Here's another story. Possibly going to be a two or three-shot because of the length of the production. I saw the stage show of Andrew Lloyd-Webber's "Phantom Of The Opera" on stage few years ago, and I was SO GLAD I didn't sit it out. I loved it! And I've seen a few fan pieces where characters from Miraculous Ladybug have been adapted to the show, so I thought, why not give it a go on my end, too, while including some of the songs?

Here's the main synopsis: Marinette's class in her lycée (yes, it's the same group) is going to be working with some other classes and the school theatre department to put on "Phantom of The Opera" and Marinette has been cast as Christine Daaé. But in a crazy twist, Adrien is cast as the titular role of the Phantom and Nathanaël gets the part of Vicomte de Changy Raoul. As a result, Adrien's territorial/jealous side comes out during rehearsals and the actual performance.

Now before I'm given grief over my casting choice, hear me out: the Phantom of the Opera is a jealous, lonely man yearning for love and acceptance. In a way, that's similar to Adrien, who wants to be a normal person, live a normal life, and be accepted by his peers. And I've heard that cats tend to be very territorial and jealous, so I thought that would tie in with the Phantom's jealousy over Raoul and Christine's romance. Adrien would be letting his "jealous cat" tendencies show through in his acting.

And for the sake of tightening up the story, I'm going to jump around and only feature some of the scenes in the show that primarily have the Phantom, Raoul, and Christine together instead of going through the whole show, otherwise it will take forever to show the main plot. This is still going to be a bit of a long one. None of the material for either Miraculous or Phantom of The Opera is mine.

Now, this contains a Season 2 spoiler, so if you don't want to read it, you might want to turn back.

A classroom door opens, and skidding inside on her feet before falling flat on her face was a girl. A girl with fair skin, blue eyes, pale pink lips, and dark hair tied back into low pigtails with red ribbons. She had a white shirt with a floral pattern stitched into it, was wearing a dark grey blazer that had pink lining with polka dots, and the sleeves were just past her elbows. She was wearing pink pants and ballet flats. Her purse was pink with a black strap and it had a similar flower design stitched on it that coordinated with the whole outfit. She was also wearing black stud earrings.

"Marinette! You okay, girl?" Another girl asked.

She had dark red hair that went slightly past her shoulders, with a lighter copper shade at the tips, and hazel eyes. She was wearing glasses, had a beauty mark over one of her eyebrows. She was wearing a white tank with a flannel shirt that had white, orange, and purple plaid stripes. She was also wearing jeans and white sneakers.

"I'm fine, Alya," Marinette said. "I'm just glad I'm on time for once."

"You need to get organized." Alya said with a giggle as she helped Marinette stand up.

Marinette could have sworn that she heard her kwami, Tikki, giggling inside her purse.

"Good thing Adrien hasn't arrived yet," A boy quipped. "You're always trying to look good in front of him."

He was tall, with short brown hair, hazel eyes, and glasses. He was wearing a blue shirt with an eye design on the front, several bands on his wrists, a red cap on his head, orange headphones around his neck, jeans, and red/white high-collar shoes.

"Nino..." Marinette muttered, a little embarrassed.

"Ha! As if she could ever look good for anyone or anything!" A snobbish, shrill voice said from nearby. A girl with fair skin, pink lips, icy blue eyes, and blonde hair in a ponytail with sunglasses atop her head, wearing a yellow jacket over a white and black stripped shirt was smirking.

"Shut up, Chloé. No one asked you." Alya quipped. This made Chloé grind her teeth and scoff before turning away.

Marinette and Alya then shared a high-five before taking their seat at their shared bench.

Just then, the door opened again. In walked in the boy of Marinette's dreams, Adrien Agreste. He was a taller boy with golden-blonde hair, and eyes of peridot green. He had fair skin, and was wearing a black shirt with a white button-down over it, blue jeans, and orange sneakers. The son of her fashion idol Gabriel Agreste, Adrien could only be described in one word: perfect. Marinette could not stop talking about him and all of his good traits that were not his wealth and looks.

He had first walked into her life when she was about thirteen. It was her first day of school for the term and she was just flat-out having a bad day. She had been late to school, got stuck with Chloé in her class again, and to top it all off, Marinette had mistakenly come to the conclusion that Adrien had put chewing gum on her seat. In truth, it was really Sabrina and Chloe who did it and used Adrien as a scapegoat. Being Chloé's old friend, Marinette immediately took a disliking to him because she thought Adrien was just a male Chloé.

