Ch. 26
There've been a couple of days after Louis's birthday, after Olivia found out who really the legendary heroes were, her confess to Louis about her paat and her break up with Noah. After that life seemed a bit easier for Olivia. She didn't have to worry about Noah anymore, she felt more confortable with Marinette and felt closer to Louis. He accepted Olivia after everything what happened to her and the girl felt better being close to him. She trusted him more than anyone else. Well, maybe same as Mister Bug, but that was for a different reasons.
But something was different during those days. It was so quiet in the city - all that time there weren't any amok monsters and this made the heroes nervous. Something was clearly wrong. Insted of Plunksna's attacks, the news were filled of mysterious kidnapps when a few people dissapeared every nighr. Those dissapearances made Olivia's mother really nervoiss, so she asked the girl to come back straight home after school. Therefore Olivia had very limited time to speak with Marinette in the mornings.
Meanwhile, Louis noticed that Olivia was different around him but this made him feel even better. He knew it was because he knew more than any other her friend. She told him things, she didn't even tell to her boyfriend, now ex-boyfriend, but this made the boy feel special. Of course, this was only the happiness for Louis while his superhero person was extreamly worried. He met his partner two days ago and both agreed to patrol every night in case something happen. Last night was his time to patrol and when there was another paceful evening he just couldn't sleep the rest of the night. Something was really wrong and that could mean only something really horrible was about to happen.
But during school he tried not to think much about it. Olivia was there, so close to him anyway...
After the first lesson he noticed her looking for something in her locket while arguing with Cornellia. That girl just stood near by and couldn't stop giggling.
"Hey... So up? Ugh... What's up?" Louis quickly managed correct himself before Cornellia started rolling her eyes on him.
Olivia looked at him a bit confused until she processed who was there.
"Oh, hi Louis! Nothing, just can't find my Geography textbook anywhere. Ugh, I probably left it at home. Which is strange, because I usually don't brieng it home" she shook her shoulders.
"Have Geography now?" the boy asked.
"Olivia, stop. We can share the same one" Cornellia giggled again. "You look ridiculous right now, you know that? You're re-checking the whole books in here for probably the fifth time."
"I can trend.. Lend mine. I have no Geography to-tomight... Umm, today" Louis suggested smiling friendly.
"Really? That'd be really awesome!" Olivia smiled back and closed her locker.
While Louis was taking his textbook someone talked to the pupil's backs.
"Olivia?" that someone asked.
All of them turned tu face a tall fair-haited boy with big hazel eyes. Olivia gasped.
"Noah? What are you doing here? You don't even go to this school!" she yelled at him.
"Calm down, I can explain!" he rised his hands in defence. He looked a bit scared, or nervous. It was a little confusing the trio.
"I don't want to hear anything from you. Which part of we are over you don't understand?" Olivia glared at the boy.
"She's right. You can't be here. Leave her alone and get your own life" Cornellia interupted and crossed her arms on her chest.
"I understand but something happened after that... I don't know how to explain..." Noah didn't pay attention to Cornellia at all.
"What did you do?" Olivia asked.
"Why I had to do something?" Noah asked but than said. "Well, it's not like I did anything, but after I went away that day I saw a monster. Well, one of Plunksna's monsters" Noah said. Everyone's eyes widdened of horror. "And I honestly think it's after you... Especially when... Umm... I don't know how to explain it..."
"The blue feather fell into something what belonged to you?" Cornellia asked while her hand touched her dad's wach.
Noah nodded turning red.
"I think that monster is the one kidnapping all those people, because we haven't heard anything about it for a few days already" Noah said and looked at Olivia with the most guilty eyes he could make. "I'm so sorry, Olivia. I didn't want this to turn this way..."
"How do you even dare to come here saying this?!" Cornellia shouted on the boy while both Louis and Olivia stared at him with shock. "You dared to put her in danger and now you pretend to be guilty? Where's your head, dude? You had to inform Mister Bug as soon as it appeared!"
"I tried to catch both of them. But they were too fast, I wasn't able to do so. I also tried to taxt Olivia, to warm her, but she blocked me."
"Ugh, If you tried, you'd have cought them and said everything" Cornellia crossed her arms on her chest. She easn't going to give up. "And I was the one who blocked your number in her phone the next day, so you didn't figure to do that at least more then a day, if not at all."
