A Little Fall of Rain

Alya Acts

-Fifteen minutes earlier-

"I really need to go," Marinette called back. "I'll explain later."

Alya sighed as she crossed her arms and watched Marinette disappear into the crowd. What is with that girl?

"Is she flaking out again?" Nino asked.

"Who knows," Alya shugged. "Maybe I should have warned her about Adrien showing up."

Nino shrugged and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. With a smile, Alya snuggled into his touch. It wasn't a terrible way to wait.

Soon, over the crowd, Alya spotted a man who was a head taller than everyone else. She nudged Nino and pointed. At first glance, Ayla thought Adrien's bodyguard had arrived all by himself. Then she spotted the young man walking in front of him. Alya laughed at Adrien's appearance. She wondered if her friend had looked up 'disguise' on the internet and decided to copy the first look he saw. Adrien's blond hair was hidden under a black cap, and large, mirrored sunglasses hid his eyes. Adrien smiled as he walked over to his friends.

"Dude, cap and glasses?" Nino smirked. "Are you trying to copy my look?"

"Hey! It's a good look. Just trying something new. Father might not know I'm here." Adrien lowered his glasses to wink at his friends. "It would be better if no pictures of me ended up on the internet."

Alya giggled at her friend. Good for him; a little rebellion should do him some good. She grabbed Nino's hand. "Come on, let's go check out the vendors. I'm hoping there's more Carapace merchandise this year."

"I'm hoping to find a Rena Rouge pillow," Nino squeezed her hand. "Should we wait for Marinette?" Nino asked.

Alya looked off in the direction her friend ran. "She has her phone; she can call if she wants to find us again."

The four headed down the first row of booths. Much to Alya's delight, there was a lot more Rena Rouge and Carapace merchandise than last year. She might have to save her money and only buy her favorites. But how could she decide? Some of these bookmarks and keychains were just so cute! She let Nino and Adrien wander ahead. Decisions like these can't be rushed.

"Hey, babe! You need to come see this!" Nino yelled from an artist booth. With a smile, Alya walked over to where Nino was looking at a folder of posters. Her face heated up when she saw the illustrations. The artist had chosen to redesign the outfits of Paris' favorite heroes- she gulped- in very revealing ways.

"Do you think Trixx could try this?" Nino leaned over and whispered in her ear.

Alya shot him a dirty look. She flipped the pages of the folder until she found a similar take on Carapace. "I dunno... do you think Wayzz would go for that? It doesn't seem like it would protect very much."

Nino blushed as he looked at the print.

"Hey!" the booth attendant shouted at them. "That folder is adults only."

Alya giggled as she scurried over to the next booth. Though, as she looked back, she saw Adrien inspecting the same folder. After a minute, she noticed the tips of his ears seemed a bit pink. Alya giggled. She knew he had a soft spot for Ladybug. Quite a few of those pictures should tickle his fancy.

Suddenly, Alya heard a loud bang as she saw Adrien tumble to the ground. Instantly, Adrien's bodyguard shot off in the direction of the noise. Alya and Nino scrambled over to their fallen friend. But when she looked to the ground, she noticed Adrien appeared to have an extra set of legs. Quickly, Adrien pushed himself up to his knees, his sunglasses knocked from his face. Underneath where he fell, Marinette was lying on the grass. She was panting and looking up to the sky.