Marinette had frowned at the doodles she made of various formal dresses, none of them were great enough that she wanted to make for the dance! She wanted a dress that stood out to impress Luka. Her mind lingered to the thought maybe Adrien would change his mind about Ladybug, but she shook her head ignoring it, after all, she had made her decision. After twenty crumbled balls later, Marinette decided to give up.

"Tiiiiiiki, I can't think of a single design for the dance!" Marinette threw herself onto her desk and sighed.

"I'm sure something will come up Marinette, maybe you can find some inspiration!" Tikki suggested.

"I know, Tikki, but I have only three days to make this dress for the dance, if I don't start now, I won't have it by Friday!"

"Take a breath, Marinette," Tikki smiled. "Surely, there is something that will come to your mind."

Marinette inhaled and exhaled slowly as she tried to relax. Tikki was right, if she freaked out about the dress too much, she'd only give herself a headache, for now, she'll finish up the minor things like gathering the needed decorations and thinking about designing a mask. But how will she design the mask if she can't think of a good dress? A groan left her lips as she laid her head on the desk.

"This is the first time I had a designer block, Tikki, what am I going to do?" Marinette whined.

Marinette decided to take Tikki's advice and relax, for now, it was time to patrol with Chat Noir to make sure that the city was safe as Ladybug. After transforming, Ladybug headed out the city, where she met the feline who seemed to be more in a happier mood than usual. When the two was done patrolling. Ladybug decided to question on her feline's companion bright outlook.

"Well, a certain kitty in a good mood," Ladybug teased. "Willing to share?"

"Being in Paris with the most beautiful girl every day always put me in a Purrfect mood," Chat Noir grinned.

"Flattery as always, but I know you have your secrets, you never seem this chipper than the usual."

Chat Noir couldn't tell her it was because she accepted his invitation to the dance as his civilian self. However, he decided to probe more about the situation to see where her thoughts were from Adrian asking her to the dance.

"So, Ladybug, how was your meeting with your fan by the way?"

He thought he imagined it, but he could see the redness that formed on Ladybug's cheeks. Her eyes widen as if she had was caught by surprise. Which she was, Ladybug wasn't sure how to answer the question. Was it really okay for her to tell Chat Noir about Adrian asking her to the dance?

"It went well, he asked me to go to his school dance, but with akumazation even more than before, I'm not sure it'll be wise for me to attend," Ladybug answered as she rubbed the back of her head and averted his gaze.

"Oh, I see," Chat Noir muttered.

He was disappointed, but he tried his best to convince her as Chat Noir to get her to attend the dance with him. This would be the only chance he could tell her how he felt about her as himself! Chat Noir folded his arms as he flashed her a cheeky grin.

"You know, Mi'lady, it would be rude to turn down a request of a fan!"

"I know, but Hawkmoth has been on rise with his powers and not only that, we're not sure if he'll get help again from the Peacock holder, that last thing I want to do is put a fan endanger because I show up at the dance with him."

Her bluebell eyes held concerned for Adrian, after hearing that Chat Noir couldn't help, but accept her answer. She was right. It was selfish of him to risk harm with his classmates and friends, as well, Ladybug for a dance. Chat Noir flashed a forced smile even though he was disappointed that Ladybug wouldn't be able to show up at the dance and dance with him.

"I understand my Lady," Chat Noir told her. "But, if you do change your mind, I know he'd be really happy and honored you were to dance with him."

"Thank you, Chat Noir," Ladybug smiled. "It means a lot you give me this advice, I'll think about it, but I can't make any promises."

That evening when Marinette returned and untransformed, she had laid into her bed and stared at the ceiling. She started to get cold feet again about going to the dance with Luka instead of Adrian as Ladybug. After all, she didn't want to disappoint the boy she was in love with. She would get to dance the boy she loved. And if he loved her, even though he doesn't know she's Ladybug, does it really matter?

"This is getting more and more confusing for me, Tikki," Marinette sighed. "I promised to be there for Luka, but Adrian will be hurt if I didn't show, but if I did show up, there is a chance I could cause danger and Hawkmoth might akumatize someone to get to me."

"Marinette…" worried Tikki as she could sense her owner's stress and dilemma.

As much as Tikki want to encourage Marinette to go to the dance as Ladybug with Adrian, she knew how complicated it would be for Marinette trying to be both Marinette and Ladybug as well it would put strain on herself as well. She shared the same concern about Hawkmoth, which is mainly why she advised Marinette to reject his offer in the first place. Tikki was as conflicted as her owner, trying to find the words and solution she could give Marinette, but this time, she had none.

"I'm so sorry, Marinette, for once, I don't have the advice to give you for your dilemma."

"It's okay, Tikki, you already told me to follow my heart, but right now, I'm not sure if I should follow my heart, but I'm really not sure what my heart wants."

"Don't think too much about it, let time give you a choice. I might not know a lot about love as a kwami, but I do know that love isn't something you can decide overnight."

"You're right, Tikki," Marinette smiled. "This dance will decide if I want to be with Luka or Adrian in the end."

"That sounds like a good plan, Marinette!" Tikki beamed.

"Oh, Tikki, you're best kwami I could ever have!"

Now, that Marinette's head was cleared from her first dilemma, her main issue at hand, the dress. Marinette looked at her calender, two more days and she needed to have the best dress to design to impress her date or even Adrian to change his mind about Ladybug. Marinette began to open her inspiration journal as she searched through old designs for ideas. Marinette eventually found an old design of a dress that she was working on but something was missing from it. That's when something sparked in her head.

"Tikki, I think I found some inspiration for my dress, but I wonder what color should it be?" said Marinette as she began to sketch more details of the old design on a new sheet of paper.

"What about red? It's bold and it stands out with your hair and eyes?" Tikki suggested.

"Good point, Tikki!" Marinette beamed. "Now if I add some lace maybe and glitter…"

Marinette mumbled and gathered her thoughts together as she furiously raced her pen across the paper, after nearly an hour of dabbling with it. Marinette had the perfect design for the dress, all she needs now is gather the right fabric and materials to make it it! Marinette was very proud of her design as she gazed at the drawing dreamily. She knew this dress was perfect, and she hoped that with the dance she can figure out her true feelings.

"Starting tomorrow, I shall work on the dress and well, the rest is all to be determined." Marinette beamed.

"Good luck, Marinette, I know you'll do an excellent job with your dress!" Tikki cheered.

"Well, see Tikki."

To Be Continued…