Red And Black [AU] - ON HIATUS

Breaking Walls

Camyla's POV

I gaped at the sight, it was surreal. The gears in my head clicked and overflowed with new possibilities, new tactics to the very answer I had searched endlessly for; it overwhelmed me.

He knows her...my own brother knows my patient....

One by one, the rest of the gears twisted and the pieces fit in the most unexpected places ever. But as possible answers arose, so did a mother load of questions. My brother knew her, that I was sure of but what did he know her as? Who was she to him?

I realized that the possibilities were limited since she's lived in Paris her whole life and he'd moved at the age of six. The only possibility was that she was someone from his school, taking into account that he had no friends outside of school except for Chloe.

"What do you want?" Marinette suddenly spoke, pain tinted her voice but also venom. Adrien for the first time ever was dumbfounded and at a loss for words; and so was I. She'd finally took down her walls just to bring them back up the next moment. But that was enough. Enough for me to know that there were in fact walls she was hiding behind, trying to isolate herself from the rest of the world. And she thought she found solace but was in fact nothing but an illusion of purpose. That wasn't her purpose; it couldn't be.

"I...I-I" I could tell that my brother was mentally going through his archive of words but still didn't manage to get them out. Marinette's lower lip quivered slightly and sadness glinted through her eyes, but it was faded and distant. She looked down as an attempt to hide it and when their eyes locked once again; the cold facade was back on. She didn't show any signs of anger and all the hints of sorrow had vanished from her expression completely; she was emotionless, at least for now. With her walls firmly separating her and the outside world, she spoke.

"Speechless? The last time I saw you, you couldn't shut up,"Her eyelids lowered and she plastered an unimpressed expression, which was common.

"It's...y-you....." His tone said it all, it felt surreal. He was probably thinking of slapping himself and jumping out the window just to make sure that it was in fact not just his overactive imagination.

Marinette jerked forward as if she was trying to shake of any remains of emotion and humanity. It was odd. Every single word my brother said seemed to touch a nerve; they must have known each other well; but who was she? I still couldn't put a finger on it. Adrien would come home everyday and ramble on about everything, but even with all that he told me; I remembered nothing of the name Marinette. But just in case I missed a detail or mention of her name, I replayed the memories from my mind. I couldn't have forgotten it if he said it, it was only two years ago and I have been praised with a good memory. Plus, I still remember Chloe pretty clearly. Her attitude, her wardrobe, everything.

"Why are you here?" She asked coldly.

"Mari..."

Wait, what?

My world stopped spinning right there, I couldn't believe it. Mari. Adrien would come home everyday happy and talk endlessly about her...Marinette Dupain-Cheng. But he would always, always use the nickname he gave her, Mari. They went way back. They were inseparable best friends. He knew her well, probably much better than her parents did. That gave me hope. Hope that there actually is a way to fix this broken, torn apart and put back together teenage girl. People always say 'If you want to fix the problem, you must know the source', and I may not yet know what that source is but now at least there's new hope. A new angle. A new key to unlocking the twisted workings of her mind, which is unfortunately my dorky brother.

"Why are you here?" Her tone was much more demanding than before.

"I....I-I don't really know.."

"Well, I would much like it if you leave," She spat.

"W-why?" He finally regained his ability to speak, horay.

"Do you need a reason for everything? You didn't give me a good one when you left,"

He...left?

"I-I'm sorry, Mari-"

"Don't give me that. Just get out," Her voice was harsh. She looked uncomfortable and I could tell that adrenaline was rushing through her and I knew then why she wanted us out. She didn't want us to see her get mad, she didn't want to show emotion, she didn't want to be human; just a walking, talking, living, breathing killing machine.

"Listen, Mari-"

"Don't call me that, get out,"

"I...I-"

"You what? Are a complete fool? You're stammering so much you might as well be," She shot back, venom in her voice.

"Okay, okay. Alright, calm down everyone," I interjected, this was going to get out of hand pretty soon. Slowly, I walked over to Adrien and whispered "You should go wait outside. I'll meet you there in a while, okay?" He simply nodded, probably not wanting to cause any trouble or make Marinette much more uncomfortable than she already is.

He stole a last glance at the bluenette before leaving the cell. The echo of the closing metal door filled the room accompanied by complete and utter silence. Throughout the rest of the session, Marinette was silent; which was rare. She usually tried to intimidate, threaten or just might slightly be interested enough to answer some of my many questions. She faced the window and designated herself, ignoring me entirely.

I still tried to reach her, talk to her. But she was so distant and cold, it reminded me of my father and that just threw me back into the everlasting pit of darkness spiraling deeper into the abyss. Blinking ferociously to stop the tears from spilling, I checked my watch, and luckily the session was over. I needed to break down my walls too. I got up after taking a sharp breath to put myself at ease.

"Well, have a good night, Miss Dupain-Cheng,"

"Who is he?" She suddenly spoke, startling me a little.

"I thought you knew who he was,"

"Yes, I do. What I meant was, who is he to you?," She pressed on the 'you' like I was some child that understood nothing.

I said nothing and made my way to the door, I paused as I reached for the handle. "He's my brother," And with that, I took my leave. I didn't want to see her reaction because I respected her privacy and if privacy means letting her bring down her walls and show emotion in peace, then so be it. I closed the door and found Adrien on a metal bench in the corridor, his head in his hands.

"Hey," I greeted. He didn't answer. "You okay?"

"I can't believe it was actually her," he muttered.

"Who is she? I don't really understand," I actually did but I just wanted to confirm it and hear the full story, if he'll be kind enough to share it with me.

"Marinette....." He sighed "I'll tell you at home or wherever it is I'm staying,"

"Okay, do you want to go now?" He nodded and got up, all this waiting in a hall with a wall separating him and one of the people he missed the most was surely agonizing. A wall. A thick metal wall that prevented him from taking even the slightest glance at her. But if I know Adrien well, which I do since he is my brother; these walls won't be enough to hold him back. It couldn't even stop Marinette from breaking out, the thought still makes me shudder. After all, walls were only made to be broken eventually.