Though the cameras and people watching made her feel nervous, the second she looked at Adrien that fear dissolved. Instead, it was replaced with a storm of butterflies in her stomach and a rush of self-awareness. Did her breath smell bad? Was her hair a mess? She felt a sudden heat in her cheeks, but managed to deliver her line with confidence. It was true; she wasn't afraid of any monster. She was afraid that she would mess this up. The time (the kiss!) finally arrived; Marinette leaned in excitedly, closer than she had ever been to Adrien. She looked deep into his eyes and swore that she recognized them. Obviously Marinette had observed him before, studied photographs at length of course, but she sensed a confusing connection between them. She felt a crackling tension as Adrien drew nearer still. Was this even real, or would she wake up any moment?
Their lips were a hair's breadth away, about to touch. Marinette felt the heat of his lips so tantalizingly near to hers and her breath hitched. She was brought back to the present when Chloe burst in through the door. As it slammed against the wall, the other girl seemed too shocked to speak, but the spell was already broken. The two sheepishly drew apart, but it was too late. As understanding dawned in Chloe's eyes, she was almost apoplectic with rage. Her hands clenched into puny fists as she stalked over to Marinette. Looking the spluttering girl in the eyes, she yanked a highly confused Adrien backwards, pulling him close. She turned back to Marinette with a cold glare on her face. Chloe's voice dropped low, so that only Marinette could hear her.
"You listen here. I always get what I want, and what I want is Adrien. And I just know that he wants me, too. Look- you had to go through all this to even think you had a chance with him!"
Marinette, stunned, was left in sudden silence as the door shut and the two left, followed by Sabrina. She looked at her shoes, suddenly horrified, missing the look that Adrien desperately sent behind him. Alya looked sadly at her friend. It had sounded like such a good chance for Marinette, finally sharing a tender moment with the boy of her dreams. Had this all been her fault? Alya knew Chloe, possessive as ever, would never be able to just let this particular offense go. Snapping out of her musings, she noticed her friend rocketing from the classroom. Cheeks flushed as red as her costume, Marinette grabbed her bag and snuck out into the blessedly empty hallway. As quick as she could and ignoring the few students mingling in the hallways, she slipped out a side door into the city. She took off at a sprint, head down, forcing the flow of pedestrians to part like the Red Sea. Panting, she finally arrived at the bakery that she called home some 8 blocks later. Her mother looked up as the bell above the door rang, but Marinette had bounded up the stairs before any questions could be asked. Curling up in her window seat, she peered out at the city skyline. A gray blanket of clouds blocked the sun and chilled the air. The gloomy day didn't prevent the people of Paris from going about their daily business, though. Marinette let a weak smile spread across her face. The fallout couldn't be as bad as she expected, right? Besides, if she wallowed in her sorrow, she became a prime target for an akuma attack, and she wasn't sure how Chat Noir would fare on his own.
Unfortunately, upon arriving at school the next day, Marinette realized that she was right. The fallout was much worse than the feverish nightmares that had left her in a cold sweat the night before. At most, she had thought Chloe capable of a good shouting match and a few far-fetched rumors. The girl was mostly empty threats, with a little power in the form of her father, the mayor, and her money. However, in all the years she had known her, Chloe had never been too quick on the uptake. Anyways, it'd only been one night since it had happened. Steeling herself, Marinette walked into the school, filled with the normal hubbub, and though she thought she caught her name mentioned once or twice, she breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed like the latest gossip was that their film didn't make it into the festival. Marinette shouldered her bag again and made her way to her locker. However, once she opened her locker, things spiralled downhill. Her locker had been sprayed with something sticky and noxious that got all over her hands, and though no one had been able to unlock her locker, there was still something stuck in the vents. Marinette pulled the paper free, unfolding the note hesitantly. Upon reading it, she crumpled it and stuffed it in her pocket. No one in the hallway would meet her eyes, but she looked at them in disbelief. The words cut deeply into Marinette, fueling her insecurities.
"You were a horrible producer. What made you think you could do it?"
"Why were you so willing to step in for Mylene? Some friend you are."
"It's all your fault that we didn't make it to the festival."
Worse that the hurtful words was the fact that nearly everyone had signed it. She didn't know what favors Chloe had to call in in order to get even some of her friends to sign it, but most of them had in the end. She could deal with the nasty words that spewed out of Chloe's mouth; it was hard to take the blonde seriously. But jabs aimed right at her weak spots, known and approved by her own peers? Head spinning, Marinette tore off to the nurse's office, mumbling about feeling ill. She didn't notice light green eyes watching her go with worry, beginning to take steps after her before the light in them faded and turned their attention back to the hall.
The nurse surveyed the student's pale complexion and shaking limbs. She motioned for Marinette to sit down and felt her forehead. Handing the girl a glass of water, the nurse led her over to a bed. A pensive expression on her face, she went over to the phone book and leafed through its pages.
"Hello, is this the Dupain-Cheng household? I'd like to inform you that your daughter has taken ill. She's currently resting in the infirmary, but please come by to pick her up at your earliest convenience. … What was that? Oh, nothing serious. It seems like a fever, perhaps the flu. It is that time of year again…"
Marinette's head throbbed, and combined with the sick feeling in the pit of her stomach, wryly thought that she might very well be coming down with something at this rate. She certainly was worried sick about what she would do after this. How could she show her face again, or look who she thought were friends in the eye? What would Adrien believe about her now? She really never had had a chance to begin with. It had certainly felt like she had some hope yesterday, but as she had so rudely been informed, Chloe was guaranteed to get her way- and what she wanted was Adrien. Yesterday, she had thought that she could just go about her life despite her stormy mood. It was clearer now that that wasn't an option for her anymore. Pondering the possibilities, Marinette escaped into sleep.