I do not own Miraculous Ladybug, though I wish I did

Marinette was running late, again. Though it hadn't been her fault this time. Well, not exactly. Her morning was spent by being lectured by her parents. They did it out of concern. They had been so worried for her during the akuma attack. Of course they were worried. They had been worried when she had wanted to go back to school after the accident. Almost hadn't let her. They were worried whenever she went out with friends. So, when a supervillain started terrorizing Paris, they decided that it was time for some new rules. Rules to keep Marinette safe. But going straight home had seemed very unlikely. So they had spent the entire morning figuring out new family rules.

It had taken a bit longer than any of them expected, meaning that, along with an actual list of new rules, she had a note for her teacher, from her parents, to explain her absence. A not that she handed to Mme. Bustier when she entered the classroom ten minutes late.

"I'm sorry, Mme. Bustier…" Marinette said, weakly, as she handed the letter to her teacher.

"No worries, Marinette," Mme. Bustier responded kindly. Obviously used to it.

"Thank you," Marinette mumbled, heading to her seat, and transferring from her chair, and onto the bench with ease. She noticed Adrien watching her, and made a bit of a show of looking away from him. Down at the desk.

Adrien had to admit that he was a bit worried for this girl. He hadn't seen her leave the classroom with the rest of the class the day before. And he saw the obvious terror on her face, as she shrunk away from the akuma. Not only that, but with what Nino said the other day, he had a very clear image of this girl. And it saddened him. Even though he hadn't known her before the accident, he wished he had. He wanted to see this beautiful girl be strong, and confident. Like she once was. Even though he barely knew her, he felt drawn to her. He cared for her. And she… She hated him, he was sure of that. After what happened yesterday…

"Dude," Nino whispered, harshly, to get his attention. When Adrien looked away from Marinette, Nino continued. "If you care that much, apologise. Don't just make puppy dog eyes at her from across the room. It's kinda creepy."

"I was not making puppy dog eyes," Adrien protested, with a slight blush.

"Yeah right dude." Nino chuckled. "Anyway, apologise, she'll forgive you. Trust me."

"I don't think I'll ever have a chance to talk to her. She seems to want nothing to do with me." Adrien admitted sadly.

"Mari isn't the type to hold grudges. Not even against Chloe. And man did that girl do some cruel stuff to her."

"I'm almost afraid to ask."

"Let's just say the accident wasn't the only thing that broke her. But then again, Chloe's words never seemed to get to her before… Did you know, Chloe once stole Mari's diary, back when Mari used to bring her diary to school, and write in it whenever she had a spare chance. Chloe then proceeded to read it aloud in class. Before teasing her mercilessly for her crush on Je3an Duparc. A boy at our school that she liked a few years back." Nino explained. "After that, Marinette was heartbroken. There have been a few times since that guys in our school have asked her out, but she never says yes. Though she doesn't like Jean anymore, she doesn't want to subject any guy she likes to Chloe's ridicule, like she unintentionally did to Jean. It really affected her."

"Chloe stole her diary?" Adrien asked in disbelief.

"Yep," Nino nodded.

Wow, I knew she could be harsh, but…." Adrien glanced at his childhood friend, with some anger. He couldn't believe she would actually go that far.

"He keeps looking at you," Alya grumbled, and Marinette spared the blond boy another glance.

"Probably trying to figure out what's wrong with me… Or coming up with ideas for Chloe's next prank," Marinette's voice was dejected.

"Nino seems to be taking to him. So maybe he's not that bad… After all, Nino doesn't seem like the kind of guy to be mean to you. So maybe Adrien isn't that bad…. But I still can't believe he put gum on your seat." Alya said, causing Marinette to look up again.

"If Nino seems to be his friend, he can't be all bad," Marinette agreed. "But still…."

"Mari, what's wrong? You don't seem like yourself. You seem pretty down today." Alya commented. Marinette replied by handing her a piece of paper. "Rule 1: If at all possible, come straight home during an akuma attack. Rule 2: Send us a text to let us know you're safe. Rule 3: Ask for help. You have your limitations, don't let yourself get hurt because of them. Rule 4: Keep your phone on you at all times. Rule 5: Check in with us throughout the school day, if it ever gets to be too much, we'll come and get you." Alya read, before handing the note back to Marinette. "That's rough,"

"Yeah…" Marinette said, resigned.

"At least they aren't keeping you locked up…" Alya joked, but when she noticed the grimace on Marinette's face, she realized that it struck pretty close to home.

"Yeah," Marinette murmured.

Rain poured down, making the sidewalk slippery. Marinette held her hand out to catch the rain, while she stayed mostly under the awning at the school's entrance. She inwardly cringed at the thought of going out into the downpour. It wasn't like she could use an umbrella, even if she had brought one. She needed both her hands to wheel herself home.

"Hey," Adrien said, coming up next to her. Marinette turned her face from the blond boy. After the day she had, she couldn't stand any more mean hearted words, or pranks. "I just wanted to let you know that I was only trying to take the chewing gum off your seat. I swear. Nino can vouch for me. I've never been to school before. I've never had friends. It's all sort of new to me."

"I believe you," Marinette said, quietly. She was surprised when Adrien offered her his umbrella. Her eyes opened wide.

"You shouldn't have to get wet in the rain. I have a driver. We could take you home if you want…" He offered, one hand in his pocket, the other still holding the umbrella out to her.

"There… There is no need. I actually live across the street," she explained.

"Then please let me walk you." Adrien begged, smiling when Marinette nodded, taking the umbrella in one hand. Adrien pushed the wheelchair for her, glad that Marinette wasn't holding a grudge. "I'm sorry for how Chloe has treated you. She's been my friend since childhood, so I haven't really seen this kind of behavior from her before. She's always on her best behavior for me."

"Honestly, it's just how life is for me now."

"Well, it shouldn't be."

"But it is."

"It shouldn't be," Adrien protested again. "No one should be treated like that." When they reached the door to Marinette's house, Marinette got out her keys and opened the door.

"Thank you, Adrien," Marinette said with a soft smile. She wasn't sure why, but butterflies started fluttering about in her stomach, and her heart beat faster. She was also very aware of the heat rising in her cheeks. She wasn't sure why, but she was pretty sure it had something to do with the dazzling smile he was giving her.

"It was no problem," Adrien said kindly. Marinette offered him back his umbrella. When he took the umbrella back, their fingers brushed, causing both of them to blush. "See you tomorrow," he said, turning around to walk away. But mainly, to hide his blush from her.

"Uh… See you to...mo….tomo…. Ha ha! Whoa, why am I stammering?" Marinette asked, as she saw Adrien start to walk to his car, which was parked in front of the school.

"I might have an idea," Tikki said slyly.

"First day of school, and we already have two lovebirds." Plagg teased, causing Adrien to turn bright red.

"She's just a friend," Adrien said, his voice slightly squeaky. "A friend…" He said again, with a small smile.

Thank you all for reading, and reviewing this story. I love to hear from you. Now we have come to the end of the Origins episodes, I will likely start straying from canon a bit more. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I love you all - Alice O'Flynn