The boys got ready fast and headed to the club. They showed an identification and stepped inside.

A popular American song was playing and almost everyone was dancing. Marinette and Luka were among those people. Marinette swayed her hips to the song and Adrien did not like the way Luka was too close.

Nino left and went with Alya, who was drunk slurring her words. Adrien turned back to see Marinette and Luka smiling and having fun. His heart broke slightly and he was torn. He wanted to go over there and pull her away but it would cause a scene. But he didn't want her dancing such a song with him.

Marinette looked up at Luka and he held her by the waist. She hesitated a little but continued dancing with him. This was the snapping point for Adrien. Had they continued dancing normally, he would've led it slide. She had the ring on, which was good. But he didn't like the way he was holding her now.

Aside from his jealousy, it was downright creepy and uncomfortable to watch. Luka was 2 years older than his sister, who's 18, making him 20. Three years isn't a big age gap or a big deal usually, but it was an issue in this case because Marinette is only 17, still technically a child.

His jealousy and his uncomfortable feeling made him forget he was Adrien and not Chat. He walked over to the and pulled Marinette away by her wrist. She looked up at him with wide eyes. Luka looked at him and raised a brow, "What was that about? We're just dancing."

Adrien shot him a glare and began walking away. Luka stared at them in disbelief. The girls all took notice and froze. "What is he doing?" Alya asked. Marinette continued to stare at Adrien, confusion running through her brain. She didn't know why he was there and why he had pulled her away.

Chat had shown signs of jealousy but why would Adrien show signs of jealousy? They were just friends. He and Luka had gotten along well before. Marinette was just dancing with Luka. It was just an innocent action.

Marinette snapped back to reality when she noticed he had taken her coat from the chair and started walking towards the exit. "Hey!" Alix yelled from behind. "Where are you going?" Nino asked, running towards them. "We're leaving," Adrien said. He put Marinette's coat on her and took her by the hand again, dragging her out.

"Come back here Agreste!!!" Alya screamed from inside. Nino held her back, fearing what drunk Alya would do to his best friend.

Adrien opened the entrance door and stepped out. Marinette pulled back slightly and he stopped to turn back. Marinette was staring up at him, confusion and worry on her face. "I didn't like the way you two were dancing." 'Why? It was dancing.'

"No it wasn't, it's... it's..." Adrien couldn't come up with the words. 'It's what? Adrien what's going on?' she asked. Marinette was beyond confused and extremely worried. 'Tell me, Adrien.'

"I... Marinette he's 20!" Marinette blinked in surprise. 'What?'

"He's 20 years old Marinette, you're still only 17! He's an adult!"

'But you're 18! You're an adult too,' she retorded. "Barely! Mari," Adrien cupped her face, "there's a difference between a 17 year old and a 20 year old. There is a difference between an 18 year old hanging around a 17 year old and a 20 year old showing romantic gestures towards a child. Christ Mari, you can't even drink yet!"

Marinette looked at him with a sad and shocked look. She didn't know what to say. Luka's 20? That is a few years older than her. Was she so naive to not see any romantic intentions from Luka?

Of course, Adrien knew Luka wouldn't do anything malicious with Marinette, not on purpose anyways, but even then there was an imbalanced power dynamic. Luka is more mature and would likely push Marinette, even if unintentional. Luka has had experience in relationships, Marinette hasn't. He'd go into the relationship differently than her.

Alya, Nino, Luka, and the other girls stood at the door, silent. They had heard everything Adrien had said and none of them could really argue with what he had said. They all knew Luka wouldn't do anything malicious and they knew Adrien knew that too. Even Luka stood silently, questioning himself.

Even if his outburst was understandable, Adrien felt embarrassed. He went too far and the situation could've been handled better. It was made clear to the group by his reaction that the age gap wasn't his only reason. He liked her. Even Marinette was able to put it together. "I'm sorry," Adrien broke the silence, moving his hands away from her face. "I-I'll leave." Adrien turned around and walked away quickly from the group, his face red.

Marinette stood there, not knowing how to react. "We should... go home," Nino chimed in. No one else said anything but they all silently agreed. The girls got their coats and Nino dropped off everyone. (Luka and Juleka leaving on their own). Marinette was the last one. It was just her, Alya, and Nino in the car. Alya was the first one to break the silence.

