Adrien and Nino pulled ahead to approach the counter first, having been to this specific deli many times and already knowing what they wanted. Adrien looked back and asked casually, "Know what you would like Marinette?"

She jumped slightly and quickly looked up at the menu, naming the first thing she saw and saying, "I'll probably get the tomato soup."

"And that as well please," Adrien told the cashier, smiling happily at Marinette's sharp gasp.

"Wait no don't pay for me!"

"Too late," he teased, overjoyed at the friendship he seemed to have created on the way here, paying for their meals. He walked away with his hands in his pockets, shooting Marinette a grin as he went to claim a table for the four of them.

Nino, not to be outdone, payed for Alya's meal as well as his own despite the similar protest, staring on in wonder as Marinette stuttered and frantically tried to pay Adrien back. He didn't allow it obviously, loving how flustered she was at his small gesture. It was cute, he had to admit, how she reacted.

Nino pulled on Alya's arm, distracting her from her fixation on the absolutely insane scene before them.

"Is this really happening?" he asked, and she shook her head slowly in amazement.

"I can't believe it, is... is he flirting with her? Is that what that is? Or is he really so set on being friendly to her?"

"I thiiink it's friendly," Nino answered uncertainly, "but he seems to be having fun. And Marinette too, she's half a second away from fainting at any given moment but she's interacting with him which is a step forward."

All in all, it was a good thing, even if no one was quite sure what the thing itself was.

Marinette looked like she needed a break, so when she slid to the seat closest to the window Alya sat next to her to give her some breathing room from the blonde of the group. Adrien was still sitting directly across from her but it was better at least. The friends fell in to happy conversation, Marinette staying fairly quiet and staring out the window. She needed to recharge a little, her usual interaction level with Adrien being completely shattered in one day. She couldn't sort through it now, she would explode, so she strategically thought of nothing and just tracked raindrops as they formed tiny rivers on the glass. Easier said than done really... but she was trying.

When the food arrived she ate quietly, chiming in with a comment every now and then as Nino and Adrien dominated the current conversation. Alya gave her a comforting pat on the knee which she appreciated, and when she felt her phone go off in her pocket she slyly looked down to read the message.

"You okay? What happened!?- Alya"

Marinette smiled at the message and quickly typed out a reply.

"Everything ever happened, I'll tell you about it later. I'm okay, sorta overwhelmed so a little quiet- Marinette"

That seemed fair, lucky girl had basically just cuddled her crush for the entire walk to the deli so she might be in shock still.

The boys were talking about video games, and Marinette saw an opportunity to be engaged but still not have to talk much, while also learning something about Adrien.

"Hey guys," she interrupted, both of them turning to look at her but Adrien's eyes holding all of her attention. She hesitated for a second, her heart trying to break free from her chest and run to him, before managing, "Just out of curiosity what is your favorite video game?"

Both boys groaned instantly and the girls couldn't help but laugh at the intense consideration on their faces. Such a simple question sealed the conversation for the rest of lunch into an out loud debate with mostly themselves about what their favorite might be. Seeing Adrien so animated up close was amazing, he was usually more reserved and calm. Now however he was more alert, smiling and laughing genuinely and not out of politeness. He seemed to get self-conscious sometimes, wondering if he was being rude or annoying, but at least one of the other three were quick to reassure him that it was okay. He felt the best when it was Marinette who did it, giving him a soft smile or nod to encourage him to continue with whatever he was saying. Adrien always felt a little awkward and worried if he was doing something wrong because he was home schooled for most of his life and wasn't always sure of himself as a result. Then his friend's would laugh at his jokes, or tease him, or engage in the things he was interested in and he would feel more at ease.

Eventually it was settled that Nino was more partial to tactical genres like strategy or FPS, and Adrien enjoyed RPGs and explorative titles, with the two of them meeting in the middle with games like Diablo. Each boy had a list of five or so games that they adored and couldn't stand to pick a favorite, so Marinette made a mental note of Adrien's to be remembered later. He had spent an awful long time gushing about The Legend of Zelda series, maybe she would try it to have something to talk to him about...

