DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN MIRACULOUS LADYBUG OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS.

Chapter Seventeen

"What do I feel about her? Well..."

'She's really pretty.'

'In fact, she's really cute too.'

'That look of determination in her eyes whenever she does something so passionately is just... a sight to behold.'

Chat sighed dreamily as he watched Marinette from the chaise, where he was currently sprawled on. He really liked watching Marinette when she was working.

Marinette is really an amazing girl.

Anyway... "So Princess, what's the occasion today?" He noticed that she was smiling a lot today, even when he heard that she almost tripped down the stairs when she hurriedly tried to open the front door for him.

It was kind of cute actually, but, well, dangerously cute.

Marinette's smile widened more, if possible. She was busy drawing right now on her desk. She told him moments ago that she had finally gotten over her art block, which, according to her, was the worst thing an artist can get, apparently.

So yeah, right now, Marinette was feeling that creative streak and she was channeling it on to her sketchbook.

"Is it bad that I'm just happy you're here, mon minou?" She feigned a look of hurt at him, pausing her work for a moment. "I haven't seen you in a long time."

Chat smirked. "Aww, did the princess miss her knight?"

Marinette rolled her eyes, but she was still smiling. "Maybe." And then she went back to work, picking up an eraser and removing some minor details she decided to change on her work.

"Well, don't worry Princess! Your knight is here to save you from Loneliness! We're going to spend the whole day together! Just the two of us." The boy in a black hoodie declared as he bolted out of his comfortable position and swept the girl in his arms-bridal style-making her squeak and drop her pencil.

Marinette's cheeks reddened, and then she playfully punched Chat Noir on his chest (don't tell her it was a bit painful) and demanded that he put her down and never ever do that to an artist who was in the middle of her drawing.

"...I really like her."

"I want to cry," Marinette tried to stop herself from gushing at how cute Chat Noir was right now.

Said cat, however, was glaring at her.

"You look adorkable, Chaton."

Chat pouted as the girl started taking pictures of him. "You are the embodiment of evil, Mari, EVIL!" He really hated what was going on right now.

Adrien Agreste, the famous fashion model and the son of the freaking Gabriel Agreste, was wearing a cat ears headband.

A freaking cat ears headband.

He wondered what Marinette would feel when she finds out she's doing this to her classmate, Adrien.

Adrien Agreste, the good boy, the famous model, the one home-schooled his whole life, the one who has a strict meal plan to follow, the one admired and fangirled on, and the face of the Agreste Brand.

Chat wondered if it was time for him tell Mari that he was that boy. Some part of him (and surprisingly that part sounded like Plagg) told him to tell her, but the other part...

The other part said not to.

And Chat-Adrien-Chadrien-whatever, was listening to the latter part right now.

He might sound like he was being selfish right now, but honestly, meeting Marinette was like a second chance to him. Marinette was like what Ladybug was once to Adrien, comfort, home, and a bunch of words synonymous to those things. Besides, Mari knows this side of him, one that he has locked away for so long. It was honestly refreshing to be around someone who he can be himself with, and someone who didn't see him as any of those things mentioned above when he described Adrien Agreste.

Marinette giggled as he took one last picture of Chat before taking another cat ears headband from the pile, wearing it as well. It was a red version of the one he was wearing, which was a black one.

"Don't worry Kitty, we can take pictures wearing these things together." She said as she pulled him towards and faced her phone's front camera in front of them.

Snap. Snap. Snap.

"Clawsome pictures as usual, Princess."

A dramatic sigh."...aaaand the puns are back."

Chat winked.

Maybe their trip to the Accessory Store for one of Mari's designs wasn't so bad after all.

"Anyway, Princess, can you give me a copy of that picture?"

Marinette stared at him blankly.

"Your phone?"

"She's a funny girl."

"Hey dudes! Nice to see you again Chat!" Nino waved at them from as he marched to them from the other side of the bridge.

Alya rolled her eyes and immediately ran towards them, dragging a shocked Nino behind her.

"Hi... Alya and... Nino, was it?" Chat said with a fake confused expression on his face. "You guys are Marinette's classmates and friends too, right?"

Alya nodded. "I see you and my girl over there are busy today." She waved at said girl who was busy paying for their headbands at the counter. The girl waved back at them happily, although Chat could tell she was a bit annoyed by the fact that she lost against him in a game of Rock Paper Scissors on who would pay for the items.

Nino, who was busy panting over the sudden rush, finally got his groove back and said, "You know, you really look a lot like our boy Adrien." Alya nodded in agreement.

"Oh that's because I'm him," Chat told Nino through his mind. Luckily, the boy didn't have telepathy and Chat once again had that fake curious look on his face. "A-a-ah, A-Adrien A-Agreste? H-he th-the mo-model right?" His eyes traveling at basically anywhere but the couple.

