On his way to class, Andreas got a surprise when he was accosted by a couple of familiar faces:

"Andreas, great job standing up to Chloé!" Adrien gave a thumbs up.

Kagami smiled. "Indeed, I'd never seen anyone stand up to her in such a way."

Marinette gave a thumbs-up as well. "And you did it without lifting a finger!"

"Just curious:" said an aqua-haired boy accompanying Marinette. "What did she get?"

"I'll tell ya, but first, please introduce yourself to me."

The boy smiled. "I'm Luka Couffaine!"

Andreas blinked. "Say, are ya related to Juleka at all?"

"Of course; she's my twin sister!"

Andreas smiled. "Well then, it's nice to meet ya!"

Andreas and Luka shook hands.

"Anyways, to answer your question: Chloé got suspended for three days."

Marinette gasped as her eyes widened. "Oh no, that means she could be akumatized!"

Andreas scratched his head. "Say what?"

"There's this evil villain called Hawk Moth who preys on negative emotions and uses magical butterflies called 'akumas' to turn people into villains! Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get home; family emergency. See you again!"

Adrien smiled nervously. "I have to get going too!"

"Me too," said Kagami.

"Same here!" said Luka.

The four amigos ran off, making Andreas wonder what the heck was going on.

(They're hiding something. I'm not sure what, but I'll find out sooner or later.)

Andreas moved on when…

"Hey Andreas!"

Andreas turned around and saw Lila standing behind him.

"Oh, hey Lila!" Andreas waved at Lila. "What's up?"

"I saw what went down between you and Chloé at lunch. Standing up to her like that was hot."

(Oh great, now ANOTHER girl likes me? God, I don't know what to do!)

Despite not being sure how to handle Lila, Andreas put a smile on and did his best to respond:

"Thanks! To be honest, I didn't wanna hit her, but at the same time, I wasn't gonna lie down and let her walk all over me."

"Oh, I totally understand! Besides, I never liked that bitch."

"Really?"

"After what she once did to my boyfriend, I decided she was on my bad list."

(She already has a boyfriend? Then why did she use the word "hot" with me? Maybe Marinette's right, but I should also dig further into this…) "Listen, Lila, I'd love to talk about this with ya some more, but I gotta go to the bathroom. See ya!"

"OK!"

Andreas waved at Lila as he walked out of school at a brisk pace.

After ducking behind a nearby bush…

"Cobbs, venom ready!"

After turning into King Cobra, Andreas ran away from the school, hoping to find out just where the heck Adrien, Marinette, Kagami and Luka had gone off to. He didn't have to run far when he heard a sound like somebody had left a bunch of weedwhackers running at the same time. As he turned a corner, he saw Cat Noir and Ladybug again, only they were accompanied by two unfamiliar heroes. All four of them were battling a female villain accompanied by a horde of wasps.

(OH NO, I am NOT messing with her!)

Being afraid of wasps, King Cobra hoofed it out of there, but not without having another thought:

(Ladybug and Cat Noir…I didn't get the greatest of looks at them, but they looked VERY familiar. Could they…are they REALLY Marinette and Adrien? HA! Knew it! And those other two heroes had to be Kagami and Luka! They can't fool me!)

Despite having found out Adrien's, Marinette's, Kagami's and Luka's secrets, King Cobra vowed to keep it that way. They were heroes, after all, and it would be unbecoming of him to reveal their secrets. King Cobra's train of thought, however, was interrupted:

"HELP! Somebody help!"

"Shut up, bitch! Pierre, you keep a lookout while I do her!"

King Cobra turned around just in time to see a woman being dragged into an alley, so he headed there, only for a tall guy with black hair to stop him:

"Nothing to see here, pal. Move along!"

King Cobra grabbed Pierre by the throat and jammed one of his Model 29s into his jawbone. "I'll bet."

King Cobra shoved Pierre against one of the walls in the alley, and the latter attempted to scream for his partner in crime:

"Julien, get over here! This psycho's gonna get me!"

