Forgotten

4

They went to the library during study hall.

Adrien sat right next to Marinette, getting as close to her as he could possibly be.

"I'm such a huge fan of your father's," she gushed to him, preferring to talk about fashion instead of the lessons that she missed. "He's so creative. I hope that someday I'm half as talented as he is."

"You're already talented," he gushed back. "My father held a derby hat design competition last year and he picked you as the winner."

Her mouth fell completely open. "You're kidding! The Gabriel Agreste liked my work?"

Adrien nodded with a big smile.

"Oh my gosh, this is the best day ever," she replied, trying to catch her breath.

"And I even wore your hat on one of my runway shows."

"Runway shows?" she asked before her mouth fell open again. "Oh my goodness! You model for his brand, don't you? Now I remember where I know you from. I saw you in his ads!"

"Yeah, that's me," he admitted.

"That's so awesome. I really love fashion. I want to be a designer someday too, just like your father."

"Well, hopefully not just like him. He's actually not the greatest person, you know."

"He's not?" she asked with disappointment.

Seeing her reaction, he quickly changed the subject. "Let's not talk about him. Let's talk about you."

"Me?"

"Yeah," he smiled, but then his smile disappeared. "Do you really not remember anything?"

She shook her head. "No I don't."

"What's the last thing you remember?"

"I remember the morning of the first day of school. I woke up and had breakfast with my mom. Then I got ready and went back downstairs. My dad gave me a box of macarons to bring for my class as I left. Oh, my parents own the bakery next door," she added in unnecessary explanation. "Then I went to school." She stopped as she realized something. "Oh wait, I helped out this little old man who was trying to cross the street before I got to the building."

"Little old man?" Adrien repeated, having a pretty good idea of who it was.

"Yeah. There was a car coming as he tried to cross, so I ran out and pulled him out of the way. Huh, I almost forgot about him. That's why most of the macarons got crushed. I only had one left by the time I got here." She shook her head. "Anyway I got to class, Chloé kicked me out of my regular seat so she could sit behind you, and I ended up sitting next to Alya. Then after class I went back home when Ivan turned into that monster. I was watching the news report on my computer..." She shrugged. "And that's it. The next thing I knew, I was waking up on the floor in my room three days ago. Everything that happened in between is gone."

"So you don't remember meeting me?" he asked sadly.

Marinette scrunched up her face. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"No, don't be sorry," he insisted, leaning closer to her. "This isn't your fault."

"Yes it is. If I wasn't so clumsy I probably wouldn't have fallen and hit my head. Then I wouldn't have lost my memory. I've forgotten so much. I mean, we have superheroes jumping around the city fighting evil butterflies, for goodness sake. Everything has changed. And I have no memory of that happening, all because I can't stay on my own two feet."

Adrien hated this. He hated that she didn't know the real reason. "Marinette," he said softly. "You're not just some clumsy girl. You're brave, and you're smart. You care about people. You're so kind, and so incredibly beautiful, inside and out. And if I'm being honest, you're the most amazing person I've ever met my whole life."