"What do you feel like having for lunch later?"

"Hm," Marinette hummed as she inspected a Spiderman baseball cap. It was red, but the spiderweb grid pattern grid all over it wasn't exactly ladybug-friendly. "I'm not sure, don't you have a preference?"

"No, not really," Alya shot back, turning a blindingly yellow bowler hat over in her hands. "But we could go to that burger place on the upper level if you like."

Placing the cap back on the stand with a disgruntled sigh, Marinette conceded that hat shopping was harder than it looked. She'd leapt at Alya's proposition to go weekend shopping at the mall, made via text conveniently right as she got home after yesterday's public performance. It would have been the perfect opportunity to grab a proper hat for Chat's headspinning lessons, spend some quality time with her best friend, and just have a chance to kick back and relax for a change.

But that didn't seem the case since every cap or beanie she had seen so far just didn't look right. If she was going to break in it, it had to perfect. No more, no less. But no such perfection had shown itself to her just yet, and her enthusiasm over the outing was beginning to fizzle out.

Turning to face Alya, Marinette pouted. "But I don't like their milkshakes. They're disgusting."

"You don't have to get one!"

"But you always do, and just the sound of you slurping one make me sick."

Alya shook her head, tutting. Plucking another hat from the pile, this one a fashion disaster in outrageous orange and adorned with neon pink feathers clashing horribly with her auburn hair, she plopped it on her head. Alya spun around to face her while adopting a stooped over posture and an exaggerated old woman's voice.

"You youngins nowadays are such whipper snappers! Can't you ever make up your minds on anything? Back in my day—"

"Alya!" Marinette scolded, but unable to help a guffaw when the other girl swapped out her glasses for a pair of studded 80s retro frames and a tan shawl that resembled a half-drowned platypus.

"Don't you interrupt!" barked Alya flawlessly, waggling a finger and continuing her act. "Your generation needs to learn some respect for their elders—"

"I wouldn't know about that," interrupted a familiar voice. "I'd be pretty hard-pressed to respect someone who looks like Professor Snape in drag."

Marinette spun around with a smile, opening her mouth to quip a greeting at Nino, then promptly froze when she realised who was standing next to him.

"Hi, Nino. Hi, Adrien," said Alya with a beaming grin, covering for Marinette's strangled choking noise, replacing her glasses on her nose and straightening to her normal height. Tossing everything on her head back into the discount bin, she asked "What brings you guys here?"

"Just wandering around, you know, hanging out," replied Nino, jabbing a light elbow at Adrien. "After all, it's not everyday Model Boy here has the chance to visit a peasants' shopping mall like the rest of us."

Adrien merely chuckled, ruffling his golden blonde hair as he scratched the back of his head, the mirthful sound like music to Marinette's ears. He really should laugh more often.

"Come on man," said Adrien, boxing the taller boy in the shoulder. "It's not like we've never hung out here before. Stop making me sound like a Hollywood A-lister."

Then his perfect green eyes alighted on her in particular, and Marinette swore her heart stopped dead in her chest. "Hey, Marinette," he greeted, flashing her a smile that could light up the sky.

Having such perfect teeth should really be made illegal.

"H-h-h-h—" she sputtered, the heat in her cheeks rising to impossible heights. She swallowed past the lump in her throat, the dryness of her tongue an all-too familiar sensation. "H-h-iiii. A-Adri-Adrien."

Good enough. She ducked her head, positive she was blushing to the roots of her hair as she dedicated herself to the study of everyone's footwear. How was it possible that she could pull off gravity-defying handstands and dizzyingly fast spins, but still not have the guts to say hello to one Adrien Agreste?

"We were just talking about having lunch," said Alya, drawing attention away from a cherry red Marinette wishing desperately for the ground to open beneath her feet and swallow her whole. Training her eyes on Alya's white shoelaces, she smiled. Alya was the best friend she ever could have asked for.

"How about you guys join us?"

Alya was the worst friend she ever could have asked for.

"Sounds great! I'm starving," said Nino, rubbing his hand on his stomach. "Any plans on where you ladies want to go?"

"That's what we were talking about, we couldn't make up our minds and Marinette here is a bit of a picky eater," Alya said, sending a short wink at Marinette, who turned a few shades darker.

Adrien raised his hand slightly, like a child requesting permission to speak in class. "Erm, actually, if anyone doesn't mind, could we go to the burger joint upstairs?"

"I'm down," Nino agreed almost immediately. "Everyone okay with that?"

"Fine by me. Marinette?" prompted Alya, nudging Marinette's side with an elbow and eliciting a yelp. "What do you think?"

