Adrien sat down besides Nino in their first class of the day assessing two things at once. The first was that Chloe was refusing to even look in his direction, and the second was that Marinette's seat was empty. He had arrived fairly late, the class just about to start, so the students should have mostly arrived before him. Granted Marinette had a tardy record similar to his own, but still, he couldn't help but think she should have been there already.

He tried to just be patient, spending the opening minutes of class observing Chloe from the corner of his eye. She didn't look happy... guess that should have been obvious. Just because they purged the akuma doesn't mean they fixed the problem, but at least the problem wasn't as immediately threatening to his life now. He looked again and Chloe was staring down at her desk, not being loud or disruptive like she normally would be. He felt a pang of sympathy for her, but knew he had to leave the situation alone. Unless it endangered Marinette again, in which case he definitely wouldn't.

The lesson got underway and Marinette was still nowhere to be seen. Adrien started to panic, worrying that his proposal for lunch had intimidated her out of even coming to school, but that didn't fit his ever growing image of her in his mind. She was shy and timid, but she was also brave and a little stubborn. Maybe the akuma attack had rattled her? But that didn't fit either. She hadn't been in danger, Ladybug had seen to that, so she should be fine. Maybe it was just the idea of facing Chloe again? That didn't seem right...

Nino tapped his arm, drawing his attention from his speculation to the note he was being given. It had a sharp 'A' on the front, so he knew it was from Alya, but when he opened it his heart sank.

She was sick.

Alya watched as Adrien visibly deflated upon reading her message, his shoulders sagging slightly, his fingers loosening against the paper.

'She said to pass along that she was extremely sorry, but she didn't feel well enough to make it to school. She got caught out in the rain a bunch yesterday, and I guess it got to her.'

Adrien lifted his eyes from the note to glance over at Alya and give her a nod, acknowledging the message but not writing anything back yet.

He didn't hear a word the teacher said, he was too distracted by his guilt. It was his fault, every second she had been caught out in the rain the day before was thanks to him and now she was sick. After doing so much and coming through for him so spectacularly she now had a cold as thanks, how was that fair?

He knew Marinette though, or at least he liked to pretend that he did, and he knew she probably felt awful. Not just physically, but about missing their lunch too. That was the sort of soft hearted girl she turned out to be, always thinking about others first. He wouldn't be surprised if Alya was giving her a play by play of his reaction by text message, and caring more about his feelings than her current health status.

His face set suddenly in determination, and he wrote out, 'Can I have her number?'

As he passed the note back he mentally tallied up some information. He should probably stick around for biology, he needed to turn in the course work, and after that was lunch. After lunch was just gym, physics and math. He had immaculate grades in all three soo...

He received a reply, ignoring the winky face doodle and entering the number in his phone while the teacher was turned away.

He resisted the urge to save it under princess, just entering Marinette and saving the contact. Then he stashed his phone and decided to cover his bases with the person who knew her best.

Alya took the note back from Nino (who was playing middleman like a good sport on the condition that he got to read the notes as well) and raised an eyebrow at his giddy expression. Until she saw what Adrien had written that is and immediately understood why.

'How mad do you think Marinette would be if I skipped school and came over instead?'

She jolted in her seat when she read it, her face a stony calm when the teacher turned at the noise. She contained herself expertly until she was in the clear, hurriedly rushing a reply.

'She would be so flattered and excited that you thought to go and check on her that she would probably overlook it. Fair warning though, she will probably be embarrassed if you saw her when she was all bed head and sick.'

Alya suppressed her sigh, wanting more than anything to just send Adrien in with a rose in his teeth but she knew it would mortify her friend if she was surprised.

Adrien frowned at the message, considering his options. In all honesty, now that he had come up with the idea he was all about it, well aware of the possible fall out from his father but not caring much. He knew overall it would make her smile to be thought of, and it was his fault she was ill.

The most elegant way about it would be to drop by with soup or something and see if she was doing okay, but what he wanted was an excuse to spend a few hours with her. The idea of spending time in the warm bakery with the shy, kind girl instead of sitting through his lessons was too good to ignore, even if she was sneezing her brains out.

