I wrote this before I wrote chapter 12, do you know how long I've been waiting to post this? I've also written chapter 83 and I really want to upload that one too...
21-Never Again
Putting little pieces of her heart into each sketch, each line lovingly drawn, caressed onto the page as she breathed life into the lines on paper
Marinette stared at the shreds of black and white paper that littered the ground in horror. They didn't stop falling, instead they fluttered through the air like snow, unassuming and harmless unless you knew what those pages contained. As things stood, Marinette knew exactly what had been on those pages, how could she not? She'd spent months on them, perfecting them. Slaving away at the designs in that book, putting little pieces of her heart into each sketch, each line lovingly drawn, caressed onto the page as she breathed life into the lines on paper. The pages and their designs represented her heart, and now, here she stood, paralysed, as her heart was in Chloe's hands, being torn into tiny pieces of confetti. Marinette's ears were ringing, her eyes wide, unable to breathe as piece after piece fluttered to the ground. She couldn't hear the words that she saw Chloe's mouth form and she couldn't stop the fingers with nails like talons from ripping her sketchbook to shreds. Her voice returned too late as a sob tore from her throat followed by a whispered, "Stop." The word had no effect on the blonde girl and Marinette's eyes stung as she saw the sweater she'd designed for Chat disappear into tiny pieces and fall to the ground. "Stop!" Her voice was louder this time, a broken scream that would have shattered her cat's heart if he had heard it, her scream silenced the ringing in her ears and she could now hear Chloe's callous laughter. "Stop!" She screamed, voice now fraught with desperation, unable to move, able only to yell at the cruel, cruel girl in front of her, begging her to stop. The door to the girl's locker room slammed open to reveal Alya, Alix, Nathanaël and Adrien who all stood in the doorway, poised to attack, but completely unprepared for the threat. Surprisingly, it was Nathanaël who reacted first, launching himself forwards towards Chloe and snatching the desecrated sketchbook from her hands.
"You can't be in here!" The blonde snapped at him. "This is the girls locker room." Alya and Alix ran to Marinette. Alya wound an arm around her friend's shaking shoulders, murmuring reassurances while Alix gripped her elbow tightly in a display of support before rounding on Marinette's aggressor.
"What the actual fuck is wrong with you?" Alix screamed at her, her small hands curling into fists. The blonde girl took a hasty step back, mouth opening and closing without sound. She hadn't expected to be caught.
Adrien advanced into the room and Chloe's face melted into a mask of horror at his expression. Adrien, your Chat is showing. Alya thought weakly, rubbing soothing circles between her friend's shoulders, who was still unable-or unwilling-to speak or move. That particular sketchbook, Alya knew, was Marinette's portfolio for a summer internship. She'd been working on it all year and her interview was next week. There was no way that Marinette could both remember and re-create hundreds of designs in less than a week to re-build a portfolio, much less one that she would be satisfied with and one would impress Gabirel Agreste and numerous other owners of major fashion labels.
"Chloe, you need to leave. Right now." Adrien sidestepped Chloe, shielding Marinette from view, not taking his eyes off Chloe's. His voice was low and dangerous and his eyes simmered with the protective instinct he'd acquired after forming a close friendship with Marinette. "This will be followed up I assure you." He promised the blonde before turning his back on her. She fled immediately. Alix grabbed Marinette's elbow again and steered her out of the room. The door closed behind the three girls but not before Adrien heard Marinette's horrified whisper. "My folio... She... My portfolio." Her voice broke twice and he felt his heart twist painfully.
Nathanaël stood awkwardly beside him. The reality had just hit him that he had a) stood up to Chloe and b) was standing in the girl's locker room. His face blended into his hair and he felt someone tug on the book, twitching it away instinctively he relaxed after seeing Adrien with his hand outstretched, rather than Chloe and her too-long, too-sharp claws.
"Do you mind if I hold onto it?" Adrien's voice was quiet. Nathanaël relented and reluctantly handed over the book before exiting the room, his embarrassment of being in the girl's locker room finally becoming too much. Adrien flipped it open and winced as though he were physically in pain. They had come too late. The first few pages were saved but they weren't really Marinette's best work. The best designs lay in pieces scattered on the damp floor. Adrien bit his lip. He knew how hard she'd worked on those designs. She'd cried over them, lost sleep over them. He'd caught her, as Chat, hunched over her desk, furiously scribbling in the moonlight at 3am because inspiration had struck, he'd seen her running her hands over and over on different materials mumbling in newly-learnt Chinese, he'd watched as she examined buttons, fussed over lapels, poured her entire heart into those pages, each line on the page had been drawn with love and painstaking care. For a year she'd been building this portfolio and in an instant, a fit of jealousy, it had all been destroyed. His heart ached as he remembered her expression, her heart was in the same condition as her sketchbook and he was determined to fix it. Without a second thought, he tucked Marinette's book into his bag securely and dropped to his knees picking up fragments of her heart.
