Seven Seconds

Head Case

The text message was not what Marinette was expecting at all. Completely confused, she read the words again.

'I miss you so much, Marinette. Can I please see you tonight after I'm done at the event?'

After reading it for the second time, Marinette tilted her head. What kind of message was that? It wasn't an apology like she assumed it would be. "What in the..." she whispered, perplexed.

"What?" Chat Noir asked.

"I don't understand why he would write this. It says 'I miss you so much, Marinette. Can I please see you tonight after I'm done at the event?' That doesn't make any sense, why would he send that message instead of an apology? I mean, he apologized on the voicemails. I don't... understand."

He stopped breathing. That was the text message he sent her during dinner right after he realized that he loved her. That was before he kissed Ladybug.

Marinette never even saw it.

Forcing back tears, he asked a question. "What time did he send it?"

With a swipe, Marinette checked the timestamp. "Eighteen thirty-five," she answered and then paused. "Wait, that was too early," she said slowly. "So he must have sent it..." she trailed off as the answer dawned on her. "He sent the text before he kissed Ladybug. Not after."

Silence enveloped them.

After a minute, Marinette spoke again. "I didn't see it. I was... busy. I... I guess he was thinking of me that night, just like he said."

Chat Noir's heart started racing. Was this it? Was this what Marinette needed to know so she would believe that his feelings for her were real? 'Keep going, Marinette,' he willed her in his mind. 'Connect the dots. Adrien loves you.'

"He was thinking of me," she repeated quietly, lost in thought. Then after a minute, she shook her head. "I guess it doesn't matter either way."

No, it did matter. She had to understand, and he had to help her. "But if he was thinking of you, doesn't that prove that the kiss was just a mistake?"

Marinette got lost in thought again. "I don't know," she finally whispered.

"Why... why don't you call him?" he suggested. "Then you can ask him about it."

"It doesn't matter. We already broke up..."

"Well yeah, but at least then you'll know for certain. And you won't have to wonder about it anymore."

After a moment, she nodded. "Yeah, that's actually a good idea. Get some peace of mind. Besides, he's probably upset about today, and I don't want him to think that I hate him." She lifted her phone back up and pressed a few buttons.

"Uh, not right now!" Chat Noir suddenly said.

Marinette looked at him, confused.

"Uh... I just mean..." he sputtered. "You probably want some privacy. I... I'll leave, and then you should call him."

Her confused expression was replaced by a smile. "Oh no, you don't have to do that. I don't mind." With a deep breath, she pressed one more button and held the phone to her ear. A moment later, her face fell slightly. "Right to voice-mail," she explained nervously to Chat Noir. "He must be at a photoshoot or something."

Not surprised, he nodded. Then he listened to her leave a message.

"Hi Adrien, it... it's Marinette. I uh, wanted to see how you were doing after... uh, you know... the news conference today. And uh, I wanted to tell you that I'm not mad or anything. We're friends, and nothing will ever change that. So, um... you can call me back tonight if you want. If you don't get the chance, that's okay too. I'll just see you at school tomorrow. So uh... I hope you have a good night. Uh, bye Adrien."