Chapter 5: Here to help you kill all of this hurt that you've been harboring

All the superhero shenanigans Adrien had been caught up in last night had thoroughly thrown him a curveball. What with the culmination of magical jewels, talking tiny cats, and superhuman abilities, he'd gotten a little distracted him from his actual problems.

But now he was back on track and ready to face them. Quite literally.

Adrien and Chloé eyed each other impassively as he approached the awaiting car in his driveway. She could do her very best to avoid him at school, but the carpool they shared together was a different matter entirely.

That said, he was certain she could've pulled strings if she wanted to. If she really couldn't stand the thought of being in a car with him, it wouldn't take more than a snap of her fingers to bend everything to her will.

He took that as a positive sign. Maybe she was finally ready to talk.

"Adrien," she greeted as he climbed in. She folded her arms, head turned purposely away from him. It didn't feel right without her usual enthusiasm and the endearing (if slightly annoying) nickname she often gave him.

"Chloé," he said in turn, buckling his seatbelt.

Her eyes remained on the window, watching the trees and houses that passed by them. After a few tense minutes of absolutely nothing happening, Adrien supposed he'd have to be the one to start talking.

He rubbed at the fancy leather seat beneath him. "I wanna talk about what happened between you and Marinette yesterday."

He saw her eyes roll through the window's reflection. "Oh here we go. Time for the heroic act. Here comes Adrien Agreste to save the day! Righter of wrongs, Dupont's very own vigilante."

Right. Of course he couldn't have a serious conversation with her. Regardless, he ignored her jab. "I don't think it's right for you to treat people like that."

"Oh really?" She turned on him, eyes narrowed into slits. "You never seemed to have a problem with it before."

"Well I should've," he said hotly. "And I hate myself for not doing something sooner. But listen... You're my friend, Chlo. I care about you. But I don't want to stay friends with you if this is how you're gonna behave."

The way she bristled indicated that had been the wrong thing to say. "You're not the boss of me, Adrien! The way I treat people is my business." Chloé repositioned herself back towards the window, but the reflection once again gave her away; he could see her eyes shining with unshed tears. "And besides, it's more complicated than you realize."

He frowned. "What's complicated about it? You were awful to Marinette just because she made a mistake!"

She didn't answer. The engine hummed to substitute for the quietness that followed.

Adrien sighed. Arguing wasn't his goal here, so he tried something different. "Just... talk to me, Chloé. Please. It would be so easy to—"

She spat out a joyless laugh. "Easy?! There's nothing easy about it! You live in a perfect world where everyone is nice to you— ohh poor Adrien! He lost his mommy, let's all give him hugs! And he likes the attention so much, he suddenly wants to suck up to everyone! Especially the cute, innocent doe-eyed Dupain-Cheng — maybe if he sorts out her mean nasty bully, she'll agree to be his pity girlfriend! You're fucking pathetic!"

The silence that came after was suffocating. Adrien froze, fingers digging further into the fabric of the car seat. Chloé's cheeks tinged a light shade of red, but her eyes stayed stubbornly glued to the headrest in front of her. Even the driver gripped the steering wheel a little more stiffly.

Something tightened inside Adrien's chest, crushing and clamping until it solidified into a ball of weight. He swallowed down the lump forming in his throat, adamant to find his voice — preferably one that was calm and collected. "Pierre, thank you for coming to pick me up, but you can just drop me off here. I want to walk the rest of the way."

Pierre glanced at him through the review mirror. "Are you sure, Monsieur Agreste? Your father specifically requested that I—"

"My father isn't going to find out."

"As you wish."

The car pulled to the side of the road, the thrum of the engine cutting off. Adrien threw his seatbelt to the side and pushed open the door, almost forgetting to collect his schoolbag before leaving.

"Adrien, wait." If the lack of venom in her tone didn't betray her newfound fear, the expression in her eyes certainly did. Her arms unfolded and her hand almost reached out toward him, before she seemed to change her mind and withdrew it. "You don't understand—"

"If you're not going to listen to me, there's nothing more I can do. We're done, Chloé." He slammed the door, probably harder than he needed to.

Adrien didn't wait for them to drive away. Instead, he took off at a fast pace down the sidewalk, pulling out his phone. He opened his texts with Nathalie and wrote out a quick message with shaking hands.

I don't want Chloé's car driving me to school anymore. From now on, I'm walking by myself.

He hit send and immediately shoved the phone back into his pocket without waiting for the reply. A quick glance around the familiar street he currently occupied told him he was only five or ten minutes away from school.

