There was one thing Adrien hated to do, and that was to repeat himself. Whether it be words or actions, or what he did day to day in his life. The tight routine Gabriel had kept him on made him start to despise the same thing happening over and over again. Yet here he is, once again repeating something that the world likes to throw at him. Sheer bad luck.

He hated, hated, a couple of models he worked with. He hated their personalities, the way they messed around with him, lied to him, groped him, made deals with his father over him, but most of all, he hated how to them he was just a 'thing', nothing more than a face and body. None of them cared about him, just what they could get from him.

The models who caused him the most issues seemed to find him no matter where he went or what he did and, just his luck,one of those girls managed to find him tonight - to find him and cling onto him like a limpet. To make matters worse, she was currently pressing herself into his body, dancing in a very unlady-like way and making him feel increasingly uncomfortable.

Jason had cheered him on, after all Lila Rossi was a beautiful girl. Her long brown hair sat perfectly mid back, and her body was 'model perfect'; skinny, with no muscle tone or interesting curves, and her face was that of a doll, but she was no Marinette, and the more Lila rubbed up against him, the more he felt like he was cheating. God, he missed her. It had only been a couple of days but he missed the easy chatter which fell between them, the constant texting and the strength he felt when she was near.

But was it cheating if you weren't even dating? If the girl was dating another guy?

Lila turned around, moving backwards and pressing her back into his chest. Man, he wanted to get out of here.He knew his face was reading discomfort, but everytime he sought relief in Jason, the guy's eyebrows would just wiggle and he'd pout his lips at him.

Dear Lord, did Jason think he should kiss Lila? Could he not tell the unease on his face?

The song they were dancing to had lowered to its ending, and a new one was beginning to mix into the end beat, this was his cue, his chance to finally escape . "I'm going to the toilet," Adrien shouted down into Lila's ear, not wanting to get too close in case she tried something. She'd done it before, at the last summer photoshoot for 'Gabriel'. Her lips had attempted to seek any part of his face to connect with, and an unwelcome shiver ran down his spine as he remembered the unwanted advance.

Lila turned to face him again, and wrapped her hands around his neck pulling him down. She placed her lips on his cheek and knew his face had morphed into something ... disgust, horror ... he wasn't sure, but what he was sure about was he needed to escape and quickly.

Grasping her arms to unlock them from his neck, he pulled them away and placed them by her sides, framing the too short dress she was wearing and backing away like a stealth pilot before heading towards the restrooms.

He prayed that she wasn't following him and he was too afraid to turn around and see. He kept his eyes solely on his destination, wondering if there was a way he could get out of this place and run home.

•••••

Marinette couldn't believe she'd been dragged out ... again!
Her budget definitely didn't cover this, and she had an early shift at the café the following day. Plus the dress she was wearing was cute but not entirely functional, especially in the weather they were currently facing. Adding to the fact, she had forgotten to put on a coat.

Woe is her life.

She took her phone out of her pocket for the umteenth time, checking to see if there was any reply from Adrien.

She'd sent him a message in the Uber, apparently they were bringing out some new flavour M&M's ... peanut butter or something like that, and she had hoped that the addition to the M&M range might respark a little of their (suddenly) none existent relationship.

Avery had messaged to say she was running late, but she would meet Alya and Marinette in the club. Apparently her latest Tinder match would be there too, killing two birds with one stone and all that. It seemed Marinette would be the only singleton tonight, that really did suck.

A sigh left her lips as they queued outside the club, each and every person in the line getting ID'd before being accepted in.

"I'm cold! Why did I let you force me into this?" Marinette dithered, wrapping her arms around herself and rubbing her arms.

"Force you," Alya scoffed, "you dived at the chance."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever! Let's just get inside so I can warm up and dance."

The line was slow, and Marinette was ready to fake fainting to see if it would help get them inside quicker. By the time she weighed up the pros and cons of a sudden medical emergency, they had made it to the front of the line, ID's at the ready and the sight of a warm building ahead of them.

Finally, they were inside and thank God, because Marinette could feel the goosebumps on her arms growing their own little friends.

Wandering in, hand firmly connected to Alya's so she didn't get lost, they began to weave their way through the crowds and to the bar. It was heaving, and Marinette was worried she'd end up lost in the crowd.

She was more of a pub and bar girl, a nightclub being the last choice. The scene always left a lot to be desired and wasn't exactly up her alley. She loved to dance but the drunk people bumping into her, the guys thinking every girl was free meat, and the girls who thought they were in competition every time they saw someone slightly better looking, or with a slightly more defined body annoyed her greatly.

Tonight was starting out no different. Her legs had already been splashed by beer, she'd been shoulder bumped at least three times, and she'd managed to deflect two guys heading close to grind on her. She'd been here ten minutes and already wanted to go home.

