I do not, and never shall own miraculous ladybug

"Guys on Marinette's old track team, hmm…" Nino placed his hand on his chin, thinking hard. "There were a few. Not many though, the team was the best of the best, after all. There were only five people in the group in total. Cosette Beaumont, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Le Chien Kim, Anton Bellamy, and Philippe Duval. Why do you want to know?"

"I have my reasons…" Adrien said, too quickly.

"This isn't about your crush on Marinette, is it? Because if you're imprisoned for being a stalker, I'm not going to bail you out. Seriously, though, don't try to go around warning them away from Marinette, that's just creepy dude. From what I know, she's never liked an of those guys. So you don't have to worry about competition for your fair lady's hand," Nino joked, giving Adrien's shoulder a nudge.

"That's not it… I'm not… She just… I wasn't…." Adrien blushed and stuttered.

"Calm down, I was just joking, dude. Don't have a heart attack," Nino laughed. "Though, now you're starting to concern me. What's going on?"

"Well, last night Marinette… Marinette accidently called me. She didn't even know she did. She was actually talking with someone else… And before I could hang up, I overheard her crying. Crying about someone on her track team, that she loves. And I was just wondering…" Adrien lied, trying to explain it without giving away his secret identity, or lying blatantly. At least it wasn't too far from the truth. She had not been talking to Adrien about it, she had been talking to Chat Noir. The fact that Adrien just happened to overhear in the same time, just a consequence of a secret identity.

"Could be Kim. After all, most people thought they were together. They were the best of friends, close as Mari and I were. Kim was absolutely gone on her. He would follow her around like a puppy dog. You could practically see the hearts in his eyes. But she never seemed to notice. Especially since she had her own crush at the time,"

"Couldn't be him… This guy is apparently in love with someone else."

"Like how Kim seems to have a crush on Chloe now?"

"What?"

"You didn't know? Honestly, that's what got Kim akumatized on Valentines. He was trying to confess to her, but she just made fun of him."

"Oh… Oh…."

"Really a step down from liking Marinette. But I also don't really blame him from moving on from Marinette. Since Mari did close off after the accident. And now Kim treats her like she's made of glass. Sometimes, I catch a look in his eyes, that tells me he never really moved on. It's more like he's trying to distract himself. Trying to move on."

"If Marinette loves him, and he loves her, I hope it works out for them," Adrien said, with what Nino had been saying, it made sense that Kim was the one who Marinette was talking about the night before.

"Wow, no 'But Marinette's my Princess' or 'She's mine'?" Nino was shocked. He wasn't expecting Adrien to give up that easily. Truthfully, Nino would much rather Adrien date Marinette, then Kim. Being Mari's best friend, he was definitely protective of her. And he didn't like how Kim had been treating her since her accident. He saw how much it had hurt Mari. So when Adrien came around, treating her like a normal person, he was happy. He saw how much it helped Marinette. After all, it couldn't have been a coincidence that as soon as Adrien arrived in school, Marinette was getting better.

"I just want her to be happy, that's all. If Kim will make her happy, then I'm glad. She deserves to be happy," Adrien said, a soft smile on his face.

Marinette wheeled into the classroom, feeling better than she had the day before. Her chat with Chat helped her a lot. He had cheered her up. And after that, she started to believe that it wouldn't be that bad if she shared her identity with him. He cared about her, at least a little. Even if he didn't love her like she loved him, she was glad to know that he didn't hate her civilian form. He seemed to know her, outside of his mask. And cared enough to try and calm her tears. He had actually cared what was bothering her. That might not have been a love confession, but at least it was a start. And a good start.

Marinette was humming as she entered the classroom, getting the attention of a few of her fellow classmates. Mainly Nathaniel, Kim, Adrien, Nino and Alya.

"Morning M, you're in a good mood this morning. I take it your appointment went well?" Alya said, going up to her best friend.

"Morning Alya. And it didn't really go that great…" Marinette said, though even remembering the bad appointment couldn't sour her great mood. Not after her conversation with Chat. Even though it probably didn't mean that much to him, it meant the world to her. "But it's alright. I didn't expect that much from it. I still can't walk."

"You don't sound that bummed,"

"Well, as the therapists always says, it's slow work."

"I'm glad you're still so happy." Alya said, smiling. "Does it have to do with a certain pair of superheroes who were patrolling last night?" Marinette blushed, much to the interest of Alya. As well as Nino, and Adrien, who were sitting near enough to hear them.

"Maybe," She answered, playing with the hem of her shirt.

"Seriously, you may love the duo even more than me. And that's a lot."

"I just look up to them, you know…"

"Especially Chat Noir," Alya teased, and Marinette turned bright red. Eyes downcast, while she never stopped playing with her shirt hem.

"Just shut up… please…" Marinette mumbled.

"Sorry, Mari, I didn't mean to upset you," Alya apologised.

"It's alright…. I know you didn't mean to. But yes…. I did see Chat Noir while he was patrolling last night." Marinette practically whispered.

"Oh, girl," Alya said, excited.

"Hello Paris!" A voice sounded over the school's intercom. Interrupting the conversations the classmates were having. "I'm Dark Swan." Suddenly, her voice changed, becoming monotone. "Chloe Bourgeois, you laughed at me, called me pathetic… you hurt me Chloe, and now I will show you what real pain is like," The akuma's voice was bone chilling. Dark and evil.

"Sorry Alya, I…. I have to go… to… to…." Marinette mumbled, starting to wheel towards the door.

"Marinette, wait, it's not safe out there. You should stay here, where it's safe," Alya said, taking hold of Marinette's wheelchair, and stopping her.

"I agree with Alya, you need to stay here Mari," Nino agreed.

"You stay here, I'll go see where the akuma is," Adrien said, slipping out the door, before anyone could protest.

"Guys…" Marinette protested, with a sigh. She needed to get out of there, to transform into Ladybug. But it seemed like her friends where trying to protect her, so she couldn't really be mad.

I want to start by thanking you all for putting up with my two week absence. I had a wonderful vacation at the beach. Getting to spend time with my brother, as well as my sister and niece. It was so fun and relaxing. When I got back, I had employee orientation for my new job, as well as other things. So I didnt have much time for writing. And I didn't want to upload a chapter that I didn't really like myself. But now, I'm finally happy with this chapter, and I didn't want you guys to have to wait any longer. I hope you all like it. As always, I would love to hear from you. Love ya all - Alice O'flynn