Marinette leans back, looking out the window on the train. Her parents wave, and she gives a halfhearted wave back, as they fade out of sight. She sighs, looking down at her sketchbook. The doctors said spending the spring outside of Paris would help her to heal from her recent asthma attack, but she's not buying it. Her parents were getting sick of her. That's why they're sending her away, to live with an Uncle she barely knows for three whole months.
She flips through her sketchbook, and fights the tears. Everything started falling apart after she heard that conversation.
"She's never where she's supposed to be!"
"I know, but Tom, she's our daughter-"
"No daughter of mine gets a D in science!"
She couldn't stop thinking about the way she'd disappointed her parents... and then a failed quiz triggered the panic attack, leading to the asthma attack. And now, she's being sent away.
It isn't fair.
...
Cheng-Shifu picks her up at the station. They don't speak as she gets in his car, and looks out at the town, through the window. It's so small, and ugly, and nothing like the bright lights and tall skyscrapers of Paris. She feels homesick already...
The house is nice enough, though. Well, it seems nice enough. He smiles,taking her to a room. "This is yours," he says, in slightly awkward, but clear, French. "I hope you enjoy your time here."
"Thank you," she offers a small smile of her own. "It's nice. Thanks for letting me stay here."
He nods, and leaves her to herself. Marinette looks out the window, heading to the balcony, and sighs, leaning against the window. The air here is supposed to be much cleaner, but it doesn't taste any better than the air at home...
A light flashes.
Her eye is drawn to a lake... and across the lake, a mansion...
It's pretty. And interesting... she runs down, and taps Cheng-Shifu on the shoulder. "Um, what's with the mansion? I thought this was a fishing town?"
He laughs. "The Agreste Mansion is from many years ago. It is empty." His face suddenly becomes far more serious. "You do not go there, Marinette."
"Why not?"
"Dangerous," he says firmly. "The floors could give out. It has happened before."
She sighs. "Can I just go look, if I promise not to go inside?"
He thinks for a moment. "Come back before the tide locks you there. Do not go inside."
She smiles, and heads out, as the sun sets. Something about that mansion just... draws her to it. She wants to see what's going on there.
The lake- well, marsh, really- is easy to wade through, on her way. It's strange... as the sun sets, and the sky is painted pink and gold, the lights in the manor seem to flicker on. Didn't her uncle say the house was empty? Not just empty, but dangerous for anyone to be in?
And yet... there! In the window! A teenage boy, looking out the window! He presses a hand to the window, and looks down... their eyes meet, and she gasps. His eyes are wide, and bright, and full of emotions. His blond curls frame his face, seeming to blow gently, although he's inside...
He's lovely.
She waves, and he gives a sad smile, shaking his head. He retreats from the window, and the lights on the house flicker off. It's almost as if they were never on in the first place...
She heads back to the house. Cheng-Shifu is chatting with another man, and his daughter, when she comes back. The daughter, a girl about Marinette's age with brown hair, gives a smirk.
"So, you're Marinette Cheng?"
"Dupain-Cheng," she corrects. "Who are you?"
"Lila Rossi," she smirks. "Look, I just came by because there's, like, this festival thing tomorrow? And I figured, since Cheng-Shifu's sick niece is in town, I'd be nice and invite you. You don't look like a cripple though."
Marinette is not impressed. "I don't think I should-"
"She'd be happy to go," Cheng-Shifu cuts her off, giving her a pointed look. Marinette sighs, and nods.
"Thanks. Yeah, I'll be there."
Lila raises an eyebrow. "Seven o'clock. Don't be late."
...
She heads to the festival the next day, meeting Lila. "So, how does this work?" she asks.
"I'm the flower Queen," Lila smiles. "For this year's spring festival. You get the honor of being one of my handmaidens, in the parade. You walk behind me, and people throw flower petals."
"Handmaiden. Honor. Right." Marinette frowns. "I'm not sure I want to do this..."
