Bye Bye Little Butterfly

4

The day seemed to pass by slower than usual. Maybe because of boredom? I don't know. I was walking out of class when I felt a hand grab my arm to stop me. I turned around and saw Adrien's emerald green eyes staring into mind.
"Adrien?" I asked in a whisper. I watched Alya and Nino stand in the doorway, watching our actions.
"Marinette. I-uh... sorry. Um..."
"It's okay Adrien," I said with a smile as he released my arm. I knew how difficult it was to talk to me. Not being arrogant but if our lives switched, he is finding it difficult to talk to me like I did in my reality. Not that this is new for him. He's from this reality.
"I was um... wondering... what to uh wear," he said with a stammer. I frowned and chuckled.
"What do you mean?" I asked, blushing a sligh crimson.
"Well, Aaaalya and I and N-Nino are attending y-your gala," he said with a stammer. He seemed quite confused at the stammer but I shrugged it off.
"Oh. I don't know much about it," I said with a sigh.
"What do you mean?" he asked, seeming more confident.
"I guess wear something fancy," I suggested.
"Okay."

He eyed me suspiciously as I walked away and I could feel his eyes follow me. I tried to not turn around and look at him with all my courage. As I got in the car, we drove back to my house.

"The gala begins in 3 hours," said Natalie.
"Understood."

I rushed into my room and threw my bag onto my bed.
"Plagg! Claws out!" I announced. I let the green light surround me before making me LadyNoir. I have to admit, it felt good to have the pressure of being the guardian lifted off of my shoulders. I made my way to the Eiffel Tower and looked up at the clouds.
"Seems we had the same idea."

I looked up and saw MisterBug sit next to me.
"What are you doing here?" I asked awkwardly.
"Did Tikki tell you that I still have my normal life?" he asked.
"Yes..." I said with a nod. "Why?"
"No reason. It's just what I do to escape everything," he said, looking among Paris.
"I know you're lying," I said with a smile. "But I'm not going to push you to tell me the truth."
"Thank you m'lady," he said with a genuine smile.
"So, hows your new life going?" I asked.
"Amazing. I have a happy family and we're attending a party later," he said with a happy sigh.
"That's not your usual life?" I asked.
"I thought you wanted our identities to remain a secret?" he said with a raised eyebrow.
"Cat instincts. Stupid you and your curiosity," I said, laying flat on my stomach and resting my chin on my hands.
"Well, if you must know. Back home, my family was not happy. We used to be but not anymore," he said with a sigh.
"Why are you telling me this?" I asked. "I thought you wanted it a secret."
"I'm just enjoying the peaceful moments with the girl I love," he said with a smile.

I smiled back at him and sat up. I rested my head on his shoulder.
"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked. I hummed in response.
"Which life?" I asked.
"The previous one. I'm pretty sure I'll be feelin it soon until Conspiracor shows up," he said with a smile.
"In a minute. Let me enjoy this," I mumbled. He nodded and I closed my eyes.

I have only ever done this once.
"Hey bugaboo. So what was that sudden call for?" he asked, looking at me with a smile. He was expecting an emergency but continued to show me positivity. I sat down beside him and looked at him with utter happiness in my heart.
"I did it," I said with a content sigh before letting my head rest on his shoulder.
"I have no idea what you're talking about but I am perfectly fine wit it," he said. I didn't know if he was smiling or not because I had my eyes closed, but I knew he enjoyed this moment as much as I did because he didn't say a single pun.

I smiled at the memory.
"So, wanna talk about it now?" he asked.
"Yes please," I whispered. I sat up straight and looked at him. "You're a guardian now."
"What!" he cried, looking at me with a broken heart. "But I'm not qualified! Only you are!"
"But in this reality, you are. If I can play piano, you can be a guardian. Just be extra cautious," I said with a small smile.
"That wasn't what we agreed to talk about," he said, rolling his eyes.
"Right. I'm getting to that," I said with a frown.

I took a deep breath in and let it leave my lips. "Being the guardian was hard. I was already struggling to manage my life as Ladybug but then becoming the guardian was harder. I have to hide the miraculous from my parents in my closet. I have to hide it somewhere else when my friends come over. I have to make sure I don't screw up when picking people to have miraculous. I have to be cautious when leaving my own home. And I can't tell anyone about it. I have to bottle my emotions in and it's impossible! No one can know. I feel like I'm drifting from my friends. That's why I snapped yesterday. I had a 3000 word essay due in a couple days after and I hadn't started. And it counted for 25% of my grade!" I explained, tearing up halfway through.

MisterBug listened intently and once I was finished, wrapped his arms around me in a protective hug.
"M'lady..."
"Thank you for listening Chaton," I whispered.
"From now on, call me. If you need someone to talk to. I may be the only one you can trust about all of this," he begged. "Promise me that. Because I will always drop everything for you."

It felt like my heart stopped beating at that moment.
"I promise."