Meanwhile slowly Olivia got over it. She had to go and fight. She had to rescue the kidnapped people. But how was she going to do that if nobody had seen the monster so far? Besides, all people went gone during the night, so it was pointless to look for the monster right now skipping the classes.
But somehow she was disguisted of Noah. He informed her after such a long time. Screw his excuses, because he had to do that straight after the monster appeared, like Cornellia said.
The girl stepped back from her ex-boyfriend accidentally bumping into Louis. He stepped back as well trying to keep himself standing and wrapped his hands around Olivia, so she wouldn't too. The Geography book fell on the ground.
Noah turned back to Olivia after he heard the book fell. He blinked of surprise seing the blond holding her. Louis quickly relised Olivia while she turned to face him and apologized quetly.
"Oh, so that's why you wanted to break up with me?" Noah said. "You wanted to be with him."
"What?" Louis turned red.
"Are you being serious right now? I didn't even look at other boys that way while we were dating" Olivia tried to defence herself.
"She's right. She didn't, though there were many more boys hundered times better than you" Cornellia stood in her friend's side.
"It doesn't matter, because you managed to find another guy for yourself just in a few days" Noah glared at Louis.
"What? I'm not dating Louis. And even If I did, it isn't your bussiness anymore" Olivia glared at him.
Louis blushed a little and bit his lip. It was really awkward to hear this, but he quirky managed to control himself.
"Oh, really? I was sick worried because our heroes still didn't find the monster which might is after you while you are already in another guy's arms? How do you expect me to feel while you were the one who broke up with me?"
"I did it because we didn't mach. It was useless to try to fix this becaue nothing would have changed and you know that."
"You should leave, Noah" Cornellia interrupted. "You already did what you wanted. You have no right to decide what Olivia can do and what she can't any longer. You're neither her boyfriend nor her father, so be gone."
"Well, you can't decide for me when to leave too" Noah said back and looked at Olivia. "You're a slut."
Olivia gasped hearing this. She was called a slut. She couldn't believe Noah could ever call her that. He tried to stay with her in a relationship with her a few days ago and he just needed to see one meaningless hug and he was already calling her slut. She knew he couldn't mean it, but it still made her eyes be filled of tears.
She didn't even feel when Louis steped forward to Noah and punched in his face. Olivia hid her gasp uner her palms while Cornellia started laughing.
"Yes! In your face, Noah! You definetelly deserved that!" she said still smiling.
Meanwhile Noah was confused to get a punch, he lost his equilibrium, but didnt fell. He put his palm on his cheek which quckly turned red.
"Is that all you got? How are you going to protect your slut from that monster while you can't punch me normally" Noah teesed Louis but the boy grabed his collar.
"She's not a slut. She's an angel you never valued and how you dare you call her that? You were dating her, you had feelings for her but it seemes it was all fake. You were fake" Louis glared at his opponent. "She's too perfect even to be near you. And if you never understood that you're just a blind fish never worth her glory."
Olivia grabed Louis hands and pulled him away from her ex. She saw a couple students already filming this and she had to cut that drama. She didn't want to end up with a scandal. Because if it reached internet, people would start noticing she looked similar to Cat Noire, while Louis will be discovered being Adrien Agreste's son.
Louis stepped a few steps away and let Olivia to wrap her arms around his neck. She knew Louis won't try to relise himself because he loved her. She knew this coulsd calm him down. But his body was shaking. He wanted to punch Noah again, but didn't. Her touch was definetelly calming him down.
Olivia knew this wasn't the best idea to do that. She knew that in this way everyone clearly will think she was dating Louis and if not dating, then had feelings for him. She knew she could make even Louis think so, but she did what she had to. She couldn't let Louis to cause a fight, to do that only for her. She didn't deserve this. She didn't want rhis to happen.
Noah stared ar Olivia for a moment withkut any emotion. He was hurt to see this and he knew making a mistake but he was angry. He thought the girl left him for another boy while hiding the real reason and putting all the foult to Noah. The boy sighed.
"Enjoy each other's company while you can. Soon she'll dumb you too" he finally said to Louis and left.
Olivia slowly relised the blond boy and looked at his eyes. He followed Noah with his eyes before he was out of sight. Then he looked back at Olivia. He saw how worried she was.
"Are you OK?" she asked.
