Adrien had been absent from school for a few days. Marinette was starting to get incredibly worried. She knew his father was strict, but she'd thought that he'd come to terms with the fact that Adrien wanted to go to school. She hoped that he hadn't found out about his outburst and decided to keep him home because of it.
She walked into the school, and was immediately met with Adrien, and… he was holding hands with some girl she'd never seen before. She thought she felt her heart shatter before when Adrien had said she was just a friend. But this was something completely new. First Chat Noir stops coming to see her, and now Adrien has a new girlfriend. She just wanted her heart to be done breaking.
Adrien turned around and saw her. He smiled and waved at her. Marinette waved back sheepishly before running for the nearest restroom. She locked herself in a stall and started sobbing. She thought that she was finally over him, and that they were truly just friends now. Why was it hurting her so bad to see him with someone else? I mean, for God's sake, it was Adrien Agreste he was bound to get a girlfriend sooner or later.
And of course it wasn't Marinette. It wouldn't ever be Marinette. Especially not now.
"Oh Tikki, how could I have been so stupid? Of course I'm not over Adrien. I couldn't ever be. I don't think my heart will ever be able to stop wanting him."
Tikki peaked out of Marinette's purse, her eyes sad. "Everything that is meant to be works out in the end, Marinette. You have plenty of time to figure out things with Adrien. Just because he's with a girl now doesn't mean they'll be together forever."
Marinette sniffled. "I know, but… he looked so happy. He looks the happiest that I've seen him in a long time."
"Well, you looked the happiest you've looked in a long time with Luka. But you aren't planning on spending the rest of your life with him, are you?"
Marinette blushed. "Of course not. Luka is great, but, I don't think we're meant to be more than friends."
Tikki smiled. "So don't you think perhaps Adrien and that girl are only meant to be friends, too?"
Marinette smiled. "You always know exactly what to say to make me feel better. I love you, Tikki."
Eventually the bell rang. Marinette calmed her breathing thanks to Tikki's instruction, and she left the bathroom. She ran into Alya, who looked angry.
"Who's that new girl and why is she all up in Adrien's personal space?"
Marinette glanced over to Adrien and the mystery girl. They were holding hands walking towards the fencing locker rooms. Marinette offered a sad smile in their direction, and she turned back to Alya
"I don't know. But if she makes Adrien happy, then that's all that matters, right?" she said softly. Alya smiled at her.
"Dang girl, Adrien really doesn't know what an awesome person he's missing out on. I sure hope he figures it out some day," she said, linking arms with Marinette as they walked towards their first class.
Marinette gently squeezed her purse with Tikki inside. "If it is meant to be, then it will be. In its own time."
Until then, Marinette had a right to her own happiness. She didn't have to put her life on hold to wait and see what may or may not happen with Adrien. She was young, and she had all the time in the world. She saw Luka walking down the stairs as they were walking up. She waved and he blew a kiss in her direction, causing her to blush. Alya proceeded to bombard Marinette with questions about Luka for the rest of the day.
During lunch that day, everyone was talking about the new girl and how she and Adrien had practically become a thing overnight. Marinette learned that the new girl was named Kagami. She was a fencer from a prestigious family, and she was joining their school to be a part of the fencing team, since it was one of the most talented fencing teams in all of France. She had taken a quick liking to Adrien because he was a talented fencer, and Adrien had taken a liking to her because her dark hair and stunning eyes reminded him of a certain lady of his.
Marinette was still finding herself saddened every time she saw them laughing together or holding hands over the next few weeks. But Luka made sure to spend as much time as possible with her, often playing a soothing song on his guitar. They'd been spending more and more time together as of late, leaving Marinette very little time to focus on Adrien and Kagami. And Marinette really appreciated Luka's company. He was perfectly aware that her heart belonged to someone else, and he made no efforts to try and sway her towards him. He simply offered his friendship, and Marinette was forever grateful for it. If anything, it made her like him more than she was expecting. She had no idea what to do with herself. She loved Adrien, and she certainly had strong feelings for both Chat Noir and Luka. But now the first two were looking more and more hopeless by the second. She mentally kicked herself for more or less "settling" for Luka, because he deserved so much better than that. He deserved someone that loved him with their whole heart. And Marinette wasn't sure that she could ever offer her whole heart to him, no matter what became of Adrien or Chat Noir.
