Marin opened his eyes feeling a heavy weight on his body. After yesterday's events, he'd immediately crashed on his bed. His clothes were wrinkled, he was still wearing his shoes, and his bed head was at its worst; defying the laws of gravity. Speaking of; "Ah yes, guilt." Marin mumbled to himself trying to pull himself out of bed.

As a shortcut he jumped off the loft in his room, wobbling to his feet he realized that the bags under his eyes had worsened.

Quickly, he washed his face and brushed his teeth, grabbing his bag. It didn't help that in the drawer below him sat Tikki inside the earrings, inside the box, inside the drawer he'd locked her in. For a moment he hesitated before grabbing the miraculous box, placing it at the bottom of his bag before he walked down into the kitchen where his father was pulling something out of the oven, humming a happy tune.

Marin walked towards the door, not particularly hungry that morning. His hand was just on the door hand when his dad easily picked him in and placed in at the kitchen table.

"Hold on there my figlio piccolo, leaving without a freshly baked chocolate croissant?" He asked holding the plate of delicious treats before him.

"Um, not hungry this morning papa-"

"Not hungry?! For papa's croissants?!" Tom gasped, turning away so his son would see the concern rapidly growing on his face. "Are you sure there's not something else wrong? Everything went alright at school yesterday didn't it?"

Marin tried to shove back the memories of yesterday as he reached for a croissant, taking a large bite.

"Ishe gub!"

His father chuckled, placing the plate on the table and handing his son a glass of milk. Both turned to the sudden sound of crashing in the distance. The night hadn't quelled the Stonehearts who were now rampaging around the city. Marin wiped away a milk mustache, looked out of the window towards the heart of the city.

"I know how upsetting and scary this is, but don't worry;" Tom said placing a hand on his shoulder reassuringly. "We've got two superheroes looking out for Paris, and the best way of helping them is to show them that we're not scared because we trust them."

"But what if Ladybug fails?" Marin looked away, uncertain. "There are so many monsters. It's impossible."

"You're forgetting. Ladybug has an equally super-partner, Chat Noir!" Tom said cheerfully, but it only made Marin feel worse. He was chosen to be a hero just as Chat Noir did. But unlike the latter, he would turn tail and abandon his Kwami. It wasn't as though it wasn't justified, it was his fault that the Akuma swarmed across the city. It was his fault that now there were people getting turned into stone monsters. Chat Noir would be better off without him...

"But if those two are out saving the world then I'd come and save you. Super Baker to the rescue!" His dad's words pulled him back to reality. As his dad had a large smile drawn on his face.

A giggled escaped his mouth as he hugged his dad, quickly grabbing another croissant for the road. "I'm leaving now."

"Have a good day son, don't forgot to take the box of macaroons today!" Tom called as he watched his son run down the stairs.

"I will!"

Chat Noir landed behind the school, about an hour before class could begin.

"Plagg, claws in." He said as his Kwami landed in his hands with a yawn.

"You're such a strange kid. Who would want to be at school when he can stay at home all day?"

Adrien shook his head, "You don't get it, Plagg. I've had enough of being shut up at home by my dad and Natalie. I want to meet people and make friends! Go to a normal school like everyone else!"

Plagg simply sighed as he dramatically fell over, feigning starvation. "Uhhh, I think I'm feeling weak…

"You know what's strange?" Adrien sighed in exasperation."The fact that all you eat is this disgusting, rotten-smelling Camembert cheese, and then I have to smell like it 24/7."

Plagg flashed him a cheeky smile," If you want to be able to transform into a superhero, then stinky cheese is the deal, my friend!"

"Ta-Da! The Ladyblog!" Alya remarked as she handed Marin her phone. He saw a page with a ladybug print background against the main article pages. "Bringing you all the latest news about the coolest superhero, Ladybug! How awesome is that?! Check out the number of views since I posted the video!"

Marin's stomach sank at the rising views, now over half a million as he handed back her phone. "I don't see what the big deal is, Hardly anyone saw Ladybug, shouldn't you be making a blog about Chat Noir? After all, he's the real hero here."

