Hello, beautiful people! I think this update is about a week later than planned, but finals are finally over and I'm on vacation! As stated last time, I will try to create and post some new stories, just so I'm no longer bored waiting to update a single story. This chapter is more of a filler chapter, but still good in my opinion! I'll need time to think about my next adventure here, so stay tuned!

*Caution: it may be small, but there is mild suggestive content in this chapter.

Chapter 6

The long weekend did indeed go by extremely slowly, especially for Adrien. He assumed school was cancelled Thursday after the akuma attack, and the following email confirmed that, and he had to leave Thursday morning anyways for Milan. He was just happy that he didn't actually miss two days-worth of class, instead it was just one. He still stewed over the conversation he and Marinette had, particularly what wasn't said. She knew immediately when something was bothering him, much like how Ladybug does. He thought he was good at hiding certain emotions, but apparently not if his princess could read him so easily. He thought a lot about his rapidly growing feelings for Marinette, and couldn't bring himself to regret them nor could he diminish them. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that it wouldn't be so bad to engage in this new romance. There was a problem, however… her boyfriend.

Adrien never truly thought that Marinette was the type to date someone so much older than her, but some people have certain tastes. They were already quite comfortable with each other, and they looked great together too. He hardly felt it as he bit the inside of his cheek. He just had to stop thinking about it. He needed to sort out his feelings for his friend first and then check out that new guy. Was he a criminal? Did he pose any danger to his princess? Do they truly love each other? With the help of his alter ego, he hoped he would find some answers.

The only relief he got was when he opened his eyes and found that he was in the front of the school. He came straight here from the airport, so he still had his suitcase. Thankfully he had the Gorilla; he would put his bag on his bed for him to unpack when he got home later for lunch, unless of course he went to lunch with his friends. Hopefully, he could spend some time with Marinette alone and decipher his feelings for her. It wouldn't be terrible to have a small crush on her, but he was afraid that if he asked her out now that it would ruin their friendship. She confessed last year and moved on, and ever since then he has harbored feelings for her however small and it has steadily gotten worse. Or better, he couldn't tell. If she did, by some miracle, go out with him, there was a chance she wouldn't like him like that, and it could ruin their connection. The worse that could happen was her refusing the offer, that way he could move on faster.

Sighing, he opened his door with a heavy heart and made his way up the stairs. The first bell already rang, so everyone was already in their classes waiting for the second bell to go off. Luckily for him, there was no one in the hallways so he could get to class in a hurry while also not having to worry about running into anyone while he was surely scowling. He almost made it to his homeroom when he heard a loud thump and heavy breathing coming up from behind him. If Adrien knew anything, it was the exhausted panting of his friend and crush, Marinette. He smiled to himself genuinely at her antics as he opened the door and made his way inside, stepping to the side so she had plenty of room to come in past him. As she turned the corner into the doorway, she stumbled into the classroom, most likely expecting a door to be there to help her stop. Adrien almost offered her a hand when she righted herself, giving him a shaky, breathless smile. "Oh, good morning, Adrien!" she greeted jovially despite still panting. His smile widened at how ridiculous and breathtaking she was, despite sweat forming on her forehead causing her bangs to stick together. At least nothing has changed while he was away, and nothing will change this week as long as he was here. Well, at least he hoped so. The only change he will accept is the change in his and Marinette's relationship status. Shaking himself from his reverie, he gave her a flamboyant bow with a wave of his hand.

"Good morning, young miss. I hope you are well after this weekend?" he asked with a false accent. Her responding giggle lightened his tired and heavy heart slightly, and he knew that today was going to be a good day. She wasn't able to respond though, because their friends were giggling at him and his antics. Even Chloe was rolling her eyes at him and his dorky habits. Madame Bustier wasn't in the room yet, which was strange, but the bell was just about to ring, so he gestured Marinette ahead of him as they took their seats.

"So, how was your modeling gig, sunshine?" Alya asked with an entertained smirk.

"It was exhausting, like always while in Milan, but otherwise it was fun. I got a little more time to roam around compared to last time."

"That's great, man!" Nino clasped his shoulder. Just as he was about to say something though, Madame Bustier walked in and started the lecture with a smile.

