"Just a Friend?" Book 1 of "Secrets Unraveled" Trilogy (MLB FanFic) |COMPLETED|

Chpt 5: Marinette tries to spy on Cat Noir. Unsuccessfully.

Tuesday finally arrived again and as Adrien walked into school he heard a lot of student chatter, more than normal. He wondered what was going on and tuned his ears into the nearest conversation.

"I'm starting to worry," said a girl. "Where are Ladybug and Cat Noir and why has no one been akumatized for weeks?" she asked her friend.

"Is something really bad going to happen?" another voice echoed. "Nadja Chamack is right to wonder. What's going on? Is it going to be Heroes' Day all over again?"

Apparently, Adrien wasn't the only one feeling uneasy about all of this, but it was unfortunate that it was brought to the public's attention by the newscaster, Nadja Chamack. Maybe Ladybug and Cat Noir needed to make a public appearance to reassure everyone. He'd contact Ladybug later. It was good to have an excuse to meet with her. He really missed her. He put it out of his mind for now to concentrate on the day and headed off to class.

Adrien entered the classroom and sat in his seat which was in front of Marinette and Alya. The girls were also talking about the current news. He took out his book and opened it to a random page, pretending to read as he listened to them.

"Where is Ladybug?" asked Alya. "We haven't seen her in weeks. Are she and Cat Noir working on something? Did they defeat Hawk Moth without telling us? Where is she? Readers of my Ladyblog are asking for updates and I have nothing to give them!" she exclaimed.

"I don't know," replied Marinette. "I'm not sure what to think. I'm sure that . . ."

"Well, I'm sure that if anything important was going on I would have heard personally from Ladybug," said Chloe interrupting the conversation with a flick of her hair as she sat in her seat across the aisle from Adrien. Marinette was pretty sure that would not be the case, but she stopped herself from saying anything. Chloe would just start to go on the attack if she was contradicted.  The girls continued to discuss it until Ms. Bustier called the class to attention. 

The rest of the day went quickly and the final bell rang. Everyone filed out of the classroom, with Adrien in the lead so he could again quickly heading toward the rooftop to transform. It didn't even really cross Marinette's mind to follow him today. It certainly has nothing to do with the fact that my plan to talk with Adrien failed again! she said to herself, knowing in her heart that she was lying. It was true, however, that she really did want to hurry home to see if she might overhear what her mother and Cat were talking about today, "accidentally" of course. She was stopped at the lockers by Alya wanting to talk more about Ladybug. Marinette tried her best to be supportive, but she really wanted to go.  

After a few minutes Marinette just couldn't wait anymore.  "Um, Alya. I've got to go. Talk to you later!"

Alya watched Marinette go, wondering what was going on with her. Adrien was probably going to be somewhere and she wanted to watch him. She shook her head. Well, at least she didn't get too depressed over yesterday's failure. That girl!

Marinette raced down the school steps and got stopped by the stoplight. She saw a poster announcing the Mayor's new program posted on a sign:

"Do your part to protect Paris by participating in your free local Emotional Control groups!"

Marinette wondered whether those groups were actually preventing akumatizations. Ms. Bustier's breathing classes did seem to help her classmates, so she guessed it could be possible.

The light changed and she crossed the street. She arrived home, trying to head up the stairs silently, so her mother wouldn't know she was home yet and so she could try to hear what Cat might be saying to her mother.