For You

Chapter Twenty

As she put her cellphone back in her pocket, her lips formed the outline of a sad smile. Adrien had unfortunately missed all of her calls, which in turn caused Marinette's emotional state to crash.

She would try again later, but right now she needed to try and focus on her homework.

The blue-eyed girl took in a deep breath before opening the front door of the Dupain Cheng bakery. She quickly wiped the final remnants of her tears away before anyone could see.

She didn't want to bother her parents with all of her unnecessary problems, because they already had enough to worry about as it is.

She quickly faked a smile and kissed her father's cheek before reaching for a freshly baked cinnamon roll.

"Marinette, dear... How was your day?" Her father kindly greeted his daughter while placing a tray of chocolate chip cookies into the oven.

Without looking at him, she slightly nodded her head before slowly pacing towards the staircase.

"Hi Papa... It was... fine..."

Tom frowned at her response, "Are you sure?"

The teenager turned around slightly before giving him a reassuring smile, "It was fine, honest. I just have a lot of homework to do..."

Her father knew something was bothering her, but before he even got the chance to reply, she was already gone.

Once at the top of the staircase, the disheartened teen took a bite of the snack as she forcefully opened her trapdoor. Once inside, she slowly walked over to her desk, took her bag off of her back before placing it on the floor.

When the weight was lifted, Marinette felt a little relieved. She was alone, meaning that she was finally free to express her emotions without having to feel judged.

As time passed, Marinette's emotional state only seemed to worsen. A trail of transparent tears streamed down her pale cheeks as she tried to not think about Adrien too much.

It felt like forever, but her meltdown eventually subsided. As she wiped the tears away, the bluenette raised her head before subconsciously glancing at some of the pictures that where hanging on the wall.

She half smiled, half frowned when her sad eyes fell on a picture of Adrien. Her heart skipped a beat when vivid memories of that particular day instantly flooded her mind.

They had both gone with Alya and Nino to get some of André's sweethearts ice-cream. Marinette had only agreed to join them because Adrien didn't want to be the third wheel. She was a little reluctant at first, but after contemplating her options, she felt obliged to accept the invitation.

"Oh, Adrien..." She frowned while placing a hand on the image, "When are you-"

A strange, squeaky sound suddenly caught her off guard. She swallowed hard as her eyes instantly widened as fear began to consume her entire body.

Without turning her back, her hand nervously reached for the maths textbook that was laying on the table. With her heart still beating fast and her mind racing with all sorts of uncertainty, she quickly pulled the book towards her chest before cautiously turning around.

The blue-eyed girl examined every corner of her bedroom, but to her surprise, everything appeared to be normal. She frowned in confusion, but nevertheless seemed to relax a little. But just before she was about to let it go, she heard the noise again.

Marinette was immediately hit by a wave of unrelenting distress. She didn't know what to do, and it felt as if her feet were completely cemented to the floor. Her face was pale and her body was tense.