Keep It Quiet

"Wait, wait, wait up, Marinette." Alya looked absolutely gobsmacked, her mouth ajar, staring at her blue haired best friend who was red at the cheeks. "Back up. Rewind that for me for a sec girl." She leaned towards Marinette, her eyes narrowing as she did so. "Adrien asked you on a date?"

Marinette nodded, still blushing. "Yep..."

"As in, a date date?"

"Yes..."

"As in, the 'Hand-holding, romantic-moonlit-dinner type date?"

"What other kinds of dates there?"

"I don't know! I'm just a little blown away right now, M!" Alya squealed and hugged her best friend tightly. "Tell me you said yes!"

"Of course I did." Marinette told her with a smile, and patting her on the back as she was hugged.

This earned yet another squeal from Alya, and she squeezed Mairnette even tighter before letting her go, her eyes sparkling like a young child's. Mairnette could have easily mistaken Alya for being more excited than she herself was. "How did this even happen?! What happened! Gimme deets, girl!"

Marinette chuckled nervously. She and Adrien had come up with a cover-up story to tell anyone who asked, as long as those particular people weren't their parents. "Um, he - He came over to my parents bakery, and - And we just ran into each other and talked and - Um, he then asked me if I wanted to go out with him."

It seemed to be enough for Alya to believe, and she seemed to bubble over in excitement, and even did a few hops of joy on the spot. She had been the one person Marinette had totally confided in regarding her crush on Adrien. Others knew about it, sure, but the red ahired blogger was the only one who knew everything straight from the blue haired, awkward, shy source. Alya had been huge on trying to force her crushing friend into interactions with Adrien, often against Marinette's will, mostly out of frustration of her friend's antics. Marinette had always been thankful for those pushes, so she felt Alya deserved to know of her upcoming date with Adrien.

"So, where is Prince Charming taking you?" Alya asked.

"I um... I think we're going to a funfair. It was um, my idea, actually."

"Yours?" Alya shot her a glance that said, 'Marinette didn't particularly think there was anything wrong with the idea, but Alya apparently disagreed.

"W-Well, he said he'd never gotten to go to one before because of his father, so I thought..."

"You can't get all dressed up to go to a funfair, girl."

"We weren't really planning to get all done up for it..." There wasn't much of a point in doing so. Both of them knew about the Soul Links, both of them knew how long they had really been together behind those masks they wore, and both of them already knew they loved the other. They had kissed beforehand once already. There wasn't really a need to get dressed all fancy for it. "B-Besides, Adrien's a model... I - don't you think he'd be tired of getting all dressed up for things."

"Girl, you have had your eyes on him for the last year, and now you've got a with him. I am letting you go out without making sure you look as damn cute as a kitten in a slipper."

Marinette had to laugh, both at the analogy her best friend used, and the reminder that Adrien was Chat Noir. She had unknowingly made a double joke.

Holy crap, if knew she was going on a date with

"I ain't messing around, Marinette. Seriously, how're we doin' this? I'm thinking curls for your hair. It's long enough for them."

"We - We're not going until Wednesday!" Wednesday being the day that they had half the average school day made for the best night for them to go out on their date, they had both agreed.

"You still need to prepare!" Alya said, skimming through her phone, showing Marinette various hairstyles that she could try out. "Oh man, Chloe is gonna freak when she hears about this."

"Which is why I'm really hoping she doesn't." Chloe finding out about their date had to be up there on the list of worst ways to ruin the night. Marinette had prayed to every God known to mankind that that didn't happen. Knowing her luck though, the Gods had probably all gone bowling, and she'd find herself with Adrien confronted by an enraged rich snob of a girl.  

"My lips are sealed outside this room, girl. I won't breathe a word of this to ."

"You'd better not." Marinette warned, with some sass in her voice. "Or I may have to inform Nino of a particular - "

"Stop there, Marinette." Alya cut off her friend, her face turning serious, pointing directly at her blue haired friend.