He decided to play it by ear, being flexible enough to leave if she didn't want the company, but dedicated to going now at least for a little.

'So I'll give her a heads up so she can like, brush her hair? Thanks Alya.'

Alya held Nino's stare after she read the final message, the two of them collectively freaking out. Marinette was going to have a heart attack. A good one, hopefully.

---

Marinette groaned, her head pounding and her throat scratchy and uncomfortable as she lay depressed in her bed.

After so long of pining after him her chance to go out to lunch with Adrien had been squandered. She knew with her voice sounding the way it did she couldn't pretend to be fine and hope to get anywhere without him noticing, or a teacher or anyone really. Her headache was throbbing and her nose a bit clogged, but it was her throat that was the most painful.

That and her heart, she thought dramatically.

"Aww Marinette, please cheer up," Tikki spoke softly to try and avoid aggravating her charge's migraine. "You know you can reschedule he will understand."

"I was so looking forward to it Tikki..." she whined, her voice distorted and hoarse. "It was going to be so perfect. He had walked me home and stood up for me and been so nice and- ugh."

She rolled dejectedly to press her face into the pillows, appreciating the gentle pats on her hair from Tikki but not feeling any better for them.

"He was worried!" Tikki reminded her happily, "He was interested in you and the things you like, he was concerned for your safety and he took the initiative to invite you out in the first place! It's not all lost Marinette I think he's really noticing you now!"

"He was!" came her muffled reply, "We talked so much and I didn't sound like a total doofus the entire time, we were becoming friends!"

"Do you seriously think just one missed day will change that?"

"I don't know... I just wanted to go to lunch!" she cried out, her voice cracking and causing her to cough uncomfortably.

Her phone vibrated on the sheets for what must be the tenth time, probably Alya.

"You've got another message," Tikki informed her, sounding a little smug for some reason.

"Mhm," was the only thing she got in response.

"You should read it."

Marinette turned her face to the side to be heard more clearly.

"It's probably Alya telling me how mad he is."

"I don't think sooo," Tikki chirped in a sing song voice, finally rousing enough curiosity for Marinette to reach out and tilt the phone so she could read it without sitting up.

Marinette squinted to read the tiny bright letters through her headache.

"Hey Marinette its Adrie- AAAAAAH!" Marinette flung the phone away from her in senseless panic, shouting so loud so suddenly that her voice faltered and failed to produce any sound at all.

Tikki giggled in excitement, flying quickly to drag the phone back up to it's the flustered owner.

"I told you he cared I told you! Read it!"

Marinette was sitting straight up, clutching the phone tightly and doing her best to ignore her discomfort from the cold.

"Hey Marinette its Adrien, I got your number from Alya I hope you don't mind. How are you? I'm really sorry you're sick I'm sure my stupid fall yesterday didn't help at all. And please don't worry about lunch! We can go as soon as you feel better. But that's actually one of the reasons I'm texting, I was wondering if it would be okay if I came by during my lunch hour to eat at the bakery and see how you're doing. Would that be fine?"

Tikki giggled happily, flying in a rapid circle around the phone. "Oooh yes! Tell him yes!"

The red kwami waited for a moment before looking up at Marinette, pouting adorably when she saw she was totally frozen.

Tikki sighed, before whizzing right up in her face and shouting, "Marinette!!"

She jumped at the volume that was somehow produced from something so little, swallowing against the pain in her throat and stammering in a panic.

"I- I'm sick I'm sure I look awful I-" Tikki moved to cut her off.

"No way! A warm steamy shower, some tea, and fresh clothes will fix everything! He's expecting you to be sick so that's fine just don't look like a train wreck!"

Tikki bounced up and down on the bed, demanding to be noticed.

"I'm not letting you turn him down! He is being so sweet!"

"I- I want to but-"

"So do it!"

Marinette stared at the message still showing on her phone, wanting more than anything to just type, 'Yes!' but found it so incredibly nerve wracking.

