A/N: Somehow I managed to type up four chapters in a day. I kinda procrastinated on doing some work so I ended up getting out a lot of chapters for this rewrite. So I decided to post this chapter up early. Might as well with the pace I'm going through the chapters at.

Speaking of, friendly reminder that ABOI takes place in an au! Honestly its timing in canon is like... so confusing. But this story is really canon divergent so don't try to focus on the canon events sewn into it - you'll end up having a headache (I know I did).

Rose Tiger - You're back! How have you been? Also yes, eww Lila. I plan to make her much more sinister this time round ;)

Till next time,

D.L.D

Chapter Ten: Chaton

Marinette

Where was she? That was the first thought to bubble within Marinette's brain as she looked at herself, hands and body clad in familiar Ladybug black spots. Where in the world was she, dressed like this and having no idea how she'd even ended up here? Overall, it was weird; a moment ago she could have sworn that she was just with Tikki in Alya's room, enjoying a pretty darn good sleep. However now she wasn't. Now Marinette was somewhere new.

Glancing around herself, the superhero peered into the darkened gloom. Nothing but shadows met her eyes. Dust and streaks of fading light cut across the darkness. But nothing else. The area was isolated, desolate. Just like the setting at the beginning of most onstage tragedies, setting the scene for the introduction of the play's main source of conflict, there wasn't a soul to be seen for miles around. None.

"Hello?" Marinette called out into the darkness, her brows furrowing with concern. "Is anyone there?"

"Well look who's woken up," Stepping out of the shadows, triumphant as she grinned, was a familiar shape. Pearly white teeth, olive green eyes that cut like a sharpened steak knife: Lila Rossi. Gloved hands crossed her waist-coated chest, a shimmering jewel settled at the collar of her shirt. "Our wittle Ladybug's decided to join the party. Only, she seems a little lost, doesn't she?" A glance into the darkness, over her shoulder. "Maybe we can help her with that, right Chat?"

Shock paralyzed Marinette's system as her partner, her best friend and her only true love emerged from the gloom - only his eyes were a fierce blue. A cold, piercing icy blue that struck her heart with terror as he stepped into the light. Nevertheless, Marinette attempted to swallow it down, convince herself, that nothing bad would happen. Chat Noir would never hurt her. He'd never betray her. If he was doing this now, acting like Lila's ally, he was doing it to save her - to manipulate Lila and take her down. Right?

The look on his face said otherwise.

"Tighten the restraints," Lila barked out, nodding toward Marinette. In that moment, the teen realised that she was shackled to a chair, thick metal bands wrapped around her wrists and ankles. Both body parts throbbed intensely. Sorely.

Anger flared within Marinette as she glared at the ominous enemy, adrenaline pumping in her veins. Oh Lila was so going to pay once she got out of this! Trusting Chat Noir would be Lila's greatest mistake, especially when he would never do anything so cruel, so evil, as this. No - not her beloved Chat Noir.

So is that why her Chaton, dressed in white and with icy blue eyes, did exactly as Lila said? Is that why, when Marinette gasped in surprise, eyes wide, he said nothing, didn't even spare her a glance?

Truly, Marinette could not say. She didn't know what to believe in that moment.

"K-kitty?" Stammered, the words slipped from her trembling lips. Panic overwhelmed anger as the teen tugged at her restraints, urging the strength to shake some sense right into him. "W-why are you helping her?"

"Oh, that answer's simple, little Bug," Lila giggled, her voice a soft melody carried within the darkness. Predatory, like a shark's, her eyes glinted through the gloom as she clung by Chat Noir's side, hooking her arm with his. "It's because he's mine." A soft purr as she lowered her voice. "And as long as I'm around, he'll never look at you."

All words were swallowed to silence within Marinette's throat. Complete, utter silence. Instead she could only stare, tears pricking at her eyes, as she fought the quivering of her lower lip.

No! No this couldn't be true! This Chat Noir in front of her - this impostor dressed in white - clearly wasn't her Chaton. Her Chat Noir, her lovable oaf who perpetually shot flirty puns her way could not possibly be the same entity as this stranger before her. This enemy wrapped in sheep's clothing. There was no way! There was no actual possibility, circumstance, that he would ever be here, bending to the whims of Lila Rossi herself.

