Marinette was talking today. Her voice was like rain in an insufferable drought. Adrien had a feeling it was mostly an act, her way of pleasing Alya and getting her off her back, but still.
He had an excuse to look at her now without being creepy.
"Isn't it just awful?" Alya complained.
"What is?" asked Marinette.
Her friend stared at her. "Hello? Chat Noir and Ladybug's breakup?"
Something dark and painful flickered over her features, passing too quickly for Alya to catch, but not for Adrien. "Oh…right, right."
Alya rolled her eyes. "It's the worst. Now I only have footage of them separately, or Chat with that replacement, Wavelength. Ugh."
Adrien sat facing them in his seat. "Wavelength doesn't seem so bad, does she?" he asked.
"Oh she's terrible," Marinette said matter-of-factly. Her eyes widened when she realized she'd spoken to Adrien so boldly, and she turned her attention back to her drawing, missing his flabbergasted smile.
"You said it, Marinette," Nino agreed.
Adrien looked at his friend in surprise. "Really? You don't like her either?"
"She basically split up the best duo of all time, man. She's diabolical."
Alya's shoulders sagged. "Whatever. I just wish they would get back together already. It's so sad watching them, and you just know it's got to be torturing them. I mean, they've been fighting side by side since…when? Eighth grade?"
Adrien tried to ignore the lump in his throat. Was it that obvious? Did he lament his loss out in the field? Could Wavelength tell?
"It's cruel! It's unfair! It's—"
"It's sad," Marinette whispered, but only Adrien seemed to hear her. She'd removed herself from the conversation again, distanced herself from the laughter and the banter.
It is sad, he thought.
OoO
He hardly saw her anymore.
Ladybug would either work so quickly on her own, that by the time Chat Noir and Wavelength appeared, the akuma had been taken care of, or she would only show herself at the end of the fight and use her miraculous to restore balance.
A few times he tried to speak to her, but she dashed off before he could get more than a word out.
Once he had tackled her and pinned her to the ground.
"Talk to me."
"About what?" she'd groaned, struggling beneath him.
"Come on. We can't keep this up. We need to talk it out."
She'd glared at him, and he hadn't even cared. He loved that look.
"Ladybug…I miss you."
Then—finally—she'd softened. Her eyes revealed the pain within, and she'd reached up to touch his face.
"I…"
"Chat?" Wavelength had called from a distance, worry etched in her voice.
"Your girlfriend's calling you," Ladybug had said, and she'd rolled out from under him, running away.
Always running.
He knew she was the one in the wrong, but he couldn't help feeling like he'd lost a part of him, the part that prompted the teasing, that ignited the lackadaisical attitude of Chat Noir.
Wavelength tried to cheer him up and convince him that they were just fine without her, but he couldn't let that damned Ladybug go.
"Both of them shut me out of their lives!" he sighed one night, distressed.
"Both?" Wavelength asked shyly.
"Oh…yeah. Ladybug and Marinette."
"Marinette. Is that the baker's girl you used to visit?"
Chat spun, surprised. "Yeah. How did you…?"
"I was passing by one night. It surprised me. I didn't think you had a girlfriend."
Chat shook his head. "I don't. I mean, she's my friend. Or…she was." He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I know her as my civilian self, and it drives me nuts not being able to talk to her about what happened. Sometimes keeping two identities just doesn't seem…worth it."
Wavelength grabbed his hand, and Chat had learned that was her way of showing him that she may not understand, but that she cared.
It was nice.
"I don't really know what it's like, actually. This is who I am. The mask is just a feature."
"What do you mean, Blondie?"
"I don't really have a normal life, outside crime fighting. This is what I do now."
Chat still didn't get it. Did she mean her home life was so bad that she didn't consider it a part of her identity, or that she really had nowhere to go, no one to turn to?
"What about your family? School? Don't you miss those things?"
Wavelength hesitated. "I don't know. I don't remember."
Chat watched her sadly. Then his ring lost another light. He rubbed the back of his neck. "It's…getting kind of late. I should probably go."
He squeezed her hand once and backed away, but her voice stopped him.
"Chat?"
He turned.
"If…if you want, I can help you forget them…" Wavelength said quietly, hopefully.
Chat's eyebrows rose high beneath his bangs. "Forget them? You mean Marinette and Ladybug?" That's all he'd tried to do these days, forget, forgive, move on. How did she plan on accomplishing that?
She nodded shyly, and she stepped closer.
"How?" he asked eagerly.
She came close enough so that their bodies were touching, and Chat felt hot. He touched her forearms to push her away, gently, but she took that as a sign of receipt and came even closer, if that was even possible.
"Like this."
Her hand curled up around the bell at his throat, and before he could think of an escape, she tugged.
Kissing.
They were kissing.
Her lips were firm and aggressive and wanting, and his brain shut down, only aware of the physical.
Her hands traveled to the back of his neck and then into his hair, and his eyes were closed, and he was immersed.
He could picture them now. Him, holding her small frame to him, deepening the kiss, letting the passion drip from his lips. And her deft fingers curled in his hair, across his scalp, caressing, pulling.
The way Marinette's mouth—
His eyes flew open and he backed away, stumbling over himself. Wavelength stared at him, lips swollen.
