"Cheers!" The small group shouted as they all sat in a booth at the Cat's Eye, the local nightclub that was close to the Kwami Dance Studios.

"I can't believe everything that happened today!" Alya squealed, "Congratulations Marinette you will be an awesome Ladybug!"

"Thanks Alya, I hope I do the role justice. I've never been a Principal dancer before" Marinette said shyly, looking into her drink.

"I am sure you will be great Marinette," Adrien said smiling, "I have seen you dance over the past few years and you have a lot of talent."

"Ok, next round is on me guys, what are you all having?" Nino asked, standing up looking around.

"Cosmo."

"Oh make that two!"

"Vodka Tonic please."

"Um water if that's ok Nino?"

"Really, Marinette? Water?"

"Well I don't want to be hungover for rehearsal tomorrow. I have a feeling it is going to be a tough 3 months before opening night" Marinette defended.

"That is a fair call," Felix said in between sips of his Vodka Tonic, "Mind you after that blasted boot camp Plagg sprung on us, thanks Adrien by the way, you might need a drink tonight to loosen up"

"Hey, it wasn't my fault, he just used me as an excuse to make us hurt," Adrien whined, "Anyway if Marinette doesn't want to drink she doesn't have to. But if you want to order something and don't finish it, I will so you don't feel bad" He looked at Marinette.

"Umm… Sure… I'll have whatever Adrien is drinking then." Marinette said with a smile, "Thanks Nino."

"No problems! I'll be back!" Nino said, making his way to the bar.

Marinette looked around at her group of friends, they were all so happy and easy going which was something she had been working on for a long time. She always had trouble making friends and fitting in, which is probably why she loved dancing. She always felt like she was the only one in the world whenever the music started.

About an hour later (or 5 drinks but who was counting) most of the group were just tipsy enough to start dancing to the pounding beat of the music.

"GO ROSE! WORK IT!" Kim shouted to Rose, who had pulled Felix up to dance.

"Come on Nino, we can't let them show us up!" Alya said before grabbing Nino's hand and dragging him to the floor.

Marinette watched her friend before she noticed that Adrien was standing in front of her, "Shall we?" he asked, holding out his hand.

"Oh! Um, sure." She said quietly as she let him pull her up from the booth and over to the dance floor. As soon as she truly heard the music, Marinette started to move; slowly swaying her hips, before letting her body and the music become one. She felt Adrien move up behind her and join in, placing his hands on her waist and her arms lifting to drape around his neck, they started to move in time. It felt so right having Adrien dancing beside her; every move she made, he would counter, the two constantly in motion as if they were battling on the dance floor.

"It's getting late now guys", Lila said over the music, "I think we should probably call it quits now if we want to get enough sleep before rehearsal."

They all agreed and began making their way out of the club.

"See you later guys!" Kim, Felix, Nathanial, Rose and Lila said as they all walked off in the opposite direction to Nino, Alya, Adrian and Marinette.

"See ya!" Alya yelled, slightly drunk Nino was the only thing keeping her upright at that point as she tried to wave to her retreating friends.

"I better take this one home before she vomits on me… Again" Nino said, grimacing as he remembered the last time he had gone drinking with the outgoing girl.

"Yeah smart move man, I'll catch you tomorrow," Adrien agreed, "Can I walk you home Marinette?"

"Sure Adrien, I would like that" Marinette replied. She too felt drunk but it wasn't because of the alcohol, more from the feeling of dancing with Adrien all night.

The walked home in a comfortable silence. Marinette made a point of 'accidentally' bumping into Adrien more than once, blaming the long day and the few drinks she had; each time he would look down at her and smile. After the third time, he put an arm around her shoulders claiming it was to 'help her keep steady'.

"Thank you for walking me home and for a wonderful night, I really enjoyed myself." Marinette said to Adrien as they reached her apartment.

"You're welcome Marinette, I quite enjoyed dancing with you and I can't wait for tomorrow when we can do it again" Adrien beamed.

"Oh yeah, we do get to dance together now don't we? Oops, sorry! I keep forgetting that I have the lead role this time," she giggled, "I am so used to being in the Corps de Ballet.".

"Well get used to it Mari, I have a feeling you are going to be the Principal dancer for a long time" He said.

"Mari?" she asked.

"Oh, sorry, that kind of just slipped out. I hope you don't mind if I call you that?" Adrien said blushing.

"Not at all, it just caught me off guard is all. I haven't had a nickname before," Marinette smiled.

"Well get used to it Mari, cause that's what I am going to be calling you from now on," he grinned, "I probably should head off but I will see you in the morning, bright and early for rehearsal!"

"Bye! Thanks again for tonight!" she called after his retreating back.

After walking up the three flights of stairs to her apartment, having a shower and crawling into her bed, Marinette smiled to herself; thinking back over the day. She had been made the Principal dancer of the Kwami Dance Troupe, gone out drinking with her friends, danced for hours with Adrien and he had walked her home. But best of all her had given her a nickname! It felt like ages before she fell asleep but the instant that she did, the dream started.

The bright lights blinded her for a moment before she realised that she was on a stage. Looking around she noticed that she was wearing a red tutu, before the music started. She began dancing a ballet she didn't know, after completing a triple pirouette; she leapt into a grand jete, before landing and moving again. It felt like she would never stop before a loud voice boomed.

'You will never be Ladybug, you are clumsy and flawed.'

Startled, she looked around for the source of the voice but there was none. She tried ignoring it and keep dancing, but every time she would start to truly lose herself and have fun; the voice would return.

'Failure. Wannabe. Fraud!'

'Stop it!' she thought, 'I just want to dance!'

'You will never be Ladybug. You will never dance with Adrien. Just give up now before they all realise how hopeless you are.'

"NO!" she screamed, launching up in bed. What was that? She thought to herself. She had had nightmares before, but none of them had instilled the absolute terror she felt, like this one.

"Whoever that was, they are wrong. I will be Ladybug and I already have danced with Adrien and he liked it." She told herself.

'That is what he made you think little bug.'

"Who is there!?"She called out but there was no answer. She turned on all her lights and walked around her apartment, calling out. By the time she got to her bed, it was 4am in the morning, since she had to get up at 5am for rehearsal; she decided to stay up and read a book rather than try to go back to sleep. By the time rehersals started, Marinette was exhausted. She guessed that she had maybe around 2 hours sleep, especially after a gruelling day… And it was only Thursday.

"Why do I have a feeling that this is going to be a long day?" she said to no one in particular while changing.

"Girl why is it that, while I am currently debating the idea, of maybe admitting that I could possibly be hungover from last night… You look worse than I do?" Alya grumbled, squinting at Marinette.

"I didn't get much sleep last night, I was too excited about starting rehearsal today to sleep." Marinette lied.

"Well make sure you sleep well tonight otherwise it won't be only today that is long." Alya replied.

'You have no idea how right you are girl. This little bug will be lucky if she survives the next 3 weeks, let alone 3 months.'