A Miraculous Tale: Revealer

Ch. 1

Alya took a bite of the oreo cheesecake that sat in front of her.

"Yum." Alya hummed in appreciation. "Mr. Dupain-Cheng, your cheesecake is amazing!" She took another bite and closed her eyes. "Mmm, delicious!"

Tom smiled. "Thank you, Alya."

She nodded and took another bite. Marinette started giggling. Alya turned to look at her after she'd swallowed another piece.

"What's so funny?" She wondered.

"I was just wondering when you're gonna propose to your cheesecake. Nino is gonna be jealous; you'll break his heart." Marinette took a bite of her cheesecake to hide her smile.

"Marinette!" Alya whined. "Since when did you become so goofy and full of jokes?" Alya laughed and started to tickle her best friend, but Marinette squirmed away.

"You're not gonna get away that easily!" Alya chased Marinette, and the two friends ran around the living room. Tom and Sabine smiled as the two girls fell onto the floor.

"Now I can punish you with tickles!" Alya said as she tickled Marientte.

"No! Sto-stop it!" Marinette said between fits of laughter. "Stop!" Alya eventually pulled away.

"I think that's enough punishment." Alya stated. "Now it's time to go finish that cheesecake!"

Once Marinette recovered from her laughter she followed her best friend to the table. They finished up their cheesecake and helped put up the plates.

"Thanks, girls." Sabine said with a smile. "The rest is in the fridge, so you can help yourselves. Don't stay up too late."

"We won't, Mom." Marinette said.

"Thanks for letting me stay over." Alya chimed in.

"You're welcome anytime, Alya." Sabine said. "We'll be in our room if you need anything. Goodnight!"

"Goodnight!" The girls replied. Tom and Sabine went to their bedroom, and the girls headed up to Marinette's room.

"What do you want to do first?" Marinette asked.

"Um, let's get our pj's on. Then we can figure it out from there." Afterwards, Marinette laid lazily on the sofa in her room while Alya was spinning around on the rolly chair.

"So..." Marinette let the word hang in the air. Neither girl was sure what to do.

"How's Luka?" Alya asked out of the blue. Marinette looked up and saw a sly smile on Alya's face. Marinette's cheeks flushed.

"Oh... Luka. He's fine."

"Just fine?" Alya inquired. Finally, the girl couldn't keep it in any longer. She burst out of her chair and hurled a floodwater of words at Marinette. "How was the second date! Did it go well? Are you planning to go on a third? Are you guys official yet? Well?" Alya tapped her foot impatiently. Marinette stayed quiet a moment.

"It went well, the second date I mean."

"What happened?" Alya sat back down and scooted closer to Marinette. Marinette looked at the floor while her legs swayed back and forth.

"He took me out to lunch again. We went to a sandwich shop. His treat." Marinette smiled at the memory. "After that we went on a short walk to his house boat and hung out there for a bit. Then he walked me home." Marinette shrugged. "Nothing much happened." Alya was clearly disappointed with her answer.

"Do you like him?"

"Yeah." Marinette said.

"You know what I mean. Do you like him like him?"

"Yeah." Marinette said again.

"Do you love him?" Alya inquiried.

Marinette stayed silent for a minute. Do I? She wondered. She thought about all the times she had been around Adrien. Her stomach always fluttered, and she could barely look into his green eyes without having a seizure. I loved Adrien, but that's over now. Do I love Luka though? Do I truly love him? She wanted to say yes with every bone in her body, but she knew that'd be lying.

"No, I don't, but I think it just takes time."

Alya sat back, and Marinette noticed a bit of excitement had left her eyes. "Maybe."

Marinette shook her head and smiled.

"You are such a romanticist!" She changed the subject.

"I am not!"

"Nino's turned ya into a lovebird!" Marinette accused.

"That's it Marinette Dupain-Cheng! The tickle war has begun!"

Marinette jumped up and ran over to her bed. She picked up a pillow and smacked Alya in the side. Alya lost her breath for a second, but she quickly recovered and grabbed a pillow off of the couch.

"That's it!" She said in mock anger. The girls started hitting each other with pillows, but they laughed so hard their legs turned to jello, causing them to collapse on the floor. They laughed and laughed before Alya finally managed to sit up.

"Do you know what we should do?" Alya said.

Marinette propped her head up on her elbow. "What?" I hope it has nothing to do with boys.

"We should make a fort! It will be big, big enough to sleep in, with a tall roof so we can sit up. We should also have a door, and of course millions of pillows and blankets. It will be our secret fort. The only ones allowed in are whoever we decide can enter. The decision has to be unanimous though."

Marinette smiled. "That sounds awesome! We totally have to do it."

"Okay. I'll go get some pillows and blankets from downstairs, and you gather all the pillows and blankets up here."

Marinette nodded. "Where should I put them?"

"Um... on the bed. That way they'll be out of the way until we need them."

Marinette smiled and did a little happy dance. "I'm excited! I've never made a fort before!"

"Never?" Alya repeated with shock.

Marinette shook her head. "I never had any siblings to make one with, and none of my friends, or I, ever suggested it when we got together."

"Oh. Well, Marinette, I am honored to show you how to properly make a fort." Alya put her arm around Marinette.

"And I am honored to be taught by such a sophisticated fort builder." She said in a fancy voice. The girls laughed. Alya walked toward the door before she stopped and turned around.

"You know, Marinette, you've acted differently lately, but I like it."

"How so?" Marinette asked.

"All the jokes and funny voices." Before Marinette could inquire further Alya turned and left. Marinette shrugged and started gathering the pillows around her room. I've started joking more? I haven't even noticed. She put the pillows on the bed and went to pick up some stray blankets around her room. What could make me start joking? Hmm. Nino? Nah, I'm not around him a lot, and I've known him for a while. It would have to be caused by something recent. As she thought about it she heard a slight tapping on her window. She assumed it was a pigeon, or something of the sorts, so she decided to ignore it. However, the tapping continued, and Marinette went to investigate.