Keeping Your Friends Close CH3: Photo Evidence

"And I'm guessing that promise is… no more secrets?"

"No more secrets between us."

"You got it, Alya. No more secrets."

---

The next day, Paris was in a rather relaxed state following the chaotic events that had unfolded yesterday. Life had returned to normal, and everyone was back to their usual business.

For fashion superstar Adrien Agreste, this meant yet another long and grueling modeling shoot at the local park.

"Now face towards me…" the photographer instructed. "And… let's try the rebel pose again!"

Adrien shrugged, but acquiesced and did a lean against the water fountain, crossing his arms and giving a scowl at the camera.

"Chin up, Adrien, chin up! And perk up your cheekbones a little bit more! That's it, and… good! Now let's try another Misty Wind expression for good measure."

As usual, a small crowd of fans and swooning teens were gathered around to watch the photoshoot unfold. Gabriel Agreste's assistant Nathalie was off to the side, tapping away at the tablet that served as her digital clipboard.

And also as usual, Marinette was among the crowd, watching Adrien with absolute glee. Alya was alongside her, decidedly looking less enamored, but giving a supportive smile to her friend.

"Look at him go…" Marinette said wistfully. "Isn't he just so dreamy…"

"Yeah, I guess…" Alya said back. "I guess I just don't see how this is so exciting when he's wearing the same clothes as every other day. Like, lack of variety, much?"

Marinette huffed. "Alya, when you're deep into the world of fashion as much as I am, you can easily spot the distinct differences between every outfit he wears. When you do, it's like night and day. And each one is perfected more and more with every passing day, just like him."

"If you say so, Marinette," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Ohhhh, I just don't know how I'm supposed to muster up the energy to go over to him and ask!" Marinette fretted. "How am I supposed to last a whole dinner date with him when I don't even have the strength to simply ask what kind of dress he wants me to make?"

"Well, doubting yourself isn't going to help anything, girl! It's simple, okay? All you have to do wait until he's going to take a break, and then go up and ask him, just like that! You can pretend you're talking to me, if it helps."

"O-okay."

Alya dug out her phone to look for something. But nothing turned up and she huffed loudly.

"Man, what is going on with Nino?"

"Huh? Did something happen between you guys?" asked Marinette.

"I don't know. Ever since that akuma attack yesterday, it seems like he's been avoiding me. He won't answer any of my texts." With her phone being to no avail, she put it down and began to look worried. "I hope he's alright…"

"I'm sure he's fine, Alya," Marinette reassured, putting her arm on her friend's shoulder. "He probably got… caught up in something. Something important."

Unbeknownst to either of them, Nino was walking into the park right behind them. He smiled at Adrien's direction, though Adrien was so focused he didn't seem to notice him. Then he froze when he spotted Alya and Marinette amongst the crowd.

"Oh geez, there they are," he thought to himself. "What am I supposed to do? I… I still can't wrap it around my head that Marinette and Ladybug are actually the same person! She's been the guardian of Paris this whole time and she sits right behind me in class, and she's… right there! This is so whack! How will I ever face her again? How will I ever face Alya…?"

---

"Smile wider, eyes slit downward more, good, good, and… presto!"

Adrien let out a yawn once the photographer was satisfied.

"Alright, take five, guys."

The photographer shut off the camera and stage lights and worked to develop the photos taken. Adrien took a swig of water from a nearby bottle and pulled out his phone.

"Now's your chance, Marinette," Alya whispered. "Go over there and talk to him!"

Marinette yelped.

"But- but- how!? What do I say? What should I do? Tap him on the shoulder, or yell out his name? What if he doesn't remember who I am? Why would he? Alya, help!"

"Just… don't think about it and do it!"

She nudged Marinette forward, and Marinette awkwardly tried to walk forward to Adrien, in a manner that her classmate Kim once referred to as "like a duck waddling on ice".

Adrien meanwhile, was checking something on his phone that made him chuckle. Just then, Marinette came up to him and, after gritting her teeth, reflexively put her hand on his shoulder and shouted "Heeeeey!" Adrien dropped his phone in shock.

"Oh my gosh! I am so sorry, Adrien! I didn't mean to scare you!"

"Oh, that's okay, Marinette," he said, turning to face her. "You just caught me off guard, that's all. So what's up?"

