To explain why Nathan remembers his villainy, I have a theory that Akumatized villains have dreams, probably some time later, that shows them how they behaved when things were beyond their control.

Also, if requested I could do a bonus chapter of Alya reacting.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters and don't know who does.

It was useless.

She didn't see him like that. Didn't love him.

Apparently, Marinette did.

Were there feelings for her somewhere, beyond his infatuation for Ladybug?

He wasn't smart. Wasn't that smart at least. Didn't understand. Boys rarely understood when a girl was in love with them. He'd barely come to grips with the fact that Ladybug had zero interest in him. That was cutting enough. He barely rose out of bed that morning. It was hard, but, for the first time ever his kwami actually encouraged him to get up.

"There are other fish in the sea." Plagg encouraged, probably realizing a moping Adrien was one that wasn't feeding him.

"Mph." He muttered tiredly as he pulled on cloth, personally hoping Paris wasn't in peril this morning because he didn't think he had Cat Noir in him today.

"Like Marinette." Plagg continued, scrounging around for cheese. Adrien stopped suddenly.

"What do you mean like Marinette?"

"She has a crush on you." Plagg said knowledgeably. Adrien was so flustered that he put his shoes on the wrong feet. The apparently all knowing Plagg said nothing about his shoes, so he didn't realize until Nino pointed it out in class.

After righting the wrong he examined Nino.

"Does Marinette have a crush on me?" He asked his best friend cautiously. She wasn't here yet, though some students drifted in, talking and laughing and something about some girl's locker.

"After a year you finally notice." Nino muttered.

"Dude I'm sorry I know you like her-"

"Liked. Past tense." Nino corrected.

"Right. But seriously? Marinette?"

"Is that really so bad?"

"I don't know..."

Roll call began and he focused on that. Marinette ran in seconds late for who knows what reason, and tripped hard right in front of him. He gazed intently at her, and for a second their eyes met. She did have pretty eyes, and a rapidly forming blush. She scrambled to get up as the teacher scrawled a note about her tardiness that he could only deem was unfair. For the rest of the lesson she was all he could think about. Not realizing that that was how it usually was for Marinette. Not able to learn that this was the day when all that would change.

It wasn't that hard of a decision, little did he know the decision was in vain. Marinette had always been a good friend to him, had never treated him simply as a rich kid who had lucked his way into modeling. Her eyes were always so hopeful and kind. And she liked him. Seemed to be the only girl who truly liked him beyond his supposedly good looks.

Easy choice, made an hour too late. Her name was on his lips and he had rushed to tell her, to confess that he liked her back. Only to stop. To stare.

Maybe for a year Marinette had loved him. Looking back he could recall obvious devotion he hadn't noticed in his Ladybug obsession.

Her name on his lips, her Nathan's. He gaped for a while, mouth opening and closing, barely hearing,

"Oh Adrikens! Let's leave these face smushing freaks and talk about you and me!" Barely felt Chloe Bourgeois dragging him away.

If he'd known, he wondered, would he still have been too late? And did he even deserve a Marinette, if he was only going to see her as his second choice?

"I hope your happy with Nath..." He murmured despondently, frustrated with himself.

"Did you say something Adrien?" Chloe asked before continuing talking about herself.

The rest of the day was hard. When called upon to protect Paris he did so lackluster. He noticed Ladybug had a content spring in her step. He attempted to remain positive, so as to not lose her as a friend. But it wasn't the same. There were no cat puns, no miladys, and when Paris was restored no bump it. At the time he simply couldn't.

But he got better. Grew stronger and less mopey. Marinette was something special and Ladybug was too, however he couldn't be upset that two special miladys were still his close friends. And though seeing Marinette with her new boyfriend made him think of what he had missed out on, the whole thing taught him something.

Next time he found someone special he wasn't waiting.