Sorry about the wait guys. I updated two of my other older fics the other day, and I only finished this one yesterday while I was at work. I sent it off to someone else for editing. Saved me some time. I hope you guys are enjoying this! It's gonna be a bumpy ride! :D

As always, I don't own Miraculous Ladybug or the characters.


Soft pink lips pressed against his and he melted against them. Small hands rested on his chest and his hands were on her smaller shoulders. Deep blue eyes stared into his, her small pink lips forming a small smile before the girl in front of him changed from the baker's daughter to the super heroine. Opening and closing his mouth he stepped back from the woman, her arms crossing her chest, her face an unimpressed wall. "Adrien, I thought you loved me? So what is she to you?" her voice seemed cold and distant.

"I'm not sure Ladybug. I mean, she's just a classmate!" exasperated he ran a hand through his blond locks.

"You know I don't believe that for a second right?" that's when he saw Marinette to Ladybug's right, her eyes swam with tears and she turned away from him. Ladybug followed suit and they both walked off, leaving him alone and his heart aching.

Adrien woke with a start. Running his hands though his bed tousled locks he groaned. He felt miserable, is this what two-timing felt like? He wasn't sure how anyone could stand being this miserable. Nathalie called to him through the door, breakfast was ready and they were expecting him soon. Hauling his depressed self out of bed he trudged through his morning rituals, getting dressed, combing his hair, brushing his teeth, it felt like time was even slower than normal. For that he was thankful, he was not looking forward to seeing Marinette at school after that weird dream he had.

Breakfast tasted bland, even though he had a personal chef, the meals weren't the same. They lacked the warmth and love that the Dupain-Cheng's seemed to ooze, it came out in their food and their body language.

Today the gorilla wasn't in the limo, he was in the car. That meant his father was out doing who know what, lecturing some poor sap who chose the slightly wrong shade of blue. That sounded about right. Why would he want to spend any time with his only son before he had to go to school? That would make sense. His face turned into a scowl as he slid into the back seat of the car.

The ride was silent, the school was silent, he sat in his seat with his head on his desk. Slowly the background noise rose in volume as the class slowly began to fill up. Two female voices caught his attention, Alya and Marinette, he flinched slightly as they walked past him. Luckily they didn't pay him any mind, instead they were chatting about the Ladyblog, how Alya was upset she missed out on all the action. He felt Nino slide in beside him, "Dude, everything alright?"

Adrien leaned up onto one arm and smiled at his best bud, "I didn't sleep well last night. You know how it can be sometimes, right?"

Nino chuckled softly, "Yeah I do. Glad everything else is alright. I was worried something happened between you and Mari."

Adrien felt like his eyes were as wide as saucers, "What?"

"Well yeah, Alya said Mari won't talk about yesterday. We were both worried that you guys had a falling out. You know?" Nino adjusted the red cap on his head.

"We bought fabric? There was an Akuma attack, we got separated for a little bit but everything was fine. Her parents even let me stay for dinner," he shifted his head and hand so his chin was resting on his fist. "I don't think anything strange happened."

"That's good," his friend smiled at him and his eyes drew towards Mme. Bustier who just entered the room as the last bell rang.

Classes crawled by, he did his best to pay attention to the teachers, but his heart just wasn't in it. He was still feeling pretty torn up about that dream. The class just before lunch happened to be a 'free study' period. One of the teachers was sick and they couldn't find a replacement, it happened sometimes. Adrien wanted to use the chance to get started on his homework since he had a photo shoot after school again.

"Marinette, can I ask your opinion about this?" the soft male voice was almost swallowed up by Kim's much louder voice being obnoxious.

He perked up, Nathaniel almost never approached Marinette, especially after the Evillustrator incident. "Sure Nathan, what's up?" her voice was equally soft, to not startle the timid boy. At least that's what he hoped it was, if not it sounded like they were in their own private little world. A very ugly feeling surfaced for a moment, but he couldn't figure out what it was.

"Well I'm working on some character designs for a comic I'm working on. I wo-would really appreciate your opinion," the red-headed boy stuttered slightly. Did that mean Nathanial still liked her? Adrien vehemently began chewing his lip.

"Let's see," he heard the shuffling behind him and he really wanted to see what was going on behind him. Were they huddled over the boy's sketch book, heads bent together, small smiles and stolen glances? He heard a pencil gliding over paper quickly, "These kinds of shirts taper at the waist, and this style of skirt has more flow to it like this." Although her voice was still soft, it felt more like a lecture on clothing than a secret discussion. All the tension was released from his body with a sigh. Wait, why did he tense up when Nathanial approached Marinette?

He leaned his head against one of his hands. Being a teenager was now more confusing than it was before. He really needed to sort out how he felt about both Ladybug and Marinette, and soon. Sitting on the fence like this was starting to kill him. Without realizing he had turned towards the red-head and Marinette, his best smile plastered all over his face, "Hey Marinette, I was wondering if you wanted to come to my photo shoot today? Y'know, to get ideas for your designs."

His mouth jumped into his throat and lodged there painfully. Both teens in front of him looked like deer caught in headlights. This time he noticed the faint blush creep along Marinette's cheeks, "You, yeah… I mean, want me, I mean," he heard the sound she made in the back of her throat, it only made him smile a little more, "of course." The look on Nathanial's face told him he won the battle but not the war, but he didn't have to pay attention to the red-head. No, he wanted to learn more about Marinette as Adrien. Not snoop and slink around her room in the night as Cat Noir.

"Perfect, meet me out front on the stairs. It's not the limo today, just the car," he turned back in his seat to work on his school work in earnest.

Nino nudged him with his elbow, "Hey dude, what was that all about?" The darker skinned boy motioned towards Marinette and Nathaniel, his voice was hushed so hopefully no one could hear him.

Before Adrien even had a chance to answer, Chloé interrupted them, "Adrikins! Why wasn't I invited to your photo shoot?" She had her hands on the desk and was leaning over him a pout on her face.

"Marinette is working on some designs for my father's fall contest Chloé," the blond teen sighed. If he had at least thought through inviting Marinette to his shoot, this wouldn't have happened. Smooth Adrien, smooth.

"Ugh, Marinette? She's so below you Adrikins, why help a peasant like her?" the female blond rolled her eyes.

"Because I saw and liked her designs. I also want her to have a good chance at winning the competition," also to keep her away from Nathaniel, but he wasn't about to say that out loud.

"Fine, whatever Adrikins," she moved to the desk behind him and he mentally groaned. "Marinette Dupain-Cheng, I don't know what you did to MY Adrikins, but you need to back off," the blond female just didn't know when to give up.

"I'm pretty sure Adrien is a person, not an object. So he can't be 'yours' Chloé," Marinette's voice was still quiet, she didn't want to make a scene. Adrien was glad he had a friend like Marinette, she clearly cared about his feelings, not like Chloé even cared about anything other than his looks.

"Sure he can, if he's my boyfriend," at this the whole class went quiet to look at the pair. Even if Marinette didn't want to make a scene, Chloé sure wanted to.

He had to step in now, he stood and turned towards his oldest friend, "What are you talking about Chloé?"

"Oh come on Adrikins, we both know how we feel about each other," the blond threw her arms around him and tried to lean up for a kiss.

He placed both hands firmly on her shoulders and held her back, "You're like a sister to me Chloé. We aren't dating." He chose his words carefully, if he had said, 'I don't like you like that,' they would have had another Akuma attack in the school. As much as he wanted to see Ladybug, he also didn't.

The blond let go with a huff, stomping out of the classroom mumbling things like, you'll figure out your feelings about me soon, and revenge plots against Marinette. Sabrina ran after Chloé, knowing full well her only friend was more than livid.

The class erupted into cheers, it shocked him and he glanced around with wide eyes. Nino's arm was thrown around his shoulders, "Duuuude! I can't believe you finally told Chloé what's up!"

He smiled at his friend, he usually stood up to Chloé but for some reason today was the day they were celebrating. "Why does everyone seem so happy though?" his green gaze shifted across the room.

"Because she always says you two are so in love dude! We all knew it was a lie but we couldn't say anything until now," his friend's voice exuded excitement. Even Alya and Marinette seemed happy about the events that just transpired.

Adrien just laughed with his friend. Eventually the class quieted down to a soft murmur and he could now hear Marinette and Alya talking softly. Alya was telling her that she should try and hang out with him as long as possible. He could almost see the girl shake her head as she mentioned working on her designs. That made him feel a little sad. Did she not want to hang out with him? Was what she told Cat Noir a lie to get him off her case? Yet she blushed when he smiled at her, he looked right at her and smiled. Was she just flustered because of his looks?

Alya told her she should live a little, that it wasn't every day she got to hang out with her crush. Adrien's heart did a little back flip, Marinette wouldn't lie. Why would he ever think that? His head hit the desk with a thud, why was he being so stupid about this. He loved Ladybug! Why and how did Marinette even manage to weasel her way into his thoughts.

He spent the rest of the day unfocused on anything except his thoughts. He made sure to call Nathalie during lunch, told her without hesitation that Marinette would be coming to his photo shoot. Before the woman on the other end could argue he hung up the phone. Sure his dad might be a little mad, but he had to talk to Marinette. He had to figure out what he was going to do. If not he might actually lose his mind, and become one of Hawkmoth's victims. The day could not go any slower as the clock ticked away the seconds of the school day.


Well I hope you enjoyed this, I won't be able to start the next chapter until after work tomorrow so it might not be up till the day after, depends on how things go at the photo shoot! *wiggles eye brows* I love you all! Leave me reviews! :D