"Alya, slow down!"

"Not a chance, girl. We've got places to be and things to see!"

Alya snatched my wrist at lightning speed when the bell rang to end the day. We were the first people out of the door and the school which probably turned quite a few heads, especially with my picture floating around. Alya and I ran across the street, miraculously dodging traffic that she didn't bother to look out for.

"Alya, you're going to kill us! Slow down already!" I yelled.

The closer we got to the corner of the street we were on, the slower our running got. Alya put her hands on her knees and heaved next to me, desperately trying to catch the breath she just wasted running two blocks at full speed.

"Alright, now's the time to tell me what's going on. You're too eager today to be going to the Eiffel Tower. Why are we going there all of a sudden?" I ask sternly.

She finally straightens out her back and looks at me with a serious expression I was not expecting. "Marinette, you know I'm your friend, right?"

"What? Yeah, of course you are."

"And you know that I would do anything to help you when you need it, right?"

"Alya, what did you do?"

Her eyes gaze upon the French landmark in the distance and then back on me. Her lips form a thin smile as she takes me hand again. "You're probably going to be mad at me, but you'll thank me later, trust me."

Without another word, Alya and I sprint for the Eiffel Tower and whatever she had planned for me there.

"We're here. Now what?"

Alya clutches my hand and takes my other in hers. "Marinette, I want you to be happy. Whatever Chloe is planning to do to you isn't right and you totally don't deserve it. Now as much as it sucks, someday I might not be there to help you when you need it. That's why I found someone else who can be there for you when I can't be."

"What do you-"

"Hello, m'lady."

Alya looks behind me where the voice just came from and smiles gently. That voice-

"Or should I say, Marinette."

Alya chuckles at how still I am and turns me around by my shoulders.

There in the flesh, in front of the Eiffel Tower, is Adrien.

"Adrien?"

"This probably wasn't how it was supposed to go, but here I am," he smiles.

"What do you mean by that?" I ask. What was going on? Why was Adrien here? He was supposed to be away at a fashion show. Wait, if Adrien's here, Chloe might be nearby too to mess with me more.

Adrien looks to Alya who smiles and nods at him as if he was asking permission to answer me. Instead of talking, he hands me his phone that was opened to a web browser. "This is...the Ladyblog," I whisper. I didn't know he knew about this.

"Check the chat room," Adrien says.

I look up at him and his nod urges me on. I tap the icon that takes me into a chat with...Lady Wifi and Ladybug.

"I know it's you, Adrien."

"Who is this?"

"It's me, Alya."

"But this is Ladybug."

"Well, it's her account. I'm doing some snooping on my own accord."

"How did you know it was me?"

"The e-mail you gave me, duh."

"Oh...right..."

"Anyway, I just wanted to confirm our suspicions."

"'Our?'"

"Have you figured out who Ladybug is?"

"I have. It took me a while, I admit, but I have."

"Well, she recognized the e-mail but didn't put two and two together. Silly girl."

"She doesn't know, does she?"

"No, of course not. I won't tell her. I just wanted you to know you don't have to hide, at least not from me. Things are happening that might need you to step in. I just wanted you to be aware of that; for Marinette's sake. I know you care about her, so you have the right to know."

"Y-You- How did you get into my account?" I asked.

"That happened when you gave me your phone to add him as a contact," Alya said.

That's when Chloe took the photo of Adrien looking at his phone. "So this-" I show him the picture Chloe made "-was when Alya was texting you?" I asked.

"It was. I didn't know she'd tell me she knew, especially at that time. Go on, read the rest," Adrien says.

"Alright, I don't know where you are, but she needs you now."

"What happened?"

Alya sent the fake picture.

"Guess who made this?"

"Chloe did this?"

"Obviously. Marinette is completely distraught. You should see her now. I think...I think it's time."

"You don't mean..."

"She needs you. You haven't been active in the chat and she's just tearing at the seams. She wants you, both of you. Please, can you tell her?"

"..."

"Adrien."

"The tower."

"What?"

"Go to the Eiffel Tower after school. I'll be there."

"Alright."

"And Alya?"

"Yeah?"

"Take care of her."