Nevertheless, as the moments passed and more tears were withheld, Marinette couldn't shake the horrible realisation that she was wrong. Completely, entirely wrong.

"You're lying!" Heart racing in her chest, Marinette eventually spat at the pair, her fists pounding against the arm rests. Sharp stings pricked at her wrists as she moved them, spreading pain throughout her arms. "You have to be. There is no way," She sniffed, shaking her head as salty tears fell from her eyes. "No way, that this is real. That - this - would never happen."

"Believe what you will," Lila shrugged, humming as she flipped her chestnut hair over her shoulder. Still her eyes danced with danger, intent, as she smirked. "But I've already won." Turning to walk away, the female paused beside Chat Noir, placing a hand on his shoulder, "End it, minou."

With those final words, Lila disappeared into the gloom, the clicking of her heels the final trace of the wicked witch as Marinette felt her heart crumble within her chest, shatter into a million pieces.

Softly, oh so softly, he looked at her, almost apologetic as he raised his baton, "I'm sorry, Princess."

He then slammed the weapon down and Marinette promptly screamed.

Wide-eyed, blood pumping rapidly through her body, Marinette sat up pin-straight, gasping for air as her hands tangled in her midnight hair. No heat came from her forehead, no sticky, humid liquid often coloured crimson with iron-rich cells. She wasn't injured. It was just a dream, just a dream, just a dream. All of it was just a dream. So why did it feel so real? The cold metal of the restraints, the pure fear spreading through her veins as she stared into piercing blue eyes - impossibly blue eyes - that had once shone green with the love her precious Chaton.

Even now, in the still silence of Alya's room, Marinette could make them out. Distinct, eerily lasting, they stared her down through the shadows with an intent she had only seen within akumas consumed within their own anger and grief.

Chat Blanc - her Adrien, transformed into a stranger who she didn't entirely know. Did it mean anything? Did this dream signify anything? Or was it just that, a dream, a silly dream that was trying to veer her into panic and hysteria?

For much too long Marinette sat there, heaving in deep breaths, holding back tears, as she clutched at her pounding head. Nothing had hit her; not a single scratch harmed a single hair on her head. Nevertheless, the pain was still there, throbbing at her skull, pounding at her arteries, as she tried to breathe.

"Marinette," Tikki. Drifting through the darkness, a little red beacon of soft light, the kwami came to face her holder with wide, concerned eyes. "Did you have a nightmare?"

"No," Was the immediate respond. A slight cringe as she felt the twinge of guilt that seized her heart as the lie spewed past her lips. "Why would you think that?"

"Because you were talking in your sleep," Tikki stated simply, cutting through the lies like a sword would cut through butter. Sighing, the wise creature took a seat on Marinette's shoulder, resting a guiding hand on her pulse as she continued, "You know that what happened earlier was not Chat Noir's fault. What happened was the result of someone with ill-intent, someone intending to harm others, using what they had to get to you."

"I know," Marinette breathed, somewhat calmed by the kwami's words. Only somewhat. There was still raw panic feeding into her veins, the feeling of potential danger and the threat that the future posed rested within every single cell of her body. "But that's what scares me most. If someone can do that, can go that far to get to me, then what else would they do? What else would they do - to the people I care most about - just to get to me?"

Silent tears slipped from her eyes as Marinette admitted the truth. This truth, this fear, had always been within her. Ever since she had chosen to be Ladybug, to protect all she cared about in the only way she could, this fear had lingered in the back of her mind. What if she was more of a danger like this? What if being Ladybug - a target of evil - did more harm than good? If anyone were to be harmed because of who she was, what she did, Marinette would never forgive herself. If that person with Adrien... oh, she'd never be able to get over it.

"The path of a hero never has been an easy one," Tikki cut through her thoughts, soft voice like the gentle chime of a bell as she rubbed soothing circles into Marinette's neck. "All of the Ladybugs before me went through similar trials. All of them - even down to those who were known as the greatest - struggled to accept that sometimes you have to believe that things will work out for the best. Sometimes there is no need to worry."

