I actually made it to class on time that day. I sat my bag down next to Alya's as Ms. Bustier clapped her hands to get her students' attention.

"Okay students!" She announced, "Today we are having some very special guests, art students from France's national institute for the arts!"

The class clapped politely as the students filed in, their teacher leading them.

"Good morning dancers." Said the art teacher, "My name is Ms. Mendeleiev, and these are my students," the tall, purple haired woman said, motioning to her line of students, all of them carrying a giant sketch pad and pencils, "We will be drawing each of you as you dance today."

All the dancers clapped politely once again.

Ms. Bustier walked over to the stereo, "Alright students lets give these young artists something worth drawing!"

She turned on the music and we lined up at the barres.

-----

The artists drew us all as we danced, each of them looking up occasionally and changing their subject.

As we finished barre and started across the floor, I noticed one of the art students was particularly noticing me.

He had bright red hair and a similar colored shirt with a black symbol on it. He had a grey jacket over top of it, and was wearing jeans and a brown belt. He was drawing with a pen, occasionally looking up and catching a look at me.

Ms. Mendeleiev walked over to the red haired boy's chair and looked at his drawings. She sighed.

"Nathanaël," she said, obviously annoyed, "you were supposed to be drawing each of the dancers," she pulled the sketch book out of his hands, "not just repeated drawings of yourself with... that one." She said exasperated, looking at me.

The class have out a collective oooooh as if we were in a first grade classroom and someone just got in trouble. I felt myself blush. I turned my eyes to the floor.

Nathanaël, the boy, started blushing too. He snatched the sketch book out of the teacher's hand and grabbed the rust of his things, cradling them in his arms clumsily.

"HA HA!" Chloé laughed, "He must be extremely desperate to have a crush on Marinette!"

The class laughed as the boy, turned his head to the floor, looking as though he was about to cry. He ran out the door of the classroom.

I felt bad for the poor boy, no one should be laughed at for having a little crush....

Ms. Bustier clapped her hands to silence the laughter of both the dance and art students. "That's enough," she said, "back to work everyone."

We want on with class.

-----

Nathanaël ran outside of the studio and bolted down the block, wiping tears from his eyes. He reached an old abandoned building and sat down in its shadow, throwing his art supplies down at his side. He put his head in his hands, sighing deeply.

He looked down at his art supplies and noticed that there was a small purple thing poking out of his sketch book. He grabbed the book and flipped it open to the page the purple thing was on, the same one he had been drawing that beautiful girl on.

He grabbed the purple object and realized it was an envelope, addressed to him. he looked around.

"How could this have gotten here?" he wondered.

He shrugged and ripped open the envelope. It said...

"Dear Evillustrator,

My name is Hawkmoth. I will provide you with the supplies you need to get into a place where your art form will be appreciated. You will impress and win the affections of Marinette, the girl you love. All I ask in return is that you uncover the identities of Ladybug and Chat Noir. Go back to the dance studio and go to the storage closet, all you need will be in there."

"I will do what I need to do to win my lady's heart, Hawkmoth." Nathanaël said to no one in particular.

The boy grabbed his things and stood up, running back to the dance studio.

-----

Alya and I were the last two to go across the floor. When we were done Ms. Bustier dismissed us for the day. The art students closed their books and followed their teacher out the door. The dancers walked over to their bags and started packing up.

"Come on Marinette hurry up!" Alya said when she was ready to leave, "My parents are waiting outside to take us home!"

"You go outside, I'll catch up with you." I said, untying my pointe shoes.

"Okay, see you at the car." Alya said as she walked out the classroom door.

I finished I untying my shoes and put them back in my dance bag. Putting on my street shoes, I stood up and slung my bag over my shoulder, then walked to the door.

I turned left towards the exit, but someone grabbed my arm and pulled me right. I let out a small yelp as the stranger pulled me towards him.

"Marinette...." The stranger said.

"Who are you?!" I screamed as I struggled to get out of his grip, "Let me go!"

"Marinette please calm down it's just me! Look!" The stranger turned me around so I had to look at him.

I saw red hair and bluish green eyes covered by a black eyeshadow mask. He wore a white shirt with black lines and three circles, red, yellow, and blue, in the center. He had on blue jeans and a brown belt that had pockets attached to it, each one carrying a different color of spray paint.

