Chat Noir woke up at dawn, his head resting on the hatch. He couldn't stay there any longer, he needed to get back home before anyone noticed that he was missing from his room. Not wanting to wake up Marinette, he got up and left.

************************************

Adrien was in a hurry to get to school. He needed to talk to Marinette and convince her that they belonged together. But she wasn't with Alya and Nino when he arrived. And she wasn't in class when they got there.

He stared at the door until he saw her. Marinette came into the classroom right as the bell rang. But she didn't look at him.

He turned around when she sat in her seat. "Marinette," he whispered, trying to get her to look up at him.

"Adrien," Miss Bustier interrupted. "Class has started. Please hold off on personal conversations until we're done."

"Sorry Miss Bustier," he mumbled, turning back to face the front of the classroom.

Seconds on the clock ticked by at an agonizingly slow pace. Adrien didn't pay any attention to the lesson. He only thought about what he was going to say to Marinette.

When class ended he immediately turned around again. "Please Marinette, I just want to talk."

"There's nothing to talk about," she said quietly, standing up and walking past him.

He got up and followed her into the hallway. "Five minutes, that's all I need," he pleaded.

Marinette sighed and stopped walking, turning back to him. "Adrien, please stop. You don't want me, you want her. And maybe someday she'll realize how wonderful you really are and will want to be with you too. I'd hate to be in your way if that ever happens."

"I don't want her. I only want you," he said, tearing up.

"It's okay. We'll still be friends. We work great that way."

He shook his head. "No, Marinette."

She saw Alya and Nino approaching them from the corner of her eye. "It's better this way," she whispered before joining the other friends.

Adrien tried to speak with Marinette again all morning long but didn't have any luck. When the lunch hour arrived, she left the building with Alya.

He and Nino went to the locker room together to switch out their books for their afternoon classes. Adrien wasn't expecting to find a black umbrella leaning against his locker.

His heart stopped at seeing it. It was the umbrella that he gave to Marinette on his first day of school. The umbrella that made her fall in love with him. And now she was giving it back.

He went over and picked it up gently.

"Is it supposed to rain today?" Nino asked confused, looking over at him.

"I don't think so," Adrien replied. "I... I have to go see Marinette," he continued, quickly moving to the door.

"Hey, wait up dude. I'll come with you," Nino called out, slamming his locker closed and following him.

The two ran outside to the park, where they found the girls eating on the bench. Marinette looked up as Adrien walked up to her. He opened the umbrella and held it out to her, not saying anything.

She stared at him for a moment. "That's yours Adrien," she said quietly.

"I want you to have it," he said breathlessly, still holding it out.

She shook her head. "It's just an umbrella."

"No, it's not."

While they were talking, Alya slid all the way to the edge of the bench, trying to give them some space.

Nino leaned in close to her. "What the hell is going on?" he asked.

She shrugged in response, keeping her eyes on Marinette and Adrien.

Marinette was speaking again. "Yes it is, and it reminds me of the one that your mom had in her movie. Now you can think of her whenever you use it."

"I'll only be able to think of you," Adrien said, his arm still outstretched.

"Adrien, I..." Marinette started to say before she was interrupted by the sound of screams. She snapped her head around to look towards the street. People were running away from something. It had to be another akuma attack.

Alya jumped up and grabbed her phone out of her pocket. "Another scoop for the Ladyblog!" she announced excitedly, running towards the chaos.

"Babe, wait!" Nino called, chasing after her.

Marinette looked back at Adrien. He dropped the umbrella to the ground and grabbed her hand, pulling her up to her feet. Then he pulled her towards the building, not stopping until they were inside.

"What are you doing?" she asked. "You need to transform."

"Not until I know that you're safe," he replied, ushering her into an empty classroom. "I need you to stay here and hide. Don't come out until this is all over, okay?"

Marinette nodded.

He pulled her to the teacher's desk and gestured underneath. "Stay here. I'll be back soon."

She crouched under the desk and sat on the floor.

"Plagg, claws out!" Adrien said, transforming into Chat Noir. "I'll be back soon," he repeated, taking one last look at her before going to the window and climbing out.

Tikki flew out of Marinette's purse and up to her face. "Are you sure you know what you're doing?" she asked.

"I'm sure. This is what he wants," Marinette replied. "Now come on, we're wasting time. Tikki, spots on!"