That was five or ten minutes for him to shake off the heaviness still clinging to his chest. And to blink away the stupid tears infiltrating his eyes.

゜・。。・゜゜・。。・゜

It didn't work as well as he'd hoped.

Nino was happy to jabber away about how hard the homework had been — the homework Adrien had not done due to being a little preoccupied last night — as the two boys made their way down the busy school corridor. But Adrien's despondent and monosyllabic responses eventually hinted to Nino that the blond wasn't quite on par with his level of enthusiasm.

Nino's animated face fell as he paid closer attention to his friend, his walk slowing to a stop. "Hey dude, is something wrong?"

Adrien shoved his hands deeper into his pockets. "I'm—" He took a deep breath. "I'm fine."

Nino furrowed his brow. "No, you're not." He pulled the other boy through the doorway of an empty classroom, so that they wouldn't clog up the flow of student traffic. "Adrien, talk to me."

Adrien shook his head, staring avidly at his trainers. Don't cry, don't fucking cry. "It's not about what you think it is. I'm not... um, it's just... I think I just lost my oldest friend."

Nino frowned in puzzlement. Then his eyes lit up as he clocked it. "You mean Chloé! Did you guys, uh... fall out?"

"Something like that."

"Oh." He pushed his glasses up as he fumbled for a correct response. "Well, that's..."

Adrien tried, and failed, to smile reassuringly. "Nino, it's okay. You don't have to pretend. I know how much you all hate her."

"Hey, I'm not pretending!" Nino threw his palms up. "I'm sad for you. Because you're my friend. And..." His hand gently came to rest on Adrien's shoulder, eyes softening. "You know I'm always here for you, right?"

Adrien's heart buzzed faintly, spreading warmth through his chest and alleviating some of the weight that pressed against it. He was no stranger to hearing that phrase (his classmates liked to throw it around a lot), but there was something so uplifting about hearing it in such a genuine way from someone who truly considered him to be a friend.

He only nodded in response because if he tried to speak, he knew he'd start crying. For an entirely different reason.

Nino, probably realizing the atmosphere needed to change a bit, rocked back on his heels with a smirk. "Did you know the fair's opening today?"

Adrien blinked. "What?"

"Down by the Louvre Museum. It's got rides and games and food, and a bunch of other cool things. Loads of people from our year are going. You should come, too! It'll be fun."

'Fun' wasn't the word Adrien would use to describe the loud, crowded place his mind was visualizing. He nervously fiddled with the hair behind his head. "Oh, I don't know about that..."

"Me, Alya and Marinette are planning on meeting up there after school finishes. We'd love it if you tagged along." Nino jabbed him playfully in the ribs. "Would be the perfect opportunity to spend time with a certain someone, huh?"

Adrien smirked and pushed him away. "It's not like that." And it wasn't. Not really. He liked Marinette, yes, but pursuing her romantically was not on his radar right now. However, talking to her sounded nice. They definitely had things to talk about. "But... I'll ask Nathalie if I'm allowed, okay?"

He took out his phone, only to find out his message hadn't been replied to. He stared down at his unanswered text for a moment before typing out a second one, asking if he could go to the fair with his friends after school.

He was well aware he was pushing his luck right now, but to hell with it: he was tired of letting other people make decisions for him.

He waited for several seconds, but Nathalie didn't reply. Perhaps she'd gone straight to his father to let him know how insolent his son was being — first, Adrien was refusing the lift to school and now he wanted to do something fun. The audacity!

His phone suddenly lit up with Nathalie's picture as she rang him (noiselessly, because he'd thankfully left his phone on silent). The two options of 'decline' and 'accept' rippled dramatically across the screen, demanding he pick one. He hit the red button and quickly put his phone away.

Nino, who'd been patiently waiting, looked at him expectantly. "Well? What did she say?"

Adrien shrugged his schoolbag further up his shoulder and averted his eyes. "She said yes."

゜・。。・゜゜・。。・゜

Marinette cast her gaze out at the view encompassing her as she and Alya strolled along next to the river Seine, its surface glistening under the sunlight. There was no rain, no wind, ultimately the perfect day to be visiting a fairground. Children's laughter echoed through the air as parents hauled them towards the designated destination.

"If only you'd been there to see it!" Alya exclaimed, loud enough for Marinette's attention to divert back on their current conversation.