However, after the day's events, Marinette had a change of heart. Just her luck, it had begun raining and she was without an umbrella. Adrien had come forward and told her the truth while explaining that being in public school was completely new for him. Once he was finished, he had given her his own umbrella to use for the day before leaving. Marinette had been head-over-heels for him ever since.

And it was also the same time she had first obtained her earrings, which were the Ladybug Miraculous. While at first she wanted nothing to do with being a super heroine, she soon accepted the role and had been doing an excellent job of keeping Paris safe alongside her Miraculous super hero partner, Cat Noir.

Over the years, Adrien had grown. Not only did he shoot up in height, but his chest and shoulders had gotten broader, his arms were more toned and muscular, his jawline had grown sharper and stronger, and he was starting to look like less of a fourteen-year-old and more of a young adult. If Marinette had been crushing on him before, she was completely helpless now.

Adrien caught Marinette staring at him and made eye contact.

"Good morning, Marinette." Adrien said, waving to the girl before winking at her.

Marinette blushed and shyly waved back while saying, "Good morning, Adrien. How are you this morning?"

"I'm feline pretty good." Adrien said, as he made his way over to his seat next to Nino.

Everyone groaned at that pun, thinking it terrible. Marinette face-palmed herself and sighed in annoyance.

As time went by, her interactions with Adrien had gotten smoother and less awkward to the point where she could carry a conversation without stumbling over her words. It also helped that she started finding Cat Noir to be quite attractive, too.

She had no idea when it started. Out of nowhere, Cat Noir had started randomly visiting her when she was on her balcony at night. The excuses he came up with varied, but all of them had the foundation that he was trying to check up on her. Since she had been the target of a few akumas, he wanted to make sure she was safe... Or so he told her.

Marinette internally called crap on that. She never said it out loud, but she knew Cat Noir was treating her differently when compared to other civilians. Sure, he was still flirting with her when she was Ladybug, but she had begun to take it more seriously when she realized he was not fooling around about his affections for her. As a result, he toned it down.

But that did not explain why he was paying attention to her as both Ladybug and Marinette. The only explanation she could think of was that he somehow figured out her secret.

She threw that idea out the window pretty quickly, since she had been quadruple careful about keeping her identity under wraps. She had even started changing her hairstyle whenever she was Ladybug as an extra measure. Yes, her heart belonged to Adrien, but she was starting to grow fond of her kitten, too.

Adrien snickered internally as his friends' reaction to his joke was just what he wanted. He especially found Marinette's reaction to be very endearing. Adrien could not help but stare at the back of her head, watching her converse with Alya over who-knows-what. Knowing Alya, it was probably something relating to Ladybug and Cat Noir.

Adrien's overall personality did not change much as he had gotten older, but he was able to let some facets of his true self shine through. He had come out of his shell a little more, being slightly more outgoing than he used to be and would sometimes crack a joke in conversation.

Needless to say, no one really appreciated his sense of humor and Nino had said he was just as bad at jokes as Cat Noir, especially puns. Adrien pretended to be affronted and insinuated - and joked - that he was being accused of being a copycat, which was a double pun in of itself. He could not help but think of the Copycat incident when he made that pun, and wound up howling in laughter.

Adrien was always amused at the reactions his friends had to his jocular behavior. Marinette's expressions were a welcome pleasure, especially. The way she reacted with groans at his jokes forced him to hold back his chuckles. He secretly started watching Marinette, as she was talking to Alya about something on the Ladyblog.

'She's so beautiful...' Adrien thought, as he saw Marinette's eyes light up with humor and joy. A smitten smile graced his lips and a few hearts started to flutter around him.

Nino nudged him with his elbow and whispered, "Caught you staring at Marinette, man."

Adrien blushed, the hearts vanished in a puff of smoke, and then he shook his head before insisting, "I wasn't staring at Marinette. I was staring off into space."

"Sure you were." Nino quipped with a playful roll of his eyes. Nino knew his best friend better than anybody.

Adrien scoffed before resting his face on one of his heads.

Soon thereafter, their teacher came in. She clapped her hands to get everyone's attention and then she cleared her throat.

"Class, I have excellent news to share with you," She said, with a big smile on her face. "We all know that the school festival is coming up in several months and we will be collaborating with the theatre department and a few other classes for our contribution. We will be performing..."

