{+}{+}{+}

   Adrien is practically bouncing off the walls with excitement. He hardly got any sleep last night but still managed to maintain the same enthusiastic energy in the morning. A special day he's been looking forward to for a couple of years.

Today is his first day going to school!

An actual public school with more than one teacher, less restraint on having perfect grades, and people around his age. Everything is going to be completely different. It did scare him a little, giving him some butterflies in his stomach. Yet, his adrenaline is in full kick and didn't want to waste a second longer.

The blonde quickly changed into his clothes and gathered his school supplies, practically throwing everything into his book bag without a care. He just wanted to get out the door as fast as possible. He didn't even stop to think.

Adrien slung his bag over his shoulder and left his temporary bedroom. Nathalie is in the small kitchenette, stirring some scrambled eggs in a frying pan. She planned to make a celebratory breakfast to make this day a bit more special. What she didn't plan for is Adrien's ecstasy.

Quickly, Adrien snatched a banana from the counter and made a beeline for the door.

"Bye, Nathalie! I'm off to school!" He happily chirped, turning the handle and opening the front door.

"Adrien, slow down for a moment," Nathalie said, stopping the energetic teen from going any farther, "School doesn't start for another hour."

Nathalie scanned Adrien up and down, noticing a few errors in his escapade. The woman let out a short laugh, covering her mouth as to not cause a fit. Adrien slumped a little before raising an eyebrow in confusion.

"What?" He questioned. Nathalie returned to stirring the eggs in the pan so they wouldn't burn and trying to keep her composure.

"Well," the woman began, "your shirt is on backwards."

Out of instinct, Adrien looked down and saw his tag sticking out on his collar bone.

"Your shoes are on the wrong feet. I don't think you brushed your hair, considering your hair looks like a bird's nest. I assume if you didn't brush your hair, you didn't brush your teeth. Also, I packed you a sacked lunch for precaution. Plus, you have plenty of time to sit down and eat breakfast," Nathalie finished listing, giving Adrien a look.

Adrien nervously laughed, scratching the side of his cheek.

"Yeah, I probably should fix and do all of that stuff," he said, slipping off his bag and leaned it against the table's leg. Nathalie watched the blonde boy rush back to his room and shook her head at the ridiculousness. To think, she has never seen Adrien act so silly and make any accidental mistakes.

In a way, it makes Adrien more endearing—more human. Nathalie adored him for his kind heart and brave soul through it all. She's proud of him.

   If only Emilie was here to see how much her son has grown.

"So," Adrien started, interrupting the ex-assistant's thoughts, "what's for breakfast?"

   Nathalie smiled when seeing the teen's attire fixed. She handed an empty plate over to Adrien.

   "Eggs, bacon, toast, and pancakes," she answered before continuing, "Once you're ready, I'll drop you off at the park on my way to work. You'll have a few minutes to hang out before entering the school."

   Adrien brightens at the idea of going to the park. A glimmer of happiness shined in his green eyes while saying, "Sounds great!"

{+}{+}{+}

   "Marinette!" Tikki shouted, running into the room, "It's time to wake up! You have school!"

   The seven-year-old scaled the loft's ladder before Marinette could comprehend the shouting voice of her sister. Bluebell eyes fluttered open only to expand a second later when Tikki's body suddenly collided with the now awake teen's. Marinette groaned when hearing Celine's muffled giggles enter the room.

   "Tikki, get down from there. As fun as it is to wake up Marinette, what you're doing is not nice," Celine said, trying to scold the younger redhead and failing. Tikki rolled off the dazed bluenette with an apologetic smile, "Sorry."

   "You really need to stop waking me up like that," Marinette grumbled, sitting up in bed and rubbing her tired eyes.

   "Would you prefer I run in here hitting a spoon and pan together?" Tikki asked before gasping as an idea formed, "I can write a "Get Marinette Out of Bed" song and sing very loudly."

