I'm not sure why but I'm so inspired to write this story. It's currently 2:56 right now, and I can't sleep.
Plus I have a nosebleed. Thanks Michigan weather.
How many of you are struggling for finals? Like, am I the only one? Honestly, I'm just a derp. Complaining about school work and such while procrastinating and writing fanfiction.
Who needs to sort out their priorities? Not this girl obviously.
Anyways, heh.
PLEASE READ: I know in the last chapter I said that the characters were on summer break, but I've decided that, even though it's July in the story, they start school in a few days. Something along the lines of Chloe convincing her dad to hold actual "summer school" for the students so she can keep close to her "Adrikins". Plus I find it'll add more to the story throughout.
Honestly if any of you wonderful readers have any ideas for upcoming chapters it would mean the world for you to let me know. The chapter would be dedicated to you for your ideas and it would just seem really fun to write.
Without further ado, I'll just skedaddle on down to the story. Enjoy!
Disclaimer, blah blah. You know the drill.
The waiting room felt exceedingly hot for someone who felt exceedingly cold.
Adrien's head fell into his hands. He sat, hunched over the edge of his chair in the white room, anxiety and fear and anger filling him to the brim. It had taken them almost twenty minutes to get to the hospital and as soon as they got through the doors, a group of doctors took her away and left the poor blonde with his thoughts. He tried to convince them to let him follow, but they insisted he stayed out until she was properly examined.
That was almost two hours ago. His head was spinning, so many questions soaring through his head. Who could do this? Marinette was always sweet and kind to everyone she came in contact with. Even Sabrina and Chloe, which was hard even for Marinette. She didn't deserve this, she deserved a lot of things- good things- but not this. Anything but this.
His head hung low, hiding the tears that threatened to spill. He has to stay strong, for Marinette. She was always the strong one, now it was his turn. That doesn't mean he feels sick to his stomach whenever he replays the earlier scene.
A warm hand pressed against the back of his shoulder, "Hey, kid, you alright? You look pretty tired."
"I-I'm alright, just… yeah, I guess I am tired. But I'll be fine. I just brought my friend here, I guess I'm feeling restless." He said to the nurse.
She gave him a small smile, "You came in with that girl, didn't you?"
Adrien nodded. His throat felt dry and his eyes hung heavy, refusing to speak. If he did he would probably start bawling himself.
"You should go splash some water on your face, sweetie. Or grab some coffee, since it looks like you won't be leaving the hospital any time soon. There's fresh coffee in the food court, I'll make sure you'll be informed as soon as we hear something, okay?"
He was hesitant, he really didn't feel comfortable leaving Marinette. But he know the nurse meant well, and was more than right. He felt fatigued, but not enough to make him fall asleep. Probably from the crying and the stress he felt. He probably should go grab some coffee and fix himself up, after all, he wanted Marinette to know that he could be there for her. That she could depend on him and he would be there for everything. He would keep her safe.
You didn't earlier.
Ignoring his thoughts for now, he strolled out of the secluded room. The halls were cold, walls and tile held a bleach white color. Various pieces of art hung along the way, each one holding a trait he believed Marinette would find aspiring. He passed by busy nurses and anxious visitors, waiting with balloons and gifts for their loved ones that resided on the floor.
Everyone seemed on edge that night, or maybe it was just him. It probably was just him, because he was pretty sure that none of them just found one of their best friends laying in the middle of the street. The bathroom was just a couple of feet down, but he felt like it was too far. She needed him there when she woke up. He needed to see her.
He entered and stalked towards the sink. God, he looked terrible. His golden locks stuck in awkward directions after relentlessly running his hands through them in worry. The bags under his eyes were black and large, indicating he looked more tired than he actually felt. His face held no color and his eyes seemed dull, bloodshot beyond recognition. His shoulders hung heavily and his neck felt strained. His throat was dry and it caused what little voice he did have to become scratchy and rigid. His white shirt held tiny splatters of blood from when he carried Marinette to the ambulance and his undershirt clung to the middle of his chest, glued to his body by her tears. All the life seemed drained out of him, which was true. Seeing his princess in that situation broke his heart and drained the spirit right out of him.
