AN: Hey guys. If you haven't yet, check out my other story, Spots Off, based on Miraculous as well. That one is more on the storyline, but this story idea I had was too cute to pass up, even if it is a complete AU. At this point in this story, Marinette and Adrien haven't found their Miraculouses yet but they're 16, almost 17 as they're nearing the end of junior year. Adrien just moved into town in this AU as well. I hope you guys enjoy, I'm excited to lay this out for you all :D

This story may or may not be changed to rated M later on; what do you guys think? Mild smut under T or in-depth lowkey Grey's Anatomy type of shiii?

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, and am not making profit off of them.

Chapter One:

The reflection of the shimmering beer bottles stacked across the end of the bar lengthened into a thin line of light fluttering across Marinette's vision as she neared them. How she let herself get to this point was beyond her; it was all Alya's doing. Although she was grateful for her best friend's crazy ideas, she wasn't too happy about this one. Marinette wasn't much of a party goer, especially when it was his. However, as she was already there, she was going to make the most of it—at least, that's what she thought three hours ago.

That happened to be exactly the thought that now landed Marinette completely plastered in the middle of the new kid's living room.

Stumbling over objects that weren't there, Marinette continued walking towards Alya, as she'd lost her in the crowd. It wasn't a huge group of people, mostly just their classmates, so it was all too easy to spot her four-eyed best friend leaning against the bar which showcased the disarray of empty liquor bottles. Alya was deeply into a conversation with Nino, another boy in their class, when Marinette finally reached her and gripped tightly onto her shoulder.

"H-heyy, bestie!" Marinette said, shouting over the music pounding throughout the house. "How are you?"

Alya shifted her hazel eyes over from Nino to Marinette in a flash. The hints that she was sending were clearly not registering with Mari—or rather, Mari and the alcohol in her system. "I'm alright, Marinette. Nino and I were just having a conversation," Alya stressed, widening her eyes at Mari.

"Yeah, duh. Nino! You're a cool dude," Marinette answered, oblivious to everything in her best friend's tone. Nino laughed and pulled Marinette into a hug, before getting out of his seat and dismissing himself to go find the party thrower—Adam, she had thought he said? Marinette couldn't quite recall, because as soon as he was gone, Alya began to glare intensely at her.

"Marinette, I think I might be crushing on him!" the brunette exclaimed. "We were just getting to the flirting!"

Marinette, barely able to stand up straight, responded numbly. Alya sighed and said with a wink, "It's alright, girl. Even if you are a cock block."

She gasped. "I am most definitely not a cock block."

"So are."

"No, I am not!" Marinette exasperated. Crossing her arms, squinting, and sticking the corner of her tongue out of her mouth in frustration, Marinette simply responded, "I'll prove it."

"Girl, I was just kidding!" Alya yelled after her, but it was too late; before Marinette could sober up enough to properly mentally address what she was about to do, she climbed the steps to the DJ stand and yanked the microphone away from him.

"SORRY!" Marinette yelled into the mic, and everyone who hadn't already quickly turned their heads to face her up on the stand. Immediately, a blush crept up to her cheeks; however, she thought, they don't call it liquid courage for nothing.

Peering out into the crowd, Marinette observed the multitude of people; some were cuddling, some were laughing, some were drinking, and one was even off chasing a ping-pong ball that had rolled across the polished marble flooring into a corner of the room. The ornate chandelier perched right above the piano blocked a part of her vision, but she could hardly see through the blur of alcohol fogging her vision anyway, so Marinette wasn't bothered. Taking a deep breath, she turned to the DJ's table on her left side and shut off the music.

"Get off the stage!" Chloe Bourgeois yelled with her hands cupped around her mouth, Sabrina shaking her head disapprovingly at her side like an accessory doll. "My Adrikins paid way too much for that DJ for you, Dupain-Cheng of all people, to just ruin the whole night!"

Marinette rolled her eyes, ignoring her, before speaking into the black mic she was holding up to her lips. "Let's play a game!" she yelled, letting the alcohol take her courage way further than she'd ever normally be comfortable with.

"Take off your clothes!" someone shouted out from the crowd, which was followed by immediate laughter; although, she couldn't quite pinpoint from where, as the entire room began to spin like a merry-go-round with no off button. She was going to be sick—but no—a hand grabbed her shoulder, pulling her back into reality.

"Marinette, are you alright?" his voice asked—from right beside her, too. She peered up into green orbs full of concern, with no hint of annoyance behind them. He was too kind; this had to be the host—Adrien, Marinette finally remembered. Her heart warmed at the thought that he already knew her name.

"Yeah, I'm alright. Just trying to help out a friend."

Even with her confidence surging, her mouth felt about as dry as the Sahara when she spoke to Adrien—whom, by the way, was extremely handsome. Her focus was so pent up on the blonde that she hardly even noticed the room full of people watching her intently, until chatter began to roar back up again within the crowd, and she spotted Alya standing much closer to Nino than Marinette deemed necessary. Holding the microphone up once more, she grinned and suggested, "SEVEN MINUTES IN HEAVEN!"

The crowd roared in approval and laughter. Across the room, Kim grabbed up an empty bottle and held it proudly above everyone's heads before he was shoved into the center of the room by his classmates. The group formed a large circle, mostly resembling a disformed oval, with the bottle on the floor at its center.

