A/N: Agh, our first two-parter. Sorry for the suspense - this chapter was a whopping 7k+ words long, and I didn't want y'all to have to suffer through that.
"Good morning, students!" Miss Bustier beamed at her classroom. "I believe, before we begin, that we have something very important to take care of, yes?"
She turned to look at Marinette, who smiled back with a nod.
"Nathanael," she spoke up, and the boy jumped a little in his seat. "It's your birthday today, isn't it?"
"Uh…" his face slowly began to bloom red and he nodded. "Y- yeah, it is."
"Happy birthday!" Alix called out with a grin.
One by one the others began to chime in with their own well wishes, and Nathanael had slumped in his seat and covered his face with his hands at the attention.
"Can I read the horoscope for today?" Rose raised her hand with a beaming smile.
"I don't see why not!"
"Okay, for… Libra…?" Rose scrolled through her phone with a happy hum. "Got it! 'You know how to get attention. You'll lure someone in with a puzzle or an unanswered question. This is only the start - your bag of attraction secrets is full and your audience is in for quite a ride.'"
"Very nice, Rose." Miss Bustier nodded at the girl before turning back to the class. "To celebrate your birthday, I had Marinette bring in some treats to share with the class."
At her cue, Marinette rose from her seat, box in hand.
"I made cupcakes for everyone," she announced. "Each of you only gets one, though! Except for Nathanael." At her sweet smile, his face burned. "You get to take what's left over home. Consider it my birthday gift!"
"Free cupcakes!" Kim hollered, causing the room to begin stirring with murmurs.
Nathanael's heartbeat quickened as a few classmates turned to wish him a happy birthday. He glanced down the aisle, seeing Marinette making her way back with the box.
"Oh man…" he thought, beads of sweat breaking out on his forehead. He watched her hand a cupcake to Nino. "Is this really happening? Am I… am I going to talk to…?"
"Ugh," Chloe muttered in distaste, shoving the cupcake away with a pencil. "You seriously expect me to eat this sugary mush? It's not even a decent flavor - it's vanilla!"
"If you don't want it, I'll eat it," Kim volunteered with a grin. There was a bit of lemon frosting still on his lip.
"It's not sugary mush," Marinette grumbled under her breath as she shot the girl an irritated glance.
When she got to Nathanael's desk, the soft expression on her face making his chest flutter.
"Happy birthday," she murmured, handing him a pretty cupcake with a star topper.
"Th- thanks," he breathed, taking the treat. Their fingers touched and his face burned with a bright red blush, and he struggled to smile at her.
The moment seemed to die all too soon as she moved on to Ivan and Mylene.
Nathanael let out a quiet breath, his gaze sliding to the little cupcake and its perfect little swirl of frosting.
"Alright!" Miss Bustier smiled as she accepted a cupcake, placing it on her podium. "First thing's first, we have a new project to work on."
At a few groans from the room, she shook her head. "I know you did one just a couple of weeks ago, but we really need to catch up from yesterday's disturbance."
Pulling out a list, she announced, "I'm assigning another research project! Your groups have been decided already, so I'm afraid there will be no switching."
Another groan rippled through the class. Marinette couldn't help but feel a pit of dread in her stomach despite Alya's squeezed on her shoulder and Adrien's hopeful glance back.
"Eek! Help!"
Marinette skidded to a stop in front of a smirking Stormy Weather, Démolionne on her heels.
As the blonde and the lioness raised their weapons, suddenly they disappeared - erased out of thin air. The akumas gaped in shock at their hands, looking around, and Marinette's lips parted into a relieved smile as a boy touched down in front of her.
"Super Nathan!" The akumas chorused in fear.
"Leave her alone," he growled at them, raising his stylus in warning.
With a shriek, the akumatized girls scrambled away.
At last they were alone.
Marinette leapt for a hug, letting out a shaky sigh. "Oh, Super Nathan! You saved me!"
"Those villains shouldn't bother you anymore," he answered, his heart leaping in his chest.
The girl of his dreams sighed happily. "I love you, Super Nathan…"
"I love you too, Marinette." His eyes softened as she came in for a kiss…
"Nathanael!"
The boy was forcefully snapped out of his fantasy by an angry Ms. Mendeleiev. The violet-haired teacher stared him down as she snatched the notebook out of his hand.
"You would rather doodle this nonsense rather than pay attention to my lecture?" She scolded, scanning the page before letting it drop to the table. "These artistic endeavors are the reason you're failing science!"
A ripple of a chuckle went through the classroom and he slumped further over, letting his hair fall over his face.
