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The day had started off fairly normal. Marinette Dupain-Cheng was late to school – only by fifteen minutes, so she supposed it was better than most days – Alya chuckled at her feeble excuse, she smiled at Adrien, who smiled back politely, and Chloe mumbled something insulting under her breath.
So far, nothing out of the ordinary.
Another physics pop quiz, which was so full of trick questions that even Adrien could be heard quietly complaining to Nino about it.
Still, normal.
And then, lunch came, and things started changing.
“Um…Rose?” Juleka’s quiet voice could be heard by the few lingering in the class before they headed out. “C-can I ask you somethin’?”
“Of course, Juleka!” Rose said, cheerfully as always.
“Would you like to go on a date? With me?”
It was silent for a moment, before,
“Of course I would!” Rose squealed. “Oh, Juleka!”
Juleka broke out into a huge grin as Rose hugged her.
“I didn’t realize Rose liked Juleka.” Alya said thoughtfully. “They’re so cute together.”
“I’ve always knew they’d end up together.” Marinette swooned as Juleka and Rose left the room, arms around each other’s waists.
“Wouldn’t you say it almost gives you some inspiration?” Alya wiggled her eyebrows.
“Alya.” Marinette groaned, and stuffed her things into her bag. “It’s not that easy.”
“Why not?” Alya lowered her voice and said, “He’s right there.”
Marinette looked over at Adrien and sighed.
Suddenly Chloe’s high pitched, ear splitting laugh cut through the silence like a knife.
“I always knew those two were meant to be – they’re both such losers!” Chloe taunted.
“Don’t be like that, Chloe.” Adrien sighed. Since Chloe was an old childhood friend of his, he tried to tolerate her, but that didn’t mean he approved of her behaviour.
“What? We all know it’s true.” Chloe huffed, waving her arm uncaringly.
“At least Juleka can get a date.” Alya snapped, glaring.
“Excuse me?” Chloe gasped. “How dare you talk about me like that, fucking four-eyes!”
“Oh, shut up, Chloe!” Marinette retorted, getting annoyed. “Why do you always act like you’re better than everyone? Why can’t you just shut up and let and let people be happy for once? We’re all getting a little tired of your attitude.”
“You know what I’m getting tired of?” Chloe screeched. “Your obsessive crush on Adrien. Get over it, already, slut. Adrien is never going to like a pathetic little loser like you.”
Marinette’s face went white.
Chloe continued, “No one is ever going to like you. You’re nothing but a whiny little bitch that will never amount to anything. In fact, why don’t you do everybody a favour and just kill yourself already? Nobody would miss you, anyways!”
“Chloe!” Adrien snapped. “That’s out of line.”
Realizing what she had just said, in front of Adrien no less, Chloe’s eyes went wide. She opened her mouth and stuttered, before composing herself and crossing her arms. “What? I’m not wrong.”
Adrien’s reply was cut short by the sound of Marinette fleeing the room, and Alya running after her.
“How could you say something like that?” Adrien demanded. “What is wrong with you?”
With that, Adrien turned and rushed off, desperate to find Marinette and make sure she was going to be okay.
He found her not far from the classroom, leaning against the wall. Her face was red and her body shook with sobs that she was desperately trying to supress. Alya was desperately trying to comfort her, reminding her not to let Chloe get to her, and that she was nothing but a liar, anyways.
“Marinette!” He gasped, relieved, and made his way over to her. “I’m so sorry for what Chloe said. She had no right to say something like that to you.”
“You don’t have to apologize.” Marinette sniffled. “She said it, not you.”
“I know, but she’s still my friend, technically.” He sighed.
“How could you be friends with someone like that?” Alya asked, her words coming out a little harsher than she intended.
“At this point, I have no clue.” Adrien shook her head, and smiled softly at Marinette. “Don’t take what she says to heart. You’re really talented, and smart, and pretty, and a lot of people like you.”
Marinette smiled softly. “Thank you, Adrien.”
“I’m gonna kill her.” Alya seethed. “I’m gonna tear out those cheap ass extensions and strangle her with them.”
“O-kay, let’s not go that far!” Adrien said hurriedly.
“She needs to pay for what she said!”
“I agree, but it really isn’t worth getting suspended over. Or arrested.”
“He’s right, Alya.” Marinette said softly. “Just forget it.”
