This Ch didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped but oh well, I'm bad at the whole Chat-Flare situation
(Adrien/Chat Noir's P.O.V)
A loud crash broke the silence. Sirens flared up, suggesting an akuma attack. Chat let out a deep sigh.
"I'll get your answer sooner or later," he pouted, "but right now, we've got a bigger situation. The hero lept out of Marinette's room before she could say a word. What on earth had come over him? Speaking out like that for no apparent reason. What was he trying to achieve? Marinette already loved him as Adrien Agreste, that should've been good enough. 'No,' he thought. 'He's not ME, he's fake.' His mental turmoil was giving him tunnel vision, oblivious to his surroundings.
"Watch out, Chat Noir," a familiar voice rang out a little too late. He crashed into a wall.
"Ouch," Chat groaned, rubbing the impact zone.
"That could've gone better," the orange-clad hero extended a helping hand. Flare's offer was bitterly refused by the somewhat flustered Chat. Without so much as making eye contact, Chat got up and continued making his way to the Akuma. Flare scoffed and quickly caught up.
"I couldn't help but notice where you had come from, Chat," he piped up, "but that girl already has a boyfriend." The words dug deep into his heart. The conflict he was facing inside himself had been brought to such simple words by the overzealous tiger. His clenched jaw and grinding teeth kept his silent rage contained.
"Looks like I've overstepped again," Flare smirked, "and it looks like there was no Akuma after all, just a robbery which the police have sorted out." Chat didn't trust Flare in the slightest. They both pounced off in opposite directions with no further communication.
"And now I have to go home because of that guy," he scowled.
The next day
(Marinette's P.O.V.)
"I have to do it, Tikki," Marinette paced up and down her bedroom as best she could with crutches. "But I don't want to! But I have to. But what if he doesn't understand! What if he hates me forever? What if-"
"Marinette!" The Kwami broke out of her silence. "You're being ridiculous. Don't overthink it, and do what your heart tells you."
"My heart isn't telling me anything, Tikki, that's the issue," she cried out, clutching the seams of her shirt. "I have two halves, two equal halves." It was true she had two halves, but equal? That was becoming a stretch of the truth. One side was beginning to grow beyond her control. With this feeling, whatever it was, she couldn't drag him along for the ride. Marinette needed to figure her thoughts out...alone. No one could know what was going on inside her head, not even Alya.
She needed to do this. Today.
There he was, sitting by the stairs, waiting for class to start. Marinette could already feel her balance wavering. Her head felt dizzy, her palms felt clammy, her stomach felt queasy. 'Am I really about to do this,' she thought. The beautiful blonde caught her sapphire gaze and began to smile. He walked up to Marinette, as per usual, waiting for her running embrace and warm smile. It took everything in Marinette not to cave. She kept a slow, determined pace and a straight face. She could see the immediate dampen on the boy's mood. His smile drooped and open arms fell. After what felt like an eternity, they finally met, standing a small distance apart.
"Marinette," the blonde looked concerned as he gently tilted her chin upwards to meet his gaze, "what's wrong?" He placed his loving hands on her shoulders. Just the sound of his voice made her heart start to break, let alone the contact. She couldn't do it, not to him, not to the most perfect boy in the world.
"I," she was at a loss for words. Nothing would come out. She tried to speak but her body wouldn't let her. "I...can't-"
"You can't date me anymore," Adrien questioned. "Is that what this is?"
Marinette nodded slowly as she stared at her feet. Her sniffles weren't graceful and her tears darkened the surrounding concrete floor. Adrien dropped his arms down by his sides.
"I thought as much," his disappointed words attacked her like a bee sting to the heart. "There's someone else, isn't there?" Adrien's tone was flat, emotionless. He held a vacant stare, slowly drifting downwards. She looked up towards his face, hair covering most of it.
"I-It's not that simple," she managed to force out. "I still love you-" Adrien scoffed at the words, the bittersweetness almost overpowering. "-and that's why I have to do this. So you...so you don't... get hurt." Marinette's breathing became arrhythmic, as she gasped between the hitches in her breath and her falling tears.
"Is this... the only way," He spoke out, still monotone. "I would die for you, Marinette."
"Please don't make this any harder than it is," her soft tones enhanced her sadness. With that, she pivoted on her good foot and began to make her way home. She felt a sudden tug at her shirt.
"Just," Adrien muttered, "tell me if you need me..." he trailed off before letting her go. Why did this have to be so hard?
Method to my madness I promise! I had a really hard time writing this ch cause GAH :(
Things will clear up soon I swear
Love you all ︎
~Ash
