I just can't stop writing. It's slowly consuming my life. I'm on vacation and it's literally all I've been doing for the past week, so I hope you enjoy this new story I've been working on.

"Come over here, Tikki," Marinette said, patting her lap, instructing the little creature to come and join her. Tikki flew over and snuggled into Marinette's lap while Marinette opened her computer browser. She typed the web address for the local Kidz+ Network's website. On the front page of the site was exactly what Marinette was looking for, an exclusive interview with Adrien Agreste. Marinette eagerly clicked on the video and she and Tikki began to watch.

The interview began with Adrien sitting on a white couch across from the network's host, Alec Cataldi. The bright studio lights were shining bright on him, causing him to feel flushed and overheated. He was used to modeling, but this was an entirely different beast. He looked around the studio uncomfortably while Alec introduced him.

"Welcome to an exclusive interview with hot, teen sensation and model, Adrien Agreste!" Alec clapped. The crowd offscreen erupted into cheers and hollers. Adrien waved back at the crowd, receiving even louder cries. It was obvious the audience was full of teenage girls who had a celebrity crush on the blonde model. Marinette wished she could have been a part of the audience too, but she had been busy helping out at the bakery.

"Let's get started with some questions," Alec continued, pulling out some notecards. "These questions have been submitted by some of Adrien's biggest fans. Let's see what questions they want to ask. Are you ready, Adrien?"

Adrien gave a thumbs up and a smile, eliciting more cheers. If things kept going at this rate, his eardrums were going to explode by the end of the interview.

"First question, what is a normal day in your life like?"

"Um... well, I guess I go to school in the morning, but sometimes I have photo shoots and get out of class. Depending on the day, I have either fencing, Chinese, or piano lessons. Occasionally, I have basketball as well."

"What a well-rounded guy!" Alec laughed, slapping his knee. "If you're looking for someone who has it all, look no further ladies!"

Adrien flushed nervously and started tapping his leg up and down. He wasn't feeling very good. This interview might have been a mistake. It was giving the impression that he was a perfect, god-like human being which he wasn't. His father said it would be good press and it was. However, that wasn't something Adrien necessarily wanted.

"Next question, what's your favorite color?"

"Green."

"Favorite animal?"

"Cat."

"Ladybug or Chat Noir?"

"Ladybug." Adrien answered that question almost too quickly.

"Final question since we're running out of time," Alec said, reaching for his final note card. "Do you have a special someone?"

An image of Ladybug flashed through Adrien's mind. His heart began to thump and he took a deep breath to calm himself down. "I do," Adrien thought to himself. "But I can't exactly tell the whole world. It's not like she finds me that special anyways..."

"Not yet," Adrien answered, brushing his hair out of his face. "Maybe someday..."

"You heard it here first, folks!" Alec cried, jumping out of his seat. "Adrien Agreste is fair game. Best of luck ladies!" Alec gave the camera a thumbs up. Adrien let out a moan and buried his head in his hands. It might have been better to lie. With that, the video ended.

"Did you hear that, Tikki?" Marinette squealed. "He doesn't like anyone. Does that mean I might have a chance?"

"I think you're right!" Tikki grinned as she did somersaults through the air. "This is so exciting! It's finally your chance."

The two girls screamed to themselves and after several minutes, they finally managed to calm down. "What should I do now?" Marinette asked. "What if he falls in love with someone else? What if I'm not good enough? What if he secretly hates me and has already decided that he could never love someone like me?"

Marinette kept rattling off scenarios until Tikki finally stopped her. "Calm down, Marinette," Tikki sighed, resting on Marinette's shoulder. "Adrien thinks you're a very nice girl. Just be yourself like normal. Everything will work out fine. Promise!"

"You're right..." Smiled Marinette. "You always know what to say, Tikki. Sometimes I wish I was as wise as you."

"You might be 5,000 years too early for that," Tikki giggled.