Alya shook her head, "Of course he helped out too, and I'm going to be covering him alongside Ladybug. But Ladybug was way more captivating if you ask me."

"What, no way," Marin remarked lamely.

But Alya shook her head, "He's gonna handle 'em. Trust me on this Marin, I'm a pretty good judge of character."

Marin felt the guilt from earlier creep up, he felt like vomiting but even so, pressed on "But what if he's not really cut out to be a superhero even though everyone thinks she is? What if he buckles under the pressure that everyone places on him and if forced to become a recluse while Paris is destroyed?!" His ranting placed him right in front of Alya's face who just stared at him in surprise at her friend's sudden energy. "All I'm saying is maybe you shouldn't have such high expectations for someone that just appeared for about a minute before disappearing.

Alya's expression broke into a soft smile, "What are you...Ohhhh, I get what this is about." For a moment, Marin froze like a deer in the headlights, but Alya scooted closer to him, pulling him into a half hug. "I know you're scared, but don't be! I've seen him with my own two eyes! Ladybug is a true superhero you just have to believe."

"But how do you know what?" Marin questioned.

Alya turned her head towards the main crowd of people gathered around Ivan. He looked uncomfortable with a large group of people asking him questions. "Because of him." She simply said, walking over to him as she dispersed their classmates. While her attention was stolen, Marin slipped the box with the miraculous into her bag.

"Alright, guys let the poor guy have some space!"

Marin was confused for a moment. Ivan was the reason that Alya believed in Ladybug? Sure he'd turned him back from Stoneheart, but he couldn't think of anything else more significant that he had done to him. But even so, he knew that she would do a better job than he ever would. After all, she was everything that he wasn't, confidence went a long way. One thing was for certain, Alya would never be weak enough to give up.

"Once a monster, always a monster." Marin noticed Chloé's voice above the crowd as she mocked poor Ivan who was already stressed. Ivan shot an angered glance at her but walked away from the situation, heading into the locker rooms. "Don't let the door hit you on the way out!" She laughed as Sabrina and a few others followed her up the stairs to their class.

Marin glanced at where Ivan headed, picking up his bag and white box and following after him-

"Ah!" He was suddenly knocked to the ground, the box slipping from his hands once more.

"I'm so sorry!" He heard someone say, but when he looked up he saw the boy from yesterday. Chloé's friend who'd tripped him in class. He was incredibly handsome, with soft blonde locks, fair skin, and gorgeous emerald green eyes. Marin saw him flinch back slightly when he recognized him, but even so, he still offered him a hand.

"ADRIKINS!" Chloé stepped on the box already on the ground, hugging her friend tightly as the boy looked uncomfortable at the sudden contact.

"Excuse me," Marin said quietly as he walked towards the locker room, not noticing the lingering apologetic gaze the boy was giving him.

Adrien suddenly snapped awake as he realized he'd dozed off due to how early he had woken up. Looking at his phone he only had a few minutes before class began and dozens of calls from Natalie.

He quickly deleted the missed called, internally apologizing to his father's secretary and ran to the front of the building.

"Plagg why didn't you wake me up?!" Adrien demanded but got his answer as he saw his Kwami still snoozing in his backpack. He didn't even notice the boy walking in front of him until after he had crashed into him.

"I'm so sorry!" He immediately apologized, but his eyes widened in surprise as he saw who he'd bumped into. It was the boy from yesterday, Marin, who he'd tripped accidentally. Getting a slightly better look he saw that Marin had dark hair, wearing a grey suit. He was unable to discern the boy's reaction to being knocked down by the same person twice within a short amount of time due to the way he kept his face down. But Adrien assumed that he was probably really mad. Even so, he felt a wave of guilt as he saw Marin dropped his white box again. Just as he was about to help him up he heard a familiar voice.

