Her vision blurred and it was hard to visualize what was what. The light streaming in from her window made her eyes burn, and quickly she closed them again. Again, she tried to open her eyes and clear her vision. Marinette blinked rapidly, pushing herself up slowly. Her head hurt, and her eyes and mouth felt dry. She couldn't fully understand what was going on, where she was, or what she was doing before she ended up...wherever she was. Quickly she looked around, Marinette realized that she was in her bedroom- her pink blankets covering her from the waist down as she got out of bed way faster than she liked to admit. Her head spun momentarily, as she grasped it, holding it steady until the ache in her head left. The cold floor caused a chill to run up and down Marinette's body as she attempted to remember what had happened after the ice rink.

Everything became blurry and sounds and memories seemed to merge together. Past and present swirled, and nothing seemed to make sense. Flashes of unknown people and places emerges from her memory.

The memories were not hers.

She couldn't remember experiencing anything she could comprehend from the flashes, and everything else was foreign. Her headache came back, worse than before. She clutched her head while she steadily tries to walk further, and out of the room. Marinette's head begins to spin, and she becomes dizzy as she continues to walk step by step. Unbalanced on her own two feet, she trips over her foot, and looses balance, falling to the floor with a loud thud. She groans and tries to push herself up, using her arms, but fails by falling back down on the ground.

Her body feels weak, with her trembling arms and legs, she relentlessly tries to stand on her feet, not even able to push her upper body away from the frigid floor. Marinette's body wasn't able to tell whether or not she was cold or hot. With the chilly floor and her body heat she couldn't tell which was causing which. It hurt her brain to think about anything, and it seemed like she had been on that floor for hours. Her body couldn't register the pain coursing through her veins. Her breathing came in short pants as it was a struggle to breathe. Her head hurt too much to think about the pain in her chest. Like something pushing against it, and wouldn't move.

Marinette laid there, the pain growing and it being almost impossible to breathe. She wanted to move, to breathe, to do something. But she couldn't. It hurt to do anything more than just lay there, but that wasn't what she wanted. Marinette decided that she was no longer going to let things stay as they have always been. To let people walk over her like she didn't exist, or like she didn't matter. Things would change, she promised herself, things would change whether the world wanted them to or not. And because she declared this she lit a fire within her, that had never been lit before, not by any before her. Especially because they couldn't get off the floor. Still, it was the start to a chain reaction.

Trying once more, her palms sweaty and head pounding and barely breathing, Marinette used her final strength to push herself, half successfully, and place herself on her knees. If Marinette had the energy, she would question why she had to work twice as long and hard to do such a simple task. It couldn't have made any sense, even without the smoke in her brain. There was absolutely no explanation.

Except there was.

There always is.

Catching her breath, Marinette could hear the faint sound of her parents voice getting louder and more urgent as they called for their daughter and got no response. Busting through the hole-also known as her door- Marinette's parents had quickly helped her onto her bed and tried to comfort her saying that everything would be fine, and she would feel better soon. In all honesty, Marinette doubted that. Nothing would ever be the same. Ever.

Eventually, her parents got her to sleep, praying that she stayed that way and not try anything, but even they had their doubts. As an extra measurement, her father bolted the door to the roof and made sure the lock on her door still worked. They kissed her forehead, and made sure that the lock on her door was still able to lock her inside.


Over the next few days Marinette had gotten her strength back, bit by bit, she was able to stand after a few hours of much needed sleep, her head was clear and able to function better, but it seemed her senses were sharpened. Everything didn't seem real, like it wasn't her who had been standing, or eating, or doing anything. She felt out of her own skin, yet she didn't necessarily find it a terrible, as other things. She laid on her bed, thinking about what had happened recently with Gaberiel, and as an end result...nothing seemed to make sense.

She didn't know how to feel about him. Marinette got that he friended her because he was new, and didn't know to stay away as everyone else would. But he's been here long enough to know all about how much of a loner she is, especially because of the long period absence. Nevertheless, he still continued to text her, to call her, and just as before she ignored his messages; didn't even look at them for the fear he would be able to see she read them, and just didn't answer. Even worse, Marinette would feel bad and text him, and leave herself feeling foolish. Marinette couldn't bring herself to do anything that was related to Gaberiel, even thoughts about him were hard. This weird feeling would bubble in her stomach, and wouldn't subside for hours, her head would start to hurt, and then she would feel nauseated.

