Marin panicked as he was running late, again, for class, skidding to a step just as he reached the door. Unluckily however, it appeared that Adrien was in the same boat as they bumped into each other.

"Oh, sorry," They both said at the same time, nervously chuckling as Adrien allowed Marin to walk into the classroom fist, but both were stunned by the new class layout as the first row was free.

"Hey Al, what's going on with all this?" Marin inquired as he stood next to his best friend.

"Well since she's got a hearing issue, there's no way she can sit at the back of the class, right?" Nino said cutting in. "Which means she needed a place up in the front." Nino explained.

"So to make it work Ivan sat next to Mylène, Nate sat next to Alix, besides she came up with the idea of moving Nino here, so now we get to spend more time together. Adrien sits where he was before, and you sit un the back, is that cool with you guys?" Alya asked but was interrupted as the teacher walked in.

"Good morning, students. I'm sure you've all heard by now, but Lila's home from her trip to Achu and she's back in school with us again.

"Hi, everyone." Lila greeted as everyone was happy to see her, well, almost everyone as Adrien's face fell as she saw layout of the room. "Oh, a seat in the front row! You all remembered my hearing issue! You're such sweethearts, all of you." She said glancing towards Adrien with a smile on her face.

"You have a hearing problem, Lila?" Marin asked sincerely.

"Yes, I suffer from tinnitus, a constant ringing in my left ear. I've had it ever since the sound of an airplane engine burst my eardrum on the runaway when I was saving Jagged Stone's lost kitten."

Marin looked at her for a moment, confused before he looked at Adrien. "Did Jagged Stone get a kitten?"

"I didn't hear anything about it." Adrien responded.

"But he had a kitten until he found out he was allergic to it." Lila clarified as she sat down in Nino's old spot, scoot closer to Adrien that he had to recoil back slightly to retain a semblance of personal space. "The best part is, since you're such an excellent student, Adrien, you'll be able to help me catch up with all the schoolwork I missed while I was traveling with my parents. Would you do that for me?"

"Um, sure, Lila..." Adrien said, but didn't particularly want to sit next to her.

"Wait, then where are you suppose to sit?"

Marin, glanced at the back row, taking the hint.

"My eyesight and hearing are good. I'll sit in the back of the class and you two can sit upfront. I don't mind." Adrien offered, but Marin shook his head.

"No it's alright, if Lila says she needs the help then I don't mind."

"Oh, thank you Marin, you're so kind." Lila said with a grin but then turned her attention towards Adrien who was doing his best to avoid eye-contact.

"Good, so there's no problem then. You sit here, Lila, Adrien, you stay where you are and, Marin, you sit in the back row." Miss Bustier said as Adrien glanced at his friend walking towards the back row while he sat next to Lila, the pit in his stomach growing the longer he was near her.

"I'm sorry I can't carry my own tray. It's almost impossible with this sprained wrist." Lila said as Adrien placed her tray before her in the lunchroom.

"It's...no problem," Adrien said, then looking down at his classmate as she took his wrist.

"Would you mind sitting near me, I don't think the other students are warming up to-" She was about to lie again. But thank the graces that Marin showed up when he did, holding a box with his family's brand on it.

"Hey, you ready?" Marin asked but then noticed Lila standing nearby, looking between the two nervously.

"Sorry Lila, I actually have plans for lunch." Adrien said, exchanging a glance with Marin as both of them chuckled, ease washing over him.

"Oh, what are you two-"

"It's actually top secret. Sorry, it's just between us." Adrien quickly snapped.

"Oh, it's so sweet how you two are." Lila remarked with a smile on her face, but with what Adrien knew, it rang hollow as he grabbed his friend's hand and walked out of the lunchroom. Feeling Lila's gaze on his shoulders as he escaped her presence.

"You alright?" Marin asked as they sat together on a bench within the courtyard noticing Adrien sighing heavily. "You've been on edge since this morning."

"It's nothing." Adrien remarked, turning towards this friend. His mood improving as his eyes laid on the box in Marin's lap. "Okay, now gimmie.

"Hold on, you don't know if you'll even like them."

"All of them were amazing, these are going to be amazing. Please can we skip over the formalities?" Adrien pleaded, clapping his hands together.

"Yeesh, desperate much?" Marin remarked playfully as he opened the box to reveal an array of passion fruit mini-macaroons, each with a different filling, but Adrien knew that each would be delicious. Adrien felt an overwhelming feeling of glee as he saw that Marin had colored each flavor with a different color, adding to the appeal of the singular cookie.

