Chapter Text
'All right, settle down everyone.'
Concentrating on school just after an akuma attack was always difficult, but they'd all gotten used to it by now. The damage had been repaired as usual, only this time it was Mister Bug who had cast the magical cure, with Lady Noire at his side. Alya wasn't sure what had caused the pair to swap their Miraculous again, but she knew there must have been a good reason, and she planned to ask Marinette as soon as they were alone together. When Marinette showed up, that was. She hadn't returned to class yet for obvious reasons. Also…neither had Adrien, which was interesting.
Alya replayed the footage she'd captured on her phone under the table as she took out her books and pens. They'd been dealing with a classic body-swap akuma, which had caused all kinds of chaos. Being in Nino's body had been the weirdest sensation in the world, but at least she'd managed to get hold of her own phone to film Mister Bug and Lady Noire in action. It was especially weird hearing her own words back in her boyfriend's voice.
'Phone away, please Alya.' Miss Bustier was giving her a knowing look. 'You can post your video to the Ladyblog after class.'
'Yes, Miss.' Alya slipped her phone into her pocket.
'Thank you. Now, has anyone seen Marinette and Adrien?'
There were a few giggles as everyone imagined what those two might be up to together. Miss Bustier rolled her eyes as she tried to keep the smile off her face.
'Marinette will be here soon,' Alya promised. 'She was just…'
She was spared the trouble of having to make up an excuse by the door clicking open.
'Ah, there you are,' said Miss Bustier, looking relieved. 'Come on in. History class is just starting.'
From outside the door, Alya could hear what sounded like a whispered argument.
'We can't!' came Adrien's voice. He sounded worried.
'Sure we can.' That sounded like Marinette. 'And anyway, what else are we supposed to do?'
'Fine, but for goodness' sake, just act normal!'
Miss Bustier cleared her throat loudly. Then, the door swung open and Marinette swaggered into the room. Adrien followed, looking annoyed.
'Chillax, Sugarcube,' Marinette declared with a wave of her hand. 'It'll all be fine. We'll sort it out later.'
Alya's jaw dropped. Sugarcube!? Just that morning, Marinette hadn't been able to get a word out around Adrien, much less call him pet names. And since when did she swagger?
'If you two would like to take your seats…?' Miss Bustier prompted them.
'Sure, whatever,' Marinette said flippantly while Adrien looked daggers at her. Muttering broke out. This wasn't like Marinette at all.
Marinette plonked herself down next to Alya and flashed her a cheeky grin while Adrien carefully sat down next to Nino and gave him a small nod of acknowledgement.
'So…' Alya whispered. 'Does this mean you two…are now a couple?' She gestured to Adrien. Marinette flicked her blue eyes over to her crush and burst out laughing so loud that Alya jumped.
'HAHAHAHA! No way. If that was going to happen, it would have happened many, many years ago.'
'But…you've only known Adrien less than a year,' said Alya, who was starting to feel very confused.
'What? Oh. Yeah. Adrien. Of course. Cos I'm Marinette. Ehhh, I'll probably end up dating him eventually. It always happens.' She shuddered. 'So gross. Cheese is way better.'
Okay…what was happening to her best friend? Marinette loved Adrien with all her heart. She hadn't known him for 'many, many years'. She hadn't even been alive that long! And what was that about cheese?
Marinette stretched her arms above her head with a massive yawn, then put her legs up on her desk. Her pink ballet slippers tickled the back of Adrien's hair.
'Oi! Cut it out!' Adrien shoved Marinette's feet away in disgust. 'You are so annoying.'
'Am not!'
'Are too!'
Adrien stubbornly turned round to face the board, determined to ignore his classmate. Marinette pulled a face and stuck out her tongue at his back. Alya glanced round at the rest of their classmates, all of whom were watching, transfixed. Alix was holding back giggles while Mylène and Rose looked horrified. Chloé looked like she didn't know what to think. Alya felt the same, and so did Nino, by the looks of his expression.
Meanwhile, Miss Bustier had brought up some slides on the projector for their history lesson.
'Now, as you all know, we've been looking at the Late Middle Ages. Can anyone tell me what caused the Plague?'
Marinette slammed both hands onto her desk. Adrien winced as if he sensed a rant was coming.
'Ugh! Don't even get me started on the Plague,' Marinette fumed. 'Some people thought I caused that. They even named it after me! Do I look like a rat to you?' she asked Alya.
'Um…no?' Alya was beyond confused at this point. 'You don't look anything like a rat, Marinette.'
'I cause destruction, not disease,' Marinette continued angrily, her face turning redder and redder. 'Get it right!'
The class were now trying to muffle their laughter. Adrien face-planted his desk and groaned.
'If this is some sort of joke, Marinette, then I don't find it funny,' Miss Bustier said coldly. 'Do I need to call your parents and have a chat with them about your behaviour?'
'What? Oh, um, no.' Marinette seemed to realise how much trouble she was getting herself into. 'That won't be necessary. Just a little joke, that's all.'
'Well, I suggest you drop the attitude or I'll have no choice but to send you to the Principal's office, then you can explain your little joke to him. This isn't like you at all, Marinette. I would have expected better from our class representative.'
'Absolutely. It won't happen again.'
The rest of the lesson was fairly normal, except that Marinette seemed to be struggling a bit. When it was time for them all to write a short essay on the Plague, she took out her pen, turned it over in her hands, and hovered it over the page, looking uncertain.
'What's up, girl? Trying to work out what to put?' Alya asked. 'You're usually great at essays.'
'Mmm.' Marinette chewed her lip. 'No worries. I've totally got this.'
In the end, Marinette wrote twice as much as Alya, which wasn't unusual, but when it was time to read each other's work Alya was blown away by how much detail she'd gone into. It was as if she'd been there. And for some reason, her writing was a lot messier than usual. It reminded Alya of her own writing when she was younger and still learning. It looked like Adrien had written a lot, too, from the fact that Nino was still reading.
'Awesome job, Marinette,' she said, deciding not to mention the messy writing. 'I give you an A+.'
'Wicked! My first A+.' Marinette grinned as the bell rang. 'Ooh, lunchtime! I wonder what's for dinner.'
As they left the classroom, the girls found the boys waiting for them.
'So…are you guys staying at school for lunch or going home?' Alya asked. 'Nino and I were just thinking it would be fun to all hang out together.'
'We'll stay,' said Adrien. 'And then after school, Marinette and I will have a…study date at her house. Won't we, Marinette?'
Marinette's eyes had gone wide and her face had lit up with delight.
'Oh my gosh. I've just remembered I live in a bakery! So much fooooooood.' She licked her lips and sighed. 'They'd better have cheese, or else.'
'Oooo-kaaaay,' said Nino. 'Are you feeling all right, Marinette? Your memory seems a bit off.'
'I'm totally fine. Never better. Can we go to my place now, Ti- er, Adrien?' said Marinette.
'No,' said Adrien firmly. 'Whatever will your parents think? I'm hoping things are back to normal before we go to yours. When we get there, we need to talk.' He said the last bit through gritted teeth.
'If you insist,' said Marinette, rolling her eyes. 'Okay, what's for lunch?'