Marinette glanced down at the ladybug hairpin in her hand.

Her heart ached as she could still feel Kagami's hand plummeted into her chest.

She had felt so confused, and Marinette couldn't derail the image of Emilie's ring on Kagami's finger.

She could still hear Adrien's voice echoing in the back of her mind, pitching the idea that she retuned the ring to him.

He planned to move in with her, marry her and even thought it was a great idea to invite her to their wedding.

Marinette wanted to be angry, but when she really thought about it, she had no one to blame but herself.

She knew it was coming, she knew of his plans, he told her he had planned to do so.

Each time she felt herself falling deeper into him, she would always tell herself to worry about it later.

She was only hurting herself, that much was evident.

But after seeing the rocky path that Adrien was on when it came to Kagami, there was always that sliver of hope that Marinette held on to that she believed would guide Adrien in her direction.

It was a foolish thing to believe, especially with how things turned out with Felix.

She truly believed that even after everything they went through, he would somehow choose her.

But deep down Marinette knew that she had no place in his life the same way Kagami did.

She couldn't understand why it had been so hard to accept that.

Adrien had a game plan - he had a life with goals long before they were forced into this marriage.

It certainly didn't give Kagami the right to assault her, but Marinette needed to understand that she had no place to be in his life...perhaps not even as a friend.

But Marinette wanted something more, and if she wanted herself to look towards the future and finally leave Adrien behind, she knew she'd have to look towards Luka.

The only person who had remotely shown interest in her in all the right ways.

Marinette thought that her shower would make her feel better about the whole situation, but it only gave her time to thoroughly derail into her self deprecating thoughts. It had left a sour taste in her mouth, and her stomach began to turn.

The blunette kept her towel wrapped tightly around her body as she then glared at her reflection in the mirror.

Her eyes puffed up slightly from her crying moments prior in the shower, and Marinette wanted herself to appear as normal as she could before she would then venture to Alya's home to figure out what she was hiding.

The last thing she wanted to happen was for Alya to turn everything over on her and further deflect the potential conversation that she wanted to pursue.

Marinette placed the ladybug hair pin back on to the dresser and she grabbed her phone from her bag.

Her digit scrolled across her phone screen, her lips pursing as her thumb pressed into Luka's contact.

The blunette immediately dropped the towel from around her body, and meticulously pinched the phone between her shoulder and cheek as she opened a drawer and pulled out a pair of panties.

She listened to the other line ring a couple times as she stepped into her underwear and snapped the band at her waist.

Marinette wandered to the closet, grabbing some clothes and throwing it on top of the bed the moment she heard his voice.

"Marinette!" Luka exclaimed, his voice incredibly chipper at the fact that she called him. "I never thought I'd actually hear from you..."

Marinette giggled, his voice immediately putting her mind at ease. The young woman reached for her bra and slipped it up her arms sloppily as she switched the phone to her other ear.

"Hey! Luka!" Marinette replied, her heart already racing within her chest. "I-uhm...I was wondering if you got the link to the song I sent you?" Marinette asked, reaching back to clip her bra on.

She then turned and reached for the clothes that she placed onto the bed.

"Yessss~" Luka replied, drawing out his response playfully as he laughed. "I've actually been practicing the chords nonstop. I figured that it's better to practice for it, so when you decide which day would be a good day to finally practice together I'd at least have some of the notes ready to go along with your singing."

Marinette tucked some of her wet hair behind her ear.

She glanced down, a small grimace on her face as she glanced at the small black velvet box on top of her dresser with Emilie's ring missing inside.

Her heart immediately sunk to her stomach as she was once against reminded that Kagami was wearing that ring.

She turned away, her hand reaching up towards her chest. Her digits pressed against her skin, rubbing at her chest with an attempt to soothe the painful ache that brewed in her chest relentlessly.

"I was just calling about that," Marinette replied in a soft murmur. "I was wondering if you were free tomorrow night?" She inquired, biting her lip nervously. "I think I'm ready to finally have that date that we planned the other night at the bar. I mean that's if you're ready to play the chords..."

Marinette exhaled, her blue eyes glancing at Alya's apartment door.

She tried not to think about the incident with Kagami and focus solely on the task that Nino had presented to her earlier in the day.

The blunette decided to dress warm, and she wore her favorite outfit. She had decided to wear her hair loose and even stopped by her parent's bakery to grab some cookies.

Marinette loved the ladybug hair clip that Adrien mentioned earlier. Despite her reluctance, Marinette was more than grateful to wear it.

The lines under her eyes deepened and Marinette was worried that she was slowly breaking. Her life had already been a daytime drama, she didn't need the stress of Kagami and Adrien anymore.

She simply couldn't handle the throws of crisis either. Marinette wanted to be done.

Just done with everything.

Blue eyes glanced up and her heart squeezed in her chest the moment Alya opened the door, reluctantly poking her head out into the hallway to gawk at Marinette.

"Marinette?" Alya mused, perking a brow at her friends sudden appearance. "Uh...what are you doing here?"