"ADRIKINS!" Chloé called out, running down the stairs and unceremoniously stepping on the box as she trapped him in a tight embrace. Adrien took a step back to balance herself after her impact but keep his eyes trained on Marin as he muttered something under his breath, walking towards the locker room.

"Chloé, it's nice to see you." He automatically said as she smiled up at him, dragging him up the stairs by his arm.

"I know isn't it?" She confirmed.

"Um, Chloé, I need to head to the locker ro-"

"How could you say that to Ivan? You're the real Stoneheart!" Alya scolded angrily as they both entered the classroom. Chloé pulled away from him, stepping in front of Alya as he slipped by, taking his seat next to Nino while the two girls argued.

"Ugh, so I'm the one who broke Sabrina's dad's arm, am I? Just because your footage of those lame superheroes was shown on TV, doesn't mean you have to get so high and mighty.

"You little-" Alya looked furious as Chloé smiled cheerfully, raising her voice to grab the attention of the class.

"Lookout, she's angry! She's going to split her underwear and turn into a huge muscly monster!" She laughed it off as she swatted Alya with her ponytail as she walked past, sitting behind Adrien as he noticed Alya glance in his direction for a moment.

"Man, you've been here two days and you already have girl trouble," Nino commented as a small smile broke out on his face at his own joke.

"So you think you're funny huh?" Adrien asked as he rested his head on his desk.

"Lil' bit." Nino said.

Marin sighed heavily at his most recent encounter with that boy as he stepped into the locker room. But almost immediately forgot as he saw Ivan sitting on the ground, looking down with his headphones on. In his hand, he held a crumpled paper, something that Marin recognized.

He tapped the taller boy's shoulder, grabbing his attention as Ivan took off his headphones. "You know, you should tell Mylène how you feel," Marin recommended as he sat down next to Ivan.

Ivan suddenly grew red as he turned away from Marin. " I… don't know what you're talking about!" He insisted.

Marin rested his head against the locker, "Come on, we've all seen the way you look at her. Even Kim knows." Marin pointed out as he saw Ivan furrow his brow angrily, most likely thinking about yesterday's events. "We both know that Kim's a little doofy, but you know he not malicious." He said placing his hand on Ivan's shoulder. Ivan seemed to relax at Marin's words. "I'm sure that Mylène has feelings for you as well, she's just as shy as you are."

" Mylenes so nice and pretty and sweet," Ivan remarked but still hung his head, uncertain. "I'm no good with words anyway."

"Words are overrated. You could draw her a picture, send her flowers, send her some treats?" Marin remarked picking up his box of macaroons, only half of them were broken. He offered one to Ivan who accepted one of the non broken ones. His eyes lit up as he tasted one, licking his lips for the crumbs as he took another.

"I could… write her a song?" He suggested and Marin couldn't help but feel at ease as he saw Ivan's eye twinkle with some hope.

"That's a great idea! Who wouldn't want a love song written especially for her? Something that only you can make from the heart. Go for it, Ivan!" Marin stood up, offering Ivan a hand as the taller boy pulled him in for a quick hug.

"Thank you Marin!" Ivan scurried off, excited, leaving Marin with a small smile on his face.

Adrien was looking through his textbook as he saw Chloé and Sabrina hanging around the desk next to his. He caught Chloé placed something on the seat as the two girls giggled. "Hey! What's that all about?" Adrien asked as Nino shrugged his shoulders.

"Probably another one of their pranks." His friend remarked as he placed his headphones back on. Nearby, Adrien saw that Alya was waiting at the door and he put two and two together.

Almost immediately he stood up. " Chloé this isn't right." He remarked as she turned towards him.

"Who cares, it's funny." She lightly remarked, stepping aside as the teacher stepped in.

"Alright class, take your seats."

Adrien faltered as he saw Alya walk back, sighing in relief as he sat out of the proximity of the gum. But then Alya caught his attention as she waved towards someone. He turned to see Marin walk past him, smiling At Alya and the empty seat beside her. He immediately stood up trying to stop him but was too late as Marin quickly sat down, placing his dented box on the desk.

