"I love you too, Cat Noir."

Sitting in math class, I was doing zero algebra and scribbling away on my workbook. Resting my cheek in my palm, this contented swoony sigh escaped my lips. Everyone on the page was written Cat Noir's name. We'd only met like five times already, but I still couldn't get him out of my head. Give me a break! I was fourteen years old and this was my first ever crush.

Little did I know at the time that it'd be my only crush.

Alya perked up as she saw our teacher, Miss Bustier, coming down the sloping steps in our direction. She gave me a nudge with her elbow, which didn't take me out of my state of ecstasy. My pen merely wrote his name down again in pink ink. Alya watched helplessly when Miss Bustier approached my side of the desk. My eyes only enlarged at the sudden sensation of her hand smacking the wood of the desk right in front of me.

My head shot up to see an annoyed math teacher glaring back. "Finished your assignment already, Miss Dupain-Cheng?" "Uhhhhhhhhh, no?" "You must be close. You've been concentrating on it for over an hour now." "I have?!" Wow! How many times have I written down Cat Noir's name already? Fear gripped me as her hand extended across the desk reaching for my workbook.

Both my hands suddenly fell down over the pages- hard. Everyone perked up at this and was now watching the two of us curiously. "No! No, I'm not done yet! I'll finish up right away!" I added a very wide grin, praying she'd buy it. Her eyebrow lifted suspiciously. "Mind sharing what you've got so far with the rest of the class?" "Errrrrrrr, no. I-I don't know if I got it right," a little self-deprecation never hurt anyone. She rolled her eyes. "Uh huh. In the future, I suggest you pay a little more attention to your studies, Miss Dupain-Cheng. You'll be in high school next year and the expectations will be a lot higher." "Yes, Miss Bustier," my head hung low in defeat. My hand gripped the pink pen I had grabbed off my desk. Alya gave me a look which said "I tried to tell ya". Internal sigh. All of this would be so much more bearable…..

If I could only talk to him like a normal person.

But as it stands now, I haven't been able to get a single complete sentence out yet- not whenever I'm talking to Cat Noir. I sighed, putting the side of my head down onto my folded arms. I felt totally dejected, heading straight home after school. Standing on my balcony, leaning against the railing, I was in the middle of wallowing in self-pity. Tikki, my brand new kwami, wasn't very sympathetic.

"Why are you so nervous around Cat Noir? He obviously likes you if he keeps coming to see you every day like this," she said. I sighed, completely miserable. "Yeah, but I don't know if he "likes" me likes me, or just likes me… Maybe he just wants to be friends." "Why don't you ask him out?" She beamed. I blinked to Tikki taken aback, straightening up. "What? You mean like on a date?" "Sure! Why not?" My stare drew out into space temporarily. "A date….? With Cat Noir? Me and him? Go on a date? Gasp! I can't do that!" I suddenly cried, admittedly too loudly.

"Why not? You like him, don't you?" "I don't just "like" him, Tikki. I love him! Which is why I can't ask him out!" "That makes literally no sense," she gave me a deadpan look. "You know what I'm like around him. I get all clammy, and feel like I'm going to faint, and forget my own name. How could I possibly get the nerve to ask him out, let alone actually go out…. on a date with him? It's too much!" My cheeks were sizzling a beat red by this point; my hands rose up to cover them as I rapidly shook my hot, light head.

Tikki's eyes rolled totally exasperated already. "Why don't you just tell Cat Noir how you really feel then?" "Because! What if he doesn't feel the same way? That would crush my very soul! No! I must prove my love to him indirectly somehow!" "Uh, don't you think there's an easier way?" "Like what?" I genuinely asked. Looking back, I was a very cringy teenager. Tikki fained pondering the question for a minute, glancing up toward the ceiling and tapping the side of her mouth with her tiny hand. "Just talking to him?" "Uh huh, yeah, sure. And how's you think that's gonna go? I can barely ask him about the weather! It'll take me a lifetime to say "I love you" to him!" My hands flung out in front of me dramatically.

Tikki sighed, done with all this. "Girl, you've got to get better control over your emotions…." "No, I need to think of a way to get Cat Noir to marry me without making a fool of myself in front of him," my forefinger lifted to my bottom lip in serious contemplation. "How can Cat Noir be the love of your life if you can't even talk to him?" "Who said we had to talk?" I grinned; Tikki didn't. She simply shook her head. "If talking's out, what are you going to do?"

"Hmmmmmmm," I thought about it for a moment before my fingers snapped together. "I know! I'll get him a gift!" "A present?" "Yeah! One that's full of love and passion! Cat Noir will open the box and realize just how much I adore him," my hands clapped excitedly. Tikki's eyebrow raised unsure. "But don't humans usually give each other gifts on special occasions? Like for Christmas or Birthdays?" I gasped, looking at her alarmed. "You're right, Tikki! What if he gets weirded out by my just giving him a present?! Ugh, it was such a perfect plan too!" Burying my face in my hands, my head soon perked but up.

"Wait! What if I gave it to him for his birthday?" "You don't know when Cat Noir's birthday is," Tikki counter. I flashed her a cunning smile, narrowing my eyes. "True, but this'll make up for it in case I missed it this year." "Oh, Marinette," my kwami whacked her face with her hand. I wasn't paying attention, now preoccupied with trying to think of the perfect belated gift for Cat Noir. To be honest I didn't really know what to get him. What would someone like Cat Noir like? Someone perfect…..

