Chapter Fourteen

Marinette wandered into class with heavy feet. She was late but didn't even pause as she went to her seat and sat down. She felt beat. Again a soreness was still there from the fight, except it wasn't and was all in her head. She knew it should hurt so it kind of did. She knew it was all in her head but that didn't help. It also didn't help that what the akuma had said was ringing in her ears.

"Marinette, why are you late?" Miss. Bustier asked.

She put a hand on her hip trying to look angry but she was really concerned. Marinette didn't look good. Her eyes looked dull and she grimaced when she sat down.

"I tripped on the way here. Sorry." Marinette said dully.

Miss. Bustier wasn't the only concerned one. After hearing Marinette's voice Alya was concerned too. Miss. Bustier opened her mouth to comment but another voice cut in before she could.

"Um, nurse said I'm fine so…" Adrien said sheepishly walking into class.

"Are you sure?" Miss. Bustier asked.

She would worry about any of her students but these two were really starting to give her some problems. She knew they weren't bad kids so their tardiness and bouts of sickness worried her.

"Yeah, actually I'm feeling much better too." He said sitting back in his seat.

Marinette felt a light blush coming to her cheeks but she decided she was going to look at him as little as possible. Not only had the akumas words thrown her off, making her believe she wasn't as good at being a superhero as she originally thought but the night before with what Cat Noir had said was still weighing on her.

When the lunch bell rang she gathered her things and basically ran out the door. She didn't want to interact with Adrien. She had no chance with him so being around him would only hurt her. With how fragile she felt she didn't know if she could hold it together. Her mind would only point out all the proof that he had no interest in her and she couldn't take that.

"Marinette!" Alya called after her.

When Alya finally caught up to Marinette she grabbed her shoulders and searched her face. Marinette looked different than ever before. She didn't look sad, she looked…empty.

"Mari, did something happen?" Alya asked.

Marinette couldn't disclose everything that was wrong because of her secret identity. She didn't know if she even wanted to unload everything that was wrong onto her friend. Alya was always there for her to cheer her up but Marinette couldn't keep relying on other people to boost her ego.

"No." Marinette lied shrugging.

Alya didn't believe that for a second. She let go of Marinette's shoulders but kept her gaze locked on her friend, looking for any clue to what could be wrong.

"I don't understand. You had such a good day and made so much progress. Why do you seem so disheartened now?" Alya asked.

Of course Alya could only link Marinettes weird behavior to something with Adrien. Her best friend being a reporter sure didn't help Marinette. She was going to have to give Alya something to go on. Maybe at least this once she could rely on Alya again. Alya probably wouldn't stop until she found out what was bothering her friend anyway.

"Did I really make any progress? Is he ever really going to see me as more than a friend? Is there anything I can do to change that?" Marinette asked.

Alya felt a little relieved to see the mask break and reveal a sad look on Marinette's face. Sadness was better than nothing at all. She gave her friend a gentle smile.

"Of course you can. He's just an idiot who needs some coaxing in order to realize his own feelings." Alya said confidently.

"I don't know Alya. He's into girls like Ladybug." Marinette said.

Alya was surprised to hear that that was what Marinette was worried about.

"Yeah, and I'm into guys like J-Hope." Alya said smirking and rolling her eyes. "His crush on Ladybug is a celebrity crush. It's unobtainable and idolized. It's not real."

"But that doesn't change his type. Confident and brave. Not a stuttering clumsy mess like me." Marinette said glumly.

"You know people can have more than one type right? And that people end up with people who aren't their 'type' all the time? He's even said your stuttering is cute! Ladybug might not even be his 'type' but just a celebrity he really admires and so he mixes admiration with liking her." Alya said smiling.

"You really think so?" Marinette asked perking up a little.

"Yeah. Even if he did actually like Ladybug it's not like he's Cat Noir. Ya know, someone who actually has a chance with Ladybug." Alya said jokingly.

Something about that rubbed her the wrong way. She shook her head, nothing about Cat liking Ladybug but not her as Marinette should bother her. She only cared about Adrien, not that silly kitty.

"Do you think he could tell something was off about me?" Marinette asked meekly.

"Hey, um, Marinette, can we talk?" Adrien asked behind her.

Marinette spun around to see a sheepish Adrien giving her an adorably awkward smile. Her cheeks turned red as she wondered how much he had heard.

"Oh, um sure. You heard how much? I mean, how much did you hear?" she asked mentally smacking herself.

She had done so well about the stuttering and mixing up words but he could still throw her off with just a look.

"Um, I didn't actually hear any of your conversation. It wasn't about me was it?" he asked worriedly.

"I'll leave you two alone to talk." Alya said slipping away.

There was a small and awkward silence while Marinette built up some confidence.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about?" she asked weakly.

She wasn't going to answer his previous question. That would start a whole new awkward conversation that she was not mentally prepared to have with him. She looked up at him shyly giving him a small smile.

"Well," he started rubbing his neck. "did I do something to upset you?"

Marinette straightened up and her eyes got wide in shock. She had hoped he wouldn't have noticed that she had been acting strange but the thought that he would assume he had done something wrong never crossed her mind.

"No, you haven't done anything wrong." She said looking away from him. "I'm sorry if I've been acting strangely towards you."

"It's okay but can I ask why?" Adrien asked hesitantly.

He of course already knew the reason. What he had said as Cat Noir really bothered her and he felt awful that he hadn't been able to fix it as Cat Noir. He wanted the chance to fix it as Adrien though he wasn't sure how to be entirely honest and fix his mistake at the same time. He cared about Marinette and hated to see her sad. He hoped maybe that would be enough, if she just heard him say that maybe she would feel better.

"I appreciate the concern Adrien but I don't think this is really something I can ask you to help me with. It's just something I have to work on myself. I'm sure soon I'll be back to normal though." She said smiling.

Marinette got through the rest of the school day rather normally. She decided that even if she never could get Adrien's affection that didn't mean she would stop trying. After all he was still single and until that changed she always had a chance at least.

She rushed home and tried to do her homework while she anxiously waited for patrol with Cat. She wanted to be in superhero form and have a chance to prove to herself that she was still a good superhero no matter what an akuma had said.

Author's Notes

Hey guys. So I hope you're still enjoying the story. Seeing all the comments keeps me going. I'm sorry that this update is a little late. I appreciate any and all support. Please leave a comment telling me what you think of the story so far ^-^

Update on my mom:

She says thank you to everyone who has showed concern for her. She really appreciates it. I've been spending 6 out of 7 days with her at the nursing home while she recovers. I go home for about 30 minutes after work to make sure my brother gets home and then I'm with my mom until at least 6 but maybe even 8. So it's been a little difficult to get any writing done. I am trying though I promise. Thank you all.