Face flaming, ignoring Alya's knowing look and keeping her eyes fixed on Nino's equally red sneakers, Marinette nodded mutely.

Nino flashed them a double thumbs up before grabbing Adrien's shoulders and turning him around to hurry him out the store. "Awesome, let's go!"

"Wait!" said Adrien, casting them an apologetic look over his shoulder. "Were you guys going to buy something? We can wait."

"Oh! That's right, were you going to get anything, Marinette?" asked Alya.

Jerking her head up, Marinette said in rush, "Oh, no! Nothing! T-there's nothing here I want so …."

"Okay, then let's get going," said Alya, flashing her a smile before linking her arm in Marinette's and dragging her after the two boys. For this, Marinette was simultaneously grateful and annoyed, as she'd found her normally powerful legs had been reduced to jelly.

Halfway up an escalator, Nino tossed over his shoulder, "Hey, just out of curiosity, have any of you guys finished that math homework we got on Thursday?"

"Ugh, don't remind me," said Alya with a groan, shaking her head. "I've been so busy with helping my mom out at the hotel since her kitchen hand is on sick leave. I'm lucky she let me go for the weekend."

"Oh, nooo. I … I forgot about it," admitted Marinette in a small voice, making a stern mental note to herself to do it later. She couldn't very well tell them that she'd been pre-occupied with dance sessions with Chat almost every evening after school and that homework had completely slipped her mind.

"Erm. Photoshoots," grumbled Adrien, pouting. "Photoshoots as far as the eye can see."

"Oh," said Nino, giving him an absent-minded pat on the back. "Then what about the physics worksheet that's due on Monday? You're good at physics, bro. I bet you already have it all done—"

"Adrien, don't let him!" Alya exclaimed, interrupting.

"What? Don't let me what?" said Nino, turning around to give Alya a wide-eyed look.

"Don't you dare try and play innocent with me, Spielberg. You're going to do your homework on your own, like you're supposed to, and stop copying off everyone else's."

"But Alya!" said Nino, his expression transforming into that of a kicked puppy. "What makes you think I would ever—"

"I saw you! Tuesday morning! Copying off of Rose's French homework, and she was too nice to say no! Don't even try to deny—"

"You know," said Marinette, a small smile quirking at the corners of her lips. "If I didn't know better, I'd say the two of you sound just like an old married couple."

"Yeah, you guys sure do argue like one," said Adrien, throwing Marinette a conspiratorial wink that sent her heart into a fresh frenzy and knotting up her tongue all over again.

"So does this make us a double date? Me and Alya with you and Marinette?" asked Nino, grinning and waggling his eyebrows at Adrien.

"Well," drawled Alya, casting a smug grin at her as Marinette felt her face catch fire again. "For the record, I wouldn't exactly be opposed to the idea …."

Marinette thought she'd get a heart attack and drop down dead on the spot. Double date? Her and Adrien? Adrien? No way. Alya was moving things along much faster than she'd anticipated when just minutes ago having lunch with Adrien was a mere fantastical dream. Her heart simply was not ready.

Spotting a sign for the restrooms, Marinette seized what was very possibly her final opportunity.

"Erm!" Marinette said loudly. "Just give me a second, need the b-bathroom real quick! Alya, come with me to … erm … adjust! Glasses! Your glasses!"

Without waiting for a response from anyone, Marinette darted into the corridor leading to the washrooms, dragging Alya behind her and into the women's section. The instant they were inside and well out of earshot, Marinette released her death grip on Alya's elbow.

"What are you doing?" she squeaked, grabbing at her pigtails and wringing them like stress balls as she finally allowed her face to break down into an expression of pure, unadulterated mortification. Marinette couldn't believe her—instigating an impromptu outing to the mall was one thing, but with Adrien Agreste? She was not prepared, and her best friend very well knew this. Said best friend's collapse into laughter was not helping.

"Oh, goodness, Marinette! I—PFFF! Look at your face!"

Letting out a silent scream of agony, Marinette buried her searing hot face in her hands. "Nooo!"

"Oh, Marinette, you really are hopeless," said Alya, her laughter simmering down to giggles as she gently pried away Marinette's wrists. Marinette glanced up to meet fond amber eyes as Alya poked her forehead. "Aren't you happy to spend more time with Adrien?"

"I-I am!" Marinette insisted. "I mean, of course I am! But-but I wasn't ready, I'm not prepared—"

"Girl, if I had waited for you to go up to the boy and ask him out yourself, I'd be waiting until the end of my days," said Alya, patting Marinette on the back and offering her a reassuring smile.

