"Where is she?" Chloe wondered angrily, tapping her feet in annoyance as she watched Lila, Alya, and Adrien make their presentation to the class. Beside her, Sabrina shared her frown, peering down the hall for the dark haired girl. "We need those dolls if we're going to do this."
"Maybe something came up?" Sabrina suggested.
Marinette had rushed off with the babble that the dolls needed a quick mend. A mend she reassured would only take a few minutes.
It's been twenty minutes now, this was the second group to go and they were next.
Chloe was sure she could convince the teacher to give them more time, but she'd rather just get this over with.
And they could if Marinette was here with those dolls.
Bustier gave them a glance.
Chloe gave a sheepish shrug. Then leaning over to Sabrina, she hissed, "Go find her."
Sabrina gave a hurried nod and rushed out, scrambling to think of where Marinette could be.
She wasn't in the library.
The locker room.
Or outside on the steps.
Sabrina moved to head towards the art room, the only other room she could think of where Marinette could be in the school, only to stop by one of the hidden stairwells.
There on the floor, next to a hidden broom closet by a split paint pail and what had to be the remains of the Ladybug doll. "Oh dear," Sabrina uttered, hurrying back to fetch Chloe.
The torn up Ladybug doll laid still, her pieces left scattered on the floor. Twin shadows fell over her, a grimacing blonde drew near.
"Maybe she's home working on a new one?" Sabrina suggested, unnerved by the torn up doll.
"She better be," Chloe muttered. Sighing loudly, she turned to prowl back to class. She'll reason with the teacher and have their presentation tomorrow.
Marinette better be ready by then, with the new Ladybug doll.
Though, Chloe does wonder who would tear up a Ladybug doll.
She highly doubted Marinette would do it herself.
"I wonder where Marinette is," Alya wondered, frowning as Chloe and Sabrina sat down, excused from presenting since the main part of their project wasn't here.
This wasn't like Marinette.
"Who knows," Lila said aloud, plopping in Marinette's seat, sparing a bored glance to the girls up front."You know how she is," Lila continued, "there's always something."
"Yeah," Alya agreed with a sigh. There was always something. Always Marinette disappearing, hard to keep track with. Always busy. And seemed to be at her busiest lately. Alya wondered just when would that girl be free?
It's been almost two weeks since they've hung out now.
Alya was getting bummed.
But that was how Marinette was. She always had something going on.
"Wasn't that latest hero movie great?" Lila asked, drawing Alya back to focus. As the redhead excitedly dove into the topic, relieved that she did have a companion to make up for the solitude; she missed how Nino turned back to them, giving Lila an odd look. He turned to his best friend but Adrien was out, sleeping on his hand.
Nino frowned as he peered forward.
As unconcerned as Alya was, Nino was noticing these things the past few days.
How quiet Marinette's become, shrinking down into a shell, disappearing in her classmates shadows.
Just like before.
Just lingering in the back.
A smile never reaching her eyes.
Something was going on, and Marinette was going back to who she was before. Before Alya helped draw her out of her shell.
Before she moved with confidence.
Before her smile came with life and energy.
But now…
Nino gave a start when the lunch bell rang. Quickly, he turned to the girls as they started to gather up their things. He asked, "You guys going to visit Marinette?"
Alya and Lila paused, turning to the boy below them.
"Visit Marinette?" Alya repeated.
"Yeah, she's-"
"Busy," Lila cut in. "I sent her a text. She didn't respond."
Alya gave a fond scoff. "That girl. You know her, when she's in the zone…"
"She wants to be alone," Lila finished with a smile.
"I'll visit her later," Alya reassured Nino, working around him, meeting Lila at the bottom, the two prowling off, making plans.
Nino frowned after them, concerned and irked.
Adrien yawned beside him, asking, "Yoaaah, you think something's up with Marinette?" Adrien asked, rubbing his eyes, trying to wake.
"Yeah I do," Nino said, gathering up his things. "She's kinda… kinda going back to how she used to be."
Adrien blinked at him, repeating, "How she used to be?"
"Kinda small, alone. Withdrawn?" Nino frowned. "She's more alive with Alya but ever since she and Lila started hanging out…" Marinette's been shrinking down again.
"Well let's visit her," Adrien bid, only to give a start when his cell went off.
With a grimace, he pulled it out and sighed.
"You gotta go?" Nino guessed.
Adrien sighed, running a hand through his hair, frustrated and tired. "Yeah."
"I'll let Marinette know you wanted to come." That'll perk her up.
"Thanks bro."
"No problem bro."
Getting up after Adrien, Nino stopped, blinking when he saw color on the floor right by the seats behind him.
He went over, spotting Marinette's purse on the floor.
A purse she never went without.
Nino headed to the Dupain-Chengs, a man on a mission. He didn't care if Marinette wanted to spend her lunch alone so she could work. She's been down lately and he was going to cheer her up, save her from shrinking back down into herself.
And if his suspicions were right, have a serious talk with Alya.
She wasn't aware of it before, how secluded Marinette was; how much her friendship affected her.
Nino was going to make her aware.
Fix this.
If he was lucky, Marinette would be out of her shell and it'd be smiles and sunshine henceforth.
Only when he slipped into the Dupain-Cheng bakery, he paused at Sabine's frown, her grey eyes set towards the school. Turning to him, she gave him a small smile. "Nino, hello! It's been a while."
"Madame Cheng," he greeted, drawing near.
"Can I get you something dear?" she asked.
"Uh," he turned his gaze to the back. "Is, is Marinette home?"
Sabine falters. "No, not yet, do you, do maybe know where she is? She's good about telling me when she's eating somewhere else for lunch but she said she'd be eating here today. And yet, it's been ten minutes and no peep from her. And no akuma running around to make her late…"
Her gaze settled on the purse Nino had slung over his shoulder, giving a surprised start at the sight of it. "Is that her bag?"
Nino tensed, feeling nervous and uneasy as well.
Marinette wasn't home.
He knows Sabine is here all morning, that she wouldn't have missed Marinette rushing in to work on her damaged dolls. According to Chloe, she should be here.
But if Sabine hasn't seen her…
And Sabrina and Chloe didn't see her…
Nino gulped, then rushed out, handing the bag to Sabine. "Okay, well I just wanted to drop that off and say hi, uh, I, I gotta go…"
He hurried out, ignoring Sabine's call after him.
Outside this morning, no one's seen Marinette around. And she's upset, and, and now that he thinks about it, she did leave her purse, didn't she? She never leaves without it. What, what were the chances that…
There was a sound above.
A sound that startled Nino.
He whipped around, eyes locking to Marinette's room. There, leaning out the window was Chat Noir.
Only, it wasn't Chat Noir.
There was no bell. Just a silver scar where the bell should've been.
And his hair was black, with blond highlighting the bangs.
And in his claws was Marinette's large cat pillow, smiling obliviously to it's kidnapping. Under not Chat's other arm were sketchbooks. And slung across his shoulders was a large bag, with pencils and fabrics sticking out of it.
Nino went stiff, staring at him.
Chat peered back, eyes narrowing.
Then he turned away in disinterest, jumping off and taking the large cat pillow with him.
Leaving Nino to breath rapidly as he stared after the not Chat Noir.
With shaky hands, he moved to call Alya.