Help Me Remember

Chapter 2

            Chat Noir recognized the girl's face immediately. He'd seen it so many times. Marinette Dupain-Cheng, his friend from school. The sweet girl who stood up for everyone, no matter who they were or what the situation was. Sweet. Kind. Brave. Clumsy. Creative. Adorable. Always running late. The girl behind the mask. The love of his life.

Chat's tears dripped down his face and landed onto hers.

"Marinette," he cried. "I'm so glad it's you." His voice cracked with emotion. He kissed her cheek and lifted her up. He stared sadly at her face. He'd wanted to find out who Ladybug really was for so long. But not like this.

Gathering all of his strength, he rushed to the hospital. He breathed deeply, stopping the flow of tears.

Once in the emergency room, he told the nearest authority that Marinette needed immediate help.

"This girl was hurt in the akuma attack." He explained. "It's been awhile, and she still hasn't woken up. I don't know what's wrong."

Once they'd gotten Mari in a hospital room, Chat Noir checked the time. 5:30. His father was expecting him home before 6. He had time for one more stop, right? He detransformed and nonchalantly strolled out of the hospital. Once he was out the door, he made a run for the Dupain-Cheng bakery.

Adrien opened the bakery door and was immediately enveloped in the warm aroma of freshly baked croissants and cookies. He closed his eyes and breathed in the scent. It smelled so good. His stomach rumbled. He opened his eyes and saw Marinette's mother walking forward to greet him.

"Adrien!" Sabine smiled kindly. "What a pleasant surprise! Marinette isn't here right now; do you need something?"

Adrien faked a smile. "Actually, I was hoping that I could talk to you and your husband for just a moment."

"Oh, of course!" Sabine gestured for Adrien to follow her. She led him into the bakery's kitchen, where Tom was pulling a tray of croissants out of the oven.

"Tom, honey, Adrien wanted to see us for a minute." Sabine announced.

"Sure!" Tom grinned and they all sat at a small table. "Croissant?" Tom held out the tray. "Careful. They're hot."

Adrien gladly took one. "Thanks, Mr. Dupain-Cheng! Surely his father wouldn't mind if he just had one little croissant. He paused for a moment. Well, actually he would care. But he wouldn't know. Adrien smiled. What his father didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

"Now," Sabine asked as she took a croissant, "what were you wanting to talk to us about?"

Adrien frowned as he remembered what his purpose was in coming to the bakery. "I have some bad news. I'm sure you know about the akuma attack that happened earlier today?"

"Yes?" Tom replied, obviously concerned.

"Well..." Adrien had suddenly lost his appetite. "Marinette's been hurt. She's in the hospital." Adrien tried to contain his tears.

Tom jumped up out of his chair, and Sabine grabbed his arm. "What?" he cried out. "What's wrong with her?"

Adrien stared down at the flaky, buttery layers of his uneaten croissant. "I don't know. Apparently, Chat Noir found her unconscious and brought her in. They don't know yet if anything is wrong. She might be okay."

Sabine stood up and pushed her chair in. "Thank you so much for stopping by and letting us know."

"Of course." The baker and his wife began to make their way to the door. "Wait." Adrien grabbed Tom's arm. "Could you call me and let me know if there are any updates?" He held out a business card with his number on it.

Tom pocketed the card. "Yes. Thank you so much."

The couple rushed out the door, in a hurry to get to the hospital.

Adrien had already texted Nathalie and she and Gorilla were waiting in the limo outside of the bakery.

"You're late." His father's assistant said sternly. "Your father is going to be very upset."

Adrien sighed. "I know." Adrien stared at his hands. His stomach rumbled, and he recalled with regret that he'd left his croissant behind. He hadn't been able to take a single bite. As if his day hadn't been terrible enough...