Warning:
I am writing this fanfic to practice my English. I'm likely to make a lot of mistakes, so please tell me if you see something wrong. Like when I first post it in Spanish by mistake.
Aaaaaaand I started the story long before I released Sole Crusher when I only had the images of Zoé and an idea of what I was going to do. So, I did this thinking of Zoé as Adrien's half-sister because she looks a lot like him. -I thought she was Emma unu-.
She had lived in Paris all her life. And it was still hard for her to comprehend that it wasn't even 7:30 in the morning and the metro was already crowded.
She had been lucky to sneak through the crowd to stand right at the edge of the platform; that way, she could be sure to at least get in. Almost lazily, she swayed twice, shifting her body weight from her toes to her heels. Surprising herself a bit by not ending up on the floor; with her purse and the many papers, she carried to the publishing house scattered everywhere, giving herself a moment of humiliation to fuel her anxiety for the rest of the day.
She knew that if she saved herself from one humiliating moment, could trigger another one, sometimes even worse.
Marinette sighed, briefly closing her eyes as she tried to ignore the fact that she had only slept three hours so she could finish everything she had been asked to change within the graphics she had done for the next edition of the magazine.
Sometimes she couldn't believe it was true when they said that school was the best years in a person's life.
In her case, it didn't even take finishing high school for everything to fall apart.
First, Adrien left Paris. Everything would have been so much simpler if he had just disappeared, but it all happened in the most agonizing way possible. At first, they shared occasional messages or calls until finally. All she knew about him was that his mother was producing films in the United States and that his father was still not showing himself to the public. Still, no one found Gabriel's absence strange after all the years he had cloistered himself in his wife's missing. After all, Agreste was still releasing collections.
After that, her parents expanded the bakery; causing her to spend more and more time alone. Eventually, her parents moved to Marseilles, and the home she had grown up in became an unfriendly place she didn't enjoy being in.
And then came the college applications.
Marinette didn't like to think about it too much; there were three very exhausting years, but in the end, she had resigned herself to the fact that sometimes she couldn't get everything she wanted.
She realized that at 21. She couldn't longer hope that, by some miracle, they would change their minds one year and the examiners would decide that her designs were good enough to let her into any of the fashion schools; ending up studying graphic design, much to her chagrin.
Jagged Stone had been kind enough to intercede with Audrey to allow her to do an internship at the magazine. While it had been difficult at first having to work with Chloe on her heels and struggling to see her fail; working in fashion editorial was as close as she could get to what she loved to do.
She hadn't paid enough attention to the music she was listening to, to know how many songs had played. She felt like it had been a clearing long time, and slightly peeked her torso out so she could watch the train entrance, sighing again. In the distance, a carriage seemed to approach at last. Marinette knew she should move and return to a safe position inside the platform.
However, she felt that her body was not responding to what she was thinking, or what she thought she should be thinking. It was as if all the weight of the last few years of her life was preventing her body from reacting. She didn't care that it might hurt, or what might happen to all the people she knew. It just seemed to her that standing waiting there for the train to hit her was a solution that appeared in front of her eyes so she could finally rest and not have to live with the weight of her decisions.
The only thing that finally convinced her to take a step back, feeling the speeding inbound carriage pushing the air forcefully towards her; was that if she stepped forward and jump, it would delay many people from getting to their jobs and cause chaos that they didn't deserve. It was what was in her power to save a lot of people on a bad day.
By some miracle, the trip had not turned out to be as difficult as every day since she reached a seat much faster than she usually did. The routine seemed to be disrupted by something good, which could surprise her.
Leaving the station was easy, and she only had to walk a few meters to her work. As she did every day, she stopped by the coffee shop nearby to buy four coffees. The first ones were simple orders, large American/half-cream. In the same way, every morning she did Alya the favor of buying coffee for her boss.
This drink had a complex mix of ingredients and instructions to make it worthy of her, which is why she kept a note on her cell phone with all those pesky details. Along with the drink, she was to bring a piece of cake from her bakery that corresponded with a fancy schedule they had worked out so they wouldn't have to call her every morning and ask her what cake she wanted for breakfast. It was an almost random job, but it usually worked.
