A/N: OKAY, before we get on to the next chapter I need to just say something really important: you guys are freaking amazing. Do you understand that? Like, seriously. To everyone who has commented, and to everyone that has liked this, and ESPECIALLY to everyone who has read this, THANK YOU. It's gotten to the point where I'm constantly freaking out and getting notifications of people either liking this story or commenting, and just see how many people have read it makes me so happy. Plus, your responses about which fics you'd like to see are phenomenal! Anyway, I'm going to stop rambling, but seriously, you guys are the best and I love you all omg 3

I finally worked up the courage to confess to the guy I like.

The words kept repeating in Adrien's head, relentlessly hounding his thoughts. It was all he could think about, both as he had trudged into the classroom after fighting the akuma and now as he sat in the final class of the day. Adrien tried to pay attention to the teacher—he really did—but his mind refused to focus.

Adrien had thought that he had prepared himself. He thought that he had at least put up a decent amount of distance in the past few days. Enough that it would have cushioned the blow. And yet those words had torn through him with terrifying strength, sharp and streamlined right into his chest. It had made him realize that he was fooling himself. Distance? Pssht. There was no distancing himself from her.

It was agonizing, tearing at his heart from so many directions. He had meant what he said—he really was happy for her. Ladybug was the single most amazing person Adrien had ever met. Probably of anyone on the entire planet. Of course her crush had said yes. She had seemed so genuinely happy about it.

But that didn't stop the ache, which was unending, and oppressive, and physical. It throbbed through him, and though he couldn't pinpoint where it dwelled, it made him want to double over. How was it possible to be so genuinely happy for someone and torn to pieces with grief all at the same time?

It's thanks to you for giving me a push to finally do it.

That, more than anything, was what left Adrien's hollow stomach twisting. He had urged her to do this. In a way, this was his fault. Perhaps she would have worked up the courage on her own eventually—it's not like he could have prevented it. But that didn't erase the fact that it was by his own hand that the situation had progressed so quickly.

And yet... And yet she trusted him. Trusted him enough that it had been his advice that she had taken. And even as his heartache over the matter bore down on him, Adrien couldn't help the small, giddy fluttering that ghosted through his middle. It was such a little comment, and yet it belied how much Ladybug relied on him. Listened to him. To call the situation bittersweet was a vast understandment.

Adrien started as the bell rang and the classroom sprang to life around him. He hastily shoved thoughts of Ladybug into the back of his mind as he gathered together his bookbag.

"Hey."

Adrien turned to find Marinette standing shyly next to his desk, a slight blush spreading above her small smile. Guilt wormed through his gut, and he quickly forced himself to smile.

"Hey!" he replied, standing up. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yup!" Marinette squeaked, though this time she didn't glance away. Her embarrassment seemed to have shrunk since their first date—still hovering around the edges of her demeanor, but not quite as debilitating. The fact that she was becoming more comfortable around him made Adrien happy. Somehow, despite all of his fumbling, he seemed to have done at least one thing right.

They headed out of the classroom together (Adrien did not miss the grin on Alya's face as they passed) and worked their way toward the school's front doors. Still struggling to push away his guilt, Adrien asked, "What did you think of that History essay last night?"

Marinette shrugged modestly, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Actually…" she said slowly, as if trying to decide what to say. "I was kind of excited. Because, you know, I normally struggle to come up with a good thesis sentence."

There it was again. It had taken Adrien a little while to figure out: a large part of Marinette's hesitancy seemed to stem from some fear that she was talking too much. Which was ridiculous, because so far he had found everything she had to say really interesting. And though she did tend to become very animated and excited, Adrien found her energy completely adorable.

"Oh?" Adrien asked, hoping she would pick up on the fact that he wanted to hear what she had to say.

"Yeah," she replied, smiling hesitantly at him. "Usually I agonize forever over formulating my thesis. But the prompt this time was really interesting, and the idea just kind of came to me."

Adrien couldn't help a small smile as he listened, watching as Marinette slowly became so engulfed in her explanation that she forgot to be worried. For a moment, Adrien wondered over the fact that talking with Marinette about even homework assignments was somehow fun. He hadn't particularly liked the prompt they had been given, but Marinette had an interesting take on it, and just listening to her gush about her idea was enough to almost make him forget about Ladybug.

