She felt awful and when she arrived at school, Alya told her so.

"Geez, girl. You look awful. Are you okay?"

Marinette coughed. She woke up that morning with a cold, a really bad one. Her throat felt like the Sahara Desert and her head throbbed. She put her hand to her head in a useless attempt to rid herself of the pain.

"Just have a little cold is all," she said.

"A little? How did your parents allow you to come to school today?" Alya asked, worried for her friend.

"I had to beg them to let me come. We have a test in Chemistry today, and I don't feel like coming in earlier next week to take it. It's better to just get it over with."

Alya looked at her friend and knew the real reason for her friend coming to school that day. "Yeah, our chemistry text is important, but you came to school to also see Adrien, didn't you?"

Marinette smiled sheepishly. "And to see you of course."

"Wow, I'm touched," Alya said, rolling her eyes. "Look, I'm glad you wanted to see me, but you shouldn't have come to school today. You're sick as a dog."

Marinate tried to stand up straighter and appear to look normal. "Alya, I'm fine."

Just then, Adrien's limo pulled up at the front of the school. The blond boy stepped out of the car and saw Alya and Marinette. He waved at the two girls before heading inside the school to find his friend, Nino.

Alya turned back to face her best friend. She had that same goofy smile she always wore when Adrien was around. Alya shook her head at her friend. She couldn't believe how head over heels she was for the model, and she didn't even know his biggest secret. Come to think of it, Alya was pretty sure that Marinette barely knew anything about the guy that wasn't general information.

"You have that look," she said.

Marinette quickly wiped the smile from her face. "What look?" she asked innocently.

"Girl, I just....I just don't want to see you get hurt."

"Hurt?" Now Marinette was confused. Where did that come from? she thought.

"Yes. You're so head over heels for a guy that you barely even know."

"Barely even know?" Marinette said, shocked. "Alya, I know Adrien. I know his favorite color, his favorite extracurriculars, where he likes to eat, and his friends."

"Yeah, you know things that everyone else knows too. But do you know him? Do you know his quirks, his pet peeves, his darkest fears, his favorite memories, and his greatest secret? You don't even know if he reciprocates your feelings!"

Marionette's eyes widened. She couldn't believe what Alya was saying. Where was all this coming from? What had happened? Alya had always been so supportive, and she always tried to help Marinette conquer her shyness with Adrien. Why was she tearing everything down?

Frustration flowed over Marinette and her hands clenched into fists at her sides. "And you think you know him? Huh, is that it?"

Alya pinched the bridge of her nose. "No, that's not what I mean." She met her best friend's eyes. "All I'm saying is that I found out something about your crush that you don't know. He...seems to have deep feelings for someone else and I'm afraid that when you finally gather up the courage to talk to him, he'll shoot you down." Alya placed her hands on Marinette's shoulders. "I just don't want to see my best friend crying over some guy who wasn't worth it anyway."

Marinette looked down at the ground. She never once thought that Adrien liked someone else. That maybe he wouldn't be interested in her. He always seemed to be nice to her, but was it only out of kindness? Had he ever truly liked her the way she liked him?

"Who...who does he like?" she asked softly, hesitantly.

"I-I can't say. It's not my place to tell," Alya said.

Marinette slowly nodded.

Alya looked at her friend and saw that Marinette's heart was torn in two. One side was wanting to still love Adrien while the other was wanting to move on, believing that he could never truly be hers. Alya almost wished she hadn't said anything at all. She knew that Adrien loved Ladybug. She saw the way his eyes lit up whenever someone said Ladybug's name. She saw how much he yearned to know who she was behind the mask so he could love every side of his lady's personality. Once Alya noticed this, she knew that he would never and could never love someone else, not even sweet Marinette. She just didn't want to see her friend crushed and she hoped that by telling Marinette now would be saving her a lot of heartache in the long run.

"I'm so sorry," Alya said as she went to hug her friend. Marinette coughed before Alya could hug her, though, so Alya stepped back instead. "I would hug you, but I don't want to catch your cold."

Marinette smiled softly. "It's alright."

