My Imaginary Friend \|/ Adrienette/Marichat AU

Chapter Eighteen

Chat froze, his head buzzing. The voice that had moments ago echoed through the old building was so familiar. It made him want to curl up into a ball and cry. But instead he tried to pull himself together and investigated it, his heart plummeting.

Since the building had no roof it was considerably harder to navigate, especially when trying to remain unseen. Sometimes Chat was tempted to search from the ground, like when he landed and the wall crumbled a bit underneath him. But he knew that being above gave him an advantage, and he refused to let this mission go as badly as the last.

"Ugh, this place is probably just another dead end. I'll never save Adrien at this rate."

The voice came from further within, and Chat continued his dance across the beams and crumbling walls. Soon, the owner of the voice was below him. Her dark hair contrasted beautifully with her light clothing, and though he couldn't see her eyes, he remembered them. They were a brilliant blue, like the sky on a clear day.

A shiver of fear slipped down Chat's spine. It was irrational, he knew. But this girl had stood up to Hawkmoth without a second thought, and someone like that would be formidable no matter what their physical performance was.

And he knew she was an I.F. He knew she could see him. She was the perfect person to bring to Hawkmoth. But... more than him wanting to fulfill his Masters wishes he wanted to see her. To talk to her. He remembered her, how she protected her friend, how she glared at him when he hurt her.

How she had seemed sad when she looked at him.

He had so many questions. So many things to say. Seeing her was like seeing the embodiment of freedom. He must go to her, he must speak to her.

Without a second thought the cat leapt from his perch above her, a small smile painted on his lips as he heard her startled scream when he landed. The phone in her hand dropped to the ground, the screen showing that someone had been listening to her. As she stared in momentary shock, Chat leaned forward and ended the call.

"Hello Purr-incess," he purred, "Miss me?"

He had expected her to gasp, or at least flounder around a bit as she tried to process the situation. Instead, she stared, her eyes welling up with tears. Chat was taken aback, his excited demeanor immediately dropping into one of alarm. He wondered what it was about him that she seemed to react so strongly to. As he was pondering this, a fist appeared out of nowhere, hitting him right on the jaw. He bounced back, the sky above spinning momentarily.

"Ow, what was that for?!" He screeched, caressing his now pulsing face. Marinette, who was still crying, scowled.

"You don't do that to someone! I was— I— Ugh!" Marinette said, her eyes wide, "I just missed you so much, and I've been looking for you! And then you just drop out of the sky like some freaking comet and ask me if I missed you and oh I so wanna kill you right now—"

"Woah, woah," Chat backed a few steps away from the girl, "Can we go back to the part where you missed me? I'm flattered, Princess, but I don't know you."

This only seemed to anger the girl further. "Of course you don't know me! But that doesn't mean I don't know you, you stupid boy... or cat. Oh, I can't believe you're even here! What are you doing over here? Is this near Hawkmoth's hideout? I just—"

"Okay, I know this is paw-sivitely confusing," Chat interrupted, carefully holding her by the shoulders in what he hoped was a comforting gesture, "But please let me explain before you explode."

She looked away. "I'm sure that would actually be some nice entertainment for you. I... I heard of this boy found dead in the middle of the night. It was on the news. Was it an akuma? They couldn't find any clues as to who did it, and the police found him in a really strange condition. Please, do you know what happened to this... Luka guy?"

Chat recoiled, every word like a knife being stabbed into his heart. He couldn't escape his bad decisions. He couldn't forget, as much as he wished to. Luka's ghost haunted him everywhere he went, even around this girl.

As seconds passed the girl seemed more and more nervous. But he could tell that she was determined to be brave. Chat shook his head before deciding to answer truthfully. What good would lying do? It would only make him feel worse.

"Yes," he whispered, forcing himself to look in her wide eyes, "It was Hawkmoth. He sent me... He sent me to do something and I killed Luka along the way."

The words seemed cold even to him.

Silence. Then, with her entire body trembling slightly, the girl lifted her hands towards him. She seemed hesitant and broken.

"Adrien...," The girl said, her eyes storms of emotion, "What has he turned you into? How... How could I let this happen?"

While Chat stared, confused, the girl shook. Tears spilled from her eyes as she wrapped her arms around herself and crumbled to the ground. She wailed, the sound causing him to break from his stupor.

"It's all my fault. All my fault!"

"No...," he said, desperation laced into the word, "How is me being a monster your fault? And who is Adrien?"

The realization struck him just as the girl pounded the ground with shaking hands. She didn't seem afraid of him, yet she wasn't particularly fond of him either. She had said— She had said that he didn't know her but she knew him.

"I'm Adrien, aren't I?"

She stopped, her entire face red and wet. She glanced up at him, her face twisted into a fake smile.

"Yes. And I'm Marinette, your I.F. Don't you remember me, Handsome?"

Chat smiled back, though his heart broke.

"No."

Dude, I almost started crying while I wrote this. It's much more sad for me, because I can imagine it much more vividly than I can write it.

I hope this chapter conveyed enough emotion. If not, please tell me how I can improve. Thank you!