"Nathaniel! What are you drawing?!"
Half the class jumped as Ms. Mendeleiv snapped at the poor redhead. The teen stuttered, attempting to answer.
"And these artistic endeavors are clearly why you are failing science!"
"I'm sorry..."
"You go march yourself down to the principal's office and show him that chicken scratch! Then you'll really be sorry!"
Ella couldn't help but feel for the boy as he clutched his items to his chest and started for the front of the class. From her seat beside Ivan, Ella saw the backpack in the aisle but before she could open her mouth, Nathaniel tripped, his journal falling open at Chloé's feet.
"Ooh- Look Sabrina! It's him as a superhero! And look who he's saving! It's Marinette!"
"Uh..." Ella heard the blunette's awkward noise, clearly not knowing what to say.
"He's totally so crushing on you, Marinette!"
"Gimme that!" Nathaniel grabbed his journal away, clutching it tight against him.
"Enough! Nathaniel, go!" Ms. Mendeleiv shouted once more, the redhead leaving the room.
It took a moment for the class to regather themselves, and then Ms. Mendeleiv started assigning groups for the new particle physics project.
"First is Kim, Alix and Alya. Next is Rose, Nathaniel and Juleka. Third group is Nino, Adrien and Ella."
"So lucky..." Ella heard Marinette grumble, ignoring the hurt poking her chest.
"And then: Sabrina, Chloé and Marinette."
"So unlucky..." Alya whispered sympathetically to the blunette, who glared at Chloé, who was already complaining about Marinette working with her and Sabrina. Ella rolled her eyes at the blonde girl, keeping her gaze resting on her journal though.
"You think Ella would be willing to trade groups?" Marinette whispered to Alya, glancing over her shoulder at the noir-ette.
"I doubt it, girlie- her anxiety would shoot through the roof." And regrettably, Marinette knew that. She had forgotten how anxious Ella got around crowds or around people she doesn't really know... or people who bully and hurt others, like Chloé- all because she was jealous her friend was in a group with Adrien...
The bell rang, students moving about packing their stuff and gathering to discuss the project expectations. Adrien was up quick, moving back to Ella's seat.
"Hey Ella! Lucky draw, huh?" He spoke excitedly, shyly rubbing the back of his neck.
"Mhm. I feel bad for Marinette though... I think she wanted to be in the group with you." The girl's eyes moved to her friend, watching her chat with Alya as the pair exited the classroom.
"Why do you say that?" Adrien asked, tilting his head like a puppy. The girl didn't answer at first, her eyes going unfocused. He could tell she was thinking about something, but he wasn't liking the sad frown forming on her lips.
Ella couldn't exactly tell Adrien Marinette wanted to be in his group because she had a crush on him, and she really couldn't say that the blunette, while trying not to let her jealousy show, had been acting just noticeably distant from Ella. It made her sad, to see her first real friend upset at her because of a boy... Ugh, this was where permanently transforming Raven would make everyone's lives better...
"Ella?"
The teen startled out of her thoughts at the feeling of a hand on her shoulder. On instinct, she flinched away, the stool clattering to the ground as she darted away.
Adrien cursed himself, knowing he shouldn't have done that. She just looked so sad, lost in her thoughts... "Ella. It's okay. It's just me, Adrien. You're okay, you're at school in the science lab." He spoke calmly and slow, remembering what he read about talking someone down from a panic attack. Slow and calm, give her space, only offer physical touch once she was okay with it.
Adrien only had to wait a moment, then Ella was reaching out. His hand met hers, and she clasped on tight. At the contact, Adrien watched Ella's breathing deepen and slow, her eyes refocusing, finding him in front of her.
"You okay?"
"...yeah... sorry..."
"You wanna go to the library? You can relax there?"
Ella nodded, shifting and lightly shaking her legs out. Adrien waited, recalling that after a panic attack, she might feel weak or exhausted, so he kept his hand in hers until her fingers uncurled and released.
"Thanks..." Ella whispered as the pair left the room, heading to meet Nino at the library stairs. Adrien smiled softly.
"I'll always be here for you, Ella. I promise."
Ella blushed, lowering her gaze as Adrien greeted Nino and thanked him for waiting. The three teens made their way up to the library and found a quiet corner. Nino volunteered to go find some books they may need, while Adrien pulled out the project outline.
"You can rest, Ella. It's fine, trust me." Adrien spoke, when Ella moved to pull her textbook out. The girl nodded before reaching into her skirt pocket.
"Kiisy?" Ella murmered, the kwami climbing out into Ella's palm. The little bird didn't reply to Ella's call, instead going into her 'stuffed-animal' impression, allowing Ella to pull her close and out of sight, before laying her head down on the table top.
Adrien watched Ella's breathing slow, showing the girl had fallen asleep. It hadn't even been a minute!
"She must have been really exhausted..." He muttered to Plagg, the cat kwami poking his head out of Adrien's jacket to look at the girl.
"When are you gonna make your move on her? You move slower than camembert fermenting!"
"I can't just spring something like that on her- especially when there's still so much about her I don't know. And I wanna know how she feels about Cat Noir- like if she's a fan or not, but she's only met me like that once."
"Yeah, can't have your girlfriend only liking one side of you."
"She's not my girlfriend!"
Not wanting to accidentally wake Ella up arguing with Plagg, Adrien stood and headed to the lower level for a book he needed for literature; might as well grab it now while he remembered he needed it. Managing to avoid being seen by Chloé, Adrien slipped into the needed row and perused the shelf for the exact copy. He was able to find it pretty quick and was about to head back up to Ella, when yelling caught his attention... and Chloé being chased by a... giant hairdryer?!
Glancing back up at the table, Adrien could see Ella still asleep, so he darted behind a few more shelves.
"Plagg, claws out!"
Cat chuckled as he landed on a bookshelf, watching Ladybug ride the hairdryer.
"I got wind that you were being blown away by a hairy situation."
"Fewer puns, more action!"
Pulling his staff from its spot attached to his lower back, Cat leaped down and smashed the hairdryer. It disintegrated, but before the heroes could relax, Cat noticed someone standing on the balcony above them... down the path from Ella!
"Well, that guy looks pretty sketchy!" Ladybug and Cat Noir leaped after the villain but the male drew something on his tablet, creating a wall. The pair hit it and fall backward.
"Where'd he go?"
"I don't know, but he sure has a way of illustrating his point."
"Ughhh..." Ladybug groaned at Cat's pun but the noise soon turned to one of confusion as Cat turned tail and ran to a table tucked in the corner behind them.
"Miss?" He spoke, careful not to get too close or touch her. Ladybug came up behind him, as Ella stirred. The heroes watched her blink away the remains of sleep before she realized who was in front of her.
"Cat? Ladybug? What's going on?"
"You slept through an akuma attack, little lady." Cat supplied, smiling. Ella's hand twitched, curling around something but her next question distracted both heroes.
"Where's Adrien?"
Cat blanched- crap.
"He must have run when the akuma attacked."
"He... left?"