"I'm not telling you to forget that danger exists," Tikki continued, moving to hover in front of Marinette's teary eyes. Carefully, the kwami swept away a stray tear, her touch like a feather-light tickle. "But, in order to keep those you love safe, you need to act as if the enemy's actions haven't phased you. If you let them see what affects you most the enemy will always use it as an advantage. Evil beings seek for a weakness to exploit, once they have it they will only grow worse."

"So," Marinette sniffed, pursing her lips as she tried to contain her sobs. A hand wiped at her teary eyes. "I need to... I have to act as if none of this happened?"

"Exactly," Tikki nodded, a small smile gracing her adorable features. "But to do that you must place your trust in Adrien. Together you are stronger and if you remember that nothing will ever divide your bond."

"Thank you, Tikki," Marinette smiled, a dry chuckle escaping her system as she scooped the kwami into her hands. Gingerly, she nuzzled the creature against her nose. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Likewise Marinette," Tikki beamed, a tiny yawn escaping her delicate mouth. "But we should really catch some sleep. We can't fight evil with sleepy minds!"

"Well said," Marinette nodded, setting the kwami down as she resettled herself within Alya's nest of spare blankets and pillows.

After a few minutes she was drifting back to sleep, comfortable and relaxed within the environment of her best friend's room. For the rest of the night, Marinette's dreams were void of mysterious white cats and smokey shadows.

Adrien

Eyes feeling heavy, Adrien sighed as he woke to the familiar knock of Nathalie at his bedroom door. Once again he was home, placed right in the middle of his island of isolation, hammered into place by his father's constant routine. His only break, his only place of refuge from it all, had been a place he couldn't go to last night. For one, Marinette wasn't home; second, Adrien doubt she wanted to see his face at this precise moment. Lasting, like a burning brand, her frustrated stare had not left him.

As a result, last night had not been a pleasant night's sleep - if you could even call endless thinking sleep. All night he had just laid there, Plagg moaning and groaning as he gorged on cheese before passing out at around one am. Restless, Adrien himself kept running through the chain of events, a million what-ifs and a billion apologies forming in his mind as the hours ticked on by. Then, at some point, he just crashed.

That night he had no dreams.

Shuffling to his bathroom, Adrien scratched at his fluffy mess of golden hair, releasing a yawn. Honestly, he didn't feel like attending school today - not after last night's horrible ordeal - but the alternative wasn't much better. School would always prevail over his father's overbearing frostiness.

Turning on the tap, the blonde washed his face, prepping for the grueling day ahead.

"You can't keep beating yourself up about last night, kid," Plagg sighed, shaking his head as he popped up by Adrien's side. Once again he was gorging on Camembert, a huge hunk balanced within his tiny hands. Green eyes fixed with obvious scrutiny, the kwami frowned, "It wasn't your fault. Lila used you to further her own plans. You were simply a pawn."

"But that's the point," Adrien sighed, drying off his face and grabbing his toothbrush. A generous dollop of toothpaste before he stuck it into his mouth. "I shouldn't be available as a pawn. I should have just left."

"Seriously?" Plagg's tiny nose scrunched, disdain obvious as he shook his tiny head. For the first time in a while, Plagg's soft side was showing, his tiny features pressed with annoyance as he frowned a little more. "Adrien, it's not your fault! It's Lila's fault." A pause as he sighed once more, taking a bit from his cheese. "But I warned you that ladies come with problems. You should have just stuck with being alone or spending your days eating tasty cheese. Speaking of, where's my breakfast?"

Typical. Even when attempting to be good at giving advice Plagg couldn't resist letting some of his usual snark leak through. Oddly, though, Adrien wouldn't have it any other way. After years of isolation, it was rather refreshing to around such a blunt, careless prig that did well at masking his true sentiment toward others.

"You just ate a whole wheel of cheese," Adrien rolled his eyes, spitting the toothpaste reside into the sink. "In a record two minutes."

"That was just a starter," Plagg protested, tasking as he raised a brow at his holder. Teasing, a smirk stretched on his face, tiny canines sharp. "And I thought you were the one raised for a fancy lifestyle. Shameful."

