Marinette sighed, fiddling with the edges of the warm cloth that was resting on her chest. She pestered Alya incessantly, as the girl flatly refused to go back to class until her best friend was back on her feet.

"Hey, Alya?"

"What?"

"Do you think that Chloe was the one that started the rumors?"

"I don't know." Alya didn't want to talk about anything related to the rumors since she felt guilty for possibly having started another one.

"I don't think she could have been the only one, right? I mean she doesn't exactly seem like a mastermind. Do you think if I asked her nicely that-"

"Marinette," Putting the pamphlet she was reading on hypothermia down, she crossed her arms and fixed her eyes on her friend.

"Do you seriously think that Chloe would talk to you about it anyway?"

Marinette didn't respond.

"Don't you think Chloe would only make things worse?"

"You..."

Marinette took a breath and sighed. "You can't answer a question with a question..."

Alya groaned and tossed the pamphlet back where she got it.

Adrien and Nino finally made their way back, holding some saltines and bottles of water. The nurse was on the phone at her desk, so all four kids kept their voices low.

"We brought snacks and water!"

Alya grabbed some crackers and scooted over a chair so Nino could sit next to her. He happily took the seat, leaving Adrien to sit next to Marinette on the bed, since it was the only place available.

"Yeah, I was wondering where you went. You were gone for like twenty minutes, so the nurse sent Adrien to go find you.." Alya mumbled.

Marinette chuckled. "I can't be getting in trouble for you guys disappearing! Go find the boy!" She mocked Esmée, her fingers grazing Adrien's when she took the saltines from him.

"Well sorry, I couldn't find a working vending machine..." Nino stuffed a cracker in his mouth and coughed.

"That's because this school doesn't have a working vending machine, babe." Alya put her arm around her boyfriend's shoulders as he continued coughing, bits of cracker popping out of his mouth.

"Don't eat too fast-" She chastised, pointing a finger in his face.

After he took a swig of water, Nino turned to face Alya directly. "Well, I eventually found one."

"Where?" She asked.

"The basement..."

"You went in the-" Marinette covered her mouth, shocked.

"Yes, it's not as scary as it seems."

"Man, I haven't been down there since Mylene was akumatized." Adrien wondered, remembering how cold and dark it was down there.

"That feels like so long ago. We were only just starting lycée a while later." Alya commented, trying to remember what was going on that day.

"Oh! That's right, we tried to film that movie!" Nino exclaimed.

"Ahaha! Chloe tried to kiss Adrien and he was so uncomfortable-" Alya took the advantage to tease her blonde-haired friend, who flushed and twiddled his thumbs.

"So we were going to have Marinette step in-" The redhead smirked, leaning forward in her chair and balancing her elbows on her knees.

"You two were so close to..." She puckered her lips, making obnoxious kissing sounds like a little child.

Both Adrien and Marinette were a bright red, the faint memory of their almost-kiss popping in their mind.

Alya leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. "But I have to say, the way that you acted when Chloe was trying to kiss you was way different than the way you acted with Marinette... is there something we don't know about?"

For Alya, she was desperate for the ship to sail. They'd all be 17 soon...and if Adrien took too long then they would graduate... and she was determined to get the two dense teenagers to at least admit their feelings before then.

And maybe...in the future...

Alya sighed, thinking about how adorable little Adrien and Marinettes would be running around. She'd be like an aunt-ooh she'd be their godmother!

"Alya, what are you thinking about?" Nino noticed the look on his girlfriend's face and smirked, because he too, was frustrated with Adrien's oblivious nature.

"Oh nothing..."

She turned her attention back to the matter at hand.

"Care to explain, Agreste?" She smiled when she saw the red tint on his cheeks as he avoided answering her question. Marinette still wouldn't make eye contact with anyone.

"Come on! You know how to kiss, don't you?" Alya exclaimed, growing more and more tired of this shy behavior.

"You should just do it right now!" She continued, determined.

"Come on! I'll show you-"

Grabbing Nino's face, and turning it towards her, she pressed her lips onto his. A gasp caught in his throat from the sudden act. He kept his eyes open, but could tell by the way Alya was kissing him, she was on to something. So he kissed her back...

Once.

Pushing her away gently, he covered his face as it grew red and scolded her lightly.