The teacher immediately wrote up the title of the show on the blackboard.

"Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Phantom Of The Opera."" She announced. Everyone started clamoring and talking with excitement over the news.

"Oh my gosh, Alya! "Phantom of the Opera?!" I absolutely love that show!" Marinette said. "The clothes are so well-made and the story is great!"

"I know, girl! This will be perfect for the school blog!" Alya said, as she and Marinette shared a high-five.

"Time for me to take the spotlight!" Chloé declared, standing up and putting a hand to her chest. "I clearly will be playing Christine Daaé and Adrikins will be Raoul!"

"Actually, Chloé, I've already decided the cast list. And it will not be up for debate under any circumstances. The principal cares not who your father is, is that clear?" The teacher said, crossing her arms.

Chloé groaned, sat in her seat with a thud and crossed her arms.

"Now, first off, our protagonist, Christine Daaé, shall be played by Marinette Dupain-Cheng, who will also be working with the theatre department's costume design team to make the costumes for our show. Is that okay, Marinette?" The teacher declared.

Marinette smiled widely with joy. Not only was she going to be making the costumes for the show, but she was going to be center stage for the entire production as the heroine. It was a dream come true.

"I'm more than happy to do it!" Marinette said, nodding excitedly and nearly bursting into a fit of happiness.

'This is great! I can use my designing skills to make the best costumes for the show! And not only that, I'm playing Christine!' Marinette thought, overjoyed.

"Now, for the remainder of the cast. Madame Giry: Juleka Couffaine; Meg Giry: Rose Lavillant; Carlotta Guidicelli: Chloé Bourgeois; Ubaldo Piangi: Ivan Bruel. Joseph Buquet: Nino Lahiffe. Monsieur Gilles Andre: Max Kante; Monsieur Richard Firmin: Lé Chiên Kim. Everyone okay so far?" The teacher asked.

"Yes, Madame." Everyone said with a nod, albeit the obvious anger and disappointment in Chloe's voice was palpable.

"Alya Césaire shall be in charge of spreading the word via social media through the school blog. The remainder of the students from here and the other classes will be in the ensemble." The teacher said.

"Hang on," Alix said, speaking up. "You forgot something, Madame. What about The Phantom and Raoul? Who will be playing those two?"

"Oh, yes, I nearly forgot. Thank you for reminding me, Alix," The teacher said. "Vicomte de Chagny Raoul shall be played by..."

Marinette was on the edge of her seat. The remaining two boys in the classroom were Nathanaël Kurtzberg and Adrien, so it came down to the fact that in her role, these two boys would be vying for her affections.

What she did not know was that would be happening both on and off the stage.

Unknown to anyone else in the room, Adrien was crossing his fingers under the table. He wanted to be the one playing Raoul, because he knew one detail about the show that Marinette seemed to forget...

'Come on, come on...' Adrien thought, praying that he would get the part of Christine's lover.

"Nathanaël Kurtzberg," The teacher stated, as she made eye contact with the redheaded artist. "Who will also help by making flyers for the show to post around the school."

Adrien turned around to look at Nathanaël with wide eyes. The artist's face was as red as his hair, and his lips quirked up into a tiny smile. Nathanaël glanced in Marinette's direction before turning to the teacher and giving her a determined smile and a firm nod.

"Yes, Madame." Nathanaël said, facing up to the challenge.

Nathanaël could not help but internally cheer and jump for joy. Once he heard that Marinette would be playing Christine, he was hoping that he would play Raoul because the two of them had so many sweet moments in the show. He was pretty stoked.

"Which leaves the titular role to Adrien Agreste." The teacher said.

Everyone was clapping for Adrien, who had been given the key part of playing the main character of the show. On the outside, Adrien was flattered and smiling. Deep down though, he was seething with envy.

'Crap, why did Nathanaël get the part of Vicomte de Changy Raoul?! That should be me!' Adrien thought, jealous that Nathanaël had gotten the part of Raoul.

Adrien knew what happened in the show. He was fully aware of what was coming, and the image that his mind conjured up made Adrien want to gag. It was not a pretty picture.

Nathanaël, on the other hand, was smiling to himself, bumping a fist in delight. Apparently, he also knew what would come to pass in the show and was excited about it.