"Go to the principal's office this instant." The teacher pointed towards the door.
With a quiet sigh, he gathered his books and pencil and made to walk down the aisle.
A foot stuck out, unbeknownst to him, and he fell down the remaining step onto his chest with a grunt. His notebooks splayed out around him on the floor, and the giggling grew louder.
"Let's see," Chloe hummed to herself as she slid the art notebook towards herself with her toe. Bending down, she picked it up - and promptly cackled. "Hey, Marinette! He drew you!"
The girl in question perked up in confusion, though her cheeks were pink as Chloe showed the class the book.
"Chloe Bourgeois, do you want a trip to the principal's too?" Ms. Mendeleiev threatened.
"No," the girl rolled her eyes and tossed the book back, hitting Nathanael on the back of the head.
He rubbed the spot, casting her a nasty look as he bent to pick up the notebook. His face burned as he hurried out of the room.
"So much for a good birthday," he huffed to himself as he walked down the corridor. His pencil dropped in front of him, and he grumbled, stooping to retrieve it.
He didn't expect the butterfly.
"Evillustrator," a deep voice crooned in his mind, "I am Hawkmoth."
"I feel bad for Nathanael," Alya commented with a frown as they headed for the library that afternoon.
"Yeah," Adrien sighed. "That wasn't nice at all."
Felix huffed. "He should have known better than to get distracted. Ms. Mendeleiev is considered the toughest teacher at this school for a reason."
"Yeah, but Chloe totally humiliated him!" Alya rolled her eyes.
Marinette was deep in thought, brow furrowed.
"Nette?" The bespectacled girl bumped her in the side with her elbow.
"Huh?" She wondered aloud. "Oh, yeah."
"It's sure been a while," the younger blond mused. "You don't think he got sent home, do you?"
"Principal Damocles is too much of a pushover to do that unless Chloe demands it," Marinette muttered under her breath.
"What?" Adrien turned to her in confusion. "I didn't hear you."
"I said, Principal Damocles wouldn't bother sending someone home unless Chloe demanded it." She shrugged loosely.
Felix sent her an incredulous stare. "You mean he doesn't punish?"
"Not unless you want after-school detention, suspension, or expulsion." The noirette rolled her eyes. "The few times Chloe tried to get him to expel me, my parents just had to threaten legal action and he backed off. He has no backbone."
"That… that's not right," Adrien's face pinched, unimpressed.
"Yeah, well, that's Dupont." Alya chimed in, linking her arm with Marinette's. "Speaking of, where's your group? Did Chloe decide she was too cool for study hall?"
"Even if she didn't come, Sabrina should be here." Scanning the room, Marinette lit up when she spotted the redhead. "I'll just have to make the most of it. She's not bad to hang out with when she's by herself."
"Tell Bustier that if Chloe doesn't pull her weight, you want her to have a proper grade." Alya sent her a look.
"Yes, I agree." Felix nodded firmly, folding his arms. "Sabrina would agree to that, wouldn't she?"
"That's like asking a cat to behave itself." With a shake of her head, she bade her friends goodbye and headed to Sabrina's table.
The redhead looked up when she heard footsteps, and a bright smile bloomed across her face. "Marinette! I've been waiting for you."
"Sorry about that, I had to put my stuff away." Taking a seat, she put her book and pencil on the table and leaned in. "So what's the plan? Isn't Chloe coming?"
Sabrina's happy look faded a little. "Well, um, she said she would. But that's okay! We can do what she doesn't!"
Marinette winced. "Uh, look, Sabrina…"
"Sabrina," Chloe began, and it took everything the noirette had to not roll her eyes as the blonde made her way over. "What's the holdup? Oh." Her nose wrinkled as if smelling something funky. "Marinette's here."
"We got grouped together, didn't we?" She shot back, scooting away. "What part of the project do you want? The powerpoint?"
Chloe barked a laugh, and several other students looked over with sour faces. The librarian on duty frowned at them, making a shushing motion.
"As if I'd lower myself to your level," she sneered in a lower volume. "That's your job. My job is to look better than you."
"And you do," Sabrina simpered with a sweet smile.
"Chloe, if you don't help us with this project I'm telling Miss Bustier to give you a zero." Marinette stared her down with a firm expression.
Chloe balked at her for a moment. Sabrina gave her a wide-eyed stare.
"Oh, are you now?" The blonde quickly regained her composure, leaning in until their noses were scant inches away. "Do you even know who I am?"
