Chapter 10

To say that Alya was pissed was the understatement of the year. Obviously, she knew that the teenagers at school would gossip a little. They simply couldn't help themselves. Hell, she was probably one of the worst gossips in the school! However, Marinette's pregnancy was no laughing matter. The kids at school were being immature, annoying, and cruel. Alya was not planning on being a do-nothing bystander to her best friend's humiliation. She waited at the sidewalk in front of the school for Marinette, ready to fight whoever even so much as glanced their way.

Marinette, on the other hand, had never felt more vulnerable. She was reluctant to even go back to the school, but she had to go for one last day to get the headmaster's signature on her transfer slip. She did her best to keep her breath easy and slow as she walked to school to keep the baby under control, but her nerves were starting to get the best of her. Marinette had never been one to keep her feelings in check, and it was even more difficult when mixed with gossipy jerks and hormones.

'One more day, Marinette. Then you're off to Paris Preparatory. They have girls like you, and you'll fit in. You just have to survive today,' Marinette told herself. As she approached the building, she saw her best friend standing there with a soft smile. Marinette smiled, but she was pushing back tears. How would she go to a school without Alya? How was she even going to tell Alya that she was leaving?

"Hey, Mari," Alya said. She enveloped the smaller girl in a hug and waited until Marinette hugged back.

"Hi, Alya." Marinette pulled away from the hug and kept her eyes on the floor.

"Are you doing okay?" Alya asked, but then she shook her head. "Of course you're not okay, I'm sorry. But are you at least surviving? Hanging in there?"

"I guess."

The two girls continued their small talk, and Marinette continued avoiding her best friend's gaze. She had to tell Alya sometime, but she was going to stall as long as she possibly could. She had never realized the effect that this baby was going to have on her personal life. Marinette had started mentally preparing for the physical changes, but never had she predicted that she might lose her friends. She was starting to get frustrated. Was this all really going to be worth it in the end? What if they failed? Then, Marinette would literally be left with nothing. No Paris, no friends, no Ladybug. All she would have would be a baby that she probably couldn't take care of anyway.

As they were conversing, Adrien's limo pulled up to the school. He got out and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Marinette. He was afraid that she would never come back. He quietly got out of the car and stood a few feet away from them so he could eavesdrop without looking suspicious.

"Listen, Alya, I have something I need to tell you," Marinette murmured. Her voice was only just above a whisper, and Adrien strained to hear it. "My dad… He doesn't think that this school is going to work for me."

"What are you talking about? You have to come to school, Marinette. And you have me here! No one is going to talk shit about you on my watch, I promise."

"I know, Alya, I believe you. But my dad looked into it, and he found a school that has other girls… there are other girls at the school that are like me. And I think it will just be easier if I'm not the only one, you know?"

"Are you kidding me?" Adrien exclaimed unintentionally. Marinette couldn't switch schools! He was responsible for her safety now, and he had to be there for her. The thought of something happening to her without him to save her was too much for Adrien to digest. This child was Paris's last hope, and it was his child. There was no way in hell that Adrien was going to let her leave.

A shocked Marinette jumped around and found herself face-to-face with her crush, who looked angrier than she had ever seen him.

"A-Adrien! What's wrong?" Marinette stuttered. She took a step back from the fuming guy in front of her and Alya put a protective hand on her friend's shoulder.

"You can't be serious, Marinette! You can't just switch schools just because of Chloe, that's absurd!" Adrien yelled. In the midst of his anger, he even didn't notice the way that Marinette shied away from him. But Alya did. That was the last straw. While she wasn't thrilled about the idea of Marinette leaving, she knew that standing up for her friend was more important.

"If you haven't noticed, Pretty Boy, it's not just Chloe that's the problem. Everyone at this school has been unsupportive. And why do you even care? Don't you think that she has enough people judging her for her choices?" Alya fought back. She was extremely intimidating, but Adrien was not about to back down. There was too much at stake for him to shrink back into his normal passive attitude.

"Marinette's friends are here, and she needs them," he argued. He was really only speaking about himself, but he knew that he had to be careful not to blow his cover.

"Her 'friends' are the ones that are the ones that are being selfish and uncaring jerks. If she says that she'll be better off with some fresh faces, then that's what she needs. Just take that opinion of yours and shove it up your…"

"Hey!" Marinette interrupted. She wasn't the type to get in the middle of an argument, but this had been going on for too long. What was wrong with Adrien? Just a few weeks ago, he barely ever looked in her direction. Why was he suddenly like her shadow? Why did he care if she left?

"Just stop it, you guys. I'm switching schools after today, and that's final." She turned to Adrien. "Thanks for your input," she told him with more finality in her voice than she thought possible. Then, she turned around, grabbed Alya's hand, and promptly started walking to class. Marinette was surprised that she had been able to confront the boy she had liked for so long with that kind of confidence. Maybe there was a lesson to be learned from this. If he was going to be just like everyone else and judge her, then maybe he wasn't worth her affections.

