottom of the glass that Marinette realized she had been drinking wine.

Marinette carefully slid it back on the table. It was just one glass, and not her first in life. Still she always cherished these moments when she could just fall into doing something and relax around Adrien. She wanted to be sure the warmth she felt inside came only from him and nowhere else.

She was able to steal a longer look as he untangled a particularly knotted equation, completely focused on turning sins and cos into numbers. What was she supposed to do? Alya stuffed her in this dress. It seemed to have worked. What was next? How do you ask someone to notice you? How do you say 'I would like a part of your life, and will give you all of mine in exchange.' without sounding weird? It all bumped around inside of her and made her head heavy. How could she ask someone who had so much pulling on him to take her scatterbrained self on too?

Marinette was leaning, listing to the side. Thoughts, homework, warmth, maybe wine? It was making her head heavy. His shoulder was right there. She could just… She felt her dress betray her. The soft plush fabric slipping against the seat, sliding her hips out to the side as she leaned. Marinette tensed for a flail- then the slipping was gone. A firm pressure held her in place. Adrien's hand, at her hip. How had he done that? He hadn't even looked up. He was steadfastly focused on the homework. Marinette hardly dared to breathe. She was still caught mid lean though, so daring the final distance she let her head just briefly touch his shoulder before whispering,"Sorry. I guess I'm just a little sleepy."

A more firm pressure, a reassuring squeeze. "No problem Marinette." he still wasn't looking at her, but then those green eyes turned and brought his smile with them,"Sorry I didn't ask; I didn't want you to fall." Way too late.

They disentangled, but Marinette was still too far gone for the usual panic to set in. She just rubbed her eyes and returned his smile,"Maybe we should call it a night?"

He looked away. Had that been the wrong thing to say? "If you want. I'm glad we got some time together finally. I missed... studying with you."

Marinette began gathering her books,"I missed… studying with you too." she agreed. It was on the tip of her tongue. So close. She could still feel his hand even though she could see him packing up too. Why wouldn't he look at her?

"Next week?" a change in tone, light and casual. His gaze came back with model smile #6.

"If you have time, I know you're super busy." She zipped up her bag,"I mean, if you two end up going on a date or something you won't have any time." *golf clap*

From casual to serious in a flash, Adrien's earnest tone. "I'm going to make time for you, Marinette."

Color bloomed on her cheeks. Once more it was the tone. Once more those sparks that danced around inside of her. Marinette shouldered her bag, turning away to do so and taking a few quick deep breaths to steady herself. "Great! Awesome! My grades will soar if I've got you helping me." She rocked onto her toes.

Adrien stepped up beside her,"Walk you home?"

Marinette wished she dared to take his hand like he had hers. Her fingers itched to do so. He was right there, she just needed to reach out. Instead she just whispered in defeat. "That sounds nice."