"This one is chiffon, and see how there are different coloured layers? When the model walks, the dress will look like it's changing colour!"
He placed some of the pages in his bag.
"This one I designed with Alix in mind. She's a girl in my class and she hates skirts so I designed this instead."
Some of the torn pieces were wet and he took extra care not to tear them as he peeled them off the floor.
"This one is really pretty don't you think Chat? I had to add an extra layer until the skirt to fluff it out a bit and then it was perfect!"
He finished picking up the pieces and stood, searching for any he might have missed. When he found none, he slung his bag over his shoulder carefully-he had precious cargo after all-and left the room.
Adrien cursed as another bit of paper slipped and sliced his finger. Angrily he stuck his thumb in his mouth before returning to the task at hand. Taping Marinette's sketchbook back together wasn't easy, not while he had to continually refresh the LadyBlog, inspecting the floor for any signs of an Akuma version of his Princess. But Chloe's outburst had been just after lunch and now it was well into the evening. Skipping fencing and forcing Nathalie to push back all of his appointments wasn't going to win him any points with his father, but he couldn't leave Marinette in the state she'd been in as she left school that afternoon, not for the whole night. He'd finally arranged all the pieces back together page by page, thousands of paper jigsaws carefully lain out across his floor, and now all he had to do was tape the pieces back together. His heart eased as each shred of paper was stuck to another, he felt as though he were binding her heart back together with each piece of tape.
Stick
"I love pink silk!"
Stick
"This one is for Ivan!"
Stick
"Hey kitty, which lapel goes better do you think?"
Stick
Marinette asleep at her desk, mouth open, drooling, and pen held loosely in her relaxed hand, her cheek pressed onto an open page.
Stick
His weekly visits as Chat Noir, punctuated by an excited display of her newest creation.
Stick
"This one is for Adrien! Don't tell him okay?"
Stick
"Don't look you silly cat! It's your Christmas present!"
Stick
Her heartbroken expression.
Stick
Her shaking shoulders.
Stick
Watery blue eyes that threatened to drown him.
Stick
Her heart, her designs were now in his hands, being stuck back together with as much love as with which they had been created.
Stick
And he'd be damned if he didn't fix it for her.
Stick
He'd fix it.
Stick
She'd never make that face again.
Stick
She'd smile again.
Stick
He'd fix it.
Stick
Like she'd helped fix him.
She was on her balcony when he arrived later that night. Whether she'd been waiting for Chat or whether her room had been suffocating her was unclear, but nonetheless, she was in her deck chair, her knees tucked up to her chest, her face hidden behind her arms and her breathing heavy as she sobbed silently, her shoulders shaking. Adrien hauled himself up through the open hatch and stood for a second deliberating if he should interrupt or not. Interrupting won out as a small sob caught in her breath and he felt the exhilaration at having fixed her sketchbook fade. She was hurting and he shouldn't be caught up in some self-satisfactory deed. She needed him. Adrien placed his bag on the ground and walked over to his friend, standing at the front of the chair.
"Mari." He whispered softly, placing a hand on her shoulder. She glanced up at him and he blanched, her eyes were red and puffy, tear-tracks decorating her face in streaks that caught the light, her bottom lip trembling as she gnawed at it in distress. "Oh, Mari." He breathed, crouching beside her. As soon as their faces were level she reached for him, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her face in his shoulder. Adrien's eyebrows knitted together in pain as she shook, crying in earnest now, he carefully wound his arms around her waist as he squatted awkwardly between her legs.
"It's ruined." She whispered against his shoulder. "How can I go for an interview with no designs to show?"
"Don't cry." He pleaded, patting her back clumsily. "I can't-You… It hurts to see you cry."
