Chapter 23 – Needing an Epiphany

Adrien pressed his cool fingers against his heated cheeks in attempt to rid himself of the blush staining his face. The move gave him a brief interlude as he stared at his tablet upon his school desk, trying to reboot his brain. He was in class, he couldn't be daydreaming about Marinette right now. Even if he was sure that the weight of her stare sat upon his back, no doubt Alya was busy grilling her in some silent form about their earlier exchange.

He hadn't meant to call Marinette his partner. It had been a mere slip of the tongue. Already his brain had linked her to Ladybug on an unconscious level, even if the rest of him was still trying to accept the two halves as a whole. More importantly, he was fretting about how she was feeling about the whole situation.

While he'd stated that he was going to let everyone know their relationship status as Marinette and Adrien, he wasn't entirely sure how he was going to go about it. For example, how was he going to correct the misconception that he was only interested in Marinette as a friend? What could he use as sudden driver for his switch in thinking?

An elbow nudge from Nino brought Adrien back to the present. Green eyes sharpened on the teacher who was outlining their next project. The model quickly scribbled down some notes, mentally taking a snapshot of the information on the board as he did so. Working under pressure was nothing new for Adrien, although sometimes he wished he was working on his computer since his swift fingers typed so much faster than he could write.

Suddenly he froze as he looked at his fingers, wiggling them as a wide grin spread across his face. He knew just what to do. Now all he had to do was pick the perfect song…

So, for the rest of the morning, Adrien's attention was split between listening to the lesson and searching his music memory for the perfect lyrics. A song could have a fabulous melody but inappropriate lyrics could completely convey the wrong message. He needed something which described his feelings. Outlining exactly how much Marinette meant to him in a way that no one could misunderstand the meaning.

But all his favourite songs weren't quite right. All the ballads he could think of with a strong piano presence weren't the perfect fit. At lunch he got out his phone, flicking through his music library to no avail.

Nino blinked up at him with his sandwich halfway to his mouth. "Dude, is something wrong?"

A frustrated frown sat heavily on the model's features. "I'm trying to find a song but I'm not having any luck."

The other boy perked up. "Who's it by? Do you know the title?"

Adrien shook his blonde head. "No, I'm looking for something with a specific meaning and nothing comes to mind that suits."

A dark eyebrow arched above Nino's glasses. "And what meaning would that be?"

"It's… never mind."

This only made Nino stare at him harder. "Dude, is this about a girl?"

"Is it that obvious?"

At that his best friend cracked up. "Anytime a dude is looking that mystified it usually involves a girl."

Adrien couldn't help but chuckle in return. "I see, then yes, it is about a girl."

Nino gestured with a wave of his hand for the model to continue but at that moment Alya placed her lunch tray on the table beside the former, disrupting their conversation. "Hey Prince Charming," she teased as she looked to Adrien.

The model quirked an eyebrow. "Prince Charming?"

"You know, because you dashed in to rescue the damsel in distress – as in Marinette."

It was then that Nino gave his best friend a knowing looking with a matching smirk. Adrien turned back to Alya. "She was hurt, why wouldn't I go to her aid?"

His comment seemed to take away some of the conviction from her features. Puzzlement hazed her eyes for a moment. "But you ran towards her just as she was about to trip over. You must have been looking at her to begin with."

The familiar burn of a blush heated his cheeks and only intensified as Marinette approached them with her lunch tray in her hands. Adrien immediately stood, reaching for the tray. "You shouldn't be carrying that."

"Why?" she asked, her nose wrinkling in confusion.

"Because of your hands," he said with a pointed glance.

"Oh," she uttered as he plucked the tray from her limp fingers as she studied the dressings on her palms. "I'm okay."

Alya wore a smug lopsided grin as Adrien placed the tray on the table. It seemed at least one person was convinced of his interest in Marinette. He supposed that was a start. But his thoughts were quickly muddled as the dark-haired girl sat beside him, her knee brushing his under the table. The model swallowed as he quickly glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "H-How are you feeling?"

"My hands and knees are still a little tender but I'll live." Her reassuring smile had his heartbeat shifting up a gear. And then she winked at him. Good grief, she was throwing his Chat Noir antics back at him and he couldn't stop his expression from mirroring hers.

"I'm glad to hear it."

Neither looked away from the other and Adrien swore he felt the brush of Marinette's fingertips on the side of his thigh, as if she wanted to place her hand on his leg. Like a girlfriend would do. Damn, he wanted that. He even subtly shifted his leg towards hers in encouragement.

But the moment was broken as Nino burped and Alya swatted him on the chest with the back of her hand. "Nino, are your manners under your hat?"

"What? I didn't even have time to say 'excuse me' before you slapped me."

"You did so."

"Did not. You're such a bossy woman."

"You love it."

Nino crossed his arms, "You hope I do."

"I know you do." She said with a wave of her finger.

"Only when it involves kissing," he smirked.

At that both Marinette and Adrien couldn't help but snigger.

"Sounds about right," Alya replied with a mock roll of her eyes. They all knew she and Nino thrived on a bit of banter.

None of them had noticed Kim approaching the table until he nudged Nino on the shoulder with his fist. "Impressive burp, bro."

"Don't encourage him," Alya groaned.

"Girlfriends," Nino said in explanation to Kim.

Adrien couldn't resist glancing at Marinette when he heard that word. Much to his delight, Marinette was staring at him in return and by the way she was looking at him, she was thinking along similar lines too.

Damn, he needed to find that perfect song. Quickly.

So, what song would you want to be serenaded with by your ultimate crush? Please share in the review box ;)

I hope you're all staying safe during these strange times. Being a germ-a-phobe (or at least acting like one) seems to be the way to go to avoid the Corona virus. I keep waiting to see the zombies... hang on, it's not the T-virus - my bad. I've played way too much Resident Evil over the years.

Anyway. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Chances are I'll be slow to post due to lock-down, working, home schooling kids and life in general. Tiring and challenging times. But stay positive people, and keep reading :)