A Little Bit of Bad Luck

Prologue: The Spark

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The rain battered above as Marinette fiddled with the mysterious box in her pocket. What did the strange, red marking on the top mean? Did someone lose it or was she meant to find it? The wind picked up, misting her with rain as she stood under the overhang outside her school, Lycée Carnot de Dijon. She had just attended her first day of 10th grade.

She tried to let the sound of rain clear her mind, but it was already clouded. 

"Marinette," Félix's voice brought her back down to Earth.

She met his serious eyes as he offered her a red umbrella with an outstretched hand. He turned away from her gaze as if he was ashamed to show someone kindness. The rain soaked the part of his sleeve stuck out from under his black umbrella.

She thought it was ironic that the cold, distant, usually-wearing-neutral-colors boy owned this cheerful umbrella. She wanted to tease him, but something stopped her.

Maybe he isn't so bad after all? He was from the prestigious Agreste family and barely made an effort to talk to anyone in class, so she assumed he was stuck up like Chloé.

She reached her hand out to accept the offer. Their fingertips brushed together.

Her chest tingled.

"A-ah! Thank you, Félix," she sputtered and snatched the umbrella as her face burned.

"Mhm," he replied flatly before vanishing into the black car driven by a gorilla of a man.

She could still feel her heartbeat pounding long after the car vanished from her sight. Hopefully it doesn't kill him to be kind, she chuckled to herself. She wouldn't admit it at the time, but that moment was the spark that ignited the slow burn in her heart.

The exchange had also provided a distraction from the question she didn't know if she wanted an answer to.

What would happen when she opened the box?

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Félix shut his bedroom door softly. His room was enormous, with a second level on the right filled with shelved books, and the wall ahead consisting only of large windows. He had grey walls, grey bedsheets, and grey carpet. His outfit was a dark grey vest over a grey long-sleeve button-up with black pants and shoes. Grey was even and dependable to him. Black wasn't so bad either.

He didn't need anything else in the world but books. Books never disappointed him, or vanished from his life without a trace, taking a piece of his heart along with them.

He had noticed Marinette staring at the ground under the small overhang that did little to protect her from the heavy downpour. He didn't know why he felt compelled to give her his extra umbrella. It was his mother's, nonetheless. He only carried it around as a memento. Maybe he wanted the memories it contained far away. It was just one more reminder that he was all alone and destined to be that way forever.

Suddenly, he noticed a small box placed neatly on his bed. His eyes darted around the room. He didn't see anything else out of place. The box had a dark wood finish and a strange red marking carved into the top. He slowly opened it. A black ring in the shape of a cat with jade eyes and a ruby gem in the center of its forehead sat perfectly on red velvet. How gaudy, he thought.

A bright purple flash filled his room and something black started buzzing around him. He opened his mouth to let out a yelp but a small black paw pressed against his lips.