The other guy – Julien, a shorter redhead – stopped short of pulling down the woman's pants and headed for King Cobra with a knife, only to get a .44 Magnum round right in the heart. As Julien crumpled lifelessly to the ground, King Cobra saw Pierre attempting to run, so he shot him in the back. Pierre survived, but was left to claw his way across the sidewalk.

"Please don't kill me!" cried Pierre. "PLEASE DON'T KILL ME! I'LL DO ANYTHING!"

"I'm sorry, did that hurt?"

King Cobra raised one of his Model 29s and finished Pierre off with another shot. He turned around to see the victim behind him.

"Ma'am, are you OK?"

Rather than responding affirmatively, the woman ran away screaming. King Cobra knew he had to get out of there, so he did so, but not without some bystanders seeing him…

Fortunately, Andreas managed to make it back to school and de-transform without anybody being the wiser. On the other hand, a certain other girl couldn't help but speak to him about something else:

"Andreas, I wanted to tell you something, but you ran off!" said Rose.

"Sorry, I really had to go to the bathroom. What's up?"

Rose clasped her hands together and held them up to her chin. "Well, I just wanted to tell you how much I admire you for standing up to Chloé and not lifting a finger! That was so cool!"

Andreas smiled. "Oh, thank you! Like I was tellin' Lila, I didn't want to hit Chloé – hell, I don't like hittin' women in general – but at the same time, I couldn't let her walk all over me, ya know?"

"Oh, of course!"

"Anyways, it's nice seeing you again!"

"Same here! By the way, mind if I ask you a question?"

Andreas nodded. "Go ahead."

"May I please walk back home with you?"

Andreas smiled. "Oh…of course!"

After the school bell rang, Andreas and Rose walked on home together, only to be joined by somebody else:

"Hey Andreas!" said Lila. "You didn't forget about me, did you?"

Andreas blushed. "Oh no, of course not! Rose, you don't mind if Lila joins us, do you?" (I can't believe I'm walking home with TWO GIRLS!)

"Not at all!" said Rose.

And so, Andreas proceeded to walk home with Rose and Lila. While doing so made him feel nervous, he was also excited to be walking home with them, having never walked home with a girl before, never mind two.

"So, got any plans for after school, Andreas?" asked Lila.

Andreas shrugged. "Not much. I'm actually gonna visit this bakery that one of our classmates told me about."

Rose gasped. "You know about Marinette's bakery TOO!? OH MY DAMN CHERRY BLOSSOMS!* Can I go with you?"

Despite not being used to walking with two girls, Andreas smiled. "Sure! Lila, ya wanna join us?"

"I wish I could, but I have homework I have to get caught up on. See you tomorrow!"

"Bye!"

Andreas and Rose waved at Lila as they broke off near the same street that Lila went down the last time. Meanwhile, Rose had a question for Andreas:

"Andreas…are you sure about having Lila accompany us?"

"Rose, Marinette told me about her as well, and I understand your hesitation, but allow me to say this: thus far, she's done nothing bad to me. Even so, if she does try anything funny, rest assured I won't take any crap from her."

Rose smiled. "I understand. I'm just trying to watch out for you."

Andreas smiled. "Right."

That aside, Andreas and Rose headed back to the Tom & Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie, and when they stepped inside, a heady, sweet smell greeted their noses, and a vast array of sweets graced their eyes. To say that Andreas was like a kid in a candy store was not only an accurate statement, but even an understatement as well. After the initial shock wore off, Andreas went to browse the various sweets with Rose.

"Well, hello there! I don't believe I've seen you before…"

Andreas paused to see who'd addressed him: mannin the front counter was a petite Asian woman with short blue hair and gray eyes, who was a bit shorter than Marinette. She wore a white Cheongsam with a red/black/gold plant design, periwinkle pants and white dress shoes. She smiled when she saw Andreas.

"Hi! My name is Andreas Sniegowski; I'm a new friend of Marinette's who just moved here from America. You must be Marinette's mother."