"A spoiled rich white girl that thinks all her first-world problems can be solved with money and blackmail," the younger deadpanned, unimpressed.
"Exactly." With a smirk, she leaned back and examined her nails. "Get to work, peasants."
Rolling her eyes, Marinette got up from the table.
"I'm going to ask Miss Bustier to work on this at home," she informed Sabrina. "If you wanna come help, you're free to join. I'm not going to be treated this way."
As she stormed off, Sabrina stared after her helplessly, glancing back and forth between her project partners.
"Good," Chloe scoffed. "She was stinking up the library anyway."
"Um, Chloe," the redhead began timidly. "Maybe we should try to work with-"
"She's just gonna drag us down!" The blonde narrowed her eyes at her friend. "Do you want to get a C?"
"W- well no, but-"
"Because if we let her do the project, we're getting a C." She interrupted. "We can do this just fine on our own."
Sabrina raised her head to protest, but the words died on her tongue, wide eyes trained on something behind her.
"What?" Chloe questioned, turning around to see what it was.
A shriek filled the library, startling the others, and the sound of a giant hair dryer roaring to life filled the silence as people began to scramble away from the latest akuma cackling with glee, riding the dryer like a raging bull.
Felix and Adrien stared after it as it began to chase Chloe around.
"S- should we…?" Adrien began hesitantly, inching towards the exit with sharp glances towards the akuma.
"I want to, but this is just so entertaining," Felix answered, a smirk growing on his lips.
"Felix!"
"Alright, alright, we're going," the boy huffed as he allowed Adrien to lead him out of the library by the hand.
"Sabrina!" Marinette yelled, skidding to a stop in front of the jumpy redhead - and promptly tripping over the first step, falling with a yelp.
"Eek! Marinette?!" She exclaimed, reaching down to catch her.
She only managed to grab her by the elbows, saving her from a sure faceplant on the front steps of the school.
"Ah, haha…" the noirette clenched her eyes shut dizzily. "Thanks."
"No problem!" She answered rapidly, grunting as she helped her to her feet. "What- did you want?"
"Oh, I wanted to apologize for ditching you back there." Dusting off her cute salmon-pink skirt, she flashed a smile. "Would you like to work on it for a while at my house?"
Sabrina stared at her, almost uncomprehending, before a wide grin spread across her face and she hopped in place. "I would love to! This is going to be so much fun!"
"Great! Let's meet up in about an hour." Checking her watch, she clucked her tongue. "I need to run an errand real quick."
"Okay! An hour it is." Sabrina reached forward for a hug, and Marinette squeaked at her tight grip.
"G- great," she repeated, awkwardly patting her shoulders. "Uh- a little too tight, Sabrina…"
"Sorry! Sorry," she yanked herself away with a sheepish giggle. "I've never had anyone invite me to their house for a project before, well, um, except Chloe."
"She's really not a good influence," Marinette observed with a frown, folding her arms. "The entire idea behind partnering up is, y'know, actually collaborating on the work. You don't have to put up with her throwing her part of it onto you all the time."
"O- oh, well," the redhead began fidgeting, "I mean, it's not that I hate it, but… I mean, I don't mind helping her."
"Just… think about it, okay?" Concerned blue eyes met turquoise.
Sabrina faltered, but nodded. "Yeah… um, I have to go get my things ready. See you in an hour?"
"Yep!" Marinette nodded, waving goodbye as she began to walk away.
With a sigh, her shoulders slumped and Tikki popped out of her bag to watch with a solemn face.
"I feel like I need to do something," Marinette explained. "But… what can I do? Chloe was the one that…" her nose scrunched up, " befriended Sabrina in the first place. I doubt I alone could get her to realize that Chloe's bad company."
"All you can do is play the long game." Tikki advised gently, landing on her shoulder. "Seldom few battles are won with one quick strike. Even fewer are won with repeated harsh assaults on a strong foundation. All you need to do is be a friend."
"Just be a friend…" The noirette murmured in thought as she turned, heading across the street.
As she entered the bakery, she slipped past a line of customers past her parents, who were preoccupied with a sale. Humming to herself, she slipped off her shoes and made a stop in the kitchen. Peeking into the fridge, she fist-pumped and hissed a "yes!" when she found some leftover sandwiches on the top shelf.
Hurrying back to her room, she dropped her shoes by the door and slipped her backpack off on the chaise lounge. Stretching, she let out a long yawn.
"Well," she said aloud, smiling at her little guardian, "guess I have a little time to check in on that library issue, huh?"
"You know what to do!" Tikki giggled.