In all honesty, he looked more like a corpse than a model. But there's no doubt in his mind that he would stay this way forever, of it meant that his friend was safe from harm.
He turned the faucet on cold and cupped his palms to gather the liquid. It felt good against his skin, jolting him wide awake. He ran some water through his hair as well, patting it down to make it look somewhat more presentable. Well, now he was awake and his hair was less of a mess, but he still looked like hell. He looked how he felt, terrible. No amount of cold water was going to fix that.
Plagg appeared from the pocket of his overshirt, giving the boy a droopy eared expression. "How are you holding up"
"I failed her."
This confused the kwami, "What do you mean, Adrien? You saved her. You brought her hear, you found her."
"No! I failed her! If I hadn't been pressing after Ladybug I wouldn't have forgotten my patrol! I could have stopped whoever did this to her! I put her here, Plagg! I didn't protect her and because of my mistake someone put her in the hospital! Someone raped her and it's all my fault!" Adrien's voice grew louder and louder until his voice completely cracked and broke into a sobbing fit.
The outburst scared the tiny cat, but he knew Adrien wasn't mad at him. No, his superhero companion was angry at himself. He was scared and angry and blamed himself. Sighing, Plagg held himself close to his friend while he sobbed. This wasn't Adrien's fault, he couldn't have known anyways. It wasn't the first time he forgot about patrol, but it was the first time he had where someone had gotten hurt. Plagg knew Adrien would never forgive himself, but he had to keep the kid from losing sight of what's important. After all, what kind of kwami lets his superhero down?
Well, what kwam, other than him half of the time?
"Look, kid, I know you're hurting badly," Adrien choked on his sobs. "But you can't waddle in the puddle of self misery. She needs you right now, and if you keep blaming yourself you're going to lose sight of that. You know if you ever told her that, as Adrien or Cat Noir, she'd tell you that it wasn't. So stop wallowing, man. You can do this. You can be there for her. Okay, yeah, it happened. What's done is done and you can't change that. But you can help her feel safe, you can protect her now."
It surprised his that Plagg was being so comforting, but he decided not to question it. "But what if she hates me? What if she doesn't want to see me after this? What if she shies away like back then, only it's because she'll think i'll try and hurt her?"
"Adrien, I highly doubt that. If anything she'll probably want you around more."
"How do you know that?"
"Because it's Marinette, she wouldn't get rid of you for all the camembert in the world!"
Plagg's chest felt warmth when he saw his master lightly chuckle.
Adrien shook his head and looked back in the mirror, wiping away the rest of his despair. Staring at himself through the clear mirror, he had a realization.
He had to call someone.
No, not just someone.
He has to call Alya and Nino. He has to call his father. He has to call her parents.
He decided he would once he got some coffee in his system. He wasn't about to fall asleep anytime soon, but he just wanted to be safe. Once Plagg was tucked safely into his shirt, Adrien found his way to the cafeteria. There weren't many people, maybe because it was so late at night, but there were a few stray surgeons and civilians. He went up to the coffee machine, deciding to get something strong- probably just plain black. He needed to feel as awake as possible. Paying for the sixteen ounce cup of liquid energy, he strolled on back to the waiting room that he originally resided in.
He saw the nurse from before and she offered him a small smile, which he returned. Maybe he could do this.
He walked up the the counter, "Miss, um, I need to make a few calls. T-To let her parents know.. If she, you know, if she.."
"I'll come find you, sweetie. Trust me, I can see how worried you are. It'll be alright. You go do what you have to do."
He thanked her and turned out of the room. He headed to the exit of the hospital, deciding to call her parents first. His hands were shaky and he's pretty sure he spilled at least half of his coffee as he dialed the number. Having visited Marinette's home various times, her mother offered their numbers on speed dial in case of an emergency.
