"I'm... I'm sorry Marinette. But... there's someone else."
"Oh... Ha ha ha... that's fine Adrien. I'm okay. He he..." Marinette stared at him with a plastered smile and glassy eyes.
Those were his words. And nothing could change them. Nothing.
Marinette dropped Adrien's lucky charm onto her desk and crawled on to her bed. Then she let out the sob that she had been holding back for so long. She crouched down and buried her face in her hands as she finally let her tears flow. And on that moment, she despised Adrien. She knew she didn't have the right to blame him. He had warned her; he had liked someone else. ' The girl I love,' he said, those were his exact words. But who would've known that girl would be Kagami Tsurugi... perfect, stable, confident Kagami... So much different than the blubbering, dorky, clumsy her.
So she had ran.
She ran from reality, the saddest, most painful reality - No, he didn't like her, no, it couldn't be her, no, she wasn't his.
But when she had ran away, when she was full of shame and so angry with her own overwhelming stupidity, Luka was there. He was there to comfort her, to hug her, to peck her forehead and whisper that it would be all right. He was there to offer her a song, sing soft melodies which made her drift into peaceful sleep.
He had the power to make her forget reality for a while. That bitter, sad, reality.
But the problem was that it didn't last. Reality, always came back to her.
Oh, how she wanted to forget everything. She wanted not to care about anything and just fall into Luka's arms. She truly did. But every time Luka pulled her into his warm chest, every time he leaned in to her pink face, she couldn't help but notice that tiny feeling of discomfort. That weird sensation of that she was doing something wrong. That she was betraying Adrien.
And she loathed herself for that.
She swiped at her cheek with her sleeve.
She had vowed that she wouldn't cry another tear over him. She wouldn't sew another stitch for him. She wouldn't tape another photo on her wall for him.
And there she was again, crying her eyes out, because she couldn't throw away that teeny little charm he gave her.
She was so confident that she didn't want to be connected to him whatsoever. She was so sure of it.
But everything had broke, just because of some stupid charm bracelet.
Oh no, but Adrien didn't care.
He would hold Kagami's hand like he hadn't a care in the world and attend fancy parties and meetings. He would break her own heart and not care about it at all. Because, Marinette was 'strong, brave, and oh, her feelings wouldn't get in the way of her, no.'
But still. After all that pain and rejection, she still wanted him. As badly as ever.
But the most weird thing was - Chat Noir was what that first came to her mind. She remembered the candles, the roses. His flirtation, his "adoring" comments, those soft kisses on her knuckles. How she had pushed them away casually. Not caring a single bit.
A strong feeling of shame followed.
She had done exactly what Adrien had done to her. Or maybe even worse. She had pushed Chat Noir away so casually like his feelings were a joke.
Marinette wiped another tear as it slowly rolled down her cheek.
But this time that tear was for Chat Noir.