Alright, this is the chapter where we finally learn what happened to Marinette. And be warned, it's gonna get ugly.
'No... It can't be!' Marinette thought, feeling like she'd been shot and was now seeing a ghost.
A young man about Adrien's height, with brown skin - darker than Alya or Nino, but paler than Max - bleach-blonde hair that was styled in a long top with undercut sides. The ends of his hair were dyed metallic silver. His eyes were bluish-grey. He was wearing an orange-gold cashmere cardigan, sitting over a pale grey shirt. His pants were silver jeans, with a dark grey belt. The buckle was clearly from an expensive brand, too. His shoes were a pair of high-end brand Oxfords in orange with black laces.
"Something the matter?" Adrien asked, noticing Marinette's abrupt change in behavior.
Instead of answering, Marinette dashed to hide behind one of the aisles, akin to running for her life. She sat down, put her hands on her head, and began breathing to try calming down.
'Of all the rotten luck! Just when I was finally starting to get over it!' Marinette thought.
Adrien came over. Still standing, he asked, "Marinette, what's wrong?"
Frantic, Marinette hushed him, putting a finger to her lips. She chanced a peek out from behind the aisle to look at the boy. Adrien tracked her line of sight with his eyes and also started to watch the stranger.
When she caught sight of the boy turning around, Marinette ducked back into hiding, sitting down. Adrien followed suit. When he turned to talk to Marinette, he saw she was shaking like a leaf, covering her mouth with one hand.
'Not him!' Marinette thought, her skin going clammy and sweating like crazy.
"Marinette, do you know that guy?" Adrien questioned under his breath, trying to be gentle. He knelt down to get to Marinette's eye level.
"I wish I didn't..." Marinette murmured, flashbacks rushing through her mind like a video in grayscale playing on fast-forward. She was getting nauseous.
"Marinette," Adrien said, tenderly taking Marinette's wrist and pulling her hand away from her face, forcing her to look at him. "You've been there for me so many times. I want to be here for you in return. Please, tell me what happened."
Marinette examined the boy in front of her. His facial expression alone told her that he was begging her to trust him. The same trust he'd placed in her when she found out about his secret. Her heart began pounding, while her nausea faded.
'He's right. I need to trust him the same way he's trusted me this whole time...' Marinette thought, her eyes going down for a few seconds.
She looked back up at Adrien before saying, "Well... Back when I was still at François-Dupont..."
~Flashback~
Marinette was walking to her locker, grumbling to herself. She had acrylic paint on her pants and her blazer was torn in places.
"Stupid, spineless Damocles... It wasn't my fault I was late to class! Chloé's always out to get me, and yet I get detention for doing the right thing?! What a joke," She ranted. "Why does she always target me? I've done nothing to deserve it."
Marinette opened her locker, but she screamed at the sight of the cockroaches that were crawling out of it. She landed on her butt and screamed in frustration. She could just hear Chloé's callous, shrill cackling in the back of her mind.
Marinette shouted in anger as she stood up and took out some STEM cockroach spray from her backpack and started spraying her locker to kill the vermin.
'I don't care if her mother walked out on her while pregnant with Zoé, it's no excuse to mistreat me! It's been like this for years!' Marinette thought as she kept spraying until she saw every last roach was dead.
She sighed, relieved, but still gagging at the sight of the insects. Marinette pulled out her sketchbook, and opened it up. She saw that almost every sketch she'd drawn had been ruined, pen marks crossing out her details, mean annotations, and other cruel doodles, all in Chloé's handwriting.
"That does it! If Damocles can't be bothered to do the right thing and discipline Chloé, then I'll get my parents to sue, or maybe just drop out of school." Marinette screamed as she started tearing out her ruined pieces, balling them up, and throwing them behind her, all grumbling in anger.
"Ow!" A familiar voice with a strong, Spanish accent shouted.
Marinette whirled around and saw she'd accidentally hit someone in the face. Her eyes widened when she saw who it was.
Ulises Castillas, son of the Counsellor to Spain. Also agreed to be the most handsome and popular boy at François-Dupont.
"U-Ulises!" Marinette gasped. Her face was pink and she had a small smile pulling at her lips. Her heart was thumping.
'I can't believe I hit Ulises Castillas in the face with one of my designs!' Marinette thought, breaking into a sweat.