"Nice to meet you, Andreas! Call me Sabine!"

Andreas smiled. "Nice to meet you too!"

"Hey Andreas! Hey Rose!"

Marinette waved at both of them.

"Oh, hey Marinette!" Andreas waved at Marinette. "So, this is your parents' bakery, huh?"

"Yep!"

Andreas stroked his chin. "Well, I gotta say, all this stuff looks good; I'm not sure what I should choose."

"I know!" Rose held her fists up to her chin. "It all looks so good!"

"Well Andreas, if I may make a suggestion, why not try the macaroons?" said Marinette. "They're my specialty!"

Andreas nodded. "OK, I'll take a box of those, plus some chocolate-chip cookies and oatmeal raisin cookies if ya got any."

"We do, right over here…"

Marinette led Andreas to where the cookies were, and Rose followed. After Andreas took the items he wanted, and Rose took a couple of items herself, they headed back to the front counter.

"Find everything you were looking for?" asked Sabine.

Andreas nodded. "I think so."

"Hey Sabine, looks like we got a new customer!"

The man who made that statement was a tall, stocky, brown-haired man with green eyes, large sideburns and a moustache. He wore a white baker's cap, matching polo shirt, a blue apron around his waist, white/light blue checkered pants and brown dress shoes. Andreas focused his attention on him as Sabine was cashing his items and Rose's items.

"I am, and you must be Marinette's father."

"My name is Tom. It's nice to meet you…Andreas, was it?"

"Nice to meet you too!"

Andreas paid for his items as well as Rose's items.

"Tom, Sabine, it was nice meeting you both, but I really gotta get goin'," said Andreas. "You'll definitely be seein' more of me around here, though!"

"Have a nice day!" said Sabine and Tom."

"You too!"

Andreas and Rose waved at them and headed out, but not before running into Marinette again.

"Leaving so soon?" asked Marinette.

"Yeah, I gotta go to the grocery store," said Andreas. "I'm makin' a surprise for the whole class tomorrow!"

Rose excitedly shook her fists. "OH MY DAMN CHERRY BLOSSOMS! I can't wait!"

Marinette smiled. "I'm looking forward to it, too! Have a nice day!"

"You too!"

Andreas and Rose waved at Marinette before heading out the door, where they ran into Adrien and Kagami again.

"Hey Adrien! Hey Kagami!" said Andreas.

"Hey, Andreas!" Adrien waved at them both. "I see you found Marinette's bakery!"

"Yeah, it wasn't too hard to find. What brings you two here?"

"Adrien and I were going to get some sweets for a picnic we're having this weekend," said Kagami.

"Sounds fun!" said Rose. "By the way, Andreas is bringing a surprise to class tomorrow!"

Adrien smiled. "Oh really? I can't wait!"

Kagami smiled as well. "I too am intrigued. However, we mustn't delay any further. Have a nice day, Andreas and Rose."

"You too!"

Andreas and Rose moved on.

"Listen, Rose, I gotta head to the grocery store to pick up a few things," said Andreas. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow, honey!"

Andreas and Rose parted ways.

After stopping at the nearest Carrefour grocery store, Andreas finally made it home.

"We missed you, boo!"

Alicia gave Andreas a big hug and a kiss on the cheek, which he gladly returned.

"Where were ya?" asked James.

"I was doing a little shopping," replied Andreas. "I wanted to pick up some treats for you folks and some stuff for my friends."

"Aw, how sweet of you!" said Alicia. "Supper's on the counter!"

Andreas found a plate of roast beef with mashed potatoes and gravy. After packing his stuff in the proper places, he grabbed his food and a can of Dr. Pepper, after which he had supper and did his homework.