She sniffled and pulled away, rubbing at her eye and wiping her nose on the handkerchief he offered. A smile fell onto Adrien's face as a puffy-eyed, blubbering Marinette wiped her snot on his handkerchief, it was stupid and probably not the best thing he could have done, but all he could think about was how this time last year, she couldn't even speak to him and now she was here, so vulnerable in front of him without batting an eye. He chuckled softly and her bright eyes snapped up to his face.
"You're laughing at me." She whispered. Her voice wasn't embarrassed like it would have been last year, no, instead it was annoyed. "This isn't funny!" She shrilled. Adrien's heart thumped at her panic as he backpedalled frantically.
"I'm not laughing at you I swear. I just was thinking about how much closer we've got since last year." It was embarrassing to admit it, but with Marinette, honesty was always the best policy, she tended to give people the benefit of the doubt, but she could in fact, see through lies in a heartbeat. Or maybe just his lies. "I mean last year, you wouldn't have let me see you cry right?" He asked, placing a hand on her knee. "And now you're a big, blubbering, snotty mess." He finished happily, reaching up and swiping away a stray tear.
Marinette rolled her eyes and snorted, pushing his hand away. "You're an ass. Let me wallow in sadness in peace."
"No." Adrien chirped, reaching for his bag. "I bought you a gift and then we're going to go get ice-cream."
"Adr-" Marinette began to complain but Adrien silenced her with a finger to her lips.
"Hush." He whispered. She snorted and then sniffed, dabbing at her nose with the handkerchief.
Adrien reached into his bag and withdrew her notebook. "I don't want to see that right now." Marinette whispered as she reached for it. "But thank you for returning it." She took it from his hands gingerly as though it might try to eat her alive. She ran a finger down the spine. "Did you tape the spine back up for me?" She laughed breathlessly as she opened the book. "Than-" Her word caught and died in her throat as she caught sight of the page she'd opened to. The design had been taped back together and slipped inside a plastic pocket, it was one of the lucky ones she supposed, having only been ripped into a few large pieces. Then she turned the page, staring back at her was the dress she'd designed for a debutante ball, one that Chloe had completely shredded into tiny, tiny pieces and thrown over the drain in the locker room, the one that filtered the water out from the showers. Here it was, dried and whole, clear tape holding the edges together. Something inside her chest twitched painfully and a dry sob came from her throat as she flicked through the pages unbelieving. Each and every page that had been destroyed was here, taped together. Her first thought was how, she traced the lines of a suit over the plastic casing and decided it didn't matter how. Then she remembered the boy in front of her. She looked up at him, his eyes soft, watching her. "Please tell me you didn't." She whispered, her voice cracking.
Adrien's mouth quirked into a smile. "I'm not a liar Mari."
"Oh my god." She clapped a hand to her mouth, her eyes falling to the hat design in her lap. Her portfolio contained exactly one hundred and seventy pages, each torn to varying sizes, and not one page was missing, not one piece mismatched. "How?" She choked out, her hands were shaking.
"When you're home schooled, you get to do a lot of jigsaw puzzles. I got really good at them" He grinned at her but his smile faltered at the water in her eyes. "Why are you crying?" He said panicked, hurriedly wiping away her tears. "Don't do that, please Marinette. Don't cry, I'm sorry, don't be mad!" He patted his pockets for another handkerchief. "Marinette, shh, shh, I'm sorry. Please. Don't cry." His voice cracked with anxiety as he pleaded with her and felt his panic ease as the crying stopped.
"Mad?" She whispered. "I'm not mad." Her bottom lip trembled before turning up into a smile. "You stupid, genius thing you." She laughed and threw herself at him, knocking him on his back as she fell onto his chest. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you." With each thank-you she kissed his face and with each kiss Adrien felt more and more dazed. This is a good dream, he found himself thinking. He felt her tugging him up into a sitting position, her face glowing with joy and he sighed in relief. She wasn't mad, she wasn't upset and she was smiling again. Mission accomplished, he thought, mentally fist-bumping himself. He grinned and pulled a laughing Marinette into his lap as he leaned against the railing. She sat sideways, her right shoulder pressed against his chest, her legs draped over his right leg, chin tucked beside his head as she rapidly began talking about her deigns. She felt giddy and light-headed, it must have taken him hours and hours to have fixed her book for her. It meant more than he knew, this sketchbook was her life and her heart and Adrien had managed to mend it perfectly.
Woah, this spiralled into double the length! Crazy! Please leave nice reviews for me I'm not feeling too great. Don't forget to hit me up on Tumblr: LastRoseOfSpring
22-Online
