The Identity Squad || Adrienette/LadyNoir [UNDER EDITING, 6 OF 14 CHAPTERS DONE]

F i v e

At school following the previous day, Alya and Adrien sat together for lunch. Marinette was desperately searching for her best friend and crush, and once she located them, she felt abandoned because she couldn't comprehend what was occurring, but she understood it must be important. Considering this, she didn't desire to bother their planning, so she sat by herself.

"Adrien, we need to discuss something I had in mind." The ombré haired girl began with a mischievous grin. The teenage model attempted to read her facial expression, but failed miserably, so he became interested in her plans.

"Go ahead," he gestured with his hand, awaiting her response. Alya lowered her voice to a whisper and said, "We should form a squad."

"Uh, for what?" Adrien remained bewildered, not understanding what the fangirl was talking about.

"For Ladybug!" Alya squealed, her genuine smile expanded to its fullest potential. "To find out her identity! I'm sure since you're.." she paused, fathoming the correct diction. "..him, you want to discover her identity, right?!" The blond haired boy's uncertain expression slowly altered to replicate his classmate's authentic smile as he thought about the possibilities it could bring.

"That sounds great!" Adrien exclaimed and as he was about to applaud her for her thinking, the two friends noticed Chloé standing behind them.

"Excuse me!" Chloé raised her voice, clearly irritated at Alya. "In case you were unaware, that's my Adrien! Not yours, peasant!" Adrien stood from his seat, prepared to generate a comeback. Alya blocked the boy with her arm, beckoning him to sit back down.

"Can't friends hang out, Chloé? Is Adrien not allowed to have friends? How cruel." Alya bombarded her with rhetorical questions in a calming tone, maintaining eye contact with the mayor's daughter. Chloé glared at the blogger, saying, "Ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!" She stormed away from their table and departed the cafeteria furiously.

"Ugh, I despise Chloé." Alya muttered to Adrien, crossing her arms and proceeding to consume her lunch.

"Yeah, she can be a pain sometimes. I feel like I always have to save her from Marinette, otherwise I'm afraid she'll get Akumatized." Adrien replied as he revealed his lunch, beginning to munch on his handmade sandwich.

"You know," Alya began, flicking her gaze to the secret superhero. "I'm curious. What do you actually think of Marinette?"

"She's simply a friend like you are." Adrien commenced, staring into an empty space within the cafeteria. "Although, Marinette can be cute sometimes. When she stutters, she only does it when I'm talking with her and I find that adorable. I get that she likes Chat Noir too, but I love Ladybug the most. If Ladybug wasn't around, I'm sure things would be different."

"—and that's why you came to join me?" Alya interrupted, her inquisitiveness continuing to invade her thoughts. Adrien replied with a minuscule nod to answer her question.

"Hm. Well, we start today." Alya informed the model, pulling out her phone to see Nino had texted her. She read his text aloud to Adrien, so he knew where she was going later today.

"Meet me at the park. I have a special surprise for you." Alya read the text, scrolling through her messages. She shut off her phone and gave him a warm smile. "It looks like I'll be seeing you this afternoon too."

As the two friends went opposite ways towards their next classes, Marinette decided to approach Adrien and ask him a couple of questions. She didn't feel excellent being isolated from their conversation and she attempted to eavesdrop, but unfortunately failed.

"H-Hey, A-Adrien!" She nervously exclaimed, grabbing his attention almost immediately.

"Oh! Marinette, where were you? Why didn't you sit with us?" Adrien asked with concern encasing his tone. Marinette bit her bottom lip, contemplating whether she desired to spill the truth or not.

"Y-You guys seemed like you were talking about someth-hing really important s-so.. I-I didn't want to bother you guys!" She uncomfortably smiled, deciding to reveal the truth, secretly hoping he'd tell her what they were talking about.

"It's nothing important, don't worry. You can sit with us tomorrow." Adrien softly beamed, turning away from her and continuing his walk towards his next class.

Feeling disappointed and solitary, Marinette navigated to the female locker room, face planting against her locker. "What are they possibly hiding from me?" She asked herself, beginning to feel tears streaming down her cheeks.

Marinette, for the first time in a while, felt truly alone.