"How do you outdo yourself every time?" Adrien asked as he took the box from Marin's hands noticing his friend look away sheepishly.

"I was just messing with chocolates and jams within the cookies." Marin murmured as he rubbed the back of his neck.

As Adrien took a bite of one with a white filling, his taste-buds danced at the sweet, savory, slightly sour flavor that he adored, unable to hold back a moan of pure bliss. "These are so good." He praised, almost shedding a tear.

"You're just saying that-"

"NO." Adrien snapped before Marin could finish his sentence. "These are the most amazing cookies I've ever had. Your dad was right, you are the best baker in Paris." He said honestly as Marin covered his face with embarrassment. "I hope I'm not bugging you with this." He said popping another cookie in his mouth, this time one with red-colored filling. This one having an underlying strawberry flavor.

"You could actually," Marin said. "My parents are doing a promotional event for the shop." He said taking out his new phone and pulling up a calendar. "They're releasing special limited edition macaroons every few weeks and it's up to me to make a flavor pallet for each flavor. I think my favorite so far are the strawberry cheesecake ones, they're super creamy."

"Seriously?" Adrien asked, his mood only improving. "That sounds incredible."

"Yeah, it's a big job. But it helps that macaroons are fun to make." Marin said as the bell then rang, signaling the end of lunch.

"Ah, I have to head to fencing," Adrien said standing up, "I'll see you later?" He asked as Marin nodded his head.

"Of course, you owe me now." Marin said playfully as Adrien grinned.

"I would never expect to accept something so delicious for free." He chuckled as he waved to his friend. His gaze lingering for a moment as he was suddenly snapped out of his trance.

"MARRY HIM." Plagg demanded as he poked his head out of Adrien's bag.

"Plagg." Adrien scolded not wanting anyone to see his Kwami out in the open like this, walking over to the locker rooms for more cover.

"They boy makes good food, likes you, also doesn't mind the smell of camembert; What more do you want?!" He asked.

"Marin's just a friend." Adrien responded with a dreary feeling in his heart as Plagg scoffed.

"Okay macaroon boy." He grumbled to himself, returning to his hiding place.

Adrien lingered for a moment as before he entered the room. He liked Marin, but it couldn't have been the same way liked Kagami, or loved Ladybug. All three feelings felt different, could they even be considered as love if he felt so differently about each individual person? he sighed heavily to himself, pushing away the question for now as he walked into the locker room. Running into Lila on the way as it appeared like she was waiting inside for him, standing before the doors.

"Oh, hey Lila." Adrien greeted, all previous feelings of bliss quickly erased as he walked towards the boy's locker room.

"Adrien, we'll have to figure when you're gonna help me catch up on all the schoolwork I missed." She said, then stepping before him as she blocked his path. "I also heard you play piano, my uncle's the great pianist Chuch Boroughchuck. He wanted to teach me when I was little, but I had to stop playing because of arthritis. But when my wrist gets better, I'd love for you to give me some lessons." She said placing her arms around his neck, getting far too close.

Adrien couldn't help but think how Marin would never be this forward. Unlike Lila, Marin always respected his space, heck, the few times that he dropped his guard his friend always profusely apologized. "Lila, I'm perfectly happy being friends with you, and I'll gladly help you catch on your schoolwork, but please don't lie to me like you did last time with Ladybug." He said honestly, taking a step back from her as he could see her expression darken.

"Ladybug's the liar."

Adrien sighed, "I'm not judging you, Lila, but instead of making friends you're going to turn everyone against you. You can tell me if there's something bothering you." He said, placing a hand on her shoulder, a gesture to try an reach some common ground. "I can help. But you need to be honest with me." But he recoiled back as Lila slapped his hand away.

"Are you trying to be some superhero lecturing me just like Ladybug did?!" She spat venomously, not even waiting for an answer as she walked away.

Adrien stared at her for a moment, slightly intimidated by how easily she changed her tune. "I'm still here if you need help catching up with your schoolwork."

"You should tell him how you feel!" Tikki insisted as Marin sat in the empty classroom.

He sighed as he looked down towards his Kwami.

"Adrien thinks of me as his friend Tikki, and I'm fine with being his friend." He said as his precious Kwami pouted.

"But you spent almost all night baking those macaroons!"

"And- he liked them, I'd do that for any friend." Marin insisted but his reddening cheeks gave way to his truer feelings. "Besides...he likes someone else." He said as Kagami's face flashed in his mind. "What kind of person would take me over someone like her?"

"Someone like her?"

