Please, Don't Leave Me

Chapter 9

          A couple months passed, and Marc had been sitting under the stairs writing. This book he was writing was his Diary of Ladybug. He didn't even hear Marinette walk up. "Oh, Hey Marc!" He froze as he looked up. She giggled and walked to the side so she could actually see him. "Where's the rest of your class?" She asked in confusion. "Oh.. Classes are done for the day so they probably left already...," he said shyly. Marinette smiled. "That's perfect. My class has an extra hour so some of us are heading to the art room. You should join us!" She said excitedly. Marc blushed shyly, "Uhh... S-s-sure.... W-why not....?" Marinette smiled happily. "Maybe you'll finally let me read some of your writing!" Marc looked down at his book, "ahh.... I don't know.... Maybe..." Marinette seemed to be in high spirits so she said, "Great! Well, I'll see you there!" She then went up the stairs to the art room to work on some of her fashion.

          Later on, Marc stood at the door, too shy to go in while Nathaniel was telling the art teacher that he didn't know any creative writers to write a script for his comic book. "Marc, you made it!! Come meet everyone!" She said as she dragged him into the room by the wrist. His eyes immediately met Nathaniel's and he quickly looked away, his crush being more than obvious. He talked a little to the teacher then giggled when Alex teased Nathaniel for drawing Ladybug, but it was never in a mean way so Nathaniel threw a balled up piece of paper at her. That's when Nathaniel was telling him the art room is a free space to speak your mind. Marc was listening intently until he saw the drawings. "Whoa.... I've seen your drawings on the school website, but they're nothing compared to the real thing... the expression, the movement, the attitude... they're all so...," he said before getting lost in Nathaniel's eyes. "Thanks, that's nice," Nathaniel said politely. Marc blushed more and basically jumped back before trying to say he'd never seen such amazing art when Chloe cut him off. Chloe, as always, made fun of Nathaniel for drawing Ladybug until the art teacher stood up for him. Chloe did a dramatic introduction of her collage of selfies, but got embarrassed when Alex guessed correctly, all the while mocking her pose. Chloe quickly left and the teacher chastised her softly, even though he was amused as well.

          She rolled her eyes and went back to her street art. Marc was then told he had prefect timing because Nathaniel needed a scriptwriter. This flustered the poor boy as he got skittish and hid his notebook further in his jacket before running out, hitting a pole, dropping his notebook, and ran off. Marinette went after him until she saw the notebook. She read the title and immediately ran to the restroom to read it, discovering that it may not be accurate but it's perfect for Nathaniel's comic. Later, she found Marc searching frantically for the notebook. "Looking for this?" She said as she returned his prized possession. He quickly took it and hugged it close. He then gasped, "Did you read it???" Marinette tried to deny it but then admitted that she did.  Marc got embarrassed but she reassured him that it's exactly what Nathaniel draws so they devised a plan to read it with Nathaniel knowing the author. By the end of the day Nathaniel was excited to see Marinette again and asked how she got it. She said he had to be willing to meet the author. His eyes narrowed as he leaned closer, "Is it.... who I think it is...?" Marinette leaned back and threw her hands up in defense, "I can't say anything just yet. Please, don't insist...." Nathaniel, thinking she meant it's actually by Ladybug, winked and agreed to meet the author in the park by the fountain.

          When he got there, he was blushing like crazy when he saw the red hoodie. "Ladybug..?" Marc turned and looked surprised. "What?? You're not Ladybug!!" He said, caught off guard. "Of course I'm not. It's me, Marc. Didn't Marinette tell you....?" Nathaniel looked shocked then angry when he looked right at her, who was on her balcony. "You were trying to make a fool out of me, weren't you?? You think it's funny to toy with my feelings????" Ouch. That hurt. Marc threw his hands up in defense, "no no No! It isn't like that!! I just.... wanna... make a... comic book..... If you want.... to...." Nathaniel wasn't having any of it. "A comic book??? Us??? Together???? Never!!!" He said as he destroyed Marc's notebook and stormed off, leaving Marc to kneel and pick up the torn pages of his notebook. That broke his heart so he sat there crying before he heard Hawkmoth's voice with demands in return for powers of reversion, to which he immediately agreed. By the time Marinette got to the fountain, it was too late; he had already been akumatized. After failing to invert Marinette, he flew off on a rampage on several Parisians. Marinette transformed into Ladybug and pursued him, resulting in him dragging her through the sky. He couldn't hit her so he inverted a cyclist and hit her right as she set him down after saving him. Now, she couldn't use her yoyo or even walk. That's when Chat Noir showed up. She tried to warn him, but it was no good. He got hit and they were both sent flying into the water. Reverser flew off to hit more people, and when Ladybug and Chat Noir surfaced, Ladybug brought Chat Noir with her to the Louvre to get Nathaniel's help, him already feeling guilty for how he treated Marc. This only made it worse so he immediately agreed to help. Before long they all arrived to the Eiffel Tower to negotiate with Reverser. She called her Lucky Charm, revealing a bamboo roll. Looking around, she figured out what to do. Now, the get Chat Noir and Nathaniel in the elevator to assemble the kite. They did it and when Ladybug missed her yoyo when Chat Noir dropped it, Alex took it and maneuvered him around in the sky. When they got him at the perfect angle, she called for him to wield his Cataclysm. He did so and destroyed Reverser's paper plane, releasing the akuma. As Marc and Chat fell, Ladybug reverted everything back to normal so Chat used his staff to form a beam to hang from as he caught Marc. He brought him down, and Nathaniel looked away from guilt, as Marc looked away from hurt. "Marc and Nathaniel, by now you see there'd been a big misunderstanding." Nathaniel looked down then at Marc and smiled, holding his hand out. Marc looked at him, seeing that he had changed his mind. He smiled softly and rested his hand in Nathaniel's hand rather femininely.

          A few days later, they had released their first volume of their collaborated comic book. Marinette was relieved that they forgave her and were working together. The boys then said that they even dedicated the first edition to her, making her check in surprise. They teased her by saying she'd make a super superhero if she wasn't such a klutz. Everyone laughed, but in the distance, Chloe was hatching a new scheme, having read his diary.