Marinette just laughed.

"Bro, you're serious?" Nino asked his friend with her eyes wider than usual. In his hands, he was dabbing a handle into a bubble mixture container absentmindedly as he conversed with Adrien, who had just finished telling him about his upcoming date with Marinette. He had been given the same story by Adrien, and he had eaten it up without questioning it.

"Yep." Adrien nodded with a smile on his face, feeling almost a sense of pride in the fact he and Marinette had a date to look forward to.

"You asked her out?"

"A-Yep."

Taking the handle shape out of the mixture, Nino blew a few large bubbles into the air in front of him. He ended up with four smaller ones and two larger ones. "Damn dude... Nice one. I didn't know you were interested in Marinette."

"I, uh.." Damn it. "Yeah, man... I've just - You know, I've been quiet about it." Technically, it wasn't a lie. It was maybe a half truth at best, and a half lie at worst.

"Not anymore though." Nino commented, blowing another group of bubbles into the air, and watching them as the floated off.

"That's true.." Adrien sighed. Him dating Marinette would be news, at least within their school. They wouldn't have secrecy regarding their relationship for very long. Adrien had been more focused on the actual date than the events surrounding it.

"Bud, I think every girl in the city is gonna have fire in their eyes."

That wasn't really Adrien's problem though, so he shrugged it off. Those girls had celebrity crushes, petty ones that meant nothing, nothing like what he and Marinette shared. They'd get over it in about a few hours and then go on to having a crush on the next model that showed up. "They'll get over it." He vocally repeated, rather coldly, but understandably, to his friend, who looked at him.

"Yeah... I guess... Still, I guess you don't want people to know about you two, least for a bit?"

An awkward smile made it's way onto the blond boys lips. "Do you mind?"

"No one's hearing it from me, Adrien, don't worry about it."

"Thanks, man." Adrien sighed with relief. "We're going to the funfair one Wednesday, so I'm guessing casual wear?"

"What're you asking me for?" Adrien's friend asked, looking half baffled, half amused. "You're the model here, dude." 

"I've never been to a funfair! For all I know, you guys go to them with top hats, canes and tap dancing shoes! I've got a date at one in a few days, and I don't want look like I'm about to break into song here!"

Nino smirked to himself. "Relax. You're right, casual wear. Maybe a nice jacket or something, you'll have plenty of those, right?"

"Right..." Nino was referring to his father being a fashion designer. He had a few jackets, but none he'd call particularly nice. Stylish, yes. Fashionable, yes. Expensive, yes. But nothing that he could wear that was just... Well, him. Everything he had was either brightly colored, or looked more like a tuxedo than it did a hoodie.

"Just relax dude. Marinette's been crazy about you for ages now. You'll be fine." Nino reassured his friend, with a less-than-gentle pat on the back.

"Ooof! Thanks. Hey, since I asked Marinette out, maybe I should force you to ask out Alya."

"That - You don't need to go that far, bro!"

"I dunno. Could be fun." Adrien smirked.

Classes that the two superheroes shared had devolved somewhat for the two of them, into them both stealing whatever glances they could get of the other. both seemed to be doing it, and neither of them particularly minded, but they had to make sure they didn't stare long enough, for fear of being noticed by their teachers and their classmates.

For Adrien, it was a lot harder, since he had to turn a full one hundred-eighty degrees. He got caught a couple of times, but that didn't stop him from stealing glances whenever he could.

By the fifth lesson of the day, which was their final one for the day, Adrien came into his class to find Alya sat by Nino, where he usually sat.

He got the hint in about five seconds.

Him sat next to Marinette definitely did not go unnoticed, however. He got himself a lot of attention he didn't expect to have gotten, and attention he hadn't particularly wanted.

Although for him, right now, that wasn't his primary concern. Right now, finding himself staring at Marinette, he found himself flustered and thinking of an excuse to tell her when she finally called him out on it.