   "No offense, Tikki. That just sounds worse than my three alarms going off simultaneously," Marinette deadpanned. The child shrugged her shoulders before making her way off of the loft.

   "Come on, Mari bear. She woke you up early so you're not late for school. Rumor has it, you have your eye on someone, who is going to have their first day of school today. Maybe, you can show him where the storage closet is and to return the favor, he might show you something too," Celine suggested, teasingly wiggling her eyebrows.

Marinette's face grew hotter than a maxed-out oven, stuttering out, "C-Celine! Stop! It's t-too early for th-this!"

Celine snorted, blocking any pillows thrown at her while escaping the room with her daughter. Once the trapdoor is closed, Marinette felt fully awake and glared. Then, some of Celine's words finally settled into her brain.

Marinette speedily threw back her blankets and climbed off her loft in record time. She doesn't know if she should appreciate the two troublemakers for getting her up early or show them a piece of her mind for once again getting into her diary.

"I really do need to make a safety trap or something to protect my diary," she mentally thought, grabbing the clothes she chose the night before. She wants to look her best for Adrien and hope that he-

Marinette paused in her rush.

"Wait, what the heck am I thinking? My mind is probably still trying to wake up," Marinette said to herself, going over to her mirror stand and grabbing her hairbrush, "It's not like I'm trying to impress him...am I? No!"

Then, she began to tie her hair up into pigtails while continuing to argue with herself.

"I don't have a crush on him. Sure, he's handsome, sweet, generous, cute, charming, kind, a gentleman, intelligent, brave...strong...funny..." Marinette trailed off, a dream-like look etched her features before scrunching in confusion, "What was my point again?"

She froze, holding the other half of her hair that still needed to be tied up and stared at herself in the mirror. Now, shock made itself evident on her face. The hairbrush she held slipped out of her other hand and landed on the floor. Realization fell upon the teen once hearing herself out loud.

Hearing the denial.

Hearing the love-struck sound of her voice.

"Uh oh."

{+}{+}{+}

    Adrien watched Nathalie drive away until she was out of sight. He glanced over at the school sitting across the road, welcoming him not just as a fencer but a soon-to-be student.

   "Just a few minutes away," he thought, cheerily. Then, he walked into the park and over to the bench he's grown quite fond of. He sat down, placing his school bag off to the side. Adrien couldn't keep still, counting down the seconds. Yet, it only seemed like time kept slowing down the more he grew eager.

   "I need to do something to distract myself," the blonde spoke within his mind before a light bulb flickered to life, "and I know just the distraction."

   Adrien stood from the bench and ducked into the bushes. He immediately grabbed the jar and opened it up.

   Even though Adrien already knew his pen pal's identity and has her phone number in his contacts, he really wants to continue writing letters. He'd honestly feel weird not writing letters. This is his and Marinette's special thing. It'd be kinda sad if they suddenly stopped after writing to each other for over a year.

   The question is...

   Adrien readied his clean sheet of lined paper and brought down the pencil to write.

Dear Bugaboo,

He paused, pencil hovering over the paper.

...what is he going to write?

He hummed, tapping the pencil's eraser against his chin. His lips thoughtfully pursed, wondering what in the world he is going to write. Should he start out with a pun or a cat joke? Adrien shook his head. He grabbed the pencil and paper before leaving the small opening. The blonde returned to his seat on the bench in dismay.

"Now that we can see each other at school, hang out, and text, is there really any need for writing letters anymore?" He questioned out loud, a bit saddened that their pen pal days might end.

"Nothing says a good morning like a good cup of joe."

   Adrien nearly fell off of the bench, whipping his head to the side and finding a redheaded woman sitting down on the other side of the bench. She nursed a steaming cup of coffee in her hand, a relaxed smile displayed on her lips. She turned to the teen with a silly grin, "Am I right or am I right?"

   "I-Is that a trick question?" Adrien asked, unsurely. The woman shrugged, taking a sip from her cup. Her green eyes glanced over to Adrien and raised an eyebrow.