By lunch, Adrien was about ready to pass out from exhaustion. He has never been able to sleep properly on planes no matter how hard he has tried. He just barely refrained from yawning as Marinette came up to him. "Hey, are you alright?" she asked with mild concern.

"Yeah, everything is fine. Just a little tired is all. It was crazy this weekend despite it being more lax than normal."

"I'm sorry. Would you like to go home to take a nap?"

"Are you kidding? No way. I haven't seen you guys since Wednesday last week, I want to hang out with you guys."

"Great!" Alya cut in while she dragged Nino by his arm their way. She effortlessly linked her arms with Nino instead of holding hands with him, which she normally only does when she's excited for something. "How about we try that new café a couple blocks over? I heard they serve great lunch!"

"Didn't you and Nino go last week when Marinette and I couldn't make it?" Adrien asked suspiciously, causing Marinette to lift a curious brow as well. Their friends blushed, and that tipped him off that they were doing anything but eating lunch. "Nevermind, don't answer that. I don't want to be traumatized." He was smirking and Marinette was giggling again as they passed the lovebirds.

"Whatever, cinnamon bun. Let's go before all the tables are taken!" With that said, she quickly linked her arms with Marinette and began dragging her away, but not before Marinette held out her hand for him to grab accompanied with an unbridled smile. As he wrapped his hand around hers, he swore his whole body warmed up and was rejuvenated as they practically skipped down the road.

Lunch at the café was a light affair; exchanging stories of the weekend, telling horrible jokes (jokes that the boys liked but the girls rolled their eyes at), and plans for the break starting after school Friday. Nino and Alya must've planned ahead of time, because the girls sat next to each other and Adrien sat across from Marinette. He was easily able to simply stare at her the whole time and she didn't suspect a thing. At least, he hoped she didn't. Every time he spent time with Marinette, as either of his egos, he learned many new things about her. Each thing was better than the one before, and so far, he couldn't think of a single hobby or habit that he didn't appreciate about her. Even her little quirks were admirable, and it was making Adrien go crazy because it appeared that his crush was growing stronger. They took their time getting back to the school, seeing how they had another hour left. It was then that Marinette suggested going back to her place so they wouldn't need to wait in front of the school. They said hello to her parents and made their way to her room and played some video games, teasing each other and teaming up randomly. The only way that Marinette was able to lose a battle, apparently, was to team up with Nino. He was so naturally bad that he was counterproductive in most of the battle sequences and, whenever there was a team shootout, he would almost always shoot her too. Everyone laughed while she pouted, but her victorious smile returned as she kept winning round after round against the three of them combined. They only jerked back to the present as Adrien's alarm signaled the time so they could head back to the school and make it on time. Marinette hurriedly gathered her stuff that she scattered across her bed in order to look for specific pencils in her bag, while Alya and Nino were called for her to hurry up. Adrien stayed at the base of her ladder so they could walk together, knowing that their friends' calls to hurry were frazzling her brain. She didn't do well under pressure, she tended to overthink sometimes. Only barely tripping as she made her way down her ladder, they quickly caught up to their friends who deliberately walked slow so they could catch up.

"You guys didn't need to rush me like that, we have plenty of time to make it!" Marinette called.

"Maybe, but with that mindset, you tend to take your time. That's why you're always late, mademoiselle," Alya teased.

"I am NOT always late!" Marinette cried indignantly with flushed cheeks. The two boys were laughing at the girls' antics when they began teasing and arguing with each other until they approached the school. Adrien was surprised that, throughout their lunch break, no one mentioned the mysterious stranger once. He wondered briefly if that day even happened, but then remembered that an akuma attacked that day, so it definitely happened. Maybe he wasn't that big of a deal? Perhaps they broke up or had a falling out this weekend and were fighting. But that couldn't be right either, Marinette was too sweet to keep a grudge like that. Except maybe against Lila, who pretty much has grudges against everyone. He doesn't understand why she was still here, and how she could still be so popular despite everyone knowing she lies all the time.

