Chapter 12

It was never convenient when an akuma attacked. Stupid Hawkmoth and his stupid, stupid timing.

Marinette had woken up early that morning to give herself ample time to prepare for her interview with Gabriel Agreste. She still could hardly believe that in a few short hours she would be sitting in front of one of the titans of fashion, having a conversation that might lead to her working as an intern at Agreste Fashion over the summer. Just the thought sent nervous flutters through her. She had dreamed of becoming a fashion designer for as long as she could remember. However, having a dream and making it a reality were two very different things. She may be a superhero, but taking the first solid steps to making her dream come true were absolutely terrifying.

Gabriel Agreste was terrifying.

Her anxiety stemmed not so much because of the person, but rather the position he held. He had the power to turn her dream into ash before it even had a form. He could blacklist her from every major fashion company, making her a black sheep in the industry, if he so desired. And she knew first hand how cruel he could be. Seeing how cold Gabriel had been to Adrien when they were classmates had put a bitter taste in Marinette's mouth. No one deserved to be treated the way he had treated Adrien. She wasn't sure she would ever be able to forgive him for being such a neglectful, cruel father to someone so pure.

Still, he had one of the most successful fashion companies in Paris. Getting this internship would change the course of her career. It would open up countless opportunities for her and provide invaluable contacts. Besides, she couldn't exactly leave Paris and leave Hawkmoth to run rampant. She couldn't leave her kitty behind to pick up the pieces. She couldn't leave him. Not now.

When she first applied for the internship several months before, Marinette had been nervous about the possibility of running into Adrien. Now, with everything that had changed since then, she found herself feeling disappointed that encounter would most likely never happed since Adrien had stood up to his father. She was glad she had offered to help them move into their apartment. It was going to be nice to see Adrien again. Painfully awkward more than likely, but nice.

How long had it been since she had seen him? Somewhere close to a year and a half she figured, but stopped herself from counting it out to the day. A pang shot through her heart. She may not be in love with him anymore, but she desperately missed their friendship. How much had he changed in that time? She certainly had. Her hair was longer, she had grown taller, and she had grown lovely curves in all the right places. She had grown as a person as well, at least she hoped so. Without Adrien to fight over, she had even learned how to be civil with Chloe… most of the time. Chloe was still, well, Chloe after all.

Her world had been turned upside down that year she and Adrien had ended up in different classes. Without Adrien's constant presence to intoxicate her, Marinette had been forced to give her feelings some serious thought.

First, there were the facts that he was not only a famous model, but that he obviously felt nothing for her beyond friendship. Sure, he seemed to enjoy spending time with her, mostly with Alya and Nino involved, but he always seemed to be on guard. Maybe it was because of how things were at home, but she couldn't help but wonder if he would ever let her see past his practiced smiles. If all of that wasn't overwhelming enough, there was the undeniable fact that she was a super hero. No one knew her secret identity, not even her partner. She would be constantly forced to lie to Adrien, and that wasn't fair to him.

The day she overheard Adrien gushing about his mystery girl was the final blow. He was in love with someone else. She had stood there paralyzed, listening to him swoon over this girl that was everything she wasn't until nausea overtook her and she dashed to the bathroom to vomit. Assuming Marinette was ill, the school nurse had sent her home early. She walked home in a fog, her mind at war with itself. When she finally made it to her room, she collapsed into her bed and sobbed.

That night she came to the agonizing conclusion that there simply was no future for her and Adrien. She had to let him go.

Alya, as always, had her back, even though she hadn't fully understood the reasoning behind her friend's decision. She had comforted Marinette the best she could, distracting her with their favorite activities and discretely helping her avoid Adrien while she grieved what might have been.

It had taken time, but Marinette had moved on. The thought of Adrien was usually no longer accompanied by a painful ache, but rather a bittersweet fondness. She kept him tucked away in a corner of her heart. He was her first love and would always have a special place there.

In her head, she knew she had made the logical decision, but looking back on it now she wished she had been less consumed with her own feelings and had considered Adrien's. Being a famous model, it was always hard for him to make genuine friends. He still had Nino, and Alya by extension, but she realized that she had cheated him in a way. It was time to make that right.

Marinette's reminiscing was cut short when Tikki called her attention to the open laptop on the desk. Alya had recently added an akuma alert feature on the Ladyblog. Marinette may or may not have sparked the idea in her friend's mind to help speed up the super duo's response time. It wasn't widely used yet, but Alya was hopeful that it would catch on fast.

Marinette bent down to get a good look at the location being highlighted. It was an industrial glass manufacturer compound. She checked the time. She was going to be cutting it close getting to her interview.

"Guess I'm not gonna have time for makeup today after all." She sighed. At least she was dressed already. "Tikki, spots on!"

**A/N**

What's this? Another chapter already? Surprise! I know, I know, I usually take half an eternity to update. Fortunately, I had this one mostly written quite a while ago, so it just needed some touch ups before it was presentable. The next couple chapters shouldn't take terribly long to finish editing as well.

Just to warn you guys, in a few chapters I'm going to up the rating a notch. Don't worry, nothing scandalous happens, but there are a couple battle scenes coming up, and it generally gets more intense.