Hey everybody! I am back with a fic that has been brewing in my mind for a few months now. Now, some of y'all may or may not know, but I am actually a huge Swiftie, haha. This was written for a little Miraculous event where we got to write a fic based on a Taylor Swift album. Mine was Midnights and this fic was inspired by the songs "Question…?", "Lavender Haze" and "Maroon". I hope y'all enjoy!

Also, a couple of things:

- This takes place a couple years after canon

- Marinette and Adrien are 16 years old

Oh and I definitely think listening to these songs will help y'all get a feel for my thought process for this fic, so please be sure to check those out as well!

Marinette straightened the hem on her pink miniskirt as she stood in front of the elevator. Her fingers trembled as she applied a fresh coat of lip gloss to her already stained lips. As the bell chimed and the door opened, she quickly stepped inside. Her hand quivered as she pressed the button for her designated floor.

She stood with her back straight against the wall, taking in deep breaths as to mentally prepare herself. Her eyes followed the numbers as they flashed on the screen. Finally, the elevator stopped and the doors opened.

As she stepped out into the narrow hallway, that was when the nerves really started to hit. Beads of sweat formed on her forehead and her stomach did a few somersaults. She stopped to lean against the wall for a moment as a feeling of uneasiness built up within her chest.

Taking a deep breath, she swallowed hard and closed her eyes. "I can do this, it'll be okay," she said to herself in a low voice. As the feeling began to pass, she continued walking towards her destination.

This was the first time she would be visiting Alya in her new apartment. Her older sister was away at university and her parents had taken the twins out for the weekend, which gave her the perfect opportunity to throw a small housewarming party.

It didn't take long for Marinette to find the apartment as the sound of loud music seeped out through the walls. She reached a hand up to knock on the door, then retracted it. Alya had actually sent her a text message a few hours earlier saying to just come inside.

After taking just a few more calming breaths, Marinette turned the doorknob and let herself slip inside. She was greeted by a nicely lit room filled with the aroma of snacks and wine.

To her surprise, quite a few people had already arrived. Juleka, Rose, Mylène and Alix sat on the couch, glasses of red wine already filling the coffee table. Nathaniel and Marc had made a spot on the floor, where they sat with Kim and Max.

The aforementioned groups waved happily at her as she walked past. Her eyes landed on Alya, who stood near the snack table. Their eyes met and her best friend smiled widely as Marinette began walking towards her.

"There you are!" Alya said as she pulled her into a hug. "You haven't answered my texts since this morning, I really thought something had happened to you."

Marinette felt her face turn cold as a wave of guilt washed over her. "Oh, um, yeah…" she looked down at her feet. "Sorry about that."

"Are you okay?" Alya asked, her voice filled with concern. Her eyes widened as it finally hit her. "Oh…right, yeah, I should've known."

Marinette looked up at her. "No, no, it's not your fault," she shook her head, her loose bun flopping around. "I'm okay, I promise."

Alya looked at her with a sad expression. "Okay, well, I'll take your word for it," then her smile returned. "After all, you are my honored guest tonight."

Marinette chuckled. "I would be lying if I said that I'm not nervous, but I'm trying my best," she admitted.

"That's good enough for me," Alya patted her on the shoulder. "I'm just happy that you decided to come anyway."

"Hey, Babe," Nino slipped in behind her and kissed her cheek. "This party is totally rockin'! You did such a wonderful job." His eyes landed on Marinette and he smiled widely. "Oh, hey, Marinette! I'm so happy to see you!"

She smiled shyly. "I'm happy to see you, too," her voice came out sounding so small. "Everything looks really nice, so far."

"Glad to hear it, dude!" He grabbed a glass of wine and twirled it around. "Hey, I'll be over at the DJ booth if there's any song you'd like me to play."

She nodded. "I'll keep that in mind."

Then, she froze.

"Hey, Nino, you left these over there," Adrien came up beside him, a pair of red headphones in his hands. "I think you're going to need them."

"Thanks, buddy!" Nino said, excitedly as he grabbed them from his hands. "I'll be over there if y'all need me!" He then took off towards the DJ booth.

Adrien. Adrien Agreste. The same Adrien who broke up with her nearly a year ago. Her ex-boyfriend, Adrien, whom she had been avoiding for the past year.

Yet, somehow, she was unable to take her eyes off of him.

The urge to run away built up within her, but it was as if her feet had been glued to the floor. She stood there, her body cemented in its current position. No matter how hard she tried, she was forced to stand there and face the boy whom she once loved so much.

He immediately noticed her staring at him and looked away, nervously rubbing the back of his neck. "Um, hey, Marinette," he said without even taking one single glance at her. "Glad to see you here."

The awkward nervousness in his voice did little to soothe her aching nerves. Her heart pounded in her chest as his voice rang in her ears. "H-Hi, Adrien…" her muscles finally allowed her to move and she managed to look away from him. "Yeah, I, uh, wanted to be here to support my best friend."

His eyes shifted towards her and he smiled a little. "Of course, I figured you would," then he looked over at Alya, who was still awkwardly standing there. "Nice party, by the way, I'm having a lot of fun."

