Marinette's POV:

         "Adrien, it is not what you think," Marinette says.

           "Oh, then what do you mean?" Adrien asks. He is perplexed as to what she is trying to say.

            "I mean if you ride that bicycle of yours you will not get far," Marinette remarks.

            "I have ridden it in the rain before you know," Adrien protested. 

           "I am sure you have, but look at the mud," Marinette blurts out.

                Marinette hopes he can see her point now.  It is not like he can get far with the ground being so soggy.  She waits to see how he will react to the bad news. 

               "Come on Adrien, I will dry you home in my car, and you put your bike in the trunk," Marinette states.

          Adrien's POV:

         Adrien thinks she has done so much for me already.  He does not think it would be right for her to help him anymore.  It was his fault he found himself in this mess anyway.

         "Look, Marinette, you do not owe me a thing," Adrien protested.

          "Adrien, do not be so stubborn," Marinette blurts out.

             Adrien finishes the meal, goes back to her room, grabs his bag, and heads back downstairs.  "I will see myself out," Adrien tells her.

             "Fine, see if I care if you get stranded, hardheaded boy," Marinette yells at him.

             Adrien sees her stick out as if that gives her words more credit. He laughs at how silly and cute she looks right now.  He shakes his head as he heads out the door. He finds the object behind a shrub, it is a bit wet but looks great. He pulls it out with a grin across his face. So far so good.

         Marinette's  POV:

         Marinette watches Adrien from the window as he removes the bike from behind the bushes. She smiles and waves at him.  She can tell he is bound to do his own thing.  She shrugs her shoulders as she thinks at least I warned him, right?

        She notices he climbs on and rides it for a bit.  No sooner did he get a few inches away, than, sure enough, he was stuck in the mud.  The dirt flies up everywhere and soon he is a muddy mess.  

       Marinette laughs at the predicament he got himself in all because he was too pig-headed to listen to her in the first place.  She debates whether she should go out there and rescue him, or just leave him to fend for himself.  She puts on a coat, and steps into her rain boots. She runs out the door to come to his aid.

      "See you got yourself in a muddy mess here, Adrien Agreste," Marinette says with a smirk.

      "Who me?  Nah, I was just testing the depths of the pig pit that is all," Adrien responds.

       "Whatever, let us just focus on getting you out," Marinette says. She grabs his hand and pulls.

           To Marinette's surprise instead of getting him out, she falls into it. She did not see that happening.  Now, what is she to do?

         Adrien's POV:
           Adrien thinks my eyes widen as Marinette tries to pull me out only to fall into the mud hole herself.  It was hard to figure out which to do more laugh or cry.  He ends up doing both.

          "Marinette, now you are all piggy too," Adrien says with a smirk.

          "Oh, you did not go there," Marinette says as she spits out a mouth full of dirt.

         "I believe I just did,"  Adrien remarks.

       "Oh, you are on Agreste," Marinette says.

         "Challenge accepted Mari," Adrien replies with a grin. He places a hand on her chin, leans in, and is about to kiss her.  Only his chance is ruined.

    Narrator's  POV:

      Tikki arrives home earlier than expected and sees the front door is left open. She thinks it is strange but still goes inside anyway. She sees the place is not messy.  She wonders where Marinette went in such a rush though.

    "Wherever it was she took the rain boots," Tikki says to no one in particular.

      She hears laughter outside and looks out the window. She sees a muddy guy and Marinette equally as muddy beside him. 

    "What on earth have those two been up to anyway?" Tikki asks.

        It does not take long for her to find out.  

         Adrien and Marinette both manage to stand back up at the same time. Then, somehow climb out of the pit.  They take one step at a time until they find themselves back at the house.

       Tikki has something special ready for them. She turns on the hosepipe and sprays it down. Then, pours a bucket full of water over them.

       "Tikki, that is cold," Marinette yelps.

        "Yes, what did you do that for?" Adrien asks.

      Tikki's  POV:

     "Well, Marinette does not want mud inside any more than I do, so I figure why not get the mud off you two,"  Tikki states.

       "You two have some explaining to do, but first do come in to wash up and get out of those clothes," Tikki says.

         Adrien steps inside and pulls off the shoes, and socks with a puzzled look on his face. He has no idea where to put them.

         "Here is a bag to put the shoes and other things in okay,"  Tikki states.

       "Yeah, sure whatever," Adrien says.

        "Thanks, a lot Tikki, "Marinette says.

             Tikki grins and thinks those two would make a great couple. Then, she giggles as Adrien rushes past her up the stairs and Marinette towards the downstairs bathroom. She thinks wow, those two are up to something.

          Marinette's POV:                   

           Marinette enters the bathroom, slams the door, and locks it. She peels off the messy clothes and drops them into the bag Alix handed her. She then steps into the shower to clean up.  Once she finishes, she dries off and changes into the spare outfit she left under the sink for emergencies just like this one. 

