I Know

3 - Marinette

"Chat?" Ladybug asked, gripping his limp hand tightly.

She picked him up bridal style, too scared to struggle in the slightest. She couldn't use her yo-yo, so she began running. "Master Fu!" Ladybug ran into his place, looking for him frantically.

"Oh my, bring him in here." Master Fu emerged from behind a paper door. 

Ladybug placed Chat down on the mat, gently placing his head on the pillow. Ladybug brushed hair out of his face. "Ladybug, I'll need to you to go." Master Fu looked apologetically at the super heroine as he lit candles.

"I know. I know." Ladybug backed away, repeating Chat's final words.

Marinette got up on time that morning. She stumbled out of bed and got ready for another day of strange looks. Of course, to make things worse, it was Monday. Although the bullying had stopped, everyone wondered why Marinette had closed off, always seeming distracted. Alya, who had requested time to figure things out, had come back to Marinette and asked so many questions that Marinette didn't have the words or heart to answer. Alya had tried being patient, but Marinette knew it was hard, so she urged Alya to hang out with other people. 

Marinette stared at herself in the mirror. Purple bags pulled her eyes down and scrapes leftover from... the fight... dotted her face. She tried to smile, the corners of her mouth twitching and then falling down again. She was so tired of crying, hurting, and faking to the point where she couldn't even muster up the sadness of her inability to smile. Marinette showered, hoping she'd look fresher than she did. When she finished, she sloppily tied her hair back into pigtails, barely running a brush through it.

What would he say? A voice in Marinette's head popped up. "I don't know. He's gone." Marinette whispered to her reflection.

He'd say you're wasting your life. Marinette looked into her eyes, realizing this was true. So she pulled her hair loose and ran a brush through it again. This time, Marinette tied her hair up tightly, the way she had before Chat.... left. She forced herself to smile, and seeing it on her face gave her a sense of empowerment, and Marinette smiled for real. She stepped down her stairs, her usual zombie walk turning into a rather normal one.

"Marinette?" Sabien asked, smiling at her daughter.

"Morning, Mom." Marinette kissed her mother's cheek.

Sabien gripped Marinette's shoulders and smiled at her, "You look so pretty with your smile, dear."

Marinette looked down, blushing a bit. "Thanks, Maman." Marinette said, stepping back.

She grabbed a croissant, stepping out of the front door and waving. She walked down the street, eating the croissant. She felt bad for being happy. For having high spirits. But Marinette knew that Chat wouldn't have wanted her to mourn. At least not for too long. So of course, Marinette also felt a sense of pride. And it wasn't so bad if she imagined Chat was beside her.  

"I'm here for you."

Marinette stumbled over the pavement but regained her balance before she could fall. She smiled again. Even if the vividness of her flashbacks frightened her and stole her focus, she was glad that she could still see his face the way it always was: smiling and full of light. When Marinette arrived at her school gates, she paused, looking in. Taking a deep breath, Marinette walked over to the clump of girls talking. "Hi." Marinette awkwardly put her hand up in a wave.

The group fell silent before Alya embraced Marinette and brought her forward, leading her with an arm around her shoulders.

Everyone was talking and it felt so normal, so great, that Marinette could only laugh along. She hadn't realized how much she'd missed this. When the bell for class rung, the crowd of girls moved up the stairs, conversing with each other. Marinette was walking next to Alya, so she smiled. "Welcome back, Marinette Dupain-Cheng." Alya said to herself.

"I'm better now, Alya." Marinette said, putting a hand on her best friend's shoulder.

Alya leaned over and crashed into Marinette, hugging her tightly as they walked. "I missed you." Alya said as the two walked with arms around one another.

"I missed you, too." Marinette said as they reached the door.

They slid into their seats, Alya laughing with Marinette about her date with Nino, several weeks ago. "He was so nervous! I felt so awkward!" Marinette was laughing too hard to breathe properly as Alya explained the situation humorously. 

"Isn't that everyone's first date?" Marinette asked after she recovered.

Alya laughed in response. "Good Morning class. Art this morning. I'll be handing back the assignments you submitted on Halloween. Sorry they took so long to mark, someone," Madame Bustier shot a look at Chloe, "Needed more time."

Madame Bustier walked around the classroom, handing back collages. "Well done, you two." She said, handing back Marinette and Adrien's assignment.

"How'd we do?" Adrien asked, turning around on his seat.

"Well." Marinette said, blinking her eyes at the mark.

She handed it to Adrien. "Whoa!" He said, beaming at the full marks.

"Yeah." Marinette said, dumbfounded.

"It must be hard for someone who doesn't always do well in school to accept." Adrien teased, testing Marinette's good mood. Was she better?

"Just surprised that with you as a partner it worked." Marinette retorted, a smile creeping onto hr face.

"Ouch." Adrien put a hand to his chest in fake pain.

Marinette smiled, but her heart didn't flutter for Adrien anymore, which made her realize that she had left a little part of her with Chat. "Do you... Do you mind if I keep it?" Adrien asked hopefully.

"No, go ahead." Marinette grinned.

Alya scooted closer to Marinette. "Wanna go see a movie? With me and Nino? You can bring Adrien, too." Alya asked.

"Uh..." Marinette was caught off guard. 

She looked at Nino, who was also smiling. "Yes. Yeah, let's go!" Marinette said happily.

"What about him?" Alya whispered, covering her mouth and pointing in Adrien's direction.

"Adrien, the four of us are going to see a movie." Marinette said, matter of fact.

"Who's the fourth?" Adrien asked.

He was somewhat insecure so he was making sure that it was him who was invited. "For a self-proclaimed genius, you're kind of socially inept." Marinette joked.

"Oh, me." Adrien laughed. "Okay."

"Alright, class. Lets begin." Madame Bustier quipped.