Then, unfortunately, they checked the time and realized they would be cutting it a little close and they had to get going.

They broke off into the pairs they had used before but to Adrien's disappointment they were in a rush and couldn't talk much. He had hoped to speak with her more than he had been able to while eating, but he would just have to make up the time later on. Still though, stubborn as always, he said, "This was really fun!"

Marinette was jogging beside him, fighting to keep dry but having her hood up as a backup. She looked up to smile at him, her face flushed once again and stammered out, "Y-yeah it was really great!"

He was looking at her blush and her smile for a second too long when he felt his foot collide with something. Could have been a curb, or a step. It didn't really matter, it only mattered that he was instantly pitched forward and thrown face first into the downpour and on to the street.

"Adrien!" he heard her call out, but he would much rather she hadn't. It would have been easier to pretend that he hadn't just tripped into the soaking wet gutter if she hadn't directly acknowledged it, not that he blamed her it was very hard not to notice.

He contemplated silently just lying there for a while, hiding his burning red face in humiliation, when he felt the wiggle and push of a very squashed Plagg against his chest. He sighed and pushed himself up for his kwami's benefit, not having to put in much more effort as he was suddenly being lifted by a surprisingly strong Marinette who fluttered over him in worry.

"Are you okay?!" she asked, visually deciding that the only thing bruised was his pride.

He was soaked through, and had more than a little mud decorating his jacket, but he was more embarrassed when he saw that Marinette was drenched as well. Of course she would be, he had fumbled the umbrella when he fell, but her hood had fallen back when she ran to help him and she had gotten wet herself as a result.

"I'm fine, I am so sorry you got wet too really," he said urgently, protecting her from any further soaking by picking the umbrella back up.

She gawked at his actions, and then laughed. Another hot wash of humiliation settled over him at her laughter, but when she met his eyes he was aware that she wasn't making fun of him, not in the way he thought.

"You take a spill like that and you're checking on me? I don't care about that Adrien, I'm just glad you're okay!"

He could tell that she meant it and he was once again grateful to the genuine nature of the girl, but he still felt awful.

"I have the worst luck in the world," he complained, almost like he was warning her, starting to move forward again to catch up with their friends.

'Bet I know someone with worse,' she thought, the image of Cat Noir coming to mind. She smiled wide, saying, "I have some pretty good luck myself I'll have enough for both of us from now on." She found her statement funny, the humor of her double life making itself known.

Adrien however felt a twinge of déjà vu. He remembered Ladybug saying something similar after a particularly severe blunder of bad luck on one of their first patrols together, and the comparison made him smile as well despite his embarrassment.

Maybe two good luck charms would be enough now.

The school was finally in sight and they could see Nino and Alya waiting for them on the steps, peering through the rain to try and see what they were up to. Adrien found himself slowing down, taking longer to close the final length to their destination.

"Is your foot hurting you?" Marinette asked with genuine concern, noticing the suddenly sluggish pace.

"Uh- n-no it's fine but-" Adrien couldn't get the words together, his confidence still shot from falling flat on his face, but his thoughts churned frantically.

He was worried. Marinette really was reserved in a way, he didn't want this sudden companionship to end after the day was over. He had school, which he was grateful for, so he would at least see her regularly and have a chance to build up their new friendship but... that wasn't quite enough. He wanted more opportunities like the quiet seclusion of the rain where they could talk freely, more conversations where he could ask her questions about who she was without worrying about Nino and Alya's suggestive glances that might make her nervous. He wanted the freedom to know her without intimidating her or scaring her off.

For that he needed more time.

"Wait, listen," he spoke up suddenly, pulling on her arm so she slowed to a stop and whirled to face him with those same wide eyes, pulling up just short of their friends. When her attention was completely focused on him, so close to him to hide from the rain, he froze up entirely. What had his plan even been, he needed to remember quick, they were just staring at each other now. His mind started to devolve into panic as Marinette tilted her head cutely in confusion, then he felt a sudden surge of firm reassurance.