"Cool and stylish and confident and...perfect." Marin sighed, resting his head on his hand. "Perfection finds perfection." He took out his phone from his bag, blushing fiercely as he pulled up one of Adrien's photos that were saved. The one that they had taken together when they had the class photoshoot. There was no way he wanted to keep more than one photo of Adrien on hand, sticking to only looking up his modeling photos online. After all, if someone saw how many photos he wanted to save...

Suddenly, Marin's eyes widened as he could sense an Akuma nearby.

"Tikki." Marin signaled as Tikki nodded. He ran out of the room, looking around for any sign, but oddly saw Adrien talking to Nino and Alya nearby. Odd, he was sure Adrien said that he had to go to fencing practice. However, he realized something was wrong as he walked closer, overhearing what Adrien was saying.

"Nino, I have something to tell you. You don't deserve my friendship or your girlfriend or your cap!" He said, stealing his friend's hat. Marin then ran closer as Adrien spotted him, smiling impishly as he caught sight of him.

"Marin! This is what I think of your disgusting cookies!" He said, throwing the macaroon box to the ground, stomping it under his foot. Normally, if Marin saw this, his heart would have immediately shattered, if this was actually Adrien. But instead, he grabbed Adrien's arm, glaring down at him as Adrien looked taken aback.

"Who are you?" He asked, sensing the negativity of an Akuma coming from him.

"Someone who's tired of your good-boy act!" he responded, pulling back and sucker punching his face square in the jaw, making him hit the wall as clearly- this was someone who had the heightened strength of an akumatized victim.

"What heck is wrong with you dude!" Nino called out, trying to hold his friend back, but was knocked away as well as a crowd of their peers started to form around them.

"Don't be fooled!" Marin called out as he massaged his now bruised jaw. "There's no way that's Adrien." He said as the fake Adrien laughed heartily.

"How like you Marin, knowing your friends so well." The fake Adrien remarked as he jumped on the railing. "You should see your faces, don't miss my performance at the Eiffel Tower. You're gonna love it." He remarked as he jumped with heightened strength out of the building.

As Alys knelt down near him, Marin nodded at her reassuringly. He stumbled for a moment as he stood up, running towards the outside where Tikki flew out of his jacket pocket.

"Looks like Adrien got on someone's bad side." Tikki observed as Marin was inclined to agree with her.

"It's hard to believe, why would anyone impersonate Adrien of all people?" He asked himself, not coming up with any reason as to how his friend could be rude to anyone. But there was no time to think about this now, he could only hope that the real Adrien was safe.

"Tikki, spots on!"

Ladybug landed near the Effiel tower nearby some camera as he saw the imposter trying to feign danger as they dangerously balanced on the edge of the tower.

"Ah, help me. I'm losing my balance, I'm gonna fall!" The fake Adrien called out as he was walking along the edge, then so tragically fell off.

For a moment, Ladybug wondered if he should allow him to fall for a little while. Of course, he'd catch him at then, but just for a few moments? But unfortunately, even if it wasn't Adrien...it was still someone with his face.

Ladybug sprinted, catching the imposter in his arms as they tumbled to the ground. Ladybug knelt as he had the faux Adrien in his arms who was looking at him lovingly.

"My prince charming, you saved my life." The faux Adrien said as he gripped his chin in his hand, making him look towards him as he leaned in for a kiss. To which Ladybug responded to by dropping him on the ground.

"Haven't you ever heard of personal space?" He asked as the imposter looked up at him with a smirk. Ladybug narrowed his eyes, he couldn't discern where the Akuma was, whoever this person was, they radiated strong negative energy veered towards him.

"Like you have a right to complain, you insect." The faux Adrien asked, standing before him for a moment. "Anyone who hides their face so often should enjoy at little affection once-in-a-while."

It was unsettling to hear those words come from Adrien's mouth. But anyone who did something like this was also accepting the consequences. Ladybug gripped his yo-yo as he waited for Chameleon to approach him first, trying to kiss him as Ladybug evaded at the last second.

"So, are you a fan?" He inquired as he kept his distance from Chameleon.

"If it'll get you closer to me, lovebug." Chameleon remarked trying to grab him.

That sounded so wrong.

Plagg paced as he hovered around, stuck in a locker with his partner in a deep slumber. "If this an enchanted sleep, what can possibly wake him up?" He asked, but then glanced towards Adrien's lips as he snored, an unwillingness washing over him. "Oh no, not an enchanted kiss! Please!" He begged, but knew they didn't have alot of time if Ladybug got too close to the villain. He screamed into his hands, and then released all disgust with courage. "Nobody will ever know." He told himself as he puckered up.

