Take My Hand
Chapter 4
"Bonjour, you have reached Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Je suis désolé, but I am unable to answer now so please leave a message and I'll talk to you soon. Au revoir! Try calling again or please leave a message after the tone." *beep*
Alya rolled her eyes as she got off the subway, scrolling through the messages she has sent to her friend. No response at all. She was a bit concerned about Marinette, but at the same time, she knew her friend well enough to miss these calls. She figured that Marinette was probably dozing off or even drawing in her sketchbook, not noticing the light or buzz from her phone. First, it was her who was messaging her and calling her for nearly thirty minutes, asking where she was. Now it was the contrary, as Alya was now trying to contact her friend many times. Yet, with every call, she heard Marinette's cheerful voice followed by the monotone voice of the answering bot.
Alya's phone kept ringing with the many notifications coming from a group chat involving other friends at their school. Even they were a bit puzzled as Marinette was silent for far too long than she could've been.
[Nino: Any luck trying to contact her?]
[Alya: No, but let's go to the park either way. She was waiting for us there.]
[Rose: I have a bad feeling about this… :( ]
[Alya: No no no! Don't think about that. You know our Mari. She would never ditch on us. She was annoying us all month about wanting to go to this and I finally won tickets for us for the world premiere for this. She's gonna be so surprised! ^^; ]
[Nino: She was the one who wanted us to go together to see that movie.]
[Juleka: I'm at the park, but I don't see her. I'll try again.]
[Alya: Ditto. Let's meet up.]
[Luka: I'm running late. I'll see if I can catch Mari on the way. :/ ]
[Rose: I still have a bad feeling about Mari… :( ]
As soon as she stepped a foot into the park, she noticed her friend right there. Instead of the usual shy greeting Alya would receive from Juleka, she noticed her turn to look back at her and then returned her attention to the ground behind some bushes. No one was around the area which made it a bit more intimidating. There was a look of fear as she stood there, motioning for her just as confused friend to come closer. She did.
"Hey, girl. What's wrong?" Alya asked until she noticed an unusual sight that caught her off guard. Marinette's phone was on the ground, illuminating bright lights with each message the group chat would send to each other. Next to it was an opened comic book. Alya couldn't believe her eyes.
"Marinette's phone…" Juleka whispered, biting on her bottom lip. "This is not a good thing."
Alya picked up the two items on the ground, wondering how they managed to stay there in public without getting stolen and was wondering what could've happened to Marinette. Her heart shook at the many scenarios that could've been the fate for her best friend. Instantly, she shook them off. She looked through the home screen of Marinette's phone with many notifications from her social medias and also noticed the messages from their friends and even parents. The farthest unread notification dates back to an hour ago. Maybe that's how far she's been, dare to say, gone.
The two girls looked at each other then back to the items, thinking of ways to find their friend. Forget the movie premiere and tickets. There was a more important matter in their hands - that is trying to find their beloved bubbly clumsy friend, Marinette.
"What's with this comic book? She never read comics before, did she?" the dark-haired girl asked, her violet eyes looking for an answer in her friend's own, and by the looks of it, Alya seemed to be just as puzzled as she was.
"Marinette wasn't really into reading comic books. I mean, this could be one of her sketching experiments but still...there's just no sketchbook around. Maybe she wasn't drawing...unless she took it with her."
"...but without her phone?"
They both gulped. Holding the book in their hands, they scanned through the pages which told the story of Chat Noir, but then it was left completely blank halfway through the book. The last page focused on a new character which looked a lot like Marinette, but with a red and black polka dotted mask on. She was grinning to the hero in black suit, who grinned back at her.
"Maybe she was finishing this for someone. I mean she's a good artist." Juleka stated, twirling her hair in her hands.
Alya rubbed her temples then adjusted her glasses, being unsure of whether that statement of finishing the book was true or not. "I guess she could be finishing it...but-"
She was cut off as soon as she saw the next blank page shine, an image slowly appearing on it. This time it was the two heroes looking towards the Eiffel Tower with small specks of light blue, presumably rain, surrounding them. The two gasped.
"Oh my gosh...what is going on!" Her friend stated, taking a few steps back. "This is weird...and not in a good way!"
"Crazy weird." Alya added. "What happened to Mari? And why is this comic book doing that?"
…
Lightning struck and the rain was furiously pouring down, but it didn't stop the two masked teenagers. They hid underneath the shed of a building, out looking towards the Eiffel Tower. Chat sat with Ladybug by his side, talking about his duties as a superhero. Between each sentence, she would giggle at his intentional lame puns as he would sneak them in their conversation. He would often look over to her and try to get closer, but she would push him away or back up. He could often also feel his cheeks get warmer with her sweet laughs and those gorgeous blue eyes. Beads of water would slip through her hair and roll down her neck, making her brush them off. Ladybug would often stretch her muscles and get up to look out to the iconic tower, thinking about what he assumed was the unknown. Chat knew he found this girl somewhat attractive from the moment he saw her. He knew who she was behind the mask as well.