"I'll hand out the scripts and music sheets at once. Rehearsals start tomorrow after school in the auditorium," The teacher said, as she took up a pile of scripts and music, and in each script, she highlighted the lines for the role for the intended recipient.

Marinette was a little flustered - and happy - that Adrien got the role of the Phantom while she was cast as Christine. It was like one of her fantasies was playing out. Adrien was upset over Nathanaël being cast as Raoul, and Nathanaël himself was internally reveling that he had gotten that particular role.

Alya and Nino merely gave each other uncomfortable looks, as if they knew something that Marinette was either aware of or was forgetting about.

Once the final bell for class rang out that day, Marinette and Alya were making their way home. Marinette herself had a skip to her step, excited that she had gotten such a coveted role.

"I'm playing Christine Daaé~! I'm playing Christine Daaé~!" Marinette said, in a sing-song voice, while spinning with every few steps.

"Yeah, yeah, I know girl. You're going to be great, I'm sure," Alya said, trying to get her friend to calm down. "But I think you're forgetting one little thing."

"What might that be?" Marinette asked, as she kept walking with joy.

"You realize you have to kiss Nathanaël, right?" Alya said, getting to the point.

Marinette immediately froze in her tracks and then turned around to Alya.

"K-K-K-Kiss Nathanaël?!" Marinette squeaked.

"That's what I said, girl," Alya said. "You have to kiss Nathanaël a few times, since he is playing the part of Christine's lover/fiancé in the show."

"Omigod, I totally forgot about that! I have to kiss Nathanaël, and Adrien will see it! He'll think Nathanaël and I are an item, he'll never speak to me again, and I'll never get a date with him!" Marinette began, freaking out.

Alya shook her head with amusement, thinking, 'The more things change, the more they stay the same.'

"Marinette, you have to relax!" Alya said, grabbing her best friend by the shoulder and getting her to stop. "They're only stage kisses. A-N-D, if you remember the show, then you get to kiss Adrien, too."

Marinette immediately blushed at the idea of kissing Adrien. She grew a goofy smile on her face and hearts fluttered around her head at the notion of kissing her crush.

Once she calmed down, Marinette told her best friend, "Thanks, Alya. You're right, I can't get so worked up about it. I should get home to get started on practicing my part."

"See you tomorrow, girl!" Alya said, as she and Marinette shared a high-five before parting ways for the day.

Once Marinette was in the privacy of her bedroom, she started fan-girling over the idea that she would get to kiss Adrien.

"OMIGOSH, TIKKI!" Marinette squealed. "I get to kiss Adrien!"

"Don't forget, Marinette. They're not real, and you're kissing two boys in this show." Tikki said, trying to get her chosen to clam down, lest her parents check in on her.

"No argument there..." Marinette said, as her mind wandered to the moment where she and Adrien would kiss for the first time. Her face burned with embarrassment and anticipation for the moment.

"Oh, but how am I supposed to focus when all I can think about is kissing Adrien's kissable lips?!" Marinette squealed, her hands to her face and sighing with joy.

"Why not distract yourself by working on the designs for the costumes?" Tikki chimed, trying to help Marinette focus on something else.

"That's a good idea!" Marinette said, as she immediately took out her sketchbook, pencils, rulers, etc., to get started on designing. "But still... I can't believe I have to kiss Nathanaël..."

"I can't believe she has to kiss Nathanaël!" Adrien shouted as he paced around his room in frustration. His fingers were tugging at his hair and he was gritting his teeth in annoyance.

"What's your problem, Adrien?" Plagg asked, eating camembert as always. "You have to chill out. After all, you get a kiss from her in this show, too."

Adrien stopped in his tracks and turned back to Plagg before saying, "Yes, I know that, but I only get the one! Meanwhile, good old artist Nathanaël gets several from her, all because he got the role of Raoul instead of me!"

"Aren't you the jealous type?" Plagg quipped, teasing.

Adrien blushed, averting his eyes. He face-palmed himself and sighed in vexation.

"Oh, of course I am," Adrien said. "Sure, Marinette and I are going to have plenty of moments on stage together, but in the end..."

Adrien did not want to finish that statement. Being in love with Marinette was making him think things he would normally not let stew in his mind. On the other hand, he assumed that he would not be a healthy seventeen year old boy if he did not have such thoughts.

"You mooning over her when she's Ladybug is one thing, but now as Marinette, too? You've got it bad." Plagg said, as he swallowed the last of his camembert, before letting out a loud belch.