“Are you going to be okay?” Adrien asked.
“Yeah, I’ll be fine.” Marinette assured him, and gave a huge, fake smile.
Adrien put a hand on her arm comfortingly, but knew she was still upset. He decided to check up on her later tonight, probably as Chat Noir. He didn’t like the thought of Marinette being sad, and he definitely didn’t want to fight her as an akuma.
***
Marinette was mortified. She couldn’t believe Chloe would say that to her, in front of Adrien, no less! Now he knew that she liked him. He hasn’t said anything yet, but it was only a matter of time before he broke her heart.
She kept to herself for the rest of the day, ignoring the concerned looks of her friends. She was so humiliated. At the end of the day, she ran straight home without saying a word to anyone, and went straight up to her room. She threw herself down on her chaise cushion and broke down into sobs.
“It’s okay, Marinette.” Tikki assured her.
“Adrien knows I have a crush on him.” Marinette groaned.
“Maybe he likes you back.” She tried.
“If he did, he’d have said something by now.” Marinette pointed out. “He just doesn’t want to upset me anymore today. This is the worst day of my life.”
Suddenly a tapping noise pulled her from her self-loathing, and looked up in shock. She didn’t see anything at first, until she heard it again, and realized it was coming from the glass door leading to her balcony.
“Hide, Tikki.” She hissed, and then got up to see what the sound was.
Tikki hid in her desk while Marinette walked up the steps, where she saw a familiar face.
“Chat Noir?” Marinette said, opening the door. “What are you doing here?”
“I heard about what happened today, and I wanted to make sure you were okay.” Chat Noir explained.
Marinette was taken aback by how sincere he sounded. “How did you know about that? Do you go to my school?”
“I don’t want to give my identity away. The point is, I know you’re upset, and I want to make sure you’re safe.”
“I’m fine, I’m not gonna get Akumatized or anything.” Marinette assured him.
“That wasn’t my main concern, but that’s good.” He gave a small smile. “May I come in, Princess?”
She smiled back. “Sure, come on in.”
Chat Noir climbed in side and followed Marinette down into her room. He looked around, slightly jealous of how homely her room looked. Her personality was expressed all over her room; welcoming, pink, and warm.
“So what exactly happened?” Chat Noir asked, as if he didn’t already know.
Marinette sighed and sat down on her desk chair, spinning it around to face Chat Noir, who had found a comfortable spot on her chaise.
“This girl at school completely humiliated me in front of my friends. And even worse, my crush.”
Chat Noir frowned. So Chloe wasn’t lying about Marinette’s crush. “What did she say?”
“Well for starters, she told my crush that I was ‘obsessed’ with him.” Marinette hid her face in her hands.
“Did he say anything about it?” Adrien inquired.
“No, he didn’t. I’m afraid of what he’s going to say.”
“Why is that?”
“I know he’s going to reject me.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Look at me.” She laughed humourlessly. “He deserves someone so much better than me.”
“Well, if he does reject you, he’s the biggest fool in all of Paris.” Adrien told her.
“You’re just saying that.” She shook her head.
“I’m serious, Princess. You’re pretty, smart, kind, and not to mention pretty talented.” Adrien motioned to the half-finished design on her mannequin. “I don’t know who this guy is, but he’s the luckiest guy in the world to have someone like you like him.”
Her face went red, and she mumbled her denies.
“Talk to him tomorrow.” Adrien advised. “I bet you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how it turns out.”
“Maybe.” Marinette said evasively, and Adrien decided to leave it at that for now.
“What else did she say?”
“She called me some pretty rude names – which I don’t want to repeat – and told me that I was worthless, no one likes me, I’ll never amount to anything, and that I should kill myself.”
“She what?” Adrien gasped, sitting up abruptly to add to the believability. After all, this was supposed to be the first time he was hearing this.
“She’s said a lot of nasty things, but she’s never taken it this far.”
“You don’t deserve that.” Adrien shook his head. “Did she apologize at all?”
“No, and I doubt she will. She’s adamant that she didn’t say anything wrong.” Marinette sighed. “I can’t believe she said that! She’s such a – a – a-”
“It’s okay, you can say it.” He said knowingly.
“A bitch!” Marinette cried.
“Better?”
“Much, thank you.”
