Artist:??

Bluebell eyes glanced into the mirror for a split second before tearing her gaze away from her unfamiliar reflection.

Marinette frowned when her fingertips gently brushed over the soft material that covered most of her petite body. She was clothed in a beautiful, handmade pink dress that slightly changed her appearance.

Her long, raven hair was in a very fancy updo, that seemed to really compliment her pale complexion.

When she took a peak of her dejected eyes, she couldn't help but notice how unusually blue her irises appeared to be. Her dark eye shadow seemed to bring out the forgotten hues of liquid sapphires that were concealed amongst the ocean of crippling unhappiness.

Even though she looked physically beautiful, the young baker just couldn't help but feel really insecure.

It had been one week since Lila and Nathanaël had been suspended. The school's educators had already denied the rumors, yet the gossiping still continued to prevail.

Marinette was trying to be strong for everyone, especially for Adrien, but she honestly didn't know how much longer she could keep it up.

Tonight was their school's annual fundraiser, which meant that her band was going to be preforming in front of the entire school!

In the past, she didn't care too much about being in the spotlight, because everyone mostly drew their attention to the music. But this time would be completely different!

Just imaging herself standing up on stage, while being the center of attention, knowing that the entire audience would be silently judging her every movement, was enough to cause an uproar of severe distress to consume her entire body.

Her legs were trembling and her heart was aggressively thumping against her ribcage. She was feeling so apprehensive, that she was beginning to hyperventilate.

Marinette quickly walked over to her chaise, before flopping down on it. With her jaw shut tight, she immediately closed her eyes in hopes to forget her painful reality for just a moment.

Her fists were clenched so tight, that her nails began to draw blood, but she ignored the pain, for it was meaningless.

Every time she tried to repress those intrusive thoughts, an unforgiving wave of unrelenting anxiety would consume her entire mind, until nothing but hopelessness remained.

Her mental torment eventually subsidied when her mother unexpectedly yelled out her name.

"Marinette, dear! You have a guest!"

The nervous girl instantly opened her eyes, remembering that she was supposed to meet up with Alya at five pm.

Quickly glancing over at her phone's illuminated screen, her heart immediately dropped. She was so caught up in her own depressing thoughts, that she had completely lost track of time.

Reaching for her purse, Marinette quickly yelled back, "Okay! Tell Alya I'll be there now!"

When she didn't get a response back, the bluenette quickly said goodbye to her hamsters before exiting her bedroom.

As she got closer to the bottom of the stair case, the volume of noise that was coming from the kitchen seemed to decrease very rapidly, which only intensified her suspicion.

When she was finally in the living room, she was completely frozen to the core. It felt as if her eyes were deceiving her, because right in front of her, was a very well dressed Adrien Agreste.

He was wearing a black tuxedo with a green tie. The bright green colour really brought out the deep shades of emerald in his mysterious eyes.

When the violist's eyes eventually left the lush, green forest, they unknowingly landed on his shiny locks. It was evident that the model had done something to his hair, because a selective few strands fell over his eyebrows, drawing attention to his strong jawline and overall chiseled features.

After taking in every detail of his very charming face, Marinette glanced at the huge bouquet of beautiful red roses that were resting in Adrien's masculine arms. Just the sight alone was enough to cause a deep crimson blush to cover Marinette's cheeks.

Her lips slightly parted as she quickly glanced over at her mother who was grinning like the Cheshire cat. The teenager was feeling a little unsteady, so she decided to look away and hopefully obtain some answers.

Marinette quickly faked a smile before slowly pacing towards her boyfriend.

"Wh... what's going on? I... I thought Alya was picking me up..?" She asked in an unsure tone.

The blond rubbed the back of his neck before taking a step towards her.

The minute his eyes took in what Marinette was wearing, he had to force himself to look away. She looked absolutely stunning! The fabric seemed to gracefully hug most of her slender body in a way he had never seen before.

He unexpectedly blurted out, "You look absolutely gorgeous!"

Realizing what he had just said, his tanned cheeks instantly turned a light shade of pink. The anxiety and nervousness was overpowering, but despite everything, the shy teenager was miraculously still able to give the girl a very small smile.

Marinette's face immediately glowed a dark shade of red, as she tried to find the right words to say.

After a moment of silence had passed, the bluenette tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, "Th... Thank y... You, A... Adrien... You don't look too bad yourself."

