Blarghhhh

Summer is too hot! It's making me not want to write. Plus, I had to give my laptop back to my school, so I have nothing to write with except my phone. Anyway, that's why this is late.

When Adrien fell asleep that night, his dream started off like many had before it: he was doing a presentation in school, but had somehow managed to forget to wear pants.

It wasn't that big of a deal; he felt embarrassed, sure, but no one really made any indication of noticing his missing apparel, so he went on presenting, occasionally tugging down the hem of his shirt in a pointless attempt to cover his underwear. It wasn't until he noticed his that someone was sitting at his desk that his dream strayed from the usual.

Beside his best friend Nino sat a boy in a skin-tight black cat outfit. It took Adrien a moment to realize that he was staring at himself, only transformed. Chat Noir grinned at him, bright green eyes narrowing to slits as he chuckled, as if the two were sharing a private joke. Whatever the joke was, though, it evidently had gone straight over Adrien's head as he blathered on about... Wait, what was his report on again?

Adrien began to panic, eyes drifting to Ms. Mendeleiev (whose hair was bright green, though it didn't seem important at the time). She tapped her foot, sneering at him, and made a hand gesture which probably meant, Wrap it up. But wrap up what, exactly?

"Uhm..." He stood awkwardly, looking out at his classmates until someone at his side put a hand on his shoulder, and his heart nearly stopped.

To his right stood Ladybug, looking at him with annoyance. Normally, he'd feel right at home receiving such a look from his partner, but as Adrien, it wasn't funny. What really bothered him, though, was that her suit wasn't red anymore. It was pink.

"What are you doing?" she hissed. "Just finish the stupid presentation already! Chat and I have an Akuma to catch."

"Oh!" He looked at Chat, who winked. "But I'm Chat--"

"Just do the presentation!"

"Uh, right. Sorry." He cleared his throat, willing the subject of his project to come to mind, but he was blank. "So..."

Ladybug sighed. "Do I have to do everything?"

But before she could do anything, the dream shifted, and Adrien found himself back in Marinette's room. Marinette stood beside him, sporting a frown that was usually reserved for Chloe. She looked up at him and raised an eyebrow.

"So, you lied to me."

"What?" he asked.

"You lied to me," the girl repeated.

He tried to think back to a time when he'd lied to Marinette, but he couldn't think of anything. "No, I didn't."

"You're Chat Noir."

He felt the air sucked out of his chest and doubled over, wheezing. He couldn't comprehend what was happening, but he felt like his lungs were on fire. The pain was so real, he forgot it was a dream... until he shot straight up in his bed.

He pried open his eyes, panting and drenched in cold sweat. His eyes flitted across his room, but everything was in its place. Plagg slept on his bedside table, snoring loudly for such a little cat, completely ignorant to Adrien's distress. He took a moment to catch his breath. His heart was pounding in his chest, and Marinette's words echoed in his head.

He threw his legs over the side of the bed. What could have brought on such a dream? Was it because he had just visited Marinette the night before? Or maybe, subconsciously, he felt bad that he went as Chat Noir... Almost like he was lying to her. He supposed, in a sense, he was taking advantage of the fact that he was a superhero to visit her, and in the night, no less...

He shook his head. He wasn't exactly lying to her, so it didn't count, did it? But if Marinette knew that I was in her room in the middle of the night, she'd totally flip. She'd hate me. So aren't I being dishonest just by being there?

"Ugh..." He checked the clock. His alarm wasn't due to go off for another thirty minutes, but he doubted he'd get any sleep now. Might as well get up.

With a heavy sigh and a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach, Adrien Agreste showered as usual, but he didn't sing like he normally would. There was something at the back of his mind bothering him, something he was forgetting... He got so caught up in trying to remember that he accidentally used body soap in his hair.

When he realized his mistake, he scoffed at his own foolishness and sped through the rest of his morning routine, then went to the dining room to eat breakfast alone. All by himself, he had plenty of time to think over the affairs of the past few days.

He still felt guilty about Marinette. She seemed so upset last night, and he thought that it must be his fault. Maybe she was insecure about her feelings for his alter ego, and wasn't comfortable with his confrontation of them. Or maybe she was just overwhelmed about her mother being kidnapped. Either way, Adrien decided he'd better not tease her anymore, at least for awhile.

It didn't seem funny anyway, after everything that happened yesterday.

He couldn't help it: the image of Marinette hugging him tearfully stayed in his mind, no matter how hard he tried to forget it. It felt like he was invading her privacy, seeing her so vulnerable. He'd always thought Marinette was so strong, in her own way, and seeing her cry made him feel like he knew her better, like they'd shared something important.

But they didn't. Because as much as he would've loved to say they were even better friends than before, he knew they weren't. And that was going to bother him.

He felt a rustling in his shirt pocket, and Plagg emerged with a yawn, revealing pointy little fangs. He blinked up at Adrien. "Would you hurry up? You've been working on that same croissant for half an hour," he whined. "Even I eat faster than this."

"We got an early start anyway," Adrien grumbled. "Quit your complaining."

"You just wanna stay here so you can think about your girlfriend. Come on, there's barely two bites left! Just shove it in your mouth and let's go!"

"I was not thinking about my girlfriend. Er--she's not my girlfriend!" He frowned at his plate. Normally, croissants were his favorite, but this one tasted like cardboard. "She's my friend, and I want to help her. Besides, I'm in love with Ladybug. You know that."