"You can't just-"

Both of them looked instantly in the direction of the nurse, growing embarrassed. She was staring at them with angry eyes, the telephone still pressed to her ear.

"Tsk, tsk..." Nino whispered.

"She's obviously not a fan of PDA..." Alya joked, gently punching her boyfriend on the shoulder. Esmée returned to her phone call, which seemed as if it was taking a long time.

The auburn-haired girl looked back over at Adrien and Marinette, who still sat in the same place. Adrien was looking right at her, with a smile.

"I know how to kiss, thank you very much."

But I've never kissed anyone before...

Adrien knew if he told Alya that, he'd never hear the end of it.

Marinette was trying her best to ignore Alya's ridiculous behavior, wanting to make it clear to her best friend that she was aware of Adrien's feelings toward her and knew that it would never become more.

Just watching my best friend taunt me like this, is exhausting.

She wanted Adrien so bad.

But she could never have him, of course.

Now that they were living together, it was practically forbidden for them to date. The rumors going around would make the relationship hard anyways. But what is she saying? She'd never have the courage to actually go out with him. And she knew that Adrien would most likely never ask her out. All she could do was dream! And that's enough for Marinette. Because his friendship meant everything to her-

"Marinette..." Alya singsonged, pestering Adrien to get her attention.

"What?" She said, blinking.

"You zoned out. Were you thinking about what you want Adr-"

"Okay, babe, that's enough." Nino pulled Alya into a side hug and whispered something in her ear, which caused her to frown.

The tan boy decided to change the subject, back to the topic of the movie itself.

"Anyway... I worked so hard on that movie..." He muttered.

Adrien cleared his throat, the blush fading from his cheeks as he now felt comfortable to speak.

"It was great! You shouldn't be down on yourself, especially after all these years..."

Marinette nodded in agreement, also feeling that she should comfort her friend.

Alya glared at them.

So now you talk?

Leaning her head onto her boyfriend's shoulder she tried to help as well.

"Hey! There will always be more chances! Besides, it was 2 or 3 years ago. You've done great things since then!" Turning her head towards him, she smiled.

"And I happen to think that you're a great DJ..."

"Still... even with Horrificator in it?" Nino sulked, upset he didn't become the director he quite wanted to that day.

"Come on, don't worry. Ladybug and Chat Noir were in it! Remember?"

Nino lit up when the words left Alya's mouth.

"Yeah! I still can't believe we don't know who those two are..."

That one sentence, for some odd reason, made everybody but Nino tense. Alya and Adrien were thinking about how they knew each other's identities, while the real Ladybug sat there wondering if she'd ever see Tikki again.

"You're right. It's been years since then..." Nino continued, not quite noticing the tension in the air.

He looked over to see Alya staring at the ground and Marinette and Adrien looking away. He was about to ask what was wrong, when the nurse interuppted their conversation. The woman was now off the phone, having forgotten Alya and Nino's 'inappropriate' behavior earlier.

"Marinette! Can I check if your skin is still cold?"

The dark-haired girl cleared her throat and swung her legs off the bed, allowing Esmée to look where the warm rag was.

Adrien stood off the bed to give them space, walking over and standing next to Nino. He was happy to have had a break from classes. Especially since going back into that room would mean getting hit with the class's states again.

The nurse touched Marinette's skin under her collarbone, acknowledging that it had warmed up tremendously.

"I think you can go back to class now. And enough crackers, kids. They're having pizza for lunch today."

"Oh, really?" Marinette questioned, unaware of the event.

"Yes, it's for some new transfer students or something. We're supposed to meet them today during lunch." Alya explained.

"Then we should get back to class..." Marinette mumbled reluctantly. Taking the warm rag in her hand and sighing.

"Oh, you can take this one-" Esmee handed Marinette a new rag from a blue bin, one that was hot to the touch.

"It's warmer, and you may keep it as well."

"Thanks." She smiled, liking the warm feeling on her skin. Nino and Alya stood, still holding the crackers and water.

The four of them walked back towards class, slowly, not wanting to face whatever laid inside.

"Yeah it's lunch time now... so..." Nino stuffed the last cracker of the pack into his mouth and stopped to tie his shoe on the bench. The others slowed as well, Alya whipping out her phone to check it before making her way back to class.

"You have your phone?" Adrien asked.

"Yes, I don't really follow the rules." She stated coldly. Marinette peeked over Alya's shoulder to check the time on her phone, just in time to see a notification pop up.