She watched him as he picked up one of the crumbled pieces of paper and unwrapped it. Marinette saw his facial expression change from confusion to curiosity.
"Did you draw this?" He asked, turning his eyes to Marinette.
Marinette's eyes went wider at this, her heart stilling.
"Y-Yeah, I did, before Chloé somehow got into my locker and ruined it..." Marinette muttered, her face falling. But she remembered the paint on her pants and turned her body away, putting her hands over it so he wouldn't see it.
Somehow, she ended up in a coquettish pose. Her face went pink, embarrassed.
Ulises gave her a smile.
"That's a shame," He said, his accent tickling Marinette's pleasure senses. "I would've liked to see this when it was intact."
Marinette felt her heart accelerate and a rush of adrenaline.
"I-I have pictures on my phone..." Marinette murmured.
"You do?" He asked, stepping closer with palpable interest. "Care to show me?"
Marinette's cheeks went from pink to red and her heart kept pounding. Her hands trembling, she pulled her phone out of her back pocket and opened up the photo stream on it. She pulled up a photo of the sketch in question, which was completely free of vandalism.
Ulises came over next to Marinette and looked over her shoulder to look at the screen. Marinette's heart stilled when she got a whiff of his cologne - musky, yet spicy and woodsy all at once.
'C-Come on, Marinette, keep it together!' She thought as she let him look at her sketch. Her heart had resumed its beating, but her skin was still clammy and covered in goosebumps.
"This is increíble!" He spoke, sounding awestruck. "Got any more?"
Marinette's face grew into a huge smile as she gave a nod, along with an emphatic, "Yes!"
'This is awesome!' Marinette thought as she kept showing him sketches and telling him her ideas. 'Maybe now I'll have a friend here! Nobody else talks to me because of Chloé!'
When she got home (after her unjustified detention, something she told her parents about), she'd started treating the stains on her pants, and making more clothes for herself.
"Perfect!" Marinette spoke as she finished up another pair of pink pants - she'd folded them up and put them in a stack with three other pairs, all in different colors. "Now to make some more shirts, blazers..."
Her phone started ringing, and Marinette looked to see the call was from Zoé.
"Hi, Zoé!" Marinette said as she put the call on video.
"Hey, Marinette," Zoé greeted. "How was today?"
Marinette heaved a sad sigh before explaining everything that happened. The roaches in her locker, the paint on her pants.
"That sounds awful," Zoé said, sighing. "Wasn't there one good thing about today you can think about?"
"Actually..." Marinette began, blushing. "There was. Someone actually spoke to me outside class!"
"Really?!" Zoé asked, brightening. "Who was it?!"
"Ulises Castillas!" Marinette said, a slight swoon to her voice.
"Hold on, did you say Ulises Castillas?" Zoé asked. "The Spanish Counsellor's son?"
"Yes, that's him!" Marinette squealed. "See, I'd accidentally hit him in the face with a crumbled paper, and then when he saw the designs, he asked to see more! Can you believe it?! It was a breath of fresh air!"
She kept giggling like a fan, but Zoé was quiet.
Marinette came down from her high and noticed Zoé's body language.
"What's the matter?" Marinette asked.
"Marinette, you didn't know?" Zoé asked. "Chloé's got her eyes on Ulises."
"So does almost every other girl in school," Marinette spoke. "What's your point?"
"It's just... Are you sure talking to Ulises is a good idea?" Zoé responded, concern in her voice. "You once said anyone in Chloé's inner circle can't be good news."
"Which, in hindsight, isn't fair," Marinette stated. "You and I wouldn't be friends if I'd stuck to that thinking, remember?"
"Yes, but don't forget you and I became friends before you learned that Chloé and I are half-sisters." Zoé refuted.
"Also true, but still..." Marinette began, her eyes askance. "It just felt good, having one of my schoolmates not avoid me like the plague for a change."
Zoé gave Marinette a sympathetic look before saying, "I understand that feeling..."
"How's it going at your school, by the way?" Marinette asked as she changed the subject.
The next morning at school, Marinette had found a quiet space in the library where she could be alone with her sketches. As a safety precaution, she packed a few changes of clothes.
'Chloé wouldn't be caught dead in here, or the cafeteria. I can get some peace...' Marinette thought as she kept sketching.
She heard and felt footsteps approaching and a shadow was cast over her. Groaning and expecting the worst, she said, "Can't you leave me alone, Chloé? I don't know what your problem with me is, but get over it."
