Flutter

Chapter 7

Secret

"Hang on, you and Chat Noir what?!" Nino demanded in a hushed tone, both him and Marinette standing in the corner of their home room classroom. She was well aware of Alya glaring holes into both of their heads, though that wasn't her primary concern at the moment.

"Yeah, we...kissed..." Marinette muttered her words, a hot blush rising to her cheeks. "I wasn't doing well, and Chat is so...he's just..."

"Wait wait wait," Nino held up his hands, stopping Marinette, "do you have feelings for him? I thought Tikki said—"

"I know what she said!" Marinette snapped too loud, drawing the chattering students' attention towards herself. With a scowl and a low growl, she turned to face them. "Mind your own business, assholes!"

Most of the expressions around the room were shocked, though Chloe looked delighted by Marinette's outburst, Sabrina whispering quietly in her ear. She'd have to deal with that later. Great.

"Woah, Mari!" Nino held his hands up in surrender, bringing her gaze back to his. "Chill, ok?"

Marinette took three deep breaths, the shaking she hadn't noticed ceasing. As soon as the anger drained from her body, it was replaced by the same dull, throbbing, annoying pain. She hated that fucking pain.

"Ok. Ok, I'm sorry," she sighed, tears prickling at her tear ducts. With a quick swipe, her hand was smudged with inky black, causing her to cringe back in shock. "Shit."

Nino gave her a questioning glance before looking down at her hands. "Fuck, are you crying the—"

"Yes," she hissed lightly, grabbing one of the used tissues from the side pocket of her backpack and hastily wiping her hand. She dabbed it around her eyes, soaking up the tears before they could fall. "I'm fine."

"You're obviously not—"

"I'm fine!" Marinette yelled it this time, once more drawing the rest of the class' attention. With a sigh, she walked back to her desk, deciding for Nino that e conversation was over.

"Hey, Mari…" Alya greeted her upon sitting down, pondering her next words carefully. "So…what's going on with you and my boyfriend," the last two words had a bitter edge to them, causing the bluenette to stiffen.

"Nino? Alya, you know we're just friends. We'd never…what do you think is going on?" Marinette worried her lip as she spoke, biting too hard and drawing a few droplets of metallic blood. She swiped her tongue across the wound quickly, hoping Alya didn't notice.

Alya sighed, hanging her head and shutting her eyes hard. "I'm not the only one who's noticed. You can't…just tell me what's going on, ok?"

Marinette stared at her best friend, considering her next words with an air of anxiety. "Nothing's going on. We're just good friends, Alya. Like you and Adrien, you know?"

"Yeah," Alya snapped, her gaze shifting back to Marinette's face, "but Adrien and I don't keep secrets from Nino. You're really not going to tell me what's going on?"

Marinette inhaled sharply, hiding the wince that followed. "You know Nino loves you more than just about anything. Are you really questioning that?"

Alya snorted. "Gaslighting. Nice move. It's almost like talking to my mom, and you know how I feel about that."

"Alya—"

Ms. Evelyn interrupted their conversation by stepping up to the front of the room, causing the students lingering around the classroom to make their way back to their seats. "Class is starting," Alya retorted, turning away from Marinette and focusing solely on their teacher.

"Marinette, hold up," Ms. Evelyn called after the teenager, this time not drawing the attention of her friends. They were occupied by the fight slowly breaking out between Nino and Alya, and Marinette could hardly stomach it. Ms. Evelyn's attention was a welcomed distraction.

"Yes?"

"I noticed…" the teacher sighed, eyes gliding down to her feet. "I hate to pry, but I noticed you and Alya were fighting? Maybe something about Nino?"

Despite her status as a teacher, Ms. Evelyn was observant of their social affairs. Marinette would have to keep that fact in mind for the future. "Yeah, we're…things are a little complicated right now."

"Do you want to talk about it?" the teacher asked, drawing Marinette's complete attention. It took more willpower than before to keep from spilling, her deep breaths shuddering against her aching chest.

"I…". She shouldn't. She shouldn't. This was getting dangerously close to her identity as Ladybug, and she knew deep down that she shouldn't be talking about any of it, but Ms. Evelyn was giving her that look that seemed to scream 'Let me help you!', and she just couldn't keep it all inside anymore. "Nino and I have to keep a secret, and Alya think's we- that we- that we'd—"

"Oh, Marinette," Ms. Evelyn rushed forward, grabbing both of the teen's shaking hands. "What's going on? You can tell me anything, I swear."

Marinette sobbed, wishing desperately that her teacher was right, though she knew she couldn't share her deepest secrets. Nino had found them, after all, and the chaos that ensued was causing her current distress. Or, at the very least, greatly contributing to it. "I can't."

