Alya sighed again, her seemingly unending patience finally beginning to wear down. "Girl, you have been beating around the bush for ages now! You know I'm gonna be here to support you, but I can't support you if you refuse to do anything!"

Marinette groaned and flopped down onto her bed. "I know," she said, her voice muffled by the fabric.

"You guys have been friends for an entire year now, and Marinette! You can have real conversations with him now! Like honestly, I am so proud of you! And yet after all this time, you guys have never managed to hang out alone," Alya chided. Marinette was head over heels for Adrien, and Nino had assured Alya on multiple occasions that Adrien felt something more than friendship for the clumsy girl. But they were both too awkward and too stubborn to do anything about it, and it made Alya want to throw her hands in the air in frustration.

"One year and fifteen days," the clumsy girl in question muttered into the mattress. Looking up, Marinette shifted her head to the side. "And he came over that one time when we were practicing for the Ultimate Mecha Strike III competition," she pointed out.

Alya lifted an eyebrow. "Ok, in over an entire year, you two have hung out together alone exactly once. Now get up or we're going to be late for school." She grabbed Marinette's hand and pulled the girl off of her bed.

As they walked, Marinette not-so-subtly changed the subject to topics not related to her long-term crush. Normally Alya wouldn't let her get away with that so easily, but this time she let it slide. She hummed along in agreement with what Marinette was saying; something about an upcoming project for a fashion competition. Designing some sort of evening gown or something, Alya wasn't really paying attention.

When they arrived at school, Marinette was still going on about the dress she was going to create and the color palette that she was going to use. Alya did feel bad for not listening to most of it, but she figured her best friend would forgive her. Usually Marinette was the scatterbrained one, so Alya figured it could be her turn for once.

She was busy creating a plan.

Marinette laughed happily at the joke Nino had just told. After school, Marinette, Alya, Nino, and Adrien had all gone to get pizza. Marinette had been worried that Adrien wasn't going to eat any, but to her surprised delight, he had helped himself to a slice. Now she sat back watching her friends, content. Mostly. Alya and Nino were busy being a happy couple, and it was almost sickening to watch. Marinette was truly happy for them, although she couldn't help the slight twinge she felt.

"Nino, stop it!" Alya squealed as Nino tried to shove a piece of pizza in her face.

Adrien laughed. "You guys are honestly disgusting," he said as he grinned, clearly not meaning any offense by it.

"Oh, don't be jealous! You know you're my number one bro," Nino winked at him. Adrien pretended to swoon and Marinette couldn't help but break out into a fit of giggles. Laughing at the boys antics, she didn't notice Alya watching her.

"Hey Adrien, Marinette, are you guys free tomorrow night? I know Nino is busy," Alya asked.

"I'm not-" Nino broke off as Alya kicked him under the table. "Oh yeah! Yeah, I've gotta um… yeah stuff tomorrow, I'll be super busy," he finished lamely, shooting a quick glare at Alya, who just smiled sweetly. Nino knew that look, and he wasn't sure what Alya was planning, but he knew it would be in his best interest to not mess it up. Thankfully, the other two didn't seem to notice the exchange.

"Yeah, I actually am free tomorrow, we don't have another shoot until next weekend," Adrien answered.

Marinette nodded. "I'm free tomorrow afternoon, I told my parents I would help them in the bakery in the morning. But I should be done by noon if that works?"

"Awesome!" Alya prodded Nino in the side, silently letting him know he should be prepared for action. "How about the park, tomorrow at 2?"

"Sure , sounds good to me," Marinette confirmed, and Adrien nodded in agreement.

"Perfect," Alya beamed. Nino's eyes widened a bit. He knew that look too, and he was pretty sure he knew what his girlfriend was up to now. "I'm going to be busy helping my boyfriend with stuff, so you two have fun!" And with that she pushed Nino out of the booth and dragged him out the door laughing.

Adrien and Marinette both sat around the table, staring at the spot that had until recently been occupied by their best friends.

"So, did that just…" Adrien trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Yep," Marinette squeaked out, avoiding eye contact.

"Well… I am free tomorrow, so did you still want to meet up in the park?" He asked slowly.

Marinette was sure her face was redder than the tomato sauce on the remaining slice of pizza. She was going to kill Alya next time she saw her… "I uh, I mean, I… y-yes?" She stammered out, groaning internally. She thought she had gotten over that particular habit, but apparently not.

Adrien didn't seem to notice though, and he smiled widely at her. "Cool! It's a date then. I'll see you tomorrow Marinette."

Once he had left, Marinette groaned and let her head fall down onto the table. She stayed that way for a few minutes, until her phone chimed at her. Sitting up, Marinette opened the screen to see a text from Alya.

Alya: ;)