"So. How was your date?" Alya smirked.

The question startled me so much that I accidentally jolted my brush violently to the side, causing a harsh stroke of vibrant red paint to appear on my paper. "What? I-It wasn't a date! What are...what on Earth are you talking about?"

"It was totally a date."

"Um, no." I stated. "You and Nino hang out all the time without me or Adrien! What's the difference!" I cover up my mistake from earlier with other paint, making the sharp line seem natural. 

"The difference is that Nino and I? We're a couple! Dating!"

I sighed. "Well, it's completely natural to hang out just as friends, Alya."

She rolled her eyes and dipped her brush in the water. "And that's how most couples end up. You "hang out", you hang out some more, you develop feelings for each other, and soon enough you're more than friends! It's not rocket science, Marinette! Besides, don't you want to date Adrien?"

"Of course I do! But it's not a date until one says it is. Adrien and I just hung out at my place. Not. A. Date."

She rolled her eyes again. "Ok, whatever you say."  Shortly after our conversation, the bell rang. "Hey! How 'bout we go to the park! We don't have a lot of homework and we can invite Adrien and Nino!"

I smiled, glad that she let our previous disagreement go. "Sure! That sounds fun!"

"Hey girls!" We turned around to see Adrien and Nino walking towards us. I awkwardly looked away and nervously fidgeted with my hair. Alright, I told myself, If I pretend that I'm Ladybug, I should be fine around him.

"Hey! I was just talking about us going to the park today. How 'bout it?" Alya grinned.

"I'm free today." Adrien shrugged.

"Same here." Nino slung his arm around Alya. "Onward! To the park!"

We all laughed and headed towards the park. We were almost there when Alya stopped dead in her tracks. "Oh no! I forgot my bag at school. Nino, come with me." Without another word, Alya ran back to school dragging Nino along with her. 

I turned to Adrien. "Do you wanna wait for them at the park?" 

"Sure, why not?" He replied. We continued our walk and sat down on a bench. A few seconds later, I got a text from Alya:

A: Nino and I got distracted. Won't be going to the park anytime soon. Sorry! xx

M: Sure. Have fun. x

I sighed. "What's wrong, Marinette?" Adrien asked. I showed him the texts and he smirked. "'Distracted', huh?"

I giggled. "Apparently. So what do you wanna do? I'm not ready to go home yet if I'm completely honest."

He smiled. "Me either. Let's just walk?" 

We got up and started walking. I gasped. "Look! It's Andre! Let's go!" I grabbed his arm and ran towards Andre's ice cream cart. "Hey, Andre!"

"Ah, Marinette! How nice to see you! Oh, I see you brought someone with you! One couple's ice cream coming right up!"

I frantically waved my hands in denial. "Oh no! Adrien and I are just friends." For some reason, Adrien looked surprised and slightly...upset? When I said that. Now I'll admit it. It hurt. Like, really hurt to say that we were just friends. But I'll have to get used to it.

Andre nodded in understanding. "Then, two friendship cones for you!"

I grinned and started to pull out my wallet before Adrien stopped me. "It's fine. I got it."

Before I could protest,  Adrien gave me a cone. "Let's go?" 

I licked my ice cream before replying. "Sure." 

"So," Adrien said between licks, "Do you prefer Ladybug or Chat Noir?"

"What?" I was completely confused. What did that even mean?

"Haven't you seen Alya's latest post on the Ladyblog? She put up a poll asking whether you like Ladybug or Chat Noir more."

"Oh!" I replied, "Now I remember. I'm definitely Team Chat."

He looked surprised. "Really? I'm more of a Ladybug fan myself."

I took another lick and looked away. He said he liked me! Well, he said he liked Ladybug but she's me! "Yeah well..everyone does."

"And why wouldn't they? Ladybug's amazing! She's so kind, talented, brave. Paris is lucky to have her."

I blushed. "Thanks." I breathed

"What was that?"

I realized my mistake and instantly freaked out. "Wh-What? Oh! Erm, n-nothing! Just...um...talking to myself! Haha! Sorry..."

He gave me a look and I internally facepalmed. "It's fine," He said, "I do that sometimes as well." I nervously smiled, my cheeks still tinged with pink. "So why are you Team Chat?" 

It was my turn to look at him oddly. "Why am I not? Chat is just as amazing as Ladybug, if not more. He's always checking up on the victims to see if they're ok, always takes the shots for Ladybug, he's great. He may make terrible puns but he's a good person with a good heart. Ladybug would be absolutely lost without him. His fanbase isn't as big as Ladybug's which is stupid because they shouldn't even have separate fanbases because they're a team but whatever. His fanbase should be bigger, is what I'm saying."

He coughed. "Wow. So just no Ladybug at all whatsoever?"

"Don't get me wrong, Ladybug is great. I just feel like Chat deserves more attention, y'know?"

He chuckled. "I wouldn't be surprised if you made some clothing sketches based off of him."

"Actually," I said while I pulled out my sketchbook, "I do."

His eyes widened in shock. "I-I was just joking! You...you actually...um..."

I laughed at his shocked expression. "I thought that you wouldn't be surprised."

He blew a piece of his hair out of his eyes and avoided my gaze. "What? What do you mean? I wasn't surprised at all. Where did you get that from? Let me see those designs."

I rolled my eyes and handed him the book. "Whatever. I know the designs aren't that great but--what?"

He looked at me like I had three heads. "What do mean they aren't that great? Marinette, these are amazing! You should--" I heard a crash behind me and saw his eyes widen in fear. "Look out!" 

I turned behind me to see an akumatized villain reaching out to grab me. He seized my arm and laughed maniacally. I cried out in fear and pain and he laughed more. "You...you are coming with me." He then snapped his fingers and everything started to spin. I heard a faint 'MARINETTE!' before everything went black.

It's been a while, hasn't it? Heh. Sorry

other me: Who the heck are you talking to? Literally nobody reads your trash writing

Geez other me, no need to be rude about it!

other me: shut up.