The next morning Marinette woke to her phone alarm going off, finding herself alone in bed. Rubbing the sleep from her eye, she realized she must have fallen asleep to Chat's purring after their conversation about his identity reveal.
Her stomach was still bandaged up, and truth be told, sleep did not help ease the pain whatsoever. With a groan and a supportive hand to her stomach, she forced herself to crawl out of bed so she could shower and get ready for the day.
For the first time in forever, Marinette wasn't running late for school despite the circumstances. During her walk that morning, she allowed her thoughts to wander to Chat Noir. Her palms began to grow clammy as the idea of him revealing his identity to her crossed her mind.
So lost in her daydream, Marinette didn't even notice her best friend waiting on her at the crosswalk in front of their school.
"Hey girl! Earth to Marinette!" Alya called, waving her hand in front of Marinette's face. With a few rapid blinks, Marinette shook her head and turned towards Alya with a small giggle.
"Sorry, was just daydreaming," Marinette explained, hoping Alya wouldn't ask too many questions.
"What's up with that, girl? I thought you were happy with everything as of now?" Alya questioned as the two girls made their way to the courtyard. Marinette clutched the strap to her bag as she took cautious but quick steps to keep up with her friend.
"Uhh," Marinette thought aloud, "I guess old habits die hard?" she suggested. Before Alya could respond, the two girls heard someone shout in their direction.
"Hey, dudettes!" Nino called out as he and Adrien made their way over. Nino greeted his girlfriend with a kiss on the cheek before he and Alya separated themselves from their friends by a few steps.
"Good morning, Marinette," Adrien smiled warmly, "how are you feeling today?" he asked curiously as he moved in a bit closer to her. Marinette, clearly aware of his close proximity, blushed as she racked her brain for an answer.
"I've - uh - been better. Not that I'm not ok," she reassured, subconsciously letting her hand drift towards her stomach before forcing herself to lower it again, "I'm good. How about you? I noticed you were missing from the group text yesterday," she commented, wanting to get the topic off herself.
"Oh, yeah," Adrien countered as he momentarily rubbed the back of his neck, "had to make up a missed piano lesson so I couldn't check my phone, and by the time I was done with that and homework I was just wiped," he explained.
As they spoke, the four made their way into the classroom. Nino and Alya took their normal seats as Marinette and Adrien continued talking, standing next to Nino and Adrien's shared desk.
"Well, at least you're all caught up now," Marinette smiled but before she could voice her next thought, Kim and Alix zoomed into the classroom. After all their years of friendship the competitive nature between them had never faltered, and it seemed like this morning they decided to race to their seats before class.
As the two competitors zoomed by, Kim accidently struck Marinette's shoulder just enough to knock her into the nearest desk, her stomach taking the brunt of the fall. Marinette inhaled sharply as her hands grabbed the edges of the desk for support. She closed her eyes tightly and tried to ignore the searing pain, but it was too much.
"Marinette," Adrien worriedly gasped, placing his hand gently on her back in a comforting gesture.
"Hey, you two knock it off! You nearly killed Marinette!" Alya shouted to the pair who now sat in their seats towards the back of the classroom.
Marinette, though, couldn't hear her best friend scolding the classmates; nor could she hear the slightly panicked concerns of Adrien next to her. All she could hear was a loud ringing in her ears as her body racked with pain.
Adrien, with his hand still resting on Marinette's back, looked up to find Alya and Nino staring at him with confusion. Although Marinette had been knocked into the table, to the people watching, it wasn't with enough force to cause such a reaction from her.
Adrien, on the other hand, knew exactly why she was struggling to breath and shaking in excruciating pain.
"Come on, Marinette, I'll help you walk it off," Adrien encouraged softly. Placing his free hand on her shoulder while the other remained on her back, Adrien slowly inched Marinette into a standing position before pulling her into his side for a supportive embrace.
A/N: Hey guys! I started feeling bad about not having the next chapter up as quickly as I'd like, so I just wanted to post a little bit for y'all. I hope you like it, and the next post will be the last chapter! Enjoy!