"Girl, I'm telling you!" Alya discreetly exclaimed to her best friend, "Luka's a great guy, and he's totally got the hots for you!" Flailing her arms, Alya's ice cream came dangerously close to having a meeting with the floor. "Adrien's with Kagami now, you need to move on."

"Alya," Marinette was becoming exasperated with having this conversation continuously. "I really don't need to date anyone, I'm fine on my own." Trying to emphasise her words with looking pointedly at Alya, Marinette wished she could tell her best friend that her heart already belonged to someone else. Someone who reciprocated her feelings too.

"I know, I know." Alya seemed to admit defeat, but Marinette knew this would only last until the next time they had this conversation. "I just, you know, feel bad."

"Why?" Marinette playfully smirked at her friend, "because you and Nino are all loved up!"

"Well yes, and...it would be nice for you to have a date to the dance next week." Alya slumped, this was their last year of school before they went their separate ways, and Alya desperately wanted Marinette to have at least some sort of teenage romance before heading off into the big bad world of adult dating. Alya was running out of opportunities to set her up with someone.

"Alya, I'm sure I will have just as much fun as you and Nino."

"Yes but-"

"But nothing. We've all said that we will go together as a group, so I won't be on my own." Marinette had a finalising edge to her voice, trying to stop Alya from using any further arguments.

"What are you ladies discussing so seriously?" Nino came from behind the pair, sitting beside his sweetheart on the wall. One look at Marinette's face told him everything, "ah."

"Nino, please tell Marinette that she needs a date to the dance."

"No can do my queen," Nino looked understandably at Marinette before focusing on his girlfriend. "Mari has said she doesn't want a meaningless date-"

"But it could become meaningful!" Alya exclaimed, this time her remaining ice cream did hit the floor, "dam it!"

"No sweat beautiful, share mine." Nino lovingly offered her his ice cream, which she eagerly took a lick of.

"What could become meaningful?" Adrien's voice caused the trio to crane around to greet him as he too, took a seat. Sitting next to Marinette, he took of his bag and sipped on his coffee.

"Tell Marinette that she needs a date for next week," Alya threw her hands up out of frustration, causing Nino to move his ice cream before it also fell foul to her antics. "Me and Nino are going together, you'll be taking Kagami-"

"Who said I'm taking Kagami?" Adrien looked quizzically at Alya, "Kagami isn't my girlfriend, why would you assume I would be bringing her?"

Three sets of eyes stared at him under raised eyebrows.

"Dude, we just assumed, sorry." Nino nervously tinkered with the placement of his cap at Adrien's pointed look.

Marinette shuffled on the spot, nervously anticipating what she almost knew was coming next.

Alya's eyes widened in excitement, she had been praying this opportunity would arise and she was not going to let it fall through her fingers. "You and Marinette can be each other's date then!"

"Erm, Alya-" Nino had the ability to sense the atmosphere change, something his girlfriend chose to ignore.

"Nino!" She turned to her boyfriend with a 'back me up' look. "Don't you think it would be perfect!" She turned back to the would be couple next to her "neither of you have any reason to say no then!"

Both Marinette and Adrien sat in silence. Marinette chewed her bottom lip, while Adrien rubbed the back of his neck. Neither of them wanted to upset the other, but both of them were already in a relationship, they just hadn't graced their friends with this knowledge. They didn't even know they were in a relationship with each other!

Marinette was the first to speak up, a warning tone in her voice, "if we're already going as a group, why do we need to say that we're each other's date Alya?"

Alya and Nino sat with their mouths agape. If either of the two before them would be looking for a way to not call it a date, they thought it would be Adrien. Adrien was relieved Marinette had been the one to say something, he knew if he had, they would be firing questions at him by now. The matching astonished looks on his friends' faces were priceless.

"Guys I've got to go," Marinette got up off the wall, "I'll see you tomorrow." Not giving Alya anymore opportunities to try and persuade her into agreeing to it being a date, the raven haired young lady, hastily made her way to the bakery.

She hadn't realised she was being followed, caught up in her own thoughts, it was only when a hand touched her shoulder that she was brought out of her musings. Grabbing said hand, Marinette wasted no time in turning, taking the hand with her, putting her blonde haired assailant's arm up painfully behind his back.

"Oh my god! Adrien!"

"Hi Marinette," he said through the pain of his arm still being restrained, "can you?"

"Oh," she momentarily forgot that she still had his arm in a painful grip, "sorry." She blushed, something she very rarely did around Adrien anymore, something that Adrien had missed about her. "Is everything ok?"

He reached for his nape, nervous about what he was wanting to ask. He knew how it was going to sound, and he hoped that Marinette would be the one to understand and keep his secret. "Can we go somewhere...private please?" He looked around, as if looking for someone who would be listening. "I need to ask you something, but it's pretty personal."

Marinette smiled up at him, that soft understanding smile told him he could trust her. "Of course Adrien, you can come back to mine if that works?" She gestured to the bakery on the other side of the park, "my mum will probably ask you to stay for dinner too." She chuckled as they walked in the direction of the bakery.

"I wouldn't have a problem with that!" He enthusiastically replied.