"Huh?"

He felt bad as he could see Marin stand back up trying to take the gum off of his pants but to no avail as it was too sticky. He turned towards Chloé and Sabrina hearing them laughing behind him as their classmate fell for the joke intended for Alya.

"See? Is that hilarious Adrien?" Chloé asked as he could see Marin side glance him. He couldn't say anything as Marin only sighed sitting back down as Alya seemed to console him.

"Now do you see what I mean by respect?" Chloé asked as Adrien couldn't help but feel an anger spark in the pit on his stomach.

He knew better, his mother taught him as much.

"Agreste, Adrien?"

Nino jabbed his side gently, " Dude."

"Uh, present!" He reflexively stood up, but almost immediately grew flushed as almost all the other students laughed.

Marin perked up at the sound of the boys' last name. "I know that name…" he took out his phone, trying to tap through the cracked screen, but to no avail as it no longer registered his touch.

"Dang it…"

Alya instead placed her phone in front of him, and immediately he recognized the great Gabriel Agreste and current classmate standing next to each other.

He then planted his head on his desk in defeat. "Of course one of Chloes new minions is the son of the great Gabriel Agreste." Marin grimaces as he glanced at the handsome boy sitting a few feet away.

Alya hummed for a moment looking through more pictures. "Daddy's boy, teen supermodel, AND Chloé's buddy? Ha! Forget it ever making friends with that guy."

"Why didn't you tell them it was Chloé's idea?" Nino whispered as Adrien lifted his head, the guilt still evident on his face.

"I've known Chloé since I was a little kid. I know she's not perfect, but I can't throw her under the bus. She's like my only friend." Adrien admitted slumping down in his seat.

"Dude, it's time for you to make some new friends." He and Adrien fist-bumped as a smile broke out on both of their faces.

"Bourgeois, Chloé?"

"Present!"

"Bruel, Ivan?"

Suddenly Stoneheart erupted through the door enters, sending panic through the classroom. "Mylène!" He easily grabbed the smaller girl, who was yelling out frantically for help.

"Let go of me, Ivan!" Mylène pleaded, but it fell on deaf ears.

"I'm not Ivan anymore. I'm Stoneheart!"

Ivan, now Stoneheart grabbed Chloé as well, making another hole leading outside of the classroom and heading onto the streets.

"Come on! Let's follow him!" Alya immediately said, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.

Marin just stared at her, "You're kidding right?!"

Alya simply shrugged him off, "C'mon, you're gonna miss Ladybug in action!"

Marin faltered as his friend mentioned that name, instead, he picked up her bag, holding it out towards her. "You and Ladybug will both be better off without me." He said, feeling as though he was holding the weight of the world in his hands. But he knew that Alya would be capable, and Tikki would be a good mentor for whatever she lacked. After all, she was patient with-

"If you say so!" Alya called out, leaving Marin to watch as she sprinted out of the room at great speed.

For a few moments, he was stunned before realizing he had to run after her.

Chat Noir sat atop the school looking down at his target, Stoneheart and his two captives. With luck, perhaps he could get him to release the two girls then when Ladybug showed up. The two could think up a plan together. He jumped down, stabbing his baton where Mylène was captured, trying to use his weapon as leverage to open the monster's grip, but to no avail. As instead, Stoneheart only grew larger with the impact.

"Oh no. My bad." He flashed a sheepish grin as he tried to evade Stonehearts attacks.

"Ugh. Are you actually a superhero or are you just super incompetent!?"Chloé demanded as Chat Noir scowled at her.

"You wanted the cavalry? Well, here it is!" Stoneheart summoned his minions, all of whom began to corner Chat Noir, throwing everything in sight and causing chaos.

"If you can hear me, Ladybug, I could use a little help!" He called out.