An Instagram direct message had been sent to the entire class. There were even names of students from other classes in the chat as well. Nino's phone buzzed a moment later from inside his back pocket, startling him. His water tumbled to the ground and he groaned as it spilled underneath his feet.

"Why aren't you in this one?" Alya questioned, scrolling through the group members, in which Nino's name was nowhere in sight.

"I'm in a different one." He said, scrolling through to see even more people.

"It's the same message."

"A photo." Nino finished. Both Adrien and Marinette were tempted to go get their phones from their lockers, wondering if they were included as well. Alya took a drink of her water as she clicked the photo link. Since the connection was slow, she couldn't see it without going to the page first.

"Is yours loading?" Alya asked her boyfriend as he sat down on the bench.

"No, is yours-"

The redhead had taken one last drink of water, only for the liquid to come out her mouth, and in Nino's direction. She coughed immediately as Nino wiped the remains off his forehead.

"The fuck was that for?" He commented as he watched his girlfriend's hand shake.

"I.. I think you should see this."

Marinette grew confused as her best friend turned the phone towards her. That's when the picture became clear. It was a romantic shot of Marinette and Adrien in swimsuits. From the modeling gig the day of the akuma attack.

Someone had sent it to the whole school.

It was the picture of Marinette sitting on Adrien's lap, their faces inches apart. How did it look?

Dirty.

Marinette literally fell to her knees, her breath hitching in her throat and her heart speeding a mile a minute. Who the hell sent that photo?

As she had fallen to the ground, Adrien wrapped his arms around hers trying to hold her up.

"Marinette!"

She stared at the ground as she grew dizzy, breathing erratic. This could not be happening to her! Why was this happening to her?

"Are you okay?" Adrien asked, his heart skipping a beat as he bent down with his arms still around her.

That's when Marinette realized what she had to do.

In a split second, Adrien was no longer holding Marinette.

She had shoved him off of her.

.·:*¨¨* ≈☆≈ *¨¨*:·.

"Marinette. Breathe..." Alya said, fanning her friend's face dramatically.

"I'm f-fine! I just-" She moved over to hold the side of the bench.

"That's.. That's on Instagram... the whole world... can see it?"

Nino was casually sipping the rest of his water, his hair still damp from when Alya spit out the water. He raised an eyebrow.

"What's FRANCIS? All capitals." He asked, staring down at his phone.

"That's..." Adrien still felt guilty for having touched Marinette. He felt like he'd done something wrong to make her want to push him away. But that didn't change his determination about getting to the bottom of these rumors.

"That's my agent's agency. Well, he's my agent, but he runs his own agency. His name is Francis, so that must be..."

"Him..." Marinette closed her eyes as they welled up with tears. The whole school had that photo.

At this point, she didn't care about what happened to her. This whole thing...it could ruin Adrien's image. And Gabriel could hate her-even kick her out of his house! Hopefully, he wouldn't be mad if he saw the picture since he had all but forced Nathalie to make Marinette fill in.

It was my job.

Mentally repeating to herself that things always got worse before they got better, Marinette waited for her breathing to steady and her heart to stop pounding before she stood up with Alya's help.

"Can you see who sent the link?" She asked quietly.

"It just says... sent by..."

She paused. "Lele103..."

"Who's Lele?" Nino questioned.

"I don't know..."

Marinette had no clue, but... there was no time. She had to go back to class with her head held high. Just like what her parents had said to her constantly. She couldn't let this bother her. It was an act, a modeling gig. The rumors couldn't possibly get any worse than they already had! So what if people thought she was dating Adrien? She should be happy to have people assume that, right? Surely, it would be just fine!

But why would people believe that she and Adrien were dating when they thought of Marinette as a slut? And that she was messing with Luka? And the rumors spreading about the other boys in her class she'd heard a few days earlier?

She couldn't be around Adrien. She had to prove they weren't together.

For his sake.

Any chance with him was gone at this point. Forever, she'd probably be assumed to be something she's not. Just a few more months, and she'd be out of his hair once her parents came home.

Tears came to her eyes once again, when she realized she couldn't be around Adrien anymore.

The three teenagers watched with wide-eyes as Marinette cried. Alya herself knew that Marinette never cried in front of anyone, but lately, she'd been sobbing all the time.