"The artist boy?" I asked tentatively.

"Nathanaël." He responded.

"Okay, Nathanaël," I said, wiggling out of his grip, "What are you doing here? And why are you dressed like that?" I asked, even though I had a feeling that I already knew.

"This may seem as a shock," Nathanaël said, "but there's a secret breakdance club underneath this very studio."

"No way." I said, faking disbelief.

"Oh yes way." The boy responded, squeezing my shoulders, "I'm going to challenge the champions, Ladybug and Chat Noir." He said he let go of one of my shoulders and pulled a small rose out of his pocket, handing it to me.

I took the rose, "Okay..." I said, "But why are you telling me?"

"I wanted to invite you to come watch."

"Oh."

"Will you?"

I cringed. He really was adorable, but how could I face him as Ladybug, and watch him face Ladybug? This breakdance thing was getting a little complicated...

"Marinette?"

"Yes!" I said, "Yes of course!"

"Great!" Nathanaël said, "Lets go!" He said, grabbing my hand gently and gesturing towards the back room.

I pulled my hand away, "Yeah, um, just a second, I'll meet you down there."

"...Okay... It's behind a door in the storage roo-"

"Got it!" I said, "Meet you there!"

And I ran out the front door of the studio. As I closed the door behind me I saw Nathanaël go the other direction towards the entrance to the club, so that was good.

I need to find a way to contact Chat Noir, I thought to myself as I walked around the back of the studio, dodging Alya's gaze, But if I talk to him as Marinette he'd know my secret....

I made it to the back door of the studio and (thankfully it was unlocked) I opened it. I decided came up with a plan as a snuck to the bathroom.

Step one: Change into Ladybug.

Step two: Find Chat Noir before he enters the club and convince him that I can't dance tonight.

Step three: Change back to Marinette.

Step four: Go into the club and cheer on Nathanaël for a bit while he challenged Chat Noir.

Step five: I haven't really gotten this far but we'll find out what happens as we go along.

A formidable plan, I told myself...

1...2...3 go!

-----

I walked out of the bathroom, this time as Ladybug.

Next step: Find Chat.

I walked to the storage closet of the dance studio and saw Chat just as he was about to walk through the door to the club.

That was easy, I thought.

Chat turned around, "Oh hello my lady!" he said with a big smile, "Ready to take on our latest challenger?"

"Um..." I said, "No actually."

"What's wrong my lady?" Chat said, his voice filled with concern. He closed the door to the club and walked over to me, "Are you hurt?" His eyes were big and sad, filled with worry.

"No no I'm fine!" I said, "Um... I mean, I'm sick! Yeah I'm sick!"

"You look fine to me."

I coughed into my elbow repeatedly, and when I spoke again I tried to make it sound raspy, "I'm super sick." I said, "I was just throwing up... and... um...."

"Oh no!" Chat said, "Do you need me to walk you home? Do you need help?"

"No no!" I said, "I just came to tell you I can't dance tonight."

"Then I won't dance either."

"No you," I coughed, "You have to dance. To protect our title."

"But," he said, "We're partners, I don't wanna dance without you."

"Please Chat, do this." I told him, "If I feel better I'll come in late and dance."

Chat hesitated, "...Okay."

"Good Kitty." I said, ringing his little bell.

"I'll go tell DJ N." He said, walking back to the door and opening it, "Feel better, my lady." He said solemnly as he walked down the steps.

I let out a deep breath of relief as the door closed behind him. Then I turned around and ran out of the storage closet, back to the bathroom to change.

-----

I came back out of the bathroom in my street clothes. I wouldn't fit in in the club, but it would have to do.

I wore a pale pink sweatshirt with a crown on it. And I wore black sweatpants and converse over my tights. I ran into the storage closet and threw open the door, running down the stairs.

The music pounded in my ears as I pushed through the crowd.

I made it to the inside edge of the circle surrounding the dance floor and saw Nathanaël. He was stretching, which meant the battle hadn't started yet. I looked up to the DJ's turn table, Chat Noir was talking to DJ N.

When Chat finished talking to the DJ he pushed back through the crowd, trying to get to the dance floor. He posed in front of Nathanaël.

