Under The Mask 🎭 (a Miraculous Ladybug Fanfic)

-3- Bookworm

"She's right." Adrien steps forward. "Let's go down and find a safe place to hide."

Alya pouts. "Fine. But I'm still filming." Nino grabs her hand and they race down. "Don't make me drop my phone!"

Out of instinct, Adrien grabs Marinette's hand and they follow after them. She still couldn't believe that she had just kissed Adrien. Aw, Adrien... Her thoughts snap her back when she trips on a step and falls into Adrien, causing them both to fall. "I'm so sorry," She mutters as Adrien helps her stand. "You should just leave me. My clumsiness will only get in the way." She's trying to find an excuse away from Adrien so she can transform into Ladybug.

"Not a chance, Marinette." He held her hand tight and continued running down. "I would never leave you behind." Before he could turn into Cat Noir, he wanted to make sure Marinette was safe. Nothing else mattered.

Once they reached the bottom of the Eiffel Tower, Alya let go of Nino's hand and ran towards the supervillain. "ALYA!" Nino chases after her.

Bookworm turns and spots Alya and Nino. "Ah, what do we have here?" Smirking, she writes in her book. "You two will make wonderful statues!" She points her pen at them, a purple ball of light flying and hitting them. They become statues.

"No!" Marinette and Adrien scream.

Bookworm eyes them. "Two more? This should be fun."

"Run, Marinette!" Adrien screams, taking off in the other direction. If he wants to protect Marinette, he has to transform now. He runs into an alley and leans against the wall.

Plagg flies out. "Do you think Ladybug will be jealous when she finds out you kissed Marinette?" He teases.

"Not now, Plagg. I have to protect Marinette." Adrien holds his hand up. "Plagg, claws out!"

Marinette takes off running and hides in a dumpster just as Bookworm passes. "I need to transform. Tikki, spots on!" In a flash of pink she was Ladybug, and used her yo-yo to reach the roof. Cat Noir comes running up to her. "Good timing, Kitty."

"Always, Milady." Cat Noir grabs her hand and lifts it up to kiss it.

"Not time for flirting, Cat Noir." Ladybug pushes his hand away. "Did you happen to run into Adrien? Is he safe?"

Cat Noir nods. "Yeah, he's safe. Wait. How did you know Adrien was here?"

"I, uh..." Her eyes widen. "I saw him with some friends making a movie or something."

"Oh." Cat Noir nods. "What about Marinette? Is she safe?"

Ladybug nods. "Yeah—wait, how did you know she was here?"

"Same reason as you," He whispers, nodding. "So, how are we going to defeat Bookworm?"

"Whatever she writes in her book comes to life with her pen." Ladybug crouches down and brings Cat Noir with her. "I'm guessing the akuma is either in her pen or the book."

"What about both?" Cat Noir asks, scooting closer to Ladybug. "She could have been holding both at the same time."

"That's possible." She turns to look at him and frowns when his face is close. "Haven't you ever heard of personal space, Cat Noir?"

He smirks. "What? You don't like being this close to me?"

Closing her eyes, Ladybug rubs her forehead and sighs. She places her hand on Cat Noir's face and pushes him away. "Let's just defeat Bookworm."

"Ladybug and Cat Noir!" Bookworm appears behind them. They turn around with wide eyes. "You'll be a perfect accessory for my book. Make it a #1 bestseller!"