"...there may be something there that wasn't there before."

Marinette Dupian-Cheng had been acting a little strange lately — well not just her as Marinette—but also as her alter ego self, Ladybug.

"Hey! Are you even listening to me?" Alya, her ever supportive best friend also noticed her odd behavior for the past week.

"H-Huh? What?"

"Girl you've been spacing out lately, is there something bothering you?" Alya raised an eyebrow. It's not only that thing that she noticed odd about Marinette—lately, she barely makes it on time for the morning classes-given the fact that she lives near the school.

"It's nothing, I was just thinking about—"

"About Adrien?" Alya teased to lighten her mood but she received an unexpected reaction this time. Normally, Marinette would blush and horribly denies it while stuttering—but now, it was rather different. "Did he reject you?"

"What? No! It's not about Adrien this time, it's about...Chat." The last part came out as a whisper but Alya managed to hear it, making her even more confused.

"Why on earth are you even thinking about Chat Noir?" Alya's voice came out loudly than she intended so the rest of the class turned their head towards them, especially Adrien. "Did something happen—"

"Alya! We're in class! Keep quiet!"

"Sorry." Alya glanced at Marinette who was already drawing something on her sketch pad."It was just unusual."

"You don't have to worry about me—nothing bad happened. I'm just not feeling well, that's all." Marinette continued doodling. Even though she said that, there is something that happened three days ago, Marinette just wouldn't admit it to herself...yet.

As soon as the school bell rang, Marinette stood up and immediately left the classroom and headed for her locker before heading home. She wanted to go home so badly, she was feeling sick for the past three days—well at least she think she does.

Ever since that incident with Chat Noir – as Ladybug – there has been this weird feeling that she would get. She tried to shrug it off but it only got worse as days go by – it's like she was conscious of him or something.

As Marinette walks out of the school campus, she was abruptly greeted by a big commotion – people are running and screaming as if they've seen something horrifying. Of course, just like any other day, someone has been possessed by an akuma – and here she was, hoping that there won't be any for a while since she really don't want to run into Chat right now.

"I just wanted to rest today." Groaning, she ran back to the girls washroom and when she was sure that no one else was there besides her, she opened her sling bag and Tikki popped her head out.

"Okay Tikki, let's finish this job quickly because I really want to take a long rest for the day." Said Marinette. "Tikki, spots on!" A flash of red light enveloped around Marinette as she transformed into one of Paris' super hero —Ladybug.

. . .

"The akuma must have been on her bracelet." Ladybug huffed as she landed on the Eiffel Tower. Chat hasn't arrived yet—which she was kind of thankful but at the same time she needs his help. "Where on earth is that cat?"

"Missing me already Mi'lady?" Speaking of the devil, Chat Noir stood beside her and winked. Normally she would just shrug it off like it's a normal thing —but ever since that day, she would feel her face heat up whenever he tries to flirt with her.

"What took you so long?" She ignored his statement earlier and changed the subject. "Look out!" Ladybug pushed Chat out of the way when a beam was shot in their direction—they were tossed and turned around in the process, causing her to end up on top of Chat.

When she realized that she was staring at his eyes a bit longer and he was doing the same—he flashed her his signature grin which caused Ladybug to immediately avert her gaze and stood up. This piqued Chat's interest.

"Hey! This is no time to be flirting!" The girl —who calls herself Bitterella rolled her eyes at the two and shot another beam on their direction. "Nobody deserves to be loved by someone! Only I deserve to be loved!"

"Purrincess, you're about to transform back!" Chat noted as Ladybug heard a beeping sound on her miraculous. "Go hide somewhere—I can deal with her alone until you get back!" Ladybug was about to retreat when another beam was aimed at her, causing her to almost trip over the ground but manages to escape.

"Leave her alone! Your opawnent is me!"

