A Recorded Life - Miraculous Ladybug

20 - Viral in Seconds

Words: 1173
Chapter Summary: After a big and difficult Akuma, make sure to tune into the news to see the newest viral video people will be talking about for years.
Author's Note: here we are............. >:) i love this chapter and i love light angst. and yes i just gave all the chapters names and i tried to make most of them sound like youtube video titles because ya know it kinda works

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"Miraculous Ladybug!" Ladybug yelled as she was running out of time. She only had less than a minute left, and Chat Noir was not far behind with his timing. She had already run off to recharge, and was running out of stamina as this fight ended. The second round of recharge was better, as they did finally defeat the Akuma, but she was still freaking out inside.

"My Lady," Chat Noir said. "We need to get out of here. Now. Or we will detransform in front of everyone," Chat held out his hand for Ladybug to take, and they started running. Racing the clock, they jumped into an alley.

Ladybug lost her balance when they jumped down and ended up on the ground. She had less than thirty seconds to get out of there, and as she struggled to get up, Chat was trying to tell her something. Of course, Ladybug didn't hear it, thanks to the loud noise of the flash from the detransformation. "Marinette?" Chat gasped when he saw Marinette Dupain-Cheng sitting before him.

Tears formed in Marinette's eyes when she realized what was happening, and before she could look away, Chat Noir lost his transformation too. "Adrien?!" Marinette yelled.

"Oh my god!" A teenager shouted from down the alley with his phone facing the two. "Marinette Dupain-Cheng, the YouTuber, is Ladybug? And Adrien Agreste is Chat Noir? No way!" The kid shouted, obviously having recorded the whole thing.

Adrien grabbed Marinette's hand. "We have to get out of here," He said as he helped her up. Instead of Marinette walking with Adrien, though, she took off running. "Marinette!" Adrien called after her, but was stopped by the teenager.

"Adrien, anything you have to say about this?" The kid shoved the phone in Adrien's face.

With a scowl on his face and squinted eyes, Adrien moved around the kid, pushing the phone slightly. "Get out of my face and leave us alone," He snarled and turned in the direction Marinette ran. "Marinette!" He yelled again, chasing down the street. But alas, he had lost sight of her, and he knew there was no way he was going to be able to find her.

Adrien ditched a crowd following him by hiding in a few random buildings, and his phone began to blow up as the video was posted and went immediately viral.

Marinette held her hands in her face as she bawled running down the sidewalks. There was no way she was going home to face her parents; she was too scared about what they would say. And she really just needed a shoulder to cry on now, and ended up knocking lightly on the door of her best friend.

"Marinette!" Alya sighed. "I was just about to call you. I just saw on TV...are you okay?" Alya said and pulled Marinette into a tight hug. Alya guided her inside and locked the door. "Nino is here, too, is that okay?"

Marinette sniffled and nodded. "I'm freaking out, Alya," She said through tears as she heard the radios, phones, and TVs playing the news. "I can't believe this is happening," Marinette cried as she collapsed on the couch, staring at the TV.

BREAKING NEWS flashed across the screen as Nadia Chamack began to speak.

"Don't be bemused; it's just the news! As the most recent Akuma was just defeated, a video has been released showing Ladybug and Chat Noir dropping their transformations. Ladybug is Marinette Dupain-Cheng, a successful YouTuber featured around designing and random videos. She has worked with Jagged Stone many times before, as well as working in her parent's bakery. Chat Noir, surprisingly, turns out to be Adrien Agreste. This was a real shocker! The son of fashion powerhouse Gabriel Agreste and famous fashion model is one of Paris' superheroes-" The TV continued on, and Marinette gasped.

"Adrien," She whispered. "I...I left him," Marinette began to cry again.

Nino nodded slowly. "Yeah, and he had some harsh words for the person recording you. Then it looked like he was chasing after you, but I guess he didn't find you," Nino said, and Marinette shook her head to confirm his assumption.

Alya clicked off the TV. "I'm going to call your parents and let them know you're here. I know they're freaking out right now, and I know you won't be able to say a word," Alya announced and moved to the other side of the room. "Hey- yes, she's here. She's okay. Very shaken up and crying, but she's okay," Marinette began to tune out the conversation and just let herself cry.

"Hey," Nino put his arm around Marinette for comfort. "If you don't mind me asking, did you and Adrien know about each other?"

She shook her head once again. "No, we swore to keep it a secret to keep everyone safe. If we knew about each other, it could get out easier. But I guess that didn't matter," Marinette cried into Nino's shoulder.

"Yes, of course. Nino and I are going to talk to her and try to calm her down, but I will bring her home tonight. What? No, sorry, he isn't here. I'm sure he will show up sooner than later, though. See you guys later," Alya finished the conversation with Marinette's parents and put her phone down. "Girl, this is crazy."

"You're telling me," Marinette sniffled. "This is everywhere. Hawkmoth's probably watched the video a million times. He could go after Adrien or me...Adrien lives in a big mansion, and I live in a popular bakery, not the hardest things to find."

Nino and Alya listened to Marinette freak out. "Did you guys have any ideas about who Hawkmoth is?" Nino asked.

Marinette wiped her tears and shrugged. "At the beginning of the year, I actually thought it was Gabriel Agreste. I had a pretty good lead, too, but then he got akumatized, and we were able to rule him out. Oh my god, that means there was a point where Adrien was convinced his father was Hawkmoth..." Marinette set in realization.

"Well, you can't keep him ruled out, now," Alya shrugged, only getting a confused look from Marinette. "Miraculous holders can get akumatized. Chloe got akumatized while she had her miraculous. I'm not saying Gabriel is Hawkmoth, but you guys should be careful and see if there is any way you can protect your miraculous. Who knows who could break into your houses now to get your stuff," Alya reasoned.

Nodding slowly, a million thoughts were circling her mind. "Hey, it's getting late. I should get you home so you can talk to your parents. I'm sure they're worried sick," Alya grabbed Marinette's hand and pulled her off the couch. "I'll walk you home. Nino, are you joining?"

"Sorry, dudettes, I think I'm going to try to track down Adrien. I want to make sure he's okay, too," He said.

"No, that's a good idea," Marinette said as she was being dragged out by Alya. "I'll talk to him, too," She paused, "Eventually."