"Yeah..." She chuckled uneasily, eyes briefly flickering over her shoulder toward her backpack where Tikki was currently hiding. "I hate that I missed it. Curse the bakery for being so busy last night."

"Can you believe it? A butt-kicking, girl superhero." Alya's phone was suddenly in her hand, waving frantically in front of Marinette's face. "And look! I took her first picture."

Marinette glanced down at the surprisingly high-quality photo of herself — as Ladybug — swinging through the sky by her yo-yo, her other hand clamped tightly onto Chat Noir's. This had no doubt been taken during the gargoyle chase, but despite the circumstances surrounding them, their faces were both ecstatic, eyes lit up with wonder.

She smiled fondly, nerves tingling with the fuzzy feeling she got whenever he crossed her mind.

Alya smirked, pocketing her phone. "Couple goals, am I right?"

"You really think so?!" Marinette said, probably a little too enthusiastically. She awkwardly cleared her throat. "I mean... yeah, I guess they look pretty cute together."

Alya stared at her with a raised eyebrow. "Didn't realize you were a fan... But hey!" She leaned in with a sly grin. "Do you think they're dating?"

Marinette shook her head sadly. "They can't. Their job is to protect the city, meaning their relationship has to remain professional." When Alya shot her another skeptical look, her brain short-circuited and her French suddenly failed her. "What I meant is, uh, they could be! H-How would— How would I know? Ahah. Of course I don't know! I just, uh, I don't think they'd— It wouldn't seem right if..." She trailed off with a strangled laugh, deciding to quit while she was ahead.

Alya shrugged. "Guess I'll just ask when I see them in action again." She said it so casually. Like she was discussing a school project, and not considering running headfirst into a warzone.

And Marinette was once again forced to reconcile with the fact that while she might be nearly invulnerable in the suit, the responsibility to keep every single civilian from harm fell squarely on her shoulders. And if last night was any example to go off, she didn't think it would always be entirely possible.

"Isn't that dangerous?" Marinette asked, worrying at her lip. "If another akuma attack happens, you should probably find somewhere safe to hide. I mean... Ladybug and Chat Noir have superpowers. And you're just..." She gestured vaguely at her friend. "Well, you're just Alya."

Alya chuckled and patted her on the arm. "Girl, it's sweet of you to worry. But if you want to be a reporter, you have to get close to the action."

Their stroll slowed down upon reaching the entrance to the carnival and they joined the queue to the ticket booth. Marinette looked up and stared in awe at the giant Ferris wheel that, despite being all the way on the other side of the fair, overshadowed everything else with its sheer size. She reckoned the view from the top must be amazing.

She nudged the other girl excitedly. "We're definitely going on that thing, right?"

"Chill, girl. There's no rush," Alya said, eyes scanning over a text message on her phone. "Nino and Adrien are already inside. Let's find them first."

゜・。。・゜゜・。。・゜

Adrien's eyes narrowed, hands clamping down more firmly against the hard rubber of the ball. The circus music, the blinking lights, the screams and clashes and giggles; he let them all fade away into background noise. Nothing mattered except the net that hung at the very back of the stall, waiting for him to make a move.

This was his last shot. If he missed this one, then it all would have been for nothing.

He took a deep breath, lifted the basketball above his head, and then cast it forward with an appropriate amount of strength. The ball spun as it soared, arching through the air and falling straight through the awaiting mesh. A dinging noise chimed out, indicating his victory.

Nino let out a roaring cheer, grabbing his friend's shoulders and aggressively shaking him. Adrien could only grin like an idiot. He loved that something so stupid and pointless could make him so happy.

"And that's three in a row!" the man in charge of the stall announced. He gestured towards the dozens upon dozens of stuffed animal toys that hung from the ceiling. "Which one would you like, son?"

"Get the octopus!" Nino demanded, shaking him again for emphasis. "It's got a top-hat!"

Adrien scrutinized the available options, his eyes eventually landing on a black cat plushie lurking in the corner. Its stupid flappy ears and uneven stitched-on green eyes strongly reminded him of someone, and before he knew what he was doing, he was pointing at it. "Can I uh, have that one there?"

The man unhooked it for him and passed it into his waiting arms with a smile. Adrien, who was well aware he was too old for something so childish, hugged it close against his torso.

The cat-toy remained like that as he and Nino took off along the row of stalls that the fair's market had to offer, in search of another game to try.

"The girls are about to get tickets," Nino said, glancing down as his phone, "So we'll see them soon. They're gonna meet us at the rollercoaster — the big one."

