Tying the final purple ribbon to the balcony, Marinette smiled in content. They had finally finished decorating the park for Juleka's birthday!

The park was decorated with purple ribbons, balloons, and streamers. And dessert was provided by none other than Marinette herself.

"Looks awesome," Alya commented, placing her hands on her hips. "She is gonna love this."

"I hope so," Marinette smiled hopefully, looking around at her handiwork. "Where is she now?"

"I just got word from Rose that they are leaving her house so they will be here any minute now."

Marinette clapped her hands together in excitement. Everyone from school was there waiting for Juleka to arrive for her surprise party. Even Adrien!

And thankfully, Chloe and Sabrina werent invited so they didn't have to worry about them. Other than that, everyone was there.

Marinette noticed Adrien conversing with Nino on the other side of the park. Her heart fluttered as she watched his blonde hair gently sway in the wind and his green eyes sparkle in the sun.

"I'm gonna go drag Nino with me to help finish blowing up the balloons," Alya remarked, raising an eyebrow at her friend. She then leaned in and whispered in her ear. "By the way, don't let Adrien see you totally gawking over him."

Marinette immediately blushed, scratching the back of her head. "Wait, what? I t-totally wasn't staring. That's ridiculous!"

Alya chuckled and walked away, leaving Marinette to inspect the park to make sure she didn't forget anything. Balloons, check. Streamers, check. Handsome guy, check... Wait!

Marinette froze as she watched an unfamiliar boy with dark brown hair and copper tinted eyes approach them. He had a strong jaw and light brown freckles sprinkled his nose and forehead.

Marinette would be lying if she said her heart didn't flutter when she laid eyes on the boy.

He approached the first person he reached, Alya, and they began talking. Marinette noticed that Alya widened her eyes in surprise, a sign that she was caught off guard by his stellar appearance as well. Nino was too busy fiddling with the balloons that he wasn't paying attention to their interaction.

Marinette began moving towards the two without really meaning to; her legs just started moving on their own.

"Hey Alya," Marinette smiled warmly, pretending to start a conversation.

"Hey, uh, this is Luka. Juleka's brother," Alya introduced her to the boy and he smiled at her. The smile was so perfect and pure. It reminded her of someone...

"Hello," Luka greeted.

"Hi Luka, I'm Marinette," she replied happily.

"Marinette. I like that name," he complimented.

She blushed, laughing nervously. "Thanks."

From afar, Adrien had taken notice to the new face. And he was certainly noticing the reaction he had garnered from Marinette.

"Who is he?" Adrien mumbled, more to himself, but Max was nearby so he answered for him.

"That's Juleka's brother, Luka," Max stated, matter of factly.

Adrien shoved his hands in his pockets. "How come I've never seen him before?"

"He's a young and aspiring artist. He has dreams of making it big one day. Dropped out of school to pursure his dreams and even lived in Germany for a few months. He's pretty successful, actually. So cool."

"Yeah, cool," Adrien said quietly, narrowing his eyes in interest. He couldn't quite place it, but a feeling was growing deep within his chest. He didn't know what it was, but his mind was telling him he needed to investigate.

Not because of Marinette or anything. Definitely not that.

So, Adrien put on his best model smile and approached the group.

He stopped right beside Marinette. She turned to him in surprise, a reassuring blush garnishing her face.

"Hey Marinette," he greeted, laying on the model charm a little thicker than usual.

"Oh, hi Adrien," she replied in surprise.

Weird, no usual stuttering. And the blush he had spotted had quickly faded away.

Adrien shifted his attention to the invader, Luka. Adrien had to admit; he felt a little intimated by this boys' similar gusto.

"Hey there," Adrien greeted casually. He stuck out a hand. "Nice to meet you."

"You as well," Luka replied, shaking his hand. "I'm-"

"Luka," Adrien cut off. He then chuckled briefly. "Sorry, my friend told me about you. So, you're an artist, huh?"

Luka blinked, a little taken off guard. "Uh, yeah. I've been an artist for as long as I can remember."

"So awesome," Adrien grinned.

"It's alright. I bet that can't compare to modeling for the Gabriel Agreste, though," Luka stated.