"This sucks!" She hissed to herself quietly, fitting herself in besides Alya at the bar. She considered her options; a - go home and forget this night (but making sure Alya was safely with Nino first and Avery found her date), b - stay sober and hate every minute, c - get drunk and hate any minute or d - save Adrien Agreste from the woman currently trying to mount him on the dancefloor.

Now there was an unexpected surprise.

Whilst waiting for their drinks, Marinette watched Adrien standing like a dummy as a girl took it upon herself to grind rather horrendously against him. Anyone with eyes could tell he was hating every minute of it. The stiffness of his body, and the way his hands were clenched at his sides was pretty self explanatory when it came to how Adrien felt about this 'womans' display of affection.

Marinette studied him as he bent down to say something into her ear, before she pulled him down and attempted to kiss his cheek, he grabbed her arms moving them away before stalking off towards the restrooms, his face equivalent to someone currently standing as prey in the lion's den.

•••••

When Adrien had finished in the restroom, he made his way back to the dancefloor praying Lila had gone to annoy someone else. Someone who wasn't him.
He spotted Nino in the crowd making out with a red head, who he guessed was his girlfriend as Jason was speaking to two other girls. One had pink and purple hair, and the other looked oddly familiar,

"I was beginning to wonder if you'd fallen down the toilet," a voice sounded in his ear and he couldn't hold back the fear racing down his spine. She was back ... dammit! Turning around he came face to face with Lila once again.

"Lila!" He said in warning, taking a step backwards, hands out in defence.

" Oh come on, Adrien. You were fine a few minutes ago."

"I wasn't fine, I just couldn't find a way to get away from you."

"Don't be so dramatic!"

"Adrien?" A sweet softer voice spun Adrien around once again, this time to a face he had only seen recently in his dreams., God she was a sight for sore eyes.

"Mari, hi." His voice was breathless, and he knew he was slightly trembling. Could he deal with Marinette at the moment when he was trying to get away from Lila?

His poor heart was beating out of his chest. Marinette was here and she was close, but she had a boyfriend. He had no right to be looking at her that way he was, like she was his everything.

"And who is this little thing?" Lila crossed her arms over her chest and eyed Marinette up and down, the look made Adrien want to grab Marinette and run away with her. Far, far away. Maybe to an island, and they could get a hamster, get married and live off fruit ... His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by Marinette's words and actions. She stretched out to hold his hand as she snaked her other hand around his arm like she owned him. His heart was going to explode.

"This 'little thing'...," Marinette's voice was laced with sarcasm, and Adrien wanted to grab her, lift her and kiss her ... right on the lips. Dammit, why did she have to have a boyfriend. "... is Adrien's girlfriend."

His breath left his lungs and he floated to the ceiling. What did she just say?

"Yeah, right. Adrien Agreste is dating a 'nobody'? Not a chance."

"Actually, it's a big chance because it's true. We've been seeing each other for two weeks and have been official for one. When you know you just know." Adrien couldn't speak, but he didn't need to, Marinette had got it covered.

"Yeah," he squeaked out. His mouse-like sound causing a chuckle from the girl next to him, the girl who was currently making his dreams a reality.

"This isn't over." Lila said, pointing towards them and walking off.

Well, he thought, that was easier than expected.

Adrien followed Lila's disappearance into the crowd before he turned back to Marinette. Any slight joy showing on his face suddenly evaporated as he saw Marinette's worried and anxious expression.

"Are you okay?" He asked, her slight nod the only response.

He looked around the room noticing both Jason and Nino were pretty busy, so he grabbed Marinette's hand and led her onto the dancefloor, pulling her body close and taking the chance. He knew he would regret it if he didn't.

"Dance with me," he whispered, pulling her to him.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and began to move with the music. She kept a distance from his body, and her head facing away.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked," he said, "I'm sure your boyfriend wouldn't be happy with this." He turned his head to the side only to be whipped in the face by her hair as she turned to look at him.

"I don't - I - what?"

"Your boyfriend, the one from Saturday night." He began to separate himself only for Marinette to pull him in closer.

"Is that why you've been avoiding me? You think I have a boyfriend?"

Adrien shrugged, he didn't want to show the utter jealousy he felt. He'd never been jealous before in his life, and he hated the way it was making him feel.

"I don't have a boyfriend." Her voice was stern as her hand cupped his chin and turned him towards her. He looked down into her bluebell eyes, watching them glisten and sparkle under the disco lights in the hall.

"Who? What?"

"He's a friend of Avery's, he liked me, but there's this other guy."

Adrien tensed, stopping the swaying and freezing, he didn't want to listen to this. It was too much.

"Another guy?" He managed to get out, vulnerability taking over the tone of his voice.

"Yep, do you want to know his name?"

No! Thought Adrien.

"Yes," he said, his stomach coiling as a knife poised to stab him directly in the heart. Marinette stretched up, placing her lips near to his ear as she spoke.

"His name is Adrien Agreste."