Adrien's POV

"W-What?" I stutter, sweating profusely through my shirt. "Is... is this a joke?"

"Woah woah woah, you're confronting my own bro as Chat Noir?" Nino asks confused. "You told me this was about confronting Marinette's relationship with him!"

Alya ignores her boyfriend and just smirks while crossing her arms. "Don't even try to get out of this one, Agreste. You're caught."

I back into a table. "I'm not Chat Noir!"

Alya touches and pushes me back by my nose. I look at her with nervous eyes. She sits up tall on the table, looking down on me with fiery, confident eyes.

"How do you describe your mysterious absences, then?" She asks, leaning really close to my face. "You always seem to be gone when an akuma attacks."

I push her back by her shoulders. "You know my father wouldn't even let me leave the house. He has too much of a tight grip on me. You and I both know that!"

"Which is why you're practically begging to be let out of your shell," she explains, tilting her head and puffing out her chest.

I slowly shake my head. "No. You're wrong."

"Tsk tsk tsk," Alya exclaims shaking her head. "Still in denial that your friends have brains? Alright then, hand me your ring on your right hand and we'll see if its a miraculous or not."

I instinctively reach for my ring and hold it close to my chest to protect it.

Alya stares at me with confidence.

Nino stays silent, waiting for my response.

I take a deep breath, readying myself for how my life is going to change.

"Fine. You caught me," I mutter.

Nino looks at me with pure shocked eyes.

Alya pumps her fist in the air and jumps up high. "I knew it!"

"W-What?! You were Chat Noir this whole time?!" Nino shouts shaking me violently by my shoulders. "YOU?!"

"Uh, yeah?" I laugh, rubbing the back of my neck.

Nino lets go of me and shakes his head. I awkwardly smile while my best friend has an existential chris.

"YOU?! The awful cat puns, the constant flexing, the flirting with fucking Ladybug?!" Nino practically yells.

Alya rushes to me and grabs arm. "Where's your kwami?!"

"A-Alya, you're just... okay with Adrien being Chat Noir?!" Nino stutters.

"Come on!" She replies. "Look at his hair!"

Nino frowns. "I don't follow."

"Okay, maybe not now, but what about-" she ruffles and messes up my fluffy blond hair, "-now?"

"Hey!"  I shout, instinctively reaching for my hair.

Nino gasps. "Oh my god."

"I know right!" Alya squeaks, jumping up and down.

Nino's face goes white. "My best friend is a simp for Ladybug."

"What's a simp?" I ask, tilting my head.

"It's not important," Alya snickers. "Anyways, for the second time, where's you're kwami?!"

"You called?" Plagg exclaims flying out of my jacket.

"No way..." Alya and Nino mutter as they see him.

"You smell like cheese, Plagg. You could at least try and make a nice impression!" I bicker, crossing my arms.

"You shouldn't be the one to talk about impressions. The first thing these kids said when they heard you're Chat Noir is called you a Ladybug simp," Plagg teases, blowing a raspberry.

"What's a simp?!" I scream.

"Wait," Alya whispers. "Does Marinette even know you're Chat Noir?"

"Forget Marinette, what about Ladybug?!" Nino interrupts.

I freeze. Plagg looks at me with a confused face. They still haven't figured out that Marinette is Ladybug. It's best if I just stay quiet.

"They don't!" Nino gasps. "We're the first ones to find out!"

"I'm so honored," Alya teases, leaning against the classroom desk.

"Is that why you've been so out of it lately?" Nino asks.

I laugh. "No, actually, it's because I have this glass heart thingy that prevents me from...."

I stop mid sentence.

I just laughed. In fact, this whole conversation has been filled with emotion. I've laughed, cringed, smiled... I've felt emotion. Not only that, but I've felt warmth. In fact, when they asked me if I was Chat Noir, I was sweating. I slowly bring my hands into view and gasp. They're warm and no longer pale.

My glass heart is cured. Which means...

Marinette Dupain-Cheng loves me.

Marinette's POV

"Tikki! I'm late!" I scream, throwing books and papers into my backpack and frantically sprinting around my room.

Tikki groans. "Thank you for telling me. I had no idea."

I dash and try to break with my socks on the slick wooden floor, but instead slam face first into my dresser. I shake my head from the pain and continue getting ready for school. I yank my dresser drawers open and toss several shirts in the air. I finally settle on a white-tank top paired with pink shorts.

"Any news on your feelings toward Chat Noir?" Tikki asks floating over my shoulder as I dig through my backpack.

I sigh and lay on my cold wooden floor. The morning sun peaks through my blinds and rests on my face. Birds chirp outside my window. I hear bus engines grumble as they head towards my school. Mama and Papa's fresh morning bread smell floats through the air and I can hear their chatter through the floor.

Where do I stand?

I sigh and smile. "I love him, Tikki."

"W-What?!" Tikki squeaks. "Really?"

I nod and slowly continue getting ready for school. I sling my bag over my shoulder and smile confidently. I exit my bedroom and slide down my stairs, say goodbye to Mama and Papa, slip my shoes on, and strut outside into the Paris sunlight. I smirk and make my way to school. It was raining earlier, but not anymore. Maybe my Ladybug luck is finally paying off. The sky is a crisp blue, and a rainbow temporarily sits in the sky.

After ten minutes or so, I reach my destination.

"So, do you love Adrien anymore?" I hear Tikki whisper in my ear as I weave my way through students standing outside my school.

I shake my head. "I don't know, but I don't think so. It's not like he would have given me a chance anyways."