Pressing the screen to his ear, he anxiously waited for the phone to stop ringing.
"Hello?" A tiny, feminine voice asked through his speakers.
His heart ached, this was going to keep him up do many nights.
"Hey, Mrs. Chung.. um, I didn't wake you did I?" He was so nervous.
"No, Adrien, not at all. Is everything okay?"
Fuckyougottatellheradriendoi-
"Um," he felt a lump in his throat. "I'm at the hospital in the emergency room."
gasped on the other end. "Oh no! What happened? Oh, Tom! Adrien is ar the hospital!"
Adrien heard a faint 'what?' in the background.
"Mrs. Cheng?" Her and her husband were still fretting over the boy. If only he could find it amusing instead of nerve racking.
"Have you called your father? Oh goodness he must be s-"
"Mrs. Cheng!" He sighed. "Sorry, ma'am, but there's nothing wrong with me. I just.. I-I think you and your husband should come home tomorrow.."
"What? Then why are you at the emergency room? Come home; whatever for?"
"I… I found Marinette outside the bakery tonight.. she.."
The lady on the other end was silent but he could tell she was silently fretting.
Badly.
"She was attacked.. She's alive, but…she was.. she..."
With the stammering of his words, the sharp gasp on the other line indicated that she knew exactly what he meant. It took all the emotional strength he had not to hang up when Marinette's mother burst into a worried fit. She asked him questions in anguish and he answered the best he could. Through the phone he could hear Marinette's father comforting and his wife, and it killed him to know that he just delivered this tragedy amongst them. But they had to know, for Marinette's sake.
"Adrien," it was Tom. "I.. I need to know that Marinette will be okay.. well, that she won't be alone tonight. We.. we can't make it back into town until tomorrow and I just need to know someone's there with her."
"I understand sir, I've been at the hospital all night… I really hadn't planned on leaving her anyway.. not after all this."
"Thanks, Adrien. You're a good kid and I can't thank you enough for being there for her. I'm proud of the measuresyou took, son."
"No offense, sir, but proud isn't a word I would use. I.. I feel sick. Seeing her..I j-just.. I'm so sorry." He's voice cracked during his apology. Her father was there, telling him to feel proud of saving her, when he hadn't saved her at all.
"Adrien, listen to me. This. Is. Not. Your. Fault. Do you understand? No matter what you think, it's not."
"I..I.." He was so distrsssed he couldn't speak.
His cell speakers sighed. "It's not, Adrien. Thank you so much. You need to get some rest though. It's very late and Marinette's going to need you."
"Yes, sir."
"Good night, son. Well get there as soon as we can. I promise."
"Yes, sir. And good night to you and Mrs. Cheng."
He hung up the phone, the ghost of a shiver running along his spine. He prayed to every god that he would never have to do that again.
After he tells his father, and Nino and Alya.
Shit.
How was he going to explain to their best friend that Marinette wouldn't be around for the first week of school. It was Saturday and tomorrow would be Sunday. Monday was their first day of Summer School, courtesy of the Mayor. He thought it would be beneficial to the students, but Adrien had a chilling theory that Chole just wanted it so she could torture everyone even more.
He'd have to explain it to the teacher, who would, without a doubt, make an announcement about it. Especially when she returned.
He would have to explain to his father, a man who looked at Marinette like the daughter he never had. The man who held a soft spot for the raven intern and listened to her suggestions.
Hanging his head low, Adrien pulled his shirt closer to his chest and turned to head back to the icy waiting room. He would have walked right through the doors, if there hadn't been a specific nurse leaning along the doorway.
"You can go see her now. She's awake."
Well? What did you guys think? I personally wanted to add more to this chapter but then it would too long, but I feel mainly satisfied with it.
Thank you to everyone for following my stories! It literally means the world to me. I've always loved writing but whenever I write an original piece, I just feel.. I don't know. I never finish the original pieces I write.
Oh well.
