Strings Of Fate

Part 2:Strings and Stares

Marinette wasn't the type to run.

But seeing Felix at school again? That made her want to sprint all the way to the bakery, lock herself in her room, and pretend she never existed.

She didn't. She sat through class. She breathed. She survived.
Barely.

Now school was over, and the hallway buzzed with voices and shuffling feet. Felix had already disappeared after the bell rang, like a shadow with a schedule. Adrien was chatting with Nino by the lockers, too distracted to notice the way Marinette moved like she had a ghost following her.

---

A Call from Comfort

Her phone buzzed.

> Luka
"Still want me to walk you home?"

Her thumbs hovered for a second before typing back.

> "Yes. Please."

Marinette stepped outside, slipping past Alya, who was busy telling someone how Felix looked like a vampire with expensive shoes.

Luka was already waiting by the gates, hands in his jacket pockets, leaning slightly like he always did  calm, gentle, safe.

And right now, she needed safe.

---

"You're Quiet."

He didn't ask anything right away. Luka never did. They started walking, the usual route down the tree-lined sidewalk, their shadows brushing the pavement like they had a rhythm all their own.

"You're quiet", Luka finally said.

Marinette forced a smile. "Just tired".

"Mm". He looked up at the sky. Tired or haunted?

She glanced at him sharply. He smiled faintly. You get this look when something's weighing on you. Like your thoughts are playing louder than the world.

Marinette paused. "...Felix transferred to our class".

Luka nodded once, slowly. "Adrien's cousin?"

"Yeah".

"And you don't like him", he said, more of a truth than a question.

She didn't reply right away. "No. I mean he just surprised me".

That was putting it lightly.

Luka didn't press. He just walked with her, humming a soft tune under his breath. She could recognize the note's  a song he once played when she couldn't stop crying after a rough patrol as Ladybug. Shed told him she was just upset over school.

He hadn't believed her, but he didn't say anything then either.

A Glance from the Shadows

At the corner of Rue Chevalier, a sleek black car was parked.

Felix sat inside.

Not hidden, not obvious either  like he just happened to be there. His eyes followed them through the tinted window, his chin resting against the edge of his knuckles.

Marinette didn't see him. But Luka did.

His arm shifted ever so slightly closer to her.

Inside the car, Felix's lips twitched  not quite a frown, not quite a smile.

---

Meanwhile, at the Agreste Mansion

Adrien opened the piano lid, playing a few quiet notes as he waited for dinner.

"You seem happier", Nathalie said as she passed with a tray.

Adrien smiled. "Felix is back. I missed having him around".

Nathalie raised an eyebrow. "Thats new".

Adrien shrugged. "He wasn't so bad today. I think hes trying. Maybe we can really get along this time".

He played a few more notes.

But in the back of his mind, he remembered the look Marinette gave Felix in class tight, unreadable.

He wasn't sure what it meant.

But it wasn't nothing.

---

Later That Night

Marinette lay in bed, staring at her ceiling.

That stupid video message still haunted her.

Felix, wearing Adrien's face, saying "I love you" to Ladybug with a voice that wasn't his.
She remembered every syllable. Every lie. Every beat of hope that had bloomed, then burned.

And now he was back.

Not sorry. Not exposed. Just walking around, smirking like nothing happened.

She closed her eyes tightly, her hands clenching the blanket.

She hated him.

She hated the way he made her feel.

And worst of all?

She hated that a part of her a very tiny, very stupid part  wanted to know if he remembered that moment too.

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