"What's that guy waiting for?" Alya murmured as she sat far to close to the chaos. Marin stood atop the stairs of the school, spotting his friend, but from his angle also seeing that a Stone figure was throwing cars. One of them was about to crash into his friend. Marin was frozen, unable to react. He could see the entire world slow down as a car fell towards his friend. Not knowing what else to do Marin shut his eyes, grasping the strap on his messenger bag. But a loud bang caught his attention as the car flew past in.

He opened his eyes to see the hero from yesterday Chat Noir, kneeling near Alya. Immediately he ran to his friends' side.

" Alya!" He called, grabbing their attention as Alya smile in relief and Chat Noir turned away his back to the two.

" I'm alright." She insisted as she showed that there were no major wounds on her body. Marin looked up to Chat Noir about to leave but was stopped by Marin grasping to his hand for a moment. Surprising the Hero as he turned back with widened eyes.

" How can you do that? Act so heroically like that?" Marin asked absentmindedly. It was as his body moved on his own, wanting to know how someone like him could be so courageous.

For a moment Chat Noir hesitated, looking at Marin for the first time. He wasn't Adrien, the kid that an accomplice to his bullying, he was a superhero. Chat Noir's expression softened as a little of his guilt slipped through his words. "If people like us do nothing, then the bad guys win, right?" He said, as a matter of fact, like, but it was apparent that he was trying to avoid eye contact.

As Chat Noir saw Marin's eyes light up slightly at his words, something deep down made the hero smile, even though he didn't deserve to feel this kind of pride. He placed his hand on the taller boy's shoulder. "You two get out of here, I'll handle this!" He exclaimed, prepared to face the stone beings head-on, spinning his baton in his hand.

" What about Ladybug?!" Marin called, as Chat Noir turned around at the sound of his voice. " What if he doesn't show up?" He asked hesitantly.

He smiled confidently, " No worries, I trust my partner." He called out, leaving his two classmates behind to protect the city.

Marin looked in awe at the blonde-haired hero, jumping across rooftops. It was plain to see that someone like him didn't need any help from someone like him. Luckily, Alya would probably-

" Where there's Chat Noir, there'll be Ladybug!" Alya called as she grabbed her bike.

" What?! You're not serious are you?!" He asked as Alya put on her helmet.

" Blame the reporter in me." She lightly teased as she pedaled after the chaos, leaving him alone.

Marin fought the urge to slap his forehead but simply sighed. A determined expression was drawn on his face as he reached into Alyas bag quickly making sure the no one was around and put on the earrings. He was relieved to see Tikki appear before him with a bright smile on her face. "I knew you'd come around!"

Marin looked her in the eye with newfound resolve. "I've hesitated long enough. Tikki, spots on!"

Chat Noir scanned the tower for Ivan spotting something being thrown. Without hesitation the hero jumped to intercept the person, landing up with Chloé in his arms.

" I didn't promise." She said and confusion burst on his face as he helped her to her feet. She immediately ran over to her father as the police officer yelled out.

"We're clear to attack!"

He immediately turned towards the police, calling out "From experience, that's a really bad idea!" He called out.

"I have a new plan, unlike you! Move aside and let the pros do their thing. You've already failed once!"

Chat Noir winced back at this truth. But before he could respond, all eyes were on the hundreds of Akuma's erupting from Stonehearts mouth. All of them taking shape of a face of a sinister-looking villain.

"People of Paris, listen carefully. I am Hawk Moth."

"Hawk Moth?" Chat Noir questioned as he looked on.

"Ladybug, Cat Noir, give me the ladybug earrings and the cat ring, you've already done enough damage to these innocent people."

" You see?!" The officer yelled as he held up his walkie talkie. " Stand by on my order-"

" Hold on! Chat Noir pleaded, but his breath escaped him as he heard clapping turning to see Ladybug walk towards the giant hoard of Akuma and their new named foe: Hawkmoth.

"Nice try, Hawk Moth, but let's not reverse the roles here." Ladybug said in a loud clear voice that the entire world seemed to listen to. "Without you, none of these innocent people wouldn't have been transformed into villains. Without you and your evil, those children would be in class right now instead of being afraid for their lives. Mark my words we will find you and YOU'LL be the one to hand us YOUR Miraculous!"