"Umm- I, uh… I just wanted to know… How do you know, no, what do you know… uhh… So, our date is in two days, and… Well, I mean! It's not a date, it's more of a double dinner… thing… But, Alya, I- No wait, you're not Alya, you're Adrien, you're all handsome and- I- BYE!"

And with that, she completely sped off, leaving Adrien dumbfounded. Alya ran over to him.

"What was… that about?" Adrien asked Alya.

"Oh, she's just… a little nervous about the dinner party is all," she prevaricated. "Her head's all in a muck right now because she's having trouble figuring out what kind of dress she should design for it."

"Oh! Well, I mean, it doesn't have to be anything too fancy or informal. Uhh, tell her that… the best thing she could probably make is a design that's 100% Marinette. Something unique that just speaks her. That's probably what would impress those socialites the most."

"Thanks so much. I'll uh, be sure to catch her and let her know. Thanks a lot, Adrien."

"No problem, Alya! Speaking of that whole dinner thing, were you and Nino gonna-"

Just then, Nathalie gasped and suddenly began to drag Adrien away by the arm.

"Adrien, come on, post haste!" she barked. "You're going to be late for your fencing practice!"

"Uhhh, okay. Sorry, Alya, gotta run!" he called back before being dragged away.

Alya waved back at him, but then she looked down and gasped. Adrien's phone was still on the ground from when Marinette spooked it out of his hands. She picked it up and tried to run after.

"Adrien, wait!" she called out. "You forgot your…"

But Adrien was already inside the limousine and took off.

"...phone." She looked at the lost phone that now laid in her hand. "Great."

---

Marinette was still running. At this point, she didn't really have a destination or a clear sense of where she was going. Her mind had just one thought, "Run! Get out of there!"

No sooner had she gotten out of the park then she bumped right into someone. She managed to compose herself and fix her hair, and then looked up at the person she had run into.

"Oh! Nino! I'm so sorry, I didn't see you there!"

Nino quickly turned around, but jerked back when he saw who was addressing him. A sweat instantly broke over his face, and in his mind, he was subconsciously placing Ladybug's outfit over Marinette's worried face.

A perfect match.

How did I never tell it by the hair before!?

"Nino…?" she called out to him, waving her hand in front of his face. "Hello? Are you oka-"

"Ladybu- I mean, Marinette!" he blurted out. "Hi! Uh… yeah, I'm totally fine! You just kinda… scared me and stuff. I, uh… Love to chat, but I gotta fly!"

He hightailed it out of there. Now Marinette was the one left confused.

"Well, that was weird."

Tikki flew out to her side, now that the coast was clear.

"Yeah. But you know what's funny? That was kind of similar to the way you just spoke to Adrien back there."

Marinette put her hand to her forehead and groaned.

"Oh no… please don't tell me he suddenly has a crush on me again."

---

Meanwhile, Alya was still standing in the park trying to figure out how Adrien's phone worked.

"Come on! All I want to do is make a call to his house…" she said to herself, trying to navigate through different functions. "How are you supposed to work one of these super high-tech smartphones, anyway? I can't find anything on here. No wonder Marinette had so much trouble deleting that message."

She kept thumbing through until she had arrived at Adrien's picture gallery.

"Well, here's his photos…" Then her eye caught on to something interesting. "Huh. That's funny. I didn't know Adrien collected pictures of Ladybug and Chat Noir? Did he get these off of my blog or something? Wow. This one looks like the selfie they took yesterday," she giggled.

Indeed, it was the impromptu picture Chat Noir had instigated with Ladybug shortly after Mecha-Spectre's defeat. She looked at the photo for a moment, but then she began to notice something weird about it.

"Wait a minute… this isn't the same angle as the one I posted on my website. This is… different. Ladybug's much closer to the camera in this one, and Chat's… arm is stretched out? And where's the…"

A long pause and then…

"Hang on! This isn't a picture of the selfie!" She gasped. "This is the selfie! But how is that possible? The only way he would have that was if… was if this was the phone that took the picture! No way! But that would mean that…"

She desperately scrolled through the rest of Adrien's pictures. She slowly began to realize that were far more photos of Ladybug than Chat, and the only pictures of Chat on the phone were up-close selfies, all of them from the viewpoint of the camera!

Alya almost dropped the phone herself as the realization finally set in. She went back to the recent selfie, and continued to stare at it with wide eyes.

"Adrien Agreste is Chat Noir!"