By no means was bringing breakfast to Audrey part of her duties, but it made her best friend's life a little easier, and it was the least she could do for her.
As she walked up the front stairs of the large mirrored-walled building, she inspected her reflection. She was wearing a dark red dress with a Bardot neckline, 3/4 sleeve, and mermaid skirt; shoes with an uncomfortable heel, and her hair pulled back.
If you were to ask her boss, she would probably reply, "She looked exceptional."
She wasn't guessing. They had simply had a conversation during her first few weeks in the office about how she should always look. It was too personal, but she knew that in the last few years she had gained weight, and her anxiety had spiked violently; she really couldn't understand why that had happened. It was simply as if her metabolism decided it was the best time to stop.
The interior of the property had turnstiles that allowed entry to the many people who worked there; for this, she had to use a credential that allowed a machine to register when she arrived at her job, and then when she left the place. Again, her card seemed to have disappeared.
For the short time she had been working there, they had reprinted that ID too many times; she had practically tied the little card to her wallet so she wouldn't have to go through it again. However, this time, it just seemed to have vanished. She sighed, walking over to the guard who was watching the complete process. After all, he was used to seeing her morning tragedies; like the time she was carrying some rolls of paper for a photoshoot and got tangled in the turnstiles and then fell, making it hard to tell her from her dress or the paper.
-Bonjour...- Greeted Marinette, trying hard to sound calm and friendly.
-Salut, mademoiselle...-The man bowed his head slightly, inviting her to come over to where he was sitting, as searching through the belongings on his desk. -Miss Bourgeois left her credentials here a while ago. She said something about getting confused and entering with the wrong one.
The girl smiled, thanking him briefly, before finally stepping inside. While waiting for the elevator, she put Zoé's card in her pocket.
When she had to work late, her friend usually took her credential with her without warning. She preferred to do it that way when she suspected Marinette might be late; that way, it would appear to the system that she was on time. After all, no one would dare scold one of the owner's daughters for doing as she pleased, not even Chloe, when she decided to get out of control.
Style Queen was a world-renowned magazine, where an impressive number of people worked. Every floor had a department set up, including two subways. She had to go up to the 40th floor to drop off Audrey's breakfast and then down to her uncomfortable cubicle on the 30th floor, tucked away in a little corner, not even being able to take advantage of the view she had. She was fine. She preferred to lay low while doing her job.
However, all her plans to have a quiet day were destroyed, as usual.
Alya and Zoé were waiting for her at the desk the former had at the entrance to Audrey's office. They both shared the same indecipherable expression on their faces, but she didn't want to find out why they were like that. She wanted to believe that maybe it was just Audrey's new whim.
-Good morning, Marinette - Alya greeted, coming over to help her with the coffees and the other things she had in her hands; while Zoé made room for her so she could sit next to her at the desk.-We thought you'd be later.
-I thought so too.- She replied, taking a coffee to offer to the blonde and one for herself, -But I think I got lucky on the subway today.
-I can't tell you didn't sleep, Mari... - Zoé smiled, resting her head on the shoulder of the just mentioned, while she took another sip of her coffee. - You look beautiful today.
-They gave me the dress last week, while we were taking pictures for the section we had to invent when Gabriel Agreste refused to give us an interview; and we only had access to a couple of his designs for the next season.- Uncomfortable, the girl smoothed with one of her hands the small wrinkles that had been made in her skirt, noticing how in one of her nails, the nail polish seemed to have come off slightly, it must have been because of everything she had to fix on the computer. Zoé had been resorting to her old trick of flattery to prepare her before bad news and that made her feel a little uncomfortable.-Anyway, the model was given it as a gift, but it was too big for her and as they say that the Agreste does not fit, but you fit it; she preferred to leave it off before gaining weight.
-Speaking of Agreste...- Whispered Alya, as she placed her glasses on her head.- Guess who went back to Paris...
Adrien...
The only thing she reacted to do was to take in as much air as her lungs would allow clearing her thoughts that seemed to be overwhelmed with nothing but emptiness, where the memories they had together should belong. However, the only thing that kept replaying in her head was the multiple times she heard him say she was just a friend, or in the agony of his departure.
