He looked at me, and I knew.

I caught Luka peering over at me from his side of the table. We were in the library and supposed to be working on our project for our Sixteenth-Century French History course; we were partners. While I had my nose buried in a mountain of books, my partner here took a more laid-back approach. Time and time again I'd lift my eyes up from the text to find him looking at me. Looking at me, and smiling…..

Always smiling.

It was a knowing smile; one I'd seen other people give me before. Most notably, my boyfriend. His eyes acted like sponges, absorbing every motion I made, every fibre that constituted my being. It was obvious that he liked what he was seeing; that I enchanted him in some way. It made me nervous, how he kept passively observing me- quietly, and when I wasn't looking…..

Eventually, after the hundredth time I caught him doing so, I decided to address the situation. Slowly I set the textbook down and glanced back at him; albeit with less intensity as he stared back in my direction. There was this quick, anxious shiver down my spine as I tried- in vain- to act casual. "What?" I cracked a nervous smile.

Luka didn't respond right away, instead taking another second to merely watch me. Soon enough though, this small, sincere grin drew across his lips. It was so profound that it unnerved me quite a lot.

"How do you do that?" He asked me in a naturally hushed tone. "Do what?" I turned his query back to him. Luka chuckled ever so softly. "There's something about you; I can't put my finger on what it is exactly, but it's there. I see it….." "S-See what?" My fingers curled into uncomfortable fists. The way his voice sounded just now…. It was a little too close to Cat Noir's, whenever he's heaping scores of praise and devotion onto me. He didn't sound like Cat Noir exactly per se, but it was his tone which caught me off guard.

Luka chuckled again to himself, as if what he was referring to was obvious. His head gave a light shake. "I've never met anyone like you, I don't think. And I sincerely doubt there's anyone else like you…. You're unique; one of a kind." Now blushing involuntarily, I waved my hand at him all embarrassed and wishing the conversation would stop. "Oh no, that's not true! I'm just like every other girl in Paris! There's nothing special about me; I'm not like Ladybug or anything…."

But Luke resolutely shook his head in firm disagreement. "See, that's where you're wrong. You probably don't see it in yourself, but I see it. Since the first moment I've saw you, I've known. You're something else, Marinette; something else entirely. Something I've never seen before…" "Luka," my cheeks were so hot, I felt like they'd burst into flames any minute. No…. No, I don't want to hear this. Only Cat Noir can say such things to me; I don't want to hear them from anyone else! And yet, it frightened me that Luka spoke with such earnestness, such authenticity, I did not know what to say. What could I possibly say to that?

His eyes lowered a tad onto me, like they were soaking in my essence once again. "Each time I've seen you since then, you've confirmed it to me. Again and again… I know you've told me that you're not interested in being in a relationship right now, but I can't help it. I see you, and I know you…. in spite of myself."

"Luka, please!" My hand raised up to my thumping chest. To say I was frazzled, afraid, and astonished would be an understatement. Sure, I was flattered beyond all measure, but it was all tainted by the fact that it was not Cat Noir who was the one flattering me. He paused for a moment, still looking right at me from his end of the table. Then he chuckled yet again; this time much more gently, almost tenderly.

"No…. No, of course you don't see it. How could you? You deny yourself; I suppose there's no helping that. But I…. I still see you, Marinette. And trust me when I say this, you truly are one of a kind. Since that first day, there's been no movement of yours which as not betrayed you. A glance, a step, a turn of the head, even the very flash in your throat as you breathe…. They've all reveal yourself to me; they've all betrayed you. They are all my spies, and I have seen them, Marinette." "Luka, what are you saying? Do you….?" Though I didn't need to finish my question; I already knew. Oh boy, did I know…..

Another chuckle fell from his lips and he gave his head a tiny, breath-taking shake. His eyes blinked away from mine, veering off into space before drifting back up to mine. He looked at me in such a way that made it hard to breathe. This was too much; this was all too much for me…. I flinched as his slender suddenly reached out to cover the top of mine which was still resting on the tabletop; not the one currently over my beating heart. His fingers cradled mine so intimately…. "You're something else, Marinette. I've never met anyone like you before. You are definitely something else.

You're the type of girl that when you look at someone, they change."

I let out a loud, exhausted sigh while tossing my head back to stare up at the ceiling. Ayla, who was working at the workbench beside me, peered my way perplexed. "Something on your mind there, girl?"