"Well, maybe if someone had told me earlier that Marinette has been My Lady this whole time, I wouldn't have this problem!" Adrien said, giving Plagg a sour, knowing look.

Adrien had started to fall for Marinette somewhere along the line. He was unsure when his feelings of friendship towards her blossomed into love. One day, he just took notice of her and how beautiful she had become as she got older. And as time passed, her anxiety and awkwardness around him lessened. They were able to talk normally as a result. He started enjoying her company more and more, and he began yearning to spend more time with her, and maybe even ask her out on a date.

The problem was that while Marinette had caught his attention, he was still devoted to Ladybug. Whenever he was around Ladybug, he could see Marinette in her and vice-versa. Adrien was torn between two girls... Or so he thought.

~Flashback~

One day, Adrien was just walking through the halls at school when he overheard Marinette talking to someone in the locker area. He could immediately tell it was not Alya she was talking to.

"Marinette, you're going to be fine!" The feminine, high-pitched voice said. It sounded very friendly and compassionate. "You've been working on that design for weeks! Everyone, well, minus Chloé, is going to love it!"

Adrien snuck over to the lockers and chanced a peek and saw Marinette talking... to her purse? Adrien blinked a few times. That could not be right. He took a closer look and saw that Marinette was speaking to what appeared to be a red version of Plagg. Only this kwami had black spots, no cat ears or whiskers, was clearly a girl, and had pretty blue eyes, much like Marinette.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Tikki," Marinette said, as she rubbed Tikki on her head with her finger. "It's definitely one of my favorites."

"That's Tikki for you," Plagg muttered from under Adrien's shirt whilst peeking out. "Always encouraging her chosen and being there for them. No wonder Marinette has been such a good Ladybug. Not only does she meet the qualifications, but Tikki's there for her, too."

Hearing what he had just said, Plagg covered his mouth. Adrien, completely floored and shocked, grabbed Plagg by his body and dashed into the boys' bathroom. Double-checking to make sure no one else was there, he went into one of the stalls and locked the door.

"You knew that Marinette is Ladybug?!" Adrien asked, in complete shock.

Plagg froze for a second, but then nodded.

"For how long?" Adrien demanded of Plagg.

Plagg hesitated to answer. Adrien knew only one thing that would get Plagg to crack.

"Tell me the truth or no camembert for a month!" Adrien threatened.

Hearing that ultimatum, Plagg swallowed a lump in his throat and said, "...Since Dark Owl."

"You've known for that long and you NEVER told me?!" Adrien shouted, grabbing Plagg by his abdomen again. "Why not?!"

"You know the rules of superheroes, kid!" Plagg said, phasing out of Adrien's grip. "And besides, Ladybug keeps on insisting on separating your civilian and superhero lives! Do you honestly think she would have been happy if you knew the truth?!"

Adrien deflated at that. Plagg was right. The blonde sighed in defeat and said, "You're right. Sorry for overreacting."

"I can't blame you for that, but never threaten to take away my camembert again, you understand?" Plagg said, glaring at Adrien.

"Fine." Adrien said, before letting Plagg hide in his shirt again.

~End of Flashback~

After that, Adrien began paying more attention to Marinette and started learning to love her as both the normal, clumsy, aspiring designer and as the red and black-spotted super heroine he had come to adore.

At first, reconciling the two girls into one was a challenge. They acted so differently, but at the same time, they were so alike. Once Adrien came to terms with the truth, he realized how stupid he was for not noticing earlier. He was also relieved that he was actually in love with one girl rather than two.

Adrien wanted to come out with it and tell Marinette everything. That he knew her secret, how much he loved her - all of her - and that he was Cat Noir. On the other hand, he was a little timid about speaking up... Especially since he had competition.

Adrien knew Nathanaël still had feelings for Marinette. Even after the Evillustrator incident, Nathanaël's crush on the blunette never faded. In the redhead's defense, akumatized victims never remember what happened when they were under Hawkmoth's control. Thus, it was understandable that the artist had no recollection of comparing Marinette to Chloé.

"Okay. Once rehearsals start tomorrow, I'm going to give it my all, and I'll show Marinette how passionate of a Phantom I can be!" Adrien said, making a bold declaration.

Plagg rolled his eyes and ate his cheese again, ignoring Adrien's statements.