Completely ignoring her previous statement, the blond gave her a sweet smile, "You are very welcome, Marinette! And I... Uh... Alya h... had an emergency to take care of... So, she asked me to fetch you instead. I hope you aren't disappointed," he gave her a wink, "By the way... These are for you," smiling, he quickly handed her the bouquet.

Without saying anything, Marinette hesitantly reached for her gift. She shyly looked away, hypnotized by the almost unnatural green ocean that seemed to somehow lock her in a trance.

"Th... Thank y... you! That's re... really sweet of you..."

An awkward silence quickly filled the atmosphere as neither of them knew how to verbalize their opinions.

Sabine, who had been awfully quiet, walked up to her daughter before gently rubbing her back.

"They are beautiful. How about you put them in some water?" she suggested while pointing at an empty vase that was sitting on the counter top.

"Ye... Yeah... Okay," the blue-eyed girl nodded her head before turning her attention back to Adrien, "Thanks again for the... roses... They are beautiful and they smell amazing as well!"

Adrien gave her a small smile as he attempted to conceal the blush that instantly covered his face. He was about to respond when Marinette started walking over to the counter.

When her back was completely turned towards him, he unknowingly looked at Sabine who was looking back at him with caring eyes.

"Thank you for being there for Marinette, Adrien. She is very lucky to have you."

Hearing that Marinette's mother approved of their relationship was truly an amazing feeling; especially after the extremely awkward dinner he had had not so long ago...

The blond immediately rubbed his neck in embarrassment,"You are welcome, Mme Cheng... But honestly.... I feel like the lucky one. If it wasn't for your very beautiful daughter, I honestly don't know where I would be," his face slightly lit up, remembering how Marinette had changed his life indefinitely.

After his previous relationship, he just didn't think in his wildest dreams, that he would ever be able to feel loved again. But that all changed when a certain blue-eyed girl had entered his broken life.

Marinette, who was still turned away from him, was greatful that her boyfriend wasn't able to see the blush that had blossomed all over her cheeks. Hearing Adrien refer to her as 'beautiful', made her heart rate accelerate a little more than usual.

Seeing that her daughter was still busy attending to the roses, Sabine looked back at the blond before smiling, "You're a good kid, Adrien. But please dear, just call me Sabine."

Just before he could get the chance to respond, Marinette turned around. She seemed a little anxious, but she quickly shook her head before regaining her composure.

She glanced over at her boyfriend, before checking the time,"We should probably get going... We're already like thirty minutes behind schedule..."

As soon as she said that, Adrien's eyes seemed to grow as wide as saucers. Right there his heart dropped. If he ever wanted his secret plan to work, they needed to leave right away!

"You're right! If you're ready M'lady, we can leave."

Marinette quickly nodded her head before walking up to her parent, in order to give her a hug to signify her final goodbyes.

"Bye Maman! I'll see you later... And by the way, when will Papa be back from grandpa's?"

Sabine merely shrugged her shoulders, "I'm not sure, but I think in about an hour or two."

"Okay. Well we really need to get going. So I'll see you later, Maman."

Marinette's mother smiled before waving, "Have fun you two."

"Y... Yes! Okay. We won't-I mean will!" Marinette mentally face-palmed before reaching for Adrien's hand.

When he felt her delicate hand upon hers, the model quickly tightened his grip before smiling.

The two teenagers waved goodbye to the middle-aged woman before rushing to exit the bakery.

As Sabine faded into a silhouette, Marinette suddenly stopped when her eyes caught a glimpse of a very fancy, black limousine.

Seeing how still and conflicted the baker girl was, Adrien looked at her face before giving her hand a tight squeeze, "Is everything okay?"

She immediately turned her head back, so that she could look straight into his emerald green eyes.

"Yes! Everything is fine," Marinette gave the blond a knowing look while adjusting her dress, "So, what's the real reason as to why Alya didn't pick me up?"

As the duo continued to make their way towards the large vehicle, Adrien gently brushed his thumb along her skin. Looking down slightly, his eyes seemed to light up and his smile was just so sincere.

He looked away for a split second, which cause his girlfriend to frown in confusion.

When she looked behind her, she was quite surprised to see Luka, who was standing behind the limo.