"Them's fighting words, chica." Ulises chuckled as he sat down next to her.
"O-Oh, Ulises! I'm sorry, I didn't realize it was you!" Marinette stuttered as she looked at Ulises.
"Don't worry about it," He laughed before leaning in closer to her. "So, have you got any new designs there?"
"Yes, I do!" Marinette began, her voice a bit too loud, before covering her mouth and calming down. "U-Um... C-Care to see?"
Ulises gave Marinette a charming smile before saying, "Sí, por favor."
Marinette's heart throbbed as she showed Ulises the sketchbook of what she'd accomplished.
'This is amazing! ULISES CASTILLAS, the most popular guy in school, is interested in my work! This is like a dream-come-true!' Marinette thought.
Just watching him look over her designs with rapt interest made her heart flutter, like someone truly cared about her, enough to defy Chloé's iron-fist rule on the school. None of her peers would've dared even speak to her outside of class assignment obligations.
"You know, chica," He said as he turned to look at Marinette. "I'm a bit disappointed."
Marinette looked at him, hurt on her face, asking, "What? What do you mean by that? Is my work not what you expected?"
"Lo siento, I was talking about being disappointed in myself," He elaborated, realizing how clumsy his words came off as. "As well as disappointed in everyone else here at school."
Marinette quirked a brow on confusion.
"Not getting to know you is a wasted opportunity," Ulises explained. "You're clearly talented in designing, but nobody's willing to look in your direction because of Chloé."
Marinette's face fell, saying, "You said it. All she ever does is pick on me, but I've done nothing to deserve it. And every time I complain to Doormat Damocles, I-"
She heard a shorting chuckle, before turning to face Ulises and ask, "What's so funny?"
Ulises said, "Calling our Principal, "Doormat Damocles"? C'mon, that's a knee-slapper! Though, you are right."
Marinette giggled back in response, saying, "Y-Yeah, Chloé should've been expelled a million times over with every stunt she's pulled."
After that conversation, Marinette had started looking forward to going to school. Nothing Chloé could say or do would get her down.
She approached her locker, but she took a few deep breaths. She put her thumb on the biometric lock and it opened with ease. To her relief, nothing was amiss in her locker, so she just got her books and shut it.
"Marinette!" Ulises called as he approached her. "How are you this morning?"
"I'm great! Thanks to you," Marinette said, blushing when she realized what she said. "I-I mean, you gave me that biometric lock for my locker and it's working."
"Glad to hear that," He responded. "I was wondering... Shall we get lunch together?"
Marinette's face went beet red and she squealed, "Yes!"
"Perfect. See you there." He spoke before winking and leaving.
Marinette leaned her body against the lockers with a near swoon.
'He just asked me to lunch! Like a lunch date?!' Marinette thought, her heart going berserk.
During lunch, she and Ulises were sitting at a table out of the way in the cafeteria - ignoring the staring and questioning looks from everyone else.
"Seriously - you wore sandals with socks?!" Marinette asked. "Major fashion faux-pas!"
"How so?" Ulises asked.
"Well, sandals are meant to help keep your feet cool. Besides, it just looks gross," Marinette said. "And if you wanna show off well-pedicured feet, socks defeat the purpose of that."
The next few days were peaceful for Marinette. Every time Ulises was around, it seemed Chloé wouldn't dare come close - as if Ulises was acting as her bodyguard.
At one point, Marinette was sitting on the steps near the Eiffel Tower, as she always did on Sundays. She was sketching some more in her book, and her designs shifted from standard women's fare to stuff guys would like, including things specifically for Ulises.
"Marinette!" Ulises greeted as he approached. "Nice to see you here."
"Hi, Ulises!" Marinette greeted, pink in the face. He sat down next to her. "I, um... Was still designing."
"You've got one active mind, don't you?" He laughed. "Speaking of, something's been on my mind lately."
"Oh... Really?" Marinette asked, thinking, 'I wonder...'
"Yeah. It's awful that all I can see is your sketches," He commented. "And all the clothes you wear are stuff you've made yourself, right?"
"Yes," Marinette spoke. "Doesn't stop Chloé from ruining them."
"That's where I think I could help," He said, smiling. "I want to help you put on a fashion show."
Marinette's eyes widened, brightening, and she squealed, "Really?!"
