Until I Heard You Sing

Chapter 1

Marinette skipped into class without a hint of the previous late night in her twinkling bluebell eyes. It wasn't like her to be early to school, but her head was swirling with excitement. Laying her sketchbook out in front of her, she lost herself with adding finishing touches to the design she had begun the night before. Even if she wasn't going to be wearing the dress herself, she still desperately wanted to win the contest.

It had been announced that Mayor Bourgeois was going to be hosting a charity auction event in the ballroom of Le Grand Paris Hotel with the event being partnered by Gabriel. The night would consist of musical interludes from famous stage productions in between the auctioned items. The centerpiece of the show was going to be a duet performed by Adrien and Chloe. While that made Marinette cringe slightly inside, she was determined that her dress would take centre stage on the night. As part of the charity event, a student design would be worn by Chloe and then auctioned off, with the design being chosen by Gabriel Agreste himself.

Marinette was so focused on her work, she didn't hear the clatter and chatter of the other students as they began filing into the room. Most of the lycée class was involved in the event and it was going to be the highlight of the spring break.

"Hey girl, what brought you in so early, did a certain blonde model have an early photoshoot today?" Alya slid in beside Marinette taking a peak over her shoulder as Marinette rolled her eyes at her. "Is that your design for the competition?"

Marinette nodded as she turned her sketchbook for Alya to see. Nino slung his arm over his girlfriend's shoulder and let out a low whistle. The dress was in three layers in an egg shell pink. To the left hand side was a butterfly motif to represent the Gabriel brand and a delicate floral design throughout. The top of the dress was off the shoulder with a long sleeve that came down slightly over the hands. It was elegant and sophisticated and Marinette hoped it would be enough to impress Mr. Agreste.

"Wow Marinette, that is stunning! You have to win for sure!" Marinette turned her head to see a familiar pair of green eyes shining back at her. Despite herself, she could feel a blush growing over her face at the compliment and the genuine look of amazement in his face.

"Th..thanks Adrien." She could seriously kick herself for stuttering. Over the last two years she had gotten so much better with the stuttering and verbal diarrhea she had suffered from when around Adrien. The first year she knew him, she could hardly make a coherent sentence. It was embarrassing to say the least. She had made a conscience decision that despite still having a crush on the model, she would rather have his friendship then alienate herself away with her more bizarre behaviours. Alya was a huge help in that endeavour by enlisting Nino to make sure Adrien and Marinette had opportunities to be included in group outings like going to the movies and lunchtime shenanigans, innocently hanging out with their best friends. While they were rarely alone, the chance to just be a real friend to Adrien brought with it a lot more happiness to Marinette then chasing her tail as she had done as a 14 year old. She had gotten to see a side of him she hadn't really known before, a funny and goofy side, that she had to admit just made her crush on him even more. Marinette knew though that she had made the right decision and having Adrien's friendship meant the world to her.

Soon other classmates began clamouring around to admire Marinette's sketch, all agreeing that she should win and reaffirming to her how talented she was. Adrien could see the pride in her eyes at how much her friends thought of her work. It reminded him of the twinkle he would see in Ladybug's eyes when she defeated a difficult akuma, or figured out the cryptic clues of her Lucky Charm. He wondered how she was. It had been weeks since he had seen her. His thoughts were brought back by an unmistakable shrill and two yellow clad arms wrapped around his neck.