Chapter 3 - Every Mark Has Its Time

Marinette was smiling as Cat Noir left. Tikki popped out from her purse.

"So? Is it the worst thing in the world that you have Cat Noir as your soulmate?" Tikki asked.

"No, but... he's not Adrien," Marinette said.

Tikki was silent.

"Cat Noir is a great guy, but I would constantly have dreams of being soulmates with Adrien. It meant everything to me. It's just going to take some time to adjust." Marinette said.

Tikki sighed. She knew it would be a long journey for these two.

Marinette woke over to her bed and turned off the lights. "Goodnight Tikki."

"Goodnight Marinette," said her kwami.

The next morning, Marinette overslept and had to sprint to school. When she got there, she was panting, happy to actually be on time. Alya was there, waiting to see if she was going to be late or not.

"Congrats, girl! You actually made it on time!" she said, exchanging a quick hug with her best friend.

"Thanks, Alya," Marinette said, still getting her breath under control.

"So..." Alya said, letting her sentence hang.

"So, what?" she asked, confused by her best friend's intentions.

"So are you going to tell me about your mark? Are you going to show me? I know you're disappointed about Adrien, but I've been dying to see your mark," Alya said.

Marinette didn't know what to say. If she showed Alya her mark, it could create problems. First off, if Cat Noir and her became a couple, then she would know she was Ladybug, second off, if they were to date in civilian life, then she would know who Cat Noir is. It was a lose-lose situation. She just couldn't tell Alya.

"I bet Marinette doesn't even have a mark. That's why she's so upset. She's destined to be alone forever." Chloe sneered.

At this moment, Marinette was incredibly grateful to Chloe. She had just provided her with a cover story, although she hated to agree with Chloe.

"Leave her alone, Chloe. I bet her mark is amazing and ten times better than yours will be." Alya said.

"Oh? Then why doesn't she show us! She's upset because she doesn't have one or is to some loser, meanwhile I'm destined to be with Adrikins," she said.

"How do you know you're with Adrien? Wouldn't Adrien have approached you if his mark symbolized you?" Alya challenged.

"Maybe he's just waiting until I get mine, because he wants to wait before making us an official couple," said Chloe, flipping her blond ponytail.

"Well-" exclaimed Alya, about to retort.

"Alya, stop, she's right," Marinette said.

"Girl, what do you mean, she's right?" Alya asked, concerned.

"She's right, I didn't receive a mark on my birthday," Marinette said.

"WHAT?" Alya yelled.

"Told you! Marinette is destined to be alone forever!" Chloe sneered.

"Wait just a moment. Although it is rare, sometimes marks come later. Soulmate marks do everything for a reason." Alya challenged.

"Well, maybe this time the reason was no one could be paired with someone like Mari-Trash," Chloe laughed.

Marinette decided she had enough of being insulted today and walked away. She had to lie. To protect herself and Cat Noir. If soulmate marks did everything for a reason, why did they give her a mark that would expose their identities? It just didn't make sense.

"Girl, wait!" Alya yelled, running after her. "Is it true? You didn't get your mark?" she asked.

Marinette nodded, and Alya engulfed her in a huge hug.

"I'm so sorry, girl," she said.

"It's okay. Like you said, soulmate marks do everything for a reason," She said.

Alya nodded.

"You're right, I'm sure it will be worth the wait when you finally get your mark," Alya said.

Marinette laughed.

"C'mon, let's get to class," she said.

When Adrien had arrived at school, Nino was waiting for him.

"Hey bro," he said.

They were walking to class when they overheard Marinette talking to Alya.

"She's right, I didn't receive a mark on my birthday," they overheard Marinette saying. It caused them both to freeze in their tracks and stare at the two girls. Then they saw Marinette leave, followed by Alya.

"What do you think happened?" Adrien asked Nino.

"I don't know dude, I'll ask Alya later," he replied.

After school, Adrien and Nino managed to catch Alya before she left.

"Alya! What happened this morning?" Nino asked.

"Well, I was asking Marinette about her mark, and she was being reluctant about telling me, then Chloe started teasing her telling us she didn't have one, and then Marinette said it was true. I can't believe it. But soulmate marks happen for a reason, I hope the wait is worth it for her. Every mark has its time," Alya told them, before turning and leaving.

Adrien was confused. When he talked to Marinette as Cat Noir, she said she had gotten a mark, so then why would she lie to her best friend?

When Adrien got home, Plagg came out and went straight to his cheese stash as always. He began to eat some camembert.

"It doesn't make sense Plagg," Adrien said.

"What do you mean?" his kwami asked.

"She told me that she did receive a mark, although she doesn't know who her soulmate is and that's completely normal. But then why would she lie to her best friend?" Adrien asked.