Adrien's heart froze. Enough. So what if Ladybug wasn't interested in him? Wasn't having fun with Marinette enough? You need to get over her, Adrien scolded himself. As he thought it, though, he realized that he couldn't. As much as he wanted to, there was no getting over Ladybug. At least not so quickly. She had meant so much for him to so long, and just trying to forget his deep-rooted feelings was not as simple as just throwing something away. The aching pain returned in full force, pulsing through his chest and stomach and refusing to be ignored.

It just wasn't fair. Not to him, and not to Marinette either. They were supposed to be going on a date. His ridiculous infatuation with Ladybug didn't change the fact that he had been the one to ask Marinette out. How disrespectful, to think about someone else when he was supposed to be spending time with her. Adrien struggled to push Ladybug to the back of his mind once more, but now that the door was open the poisonous thoughts kept pouring in.

"Adrien?"

With a start, he realized that Marinette was watching him with concern. Mind racing, Adrien tried to recall what she had been saying and drew a complete blank. The guilt he had been trying to brush off came back with overwhelming force.

"Are you alright?" Marinette asked, eyebrows lowering in obvious concern.

"I…" What was he supposed to say? Oh, sorry. I was just too busy pining after someone completely unattainable? Adrien felt a strong wave of disgust for himself. "Sorry. I'm … not feeling all that great."

It was kind of true.

"Oh no, are you sick?" Marinette asked, leaning closer as her worry grew. She seemed to have forgotten her own insecurities in the face of her genuine concern. "I'm sorry, I should have noticed," she gushed, looking him over as if searching for some way to help him. Her sincerity only made Adrien more upset with himself.

"No, I just, my stomach hurts a bit," Adrien said lamely.

This was despicable. He was lying? And for what—so he could skip out on their date and go home to wallow in his own agony? But even as he directed these accusing thoughts at himself, Adrien couldn't bring himself to continue their date as if nothing were wrong. They hadn't even made it two blocks from the school, and he already was having trouble giving Marinette the attention she deserved. Better to lie and pretend to be sick than to risk the chance that he would make Marinette feel that she wasn't worth paying attention to.

Marinette was still studying him closely, biting her lower lip. "Would it be easiest to call your driver to bring you back home?" she suggested. "Or do you need to find somewhere to sit down?"

Adrien's heart was breaking all over again, the jagged shards burning holes through his chest and the searing pain hissing at him with ever growing self-loathing. He was making her worry for nothing—for something she should be angry with him about, not showering him with kindness he definitely didn't deserve.

"No, no," he assured her. "I'll just call Denis to bring the car—it should only be a moment." He pulled out his phone and sent a quick text telling Denis where to meet him. Then, slipping his phone back into his pocket, Adrien turned to Marinette.

"I'm really sorry about this," he told her lamely. Sorry didn't begin to cover it. What kind of jerk asked a girl to go out only to turn around and lie in order to get out of it?

"Don't apologize," Marinette told him, giving him a reassuring smile. "It's far more important that you get home and get some rest. I'll wait with you until the car gets here."

"No, really, you don't have to do that," Adrien told her, stomach sinking. "I'll be fine—"

"Nonsense," Marinette said, cutting him short. "I'll just worry otherwise. You sure you don't want to sit down?"

"Yeah, it's okay," Adrien replied miserably. "Thank you. Really."

"It's not a problem, Adrien," Marinette told him, the slightest pink tinging her cheeks.

Luckily, Denis arrived within a minute, the white car pulling up along the sidewalk. Adrien was ashamed at the relief he felt at the sight of it.

"Are you okay getting home?" Adrien asked Marinette.

"Don't worry about me," she said, waving him off. "I live really close. You just get home and try to feel better."

"Thanks," he told her. "I'm really sorry." Then he slipped into the backseat.

"Home, young master?" Denis asked from the front.

"Yes, please, Denis," Adrien replied. He gave Marinette a quick wave through the window, then slumped in relief as the car pulled away.

Happy now? he asked himself sourly. Not only were you ignoring Marinette—now you've made her worry as well. Adrien dropped his head into his hands, suppressing a groan. She was so sweet. He was going to have to find a way to make it up to her. Maybe, tomorrow, he could apologize, and take her out on another date as an apology.

