Marinette walked up the steps of her high school, half asleep and dejected. She had stayed up all night on the roof of Notre Dame waiting for Chat and had called him four times, but there had been no sign of him. She had seen Rena Rouge on patrol and checked with her as well, but Rena hadn't seen Chat either. As much as she trusted Alya, and loved her like a sister, Marinette didn't want to give her the Miraculous. She had promised Master Fu she would let Chat Noir choose, and that was exactly what she was going to do.

Marinette sat down in her usual seat next to Alya, who also looked tired. Marinette felt bad for her- she was new to the superhero life, after all, and quite used to getting the proper ten hours of sleep she needed. In the last few weeks, Alya had started taking a thermos full of coffee everywhere, despite the fact that she wasn't allowed to drink it. Marinette smiled, remembering her first week of being a superhero. It was challenging, testing her mind, body, and spirit nearly to the limit, but she had pulled through and battled supervillain after supervillain, protecting Paris with Chat Noir by her side. Lost in thought, Marinette let her head fall onto the desk in front of her as Ms. Bustier started her lecture.

—

Marinette stepped out of the school building into the beautiful Parisian sunshine with a smile on her face. Next to her walked Adrian, who she had been spending a lot of time with lately- ever since Nino and Alya started dating. As they walked down the streets together to try and find some ice cream, Marinette started to consider another option. Master Fu had originally wanted her to give the Miraculous to someone she trusted, but had relented because she didn't think she had anyone. But now, thinking about it, what if Marinette gave the Miraculous to Adrian? He'd be a great superhero- always kind and selfless and brave. She didn't trust him quite as much as she trusted Chat, but she knew he was a good person.

She would talk to Tikki about it. Tikki would know what to do.

As the two rounded a corner and the ice cream shop came into view, Marinette saw something that pretty much ruined her afternoon. It wasn't an akuma. No, this was much, much worse.

"Adri-kins!" Chloé Bourgeois cried, practically throwing herself at him and enveloping him in a hug. Two feet away, her perfume was still overpowering.

"Ugh. And why are you hanging out with her?" Chloé demanded. Marinette sighed. Sometimes it was easier to fight Hawkmoth's villains than it was to deal with Cloé.

"She's my friend, Chloé. What are you doing here?"

"Getting a frozen yogurt. Obvi." As they moved up in line, Chloé changed her facial expression to what she seemed to consider a seductive smile. "Want to ditch Baker Girl and pay for mine, Adri-kins?"

Adrian sighed.

"I knew you'd say yes!" She shoved Marinette out of the way and took her place in line.

It all happened very quickly then.

Marinette fell backward towards the cold tile floor, crying out. As Adrian caught her, something flew out of her bag.

A very important, powerful, bee-themed something.

And Chloé caught it.

"Oh no," Marinette whispered. Adrian stared at the box now sitting in Chloé's hands, looking totally shocked.

And Chloé was inspecting the box.

"What is this, Marinette?"

"Give it back, Chloé."

"I don't think so. Finders keepers."

"Chloé, you don't know what you're holding. Give it back."

"Mmm. No."

Desperate, Marinette tried to grab the box from Chloé's hands, but Chloé simply slipped the Miraculous into her purse.

"No," whispered Marinette. She had to get it back. Knowing her, Chloé probably wouldn't join Hawkmoth and La Paeon, but Marinette was unsure. She couldn't see selfish, mean Chloé being a superhero.

"Give it back, Chloé." Adrian snapped.

"I don't think so. But right now, I have to go. I have an appointment at the tanning salon. We'll talk later, Adri-kins!" With that, Chloé marched out of the shop, leaving Marinette staring forlornly in her wake and Adrian looking shocked. Marinette was surprised, too- she'd never seen Chloé do anything Adrian didn't want her to do.

More than any of her other emotions, though, Marinette was absolutely horrified. Master Fu had trusted her with the Bee Miraculous.

And now Chloé had it.

Author's Note:

Hey, thanks so much for reading this! I hope you enjoyed it. The next part will be up soon, with luck. However, I always have felt I'm a bit more like Chat Noir than Ladybug… so who knows! Anyway, thanks again for reading this, and have a great day!

-Astraea