Chat Noir watched in amazement as Ladybug swiftly jumped above the gathering of butterflies using his yo-yo, falling into the swarm. For a second he was worried, then only moments later every single butterfly was captured, and Ladybug was standing atop the tower.

"Paris, please allow me to make this promise you all a promise. No matter what comes, Ladybug and Cat Noir will always do everything within our power to keep you safe!" Erupted from his yo-yo was the captured butterflies, dispersing all throughout Paris before disappearing.

Cat Noir's mouth was agape in pure awe. This was his partner, someone who he realized he would be fighting crime alongside for a long time. For once he had no words as he witnessed the purified Akuma fly around the city in white light before disappearing.

" Help me!"

Chat Noir suddenly snapped to attention as he heard his classmates' cries. He used his baton to close the distance between himself and the tower seeing Ladying making his way up as well.

"You'll never take Mylène from me! Come to me, my stone beings!" Stoneheart called out as he assessed the tower with Mylène in hand.

He landed near to the black-spotted hero as both narrowly evaded the stone beings now climbing the tower. The two of them stood atop one of the platforms as they regrouped, assessing the situation.

"We're completely surrounded." Chat Noir noted as he saw an entire city of stone being heading towards them. "What do we do now? We can't attack him. The Akuma is in his fist like last time. But we can't get to it without him letting go of that girl. So…" He looked towards Ladybug for some kind of input. He saw his partner entirely focused, narrowing his eyes as he placed on left hand over his mouth, while his other was under his elbow.

His eyes then lit up as he turned towards him with a playful smirk.

"We give him exactly what he wants." Ladybug finished his thought as he used his yo-yo to bungee up the tower.

Cat Noir was stunned for a moment before excitement overtook him. "Not really following you, but something tells me that this is how it's gonna be from here on out.

Ladybug landed atop the base of the top of the tower as Chat followed.

" Cover me?" Ladybug requested as Chat Noir nodded, pulling out his baton.

" Leave it to me." He remained behind as Ladybug pressed forward, reaching the peak of the tower and getting a clear shot at Stoneheart and Mylène.

"How are you planning to get them closer than they already are?!" Chat called out as he tried to keep the focus of the stone beings on himself rather than his partners'.

Ladybug pulled out his yo-yo, throwing it over his head. "Lucky Charm!" He called and something fell into his hands. "A parachute?" He suddenly flinched turning around to see Chat Noir being almost thrown off the tower. Quickly he caught him with his yo-yo, pulling him back to safety right next to him placing an arm around his waist to steady him.

"You sure you know what you're doing?!" He asked, but his only response was Ladybug spinning his yo-yo again.

"Trust me."

Ladybug threw his yo-yo again around Stone's head and hand, pulling it so that the two classmates kissed. Almost immediately Stoneheart was shaken by the contact, losing his grip on both the tower and her. Cat Noir then jumped down knocking up the Akumatized paper with his staff into Ladybug's grasp; breaking it in his hand. He watched as the Akuma flew towards the sky for a moment, "That's enough mischief little butterfly." quickly catching the Akuma with his yo-yo before he jumped after his friends in free fall.

"Chat, Mylène!" He called out as he focused on Ivan.

" On it!" Cat Noir called, activating his power and securing himself and Mylène, now only able to watch as Ladybug and Ivan still fell.

Ladybug narrowed his eyes, using his yo-yo to pull Ivan towards him, keeping him secure as Ladybug pulled the cord of the parachute. "Bye-bye, little butterfly." Ladybug said as his yo-yo opened and a white butterfly flew away. They landed safely as Ladybug detached the parachute and the yo-yo as Ivan fell over, clearly shaken up. "Miraculous Ladybug!" He threw the Lucky charm into the air and its energy dispersed into groups of glowing ladybugs flying throughout the city and returning the stone people to normal and undid the damage done during the battle.