-I... - She had to be silent for a second to sort out her thoughts, which were screaming at her how miserable she was. Marinette was grateful to be sitting because she felt the floor at her feet seem to disappear. She could continue to live, totally ignoring his existence, as she had done for the past seven years. Going back, after so long, should have been pointless. Quickly, she rose from her makeshift seat, slung her bag back over her shoulder; it was an absolute necessity to get to her cubicle before they could run into each other.- Is he here, did you see him?
-Easy Marinette... - Zoé picked up her phone, swiping twice across the screen until she extended it to her. It was the chat they shared on WhatsApp - Yesterday my brother texted me to invite me for a coffee because he had been back in Paris for a couple of days. That's all I know.
-You told him to meet you at the other end of town, right?
-Woman, relax,- Alya sighed, taking the phone from her to give it back to the blonde -I don't think it's a bad idea for you two to see each other after so long, a lot may have happened, changes of perspective. It might be interesting, considering you don't even know what he's doing with his life, after having for so long an exact schedule of his activities.
-That's a great idea, Alya,- Marinette replied, rolling her eyes as she folded her arms, - Let's make it a double date. I'll take Adrien and you invite Nino. Do you like the idea?
The brunette took a step back, unable to believe it was her friend who said that. Nino had changed and broke up with her while they were in college, overwhelmed by situations he never told her. It sounded like a cheap excuse, but she had learned to come to terms with it. She had lost the person who had once done everything to protect her, and she wanted to believe that he had done it as part of maturing; because, along with leaving her, Nino had adjusted his life expectations and was now teaching music at the same school they had met.
Before she could answer her anything, the office phone rang for a couple of seconds and then hung up, signaling to her that Audrey had already arrived in the building.
-I think you should go to your office now, Marinette.
Not even bothering to answer her friend, Marinette simply started walking back to the elevator.
The sun was already disappearing completely when she could finally leave the building. The magazine issue was already in print, and that assured her she could at least get a few extra hours of sleep.
She left the heels on her desk and swap them for some low shoes she kept for occasions like that, when all she wanted to do was walk to her apartment. She enjoyed being able to do that on occasions because, unlike what it might seem; it was a time when she freed her head from thinking; concentrating solely on the sensations that appeared as she walked through the streets, which were slowly being illuminated by streetlights and store signs.
She liked to feel the cold air brushing against her skin. It gave her a false sense of nostalgia, which made her heart feel lighter; as if it transported her to happier times that she didn't remember being in, but could feel so clearly. That same cold carrying the smell of chocolate croissants from the pastry shop to her balcony, the company of someone she didn't recognize, but who hugged her from behind as if she were the most precious thing; and the warmth of that strange body that almost seemed real to her.
She took a second to rest, almost at the end of the road, sitting on a free bench near the Seine River, just before the bridge she had to cross to visualize the sign of the pastry shop that was still operating with the remote management of her parents. It was at that moment when he noticed something else that stole her attention. A butterfly of a particular color.
She didn't think she had ever seen one this dark before, which seemed to be made of velvet; almost beckoning her to touch it. However, and even though the little bug seemed to stop to observe it, it continued with its flight; Leaving her with a strange sensation.
She quickly resumed her course, as out of nowhere, many people approached the place where she was. It seemed that André was soon to arrive near her location and she didn't want to have to meet masses of people again.
Once in her apartment, everything seemed normal. Again, she had been lucky, so it wasn't difficult for her to find the keys inside her purse and get in.
One worker had gone upstairs to leave her a tray of macaroons on the kitchen table, which she should remember to thank someone for it in the morning; that minor detail was saving her from having to cook or order something that would arrive quickly.
Not caring where it landed, she took off her dress and shoes. Walking over in her underwear to where the longed-for sweets were; next to those was a small brown chest with intricate red details. She didn't remember ordering something online, but it was common for her mother or grandmother to send her gifts often, so she opened it, being immediately blinded by a big green light. She had to turn her head to avoid that beam coming so strongly. Until it finally stopped. She wasn't sure if wanted to see what was in front of her.
However, the light had simply entered through one of her windows. When she opened her eyes, she couldn't believe what she was seeing.
Why was there a small black cat with an annoyed expression in front of her?