Adrien sighed as they reached their classroom and took their respective seats, the boys turning to talk to the girls until the second bell. Just as he got comfortable in his seat and turned around, he got a whiff of a strong, overly floral perfume to his left. Speak of the devil, he thought as he turned slightly and caught sight of Lila, wearing a low-cut an overbearingly tight top, effectively showing more cleavage than was needed, and a pair of extremely short denim shorts that he was surprised didn't show her underwear. He knew for certain that her outfit, surprisingly, was still in regs for the school policy. She wore a sparkly necklace that was just low enough that if someone were to look at it, they would have no choice but to look at her cleavage. He was sure she caught the eyes of many young men today for it, and he was curious to hear what her reasoning for visiting him was this time. "Hey Lila, what's up?"

"Hello, Adrien," she called in a sultry voice, leaning over Marinette's corner of her desk and obstructing half of Adrien's view of her. "How was your weekend?"

"Just the same as any other modeling weekend; work and briefings. Nothing of importance."

"Not as important as someone like you, huh?" she near whispered, leaning slightly forward so more of her cleavage showed. He tried desperately to keep his eyes trained forward, but his eyes betrayed him by glancing down for only a fraction of a second. He didn't even get a good look, not that he wanted to, but she still noticed it, if her growing smirk was anything to go by. "I heard there was a lot of beach shoots, did you get a lot of sun?"

"I got the decent amount, not too much so I wouldn't tan though. It's no surprise I would take those type of photos in Milan, Lila."

"True, true. Did you see many female models there? Any as attractive as me?"

Adrien knew right then that she was attempting to drag the attention to her, as per usual. However, he wasn't going to fall for her tricks, might as well have some fun with it. "I worked with many female models, actually. They were each very beautiful, as per the requirements for being a model." He tried not to smirk when he noticed his friends attempting to hold back their laughter. The only person who broke was Marinette with an adorable snort. Lila turned a furious glare to her, but Marinette covered up her laughter with a strange sort of cough you would get when you drank too fast. She even had her water bottle in her hands. Good girl. "Anyhow, I think the bell is about to go off, so we should all be in our seats." The bell rang just as he finished his statement, and Lila couldn't suppress the indignant huff that escaped her, but she quickly turned another sultry smirk to Adrien before trailing her fingers along his face in a flirtatious manner and waving him off, heading back to her own seat.

When she finally sat back down, the group released their own sighs of relief. "That was a close one. I feared the banshee would never leave," Alya commented dryly.

"I second that. I swear, the longer she tries to gain your affection the more embarrassing she gets. Seriously, how little clothing does she have to wear before she thinks she could hook you in?" Nino asked.

"I'm starting to think she might need to be nude to do that," Marinette teased with lowered lashes. To the outside, she appeared fun-loving and aloof to the fact her nemesis was blatantly messing with Adrien, but inside was a raging storm. How dare Lila attempt to force herself on one of her best friends? Especially in a domain that wasn't even hers. Honestly, how desperate could she get?

"Oh god, I hope not. I really don't want to have nightmares of that sight," Adrien half-forced a shiver that ran through his whole body. His friends immediately laughed at his antics before turning their attention back to the board where their teacher was writing notes. The group paid close attention in each of their classes due to tests at the end of the week. Well, everyone in the group aside from Adrien. He was confident he'd get good grades in his tests, so he allowed his mind to wander to other matters. Most namely, his relationship with Marinette.

Her teasing him earlier caused a blush to rise in his cheeks for two reasons. One, the smirk she gave him when they were talking about the extent to which Lila would go in order to gain his affections, which would never happen. The second reason, which he chastised himself over, was the thought of her being nude instead of Lila.

Adrien chewed the end of his pencil whenever the thought of Marinette in anything less than her underwear would pop an image in his mind. At this rate, he would chew his pencil in half. By the time lunch rolled around, there were obvious teeth marks on the end of his pencil. It was a good thing it wasn't his favorite pencil.

A soft hand touching his shoulder jolted him from his deep thoughts, and he whirled around to come within inches of Marinette's petite nose. "Are you okay, Adrien? You look flushed." As she said this, she shifted his bangs to feel his forehead, most likely to see if he had a fever.

Adrien flinched at her touch, but not in a bad way. Her touch was electrifying and cold, yet it possessed a warmth that couldn't be described. Her gentle movements almost put Adrien in a trance, but sounds from the classroom broke him from his spell. "Oh, no I'm fine. I'm good, great actually!"