"I-I'm sorry" he sttuttered and ran away. He got under the stairs barely catching his breath. He couldn't believe he literatly confessed to Olivia. He basicaly said what he felt for her and he was freaked out she understood it. But this was one of the worst ways to find out someone had strong feelings, Louis wanted to do it making something special for her. He wanted to impress Olivia and only then say he liked her more than a friend. But this was screwed. Louis was screwed. Olivia probably won't even return his feelings, even though she was worried for him. And why the heck she huged him? She couldn't act like that he knew her more than others.
--
Olivia saw Louis go and wanted to go after him. He protected her. He stood up for her when she needed it. Of course, Cornellia would do that too, but she was too crazy sometimes. But for Louis this was something unusual. He reminded of Mister Bug that horible evening after one of the fights. That anger, that fire in their eyes, the desperate wish to protect her from being harmed both mentaly and physically. Olivia understood Mister Bug wasn't her only savior. She had Louis too. This boy was close to her all the time and he accepted her with the horible past. But he wasn't the one she loved. And this made her feel really bad. Louis was too good for her. She didn't deserve to be loved by him. After everything she did, after what she did to her past friends and Noah. After everything she didn't deserve to be with Louis, she even didn't deserve Mister Bug. But she had to go after Louis. She had to make things clear or maybe tall she knew about his feelings. She had to say this truth as well.
Olivia turned to go after him as she felt someone grabing her sleave.
"We have Geography. You can talk to him after that" Cornellia said and took the textbook from the ground.
Olivia didn't respond. She was too deeply in thoughts. She tried to figure if she had to try to move to Louis. She didn't love him like Mister Bug, but she wasn't alowed to know his identity anyway. Besides, he'd reject her. His heart was taken by another girl.
The girls entered the class in the middle of the lesson. The teacher obviously wasn't pleased by this but let it go only keeping late in the electronic diary.
--
After the lessons Cornellia got redy to go home and kissed Olivia's cheek for a goodbye while the girl went to her orchestra. It was less than two weeks left before their performance in the chirch. Though Cornellia didn't believe in God, she was used to visit religious places during her trips. But this time she was planing to go there not as a turist or YouTuber, but as a school student to listen the mass organized every year before Christmas.
When she left the school building she saw a familiar car already waiting for her. When she came closer she recognised her mother already waiting for her. It was strange to see her coming there, because she was usually working in the tourism agency at that time. She could have been here only if something wrong had happen.
"Why are you here? I didn't get in trouble, so there's no need to come to take me home" Cornellia said when she sat in the car.
"We aren't going home now" mom said. She looked tired and not in the good mood. Something was obviously wrong.
"Where are we going then?" the girl asked.
"At first we'll go to take Leon from school too" the woman said.
"And then...?"
"Then we'll go to visit your grandmother Christina."
"You mean, dad's mom? We haven't seen her for more than a year since... Since the funeral" Cornellia said. She perfectly remember her dad's funeral more than a year ago. He died from leukemia and this was a huge family tragedy. After that her family was different. Colder. "But why now? Why we couldn't wisit her on weekends or holidays?"
"Because she's in the hospital. She was found without conscious at her home. Doctors said she overdosed medicine. They think she tried to poison herself" mom's voice cracked.
"You mean... She- she tried to... Oh God" Cornellia gasped. She didn't know how to react.
"Yep" mom said and sighed. "Thiugh her stomach had been cleaned, they found that she also had a cancer."
"What?" Cornellia jumped from her seat. "No! She can't!"
"That's why she tried to do that. She doesn't want to suffer. She doen't want to be healed. She wants to go to finally meet your dad again" mom almost cried.
"No! She wouldn't! She can't! No" Cornellia freaked out. Even though she wasn't close to her granny, she still cared for her and didn't want her to die. She just lost her dad not a long time ago and now she was loosing her grandmother too.
The car stopped and Cornelia's mother wrapped her arms around her daughter. A few tears ran Cirnellia's face. She couldn't handiel this.
"I don't want to lose her" she whispered.
"Me too" mom said back. She also couldn't handle a tear or two.
The car doors opened and both Cornelia and her mother pulled away. Cornellia quickly dried her face and looked if her make-up wasn't ruined.
"What are you doing here? Din't you have a work to do?" Leon asked while sitting in the car. But then he noticed that something was wrong. "Is everything alright? You two look like half dead."