Alya looked between her two friends and shook her head. "I'm glad to hear that, Adrien!" She said, smiling. "I should probably go get some of the games ready."

As she turned to leave, Marinette reached out a hand to her. "Wait, no! Don't leave me here…" she then noticed the sad expression on Adrien's face and caught what she was saying. "You…you probably need some help with the games, right? I'd love to help!"

Alya cocked an eyebrow at her, then immediately realized. "Oh, yeah, sure, of course," she grabbed her by the hand, but not before smiling widely at Adrien. "Maybe Nino would like some help at his booth, too?"

Adrien perked up and looked back towards where his best friend was. "Maybe so, I guess I can go check," he began to turn around. "I'll see you two around then."

He then walked off and Marinette felt herself breathe a sigh of relief. "Oh my god! That was awful!" She exclaimed as Alya dragged her down the hall. "I-I was just frozen, Alya, that's what he does to me! And I hate it!"

As Alya opened the door to a nearby closet, she asked, "Do you actually hate it, though?"

Marinette could feel herself becoming irritated, the anger bubbling up inside of her. "Of course I do and you know exactly why," she said, accepting a box that Alya handed to her.

"Because he broke your heart, I know," Alya turned around to face her as she closed the door with her foot. "But exactly how long did you think you'd be able to avoid him, Marinette? I mean, you already refuse to even look at him in school."

"And I planned on keeping it that way," her voice became soft, trailing off as she looked down at her feet. "But…"

"But?" Alya looked at her, her eyebrow raised.

"Recently, I've started realizing that I can't keep avoiding him forever," she admitted. "But it's just…I dunno."

"Well, so long as you two aren't at each other's throats," Alya began as they started walking back towards the party. "Then I'll take the awkward, minimalist conversations."

Marinette sighed. "I don't hate him, ya know," she said. "Things are just…weird between us."

"That thought never even crossed my mind," Alya said, smiling. "Just give it some time and maybe things will be better between you two eventually."

As they made it back into the living room, they sat their boxes down in the middle of the floor.

"Maybe, but I'm not holding my breath," Marinette said, taking a glance at the boxes that they had been carrying. "What is this, by the way?"

Her best friend looked at her with a cheeky grin that made her entire stomach do a flip. "Just a little party game, that's all," she responded, leaning down to open the boxes. "Go on and talk to everybody, I can set it up."

Marinette stuck her shaky hands into the pockets of her skirt and shifted on her feet. "Okay, I will," she said, her eyes glancing around the room.

A few more of their friends had arrived while she was busy helping Alya. Zoé happily strolled in with her girlfriend and Luka and Kagami trailed behind her. Despite being in a room surrounded by some of her closest friends…

Her eyes still couldn't stop landing on the blond boy in the corner. He stood up against the wall, a glass of wine in his hand as he laughed. His body shook as a wide grin spread across his lips. He always smiled so brightly whenever he laughed.

A sudden fluttering feeling made its way into her stomach. A hint of queasiness came along with it and her legs shook. She swallowed hard, grabbing a nearby glass of wine and taking a few sips. She forced her eyes to look away from Adrien before her entire body collapsed.

"Hey, Marinette, you okay?" A small voice came from behind her and she turned around to see Zoé standing there. "You look a little sick."

"Zoé! Hey! O-Oh, yeah, I'm okay," she took another sip before sharing a quick hug with her friend. "Just really anxious to be here, that's all."

"I'm happy to hear it," she took a sip of her water. "It's really nice to hang out with everyone again, but especially you!"

Zoé's bright smile alleviated some of the pressure that had been building within her. "Same to you as well," Marinette said. "It's been long overdue."

"You said it!" Zoé said, laughing a little. "And I know that things have been really awkward between you and a certain someone, but don't let that stop you from enjoying this party, okay?"

Marinette sighed and slapped her free hand to her face. "Is it really that obvious?"

Zoé nodded as she flashed her a small smile. "You're a bit of an open book, Marinette," she said. "But it's okay, you'll get through it."

Marinette let herself breathe a sigh of relief. "I'm trying, I promise," she said. "Alya wanted me here and I knew he would be here because we literally share all of the same mutual friends so…yeah."

"I know the feeling," Zoé gave her a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. "You psych yourself up for something, but then when it comes time to do it, you just…" she took another swig of water. "You get it."

"I sure do…" she let herself take another sip of wine as Alya's voice piped up.

"Alright, everyone!" Alya began as she turned down the music enough for everyone to hear her. "I hope everyone is enjoying themselves so far!"

The entire room became filled with various responses of "yes", "yeah" and "hell yeah."

"Glad to hear it," she clasped her hands in front of herself. "I hope y'all are ready because I've got a super fun, yet very classic party game for us to play." She walked over to a small setup in the middle of the living room. A circle of pillows had been laid down and an empty bottle of wine lay right in the middle.

"Oh no…she didn't…" Marinette whispered to herself, a shiver making its way down her spine.

"It's a little game called…" Alya knelt down and spun the bottle, watching as it pointed towards one of the pillows on the floor. "Spin the Bottle!"

And just like that, Marinette had gained a new fear.

Chapter 2 will be out soon! Then we can see how things really heat up 👀