That's her! Marinette is her name...so heavenly… He thought, a love-struck droopy grin came from his lips. Chat purred, feeling his heart skip a beat. I'm such a lucky kitty cat to finally meet my lady. I'm even luckier if she's gonna help me. That costume makes her look so…beautiful and even...hot.
Chat wanted to tell her what happened and how she somehow got stuck into his chaotic world, yet he felt like he just couldn't. It was too crazy to believe. For once he had a friend to accompany him as a superhero and to possibly help him...that is if she agreed to save Paris along with him. The boy knew something else that crept into his mind since he received his ring which involved Ladybug.
xxx
Flashback: One Year Ago
Adrien took the small note in his hands with many questions racing through his head. He flipped the note around to reveal another statement.
'A lady with bright ocean eyes. A lady with a midnight head. A lady dressed in red brings luck to the battlefield. A ladybug, although small and humble, is the most powerful of them all.'
Quietly, he turned his heels to walk towards his home. Adrien would reread the note over and over again while taking the ring in observation. He knew it all had to be a joke...right? However, that night had other plans for him.
"Claws out!"
xxx
Since he lived his double life being accustomed as Chat Noir, he questioned that note on the back. He would look for girls with bright blue eyes and dark hair around Paris, but none of them was his lucky lady. Chat even recalled the time he embarrassed his civilian self in front of an American model as he would stare at the model with similar features throughout the whole shoot. The worst part is that it was a summer swimsuit photoshoot that they both were modeling together. He shivered. Yet, the teenager would question to himself what would happen if he ran into the girl? Would the girl know about this and keep it all a secret just like he lived his heroic life? Would everything change? That day, his questions were answered. It was her.
xxx
Flashback: Day Before
"You will never listen to me. I told you I'll be fine and that I'll be home before nine. It's just a quick concert underneath the Eiffel Tower, so it's not far away. But you'll never listen to me, father."
Adrien gave his father a quick glare before being escorted out of the room by his personal guard. Gabriel would just sit at his desk, clicking on his pen, not even saying a word to his son who was on the verge of crying. He simply just huffed and shook his head before returning to his paperwork for one of his fashion shows to be held in Los Angeles. Not a word came out of his mouth as he knew there was no way for his son to leave the mansion. He won again.
"I want to be a normal kid for once. I want to get out of here." Adrien solemnly paced himself down the long hall of his home. Tears would fall down his cheeks as he carried his heavy broken heart in his chest. Never has it ever been this bad before, but he wasn't happy in neither of his lives. He knew he was falling into depression.
"What is he upset about?" A feminine voice broke the silence in his house which made him instantly look up. Standing in front of his was none other than Marinette.
"Huh...who are you? How did you get in...uhhh?" Adrien resumed to ask many questions, but there was no answer.
She stood there, inches apart from him, their faces so close to the point he could even clearly see the blue pigments of her irises. However, she didn't seem to notice him. Adrien reached out to touch her, only for him to touch nothing. It was as if she was a ghost from the other side.
But at that moment it all clicked in his head. He knew it was her!
xxx
Even while he was a bit taken back from the fact that she somehow made it to his world, Chat saw Marinette's ghost occasionally follow him. Something that freaked him out about her was the fact he noted that he was the only one who could see her. When in public, Chat would see her stand there with people even walking through her. She would often appear and then vanish, being oblivious that there was someone who noticed her. Then there would be times when it seems that she would notice him back. Marinette would lightly squeal and fully look up and down at the cat hero then disappear as usual. Yet, the next time, he decided to go to her. What he expected was just a grasp of air, from trying to reach her, he got the opposite. To his surprise, Chat remembered the moment when her hand touched his - her hand is so soft and delicate, matching along with Marinette's sweet personality, he just had to find out more about her. So he lightly tugged her arm and then there she was. Marinette was now Ladybug.
What he found strange though was Ladybug's memory loss. She seemed like she was slowly recollecting her memories, but she couldn't even recall her own name. Knowing how wrong it was to hide this all from her, he didn't want her to feel trapped and hopeless. He finally wanted to enjoy this moment and to accompany her. However, her laughs and remarks slowly disappeared into light quiet noises as the cat boy continued. She was getting tenser to the point she would stand still like a statue with drops of water trickling down her hair.