"Of course you do! Come on, we need to get you into costume," Lila hauls Marinette towards a room full of dresses... and pulls out a dark brown one, shapeless, and with a hood, throwing it at Marinette. "Put it on."
"No way."
The other girl blinks, and tilts her head. "I'm sorry. I just told you to put that on. When I say to do something, you do it."
Marinette's had enough of this. "Not happening. I, am not your servant. Just try and tell me what to do."
"I'll tell everyone what a bitch you are."
Marinette laughs at that. "I could care less." She turns to walk away.
"You're making a mistake. You're being so, so stupid right now."
She freezes, and slowly turns around, eyes flashing. "I. Am. Not. Stupid. Call me that again. See what happens, you lying brat!"
With that, she storms off, fury in her eyes, heading for the marsh. The tide's come out... she can't go home yet, though. Cheng-Shifu won't be expecting her home for hours. She sighs, sitting on the shore...
The lights of the manor across the lake flicker on.
"Again...?" she murmurs. "For an abandoned house, it sure sees a lot of activity..."
THUD.
She jumps, as the rowboat crashes to shore at her feet. "What on Earth...?"
She heads to the boat, and sees a letter resting inside.
'To the Girl in the Marsh- Come visit me? -Adrien (aka, the boy in the window)'
She blinks. "Adrien...?" Her eyes widen, recalling the previous night. "That was real?"
'Visit me?' the note read. She glances back to the town, and across the lake, to the mansion.
She gets in the boat.
...
She realizes about halfway through the lake that she has no idea how to row, when the rain begins. The lake becomes darker, swirling waves crashing into the boat as she struggles to propel herself towards the house.
The boat capsizes, without warning, and she finds herself being pulled, down, down...
Arms wrap around her, pulling her up, and to the shore. She grabs onto the balcony, pulling herself up, and gasps for breath.
"I am so sorry, I thought you'd be better at rowing!"
She looks up, and sees him, with wide, nervous green eyes, looking down, and offering a hand. She blushes, taking it and standing. "It's okay. You didn't make the storm."
"Still..."
"You saved me," she smiles. "That more than makes up for any accidental damage you may or may not have caused." He looks relieved, sighing.
"I was a little worried you wouldn't come," he admits.
"I was a little worried you weren't real," she tells him, blushing. "I thought I dreamed you up, last night."
He takes her hand, and kisses it softly. "I promise," he tells her. "You're not dreaming."
Marinette is pretty sure if he keeps pulling this saving-her, looking-like-that, kissing-her-hand stuff, her face is going to explode from blushing. "My name's Marinette, by the way... why'd you ask me here?"
"Adrien. But, you know that. There's a party, just inside," he smiles slightly. "If you sneak in with me, we can get dried off and go."
"What?"
"My mother'z in town. For the first time, in ages. I remembered seeing you, and... I thought maybe you'd come."
She bites her lip. Well... it's got to be a better party than the one she was supposed to attend tonight. "Alright. If you think it'd be okay?"
He beams, and pulls her inside. "C'mon!"
The house is absolutely not abandoned. In fact, it's bustling with life, as people dance across the floors, or sip wine by the buffet.
"Marinette, this way!" he pulls her up a flight of stairs, to a room. "We'll have to avoid Nathalie."
"Nathalie?"
"My keeper," he frowns, before pulling her into a bedroom. "This is mine. There's some girl's stuff in the closet, and I have some clothes of my own in the chest of drawers..."
She nods, going to the closet, and pulling out a beautiful red and black dress. "Where do I change?"
"In here," he smiles. "I'll take the bathroom. Tell me when it's okay to come out."
She nods, and begins to change. After a minute, she knocks on the door. "Adrien?"
He comes out, dressed in a tailcoat, and bows deeply. "My Lady."
Never mind. Her face already exploded from blushing. "U-um..."
"Shall we?" he offers his arm.
She nods, looping her own through his. "I suppose we shall."