How could he have been so selfish? Kissing Wavelength back like that when he'd been thinking of another girl? Was he really so low? He was terrible.
And why had he been thinking of Marinette? Not even Ladybug, which was at least understandable. No, he'd been fantasizing about his classmate, his friend, his…
He looked back at Wavelength, regretful and disappointed in himself.
"I'm sorry. That was a mistake," he breathed, and he fled before she could reply, ignoring the irritating organ hammering against his rib-cage.
OoO
"Marinette, what's wrong?"
"Nothing! I'm fine. See?" she smiled, but it was forced, and they both knew it.
Ever since she'd come to class in tears, her friend hadn't relented. And she couldn't exactly tell Alya the real reason for her mood: that Chat Noir abandoned her and thought she was insane. That even though she could take advantage of the fact he befriended Marinette, she couldn't bear to see him when she knew what he thought of Ladybug.
"I'll see you later," she lied, and she headed the other way.
She had just made it outside the school when something slammed into her, and she fell to her knees, hand reaching up to the swelling lump on her forehead.
Owwwwww.
Someone cursed and strong arms were lifting her up.
She blubbered something about it being fine, and began to turn away, embarrassed, but the arms didn't let her go.
She finally looked up.
"Adrien?"
He was looking at her so strangely. Almost as if he had broken her leg or something.
"I…I'm sorry. I didn't see you and God, I'm so stupid, uh…I…are you, you know…okay?" he stammered.
She couldn't help it.
She laughed.
"I think that's my line," she whispered.
He blushed and attempted a smile, but it was warped, and a little scary.
She turned to leave again, but his hold was solid.
"Um…."
His eyes were pleading. Stay, they screamed.
She didn't understand it. Why was he looking at her like that? Why did it hurt her to see him hurt about her hurting?
He seemed to realize what he was doing and released her, apologizing.
Marinette eyed him suspiciously as she walked away. That was weird. And it wasn't her imagination this time.
Alya would have been proud of her for not stuttering like an imbecile, but she wondered if it meant she was no longer nervous around him.
And if she was no longer nervous, did that mean she no longer liked him?
"Maybe you moved on," Tikki said from her purse, reading her mind as always.
"I don't know. It doesn't feel like I'm over him. More like, I'm over waiting. I'm over waiting for him and Chat to come around."
Jeez. Even when she tried not to, she sounded depressed. Curse that Chat for stomping on her heart.
Tikki hummed. "There's a reason you feel so down, Marinette."
"What do you mean?"
"Chat Noir and Ladybug are connected. You have an evolutionary bond. That's why you both ended up in Paris. Not working together…it's like going against your nature."
Marinette paused, glancing down at the red head popping out of her bag.
"So…"
"Maybe you should try talking to him again. After all, if Wavelength threatened you, it's only a matter of time until she threatens Chat. She's dangerous."
Marinette swallowed.
"But…he hates me."
"That's not the least bit true. You heard him yourself. He misses you. And you miss him."
Marinette blinked to keep the tears in. She did. The desire to see him, to hear him make his terrible puns and laugh and flirt was so strong it had startled her at first. Then she'd realized that maybe there was a reason for her emotion, deep down.
Perhaps Tikki was right. Feelings aside, her bond with Chat was too important. Paris was too important. She couldn't keep being selfish.
OoO
Adrien sighed as he placed his fencing gear back in his locker.
"I can't believe I acted like such a moron in front of Marinette."
"It was pretty pathetic," Plagg supplied.
Adrien glared. "I just…didn't realize how much I missed talking to her." And imaginary-kissing her.
"You never know how big a role something plays in your life until it's gone," Plagg said wisely. "For instance, cheese. Do you know how long I've gone without some top quality Swiss?"
"Three hours?"
"Oh, the pain…"
Adrien snickered.
He'd stopped checking to see if she'd unlocked her balcony door about a week ago. It had hurt him too much every time the blinds were drawn over the faint glow within her room. She'd gone through something horrible, and at first he dared to hope she just needed time. But now, it was clear she didn't want to speak to him at all, for whatever reason.
Every day in class he listened intently for her to express to Alya what went wrong, fish for some clues. But the questions never found any answers, and Marinette would switch topics like a professional.
He'd suggested earlier that week that the four of them go out for lunch, and another time he suggested a movie date, but Marinette politely declined.
She always declined.
He had the worst of luck when it came to girls. First he ruined his friendship with Ladybug. Then, for a reason he wasn't even sure of, he messed things up with Marinette. And of course, he kissed his new partner and proceeded to call the entire ordeal a mistake before taking off like an idiot.
It was times like these he really wished he had a mother. She would be able to explain what the hell was happening in these girls' heads and tell him how to mend his life back together.
But he didn't have a mom. He barely even had a dad.
He had Plagg...
Sighing, Adrien left the locker room, eyes downcast.
Maybe the best solution was to forget Marinette, just like Wavelength had suggested.
But even as he nodded to himself, sifting through a plan for memory loss, he knew he could never let her go.
For some unexplainable reason, he couldn't give up on her.
He wouldn't.
Haha it's getting closer! I think there's about two or three chapters left!
Thanks for your reviews guys! They mean the world and DEFINITELY keep me going!
