She wondered about him sometimes. About Chat Noir.

She wondered if she could spot him down the road - would she recognize him if she bumped into him. Would he? But then again, he could be living on the other side of Paris. But then again again, he was always quick to arrive at the scene, so that thought was ruled out.

She wondered what school he goes to, if he had any friends and joked around with them, making puns. He most likely has a lot of friends, what with his boisterous energy and open personality attracting people towards him.

Looking out of the classroom window, she wondered if his seat was on the spot with the brightest sunlight. She imagined him stretching out with a yawn, and snickered to herself.

"Care to share what's so funny?"

Marrinette snapped out of her thoughts and turned red in the face. She grinned sheepishly at Alya. "It's nothing - just daydreaming."

"Daydreaming?" Alya raised an eyebrow and then leaned in with a smirk. "Is it your knight in shining amour ?"

Marinette blushed a darker shade of red. Alya cackled. "Thought so."

In the seat in front of her, Adrien had also turned in a darker shade of red. Nino glanced at him in concern. "Are you sick, bro?"

"I'm - I'm fine." He stammered, heart pounding in his chest.

Nini gave him the benefit of the doubt. "Whatever you say. But if you have a fever, go to the school nurse."

"Yeah, I will. Thanks, Nino."

"No problem, my dude."

Sometimes, Marinette wondered if he could be famous - if he was a model or an actor. He had the looks for it.

As the superhero lounged on her carpet, she could see the pattern of his sinew muscles underneath the suit. He was tall, his frame thin but muscular. His hair had a shine to it and his face, he was attractive, but she deemed his eyes the defining feature.

He could even rival the looks of a certain Adrien Agreste - something that gave her pride but also trouble. Pride on one hand that her partner was just as handsome. Trouble on the other that she was betraying Adrien for deeming someone else just as or even more handsome than him.

"You know, it's either you want to jump me or you want to burn a hole through my skull." He lazily looked up, tail shifting behind him. "I prefer the first option though."

He received a roll of fabric on his face for his trouble and she went back to focusing on her dress, pushing away her wonderings.

Adrien sighed as he adjusted his mask. His nerves thrummed inside him, and he felt anxious in the mask. What if people recognized him as Chat Noir? He could already imagine the headlines and hoardes of fans swarming to see him - Paris's superhero and top model were one and the same .

Pandemonium. Ladybug would have his hide. Marinette would kiss him better.

Well...that didn't sound so bad.

"Relax." Plagg's muffled voice spoke from inside his suit. "No one can recognize you as Chat Noir since your identity is protected by the miraculous's magic. The only way you could be recognized would be if you told people outright, circumstantial evidence, or if they already know."

Adrien sighed. At least that was one problem out of the way. Chloé would be here any minute, and he was not looking forward to what she would wear. Sure, she had a sense of style, but sometimes, her showy nature could be over the top. And as a model who was also the son of Paris's greatest designer, over the top was something he wasn't really fond of.

Cameras switched over to a white limousine and he squared his shoulders. Here she comes.

Birthday cake was what he thought first. Yellow birthday cake, was what he thought next.

Chloé stepped out, and her yellow skirt billowed behind here. Belle of the ball indeed. It might as well be cosplay, although her skirt was twice as large in circumference and her personality twice as nast- nice thoughts. Think nice thoughts. She's your friend.

"Chloé." Adrien called out as he walked towards her. Her eyes brightened up and she eagerly grabbed the offered arm.

"How do I look?"Chloeé asked, flipping her hair as she batted her eyelids.

"You look very bright." Adrien plastered on his model smile. "As bright as the sun, I can scarcely look at you."

She tilted her head in confusion, but he quickly steered her inside the entrance before she could put a word on the edgewise.

The reception room was huge, with a large sparkling chandelier hanging from the top. Famous people milled around, though Adrien could barely recognize them from the masks they wear. Although Chloé complained about having to wear the mask because it was covering the eyeshadow that accented her eyes, she wore it for the thrill of anonymity.

"People can hardly recognize me." She whisper-shouted. Adrien inwardly snorted. If her dress wasn't a loud announcement of her presence, he didn't know what was."I could be a superhero and people wouldn't know I was Chloé Bourgeois."