Tikki huffed, sitting down and crossing her arms. "What's the problem? This is great!"

"It is! It's amazing its- he's so amazing Tikki."

"You say that like you aren't."

The kwami was looking up at her with such soft, genuine kindness that Marinette's instant denial fell quiet.

"You're Ladybug! You are beautiful and sweet and brave! Just say yes!"

The young girl sighed, drawing up her knees and muttering in exasperation, "Ladybug isn't here. I'm not wearing the spots right now."

"That doesn't make you not Ladybug," Tikki said firmly, stating it as fact. "That girl who is always saving lives and fighting bad guys is you, its Marinette! All the grace and charm is still you! You're a superhero!"

Marinette smiled softly, sadness in her eyes. "That's us Tikki."

The small kwami shook her head.

"I'm the spots. You're the hero." Tikki flew up to hover right before Marinette's eyes, putting more sincerity and importance in her next words than the girl had ever heard from her before.

"I understand that you're nervous and that you struggle with feeling important. You won't talk about it but I know what Chloe said yesterday really bothered you. I know that she's wrong though, and Adrien knows she's wrong. Cat Noir knows that she's wrong too, about the real you, about Marinette! The only person who doesn't is you, and it's silly!"

She flew forward to pat her friend gently on the nose.

"It's okay to be nervous, but it isn't okay to somehow think Adrien is out of your league, like you aren't enough. You treat the mask like its some better version of yourself and it's not! There is never a moment where Ladybug isn't Marinette, and Marinette isn't Ladybug. You are a hero, and I know you're brave enough to say yes to him."

Just like that it wasn't about lunch anymore. It wasn't about somehow struggling through seeing him without looking like a mess. All at once... it was about giving herself a shot.

"Jeeze..." Marinette whispered, her sudden wave of emotions overwhelming her. "Nice speech."

"Thank you," Tikki responded proudly, back to her usually bouncy self almost instantly. "I was saving it."

"I could tell," Marinette laughed breathlessly, touched by the words but still finding the distance to tease. "That was pretty intense for a lunch date."

"Needed to be said!" Tikki defended herself, looking on happily as Marinette started to type out a response.

As heavy as it was Marinette couldn't say it was exactly out of place... she had needed to hear it. She was surer of herself with her friend's comforting words than she would have been with a simple, 'I know you can do it!'

"Thanks Tikki... that meant a lot."

Her kwami wormed her way in to the warmth of her shirt, saying nothing but humming happily.

Marinette glanced over her message once more to check for typos before sending it, getting up to take a shower and leaving the chat log open on the screen.

'Thank you so much for wanting to check on me,' it read. 'I would love to see you at the bakery, but please pardon if I look like a mess! I'll see you then.'

---

Adrien sighed heavily, walking in to Biology with Nino and Alya on his heels. "Come on guys..."

"Oh don't you 'Come on guys' us this is so obvious! What is going on with you guys!?" Alya pressed, her phone still in her hand. She had hit a brick wall with Marinette over text message, so she was joining Nino in his pursuit of information.

"Nothing!" he said again for the hundredth time, still blushing like he had the first time they asked. "I'm worried about her because she's my friend and I want to go check on her, that's all."

"Check on her sure," Nino allowed, "but you want to skip class to go hang out with her that isn't just checking on her."

"Yes it is, I'm just going to make sure a sick friend is feeling better! There is nothing interesting about that!"

"Or her," he caught someone muttering under their breath.

Adrien's head shot up, having caught the petty remark that was too quiet for Nino or Alya to hear.

"What's your problem Chloe!?"

He had said it before he could stop himself, retaliating impulsively with next to no thought as to the consequences. He had snapped back loudly, everyone in class hearing his retort to the comment that almost no one had heard.

The heiress in question turned sharply, obviously surprised that she had been caught. She seemed slightly embarrassed to be called out so aggressively by her crush, but her anger and disbelief at Adrien's new budding friendship gave her the courage to hold her ground.

