"Plagg, do you know what this means??" said Adrien excitedly once he had transformed back after saving Paris from Envianator.
"That you know Ladybug in real life? So what. It's not like she's camembert or anything..." Plagg mumbled eating said camembert as he talked.
"And now all those times we saved the school and the history book and the poem... It all makes sense now... But who could she be? And now I'm going to prom with Marinette... Do you think she'll get jealous? But she doesn't know who I am..."
"Woah now. What about Ladybug being five thousand years old?"
"Come on, Plagg, I know miraculous are passed down. That fact was found just so Alya wouldn't discover who Ladybug was. I know Cat Noir and Ladybug have worked together for years. We are ying and yang. Made for each other!" sighed Adrien.
"Do you think finding out her true identity will change anything though? It doesn't mean she will instantly fall in love with you. I mean she hasn't fallen in love with you as Cat Noir, who's to say she will knowing your true identity? And will you still love her?"
"Plagg, you don't understand. I love her in all her forms. I know I'll love her regardless of who she is."
Plagg sighed. "Whatever you say, Adrien. Guess school will be more exciting tomorrow won't it?"
"Yeah and I can't wait! Come on, Plagg, time to start theorizing!"
They sat at his computer for hours talking about the possibilities of who Ladybug could be. Adrien stayed up so late, he fell asleep on his keyboard. Plagg covered him with a blanket and sighed. "Boy, you have it bad... I just hope it all works for the best..."
Adrien woke up the next morning, blinking as the sun streamed in the windows. "What time is it?" he mumbled looking at his watch. "Crap, I'm going to be late!!"
He jumped up and ran to get changed. "Ugh, I smell like stinky cheese!" he said glaring at Plagg through the bathroom mirror.
Plagg just grinned and continued eating his cheese.
Natalie, his father's secretary, knocked on his door and called for breakfast.
"Coming!" Adrien said running out the door and down to the dining room. He chooked down his food and ran to the car.
His bodyguard drove him to school and he jumped out of the car. He almost ran right into Marinette.
"Oh hey! Sorry! Running late!"
"Oh.. No.. You didn't run... I mean, you're good." she said giggling nervously and pushing her hair behind her ear.
"Want to walk in together?" he asked smiling at her.
"Oh Uh yeah, sure..."
"So why are you late?" he asked as they walked in.
"Oh, funny story... I was on my computer too late and fell asleep without turning my alarm on..." she said rubbing the back of her head embarrassed.
"Hey, me too!" Adrien said grinning.
"Really? The great Adrien Agreste forgets to turn on his alarm? Don't you have like a maid to wake you up?"
"Well, Natalie will get onto me if I don't wake up on time," he said slightly embarrassed.
They were outside of the classroom by this point. "Let's see if we can sneak in..." she whispered.
He nodded and they cracked the door. When she saw the teacher's back turned, she motioned for Adrien to follow her. They both tip toed in and tried to sit down.
"Ah there you two are. Since you're the last ones in, you'll be partners for our chemistry project coming up," said Ms. Bustier.
"What!? Ms. Bustier, there must be some mistake! Pair me with Adrien!" Chloe protested standing up in anger.
"But you're supposed to be my partner!" Sabrina whined.
"No one is switching partners, Chloe. Now please sit down so I can explain the project." Ms. Bustier instructed.
Chloe sat down with a huff and Alya winked at Marinette. "I can't believe you're finally working with Adrien! All by yourself I might add," she whispered excitedly.
"I know!" Marinette almost squealed trying to whisper.
Nino elbowed Adrien in the side. "Yeah dude, that's how it's done."
Adrien laughed embarrassed. But then he thought of Ladybug... She was here somewhere... What would she think of him going to the prom and spending time with Marinette? And why was he so conflicted about it?
"As I was saying, you and your partner will create a chemical reaction and do a demonstration for the class by the end of the week. The catch is it has to be made from household items. I do have a list of things to not mix in your instructions. Otherwise, feel free to try anything out. Keep in mind what you have already learned." Ms. Bustier said pacing the classroom.