Someone, anyone, give Chat an award for Best Acting right now.

"Hmm," Alya had a really thoughtful look on her face. That was never a good sign, it meant that Alya's investigator instincts are kicking in. Suddenly, her eyes widened, and all the cat nip drained from the boy's system. "Could it be..."

This was it.

"Could it be that your Adrien's cousin?"

What? Felix? Him?

His boy Nino gave Alya a curious look, asking what was in Adrien's mind all along when Alya uttered those words. Alya shortly explained that Felix was Adrien's cousin, who she described as "possibly Adrien's twin." Nino afterwards gave Alya a look and said, "How am I not surprised that my girlfriend knows these things?"

All that happened as Adrien stared at the two in silence.

It was at that exact moment that Marinette approached them.

The girl raised an eyebrow at what was happening in front of her while placing Chat's headband on top of his messy hair. The girl was now wearing a gray-pink mouse ears headband, choosing to buy it instead due to her kitten's insistence. "What's happening?" She asked, looking at Chat who was staring blankly at the two.

Alya gave her a wild look. "I know Chat's real name!" Her boyfriend beside her trying to process everything. The aspiring journalist then told her friend who she thought Chat was.

Marinette blinked. "Chat, is she... is she right?" She was looking at Chat now.

Chat considered his options:

ROUTE A

Chat sighed. "No," he said. "She's so close though." He gave Marinette an apologetic smile.

To the three's surprise, Chat removed his headband and placed it on a nearby bench, afterwards taking off his hoodie too. He was currently wearing his usual Adrien Agreste clothes due to him being in a hurry to see Marinette, and styled his hair to that signature Adrien Agreste hairstyle, thankful that he could still put the remaining hair gel in his hair to use.

He turned, and saw the three gaping at him. "A...drien?" Nino asked, surprised.

The model rubbed the back of his neck, giving them a shy wave. "Hi buddy."

Meanwhile, Alya was looking at him, her eyes piercing through his soul. She snapped her fingers in dismay. "I was almost right, dang it." He could hear her mumble.

Lastly, Marinette, well, Marinette was staring at him with a look of hurt on her face. He wanted to comfort her. "Why did you lie to me, Adrien?" And then she ran, far away from him, he saw that there were tears streaming down her cheeks as she ran past him.

ROUTE B

Chat sighed. "Yes."

He didn't like lying, but he really wasn't ready to tell Marinette. He silently prayed that Felix wouldn't be visiting Paris anytime soon though.

Alya screamed a "Yes!" attracting the gazes of several vendors in the area. Nino looked happy for his girlfriend. Meanwhile, Marinette, well, she was looking at him differently.

He didn't like it.

"You really look a lot like your cousin." She said with a soft smile. (Finally!)

"Uh thanks?"

And so Adrien went for Route B, because it had the better outcome in his opinion.

"Anyway, my girl and I are going to the movies right now, we just stopped by here since we saw you guys." Nino said as he dragged Alya away from them. "See you my dudes!"

"See ya." The duo chorused.

As Nino and his girlfriend disappeared, Chat took Marinette's hand. "Come on, I'm going to take you home."

Marinette didn't jerk her hand away, rather choosing to entwine her fingers on Chat's.

It felt... nice... holding his best friend's hand.

They walked, it was really slow-paced, but nonetheless Chat liked it.

"Aren't your parents concerned about your well-being? I mean, the sun's already setting." Marinette said as she pointed towards the view of Paris.

Chat laughed. "They're really not concerned at all." Especially since his father thinks Adrien is out spending time with Rene, who actually told him this is their chance to escape an awkward time once again.

"Oh."

They were turning a to a corner when Mari suddenly asked him, "So... Adrien's cousin huh?"

Chat internally groaned. "Yeah..."

"I can't believe I was right the first time..." Marinette said, and Chat was kind of glad that Mari remembered the first time they met.

"What was he like? Adrien as a kid, I mean." They passed the stairs towards the entrance to Collège Françoise Dupont. Chat was startled by the question. "Why? Do you like him Princess?" He teased, trying to hide his panic over what he should answer.

Marinette huffed. "Is it bad that I just wanted to know what he was like back then?"

They were already crossing the pedestrian, and were nearly outside the bakery. "Maybe another time, Mari." He said.

The girl sighed. "Alright, but try to visit at least every three or four days alright?" She gave her kitten a hopeful look.

Chat gave her a thumbs-up as she went inside the bakery.

"A real magician."

"I hate to say this kid, but you are digging yourself a deeper hole."

"I know Plagg."

"It's good that you know, now get out of this car before I can order you to buy me more camembert."

"Wouldn't you like that though?"

"Yes, now get out of this car right now before I tell Gorilla over here to drive us all home!"

Said driver grunted.