Marinette smiled, gently lifting up the bakery basket with a hopeful glint.

"I thought that maybe you'd like some sweets to eat? I mean...unless you're running some sort of secret lab or...perhaps...resting?"

Alya glanced at Marinette with a deadpanned expression. She shook her head, completely oblivious to what Marinette had planned.

"Uh...no. No elaborate labs...or resting from an illness..." her glare remained firm on to Marinette as she was well aware of how much her friend could be when it came to overthinking.

"Literally just watching Rick and Morty..."

Marinette smiled, pressing her hand against the door and bumping Alya to the side so she could invite herself in.

"Perfect!" Marinette piped, stepping inside Alya's cozy apartment and closing the door behind her.

Alya awkwardly stumbled away from the door, reprimanding Marinette with a cold hard stare at the blunette placed the bakery basket on Alya's kitchen table and began to open it up to pull out the treats she had brought.

The brunette lightly shook her head, a sigh escaping her lips as she stood in her gray tank top and purple pyjama shorts.

"Marinette..." Alya prompted, properly turning to face her better. "Why are you here?"

Marinette pursed her lips, placing some tarts on to a napkin as she shrugged her off.

"Can't a friend come in to visit another friend? You know...especially if theres clearly something that's happening..." Marinette conceded, her heart thumping in her chest erratically.

Marinette didn't want to rub Alya the wrong way, but perhaps to get Alya to decompress was to press her buttons into venting.

Alya furrowed her brow, dropping her arms at her side and moving over towards Marinette.

"Something happening?" Alya repeated. "What on earth are you talking about, Marinette?" She inquired, the lines under her eyes deepening as she pushed the glasses up to the bridge of her nose.

Marinette pressed her lips together, her heart sinking once more as she was purely convinced that Alya had a terminal illness that she wanted to conceal from her friends.

She knew Alya was like that, she knew Alya would hide her issues so she wouldn't upset her friends, but Marinette had to know.

"Alya..." Marinette murmured, glancing back towards her friend with a grimace. "You've been distant lately. I've noticed...I mean...quite a few of us have noticed that you've been acting strange. I'm worried that something is wrong and I just-"

"Quite a few?" Alya retorted, immediately interjecting Marinette's sentence with an accusatory expression.

"You mean Nino?" She pressed, frustration spilling into her expression at a rapid pace. "He sent you here, didn't he?"

Marinette paused, immediately feeling smaller in her skin as she worried that she was too much of an open book.

"Don't be angry with him..." Marinette murmured, a small grimace on her face. "We're just really worried-"

"What is so wrong about asking for a little bit of space?!" Alya exclaimed, her hands reaching up to grip on to her hair.

Marinette frowned, understanding what Alya was trying to convey but feeling totally helpless.

"There's nothing wrong with wanting a little space. But I worry that perhaps isolation isn't the best. When we could physically see something straining a friendship or a friend withdrawing because something is bothering them...we feel compelled to say something about it."

Alya shook her head, her cheeks fuming up slightly as she exhaled.

"Why doesn't anyone believe me when I say that I'm fine?" She breathed, her voice elevating only slightly. "I'll say that I'm fine until I'm blue in the face and I just-"

"Alya, please don't be mad," Marinette pleaded with a small pout. "We really care about you, and we're worried. I've been friends with you for years and I've never seen you become this way. Only weeks ago you were telling me that you loved Nino and that you had never felt this way about a person before..." Marinette tucked some hair behind her ear. The blunette wanted to reach out to Alya, but worried she would confine her way too much, especially because she exclaimed her vexation about the lack of space.

"What happened? Why did that change? You've suddenly broke things off with him and when I ask you to open up to me, you shut me out. To anyone on the outside - it almost feels like something is wrong-"

"This is why I didn't want Nino to get you involved! I know you're so stubborn, Marinette. You always overthink things and I hate how...stressed you become because of it," Alya explained, her brow furrowing.

Marinette frowned, he heart sinking deep into her stomach.

"Alya, don't you trust me? Do you keep me out because you don't like how I react?" she asked, her hands trembling as she let go of the basket.

Alya frowned, reached over her sofa to grab the TV remote from the cushions and she flipped off the TV.

"What happened between me and Nino should have stayed between me and Nino. There are things that he doesn't understand... that no one will understand." Alya conceded, dropping the remote back against the cushions and folding her arms.

Her eyes lowered to the ground and she sighed.

"I do trust you...but there are things that I can't even bring myself to say to you. Just because I can't even grasp on to it myself...how can I tell it to other people if I can't hear myself say it..." the brunette whispered, her hazel eyes shutting tightly.

Marinette frowned, her lips pressing together as she almost understood what Alya was saying.

Despite the two being close, there were things that Marinette had gone through with Adrien that she didn't have the strength to tell her best friend.

It wasn't until a few days ago when Marinette was finally able to accept it, that she had the strength to open up about her issues.

The blunette ran her hand through her hair, her chest feeling heavy as she tried not to allow her emotions get the best of her.