But he flinched back as he heard Adrien's voice.

"Plagg, what happened? And what are you doing?"

"Oh, me? Nothing! I, uh…" Plagg faltered with embarrassment at what he almost did as he gathered his thoughts together. "Your friend Lila put you to sleep with an evil kiss. You should be more careful picking your friends." He informed as the information washed over him.

"Lila must've been re-akumatized. Quick Plagg, claws out!"

Ladybug scolded himself as he lost track of Chameleon, landing on top of a lamp as he looked around for Adrien. But looked down towards a child yelling up at him.

"Ladybug, I saw the supervillain running away." He said pointing towards the merry-go-round, a child with the aura of a possessed Akuma.

Internally, he thanked Master Fu for training him to detect nearby Akuma's. He looked down at the child, trying to see if there was any similarity with him and Adrien. But there was no visual similarity, meaning- this was going to be far more difficult than he originally anticipated.

He stood up atop the lamp, throwing up his yo-yo. "Lucky Charm!" He said, and a ladybug-print cooler fell into his hand. His eyes widened in surprise as he opened it up.

"Bugaboo!"

Ladybug turned to see Chat Noir landing nearby on the sidewalk below, not noticing the child running up towards him. But Ladybug tied him up in his yo-yo as he tripped over.

"Wha-" Chat Noir remarked as he looked down at Ladybug kneeling near a crying child.

"Ladybug hurt me!" He wailed but was quickly shut up as an oyster was pressed to his lips. Next thing Chat Noir knew he saw the kid turning into an said shellfish.

"Um." Chat Noir said as the kid-shell was thrown into his hands.

"Whoever this is, they're too kiss- friendly." Ladybug remarked, looking displeased as he noticed a dark expression shadowing Chat Noir's face for a moment.

"Cataclysm." He said, destroying the entire shell as the Akuma was released.

Ladybug glanced at his partner for a moment in confusion before he pulled out his yo-yo.

"No more mischief from you little Akuma. Time to purify!" Ladybug said as he swung his yo-yo towards the possessed Akuma, capturing it in one motion. Then opening it once more, watching the newly purified Akuma fly away. "Bye-bye, little butterfly." He said as Lila then appeared before him, much to his surprise.

"Lila?" He asked, reliving the entire Akuma exchange, but only grew more confused.

"Ladybug?" She asked as she stood up, looking at the two heroes in surprise. "Where am I?"

"In the park, can you remember what happened?" Ladybug asked as Lila tried to think back, a sadness washing over as her face fell.

"I...I had an argument with my boyfriend, he yelled at me when I asked him to spend more time with me. I guess I just wanted a little attention." She said sadly as Ladybug noticed Chat Noir crossing his arms with a scowl on his face.

"You don't have to lie and pretend to be something you're not. People will like you just for being yourself." Chat Noir remarked as he left first. Ladybug looked between the two in confusion.

"Oh, I hope I didn't say anything wrong. I just got back from a long trip so I guess people are put off by me." Lila said as she hugged herself, handing her head.

Ladybug's expression softened as he placed his hand on her shoulder. "It's alright, give it time, I'm sure you'll be able to adjust." He said reassuringly as he then jumped after his friend, not noticing the seething expression that Lila drew on her face as she watched Ladybug chase after his partner.

"Hey!" Ladybug called out as both his and Chat Noir's Miraculous beeped.

Chat Noir slowed down as he turned back towards his friend who placed his hand on his shoulder, looking at him in concern. "Talk to me, what's going on?" Ladybug prompted as Chat Noir gaze lingered towards his partner.

"I'm sorry, it's just an off day." He sighed, appreciating his friend's touch. "I think I'm started to understand what you meant before, about making mistakes that hurt others." He admitted, crossing his arms.

"Yeah, it can be hard sometimes." Ladybug said. " But I made a mistake by not telling you about the Master and the Miraculous earlier."

"Also about your magic Akuma sensing abilities." Chat Noir reminded with a chuckled as Ladybug grinned.

"Yeah, that was super useful today." Ladybug said. "You can always talk to me if you ever feel like this."

"Of course, I know, but...I don't know, I think I'm just trying to sort some stuff out." He sighed. "Don't worry, I know I can always rely on you for stuff like this." He said as he took a step forward, hugging his partner around his waist. Ladybug was stunned for a few moments as he returned the gesture with a warm smile on his face.

