POUND IT! (On hiatus until my brain cooperates with me...)

Chapter Ten

*At Françoise Dupont High School*

"GIRL!" Alya yelled at her best friend, "Get up! It's time for class."

Marinette had been sleeping on her sketchbook and abruptly woke up, "Huh? Chaton? Oh, Alya." She blushed.

"Chaton?" Alya raised an eyebrow, "Chat Noir? Don't tell me you stayed up all night thinking about him again?"

The truth was, she did. She couldn't stop thinking about him. Ever since he confessed his love to Marinette, she couldn't stop thinking about how he liked her for her, he had gotten to like the clumsy, stammering, shy girl she was, not the strong, brave, and sassy girl Ladybug was. And Luka? Luka? Could Chat Noir really be jealous of someone whom he doesn't even know? And what about Adrien? She loved him as much as she did her Chaton, and-

"Marinette! You dozed off again!" Alya yelled, "I totally ship you guys, but you don't even know him that well! You need to focus on only one crush."

But then, someone else was standing by, "Marinette, are you okay?" Adrien said, "Did you sleep well last night? You look tired."

She looked up and into his eyes. His eyes! They looked a lot like Chat Noir's when he was worried about Ladybug. 'SNAP OUT OF IT!' She thought, 'STOP THINKING ABOUT CHAT NOIR!' "No I'm fine," she said, covering up her Chat Noir inspired designs, "I just stayed up late designing," Adrien went closer to her and grabbed the book out of her hand, "Hey!" She said as she tried to get it back, "That's my book!"

"I know," Adrien said as he flipped through the pages, "Wow Marinette, these are amazing!" Marinette blushed, he flipped a few more pages until he came to her Chat Noir designs, "Especially these ones," then he thought for a moment, "These look a lot like Chat Noir's costume Marinette,"

Marinette blushed a deeper red as she tugged the book away from him, "That's not for you to see,"

'Could Marinette be in love with Chat Noir? But does that mean she's not in love with the real me?' Adrien looked down and frowned.

"Are you okay Adrien?" she asked, then she smirked, "Or do you like my designs too much?"

"N-no!" Then he blushed profusely, "I mean I love you- I mean your designs, b-but that's not what I meant!"

"So then what did you mean?" She was still smiling.

"I-I just-"

"Okay class, today we will be learning about the French Revolution" Miss Bustier said.

Adrien sat down, still a blushing mess, did he really just flirt with her? And then he stuttered and blushed too! It was like their roles were reversed, and if Nino was right, that she did like him, it was his alter ego whom she had fallen for, Chat Noir.

Marinette also was thinking, 'Did I just flirt with Adrien? And did he just blush and stutter? This is crazy, I'm usually the one stuttering and he's the confident one. And why did I not stutter? Is it possible that I'm as comfortable around him as Ladybug around Chat Noir? But I still like him, not as a friend?' She sighed, 'UGH! These feelings are too much!'

"Now, who can tell me who led the French Revolution?"

An alert popped up on Adrien's phone, Mr. Ramier got Akumatized into Mr. Pigeon again! He raised his hand.

"Adrien?"

"May I go to the bathroom?"

Miss Bustier frowned, "Sure Adrien, but come back quickly, I don't want you to miss the lesson"

"Thank you Miss." He said as he went to the bathroom to transform, "This'll be a piece of cake, Mr. Pigeon can't help Hawk Moth anyway. Honestly, I don't even know why he keeps on Akumatizing him."

"Kid, I wouldn't even be surprised if he's an old man sitting in his dark lair, waiting for a person in Paris to get upset." Plagg said dryly, "Just say it already."

"Plagg, Claws Out!" Adrien said as he jumped towards the park to wait for Ladybug.

***

"Miss, may I go to the bathroom?" She had just gotten an alert on her phone that Chat Noir had just arrived at the scene, looks like Mr. Pigeon was Akumatized again.

"Okay Marinette, just come back soon, you've been too absent lately"

"Right Miss" Marinette said as she left the room and to the bathroom to transform. "Mr. Pigeon for the thousandth time again! Seriously, doesn't Hawk Moth have anything better to do?"

"C'mon Marinette, Chat Noir will need you. Besides, you're the only one who can capture and purify the akumas." Tikki said, "And it'll give you more time to talk to Chat Noir!"

"Yeah," Marinette sarcastically said, "I'm looking forward to it."

"Oh Marinette," Tikki shook her tiny head, "Isn't this what you wanted? I thought that was the whole point of a crush?"

"For the last time Tikki, he is not a crush! He's just my hero partner, not my romantic interest!" Marinette said, blushing hard.

"In denial, check. Blushing, check." She smirked, "Should I go on?"

"UGH! You're the worst! C'mon, I can't keep Chat waiting for too long. Who knows what kind of trouble he's gotten himself into? Tikki, Spots On!"