Cornellia rolled her eyes.
"Can you shut up for once? Or at least think before saying something" she said glaring at the view in front of her.
"Oh, c'mon. Don't play serious with me. You'te the one thinking the least out here. And I'm right - you look horible. You don't ever need a make over to go and scare people" Leon simply said and when his eyes cought Cornellia's glare he started to giggle.
"Leon, stop it" mom interupted. "Now isn't the best time for your two jokes."
"Why? What's wrong?" the teen boy asked.
"Oh, nothing, just our granma tried to commit a suicide" Cornellia said ironically.
Leon's mounth fell open.
"What? Are you kidding?" he was shooked. Both women shook their heads and the boy sightd. He didn't expect this at all. "So we're going to visit her, right?" he asked and they nod.
It was an hour trip to the other city and Cornellia's mother had a lot of trouble with parking, so it took some extra time to come to visit the sick woman.
All three seemed really worried of what they were going to see. They were afraid to see a person rather reminding of a dead or vegetable, than a real human. Though the old women still didn't look like that, she still looked horible.
After being in the room for a few minutes, mom had to go to find the doctor befoe his working hours ended. Meanwhile Cornellia and Leon sat next to their grandmother and talked to her.
"Did you really tried to kill yourself?" Leon asked.
"Shut up" Cornellia slaped the back of his head.
"Cornellia, don't punch your brother" granny said and put her palm on the girl's hand. "I'm sorry you two have to see me like that. This shouldn't have happened."
"What do you mean? You'd rather have died?" the girl asked.
The woman just looked at the girl hardly but slowly breathing. Her eyes told everything. She was sick and exhausted. Probably had some pain.
"Why?"
"You know why. I'm sure you know. You aren't children anymore. I'm sure you can understand it" she answered slowly and then coughed. "Leon, dear, can you bring me some water? I asked other people who visited others to buy me some, but now I'm running out of it."
Leon nod and left though he perfectly knew the shop downstairs must have worked until three, so it was closed. He had to find another shop, where it was working for longer hours.
When he left the old woman took a deep breath and sighed.
"When I decided to go away, I wrote a note for you. I wraped it around a box and put it in my pocket, so your mother would give it to you when she found me. Altheough my plan didn't work the way I wanted, I still have the box and note" the woman leaned closer and whispered, so the other old women wouldn't hear. "Open the drawer. Take it. It has to belong to you."
The girl did what she was told and foumd a little box hidden behind a paper. Cornellia grabed it and looked at the paper.
"Don't read it yet. And don't look what's inside now. Not here" her grandmother put her hand on the paper not letting Cornellia to read it. "And promise me something."
"What?"
"At first you have to promise" grandmother looked deepely at the girl's eyes.
"I can't promise things I won't be able to keep" the girl said.
The woman smiled.
"Oh, Cornellia. You're just like your father" she said and Cornellia smiled weakly. "But you have to keep this as a secret. Nobody has to know I gave this box to you. You can't tell anyone you have it or what's inside. Even Leon and your mother can't know that. Can you ptomise me this?" she whispered.
Cornellia blinked. Now she really become curious of what was inside. What kind of secerets were those? What her grandmother hid inside? She hoped nothing criminal. Though it would be so intriguing.
"I... I can try. But what's inside?" Cornellia whispered baxk.
"Don't worry. You'll like it" the woman amiled and put her palm on Cornellia's. Though the girl was still worried, she accepted the gift and put it in her school bag.
Just later in the evening she decided to finally open it. She went to the bathroom saying she was going to have a long bath. There she red the letter and opened it. But what she expected the least was to find a miraculous in there. The one which didn't belong to Marinette's Miracle box. It was firefly miraculous.
~~~
Hey guys! I don't know how anout your places, but today we're celebrating the women day, so have a lovely day ladies!
Also, this chapter I thought was necessary for Cornellia's miraculous. This one would perfectly lead us to the next book, which I most likely won't write. But you all can change my mind. To be honest, the idea of firefly miraculous came to me even before I started writing this story, but I know one writer thought about lightening miraculous too, so if I'll continue, I'll definetely inform him/her that I want to use that idea as well. But now I didn't because this will be not that important in this book. We're about to reach the end anyway.
But I still hope you don't mind I didn't ask that person's permision yet and you liked the way of the story it is.