Adrien sweatdropped. "Just because you wear a mask, doesn't mean it hides who you really are, you know."

But she wasn't listening to him, opting on leaving his side and stalking off to hit on other models she recognized. Adrien sighed and headed off to his sponsor. Greetings were in order, after all.

The event was off to a good start. But Adrien had a niggling feeling that with his presence and the absence of Chloé from his side, things would go south very quickly.

Just as he had that thought, there was a very familiar shriek in the air, paired with, "Ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous! My father will hear about this!"

There it was.

As per the protocol of almost every party Adrien ever went to with Chloé as his plus one, he headed to the eye of the hurricane, pulled her away, and apologized to the poor victim in advanced, giving his charming smile to calm them down and not to pull them into a depression that could trigger an akuma. Promised compensation was then ensued, then he and Chloé left the event before she could do more damage.

Adrien flopped on the bed, not bothering to take off his shoes.

Plagg zipped out and headed for the camembert pantry, indulging in the wheel of stinky glory. "You know, with your friend being a brat, I wonder how you can stand her."

"Chloé's not that bad." Adrien mumbled, but even that sounded weak in his ears.

"Say that to the poor maid who ran out crying." Plagg miffed.

Adrien sighed. But his annoyance of the day was quickly dashed away by the promise of tomorrow.

...

Marinette stopped in her tracks. "Chat Noir?"

The figure in front of her adjusted his green aviator glasses, the reflective lenses glinting in the setting sun. Impeccably dressed in a suit and tie, the green tie clip and pocket handkerchief were the only indications to his superhero alter ego. That, and his lavish line of, "May I mewscort this Purrincess to the ball?"

Marinette continued to gape at him. On one hand, she felt unnerved seeing her partner in front of her without the anonymity of the suit, yet on the other hand, she couldn't help but want to take off those glasses, to see who he really was.

She shook her head. It was tempting. Too tempting. Too tempting and too risky.

"Finally discovered where the door is?" Marinette teased, slipping her hand around his offered arm as they strolled to the place where the party would be held.

Chat Noir shrugged. "Well, a knight has his ways to get to his princess. A prince on the other hand.."

"Prince. Uh-huh." Marinette snorted at that. Chat Noir just gave her an unnerving sly grin. "So what are you supposed to be? Princes don't look like that. They're more..princely."

"If you saw me without the mask, you would absolutely deem me a prince." Chat Noir said smugly. "Also, I'm secret service. Y'know, James Bond and stuff."

"Isn't the point of secret service...secret?" Marinette raised an eyebrow at her reflection in the glasses. "Your outfit isn't exactly...subtle."

And it wasn't. Because in Marinette's eyes, the ensemble was an original - designer. The materials under her fingers were of the highest quality. Judging from those alone, she could tell that Chat Noir was well-off. And she was pretty sure the emerald in his cuffs were real.

Chat rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, at least we match! So I'm a secret service under you, Princess."

Marinette smiled. Indeed, with her off shoulder emerald silk dress with black highlights and hair in an updo with a tiara on top, she was indeed like a princess and her escort.

As they reached the venue, Marinette couldn't help but gape. It was the new highrise hotel that was more expensive and more fancy than the mayor's hotel. Inside, Venetian music was already playing and she could see people milling about in colorful dresses and elaborate masks.

"You didn't tell me this would be a high-class social event." Marinette hissed, hand gripping so hard around his arm, Chat Noir winced. "Who are you, Chat Noir?"

"Well, you know what they say, curiosity killed the cat." Chat said simply, patting her hand in reassurance. Giving him one last glare and a squeeze, she let go. There was still the nervous look in her eyes. Chat stopped and gently palmed her face, eliciting a blush in her cheeks at the skin contact. "Marinette, I promise you, I won't leave you alone tonight. You're safe with me."

She looked at the anxious face mirrored in the lenses and closed her eyes. When she opened them, there was the look of determination. "I trust you."

Chat straightened up with his signature smirk. "That's the spirit."

And with that, they walked confidently inside.

