Miraculous the tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir; Princess Justice

Chapter 16

Marinette, tears streaming from her now puffy eyes, charged into locker room. Her mess of thoughts and feelings beginning to overwhelm her. She needed to calm down. There was only one person she trusted to that job right now. Tikki. Marinette ran straight to her locker and sat on the bench opposite it and lifted her little hand bag up to her chest. Her back was to the locker room door.

"Tikki," Marinette whispered, in case anyone entered to use the toilets that adjoined the locker room, "you were right. It's all too much. I can't handle this. I shouldn't have come. I should have listened to mom."

The door opened half way through Marinette's words, and she stopped talking as rushed footsteps walked right up to her, and in a handful of seconds Adrien was knelt in front of her, concern etched into every feature of his face. Marinette dropped her little hand bag, open to the floor. Tikki pushed herself to the very bottom of it and kept silent, even as Marinette's foot accidently kicked it under the bench she had been sitting on, as she stepped on top of it and backed up, falling off the bench and landing with a thud on the floor, a dull pain in her bottom.

Adrien's concern was washed away with shock for a few brief seconds as he watched Marinette's fall. Even to his socially ineptness, this was strange. Even for Marinette. And instead of finding it endearing, this time it only made him more concerned, as she stared up at him in fear. Tikki hid in her little bag, knowing if she left it Marinette's secret would be out. But the little red creature found herself wishing that Adrien hadn't followed. She knew he couldn't help. She just hoped nothing terrible came from this.

"Marinette," Adrien said not moving, save only to stretch his hand out to her, "I want to help you."

Marinette couldn't find her voice. She searched and searched for it, but she was powerless to find it. Adrien reached further over the bench.

"We're friends," Adrien said, "so we help each other. Please." He knew he sounded desperate. He didn't care. He was. He didn't like that fearful look in Marinette's eyes. As if his presence would cause her harm. He wanted it to go away. Marinette scrambled over the floor on her bottom until her back hit the lockers. It just so happened to be the locker just below Adrien's.

Adrien lost control of himself, for the first time ever. The person he least wanted to hurt was seemingly scared of him, enough to back away from him. To run from him. He clenched his fist and closed his eyes, breathing deeply.

"They see this they'll hurt me. Lila always lies." Marinette whimpered into her needs. Adrien's eyes snapped open when he heard it. Then his mind raced with realisation. His anger flared again and he turned and punched the lockers behind him. It hurt. But not as much as his thoughts. Marinette hadn't been the same since Lila had beat her up. She had avoided him. Pushed him away. She wasn't scared of him. She was scared of Lila. Scared of what that witch would do to her if she thought they were more than friends. The others had left them alone together, at his texted request so he could tell Marinette the truth. When he turned to face Marinette, he saw she had moved a few inches to the right. He'd made her jump. He fought to control himself. He had to. For Marinette.

"I won't let them hurt you." Adrien informed Marinette softly, a gentle smile on his face, after all he wasn't angry with her. "Alya, Juleka, Luka and I will make sure of that. Please, Mari, let me help you. Tell me how to help you. You are not alone. As long as I'm around, you will never be alone."

Something in his voice seemed to get a reaction from Marinette. But it wasn't the one he wanted.

"Why?" Marinette stammered. It stung Adrien to her the question, but he pushed it aside, Marinette was panicked and therefore might not be thinking clearly.

"Because I care about," Adrien answered gently, "more than I think you want me to care right now. More than I think you are ready to hear."

Somewhere deep in Marinette's mind realised the meaning of Adrien's words. Helped by memories of resent weeks of everyone telling her that Adrien had developed feelings for her. But the less rational part of her mind remembered when she'd saved him as Ladybug. The love, the adoration. For Ladybug alone.