Adrien's heart summersaulted at the mention of her. "That's great."

"Yeah..." Nino nervously rubbed at the headphones around his neck. "Super great."

The frenziness of his heart petered out a little upon noticing his friend's discomfort. "Is... everything okay?"

Nino pinched the bridge of his nose under his glasses and groaned. "Alright, listen, dude. While it's just us two, there's something you should know. I wasn't gonna say anything, but... I really don't feel right keeping this from you."

Adrien's eyes widened. His perspective on what counted as an important secret had shifted so much since last night, he was half-convinced Nino was about to announce that he was actually Ladybug.

"I get the feeling you really like this girl, okay?" Nino continued, "And I think that's great! Except, well... the thing is, I like her too."

Okay, he definitely hadn't been expecting that. "Wait, what?"

"But it's fine! I'm not gonna let it ruin our friendship." He patted Adrien's back. "I'm sure everything will work out in the end. Let the best man win and all that."

Adrien was still reeling, palms growing clammy and sticking against the toy trapped in his grip. He was two days into this Normal Kid lifestyle, and he'd somehow already messed it all up. He'd dared to have a crush and he'd dared to make a friend, and now everything was going to come crashing down around him. "Y-You like Marinette?"

Nino frowned. "Marinette? I'm talking about Alya."

Relief promptly broke apart the tension churning inside his gut. "Alya?"

"Yeah? Wait, so that means... We don't like the same girl, after all?" Nino guffawed, hand over his chest. "Oh! Oh, thank god. I was totally bluffing before. Let's be honest, I wouldn't have stood a chance against Monsieur Perfect."

Adrien snorted. "Monsieur what?"

"What I meant to say is...!" Nino threw an arm around Adrien's neck and pulled him close. "Marinette, huh?"

"Yeah." Adrien blushed, and after realizing how obvious it probably was, he only blushed harder. "I think she's awesome. I've never met anyone like her."

"Ah." Nino released him with a triumphant grin. "You're looking for advice from the love expert."

Scrambling to uncross the wires, Adrien quickly spoke up. "No! Actually, I was—"

"Step into my office." Nino gestured at an imaginary door, already far too committed to the bit. "I know all the tricks in the book, my friend."

Adrien winced, but ultimately decided to say nothing. He wasn't an idiot: he knew Nino's advice was going to be terrible. But he had to admit, he was probably even less knowledgeable on the nuances of dating. So listening to anything he had to say couldn't exactly hurt.

"Rule number one." Nino gesticulated wildly as he talked. "You gotta be somebody else— mysterious, like you're wearing a mask."

Been there, done that, Adrien thought cynically. A whole train of people died. What else you got for me?

"If you opportunity ever arises, bring her flowers! You'll look so devoted."

I'll look desperate.

"Make her laugh!" Nino insisted. "Girls love that."

Make a fool of myself until she runs away screaming. Got it, Adrien summarized.

The two boys came to a stop, having reached the entrance to the rollercoaster. The large red elements of the tracks towered above them, woven in intricate loops and vertical drops. Adrien was already regretting his life choices.

"And last but not least." Nino threw double finger guns. "The golden rule: always stay cool."

"Hey, Nino!"

Both boys jolted in surprise, spinning around to address the two new arrivals of Alya and Marinette that emerged from the crowd, the four of them all standing adjacent to each other.

Adrien had to make a conscious effort to not gawk continuously at Marinette, but it was proving to be a challenge. He thought about what Fu had said last night, about auras, and wondered what Marinette's looked like. It would probably be a supernova of bright red, or pink, something that embodied how wonderful of a person she was.

She waved shyly when she caught him staring and his eyes fled to the floor, face burning furiously.

Get it together, Agreste.

He wasn't the only one struggling. The coy smirk on Nino's face fell away, his arms twitching around like he suddenly had no idea what to do with them.

"Uh, hey! 'Sup, Alya? I, uh... You look, uh..." The more he fumbled, the more the smiles on the girls' faces began to falter.

Adrien observed the complete bumbling mess his friend had become, and couldn't help but wonder if that's how he came across to Marinette. But in good news, he was certainly no worse at this than Nino was.

Nino composed himself and changed tactics before the situation could get anymore awkward. "Marinette, right? We met. Yeah, uh, this is my friend Adrien." He gently nudged the boy next to him, and Adrien tried to look anywhere that wasn't directly into Marinette's eyes.

"Ah yes." Marinette threw him a playful salute. "Library guy."