Marinette and Alya arrived at the school auditorium the next afternoon. Everyone else in the class and the entire theatre troupe was there, too.

Adrien took notice of Marinette and then gave her a smile and a wave. Marinette responded in kind and then she noticed who was on stage.

There were two members of the theatre department playing Monsieur Reyer and Monsieur Lefevre respectively, and then Nino, Chloé, Ivan, Kim, Max, Juleka, and Rose and they were all reading over their scripts. Anyone who was either in the ensemble or off stage for the moment was in the house seats. Anyone who needed a specific prop also had them in hand. For example, Madame Giry had a cane that she slammed on the stage to get everyone's attention, thus Juleka had one in hand, too.

Marinette immediately ran up to the stage, pulling out her own script in response.

"Perfect timing, Marinette," Rose said. "We're about to run lines for the first scene."

Marinette smiled as she looked over her script, waiting for her part. She was quiet while listening to the others who were speaking or singing for their parts.

"Okay... 'If I remember correctly, Elissa has quite a fabulous aria in Act III of "Hannibal." I was hoping, Mademoiselle, as a personal favor if you could indulge us with a private rendition? That is, unless Monsieur Reyer objects?'" Kim said, reciting his lines as Firmin.

"'My manager commands it. Monsieur Reyer.'" Chloé said, her snobbiness being on-point.

Marinette internally rolled her eyes. Now she understood why the teacher put Chloé in the role of the prima donna: the mayor's daughter was perfect for the part.

"'As my diva commands! Will two bars be a sufficient introduction?'" The boy playing Reyer said, as he opened up his prop: a book of sheet music.

"'Two bars will be perfect.'" Kim said, reciting his lines.

After the next few lines were spoken, everyone gave Chloé a bit of space so they could hear her sing.

"'Think of me... Think of me fondly when we've said 'goodbye...'" Chloé began, her voice high and very, very grating. Everyone cringed and grimaced a bit.

It was not that Chloé's singing was bad, it was just high-pitched, equitable to fingernails on a blackboard, and it was nearly impossible to distinguish the lyrics. However, it was likely that was the whole point.

'Ugh, no wonder the Phantom tried to take Carlotta out of the picture and replace her with Christine in this show. It's hard to understand the song with that vocalizing.' Marinette thought, trying not to cover her ears.

"'Remember me every so often, promise me you'll try! On that day, that not-so-distant day, when you are far away and free. If you ever find a moment, spare a thought for me. Think of me, think of me...'" Chloé continued.

The teacher snapped her fingers and then at that point, everyone on the stage - minus Marinette, who briefly went into her mental "Ladybug Mode" - started screaming and scrambling around the stage. Marinette, remembering she was supposed to be scared, immediately stiffened up and looked around in mild fear.

Marinette remained quiet as everyone else continued their lines. Marinette tuned out as Chloé perfectly reciting her lines, having heard Chloé's bratty tantrums tons of times in the past. They were at the part where Carlotta was ranting about how the accidents have been happening for three years straight with no end in sight, no thanks to the former owner.

She then stomped off the stage, followed by Ivan. Marinette resisted the urge to giggle at this, considering how fitting it was. Marinette kept listening to the others go over their lines, and waiting for her cue.

"'Madame, who is Elissa's understudy?!'" Max asked, pushing his glasses up on his face.

"'We haven't found one. The production is new.'" Reyer's actor said, indignantly.

"'Christine Daaé can sing it!'" Rose, playing her part said, as she pulled on Marinette's arm and brought her over to Max, Juleka, and Kim.

Marinette got in character, because she knew what was about to happen.

"'What? A girl from the ballet group?'" Kim asked, crossing his arms in suspicions.

"'She's been taking lessons from an excellent instructor!'" Rose said, pushing Marinette closer to the boys.

"'Oh? And who might he be?'" Max asked, raising an eyebrow.

Marinette grew stiff, as per her character. She swallowed a lump in her throat and then said, "'I-I'm afraid I know not of his identity, Monsieur.'"

"'Mon deu, even yourself?!'" Kim asked, slapping himself in the face. "'I don't believe this! The show is sold out and now we have to cancel as a result!'"

Juleka spoke up and said, "'Let her sing for you, Monsieur. She has been taught quite well.'"

"'Fine then.'" Max said, rolling his eyes.

"'Take it from the top of the aria.'" Reyer's actor said, showing Marinette the sheet music.