The next morning, Marinette surprisingly woke up on time to get ready for school which was a blessing since she was dangerously close to being sent to see Mr. Damocles due to all her absences and late arrivals. Being Ladybug always came first which meant that Marinette's attendance record greatly suffered.

Marinette quickly showered and changed. She tied her hair into their usual ponytails, grabbed some breakfast and some snacks for Tikki, and then headed out the door. It was bright outside and the sun was shining. The air was cool, but crisp. Marinette had the feeling that it was going to be a good day.

Marinette walked to school, nibbling on her muffin as she went. Tikki was inside her coin purse eating her own breakfast. When she reached the school's entrance, she found Alya learning against the fence, phone in hand. Marinette wandered over and said, "Good morning, Alya!"

Alya was so surprised she almost dropped her phone. She caught it in midair before it fell to the ground. "Don't scare me like that, girl!" Alya scolded her friend. "This is phone is still new and I'd like to keep it that way."

"What'cha doing?" Marinette asked, leaning over to see her friend's phone screen. Alya flipped the phone around and Marinette noticed that the Ladyblog was up.

"I'm trying to figure out if I should reformat the blog," Alya explained. "I want to make it more user friendly and I also need to add a separate tab for Ladybug and Chat Noir photos." Alya continued on with the list of technical improvements she needed to make and Marinette was kinda listening. All her attention vanished though when a familiar limo pulled up alongside the school.

"It's Adrien!" Marinette shouted, grabbing Alya's shoulders and shaking them. Alya sighed and put her phone into her back, so that Marinette could make her drop it again.

"Yes, it is," Alya sarcastically sighed as she rubbed her temples. "If you didn't know, he comes here everyday since this is where he goes to school. Fascinating, isn't it?"

"I just get so excited every time I see him," Marinette dreamily replied, her thoughts in another place. "He's just so amazing and sweet and kind," she thought. "It's a gift to see him everyday. I'm so lucky!"

"Yo, snap out of it." Alya snapped her fingers in from of Marinette, bringing her back to reality. "You act like Adrien is perfect, but he has his flaws too. No one is superhuman. You of all people should know that."

"I know he isn't perfect," Marinette agreed. "But he's the closest you can get."

The friends watched Adrien get out of his limo and shut the door. He walked towards the school with his hair blowing ever so slightly in the wind. His clothes were freshly ironed and neat. He held his bag at his side with a confident pose. Everything about him radiated perfection.

Adrien kept walking towards the school, completely focused. Unfortunately, he didn't see the piece of stray trash laying on the ground and stepped right on top of it. His foot slid over it, causing him to lose his balance and come tumbling down. He let out a loud cry and fell onto the ground, right into a large puddle that had formed after the rain last night.

"Great," Adrien muttered under his breath. "Now I'm all wet." A quiet snicker came from inside his t-shirt that no one else could hear. With an exasperated sigh, Adrien stood up to survey the damage. He was completely soaked. There was water all over his pants and shirt. Somehow his bag had managed to stay relatively dry, but he would have to change his clothes. Thankfully, he had some spare clothes in his locker.

Adrien prepared to go inside when he saw Marinette and Alya watching him from the side. They were both laughing, probably at him. He turned red from embarrassment and then rushed inside, wanting to change as quickly as possible. He prayed that no one else had seen him fall except for those two.

"Yep, he's perfect all right," Alya snorted as Adrien disappeared into the school. "Perfect for you."

"I feel bad for laughing," Marinette said in a guilty tone. "He looked so embarrassed and I know what that feels like. I should go apologize. Besides, we should head in. Class will start soon anyways."

"Whatever you say, girl."

Meanwhile, Adrien had grabbed his spare clothes from his locker and was changing. Plagg was sitting in the locker, indulging in his favorite cheese.

"Your face was hilarious!" Plagg teased. "You were redder than a tomato. What a loser!"

"Ha ha, very funny, Plagg," Adrien frowned as he put on a fresh shirt. He tossed his wet clothes into his locker and on top of Plagg. He would take them home to wash later... probably. Plagg pushed the wet clothes off him with a loud "gross".

