Seven Seconds

Drooping Eyelids

The plan was set.

And the only thing that Adrien really had to do was pretend that he was happy and willing to continue dating Ladybug. No more arguing, no more attitude, no more defiance. Pretend that they were getting along well together, and pretend that he didn't mind going along with the arrangement. All he had to do was convince his father that he was fine with it.

But that also meant that he would have to convince his father that he was over Marinette. And that would be the most difficult part of the whole thing.

It would be worth it in the long run though.

With that in mind, he didn't protest when Nathalie strongly suggested that he and Ladybug set up another date when they were done eating at the restaurant. Adrien simply nodded and the two of them agreed to meet up another day.

A strange sense of calm came over him as his bodyguard drove them home. With Ladybug's plan, there was an end in sight. Once the nonsense was over, he would be free to date Marinette again. And that was what he wanted more than anything else in the world.

So with a smile, he said goodnight to Nathalie and went to his bedroom. After changing and using the bathroom, he lay down in his bed.

Not surprisingly, his thoughts continued to focus on Marinette. How he wished that he could go visit her. But of course he couldn't. Not only was it very late, but she wasn't even home. She was at a friend's house for a sleepover.

It was probably at Alya's.

But maybe not. Marinette was so sweet, she had a lot of friends. It could have been anyone. Alix. Maybe Mylène or Rose. Or maybe Juleka.

And suddenly he couldn't breathe. Juleka. If Marinette was over at Juleka's, then she'd see Luka there too.

Luka, her ex-boyfriend. Her ex-boyfriend who was still in love with her.

No, it couldn't be Juleka. Marinette's parents would never let her sleep over at her ex-boyfriend's house.

Wait. Would they?

His heart started racing. He tried to calm himself down again, but all he could picture was Marinette talking to Luka. Marinette laughing at one of his jokes. Marinette smiling when he moved closer to whisper in her ear. Marinette closing her eyes when Luka leaned in to...

Adrien bolted upright and jumped out of bed. He couldn't let this happen. Marinette couldn't get back together with Luka.

"Plagg!" he called out. "Where are you?"

The black kwami poked his head out from the mini fridge. "I'm right here, spending some quality time with my beloved Camembert."

"We need to go," Adrien told him. "We need to check on Marinette."

"Why?" Plagg asked, obviously displeased.

"We need to see if she's at Luka's."

"Ohhhhh," Plagg said, finally understanding what was going on. "Jealous, are we?"

"I'm not jealous, I'm concerned about her."

He rolled his eyes. "You don't even know for sure that she's there."

"Well that's why we're going to check," Adrien replied in annoyance.

Plagg flew over and stopped right in front of his face. "Are you even listening to yourself? You sound crazy right now. Even if Marinette is there, what are you going to do? Barge in and tell her to go home? That would go over really well," he said sarcastically.