Adrien chuckled, shifting the weight between his feet. "That's me."

Nino looked back and forth between them. "Ohhh, I see what's going on here," he drawled, blatantly ignoring Adrien's glare of desperation to shut the hell up. "You two have a little secret."

Horrified, Marinette shook her head. "Wait, what? No! It's not what you think."

"Yeah, no," Adrien agreed, wishing the ground below him would swallow him whole. 'Monsieur Perfect' my ass. She thinks I'm ridiculous.

Alya fondly rolled her eyes. "Moving swiftly on from this will-they-won't-they... Are we going on this ride or what?" She bumped Nino's arm. "Nino, you in?"

His composure fell apart once more. "M-Me? With you? Uh... I, uh... Absolutely! Let's do it."

Alya grabbed his wrist and dragged him in the direction of the queue. She shot a glance over her shoulder at the other two. "Marinette, Adrien, you coming?"

"Um..." Adrien hesitated. He knew this might be his only chance to talk to her. But what if Marinette couldn't care less about what he had to say and just really wanted to go on the ride? He tried to make eye contact with her, but this turned out to be a huge mistake and he quickly looked away again. Maybe he just had to risk it. "Y-You guys go on ahead. We'll catch up, okay?"

Alya shrugged. "Suit yourself." She and Nino took off again, her voice fading away into the myriad of jumbled conversations. "Just so you know, you're gonna have to remove your hat, glasses, and headphones..."

Several beats passed in which Marinette and Adrien stood in close, awkward proximity to each other, neither one willing to make the first move.

A group of children seemingly appearing out of nowhere raced past them, screaming and laughing, caught up in the excitement of the fairground. One kid ran directly into Adrien by accident, causing him to stumble, and barked out a frantic apology before dashing off to catch up with her friends.

"Do you, uh..." He licked his dry lips and swallowed forcibly. "Do you wanna find somewhere a little more quiet?"

Marinette glanced around at her surroundings. She saw something over his shoulder and pointed. "There's a bench over there. Will that do?"

Adrien nodded and followed her towards it.

Nowhere in this entire place would they find a completely quiet spot, but the little unoccupied bench was at least out of everyone's way, and there weren't any speakers blasting music nearby.

The two of them took a seat, leaving the space between them a lot bigger than it necessarily needed to be. They both stared blankly ahead at the bustling festival, Marinette bouncing her leg up and down, and Adrien gently rolling his new toy around on his thighs.

Summoning the courage he needed, Adrien opened his mouth to speak. But Marinette beat him to it.

"Cute cat," she said, glancing down at the stuffed animal in question. "Did you win him?"

"Fair and square," Adrien replied with a smirk. He regretted the pun almost instantly, but luckily Marinette didn't seem to catch on.

"What's his name?" she asked.

"Pla—" He closed his jaw with a snap, realizing that saying the kwami's name could jeopardize the secret he was trying so hard to bury, deep enough that it could never be excavated again. Instead, he blurted out the next word he could think of. "Uh, P-Planetarium!"

Marinette blinked. "Oh, that's... pretty unique."

Adrien wanted to kick himself. "Yeah, I-I thought so, too."

Marinette shucked her backpack off her shoulders and set it down on her lap, fingers aimlessly pulling the zip up and down. "Um, by the way... Alya was just joking before. With that whole 'will-they-won't-they'. She knows there's nothing between us."

"No, I know," he said, voice wobbling ever so slightly. It couldn't be more obvious that Marinette was not interested in him at all, and he really needed to move on before his feelings could grow any stronger.

"I hope it didn't make things weird," she added.

"Not at all!" The air around this bush was getting seriously beaten, but he couldn't bring himself to weigh down the conversation with anything too heavy. "Um... So what do you think of the fair?"

Marinette chuckled good-naturedly. "I like it. I've always loved rollercoasters. Though, I don't think I can stay too long. I gotta help my parents with the boulangerie later on."

Adrien latched onto that safe topic like it was lifeline. "Your family has a bakery? That's so cool!"

"Mhm. I get to wake up to the smell of fresh croissants every morning."

"Bet the food there is delicious."

"It is! I have some leftover macarons you can try, if you want."

Marinette's hand dove into her backpack, forgetting about the open zip. The front of her bag slipped through her fingers and its contents spilled out onto the concrete below, colorful macarons tumbling out of their paper box and breaking apart. A pile of books fell right on top of them, flattening the remaining crumbs and adding insult to injury. She cursed under her breath.