Marinette spaced out while Ms. Bustier finished explaining. She looked around the classroom. Could Cat be any of the guys in her class? Did she actually know him? If he was at her school, wouldn't she have figured it out already? And now she was not only going to prom with Adrien, but also doing a project with him! She sighed dreamily. What if Cat was Adrien? Psh, Adrien was may more slick than that silly kitty. And yet... For some odd reason she almost wanted them to be the same person... Why?
When class let out, Nino pushed Adrien over to Marinette and winked.
"Oh hey, Adrien... Do you.. I mean... Shall we... I mean, want to meet for the project?" Marinette stumbled. Why couldn't she just talk like a normal person around Adrien? Why must she be such a dork??
"Uh yeah, but I gotta do something first. You want to meet up at your house?"
"Yeah okay sounds good. See you soon."
"What are you planning on doing, Adrien?" asked Plagg once they were outside the classroom.
"Quiet, Plagg, someone might see you. I'm going to look for clues of Ladybug. I need to find her."
"I hate to say this, but what about Marinette? Something tells me you didn't ask her to the prom just because you wanted to make Ladybug jealous..."
"I don't know what you're trying to insinuate, Plagg. But it's not what you think it is. We're friends and we always will be."
"Uh huh..." Plagg said rolling his eyes.
Adrien went to a spot over looking the school yard and watched the students carefully. Every girl that passed by he studied.
After a good thirty minutes, Adrien sighed. "This is pointless, Plagg. Come on, let's go to Marinette's house. We gotta start working on that project."
He walked into the bakery and Marinette's mom Sabine grinned at him. "Hello, Adrien! Marinette told me you two would be working on a project together. Go ahead upstairs. She's waiting for you."
"Thank you, Mrs. Dupain-cheng!"
"Hey, Marinette! Are you here?" he called up the stairs.
"Oh hey! Come... Come on up!" she called back.
He walked up the stairs to her cool bedroom and sat down at her desk. He noted a magazine clipping of himself. He felt himself blushing slightly when he saw a heart around his face.
"Oh Uh... Let me move that..." she said brushing it quickly to the side.
"Oh I didn't see anything..." he said and they both awkwardly rubbed the back of their heads.
"So uh, what should we do for our presentation?" she asked trying to get them focused. Why was she such a nervous wreck every time she talked to him? She'd known him almost three years now...
"Well I was thinking we should do something unique, like no exploding volcano," he laughed.
"Agreed!"
"That would explode in our faces," he said grinning at her.
She giggled. "You remind me of a friend of mine with those puns. Plus I know Cat Noir makes puns all the time."
He laughed. "Yeah, sorry I chat help it."
She grinned. "Seriously you two could be besties."
"Well, maybe I should meet this friend. Though I doubt he can take Nino's place."
"True. Anyways, what should we do then?"
"Well since your parents own a bakery, what if we can come up with a chemical reaction that gets rid of stuck on food on dishes?"
"That's brilliant, Adrien! My parents would love that!"
"Plus I'm sure we'll wipe out the competition," he said winking.
This time she groaned. "You're just as bad as he is."
"Who?"
She sighed. "Never mind. Come on let's get to work."
They brought out all of her parent's kitchen liquids and started trying different things.
"So did you know the prom is going to be a masquerade ball?" Adrien asked.
"What? Why is that?" said Marinette thinking instantly of Ladybug and figuring out who Cat Noir was.
"Guess they wanted to make it more exciting that way. What do you plan to wear? I'll need to match you since we're going together and all."
She blushed. "Oh well I haven't figured it out yet..."
"Hm, something tells me you would look good in red," he said, appraising her in his professional model voice.
"Oh uh, yeah sure... I can wear red."
"Red and black," he said rethinking his previous statement.
"Okay I'll see what I can do. You're the professional after all."
"Oh I just realized that could come off wrong... I'm sorry." he said awkwardly again.
She waved her hands furiously. "Oh no, not at all! Red and black sounds good to me!"
"Okay good! Look I gotta go home now. See you tomorrow?"
She smiled and nodded.
On their drive back Plagg whispered "You do realize you asked her to dress up like Ladybug don't you?"
Adrien's face turned bright red, "I uh, didn't mean it that way..."
"Whatever you say, now let's get some camemberet!"
Adrien sighed and looked out the window. Why did he feel like things were getting even more complicated?