"Are you doing some sort of leaf project or something?" The woman asked. Adrien is a bit dumbfounded by the question, still trying to figure out how this conversation even came into play.

   "Uh...no," he answered, confused.

   "Oh," the redhead said, taking a sip, "then, that's a nice leaf you have in your hair."

   Adrien reached up and groped his head for the leaf. His fingers brushed over it and picked it out from his golden locks. Adrien stared at the plant before letting the breeze take it away.

   "Thanks for telling me. I wouldn't want to make a bad impression on my first day of school," Adrien said, gratefully.

   "No problem, kid. If you don't mind me asking, what are you doing?" The woman asked, slouching and taking another sip of her beverage. Adrien's lips thinned out, getting a strange feeling like this kind of conversation has happened before. He silently ponders to himself and halfheartedly shrugs.

   "I'm just...trying to write a letter but I don't know what to say," Adrien said, looking back down at the mostly blank sheet of paper, "I mean, we can now see each other in person and text. Yet, this is just something...special. You know?"

   The woman nodded in understanding, "Yeah, I get that."

   She let out a long sigh, "Young love and writing cliché letters. Any hopeless romantics will feed off of and be sent off to the dentist with a mouth full of cavities. A tragedy similar to Romeo and Juliet."

   For some reason, Adrien let out a small laugh at the weird woman. Somehow, she slightly raised his spirits. In a way, he oddly appreciated the pick-me-up.

   "Anyways," the redhead continued, "just write whatever like...your first day of school. A before and after versions."

   Adrien hummed in thought and considered it doable, "That's...actually not a bad idea. Instead of the jar, we can use lockers to put the letters or small notes in. I just hope she won't mind."

   "I'm sure whoever ex-model boy is wooing with sweet little letters will be ecstatic," the woman replied with a laidback voice. Adrien stiffened, not used to his identity being discovered in public (since it always ends badly) but relaxed. The woman seemed so relaxed like she's talking to an old friend or something.

   At that moment, Adrien appreciated this random person even more.

   "Yeah," he agreed, checking his phone for the time. He still has seven minutes until he can go inside.

   "Ah man," the woman pouted, looking down into her empty cup, "My holy revival drink is out."

   Adrien watched her stand up and stretch, saying, "Welp, I best be going anyway. I need to go help with a job if I want a roof over my head."

   Before she could get too far, Adrien just had to ask, "Um, I never caught your name."

   The redhead looked back, a mischievous smile on her face, "Celine."

   Celine returned to walking towards the bakery, mumbling to herself, "Man, I'm getting major déjà vu vibes right now."

   Adrien watched her disappear out of the park before returning his attention to the paper in front of him. He immediately began to quickly write his letter down in the short amount of time given. It's like the words were thrown at him, spouting down his before feelings about school. Every word spoke a certain truth behind them (with, of course, some cat puns).

He proudly folded the paper in completion. A wave of accomplishment washed over his body, placing the letter in a pocket where it wouldn't get ruined or crushed by his supplies. Once his book bag is sealed shut, he checked the time again.

He's a minute late.

Hurriedly, the teen scrambled to his feet and rushed for the school, slinging his bag onto his shoulder in the middle of his panic. He wants to make a good impression and showing up late on the first day of school didn't seem like a good start to it. Every step up the stairs seemed like the entrance only grew farther away.

   Adrien finally arrived at the top of the steps and rushed into the school. Many negative outcomes filled his mind.

   A bitter teacher giving him a scowl of disappointment. Other students whispering about something he's lacking behind his back. Him tripping in his rush in front of the entire classroom and making a fool of himself. Barging into the wrong classroom.

   Yet, all of those outcomes washed away when seeing some students casually out and about. Some sat on benches, others are walking around, and a couple of groups stood talking.

   The blonde is confused, checking the time again.

   8:00

   "I almost didn't recognize you, dude."