"I do," He said with a nod. "What better way to showcase your skillset?"
"That's a great idea!" Marinette said, hope shooting through the roof. "Let's get started!"
"You just work on your pieces," Ulises said, laughing. "I'll take care of the rest."
"You've organized fashion shows before?" Marinette asked, tilting her head in confusion.
"Just trust me." He said with a wink.
Again, Marinette felt herself swoon, saying, "I will!"
That afternoon, Zoé had come over to visit with Marinette.
"Really? He's going to help you put on a fashion show?" Zoé asked, surprise in her voice.
"He is! How generous can a guy get?!" Marinette spoke as she ran around her room, gathering up materials for pattern-making, several of her designs were pinned against her cork board, and her sewing machine had different thread spools and needles on standby.
"You're excited." Zoé commented, sounding casual.
"I already have several designs in mind for this! Maybe that honeybee-inspired dress I designed for you could be in the show?!" Marinette suggested as she showed Zoé the sketch of the dress she'd made for her.
"It's beautiful, Marinette," Zoé said as she looked the picture over. "But..."
"Ooh, how about that cheongsam I've been working on for mom?!" Marinette asked as she looked at another work-in-progress she had in her room.
"Marinette, don't you think something about this seems suspicious?" Zoé interrupted.
"What do you mean?" Marinette asked as she looked between two different fabrics.
"Ulises has never spoken to you or shown any interest in you before, right?" Zoé commented. "Why now? Something about this seems a bit sus."
"Are you sure?" Marinette asked, sitting down next to Zoé.
"Yes," Zoé confirmed. "My stepdad even referred to Ulises as Chloé's boyfriend."
Marinette's eyes widened, saying, "Really?"
"Birds of a feather flock together." Zoé said with a shrug.
"But... What if Ulises is being genuine?" Marinette questioned, her heart taking over. "What if he really wants to help me put on a fashion show?"
"If he's on the level, that would be great," Zoé admitted with a smile. "Just... Be careful."
"Hey, why not help me out with this, Zoé?" Marinette suggested. "It'd be great, having you there!"
Zoé gave a smile and said, "Sure, I'd love to."
Whenever there was a free moment during the weekends, Zoé would come by to help Marinette out, either to give ideas or help her actually make the dresses. And any time Marinette would talk to Ulises about the show to hash out details - where it would be held, how many pieces, how to spread the word - she would tell him about her designs for the show.
"So, this one is one of my favorites," Marinette said as she pulled up a picture of a white dress with pink and black accents. It was a halter neckline with scalloped straps, two tiers of fabric on the skirt, and a small amount of shine. "It's one I've been planning to make for myself."
"That's absolutely stunning." Ulises purred.
"Thank you." Marinette giggled, blushing while giving him furtive glances.
"Hey, Marinette!" A random girl spoke as she walked by. "Can't wait for the fashion show!"
"I can't wait for it, either!" Marinette laughed as she waved at her peer.
The day before the show, Marinette had brought all her dresses and to the Grand Palais, where it would be held. She brought Ulises to one of the rooms where she'd designated for the models to change into. She mounted all the dresses onto mannequins.
"So, here are all the dresses," Marinette spoke. "And they're all designated to a specific model."
"Very well-organized," Ulises commented. "And these dresses are well-done."
Marinette gave a giggle, saying, "Tomorrow can't come soon enough!"
"Indeed, it can't." Ulises agreed, but Marinette missed something in his tone of voice.
"Thank you so much for helping me organize this, Ulises," Marinette told him with happy, misty eyes. "This means the world."
Ulises gave a chuckle before saying, "No problem. Just remember to let your work do the talking."
Marinette smiled and nodded, saying, "Yes!"
The following day, Marinette was on her way to the Grand Palais for the show. She had a bag with an outfit she'd designed for herself to wear for the show, and Zoé was walking along with her.
"Today's the day, Zoé!" Marinette said while skipping.
"Yeah..." Zoé agreed but she sounded uncertain.
"Is something wrong?" Marinette asked.
"I just... You do have pictures of the finished pieces on your phone, right?" Zoé questioned.
"Sure do!" Marinette said. "Why do you ask?"
"Maybe I'm being paranoid, but I still get this feeling that this is all too good to be true." Zoé admitted.
"Still?" Marinette asked. "I'm sure once the show starts, there won't be anything to worry about."
