Miraculous Story

Part 23

Adrien didn't sleep that night. He couldn't stop thinking about Marinette and about what Plagg had said to him. It didn't make sense. If she was still in love with him, then why did she end their relationship? No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't figure out what was going on. All he knew was that he needed to be with Marinette. He needed to be near her, to feel her hands wrap around him as they kissed, to hear the laughter escape from her beautiful lips.

As dawn broke, he turned his alarm off and got ready. At breakfast, Nathalie went over his schedule like usual. She didn't mention the incident from the prior evening. Adrien would normally feel relieved that he wasn't getting punished, but he didn't care at that moment. The only thing he cared about was fixing the situation with Marinette.

When he got to school, he hurried into the courtyard. Marinette was there, talking with Alya and Nino. Silence fell over the group as he reached them.

"Hi Marinette," Adrien said, stopping next to her.

"Hi Adrien," she replied, not looking at him.

"How... how's your mother?" he asked.

"Oh, she's fine now. Thank you for asking."

There was an awkward silence. After a minute, Adrien spoke again. "Marinette, I was hoping that we could talk in private."

She finally looked up at him. "I... don't think that's a good idea."

"Please Marinette, I just want to talk."

Marinette glanced over at Alya before nodding her head. "Okay."

"We're going to get to class. We'll see you two there," Alya said, leading Nino away.

Once they were alone, Marinette looked down again.

"I'm so sorry, Marinette," Adrien said. He moved closer to her and put his hand up to her cheek. "Whatever I did that made you upset, I'm sorry. I love you so much. Please forgive me."

Tears filled her eyes as she looked up at him. "No, Adrien," she said. "You didn't do anything wrong. It... it's not that."

"Then what is it?" he asked.

"I already told you," she said at a whisper. "We're just not meant for each other."

Adrien shook his head. "No, that's not true. I love you, Marinette. And I know you love me. Please, tell me what's wrong. Tell me so that we can fix it."

Marinette stared into his eyes. "Adrien, I... I'm sorry. We, we just can't be together anymore."

"Why not?" he asked desperately.

A tear fell down her face. "I'm sorry." She stepped back and hurried off towards the classroom.

************************************

It seemed like everyone at school had heard about Marinette and Adrien's break-up. Most of their friends were saddened to hear the news. Lila and Chloe, however, were delighted. Lila made sure to flirt with Adrien every chance that she got. Chloe pawed at him all day. They made Adrien feel even worse than he was already feeling.

He tried to speak with Marinette again multiple times, but she was always with Alya. He was incredibly disappointed when he saw her leave for her house at the end of the day.

The week went by slowly. With Plagg gone and no late night visits from Marinette, Adrien was miserable when he was at home. He was much happier during school. At least he was near the girl that he loved so much. Day after day he tried to talk with her, and every time he got nowhere.