Yet it was never enough to prevent her from thinking about him.

Constantly the thought of him, sent her mind whirling with confusion, anger and happy thoughts. It's just an infatuation, she thought. It means nothing. He was the first guy to actually talk to you like a normal person. She groaned, feelings were complicated. Her feelings felt impossible to even comprehend. Finally through with her thoughts driving her wild, she dressed into more appropriate clothing; a pink sweater and a pair of blue jeans with pink shoes, and walked down the stairs into the kitchen to see her parents leaning over the kitchen counter. She stood there, looking at her parents but she would have called it of looking through them. She took in the kitchen, her body froze, but her eyes quickly scanned everything that she could see. Marinette had always loved the fact that the kitchen and the living room were connected making it slightly easier on her part whenever she was hungry. The huge stainless steel refrigerator was right next to the opening, taking up most of the space on that side of the wall, and next to it was a small wooden pantry containing mostly of spices and herbs and seasoning.

Next to the pantry was a two door oven, able to cook more than one recipe at a time; it reminded her of the same oven that they used in the bakery downstairs. Alongside the oven, the kitchen countertops and sinks were. The sinks were made up of stainless steel and the countertops were made of white marble; above and below that were the cabinets were of cherry oak, giving the marble countertops a chance to stand out, holding dishes and pots and pans. The drawers had steel handles, holding utensils, kitchen knives, etc. At the far end of the countertops was another pantry, considerably larger than the smaller pantry, holding products that couldn't fit in any of the cabinets or couldn't be stored in the fridge. In the middle was the only big kitchen counter they had, where most recipe had been known to be shaped. The counter had multiple drawers and cabinets, and as a kid she could remember that there was always a surprise in one of the drawers. Vividly, Marinette could remember being about nine years-old, she ran into the kitchen knowing there was a surprise in store for that day, she went to the counter, and on a little piece of paper she saw note saying, 'Come find me, Mari' in red marker. Marinette furrowed her eyebrows wondering what she could be looking for. Instead of debating of whether to look anywhere else, she looked in the next drawer beside it, finding another note, 'Closer…'

On and on Marinette went as the notes teasingly taunted her, as she continued to open every drawer and cabinet with notes.

'Come closer…'

'Warmer…'

'Hot…'

'On fire…'

"You are in lava…'

Marinette was more than frustrated, after she had opened every possible place on the very large counter, and couldn't find not one present; it put her in a mood that made her frown. She crossed her arms, and stomped her foot; mad that her parents had played her and didn't give her a present as they always did. It made her want to cry.

She didn't want to seem bratty and she didn't want to appear as it affect her, but deep down she was hurt and disappointed. It made her feel hollow and used, like an unwanted toy. The feeling squeezed her heart, and wouldn't let go. It wasn't able to let go.

She turned her head, and looked towards the opening of kitchen that lead towards the living room, and standing in the doorway, were her parents, smiling happily, holding a plate of croissants with drizzles of chocolate. Trying to hold back the tears, she ran to her parents, engulfing them in a hug, and as surprised as they seemed, all they could think about was their daughter.

The memory sent her mind whirling once again, but instead of feeling nausea, oddly, she felt calm and collected. Something she hadn't felt in a long time. She blinked her eyes rapidly, adjusting her attention onto her parents, "Did you say something, ma?"

"Are you going out somewhere?" She asked, slowly.

Steadily, Marinette processed the question, and nodded her head, "I'm just going for a walk." She answered. "I need some fresh air." And, then to seal the deal, Marinette smiled a brilliant smile, anyone could believe. Skeptical, her parents nodded, knowing there was more than she was letting on, however, they would not interfere. Not yet.

"Don't forget your phone, and be back before it gets late, okay?" Marinette could hear the question in the command, and unwillingly, she knew it meant freedom. Again, she smiled, and took that freedom and ran with it.

Quickly, she walked to door, and she checked herself to see that she had everything she needed. Opening the door, she came face to face the one person she was trying to forget.

Gaberiel.