"Do you mind if I sit here?"
Startled from her forlorn gazing, she turned to face the owner of the voice. She'd came back from lunch alone; she sat in her new seat alone; she was ready to finish out the rest of the school day. Alone.
Which is why she was so surprised to see Adrien standing beside her.
"U-um... Sure?" Marinette's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
Adrien smiled at her before sitting down and placing his bag on the desk. When he turned to face her he found her staring resolutely at her tablet, causing his grin to drop. The more he stared at her down turned lips and slumped shoulders, the more guilt built inside his chest.
Rubbing the back of his neck, Adrien sighed. "I'm really sorry, Marinette."
That seemed to get her attention. She looked at him from the corner of her eye. "...for what?"
"I should've said something." His head hung back against the backrest in defeat and his eyebrows formed a crease between them. "I should've done more to stand up for you. You just didn't want to sit back here by yourself, right? I should've defended you... But I didn't just because I was too uncomfortable. I'm sorry."
"Adrien..." Marinette began, but paused and cracked a small smile. "It's okay. I am pretty lonely back here, but you didn't do anything wrong." In a small moment of courage, she bumped shoulders with him. "Didn't you try to give up your seat for me? I promise, I'm not mad at you."
Adrien's eye brightened but he could tell from a glance that Marinette was still far from fine. "Is it Lila?"
Her face darkened for a moment before smoothing out into that neutral frown he was starting to hate. "Honestly, I barely care about her."
"Huh?"
Her eyes lowered to glare down at her hands. "I think she's a liar and I don't think she really has tinnitus, but honestly, that barely matters to me anymore." Her glare faded, her scowl softening from a grimace to a gloomy frown. He hadn't seen her this distressed since she thought her uncle didn't like her. "It wasn't Lila who made me sit in the back. It wasn't Lila who gave up my seat for her boyfriend."
"Oh..." Alya.
"She didn't even ask me!" Marinette's voice rose, her angry tone startling Adrien. "She just decided where I should go! She just decided I'd be fine with being in the back of the room all by myself, where I can see her happily carrying on like nothing's changed!" She paused for breath, eyes glossy despite her anger. "I mean, what if this is permanent?! What if this is where we're going to be the rest of the year?! She's really okay with not sitting next to me anymore?! Does she just not care?! She's my best friend, but she just kicked me out!"
"Marinette..."
"It's not like Lila is magically going to be 'cured'!" Marinette was getting louder and threw her hands up in anger. He was very glad that no one had left the cafeteria yet. "Oh, but as soon as I get upset about it, I'm the bad guy! Because Marinette's not ALLOWED to be mad! She just has to be nice to everyone. They can take what they want from her, but who cares if she's upset that everyone went behind her back-"
"Marinette!"
Adrien grabbed her by the shoulders, stopping her mid-rant. She panted heavily as she snapped back to reality. Adrien swore he could see a flash of purple in the corner of his eye, but he kept his focus on the distraught girl in front of him. "Breathe with me, Marinette. Slowly. In and out. Just match my breathing, okay?" Marinette's bottom lip wobbled a bit, but she kept her eyes locked on his.
"In... Out...."
They did this for a few seconds until Marinette had calmed herself down. She let out a sniff and viciously rubbed her eyes. "I'm sorry..." she said meekly, breaking Adrien's heart even more.