Tikki sighed again. "If you want to give him something, why not make him a present?" "Make him one?" I peered back up her way curious. She nodded. "Yeah. Make him something from the heart; something filled with love." "That's a great idea, Tikki! I'll make him a…. a….. Uh, what should I make him? Should it be something useful or…?" "You want to be a fashion designer one day, don't you Marinette? Why not make him a piece of clothing?" "Clothing? But all I ever see him in is his cat suit. I'd never get to see him wear what I made for him," I rebutted. "Then make him a hat or scarf or something," Tikki smiled softly. "A scarf…..?" I ogled her for a minute. It's just so crazy that it might work!

A scarf it was decided on! I spent the next few nights working tirelessly away on a beautiful long blue scarf. I took extra care to embroider it and make it look all fancy. I had to admit, by the time it was done it was looking pretty good- good enough for Cat Noir, I hoped. It would be worth all the missed hours of sleep and bloody fingers if he did. I bought some really nice bright blue paper to wrap the box in as well. The whole thing was finished off with this dark-blue ribbon. Neatly wrapped gift in hand, I anxiously waited on the rooftop balcony for you-know-who to show up that evening. My body rocked back and forth in a sort of wave-like motion; I was staring up at the pinkish-purple sky and humming to myself. Despite being scared out of my wits, I was really looking forward to seeing him again.

I didn't have to wait long. Before I knew it, that familiar sound of feet landing on my balcony rang out throughout the air. I spun around like a shot, suddenly wide-eyed and heart racing faster than a mile a minute. Cat Noir, for his part, looked completely calm and chill as a cucumber. The first thing he did was flash me a brilliant, confident smile. "Evening, milady," he greeted.

The moment I heard his voice, my brain went into hyper-drive. Ok! This is it, Marinette! Don't blow it…. again. "H-Hi, Cat Noir! I-I wanted to….. I wanted to gift you a make! I mean gift you a give I made! I mean…..!" Oh no, I'm screwing everything up! Just hand him the box, you moron! Cat Noir didn't seem like he knew what to do as I out of the blue pulled out a rectangular, thin, blue box from behind my back. I practically shoved it into his chest, using a bit too much force. "This is for you!" I nearly shouted. Oh my god, this was painful. Why couldn't I just act like a normal human being around him?! Would it be like this forever?

Stunned, Cat Noir grabbed hold of the present. "Uh, thanks?" "I-It's ok! I hope you like me. I mean it! I hope you like it! Uh, good night!" I started running back toward my apartment's door. Cat Noir's hand flew up in my direction to stop me. "Wait! I just got here!" "I-I think I hear my dad calling me! See you later, maybe tomorrow, Saturday, bye!" With that, I flung myself inside, slamming the door behind me. I scrambled all the way down to my room where I fell onto my bed, my arms spread wide at my sides. The most illustrious sigh fell from my mouth. "I did it… I actually did it." Oh please god, let him like it.

"Marinette! Can you come down here for a minute please?" Mom hollered from the bottom of the stairs. "Coming!" Floating on cloud nine, I raced downstairs to the bakery part of the house. I was down there for a little while, only returning back up to my room after I helped my parents out with something in the shop.

When I came into my room, I was surprised to see a folded piece of paper waiting on my desk for me. Tikki and I looked at each other confused as I picked it up. "That's weird. I wonder where this came from." Opening it up I quickly discovered that it was a hand-written note. It read: Thanks for the scarf, Marinette. I love it. Your devoted servant, CN.

The hand holding the note slowly began to lower on its own accord, my gigantic eyes stared off into nowhere in particular. Tikki's smile grew great and elated. "See?! He does like it, Marinette!" She flew up to give my cheek a hug but drew back in surprise at the sensation of something moist. She blinked at me, now concerned, as a few tears trickled down the front of my cheeks. I was crying, but I was smiling a mile wide. I'd never happy-cried in my life before this point…

"Marinette?" Tikki's voice was peppered with worry. But my smile blossomed out more. "He's happy….. I made him happy," my lips trembled. Seeing what was up, my kwami's kind grin returned. "You sure did, Marinette." "Oh, Tikki. I'm so happy too," even more tears. "I know you are…" Her little hand patted my shoulder. "Do you think I'll ever be able to tell Cat Noir how I really feel?" I then asked her in a gentle, small voice. Her face nuzzled into my shirt. "I'm sure you will someday. You just need to get to know each other better." "You really think so?" I glanced her way. She nodded, grinning up at me. "I know you will. You just need to be patient with yourself; these things take time." "But what if I'm never ready? And what if Cat Noir doesn't feel the same way about me?"

Tikki watched my eyes momentarily, finally letting herself smile with such sincerity. Her small hands pressed into my shoulder. "Don't worry. You're only fourteen, Marinette; you've got a whole lifetime ahead of you. You'll tell Cat Noir when the time is right. And I wouldn't worry about Cat Noir not feeling the same way." "Why do you say that?" I inquired. Her eyes lowered tenderly. "Because I've seen the way he looks at you; I've never seen a person look at anyone like that before." "Like what?!" I shrieked, bunching the slip of paper in my fingers accidently. But Tikki merely laughed. "Heh, I can't describe it." "Try, Tikki! Try!" My voice cracked from pleading so high. "Maybe it's not so much the way he looks at you.

Maybe it's the way he never looks at anyone else whenever you're nearby."