"I really feel awful for getting you soaked, seriously. I want to make it up to you, so I was- I was thinking maybe I could treat you to lunch again tomorrow? You could show me your designs and stuff and – and uh we could hang out. For lunch."

His surge of confidence (courtesy of Plagg) had only gotten him so far, before he was doubting himself entirely. Was he seriously this pathetic about making friends, how socially stunted could he be?

Marinette was stunned, burning a bright red and tripping over her words to give an enthusiastic "Yes absolutely yes!" She berated herself, internally screaming at the desperate sounding reply, but when a train wreck starts it is nearly impossible to contain. "Y-you don't need to pay though just seeing you is more than enough!"

'WHAT' she shrieked violently in her own head, cringing at how Adrien blushed at her beyond embarrassing addition to an already mortifying reply.

Adrien however barely even hesitated in saying, "Getting the pleasure of your company far out values the cost of lunch, it's on me I insist." He chuckled and smiled easily, all in all a perfect Cat Noir recovery that had Marinette blushing even fiercer than before. It took an unbelievable amount of willpower to keep his celebration from his face, pleased at what he deemed to be a very smooth line that seemed to have an incredibly positive affect. Score for Cat Noir.

After a long stretch of silence, Marinette finally managed to squeak out an, "Okay," before the warning bell for their next class rang across campus. Adrien escorted her up to where Alya and Nino stood, completely dumbfounded, and grabbed Nino by the jacket.

"We have to get going, but I'll see you later okay?" Adrien called, dragging his friend with him and leaving Marinette under the protection of Alya's umbrella.

"Okay," she squeaked again, and Alya was surprised that he had even heard it over the rain, but it was obvious that he had by the way he smiled and waved goodbye.

She waited, like a good friend, for the boys to be out of sight before using her free hand to grab a fistful of Marinette's jacket and scream, "DID HE JUST ASK YOU OUT!?"

"I DON'T KNOW OH MY GOD!" And just like that all of Marinette's nervous tension was released in a fit of jumping and screaming, Alya right there with her as they jumped for joy, abandoning the umbrella and just embracing in the rain.

"Did you just ask her out!?" Nino demanded, hopping instead of walking as the boys hustled to gym.

Adrien was rather red faced at the implication of the sentence, but smiling like a fool regardless. "Well I asked her something, and we are going out to get lunch as a result so uh- yeah kind of I think."

"," Nino clapped his friend on the back, laughing at how flustered he was once again thanks to their timid classmate.

"It's not like that! And stop hopping!" Adrien tried to be cross, but he was too distracted.

"It's not like that dude that line was so freaking smooth! With stuff like that it could be whatever you want!"

"It was pretty good huh?"

Adrien couldn't help but smile at that as they entered the locker room, eagerly striping off his soaking wet jacket and shirt with Plagg bundled up inside trying to stay dry. Someone who had been following behind unnoticed by the distracted boys stalled outside, needing to go no further. She had already overheard everything she needed too, and the red head slipped away to find her 'best friend'.

They separated to get dressed, and the second Nino was gone Plagg flew out with a look of triumph.

"Thought you needed the assist!" He called happily, pleased to have been of help when his charge had been struggling.

"I can't thank you enough Plagg I really needed a bit of Cat Noir in that situation, I'll bury you alive in cheese as soon as we're home I promise."

"You better!"

With that Adrien bounded out, now changed and dry, ready for anything the day could throw at him. Bad luck or not nothing could ruin this day for him now, he was unstoppable.

Marinette was backed up against her locker as soon as school ended, the students free from their classes and funneling off campus in a river of umbrellas and rain hoods save two girls from Marinette's class, intent on delaying her. Well from the look on Chloe Bourgeois' face she had more in mind than stalling her, her intentions seemed to border on violence.

"HOW DARE YOU," she shrieked, taking yet another step forward to push Marinette hopefully even farther back, but the undercover superhero stood firm, glaring her down.