There it was, the usual Plagg. Already Adrien could feel his mood brightening, the usual, predictable flow of their banter a good distraction from the lingering negativity of last night. With Plagg it was easy to ignore the problems of yesterday; Plagg always served as a good distraction from reality, a glutton who always favoured placing one's own desires over what others liked. Plagg would always be unapologetic and selfish, and he was slowly trying to push it onto Adrien.

"Alright, I'll get you more cheese," Adrien smiled, turning off the tap and putting his toothbrush away. "If you stop talking about last night."

Plagg grinned, "You had me at more cheese."

Marinette

Once again school was the bane of Marinette's existence - but at least it was Wednesday, meaning a half day. That was the one thought keeping her going as she and Alya arrived at the site, Alya prattling on about something she'd discovered last night while Marinette nodded along, humming when needed and adding snippets of responses. Honestly, her mind was still occupied with her own thoughts from last night, simmering away like ingredients in a pot of soup.

One thing Marinette did know for sure: she didn't want to be around Adrien for a while. With all the thoughts surrounding him, the dangerous variable that was Lila Rossi, as well as her own personal dilemmas, Marinette felt like it was best to take a break before she imploded from all of the stress. That way she could avoid any possible altercations with Lila for the day and definitely wouldn't take it out on anyone else.

So, with a heavy heart, Marinette forced herself to stick to Alya's side once more. Stuck like a thorn, glued like pipe-cleaner to paper, Marinette followed her best friend into class, averting her gaze from the glowering Chloe. Oddly, all Chloe had done in the past few days was observe with a hateful eye, sticking her nose up whenever Marinette came her way or glaring at every possible opportunity. But nothing verbal. Nothing physical.

Chloe's lack of confrontation was another thing bugging Marinette. Highly possessive and highly intolerant to Marinette, Chloe Bourgeois had always opposed the idea of her and Adrien being friends. So, following their recent closeness, Marinette had been expecting a large confrontation from Chloe. Something big, something dramatic, something that would end in tears most probably.

But nothing had happened yet.

"I have the perfect plan for this weekend," Tapping Marinette's shoulder, Alya gained her attention. Grinning she produced a notebook, flipping it open to the first page, "Here."

Vaguely skimming over the page, Marinette smiled, "It all looks good but are you sure, Alya? You could get into a lot of trouble for this."

"Oh, I'm sure. It's gonna be perfect!" Alya grinned, proud as she folded her arms across her chest. Dropping her voice to low volume, she then leaned closer to Marinette, the scent of her perfume filling her nose. "Plus no-one gets away with upsetting you. Not in a million years."

"W-what?" Marinette warbled, a furious blush filling her face as she blinked at Alya. A few faces turned to their direction, brows raised in questioning, but they soon turned away. "When did anyone ever upset me?"

"Too many times to count," Alya sighed, shaking her head as she pulled away from Marinette and took back her notebook.

Halting the rest of their conversation, Miss Bustier came into the classroom, fresh as a daisy and bringing in the stylish addition of her brand new handbag. Seamlessly, she pulled open the classroom door, stepping in on her low heels, greeting a few latecomers as she held the door open before walking to her desk. All too soon, the bell was ringing once more, class officially in session as Miss Bustier set down her handbag and turned to address her entire class.

"Good morning students," The teacher smiled, bright and alert as usual. "Today we'll be picking up from yesterday. So everyone please get out your textbooks and turn to chapter three, page one hundred and eighty."

Half diligent, half groaning and rolling eyes, the class pulled out their mandatory textbooks and notebooks, flipping to the requested page. No-one liked the early morning classes in Marinette's class - they did felt extra long on a Wednesday (the one early finish of the week). Nevertheless, morning lessons with Miss Bustier were much preferable to classes with Miss Mendeleiev; Miss Mendeleiev was infamous for her strict regime.

Beginning her lesson, Miss Bustier began to explain the main focus on the lesson. All around students were taking down notes, a few raising hands to answer the starter questions on the whiteboard.

"We'll talk later," Alya promised, whispering as she nudged Marinette with her elbow.