"Really, Marinette?" Tikki asks.

My eyes shoot wide open and I don't say a word. The familiar feeling forms in my throat.

"Marinette?" Tikki repeats.

"Thorns," I choke out, gripping tightly to my neck.

I shove my way through the crowded school courtyard and push my way to the bathroom. I sprint as fast as I can while coughing. Why am I coughing up petals now?! I thought I was over Adrien! Blood spits out my mouth. Usually it takes about five or six coughs, but this was on the second one. I slam my hand over my mouth and choke on the petals spilling out of my mouth.

"Marinette!" I hear someone call from the second floor. I look that way for a quick millisecond and I realize the familiar voice.

Adrien.

Not now. I ignore him and continue dashing to the bathroom with my hand still slammed over my mouth. I push and shove students out of my way. Some yell and push me back, but I have no time for that. I need to get to the bathroom before I cough up an entire rosebush.

"Marinette!" I hear Adrien call again. He's closer now. He must be on the first floor now, which would mean he's chasing me.

I continue to ignore him and burst for the bathroom. I accidentally slam into a student and knock his books out of his hand.

"Watch it, pigtails!"

I can't say anything. If I open my mouth I know that petals and leaves will explode out my mouth.

"You gonna say anything?" I hear the bully shout.

I remain silent. The crowd of students around us slowly turn to me and form a circle around me, waiting for my next move. It's so quiet you could hear a pen drop. Everyone thinks I'm in the wrong here. I stay silent with my hand covering my mouth.

He crosses his arms. "If you don't speak, I'll teach you to speak."

I shake my head with sorrowful eyes.

"Answer me!" He yells, slamming his fist into my cheek.

My head rocks backwards and I fly upwards for a split second before collapsing on the floor. Eating nothing but smoothies has made me weak. My ribs smash into the ground and I scream from pain, opening my mouth and bloody petals shooting across the floor.  Students jump back from shock, some with spit on their outfits, and others with blood.

"That shit's nasty," I hear the bully remark. "What type of freak are you, holding flower petals in your mouth?!"

"Thats disgusting!" I hear a student shout at me.

"What a weirdo!" I hear another one yell.

Tears fall down my cheeks. My ears heat up hot read. My heart burns in my chest. I try and pull myself together and stand up, but when I do, the bully kicks me in my stomach. I cry out a loud scream. I cough out more flower petals. Blood scatters across the floor.

"The freak is like a squeaky toy. You squeeze her and blood comes out!" He shouts. 

"Please... stop..." I squeeze out with petals on the tip of my tongue.

"She got blood on my shoes!" I hear a student shout.

Another one joins in. "The freak spit on me!"

The bully laughs. "It seems like the crowd doesn't want me to."

"She said stop."

I look up at who just stood up to me. I recognize his blond hair, his green eyes, his lean body.

Adrien runs over to me, helps me up, and runs me to the bathroom. He slams the bathroom door open, walks me inside, then locks the door with the two of us trapped in there.

"Why..." I whisper. "Why did you do that?"

He smiles. "I care for you, duh. Also, that kid is annoying. I kinda wanted an excuse to stand up to him."

I giggle.

"Do you need help?" He asks, walking towards me and placing his hand on my cheek. "You've got blood on your lip. Here, give me a second."

I remain on my knees on the cold tile as he gets up and grabs a paper towel. He gets the towel damp, then squats back down and dabs it on my lip, gently rubbing the blood off my lips. I blush and my face turns bright pink.

He freezes once he realizes what he's done, and laughs. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry! I'm so use to my makeup artists doing that to me before photo shoots that I forget its not normal! My bad, honestly."

I smile and brush my bangs out of my face. "It's okay, I promise."

"So I can continue?"

"Y-Yeah."

He gently knees down next to me. He places one hand on the back of my head and the other holding the towel and dabbing my face. He closes one eye and bites his lip, focused, as he gently washes the blood off my face.

After a minute or two, he pulls away and smiles. "There you go. Feeling better?"

"You smell really nice."

His face turns bright red. "Huh?"

I slap my hands on my cheeks and cover my eyes. "D-Did I just say that out loud?! Omg, I swear I didn't mean it! I mean, you do smell good! But, you know, I just-"

Adrien snickers. "I get it. Thank you, Mari."

"I'm still not use to you calling me Mari."

"Is it okay?"

I smile. "Yeah! I think it's cute!"

We stare at each other for a minute or so. The florescent lights above us flicker. The faucet sink drips and echos throughout the tile covered bathroom.

"Are you doing better?" I ask suddenly.

Adrien leans back on his hands. "What do you mean?"

I hold my knees as I sit on the cold floor. "For the last two days, you've been acting, I don't know, emotionless, but you're doing better now."

Adrien smiles and blushes, but I don't know why. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Really?"

"Really."

I quickly jump off my knees and hug him, pushing him down to the ground. I rest on top of him with my arms wrapped around his neck and my ear pressed agaisnt his chest. He's shocked at first, but hugs me back.

"Don't say a word to Alya," I mutter, still holding him tight. "I just wanted to hug you. You know, as f-friends."

"Thank you, Mari," he whispers. "Thank you."

I think this chapter was sweet!! There's gonna be more trouble later though, so stay tuned. Ps: I've decided I don't want chat to reveal his identity for awhile though :)

Alright, time for another poll. For the next chapter: Adrienette or LadyNoir?

And dont forget to upvote/favorite/click that star thingyyyyy!!!!!!