"I hope so." Zoé spoke.
When they got inside, Marinette brought Zoé to the room where the dresses were. With glee on her face, Marinette threw the door open. But when she looked up, she shrieked in fright, as did Zoé.
The dresses were wrecked. Tears in inappropriate places, stains everywhere, wrinkles, accessories destroyed, mannequins toppled over.
"Who could've done this?!" Zoé asked. "Didn't security lock the doors?!"
"They should've!" Marinette said in panic, dropping the bag with her outfit. She ran over to her pieces and looked them over. "All these stains... Tomato, chocolate, UGH, these are some of the worst stains!"
"Got any hacks to deal with this?!" Zoé questioned.
"Yes, but I don't have the supplies on hand," Marinette spoke. "No vinegar, cold water, nothing! No backup pieces, either!"
"What?!" Zoé asked, scared.
Marinette heard her phone's text alert go off, and she picked the device out of her pocket. Ulises had messaged her.
"No... NO!" Marinette cried, seeing what the message said.
"Now what?" Zoé questioned.
"Ulises just told me none of the models can make it!" Marinette said, her voice cracking.
"WHAT?!" Zoé asked.
"Th-This... Can't..." Marinette said, her voice below a whisper as she fell to her knees. "This can't be happening!"
Her phone fell out of her hand, and she saw the time. But also seeing the camera icon on her phone, she got an idea.
"The show must go on, though." Marinette said.
"But how? The models are gonna be here to get ready for the show, and we don't have any dresses!" Zoé asked.
"Not necessarily," Marinette spoke up as she unlocked her phone, opened her projector app that was connected to her photo stream, and handed it Zoé to. "My phone has a projector app. Use that to screen the pictures of my pieces to the audience."
"But what about you?" Zoé asked, taking the device.
"I... I can't go out there... Not now..." Marinette said, her voice sounding distant.
Zoé gave a nod before turning on her heel and making a dash for it.
'This is a nightmare...' Marinette thought as she kept looking at all her wrecked dresses. 'All my hard work... It's ruined...'
The door opened, and Marinette turned around to see Ulises had come in to see what was going on.
"Ulises..." Marinette choked before crying. "I'm so sorry! The dresses were like this when we got here! And all the models cancelled on us, too..."
Her face was in her hands, and she was sobbing.
"There weren't any models to begin with." Ulises said, his voice cold.
Marinette gasped and looked at him. She saw his icy expression change into manic amusement. He started laughing in a similar, sadistic vein to Chloé's.
"U-Ulises...? I... I don't understand..." Marinette began, her tears still flowing and her blood going cold.
"I had you going, huh?" Ulises started as he pulled out a chocolate bar - one of the stain types on her dresses.
Marinette's breath caught at the sight.
"You did this?! Why?! I thought you...!" Marinette asked, choking.
"Oh man, seeing you crying like this is a hoot!" He chortled, as if there was something legitimately funny going on. "If only you were on stage in one of these stupid potato sacks right now."
"W... What?" Marinette asked, her voice hollow.
"Excellent job, Ulises," A familiar, snide voice said. "Utterly excellent."
Marinette looked up and saw Chloé had sauntered her way into the room, her usual wicked, cruel smirk on her face. Marinette's eyes widened when she saw that Ulises stepped closer to the blonde.
"This was a hoax?!" Marinette questioned as Ulises offered his arm to Chloé. She took it before sneering down at Marinette.
"Of course it was, stupid," Chloé spat. "And it was my idea. I knew you had your eyes on Ulises - who is way out of your league - so I thought, what better way to get you to entertain me than to get him to lead you on?"
"And I decided to make it even more fun by concocting this plan. Crushing your confidence by pretending to like you and your fashion designs and helping you put on a fashion show." Ulises gloated.
"Which was brilliant! Utterly brilliant!" Chloé praised, scratching Ulises under his chin. He looked at her with a similar expression.
"But..." Marinette began, her voice breaking.
"I could just picture it," Chloé began. "You walking out on the runway in your ruined clothes, to all the laughter and humiliation we had planned for you! Everyone in the audience - that we bribed to attend - was going to have the biggest laugh of their lives! If it hadn't been for that useless half of a sister of mine, it would've been perfect!"
Marinette felt like a knife was slicing through her heart. Her eyes went blank.
