Adrienette - Winter Ice Cream

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The candle Madam Bustier bought smells nice.

"Marinette!"

The scent is familiar.

"Marinette!"

The sound of snapping jolted Marinette from her thoughts. Alya was gazing at her with furrowed eyebrows, and her fingers were placed together in front of Marinette's face from snapping to receive her attention. "Are you sure you are okay?" She touched the girl's forehead like an anxious mother would, but her forehead was not burning.

"No, I'm okay," Marinette reassured her. Apparently, she was not extremely convincing though, because Alya continued to stare inquisitively. After she gathered her books and took in a quivering breath to steady herself, she looked around to discover nobody else was in the classroom except for the two girls and Madam Bustier busying herself at her desk. "Wait, where is everyone?"

Alya's eyes widened. "You did not hear the bell ring a minute ago?"

"I guess not," Marinette answered softly, adjusting her backpack straps shakily. She knew she had been off recently, but she did not realize it was this apparent. The girls began to trek down the stairs once they had said their farewells to Madam Bustier.

"Are you completely sure you are okay?" Alya asked again once they were strolling down the hallway.

Marinette opened her mouth but closed it again only moments after. I do not want to bother her with my problems. She already has enough to figure out. With that bitter realization, she merely nodded. "Of course, I'm just," she paused to think of the correct word, "tired."

Although Alya was not satisfied, she knew she should not pry. "Alright then, but if anything happens, you know you can talk to me, right?" Alya's sincere gaze caused guilt to weigh Marinette down momentarily, but she shook it off.

"Yes, I know," Marinette replied. Of course, she knew that, but she was not quite ready to talk yet. Instead, she offered Alya a less than reassuring smile.

The moment they were outside, Marinette took in a deep breath of fresh air. After a few weeks of seemingly unwavering anxiety, being outside always seemed to calm her down. As the girls were about to part ways to go home, someone ran up behind Alya and grabbed her shoulders.

"Boo!" Nino yelled to scare her, spontaneously clutching her shoulders. Alya was quick to scold and slap his hand playfully. Despite the fact Nino scared Alya almost every day after school, she never failed to be surprised and slap his arm.

"Don't scare me like that!" Alya exclaimed, clutching her chest dramatically.

"He scares you every day," Marinette mused, as Nino threw an arm over Alya's shoulder.

Alya scoffed. "Yeah, I know, but-"

"He does that every day, Alya! Do not act like you have not noticed!" Adrien called to the group, as he approached them. The bags under his eyes were much darker than usual, but that did not affect his bright grin.

Marinette chuckled. "That's exactly what I said!"

"Great minds think alike," Adrien quipped, doing his unique handshake with Nino to greet him. Adrien was alone during the last class of the day, so anytime the two saw each other after, they acted as if they had traveled across the world to see each other again.

Ping! A notification lit up Marinette's phone, and everyone involuntarily turned toward the sound. She gazed at her screen before hurriedly shoving her phone in her back pocket. "Sorry for the short notice, but I have to go home," Marinette said, already purposefully striding down the steps.

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