Where Does the Red String Go? -Miraculous Ladybug AU Soulmates

Chapter 7- Controlling

Marinette's POV

The mascara that I'm wearing threatens to smudge as sweat drips down my face. I hastily wipe it away. Today has to be perfect. No matter what.

The traffic light turns green as I confidently march up to the school, praying my soft brown sandals won't let me fall. Immediately, students began to stare at me, their eyes clouded with... was that envy? I sit taller, happy that people at least thought that my dress design was decent.

I scan the school grounds for Luka. Where was he? I replay his parting words yesterday. I'll see you tomorrow Marinette. He meant at school right? Where else would he see me tomorrow? The bakery maybe? All of a sudden, someone bumps into me as I stumble, just barely catching myself before my dress could get dirty. I look up. It's Nino.

The scratches on his arm are worse than the last time I saw him. I look worriedly at him, shouldn't the scratches be at least healed by now?

"Are you ok Nino? Those scratches are getting worse." I say. He shrugs and brushes past me. Is he ok? Usually, he would at least speak to me. I feel someone tap my shoulder and spin me around. It's Luka.

"I don't want you talking to any boy except me, ok?" These are his first words. I nod ecstatically, happy that he's finally here. He runs his eyes along my dress, frowning. "This dress is too revealing, I want you to wear pants from now on, ok?" He picks at a loose thread. "Where did you get this dress? It's such poor quality," he says.

My shoulders slump. My confidence, which peaked just a few moments ago, had been crushed by Luka's words. That's ok. Luka was just telling me the truth about my dress. I wasn't a good designer anyway. "I-I-I d-designed i-it m-myself," I whisper.

Something sparks in Luka's eyes. "I want you to speak clearly. Your voice sounds like a baby." He grips my hand tight, too tight. I squeak in pain. "Y-Your h-hurting m-me L-Luka." He grips my hand tighter. "If you want to be my girlfriend, Stop. With. That. Stutter." he whisper-shouts and he lets go of my arm and stalks to class. I look at my arm, red from Luka's grip. It would surely bruise.

I trudge to the bathroom and tie up my hair. I had decided to leave it down for the first time since kindergarten. I wipe all my makeup off and follow Luka to class. Why did I even bother trying? Luka was right. He is such a gentleman. I was lucky to have an honest guy like him.

Alya's already there when I push through the doors to the classroom. She waves me over. "How did it go girl? Wait, did you wipe off your makeup? Why?!" Alya demands. I sigh, informing her about the events this morning. She fumes. "He doesn't get to dictate your appearance Marinette! I don't think he's your soulmate girl..." I shake my head, refusing to even consider that Luka's my worstmate. "I could say the same about you and Kim!" I whisper, indicating the bruises and scratches on her forearm. I had tried again and again to let her report it but she wouldn't even acknowledge them. She doesn't now either. "Me and Kim are... different," she says furiously. I snort. Sure.

When the bell to lunch rings I stand up to go to sit with my usual group but am stopped by Luka. "You're sitting with us," he says, leaving no room for explanation. I try to protest. "You can sit with us if you'd like-" Luka raises his hand. I flinch.

"You're sitting with us. I don't care about your bullshit friends," he says.

I flinch again with his foul language. My shoulders slump. "Ok," I whisper.

For the rest of lunch, I sit quietly with their group which consists of Kim, Luka, Juleka, Marc, Nathaniel, and Chloe. I'm not allowed to join in or talk to them unless Luka allows me to. I'll admit, it wasn't what I would have expected in the dating world. After all, Luka was my first boyfriend. And my only boyfriend. I would never fall in love with someone else. Ever.

At the end of the day, Luka walks me to the entrance of the school. I try to hold his arm, just like many couples do but he just brushes me away. He hands me a long piece of paper and walks away, not bothering to wave goodbye. I look at the paper, eyes widening as I read the words. It was a list of rules in our relationship.

My eyes follow the words keenly, trying hard to memorize them. I had to be the best girlfriend to Luka. He deserves it.

When I get home I undress and search through my closet for some non-revealing clothes. I take my minidress outside and dump it in the bin. There's no need for it anymore and my designs are ugly anyway. Just as I'm closing the lid on the bin I see Nino walking down the street, headphones in and his eyes rimmed red. I think of calling out to him, why was he crying? But I remember Luka's rules. Don't talk or look at any boys unless I give you permission to.

I bite my lip and watch Nino walk away, and see tears fall. I hoped he gets better, whatever situation that he was dealing with. We were childhood friends.

"Marinette." I see Luka on the sidewalk walking up to me. My heart beats faster as I look at his mesmerizing blue eyes. He holds a present with a red bow on top.

"Here's a present...for being my girlfriend," he says as he hands me the gift. I opened it, excited and touched that he got me a gift. It's a necklace, with the letter 'Z' engraved on it. It was so beautiful but I couldn't understand the 'Z' initial. What did it mean?

"Um... the Z is an ancient Chinese symbol that means... love. I just translated it to English." Luka says, not meeting my eyes.

I nod and smile, thanking Luka for the gift. I look down at the necklace and walk back inside to the bakery.

When I asked my mom about the letter later, she said there was no symbol 'Z' in Chinese that meant 'love.'

Was he lying?