Can You Keep It A Secret?

Chapter 2: 6 Months

"Marinette you're going to be late for school!" I yawn as I get out of bed. "I'm always late to school!" I shout as I start getting ready. I put my hair up in their usual pigtails and throw on the first outfit I find in my drawers.

When I finish getting ready I walk downstairs and grab a scone from the counter. "Are you ever going to eat a real breakfast? It's not healthy to eat sweets every morning." "Ugh not again." "You need to stay healthy honey." "Mom I'm a high school student dying from cancer. I'm not exactly the definition of healthy." After saying that I instantly regretted it after seeing my parents faces fall. "I-I'm sorry- I shouldn't have said that." "It's okay honey. You should go before you're late." I look at the clock and realize the time. "Too late. Bye guys." I say and give them a quick hug and kiss before rushing out the door.

I run into the class room and rush to my seat completely avoiding eye contact with Adrien. "Girl why are you always late?" "You know me. I need my sleep." She laughs. "Trust me I know. You couldn't even stay up until 12 at our sleepover." To be fair I had a chemo appointment that day and I was exhausted. "I know. I woke up with a bunch of doodles drawn on my face." "Hey you know they rules. Whoever falls asleep first becomes our art canvas." I laugh.

I pack my stuff up after class ends and feel a presence standing behind me. I turn around and come face to face with Adrien. "A little close there Agreste." "Oh sorry." He says and takes a step back. "Whats up?" "Why were you late?" "I'm always late." "Yeah but now that I know about... you know what-" He says looking around cautiously. I giggle at his cautiousness "I was worried. Is everything okay?" "Don't worry I'm fine. I just wanted a few more minutes of sleep." He sighs of relief.

"So want to talk about it?" "What's there to talk about? I have cancer." I say making sure to whisper the last part. "It's not exactly something I like to bring up." "You're right. I'm just scared." I smile at him. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. If you want you can come to my check up next week so you can see that I'm okay." He nods. "I'd like that." "Okay well I'll let you know when and what time but right now I really have to get to class." "Yeah me too." I smile and walk to my next class.

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"I ran into Adrien at my last check up and I told him about the cancer. So I invited him to come to this one so he knows that I'll be fine. Is that okay?" My dad nods. "I'm glad you finally have a friend to be beside you through this." My mom says and I smile at her.

There's a knock on the door and I go to answer it. "Agreste? You're early." "I know. I didn't want to risk being late. I hope that's okay." He's always so sweet. "No no it's fine. Come in." I open the door wider for him. "Help yourself to a snack." I say pointing to the sweets on the table. "I'm fine thanks." "Oh no. That's not going to work." I grab a chocolate chip cookie and hand it to him. He laughs. "Thanks Mari." "You're welcome." I say licking the chocolate off my finger.

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"Hey Marinette- Woah quite the group today huh?" Tikki says as she smiles at the two new faces. "Yeah sorry." "No worries the more the merrier." I smile. "Well this is my Dad Tom and my friend Adrien and you know my mom." "Nice to meet you both and good seeing you again. I'm Tikki. Well let's get started shall we?" I nod.

"Okay so today we do need to run some more tests and do some labs. Is that okay with you?" I like how she asks me even though I don't have a choice. It calms me down. "Yeah sounds good." "Any more problems?" "Nope nothing new." She nods as she writes in my chart. "Let's get you to your MRI then." I nod and hop off the table.

I notice Adrien looking uneasy as we walk to the MRI. I take his hand giving it a reassuring squeeze. "Don't worry. Everything is going fine so far." He smiles and nods. "I don't really like hospitals." "Yeah me neither. How's your mom doing?" I ask letting his hand go. "She's doing good. She should be out of the hospital by the weekend." "Oh my god! That's great Adrien! I'm glad she's okay." "Yeah me too."

I hop on the MRI machine and lay down. "Remember don't move." Tikki says. I nod. "Failed already Marinette." Plagg says as he walks into the room. Tikki shoves his shoulder. "Leave the girl alone." I giggle at them. There's definitely something going on between them. If not then I totally ship it. Pikki sounds like a good ship name.

After the MRI Tikki and Plagg walk back up to me with a worried look on their face. "Is everything okay?" They put on a weak smile. "We'll talk about it when we get back with your family." I nod and feel my hands start to shake.

We get back to them and she tells us to sit down. "What's going on?" My dad asks nervously. "During the MRI we noticed that Marinette's cancer has progressed from stage 3 to stage 4." I turn my head to my hands Adrien takes mine in his. "How much time do I have left?" I ask. "About 6 months." Plagg says sadly. My mom and dad start crying. I turn to Adrien. "Well so much for this reassuring you." I say trying to lighten the mood but it doesn't seem to work. I notice a tear slide down his face. I hate making people cry. I'm so sorry guys.

"Do you need anymore tests from me?" They shake their head. "Okay well if you don't mind then I'd like to go. Please?" I say as I walk out of the room letting go of Adrien's hand.