“You can rant to me as much as you want, Princess. You should hear some of the things Ladybug says.” Adrien said fondly.
“You’re kidding.” Marinette said, as if she didn’t already know.
“Oh, yeah. She never says it out loud, but if we’re fighting a particularly tough akuma, she’ll curse under her breath. And not your normal curses, either. She gets pretty creative.” Adrien chuckled.
Marinette giggled. “Thank you for coming to check on me, Chat Noir.”
“My pleasure, Princess.” Adrien smiled his signature Chat Noir grin.
“You don’t have to stay any longer. I’m feeling better now.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah. I should check on my friend Alya. She threatened to beat up the girl who insulted me.”
“Ah, the lovely blogger.” He smirked.
“You mean the Ladyblog?” Marinette questioned.
“I know what I said.”
She rolled her eyes. “Seriously though, thank you. This was really nice of you.”
“I’m always here to help you if you need it.” Chat Noir walked over and put a hand on her shoulder. “It’s my job to protect the citizens, after all.”
Marinette hugged Chat Noir tightly.
“Talk to your crush. Everything’s gonna turn out fine.” He gave her a tight squeeze. “I’ll be back tomorrow night to hear all about how it went.”
She laughed softly. “Alright, I will. Be prepared for a lot of comforting.”
“I doubt that.” Adrien straightened up, and then noticed her wall covered in magazine cut outs, all featuring himself. “Is the boy you like?”
Her face went bright red, which was the only answer he needed.
He casually strolled over to the wall. “A model, huh? You have good taste, Princess.”
“Oh, shut up.” She huffed. “I get it, I’m a creep. I have pictures of my crush all over my walls. You probably think I’m a stalker or something.”
“Not at all.” He assured her. “In fact, want to hear a secret?”
Marinette looked up expectantly.
Adrien lowered his voice and said, “I own a closet full of Ladybug merchandise.”
“No.”
“Yes.” He grinned. “Posters and all.”
“Okay, I don’t feel so bad, now.”
“Told ya.” Adrien put his hands on his hips. “Now, tell me about this design you’re working on.”
And then Marinette went off.
***
Adrien wasn’t exactly sure why he encouraged Marinette to talk to him. He loved Ladybug, but listening to Marinette being able to open up to Chat Noir, talk to him without stuttering, and gushing over her designs sparked something inside of him.
He sat on his couch, and weighed his options.
Ladybug was strong, kind, beautiful, brave, and the first person he fell in love with.
Marinette was sweet, polite, excitable, funny, cute, and loved him.
Ladybug didn’t want to know anything about his civilian life, and always denied his advances. Marinette liked both sides of him, and wanted to be with him.
But if he dated Marinette, would he just be leading her on?
Adrien groaned loudly.
“What’s your problem?” Plagg asked.
“Girls.” He answered.
“Can’t help you there.”
“Didn’t think so.” He sighed, and returned to his sulking.
Marinette…the girl who originally hated him over a misunderstanding, kicked his ass at Mecha Strike III, and gave him her good luck charm, which he kept in his pocket at all times.
He took out Marinette’s good luck charm, and played with it.
“You still have that thing?” Plagg sighed.
“Yeah.” He said, confused.
“You’re the epitome of bad luck. A charm won’t do much good, so why do you keep it on me?”
“I don’t know. Nice to have, I guess.” Adrien mumbled.
The kwami snorted. “Looks like you have the answer to your girl problems.”
Adrien stared at the charm, before slipping it back into his pocket.
***
“He said yes!” Marinette squealed once Chat Noir had entered, unable to contain her excitement.
“Wait, who?” Chat asked, chuckling.
“Adrien!” Marinette bounced up and down. “I took your advice and talked to him about my crush, and he said he liked me back!”
“That’s great, Marinette!” Chat Noir said honestly, and hugged her.
“We’re going out on a date tomorrow after his Chinese lessons.” Marinette swooned.
“Where are you two going?”
“First we’re going to my bakery to get food, and then we’re going to the park for a picnic.”
“I didn’t know you were one for romance.” He smirked.
“This is the best thing that’s ever happened to me!” Marinette sighed. “Thank you so much, Chat Noir. I wouldn’t have had the courage to do it without you.”
“Anything for you, Princess.” Adrien said, smiling.