"You've been doing what?"
Adrien slowly backed away from her, eyes wide, shaking his head.
She reached out to him. "I- I only wanted to know where you were. What you were doing. I- I love you!"
He slapped her hand away. "By making a detailed schedule of where I was going to be at all times?! By following me?! And those pictures on your walls! And I even found out you broke into my locker and stole my phone!"
"I just wanted to look at your face all the time! I care for you so much. And- and I really needed to delete a voicemail I left!"
He glared at her coldly. "If you cared, you would've asked. This- this isn't caring! This is control!"
Ohcrap Ohcrap Ohcrap he hated her and thought she was horrible and she knew she shouldn't have done it and OH CRAP.
She was gonna spend the rest of her life in jail and she'd never get to see him again and then he'd go off and marry CHLOE!
THIS WAS A DISASTER!
"I don't want you near me. You talk to me again, and I'll get a restraining order."
He walked off, not looking back. Marinette collapsed to the ground, sobbing.
He didn't want to be around her. Didn't want to see her again. She'd hurt him that badly.
Oh god, how would she and Chat-
Wait. What was that about Chat?
There was something… something she couldn't quite remember. Something important.
What did Chat have to do with Adrien?
And why did she feel like something was 'off' about this?
Transforming, she left for patrol.
Chat met up with her soon afterwards.
"So NOW you want to meet?"
He seemed downcast and frustrated.
She wasn't in the mood to put up with his whining today. He was just supposed to do what he was told, the useless idiot.
Wait, WHAT?! Ok, so Chat could sometimes be pouty temporarily, get into a bad mood, same as anyone else, and yeah it could be annoying, but…
She could never think he was useless, and he certainly wasn't an idiot. (Even if she teased him like that sometimes).
...Maybe she should let up on that a little, if it was infecting her thoughts.
"Don't talk back to me like that, Chat. I'm in charge. You just follow my orders."
What the hell?!
Chat might usually follow her orders, and she could be sharp with him sometimes when annoyed, but this… this wasn't just being playful or frustrated. She sounded actually mean.
She hadn't wanted to say that, why did it slip out?!
"You always treat me like this. Like your lackey. Well I'm sick of it! You won't let me in on anything, you just keep me in the dark! You won't tell me who Carapace and Rena Rouge are, it took me asking you repeatedly before Master Fu came over and filled me in at all, and even HE only ever talked to me once! You just feed me crumbs of information, doling them out like I'm a pet who needs a morsel, but never more than the bare minimum! And you still haven't told me why you thought Gabriel could be Hawkmoth. Because you get all the knowledge, all the power, and I'm just supposed to do what you say and shut up, right?!"
This… NO!
Is this really how he felt?
She remembered him getting upset sometimes when she held back secrets, and… honestly, she couldn't really blame him. She'd be frustrated if she was in that position as well.
He- he wanted to break up their partnership, their friendship?
She never meant to hurt him. And she didn't want to lose him. He meant too much to her!
She had to tell him that. She had to let him know. She had to FIX THIS.
"You dare TREAT ME LIKE THIS?!" she screeched, incensed. That mangy little cat really didn't realize who was in charge here. If she didn't want to share with him, that was entirely her prerogative. He only deserved to know what she chose for him to know, nothing more.
SHE DID NOT CHOOSE TO SAY THAT. SHE WOULD NEVER THINK THAT.
This… This was WRONG.
She might've kept things secret that… actually, why HADN'T she told Chat about the Miraculous Grimoire? She didn't need to tell him about Master Fu, she could've just said she found Adrien with the book and found out he got it from his father's safe!
So why hadn't she?
…She'd have to ponder that more later. For now, she had a bigger problem on her hands.
Why couldn't she say what she wanted to say? Why were these thoughts going through her head?
"Yeah. I dare. I can't believe I ever thought I liked you. We might be coworkers, but friends? Not anymore. If we ever were."
She sneered at him. "Go on and scurry off then. You wouldn't last a day without me holding your hand. Not like I need you anyway."
SHE NEEDED HIM.
She would NEVER say these things. Ever. Chat was her best friend! The thought of losing him… the times she HAD lost him, even if only temporarily… they made her heart ache!
This… This wasn't her.
THIS. WAS. NOT. HER.
The world shattered.