"I get it..." she replied. "And I understand that it takes time. But the last thing I want you to do is push me away...or your other friends who care about you..." Marinette watched as Alya rounded the corner of the sofa and took a seat.

The young woman grabbed a throw pillow from the couch cushion and she buried her face into the pillow, holding it tightly to her face as she struggled to keep herself composed throughout the whole ordeal.

"Alya..." Marinette murmured once more, completely broken at her friend who only seemed to want to put more and more distance between the two of them.

"You know you can trust me..." The blunette assured, carefully leaving the basket behind on the kitchen before she wandered over towards the sofa and sat beside Alya awkwardly. "You know I won't judge you...and I've never judged you from since the first time we met..." Her voice trailed off as she contemplated reaching out to Alya but simply decided against it.

"I know you're pissed at Nino, but he worries that he did something. Perhaps maybe talking to him would help figure things out-"

"I don't want to talk to Nino..." Alya replied, throwing her pillow to the side with a grimace. "I mean... I don't know if I'm ready to talk to him right now..."

Alya sighed, her eyes lowering to the ground.

Marinette paused, her eyes lowering as well. Her heart squeezed in her chest and for a moment; she understood.

She had kept a secret from Adrien for quite some time. She had fallen for him in only a span of a few weeks, and even before then she had denied it to herself.

Even when she mentioned it to Alya, she couldn't fully accept it.

"I understand...but if you would kindly give us the benefit of the doubt.." Marinette murmured, her suspicion that Alya was terminally ill only growing more and more.

Marinette tried not to make herself sick, but she didn't know what she'd do without her friend.

"When you're vague...and you're obviously upset...you give us room to assume the worst..." Marinette explained, her voice quivering. "I think there's something wrong with you, perhaps an illness that you don't want to speak about...and you think you're protecting us by not saying anything because you don't want us to stress or cry for you. I know you're an independent woman who wants to handle things on her own, but it's okay to ask for help. I want to be here for you..."

Alya sighed, reaching up to gingerly slide the glasses off of her nose and place it to the side with a grimace. She closed her eyes, tears burning at the edges of her eyes as she tried her best to remain composed.

"As for Nino," Marinette resumed, her heart feeling heavy inside of her chest. "He believes that he did something unforgivable...he believes that he hurt you. He told me that he felt completely lost helpless and shut out..." Marinette reached up to rub her freckled cheek as her blush began to crawl on to her face like a herd of hungry fire ants.

"He says that you don't talk to him at all, and would rather have you be mad at him and shout at him instead of being left out and ignored, like the way you've been going about lately..." her voice trailed off, as the silence began to envelope both women.

Alya sniffled, her chest heaving as the tears began to slide down her cheeks. Alya could no longer keep herself composed anymore and the more she thought about this secret the more she became undone.

She was scared, she was confused and she felt incredibly helpless.

"I don't mean to eject you guys out of my life. I've just been so stressed with how everything turned out. I've been so overwhelmed, I find that I can't even sleep anymore. I try to tell myself that if I don't think about it, or if I don't mention it, then I could just pretend that nothing happened and I'll somehow find a way to fix this..." Alya breathed, her quivering voice immediately drawing Marinette's attention.

The blunette glanced up at her friend with a grimace, her heart shattering at the sound of Alya's pain. She had never seen Alya this way before and it only made her terrified for her.

"I understand..." Marinette breathed, not hesitating to reach over to Alya. The blunette slipped her hand underneath Alya's hand. "I know how life can be scary sometimes...but you know that I'm always here for you. You don't have to go through this alone. You can trust me. I've never let you down before and I don't intend to now. Not now, not ever..." Marinette assured, her hand trembling as she kept Alya's hand in hers.

Alya bit her lip, her tears slipping down her cheeks and dripping on to both of their hands.

"I know that I could trust you. I just..." Alya finally glanced up at Marinette, her hazel eyes gazing into Marinette's blue eyes as they too began to water.

"I know that I should tell Nino, but...I don't know what to do..."

Marinette bit her lip, scooting closer to her friend as her heart raced in her chest.

"I can help you," Marinette breathed, the many cases of potential illnesses began to run throughout her mind. "I mean...whatever illness this is, there's always treatments and Nino will always be by your side to-"

"Marinette, I'm not sick." Alya interjected, her voice strained as she straightened up to face Marinette with a grimace.

Marinette blinked, her tears bubbling from her eyes, as she could have dropped to the floor with relief.

But she was stunned, Marinette couldn't understand what kind of secret could have wedged it's way between her and Nino.

"W-Wait...you're not sick?" She asked, her voice quivering as she breathed.

Alya shook her head, her hands only squeezing more so around Marinette's as she blinked away the tears that pooled at the edges of her eyes.

"Marinette...I'm pregnant..."

Her eyes widened, her heart nearly stopping inside of her throat.

There was a deafening silence that swallowed them both, it had left a ringing noise inside of Marinette's ears.

She could still feel Alya's hands around hers, but Marinette nearly felt like she was submerged in water until she was finally pulled back up to surface to breathe.

"W-What...?"