"O-Oh, sorry!" Adrien threw his cat plushie to one side and bent down to help her gather the books. "I always seem to be responsible for you dropping things."

"Don't worry about it." She made quick work of fixing her rucksack. "Dropping things is something I do a lot, with or without your help."

The last book, pink with a two-flip cover, fell open as he attempted to pick it up. He made to quickly close it again, not wanting to pry, but something caught his attention. He leaned back against the bench, inspecting the book more thoroughly.

Adrien slowly flipped through the pages. She had doodled pictures of clothes on each one; a mixture of dresses, shirts, hats, and coats — each design had its own detailed pattern or elegant flair that made it unique, radiating with a creativity that was exclusively Marinette's.

"You're a fashion designer?" he asked. Could she be any more perfect?

"Well, I'd say I'm… more of an aspiring fashion designer."

"These are... really good." He looked back up at her with a grin. "You have some serious talent."

"You think so?" she beamed. "Thanks! That means a lot coming from the son of Gabriel Agreste himself."

He chuckled. "Ah, well... we actually tend to have very different opinions. But in this case, I think he would like your designs, too."

Adrien reached the last page of doodles and then hesitated. He squeezed his eyes shut and snapped the book closed. Enough was enough. "I talked to Chloé."

"Oh..." Marinette accepted her scrapbook back and put it away, without her eyes ever leaving his. "How did it go?"

His shoulders slumped in defeat. "I think I really messed up. Turns out I'm not very good at the whole confrontation thing."

"Did she get mad?"

"Worse. She hates me now. And I... I'm worried I've just made things even harder for you." He forced himself to look at her. "I'm really sorry."

Marinette sighed. "Don't be. Thank you for trying anyway."

Adrien picked at a loose thread in his jeans, focusing on it like it was life or death. "I'll, uh... understand if you hate me now. I would hate me if I was in your shoes."

"I don't hate you," she said, tilting her head. "I actually wish I'd gotten the chance to meet you sooner. But, well... I don't remember you being in school last year. Did you transfer recently?"

"No, I was there." He pulled on the thread a little too hard, unraveling some of the stitching. "But I left early. That's probably why you don't remember me. And I left because, uh... I don't know if you've already heard."

"N-No?... But don't feel any pressure to tell me—"

"My mom died in a car accident." The thread he was pulling snapped in half. Forget weighing down the conversation; he'd just thrown a nuclear bomb into it. And now that he'd started, he couldn't stop. "Uh, it happened in March. My dad and I were both on the left side of the car, so we were mostly okay. But she was on the right, and that's the side the other car hit us from. That's why—" He cleared his throat. "That's why I left school early."

And maybe his chest clenched a little and his eyes simmered with tears the tiniest amount, but he didn't break down. He didn't fall apart at the seams, like the last time he'd tried to tell someone this story. Sure, the details had been a little off-kilter, but he'd still gotten through it. Besides, going into too much detail would've been a terrible idea.

Adrien leaned further back against the bench with a sharp exhale, a weird mix of feelings thrumming through him. This was progress, right? To be able to talk about his mother without that ball of fire igniting inside his heart. But at the same time—

He heard a choked noise next to him, and realized he'd been so focused on his own emotional reaction, he'd almost forgotten about Marinette's.

The dark-haired girl stared at him in devastation, her tears shamelessly spilling over.

"M-Marinette..." He hesitantly reached out a hand toward her, closing the distance between them on the bench. "Are you—?"

"I'm sorry, Adrien." She rubbed a sleeve across her leaking eyes. "I'm just thinking about how it would feel to lose my own mother. And— oh god. It would be awful, I... I can't even imagine." She buried her face in her hands. "I just... I had no idea."

His hand found purchase on her shoulder. "That's okay. I kinda liked that you didn't know. It meant you didn't treat me any differently."

"Well you've ruined it." She let out a watery laugh, peeking out from between her fingers to look at him. "I know now."

He sighed and shook his head. "That's okay, too. I realized I... don't really wanna start off our friendship by hiding things from you. I don't want to... lie to you about anything."

She sniffled and sat up straight to address him. "We're friends?"

"I mean... yeah." He drew his hand away and offered her a smile. "If that's okay with you?"

"Of course it is," Marinette said, her own smile just as warm, despite the unshed tears still in her eyes. Then she looked out at the crowd in front of them. Distant balloons popping and plastic guns firing filled the silence. She took a deep breath and leaned her hands against her knees. "I actually, uh... left school not long after you did."