   Adrien perked up at the voice, seeing the very guy who temporarily handed over his spare blazer for the blonde.

   "Hey," Adrien replied, bumping the offer fist from the DJ, "Nino, right?"

   "Yep," Nino nodded in confirmation before asking, "Is everything good? You looked really confused."

   "Uh, yeah. I was wondering why school doesn't seem to have started yet," Adrien replied, gaining an eyebrow raise from Nino. Adrien knew at that moment, he messed something up. He isn't sure what he did wrong, merely trying to be on time for his first day. He has to be good or he might have to go back to being homeschooled again. He's wanted to go to public school for so long, messing up on the first day wasn't an option.

   At least, that's what he assumes.

   "School starts at 8:30," Nino answered, earning a flabbergasted look from the ex-model.

   "It...It does?" Adrien said in disbelief, "So...I'm not late?"

   Nino let out a laugh, patting the back of Adrien's shoulder and shaking his head. The blonde let out a sigh of relief, feeling silly for his hurried actions.

"That's good to know," Adrien replied with a small smile.

"Come on, I'll guide you to the principal's office and show you around with however much time we have left," Nino offered, gesturing to follow him. So, Adrien followed and scanned the area for a certain bluenette. No offense to Nino, but Adrien was hoping Marinette would be here to show him around.

Green eyes searched yet there is no sign of Marinette. Of course, she could be in a room or probably not even here. There are still twenty minutes until classes started. He just hopes he finds her before then.

"Do you play any video games?" Nino asked, starting a conversation and an unknowing development to start their friendship.

{+}{+}{+}

"I'm late! I'm late! I'm late!" Marinette repeated like a broken record, sprinting across the street. Even with the early awakening, she still somehow managed to fall behind. School started nearly five minutes ago!

   She made a beeline up the two sets of stairs on her pathway to her class. Everything else slipped her mind, her only concern is getting to class. Marinette, calmly as possible, opened the door. Every eye in the room turned to the short-breathed girl. Miss Bustier gave the late teen a fond smile.

   "Did you have a nice break, Marinette?" She asked, casually. Marinette gave a sheepish laugh before taking her seat behind Lu-

   Marinette paused short in shock when seeing Adrien sitting in Luka's spot. The surprised reaction went over the blonde's head. He happily smiled with a mixture of greeting and excitement. Marinette blinked before scrambling to her seat.

   "Now that Marinette has arrived, I can introduce our two new students," Miss Bustier said, earning a befuddled reaction from Marinette. Obviously, Adrien is one of the new students. Yet, she didn't have time to look or process the rest of the seats.

   "Your name is Adrien Agreste. Am I correct?" the redhead asked.

   "Yes, madam," Adrien confirmed. The two chatted for about two minutes until Miss Bustier turned away from Adrien. During those two minutes, Marinette leaned over to Alya.

   "Where's Luka?" The bluenette asked her best friend. Alya turned to the aspiring designer and teasingly replied, "Well, if you were here earlier, you would've known."

   Marinette playfully scowled before Alya answered, "Juleka told us he's going to be homeschooled from now on. It was a recent decision he made over break."

   "What?" Marinette whispered, loudly, "Why?"

   Alya shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know. We never got the chance to ask because we had to get to class."

   Marinette let this information settle in. She just made amends with the musician to be friends. Now, he's suddenly being homeschooled? She frowned at the thought but she's sure Luka has his reasons. It's not like she'll never see him again just a lot less.

  "Now, our other new student," she said, turning her head up towards the back of the classroom, "Kagami Tsurugi."

   Marinette felt her soul leave her body.

{+}{+}{+}

Hey, everyone! Long chapter for a long week!

That's right! I wouldn't be updating next Saturday! I'm on vacation and won't have time to write the next chapter! So, I hope I won't get any comments asking why I haven't updated cause I won't answer them!

See ya in two weeks, guys! ✌🏻