Although she didn't have any stage experience, Marinette figured she had stage fright. Now now that she was in the locker room, backstage for the talent show, she knew her assumption was correct. She was terrified at the thought of going out and performing for everyone. Now's not the time to get scared! You need to go out and win Adrien's heart and help Rose win Juleka's, she told herself. Her fingers were fidgeting with the big bow in her hair. Alya slapped at her, giving her a stern look.

"You're going to ruin your hair if you keep playing with it." Marinette grimaced and put her hands in her lap. The Lovestruck Three! were already dressed and had nothing to do but wait. Marinette and Alya were going to sneak out to see Adrien and Nino's act, but they still had a few minutes to do that. The two boys were pacing back and forth on their side of the locker room, both looking credibly nervous. Marinette stood up and went over to them

"You guys look so tight. Amazing job on the costumes," Nino complimented her. She beamed.

"Thanks! You guys look awesome too!" She wasn't sure exactly how they'd made their costumes. It looked like they had broken a whole bunch of glowsticks and put the gel on white clothes. Both were wearing huge headphones but Adrien's was the only one that had a headset mic attached. "I'm really excited to see your act. You're going to do great," Marinette encouraged them, putting a hand on Adrien's shoulder. He smiled at her and pulled her into a hug.

"And I know you're going to be great out there," he said quietly. From her spot nearby, Chloé snorted and rolled her eyes, effectively ruining the moment. Adrien broke the hug, but one hand stayed on her shoulder.

"Adrien, don't even bother giving her false hope. She and her little group are going to be terrible," she said. Marinette glared at the girl. This from the girl that only got moderate applause?

"Come on Chloé, that's a terrible thing to say," Adrien replied. Marinette could feel his grip on her getting tighter and tighter. If he wasn't careful, she knew she'd get a bruise there.

"But it's true. They're going to suck. Honestly, you think you can sing and dance. Everyone's going to laugh at you when you go out there. You might as well give up," Chloé said with a short shrug.

"You know, Chloé? I've seen them and they're all amazing. They put a lot of hard work into this. They probably put in more work than you did. All you care about is tearing people down and I'm sick of it. If you aren't going to be nice, just shut up." Marinette froze. Did Adrien, Adrien, just chew out Chloé? What alternate world had she fallen into? The Adrien beside her was not the one she knew; no, in that moment, he seemed so aggressive and if she was being honest with her, it was something that reminded her of Chat when he was enraged.

The blonde girl was flustered and stormed away into the bathroom, leaving an awkward silence. Adrien relaxed ever so slightly. He seemed to realize he had a death grip on Marinette's shoulder and let go of her.

"Sorry," he mumbled. Nino clapped his hands and put her arms around Adrien and Marinette.

"I can't believe you just did that! She looked so pissed!" he said gleefully.

"I'm probably going to regret that later, but she needed to hear it," Adrien replied. Marinette's eyes flitted to the monitor set up in the room. It showed Mylene and Ivan getting on stage.

"Hey, you guys are up next. You should get your stuff ready," she said. Nino grinned and sped off. Adrien shot her one last look.

"You'll come see us, right?" he asked.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world," she replied. He winked at her and trailed after Nino. An awkward squawk left her lips as Alya grabbed her shoulders.

"Adrien just winked at you!" she said excitedly. The girls squealed and quickly made their way out of the locker room and to the back of the crowd. It wasn't like they had to walk beside the audience, so slipping out was fairly easy. She felt butterflies in her stomach as the act ended and Adrien and Nino took the stage, dragging their equipment on with them.

"Do you think we should have helped them?" Alya asked. Marinette shrugged. Sabrina, the announcer for the show, came on stage once the boys gave her the all clear.

"Piano and techno music? Say what? As odd as it sounds, our next act shows that they actually go well together! Performing 'Echo' by Crusher-P, please welcome the radical duo of Adrien and Nino!" she said. Alya snorted as she joined in the applause.

"Ten euros says Nino wrote their intro," she snickered. Sabrina left the stage and the act began.

Adrien's fingers gracefully pressed the keys, lovely notes rising from the instrument. Clearly, all of those piano classes and practices had paid off. Marinette melted into a puddle as Adrien started singing. I had no idea he was so good! Gah, he's amazing. She pulled her phone out and started recording him; this was definitely something she wanted to listen to again.