"Really? Your pencil is sort of… chewed on."

"Uhm, yeah, there's that… I guess I'm just nervous for tests in a few days."

"That's logical, I think we all are. But don't worry, you have the highest scores in here, you'll be just fine," she soothed with a bright smile. He couldn't help but reciprocate. She always had this way to brighten peoples' spirits, no matter how down they were.

"Thanks, Marinette."

"No problem! Now let's go, Nino and Alya already left us." Adrien looked around and noticed that they have, in fact, left them behind. Mylene, Ivan, Kim and Alix just left, so him and Marinette were the only ones still in the classroom.

"When did they leave?" he asked as he packed his stuff and stood up to leave.

"They were one of the first few out of here, aside from Chloe and Lila. Speaking of, she tried getting your attention again as she left, but you were so spaced out you didn't notice it."

"Thank god, I don't want to see another one of her 'sultry' smiles, they're terrifying."

"It's truly not that bad."

"You've never had it directed at you."

"True, I've only had sneers and smirks of supposed triumph. But the smiles she gives you seems at least somewhat genuine. If it wasn't for the fact that we know she's a pathological liar, I would think she was being honest with you and her feelings."

"Maybe, I mean, it worked on us for a while."

"Not me, I knew from the beginning. You caught on slowly afterwards."

"Yeah yeah, sure. Anyway, where do you think our troublesome friends are?"

"Probably making out somewhere."

"We heard that, missy!" a new voice cut in from behind, and Adrien and Marinette sported twin smirks as they turned to face their friends.

"Oh, hey! Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt your make-out session," Marinette sassed with false concern.

"Hardihar. I'm sure if you had a handsome hulk of man like Nino, you would take every opportunity to kiss him how you want to. How you shouldn't unless you're away from the public."

Adrien laughed along with his friends at their jest, expecting Marinette to either laugh or refute what they accused. But when he faced her, he was surprised at what he saw. She was blushing. Hard. Her scowl deepened the longer their other friends laughed, but Adrien was frozen in his tracks. Was she thinking about someone specific? Did she have someone on her mind? Was it that man from last week? Adrien almost couldn't suppress his growl at the thought. In his opinion, that man hasn't proven himself worthy of her affections.

After a good minute or so, Marinette seemed to take control of herself again. Clearing her throat, she placed a hand on her hip and began her spiel. "Ha ha, very funny comeback. I wouldn't make out with him in public, period. Maybe a kiss on the cheek or something, but never a full make-out session. That's gross."

"It won't be as gross when you actually do it," Alya winked while Nino shook his head in exasperation and wrapped an arm around her waist.

"Whatever. All this talk about making out is putting a damper on my appetite. Let's just leave," Marinette grumbled while she stomped away, making her friends laugh harder. Adrien couldn't help but wonder, what kind of man was he, and what did he do to win her heart? "Adrien, are you coming?"

"Y-yeah! Wait up!"

An hour later, the group was laughing in a cyber-café over a lame joke Adrien said, their empty plates long forgotten. Adrien even forgot about the dilemma about Marinette's possible boyfriend. "So, Marinette," Alya cut in, "where's Anthony?" I guess I was wrong, Adrien thought in dejection.

"Oh, he's off with some of his college friends, probably wandering around the inner city," she waved nonchalant. Adrien stilled for a moment, his name is Anthony? So I wasn't imagining things?

"Why isn't he here with us?" Nino asked, and Adrien whirled to him. Nino even knows him?!

"He wouldn't want to come to a place like this. He doesn't do well with small indoors, especially when it's as quant as this one."

"That sounds like him," Alya commented while holding her chin in thought. "Either way, we should all hang out sometime, Adrien still needs to meet him." He jolted when his name was mentioned but tried to plaster a sincere smile on his face. He truly didn't want to meet her boyfriend, but he would endure it if it meant protecting his crush.

"I guess so, I'll see what nights I have off this week."

"Great! You'll adore Anthony!" Marinette squealed in excitement, her happiness contagious enough to work a real smile on his face. Looks like Chat Noir is going to pay a visit tonight and scope the situation out.