"So, you get it now, Marinette?" Ulises asked in a mocking tone as he put his hand on Chloé's cheek. "Why would a man of my position bother with a stupid baker girl when I can have the mayor's daughter?"
Again, Marinette's heart died a bit more with each sentence.
"Though I will admit, seeing you act like a lovesick puppy around me was just the tiniest bit cute," Ulises chuckled, his tone unchanging. "But let's be realistic: Chloé's got it all, and you've got none. No sex appeal, connections, finances - nothing."
'Nothing...' Marinette thought, beginning a dissociative episode as her heart turned to dust. The world around her seemed to fade, as if she were all alone.
"Hear that, Dupain-Cheng?" Chloé cackled. "Ulises Castillas never liked you and only sees you as a convenient toy. A stepping stone to a better woman. Maybe now you'll learn your place and stay there!"
This brought Marinette back to earth. Her fists balled up on her knees as she stood up. Looking at the pair, she said, "You know... You're right about one thing."
"And what's that?" Chloé asked, glowering at Marinette.
"You two are a perfect match. I wish you well." Marinette said as she walked out of the room, standing tall while flipping the bird at them.
She kept walking down the hall until she was out of sight and earshot. She heard running footsteps. She looked up and saw her parents and Zoé, who were looking at her with worry.
"Marinette, what happened?!" Sabine asked. "Zoé started showing slides, saying that there was a problem with the dresses!"
Instantly, Marinette's face fell into despair. She ran into her parents' arms and began crying her eyes out into their chests, wailing at the top of her lungs.
"Ulises used me! This whole thing was a setup so he and Chloé could humiliate me!" Marinette cried.
Sabine gasped, and Tom grew angry. Zoé just looked resigned.
"Those brats! I'm gonna grind Ulises' bones to bake our breads!" Tom roared.
"You were right, Zoé. I'm so sorry for letting my heart take over," Marinette cried before putting her face back into her dad's chest. "Get me out of François-Dupont! I don't have any friends, Chloé won't leave me alone, M. Damocles is a spineless, useless principal, and... And... I can't take it anymore!"
Tom and Sabine looked at each other and gave confirming nods.
"Zoé, what's the name of your boarding school?" Sabine asked Zoé.
"Miracle Lyçée for the Arts and Sciences." Zoé confirmed.
"Then we'll enroll you there," Tom said to Marinette. "Now, let's go home."
They began leading Marinette down the hall to get out of the building. But she was still crying.
"I swear... I'll never fall in love with another boy! And if I do, I'll forever hold my peace!" Marinette vowed, anger and despair clear on her face. "Especially if he's cut from the same cloth as Chloé!"
Zoé put a hand on Marinette's shoulder for comfort.
~End of Flashback~
"He did that?!" Adrien roared under his breath. Marinette looked at him with a gasp, seeing his body language was engulfed in rage. Narrowed eyes, furrowed brow, his lips curled into a snarl. Surprised, she shrunk into the shelving unit.
'I don't think I've seen Adrien angry before...' Marinette thought, but she gave a confirming nod.
Trembling, he took a deep breath.
"Okay, do you want to wait for him to leave, or do you want to sneak out and try a different convenience store?" Adrien asked, his tone calm, but the ire was still there.
Marinette thought it over for a few seconds and said, "Let's leave and try somewhere else."
Adrien gave a nod before reaching a hand out. Marinette put her hand in his, and her heart throbbed at his touch. He helped her stand up, then put a protective arm around her shoulder. Like always, Marinette felt a rush of security, like a warm, fluffy blanket on a chilly autumn night. She looked up at Adrien, and a small smile grew on her face, her cheeks turning pink. She laid her head against his shoulder, reveling in his presence.
They began walking to the door, but...
"Well, well, well, if it isn't Dupain-Cheng!" Ulises taunted from behind. The pair paused.
Marinette remained silent and looked forward. The chills and nausea were beginning to start up again.
'Do not engage with him, Marinette.' Marinette thought, beginning the breathing exercises Mlle. Bustier taught her.
"Aw, come on, are you really going to ignore me?" Ulises asked in a snide voice as he stepped closer. "I was looking forward to seeing you again at school. Hearing everyone talk about your fashion flop was going to be so much fun."
'Don't give him the pleasure of a response, Marinette.' Marinette told herself, trying to breathe.
