Marinette had barely hit the mattress when her alarm went off. With a groan, she turned it off. Three akumas in the middle of the night. Three! How was she supposed to function? She got no sleep and had an exam today.

She sat up and inhaled sharply when a hot pain blasted through her arm. During one of the akuma attacks (she couldn't remember which one), she had dove into an awkward roll to avoid being blasted and had landed on her arm funny. Bracing herself, she gently tried to roll her shoulder and yelped.

"Are you okay Marinette?" Tikki's worried voice floated around the room.

Marinette grunted, then threw a hoodie over her pajamas. She was too tired to change and too tired to care. Tikki took that as a no and gently hugged Marinette's cheek.

"You should take a sick day," Tikki murmured. "You need rest."

"Can't. I have an exam and I'm not exactly sick."

"Marinette, look at yourself!"

The reflection in the mirror was very telling of what Marinette had been going through. There were dark circles under her sunken eyes. Her knotted hair, usually in neat pigtails, was in her face and sticking up under the hood of the sweater she wore. Her arm hung kinda funny, and she slumped over. But the most disturbing was the deadened state of her eyes, devoid of any emotion.

Ever since she told Alya she was Ladybug, she had recurring nightmares that kept her up on the few nights there weren't a hundred akuma attacks. She hadn't had a full night's rest in two weeks.

"You can't keep doing this," Tikki warned, concern lining her voice. "It's taking a toll on you."

Marinette smiled, but it didn't reach her saddened eyes. "Paris is more important than my health."

—

Marinette didn't even try to hide that she was late to class. Miss Bustier glanced at her, her lips pursed. "Marinette, are you alright?"

"Yeah," Marinette mumbled, pulling the strings on her hoodie so it closed around her face. She stopped before sitting next to Alya because there was already someone in her seat.

"Oh, sorry, is this your seat?" the girl she didn't recognize gasped, rushing to stand up. "It was empty and…."

"No, sit," Marinette said, smiling tiredly. "It's ok. Are you new here?"

"Yeah," the girl said, brushing her messy, dark bangs out of her face. "My name is Nya."

"Marinette. Nice to meet you."

Marinette headed towards the back where more new students sat, all of them boys. She didn't really register it when she sat down until one of them spoke to her.

"Hey." One with spiky brown hair winked at her then smirked. "I'm Kai."

The black haired boy next to him punched Kai's shoulder, a scowl brewing on his face. "Sorry about that," he apologized as his friend rubbed his shoulder. Bright white teeth were a stark contrast to his dark skin as he smiled. "Kai likes to think he's a ladies man. Can't tell you how many times he's been dumped."

"Cole!" Kai whined while the boy behind them bursted out cackling, earning quite the chastisement from Miss Bustier.

"Be quiet, Jay," Cole hissed. Marinette tuned out their bickering and rested her head on her arms. Her entire body seemed to sigh in relief once her eyes closed. Just five minutes of sleep, right? She could borrow Alya's notes after class. Alya would completely understand now that she knew that Marinette was Ladybug. Just five minutes…

"Marinette, don't sleep in my class, please." Marinette's head shot up as she blinked blearily. Chloe laughed audibly.

"Sorry, Miss Bustier," Marinette sighed, rubbing her eyes. She glanced at the clock. Ten fifteen.

Letters swarmed her vision as she struggled to stay awake. Eventually, she nodded off again, much more discreetly than before.

Her brain was too tired to even make up a dream. It was content to just exist for a while.

"RIDICULOUS! UTTERLY RIDICULOUS!"

The loud noise jolted Marinette awake. Chloe was on her feet and jabbing a finger at the new girl, Nya. Nya had her arms folded across her chest and was seething at Chloe, her right eye twitching.

"I'll have my daddy, the mayor, exile you from the city!" Chloe screeched, her face turning a shade of scarlet. She pulled her phone out menacingly.

"He's the mayor? Oh no." Nya rolled her eyes, unimpressed. "He doesn't have the authority to do so. He has to pass laws and such to be able to exile anyone."

"He can pull some strings," Chloe smirked, some haughtiness returning to her stance.

"Isn't that called abuse of power? He can be thrown out of office for that. Then what power would you have left?"

Chloe sputtered, too shocked to respond.

"Girls, please sit down or I will send you both to the principals," Miss Bustier weakly said.

Chloe exploded, marching right up to Nya's face. "Look here, chipped nails. No one talks to me that way. I will make your life a living nightmare."

Nya, quick as a flash, had Chloe's face smushed into the table, twisting her arms behind her back so she could move. Chloe screamed some terrible names as she squirmed, but Nya didn't budge.

"I have lived in a nightmare before. You could hardly do any worse. Anything you do will be a mere annoyance, like a fly to a bear. I'm warning you once: Don't mess with me."

"Girls!" Miss Bustier shouted. The boy who had been laughing at Cole's comment earlier had magically appeared at Nya's side, gently trying to tug her away.

"Nya, love, let's not make a scene."

"It's too late for that, Jay," Nya snarled, though she released Chloe to turn to him. "This moron needs to be taken down a few hundred pegs."

"WHAT did you just call me?!"

"M-o-r-o-n. Moron. I don't think it's in your vocabulary. You may need to use a dictionary. Do you know what that is?"

"You slimy little—"

"Nya Smith, to the principal's office. Jay, would you escort her?"

"Yes ma'am." Jay led Nya out of the room and into the hall. Marinette finally registered the whole situation and couldn't help the snort that escaped her lips as she glanced at the clock. Ten nineteen.

"Chloe deserved that, the brat," she mumbled l, allowing her eyelids to drift shut again. She smiled at the memory of the look on Chloe's face. She and Nya would get along well.

Her mind went dark, then a soft image appeared of a white mask and piercing blue eyes. Eyes that only held hate and brokenness…

Something tapped her leg, rousing her from her slumber once again. She looked down to see Tikki motioning for her to leave the class.

"Miss Bustier, may I use the bathroom?"

"Yes Marinette."

Like a zombie, Marinette left the classroom. Her shoulder banged against the doorframe as she left, but she barely even registered the pain that flared across her arm.

Once she had locked herself in the stall, Tikki flew out, a solemn look on her face.

"Marinette, I need to talk with someone for a little while."

Marinette yawned. "Who?"

"Plagg and maybe someone else. Something isn't right. Some boundaries have been crossed."

Marinette couldn't wrap her head around what Tikki was saying. "What if there's an akuma?"

"That's why I need you to stay in one place so I can find you as soon as possible. Go home. Get some rest while I investigate. Stay in your room so I can easily find you." Tikki flew up and bit her lip nervously. "Please, Marinette. This is really important."

Marinette sighed, then left to head to the nurses office for a way home. "For you, Tikki."