"But Alyaaa!" whined Marinette, pressing the heels of her palms into her eyes as she shook her head, the tips of her loosened pigtails whipping at her cheeks. "I can't do this! I can't! I don't know what to do, what to say—Oh god, I'm just going to make an utter fool out of myself, I just know it. Or at least, more than I've already done."

"Hey, hey, calm down," said Alya, laying a placating hand on Marinette's shoulder. "Take deep breaths, slow down. Listen to me. You can totally do this."

"I can't!" Marinette repeated, screwing her eyes shut. "I can't even string a complete sentence in front of him!"

"Yes, you can!" said Alya, the insistence shining in her eyes. "You're going to go back out there with your head held high, you're going to talk to him andmake friends because so help me, Marinette. If you don't …."

"So what if I don't?"

"I'm sure he would be very interested in knowing exactly which pictures of him you have up on your wall," said Alya, her accompanying smirk downright predatory. "Or how about the customised collage desktop wallpaper filled in with loopy hearts—"

Marinette shot her a wide-eyed look. "You wouldn't."

"Care to test me?" asked Alya, making a show of taking a step out of the bathroom. Marinette let out an indignant squeak, darting forward to grab Alya by the crooks of her elbows and haul her back, drawing a disapproving look from an elderly lady as she walked in.

"Why are you doing this to meee?" Marinette whimpered. "I thought we were friends!"

Sighing, Alya patted the top of her navy-blue head. "Look, Marinette. You obviously have it bad for him, and while I may not know how Adrien feels about you, it's definitely not disgust so stop acting like it is. In fact, I think he likes you as a person. If you would just woman up and talk to him like you would with me or Nino, you guys would get along great."

Groaning, Marinette hanging her head as her shoulders sagged in defeat. "Why do you make everything sound so easy when it's not?" she grumbled half-heartedly, mumbling to her chest. Alya broke out into another bout of laughter, walking around her. An instant later, she felt hands pull out her hair ties and a pocket hairbrush sifting through her manhandled locks.

"That's because it really is that simple, Marinette! Just talk to the poor boy, I'm sure he's been dying to make friends with you, if you'd only just let him."

A moment of silence followed Alya's words in which Marinette merely stared at her shoes and Alya pulled her hair up into a high bun. She bit her lip, a tiny, traitorous spark of hope flaring to life in her chest. Looking over her shoulder to meet her best friend's gaze, she asked, "You really think so?"

Another laugh bubbled from Alya's lips as she secured the bun. "Oh, I don't just think so. I know so."

Giving Marinette a final pat on the back, Alya nudged her into an upright posture before pushing her toward the door.

"Now get out there and knock him dead, tiger!"

Marinette really, really should have seen this coming.

"Do you come here often, Marinette? You look like you know your way around."

"E-e-erm! N-not much. B-b-busy is me. Usually. Alya and I sometimes here."

Oh god, even a preschooler would have better sentence structure than her right now. Marinette suppressed the urge to dash her head against the wall, or simply get to her feet and bolt and pretend she'd never been there. Studiously avoiding the politely attentive gaze of the boy seated across from her, Marinette instead cast her eyes up to meet Alya's.

Standing in line with an oblivious Nino at the far end of the eatery, Alya shot her a wink and encouraging smile. Marinette answered with a glare that could shrivel sunflowers.

Of course Alya would drag Nino off with their orders and leave her alone with Adrien.

If Adrien been weirded out by her flawless grammar, he did not show it. "That must be nice. Nathalie usually packs my schedule full so I don't get much opportunity to casually hang out like this." His smile grew then, eyes sparkling ever so slightly. "You look nice with your hair like that, Marinette."

Breath caught in her throat and knees shaking, it was all Marinette could do to keep from sinking to the floor. Thank goodness she was sitting down.

"T-t-thanks yous. I mean, thank y-you!" she amended quickly, unable to meet his eyes and staring at the tiny bottle of hot sauce between them instead. "A-Alya helped me d-do it."

"She did? It's pretty awesome how you and her are such good fr … friends …."

Adrien trailed off, voice taking on a muddled tone. Concerned, Marinette looked up just in time to jump in her seat as Adrien twisted away to let loose a resounding sneeze.

"S-sorry," he said thickly, rubbing at his nose. "Something's making my nose itch and … and …." Adrien sneezed again, his entire body spasming as his head jerked forward. Startled, Marinette reached for the box of napkins at the end of the table.

"Oh no! A-are you okay? Is there something I can—"

Then she saw it.

Stuck to her sleeve, looking smugly as if it had every right to be there, was a single, fluffy neon pink feather.