"Yeah," Came the soft reply. "Later."

Marinette

Finally, the school day was nearly over. Half a school day, three lessons spent, and Marinette couldn't help but feel extremely relieved as she and Alya sat down on a bench, enjoying lunch break. To pass the time Alya had suggested flicking through Marinette's sketchbook, looking for things to critique or perhaps even attempt to create in real life. Infamous for half-finished works and prototypes, Marinette had a horrible habit of forgetting about past masterpieces. Often, it was Alya who reminded her, mentioning memories or flicking through the sketchbook herself.

What neither girl expected that lunch break, at least in that moment, was Chloe Bourgeois herself to march up to them, her best friend Sabrina scurrying behind her like a loyal lapdog. Typical for the frigid blonde. Ever since she had befriended Chloe, Sabrina was known to follow her around, completing anything and everything that Chloe requested, even if it wasn't in anyone's best interest apart from Chloe Bourgeois herself.

"Dupain-Cheng," Chloe snipped out, her voice sharp and high-pitched as she glared down at Marinette. Thunderous, stormy, her bright blue eyes blazed with irritation. "We need to talk."

Both Marinette and Alya peered up from the sketchbook, watching as the irate blonde tapped her foot and Sabrina waited timidly beside her, clutching onto both their bags with quivering, thin arms.

"What did I do now, Chloe?" Marinette groaned, rolling her eyes. Oh, she already knew what was wrong; Marinette had been waiting for this moment. But, with Chloe, there was always a problem surrounding Marinette and her behaviours. This issue could be something new, something entirely absurd that Chloe only wanted to bring up to demean her. Or this could be about Adrien - the usual spark of conflict.

"She's probably just upset about something trivial again," Alya muttered, shaking her head as she glanced at Chloe. Careful to keep her voice as a low whisper, the reporter nudged her friend, "You know what she's like."

Nodding, Marinette fixed her attention to the awaiting blonde, "Ok Chloe," She sighed, her voice betraying her fatigue. Closing her sketchbook, Marinette slipped it into her bag for safekeeping. "I don't know what I've done this time but can you leave me alone today. I'm not... up to our usual back-and-forth."

"Please," Chloe rolled her eyes, elongating the words. Perfectly manicured hands resting on her designer-jean-clad hips, Chloe raised a brow. "You know perfectly well what you did, Marinette. You brainwashed Adrien."

"Brainwashed Adrien?" Alya muttered, looking extremely confused alongside Marinette. Frowning, she shook her head, her own outrage evident as she butt into the conversation, standing up from the bench to stand in front of Chloe, "That's got to be the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard! Why would Marinette brainwash Adrien?"

Where would that rumour even start? That was the first question to fill Marinette's mind. But then she would remember the texts, the cryptic threats laced into the vague words sent from the same number each time. That number was where the rumour would start. Crafty and malicious, the person behind those texts wouldn't hesitate to manipulate Chloe, using the vast network of the school's gossip grapevine to get what they needed.

"Because of Marinette, Adrien's spending barely any time with me anymore," Chloe scowled, her hatred not at all concealed as she glowered at Marinette. Glancing at Alya, perfectly styled brows bent with outrage, her snobbish voice quickly snipped out, "In fact he keeps shooting my attempts to meet up down and I know it's because of you."

So that was why Chloe had looked as if she wanted to snap Marinette's body in two. That was why Chloe had been sending vicious glares, burning stares, Marinette's way as if her eyes could do the damage of a thousand, intense lasers. Suddenly, Chloe's prolonged silence was making more sense; suddenly, Marinette was seeing a lot of explanations for the blonde brat's unusual silence. As long as Adrien was around, her beloved best friend, Chloe wouldn't come three feet within Marinette's presence. As long as he could bear witness to her attack, she would do nothing.

Now, though, far away from Adrien, Chloe could act. Filled to the brim with days' worth of annoyance and frustration and outrage, Chloe was ready to burst. After having waited for her chance to strike, she was going to make the most of it; she was going to wound Marinette as deeply as she possibly could.