Upon arrival on the reception desk, they handed out their invitation cards and received two golden cards. Tucking the card in his pocket and hers in her silver clutch, they were greeted by a butler holding out two black masks on a velvet cushion.

Heart pounding, Marinette reached out for hers. What if Chat Noir discovered her identity when she wore the mask? What if he recognizes her as Ladybug and decides to reveal himself as well? He came here with Marinette, not Ladybug!

Seeing him reach for his glasses, Marinette's heart skipped a beat and she quickly turned around, face flushed. She was not going to cheat her partner! Taking a deep breath, she put on the mask.

"Ready?"

"Ready."

They turned around.

Marinette felt...disappointed, a little. He looked just like his everyday superhero self, which was pretty ordinary. Except without the tight suit.

Chat Noir gave her a onceover. "Did anyone ever tell you that you look like Ladybug?" He said slyly.

Marinette felt dread wash over her. She stammered, "What - what are you talking about, Chat? Me, a superhero? Ha! I can't ever compare to Ladybug! We look nothing alike!"

"Really?" Chat said, as he held out his arm. "You would make a great superhero though. You've got the guts and the creativity. We'd make a great team."

Marinette sweatdropped, compliments passing over her head. "Yeah, we would, wouldn't we."

Chat smirked as they walked into the throng of people.

...

Adrien was elated on bringing Marinette on the second day. The first set of invitations were for higher ups and people the owner of the hotel had sponsored for his events. The second set of invitations were for designers and others who bought the invite.

Marinette was noticed, and then surrounded by designers who asked her about her ensemble. When she said that she was an aspiring designer and made the dress herself, she was flooded with compliments and invitations to so and so's fashion show and masterclasses.

Chat Noir stood at the sideline, just admiring her. Be it as Marinette or Ladybug, she had always been the center of attention and he didn't mind one bit. She deserved every second in the limelight.

He heard the sob before he saw the crying person. Glancing at Marinette to make sure she would be okay while he was away, he slipped behind the curtain and out on the balcony. Walking slowly towards her, he realized that she was the maid from the day before.

"Are you okay?" He asked tentatively, while making sure that his own mask was still secure.

She startled and quickly wiped away her tears. She turned around and gave him a strained smile. "What can I do for you, sir?"

"I thought I heard someone crying. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." She attempted a smile, but came out as a grimace. "You should enjoy the party, sir. Your company will be lonely."

He eyed her. She didn't look fine. "Well," He leaned on the railings, "As much as I'd like to go back inside, I think my princess is going to be fine. You, however, look like you need someone to vent to."

She hesitated, and then sighed. With slumped shoulders, she said, "My significant other broke up with me."

Well...he did ask. Chat Noir shuffled his feet. She continued, "We had always been together for so long, so I couldn't understand why they just decided to pack their things and leave. Was it something that I did? Maybe they got bored of me? Was I too much-"

"Hey, hey, don't go down that line of thought." Chat Noir quickly said. "They probably had their own circumstances that they couldn't tell you."

"Why not?" She cried. "They should know that I would always be beside them no matter what, so why didn't they say anything! And they said they loved me!"

She wailed and buried her face in her hands. Chat Noir looked around, wondering what to do. He resorted to giving her an awkward pat on the back. "Maybe you could talk it out-"

"I can't reach them." She said between hiccups. "No texts, no calls, no nothing. It's like they just vanished from this Earth. We promised to get married this summer but - but now it's all over!"

Chat Noir gulped. "Love will always find a way-"

"There is no such thing as true love in this world." She sobbed a dark miasma covering her frame. Chat Noir's eyes widened as he ran out of the balcony and slammed the door shut, only to be blasted away into the room as a large cape topped with a golden mask floated inside.

People started screaming and running away. Chat Noir and Marinette looked around, searching for a place to hide and transform. But just then, the whole hall was flooded into darkness and curtains fell down, separating and trapping each individual inside.

"Marinette!"

"Chat Noir!"

There is no such thing as true love.


This was supposed to be connected to the chapter that was coming next, but then I decided to split it cuz the akumatized victim apparently had a mind of her own that deviated slightly away from my original plan.

ANYWAY

i hope you liked it! Thanks for reading! See ya'll next time!