"He's my dad, so. It's okay too," Adrien shrugged.

Awkward silence filled the air.

Marinette had been teetering back and forth on her tippie toes as she had waited for the tense atmosphere to dissipate while Adrien and Luka conversed.

"Guys! Hide, Juleka's almost here!" Alya whisper-yelled.

Everyone began scrambling around, hiding behind trees and tables and benches. Marinette huffed in annoyance as she realized there were virtually no hiding spots left.

"There's a spot," Luka whispered to her, pointing to a large speaker. "We can share the spot if you want."

"Perfect!" Marinette smiled. She glanced back at Adrien, who had been watching the two's conversation in distaste.

However when she peered back at him, he quickly looked away and began whistling casually.

"Adrien, do you wanna come with us? I'm sure there is room for 3," Marinette asked.

"No, you guys go ahead. I, uh, already have a spot in mind," he replied, nodding his head in reassurance.

"Okay," Marinette said hesitantly, before racing off to the hiding spot with Luka.

Great, Adrien thought to himself. You don't have a hiding spot you idiot!

He grinded his teeth in anxiousness as he realized he was the only person still out in the open. He needed a spot!

Adrien ran around frantically before helplessly joining Kim behind a tree.

"Go find your own spot!" Kim whispered harshly.

"I can't, okay? There are only so many places a person can hide!" Adrien defended himself. He desperately squeezed behind the tree, way too close to Kim for comfort.

The boys were back to back, sucking in their broad chests so they could perfectly hide behind the tree. Adrien was mentally smacking himself.

And in the ensuing silence, he finally reflected on himself and realized that feeling he had felt in his chest earlier.

It was jealousy. Pure, unforgiving jealousy.

And it was crazy because Adrien should not have been jealous when Luka was making Marinette laugh or blush.

Adrien liked Marinette; she was his best friend, but he didn't like Marinette like that.

Or did he?

"SURPRISE!!" everyone suddenly screamed out, cuing Adrien to quite literally jump out of his own skin as he remained standing behind the tree.

He jumped out at the last minute, yelling surprise, his face red in embarrassment because he hadn't been paying attention. Luckily, though, no one had been paying attention because they were approaching Juleka and giving her a hug.

Adrien scratched the back of his neck, approaching Juleka. "Happy Birthday," he smiled, reaching in for a hug.

"Thanks," Juleka replied, somewhat quietly. Though she was certainly surprised, the girl was still softspoken like she usually was. She gave him the hug and then moved on, approaching the other classmates who had anxiously awaited her arrival.

Luka approached his sister and gave her a hug. "Happy Birthday sis!"

"Thanks Luka," Juleka smiled.

"Happy Birthday Juleka!!" Marinette exclaimed in excitement. She gave her friend a big hug.

"Thank you," the girl said, "Thank you everyone."

"No problem! Anything for our friend," Marinette nodded happily.

Juleka went down the list, giving everyone who showed up a hug and exchanging a few words with them.

Meanwhile, Adrien approached Marinette from behind. He had meant to tell her, but he loved how she decorated the park. Plus, now was the time since Luka was preocuppied.

"Marinette?" Adrien said softly.

She turned to him, and in that moment, the sun shone perfectly on her sparkling blue eyes. She smiled a warm and endearing smile. "Yes, Adrien?"

Adrien had to find his words; he was so caught off guard. "I just wanted to say... I love how you decorated the park. I can tell you spent a lot of time on it."

Marinette blushed."O-oh, thanks."

"No problem," Adrien smiled. And in that moment, he felt a weight lift off his shoulders.

"My parents are expecting me, I should probably get going," Marinette said, brushing a piece of hair behind her ear. "See you tomorrow," she chimed, smiling and walking away. Her scent carried throughout the breeze that brushed her perfect hair back and Adrien stirred.

He finally recognized that deep, unbreakable admiration he felt for Marinette when she decided to practice fencing with him.

The electricity he felt in his fingertips the day their hands accidentally brushed when they were practicing for the video game tournament.

The warmth he felt in his chest the day he slow danced with her at Chloe's party.

Adrien had finally realized the deep and undying love he had for Marinette. And of all times, too. The day a new guy came in and threatened to take all that away.