Adrien stormed into his house and slammed the door when school was finished. Marinette hadn't even so much as looked in his direction since that morning, and it was driving him crazy. He needed to be there for her, and she was not making his job easy. Adrien knew that he wouldn't be able to handle Marinette attending a different school, and she obviously had her mind set on leaving.

Suddenly, Adrien got an idea. He raced down the hall towards Natalie's office. He almost ran straight into a maid along the way, but it didn't slow him down. When he got there, he didn't even bother knocking on the door. He burst in unannounced, and it almost scared the poor secretary to death. It also scared Gabriel Agreste, who had been speaking with Natalie about his newest fashion line. Adrien was surprised to see his father there, but he it wasn't necessarily a bad thing. This way, he would be killing two birds with one stone.

"Natalie, Father, I have something to ask," Adrien started. His father raised his eyebrows, and Adrien took that as a sign to continue. "I was doing some research, and I believe that there is a school that would be a better fit for me. Paris Preparatory school has a fantastic curriculum, and I think that I would benefit from their instruction."

"What? Adrien, what are you talking about? You begged me to go to the school you are in now, and it took a lot of bargaining with Chloe's father to get you in halfway through the year." Gabriel argued.

"Please, Dad, I think that I will get a better education if I switch," Adrien lied.

"I can buy you the best teachers money can buy. If you feel like your current education is too inferior for your liking, then you can go back to being homeschooled. I refuse to let you go to another school," Gabriel decided. Adrien knew that there was no point in arguing, it was final.

"Never mind, Father, don't worry about it," Adrien said, defeated.

When Adrien got back into his room, he sighed and flopped on his bed. He had just found out that Marinette was secretly the love of his life, and he was already going to lose her. What a great guardian he was being.

Plagg tried to let Adrien sulk in silence, but he couldn't take it anymore. This kid was being the cause of his own demise, and Adrien was not even going to do anything about it. Plagg often did his best to let the boy come to his own conclusions, but it seemed like the blonde needed a jump-start to the brain. He flew out of Adrien's shirt pocket and right up next to his ear.

"Get up."

"No, Plagg, it's over."

"Get up."

"Knock off, would you?" Adrien said. He pushed the kwami out of the way, but Plagg returned to his original position.

"Adrien, you're not helping the situation by crying about it."

"Hey, I'm not crying! There's nothing I can do to fix this. She's leaving and I can't go with her. She won't listen to me." He turned over on his side so that he was no longer facing Plagg.

"Maybe she won't listen to you, because you've done nothing to earn her trust," Plagg insinuated.

"What are you talking about?"

"Jeez, kid, how are you so blind? You have the gift of two identities! Use it!" Plagg exclaimed. "Marinette is Ladybug, and Ladybug trusts no one more than Chat Noir. She might listen to what he has to say."

Almost instantly, Adrien was out of bed and on his feet. How had he not thought of this? With any luck, he could convince Marinette to stay if he asked her as Chat.

"Plagg, claws out!"

Chat Noir raced through the streets of Paris with a vengeance, following the route he had memorized from his many late night visits to the girl. When he arrived at his destination, Chat wasted no time with pleasantries and went straight through Marinette's open window.

"Marinette, you cannot change schools!"

"Chat, what are you saying?" Marinette asked, throwing her hand over her heart to catch her breath. She hadn't been expecting the presence of her partner anytime soon, and had been scared to death when he burst in.

"Please don't go to Paris Preparatory. Stay at your old school, Mari," Chat pleaded.

"Chat, why do you care where I go to school? Why is this any of your business?" Marinette sat down on her lounge and looked at the hero with obvious confusion. Chat ran his hands through his hair and sighed.

"I wish I could tell you, I really do," was all he said. The girl just shook her head in response.

"You don't know what went on there yesterday. If you had been there, you'd understand," Marinette started.

"You have no idea," Chat thought to himself. The girl continued.

"My… well, they used to be my friends, all started turning their backs on me. No one was interested in hearing my side of the story. I felt so ashamed! I just want to go somewhere where the other students won't treat me as if I'm some kind of freak."

"You're not a freak, Marinette. If they knew the reason behind all of this, they'd be the ones who felt ashamed. You knew that this would be difficult from the start, and yet you still went through with it. You're so incredibly brave. That's how I know you can stand up to a couple of bullies."

Marinette blushed upon hearing such compliments come from Chat. It was really convincing, and it took everything in her to not give in to his pleading green eyes.

"I appreciate your words, Chat. But I just don't think it is possible for me to go back. I would be so stressed and uneasy, and it would cause this baby to do who-knows-what to my classmates. I already burned Chloe with chemicals and broke half of the lights in the hallway! The school doesn't have it in their budget to deal with this bomb in my stomach."

"Please, Marinette. Give it one more day. If you still feel like you have to leave after that, then I will support your decision. But just give it one more chance, alright? Do you trust me?" Chat Noir asked.

Marinette still had no clue why Chat Noir cared so much about where she went to school, but he brought up a good point. If there was anyone she needed to trust in this situation, it was Chat Noir. Even though it didn't always seem like it, he was just as involved in this as she was, and he deserved her trust.

"Alright. I'll give it one more day."