Hello Miraculars! Welcome back to another installment of Miraculous: Tales!

We are now officially in "Holiday" season! But we are also less than a month away from S2 Part 2 dropping on Netflix! YAY! That's going to be a fun day.

I just want to give a quick shoutout: I love the Greatest Showman and there are some great Miraculous videos done to Greatest Showman tracks including This Is Me (ThatCaiMarie), Rewrite the Stars (Chat Noir), The Greatest Show and The Other Side (Levi Dubs and AMVs). I have a playlist with these kinds of videos to listen to while I write and these are some of my favorites! Please go give them a view on YouTube.

Now without further adieu...

Chapter 2: First Day and Flowers

"Girl, I can't believe that your anniversary with Adrien falls on the first day of school! What luck!" Alya threw her hands in the air.

Marinette laughed as the girls exited the Dupain-Cheng bakery on their way to school. "It's only three months. It's not that big a deal. I don't even think we're doing anything."

Alya wouldn't meet Marinette's eyes. "Three months? Has it been that long already?"

As they crossed the street, Marinette glanced at Alya. Things had become strange between them since she had started dating Adrien. Whenever the hung out, Alya questioned her about seemingly insignificant details, like about what happened to her during certain akuma attacks. Why would these things matter to her so much?

Marinette shook her head to clear her thoughts as they climbed the stairs. Things should get back to normal soon.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Marinette Dupain-Cheng." A familiar voice trilled. Marinette and Alya groaned as they turned to see Chloe at the bottom of the stairs.

"What do you want, Chloe? School hasn't even started yet." Alya put a hand on her hip. "Where's Sabrina?"

"Oh, she's still visiting family in America. She won't be back for another week." She smiled coyly. "Which means there'll be an empty seat next to me!"

Marinette rolled her eyes. Chloe's such a drama queen. "Very fascinating Chloe. And why is this such a big deal?"

"I know how much Nino would love to sit next to his girlfriend this year and Adrien's too good of a friend to say no." Chloe flounced passed the girls. "That means he'll need a new place to sit…" She laughed as she left her suggestion hanging.

Alya's hands balled at her side. "Oooh! Why that girl gets off on putting other people down, I have no idea. There's no way Adrien would ever sit with that diva." Marinette placed a hand on Alya's shoulder to calm her down.

"Alya, it's fine. Really. He can sit wherever he wants. I'm not worried. Besides, we're still not quite ready to go public yet."

The friends continued to chat as as they walked through the schoolyard and into the locker area. Everyone else filed in behind them. Marinette twirled the combination into her lock and swung the door open. Dozens of red roses spilled out. A fragrant aroma filled the room as everyone turned to look.

"Wow, Marinette!"

"Who sent you the flowers?"

"Who's the lucky guy?"

"WHY DOESN'T ANYONE SEND ME FLOWERS LIKE THAT? Who could possibly be sending romantic stuff to her?"

Marinette tuned them all out as she reached into the locker, having spotted a note. It was a simple one-sided card written in green and black ink. Happy 3 months, My Lady. It was signed with a paw print. Marinette looked up and locked eyes with Adrien.

He was leaning against the back door, unnoticed by anyone. He smiled and winked at her, then left for class.

Marinette grinned as she carefully plucked a rose from the pile and tucked it behind her ear. This is going to be a great year.

We'll see if that statement stands. Our new villain is lurking in the shadows... waiting for the opportune moment.

This story will start gaining speed within the next few chapters with some curveballs appearing about chapter 6. I don't have everything mapped out yet, but I'm guesstimating about 2ish chapters to get the whole story told.

Until next time, STAY CREATIVE!