"He did have a point, you know. I didn't even think of the age gap and maturity levels. But. . . I also didn't know Adrien had feelings for you... that's so crazy," she frowned. "How had we not noticed?" She turned to Nino. Nino only shrugged. They stopped in front of the bakery and Marinette stepped out. Alya rolled down the window and turned to Mari. "Are you going to be ok? I can stay over," she asked, concerned.

Marinette shook her head. She walked into the bakery and headed upstairs. It was late and her parents were already asleep. She got to her room and threw herself on to her bed.

She stared at the ceiling. She didn't know how to feel. Her thoughts were running wild and she couldn't find peace. She looked at the ring on her hand and sadness washed over her. Had she betrayed Chat by dancing with Luka? Was it really so wrong to dance with Luka? She felt uncomfortable now knowing the age gap she had with him.

She sighed and got up. She opened the trap door leading to the balcony and stepped out. She sat on her chair and looked at the stars. The view of the city was beautiful and it could always calm down. She closed her eyes and sighed.

"Are you ok?"

Marinette jumped, startled for what seemed like the 10th time that day. She looked back, expecting Chat. However, someone else stood in his place. Marinette was surprised to see Ladybug standing on the roof.

"You look down, is everything alright?" she asked again, stepping down. Marinette sighed again and sat back in her chair. Ladybug smiled, "I'll take that as a no. Mind if I stay?"

Marinette shook her head and took out another chair for Ladybug. Both girls sat down and stared at the sky. "So what troubles you, Marinette?" the heroine asked. 'Boys' she mouthed. "Ah, yes, boys," Ladybug had a small smile on her face. "It doesn't get better as you get older."

"What happened? Was it Chat? I'll beat him up for you," Ladybug sat up. 'Him and two other boys.' Ladybug blinked in surprise. "Three boys? Oh my. Go on."

It was going to be a long ride so Marinette mouthed the words as clear as she could. After a few tries, she got the entire thing out.

'Chat gave me a very expensive gift and I don't even know what we are. Then I go out with friends and a boy asks me to dance. Then my best friend shows up and pulls me away. Then he tells me the boy I was dancing with is 20 and it's wrong for me to dance with him because he was showing romantic interest. But then I realize my best friend likes me! So now I feel uncomfortable and I feel like I betrayed Chat.'

Ladybug stared at Marinette with a shocked look. 'I don't know how to feel about any of this!' Ladybug sat back, "That is a very difficult situation you are in.

"Ok well, the boy that asked you to dance. Your best friend did make a good point. You're still 17, technically a child. Your maturity levels aren't going to always match that of a 20 year old. I mean, there are stupid 20 year olds, but that's besides the point." That earned a laugh from Marinette. "But if he was showing romantic interest, it wasn't right for you to dance with him. But that doesn't mean it was your fault. You said your best friend told you his age, you didn't know his age beforehand, so you didn't know it was wrong. If he did know your age, then the responsibility should've fallen on him to avoid asking a child to dance if he expressed romantic feelings. But if he didn't and he truly had no ill intention, then no one is at fault. It was an honest mistake and as long as nothing happened, you should be fine.

"Your best friend liking you; talk to him. Let him down easy, let him know you're not interested but still wish to remain his best friend. Now for Chat, if you want, you can tell him you danced with a guy but you didn't betray him. You were simply doing it as a friendly gesture and didn't know the boy had romantic feelings. As for your relationship, you need to sit his ass down - sorry for my language - and talk to him about it. Ask him what he truly wants with you. I can talk to him too, tell him that you two need to talk, ok?"

Marinette smiled, 'Ok, thanks, Ladybug.' Ladybug smiled, "Anytime kid."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Edit: If you've already read this book or this chapter at least, there's been a change. If this is your first time reading it, you can skip this edit lol. I decided to remove the kiss. I didn't like it and I felt the age gap would make a better thing to discuss. I was going to wait and leave it until I finished the book as I plan to go in and edit it entirely, but this part was bothering me too much and I felt I had to change it now. I'll remove this when I go in and edit the entire thing, but for now, here's an explanation for previous readers :)

and in case there are some plot holes, I tried my best to clear things up but I don't want to go through the entire book just for this. That's what the full edit will be for when I finish the book.