"Speaking of which, everyone's been asking where you've been," Ulises continued, in an "innocent" voice. "So, dropping out of school to escape, huh? Tsk, tsk, tsk, such a bad girl."
"Stop!" Adrien said, startling the Spaniard and Marinette. She looked at Adrien as he turned to face Ulises with a glare.
Ulises' face seemed to flash in recognition. It melted away into cockiness.
"Found a new obsession, Marinette?" He spoke before addressing Adrien. "You seriously aren't wasting your time on her, are you, Agreste?"
Marinette gave a subtle glance and saw how irked Adrien was. She saw him close his eyes and breathe before turning away from Ulises. But she could feel his body was shaking.
"Don't worry. You can tell me what you plan to do to her," Ulises began, chuckling. "I mean, all she's good for is being Chloé's main victim."
'That's why I left François-Dupont, you prick!' Marinette thought.
But she couldn't stop herself from letting out a quiet, choked sob. She felt Adrien tighten his arm around her and pull her closer. Again, Marinette felt like she was protected.
"Still wearing hand-made rags?" Ulises commented, like he was trying to get Marinette to cry. "You're a fashion designer's kid, aren't you? Her designing isn't anything to praise, hermano."
'Stop it, stop it, STOP IT!' Marinette thought, still trying to remain stoic, keeping her face to the ground.
She was so focused on trying to keep herself calm that she didn't realize that Adrien took his arm away.
"So, what kind of prank are you going to-" He started.
*THWACK!*
At the sound, Marinette snapped her face up and saw that Ulises was knocked back by a right hook from Adrien. She saw the anger in the blonde's eyes, his grit teeth, and his heavy breathing.
'D-Did Adrien just punch him?!' Marinette thought, eyes wide and taken aback.
Next thing she knew, Adrien had grabbed Ulises by the collar of his shirt and yanked him up. Fear pulsed through her veins.
"Don't you have any respect?!" Adrien shouted as he got into Ulises' face and shoved him up against the wall. "Where's your decency?!"
"Whoa, Adrien, you gotta calm down!" Marinette said as she tried to pull Adrien away. He craned his neck around to look at her.
"No, this asshole's gonna get what's coming to him!" Adrien insisted as he leaned in closer to Ulises and pressed him harder against the wall. A choking noise could be heard.
Marinette noticed Adrien's outburst was drawing a bit of attention. One of the clerks picked up the phone to call the police, but Marinette said, "Please! Don't call anyone!"
Marinette could hear Adrien's breathing was heavy and his face was turning red from his anger.
'I gotta stop him!' Marinette thought as she saw the signs of a transformation.
She looked around and saw a bucket, a bag of ice in the freezer, and the garden hose outside. She got to work, running for the bucket...
"You knew how she felt, and you break her heart for kicks?!" Adrien roared. "How could you?!"
"Come on, seeing her like that was hilarious! Hurting that chica éstupida's feelings was worth it, since it meant getting closer to getting into Chloé's pants," Ulises chuckled, conceit in his voice. "You can't call yourself a man if you can't appreciate the mayor's daughter's assets. And I'm not talking about her connections, chiquillo."
The fire in Adrien's eyes only grew before pulling him off against the wall, throwing him on the floor, and then getting on top of him, kneeling on his chest as if it were a straddle pin in a wrestling match. Adrien once again yanked Ulises up by his collar.
Marinette kept watching out of her peripheral vision while she'd taken an ice bag out of the freezer.
'I need to hurry it up!' Marinette thought as she dumped the ice into the bucket.
"You've got some nerve, thinking you're a man at all if you think humiliating and hurting people for fun is okay!" Adrien spat. "You're nothing but a sadistic Lothario!"
"Says the immature chiquillo who's throwing a temper tantrum in the middle of the convenience store." Ulises scoffed with a condescending tone, trying to look unfazed. He looked at Adrien with psychotic smirk.
Adrien gave a subtle flinch, but he regained his composure. But Ulises' confidence didn't shake.
"So, you think Dupain-Cheng's worth your reputation, chico bonito?" He asked, as if he'd already won.
"Now listen here..." Adrien growled as he leaned in. He spoke in a harsh, dark tone, in fluent Spanish, "¡Para mí ella vale más que todo el maldito mundo! No dejaré que nada ni nadie la lastime!"