Marinette had planned just for people to be chosen at 'random', where she in fact would've actually just elected Alya and Nino, but in her stupor, she had forgotten all about why they were playing this game in the first place and began to get just as excited as everyone else at the party. Sandwiched in-between Mylene on her left and Adrien on her right, Marinette gazed up at Max, who apparently had taken initiative of being the game's host.

"...at exactly a chance of 43.2%, someone will be matched with their crush tonight, so make it worthwhile you guys," Max was explaining, holding his arms up in defeat after pushing his glasses up by one finger. Finally, after what felt like hours to Marinette, Max got up and spun the bottle.

Just spacing her, the bottle's tip landed right at her side, winking up at Adrien. The group chuckled when he flipped his hair up with his hand, smirking. He stood up and walked towards the closet peeking out at them in the corner of the room. Already, Marinette missed the presence of him pressed against her side, and it dawned on her; someone was going to go in there with him, and do whatever they wanted…. Marinette felt sick. What she didn't know was why—she'd only just met the kid.

"See you in there," she overheard Adrien say breathily to no one in particular before she registered the small click that guaranteed the closing of the closet's door, shutting the blonde inside. Marinette tore her eyes away from the bottle that she was still staring at, which pointed at Adrien's vacant spot, to look back up at Max, who was prepping himself to spin the bottle again; the subtle chatter ended as his fingers lengthened out towards the shining glass.

The bottle spun steadily around. One, two, three….

Suddenly, the vodka container halted, the clear tip staring straight up at Marinette.

She paled immediately. The crowd, however, erupted in storms of delight, and Marinette caught a glimpse of Alya chuckling across from her, whispering something into Nino's ear, who also seemed happy for the game's decision. Hands from every direction shoved her towards the closet until Marinette steadily began to trip at her own pace on the path to the door. The smooth metal of the handle appeared under her trembling hand, and she gulped, swallowing down her racing heart.

The door cracked open as Marinette pulled the handle, but the closet was so dark there was no hope of even glancing at Adrien as she quickly slipped inside the room. Marinette's ears picked up a quiet "Seven minutes…. Now!" but her brain was distracted by the heaviness floating around the closet's close quarters. Marinette felt as if she could look through two different lenses; the sober, terrified one, or the drunken, stupid, and courageous one. She wasn't quite sure which one she wanted to choose at that moment, when Adrien interrupted her thoughts as he spoke.

"Might I have the pleasure of knowing who this Princess of Darkness is?" he gestured, followed by a small laugh. It was clear that Adrien had had his fair share of drinks as well, just by the way he was behaving, but it became even more obvious when Marinette smelt the alcohol wavering in his breath.

The room might have been pitch black, but Adrien was so close to her that Marinette could almost see his silhouette. She reminded herself to breathe.

"Ma-Marinette," she whispered, leaning a bit closer to him. Her body seemed to have a mind of its own in this state. "We don't have to do anything, you know," she said, her breath staggering mid-lung. Although, I definitely wouldn't mind if we did, Mari added mentally.

Suddenly, she felt Adrien's hand trace up her forearm as he settled his head in the crook of her neck. "Hmm," he whispered into her ear. Marinette shivered.

"Well, as you might've been able to tell," Adrien said, lacing kisses across the side of her neck between words. "I've had a little too much, or maybe not nearly enough to drink," he continued, leaning back in front of her face yet grabbing both of her elbows with his hands.

"How did Max put it? 'Don't waste it'? 'Make it worthwhile'?" Adrien breathed, the sound of his voice nearing Marinette's face. She could smell the ache of vodka tingling in his words, but she didn't care. This was him saying these things; Adrien sitting in the closet with her. Adrien—

Adrien kissing her.

Before she could even process what was happening, Marinette felt the softness of his lips grasping her own. A small, drunken moan escaped from her as she immediately laced one hand through his hair and left the other to trail across his chest, bunching his T-shirt in her fist. Adrien grabbed her hips and pulled her closer, until they were completely pressed up against one another. Their lips moved in unison, matching perfectly together as Marinette pressed further into the kiss.

Choosing the drunken lens, Mari used the last of her confidence to brush her tongue against his bottom lip, seeking entrance. Adrien gladly slipped his into her mouth, moaning slightly himself, and their tongues danced together in a way Marinette could only explain as utter euphoria. Her thoughts seemed to slip further and further away as the kiss deepened and Adrien pressed her up against the wall of the closet. She felt like she could stay that way forever, until….

The door flew open, and light flooded into the small space. Marinette was still pressed up against the wall but Adrien jumped back away from her as soon as the handle had started to jiggle. She knew it would be evident, what with messy hair and smeared lipstick that was bound to have stayed behind, but Marinette stayed confident, raising her chin up, as she prowled back to her seat in the circle, Adrien following close behind.

When Marinette awoke a mess the next morning on Alya's floor, piecing everything about the previous night back together, she couldn't recall much after that moment, but her skin felt the aches of Adrien's memory that her mind couldn't even completely grasp onto.

AN: Well, there's Chapter One! I really hope you guys enjoyed it, and stick around to see how the story unfolds! Make sure to write me a review to let me know how you felt about this chapter : )

Later,

The Nightly Stars