"Was that seriously necessary to say? That's what I've been doing! You better not be late, mister! ;)"

Adrien takes his phone back before I drop it along with myself on the ground. My knees are shaking so much that I can't stand. My best friend, pen pal, and my crush were the same person. They were the same person that sat in front of me in school. They were the same person who I met two years ago on the Ladyblog.

They were the same person this whole time.

"Marinette?" Adrien gets on the ground in front of me so that we're at eye level. "Marinette, are you okay?" he asks gently.

"I-I don't know."

"I know you didn't want to meet me because you didn't want to know that I could have been some fifty year old guy on the internet, but I couldn't sit around when you were hurting so badly. I couldn't see you like that but at the same time, I couldn't just reveal myself. I didn't want you to be disappointed in who the real Chat was."

"Why did you stop using the chat?" I asked.

"I figured out who you were and I didn't want anything to slip," he said.

"Anything to slip?"

Adrien wraps his hand around mine and holds it up. "I didn't want you to know that I...like you."

"You wha-"

Adrien brings my hand up to his lips and kisses my knuckles. Suddenly my entire mind is blank except for him. Adrien just confessed to me. Maybe I didn't hear him right. Why would he confess to me of all people?

The sound of a camera snaps me back into reality and I turn to see Alya holding up her phone. "That's a really good shot, you two!" she squeals as she shows me the proof of the kiss I still can't believe just happened.

"I uh, hope this doesn't change much between us. I know it'll be weird knowing that Chat Noir is me, but I'm still the same person you met on the blog and the person who found you in the storage room."

I look at our hands that are still holding one another and intertwine our fingers together. "Nothing would ever change that, you silly kitty."

Adrien gives me a shocked look before smiling and squeezing my hand. "Thank you, bugaboo."

I walked into school the next day with more confidence than I ever had. People were still giving me dirty looks, but there was only one thing I could think of.

Chloe.

Today was going to be the day I would stand up to her. I wasn't going to take anything from her anymore. She can't control me and she doesn't know me like the people who care about me do. Today, I'm going to make her understand her wicked ways to keep this from happening to anyone else again.

As I enter the classroom, Chloe, Sabrina, and Kim turn to me and smirk. I put on the sweetest smile I can possibly muster which isn't hard to do from being a baker's daughter, I'm told. "Oh, Chloe! Do you have a moment to share with moi?" I ask in a sickeningly sweet mocking tone.

Chloe looks visibly taken back by my confrontation, but she gets up anyway. "What do you want, loser? If you want to join us, you're not welcome here," she says.

"And just why would I want to do that?" I ask.

"Because I'm amazing and everyone wants to be my BFF," she said.

"And she already has one, so back off!" Sabrina interjects, clutching Chloe's arm like a toy. Chloe shakes her off and adjusts her bright yellow cardigan.

"I'm not here for that. I just wanted to invite you to lunch with Adrien and I."

"You what?!"

"Well, Adrien and I were going to have some of my parents' croissants today when I thought, 'what if we invite Chloe? She looks like she could use a few friends.' Adrien agreed with me and here I am, delivering the message to the Queen Bee herself." I added in a bow for dramatic effect that earned a giggle from Alix and Juleka in the back of the room.

"Wh-Why would Adrien sit with you at lunch? You're so...so..."

"-So his new girlfriend."

"What?"

Chloe wasn't the only one surprised by that interruption. Alya put a hand on her shoulder and winked at me. That means whatever she's going to do is way off the deep rail. "Yeah, didn't you hear? Marinette and Adrien are so into each other! I can't believe he's not here snuggling her before class starts!"

Chloe smiles and whips out her phone. "I did hear something like that. Didn't she blackmail him into it?" She shows off her photoshopped image to our classmates who look at me in anticipation of my retaliation.

"Blackmail isn't required for true love. Besides, aren't you the one who made that picture as blackmail in the first place?" Alya asks, taking her phone out as well.

"Why would I need to blackmail her?" she asks. She points at me like I'm a disgusting bug that needs to get squashed.

"I don't know. I mean, I have the conversation here, but I can't figure it out. Maybe you guys can help me? Max, you're smart. Analyze this for me." Max steps forward and Alya hands him her phone.

"'I wanted to show you this really cool shot I got today'...'People will believe what they want to believe, especially if you pay them enough'...'How far I take it depends on your stupid friend here'...all of these are from Antibug the day before that picture was sent out to everyone and it's the one she showed in the chat," Max reads out. Everyone looks at Alya's phone in disbelief and then at Chloe.