She's worth more to me than the whole goddamn world! I won't let anything or anyone hurt her!
Marinette, her ice water bucket in hand, ran over to the boys.
'It's now or never!' She thought, her eyes on Adrien.
Adrien pulled his fist back to punch Ulises again. The Spaniard's eyes went wide in fear, but he also got on the defensive, ready to retaliate.
"Now, let's see if you still think what you did was funny when I-" Adrien threatened.
*SPLASH!*
"Alright, boys, that's enough," Marinette said as she put the bucket down. "Adrien, you gotta cool down. You're getting way too heated about this. I appreciate that you care, but treating him like a scratching post isn't going to help anything."
Marinette watched as Adrien heaved a deep, resigned sigh before letting go of Ulises in harsh manner, getting off and giving him one more fatal look. He turned away to face her.
'He got the hint.' Marinette thought, breathing a sigh of relief.
"Let's get out of here," Adrien said as he walked closer to Marinette, thumb-jerking to Ulises. "This scuzzball isn't worth it."
Marinette nodded in agreement, and they walked out of the convenience store.
'That was a close one,' Marinette thought. 'Had he transformed in the middle of all of that...'
She shuddered at the thought before looking back at him in her peripheral vision. He looked embarrassed, not unlike when they made amends during the escape room. But there was more in his body language, more that Marinette couldn't figure out. Adrien took her hand and gave it a light squeeze to comfort her. Despite him being soaking wet and freezing, Marinette felt warmth from the palm of his hand.
"Thanks for cooling me off. And... I'm sorry," Adrien spoke, breaking the tension. "I was out of line back there. I shouldn't have trounced him like that, but when he started insulting you and bragging about that shit he pulled..."
"You got angry on my behalf, which I'm grateful for," Marinette responded, a swell of gratitude in her heart. "But you were going to seriously damage him, which wouldn't have been good."
"He would've had it coming, Marinette!" Adrien retorted. "He knew how you felt about him, but he led you on for his own entertainment and personal gain!"
"I know," Marinette conceded, thinking it over with clearer judgement. "...In hindsight, though, it might've been a good thing that he did that to me."
"Why would you say something like that?!" Adrien asked, his disbelief obvious.
"Well, love is blind, isn't it?" Marinette questioned, rhetorically. "My infatuation kept me from seeing him for who he truly was. It was a good wake-up call."
"Hm," Adrien said in response. "I guess I hadn't thought of it that way. But don't you want to make him pay or face consequences for what he did?"
"That angry, hurt part of me did at one point, yes. But you said it yourself: he's not worth it," Marinette said to Adrien, looking him in the eye. "The trouble with an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth is that everyone gets hurt."
She saw Adrien sigh in defeat. He told her, "You're too kind for your own good sometimes."
"Taking that as a compliment," Marinette said. "And..."
Deciding to be a bit playful, she stood on her tiptoes and planted a kiss against Adrien's cheek. She heard him give a light gasp.
She put her lips to his ear and said, "Thank you."
She giggled before skipping ahead to rejoin the group. She didn't see Adrien put his hand on his kissed cheek, a look of shock on his face.
'Seeing Adrien come to my defense like that... I don't think anyone other than my dad has gotten that upset for my sake before.' Marinette thought, her cheeks pink, feeling lighter than air and her heart was fluttering.
I warned you this was gonna get ugly. 😓
Why'd I have Marinette say Audrey left André and Chloé while pregnant with Zoé? Well, considering how close they are in age, Zoé being confirmed to be the younger daughter, and - this is according to my research, which may not be 100% true, so take this with a grain of salt - since the earliest a woman can get pregnant after childbirth is about 4-24 weeks (though doctors recommend wait at least 18 months between pregnancies), I wouldn't be surprised if Audrey was pregnant with Zoé when she left for New York before the start of the series.
And no, there won't be any more appearances by Ulises in any future stories. In another chapter in this story, I'm not sure. I just needed someone that would be the male Chloé that everyone originally thought Adrien was going to be. I find using Théo to be a cop-out, and Luka's too much of a sweet blueberry pie to be written like that. I also haven't seen any confirmed Hispanic/Latino characters in Miraculous Ladybug yet (I doubt I'm the only one), so I thought, "why not?"
Anyway, coming up, Adrien's goal to get Marinette to stop the faking in the "faking the feels" routine gets some... undesired help from the others.