With my eyes barely open, I turned off my alarm, wondering why I had agreed to do something as stupid as wake up early to go running. For one, I was already struggling to wake up for my morning classes. Secondly, while Ladybug could certainly do all of the cardio she wanted, without the suit, I could barely run a mile. I quickly threw on a pair of black leggings, my sports bra, a red top, and my black tennis shoes and headed downstairs to meet Adrien outside of our dorm building.

As I shuffled over to him, still blinking the sleepiness out of my eyes, I saw him stretching near a picnic bench. A loose black tee shirt hung across his chest and a pair of baggy grey running shorts showed his toned legs. He was incredibly fit. He wasn't like a bodybuilder; he was still rather lean. However, his muscles were rather well-defined. I felt cheated. I didn't think he was out of shape per se, but I never expected this. Adrien was always wearing such casual and baggy clothing and never looked like he was the athletic type. Looking at him now, however, he looked like he could've made it into this school on a sports scholarship. It was daunting to say the least. He looked like he ran every morning, I on the other hand haven't worked out in months.

"Hey Marinette!" Adrien exclaimed with way too much energy. "I'm so glad you could come with me. I usually have to do my runs alone, so it's really nice to have someone with me."

It was amazing how such a genuine guy could look so flawless. It seemed like he put a lot of work into his physique, but he didn't seem like the type of person to care too much about his looks. When he told me how he was glad that I could join him, he almost reminded me of Chat when we first got our miraculous. He had that same joy, but also gave me the same sense of loneliness that Chat had.

"Well, I wish you had told me how fit you are!" I retorted. "Are you a professional athlete or something?"

"I-" Adrien paused as a dark red filled his cheeks and his eyes shifted around. Without his glasses, I wasn't sure if he was having trouble seeing or just averting my gaze. "Not quite. I just like to stay healthy!" he finished rather awkwardly.

"Okay," I began, a little confused, "Well I'm going to warn you, I haven't properly worked out in what feels like ages. Don't let me hold you back."

"I doubt you could do that," he replied with a chuckle, "Plus, like I said, I've been needing some company on these runs. They get boring after a while."

I followed his lead and started stretching out my calves and thighs. Adrien began upper body stretches, and I followed suit. Most of the stretches he was doing were ones I had never seen before. I only knew the ones that I had learned in the public school gym curriculum. After mimicking his stretches, however, I felt amazingly loose. He had such a well developed work out routine. Adrien might just get me into shape after all. Nino would certainly be surprised.

"So how are things going in your dorm?" I asked as we began to jog.

"Nino is such a great guy. He's super laid back and awesome to be around. I'm really enjoying it," Adrien responded. "He talks about you quite a bit."

"Oh no. What is he saying?" I asked, then cut myself off with, "Whatever it is, don't listen to him. He's such a gossip"

Adrien chuckled and assured me, "It's all good things. It sounds like you guys are pretty close. How long have you known each other?"

"Since we were babies. Our fathers were good friends, so we would see each other all the time. He's always had a knack for making fun of me. I get him back for it, though. We've had a few fights and awkward times throughout the years, but we always have each other's backs."

"That's so nice," he stated, a little unfocused now.

"What about that girl, Chloe? You guys seemed pretty close."

"Not nearly as close as you thought," Adrien said with a playful smirk. "Chloe's always been great, and like you guys we always have each other's backs. We are just very different people at the end of the day."

I decided not to pry as he looked a little sad when talking about Chloe. Or perhaps the sadness came when I was talking about Nino. I wasn't sure, but tried to change the subject. For the rest of the run we talked about basic college freshmen things such as classes and goals and whatnot. We then got into our interests, and I found out that Adrien was actually sort of a nerd. He went on and on about physics. It was amazing how passionate he was about it. I almost wondered why he didn't choose that as his major. We later moved on to the topic of coding, which Adrien was taking a class on. Then, he started talking about how fascinated he was with videogames. My eyebrows shot up as I asked him what his favorite game was. It was Ultimate Mecha Strike. I was thrilled.