          She dries her hair, brushes it, and pulls it back in a ponytail. She exits the bathroom to wait for Adrien. She sits on the sofa only to have Tikki wink at her.

           "Come on now, Adrien and I are just friends," Marinette says.

            "I never asked you know," Tikki remarks.

        Adrien's  POV:

         Adrien enters the upstairs bathroom, removes the messy clothes, and places them into a bag along with the duffel bag. He removes the contents from the bag glad to see they were not all caked in mud.  He climbs into the shower, washes, turns off the water, dries off, and looks around for some spare clothes. He grins when he sees a t-shirt, and shorts, along with a few other things under the sink. 

       He puts the things on glad to see they fit. He blushes at the thought that he is still at Marinette's place after what almost happened earlier.  He recalls how he almost kissed Marinette while they were in the mud pile, but then someone looked out at them.  He sighs as he recalls how Tikki's peeking ruined his chance to kiss Marinette. He sighs.

     He scolds himself when he recalls he did not tell her how he feels yet. He dries his hair, styles it the best he can, then exits the bathroom and heads downstairs.

     Adrien enters the living room where he sees Tikki in a chair and Marinette on the sofa. Before he can sit down he hears Marinette say something that makes his heartbreak. He sits beside her anyway.

     "So, just friends, huh?" Adrien asks in an accusatory tone.

       "Well, yeah," Marinette says.

       " I see then why were you in such a hurry to help me out of the mud?" Adrien teases her.

           He sees Marinette blush and hears Tikki chuckle.

         Tikki's  POV:

          "Oh, so she was trying to help you," Tikki says.

          "It sounds like Marinette always trying to come to the aid of any animal or human who needs it,"  Tikki remarks.

          Tikki looks at them with a huge grin.  "So, Adrien how long have you been here?"  Tikki inquires.

           "I have lived in Paris all my life," Adrien says as if that wraps things up.

         "Ah, that is not what I meant," Tikki remarks.

         "How long have you been here at our place?"  Tikki asks.

         Adrien's  POV:

          "Well, you see the thing is I came over last night," Adrien tells her.

           "Hmm, funny, I was under the impression that Marinette was a good girl," Tikki says.

           "Wow, Tikki, whoa, she is a good girl.  I mean nothing happened between us I swear," Adrien says.

          "Tikki, do not make something out of nothing,"  Marinette blurts out.

               Adrien grins at Marinette glad for the help. He also scoots over closer to her and wraps an arm around her. He is glad when she does not pull away.       

          Marinette's POV:   

           "Adrien came over to dinner and we lost track of time, then the storm came up, and he stayed over," Marinette says.

            "Tikki, do not give me that look," Marinette states with anger.

             "Fine, what happened after the sleepover?" Tikkiasks.

             "We had breakfast which I fixed, and then he insisted on going home," Marinette explains.

                "Yes, and ?"  Tikki asks.

           " He got stuck in the mud when he tried to leave on his metal piece of two wheels," Marinette responds.

             "You know you could have just said he got his bike stuck in the mud?"  Tikki responds.

                "I would have, but then you just kept jumping to conclusions, " Marinette reminds her. 

                "She does have a good point there," Adrien says in agreement.

      Tikki's  POV:

       Tikki thinks Marinette might insist they are just friends, but Adrien seems to like her. She grins when she realizes she could choose to use this to her advantage. 

      "Alright, Marinette, then you had a dull evening, woke up had an equally lame breakfast, then got stranded in dirt up to your waist trying to help blonde boy here out of the muck," Tikki remarks.

      Marinette's POV:
       Marinette looks to Adrien for help, but he just laughs. She looks ticked off as if she might burst from the seams at any moment. She thinks how dare he laugh at a time like this.

        "Adrien, this is serious you know," Marinette says with a scowl.

          Tikki takes this as a hint to leave and walks away. She goes to her room upstairs and to the left to give them both some privacy. Somehow she feels like they could use it. 

         Marinette blurts out, "Adrien, she thinks we made out."

           Adrien blushes at the remark as he says, "Yes, well I never did take you as the kind of girl who cares what others think."

          "Oh, yeah, and  what is that supposed to mean ?" Marinette asks.

     Adrien's POV:
       Adrien thinks what is so bad if  Tikki thinks what she does.  Besides, he reasons within himself that at least we know the truth.  He sighs.

        "Yes, well I never did take you as the kind of girl who cares what others think," He says.

        "Oh, yeah, and what is that supposed to mean?" Marinette asks.

          "It means I believe you know as well as I do that appearances are not everything," Adrien states.

            He stares into her eyes with the thought is it possible to love you more than yesterday? He sees her blush and gently places a hand on her chin. He holds it the same way he did when they were in the mud together earlier that day.

          "Mari, must we lie to each other as well?" He asks.

           "I do not know what you mean," Marinette replies.

            "Oh, but you do," Adrien says. He leans in and is about to kiss her when...

       Find out more in Chapter  11

       -Summer out!