Panic jolting her heart, Marinette's eyes widened, "Chloe- "

"And if that's not the worst of it," Chloe interjected, completely cutting off Marinette's attempt to redeem herself. No, it was all about her. All about Chloe. No-one else. Two fists balled at her sides, perfectly manicured nails pressing into her well-lotioned palms. "My image has also been tainted."

"What image?" Alya snickered, shoulders shaking with amusement. Sarcasm was evident in her tone as she stood between Chloe and Marinette, acting as an active barrier, "I thought you didn't have one to care about, Chloe?"

"Very funny," Chloe growled out, rolling her eyes. Reducing what little space there was between herself and Alya, she attempted to tower over the confident girl, jabbing a finger into her shoulder. "But I'll have you know Glasses Girl that I do care about how others perceive me. And what Marinette has done is completely unforgivable."

What she had done? What had Marinette done? Last she recalled, the last time she had ever messed with Chloe - if you could even call it that - was when she'd corrected the blonde on the tag sticking out of her cardigan. In the middle of one of Chloe's famous rants, Marinette right at its centre, she had simply pointed out the tag sticking out, reminding Chloe to tuck it in. How could that ruin a reputation? How could that compare to some of the arguably much worse things she had done in the past?

Honestly, Marinette didn't have the foggiest clue.

"Chloe," Marinette began, trying to keep her voice calm and level. Peering from behind Alya, she sighed, "I haven't ruined your image."

"That's a lie," Sabrina piped up, a rare voice to hear in these types of situations. Pulling out her phone, she walked toward Alya, passing it over to the copper-skinned teen to examine. "It's posted all online."

"Online?" Marinette blinked, frowning as Alya passed her the device. Lit up on the screen was a feed for a popular social media that Marinette was well-used to. Often, she used it to share posts about her designs, gathering a few customers online who bought Marinette specials. However, now, she was staring at a dupe account of her own, dozens of posts upon it dedicated to the subject of Chloe Bourgeois and her habits.

Shaking her head, Marinette passed the phone back to Alya, "Chloe, this isn't me."

"What a great defense," Chloe barked out, almost laughing with hysteria. However she soon narrowed her gaze into a critical glare, sharp enough to rival a double-edge blade. "But I know it was you, Marinette Dupain-Cheng. You brainwashed Adrien to hate me with this... this slander! Then you posted it online for the entire world to see." Tears almost seemed to well in her eyes, making her eyeliner appear somewhat watery, "And now I'm going to make you pay for it."

"Over my dead body!" Immediately Alya leaped into place, balling her own fists. "Marinette had nothing to do with this."

"Move out of the way!" Chloe snapped, her body now pressed against Alya's. Firmly in the way, Alya blocked the snippy blonde from her intended target, her body as solid as an unwavering stone. "This is between me and Marinette."

"No it's not," Alya retorted, her hands gripping onto Chloe's arms as the blonde tried to shove her out of the way. "It's between you and me before it even gets to Marinette!"

"I said move!"

Swiftly, it all happened swiftly. One moment they were struggling, Alya's hands wrapped around Chloe's spray-tanned wrists, preventing her from moving further. Chloe was furious, red faced and screeching, blue eyes filled with fury as she scuffled with Alya. Calm, pensive, Alya simply restrained her, frown in place. But, in the next moment everything took a horrible turn. Chloe decided to try and hit Alya. Then in an instant they were tussling with each other, tipping to the side as Chloe pushed a little too far, toppling them both onto the ground, knocking a nearby trash can right onto them.

Landing on her behind, Alya let out a breath. But Chloe, unfortunately, got the brunt of it all. Stinking, fly-filled and sticky, all of the rubbish filling the trash can had toppled right onto her, tangling into her bright blonde hair.

"My hair!" Chloe squealed, the fury draining from her face as her hands flew to her blonde head. Shaking, her fingers fished a silver foil wrapper, crusted with semi-dry jam. "M-My beautiful, well-kept hair!" Tears welled in her eyes. Salty tears, angry tears that matched a horrible snarl. Growling now, Chloe scrunched up the foil, tossing it aside as she stumbled onto her feet and charged toward the bench, looking exactly like a vengeful, chaotic phantom. "Marinette!"