She slightly raised her hand in order to wave at her friend. After Luka had happily acknowledged her presence, Marinette turned her attention back to Adrien before frowning in confusion.

"So... What's going on..?" She suspiciously questioned him.

Slightly dragging Marinette towards the vehicle, Adrien mischievously smirked, "I would tell you, but then I'd have to kill you!"

"What!?"

A slight bit of laughter accidentally escaped from his mouth as he quickly brought the bluenette's tiny hand up to his mouth, before gently pressing his lips up against the back of her hand.

"Just kidding! I could never bring myself to do such a wicked thing..." His tone was playful yet assertive, "But it's a surprise, so I can't tell you..."

Marinette could feel herself relax ever so slightly. She softly slapped his arm and rolled her eyes, a little annoyed by her boyfriend's frisky attitude.

Adrien could tell that she was still a little unsure, so he decided that he needed to ease the slight tension that was beginning to weigh him down.

Without thinking, he quickly bent down before giving his sweet princess a simple peck on the cheek.

"I'm sorry... Forgive me?" His voice was so soft, it was barely even a whisper.

As soon as he said that, the blue-eyed girl could feel herself melt into a big, gooy puddle. She was trying her best to keep a straight face, yet no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't.

The minute his beautiful emerald eyes found her sky blue ones, a dark, pink streak instantly covered her cheeks.

"I... Uh... You-" She attempted to say something, but she was too flustered to even speak.

Adrien wanted to say something, but stopped himself when a very high-pitched whistle suddenly entered his eardrums. He covered his ears with his palms, in hopes to repress the irritation that felt never-ending.

The couple immediately stopped right in their tracks when Chloé's head suddenly popped up out of the roof of the limousine.

Seeing that the two teens were still glued to the floor, the blonde gave them both an unimpressed stare.

"Can you two 'love birds' stop staring into outer space and walk a little faster? We're already late!" The mayor's daughter rolled her eyes in annoyance before disappearing back inside.

Adrien slightly grinned before playfully rolling his eyes, remembering how overly dramatic his childhood friend could be at times.

"We better get going before Chloé bites both of our heads off..." The model tightened his grip around Marinette's hand before pulling her in the direction of their transport.

The female slightly nodded her head in agreement, before following the model's lead.

Once inside, the bluenette quickly took in her surroundings. Her face seemed to light up as her eyes instinctively trailed from left to right.

As her eyes continued to take in everything, she suddenly froze when she spotted Alya?

The minute her bluebell eyes found her BFF, her jaw instantly dropped. The shock was a little overwhelming, but the uncertainty quickly faded away when her best friend suddenly turned around.

"Alya... Nino?! What are you guys doing here?"

The DJ immediately waved, "Hey Dudette! I know we were supposed to pick you up," he said while gesturing to himself then to Alya, "but we all just decided that it would have been better if everyone rode together in the same car. 'Cause that way we would be able to help Adrien with-"

Knowing that Nino was about to reveal the 'plan', Alya had to take immediate action to try and prevent him from spilling the beans.

Her hazel eyes grew wide in terror, before her heel found its way ontop of her boyfriend's foot.

Before he could finish his rambling, Nino's eye began to twitch as he bit his lip, in order to repress the pain that was resonating throughout his foot and up his ankle. A slight whimper escaped from his mouth, which in turn cause him to receive a lot of suspicious looks.

"Are you okay, Nino?" Marinette gave her friend a very sympathetic, confuzzled look.

Nino quickly gave her a 'thumbs-up' before hesitantly nodding his head, "Yep... Just peachy! Th... Thanks!"

The blue-eyed girl slightly frowned as she scratched her head, trying to understand her friend's strange behavior.

"Are you sure? You seem a little uncomfortable-"

"Of course!" he nervously laughed, "My feet tend to get these really bad cramps from time to time... But it's nothing to be concerned about..."

Seeing that Nino was still nervous, and Marinette was still suspicious, Alya decided that she needed to say something before her BFF caught onto the plan.

The girl with the long ombré hair quickly adjusted her spectacles before reaching for something in her purse.

"Here you go, babe!" she exclaimed while handing her boyfriend a small red tube.

Nino gave her a very unsure look as he cautiously reached for it, "Uh... Thanks..."

He cringed when he read the label, but despite how uncomfortable he felt, he removed the lid before applying some 'cream' onto the pain area.

