The next day, when the bell rang for lunch, I sighed in relief and packed my stuff away. I caught Arya looking up at me from my bag. "You better not have been sneaking my lunch," I joke quietly to her. "Wellllll~" her playful, sing-song tone is followed by a cute giggle. "No, I haven't! Promise!"

"Good, because I'm starving," I chuckle, heading out of the classroom. It's fun having Arya around, especially at school. She seems rather curious about the lessons and has been listening in. She's also quickly figured out how to use my compact to see the board without sticking her head out of my bag.

I zoned out earlier and Miss Bustier called on me, but Arya whispered what she thought was the answer and it was correct. She was very pleased with herself and is now making it her mission to help me out in class so she has something to do all day other than wear out my phone battery. She's really enjoying herself.

"Hey, Esme!"

I snap out of my thoughts to see Alya, Marinette, Adrien and Nino all gesturing me over. What? I go over to them curiously. "Uh, hey. What's up?" I ask them. "Wanna sit with us?" Alya invites me, smiling.

I blink in surprise. She still wants to hang out with me after last time I tried to sit with her and Marinette? As much as I want to, I hesitate, remembering how badly last time went. Will I just screw it all up?

I feel a tiny pat on my hand and glance discretely down at my bag, seeing Arya make a 'go ahead' gesture. I smile slightly, thankful for her support, then turn back to the others. "Uh, sure. Thank you."

Alya and Nino had been sitting beside one another, but Nino was quick to budge up. "You can sit here, Esme," Nino smiled to me in an innocent manner while Alya facepalmed. Why is she facepalming? What's wrong?

"Uh... is that alright?" I ask Alya hesitantly. Immediately she changes her body language to be inviting and welcoming. "Of course it's alright, Esme! Sit, sit! Sorry, I was just... Er... it's kind of an inside joke..." she stumbles for an excuse.

I nod slowly and sit beside her, noticing that Nino's smirking at Alya, who tilts her head slightly downwards to hide her face with her hair. What's going on here?

"So, Esme, what's up?" Adrien asks me, for once seeming to notice the awkwardness of the situation. "Nothing much," I reply. "I, Uh... I did speak with the heroes, though. Except Queen Bee. They're all fine with you talking to them and stuff, but no personal questions."

"That's great!" Marinette smiles. "We'll be able to get lots of work done, then!" "I still can't believe we get to do this!" Alya grins. "I've got so many questions for Ladybug! It'll go viral on the Ladyblog!"

"Just remember that we can't reveal anything about the heroes," I remind her. "It's probably best if you don't go live, just to be on the safe side."

"Yeah, alright," Alya agrees. "But it's still gonna be great!" "You'll have to come over soon, if you're really that excited," I chuckle. "What's the plans for meeting up so far?"

"We're going to Marinette's tonight," Nino reminds me. "Nothing else yet." "Is anyone free tomorrow night, then?" I ask. "Sorry, I have babysitting," Marinette shakes her head. "And I've got a fencing class," Adrien adds. "What about you guys?" I ask Nino and Alya. "It may be better not to go all at once, anyway."

"I can come," Nino nods. "Me, too!" Alya smiles. "Cool," I chuckle, then turn to Marinette and Adrien. "You guys can come another time, then. Is that alright?"

"That's fine, I know Alya really wants to see the heroes," Adrien laughs. "Yeah, you three have fun and get some good interviews," Marinette nods. "We can record at my place tonight. Only the introduction bits, obviously."

"Speaking about that, I need to check something with you guys," I say. "Is there anything specific we're gonna call this place? It's not much of a secret if we just go in there saying 'Esme's house is a top secret location only the superheroes know' or something dumb like that."

"Yeah, I thought about that," Adrien nods, frowning. "I just put 'hangout', but is that too casual?" Yes, someone else was thinking the exact same thing! "I put 'lair' since that's what Chloé called hers," Nino shrugged. "Couldn't think of anything else." "I put 'base'," Marinette added. "What did you put, Alya?"

We glance at Alya when she doesn't answer. "Uh... Sorry, I... haven't done much since we left Adrien's place," Alya admitted sheepishly. "My sisters have been driving me crazy! I've been babysitting them pretty much every night lately. I haven't had time to do it."

"All the more reason for you to come to my place tomorrow," I smile. "You need a break. It'll just be me at home, so you won't need to worry about anyone bothering you."

"Sounds great," Alya smiles. "I bet it's so peaceful compared to my house." "Only when Queen Bee isn't around," I shrug, then smirk. "Or Chat Noir. Don't get me wrong, he means well, but let's just say he has the habits of an actual cat - namely knocking stuff off of tables."

Everyone laughs at this. Even Adrien chuckles a little, though he seems a little awkward. "Heh... well I guess that cat's nothing without Ladybug."

"He's not nothing without her, he's just not using his full potential without her," I shrug. "They're like... like a ball and a net; they can both function alone and still work perfectly well, but put them together and there are so many more possibilities for even better results."

"That's one of the weirdest analogies that actually worked out really well that I've ever heard," Nino comments. "If it works, it's works," I chuckle.