"Come hide," Adrien said, opening up his shirt for Plagg to come in. Plagg tossed his cheese into the air and let it fall into his mouth, swallowing it with a large gulp. Then he flew into Adrien's shirt and fell asleep in his usual spot.

Back in the classroom, Marinette and Alya were coming in and Alya was relentlessly teasing Marinette about her crush on Adrien.

"Everytime he looks at you, you look like a thief that's been caught red-handed," Alya laughed. "You make a face like this..." Alya made a silly face and then burst into laughter. She was laughing so hard her sides were starting to hurt. Marinette pouted and crossed her arms.

"She isn't wrong, but she doesn't have to make fun of me like that."

"Don't be so mean, Alya," someone said, appearing behind the girls. It was none other than Nino who had a giant smile plastered on his face. "Thank goodness," Marinette sighed. "Someone has come to rescue me."

"Her face actually looks more like this." Nino made an even weirder face and he and Alya fell into a fit of giggles. Marinette stomped her foot in fury and angrily walked over to her desk. She didn't need friends anyways.

"Wait... Marinette, we're sorry!" Alya cried out, still partially laughing. Her apology didn't sound very sincere. "Don't be that way!" Nino added. He wiped away a few tears from his eyes. He and Alya ran up to Marinette and she turned her head away from them. "I'm not talking to either of you ever again!" She said firmly.

All of a sudden, their fake argument was interrupted by a real one.

"Sabrina, just look at this garbage!" An annoying, nasally voice said from the back of the classroom. It was resident class bitch, Chloe Bourgeois, targeting her current victim, the poor, helpless Nathanael. Chloe was holding up a piece of paper with a look of disgust.

"Is this Marinette?" She said repulsively, scrunching up her nose. "Aren't you over that piece of trash yet? Even a low life like you could do better than her." She and Sabrina began to cackle evilly. Chloe crushed the paper up into a ball and threw it behind her. Nathanael's face was redder than his hair and he tried to shield his face with his hands.

Immediately enraged, Marinette bolted out of her seat and stormed up to Chloe. She stood in front of Nathanael and crossed her arms, showing her unwillingness to budge. She would be his protector if no one else had the guts to stand up for him.

"What are you doing here?" Chloe remarked. "Coming to save your princess? How quaint."

"Knock it off, Chloe! No one thinks this is funny! Leave him alone!" Marinette leaned forward with an angry glare, causing Chloe to take a step back. Marinette looked awfully intimidating and showed no signs of backing down. The air became thick with tension.

Adrien entered the classroom, happy to be wearing dry clothes. He was about to wave good-morning to his friends when he noticed a giant fight going on. He saw Alya and Nino watching and quickly rushed over to them.

"What's happening?" He whispered to Nino. Nino turned to him and said, "Dude, you're finally here. Chloe was making fun of Nathanael and Marinette totally swooped in to save the day. That girl is somethin' alright."

Adrien looked up at the fight and saw Marinette scold Chloe again. Her tone was strong and fierce, something Adrien hadn't except to hear out of the small girl. She held her ground and stood firm. Her attitude remind Adrien a bit of Ladybug.

"She's amazing..." Adrien thought as he watched Marinette wide-eyed. As Adrien, he never had the guts to do anything. He struggled to voice his opinion of anything without sounding wishy-washy. Marinette was different though. She had no superhero mask to hide behind, yet she still managed to be a hero. She fought for others and protected those in need. It was admirable to say the least and it was a quality Adrien was jealous of.

Chloe prepared to sling another insult at Marinette when she saw Adrien watching them from afar. She shut her mouth and turned around to Sabrina. "Let's go," Chloe huffed in a haughty tone. "I don't need to waste my time with these two losers anyway." She and Sabrina hurried to their desks with Chloe stopping to wink at Adrien as she went. Adrien gagged at the sight.

Marinette picked up Nathanael's crumpled drawing and flattened it out. Once she got to look at it, she realized it was a picture of her and a beautiful one at that. She didn't know Nathanael still had a crush on her, but was flattered by the kind gesture. She handed the drawing back to him with a smile.

