Marinette looked at the empty place next to her.

She had to give Alya the talk when her friend gets better and returns to school. Running around the city sick just to make a video of an akuma battle — was too much even for her.

She thought about what happened earlier that day. Marinette didn't see what was going on before she arrived and didn't have much time to clarify, but it really looked like Felix saved Alya from being crushed by that falling wall.

But it contradicted the image Marinette had of him after the first two times she met him. So it was better not to jump to any conclusions until she heard Alya's point of view.

And what was he doing there anyway?

"Now everyone can collect their things." Miss Buster said, pulling Marinette out of her thoughts. "Chloe, Lila, Marinette and Felix come to me, please."

Marinette frowned. How did she end up with those three? But she stood up and came to the teacher's desk anyway.

"Last Friday your classmates started to work on a project in pairs." Miss Buster explained, when all four were standing in front of her. "Marinette was sick that day, Chloe wasn't in town, Lila was still on her trip, and Felix didn't transfer to our school yet. So you all were missing and didn't get a partner. But don't worry, you still have a lot of time, as the presentation for the project is only in two weeks." The teacher gave a few papers to each of them. "Here is all the information you need to start your work on the project. I trust you can decide how to pair up with each other by yourselves." She smiled softly and made a step back, leaving the four teenagers blink at each other.

Marinette sighed. Right. She was sick last week, and Felix only came today. Lila was only coming to school when she wanted, always having some ridiculous excuse for her absence, that everyone believed in though. And Chloe was really out of town with her mom, as far as Marinette knew.

"You are Adrien's cousin, right?" Lila asked in a soft ingratiating voice, turning to Felix. "I'd be glad to work with you! So we could get to know each other better."

"Of course Felikins will work with me!" Chloe argued. "His jokes are stupid, but at least the studies were always his thing. Right, Felikins?" She turned to Lila. "You take Dupain-Cheng."

Marinette rolled her eyes. Choosing between Chloe and Lila for the project work for her was like a choice between bad and worse. And she wasn't even the one to make this choice! So Marinette was just waiting patiently for Felix to name his partner to know who was left for her, when she heard his voice.

"Can I work with Miss Dupain-Cheng?" He asked the teacher in a polite voice.

"Of course!" Miss Buster exclaimed and turned to Marinette. "If you don't mind?"

Marinette didn't even take into account this scenario and was taken by surprise. She looked at the teacher, then at Felix, whose face was expressionless, as he just stood there waiting for her decision.

Well, whatever motives for his choice Felix had, it could actually work in her favor. Marinette would avoid both Chloe and Lila, plus, if they really have to work together for two weeks, Felix might invite her to Agreste mention, where he is probably staying. And she will have an opportunity to meet Adrien out of school!

She nodded to the teacher and went to her desk to collect her things.

*

Marinette was working on the new dress at home, when she heard a knock at the door.

"Marinette!" Her mother called. "Your classmate is here to see you!" She said, "Can we enter?"

"Come in!" Marinette said, standing up from the sewing machine, thinking, who of the girls could it be and why didn't they call her before coming.

But instead of Julika or Milen, Felix entered her room, following her mom.

"Would you like some snacks, kids?" Sabine asked in a caring voice, referring rather to Felix.

"Thank you, madam Cheng." Felix replied politely. "But I won't stay for long."

Marinette narrowed her eyes. Why would he stay here at all?!

"Please, call me Sabine." She smiled softly. "I'll leave you then. Come down to the bakery if you change your mind."

"Why are you here?" Marinette asked, when her mother left, giving her a knowing motherly look, as if there was Adrien instead of Felix in her room.

Why in the world?!

"I came to decide how we will work on a common project, obviously." He explained patiently. "You left school before we could agree on it, and I didn't have your phone number."

Right. Marinette was so distracted dreaming about the possibility of seeing Adrien out of school, that she even forgot that it was Felix who could provide said possibility...

"My bad." Marinette agreed. "You could get my number from Adrien though." She noticed.

"Adrien is at a photoshoot right now." Felix replied. "And I don't like to wait."