His eyebrows raised in surprise. "Really?"

"Yeah, around April. Maybe that's why I never heard about what happened to you."

"Probably," Adrien agreed. "Why did you leave?" Shit, that was way too direct. "Uh, I mean, i-if you wanna— You don't have to—"

"I'm okay with telling," she shrugged, eyes burning holes through the ground. "I'm just trying to find the right words. I guess... I had a lot going on. I was working super hard to ace every subject, keep up extracurriculars, help with the bakery, maintain friendships— not to mention all the bullying. It all sort of became... too overwhelming. I couldn't handle it anymore."

Adrien frowned. "Was it... Chloé's fault?"

"She was certainly a factor." Marinette's hands balled into fists. "But not the main reason. It was a bit of everything, actually. In the end, I was just... completely burnt out. I gave up on all of it. School, my friends, my designs. I barely left my room for months. And my parents got really worried..."

She paused, her leg beginning to bounce up and down again. "And that just made everything even worse, you know? The guilt. Knowing that I was letting my parents down— that I was letting myself down. That I wasn't helping anyone in any way. I-I felt absolutely useless. It was... It was awful."

When Adrien felt the first tear splash over his cheek, he didn't try to stop it. Or the several others that fell straight after. He let them drip off his chin and he couldn't, for the life of him, pull his eyes away from the girl in front of him.

Marinette.

Smart, kind, energetic, beautiful Marinette. Blue eyes that shone brighter than the cloudless sky above them, and a heart that was full of boundless kindness. He just couldn't wrap his head around it; how something so horrible could happen to someone so good. She deserved the world, and yet life had crushed her into the dirt.

Shock, anger and sorrow fought for dominance inside of him, but the emotion that finally won out was none of these: instead, this one was softer, brighter, and warmer. It settled comfortably at the base of his heart, filling a space he hasn't even known had been missing.

When Adrien said he was never going to fall, he hadn't anticipated for this.

So much for getting over my feelings.

Marinette blinked away her tears and looked back at him, only for horror to immediately flash across her features. "Oh shit! Adrien, no, I didn't mean to make you—"

He shook his head, and she trailed off. She waited while he rubbed his hands across his tear-stained face and sniffled furiously. It absolutely baffled him how derailed the original plan had gotten. He'd come here to break the news to her about Chloé. Instead, they'd both trauma-dumped and cried a ton.

He wasn't entirely sure if this was how you were supposed to develop friendships. In fact, it almost definitely wasn't. Forget jumping the gun, they must've jumped an entire shooting range.

He realized she was still waiting for him to say something.

"D-Do you still feel like that?" he croaked out. "Useless?"

Marinette remained silent for several seconds, seemingly lost in thought. "No," she eventually said. "Not anymore. I think I've finally found my true calling."

Before Adrien could ask any further questions, his phone began vibrating against his thigh. He pulled it out of his pocket to see the image of Gabriel lighting up the screen.

His stomach spiked with sudden anxiety. He'd almost forgotten how he'd left things with Nathalie, and now his dad was calling him... This couldn't be good.

"O-Oh, sorry, hang on. It's my father," he said, standing up and stepping away from Marinette to answer the call. He quickly cleared his voice of any semblance of emotion. "Hello?"

"Adrien," Gabriel's voice crackled through. "Where are you?"

The spikes of anxiety retracted slightly. So Nathalie hadn't said anything to him.

"At the fair," Adrien said. Then his eyes lit up as a thought crossed by him. This might be the perfect opportunity he'd been waiting for. A way for him to supply an olive branch and mend the rift that had haunted him for months. "You should come! We could... hang out together. There's so many—"

"I want you to come home right away." Gabriel didn't even entertain the idea. "It's not safe for you there. I'll send a car to get you."

The line clicked and went dead before Adrien could even choke out a response. He pulled the phone away from his ear glared down at it, wishing he had the ability to set it on fire. What had he been expecting? A miracle?

It was probably a good thing Gabriel had hung up. Adrien would've just said something temperamental, only resulting in angering his dad even further.

All in all, his festive mood had been promptly extinguished. He might as well go and wait for the damn car.

"Sorry, Marinette," he muttered, trudging back over to her and grabbing his stupid plushie from the bench. "I have to go."

She stood up, hands wringing. "Is everything alright?"

"It's fine." If 'fine' was code for 'my dad is repulsed by my very existence'. "I've just overstayed my free time. But, um... It was really great talking with you."