They head down the stairs, to the party, and all eyes turn to them. A few faces of disapproval are turned toward Adrien, who tightens his grip on Marinette's arm.
"Dance with me," he murmurs, and she nods, taking his hands. He begins spinning her across the floor, to the music, and for a moment, everything is magical...
He twirls her, and dips her, and she gasps, looking up into those deep, beautiful eyes, as his face leans down to hers...
"What have I told you about those clothes? And is that a girl?" a sharply-dressed man walks up to them, fury in his gaze. "Go to your room now, I will not have you embarrassing me here."
"But, Father, I-"
"Go to your room! And tell the girl that she is to go back where she came from."
Adrien gives her an apologetic look, before whispering softly. "Meet me in the backyard."
...
She stands in the backyard, and he lands behind her, from the window. "My Lady?"
"What was that about?" she asks, tilting her head. He frowns.
"My father can be... unreasonable, at times. I'm not exactly the son he wanted..."
He looks so sad, she can't help but hug him. "Well... I think you're miraculous."
He laughs, resting a hand on her waist, and using his other to take one of hers. "We didn't get to finish our dance."
She rests a hand on his shoulder, smiling. "I'd be honored, Adrien."
As they spin across the lawn, she sighs softly, and he begins to hum the melody from inside.
This time, when he dips her, there's nobody to keep his lips from covering hers.
...
He rows her across the lake, smiling. "You can't tell anyone about me, alright?"
"Why?"
"Because," he laughs. "You're my precious secret. It makes this more special, don't you think?"
She sighs, and nods. "Yeah, it does... I'm happy to be your secret, Adrien."
He kisses her softly, before rowing up to the pier. "Meet me here again? In two days' time?"
She nods, blushing. "I can hardly wait that long..."
"Please?"
She sighs, and nods. "Two day's time."
"Thank you."
She hugs him tightly. "Kiss me before you go?"
He presses a kiss to her lips, and gives a sad smile. "I love you, Marinette. See you in two days."
She sighs, and steps back on the pier, headed towards Cheng-Shifu's house.
...
"And then she pulled a knife on my daughter! A knife! Can you believe that?" Lila's father is shouting. "She's some kind of deranged city delinquent!"
"Actually, I cannot believe that," Cheng-Shifu replies, as Marinette wanders in. "You should leave. I will deal with her."
"You'd best control your niece," Lila's father sneers, walking out.
Cheng-Shifu sighs. "I do not like that man..." he turns to Marinette. "Where were you?"
"Down by the pier..."
"I was worried. Call next time."
She smiles, and hugs him. "I promise I will. For what it's worth, all I did was call Lila a lying brat, I don't even own a knife."
"That girl has a tendency to change the truth to fit her interests," Cheng-Shifu sighs. "I am glad you are safe."
She smiles, hugging her uncle again. This is shaping up to be a decent summer.
...
Marinette heads to the hill, overlooking the lake, the next day, and begins sketching... every picture she draws, though, seems to turn into Adrien.
An older, blonde woman stands beside her, painting, and pauses to look at the pictures. Her bright blue eyes widen. "Adrien...?"
Marinette looks up. "What did you say?"
"Your pictures look like a... a boy I knew. When I was young."
"His name was Adrien?"
The woman nods. "Yes... he lived in the house, across the lake. It's hard to believe that house is going to be filled again, so soon."
"What?"
"There's a new family moving in. It's been empty for about twenty years, so it's odd to think about someone moving in..."
"That's not possible," Marinette shakes her head. "There was a party there, just last night."
The woman gives her an unimpressed look. "Kid, there haven't been any parties there since I was your age, and that was longer ago than I care to admit."
Marinette gets up, shaking her head. "No, I was there... I'm going to go check this out, there's no way a new family's moving in...
...
But they are. The floor, just last night sparkling, covered by dancing couples, is covered in dust and white sheets. She stumbles back, confused, and turns to go...
"Adrienne!"
She spins around, seeing a girl with red hair and glasses, sticking out the window. "Are you Adrienne?" she calls down.
