Guess Who [A Miraculous FanFiction]

Chapter Three: Study Buddies

"Marinette, calm down. You're going to stress yourself out." Tikki's quiet, sugar-sweet voice does nothing to stop Marinette's pacing.

"But...but...Adrien! He was...he was asking about me, Tikki!" Marinette's voice increases in volume until it is almost a shout. Tikki quickly flies over to her and places a tiny paw over Marinette's mouth. "Well...I mean he was asking about Ladybug but STILL!" Marinette continues despite her kwami's interference. She takes a breath to start again, but Tikki cuts her off.

"Mari, please! Your mom is going to-"

Tikki, herself, is cut off by Mrs. Dupain-Cheng, who pushes up the trapdoor that is the entrance to Marinette's room. Tikki squeaks quietly and hides in Mari's blue hair.

"Honey?" Marinette's mom gives her a strange look.

"Uhm..yeah?" Mari says, trying to appear normal.

"Are you talking to your wallpaper again, hun?" A smile lights in Mrs. Dupain-Cheng's eyes as her daughter blushes furiously. She doesn't wait for a response before continuing, "You've got a visitor. Downstairs. You want me to send them up?" Her mom smiles brightly and, when Mari nods, leaves.

Marinette sighs deeply, sitting down on her bed.

"What am I going to do , Tikki?" Marinette asks. Tikki doesn't answer and Mari covers her face with her hands. "I can't believe he was asking how old I am!"

Someone, Alya she assumes, is coming up the ladder to her room. Mari lays back and closes her eyes, feeling Tikki moving to her jacket pocket. Her visitor enters her room, pushing the trapdoor up. It slams against the floor and Mari sighs again. Alya is always doing that, despite the fact that she knows it bothers Marinette!

"Hey. How many times have I told you-" Marinette, now sitting up, chokes on her next word as she actually sees her visitor.

Adrien. Freaking. Agreste.

She is going to kill her mom.

Her heart stops. Her lungs stop working. Her eyes widen, and she stares at him for a long moment as, inside her head, she starts screaming.

"Uh, hi Marinette." Adrien says, looking worriedly at her as her face begins to turn purple from lack of oxygen. He takes the last step into the room and carefully shuts the trapdoor with one hand. In the other, he is holding a plate of cheese croissants, obviously from her mom. Around one shoulder, his school bag is slung and his blonde hair is coiffed at exactly the right angle. He is gorgeous and his green eyes sparkle with concern as she continues to stare, unblinking at him.

Tikki pokes Marinette through her jacket and Marinette's bodily functions start up again as the gasp she was holding in escapes from her mouth.

"H-h-hi." She finally chokes out, forcing herself to breathe. Adrien has been in her room before, after all. Just not...unexpectedly. She can feel her face turn bright red as he glances around at her walls.

Please, please don't notice the posters. She begs him inwardly.

"So...Alya said you wanted to study...?" Adrien is confused and unsure on how to move the conversation forward. He meets her eyes and her blush increases. She takes a minute or two to respond.

"Oh. Oh, uh, right! Uhm, here..." She stands up and offers him a seat on her bed. He walks over to her with a smile and then sits, placing the plate on the bed next to him. He pulls the school bag off his shoulder. He pulls out his English book and opens it. Then he looks up at her expectantly. She stands there, watching him until he clears his throat.

Marinette jumps. Awkwardly, she tries to smooth over the situation. "Right...uh my book. I'll just...get that." She turns towards her desk and trips. Over air. She begins to fall, but before she can face-plant, a warm hand grabs her shoulder.

Adrien pulls her up and steadies her as her blush increases. She is sure that by now, she is the same color as her suit and she can't help it. Embarrassment curdles in her stomach, making her feel sick. But Adrien just smiles at her and sits back down on the bed. Carefully, trying her hardest not to trip again, Marinette grabs her English book, a notebook, and a pen and walks back towards her bed.

There, she hesitates. She doesn't know where to sit. Adrien, looking up from the assignment in his hands, smiles widely and then moves the plate to the floor. He pats the bed next to him, and then turns his attention back to his book.

Hesitating again, Marinette sits down next to him. He smiles at her and pushes his assignment at her.

"Can you help me with this?" He asks, pointing to a problem. She nods, gripping her pen better and reviewing what he's written. After several minutes, she glances up. He is eating a cheese croissant and, when she hands him back his paper, he accepts it and offers her a croissant of her own. She takes it with a small smile, trying to keep her internal screaming just that: internal .

Adrien glances over what she's written in the margins of his paper and then back up to her. His model-smile spreads widely across his face.

"Thanks, study buddy." He says jokingly and then takes a big bite of his croissant. He turns back to the assignment, unaware that Marinette is blushing again.