Don't Remember Me Like This

Chapter 5

Outside the classroom the lights were off. Silence crept in from the darkness of the corners. Marinette stopped all her motions and listened. Suddenly she heard the creaking sound of something falling apart, and after that she perceived another hit. It came from downstairs, or maybe from the lockers? The art classroom? Soon she realized. The constant sounds of objects slamming the walls around her came from everywhere. Was Adrien doing this? But why? With no time to think she ran towards a toilet where she looked Tikki straight in the eye, "Yes... We have to find him... Tikki! Spots on!".

To her surprise, when she went out, a flock of Pigeons attacked her from every spot surrounding her. Mr Pigeon? Then a thunder, Stormy weather? That explains the drastic weather change, but... how come both got akumatized? Maybe Manon is responsabile... She was able to bring back old enemies last time Hawkmouth controlled her. Nonetheless, that theory didn't feel quite right. It's not the first time he has been able to akumatise more than one person with the same butterfly.

Darblade, The Mime, Simon Says, Guitar Villain, they were all appearing out of nowhere. There were so many that Ladybug couldn't focus her gaze on all of them at once. She looked back and forward in panic, where is Chat? I need him... , she thought. If only she could figure out which one of them had the akuma.

She stopped thinking and went into action, and to her surprise a little violet butterfly came out flying when she broke Stormy Weather's parasol. However, when she expected little ladybugs and flying colours repairing the damage caused, not a single one of the remaining villains lost their powers but the blonde girl in pigtails.

"That... That's impossible... There can't be more than one akuma..." She looked around in shock, the enemy getting closer, but paralized by the confusion, not able to move a muscle. Suddenly she felt a warm cozy hand taking the grip of her. Time stopped for a second by the tenderness from the touch but started soon again when the grip pulled her with great strength towards an exit. She followed it by command, not daring to protest. Ladybug didn't even stop to question the origin of this mysterious hand, her thoughts had entered an empty hole of blankness. Suddenly she was long gone from the danger, still being able to hear distant voices, screams, fights and objects slowly breaking as they got slammed.

Ladybug looked up seeking Chat Noir's cocky grin and his bright, confident and friendly green eyes. She was ready for him to pull out a joke and started to do her nonchalant look of annoyance as she is so used to doing. But Ladybug didn't hear her companion's funny words, or meet those adorable arrogant eyes, instead she saw Adrien's lost stare with a bittersweet composition of both amusement and horror.

"Ladybug..." he said with his breath struggling to make out words, still trying to compose himself from something that clearly had made an impact.

"Adrien! I thought- It doesn't matter. How...? Why? Where? What happened to you?" she finally managed to say out loud. "I- I mean Marinette- You class was worried, you had disappeared. I- We thought something serious had happened to you"

"A thank you would be good" he said, finally composing himself, now admiring her with open and sweet eyes. A cocky glare was standing out from his perfectly fitting features.

Different, in a way.

"What?" she looked at him in confusion, then looked back the way they had come and right back at him. Ladybug realised for the first time in this long minute she had been standing there by his side where exactly they found themselves. In the locker room. "Yes! It's true! The villains... You kind of saved me there! Thank you Adrien! Really!"

"Kind of? I'm pretty sure I did" he said with an overly unusual confidence.

"Since when are you so cocky?" she asked in an impulse. Words she would never have used while approaching Adrien, but this time it felt different, almost as if she was talking with someone else. Was it the adrenaline of this situation which allowed them to step out of their comfort zones?