Drawing a steadying breath, Marinette assured herself that she was not going to cry.

She would not.

It was just that thinly veiled ghost of panic which was settling in fast.

There was part of her that knew even taking all of the pictures down, wouldn't help any.

At least, not now. Not when at least half of Paris had seen.

Tikki dutifully helped her out. She'd tried her hardest to help keep her as calm as possible, but it didn't change the facts.

People came into her room, her one hope for privacy in the whole of Paris. The one place where her own secrets were supposed to be sacred.

It shouldn't matter. It's her room. She should be able to post what she wanted. If she wanted to encourage a friend, she should be able to without judgement. If she wanted to be inspired by designs, same too for that. If she wanted to continue to nurse the world's most hopeless crush - probably more hopeless today than any other - well, she could do that, too.

It was just that now, all sorts of people would have their own ideas of her and that crazy crush.

Pulling down almost all of the photos from her wall was the one last thing she could control.

Marinette had spent long enough at dinner, trying to assure her parents that she was okay.

Once the dust (and the flour) had settled, Alya had come over to chat. She had been trying to distract her and to calm her down. But even that hadn't been helping much to drown out the panic as the hours slowly slipped away.

Even as bad as today had been, going to school tomorrow was bound to be a disaster.

At least, when she inevitably scrambled in late - or just before class started - it would avoid any prying questions before class.

Chloe was sure to be as ruthless as usual - but at least Marinette had hope that the show she'd asked everyone to watch might be beneath her notice.

At least until someone - probably Kim - teased her about it in the middle of class.

Marinette massaged her temples. Even Chat Noir had to point out how many were on her walls.

Between that and the speed at which he'd arrived, she was sure that he had been watching the live telecast.

It was bad enough that Chat Noir knew...or suspected her crush. If he ever found out it was her behind Ladybug's mask, he'd never stop teasing her about it.

As if she'd summoned him, she'd heard the familiar light tap against the skylight window.

Silently, Tikki met her gaze before zipping into the safety of her desk drawer.

Of course, her Chaton would be worried that Hawkmoth might take advantage a second time today.

"You're sure that you're alright?"

Marinette sighed heavily. "Well, I definitely can't say I'm happy, but I can promise you won't have to worry about me turning into some sort of midnight menace, Chat Noir."

"I'm glad, Princess," He grinned, spinning around in her desk chair. "It was pretty unfair for you to have to deal with all of that. I mean, even I've got a few of my own little secrets that I'd like to keep hidden from the world. I know I'd be embarrassed if anyone saw that...especially with so wide a reach."

"Honestly, Chat? At this point, I'm more worried about tomorrow."

Chat Noir's shoulders straightened. "Why? You have so many friends."

"I know," Marinette murmured. "Alya just was over. She promised to monitor my social media stuff for a while and delete everything that might upset me. It's just that I don't exactly relish being picked on. Today was bad enough...and some of my classmates can be a little merciless about that sort of thing.

"You really think it will be that bad?"

She shrugged.

"You're pretty strong, Marinette."

Marinette nodded, dropping down onto her chaise and pulling her knees up to her chest. "This is just hard. And none of that is the worst of it…"

Chat Noir's brows rose. "Oh?"

Her chin dipped onto her knees. "I still have to figure out what to say to Adrien."

Blinking slowly, he struggled to keep a tight hold on his composure. Maybe it was the cat in him, but darn if he wasn't curious. "What would you need to say to him?"

He didn't even realize he had spoken aloud until she answered.

"I told my whole class to watch." Marinette shrugged. "I have to figure that he'll have seen it, too. Or that he'll definitely hear about it from someone else how there are pictures of him up all over my room."

Chat Noir nodded, eyes drifting to the now empty walls. "There were a lot of pictures up."

"It's just...I don't want him to misunderstand."

His head tilted towards her. "What could he misunderstand, Princess?"

Exhaling heavily, she muttered. "Well, whatever I decide to tell him… It isn't exactly like I have the easiest time talking to him."

Chat nodded, sitting down in the spinning desk chair. He'd wondered about that more than once, but he'd spent most his life dealing with odd reactions from people due to his own face being everywhere. "Why is that?"

The soft blue of her eyes was piercing, silently gazing up at him for almost a minute before she spoke. "We didn't get off the right foot, he and I. All I knew about him was that he was friends with the girl who had bullied me for years, and when I first saw him, he was kneeling over my seat - and a big wad of chewing gum that had been plastered there." She shook her head. "I was so sure I'd had him all figured out, but then he surprised me. It had already been a kind of crazy day...one of the first after you and Ladybug had first appeared, and it was raining. Of course, I had forgotten my umbrella. Adrien didn't hesitate to give me his…or to apologize for the misunderstanding."

He peered back over to her huddled form. It was kind of interesting, hearing it from the other side. That day at least, he was just hoping to smooth things over. To make as many new friends as he could. But Marinette had been one of the few calling Chloe out on her bad behavior...

"I don't think I've looked at him the same way since."

Chat blinked slowly, bringing the slow spin on her chair to a halt. "Huh? Really?"

She shuffled awkwardly under his scrutiny. "There was just a moment, where I realized that I'd had him entirely wrong. I mean, I know he's pretty and all - he's a model, so of course he is. But there was something about him, something good and honest...and actually rather sweet."

He was rather fascinated by the way Marinette bit her lip.

"I've honestly had the most awful crush on him ever since."

Chat Noir tensed, his claws pricking into the fabric of her desk chair.

"I mean, I made him a scarf for his birthday." She frowned, "but I guess the present must have gotten mixed up at his house."

Eyes widened, he gaped at her, floundering with this new information. He was thankful Marinette's gaze was distant, that she hadn't noticed his growing sense of panic. He couldn't afford to let his mask slip. Not with as much as Ladybug valued keeping their identities secret.

And if he slipped, he could only put them both at risk.

Especially him, if she ever figured out who was actually hiding behind his mask...

Marinette trailed off, before shaking her head. "Honestly, I wish it were as easy for me to talk to him as it is talking to you, Chat…"

His grin was genuine, bowing slightly. "I'll take that was highest purr-aise, Princess."

She rolled her eyes, shaking her head fondly. "You're ridiculous."

He smirked, drawing back up to full height, slowly spinning around the room, and taking it all in with a new appreciation. "And you're amazing. But you really don't need me to tell you that. You had Jagged Stone literally wanting to hang out with you - on TV."

Groaning a little, she flopped back onto her chaise dramatically. "Except that's what got me into all this mess in the first place."

Chat Noir chuckled as he reached for his baton. Of course, he could hardly help himself. "I don't think you have anything to worry about Marinette…"

Her eyes peered out through her fingers. "Really?"

He smirked down at her. "Really. You do have a habit of making a rather big impression on people."

The sweetness of her smile lingered in his mind as Chat Noir scrambled out into the night.

He, on the other hand, would have far too much to wonder about tonight.