"Where's Ladybug?!" A person in the crowd shouted.

"Ladybug is sick, and she can't dance to tonight. But our other champion Chat Noir is dancing in her place!" DJ N shouted into the mic.

The crowd booed.

"Hey! Don't boo Chat Noir!" I shouted, Nathanaël didn't look in my direction, but Chat did, eyes wide, "He's a great dancer!" I said with a cheer.

Chat smiled at me.

"That's what I'm talking about!" DJ N said, "Lets get this battle started!"

Nathanaël, I mean, The Evillustrator, went first. He bounced from side to side, popping the caps off of his spray paint cans and pulling them out of his pockets with a flourish. He jumped around and did his hip hop moves surprisingly well, for an art student. He finished his turn with a circular disk, spraying his paint as he flew through the air, creating a circle of color around him. He landed with a smirk and sprayed the paint, arms crossed, so the colors framed him.

The crowd cheered.

"Next up is our champion, Chat Noir!"

Chat closed his eyes and bounced to the best of the music. When he opened them he did a heel spin, running a hand through his hair in a way that I'm sure he thought made the girls go wild, knowing him. He did a tilt jump and forward rolled out of it, going into a head spin mid roll. He jumped up out of it and landed with swagger.

The crowd cheered.

-----

The battle went on longer, and I wish I could have helped tip the score as Ladybug, but I couldn't leave, Nathanaël kept looking at me for encouraging looks. Naturally I gave him the occasional smile and thumbs up, I couldn't just let him go out of his way for me like this without me showing any enthusiasm.

Eventually, the cheers from the crowd started to get louder when Chat finished his turns, and soon....

"The winner and remaining champion is... Chat Noir!" DJ N shouted into the mic.

The crowd erupted in applause.

Nathanaël gave a heavy sigh and walked over to me, "I'm sorry Marinette, I'm an artist, not a dancer...."

"No no you did great!" I encouraged him, "You did amazing."

The red haired boy looked at me with big sad eyes, but his smile was bright, "Thank you Marinette." he said, and he held out his arm, "Ready to go?"

"I'm..." I stuttered. I looked over Nathanaël's shoulder and saw Chat looking at the ground, hands in his pockets, "I'm gonna stay here a little longer. This place is great!"

"...Alright." Nathanaël said, "I'll see you soon." And he walked back to the entrance of the club.

I walked over to Chat Noir and tapped him on the shoulder, "OMG you're the famous Chat Noir!" I said, trying to sound like a fangirl (this poor guy needed an ego boost, jeez he was a sad lonely puppy without Ladybug, I mean me), "You're such a great dancer!" I said with a squeal.

Chat turned and looked me up and down. He smiled flirtatiously, "Thanks," He looked at the tiara that was bedazzled on my sweatshirt, "Princess." He said with a smile. "Thanks for defending me against those haters before, I appreciate it."

"No problem." I said. "I don't know why they would hate on you though, you were the champion before Ladybug came."

"You dance at the studio above right?" Chat asked pointing at the ceiling, "I think I've seen you before. I dance their too you know, when I'm not dancing down here."

"Yeah I dance at the studio." I said, "My name's Marinette."

"Yeah," Chat said with a smile, "I definitely know you."

I looked at the clock on the wall, "I gotta go, but I'll see you dance again soon!" I said, running backwards towards the staircase.

Chat gave a small wave, "See you soon, Princess!"

And I ran up the stairs.

-----

Alya was waiting for me outside, even though it was at least an hour after class had ended.

"Where have you been?!" she asked like an angry parent.

"You won't believe this," I said, "Nathanaël, the art boy, was breakdancing down at the club!"

"What?! Their was a battle and I wasn't there?!?" Alya exclaimed, "Well, my parents already drove home while I sat here waiting for you, so walk and talk girl, we got a long way to get home and I want all the details of this battle for my blog."

-----

I told Alya everything as we walked back towards my house.

When we reached my front door we said our goodbyes and I went upstairs to my room, tip toeing past my parents' room, since they were already asleep.

I crept into my room and changed into my pajamas. I got in bed and fell asleep almost instantly, exhausted from the complicated mess that was today.

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