Petrified, Marinette could only stiffen in her seat, muscles and limbs frozen with fear. If there was one rule to follow, one thing to never do, it was to mess with Chloe's hair. Those beautiful blonde locks, maintained with the care of a professional stylist and expensive products, were the only thing Chloe Bourgeois ever seemed to care about. No matter what, you never messed with the hair. Ever. Otherwise you'd unleashed an entirely new hell.

Aware of what was to come, brain panicking with the thought of it all, Marinette all but shrunk in on herself. This was it. Chloe was going to skewer her alive.

"Girls," Miss Mendeleiev. The last person Marinette expected to be her saving grace. Firm and wearing a disapproving frown, the older woman stood between herself and Chloe, her glasses framing the evident scolding in her dark blue eyes. "To the principal's office immediately!"

"But- "

"I don't want to hear it," The teacher remained firm, brows bent with authority. One hand went to rest on her hip, the other pointing toward the metal steps leading up to the first floor, "Office, now."

Releasing a sigh as she gathered her things, Marinette stood up from the bench and followed Alya and Chloe up the metal steps. Muttering under her breath, Alya was no doubt cursing the entire situation, incredulous at how it had resulted in a trip to Mr Damocles. Nose held in the air, Chloe was the complete opposite, head held high despite the rubbish scattered all over her as Sabrina scuttled behind her, both of their bags still in tow.

Just as Marinette was about to go up the steps, she felt a hand grab her wrist. Frowning, she turned to face the offending grabber.

"What happened?" Adrien was glancing at her, concern evident from the crease to his brow. Nodding toward the raging blonde ahead, he added, "I just saw Chloe stomp off with a bunch of trash on her head. Plus Alya didn't look too happy."

Great. Just when today couldn't get any more difficult the universe just had to throw a hurdle at her. Today was bad enough without having to try and shed the awkwardness that exuded between herself and Adrien. Carefully crafted, perfectly followed, Marinette had a plan to ensure that she wouldn't have to interact with Adrien until she was ready to face the reality of actually being with him, actually exposing the secrets and vulnerabilities.

But, the universe always did enjoy spitting in the face of her plans. Why would this be any different?

"Nothing," Marinette sighed, shaking her head as she pulled away from his grasp and began to go up the stairs. Clearly not buying her answer, Adrien followed, his footsteps sending vibrations across the metal steps. Marinette turned to him, "What?"

"Marinette, I've known you for a while now," Adrien told her, a somewhat amused smile playing on his perfect face as he glanced back at her. "I can tell when you're lying. You look to the left." Marinette blushed, focusing on her footsteps instead of him. "What really happened?"

Nearly at the top, her time was running out to clue him into the truth. If she truly wanted to, Marinette could prolong her explanation, use the excuse of Mr Damocles to get out of telling Adrien the definite truth. Past Marinette would do that. Unable to say it all outright, a terrible liar, she would run to the principal's office, bleating out an excuse about being in trouble. But not present Marinette. No, she had told herself that Ladybug would never hurt Chat Noir ever again; Marinette knew that her dishonesty hurt him.

"Chloe was mad about something," Marinette decided to admit part of the truth, biting into her lip as she lingered with Adrien by the top of the steps. Further down the hallway, Alya was lingering with Chloe, both of them watching the interaction. Scratching at her arm, Marinette continued, "Apparently you're not talking to her and I've ruined her image somehow. Alya was trying to protect me."

Understanding seemed to wash over Adrien's face, a hand sheepishly scratching at his blonde head, "Yeah, this is kinda my fault."

"Kind of?" Marinette raised a brow, almost exactly like Ladybug as some of her sarcasm slipped through.

"It's a long story," Adrien sighed, hesitation blatant on his face. Nevertheless, it was swiftly washed away by sheer determination, or perhaps hope, as he grinned at her. "I'll tell you about it later. After... you know."

"So I'm not the only secret keeper," Marinette grinned a little. Slyly, she nudged the blonde model with her elbow. "Good to know."

Laughter filled her ears, joyful, wonderful laughter that she hadn't realised she'd missed in the past few hours. Laughter, she realised, that indicated things were returning to somewhat normal.