Composure (A Miraculous Ladybug Fanfiction)

Can't Trust Her (Part One)

Marinette jerked awake to the sound of her alarm, cheek resting on her hand. It felt disgustingly damp. She twisted around to look at it, and groaned when she realized that she had drooled all over it while she was asleep.

"Miraculous, simply the best, up to the test... when things go wrooo—"

Tapping the snooze button, she grasped her pillow roughly and slammed the fluffy muffler to her face, hiding from the sunlight.

"Marinette! You have to get up right now, or else you'll be late! No excuses!" Sabine called, her head peeking into the room.

Thud.

The bluenette whined before throwing the headrest over the railing. "Ugh." Climbing out of bed, she dragged herself down the stairs and slugged to her mirror.

White crust dipped from the corner of her lips and off to the side of her face. Some of it was still wet, and she curled her lip in disgust, only causing the eye bags underneath her dull orbs to become more visible. Her face was pale, and her hair was sticking up in all directions. I look horrible.

Sshhhhhhhhhhhhh.

The water was strikingly cold as it rushed out of the faucet, but she let it wash over her skin anyways, and she lathered soap onto her hands and face, scrubbing off the dried drool. When she had finished, she stared at her reflection with an automatic frown before brushing her teeth, spitting the minty mixture into the sink and placing the toothbrush back in its holder. She slid the hair bands out of her hair before fitting them around her fingers, which then stretched to make the red bands roll down to her wrist. Suddenly she felt a few strands move on their own, and a memory flashed through her mind.

"Aaah!" she screamed. Her brush landed on her foot as her kwami dropped it in surprise, and she cursed.

Footsteps could be heard racing their way up the staircase to her room, and the voice of her mother resonated loudly from underneath the trap door, however muffled it was.

"Marinette, is everything okay in there?"

"Everything is fine, Mom!" The teen could feel her face still flushed with color, and it was proved to be true by what the reflective glass of her vanity framed. She had remembered the time that Adrien ate her hair. Well—I mean—he didn't exactly eat my hair. He just... sort of closed his teeth around one of my pigtails? More red mounted in her cheeks.

"Okay! Tell me if you need anything!"

"Will do, Mom!" Oh, shoot. That's almost exactly what I said—kinda—to her as Ladybug. The blush disappeared from her face, only to creep back up again with another memory when she placed her hand on the back of her head to tie her left ponytail, recalling also when he stroked her hair. That was a bit strange. But the goosebumps that tickled the back of her neck said otherwise. It only further reddened her cheeks. The skin of her palm was still placed over her hair, and somehow—for some odd reason, through all the stray strands and tiny tangles—it was kind of soft. Her eyes widened as she recalled something else—something more recent.

Chat Noir's lips against her hand. They were soft as well.

Ba-dump, ba-dump.

She grumbled as the brush landed on her foot again.

__=^~^=__

The air was crisp and clear, and she could feel the sting of it on the tip of her nose. It bit her ears and sunk into any millimeter of skin it could find, taking full advantage of the fact that Marinette had not expected the weather to be so chilly. She hadn't even bothered putting on her blazer, so her arms were completely exposed. A sneeze burst out of her nose.