Alya and a few of their classmates in the audience hooted as Nino came in, dropping the bass right off that bat and distorting Adrien's voice and the piano as well as adding his own music to the song. The girls smiled at each other as they danced in their spots, moving to the gorgeous piano music, Nino's electronic track, and Adrien's smooth (albeit twisted) voice.

When they finished, Marinette joined in those cheering loudly, hands clapping as hard and fast as she could make them go. Nino waved cheerfully to the crowd while Adrien rubbed the back of his neck and gave a sheepish smile. They pulled their equipment offstage and Alya and Marinette went back into the bathroom.

"Ah, he's so talented!" Marinette moaned, starry-eyed and clasping her hands together.

"You guys are going to have talented babies," Alya teased her.

"We're not even dating!" Marinette told her.

"Yet," she devilishly grinned. Marinette laughed and the girls went towards the locker room. Through the open door, Marinette could see Adrien and Nino coming in through the main entrance. She let Alya in front of her and switched courses, heading towards the boys. A loud shout broke the quiet chatter of the room. Marinette whipped her head to the side and found Alya sprawled out on the floor and Chloé walking away from her.

"What the hell?!" Alya shouted at her. Marinette got on her knees and helped her friend up as a fwe rushed over to help.

"What? I didn't do anything," Chloé replied.

"I just saw you trip Alya!" Rose cried as she helped Marinette support their friend.

"Don't blame me for her clumsiness."

"Chloé -" Marinette put her arm out, stopping Nino in his tracks before he got to Chloé. The blonde gave them a condescending smirk before walking away. Marinette and Rose helped Alya onto a bench.

"Does it hurt?" Nino asked worriedly as he took the spot next to Alya. Marinette could already see violet bruises blossoming on her ankle. It looked as if Chloé hadn't just tripped Alya; she had kicked her.

"No, not at all," Alya responded sarcastically.

"Gah, what are we going to do! We're on in ten minutes!" Rose cried, pulling at her hair fretfully.

"I can't do it. There's no way I can stand on it," Alya said.

"How are we going to do this? We can't just drop out!" Marinette said. Right now she wanted nothing more than for Alya to be better and to punch Chloé in the face, but the latter wouldn't help anyone. "Maybe if we just wrap your ankle tight enough -"

"I can't do it." Alya was biting back tears and Marinette fell silent. The brunette leaned against Nino, her head resting on his shoulder.

"I'll do it," Adrien said quietly. All eyes turned to him.

"What?" Rose demanded.

"I know the song and I know the dance. I'll take Alya's spot," he said, raising his voice and sounding stronger. "And besides, I've always wanted to be a school idol," he added with a grin.

"That's impossible. How do you know the dance?" Alya questioned.

"Marinette taught it to me." I what? I only taught the dance to . . . OH MY GOD. Alya whipped her head to Marinette.

"You taught him our dance?!" she demanded.

"I, well . . ." Marinette laughed nervously and shrugged.

"You don't have a costume, though," Rose pointed out.

"I'll just wear Alya's," he said.

"I could make alterations to it. I brought sewing stuff in case something went wrong," Marinette said. As sour as she looked, Alya nodded. The girls helped her out of her costume and back into her street clothes. As soon as she shed an article, Adrien hurriedly put it on. Overall, it wasn't too bad. The shirt was too short and showed part of his midriff and his shorts were too big in the waist, but it wasn't anything too bad. Rose went to go see Sabrina to edit their introduction card while Marinette led Adrien to her locker. She pulled out her supplies and started taking in the waistband of his, or rather Alya's, shorts. Silence fell between them. Frankly, she didn't know what to say. Never in her wildest dreams would she have thought Chat Noir and Adrien Agreste were one in the same. She felt like they should talk, but not here. It'd be too risky.

"Do you need help? I know how to fix clothes," Adrien told her, breaking the silence.

"No, it's fine. We won't need a lot of fixes. Just taking in the pants and the shirt," she said. She paused, wondering if it was the right time to broach the subject. "I think we should talk tonight." His face fell.

"We probably should," he sighed. "I just want to say I'm sorry for lying to you. I -"

"I admit I feel sad about that, but I can't feel that bad. After all, I'm doing the same to you." Her eyes flitted up to his, watching his face go from remorse to complete shock.

"Wait, what?!" he demanded. "You . . . oh my God." He clutched his head. Marinette giggled and cut the thread. She had to admit, his confused face was pretty adorable.