"It's very good," Marinette told him. Nathanael looked up, his eyes meeting her crystal blue ones. He blushed again, but this time it was for a good reason. He gingerly took the picture back and nodded. "Thank you..." He whispered softly.

Marinette returned to her seat where Alya was waiting for her. "Way to go," Alya congratulated her friend. The girls exchanged fist-bumps as Marinette sat in her chair. "What a way to start the day," Marinette rolled her eyes. "Someday Chloe will really get what's coming to her."

"Marinette," Adrien said, turning around to see her. He put his hand on her desk. Marinette, not ready for the sudden Adrien interaction, let out a squeak and an anxious, "Y-yeah?"

"That was really cool what you did back there," Adrien smiled. The sight of his smile was enough to make Marinette weak. His teeth were perfectly white yet the front two bucked out in a cute way. His lips outlined the smile like a beautiful painting in a frame. Quite literally, his smile was a work of art.

"It was nothing," Marinette humbly replied. Adrien shook his head. "No, it really was amazing," he continued. "I'm jealous. I wish I had the courage to stand up to people like that."

Marinette felt the blood rush to her cheeks. Adrien was complimenting her. He was jealous of her. "Thank you..." She replied meekly.

Adrien was about to turn around when Marinette called out, "Wait!" He turned back around with a curious glance. "I...err..." Marinette stammered, rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly. "I wanted to apologize for earlier. I shouldn't have laughed when you...um... fell. That was rude of me."

"It's fine," Adrien smiled again. "I would have laughed too." Just to prove his point, he laughed the charming laugh Marinette remembered from the moment she fell in love with him. It made her heart sing. She began to laugh alongside him.

Once the laughter subsided, both the teens returned to themselves. Marinette found herself staring at the back of Adrien's head in longing. Adrien had begun to talk with Nino.

"So how's that design thing for your pops comin' along?' Nino asked his seatmate. Adrien groaned, remembering something he had been trying to forget. His father had requested that he submit an original design for some business executive friends. It was just another way for his father to show off how "perfect" his son was. The problem was that Adrien didn't know the first thing about designing. He had made some rough sketches, but they were all pretty bad. He was in a predicament to say the least.

"Not good, dude," Adrien confessed with a sigh. "I have no idea what I'm doing. Everything looks like a little kid scribbled it. Father is going to be so mad when he sees my designs."

"Aren't you lucky that one of the most talented fashion designers in Paris sits right behind you?" Nino said, cheekily raising one eyebrow. "Perhaps you should ask her for assistance?"

Adrien glanced back at Marinette. "Of course!" Adrien thought. "Obviously, I should ask Marinette. Why didn't I think of that before?"

"Nino, you're a genius!" Adrien thanked his friend. Nino grinned confidently and replied, "It comes and goes."

Adrien turned back to Marinette who was now taking out her homework. "Hey Marinette, one last thing!" He said excitingly. Marinette sharply looked up and almost dropped her homework. She grabbed it out the air and slammed it onto her desk. "Hmm... what?" Marinette replied quickly, biting on her nails.

"You see, I'm doing this design thing for my father and I need a lot of help. Would you be able to help me? It's okay if you can't since this is sorta late notice and all, but..."

"I'll help you."

"You will?"

"Y-yeah, of course."

"Sweet! Can I meet you in the library after school to work on them?"

"Sounds good to me."

"See you then!"

Adrien swiveled back around and did a little fist pump. If anyone could help him, it would be Marinette. He wouldn't disappoint his father this time. "Hopefully she goes easy on me," Adrien wished. "My designs are pretty bad compared to the amazing things she comes up with!"

While Adrien was celebrating his success, Marinette had stopped functioning completely. Her face was blank, her eyes staring straight forward.

"I'm going on a library date with Adrien..." The words repeated in her head over and over. It wasn't a real date, but it was close enough to count.

"I hope I don't screw this up!"