𝚆𝚑𝚘 𝚆𝚎 𝙲𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚍 𝚃𝚘 | 𝙼𝚊𝚛𝚒𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚝

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 1 | 𝙼𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚎

The only context my lovely readers need for this chapter is that the holders have only had their miraculous for one year. (I always found it ridiculous that Master Fu gave responsibilities to fricken 13-year-olds.)

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Marinette Dupain-Cheng

Monday, July 1st

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In the shifting summer heat of July, Marinette lay in her bed with an ice pack soothing her pounding head, and shielding her eyes from the blazing light of the afternoon. it was an unusually hot summer and her AC had broken to put the cherry on the cake. While she'd spend a hot day like this at the pool with her friends, she was stuck at home brainstorming ideas of how to pursue her dreams of becoming a fashion designer. it was Marinette's specialty to leave things to the last minute, meaning while most of her graduated classmates were prepared for college, Marinette was still scrambling to figure out which direction her life was headed. She felt deflated being the only one who was stuck in her room on a hot day like this, unable to complete the hard task that would pave the path to the rest of her working adult life. Instead, she had spent most of her time reminiscing about her high school years while everyone was out partying or packing. 

Every memory replayed in her mind, especially the drifting thoughts of the blonde who haunted her dreams. the one and only Adrien Agreste was a famous model, but more importantly, was one of her dearest friends. Although the first two years of knowing him were rough due to her debilitating crush, eventually she started to relax. Truthfully, she thought the stuttering was her biggest issue, but it wasn't. Even when she got past not being able to form sentences around him, soon enough she found out that her confidence was shed like a snake when she was around him. he never did anything to make her uncomfortable, but the possibility that he liked other girls who she knew she couldn't compete with made her not even wanna try. 

She bared many nights where her heart ached as she lay there staring at her many polaroids of her friends, where her eyes would inevitably wander to his smiling face. She'd analyze every photo, especially the ones where he had his arm around her in group photos, or even just stood close to her. it was something she'd overlook if it was anyone else, but it was the man she fell in love with, and could he have felt the same way? Would he put his arm around any girl like that? She wasn't sure, and as much as she knew she needed to find out, just so she could put this to rest, she knew she'd not be able to handle the repercussions of his declining of her affections: so she never asked. 

She moved her ice pack up above her eyes gently and began to scan those said photos again, her daily ritual. Years of memories were scattered across her wall, the crucial evidence of her fulfilled high school career. The majority were group photos. Days where her friends went to the pool, or the skating rink, or any of the popular hangout spots in Paris for people her age. Photos had been placed there over the last four years, and as she scanned her eyes from her first year to her second year, they stopped on a particular photo. It was her favorite one of Adrien out of all of them. It was at a school dance she attended. Her 15-year-old self had a giddy smile on her face as Adrien wrapped his arm around her waist. To her, it was a dream come true. Any touch from him was intoxicating, no matter how small or how quick the exchange was. She was ecstatic for days.