His heart wasn't in it though. Because what if that backfired too? What if he was still distracted? It was becoming increasingly apparent that he couldn't just force himself to stop thinking about Ladybug. She crept in through the cracks, haunting him.

And, with a sinking heart, Adrien realized that Marinette deserved better than that. Could he really in good conscious keep leading her on while he was constantly plagued with thoughts of someone else? He could sit here and hope that he would eventually get over Ladybug. But how long would that take?

Marinette was amazing, and Adrien was so happy that she had worked up the courage to ask him out. But she deserved someone who would pay attention to her and only her. Someone who would notice what her favorite color was or when she was feeling down. Someone who would do sweet things for her like buy gumballs to cheer her up.

Like Nathanael, Adrien realized with a start. Even when he had been possessed by an akuma, nothing had distracted Nathanael from doing everything he could for Marinette. Adrien's chest constricted as a wave of frustration swept through him. Nathanael had noticed quiet, shy Marinette. For a moment, Adrien couldn't help feeling a small spike of jealousy.

Well he saw, now. He saw what a wonderful, amazing person she was. He wanted to be there for her, to make her smile, to help her realize that she was worth listening to just as she was. And yet all his wishing didn't change a thing.

With a heavy sigh, Adrien realized there was only one respectable thing he could do. He was just going to have to be honest with Marinette. Even just the thought made him flinch. But he would have wanted her to do the same if their situation had been switched. Better to cut things off now than to keep leading her on. She was probably going to hate him, he realized miserably. That thought alone almost persuaded him not to. Adrien was so happy to have met another classmate that he got along with so perfectly. To lose her as a friend…

But no. If he wanted to be a good friend, he needed to. And he could hope, against all odds, that she would understand and not resent him for the rest of her life. Maybe they could even still be friends, though honestly he wasn't sure if he deserved that much.

Heart skipping a beat, Adrien realized that it was the same with Ladybug—it wasn't her fault that she liked someone else. As much as it hurt, they were teammates. He should be there for her as a friend, not just because he wanted to be there for her, but because Ladybug deserved it as well. He could hide his feelings from her, at least. He wouldn't see Ladybug every day, not like Marinette.

With a deep breath, Adrien made up his mind. If only he didn't feel even more miserable for it.

A/N: Really quick, because I'm worried this might not be clear from the narrative, but I'm not sure how to weave it in better and I don't want anyone to be confused: neither Adrien nor Marinette wound up being late for class after lunch.

Um. Don't kill me for this chapter? Haha. Although come on, you had to have known more angst was coming. Things have to get worse before they can get better, right? But I promise they will eventually get better! (... after first getting even worse xD)

I listened to Shawn Mendes' "Stitches" on repeat for this entire chapter. In fact, that song partially inspired this fic. I heard it on the radio and kept thinking about how Adrien would feel if he found out Ladybug was interested in someone else. It perfectly fits the despair and heartache Adrien feels in this chapter.

Also, THE US PREMIER WAS TODAY! Here's hoping the US fan base only grows from here! D Mwahahaha!

If anyone's wondering, the Future AU (post-Uni) fic is currently leading in number of tallies for my next fic, closely followed by Marinette realizing she likes Chat and the Flour Reveal fics. However, I was kind of surprised by how diverse the requests were. Now I feel bad, because I can't do all five at once T^T However, I DO plan to do all of them eventually. I'm still taking tallies for now, so if you want to chime in please feel free! I'll make up my mind before the last chapter of this fic.

And, because a few people have mentioned this, I'd love to hear thoughts on an M vs T+ rating for the Future AU fic. Honestly, I'm currently leaning more towards T+ right now. A large part of the plot currently revolves around a sexual encounter, so I can't completely take that out of the story. But I can treat it more like a YA novel would, and pull the curtain over any of the M rated stuff (thus the T+ rating, haha). Or I can keep it a mild M rating, where I don't fade out, but I keep the descriptions vague and to a minimum. Normally I don't worry about this sort of thing, but ML IS a children's show, and I want to be cognizant of that. So your input is greatly appreciated!

Again, thank you guys so much for reading and all the love you guys have been giving this fic. You are all incredible 3333 Feel free to come squee with me about ML on Tumblr (Konekat)! (Obligatory warning that my blog is NSFW)