"Just be yourself."

Those were the last words that I heard Chat Noir say before leaving me to my thoughts. Just be myself? Just be myself? Did he not hear a single word that I said? 'Myself' is awkward, clumsy, can-barely-say-a-coherent-sentence Marinette! Maybe I could borrow some of Ladybug's confidence. I sighed and gave Tikki her cookie before going to bed.

-the next morning-

"Marinette, wake up! If you get up now, you might just make it to school on time! Think about it! You won't have to make a fool of yourself in front of the whole class! You won't make a fool of yourself in front of--"

"The whole class. Yeah, you said that." I muttered.

"--Adrien."

At this, my eyes shot open and I was ready in a matter of minutes. "Let's go Tikki!"

She giggled and flew into my bag.

As I walked outside, I heard a familiar voice call out my name. "Marinette, hey!" 

Adrien. "Oh! Um...h-hi...uh...Adrien."

"You're up early."

I looked up into his warm emerald eyes and blushed. "Y-yep!"

He grinned. "So, what was your motivation for waking up early?"

You. "Um...I guess I didn't feel like making a fool of myself in class today?"

He laughed. "That's good motivation."

"Y-yeah. Um, thanks." I tore my eyes away from his and began to walk. Fast.

 He quickly caught up to me, matching my stride. "Wow, you really want to get to school early, huh?"

"Uh-huh. Something like that." I muttered, keeping my eyes trained on the ground. "By the way, why aren't you in your limo?"

"You don't want me around?"

I stopped aruptly but still wouldn't look at him. I found that it was easier to talk to Adrien when I wasn't getting lost in his eyes. "No! It's nothing like that! It's just--you usually take your limo to school. It's kinda odd to see you walking to school instead of taking a ride y'know?"

"Oh! Yeah. Somehow I managed to convince Nathalie to convince Father to let me walk to and from school. Amazing, right?"

"Yeah, amazing."

Suddenly, he stepped in front of me. "Hey, Marinette, are you okay? You aren't acting like yourself."

I took a step back, still avoiding his eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Well, for starters, you're not looking at me."

"I--" We heard the warning bell ring. "Gah! We're going to be late! Let's go!" Without thinking, I grabbed his hand and broke out into a full on sprint.

I heard Adrien struggle to catch up and match my spead. "Ma-Marinette...wait...up!"

"No time!" I yelled back and ran even faster. Just as we reached the school gates, We heard the final bell ring. "Ugh!" I moaned. "I get up early for once to avoid being late and i'm still late!"

"Not...Not to Mlle. Busti...Bustier you're not." Adrien panted. 

"What?" 

"Mlle. Bustier always walks into class 2-3 minutes after the bell rings remember? You still have..." Adrien glanced toward the clock. "1 minute and 30 seconds before you're offically considered tardy."

I grinned. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" I shouted before I sprinted toward the classroom again leaving Adrien in the hall. I reached the door and took a moment to calm myself before I walked in. A minute later, Adrien walked in as well. 

"Woah, Marinette, where did you learn to run like that?"

"Marinette?" Alya interjected. "Marinette's always been able to run like the wind. By the way girl, good job on getting here early."

I smiled. "Thanks Alya." The truth is, I always was a fast runner. Years of trying not to be late to class helped with that. Although being Ladybug kinda made me even faster. 

Mlle. Bustier walked in the class. "Alright kids, settle down."

Adrien turned to me. "Hey. At lunch, can I talk to you?."

I knew what he wanted to talk about. I knew that I wouldn't have an answer. I knew that I should've said no. But I didn't. "Sure, Adrien. We can eat at the bakery."

Oh boy.

Hallo! So, because of the school year starting, I won't be able to update as much as I would like. Please be patient! Thank you!

-mj