"Same here," Marinette said, eyes soft. "Take care, okay?"

Take care, okay? the words from last night echoed through his skull.

The déjà vu was a little jarring, but he quickly shook it off. Ladybug would always hold a fond place in his heart, but she wasn't his future. With Marinette, he had an actual chance at making a friend.

Even if she didn't want to be anything more.

Adrien nodded. "You too."

He turned and took off in search of a way out of this fair, shoes dragging on the dirt beneath him.

゜・。。・゜゜・。。・゜

Marinette made her way towards the rollercoaster queue, a pep in her stride that hasn't been there before.

It was a shame Adrien couldn't stay, but she wasn't going to let it bring her mood down. Things were going well for her. First Alya, then Nino, and now Adrien? She didn't expect to make so many friends on her first few days of school.

Speaking of Alya and Nino, she wondered if they'd already be on the rollercoaster by now. Would it be worth just waiting for them at the ride's exit?

She heard a child scream in the distance. Marinette sighed and rolled her eyes. Kids were adorable but by god, were they loud.

But then she heard an adult screaming too, followed by a series of equally-terrified voices joining in. Something crackled with electrical energy from the other side of the row of stalls. She saw a flash of white briefly light up the shadows along the floor.

Was that lightning?

Her speedwalk came to an abrupt stop, as her heartbeat started to thud a little more poignantly against her ribs.

Suddenly, the screams were everywhere. People were running in all directions, desperate to get away from... something. One man caught her shoulder as he rushed by, shoving her backwards into the fence. Marinette grunted as she hit the wood, her arm reaching out to catch herself before she fell.

A woman with a pink bob and a black magician costume appeared from behind the stalls, brandishing a wand and a grin sinister enough to cut through stone.

"It's. Showtime!" she seethed, flicking her weapon. White light burst from its tip, painting with air with havoc and destruction.

Disoriented and utterly flummoxed, Marinette watched as more lightning tore through the sky, followed by raging thunder. A handful of zombies lumbered out of the haunted house and scattered haphazardly, chasing after innocent bystanders.

A flock of piranhas bounced across the ground, seemingly adamant to bite everyone in their path. Plastic horses that had previously been attached to the carousel were now going completely haywire, running rampant around the fairground with their terrified riders still clinging to the poles.

"What the fuck?" she breathed. Her fight or flight system completely locked itself off; she couldn't unstick herself from the spot she stood on, hand still gripping tightly onto the fence. More hordes of people dashed past her, but no matter how hard she tried, Marinette couldn't get her limbs to move.

One minute she'd been having a heart-to-heart with Adrien, and now the entire carnival was ablaze with chaos. How had everything gone to shit so quickly?

A flaming rock soared upwards through the air before falling back down, crashing into the earth with a shockwave that felt like it exceeded all the levels of decibels.

That did it.

Marinette's adrenaline finally crashed through her body and she took off at full speed, putting as much distance between herself and that nightmare as she could.

There was no time to catch up with Alya and Nino now. The only thing she could do for them was use the power she'd been given to help save the city. And pray that they survived the ordeal.

Marinette leaped over a fence and crash-landed unceremoniously onto a bed of grass. By sheer dumb luck, she'd found herself a small hiding place nestled between a bush and a large oak tree.

"T-Tikki?" she gasped, leaning back against the bark, chest heaving as she fought to pull oxygen back into her lungs. She didn't know what was shaking more violently: herself or the ground.

The red kwami phased out of her backpack and hovered next to her shoulder. "I'm here!"

"This is it, right?" Marinette peeked around the tree, only to immediately recoil when another explosion went off. "This is an akuma attack? It's actually happening?"

"It's happening."

"Okay, okay." She shook the tension out of her hands, trying to psych herself up for the battle that was inevitably about to take place. "I can do this, I can do this, I can..." Her eyes widened. "Wait, this means I get to see Chat Noir again!"

Tikki's eyes narrowed. "Marinette, shouldn't you be a little more focused on the actual mission?"

"Right. You're completely right." Marinette rubbed a hand over her face and stumbled to her feet. Regardless, the thought of her partner was the only thing suppressing the anxiety raging inside of her. If she kept the image of his face in the forefront of her brain, she knew she'd be able to fight through it. "Tikki... Spots on!"

The red and black attire washed over her physique, bringing with it a sense of steadiness and confidence that her civilian counterpart strongly lacked.

"Alright. First things first," Ladybug muttered to herself, grabbing hold of her yo-yo. "Notify the Cat."