Lady Midnight in Paris

Chapter 1

Black boots, black coat, black hat, black, black, black.

Marinette sighed tiredly. As much as she loved her friends, she was getting tired of black. The numerous requests for the costumes for the play were overwhelming her. She tried to feel glad that her friends and the directors thought that she was so talented that she should make some of the costumes.

But black?

Marinette sighed. She would never want to disappoint her friends. She loved pink. There was too much black. But black it is.

"Marinette, you've been working for hours!" Tikki slipped out of her resting spot in Marinette's purse. "You should go to sleep!"

"I know..." Marinette sighed. She sat back in her chair, stretching her arms. She glanced at the time. It was nearly one in the morning. "I just wanted to get some of these costumes done. I would hate to disappoint everyone. Opening night is next week! I need to keep wor..."

She rested her head on the arm rest, and was instantly asleep. Tikki smiled, and brushed a piece of stray hair that laid over Marinette's eye. The girl was snoozing already, and she deserved it. Tikki yawned, and settled herself into a resting place on Marinette's blue hair.

"Good night, Ladybug," she whispered.

-----

Marinette was able to hear her alarm with time enough to scramble to bring some of the completed costumes, wolf down breakfast, slip on the outfit from yesterday, and sprint to the bus stop.

The large shopping bag took up a lot of space between her legs on the bus. Every time

she moved, the bag crinkled. She grimaced, constantly worrying about ruining the costumes she'd worked on all afternoon the day before.

I can't let anyone down!

When the bus pulled up to the corner by the school, Marinette grabbed her bags and tried to beat the crowd out of the bus. The school bell was about to ring.

But as she descended the steps down, she missed the last step and fell. Somehow she turned head over heels and landed on her back on the hard pavement. Pain shot through her back and tailbone.

"Marinette!" Alya rushed over from where she was at the steps leading up to the school. "Oh, girl, that was a hard fall! Are you okay?"

Marinette groaned. Her backpack had fallen and somehow all of her items had fallen all over the place. Pencils rolled down the walkway, and her favorite design pencils were now being crushed by racing cars in the street. Pedestrians and passengers were cautiously stepping over all of the discarded items. One businessman on a call looked disgusted at the clumsy girl and exaggerated an annoyed look.

"Seriously? No one helping?" Alya shouted after him. She started to get up and march over to him, but Marinette pulled her down beside her.

"Leave him. It's not worth it. Can you help me up, though? I hurt my back really bad." She groaned and set her hand on Alya's arm and pulled herself to a seating position. Suddenly she gasped in realization.

"The costumes!" She whirled around, only to see the grocery bag of blue blue costumes laying on its side, a few beads and costumes spilling out, but safe on the walkway, not on the street. "Quick, get them before it blows away!"

Alya picked up the bag and scattered beads, and proceeded to help Marinette pick up her stuff from her backpack.

"You sure you're alright?" Alya asked as she guided Marinette slowly up the school steps.