Chat Noir and Mylène landed nearby as Chat Noir used his baton to lower them to the ground carefully. As they touched the ground, Mylène was still winded from the day's events so she caught her breath. He looked up to see Ladybug's magic of creation flying throughout the city in amazement. His gaze was lingered down to where his partner was kneeling down next to Ivan as the black-spotted hero caught that Ivan turned his head away shyly as he caught Mylène's gaze.

"Remember what I said yesterday?" Ladybug asked, re-handing the paperback to Ivan. "You shouldn't be ashamed of how you feel."

"Oh, uh… I… Uh…" Ivan stumbled over his words but calmed down as Ladybug placed his hand over his.

"Maybe it would help if you simply gave her the poem?" He suggested as he gave the taller boy the push he needed. He looked fondly at the two as Mylène read the note, smiling up at him as both of them blushed softly, then hugged.

Ladybug turned away, spinning his yo-yo, preparing to leave the scene.

"So, they're so made for each other, huh?" Chat Noir asked as he rested his hand on his baton as his miraculous beeped. "Maybe like us two?"

Ladybug didn't respond.

"You're not much of a talker, are you? That's alright I'll talk enough for the both of us." He held out his hand for a fist bump. "I look forward to working with you in the future, partner."

Ladybug looked back towards him, for a moment it looked like he was smiling. But he couldn't tell as the hero reciprocated his gesture, flying off as Chat ran in the other direction with a smile.

"Until we meet again, Ladybug."

"So, by the time I went to the Eiffel Tower, it was all over. I'm way bummed." Alya groaned as she grasped Marin's arm, both walking into the classroom.

Marin chuckled as he handed her a fresh chocolate croissant. "Don't worry. You'll get your scoop eventually."

Alya perked up, "You're right. Next target: Ladybug, an exclusive interview! Man, this is really good!" She remarked taking a bite of the pastry.

Marin shot her a smile

"Oh, wait! Even better: finding out who's really under that mask-"

Suddenly he felt uneasy. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves." Marin abruptly said as Alya wrapped her arm around his shoulder, pulling him into a half hug.

"You've disobeyed me a number of times now Adrien." Gabriel scolded as Adrien grasped his jeans. He sat in the car next to Natalie with his bodyguard driving. They were parked right in front of the school building as students walked together happily. "Take a look at that school. You will never, I say, never go back there again..."

Adrien complied, glancing towards the place where he desperately wanted to be. Awaiting for him to say the word, and then he'd be locked behind walls for the rest of his adolescent life.

"Without your bodyguard." Adrien immediately lifted his head, unable to believe what he was hearing. "He will drop you off and pick you off every day. Nathalie has offered to organize your a new schedule. You'll be continuing your music, Chinese, and fencing classes and your photoshoots.

Adrien smiled in relief, "Thank you, Nathalie. Thank you, Father!" he said before grabbing his backpack and then running inside the school, sincerely happy for the first time in a long while.

Marin glanced at his original seat just as Alya and he were about to walk past.

"Marin?" Alya turned towards him but soon smiled as she saw what he was doing; following in suit. The two friends taking a seat right behind where Nino and Adrien's desks were.

"Uhh… You're in the wrong seat. Go on, get lost!" Chloé demanded as Sabrina mirrored her friend's frustration.

Marin shook his head. "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil, is that good people do nothing."

Chloé shot him a bewildered expression. "What the heck is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that I'm not putting up with your terrible personality anymore, Chloé, and neither is anyone else around here. So take a seat before you make yourself look even worse if that's even possible." The class erupted with giggles as Chloé complied angrily.

Alya rested her hand on Marin's shoulder as the two smiled at each other, but the good mood soon faded as Adrien walked into the room. When he spotted Marin he waved with a small smile. But was visibly disheartened as he looked away and Alya glared at him.

Adrien's former happy mood turned sour as he sat down next to Nino, who nudged his side.

"Dude, you wanna make friends, right? Well, go talk to Marin. You know, about literally every interaction you've had with him?"

"But what should I say?" He asked.