"And so that's about my life being a superhero." Chat finished, getting up to walk beside her and grinned even wider to her. Hoping that she would return the smile, she would just poke the top of his nose and walked out into the rain with no emotion presented on her face. He pouted.
"Merci, kitty, but I need to...do something…" she spoke, not even looking behind her. Chat could feel his chest tighten as he saw her descend into the dark fogginess of the storm.
"Where are you going?" He asked with concern. Chat couldn't lose her.
Ladybug stopped in her tracks, not even looking back. There was something off about her. "Somewhere...cause this doesn't feel right…"
She must've remembered something…
Chat instantly ran out towards her, the rain becoming even heavier which blurred his vision. He was then blinded by it. Lightning struck the tower and the thunder echoed throughout the city. It even intimidated him quite a bit. Not one person was in sight; not even his new friend.
No no no...she's gonna freak out...I can't lose her. She's gonna get hurt.
His heart slowly started to pound louder and louder against his ribcage with each second passing. Chat extended his rod and was about to leap into the sky onto the nearest rooftop until he spotted her. He instantly stopped. Ladybug was seen standing underneath the tower. His stinging eyes met the sight of the girl looking at her reflection in the puddle between her feet. She seemed to be also dazed as her knees were wildly shaking with fear. She bit onto her lip as her fingers reached towards her mask, attempting to then take it off, but had no luck. It was attached to her skin and only made her wince in pain with each tug she made. Chat could tell she recollected something from the other world.
"This is not who I am." Ladybug mumbled under her breath, shaking from the cold rain. "I am someone else. This isn't where I belong! I'm not Ladybug! This just doesn't feel right at all."
She shook her head and turned to the feline hero behind her. Thunder shook the ground, making her slightly jump in alarm and fall onto the ground. Her eyes could barely see anything as she would flutter her eyelashes to get the rain out of her eyes. There was no word to be said. Chat stood there, a couple of feet away from his friend, with no thoughts at all. This wasn't her world. This wasn't the home she knows. This isn't where she belonged; or even possibly existed.
His look dropped to the floor as he took a loud breath. He felt like he could empathize with her emotions. Chat knew the pain of feeling like an alien to another world. He lived in two worlds that are crumbling down. As Adrien, he was often left in the shadowy pits of disappointment, in which he called his house. He was trapped. He was alone. He felt like he had no family. His father was now only known as his boss now. Adrien was soon expected to take over the famous Agreste brand when he was older. He wasn't happy about that. He would go to photoshoots daily with no break or either see a specialist trainer as his father was starting to be displeased with Adrien's appearance due to the competitive field of modeling. It stung him hard. He knew this isn't what his mother wanted. She would've wanted for him to live a normal teenage boy life without the feeling of being trapped. Chat knew that both he and his mother shared a lot of features, whether it would be physical or behavioral, but most importantly they were both free spirits.
This is wrong…she's doesn't deserve to feel like this...
"My lady, I am sorry." he softly spoke, not even looking up to see the now confused look from his friend. "You shouldn't feel this way. It's all my fault."
Ladybug blinked at him a few times and raised her eyebrows. Chat knew that by the end of the day he'll be completely alone again with no friend as he would've lost her. He also knew he would possibly get sick from the heavy drops falling on his head.
"I brought you into this world. My world is full of crime, drama, and fear. I know that this all is crashing down on you. You probably never seen evil like that akuma before. You probably never even heard of me before...which is a good thing. No one knows who I really am behind this mask and no matter how much the public tries to see me, no one will ever know." Chat's eyes then focused on her. His look was soft as if he was looking at the most precious being in his life but it was also filled with sorrow.
"What?" Ladybug asked with her arms crossed; he knew she was getting even more upset.
"I saw your face the other day and I knew that you were the one. You would follow me and look at what I do. You were like a ghost." He slowly walked towards her, placing a hand on her shoulder, then looked into her blue orbs. Chat madly blushed as he couldn't help but give another silly toothy smile to her. His heart was uncontrollable as he witnessed the edges of her lips curve up. He even noticed Ladybug blush and would try to avoid looking into his eyes by looking to the side or even turning her head. Chat could've sworn he felt magical little sparks surround them.
God, she's so cute...I'm gonna tell my bug a boo everything.
"My lady, you are-"
"LADYBUG AND CHAT NOIR! It's time to end this once and for all!"
Sorry for not updating this in a while. I was away in California and Las Vegas for a couple of weeks and had no time to do anything. I am already working on the next chapter. The next chapter of Raising Steven might be up soon as well as a new ML story titled '9 Lives' coming soon!
Thank you for reading! Please follow/fav/review this story to show your appreciation! :)
-From Gem-Goddess