Marinette shakes her head, in shock.
"Hang on, I'll be right down!" the girl calls, hurrying down, and running up to Marinette. "It's great to meet you! I'm Alya, I found your journal last night, I hope you don't mind me reading it."
"That's... that's nice, but I'm not Adrien. He's a friend of mine..."
Alya tilts her head. "He? Huh. Okay, so you're not Adrienne, where is... um, he?"
Marinette shrugs. "Dunno, I'm not supposed to look for him until tomorrow..."
"When you see him, can you ask him where the end of the journal is?" Alya tilts her head. "I really want to crack this mystery!"
Marinette nods, deep in thought. "Yeah, me too..."
...
The next day, she sits by the pier as he rows a boat over to her. "Hey, my Lady."
"Hey Adrien," she smiles, getting into the boat. "Can I ask you something?"
He seems to think for a moment, rowing away from the shore. "I can't promise I'll be able to answer, but alright."
"How come there are other people moving into your house?"
He sighs, looking down, and stops rowing. "Marinette. This is a strange situation, I know, but please, let it go? Can't we take advantage of the time we have? Must we question it?"
She sighs, nodding. "Alright. But I'll want an answer eventually."
"You'll have one," he promises, kissing her softly. "But for now, there's a place I want to show you. An island." He docks the boat, helping her out, the perfect gentleman.
The island is green, and lush, with beautiful flowers covering every inch there isn't a tree. "Adrien, it's wonderful..."
"You're wonderful," he smiles. "C'mon, I'll take you through the forest. We can talk, if you like..."
She nods. "I'd like that."
...
"My mom travels the world," he tells her, as they rest on a bridge. "Every time she comes back, we have wonderful parties, but I don't really get to see her at those. And my father..." he sighs. "My father tries to understand me. He's been a lot better than most would be, he lets me wear what I want on my own time, and doesn't seem to mind most of what I do, but... he hates being embarrassed, and I'm not quite ordinary. And he usually just leaves me with Nathalie and the Gorilla, both of whom are very nice, but... but I get so scared, sometimes," he sighs. "I don't know. And Chloé, she's kind, and she respects who I am, but..."
"Chloé?"
"Blonde girl? Daughter of the mayor of Paris," he smiles. "Don't worry. She's like a sister to me. You're the one I love."
They continue walking, and Marinette begins. "My family sent me here because I was sick. Or that's what they said. I... don't think they wanted a daughter who was failing her classes. My father said that I was 'no daughter of his' after my last report card..."
Adrien sighs, as they reach a beach, and hugs her. "I think you're the most wonderful girl to exist," he says, kissing her forehead. "I love you very much."
"And I, you," she kisses his lips softly. "Adrien? What scares you?"
He thinks for a moment. "There's a lighthouse on the hill," he tells her quietly. "It's said to be haunted. I... I was dared to spend the night there, once, by Chloé, and... and something bad happened. I can't remember what, exactly..."
She hugs him. "Adrien, ghosts aren't real, you know that?"
"Yes, of course," he sounds amused. "Still."
"If we spend the night there," she tells him. "You'll be beyond fear. You know that?"
He laughs slightly. "Well... if you're asking me to spend the night there-"
"I'll be with you," she promises. "Please, Adrien?"
...
They climb up the lighthouse, and sit on a balcony. "See? It's nice here," she smiles.
"It's... alright..." he takes her hand...
Then the rain begins, and he freezes. "No. No, Marinette, I want to leave."
"Adrien-"
"Marinette, if we stay here, then we'll get hurt!"
She hugs him tightly. "I won't let that happen. It's just a little rain..."
But a little rain becomes a downpour, and soon, Adrien's clinging to her, trying and failing to hold back the tears. "Marinette, Marinette please, don't leave me here!"
"I won't, I'm here!"
Lightning strikes.
"You can't leave me alone here! Please!"
"I won't! I love you!"
