Unravel- Miraculous Ladybug AU [discontinued]

11~ Alya

I didn't really get anywhere with this chapter... oh well.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

School the next day was dull, and Marinette found herself unable to focus as she stared blankly at the board in front of her.

It was their daily lesson about ghouls again — ghoul restaurants, to be exact. That small fact didn't help her concentrate.

That damn Plagg... what did he mean he was inviting her to that stupid restaurant of his? He knew that the only time she was interested in those was when he was stealing too many people from the 7th arrondissement.

"Marinette, do you recall the name of the ghoul who's suspected to lead these 'restaurants'?" the teacher asked, noticing that the girl had been zoning out."

"Oh- it's..." Marinette stopped herself before she could say that Plagg was the one, they didn't know the ghoul's identity, "It's The Gourmet, right?" she asked.

"Thank you, now please pay attention from now on."

The ghoul nodded, and Adrien flashed her a bright smile before turning to the front.

Marinette was slightly shocked at the fact that she didn't burst into an immediate crimson blush.

Alya nudged her, whispering under her breath so that the teacher wouldn't notice, "Hey, so I heard that Adrien's working at the café, what is the status on your relationship?"

Marinette found herself laughing nervously as she copied down a few notes from the board, "I think we might be friends now?"

"Just friends?"

"Marinette, Alya, if you can not pay attention at least do so quietly." Mrs. Bustier called, and Alya laughed, attempting to cover up what they'd been talking about.

"Sorry, but I did research on these at home before, I was just explaining a few things that Marinette didn't understand."

The teacher sighed, "Very well, but next time please just raise your hand, Marinette."

"Of course, Mrs. Bustier."

When the bell rang releasing students for the day, Alya began excitedly chattering about things mentioned in the class about ghouls. Marinette was only half-listening, her mind still swarming with a million different thoughts.

"Marinette, girl, are you listening to me?"

Marinette's head shot up, "Sorry Alya, what?"

Her friend laughed, "Did you pay attention to anything today? Two ghoul investigators are coming to the school tomorrow, answering questions and giving an in-depth explanation on what exactly the CCG does."

"You seem awfully excited," Marinette pointed out, attempting to hide her worry about the small fact she'd missed.

"Why wouldn't I be? I've actually been considering applying for a few training programs after high school."

They began walking, Alya deciding to visit the café with Marinette.

"What programs? Ghoul research?"

Her friend rolled her eyes, "What, it isn't obvious enough? I kinda want to become a ghoul investigator."

Marinette stalled mid-step, stumbling to a stop, "W-what? Alya, that's dangerous! People die with that job, not to mention you'd automatically become a target for several ghouls if you became one!"

A laugh cut through the air, "Relax, I've been thinking this over for a while. It's the only career that's really stuck out to me."

Marinette felt herself panicking at Alya's carefree words, "But Alya, I don't want anything to happen to you, why can't you become a bureau investigator instead, that path isn't nearly as-"

"Marinette," Alya halted the ghoul's ranting with her hands firmly gripping the girl's shoulders, "I'm not sitting around all day doing paperwork. Besides, we still have a year or two left until we have to start worrying about collages, we can discuss it then."

Marinette sighed, seeing that there was no way she could convince Alya otherwise, and began heading to the café once more.

They entered the coffee shop, a rush of cool air blending with the smell of ground beans.

"'Sup Tikki," Aya called as she slid into a bar seat, Marinette following after her, "two coffees please!"

"It's nice to see you again, Alya." Tikki smiled, setting the rag she was using to clean the counter aside as she left to the coffee maker, "Welcome home, Marinette."

She set the two mugs down in front of the girls, before returning to cleaning the counter.

"So I was thinking that we could go out this weekend, since the weather is beginning to change, and get clothes for fall and winter," Alya started as she sipped on the coffee, "There's this new clothing shop that opened near the Notre Dame, if we headed out in the morning we should be back before dark."

"Hasn't it been dangerous there lately? Something about a binge eater.... Volpina, I think?"

Alya waved away Marinette's concerns, "The attacks pretty much stopped a few weeks ago, we'll be fine!"

Alya pulled out her phone, the small ladybug charm dangling to the side as she opened up her blog, taking a picture of her coffee and typing in the caption something about how the Dupan-Cheng Café was the best in Paris before posting the photo.

"There. Free advertising, now you have no choice but to go with me."

Marinette picked up her coffee, taking a small sip before replying, "You know it doesn't work like that."

"Nonsense, it works however I say it works," was Alya's immediate reply, before she pulled her backpack onto the counter, opening it and removing a few notebooks, "Now, on to homework."

The bell at the front of the shop suddenly rang, signifying that someone had just entered the café.

"Bonjour! Tikki, it's been too long!"

An involuntary shudder raced up Marinette's spine, and she could almost hear Tikki's heartbeat quicken.

"Hello, Plagg..." she mumbled, turning to begin organizing coffee mugs behind the counter.

The Gourmet ghoul was dressed much nicer than he was the night before, having ditched the leather jacket and replaced it with a fancy suit. He walked with an aura of confidence to the counter, dropping ten euros in front of Tikki before ordering a plain black coffee.

Alya glared at the ghoul in suspicion, before dismissing any thoughts she had about the man.

It was what he said next that made Marinette's blood boil.

"So, about that blonde kid that now works here, what was his name... Adrien?"