Everything Has Changed

Chapter Six

“Can I be him?”
—James Arthur, Can I Be Him

Chapter Six

After fighting another one of Hawkmoth's akumas and saving Paris once more, the two superheroes sat quietly on top of the Eiffel Tower, the tension between them becoming heavier and heavier by the minute.

"Chat?" Ladybug called, her voice soft and small, afraid that one raise of her voice could break him. She wanted to tell him how she didn't deserve his love; that behind the mask, she was just an incompetent, clumsy, insecure girl that never even deserved this hero's attention.

"What?" he groaned, the throbbing pain all over his body distracting him and making him feel dizzy. He badly wanted to go to his princess and rest by the balcony beside her, but he also wanted to spend some time with Ladybug, even though she's broken his heart.

"Are . . ." The superheroine hesitated. She turned to look at him and noticed that he looked exhausted. His lips were pale and chapped, and his back was slouched in a way that looked like he was an old man. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," he replied. He couldn't take it anymore. It was a bad decision to stay with her. And so, without a word, he stood up and left Ladybug sitting there with a broken heart.

—∞—

Marinette stood by the balcony, the wind gently blowing against her face as she felt like the world around her turned dull.

"Princess," a familiar voice called, and she immediately turned to her right to see Chat Noir with an expression she couldn't read.

"Chat Noir," she tried to smile, but it suddenly felt harder to smile when he was around. She felt as though she was slowly tearing him apart.

They stared at each other for a while, and, slowly, the black cat knelt down and began to cry. Marinette felt her heart sink.

Here was the greatest superhero of Paris; the one that people look up to, the one that people can depend on whenever there was someone trying to destroy their town. He carried all the responsibilities to keep Paris safe and sound on his shoulders. And yet here he was. Vulnerable and weak in front of her, the girl who broke his heart.

"It hurts," he cried out, not even thinking about wiping his tears.

Marinette knelt down and wrapped her arms around him, "I'm here."

"It hurts so much," he sobbed as he hugged her back, feeling a little comfortable in the arms of his princess. He didn't know what hurt more; Ladybug or the deathly pain he was having right now.

"What if," Marinette paused, taking a deep breath to stop her tears from falling. She had to be strong for him. "What if she thought she didn't deserve you?"

"W—What?"

"What if she," Marinette couldn't stop her tears from falling. "What if she rejected you because she knows that, behind that mask, she's just an ordinary girl. What if she rejected you because she knows she wouldn't be the girl you expected her to be?"

"I don't—"

"What if," she choked on her tears, her heart throbbing against her chest as she tightened her hug around him. "What if behind that mask, she's that clumsy, insecure, untalented, ugly idiot that nobody wants to be with? What if behind that mask, she's no one but a piece of garbage that could be used and thrown away in an instant?"