On the other hand, Marinette —who hid behind an isolated alley —had her heart racing the whole time, she can also feel how hot her face was. 'Not again' she thought. It has been like this since that day she became conscious of him around her. Sure he has been flirting with her during almost all of their battles but this is so sudden—like there was something about him that she never noticed before.

After Tikki regained enough energy, Marinette returned to the battlefield as Ladybug. It took them a while to defeat Bitterella but they succeeded anyway. Ladybug was about to leave immediately without even talking to Chat or doing that bro fist they always do when they win—which really bothered Chat.

"Mi'lady." Chat called out before she left. The tone of his voice were serious. He too has been bothered by how Ladybug acts around him ever since the attack three days ago.

"I'm sorry, I'm just not feeling well these past few days. I'll meet you here this evening." Ladybug said and left immediately. Chat on the other hand, didn't believe her excuse—it seems to him that she was indeed avoiding him and he hated that.

When the attack was over, Marinette hurried home. She closed the door to the living room—leaning her back to it— closed her eyes and slowly sat on the floor, not noticing that there was someone there with her.

New, and a bit...alarming

Who would ever thought that this could be?

Marinette paid attention to the song that she was hearing—still keeping her eyes closed. Of all songs, this had to be the one to describe what she's feeling right now.

True, that he's no Prince Charming

"But there's something in him that I simply didn't see." Marinette sang along the last part. God, this is exactly what was bothering her the past few days.

She started liking Chat Noir. His constant flirting with her as Ladybug has finally gotten her to realize that she indeed likes him.

'No way. Me and Chat? You've gotta be kidding me. There's no...wa...y'

"Marinette? What are you doing?" Marinette quickly opened her eyes and saw Alya sitting on the couch, watching.

"N-Nothing. Why are you watching Beauty and the Beast anyway?"

Later that night, she met up with Chat—they're currently standing on the top of the Eiffel Tower and the scenery from there are just as beautiful as it is in broad daylight. The city lights illuminated the whole Paris that from where they were currently standing, looks like some kind of sea of lights.

"Hey." Ladybug turned around to face her partner—the moonlight illuminates them from above as a gentle breeze blew their hair gently. Time seemed to slow down right at that moment. Everything was enchanted.

"You're avoiding me lately, aren't you?" Chat asked, all the puns and flirtatious tones of his voice are gone.

They were staring at each other's eyes and for a moment, it felt so nostalgic to both of them. Ladybug remembered the day that she fell in love with Adrien as Marinette although she didn't know why would she remember that now—but she knew the feeling that she felt that day with Adrien is similar to what she is feeling right now with Chat Noir. Chat took three steps closer to her until they were only two to three inches apart.

"Chat, I...I'm not avoiding you—it's just that..." She bit her lower lip and fidgeted for a moment, hesitating whether she will admit it to him...or even to herself. She doesn't want things to get awkward between them especially when they're a middle of a battle.

"What?"

'He's too close!' Ladybug screamed in her thoughts. She averted her gaze for a second but looked at him again, swallowing the lump on her throat. She never noticed before that despite the black mask across his face, he's handsome—being this close to him made her wonder his real face is like.

"I just noticed some ...things that...wasn't there before—I mean..." Great. Now she started stammering around him too just like when she's talking to Adrien. Ladybug was about to open her mouth to speak when the awkward atmosphere for her was interrupted by a beeping sound.

"Y-Y-Your ring is beeping." Chat took a step back and pointed at Ladybug's miraculous.

"Your earrings too."

"I gotta go. " She turned her back around and positioned her yoyo. "We're about to turn back and it's getting late now." With that, Ladybug left the scene without letting Chat stop her.

A few seconds after that, Chat reverted back to Adrien—still confused about their conversation earlier. Plagg came floating in front of him while holding a piece of cheese.

"What do you think she meant that she noticed?" He asked the black Kwami in front of him. The stuttering made him remember someone in his class but...

"I say that she might have noticed something that wasn't there before." Plagg answered as he swallowed the cheese to his mouth—leaving Adrien confused.