"You know, I am quite skilled in that game. You'll have to play me sometime," I challenged him.

"Oh you're on. Do you know how many hours I've sunk into that game? I'm basically a pro at this point.

He began to run a little faster, and my breath was running out. Adrien seemed to notice, and carried on the conversation by himself, asking me yes or no questions. It was so sweet of him, but I felt sort of bad. He was definitely slowing his pace for me, and now here I was not even able to hold a conversation due to my sluggishness! Nevertheless, I continued running, trying to go as fast as I could so as to not hold him back too much.

Once we arrived back at the dorm, I felt like every muscle in my body was going to fall off. Sweat was pouring down my forehead, and I felt disgusting. Adrien on the other hand looked perfectly refreshed and wore a huge smile on his face.

"Thanks Marinette. I really enjoyed this. Are you down to come tomorrow? Not that you have to! Just, if you would like."

After taking a few seconds to catch my breath, I responded, "Sure, I'd like that. Thank you for inviting me, Adrien."

We waved goodbye once we reached my floor, and I went to go take a shower. With the warm water running, I could feel each one of my muscles being to relax. It was euphoric. I supposed getting in shape wouldn't hurt me. Plus, Adrien really seemed happy that I had joined him. I would normally think of that as a crush, but something about him seemed different. He had that same loneliness that Chat often held in his eyes. Adrien genuinely just seemed happy to have a friend.

I got out of the shower, got dressed, and headed to my first class. It was a rather busy day. I had an intro to statistics class, a class on accounting, and a psychology class. My first two classes were smaller in size, and I got to know a few people. In statistics, a girl who introduced herself as Alix sat next to me. She had a punk style that I thought was rather well designed. I got her number when the class ended and we agreed to start a study group.

Once I got to my psychology class, however, I halted. Sitting in the front row was the guy from the media center that I had met during orientation, Luka. He noticed me and gave a quick wave. I returned it and took my seat. As the class began, the professor introduced Luka as the TA, or assistant for the class. He would be available if we had any questions or needed any help on any assignments. He would also occasionally teach parts of our lectures.

After the class ended, I approached Luka. "I didn't know you were a psychology major," I began. "I guess it makes sense though. Your recommendation for me to try an art class was really great. I had my first sculpting class yesterday and really enjoyed it."

"That's amazing Marinette. I'm glad to have helped," he returned with a smile. "So, how are you liking it now that you're done with orientation and finally a real student" he said playfully.

"It's pretty nice, though a bit intimidating. I have been able to meet a lot of great people though!"

"That's great. You know, the club fair is coming up soon. I'll be running a booth, you should come visit."

"Oh," I began, "for which club?"

"It's the music booth. Though, I also have a shift at the school newspaper."

"I guess I'll see you then," I said with a smile. Luka just felt so easy to talk to. He was so laid back and inviting.

By the end of the day I was exhausted. I went back to my dorm, fully expecting to just pass out, when I was met with an unusually chipper Kagami. It was then that I realized that I had completely forgotten that I had made plans to get dinner with her that night. I returned a quick smile and texted Nino. He didn't seem bothered by the news at all, and actually seemed rather excited to finally meet my roommate.

Nino and Adrien had been in the library, which was on the other side of the dining hall than our dorm, so I walked only with Kagami. There was a thick tension. I had no clue what to talk to her about. I felt so bad that I had been inadvertently ignoring her, but I knew she was too shy to start the conversation herself.

"So how have your classes been?" I asked, trying to make it less awkward.

"They have been going well. I have been able to come up with a good schedule to follow for studying."

She had answered so bluntly I didn't know how to respond. Luckily, I was saved as we saw Nino and Adrien.

"Ah the famous roommate, pleasure to meet you madame," Nino said over-dramatically. I let out a sigh, knowing that this was going to be quite an experience.

Hey guys, I'm super sorry I disappeared for two weeks. I had some big things come up in my personal life, and had to put this to the side. Nevertheless, here is an admittedly rushed chapter six. I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy!