Of all the reactions Adrien suspected, Marinette running away was not one of them.

He would be thrilled if she said yes, as it would certainly solve his 'Chloe' problem, but he could definitely handle he flat-out rejection, if it came to that. He could even take a tricky, indecisive answer. But for her to flee from the scene entirely? Unaccounted for in his not-so-well thought out plan. For a while he continued to kneel, frozen to the spot, feeling a lot like he imagined Kim felt when he had asked Chloe out on Valentine's Day, but a bit more confused. Did this mean she hated him more than he thought? Or was it the opposite? Did she just not know what to say? Not want to reject him outright? Spare his feelings? Whatever the reason, Adrien was left kneeling on the ground in utter and total confusion, and slight disappointment. Nino and Alya stood around him, equally as much in shock, though mostly from his proposal to Marinette in the first place, rather than the ensuing disaster.

Chloe, however, didn't skip a beat in her quest to ask Adrien out, even after witnessing the harsh display. Stalking over to him, she crossed her arms and tapped her foot much in the same fashion as a disapproving mother would, only bitchier. His arms dropped to his sides and he stood up slowly, not saying a word as he prepared for the storm bound to pour from the orifice of Chloe's mouth. "Well," she stated matter-of-factly, "Now that that's over with, are you ready to get a real date to the winter ball, Adrikins?" Internally, his eyes rolled. Externally, however, he started to sweat.

Before he could even answer her, his phone dinged with a notification. He held up a finger to Chloe, telling her to wait, as he pulled his phone from his pocket and tapped on the screen, desperate and thankful for the stalling it would provide from the situation he was currently in. He had one unread message from Marinette. His eyes widened and he quickly unlocked his phone to view the message.

'My answer is yes. Don't forget to call me in the morning ;)'

As he peered at the message, the subtle flirtation written in the note hit him like a truck. His cheeks dusted a light pink hue, and he felt suddenly hot. What was the matter with him? It was just a confirmation from Marinette! He should have been happy that he could tell Chloe he already had a date, but instead his chest felt warm for another reason. The overall cockiness of the message was so unlike the stuttering girl he knew, but then again, maybe he didn't really know Marinette at all. They hardly talked alone, and when they did, it was usually short, barely audible sentences from Marinette, and polite conversation on his part. Could it be there was a side to the sweet, shy, clumsy, awkward Marinette he knew? This excited him. If she was willing to show him this side, even through text, it could mean she was trying to open up to him. He decided he would talk to her the first chance he got, to see how things might have changed between them. In the meantime, however-

"Excuse me? Are you just going to ignore me while you check your phone? I asked you to be my date for the winter ball!" Chloe demanded with an air of indignity. Adrien turned to her and smiled. "Actually Chloe, Marinette just texted me. She said yes, so she's going to be my date to the ball already. Sorry it didn't work out," That was an utter lie, he was ecstatic at his change of luck, excited for the prospect of actually being free to have a decent time with friends at an event organized by Chloe.

Chloe snorted with disgust, "That embarrassment? Good luck there, Adrikins. She's nothing but trouble." 'You're one to talk,' he thought to himself. Chloe stormed off, snapping her fingers for Sabrina to follow as she hopped into a gorgeous black automobile to leave campus for her lunch break.

As soon as she was gone, Nino stepped forward and patted a heavy hand on Adrien's back. "Duuuuude... I can't believe you finally asked her out," he said with an awestruck tone. Adrien reeled back and made a face. "Finally? I asked her out so I wouldn't have to deal with Chloe. Besides, Marinette is just a friend, nothing more." he explained, though he found that a lot of his explaining was to remind himself of the boundaries that had to exist between he and Marinette, lest he break his self-made promise to Ladybug. No matter how endearing he found Marinette, she was still just a friend.

Adrien heard Plagg snicker from inside his bag, and he jolted it a little to shut him up.

Nino didn't look convinced. "OK dude, whatever you say," He and Nino said their goodbyes as Nino joined Alya to leave campus, but Adrien found he didn't want to return to his giant, empty abode just yet, and decided to stay on campus for lunch. Finding a quiet spot devoid of the prying eyes and ears of students and faculty, Adrien slumped to a sitting position and opened his bag to allow Plagg out of hiding. Plagg floated out slowly with an apathetic expression, yawning and landing on Adrien's lap.

"Why are we still here? Let's go home and get some cheese for lunch, I'm starving"

Adrien rolled his eyes and frowned. "Plagg, chill with the cheese. This is serious," Plagg yawned again and shut his eyes before responding sleepily. "I don't see what the problem is, you asked a cute girl out to a dance, and now your problems are solved and you can go home and feed me," Adrien hesitated. "It's just... weird? The whole situation; Marinette running away, and then completely changing course and sending me that-" he paused "bold message," He sighed, leaning back until he was looking upward. "and then how Nino acted, I mean what was with that? What does he know that I apparently don't?"

"I wouldn't overthink it, kid. Just be happy you don't have to go with what's-her-face,"

"You mean Chloe?"

"Whatever,"

Adrien groaned and buried his face in his knees. "I just hope this all goes down drama free this time," he mused, but knew full well that this was an improbable dream. Whenever a room full of teens without the verbal restraint of school ethics to stop them, there was always trouble.

"That's the spirit," Plagg jumped from Adrien's shoulder and crawled back into his bag, laying down for a long nap. Adrien rolled his eyes again and zipped his backpack up, standing mulling over the 'advice' from Plagg. His kwami did have a point, he didn't actually have a problem. Besides, he liked Marinette, she was sweet and had been a good friend to him, so what if they went to a dance together? It could potentially be enjoyable.

With these thoughts in his head, Adrien walked around campus to the library to finish out the lunch break, not before receiving a stern phone call from Nathalie, who wanted to know where he was and why he had the audacity to make them worry and whither when the car intended to escort him home returned empty. After assuring her he was okay, Adrien found a quiet spot in the library to relax and do homework. He quickly got bored of it and started trying to make up as many library themed puns as he could. He was in the middle of a particularly good one when he picked up on the sound of someone else pacing the library.

'That's strange,' he thought. 'Hardly anyone stays on campus for lunch,' He got up and walked around to the fiction section of the library, where small, closed off rooms were located for private study. A couple had locked themselves in the room, the tinted window allowing him only to see the two silhouettes of the mystery people. He heard muffled speech, and pondered whether he should eavesdrop, until his damned curiosity bested his resolve and caused him to press his ear to the door to get a better listen.

"can't believe that- that- loser is going out withAdrien! We have to do something about-" the semi-muffled voice complained. Adrien jumped back in shock at hearing his name. What did that mean? His curiosity peaking, he placed his ear back to the door hastily. There was another voice, quieter and higher in pitch. He couldn't understand the words they were saying, and he groaned in frustration. Whoever was in there had something to do with him, and from the sound of it, they weren't happy.

Adrien took several steps back from the door, hearing the people inside start to shift. He grabbed his bag and power walked from the scene, choosing to go to his next class as the lunch break ended. If the person in there was one of his fans, that could spell trouble for Marinette and himself. He desperately wanted to escape the chaotic and suffocating life his father had built for him, but how could he do so when he couldn't even be a 'normal' teenager at a school function? Furthermore, how could that be fair to his classmates, especially Marinette, who was to be his date. How could he have been so stupid? Obviously asking her out in that way would garner the attention of his crazed followers, and Adrien really didn't want to find out what that would mean for them. But he couldn't un-ask her out! He was so preoccupied by his troubling thoughts, he failed to pay attention to the other person walking straight toward him, who was also lost in their own world. His head swirled with doubt, and his pace started to pick up, before he ran smack into Marinette.

For the second time that day.