#keeith

“Marinette,” Alya hisses, “what is up with you right now?”

“There is nothing up with me right now” Marinette exclaims, trying to keep her voice down. Of course, the whole class hears and turns to look at her. Except Adrien. Shit.

Marinette lets out a slow breath, steadying her voice and her heart. “There is nothing up with me right now,” she repeats calmly.

Ms. Mendeleiev comes to her rescue. “I don’t know what the calamity is about, but you all need to settle down.” She clicks her tongue as she assumes her spot at the front of the room. For once, Marinette is thankful for her sternness, and the class stops chattering about Marinette’s outburst almost instantly. How is the whole class not hearing my heartbeat?

The lesson sounds like waves crashing against a beach. For once, physics is calming her down. It’s white noise to distract her from the reality that is Adrien’s nervous energy, that is Adrien’s note, that is Adrien. She doesn’t know if she can ever think about anything else. Akumas be damned, Adrien Agreste is the only thing that matters.

She’s numb. She’s floating above the ground, and she recklessly thinks she’ll never fall. And if she does? Then by god it will be worth it.

Marinette’s gaze is frozen on the post-it note she’s stuck to her desk. Marinette, will you be my lady? These are words she’s wanted to hear since he’d handed her the umbrella, but she never thought she’d be reading them.

Her trance is only broken by a sharp rapping. She looks up and shrieks, startled, by Alya, who is leaning up against the wall with a smirk on her face.

“Have you been sitting there long?”

“Have you been standing there long?”

“Only about a minute. You?”

Marinette sighs. “No idea. What time is it?”

“Late enough that I called you five separate times at half an hour intervals. It went to voicemail all five times, by the way.”

“You did?”

Alya strode across the room to the bed, where Marinette had thrown her phone upon arriving home apparently more than two and a half hours ago. Alya snatched it up and squinted at it. “Your sound is on. At full volume. Were you ignoring me?”

“Oh my god. No! I would never!”

“Uh huh.”

“I would never ignore the love of my life!”

“Then why didn’t you pick up the phone?”

Marinette hesitated. “The...other love of my life.”

Alya nearly chucked the phone at her. “Adrien?! What did he do?”

Marinette moved to block the note from view, but Alya was too fast. She held the note high above Marinette’s head, and Marinette made a move to grab it, knocking Alya to the ground. Surprised, Alya drops the note to the floor. Marinette scoops it up, hugging the note to her chest.

“No,” she growls possessively.

Alya sits up and pouts. “Please?”

Marinette grits her teeth. “Fine.” She holds out the note to Alya, who practically rips it from Marinette’s grip, and immediately screams. “Oh my god! Marinette! Oh my god!”

“I know!” Marinette squeals. “Look at that shit!”

“Adrien Agreste asked you out!”

“I am very aware!”

“Girl. Holy shit.”

“I know.”

“So.” Alya stands up and brushes herself off. “What’s the plan?”

“I’m gonna say yes?”

“That’s obvious. I mean, like, how are you going about it?”

Marinette grins deviously. “I’m following tradition. A post-it note.”

“Wait, so you stole his textbook?” Alya shrieks, staring at the book Marinette has open on her lap.

“I didn’t steal it!” Marinette protests. “I’m just...borrowing it.”

“How’d you get it?”

“I might know his locker combination?”

“What the fuck? Who gave it to you?”

“I stole Nino’s phone because I know Nino has it.”

Alya shakes her head incredulously. “You need an intervention.” Marinette reaches into her bag and takes out a pink glitter gel pen and her pack of post-its. “Apparently so.”

Alya lets out an exasperated sigh. “Did you at least give my boyfriend’s phone back?”

“Yes.” Marinette carefully peels a post-it note from the top of the pack and smooths it down in the inside cover. The same spot where she found the first you’re beautiful all those weeks ago. “He’ll never know it was gone. Unless you tell him, of course.”

Alya rolls her eyes. “You  know I won’t.”

“You’re truly a great friend.”

“I know.”

“Now leave. I need a moment with this post-it note. Before I break into Adrien’s locker again.”

“Do your thing. But if you get arrested, I don’t know anything,” Alya jibes as she turns on her heel and leaves Marinette alone.

Marinette sucks in a breath as she zeroes in on the post-it. She uncaps the pen, and in neat, careful script, writes, Yes!

And she finally, finally signs it.