A/N: PLEASE FORGIVE ME! I can't make summaries, and I definitely don't know if this story will give that summary any justice! I don't know if I'll upload a new chapter. TTvTT But please! I hope I manage to give you some sort of entertainment!
The Birth of Ariadne
Mme. Bustier gave them a task to finish, one they will submit the moment she returns from her meeting.
Marinette observed her classmates as she sat at the back of the room. Lila "the Liar" Rossi was in the center of a group of curious classmates who wanted to hear her adventures with Ladybug near the Seinne. Beside Lila sat Alya, recording the whole thing with an excited smile, brows shot upwards as if still in disbelief she's getting an actual account.
Repeatedly, Marinette counted to ten in her mind.
Rolling her eyes is bad, Alya is her friend. And her friend can be stupid sometimes, but she still loves her.
This has been going on for a whole week, a voice in the back of her mind whispered. If she is really your friend, you would have outed Lila by now.
Marinette decided to lie her head on the table with a soft groan. Obviously, counting to ten was not effective.
She needed to quiet her mind.
She also needed to endure Lila's annoying stories until the lunch bell rings.
"And then Chat used Cataclysm on the bridge, which was super annoying because it ruined my balance!" Marinette frowned and glanced back to the group. Lila decided to include Chat, now?
She saw Adrien frown beside Nino, who was excitedly standing beside Alya.
As quietly as she could, she stood from her seat and headed towards them. Many people knows she's been saved by Chat plenty of times, so she could definitely speak in his defense if Lila began badmouthing him more.
"And you know what else was stupid?" Lila asked her audience.
Most of Marinette's classmates shook their heads, eyes showing how enraptured they were with her tale.
"Because of Chat Noir's blind love to Ladybug, he didn't accept Ladybug's command to save that old lady!" The audience gasped.
"Now, hold on a moment!" Adrien shouted, getting everyone's attention on him. Marinette was curious why he seemed to look so... Offended. Did he also know Chat?
His hands were clenched at his sides, and his shoulders seemed as tense as when Lila held on to him. She had never seen his eyes so fierce, not since the attack on Hero's Day.
"Chat Noir would put aside his flirty attitude towards LadyBug to save Paris! He'd never put his Lady into jeopardy like that!"
Lila rose a brow. "Are you sure?" she asked. "I saw in one of the videos from the LadyBlog that says otherwise. There was one where Chat and Ladybug were obviously having a one-sided lover's spat while battling some kind of... Cupid of darkness?"
Kim hung his head in shame.
Since he was near, Lila put a hand over Kim's and smiled. "It wasn't your fault. Hawkmoth used your negative emotions after all."
Adrien was looking away, glaring at nothing and his hands still clenched.
Max, who was also beside Kim, pushed up with his glasses. "Why wasn't Alya there when this happened?"
Lila rolled her eyes. "Obviously, Alya can't be at every battle every time. She's got to have time for her personal life, right?"
At this point, Mme. Bustier opened the door, which surprised most students, and walked into the classroom. Everyone returned to their seats and readied the papers she made them do.
Marinette frowned when Alya switched seats with Adrien, who is now sitting beside Nino.
She watched Lila smile at Alya.
She watched Alya whisper excitedly to Lila.
Count to ten, Marinette.
Is Alya even considered your friend anymore?
Quiet your mind.
Count to ten...
Mme. Bustier began talking, announcing that the rest of the afternoon will be cancelled due to a meeting that every teacher of the school will attend.
Un... Deux... Trois...
Students are required to finish an assignment that their afternoon teachers will send to their emails. The class mumbles an agreement, bouncing in their seats and excited to have the rest of the day off.
Alya smiles to Lila.
Quartre.. Cinq... Six..."I hope you all finished the task I gave you, though!"
Everyone stands to pass their papers, and so does Marinette.
Sept... Huit... Nuif...
Nearing Lila's desk, she did her best to recount her numbers, tried hard to breathe slowly, ignored the trembles from her chin. Her hands felt like they're holding ice. The world around her sound like her whole body is underwater.
It only became clear when she finally passed them.
"Oh my gosh, I love you! You're the best Lila!"
Dix.
"Anything for my new best friend!"
Silence.
Marinette passed her work without a glance at anyone, and walked back to her seat.
Alya is allowed to make new friends. Alya may be stupid sometimes, but Maritnette still loves her. Lila's not harming anyone. Leave Lila alone, she's not harming anyone.
She felt someone touch her shoulder and she gasped, glancing up to see Adrien looking at her with concern.
"Are you okay?" he asks.
Don't you think it's enough that you and I know the truth?
No.
It's not.
It's not enough.
It's not okay.
Count to ten, Marinette. Count to ten.
She smiles up at him.
"I'll be alright."
She stood from her seat, greeting Adrien good-bye before heading home. At the lockers, she finds Alya and Lila talking about another LadyBug related incident, walking towards her.
Walking past her.
Alya is allowed to talk with whoever she wants to, have her attention wherever she wants.
Keep walking to your locker, Marinette.
Still silent.
"Marinette?"
Her hand was on the handle.
She looked around.
No one was at the lockers anymore.
It was just her and Tikki... And a purple butterfly flapping above her. At the doors, she spotted the shadow of an old man, with the end of his wooden cane sticking out.
What will you do, Marinette?
Count to-
"Marinette?"
The weight of her purse felt heavy. The weight on her ears even heavier.
She smiled at Tikki, who frowned with a trembling chin. "I'll miss you so much," she said, voice soft and cracking.
The little kwami flew up to her, and nuzzled her cheek. Then, she kissed her forehead. "I hope I go back to you, one day."
And Marinette nodded. She brings the black box out of her purse and moved to remove her earrings.
Un...
Deux...
"Good-bye, Marinette," whispers the little kwami before disappearing.
She set the miraculous into the box and walked to the doors, handing them to the man behind them. "It is not safe to have Tikki with me anymore," she said.
He didn't say anything. He knows. He agrees. The man took the box. In a blink, he was gone.
Her ears felt so light.
And her mind was so silent.
Everything was a blur in her mind until she got home, until she got into her bed, until she hid underneath her blanket.
The butterfly was still above her.
She... Felt... Itchy on her face. Maybe she should have wiped those tears away after all. She also felt hungry, and wondered maybe she should have joined her parents for dinner. She also felt incredibly irritated that she didn't draw anything on her sketchbook like she planned.
She got up from bed and walked over to her desk. The thread was there, where was her needle? If she couldn't sketch, she might as well sew.
The butterfly was still there.
Closer now.
It could touch her nose if it flapped further down.
And then, Alya came to her mind.
And so did a voice.
"Ariadne, how many strings of friendship have you offered to people who abandoned you?"
She should not give in.
"Succumb to my power and you will forget the pain of those who have left you!"
Forget?
"Forget how?"
"Bring me the miraculous of Lady Bug and Chat Noir, and I will make it permanent."
She frowns.
She can't agree.
She shouldn't agree.
Her mind was noisy again.
Count to ten and say no, Mari-
Opening her eyes, the outline of a butterfly hovers over them. And with the blankest stare, she replies, "Yes, Hawkmoth."