The next day dawned sunny and bright – and waaaaay to early.

That's what I get for staying out so late on patrol! Marinette thought as she pulled on her flats and grabbed her bag. Tikki flew into the pocket as the pulled open the trapdoor and headed downstairs.

"Good morning, Marinette!" waved her (way too cheery) dad. "We thought you'd never get up!"

"I have a presentation, remember?" she replied as she dumped milk onto her cereal (it seemed to move in slow motion – or was that just her?).

"You'd better get going!" Sabine said as Marinette finished, and handed her the cake carrier. "You'll need extra time to make sure you don't drop it on your way!"

"Bye Momma, bye Poppa!" Marinette called as she left the bakery.

The walk to school seemed extra long, but she still made it with time to spare.

"Ooo, let me see!" cried Alya, meeting her in front of the building.

Marinette carefully set down the container and lifted the lid to show her, just as Nino and Adrien came up the steps.

"Dude!" shouted Nino, "that's so awesome! I never knew you could cook!"

"It helps when you have a great teacher. I couldn't have done it without Marinette," Adrien replied, winking at the now-blushing girl (why did she keep blushing? Did he embarrass her? He'd have to remember to ask Alya sometime).

The boys continued into the school, while Marinette secured the lid and stood up, all traces of exhaustion gone.

"I have to…to…stand…in front of the class…. with Adrien…and talk…"

"Pull it together, girl!" said Alya, patting her on the back. "You guys have got this assignment in the bag! There's no way it could go wrong – what could possibly happen?"

"They could hear me!" wailed Marinette, the suppressed panic of the last two days finally starting to sink in.

"Look at me," replied Alya, turning her friend's shoulders so that they stood face-to-face. "This is your thing! Just stand there and look pretty, and let Adrien do all the talking. He's the one being graded anyway, so just relax! If worse comes to worse, I'll pull the fire alarm or something, ok?"

"But what about Chloe?" whispered Marinette, glancing at the blonde ponytail as it flounced by them.

"If she starts being a jerk, just throw cake at her," said Alya, with a (mostly) straight face.

Marinette, unable to decide whether or not Alya was kidding, took a deep breath. I can do this, I can do this… she thought, and picked up the carrier from by her feet.

"Let's go!" cried Alya, charging forward into the school before Marinette had a chance to change her mind.

"Next up, we have Adrien and his teacher, Marinette," announced Ms. Bustier.

Marinette grabbed the container from under her desk and followed Adrien to the front of the room.

"So for my skill, I tried to learn how to sew," started Adrien, gesturing to his (now bandage-free) hands, "but that didn't end too well, so Marinette suggested we try something different."

He turned to his dark-haired classmate, who carefully pulled the cake out of the carrier and set the sheet on the teacher's desk behind her, to avoid any chance of dropping it.

There was a collective "ooooooooohhhhhhhh" from around the room, and several people leaned forward in their chairs to get a better view of the frosted flowers.

Marinette took a shaky breath (she could do this) and smiled as Adrien continued.

"We used Marinette's cake recipe, and she taught me how to measure everything correctly so that the cake would cook properly in the oven. She also taught me how to use the oven," he added, earning a laugh from most of the class.

"After it baked, we used frosting to decorate the top, starting with the basic layer of white and going from there," explained Marinette, gesturing to the tray behind her. "If you would like, you can come and see it up close before we cut it," she said, looking at her teacher for approval.

Ms. Bustier nodded, and most of the class clamored to the front – all but two.

"That's so dumb," drawled Chloe. "Anyone can bake, all you have to do it throw stuff in a bowl and stick it in the oven. Adri-kins is perfect already, why does he need to 'learn' something else?"

"Chloe," warned Ms. Bustier, causing the blonde to shrivel, though only slightly.

If looks could kill thought Marinette, busying herself with the carrying container to hide the smile that was creeping its way onto her face.

After everyone had had a chance to look, Marinette cut the cake into squares, and Alya helped to pass out the plates to their classmates. Everyone accepted one, including Chloe (though she looked doubtful, as though it might poison her). Adrien gave Marinette the piece with their initials, and claimed the sun for himself.

Nino and Adrien turned around to talk to Marinette and Alya while they ate.

At least now she's not blushing so much anymore Adrien though, before noticing some yellow frosting on Marinette's cheek and reaching forward with a napkin to wipe it off. Wait…never mind.

Meanwhile, Chloe had once again opened her big mouth.

"I don't get why you would do things for yourself when you can have other people do them for you," she remarked. "Daddy hires a professional chef to make us food," she added, glancing at Marinette and waiting for her reaction.

Unfortunately for the blue-eyed girl, Chloe's words had their desired effect. Marinette ducked her head and bit her lip, doing her best not to show how much the blow shook her.

"Don't listen to her, Marinette. She wouldn't know hard work if it took her out shopping," assured Nino, patting her on the shoulder. Marinette looked up and smiled, thankful to have her friends to support her.

"Should we pull out 'Plan B'?" murmured Alya.

"Which one was plan B?" whispered Marinette, frantically trying to remember what Alya had been plotting before school. I wanted support, not a heart attack!

"I vote we pull the fire alarm," chimed in Nino, earning a wicked smile from Alya and a surprised look from Adrien.

"One blonde-haired bug-out, coming up!" whispered Alya, before rising from her seat and picking up her plate, headed for the center aisle.

"Alya wait!" panicked Marinette, grasping desperately for her friend.

Alya laughed quietly. Stepping around Marinette's arm, she started down the stairs.

"Alya wait, take mine too!" shouted Adrien, standing up sharply with his half-full plate and stepping forward – directly into Alya.

"WHOOOAAAA" she shrieked, grabbing for the desk behind her and fighting to remain upright. Adrien, meanwhile, had failed to catch himself as he tripped over the stairs, sending his plate – and the pink-and-yellow frosting – flying across the aisle.

"AAAHHHHHHHH" screeched Chloe, unable to protect herself from the incoming sugary concoction.

"LOOK WHAT YOU'VE DONE TO MY – MY HAIR!"

"Chloe, I am so sorry!" cried Adrien, grabbing some nearby napkins. "Here, let me help you!"

"Don't touch me! SABRINAAAAA!" Chloe wailed, running out of the room as the class burst into laughter behind her.

"Chloe, wait!" Sabrina called, quickly running after her. Ms. Bustier followed, hoping to catch the girls before Chloe called her father (again).

"Way to go Adrien!" cheered Alya, reaching down to pick him up off the floor and giving him a high-five.

Adrien, accepting the high-five, tried to brush it off.

"I didn't mean to, honestly, it was an accident! I stood up and it just kind of… happened!"

"Riiiiiight," laughed Alya, giving him a pat on the back. "An accident…"

Marinette, meanwhile was still in shock.

"Did he just…"

"Oh, he totally did!" cried Alya.

"Way to go, dude!" chimed Nino.

"It was an accident…" Adrien tried again, "really!" But even he couldn't keep a straight face at the thought of Chloe with pink and yellow hair (though I really do prefer blue…).

"I still can't believe that happened," said Marinette, as she and Alya left the school for the day.

"Marinette, wait up!" Adrien came running out after them. "You forgot your cake container," he said, panting slightly.

"Oh, thank you!" she said, accepting the carrier.

"Anytime! Thanks again for the help, Mari!" Adrien called, as he climbed into his car.

"He…he called me… Mari…" sighed Marinette, staring after him and swaying where she stood.

Alya just shook her head and laughed. "C'mon girl, let's get you home before you start swooning – again."