"Ohmygod!" said Marinette in a rush as she plucked the feather from her jacket, crushing it between her fingers in her newfound panic. "I'm so s-sorry! It must have fallen from the hat Alya was playing with while we were-we were—"

Adrien shook his head, one hand over his nose. "No no, it's fine. I'm just—" Whatever Adrien was about to say was lost as he was interrupted by a third sneeze. Squeaking, Marinette shot to her feet, dashing over to the nearest garbage disposal unit and thrusting the feather vehemently inside. Not staying to watch it flutter to its doomed fate, she raced back to the table, shoving the napkins into his hands.

"Sorrysorrysorry!" she said in a rush, scrambling over her words as she stood awkwardly beside him, wringing her hands and grimacing at the shrillness of her voice. Adrien said nothing, snatching up a fresh napkin like a drowning man would grab at a lifeline. "I-I didn't realise! I really didn't! I-I-I—"

Tongue-tied, Marinette felt her throat close up in horror. Of course, it was justher luck. Just her luck that a feather would decide to stick itself to her when she was around the one person she knew who was allergic to them. Now Adrien was going to hate her and—

Adrien's shoulders spasmed again, but instead of another sneeze, he let out a strange huffing sound. She paused, staring wide-eyed. Was he …?

True enough, Adrien erupted into laughter, his resolve breaking.

"S-sorry, Marinette!" he gasped out, clutching at his sides, "but you look so frazzled that it's kind of cute and I can't help it!"

Marinette froze, her earlier rush of thoughts coming to a screeching halt.

Cute? Had he just called her cute?

'Say something!' her mind screeched at her as she continued to stare, frozen like a statue. 'Don't just stand there!'

"U-um," she said, floundering for words her mind was refusing to supply. "Um—I-I really am sorry about the feather."

Wow, very original, Marinette.

Adrien sniffled, still smiling as he held another napkin to his nose. "Nah, don't worry about it. Wasn't the first time a friend tried to kill me."

Marinette froze, repeating the single word in her head like it was a treasured gift.

'Friend?'

She opened her mouth to reply, but still no words came to mind. A fully-laden tray plonking down on the table saved her from having to come up with an answer.

"That was one time, man. One time! And it was an accident!" said Nino as he slid into his seat and grabbed his food from the tray. Whatever Nino had ordered, the burger was almost as large as his own head. "Besides, it wasn't like I'd seriously poisoned you or any—Whoa, bro! What happened? You look Rudolph's blonde, two-legged brother!"

Adrien, ever the good-natured boy, had the grace to laugh as Marinette turned an interesting shade of pomegranate red.

"Got unlucky with a feather," he explained. "No big deal."

Another full tray made its way to the table, Alya elbowing Marinette in the ribs as she slipped into the seat next to hers. Marinette gave her friend a sidelong glance who shot her a wink and mouthed, 'See?'.

Marinette feigned a scowl and turned away, unable to hide the smile on her face. Friend. He'd called her a friend.

They started to eat. Cheeks still hot, Marinette quickly unwrapped her beef burger and took a bite. Within moments, her eyes were drawn to Adrien—as always. He paused after taking a long drag out of his orange juice, still sniffling. Nino had wasted no time in gorging on his food, consuming almost a quarter of his quadruple beef and bacon deluxe in a single bite. Noticing Alya's own nose stuck in her phone, food mostly untouched, Marinette swallowed to speak.

"Lots of notifications today, Alya?" asked Marinette, hoping to inspire less mortifying conversation for once. Alya looked up from her screen with a toothy grin.

"You bet! The Ladyblog is exploding with messages and hits since the show at Victorian yesterday."

"Jeez, Alya, it's people like you that give us youngins a bad rep," said Nino, giving his best impression of an old man's voice around a mouthful of fries. "Don't you know it's rude to check your phone during a meal?"

"And speaking with your mouth full isn't?" questioned Alya with a lopsided smirk.

"She's got a point, dude. Pretty sure you don't need all of that," said Adrien, reaching forward to snatch a cheesy fry from Nino's box.

"Hey! You've got your model diet plan to keep!"

Adrien shoved the fry in his mouth and made a big show out of chewing it. "Who cares? I'm already throwing it the window, aren't I?"

"Who's side are you on anyway?" grumbled Nino, retaliating by stealing three of Adrien's own fries. "Anyway man, where the heck did you go off to yesterday? Alya and I looked away for one second and then poof! You were gone!"

Adrien swallowed, eyes wide. "Oh, er, yeah, I got so excited that I went in before you guys. Sorry about that."

