Chapter 2

Thanks for your reviews~ Shout out to lovergirl337 for being the first.

Here's a new chapter as promised. Now remember guys, NO REVIEWS = NO NEW CHAPTERS; so let's try to get a few more! Maybe around 8 this time?

Enjoy!

I DO NOT OWN MIRACULOUS OR ANY OF IT'S CHARACTERS. I ONLY OWN THIS STORY AND MY OC's.

Marinette yawned sleepily as she walked with Alya to school. Last night's events left her extremely exhausted, but resulted in her getting little to no sleep. Who was that villain anyway? She was able to deplete the miraculous before we used our powers, but how? As Ladybug, Marinette failed to capture her akuma, and to return to the scene. She had been in so much pain then that her main priority was to make it home. She felt sick as well. Strangely enough though, all of it gradually went away and was completely gone by the time she reached home.

However, there was a swirl-like, heart-shaped mark left on her waist where the blast hit. It didn't hurt or anything, Marinette just found it weird. Funny thing was that it was only half a heart. Chat Noir must have the other half...

"You're pretty quiet today Marinette," Alya broke the silence between them. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Heh, yeah. Sorry, Alya." Marinette sighed heavily looking at the ground. "It's just that I-" She trailed off as her pace slowed.

Alya raised an eyebrow, slowing to match her bestie. "Just that you what?" Marinette didn't say anything. "OMG, is this an Adrien thing? Are you finally planning on confessing your love to him!?"

"N-N-No-! Alya I can't do that- I mean I wasn't planning to!" Marinette couldn't help but feel embarrassed, especially since Alya was now laughing. "Don't laugh at me..."

"Aww, I'm just teasing you girl." Alya slung an arm around her shoulders. "You know I love you! Now spill, what's the matter?"

"Nothing, it's just that I-uh,..." Marinette didn't know what to say. She couldn't tell Alya that she was hit by an akumatized villain as Ladybug. Best friend or not, it was out of the question. "I, um, f-forgot something. Yeah, that's it! But, I just remembered that it was already taking care of, so there's nothing to worry about!" Marinette mentally facepalmed. She hated lying, especially to Alya. It made her stomach churn. Or rather, something did just now. Could I have eaten something bad for breakfast?

"If you say so," Alya shrugged. "but I still ain't buying it." She then noticed that Marinette had gone quiet again, this time frowning. "Mari?"

"Yeah?" Marinette was slightly startled upon hearing her name. For some reason, Alya's arm felt quite heavy on her shoulders and made her feel very warm. "What's the matter?"

"I should be asking you that." She removed her arm, her tone becoming somewhat more serious. "You know you can tell me anything Marinette. You seem really worried about something."

"Is it really that obvious?" Alya gave a nod, to which Marinette whined. "Fine, you got me. I feel kind of strange today, but I don't know why."

Adrien fed Plagg a slice of cheese as their ride pulled up to the school. He stepped out, thanking his bodyguard before leaving to greet Nino. "Hey Nino!"

"'Sup Adrien!" Nino waved as Adrien made his way over. Once his friend got close, Nino paused to look him over as they walked inside. "Woah dude, you feelin' alright?"

"Huh?" Adrien looked surprised, "What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about you, man." Nino poked him in the chest. "You look exhausted."

"Really?" It was true that Adrien didn't get much sleep last night, but he didn't necessarily feel tired. "What do you mean? I don't feel any different..."

"Hmm," Nino made a gesture to his face, leaning against the wall. "You've got dark circles under your eyes."

"I do?" Adrien asked, somewhat surprised when Nino gave him an affirmative nod. Adrien also leaned against the wall, quickly pulling out a pocket mirror to check. It was as Nino said, he really did have dark circles under his eyes. Those weren't there earlier. Where did they come from? I wonder if Plagg saw them? Nah, he probably would have said something...

"Yo, earth to Adrien!" Nino waved his hand to get the other boy's attention. "You've been staring at that thing for a while now. They're not that bad." Adrien sighed and put the mirror away before slumping to the ground. Nino also took a seat, giving him a cheerful smile. "Don't worry Adrien, they'll go away. It's not the end of the world."

Adrien shook his head wearily, becoming quite tired all of a sudden. "That's not it, Nino. I just had a rough night, that's all." After last night's attack, he rushed home as fast as possible before his detransformation. As Chat it was easy to travel over Paris to reach home, but the pain he endured made it all the more difficult. Strangely enough though, by the time he arrived home the pain and sickness were completely gone. Hmm, all that blast left behind was a weird mark. I wonder if Ladybug has the matching half...? He pondered on the heart-like bruise on his side. Hopefully it isn't permanent.

"Oh, is it your Dad again?" Nino asked, now concerned. "I can help you skip out on your schedule if you don't want to go home after school?"

"No thanks. And yeah, but I don't want to talk about it..." He lied. Nothing out of the ordinary happened between him and his father, but he couldn't just tell him the truth. Adrien wanted to tell Nino about the strange mark he discovered on his side this morning and how he got it. But, he knew that if he explained where it came from he'd reveal his secret identity. He couldn't keep track of how many times he's wanted to tell Nino about him being Chat Noir but couldn't. Things would be a little easier if a friend knew. Adrien sighed heavily, "It's complicated."

"Oh, well I understand." Nino rested a hand on his shoulder. "I'm here for you if you need me, though."

"Heh, I know." Adrien laughed, but stopped short due to a sudden twinge of pain in his temple. He winced, noticing that his vision struggled to focus on one spot.

"Hey, what are you looking at?" Nino asked, watching as Adrien's eyes seemed to follow something that wasn't there.

"I don't know-" Adrien blinked a few times, unable to understand what was going on. The world seemed to move on it's own even though he was sitting perfectly still. He felt somewhat anxious since nothing like this ever happened to him. His father always made sure he was healthy, so Adrien rarely got sick or showed symptoms. Adrien shut his eyes tight, holding his head in his hands. "Everything's spinning!"

"Woah, dude?" Nino leaned in. "H-hey, should I take you to the nurse?"