Under The Mask 🎭 (a Miraculous Ladybug Fanfic)

-7- A Baking Disaster

Yawning, Marinette's head falls in class and hits the desk. Alya starts laughing and wraps an arm around her shoulder. "Girl, are you doing okay? You've been yawning non-stop since we got to class."

"I was up all night writing that essay." Yawn. It wasn't a complete lie, but she just didn't mention Cat Noir was there to keep her company. He didn't end up leaving until almost four a.m.

"Why did you wait until the last minute to write it?"

Excuse. "Umm, I've been so busy with other things."

"Like what?" Alya asks.

Being Ladybug. "You know, helping my parents in the bakery and working on my fashion designs. I'm starting to build my portfolio." Adrien walks into class. Marinette's eyes widen. He waves and a grin grows on her face. She waves back, leaning over to Alya. "Adrien just waved at me..."

Alya rolls her eyes. "It's not like he hasn't done it before."

"Hey, Marinette." Adrien sets his bag down and turns to look at her. "You look tired." He tries not to smile. "Up all night?"

"Yeah. I was doing homework."

Adrien leans in. "Is that all?"

"Umm..." Why is Adrien being so weird? I'm usually the weird one. "I was working on my dress. You know, the only I'm supposed to marry you in. I mean model with you in. I just have to finish the top."

"Awesome." He can't stop himself from smirking.

"Dude, are you okay?" Nino asks him. "You're being weird. Like weirder than Marinette when—"

Alya leans forward and smacks the back of his head. "Nino!"

"I'm fine." Adrien turns around when Miss Bustier walks into class. He glances back at Marinette, who smiles to herself.

Miss Bustier claps her hands. "Alright, class! Please come to my desk and drop off your essays! Today will be a easy day. I'm behind on grading, so I'll be reading over your essays. You can use this class as a free period. Finish homework for another class, take a nap, draw, sketch, paint, film a movie, do whatever you want. Just keep the talking to a minimum."

Marinette stands up, essay in hand, and walks to Miss Bustier's desk. She trips on a step and falls forward, and Adrien wraps his arm around her waist, catching her. Her cheeks burn red. "T-Thanks, Adrien." She notices all the essays she knocked over. "Ugh." He bends down with her to help.

With a smirk, Chloe steps on Marinette's essay and slides it over, quickly picking it up. She erases Marinette's name and fills in her own. She walks proudly to the front to drop it on the desk. "Hope you did your homework, Marinette."

"Like you ever do homework, Chloe," She snaps, glaring up at her. She drops the essays on the desk and goes back to her seat. "Chloe gets on my nerves," She mutters to her best friend.

"Don't let her get to you, Marinette. She probably likes getting you mad." Alya opens her laptop. "That short movie we made? It's has over 100,000 views on the Ladyblog!"

"What?!" Marinette's eyes widen. "You posted it?"

Alya nods. "Yeah. Since Miss Bustier didn't show it in class, I figured I'd show all of Pairs." She clicks on the comments. "And before you freak out, go ahead and read some of the comments. People think you're amazing."

She leans over and reads the comments. All nice. Complimenting her acting and costume designs. Thankfully, no one is saying how much Marinette and Adrien look similar to Ladybug and Cat Noir. A certain comment makes her eyes widen.