The Art of Love (Marcaniel Story)

Chapter 3

*MENTIONS OF PANIC ATTACK*

The next day, Nicolas decided to walk to school with Nathaniel, just to give him words of encouragement for his day.

"Just ignore it and if anyone asks then just say it was from the villain attack yesterday. Simple!"

"But what if-" Nathaniel began.

"No what ifs, Nathan...!" Nicolas clapped his hand on the boy's shoulder. "Im not gonna sugar coat this for you so Im just gonna come out and say it; if they dont accept you for what's happened then Fuck Them. They're clearly not really your friends, alright?"

"..."

"Good. Now get to class."

Nicolas gave his brother a shove in the back to persuade him to keep walking into the school and head to class. Once inside, he made his way to his desk at the back. Just as he sat down and placed his chin in his hand and elbow on the table, who do you think came and sat next to him? Lila Fucking Rossi. Turning to face her, he internally groaned as her fake ass smile shone at him. Of all the people to sit next to him, it had to be Lila.

"Good Morning, Nathan!"

"Don't call me that."

"Why not?"

"Cause only my friends can."

"But we are friends!" She giggled as she threw her arms in the air.

"Are you sure about that?" he mumbled, hoping she didn't hear.

"Did you hear about the new hero Ladybug recruited to fight Blast Bomb yesterday?" She continued, ignoring his previous comment.

As Lila spoke, Nathaniel was getting flashbacks as yesterday's events hit him like a freight train. The class had a free period so Miss Bustier could mark some work. Because of that, the other students were talking to others and moving around the class to sit at other people's desks.

The sound of the explosion echoed in his mind. His hands began to shake with nerves and he felt tears well in his eyes. Lila just wouldn't shut up about yesterday. No one would.

"shut up...!" He mumbled as his hands shook under the desk. "Shut up...!" He continued to mumble but his voice got progressively louder as his eyes continued to well with tears.

"Nathaniel...?" Came the sweet voice of Marinette. The class turned their attention towards him but the ginger-red haired boy was to blinded by panic to notice.

"Shut up...! Shut Up...! SHUT UP!" Nathaniel cried only to get everyone to back off. He was shaking and it was pretty obvious. His breathing sped up and he stared into nothingness as he grabbed fist fulls of his hair and seemed to almost pull it out.

"N-Nathaniel...!" Marinette fretted, moving to place a hand on his shoulder. "Calm down... Its gonna be alright...! We're sorry for being so loud..."

"N-no...! Move... Why did i do that...?! shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!"

"Alright everyone, move away and give him space." Miss Bustier ordered, voice stern. "He's not going to calm down with everyone crowding around him." She leant over and placed a hand on Nathaniel's back and her other on his hands to try and get him to release his hands from his hair.

"Shh... It's going to be alright, Nathaniel... Take a deep breath for me..." Miss B. soothed.

After a while, Nathaniel managed to do just that. He took one last deep breath and he visibly relaxed.

"Want to tell me what happened...?" Miss Bustier questioned softly. Nathaniel only shook his head, fringe moving with the movement. "Alright then. Lila? Could you sit next to Ivan for the time being? I think it would be best to give, Nathan a bit of space."

"Of course, Miss!"

--
During lunch, Nathaniel sat on his own and poked at his food with his fork. He didnt really have an appetite. After lunch he had art but for once, he didnt feel like it but he didnt want to skip the lesson. He pushed his tray away and lay his head in his arms as they rest on the table; closing his eyes.

"Do you think Nate is OK?" Marinette asked as she watched him from a few tables away. Alya, Nino and Adrien looked over to where she was looking.

"Dont know, Dudette." Nino replied honestly.

"I've never seen him have a panic attack before." Alya added. "Even after everything that's happened with Shadowmoth."

"I know what it's like to have a panic attack but seeing Nathaniel have one was kinda scary." Adrien continued.

"Should we try talking to him?" Nino questioned but was cut off by the bell.

"I can during art class." Marinette replied as the group picked up their things to head to their next class.

-
Once inside the art room, Marinette bumped into Marc.

"Oh! Hey, Marc!" She smiled.

"H-Hi, Marinette...!" He replied shyly.

"What lesson do you have right now?"

"I have a free... You?"

"I have art class. Hey! You should come and join! You can work on your writing in there! Wait. That gives me a great idea! Come on!" Marinette grabbed Marc's wrist and pulled him to the art room.

When they entered, Marc looked around nervously.

"Well hello young man!" The teacher smiled as he noticed Marc by Marinette's side. "And what's your name?"

"This is Marc!" Marinette grinned. "He's really passionate about writing and I wanted him to meet Nate!"

"Well, your out of luck, Marinette." The teacher's face fell. "Nathaniel didn't turn up for some reason."

"Oh... Do you know where he is?"

"Unfortunately, no. I was wondering if any of you did."

"I haven't seen him since lunch." Alix piped up as Rose nodded.

"Strange. I haven't seen him since then, either..." Marinette mumbled as she started to think of where he could be. "Do you mind if we go look for him, Mr. Monlataing?"

"Of course you can. Maybe check the other classes as well, just incase he's decided to go to a different class."

The four of them nodded. Marc was unsure as to why he agreed but if one of Marinette's classmates were missing he'd be lucky to help.

The group checked everywhere. They even checked the classrooms where their other classmates were having their free lessons. Before they knew it, the entire class were wandering around the class, calling for Nathaniel. After a while, they grew even more concerned when they couldn't find him. The bell sounded and they had to postpone their search so they could get to class...

Hey everyone! Hope you enjoyed chapter 3!

What do you think happened to Nathaniel?

I'd love to hear your thoughts/theories in the comments!