Hey guys! It's been a while, but I figured I'd do y'all a solid and update this story (even though most of you are probably long gone). I don't really remember at all where I was going with this shit, and I'm too lazy to reread it, so here you go. Fresh, off-the-cuff typa shit.

Sorry in advance.

Marinette hummed a happy tune as she packed her backpack. She'd woken up early for once, much to her parents' surprise.

Two tests and a research report meant that the day would prove to be particularly trying, but Marinette couldn't bring herself to be worried. She pushed through the doors of the bakery, breaking her own record for earliness, and practically skipped all the way to Alya's house.

Alya was, if possible, even more surprised to see Marinette so early in the morning. She was already up, of course, and was making her sisters breakfast when Marinette let herself in to their apartment, greeting Otis as she passed him.

"Good morning, Alya!" she said cheerfully as she set her backpack down.

"Uh, good morning?" Alya looked Marinette over, laughing a bit. "Are you feeling okay, girl?"

Marinette feigned ignorance. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you're here, like, an hour before you usually even wake up. I mean, I'm still in my pajamas." She gestured to her clothes pointedly.

"Oh, that..." Marinette giggled. "I dunno. I guess I'm just...excited for the day!"

Alya couldn't help but smile as she spread jam on her sister's toast. "Whatever you say, girl."

Meanwhile, Adrien Agreste was experiencing something akin to a panic attack, rifling through his closet and mentally screaming as he attempted to choose his outfit for the day.

"You wear the same thing every day," Plagg whined. "Can we go eat now?"

"Why do I own so many white button-downs?" Adrien practically shrieked, ignoring Plagg entirely. "My dad is a fashion designer! My wardobe shouldn't look like this!"

Plagg groaned. "Can we just skip to the part where you realize that this is all because you frenched Marinette as Chat Noir?"

"NOT HELPING," Adrien actually shrieked.

"Whatever. Wake me up when you stop freaking out," Plagg said, and dived head-first into the trash can.

Adrien did not, in fact, stop freaking out; he did, however, manage to get to school almost on time. He entered the classroom with the grace and dignity of a cat in a bathtub, striding forcefully toward his seat and managing to avoid eye contact with everyone in the room as he sat in it.

If he had known how truly ridiculous he looked, he may have forgone going to school at all. He had smartly avoided all mirrors that morning, though, so he had no way of knowing that his eyes had bags beneath them, or that there were crumbs on his chin from that morning's breakfast, or that his shirt was inside out, or that his hair was ruffled in a very Chat Noir-esque fashion. He remained blissfully unaware; the rest of the class, sad to say, did not.

"What's up with Adrien?" Alya whispered to Marinette, watching as the boy in question rummaged through his backpack and pulled out every single textbook but the one he actually needed for the class.

Marinette just blinked, completely at a loss. "Maybe an akuma switched his body with someone else's?"

"With who? A professional dumpster diver?"

"That's mean."

"Ooh, I know! A middle-aged man in the middle of an existential crisis!"

"That's worse!" Marinette hissed, hitting Alya lightly on the shoulder.

Alya giggled. "Relax, girl. He's probably just having a bad day. It happens to the best of us."

"Evidently," Marinette muttered.

As this conversation was being had, a similar but less-offensive one was commencing between two dear friends--both of whom were so close to the first conversation that it was a wonder, really, how they managed not to overhear it.

"Dude, are you feeling okay?" Nino asked Adrien, the subject of not only these conversations, but every single other conversation being had in the room at that moment.

"No, I'm fine, I just..." Adrien knotted his hands in his hair, groaning quietly.

"You have, uh, crumbs...all over your face, dude. Also, your shirt is inside out."

Adrien swiped a hand across his face in a gesture that closely resembled a slap. "Thanks."

Nino chuckled nervously. "You do not seem okay, dude."

Adrien opened his mouth to give another halfhearted reassurance that he was fine, but the teacher called for attention before he had the chance. Nino would have to wait.

And he did, until after school, when, with a little bit of coaxing and a whole lot of guilt-tripping, he managed to convince Adrien to embarrass himself further by going to a cafe with Marinette and Alya. (Of course, Adrien had the sense to fix his shirt first, so at least there was that.)

Weirdly enough, Marinette was actually glad to have him around. Nino, too. She was beginning to feel like the four of them were actual friends--like, hang-out-in-a-coffee-shop friends. She was comfortable around them.

Well, usually. At the moment, Adrien was a source of discomfort for everyone at the table. He hadn't stopped moving since they sat down, yet his gaze was perfectly still, fixed on a point in the distance. Marinette was particularly disconcerted by the state of his hair, but couldn't bring herself to comment on it.

The same was not true for Alya, who immediately began her assault of questions. "So? What's up with you, girl?"

Adrien only responded after she snapped near his face. He blinked. "Oh, me?"

"Yeah, you! Who else?"

He shrugged a shoulder. "The 'girl' thing kinda threw me. I'm fine, though."

"I didn't ask if you were fine. I asked what's up."

Adrien paused, his eyes flickering briefly to Marinette. "I just didn't sleep well. That's all."

"See? I told you he was fine," said Marinette, though she still looked nervous.

"No you didn't," Alya pointed out. "You said an akuma switched his body with someone else's."

"I--" Marinette blushed. "Sorry, Adrien."

Adrien smiled weakly. "It's okay, Marinette. I know I'm being a little weird today."

"No..." Marinette began, but she couldn't deny that his behavior was unusual, especially for him. "Well, a little. But it's fine! I don't mind. We don't mind. Right, guys?"

Nino nodded in agreement, but Alya didn't seem satisfied. Regardless, the conversation went on--but there was one among them who couldn't seem to engage, and, surprisingly, it wasn't Adrien.

Marinette watched the boy in question as he spoke with Nino and Alya about the test they'd taken earlier in the day. It was funny--with his hair all messed up and shadows under his eyes, he almost reminded her of Chat Noir.

It's a short one, but it's better than nothing, right?

Right?!