Knowing that Nino was 'okay', Marinette quickly turned her attention back to Adrien who was quietly chatting to Luka.

She patiently waited for their conversation to end, before placing her palm upon his bicep.

The minute her hand came into contact with his body, the blond immediately froze. He looked at his girlfriend with anticipation, wondering what was on her mind.

"What was Nino talking about? When he said that everyone was going to help you with something?"

Adrien clenched his jaw as he locked hands with Marinette. He glanced deep into her beautiful blue eyes for a moment before hesitantly looking away.

"Uh... Nothing... They just wanted to be here with us, because they want to support us when we preform later tonight," he tried to sound confident, but the nervousness was still evident in his unsteady voice.

The baker girl slightly raised an eyebrow, but chose not to question him further.

"Okay."

Marinette quickly gave her boyfriend a reassuring smile before gently creasing her lips upon his cheek.

The unexpected gesture caused the blond's lips to part. Every time her soft lips would come into contact with his sensitive skin, he would feel shivers run down his spine, as the butterflies in his stomach would intensify with every passing second.

He had almost forgotten that all of his other friends were still there. As he was about to lean over and kiss his girlfriend, Alya suddenly yelled, 'Get a room!'

The reporter's comment was immediately followed by many red cheeks, a few uncomfortable looks, and a lot of laughter.

Marinette immediately hid her face, paralyzed by all the unwanted embarrassment, while Adrien gave Alya an unimpressed glare.

But thankfully the awkwardness didn't last forever. After a few seconds, the embarrassing moment was quickly forgotten.

After a few minutes, the vehicle suddenly stopped, which in turn caused an uproar of excitement to be ignited amongst the teenagers.

Nino and Alya were the first ones to leave. They rushed their goodbyes before climbing out of the door.

Marinette raised an eyebrow as she was about to verbalize her curiosity, but refrained from doing so when someone accidentally bumped into her.

The second his deep blue eyes found hers, Luka smiled.

"Are you ready?" He nonchalantly asked while giving her a violin case.

Taking the case from her friend, Marinette gave him an unsure look while shrugging her shoulders.

"I guess... I don't know..." She honestly admitted.

Sensing her sudden change of heart, the talented musician gave her a very sympathetic look before reaching for his base guitar.

"You'll be fine!" His voice was soft and his eyes were kind.

Knowing that her friend was just trying to help make her feel better was really considerate of him. Marinette honestly didn't believe his words, but it wasn't the time to be acting all emotional! She quickly faked a smile before slightly nodding her head.

Seeing that Marinette agreed, the guitarist smiled before turning around slightly.

Without muttering a single word, he reached for Chloé's exposed hand. She was a little surprised, but didn't resist.

Luka gazed deep into her shy eyes before winking. Chloé immediately glanced away when she felt the heat rise to her cheeks.

Marinette, who was silently watching everything from a far, slightly frowned in confusion. Her mind was instantly flooded with countless questions about Luka and Chloé's current relationship status.

She was really curious, and secretly wanted answers, but she was too afraid to ask...

With her questions still left unanswered, the bluenette was suddenly brought back to reality when the guitarist unexpectedly called out her name.

"Uh... Marinette?"

The violist immediately shook her thoughts away before looking up at him, "Ye... Yeah?"

"We should probably get going..."

She quickly nodded her head before turning her attention back to her boyfriend, who appeared to be preoccupied with some unfamiliar piece of paper.

Marinette could feel herself frown, as she wondered what he was doing...

"Adrien... Are you coming..?" She slightly hesitated.

After a moment of silence had passed, the blond glanced up, before anxiously nodding his head.

"Yeah... I'm coming! I just need to grab something. You can go so long, without me..."

Marinette felt a little confused, but she shrugged it off. He seemed unusually stressed about everything, which concerned her a little, but she knew that it was normal to feel nervous before a performance; and since he was the bandleader, it made logical sense...

After a moment of contemplating her opinions, she decided that it would be best to not disturb him with whatever he was doing...

"Okay... See you soon?"

After receiving no response from him, she decided to follow Luka and Chloé towards the back stage entrance.

Just before exiting the vehicle, Marinette took one final glance at Adrien before quietly smiling to herself.

Even though she was previously so overwhelmed by the unwanted anxiety, she couldn't help but slightly relax, knowing that the boy she loved was never going to leave her.

***