"What makes you think she wants your help? Clearly she doesn't want anything to do with Chat Noir, and after you were such a jerk to her yesterday, I doubt she wants anything to do with Adrien, either."

"I don't need your advice, Plagg." He stood up, shoving his plate aside. Someone would take care of it after he left. "And besides, you're wrong."

At least, I hope you're wrong, he thought dreadfully as the two set off for the collège.

--

Nino first suspected something was up with Adrien when he tripped down the stairs on their way to class.

See, Adrien didn't trip. It just wasn't something he did. He always stood up straight, walked with just the right amount of poise so he didn't seem too cocky, and he never, ever stumbled. Unlike Nino, who couldn't walk three steps without falling flat on his face.

Frankly, Nino would've been shocked--concerned, even-- if Adrien had, say, stubbed a toe, or something common like that. But the fact that he straight up took a tumble down the stairs made Nino unsure whether to burst out laughing or call a psychiatrist. Something had to be seriously wrong for Adrien to be acting as clumsy as Marinette.

"Oh my God. Dude, are you okay?" he asked as he rushed to his friend's side.

The blond sat up with a groan, shaking his head. "Yeah, nothing broken. Maybe bruised."

Nino reached out a hand to help his friend up, and Adrien took it gratefully. Nino narrowed his eyes suspiciously as the blond brushed himself off. "Man, what's up with you? Is your dad gettin' you down again?"

"No, why?"

"I dunno, you just seem off your game. Is everything okay, dude?"

Adrien shrugged as they continued up the stairs to their classroom. Nino noted the way he rubbed his neck and his uncomfortable expression. "It's stupid... Er, can I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

"Does Marinette like me?"

Nino froze. What do I say? What do I say?! How did he find out? Did Alya tell him? Oh, God, she's going to kill me. "Umm... I don't--I don't know. No?"

Adrien wilted. "Really?"

"Er..." Why does he look so sad? Does that mean he likes her too? And more importantly, that Alya won't kill me?! "I mean," he said cautiously, "yes."

The blond perked up instantly. "That's a relief!" He laughed. "You had me worried there, Nino."

Adrien walked on ahead toward the classroom, leaving Nino gawking at his back. He had to jog to catch up, and when he did, he rounded on Adrien. "Wait, dude. Why do you ask?"

Adrien shrugged, the look of discomfort returning to his supermodel features. "I just... I feel bad for teasing her so much about the Chat Noir thing."

Nino blinked. "Why?"

"I just feel like it was kind of... rude. You know, looking back."

"Uh... I mean, I guess, but... I just don't see what the big deal is. If you think it's mean, then just don't do it."

Adrien shook his head thoughtfully. "No, that won't do... Maybe I could buy her something to make up for it."

"So let me get this straight," said Nino, "that's what this is about?" He shook his head, disbelieving. Of course that's what this is about. I should've known Adrien is too oblivious to figure out that Marinette likes him on his own. "It's not that big of a deal, dude. Just apologize."

Adrien shook his head, and Nino got the feeling he was missing something by the look on his friend's face. "I can't just apologize."

"Man, I dunno what you're getting all worked up about. This whole thing is dumb. I don't see why you were teasing her so hard about it in the first place; it's obvious she doesn't really like Chat Noir."

He sat down at his desk as they arrived in the classroom, but Adrien stayed standing. He was frowning. "What do you mean?"

Nino sighed. "Look, dude. Even if she did like him, he's a superhero. It's just a celebrity crush. No biggie. Besides, you can't pretend you're not totally crushing on Ladybug."

"What?! I--"

Nino held up his hands in a "stop" gesture. "All I'm saying is, I don't see how it was any of your business in the first place. But to be honest, I don't think Marinette is really angry about it, so as long as you don't do it anymore, you're golden, dude."

Adrien nodded slowly, sliding into his seat next to Nino. "You really think so?"

Before Nino could answer, Alya walked in and took her seat behind him, and Nino turned around to greet her. "Hey, Alya."

"Hey, Nino," she said with a yawn.

"Rough night?"

"Stayed up working on the Ladyblog. Man, that Akuma yesterday was wild, huh? I managed to get the end of the fight. Wanna see?"

She leaned forward and held her phone so that both boys could see. The bright screen displayed a short clip of Ladybug appearing from an alley and using Lucky Charm to break up the fight between the Scribbler and Chat Noir. The video ended on a blurry shot of Ladybug examining something in the palm of her hand and Chat looking annoyed.

"Pretty cool, huh? I was in the shower when the fight started, so I--"

"Wait." Adrien looked at the phone like it held the secrets to the universe, eyes narrowed in concentration. "Go back to the beginning."

She followed his instructions and paused on a shot of Ladybug emerging from a nearby alley. The blond didn't say anything, but he looked disturbed.

Marinette burst through the door before Nino could ask what was wrong, just seconds before the bell rang. She straightened up in the doorway, her face red with either embarrassment or exertion, and took her seat behind the two boys. Nino couldn't help notice how Adrien's eyes followed as she passed, but he had a weird look on his face.

Something's going on between those two, he thought. And if anyone can figure it out, it's Alya.

Thanks for reading, guys. Don't forget to review and stuff. Ciao.