Once Andreas finished his homework and his supper, he grabbed a cooking pot and began preparing his special surprise for Miss Bustier's class, namely his famous fudge. He'd made his fair share of it back in the States, and it had always been a hit with friends and family. In particular, there was an older guy he once knew, a US Army veteran who used to live in Cape Cod who'd tried his fair share of fudge and said that Andreas' was among the better ones he'd tried. To prepare this fudge, he started off by putting two and a half cups of sugar in the pot, along with half a stick of butter, about five ounces of evaporated milk, a 7 ½ ounce jar of Marshmallow Fluff – which he was lucky to find in France – and a dash of salt. After setting the stove on low heat, he proceeded to mix those five ingredients together. During this time, James came to see him:

"Hey, how was school?"

"Not too bad." Andreas continued mixing the ingredients.

"Make any new friends?"

"Plenty."

"See? I told ya this would work out! I know ya have anxiety and all, but I'm proud of ya for handlin' it well!"

Andreas nodded. "Right."

"What are ya makin'?"

"My famous fudge. I'll give ya a piece if ya stop askin' so many questions."

James made a gentle pushing motion. "OK, OK, I won't bother ya too much."

Andreas returned to making his fudge.

(Seriously, I love Pop, but he's too chatty sometimes.)

Once the fudge was done, Andreas poured it into a disposable square cake pan and put the whole batch in the fridge. Then, he proceeded to let Cobbs out of his pouch.

"Ah, hello Andreas! What's on your mind?"

"Cobbs, there's this girl at my school, and she keeps touching me and calling me 'honey'. I think she likes me, and I wanna ask her out, but at the same time, I wanna be sure she really does like me."

"Well, why not just ask her out? What have you got to lose?"

"I mean, what if she says 'no'?"

"If she says no, it's not the end of the world! You'll find somebody else; I know you will! Besides, the way you talked about her, it seems like your chances with her are very good."

Andreas clenched his fist as a look of raw determination etched itself onto his face. "Right, I'll do it!"

Cobbs smiled. "That's the spirit!"

Andreas smiled as well. He was looking forward to seeing Rose again. In the meantime, he turned on the TV, which was tuned to the news:

"Don't be bemused, it's just the news! I'm Nadja Chamack. In today's top news story, a strange figure in black has been seen on the streets of Paris, and two bodies were found in the vicinity of Françoise Dupont High School. Is this man a hero or a villain? We asked various people for their opinions.

"I think this guy's a hero!" said a redheaded woman with wavy hair. "Those two were probably no-good punks anyhow!"

"This guy is an absolute menace!" said an older, balding man with glasses. "He murdered those two in cold blood, and he deserves to be locked up!"

"I personally don't know what to think of this guy," said a younger man with long hair. "I wanna believe he's a hero, but I dunno."

"Whether he's a hero or a villain remains to be seen, but one thing's for sure: Paris will never be the same after his appearance."

Andreas smiled.

(Oh, you bet it won't be the same, 'cause I'll clean up all that filth!)

*Once again, the phrase "OH MY DAMN CHERRY BLOSSOMS" is a registered trademark of KagamiPINKAgreste, used with permission.

FUDGE RECIPE:

INGREDIENTS:

*2 1/2 cups sugar
*Half a stick of butter
*5 ounces evaporated milk
*1 7-ounce jar of marshmallow cream
*A dash of salt
*1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
*1 12-ounce bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

1. Combine the sugar, butter, milk, marshmallow cream and salt in a cooking pot and stir over low heat until well-blended.

2. Turn the stove to medium heat and let the mixture sit for a few minutes**.

3. Stir the mixture for at least five minutes, or until it passes the "softball test"**.

4. Remove the pot from the heat, add the vanilla extract and chocolate, and stir until well-blended.

5. Pour the mixture into a greased 8x8" cake pan, let cool, cut into squares, serve and enjoy!

**Stove times will vary. On my stove, I let the mixture sit for seven minutes before stirring. When I say that the mixture should pass the "softball test", pour a little bit into a bowl of cold water. It shouldn't be too soft or too hard. If it's too soft, keep cooking. If it's too hard, you messed up.

Criticism is gold. Negativity and nitpicking are pyrite.