Stay by my Side

Stay by my Side - Chapter Seventeen

Marinette sighed, carefully tracing the smooth blade into her arm. Tikki always gave her privacy in the bathroom, so not even she knew about Marinette's recently developed stress reliever. Tears and blood both splashed and mixed with one another in the sink, as Marinette felt herself shake and begin to once again break down. Lila just...

She just kept getting worse.

It had been about a week since Chat Noir tried to talk to Lila, and since Lila violently retaliated. Now, school was even worse. Nathanial, Marc and even Adrien when he could, did their best to help and protect Marinette, but Lila used every tool in her arsenal to get her and Marinette alone for a long period of time, and more often than not... it worked.

And Marinette was at her mercy, for... hours, sometimes.

Chat Noir had shown up at her window every night since then, and stayed there, waiting for her, for at least two hours, normally three. Marinette felt bad, but if Lila discovered she still talked to him, everything might become so, so much worse.

And part of her didn't even want to see him anyway - she chose him to help her, and he never showed.

Adrien later explained he saw Chat Noir as he was heading to the bathroom, and told him to help her instead, as he was busy... or something. Either way, a deep sense of betrayal had

wormed it's way into Marinette's heart, and a large part of herself didn't want to see him at all.

But she knew she had to see him today.

She had to tell him the truth.

Marinette sighed once again, finishing cleaning her arm and blade, placing the small blade in a hidden drawer by the sink. Once making sure everything seemed normal, she took a deep breath in, and left the bathroom.

"Are you alright, Marinette?" Tikki asked, flying up to Marinette's shoulder and flew in place for a moment.

"Ah - yeah, I... I'm fine Tikki, don't worry!" Marinette said, forcing a small smile on her face, before letting it drop. "I just have to tell Chat Noir I can't talk to him anymore."

"What? Why, Marinette?"

"You saw how Lila reacted! She told me to stay away from him, so that's what I'm doing." Marinette sighed, bracing herself, before walking up to her small balcony roof area, ignoring Tikki's calls.

"M - Marinette!" Chat Noir turned around sharply, a soft smile of relief on his face. "I was so worried about you."

"Chat Noir." Marinette spoke, making Chat Noir flinch. "I - I can't see you anymore."

"W - What do you mean? Is it because I wasn't able to save you in time? There was... something I had to do, but I made sure someone dependable went to help you..."

Marinette stayed silent, not wanting to lie, but also not wanting to tell him about how much worse Lila had gotten. If she continued to talk to Chat Noir, it'd get even worse. Tears formed in Chat Noir's eyes, as his mind formed what he believed to be the truth.

"M - Marinette, I'm sorry! I really wanted to help you, I swear! And-"

"Chat." Marinette cut him off, turning her head away so Chat Noir wouldn't see her crying. "It's okay. It's fine, don't worry. I just... can't see you anymore. I'm sorry."

"No, Marinette, don't apologise!" Chat Noir said, lifting his head up to look at her but not being able to see her eyes or tears - her head still turned away. "Marinette... please look at me."

Marinette shakily turned around, and Chat Noir gasped as he realised how much mental pain she was in.

"Oh, Marinette..." He whispered, and darted up to her, giving her a hug which she returned. "Marinette, I'm the sorry one."

For a moment, they stayed in each other's embrace, but then Chat Noir backed away, trying to wipe away his tears.

"O - Okay." He whispered, not having the strength to talk any louder. "If you really want me to stay away... then I will."

And without any further words being spoken, Chat Noir jumped off Marinette's balcony and headed back to his home. Marinette wiped her tears away and headed back inside her house to go to bed.

Something just then felt... over.

Hi everyone! New chapter is out!!! Yay! 😊

The story is about halfway done (question mark?) So yeah, I think it's about halfway, which is pretty cool! I hope you're all enjoying the story so far.

Next chapter will be about Adrien, his response to what happened, some texting probably, I'm not really sure, I guess we'll see!

But for now...

Peachy out! 😊