Marinette stepped forward and took a deep breath. Her eyes met Adrien's and then the blonde gave her a smile and a thumb's up. Marinette grew more confident, ready to sing.

The piano began to play. Marinette started to behave in a nervous, jittery manner.

"'Think of me... Think of me fondly when we've said goodbye.'" Marinette nervously sang, staying in character.

She tried to exit the stage, but then Juleka tapped her cane on the stage, cuing Marinette to stop and continue her singing.

"'Remember me every so often. Promise me you'll try.'" Marinette sang, as she started to grow more confident. She ignored Kim and Max's lines that were being spoken at the same time, trying to concentrate on her part.

Marinette's singing voice got Adrien's attention. His eyes went wide. He had never heard Marinette sing before, and he was impressed. Everyone else in the seats were pleasantly surprised at Marinette's talent - even Chloé, though she would never say it out loud.

"'On that day, that not so distant day, when you are far away and free. If you ever find a moment, spare a thought for me.'" Marinette sang, now fully comfortable and singing on stage as if she had been doing it forever.

Adrien was listening intently as he kept his eyes on Marinette. He started to put himself in the Phantom's position and began thinking about what his part was probably thinking in that moment.

'Wow... I understand why the Phantom was so fixated on her and her singing voice. It's phenomenal!' Adrien thought, as he felt at peace at hearing Marinette's singing.

"'Though it's clear, though it was always clear, that this was never meant to be, if you happen to remember, stop and think of me.'" Marinette sang, letting her mind wander.

She was thinking of the times that she and Cat Noir would spend time together and how, very deep in the back of her mind and heart, she would secretly hope that Cat Noir would keep her in his own head and heart as well.

"'Think of all the things we've shared and seen. Don't think about the way things might have been...'" Marinette sang.

She was wondering what could have been if she was not so timid around Adrien. Could she have possibly told him her true feelings by then? If so, where would they be at that very moment? Would they be head-over-heels for each other, or would everything they had in the past be shattered?

"'Think of me, think of me waking, silent and resigned. Imagine me, trying to hard to put you from my mind.'" Marinette sang, while remembering the times that her feelings for Adrien had clouded her judgement as Ladybug from time to time.

"'Think of me, please say you'll think of me, whatever that you chose to do. There will never be a day when I don't think of you!'" Marinette sang, while she held the last note for a few beats.

During this moment, Nathanaël remembered his own cue and stood up from his seat. He knew that in this moment, he was technically "off stage," so staying in the house was a smart move.

"'Can it be? Can it be Christine? Brava! Brava!'" Nathanaël sang, perfectly on point while applauding for a few seconds. "'Long ago, it seems so long ago, how young and innocent we were. She may not remember me, but I remember her!'"

Seeing this, Adrien held back a grunt and felt a vein in his head throb with anger. He admitted that Nathanaël was a good singer. On the other hand, it was so painfully obvious that Nathanaël still carried a torch for Marinette, that the blonde found it annoying. In a way, Adrien felt like a cat that had its territory encroached on.

"'Flowers fade, the fruits of summer fade; they have their seasons, so do we. But promise me that sometimes, you will think...'" Marinette sang, as she started vocalizing and dropping and raising her pitch for the notes for "of." "'Of... Me!'"

At that point, Marinette essentially got a standing ovation from the crowd, even the teacher. They were all so impressed with Marinette's singing. Adrien's eyes met with Marinette's again. His applause was the one that she was the most concerned about. She blushed and smiled sheepishly, proud of her accomplishment.

As Marinette stepped off the stage to go back to her seat for a bit, she passed by Adrien, who had an aisle seat. He snagged her hand to stop her, and then she froze. Adrien stood up, smirked, turned to her and slowly, quietly sang into her ear, "Brava... Brava... Bravissima."

Marinette blushed as she heard this. She swallowed a lump in her throat and then Adrien pulled her closer and had her sit down next to him. Marinette blushed heavily, knowing she was sitting next to her crush for the moment.

Tikki peeked out from her purse and mouthed to Marinette, "You were great out there!"

Marinette gave her little kwami a smile and then she faced forward to pay attention to the rest of the rehearsal.

And CUT, END SCENE! That's chapter one. I think that at the rate this story is going, a one-shot is just not in the cards. I hope you all enjoyed chapter one. Drop a review and maybe a vote on my poll, please?