He looks up at her, calming down a bit, although still shaking, and she can't tell if those are raindrops or tears streaking his face. "You won't leave me?"
"I won't," she promises, pulling a blanket around them.
After what seems like an age, they fall asleep.
...
Marinette wakes up to an empty room. As she walks down the stairs, she feels a sense of betrayal. He begged her not to leave him, only to do it to her?
Seriously?
As she walks out, she runs into Alya. "Guess what I found?" the redhead asks. "The rest of the journal! It's seriously messed up, did you say you were friends with this kid? Because according to this, he kinda... died."
"What?"
"Yeah, you know, if you'd told me, I wouldn't have been poking around like that-"
"Alya, I need to talk to someone. Now."
She nearly races up the hill to see the blonde woman. "What's your name?" she demands.
The woman turns, smirking. "Chloé Bourgeois. Don't you forget it."
"What happened that night in the lighthouse?"
Chloé sighs. "You've met him, haven't you? Adrien, I mean."
Marinette nods. "I have. Did he...?"
"I never thought lightning would strike," she murmurs. "I was trying to coax him out of fear. I thought I was helping. Men were supposed to be fearless, back then, you know that? I thought if I could make Adrien get past his fear, it would prove to his father..."
She sits down. "I do miss him. Adrien was my best friend. He was alone, so much... and he confused a lot of people..." There are tears in the woman's eyes. "When the lightning hit, I ran."
"I didn't."
Chloé turns, wide-eyed. "You were at the lighthouse last night?"
"I didn't leave him," she clenches her teeth. "He left me. In the morning, he was gone."
She turns away from the woman, and heads out to the marsh. The house lights are on again, and she has someone she needs to see.
...
He flings the window open as the rain pours, leaning out towards her, hair whipping in the wind. "Marinette!" he calls. "I'm sorry!"
"You left me!" she screams, voice full of hurt and despair. "You begged me not to go, and then you left me alone!"
"I know!" he calls down, tears staining his face. "I know, Marinette! Please, I never meant to! Please, don't hate me!"
She gasps, shaking her head. "No, Adrien! I could never hate you! I love you!"
He smiles, reaching out to her, although there's no way he could reach her from that distance. "Come with me," he says softly. She isn't sure how she hears it, but she steps back, shaking her hand.
"I can't. But, please, know that I will always remember you, Adrien!"
He smiles, and brushes his tears away. "I love you, Marinette."
He vanishes. She feels the world go dark.
...
She wakes up in a bed, with Cheng-Shifu watching over her. "Marinette," he sounds relieved. "You're awake. You worried us."
She sits up, feeling tears prick her eyes, and hugs her uncle tightly. "I lost something. By the lake. I was looking..."
He sighs. "We will find it later."
"We won't. I think... he's gone. Forever," she tells him, through tears. "I'm going to miss him."
Cheng-Shifu hugs her tightly, and lets her cry.
...
"Ghosts?" Alya blinks, amazed. "Wow, girl, this was not what I expected from a tiny place like this."
"Yeah, agreed," Marinette laughs. "Weird thing is... I think I loved him. I really do. it felt like we were meant to be, even though he was..."
"Dead?"
"Yeah."
"Well, we have a spring ahead of us," Alya laughs. "Maybe you two will meet again."
...
They don't. Not for the rest of the summer, although it's filled with treks through the woods, and bonfires, and hanging out with Alya. By the time summer came, she didn't want to leave...
As she got into her parent's car, though, they hugged her tightly. "We're so, so glad to have you back," Sabine says.
"We missed you terribly," he father agrees. "Did you enjoy yourself?"
"It was..." Marinette thinks. "It was nothing like I expected. I made a new friend, though... three new friends," she smiles, thinking of Chloé, and... Adrien.
"Marinette!"
She gasps, leaning out the car window. He's there, leaning out the window of his house, waving.
"See you next spring!" he calls, and tears prick her eyes.
"Count on it!" she hollers back, as she drives back home, with a hope for the future.