As Marin walked into class, gently touching the bandage on his head after getting injured yesterday. His father probably was overreacting, it wasn't like he got a concussion or anything. Then he saw that Lila was sitting in the back, next to him, much to his confusion.

"Lila?" He questioned as she looked up at him sadly.

"I...I'm sorry. I was so mean to everyone when I was Akumatized, you especially. I can understand if you don't like me. We barely know each other." She said, bowing her head towards him, seemingly apologizing.

"Lila, you don't need to apologize, Hawkmoth was the one who took advantage of your feelings." He said sitting down next to her at his seat. "Don't worry so much about it, almost all of the class was akumatized in one way or another." He said trying to reassure her as she looked up towards him.

"Even you?" She asked curiously.

"Well...no." Marin admitted, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "I'm pretty passive as it is."

"But don't you feel sad? Or any sometimes?"

"Of course, but I don't let it control me. After all, I have my friends to look out for me, and I'm sure they'll look out for you as well." He said with a smile as he could see Lila's mood improving.

"Really? Oh, that's such a relief. You know, Alya told me that you're the class rep, I hope that you'll be able to help me out like you did before." She said placing her hand over his.

"Oh, is there somewhere you need to go?" He asked, recalling the first time they met.

"No," Lila said shaking her head, smiling at him sheepishly. "It'll take a while for my textbooks to come in, would you mind if I shared yours for a little while?" She asked as Marin nodded.

"Um, sure, no problem." Marin nodded supportively as he took out his tablet. Not noticing Adrien's concerned expression as he saw the two seemingly getting cozy together.

"Of course Ladybug saved my life. He would never miss opportunity to rescue such a close loved one." Lila said

"Didn't your tinnitus give you vertigo when you went up the Eiffel Tower?" Max asked as their class crowded around her.

"Oh no. Ladybug knows me so well that he brought me an earplug to stick in my right ear." Lila said. "Ladybug and I are like two peas in a pod." Adrien overheard as he walked by, not wanting to make it his problem as he glanced at Marin, a sudden fear overwhelming him as he glanced at his friend. He had heard about what happened from Alya, noticing that Marin had a bandaid wrapped around his head.

An overwhelming feeling of guilt rested in his stomach as Adrien approached his friend sitting on a bench nearby, sketching in his book. "Hey..." He greeted as Marin looked up towards him. Feeling bad as Marin's eyes seem to light up as he looked up at him.

"Oh, good timing," Marin said as he took out a small box from his bag, opening it up to reveal the same macaroons from before, not crushed as Marin passed it to him. Opening it up he saw that instead of passion fruit, they were a soft pink color, smelling sweet as they were probably fresh from this morning.

"These are..." Adrien murmured as he looked at his friend in confusion.

"Yeah, I think this is one the better batches," Marin said proudly as he saw a sullen expression on Adrien's face. "What's up dude?" He asked as Adrien sat down next to him.

There were a number of things that Adrien wanted to ask him, but he had to start off with, "So why did Lila sit next to you?" He asked rather curtly.

Marin looked at him in surprise at his tone. "She was feeling bad about hurting the class when she was Akumatized. She told me the last time it happened she felt so guilty she lied to her parents about what actually happened." Marin said as Adrien noticed his friend's expression softened.

"Can't someone else help her?" Adrien murmured to himself but already knew what Marin was going to say as he spoke up again.

"I'm the class rep so she just turned to me." He said, like Lila wasn't the most two-faced person he'd come across. But it wasn't like he could prove it, only he knew how Lila was. Honestly, he wanted to keep her as far away as possible from his friend. "She must have been really upset if she lashed out at you." Marin suddenly said as Adrien perked up at his friend's voice.

"Yeah, Alya told me what she did, while she was looking like me." Adrien said. "I'm sorry you had to go through that."

"Hey-" Marin remarked turning more serious, "there was no way I could've been fooled by a fake Adrien." He said.

"You mean, you knew?" Adrien asked.

"Of course I did. You're one of the kindest people I know, there's so way you would be so cruel." Marin said sincerely. "You can't get rid of me that easily." He remarked, clearly picking up on his guilt.

Adrien felt relief, sighing a breath of relief as he smiled at his friend fondly.

"I know."

Notes:

-In case it wasn't clear, Lila's going to be more Adrien's villain than Marin's.

-I apologize now, because Marin will be injured quite significantly through this season. Which he will chalk up to his bad luck.

-Plagg is the audience.

-Adrien and Marin as super close friends now...it would be a shame if something were to happen to them, wouldn't you say? :3c