"I said she isn't interesting," she spat, her usual bratty behavior back in full swing. "She's just some random quiet girl who is a waste of space, I don't see why you bother."

Every student in class was out of their seats, jostling for position to form a ring around the three friends and Chloe. Chloe only stood alone for a few moments before Sabrina appeared to back her up, though she seemed hesitant about it.

"Shut up Chloe, don't say that kind of stuff about Marinette!" Nino shouted, immediately followed up by Alya.

"You don't know anything about her! She's a hundred times better than some stuck up brat who would rather pick a fight than actually do something important. Starting fights is pretty much the only thing you do by yourself, you have your daddy do everything else!" Alya shot back aggressively, fearless when it came to defending her friend. She had a whole lot to say to the intolerable bitch.

Chloe gasped in outrage, ever the drama queen. "I'm just saying what everyone else already knows. She's a clutz! She's completely pathetic and someone like Adrien shouldn't even give her the time of day."

"Don't talk for me Chloe," Adrien said darkly, his anger trumping anyone else in the room. "I'm going to make something really clear so you will have no trouble understanding." He took a step forward and kept all eyes on him. "Leave Marinette alone. I won't let you talk bad about her or try and make it seem like you're better than anyone else cause you're not. You keep saying stuff like I belong to you or like you know anything about me but I would rather hang out with Marinette a hundred times over before I even said good morning to you, so just shut up and leave her alone!"

Everyone was stunned by how passionately he spoke. Adrien was sweet and polite, charming and kind. No one had ever heard him speak to someone like that before not even Chloe, who in all honesty deserved it. The class was rallying, every student there not having so much as a bad word to say about Marinette. No one had any difficulty coming up with bad words for Chloe though.

"Yeah stop it!"

"Leave her alone!"

"Who wants to deal with your tantrums anyways!?"

Everyone was behind Adrien now, making a clear show of whose side they were on.

"You idiots!" Chloe shouted at them, tears in her eyes, "You all know I'm right!"

"EVERYONE SIT DOWN!"

Their teacher had finally arrived, and was not liking what they were seeing. The shouting match had been clear from the hallway, and while even the faculty despised Chloe's horrid behavior there was only one course of action.

"Alya, Nino, Adrien, Chloe! Go to the principal's office NOW!"

"It was Chloe!" Alix spoke up, "The others were just standing up to her!"

Most of the others in their class were saying similar things, but the teacher shook their head and shouted again, "NOW!"

Adrien turned and left, the others following close behind him. He was livid, but also concerned.

Could someone get possessed twice? He really hoped not, but he didn't regret his actions. He might have been mean but she deserved it, and he wouldn't mind taking down that queen bee again.

The journey to the principals' office was quiet, and things went about as well as he expected once they got there. Chloe had called her dad the second they left the classroom, and the principal was still on the phone with him when they walked in.

"Sir- yes sir I understand but your daughter was- no sir I got a report from the teacher before you called your daughter was being disruptive and-" The poor man dabbed at his head with a cloth, stained from use. Nino gave Alya a look that just said, 'Ew'.

The principal seemed to be doing his best, gesturing at the children to sit but no one did. It seemed pretty obvious to Adrien that no one disagreed with him standing up to Chloe, but that getting away with no punishment would be pretty hard with the mayor and chief educational donor breathing down their necks.

"No sir there is no need to come down I have it under control but you must understand that Chloe will also- no sir I stress that you do not need to come to the campus. I will handle everything, thank you goodbye."

The principal hung up and quickly addressed the students, knowing he only had so long until the mayor showed up.

"You were all participants in this disagreement, and will all face punishment," he started plainly, waving his hands to try and calm down the three who started to protest. Adrien remained quiet.

"However I do not feel like punishment through the school is needed, instead all parents have been notified." The principal hated not having more help to give, but he knew he wouldn't be able to get away with trying to give any kind of detention to Chloe, the one who deserved it. The best he could do was punish them all equally by not punishing them at all, and hope that the good kids stayed out of trouble. It was wrong and frustrating, but there was nothing he could do.