Nino was sitting in Marinette's seat as he chatted with Alya when they saw Marinette and Adrien walk into the classroom together.

"Hey, Marinette," greeted Alya with a smile. "Would you mind sitting with Adrien so Nino and I can sit together today?"

"Uh, sure. No problem, Alya," said Marinette with a nervous giggle as she and Adrien took their seats.

"Thanks, Marinette! You're the best," said Nino. "So how was lunch? You two ate together, right?"

"Yeah, it was great! We went to Marinette's and her parents cooked," said Adrien.

"That sounds nice. If you guys are gonna go again we might just tag along," said Alya. "So, you two do anything else during lunch?"

"Oh, no! We just talked, Alya," said Marinette as innocently as she could, undermined by the fact that she could feel her face heat up. Alya and Nino now sported identical grins.

"Oh, yeah? Talk about what?" asked Nino.

"It's kind of a secret," said Adrien, nervously chuckling as he began to feel his own blush.

"Oh, really? Well, we can keep a secret," said Alya.

"Adrien!" came Lila's voice. "There you are! Can I sit for a moment?"

Without waiting for an answer she sat on Adrien's other side. Adrien moved as close as he comfortably could to Marinette to put as much space between him and Lila as possible. The smiles on Alya's and Nino's faces were gone. The couple exchanged worried glances.

"I need to rest my legs. I've been preparing for the Paris Marathon, so I decided to take some time to work out and run during lunch," she said, just as Kim approached.

"Really? That's so cool!" said Kim. "But don't you have to be 18 to run?"

"Oh, yes! But my mother's good friend is one of the organizers who put in a good word for me. You know, Kim, I can ask to see if they can let you run too!"

Kim's face lit up. "That'd be awesome, Lila! Thank you."

Adrien barely kept a straight face. How are people believing her claims so easily? He thought he could hear Marinette gritting her teeth. He took a hold of her hand and gave a gentle squeeze.

"Oh! That reminds me, Marinette. Do you think you could let me sit up front today? My contacts fell out while I was running, so I can't see the board right now."

"Actually, Marinette, you can sit here. I can sit in the back today," Adrien was quick to reply.

"Oh, no! I don't want to take your seat from you, Adrien. Plus I still need your help to catch up on schoolwork."

"Marinette, Alya, and Nino can help you, Lila."

"Dude, don't worry about it. Marinette you can have your seat back. I'll sit with Nathaniel," said Nino.

"Oh, but didn't you want to sit with your girlfriend, Nino?"

"Don't worry about it, Lila. As long as you can see the board we'll be fine," said Alya.

"Oh, Lila! If you need a seat in the front, you can have my seat next to Chloe," Sabrina said eagerly.

"You're so sweet, Sabrina. But I can't. I need to sit next to someone who can help me with schoolwork. Uh, no offense, Chloe."

"You say that as if I would want to help you with anything," said Chloe with a flip of her hair. "Don't flatter yourself."

"Um, okay. So, Marinette, if you please—" began Lila.

"Both of you can sit up front," interrupted Alya. "I'll sit in the back today."

"Alya, don't," said Lila, trying to stop her from collecting her things. "I don't want to give you any trouble. I'm sure Marinette can—"

"Lila, it's fine. No trouble. Just give me a minute."

"Marinette hasn't even unpacked yet! So she can just—"

"She sat in the back last time. So I'll do it today."

"But you shouldn't have to—"

"Oh, for crying out loud!" exclaimed Chloe. All eyes in the classroom watched her take her bag and make her way next to Nathaniel, who raised an eyebrow as she sat down. "You're all ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!"

To the readers of this story, sorry I haven't updated. Besides the issues of everyday life, even when I first started writing this story I realized I wasn't completely happy with the direction the show was going in. Maybe I'll watch it again someday, but for right now I'm just determined to write this story well and finish strong. Hope to finish the last chapter soon.