chamomile | miraculous ladybug

3 | The Bubbler

"I'm too nervous! What if he hates it?" I whispered in a panic to Alya and Marinette, who were sitting beside me as we ducked behind a nearby wall and bushes. I held a wrapped present in my hand, which was a black Jagged Stone hoodie. I had heard Adrien mention before that Jagged was his favorite, which we had in common, so I got him a hoodie for his birthday.

"You're always telling us to be confident. You need to listen to your own advice!" Marinette urged, Alya nodding in agreement.

"You can do this girl!" Alya encouraged further, making me breathe in and out once heavily.

"Alright. Wish me luck," I told them as I stood up from behind the ledge. Swinging my backpack over my shoulder, which had been beside me on the ground, I held the wrapped package behind my back and walked over slowly. I glanced back to Alya and Marinette, who both shot me thumbs up, and I turned forward and back to Adrien and Nino. "Hey guys."

"Oh, hey [Y/n]," Adrien greeted me, Nino sending me a wave.

"So um, I heard yesterday in class that you said it was your birthday," I began, ignoring Chloe who was clearly annoyed and making her way over here. "So I-"

"ANYWAY!" Chloe yelled, pushing me out of the way violently. I toppled to the ground, right beside where Marinette and Alya were hiding. "Happy birthday Adrien!"

Anger boiled inside me as I watched Chloe wrap her arms around Adrien and kiss him on the cheek.

"I swear, one day I'm not going to be able to hold back against that girl," I muttered as Mariennter and Alya helped me up. I went back and ducked behind the stair's wall again. "That was the only confidence I had mustered up for today."

"Come on! You can do it!" Marinette encouraged me once again as I sighed.

"Don't be a pushover! Literally!" Alya added on, to which I took a breath. Just as I popped up to go back and talk to Adrien again, his car pulled up. He waved goodbye to Nino, then walked over and got in the car.

"I shouldn't have stalled so much," I sighed and hit my head against the wrapped present. Marinette and Alya were whispering something to each other, but suddenly stopped when they saw me looking. "What?"

"Let's go!" Alya stated suddenly, both her and Marinette grabbing onto one of my wrists and beginning to drag me down the sidewalk. I had to hold onto the present tightly in my right hand, trying not to drop it as I struggled to keep up.

"Wait! Where are we going?" I questioned the pair, but they didn't answer. Instead they just glanced at each other. We soon arrived at our destination, which was Adrien's home, a moment later.

"Just put it in the mailbox," Marinette said as they stood beside the mailbox, me in front of it. I frowned.

"But I didn't put a card or note."

"Then let's ring the doorbell and give it to him directly," Alya suggested, to which I shook my head.

"No, it's fine. What if he answers?" I quickly laughed, trying to convince her not to, but she didn't listen. "Alya!"

A camera emerged from the wall above the mailbox, zooming at my face. I took a step back, uncomfortable with the proximity of the device.

"Yes?" An adult female voice asked, whom I guessed was probably a secretary or something.

"Uh, hi! I'm in Adrien's class, and I have a present for his birthday today," I explained and held up the present. It went silent for a moment, making me smile and giggle nervously. Relief flooded through me a moment later when the mailbox popped open.