Her face turns red behind the make-up she wears and her legs shake as she steps back from the crowd. She clutches her phone so hard that her knuckles turn white and she points at me with her other hand. "She made that up! She totally made up that chat to frame me!"

"Marinette would never do such a thing."

"Adrien?! Why are you defending her?!"

Said teen walks into the class and puts a hand on my shoulder. "I've known her long enough to know that she would never do anything so heartless. She's a kind person that wouldn't take advantage of others, especially to date someone," he says. He smiles down at me and I can't help but smile back.

"Sh-She's doing it again! She totally blackmailed you into defending her! H-How pathetic can you be, Marinette?!" Chloe yells.

"Chloe..."

"It's over."

Kim steps forward to look at Chloe. "There's no point in continuing this," he says softly.

Chloe backs up even farther and stares at the class in fear and confusion. Her hands clutch tightly as do her eyes like she's holding back tears. Suddenly, they open and lock on me. "You! You stole Adrien away from me! He was mine!"

In a split second, Chloe rushes toward me and swings her arm around to slap me. Closing my eyes is the only thing I can do to protect myself against this unexpected attack. I hear the sound of skin hitting skin, but I don't feel any different physically. Slowly, I open my eyes and Adrien's back blocks my field of vision. His face is turned to the side and his eyes are closed too. The room gasps and falls silent as everyone stares at the two blondes.

"A-Adrien..." Chloe mutters. The realization of what she just did sets in and she stumbles backwards.

Adrien looks her in the eye and takes my hand in his. "I won't let you hurt my friends again," he says sternly. His expression and the tension in the air confuse Chloe. Her eyes dart around the room for any form of support she can get, but there is none. Her head drops and she slowly makes her way out of the classroom. After a moment or two of silence, Sabrina goes to join her.

Everyone looks at Adrien and I. "Are you okay?" I ask. Chloe's hand print is still red on his face and looks like it stings a little.

"I'm fine. I've been through worse," he smiles.

"Good, I'm glad," I smile back.

"So, are you two really a thing?" Rose asks to break the silence among her peers.

"I don't know. Are we, lovebug?" Adrien puts his arm around my shoulder and pulls me into his chest.

"Huh? What?" I blink nervously.

"This is the part where you say 'I do,'" Alya whispers.

"Alya! We aren't getting married!" I yell.

"I mean we could if you wanted to," Adrien pitches in.

"What?!"

"Aww, you guys are so cute!" Rose cheers.

"I can't believe it's all over..."

"You were great today, Marinette. I didn't know you had it in you ;)"

"Thanks, Alya."

"It's weird to see our real names come up instead of Ladybug or Lady Wifi."

"Yeah..."

"At least you don't have to say I'm some creep from the web :)"

"Well, you can be a creep."

"How?"

"I saw the way you were looking at Mari today. ;)"

"What way...?"

"Oh you know ;)"

"Alya, stop it!"

"Alright, alright. I'll leave you two lovebirds alone. Good night."

"Good night."

"So...what do we do now?"

"We can do anything now that Chloe won't bother you again for a while."

"I hope you're right."

"Animal instinct says I am."

"Hey, thanks for being there for me today. I couldn't have stood up to her without you, behind the screen or not."

"You don't have to thank me. That's what friends and boyfriends are for."

"..."

"What?"

"It's just...weird thinking that I'm your girlfriend..."

"Why? You don't want to be?"

"WHAT?! NO I DO!...It's just...a dream come true...Are you still there?"

"Sorry, I just had to laugh."

"Why?"

"You really are too sweet for your own good. I can't believe you're finally mine :)"

"...You're embarrassing me..."

"Well, get used to it, m'lady, because while I'm here, you're going to be nothing but happy ;)"

Author's Note

I really really really hate to say this but, The End! I had no idea this story would get the attention that it did and I'm really glad I was able to finish it in a timely manner. More often than not, I start a story and then just never get around to finishing it, but all of your continuous support motivated me into wrapping up this story. It was really fun to write and I hope that you all enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it! Hopefully I'll write more Miraculous Ladybug stories in the future since there's so much to explore in this universe.

Thank you all again for sticking with this story until the end!

Until next time, sayonara~!