Marinette thought about Adrien's photoshoot and looked at his poster on the wall dreamily. But then she remembered that she wasn't alone and looked back at Felix, who followed her gaze to the poster and rolled his eyes disapprovingly.

"When you treat someone like a fan, they will treat you like a fan too." He said. "Don't you know that from your own fans?"

Marinette felt herself starting to get angry. Who asked this guy for love advice?! And what does he mean by 'your own fans'? Adrien asked her to sign the cover of Jugged Stone's album once. But that's as far as her having fans went.

"I wouldn't know." She said, "I'm not famous."

"Right." Felix's face was... skeptical?

"And Adrien is my friend." She added. "And this... uhh..." She looked at the poster. "I'm just into fashion."

"Of course you are." Felix smirked. "Do you confess to all of your friends?"

Marinette's eyes widened. Adrien never saw her video-confession and she totally forgot someone actually got to see it. And that this someone was Felix.

"You won't tell him, will you?" She asked, not sure what to expect from this boy.

"It isn't part of my plans." Felix answered to her relief. "It rather contradicts them."

Good enough for her. Whatever he had in his mind.

"So, uhh..." Marinette was thinking about how to change the topic. Discussing her crush on Adrien with his mischievous cousin wasn't the best pastime for her. The project! Right. "So do you want to meet for the project at my place or at yours?" Marinette asked quickly.

Please say yours, please say yours!

"Both are fine for me." Felix replied. "We can start at my place tomorrow." He suggested. "Is it convenient for you to come over after school?"

"Sure!" Marinette agreed, probably a little too cheerfully. Adrien doesn't have a photoshoot tomorrow, no fancying nor Chinese, so... "You are staying at Agreste manore, right?" She asked rather as a formal question.

"No." Felix said to her disappointment. "We've got our own place. I'll send you the address. We wouldn't want to annoy my dear uncle."

Marinette saw almost disgust in Felix's expression.

Once she was a big fan of Gabriel's work, and probably she still somehow was. But seeing how the man treated his son made her rethink the way she thought about Gabriel Agreste.

At least she and Felix could agree on that.

"Would you send me your address then?" She suggested much less cheerfully than before. Agreste mention or not, the project had to be done anyway.

"Can I get your phone number then?" Felix asked, giving her his phone.

Marinette took his phone and made a new contact with her number on it, while Felix was looking around the room. When she raised her hand to give his phone back, he was standing next to her sewing machine.

"What are you working on?" Felix asked.

"Uhh..." Today this boy was almost changing her first impression of himself.

First saving Alya from the falling wall, then saving Marinette from Lila and Chloe, taking the project responsible enough to come to her house, being polite with her mother, and now asking about her sewing? His voice even sounded genuinely interested.

"I was working on a new dress." Marinette took the notebook with the design of the dress and gave it to Felix.

He studied the design carefully then looked her over, and looked at the page again.

"The design is very elegant and original. Felix said finally. And it will suit you very well." He added, making Marinette blush a little.

Perhaps she wasn't good at taking compliments, and she definitely didn't expect to get them from Felix...

"T-thank you." She said, cursing at herself for stuttering. It was reserved for Adrien after all. And why would she even...

"Do you accept commissions?" Felix asked in the meantime. "I'm sure my mother would love to watch through your designs and pick something for herself."

"I... uh..." Well, this was... unexpected. "I do, but... I'm not that good..."

"Nonsense!" Felix waved his hand, supporting his words with a gesture. "This is very good, as well as the ones I saw on your desk. You should bring them to my place tomorrow." He suggested.

"I don't think that my..." Marinette started.

So far there was no confidence or arrogance in her enough to demonstrate her ordinary designs to really important people. The once that was specifically made for competitions — maybe, but not those.

But Felix interrupted her.

"Don't ever say that you aren't good enough, otherwise you will believe it yourself." He told her, while Marinette was just blinking at him with her mouth stuck open. "I'm afraid I must be going now." He added, holding out his hand for a... handshake?

But when Marinette raised her hand to shake his, Felix took her hand, bent down and touched her knuckles with his lips.

"Have a nice evening." He said with a mysterious smile on his face, and went out of the room.

Marinette was standing in her room, stunned.

"Tikki," she called. "What just happened?"