"Fine! Fine! I'm getting out." Adrien surrendered and immediately opened the car door. Chloe, like the jump-scare that she was, jumped at him before he can even close the door. "ADRIKINS!"

"Chloe, please get off." He whispered to her ear. Chloe clinging at him was basically what a koala's like hugging a tree, except, it wasn't cute, it was painful and just plain terrifying.

"No." She whispered back. And then, "SABRINA! CLOSE THE DOOR TO ADRIEN'S CAR." She ordered the girl, who materialized beside her.

Sabrina complied.

"Chloe, what's going on?" Adrien was puzzled by the way Chloe was acting today. It was only back then that she was usually like this, clinging to Adrien for dear life.

What was going on with his friend?

"Adrien, I need you to stay at my sight at all times today in this school." Chloe told him seriously, although she was still clinging to him. It was kind of embarrassing though because a crowd was watching them.

"Okay, just please let me go."

"Chloe, I don't think Adrien can breathe." Thank goodness Marinette came to his aid.

Also, wow, Mari was earlier than usual.

Chloe finally let go of Adrien and ran towards Marinette, to whom the mayor's daughter whispered something to.

Marinette's eyes widened.

What in the world was going on?

For the first time, Marinette's aura radiated even more confidence and boldness, she looked at Adrien, her eyes feeling like it was going to shoot laser beams at some point.

"Adrien," she began, "I need you to be careful today and to never let yourself out of Chloe's sight, got it?" Adrien just nodded dumbly, surprised by the girl's sudden change of mood.

Where were Alya and Nino anyway?

"She's the most extraordinary girl I've ever met."

The class today was louder than usual, could it possibly be connected to Mari and Chloe's actions earlier that day?

Even weirder, Marinette and Chloe seemed to be discussing something at the corner of the room.

Adrien decided to ask a reliable source what was going on, which turned out to be his seatmate/friend, Nino.

"Oh, right, you haven't met her yet." Nino commented when he asked what the fuss was about. "One of our classmates is finally going to return from her trip! Anyway, my dude, I won't spoil you much on the details about her but you're going to really, really like her."

That was a good thing, right?

Finally, Ms. Bustier entered the classroom, which the class took as a sign to quiet down and return to their seats. Ms. Bustier looked really happy as she finally introduced the subject of all this fuss and Mari and Chloe's bizarre actions. "One of your classmates finally returned from her trip! Come in, dear."

The first thing Adrien noticed was red-orange. The girl was wearing a red-orange jacket over a dark gray romper with tiny white spots. Her eyes that were strikingly olive green, they seemed to pierce down through Adrien's soul. Her chestnut hair was really long, reaching down to her hips. She reminded Adrien of a model, specifically, a fashion model just like him.

She walked and stood beside Ms. Bustier, to which after, the teacher encouraged her to say a few words. After all, they haven't seen her for a month and a half.

The girl blushed. Adrien guessed maybe the girl was a bit shy.

"Umm," the girl began, "Hey everyone! It's nice to see you again! I'm finally back from the Kingdom of Achu." She said with a sweet smile.

Adrien's classmates started talking all at once, some asking the girl about her trip, the others asking what the prince was like. They all looked happy, all except Marinette and Chloe.

The boy was snapped out of his thoughts when Ms. Bustier encouraged the girl to introduce herself to Adrien, since the boy didn't know her yet.

The girl pursed her lips and nodded, she made her way towards Adrien and held out a hand. "Hi I'm Lila Rossi. It's nice to meet you, um, er, Adrien." She said with a shy smile.

He could feel Mari glaring daggers from behind him. However... he shook Lila's hand. "Likewise. I hope we get along well, Lila."

The girl smiled sweetly, then went to her seat and the class began.

"She's the music that's been playing inside my head since the first day we met."

Snap.

'Dang it.' Adrien thought that night as he brought out a pencil sharpener from his desk drawer and immediately sharpened his lead-broken pencil.

Usually, he would be able to finish his History homework under thirty minutes, but apparently that wasn't the case tonight.

Luka's declaration of his feelings for Marinette during their meal really did bother him, huh?

He sighed and slumped unto his chair, his mind kept wandering to their conversation a lot this evening.

Adrien really did like Marinette a lot...

HELLO HUMAN BEINGS, I HAVE RETURNED.

Anyway, so yeah, I was pretty busy with a lot of things from my personal life lately, plus the fact that I've fallen down more fandoms apparently, plus the fact I'm reading more fanfics-

ANYWAY, I hope for you guys to prioritize your safety and your health due to the things happening. Also, stay positive! Being positive helps strengthen your immune system! :)

Lastly, I want to apologize for any grammatical errors present in this work, as well as thank you all for reviewing/following/adding this fic to your favorites and for reading this fic + the patience. It really means a lot to me :')

Anyways, I hope you like this chapter and please review!