"How DARE you try and make a pass at Adrien, at MY Adrien!" She was shaking with rage, her fists balled up and at her sides. Her face was twisted into an ugly sneer, furious with how Marinette didn't so much as bat an eye. She tried to dig deep, to hurt her with petty conniving comments meant to make a lesser woman cry, playing directly to what she knew every girl was insecure about when it came to the handsome model. Except for her, because such an issue didn't apply to someone like her.

"Like someone like Adrien Agreste would ever look twice at a PLAIN, USELESS, BORING, INSIGNIFICANT, COMMON girl like YOU!" She spat the words, putting as much petty bile as she could in them, and to her intense delight she saw a flash of pain in her eyes. So that was a fear for the timid bland wall flower.

"Shut up Chloe I've done nothing wrong!" Marinette retaliated, "Adrien isn't yours!"

"What is there special about you? You're uncultured, you're poor. People like Adrien don't LOOK at people like you, you should count yourself lucky that I even take the time to. You should THANK me."

"Chloe," Sabrina whispered, taking a step back. Chloe was a brat... she was stuck up and rude but she wasn't THIS. This was way too much.

Marinette was thinking much the same thing. This was... excessive. Chloe was cruel and not above humiliation, but this was just aggressive. She actually kept an eye on her shaking fists, ready to dodge if she were to take a swing.

"Chloe stop it," Marinette stated, her voice firm but quiet, "You are going too far. You need to settle down." Marinette's whole usual demeanor for handling Chloe had changed, now she was taking control of the situation. As much as the words stung... as much as they screwed with her, Chloe was putting herself in a lot of danger. She had never seen someone so ripe for an akuma possession before.

"No! I won't calm down, if you think I will just let this slide so you can steal him away from me-"

"Chloe! What is going on?"

All three girls turned sharply to see Adrien himself stalking down the hall, his expression a combination of concerned and angry. Marinette's words stuck in her throat. Part of her heart swelled at the sight of him, but another withered. This could be dangerous... no one should be there but her.

"Adrien its okay," she spoke up, hoping to be able to convince him to leave but he didn't look like he was going anywhere any time soon.

Chloe was silent for a second, not even capable of creating some sob story to frame Marinette and make herself look good. Instead she just turned on her heel and shot a harsh, "I'm not letting you get away with this," over her petite shoulder before stalking away, Sabrina scrambling after her.

Adrien didn't hesitate with approaching Marinette, keeping his eyes on Chloe as she hurried away. His plans of saying goodbye and maybe chatting a little casually were thrown to the wind.

"Are you okay? She looked like she was about to hit you or something," Adrien carefully looked her over. To his surprise all traces of her timid nature were gone, instead replaced by something careful and calculating.

"I'm fine, but I'm worried. That wasn't a standard Chloe tantrum that was way more... hostile?"

Marinette turned to him, and the look in her eyes made him wonder just how many gears were turning in her head.

"Thank you for showing up... and checking on me, thank you. But I've got to go," she said, grabbing her things and closing her locker, already pacing away before Adrien could get a word out.

"Wait!" he called, running after her and jogging alongside her to keep up. "Where are you running off to? The rain is getting heavier you shouldn't walk."

"I need to make a rain hood," she answered, still in a planning mode that sent his head spinning. Just when he thought he had a handle on her she was still totally surprising him.

"Chloe tries to fight you or something and you suddenly need to make a hood?"

"Do you know how akuma possessions work?" she asked, so deep in thought as she plunged into the rain she couldn't find the time to stutter, Adrien rushing to get the umbrella out and keep up with her.

"Yeah?" he asked, wondering where on earth that had come from.

"Well with Chloe that riled up, I wouldn't be surprised if it were to happen."

Adrien paled at the thought. Akuma Chloe sounded... well... not good.

"And that made me think," Marinette continued, "if an akuma were to sprout up right now this second Ladybug would be totally on her own. Cat wouldn't be able to help, and with someone like Chloe I can't imagine that fight would be easy."

Marinette was staring straight ahead, winding through the streets on route to what he guessed was her home, so she didn't see his face.

If she had she would have seen that it looked... guilty, and concerned.