The bell rang, indicating that class was about to start. "Come on," Alya said. "Let's get to class."

~~~

"No, no, no, no, NO!" Nino shouted.

"Oh yeah! I win again!" Adrien pumped his fist into the air. He had just annihilated Nino at his favorite video game. Again.

Nino placed his controller on the table in front of him and fell back onto the white couch in Adrien's room. Today was one of the very rare days where Adrien didn't have any photo shoots or extracurriculars. His schedule was finally clear. So Adrien had decided to invite his best friend over to hang out and play a few video games. And by play a few video games, he meant kicking Nino's butt at video game combat.

This was the tenth time that Adrien had won. Nino could never beat the dude. The only one who could beat the champ was Marinette but she wasn't there to wipe the floor with Adrien at the moment.

"Dude, you always win at these games. Is there anything you can't do?" Nino asked, exasperated.

"I can't speak Spanish," Adrien said as he readied the game for another round.

"Yeah, but you can speak Chinese, so that doesn't count."

Adrien laughed. "Oh, there are definitely things I can't do, dude."

"Oh yeah?" Nino sat up. "Like what?"

"Well," Adrien started. "I can't cook-"

"Ain't that the truth. You can burn water, dude."

Adrien smiled. "I don't know how to drive-"

"That's because you have a personal gorilla driving you everywhere you wish to go. Seriously, bro?"

"Well...I can't seem to woo the girl I love."

"Ok first off, woo? Woo? How old are we?You sound like my grandfather, 'Oh are you going to go woo that young girl over there?' " He laughed. "And secondly, what girl?"

"Yeah, you're right. That word may be a little outdated."

Nino raised an eyebrow. "A little?"

"Ok maybe a lot. But yeah. I flirt with her all the time, but I can't seem to make her see that my feelings for her are real. She believes that I'm just teasing or flirting just to flirt, when really, I love her."

Nino eyebrows shot up. "Wait, you love a girl? Who?"

Adrien sadly smiled. "You don't know her. At least, not as well as I do. And even the things I do know, don't compare to what I wish to know about her."

Nino studied his friend. He really was head over heels for this mystery girl. He knew he had a little crush on Ladybug, but could she really be the one Adrien was talking about?

"Is...is she Ladybug?" he asked, hesitantly.

Adrien didn't reply, and looked away. Though he didn't say anything it was all the answer Nino needed. He loved Ladybug. And Nino knew that Ladybug was Marinette. But how could Adrien love Ladybug? Did he know that Ladybug was Marinette too? But didn't Marinette say that no one else knew about her secret?

"Do you know who she really is?"

"No," Adrien said. "But I want to."

Nino gulped. He wanted to tell his best friend so badly, but knew he couldn't. He had to keep Marinette's secret. But maybe, he could push Adrien in the right direction. Nino wouldn't be telling him the secret if Adrien figured it out on his own. And didn't Marinette have a crush on Adrien as well? Or was it Nathanel? Nino shook his head. Either way, he could at least nudge his friend toward his mystery girl.

"Are you sure though? Are you sure you could love who she truly is behind the mask? You don't even know her, bro. You know just as much about Ladybug as I do." More or less, Nino thought. Ok, a lot less.

Adrien sighed. "I know, Nino, but still."

"Well, what if she was right under your nose?"

Adrien turned to face his friend, a skeptical look on his face. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, is what if she goes to our school, like how Alya was saying the other day. What if she's in our class?"

"What are you getting at, Nino?"

Nino raised his arms in surrender. "All I'm saying is what if you got to know your Ladybug behind the mask without truly knowing its her. That way, there aren't any secrets between you two, and when she does reveal herself, that she is indeed Ladybug, she'll be trusting you with her secret. Instead of snooping around and trying to figure it out yourself, what if the girl you chose was Ladybug? Wouldn't it be better for her to trust you with her secret than for you to, oh I don't know, accidentally see her de-transformation in an alley behind a bakery...or something?" Smooth, Nino thought to himself. Real smooth. Why not just shout to the world, Hey guys! I know who Ladybug is!

Adrien was silent for a minute before he slowly nodded. "You're right. You're right, Nino. I want her to trust me with her secret more than to figure out who she is." Adrien looked over at his phone on the table. "I have to call Alya," he said under his breath.

"What was that?" Nino asked.

"Nothing!" Adrien said. "So, uh, how do I know which girl could most likely be Ladybug?"

"That, my friend, you have to figure out for yourself. See if you can spot some heroic qualities in our classmates. You'll find her."

Adrien shook his head and smiled. He picked up his controller and hit play. "Ready for another round?"

"Always, dude." Nino also picked up his controller and started pressing buttons, trying desperately to beat his undefeated opponent.

~~~

"Really, Marinette, I think you should skip this patrol," Tikki said, worrying for Marinette.

Marinette hadn't gotten any better, and in fact, looked worse than when she had this morning. Her cough had become more continuous and she couldn't seem to get enough water to quench her thirst.

Tikki floated over and placed a small hand on the girl's forehead. "You're burning up! I think Chat will understand if you can't make it to patrol tonight."

"No, Tikki," Marinette tried to wave the Kwami off. "I'm fine. Or at least, I'm able to do this. I have to help. If an akuma were to attack-"

"Chat could handle it," the Kwami finished.

"But I'm the only one who can de-evilize it. Chat can't."

"But Chat can hold his own and imprison the Akuma until you have enough strength. Seriously, Marinette, you should stay home tonight."

"No, Tikki," Marinette said, stubbornly. "I'm going. I have to help protect Paris."