The redhead did know that if she was in Marinette's place, it wouldn't be as hard. She'd be kicking some ass for sure.

"Marinette..." Alya put her hand on her best friend's shoulder.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to c-cry... It will be okay. This is embarrassing me crying all the time..."

Even if it was one of the first times the tears actually left her eyes, it felt like she'd cried every day since the beginning of the mess.

Alya wondered why her best friend kept trying to convince people that everything was alright when it obviously wasn't.

The bell ringing caused Marinette to feel a rush of panic. Ignoring it, she stood up and straightened the hem of her dress.

I just have to prove it doesn't bother me. It's not true anyway.

Walking in the direction of the classroom, she could already smell the pizza, though the smell only served to churn her stomach. Her friends followed, not wanting to bother her. As she opened the door, her heart dropped into the pit of her chest as all eyes fell on her.

.·:*¨¨* ≈☆≈ *¨¨*:·.

Marinette swallowed as Ms. Bustier greeted her with a smile.

"You guys sure took a little while. Was everything alright?"

The bluenette forced a smile on her face. "Yes, the nurse just wanted to warm me up a little." She showed her teacher the rag and received a nod in return.

"Well come sit, the pizza is here and we'll be celebrating the arrival of 3 new students!"

Marinette didn't look at anybody, although she could feel the eyes piercing every limb of her body. Taking her seat, she felt more comfortable when Alya joined her at her side. She stared at the back of Adrien's head as he took his spot. She placed her head on the desk and closed her eyes.

He doesn't realize how bad this is for him too.

"Now, class... please welcome our new transfer students! All the way from America-"

"Hello!" A voice rang out, causing Marinette to whip her head up.

No...

No, please...

Please no...

The dark-red haired girl smiled as a few boys gasped. She was wearing a blue dress with heels and had her hair wavy flowing to the side. It resembled Alya's, but was much darker and didn't seem natural. The girl wasn't familiar to anybody but Adrien and Marinette, whose mouth fell agape as the two other familiar girls popped in as well.

One blonde. One dark-haired.

"Hello! I'm Brielle Evans. It's nice to meet you!"

Brielle waved her hand and smiled, "I'm a model, and these are my two besties! We're from America!"

"I'm Jasmine Quinn!" The black-haired girl greeted, pulling Samantha at her side.

"I'm S-Samantha Robins.."

Some people whispered while others just stared the pretty girls down. Of course, they stared! They sure as hell looked like models!

"This is our favorite food in America, though I'm sure you guys have had it too. Pizza! Have fun! Can't wait to get to know you all." Blowing a kiss and flipping her hair over her shoulder, Brielle made her way to the empty table. The one sitting in the way back.

A few people greeted her personally.

"Hey! It's nice to meet you!"

"I'm Tami." A new girl said, raising her hand.

"Alix."

"Rose!" The peppy girl in pink immediately came over to meet Samantha.

"I love your hair!" She said.

"T-Thanks..." The shy girl responded.

Marinette turned to face front, zoning out as Adrien twisted back in his chair.

"Are... Are you okay?" He asked, concerned, though wasting his breath. For he already knew the answer to that.

The three witches couldn't have gone to another school? No... because that's how life works.

Hesitantly ignoring Adrien, the bluenette sighed. "Alya-"

"Yes...?"

"Bring me as much pizza as you can fit on that plate."

.·:*¨¨* ≈☆≈ *¨¨*:·.

A/N: Hello boo! I'm back from vacation... and feeling okay except for the sunburn... Hope you liked this chapter! I'm going to quickly give you a small profile on the three 'witches'. Here we go!

Brielle Evans
17
Dark red curly hair
White skin
Green eyes
Secretive, confident, likes pranks, loves fashion and shopping

Samantha Robins
16
Long wavy blonde hair
Pale skin
Blue eyes
Shy, quiet, pushover, kind, loves animals and the color pink

Jasmine Quinn
17
Long black hair down to the waist
Tan skin
Brown eyes
Energetic, friendly, dense, airhead, loves singing and dancing

More detailed ones are on the way! And for my other OCs as well! But here's the gist of the three main OCs!

Song Choice: What If By Johnny Orlando and Mackenzie Ziegler
Because both Adrien and Marinette have crushes on each other, but can't reveal their feelings!

Word Count: 3401

Bug Out!