"Oh, great," Marinette groaned, floating away from him and into the room's own bathroom. "On the plus side, even if I wasn't a ghost, I probably would have messed that up somehow…"
She turned on the faucet and cupped her hands under the water. "It'd be really cool if I knew whether this was hot or cold water," she grumbled. "Stupid lack of nerves."
She quickly flew back to the room and held her hands above the unconscious boy. She tried to slowly drip the water on his face, but her lack of focus suddenly caused her hands to be unsolid again.
Splash!
"Agh!" Adrien flinched and stirred awake from being splashed, coughing and blinking droplets out of his eyes. "Uh… where… what happened?" He then looked up to see Marinette floating and looking down at him.
"All better?" She asked with concern, giving him a small smile.
Adrien screamed at the top of his lungs. Marinette screamed at the top of her lungs in response. Nathalie did *not* scream at the top of her lungs. But she did gasp loudly and knock over and smash a vase as she sprinted up the stairs and towards Adrien's room. Sorry, Mr. Agreste! I'll take care of it! She thought to herself.
Marinette heard Nathalie's footfalls getting closer. Hidehidehidehidehidehide, her inner voice told her. With no other plan, she flew right at Adrien, who yelled in fright and threw his arms up to shield himself, closing his eyes as she passed right through him. When Adrien opened his eyes, she was gone after successfully distracting him.
"Adrien!" Nathalie burst into the room, making the boy jump. She hurried over and helped him to his feet, checking him over worriedly. "Adrien, what happened to you?"
"N-Nathalie… the girl… the… ghost… she… I… water… woke up and…" Adrien babbled.
Nathalie took his shoulders, giving him a small shake. "Adrien, calm down. What are you trying to tell me?"
The flustered teen took some deep breaths and started again. "I saw a ghost. A ghost girl… she was here and I fainted, but then she woke me up, and that's when I screamed, and…" He looked up to see Nathalie looking at him like he was crazy. "And you don't believe me, do you?"
"I don't think you can blame me for that, Adrien," Nathalie said with a slight bit of amusement in her voice. "This is a bit out of the blue. Are you feeling alright?" She put her hand to his head to feel his temperature.
"Didn't hear her scream just now?"
"I heard *you* scream. Maybe a bit higher pitched at one point, but…"
"I do NOT have a scream that girly!"
"And you're absolutely sure you weren't dreaming?"
Adrien wiped some water from his face. "Well, if so, it'd be one very real dream." He suddenly realized the water was still running in the bathroom. "Plus, the water wouldn't be running right now if it was. I definitely didn't do that."
"What does the water have to do with anything?" Nathalie asked, walking in the bathroom to shut off the faucet.
"She splashed me after I fainted to wake me up."
"You fainted?" Nathalie looked a bit amused at that.
"Ugh," Adrien covered his face in frustration.
"Okay, come on," Nathalie comforted. She looked around the room, her face hidden from Adrien while giving his shoulder a squeeze. "Okay, let's say you really did see her. Where exactly did she go?"
"I'm not sure… she kinda flew at me and I lost sight of her."
"Well, maybe she's hiding out in here somewhere," she said, starting to pace around the room. She headed for the closet door. "Who knows, maybe you're the one who scared her and she's in hiding out in here?"
Adrien sighed and rolled his eyes. She clearly wasn't taking this seriously.
Nathalie swung the door open with confidence, revealing a very poorly hidden Marinette.
Marinette's pig tails seemed to stand up straight as her eyes widened in surprise. "Um… pleasure to meet you, miss!" She squeaked. "LOVE that red streak in your hair!" She raised a balled fist up to Nathalie. "Pound it?" She asked.
Nathalie calmly and gently shut the door and slowly turned around. "RUN!" She screamed, running right at Adrien.
"N-Nathalie! Oof!" Adrien felt his breath get knocked out as Nathalie incredibly hauled him up on her shoulder and ran out of the room in one tackle. She ran out in such a blind shock, she accidentally banged his head on the doorway.
"Ooooow!" Adrien rubbed his head furiously as she sped down the hallway. This was certainly a new side of Nathalie he'd never seen. "Hey! Earth to Nathalie! I *can* run, you know!" She didn't seem to hear him, constantly spinning around to see if they were being followed.
"Okay, you're making me dizzy now! Please put me down," Adrien yelled out.
Nathalie finally stopped, ripped open a door and lunged inside, slamming it shut behind them, leaving them in total darkness. "Okay, we should be safe here…"
"Nat… we're in a closet. Seriously, what is it with the closets today? Do girls just naturally hide inside them?"
Nathalie fumbled around for a second, and Adrien blinked as a lightbulb flickered on, revealing the spacious closet they were in. "Um… right, then." She took a deep breath finally and straightened her shirt and brushing hair out of her face. "No need to panic now."
Adrien sighed, rubbing his temples. "Am I in an alternate universe right now? What is happening to my life?"
"Okay," Nathalie said, ignoring his crisis. "I'm going to go… deal with the situation. Adrien, I want you to stay right here."
"Wait a second…"
"Right here, Adrien," she insisted, taking his shoulders and looking intensely at him. "Okay?"
"Gee… okay, Nathalie. I won't move a muscle. Just hang around in here and talk to the shoes."
"Good," she said, opening the door and peering around the empty hallway.
"You know, I know I panicked before, but I don't think we should be all that afraid of her. I mean… 'pound it'? Really? Doesn't seem like a dangerous spirit, right?"
"Maybe," Nathalie said, clearly still spooked. "Okay, I'll be back soon." She pulled Adrien close, surprising him with a quick hug, something she'd never done before. "Remember, stay put." She shut the door, leaving him alone.
"Yeah… story of my life," the boy muttered.
Isn't overprotective Nathalie just the cutest? :D