Nathaniel + Marinette Valentines

February 8th

I woke up exhausted and cold. I had the receipt for the rose taped to my bathroom mirror so I wouldn't forget. I smiled at it and brushed my hair. I went to place my brush on the counter, but I somehow missed and it crashed to the floor. I jumped from the sudden noise. I sighed and picked up the brush, when I stood back up, I felt a little disoriented. I shook it off as I put on my usual purple jeans and red shirt with my blazer for school.

It was still cold outside, but it wasn't snowing. The snow on the ground was mostly melted, just a few patches here and there. The cuts on my arm stung a little from yesterday. I had taken off the bandaids when I got home because they were kinda annoying. The cuts had sealed up already, and they only hurt if I press on them. You could still see the scratches though. I tugged on the sleeves of my blazer.

Mari looked cute this morning, too. She always looks cute though. She had some light blue ripped jeans and a black bomber jacket. Her sneakers were black, and she had a red beanie on.

"Nath!" She said as she rushed to me.

"W-wait, you might fall-" I was interrupted by Mari wrapping hers arms around me tightly.

"I really miss walking home with you... I know you have work now and we walk to school together, but I still feel lonely going home. It's selfish, isn't it?" She sounded a little sad.

I hugged her back. "I feel the same way, don't worry Flower." I gave her a kiss on her head. "I'll only be working for a few more days. Then, we can walk home or wherever after school again."

She looked up at me with hopeful eyes. "Okay!"

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At school, I could feel a headache coming on. I've been getting a lot of them recently. I also felt cold, even though I was inside. Maybe this will pass by once school ends.

Well, I didn't last to the end of school. The bell rang for lunch, but I couldn't get up. I felt dizzy, and my headache was so horrible it was like it had been bashed in. The pain made my head feel hot, but the rest of my body was cold. I began panting. What's wrong with me?

"... Nath!" I heard someone call out for me, they sounded worried. I looked up, but everything was blurry. I recognized Mari's dark hair. I felt her grab my hand.

Her mouth was opening but I couldn't hear anything. She pulled me up as I felt someone else grab me. I stood up thanks to their help, but my legs did not feel like working. I collapsed right away, and everything went dark.

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When I woke up, I was still cold. I tried to get up, but my headache began throbbing again. Ugh, dammit, I can't do anything like this!

I laid back down in defeat. I looked around, but no one was with me. I felt a pang in my heart. I felt so alone, I wanted to see Marinette.

I heard someone coming towards my bed. Mari?!

A tall figure loomed over me. "How are you feeling?" She asked.

Not Mari. "A little better, I guess." I responded to the nurse.

She checked my temperature with a thermometer. "Your fever has gone down a little, but you should still take medicine. I'll be right back." The sound of her heels became more faint as she walked away.

I rubbed my eyes, then my head. What happened to me? I remembered falling, and people surrounding me. Did she say fever? I heard someone coming towards me again.

Mari! I stood up in bed, and felt a sharp pain from my head. That didn't matter to me.

I was so discouraged when I saw someone I had no energy to deal with standing by my bed.

"Nathan... are you okay?" Chloé asked timidly.

I laid back down. "Yes. Thanks for asking." I said as I pulled the blanket over me and rolled to the side.

"That's what happens when you don't know how to take care of yourself, are you a little kid or something?" She snarked at me.

"You're giving me a headache, could you please leave?" I had no patience at this point.

She didn't respond for a moment. "Alright, I guess. Feel better. You don't have to come to work today, but you'll still get the pay." There was silence afterwards.

Was she gone?

I got up from the bed and saw her hand was reached out and about to... pet my head? We stared at each other.

Chloé's face turned red. "O-O-O-OH! SO YOU'RE AWAKE! THAT'S GOOD! I-I-I'm going to go... now. You're an idiot if you think I was going to do anything!" She snatched her purse and ran out of the nurse's office.

My mind went blank. Was she... trying to touch me? I shuddered. There's no way, right? It doesn't make any sense.

I scratched the back of my head, confused. I was so deep in thought I didn't hear someone else tiptoe into the room.

"N-Nath?" She said quietly.

Marinette! I looked at her and she was carrying a foam cup in her hand.

"Marinette!" I called out to her. She walked to my side. I didn't give her the chance to speak as I gave her a big hug.

"N-Nathaniel, are you feeling okay?" Mari asked me. She looked really worried. She placed her hand over my forehead. "Has your fever gone down?"

I blushed at her touch. "I-I think so, the nurse said she'd get me medicine." I looked at her snow dusted hair. Wait, snow? "Were you outside before you came here?" I asked.

"Yeah, I bought you a soup. I wish I had time to make it myself, but I can't miss school. So, I'm sorry-" I interrupted her.

"It's fine! Thank you so much for worrying, my Flower." I smiled at her, she's so thoughtful.

"I hope you like it, it's chicken soup. There's mushrooms in it too." She held a plastic spoon and the cup for me to take.

"Actually... can you... feed me?" I asked. "I still have a headache... and I feel really tired. So, if it's okay... could you...?" I asked nervously. It wasn't completely a lie, I was actually sick.

She turned red. "O-o-okay!" She held the spoon with soup near my lips. "H-h-here."

She's so cute! I ate the soup from the spoon. It felt warm. "It's pretty good actually." I smiled at her. I was so happy.

After a few spoonfuls, the nurse came back in.

"Oh, hello you two." She placed a small tray that had two pills on it and a cup of water. "Here, take this and lie down again. At the end of the school day, you can go home. I'm surprised you woke up so suddenly, any longer and you would've had to go to the hospital!" She exclaimed. "You fainted because of malnutrition and that high fever. How did you not notice yourself? Kids these days..." she murmured to herself, then left the room again.

So much for a 'nurse's office', it should just be called an 'office' since she's never actually here. After taking the medication, Mari fed me the rest of the soup. I felt really warm and bubbly.

"Thank you Flower, you make me so incredibly happy. I don't know what I'd do without you." I said to her.

Mari squeezed my hand. "This is the least I could do for you. You make me really happy too." She got up and gave me a kiss on my forehead. "I hope you feel better. Unfortunately, I really have to go before the bell-" the bell rang to end lunch, interrupting her. "There it is. See you tomorrow, rest well, okay?" She let go of my hand and walked to class.

"Alright, thank you again." I called out to her before she left.

I was now alone in the nurse bed. I felt drowsy, probably from the medicine. I was so happy, cozy, and exhausted, that I fell into a deep, blissful, sleep.

A/N: I'm so sorry I didn't upload, I got caught up with school work and midterms. I wish I had these chapters prepared, like I planned, but I just couldn't. I hope you can all forgive me, I won't abandon this story though. Bear with me until I finish it, hopefully by this month.