Tikki sighed, knowing that she wouldn't win this argument ."Just say the phrase," she replied solemnly.

~~~

A few minutes later, Ladybug swung from rooftop to rooftop to meet her partner. Chat had been waiting for a while for his lady and started to become worried. Had an Akuma attacked? he thought.

Just then, Ladybug swooped in from a nearby building onto their usual patrol spot, the Eiffel Tower. She lost her balance at the last second and started to slip back over the edge. Chat reached out and grabbed her hand pulling her onto the platform and away from the edge.

Ladybug fell to her knees and started to cough like crazy. Chat bent down to be eye level with his lady. "My lady, you're sick," he said.

Ladybug waved him off and struggled to stand. "No, Chat. I'm...fine." She started to sway.

Chat stood up and placed his hands on her shoulders to steady her. "No, you are not fine. Why did you come tonight, bugaboo?" he asked her, worriedly.

"Because I have to help you. I couldn't let you defend Paris alone if an Akuma were to attack. We're a team."

Chat sighed. "We may be a team, Ladybug, but you're health and safety come first. You can't fight anyone like this. You're too sick."

"Chat, I'm fine-d," she replied.

"When you end the word 'fine' with a 'd,' you are most definitely not fine."

"I don't say that. I'm fine..d. I said, I'm fine-d. Goodness." Ladybug shook her head and immediately got a headache. She brought her hand up to her temple. "Come one, let's just go."

"No," Chat placed his hands on his hips. "You are not going anywhere but home. I can go on patrol alone tonight. Please, Ladybug. I'm worried about you."

"Don't be," Ladybug tried to push Chat out of her way but she swayed and started to lose her balance again. Chat caught her before her head collided with the ground. He swooped her up in his arms and held her close to his chest.

"Why can't you see that I'm only trying to help you, Ladybug? You're too sick! As much as you don't want to admit it, you can't protect anyone like this. You're cold will only get worse if you don't go home and get some rest. Please, Ladybug. Let me take you home."

"No, Chat," she weakly attempted to push him away. "You can't know where I live."

"I'll drop you off a block from your place. I won't look to see where you go, as long as you promise me that you'll go home, ok?"

Ladybug hesitated for a moment before she eventually nodded.

Chat sighed, thankful that she had agreed, and leaped from the Eiffel Tower. He landed on the rooftops of Paris and ran in the direction Ladybug pointed.

As he said he would, he dropped her off a block from her house. He hugged her tightly, disregarding her cold, and whispered, "Please go home and feel better, my lady."

Then he left her. He extended his baton and jumped to the roof of the next building before he disappeared. Marinette de-transformed once he was out of sight, and was careful to make sure no one else saw her either. When Tikki materialized again, the Kwami said, "He really does care for you, doesn't he, Marinette?"

Marinette looked up in the direction Chat had left and slowly nodded. The neither of them said anything else on their walk home.

~~~

After crawling into bed that night, Marinette couldn't fall asleep. She kept replaying Chat carrying her across the rooftops of Paris and setting her down in an alley a block from her house. She thought about what Alya had said earlier that day.

But do you know him? Do you know his quirks, his pet peeves, his darkest fears, his favorite memories, and his greatest secret?

She tried to think of the answers, trying desperately to grasp some sort of idea of who Adrien Agreste really was, and she couldn't come up with anything. She truly didn't know the guy. She knew what everyone else knew, but she didn't know him.

Her mind drifted back to Chat. She knew him. She knew that his tail always correspond with his emotions. It would flick when he was agitated and sway happily when they saved the amukatized Parisian. She knew that he hated feathers since he was allergic to them and she knew that he feared losing her as his partner. She also knew that he liked her. A lot.

Marinette rolled on her side. Tikki was fast asleep on the pillow next to her, unaware of the war raging inside Marinette's mind. Marinette had always known that Chat liked her. He flirted with her constantly for goodness' sakes. She was afraid, though, that if she did allow herself to start developing feelings for her partner, their relationship would fall apart. What if all his flirting was just that, flirting. Nothing else. No more. She worried that he truly didn't care for her the way she would care for him if she let her heart to.

So when someone new came to her school and caught her eye, she latched any feelings toward Chat onto him. It just so happened to be Adrien that she had spotted. She saw how kind and smart and funny he was and she fell head over heels for him instantly.

But now, she wasn't so sure anymore. This was her first love she was thinking about and yet, she slowly started to drift away. Was Alya right? Could he love someone else? And if he did, does that mean he would never love her?

Marinette face planted into her pillow. When did her life become so confusing? After tonight, she knew that she would never look at Chat the same way again. Maybe if she did start to be more open around him, maybe she would see if his feelings for her were real or not. She laid her head across her folded arms. Tomorrow, at school, she'll see Adrien and she'll know whether to give Cat Noir a chance. Hopefully.