Why I Shouldn't Have Done It | ✔️

Chapter 12

Adrien's Point of View

That Saturday morning, I wanted to go hang out with Marinette and hopefully help her feel better about Alya, so I decided to pay her a visit. After hearing that she destroyed her cell phone, I knew it wasn't possible to text her. Dropping visits were much better than texting anyways.

"Hello Mrs. Dupain-Cheng, is Marinette home?" I asked when I walked in through the entrance of the bakery. I noticed that Mr. Dupain-Chang wasn't there.

"I'm sure she is. If you would like, you could go on up to her room! Just give a little knock on her door to let her know you're here," Marinette's mother said, smiling at me.

"Thank you! I'll be sure to knock," I replied, returning the smile. I continued on to her small ladder where the trap door lay above.

"Hey Marinette! It's me, Adrien! Just wanted to drop on by and see how things are going," I said, knocking on the door. I awaited her response for about a minute or so, but surprisingly I found none.

"Mari? Is everything okay?" I asked, knocking a second time. Was she sleeping, I wondered.

"I'm going to walk in. Just letting you know. I hope it's okay, but I'll cover my eyes just in case you're dressing and can't hear me. Please don't kill me," I spoke, finally opening the trap door. When I climbed in, I held one hand over my eyes.

"Marinette? Are you okay in here?" I asked, blindly pulling myself up into her room. I felt around to close the trap door, and did so. After still not receiving a response, the Chat Noir inside me came out and worried for her safety.

"Marinette?" I called out one last time before taking my hand off my eyes. Peeling my vision from the darkness, I blinked to regain my composure and looked to her desk. My vision shifted from that to the chaise, then her loft bed, all around her room. When my eye caught the windows, I noticed they were open.

No, no, I thought, I know she was upset about revealing her identity and ruining her life, but she wouldn't... Just to be sure, I nervously peeked my head out the window to look to the ground. I took a sigh of relief when I didn't see her lying on the ground.

A new thought ran my blood cold. Was it an akuma?

With the exposure of my bugaboo's identity, anyone had access to the knowledge that Marinette lived in the Dupain-Cheng bakery. I pondered if Hawkmoth could've sent an akuma after her.

Either that or she was... fighting alone?!!

I bursted into a sprint, and nearly fell down the ladder when I quickly slipped out from Marinette's bedroom.

"Mrs. Dupain-Cheng! I can't find Marinette!" I panicked.

"Maybe she's out battling another akuma. Don't worry, Adrien. Ladybug has her partner, Chat Noir. He's a trustworthy boy. He wouldn't let anything happen to my daughter," Mrs. Dupain-Cheng tried to assure me, only causing me to suffer internally further.

"I'm going to go see if there are any akuma attacks! Thanks for letting me stop by!" I politely said before bursting out the door and down a corner.

"Stay safe, Adrien!" I heard her yell after me.

"Plagg! We need to transform! What if Marinette is in danger?" I expressed my obvious concerns to my disinterested kwami.

"She's probably fine, Adrien. You always get like this when you think someone's in danger," Plagg reminded me in a frustratingly calm voice.

"But Plagg, you don't understand! I can't lose- I can't lose another... person in my life. I need to find her," I found myself on the verge of tears after calming my tempered demands. Plagg's expressions changed once he noticed how serious I was about this.

"She might just be out on a patrol or taking a walk in the park. Maybe she's at Chloe's hotel or shopping at a mall? Wherever she is, Adrien, we'll find her. Just... don't get all emotional on me. Okay? Please give me Camembert now," Plagg quickly added at the end, trying not to show that he did care. Even with this, I still saw the concern in his eyes.

I nodded, and looked at my ring. The kwami responded with a nod and a small smile of approval. "Plagg, claws out!" I held my fist out to him, causing him to fly into it. With those words and his approval, I was transformed into my cat themed alter ego. I took on the liberty of finding Marinette. Not long after checking the park, I stopped by the Bourgeois hotel to check in with Chloe.

"I need to see Chloe Bourgeois, please. This is for an important mission," I told the guard. He opened the door for me and permitted my entrance. Chloe was called down to see me.

"Chat Noir, is everything okay? I heard you called to see me," the blonde asked as she left the elevator, a few minutes after she was requested.

"I was wondering if Marinette was with you," I told her.

"She isn't in her room? Chat, she never leaves her house unless she needs to fight an akuma. Have you checked around Paris to see if there was a recent attack?" Chloe asked me, worry evident in her.

"She wasn't at her bakery. I was hoping she was with you. I don't know. I guess I'll have to take a look around Paris to check for akumas," I replied, now feeling like maybe I was getting a little too worried for nothing.

"She could be out on patrol too, Chat. I'd go ahead and check. I'm going to shoot a text to Alya, asking if she's heard any of any new attacks or if she's spotted Ladybug around," The girl told me, pulling out her cell phone.

With a nod, I asked her to keep me updated on any further updates, and took off to see if she was somewhere around Paris.

I checked the well-known places, such as the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre for Marinette. Only tourists and citizens wandered in those places. I checked back in at the bakery to see if she came back, but she hadn't.

I slipped away and searched all our usual patrolling areas, not-so-usual patrolling areas, and other places. From the nearest fabric stores to the hospitals, I looked and looked for my princess. Asking locals and store owners, I still found no updates on the whereabouts of Marinette.

After several hours of searching and finding nothing, I reported to her mother that her only daughter was nowhere to be found. We both headed down to the station to report her missing.

I only grew more and more anxious as time went on. How could I have not protected her? Where was she? Would she be okay?

As search parties went out with my assistance, I only hoped for the best.