Since Marinette had accepted that nothing was going to happen between her and Adrien, another blonde had managed to work his way into her heart. She had finally given in to her growing feelings for Chat, and they had started dating, with the promise they would reveal once they either turned eighteen, or defeated Hawkmoth. They had been dating for a year and a bit, thirteen moths, three weeks and four days, not that she was keeping track or anything.

During that time, her stutter around Adrien had vanished, and they had become good friends. Finding it easy to spend time in his company, had shown her how crazy her infatuation had been with the model, many a time she would inwardly cringe at the thought of what she had done to try and confess her feelings. She was truly grateful now that she had never done so.

Arriving at the bakery, Marinette's inclination to her mother's invite for Adrien to join them for dinner was correct, something which he accepted graciously. He was just hoping this favour he was going to ask, would not end up causing tension during the meal with her family.

Upon entering her room, after having to wait for her to 'tidy up', he found many pictures of them and their friends dotted about the place. There seemed to be a few spaces though, something he surmised was due to her shuffling about before he came in. As Chat, Marinette had always been helpful and welcoming. She really encouraged him, when he told her he was going to make one last attempt for his lady's heart, before he accepted that they would never be romantically paired. Marinette told him not to give up like she had, and that love was always worth fighting for. As Adrien, he had never heard her talk about their meetings on her balcony, which only gave him confidence in her not talking about this.

"What did you want to ask me?"

Marinette sat on her chaise, patting the space beside her, encouraging him to sit with her. This Marinette was a far cry from the flustered girl he once knew. He had even thought she had not liked him, but it was established that his fame and who his father was had made her nervous. At times he thought that if it had not been for Ladybug, he could have quite easily fallen for the raven haired beauty, cute flustered antics and all. Even when she was unable to say a full sentence in front of him, Marinette had always been a great friend, and he was counting on her now.

"Right," he braved himself as he sat down. That telling hand making its way to his nape once again. "I know that Alya is really trying your patience with getting you a date for the Spring dance." Her eye roll was confirmation enough to tell him he was correct. "Well," he chuckled nervously as he looked over to the pictures on her wall. "I'm in a similar predicament with my father."

"Oh," Marinette was taken aback by his comparison of their situations. Her brow furrowed as she thought for a moment, "your father wants you to have a date for the dance too?" Her genuine confusion made him smile.

"No, he wants me to have a girlfriend..." Marinette's eyes widened slightly as she was trying to figure out what he was wanting to ask her.

"Adrien-"

"Just let me explain because it's complicated ok?" He looked unsurely at her almost alarmed expression. She nodded anyway so he continued, "I have a girlfriend," he knew he needed to be careful, "but she doesn't want to go public with the circus that follows me around, not yet at least." It was a lie, but it was plausible.

Marinette nodded in understanding, and her face became more thoughtful as she waited for him to continue.

He chuckled nervously, "I know you don't want a boyfriend, or anything like that, but I would like to know if you," he hesitated as he tried to find the most appropriate words. "Would you be...my cover?"

It took a few moments for Marinette to almost understand what he meant. Slowly she asked, "so...you want me to cover for you...when you go to see-"

"No, that's not what I meant exactly." He fidgeted with his ring as Marinette cupped her cheeks. Looking at her thoughtful pout, he found it quite endearing how confused she was, but then again, this was not a normal situation. "Will you pretend to be my girlfriend, so both my father and Alya leave us alone."

Surprised, probably flabbergasted, would be an appropriate way to describe Marinette's reaction. He could see the flustered fourteen year old coming back to the surface as her face turned a deep shade of rouge.

"Like a diversion?" The conversation her and Chat had the night before echoed in her mind, the realisation of what he was asking her sank in. There was surely someone else better suited for him to ask. "I-I don't know, you-me-uh, Kagami?" He was lucky to have had so much experience with her babble in the past, as he knew exactly what she meant.

"I like Kagami, she is a good friend, and that is who my father is pushing me to date" he clasped Marinette's hands in his, looking at her pleadingly, "but Kagami likes me differently. If I asked her to go along with my father, I know one of us would get hurt. Her heart could get broken or my head could roll, and I'm not sure which." This received a chuckle from Marinette, the tension in her shoulders had dispersed as she looked to the blonde. There was something about those eyes of his, the need for her help pulled on her heart strings.

Marinette looked pointedly at Adrien, she needed to be honest with him, about everything. Well, almost everything. "Before I agree to anything, you need to know something."

It was Adrien's turn to look puzzled now, as he thoughtfully nodded and she took her hands out of his. She stood abruptly, causing him to look up to her as she nervously paced back and forth around the space in front of him. She started to flap her hands, nervously bringing them together before clenching them at her side.

"Ok, ok, ok," she pumped herself up before confessing to him. While continuing to pace, Marinette let it all spill out.

I know, I know! I have other stories which need finishing but I just can't help myself =). Do not worry though, as I have chapters ready to be proof read as I type! Also, if you do spot any errors please let me know, as I'm struggling terribly with my eye at the moment, and mistakes will most definitely be missed.

Let me know your thoughts please.

Take it easy!

Lady Rhi X