My hand ran over my wary face. "It's Mr. Agreste; he's signed Adrien up to work this fashion show next week for Chloe's mom." "Wait, hold up. Chloe? As in the psycho Chloe that came here before?" "The very same. It's to punish me for that fight we had," now both my hands were covering my face, I was so done with all this. Alya looked horrified. "That's not fair! It wasn't a "fight", so much as her assaulting you at your place of study." "I know, but her dad called Mr. Agreste to complain about me. She must have fed him some BS." "That's obvious," Alya snorted.

Gazing at my phone screen, of which my hand next reached over to grab the device off my desk, I winced at my call log. "On top of which, she's been harassing me nonstop with phone calls." "Really?! Have you talked to her?" "Only once when she called using her dad's phone- or think it was her dad's phone? I can't remember. But regardless, I blocked the number." "Oh… So how does she keep calling you then?" "She's using an "unknown number" which I can't block. I haven't answered any of her other calls, but I know it's her. She just wants to yell at me some more for being engaged to Adrien," I rolled my eyes. The jealously of her indirectly loving Cat Noir hadn't hit me yet, but boy, was I not ready for that bombshell. We'd only had one case of intense jealousy in our relationship so far, and that was completely justified on my boyfriend's part. Luka didn't get the memo that I wasn't into him for years….

Alya gave me a worried expression. "Dude, you need to tell him about this. She's harassing you, and isn't going to stop anytime soon by the sounds of it." "I have told him! But what can he do? Mr. Agreste's ordered him to apologize to Chloe before the fashion show….." Ugh, I felt like I was going to throw up. Alya blinked in alarm. "Him? Apologize to her? Apologize for what? Defending his future wife from her bullying?"

Future wife…. Only then did I gaze at Ayla with something resembling a smile. I still couldn't get over the fact that Adrien and I were getting married; that I was marrying my beloved Cat Noir…. My sudden change in expression surprised my best friend, who responded my blinking at me slightly bewildered. "Mari?" "Married… Adrien and I are going to get married." "Uh, yeah? But what happened to the "Marinette" who wanted nothing to do with Adrien last week? A change of heart, perhaps?" My grin grew in its edges. "Perhaps. Perhaps I've just seen more of him now…. And like what I've seen."

Alya watched me for a moment before suddenly letting out a loud, high-pitched squeal. "Eeeeeeek! Marinette! You're developing a crush on Adrien!" "What?! No way! That's crazy!" "Yeah- crazy romantic! Girl, it's your very first crush! And it's on your fiancé; how lucky is that?" Her hand stretched over to pound on top of my desk. I grinned at her, lowering my eyes a bit. "I don't have a crush on Adrien. Ok well maybe a little, but it's no big deal." "It's a very big deal! The biggest deal of deals! Eeeeeek, I'm so happy for you! Does he know?" "No, and he can't find out! This is really important, Alya." "What?! What do you mean "he can't find out"? This isn't high school, Marinette; you're marrying the guy. You're past the point of having a secret crush, and on your future husband no less."

I gave her a pleading look, spinning on my stool in such a way so to face her directly. "Please, don't say anything. I-I'll tell him when the time is right," that is, if Plagg ever lets me. Alya sighed, shook her head, and got up off her own stool. "Well, just make sure you tell him before your wedding night, otherwise things might get awkward." "Haha, very funny," my lips morphed into a bemused smirk. She chuckled and put on her coat.

"We're still on for next weekend though, right?" "As far as I know. Mr. Agreste hasn't said anything yet, so I guess Adrien and I are allowed to go." "Good! I've decided on Paris Disneyland," she announced with eagerness. "Are you sure the guys will like that?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow slightly. Alya nodded her head confidently. "Absolutely! It has everything everyone will want. There's enough mascots running around, so no one will bother Adrien- or you by extension." "That's true," my forefinger lifted up to my lip as I too nodded my head. "Plus there's lots of fast rides for the boys, and princess stuff for us. You love Cinderella's castle." "I do…" "Great! So it's all settled. We'll go to Disneyland next week, after Chloe's mom's fashion show." "Ugh, don't remind me. I'll let you know how it goes." "Make sure you do! I'll call you later; I'm just going out to stetch my legs," she told me.

I nodded. "Ok. I'll talk to you later. Have a good break." "Don't work too hard!" Alya made sure to shut the door on her way out. I waited until she was gone before stretching my arms high up above me. After a long yawn, I decided I'd been sitting for long enough myself. Getting up, I trotted over to the back storage room and began mindlessly glancing over the boxes. When the workshop's front door reopened, I suspected that Alya forgot something at her desk. The door slowly opened, and I didn't bother checking right away to see who it was.

Dear reader, I didn't look to see who had just stepped into the room with me.