Relative to this next chapter: in France, kids have an hour lunch break that most of them go home for from what I understand.

Which is completely weird to me living in America with like, 20 minute lunches maximum. My last job I only got 15 minutes and I had to stay on site the whole time. Like, I'm an Adult and I don't even get to go home for an hour during the day. Anyway it's unfair and I feel personally attacked by this fact.

Day 11 – Video Games

"You know," Adrien piped up in the middle of lunch. "I never actually got to see just how well your charm works in relation to video games."

"What do you mean?" Marinette asked before taking another bite.

"Well, there was an Akuma right after you gave me the charm. So I never got to see if it worked for the game."

Marinette raised an eyebrow. "Are you doubting my charm?"

Having Adrien over for lunch had turned out to be a lot less awkward than she had thought it would be. In fact, she could say it was going really well. They had been throwing puns back and forth and discussing different school projects. He talked about piano practice and she said she'd always wanted to learn an instrument.

They even had a light hearted debate over who was the better superhero, Ladybug or Chat Noir. Obviously Marinette argued on Chat's behalf; she couldn't very well root for herself. She was surprised at how fervently he defended Ladybug though. The thought that he held her other side in such high esteem filled her with confidence so much so she dared to throw his flirtiness back at him for once. After all, she was had practice acting coy around Chat. How different could it be with Adrien?

"Of course not," Adrien said with a mischievous glint in his eye. Funny, that look reminded her so much of Chat. "I'm only saying I haven't been able to prove its effectiveness."

"I smell a challenge," Marinette goaded before she could stop herself.

"Do you? Because all I smell is your inevitable defeat," Adrien smirked.

"You might want to check your nose. I think what you're smelling is yourself," She went to turn on the console.

Adrien grabbed a controller. "I have it on good authority that my sense of smell is never wrong."

She giggled. "We'll see."

He was acting so much like Chat it was hard to stop herself from reacting like she would if she was Ladybug. The trademark smirk, the gleam in his eye, the casual winks. It was an entirely new side of Adrien she had never seen before. And she liked it. She liked it so much it scared her. It scared her because it was too close to Chat. Too similar to her partner. She was starting to feel whiplash.

She loaded up her copy of Ultimate Mega Strike III and they each picked their players.

She side eyed Adrien while the match loaded up. She still couldn't believe she was actually flirting with him. The same way she bantered with Chat. She frowned. Why did that thought make her feel so… bad? Sure, she loved Chat, but he wasn't anything like Adrien. Except… he was. She'd just discovered Adrien was a lot like Chat. Had he always been this way and she had never noticed?

Her thoughts were interrupted when the match began. She focused on the screen and hit the buttons in accordance to his attacks.

"Take that!" He yelled as he jabbed at the buttons sending his avatar into a flying kick.

"Not so fast," She easily countered his attack with a double barrel roll to the side throwing him a quarter super plus heavy kick.

She quickly picked up on his fighting style. He even fought like Chat Noir, using moves that nearly sacrificed his life in order to gain the upper hand on his opponent. She had to admit it was pretty effective tactic in the game as he ended up winning, much to her chagrin.

He set the controller down and cracked his knuckles. "Well, I guess I have you to thank for this spectacular win."

"Whatever," She retorted with a smile. "I was going easy on you."

He raised an eyebrow. "I'm sure you were."

Suddenly the alarm on her phone rang out in the living room causing them both to jump. "We gotta get back to school."

She turned to gather her stuff, but he caught her hand. "Marinette," He looked like he wanted to say more, so she waited. "This was really fun."

She could feel her anxiety returning quickly. She knew if she opened her mouth she would start stammering again and all the progress she had made with him today would have been for nothing. She settled for nodding.

A few beats passed as they stared at each other. He swallowed. "Would you like to come to my house for lunch sometime this week? I could show you some piano basics if you'd like."

Marinette was surprised she didn't faint right there. All of the confidence she had before during their playful banter was completely drained. She was in complete disbelief. If someone had told her this morning that she was going to be asked out on a kind of date with Adrien Agreste AKA Love Of Her Life she would've walked away laughing. But she was just asked out. On a date. With Adrien Agreste. The Love Of Her Life.

Again, she couldn't trust her voice since most of her brain had shut down. She just nodded.

He beamed at her. "Awesome! I'll have to ask Father about it, of course, but I'm sure he wouldn't mind. He's said before that you're a very promising designer. Natalie should be able to fit it in my schedule."

Marinette shook her head to try to reboot her head. She broke his stare to toss the dishes in the sink and gather her stuff. There was too much that just happened for her to process. Adrien Agreste just invited her to his house for a piano lesson and he said Gabriel Agreste liked her designs. She was absolutely going to have to call Alya tonight.

"Let me know which day works out," Marinette nearly choked out.

"I'll text you once I know for sure. Although," He paused, his brow creasing. "Sometimes Father will change his mind short notice. If he switches the plans on me, I will figure something else out, ok?"

He smiled at her, but his eyes held pain. She wanted nothing more than to hold him and tell him everything was ok. But she couldn't. So she smiled back.

"Ok!" She replied, checking the time. "Oh, no. We're going to be late to school."

Adrien shrugged. "We better get going then." He picked up his bags and opened the door. "Shall we?" He said with a bow.

She giggled, her blush making its way back on her cheeks. "We shall."

He really is so much like Chat.