"Yes," Ms. Evelyn brushed a loose strand of Marinette's hair behind her ear, her green eyes glinting black for half a second before returning to their natural state. Marinette must have been seeing things, now, too. Wonderful. "You can tell me anything."

Marinette pulled away, shouldering her bag and wiping away (thankfully) clear tears. "I have to get to class."

Ms. Evelyn looked like she wanted to say more, but the bluenette was quick, turning hastily and nearly running out of the classroom. Upon rounding the corner, she ran into someone, hard, toppling the both of them over.

"Fucker! Watch where you're going!" Chloe's shrill voice pinched against every aching nerve Marinette had.

"Oh, fuck you, you alcoholic slut!" Marinette's words were out of her mouth before she could stop them, a shocked hand coming up to trembling lips the moment she realized what she'd said. Why had she said that? She'd never called anyone a slut in her life. Self hate colored her entire form, shaking and curling in on herself as Chloe grabbed her bag off the ground and made her way to her feet.

"Oh, you're one to talk, miss Nino's mistress!" Chloe spat down at the shaking heroine, angry tone faltering upon realizing Marinette was trembling. "Woah, you're, like, shaking. What, are you on meth or something?"

"Chloe, no," Marinette shuddered the words out, trying to sit up, only to be overwhelmed by the anger and fear and pain oh my god the pain.

"It would explain the shakes, the mood swings," as Chloe spoke, she helped Marinette stand, grabbing her bag and handing it to her. Marinette took it with jackhammer hands, slinging it unsteadily over her shoulder as she leaned on Chloe for support.

"I'm not- not on drugs," Marinette's teeth were chattering now. Why did she feel so terrible? What had changed? There hadn't been another Akuma attack since last night, and she'd already dealt with those symptoms. "It's…I'm sick and I don't know what the hell is happening to me!"

Chloe looked taken aback, her face taught with something Marinette didn't recognize from the heiress. With a start, she realized it was worry. Concern. From Chloe, of all people. Had things really gotten so bad that Chloe was worried about her? Marinette shuddered harder at the revelation.

"Let's get you to the nurse's office, ok? I've seen a lot of people go through drug withdrawals. Really, there's no shame in asking for help, you know?" the blonde fiddled with her perfectly manicured, baby blue nails as she spoke. "You can do this."

Marinette almost smiled. Why was sh being so nice? Did she really look that bad? "It's not drugs, it's—"

Her words were drowned out by a pounding, crashing wave that hit her throbbing skull. She lurched forward, falling into Chloe's firm grasp. "Marinette? Marinette! What's going on?!"

"Bathroom," Marinette hissed the word, the burning bile sneaking up her throat. "Bathroom, please!"

Chloe complied wordlessly, dragging Marinette along with her to the bathroom before glaring at a few underclass girls touching up their makeup. "Out!" she demanded, earning a few startled yelps. Within seconds, the bathroom was empty, and Marinette was hunched over the toilet bowl, heaving and retching as the bile continued to sneak up on her. "It's ok, you'll feel better once you let it out," Chloe rubbed soothing circles in Marinette's lower back, earning a cold, sweaty shudder.

Before Marinette could do or say anything, the poison was spewing out of her, splashing violently into the toilet bowl and licking her face. She continued for a few moments before the vomit ceased, giving her a moment to catch her breath. Apparently, it wasn't her lucky day, because as soon as she caught her breath, hot saliva filled her mouth again, signaling that she wasn't done just yet. Another round of hacking, burning vomit shot from her body, this time causing even more splash back. Chloe was cursing under her breath, though Marinette wasn't in the right state of mind to listen. When the poison finally slowed to a stop, Marinette sighed, hanging her head in misery. Chloe's hand had paused, still resting on her lower back, and she could tell it was from shock. It had to be.

"The black bile…" Chloe trailed off, realization coloring her voice.

"Stop," Marinette moaned, knowing it was already too late. The last person she wanted to know her secret knew, and there was nothing she could do about it.

"Fuck, you were telling the truth. This is bad."

"Please, just…" Marinette's moaning breaths caught up with her, sending another volley of shivers up her back. "You can't…know…"

"Ladybug," Chloe breathed the word so softly, it almost fell deaf on Marinette's foggy ears. "Let me help you."

Hey all! What do you think?

Thinks are moving pretty fast from here on out, so stay tuned! I'm keeping with the Tuesday/Saturday posting schedule, so I hope that gives you all something to look forward to :)

Also, at the risk of oversharing, I did want to say that my dog is being put down today, so any extra love would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you so much for all the reviews, favorites, and follows! They're always a needed serotonin boost.

Until Tuesday,

~Ashtyn