Warped Reality

Chapter 7

Marinette

The next morning came far too early in her opinion. Adrien was refusing to cooperate, insisting that he would accompany her to school. Like an idiot. He was supposed to rest. The pain would get worse before it got better, and he knew that. She stared at him, half amused and half annoyed as he struggled with his shirt. He huffed, throwing down the third one he had tried, moving back to the closet to rip another shirt from the hanger. This time it was a button up. Maybe he was actually learning something.

"Stop staring at me you pervert."

She felt her face warm at his accusation, and she quickly averted her gaze.

"I'm just waiting for you to do something dumb, like fall. With all that flailing it's bound to happen sooner or later." She purred, leaning back on her hands to watch him.

He responded by mocking her, and she stood, getting ready to just abandon him here.

"Wait."

She stopped, glancing back at him again.

"What?"

He seemed to have lost whatever fire he had in him, because he held the shirt out towards her.

"Please help me."

Her face burned at that, and she shook her head. No way in hell was she about to do something so intimate with him. To hell with his injury.

"No."

"Please? I'm not asking you to rub oil on me. Just help me get my arm in and help with the buttons."

He gave her puppy dog eyes, and years of memories flooded in, with him making that same stupid face. She sighed, yanking the shirt from him. She moved behind him, slowly slipping it up his arms. When she walked around to his front she found he wore a blush as well. A faint one, but it was still there. She decided to ignore it, focusing on the buttons and not the bare skin beneath them.

"Thanks." He sighed, and she rolled her eyes, quickly walking away from him.

She was tired of that stupid puppy dog look. And that stupid face, and those stupid green eyes. And these incredibly stupid feelings. She grabbed her school bag, already grabbing his medicine and slipping it into her bag. She knew he'd need to take it again in a few hours. Her mind darted back to yesterday when she saw him grab an ice pack from the freezer, and she found herself wondering what he was going to tell her. A part of her was grateful that Nino had interupted him, but a bigger part was curious. He had seemed so different. His words had felt important, for once. Like he was about to tell her something she needed to hear.

"The school is only a few blocks away yeah?"

"We'll take a taxi." She mumbled, and he didn't bother trying to hide the relief on his face.

* * * * *

Alya had been waiting for them on the steps of the school, and had broken the news that there was nothing they could do. The acuma had to be defeated where it started. Which meant they were stuck waiting. Waiting for a day that may never come. They were both silent in their classes, not paying attention to anything around them. They were just faced with the unfortunate reality that this might become their new reality. Which meant that their parents would really be gone. She didn't want to lose both of her parents. Yes, her father had issues but he was still her father. She couldn't lose him too. A soft wheeze at her side pulled her from her thoughts, and she turned to look over at Adrien. His eyes were closed, his breathing short and raspy. She could see sweat on his forehead, which was odd, considering how cold it was in their classroom.