Adrien, in a stark contrast to most young people, was incredibly excited by the prospect of attending high school. He knew he already had a small but solid stable of friends, considered himself reasonably capable of handling the material, and was intrigued by the prospect of discovering some new facet of his untapped potential.

And, if nothing else, it would give him some respite from his father.

But now was not the time to focus in on such negativeness. This was the dawn of a new day, literally and metaphorically. One which Adrien would sink his proverbial teeth into to digest each and every possibility.

Perhaps improving his theoretical comparisons was one thing he could focus on in literature.

"So I told her not to get so worked up because it's better to get things wrong now than on the test, and she told me to shove it." Nino had been having problems with his partner in a class.

"Isn't she top of the class? I think you just have to remember that her grades can make her kind of..."

"Irrational?"

"Defensive."

Nino chuckled as the two made their way towards Marinette and Alya. Though he couldn't quite justify the matter with tangible reasoning, he found himself listing the prospect of spending more time with Marinette as one of the more enticing in the macrocosm of his academic tenure. Sure, he felt they had a mostly amicable relationship, but he hoped that being able to spend more time with her would strengthen their rapport. Of course, Adrien did his best to be as welcoming and open as possible, especially with her, but maintaining conversation with Marinette was like trying to pull teeth via the nostril. It was particularly disconcerting considering she was rather energetic, funny, and endearing when unaware of his presence.

Like right now. The way she was frantically regaling Alya with her plight and flailing her arms about was, for lack of a more accurate word, cute. Reflexively, he felt his mouth arch to the side in an attempt to hide a budding smile. She had on today a shirt that fell just slightly above her collarbone, and-

"Yo, Earth to Agreste." His appraisal came to an abrupt conclusion following Nino snapping his fingers in his face.

His eyes widened. Not only had he been absentmindedly staring at Marinette, he only now realized that she was presently returning the favor. Unbeknownst to the two, Nino and Alya looked on, seeping suspicion and amusement.

"Good morning, Marinette." His face was flushed as he proffered a greeting.

"I'm grea-good morning to you as well, Adrien."

Though she loved nothing more than watching Adrien and Marinette dance their classically awkward tango, the two would likely trip over each other and make them all late for class. "Class starts in two minutes, boys and girls."

With that comment, Alya and Marinette began their path to class with Adrien and Nino not far behind.

"Like what ya see, Agreste?"

Rather than dive further into embarrassment, he simply rolled his eyes out of amusement.

"Mister Lahiffe and Miss Cesaire." The professor had decided that the first assignment of Adrien's career would be a two-person presentation. Of course, fate brought the Nino and Alya together. He glanced over at to the adjacent seat to see Nino gazing at the floor as if he had just been sentenced to an immediate meeting with a firing squad. Alya expressed similar disdain.

"Mister Agreste…" Amusement gave way to a curious mix of dread and hope as Adrien's fate was next to be declared. On one end of the spectrum, he really, really wanted his partner to be Marinette. Being teamed up necessitated multiple hours of seclusion with the other person in question. Conversely, part of him pondered the possibility of Marinette going comatose in favor of having to spend such a degree of intimate time with Adrien.

"...and Miss Dupain-Cheng."

And there it was.

"This is fine," Adrien mentally told himself. "Just smile at Marinette. Simple. Easy." To quell Marinette's inevitable anxiety, Adrien turned over, offering her his winning smile. Interacting with Marinette was once again an experience in contrasts. She initially looked as if she had been struck by lightning, but provided a grin in response to Adrien's. Regardless, he found her painfully endearing. He had to suck in his lips to prevent Nino from deducing just how overjoyed he was by the present development.

The following afternoon, Adrien and Marinette had agreed to meet at the Agreste mansion for a preliminary meeting regarding their assignment. Unpredictable as a sunset, the suggestion made Marinette stammer and blush. Adrien found himself returning the sickeningly sweet memory as she appeared outside his home.

"This is, uh, Marinette. I Adrien with work," Her eyes bulged as soon as she concluded the thought. "I mean, I go to school with Adrien!"

He couldn't hold back a smile as he opened the door to greet her.

"Hey!" A bit more enthusiasm than originally intended. "C'mon in."

"I know this thing is due in three weeks, but I figure we should get an early start." He ushered he into his room.

"Of course. I'm always happy to work with y-to get work done. Always good to get work done on time." He once again arched his mouth to the side. Marinette took a seat on a chair adjacent to Adrien's bed, melding her arms to her side and sitting as if the slightest movement would set off the end of the world.

That made Adrien's face scrunch. It would obviously be impossible to get anything resembling work done if the two could barely communicate properly, but seeing Marinette uncomfortable made his stomach lurch. It was time to settle this. Despite the anxiety that came with being so forward with her, Adrien knew this had to be done. Taking a seat in his computer chair, he slowly rolled it over next to Marinette's current seat. The moment of truth drew ever closer.

"Marinette, do I make you uncomfortable?"

She reeled back. "What? No, no, no, no. You're fine," Her eyes once again bulged as heat rose to her face. "I mean, everything is fine."

Obviously that wasn't the truth. "I just feel like whenever I'm not around you're energetic and funny, but that completely vanishes as soon as I show up," He gave her a tiny, shy smile. "You can be totally cool with me, okay?"

She responded in kind with eye contact and a timid smile. Progress. "You like Ladybug?"

Adrien shifted his gaze to the painting on the opposite wall displaying Ladybug triumphantly leaping across a Paris rooftop at night with the Eiffel Tower in the background. Chat-Noir could also be seen following her, but Ladybug was clearly the object of prominence. While he was far from an aficionado, it was undeniably his favorite piece of art ever conceived.

"Of course. My dad is friends with some world-famous painter and he did that for my birthday. Don't get me wrong, Chat-Noir is cool, but Ladybug is incredible."

And there was that smile that drove him wild. The typical stirring in his stomach whenever he was privy to it was supplemented by something beyond definition. The exchange and success caused his heart-rate to skyrocket and he was certain that his knees would buckle if he was standing up. The best thing to do at the moment would be to focus on work and not on the fluttering in his stomach.

It was certainly worth noting, though. He would be sure to think on it once Marinette had departed.