"Just be yourself." Nino advised, but his words made Adrien frown.

"Nino, that's how I got in this situation in the first place. I literally made him crush his cookies among other things."

"Look," Nino turned towards him, pulling him close by placing a hand on his shoulder. "Marin is like one of the nicest dudes you will ever meet. Seriously, one time when I got the flu he took notes and helped me with my homework for the entire time so I wouldn't miss anything. He wasn't even mad that I got him sick for like 2 weeks afterward. Just be sincere, say you're sorry, and if you get forgiveness from him chances are Alya won't be giving you the stink eye either. But be careful, he has a way of making you avoid apologizing, don't fall for it."

"Okay?

After class Alya went ahead, leaving Marin to stand before a heavy wave of rain. He sighed heavily if he made a break for it then maybe he could run home and take a hot shower before he could get sick. Then again, with his luck he'd probably trip over everything in sight and still be out for half a year.

"Hey."

Marin turned to see Adrien standing nearby holding an umbrella. He turned away, uncertain of what to say.

" I've never been to school before. I've never had friends. So it's all sort of new to me, and I guess I was just swept along.I just wanted you to know that I'm-"

"It's alright."

"Huh?" Adrien was taken off guard as Marin buttoned up his jacket, popping his collar and rolling down the sleeves as though he were trying to repel the cold.

"I saw you try to apologize for those last few times even though they were accidents. And the thing with the gum, even I could tell that Chloé had a hand in it. Don't worry about it, I'm used to this kinda stuff."

"Yeah." Adrien nodded for a moment he was mesmerized at this person standing before him. Even though there was no light the rain seemed to illuminate Marin's figure, in a way where he could tear his eyes away from.

"I'll see you later."

But the boy's words snapped him out of his daze, quickly he grabbed his hand reflexively. He felt a jolt of surprise from Marin as he turned back, his eyes widened in surprise. With his other hand, he shielded Marin from the rain that he was about to step into, both of them now standing under the umbrella.

"What I did wasn't alright. No matter what you say, I shouldn't have walked away when you needed help. I..." Adrien faltered for a moment, turning his head away before placing Marin's hand on the umbrella, handing it off to him. "I'm going to try to be better because I don't want you to be used to this kind of treatment."

Marin simply glanced at him as he took a step back, for a brief moment they glanced at each other fondly before it was interrupted by the umbrella closing on Marin's head. Adrien tried to hold back his laughter but couldn't, also seeing the briefest of smiles on Marin's face as it turned red with embarrassment as he tried to fix the umbrella.

Adrien walked down the stairs but turned back towards him with a hopeful smile on his face. "I hope you won't think badly of me if I tried my best to be your friend." He then placed his hands in his pocket, walking towards his ride.

Tikki hovered near Marin's face with a playful smile on her face. "I know that look!" She boldly proclaimed as Marin's face ran even more red.

"What? What are you talking about?!" He demanded as Tikki hugged his cheek.

"First day of school and we already have two lovebirds." Plagg remarked as he peaked through Adrien's collar.

Adrien shook his head, "Don't be silly Plagg, he's just a friend." For a moment Adrien smiled to himself and blushing a the word as he couldn't help but be more clutch the hand that recently had just touched Marin's. "An actual friend…" just as he walked towards the car.

Unbeknownst to the two teenagers, a familiar old man was standing nearby under the rain with a smile on his face and a green Kwami hovering nearby.

"Excellent choice, Master." The Kwami complimented as the old man lifted his umbrella.

He nodded thoughtfully. "Indeed, those two were certainly made for each other."

Notes:

If ya can't tell, in my fic Chat Noir admires Ladybug and really wants to be his friend.

But also, Ladybug admires Chat Noir and feels like a lesser hero around him. Because Chat Noir is really cool.

Marin was indifferent towards Adrien but now is smitten because Adrien is actually a kind-hearted person.

And Adrien wants to be Marin's friend.

Also, Tom is a really loving Dad, a top tier dad, that fact cannot be disputed.