I just kissed Cat Noir...I KISSED HIM! Oh god, I kissed him...not only kissed...I freaking MADE OUT WITH HIM! WHAT was I THINKING!?

Marinette didn't stop running until she reached the safety of her bedroom. Once there, the real panic started to sink in. The thought of Cat Noir being gone had awoken emotions that she didn't realize existed. She had always counted on his presence. She needed her kitty in order to be Ladybug. Needed him much more than she had ever realized.

Why didn't see it sooner? He means so much to me. Do I love him? But, no, I love Adrien. But kissing Cat...it was...oh, god, I love him!

The realization was too much to take in. Marinette leaned against the closed door and slid down until she was sitting. She wrapped her arms around her legs and started rocking herself back and forth, trying to calm down. Tikki floated out of her purse and hovered right in front of her.

"Um...Marinette?" she asked, gently, "Are you ok?"

Marinette looked up. Tikki was her dearest friend, but the thought of admitting what she now knew to be true was too much. I can't. Not yet.

"Tikki, I need to be alone right now. I need to think….I need…" she reached for her earrings, "I'm sorry Tikki."

"No, Mari…" but Tikki couldn't finish. Marinette took off her miraculous earrings. She stood up and put them safely in the miraculous box that was inside her desk. Now that she was completely alone, she crawled into her bed and pulled the covers tightly around her.

I love Adrien, but I also love Cat. God, I'm an awful person! Is it possible to be in love with two people?

Marinette wasn't sure how long she sat laid in her bed, trying to decipher her own emotions, but suddenly her phone buzzed. She ignored it, but when she heard Alya's ringtone, she got up and fetched it out of her purse.

"Hi, Alya," she said quietly, not wanting to talk about what had just happened.

"WHAT THE FUCK?" Alya screamed at her through the phone. "Explain NOW!"

"Uh…" Marinette tried to think of a reason that Alya might be acting this way, but she couldn't. "Explain what?"

"Girl, did you not get the picture?"

"Picture? What picture?" Her phone beeped at her, telling her she had gotten another message. "Hold on, I just got something."

Marinette pulled the phone away from her ear and opened the message. The first one was a picture of her from that afternoon, kissing Cat Noir. Under it, she watched in horror as her classmates began responding with 'woot's, 'omg's, and 'I thought she liked Adrien's. It's a freaking group text!?

A million thoughts flew through her head. Someone saw us. Do they know I'm Ladybug? No, otherwise they would have said something. Wait, Cat knows. Of course he knows. I knew that! CRAP! CAT NOIR KNOWS I'M LADYBUG!

"Uh...Alya?" she said, raising the phone back to her ear. Walking over the make sure her window curtain was closed.

"So...your dating Adrien, but making out with CAT NOIR! I'm listening." Alya responded, waiting for an explanation. One I don't even have for myself yet.

"Alya, I can explain but…but I'm not ready to. Not yet." She waiting for her friend to argue, but she didn't. The phone beeped again. "It's...it's not what it looks like and I will explain it to you, but right now I need to be alone, ok?"

"Alright. I leave you alone. But you better call me as soon as your ready to talk." Marinette could tell Alya was upset and hurt, but she was also a very good friend.

"Thank you, Alya," Marinette's phone beeped again. "Um...I think I'm going to turn my phone off. This is kinda exploding."

"Uh, duh. I hate to break it to but it's already on the net." Marinette's heart sank. "But not the Ladyblog! I promise. Not until I have the full story, at least."

"You're the best Alya. I'm going to go now."

"Oh, wait. One more thing. You did see that Adrien was in that group chat, right?" She hadn't, but Marinette had already figured he would see it one way or the other.

"Yeah, awesome"

"Ok. I'll be here when your ready."

Marinette hung up and then quickly powered down the phone.

I'm going to have to choose, she realized. But how do I choose between two people who both mean so much to me? And will either one every forgive me?

Marinette retreated back into the safety of her bed. Wishing Adrien was here to hold her and tell her everything was going to alright, but, at the same time, wishing it was Cat Noir instead.

What do I do?