Updated 5/13/23

May 29, 2015

The day after the 'Volpina Incident', Lila had requested to sit at the front of the classroom with Adrien. This resulted in everyone shifting seats. It bothered Adrien to see how Marinette was shuffled to the back row without being consulted. On top of that, it had only taken one day of Lila's clinginess for him to privately ask Ms. Bustier if he could move to the back with Marinette.

He caught the scornful look Lila shot Marinette from the front row. She quickly spun back around once she noticed Adrien's gaze. Ever since Adrien had moved to the back, Lila persistently inquired of Ms. Bustier if she could switch with Marinette again. Ms. Bustier gently reminded her of the 'medical' reasons the girl had switched seats in the first place. The new seating chart would remain for the time being.

Adrien knew how difficult it was for Marinette to not say anything about Lila's deceptions. They agreed that exposing her in front of everyone could do more harm than good, but he could also see the strain in her eyes at the sight of her best friend fawning over Lila's lie about being Ladybug's best friend - especially if Marinette was Ladybug.

The boy sighed. He'd been sitting next to Marinette for three weeks now, with one week since putting the clues of the 'Who is Ladybug' puzzle together.

All of the evidence he'd collected pointed towards his friend being Ladybug, but it was a hard thing to wrap his head around. The Monday after Adrien's 'discovery', he witnessed Marinette tripping over air in her rush to make it to class on time.

Am I right about this? Adrien pondered as Marinette doodled in the upper corner of her notes. Am I just projecting what I want to see? He thought back to the similarities between the girls in the nine months he's known them,

Their determination.

Their creativity in tough situations.

Their kindness towards others.

Adrien looked down at the ladybug that had been absentmindedly been doodled on his hand by his desk partner. He grinned. Oh yeah. I'm 99.9% sure. This girl is Ladybug.

The bell rang for the end of the day. Marinette blinked, realizing where she last doodled.

"OH MY GOSH Adrien! I'm SO sorry!" She frantically pawed through her backpack. "I might have a hand wipe or something in here…" She paused at his laughter.

"It's fine, Marinette. I really like it!" He blew on his hand so the ink would dry faster. "I've never been great at drawing, even random doodles. Do…" He swallowed, suddenly nervous as it clicked that he was talking to Ladybug. "Do you think you could teach me how to draw them"

The girl blinked, her brow scrunched in confusion. "T-the ladybug?"

"Yeah!" He exclaimed. He reeled in his excitement. Keep it together, dude! "I'd love to be able to draw half as well as you do." Adrien didn't miss how Marinette's cheeks flushed at the compliment. How did I not notice how cute she is before? His own cheeks pinked at the thought.

The teens were saved from further embarrassment by Alya and Nino appearing at their desk.

"Hey dudes!" Nino stuffed his hand into his back pocket. "You guys up for some ice cream?"

"Absolutely!" It was one of the rare Fridays where Adrien didn't have a photoshoot after school. He eagerly turned to Marinette. "What about you Marinette?"

If it was possible, Marinette's face turned even redder. She stuttered for a good minute before a wadded up piece of paper hit her head. Adrien twisted around to see a suspiciously whistling Alya.

"Yes." Marinette took a deep breath, smiling. "Ice cream sounds good."

Adrien couldn't help the massive smile spreading across his face. A quick scan of his friends and their belongings indicated that he was the last one to pack up his things.

"Awesome! How about I meet you guys out front? I still need to pack up my things then give my driver a heads up."

"We'll see you in a minute then." Alya waved as she and Nino started down the stairs.

Marinette hesitated. "Are you sure you don't want any help?"

Adrien waved her off. "It's literally shoving a couple things in my bag. I'll be right along." The girl nodded, more to herself than him.

The blond turned his attention back to his backpack when he heard Marinette yelp. His eyes quickly found her sprawled at the bottom of the stairs. Adrien's eyes narrowed at Lila's foot retracting from the walkway.

"Lila, what did you do?" The boy angrily whispered to himself.

"Uh… shouldn't you go help Pigtails?" Plagg poked Adrien from his hidden pocket.

Adrien snapped out of his shock, catapulting over five desks to quickly reach Marinette. He realized that all of the remaining eyes in the room were now locked on him. Oops…

He bashfully rubbed the back of his neck, helping Marinette to stand with his free hand. "Uh… I just… was so worried! Wanted to make sure you didn't roll your ankle or anything." He laughed nervously. "Nothing like a rolled ankle to put you off of ice cream!"

Marinette laughed with him, testing her ankles. "They feel fine." She eyed the stairs where she fell, her eyes briefly landing on Lila's smug grin. "I… guess I tripped over a stray pencil or something." Adrien barely heard her, relishing the fact that Marinette still held his hand from when he'd helped her.

"Poor Marinette!" Lila pouted, laying it on thick. "You should have your parents insure you or something! It would be a shame if something worse happened to you one of these days."

Adrien felt Marinette stiffen. He tugged her towards the door. "Come on. Alya and Nino are waiting for us." His heart pounded at the thought of a new adventure with his lady.