On a lighter note, love was apparently in the air all over the school, and Marinette's friends were having much better luck than herself. Nino had just returned from a trip with his family, and Alya was absolutely ecstatic. Adrien, too, was excited to see the return of his friend. Because he had never been more confused in his life about girls, and Nino and Alya seemed to have the perfect relationship.
"Hey, Nino!" Adrien called, running up to him and Alya. Alya shot him an angry look and gave Nino a peck on the cheek before walking away. Adrien gave Nino a confused look.
"What was that about?"
Nino rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Sorry dude, I'm under oath. I promised Alya I wouldn't say anything about it."
Adrien's heart pounded. Was it something to do with Marinette? Speaking of which…
Adrien gave Nino a pat on the back. "Hey man, I have a lot of things to run by you. When are you free?"
Nino smiled. "All day, my dude. All day." They made plans to hang out after school so Adrien could tell him all about his latest Marinette drama.
Adrien was so excited when the end of the day rolled around. He gave Kagami a chaste kiss on the cheek and promised her that they would be able to spend more time together later in the week. Then he and Nino hopped into Adrien's car and made their way to the Agreste mansion. Adrien's father was nowhere to be seen, and so they made it to his room with very minimal interactions aside from Nathalie telling him when dinner was going to be.
Adrien flopped down onto the couch in his room and let out a deep sigh.
"Woah, man. Is it that bad?"
Adrien turned to Nino and looked at him with tired eyes. "I've told you about the feelings I have for Ladybug, right?"
Nino laughed. "Yeah, man. You really don't shut up about it, I'm surprised it hasn't leaked to the whole school."
Adrien sighed. "Marinette and I started talking a bit more while you were away. And then… then she told me that she thought she was developing feelings for Luka. After I had overheard her talking to Alya about her feelings for me. So, I thought she was over me."
"And it hurt, didn't it?" Nino asked, finishing Adrien's thoughts for him.
"Yeah," Adrien mumbled. He began twiddling his thumbs. "It hurt a lot more than I was expecting it to, that's what got me. Why should I be so upset about my friend liking someone else romantically?"
"You like her a lot more than as a friend, dude. I know that, Alya knows that. Anyone who's watched you interact with her knows that. There's no sense in denying it, dude."
Adrien sighed again. "And now I'm in this weird limbo with Kagami. I know she likes me, and she's a sweet girl. But I don't like her in that way. The only reason I fell into this weird thing with her was because I thought I had no chance with Marinette. And that's really crappy of me, and I feel so guilty every time she smiles at me. I know I need to break things off with her, I just don't know how."
"Honestly is the best policy, Agreste. You'll be miserable for the rest of your life if you live a lie."
Adrien smiled. "I missed you man."
"Hell yeah, dude. It's good to be home. I'm sorry we couldn't have had this conversation earlier."
Nino pulled Adrien into a hug, and they opted to play a video game until Nathalie called Adrien for dinner.
Around the same time as Nino's return, a new transfer student named Marc had just moved here as well and almost immediately fell into the love pool. Marc had fallen absolutely head-over-heels for Nathanael within the first few days, but Nathanael was too caught up in his latest developments with his comic book series to even notice Marc's existence. It was an absolute delight watching Nathanael stumble all over his words trying to talk to him. Marinette couldn't help but laugh as she watched the two of them sitting on the stairs, flipping through sketches. At one point their hands brushed against each other and they both started blushing like tomatoes.
Marc walked into the classroom, and made for the back row. If there was one thing he knew, it was that he would only survive if he could avoid as much attention as possible. He knew that the Parisian opinion of homosexuality was changing… slowly. Ever so slowly, but he figured that eventually he would be able to meet someone like him.
