Just A Friend

It had started off so well. A grand ball was graciously being held by Chloe for her birthday. Adrien was so proud of her for finally getting along with everyone. He was surrounded by friends and the atmosphere was filled with merriment. But when he saw her, his heart had nearly stopped. There Marinette stood in all her fierce glory. She was so beautiful, dressed in an elegant red gown, the spots that adorned the skirt were so befitting of her. His legs began moving on their own, drawn to her. There were so many things he wanted to say, so many things he wanted to ask. But when he approached her, she shunned him, turned her back to him. His insides churned when her hands gently grasped Luka's arm. Her name was on the tip of his tongue when she turned and cast him a glance, eyes filled with a resigned melancholy.

"I'm tired of being just a friend."

Adrien awoke with a start, heart pounding and goosebumps covering his skin. He stared at his blank ceiling, trying to make sense of everything. When his breathing and heart rate had finally fallen to a normal pace, he rolled over onto his side and groaned. He was an idiot—a ginormous, idiotic, idiot.

Mustering the courage to go to school that morning and seeing them together was a chore. He exited the car and let out a deflated sigh. A baritone voice sounded out followed by a lighthearted giggle. Adrien begrudgingly turned his head to his left to see Marinette and Luka chatting amicably as he walked her to school. She was smiling so happily. She never smiled like that towards him before, he thought in dismay. Too busy stewing in self-pity, he almost missed her waving at him. As if she commanded his attention, he stood ramrod straight and said good morning to her. She returned his greeting, her cheeks flushed a rosy pink. He foolishly hoped it was because of him and not because of Luka.

Who would have ever guessed that Marinette Dupain-Cheng was Ladybug—Ladybug, a.k.a. his lady, a.k.a. the love of his life, a.k.a. the girl that he had thoroughly friend-zoned more times than he could remember—because he sure as hell didn't. He inwardly groaned and went back to sulking after Marinette walked past him and entered the school.

Plagg had a field day after Adrien had accidentally figured out her identity just a day earlier. After a long fit of laughter, he called him a fool for pining over someone who had clearly put up boundaries and insisted on keeping things professional, when he could have been hitting it off with the cute girl who sat behind him—you know, especially since they were the same person .

In his defense, Adrien claimed that he was loyal. It would not be right to set his eyes on anyone else when he was so irrevocably in love with Ladybug. Plagg simply raised a brow and scoffed, reminding him that he had gone out with Kagami several times. Irritated by Plagg so easily tearing down his excuse, Adrien swatted him away. A brief question of whether or not he loved Marinette crossed his mind. But that was another can of worms and he didn't have the time to ponder over that. All he knew was that he was going to lose any shot of getting with her if he didn't deal with this one little problem:

Luka Couffaine.

He hated that Luka was so cool and so easy to get along with. He couldn't outright hate the guy. On the contrary, Adrien actually liked him. Heck, there wasn't even a reason to hate him. It's not like Adrien had any claim over Marinette. Who she chose to spend her time with was none of his concern. But Adrien was young. He was impetuous. He was jealous.

Plagg had pointed out to him that he was completely fine before he knew Marinette was Ladybug. The Kwami even reminded him that he previously said Luka and Marinette made a cute couple. As if Plagg wasn't already annoying enough with his love for Camembert... Yes, he knew the situation was absurd. Didn't mean he'd have to be okay with it.

As he entered the classroom, he heard Rose speaking animatedly about how great it was that Marinette got along so well with Luka. Juleka, as usual, mumbled her words. But he could tell that she was pleased. Juleka would probably be happy if Marinette became her sister. They would probably have such a cool wedding. Jagged Stone would probably come and perform. Luka would be living Adrien's dream life.

Damn him.

But they'd all be sorely mistaken if they thought he'd back down without a fight.

Operation Woo Marinette Dupain-Cheng was a go.