"Tikki!" She called, "Spots-"
Tikki disappeared from the room. Half a second later, her window began to disappear, seemingly erased by magic.
A sharp gasp escaped her as she backed up against the wall, the unmistakable form of an akuma ducking in through the window.
"Marinette!" His face went from tense to relieved. "You're okay!"
"I- I am?" She squeaked, before she shook herself out of it. "I mean, yeah, of course I am! Uh… you…?"
"I mean no harm, I swear." Raising his hands, the redheaded boy looked around. His expression soured. "The only person I have issues with is Chloe - but she'll be dealt with in due time."
"Dealt with?" She echoed. "You mean… in the library…"
"Gave her quite a scare, huh?" He snickered.
Shifting from foot to foot, she replied, "While I'm not going to argue about her being a bad person, I don't think tormenting her like that is the right thing to do."
"Chloe is cruel and unwilling to change," he spat, casting a sour look at the window. When he looked back to her, his expression was that of something soft. "But you… you're Marinette. You're kind and helpful, everything Chloe never will be. I could never let you get hurt!"
Scribbling something on the tablet attached to his wrist, a small piece of cardstock appeared in the air before him and he grabbed it, before extending it to her.
"It's my birthday today," he explained with a shy smile, "and… and it would make me really happy if you could join me for a date."
Marinette stared at the cardstock, before her eyes traveled up to the akuma's. She took it gingerly and scanned it; it was a cute little illustration of a cake with candles and a present box. One tiny detail jumped out at her, and her eyes widened.
"I… I love it!" She said with false cheer, before giving him a smile. "I would love to go on a birthday date with you."
The apprehensiveness in his face melted away, replaced with joy. "Really? You will?"
"Just tell me when and where, and I'll make it," she reassured, tucking the cardstock into her skirt pocket.
With a breathy chortle, he nodded. "Six PM, at the left bank next to Notre-Dame. You won't regret this, I promise!"
"But wait," she called out, making him pause. "One condition."
She gave him a stern waggle of her finger. "You can't go after Chloe anymore. I don't like bullying, even when it's done to bullies."
The boy hesitated, as if wanting to argue. But when his eyes met hers, his shoulders fell and he gave a weak smile. "Okay, Marinette. I promise I won't - but only for you."
Marinette's stern face disappeared, and she smiled gratefully at him. "Thank you. Uh…?"
"Evillustrator," he corrected with a wink. He patted the jetpack still on his back and it sputtered to life. "See you then!"
Marinette watched him leave through the window. To her dismay, the hole he erased still remained.
With a heaved sigh, she flopped onto the chaise as Tikki peeked out from her purse.
"That was close," she commented tersely, floating over to the girl. "Are you alright?"
"Am I?" She questioned wearily. "Why did I agree to that? A date with an akuma? What am I thinking?"
"You wanted to make him happy, Marinette." Tikki smoothed back her chosen's hair and rested a paw on her cheek. "I can't fault you for that. I think it's very sweet of you."
"But I don't want to date anyone yet," she pointed out, cheeks flushed. "Well… anyone except for…"
The ladybug goddess giggled, the sound of tinkling bells. "A certain someone's handsome older brother, perhaps…?~"
Marinette covered her face, and her kwami's laughter grew louder. "Stop making fun of meeeee," she whined.
"I'm not making fun; I think love is a beautiful thing." With a kind smile, Tikki waited until Marinette uncovered her eyes to rest her forehead against hers. "You've got a long way to go before you're ready to date anyone, but there's little harm in crushes. I think it's cute."
Tapping her nose, she chirped, "You're cute, Marinette!"
"But how do I let him down in a way that won't hurt him?" She wondered aloud, slowly getting to her feet. "The last thing I want is for an akuma to be mad at me. And he seemed so shy…"
Checking the little cardstock again, her eyes narrowed. "Tikki, do you have a way to contact Cat Noir?"
The little goddess paused. "...I could find his kwami," she said carefully, scrutinizing the girl. "Why don't you call him yourself?"
She stopped in her tracks. Turning with wide eyes, she squeaked, "I- I can call Cat Noir?! Since when?"
"Since forever, silly!" Tikki laughed again. "When you're transformed, you have the ability to use your yo-yo as a communication device. All Miraculous users can use their items for that, in fact."
"That- that would've been helpful before!" Puffing out her cheeks, Marinette stooped to pick up her bag. "I should call him before Sabrina gets here."
"Well? You know what to do."
"Spots on!"
A/N: See you next week for the second half!
Please tell me what you thought!