Though, considering his first interaction was with the rumored Chloe Bourgeois, who called him and his outfit "the most hideous thing she'd ever seen," he wasn't sure that he was going to find what he was looking for at this school. Tears stung his eyes as he scribbled down ideas for his newest stories. The bell rang signaling the end of the day, and Marc had never been more ready to leave a place in his life. He was so quick to leave the school, that he ran right into someone. He inwardly cursed as his sketches fell everywhere. He looked up and was met with kind blue eyes.
"Hey, you're the new student, right? Marc Anciel?"
She offered him a hand in picking up his sketches and handed them back to him.
"My name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng, and I'm your class representative! I am really sorry that one of your first interactions had to be with Chloe Bourgeois…" she marked the girl's name with a look of disgust. "But I promise you that not everyone here is like that."
Marinette's eyes were drawn to Marc's sketches. He blushed and pulled them closer to his chest.
"You're really talented, Marc. Those sketches are amazing."
His blush deepened. "They're nothing, really. Just doodles is all."
Marinette smiled at him. "Follow me, I think I have something you may be interested in."
Marc followed her to the art room. "Unfortunately club sign-ups won't begin again until next school year, but you're more than welcome to come work in here whenever you like. Actually… you may be interested in partnering with my friend Nathanael! He's been looking for an artist for ages to start up his comic book collection. You'd be perfect!
Marinette called out to a red-headed boy sitting across the room. He made eye contact with Marc, and Marc felt his soul leave his body. He was the most beautiful thing Marc had ever seen, and it was at that moment he knew that he was absolutely gone.
Marinette continued to watch Marc and Nathanael working together. Again, Nathanael leaned in a little too close and she watched Marc's face start to blend into his red jacket, and let out another small laugh. Luka turned to Marinette and smiled.
"Your laugh is like a song that I never want to end," he said, strumming his guitar softly. Marinette felt the blush creeping into her cheeks.
"I never know how to respond to your compliments, Luka…thank you."
He shrugged. "I'm never looking for a response. A girl like you just deserves to be constantly reminded of how beautiful she is."
Marinette looked away, unable to maintain a steady heartbeat. She'd never had someone so blatantly interested in her before, and she still had no idea what to do about it. But she knew that she really enjoyed Luka's company and his intentions were pure. He was only interested in a romantic relationship if the feelings were mutual. And Marinette was finding it increasingly difficult to focus on her feelings for Adrien when Luka said such sweet things to her.
While Adrien and Kagami sat on the bench across the courtyard, Adrien was only half listening to Kagami's talk of her favorite fencing techniques. He was too busy watching Marinette and Luka getting much too comfortable together. He shouldn't care… she had already said she liked him a lot. Adrien had thought he had some sort of chance when he'd seen how sad Marinette looked when she saw he and Kagami together. But that was even worse. Adrien really did like Kagami. She was a sweet girl, and a very talented fencer. But Adrien knew deep down that they weren't meant to be more than friends, and he felt awful for following Kagami along in the relationship so cluelessly when she obviously liked him very much. He didn't want to lead her on anymore. He took a deep breath as he was remembering the conversation he'd had with Nino.
Because Nino was right. He wasn't over Marinette, even if she was over him. He missed her. He missed her in a way he didn't think he would. He missed her affection. He wanted so badly to have it again so he could return it this time. He wished that he hadn't pushed her so far away by insisting they were only friends, when clearly they were meant to be more than that.
They were meant to be. Some force beyond him was continuously drawing him towards Marinette. He didn't know what it was, but somehow he knew that she was the most important person in his life. Even more important than Ladybug…and he had to find some way to get her back.
"I'm sorry Kagami," he started, completely interrupting her story. She looked at him with surprised eyes. "You're really wonderful Kagami, but… I'm still in love with someone else. And I don't want to hurt you like that. I can't do this anymore."