"As I said, we have a lot to talk about." She winked and by the time Rose came back after editing their introduction card, Adrien was ready to go as the newest member of Lovestruck Three! They moved to the small backstage area, watching as Kim and Alix did their rollerskate routine together. Who knew they worked so well together?

As Kim and Alix finished and came off stage, the three hurried on and got into place. It was dark and Marinette's heart was pounding. She stole a glance at the huge audience. No doubt everyone had their family attend. I can do this. We can do this. As they got into their starting pose, Sabrina walked to the corner of the stage, their intro card and a mic in hand.

"The next act we're about to see are warriors who fight for joy, love, and musical harmony! Taking a page from Japan's school idols, they promise to dance and sing their way into your hearts! Please welcome our very own school idol group, Lovestruck Three!, starring Rose de Champlain, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, and . . . Adrien Agreste?" Sabrina sounded completely dumbfounded and Marinette couldn't blame her. No one could have seen this coming. But it was one plot twist that Marinette felt grateful for. They were getting their wish of dancing with each other.

The lights came up on them and their music started. Marinette had to agree, the first few bars of the song were the scariest. She had no idea how the crowd would react, but it was clear after the three started singing and dancing, the crowd was taken in. She pushed the worries that remained to the back of her mind and poured her heart and soul into her performance.

She had never felt so alive as she danced. The smile on her face could light a skyscraper and the energy flowing through her veins was electric. Stealing glances at Adrien, she had never seen him so happy and so energized. It was as if he was a completely new person and his joy only boosted her own. The crowd was loving them and they were having fun.

As they struck their final pose, Adrien and Marinette turned back to back. She felt his hand, the one closest to the audience, grab her hand and she followed his lead, squeezing it back.

Just hearing the applause and see the crowd cheer for them was enough to send an addictive high through Marinette's body. They loved us! she thought in delight as the lights dimmed and she, Rose, and Adrien made their way back to the backstage area with the other participants. Marinette wanted to jump around and scream, she had so much pent-up energy just from seeing the crowd. Alya, riding piggyback on Nino, high-fived them.

"You did amazing!" she said in a hushed whisper as Principal Damocles took the stage and said a few words before inviting the participants onstage. Adrien grabbed Marinette's hand and led her onstage. She, in turned, grabbed Rose, who grabbed Nino. The five walked in a chain and stood proudly in the front, taking a bow with the rest of their school.

The talent show ended and as soon as Damocles let the students into the audience to see family, Juleka ran up to Rose and her group.

"You were amazing up there!" she said, giving Rose a hug. "'Love Novels' is my favorite song and you did a great job on it!"

"Thank you!" Rose said. "I picked it just for you."

"You did?"

"I did! I love you Juleka, and I wanted to pick a song that I knew would make you happy." Marinette had to hold back squeals of delight as Juleka smiled and kissed Rose. Adrien put his arm over Marinette, gaining her attention.

"That could be us, but you playin'," he said. Marinette rolled her eyes and gently hit his shoulder.

"That could be us, but you make awful jokes," she returned. He smirked and for a moment, she thought he was going to lean in and kiss her. And maybe he would have if his father and Nathalie hadn't approached them. Nino took this as his time to leave, taking Alya with him as he walked away.

"I didn't know you were doing two acts," Gabriel said.

"It was a last-minute thing," Adrien shrugged.

"Our third member got hurt and Adrien offered to take her spot," Marinette explained.

"I was wondering about that, since Adrien's costume is obviously made for a girl. They're very good costumes," he said.

"Marinette made them," Adrien piped up. Gabriel turned to Marinette, giving her a terse nod.

"Excellent work," he said before turning to Adrien. "You did very well tonight. I'm pleased you used your piano and dance skills."

"Thank you." Adrien was positively glowing and Marinette couldn't help but feel happy for him. Nathalie whisked Gabriel away, stating they had a conference call soon and Adrien's driver would take him home, but even though the visit was short Adrien looked so happy he looked as if he'd explode from the joy at any moment. Marinette put her arm around his waist and squeezed him.

"You really did great tonight," she told him. He smiled down at her and kissed her forehead.

"You did too, my Lady," he said. Marinette heard shouting and saw her parents waving to her. She grinned.

"Do you want to come with?" she asked.

"Of course. I should probably meet my girlfriend's parents," he said with a wink that made her melt. Taking his hand, she pulled him over to her parents. Tonight had been full of surprises, but Marinette wouldn't have it any other way.