"But we looked for you inside and couldn't find you," Alya interjected, thoughtlessly stealing a fry from Nino's packet and ignoring the boy's enraged protests.

Adrien shrugged, taking another long drag from his juice. "I guess we must have missed each other, I was trying to find Nino."

Nino rolled his eyes before directing them at Marinette. "And you too! Where did you go after class? You were running like the devil was after you."

Alya turned to her too, interrogation with Adrien forgotten. "Yeah, girl! We could have gone seen the performance together. It would have been awesome, especially since we got a ride in Adrien's limo."

Mouth full, Marinette swallowed slowly, looking up from her burger to meet her friend's near-manic gaze. Without breaking eye contact, Alya seized her too-bright pink milkshake and took a loud, deliberate slurp. Marinette shot her a scowl. The auburn-haired girl merely smirked around her straw.

"I just … um …." Marinette cast her mind out for an excuse, fishing through the ones she'd used recently. "I-I'd forgotten to tell you that my parents needed help in the bakery! There was a huge order yesterday and I had to rush over to help before the client came over to pick them up so they needed an extra hand."

"Oh," said Alya, her suspicious look devolving into one of pity. She patted Marienette's shoulder with her non-greasy hand. "It's okay, there's always two weeks from now."

"Next week, actually!" said Nino, enthusiasm returning as he leaned forward over the table. "Remember? The annual anniversary for Victorian's founding! There's going to be a huge party—"

"Oh my god, yeah! How could I forget?! Okay Marinette, you have to come this time! It's going to be fantastic—"

Marinette nodded weakly, trying to maintain her smile as the guilt weighed heavier and heavier in her stomach like a leaden stone. She didn't like having to lie to Alya, but Ladybug was supposed to be a secret. Her secret. She couldn't afford anyone ever finding out, not even her best friend.

"—and you too, Adrien! We're gonna stay together this time so no running off on your own, okay?"

Adrien gave Alya an uneasy laugh, tilting his head to the side. "I'll try my best!"

Marinette felt the guilt in her gut grow heavier. She knew Alya was just trying to set her up with another opportunity for time alone with Adrien, but she wasn't going to be there to take it because she was part of the performance. Head bowed, Marinette nibbled glumly at the protruding edges of her lettuce. A perfect opportunity, and she'd have to let it go.

Sighing, Marinette swirled a fry around in sauce before popping it into her mouth. At least he would be out in the crowd, watching her. Her cheeks heated again, imagining the weight of his eyes on her and only her as she was breaking. Sure, he wouldn't know it was her, but still—

"So what were you looking for?"

Marinette started, sitting up ramrod straight, blue eyes darting up to meet the very green ones of Adrien Agreste.

"W-w-what?"

He smiled kindly at her, and Marinette thought she would melt. "You seemed like you were shopping for something specific, something important. What was it?"

"O-oh!" she said, wishing desperately that her face didn't look as flushed as it felt. Beside her, she vaguely heard Alya strike up a random conversation with Nino. "Um …. It … it wasn't r-really i-important or anything. Just a silly h-h-hat …."

His smile grew wider as he shot a wink at her. "A hat, huh? I bet you could make one yourself."

"W-what?"

"I've seen your fashion projects, Marinette. And you're good! I bet you could make something better than anything you'll find in a retail store. Besides, you can make it exactly the way you want it to be, and that way it would be perfect."

Marinette swallowed, her throat suddenly dry. Was she dreaming or had he just complimented her again?

"Y-yeah. Perfect. You're perfect. UM, I MEAN. Your idea. Perfect. Yes. You thank." Marinette shoved the burger into her mouth, taking a huge bite before she could say anything else stupid.

And proceeded to choke.

A/N: I'm sorry it took so long to update (almost a month? whoops)! I know I said that updates would be sporadic, but I was hoping I'd do better than this. But here I am messing up updates and mixing up story chapters and formatting and AGH. Not to mention I wasn't sure about this chapter because it felt like too big of a shift from the previous one and on top of that it's only partially beta'd. Please voice any concerns about this chapter, as I'm considering revising it slightly once I can look at it with fresh eyes and my beta has gone through it.

On that note, thank you guys so so much for all your wonderful comments and reviews! Writing is like a trek through the Sahara, and every comment is like a drink of the freshest, purest water you can imagine. Yes, all writers are thirsty as heck for feedback, we cannot deny. Every time I find myself losing the drive to write, I go back and read all the comments everyone left behind and get myself going again. So for everyone who leaves feedback, THANK YOU! I wouldn't have made it this far this soon without you.