Red Strings And Markers

t w o

"Excuse me? Wait until my father hears about this!" Chloé crossed her arms and huffed, grabbing her purse and swinging it dramatically as she exited the classroom.

Professor Bustier then asked Alya to go find Marinette, to see if she was okay and Alya nodded, leaving the classroom.

Adrien remembers the day when Ladybug had sent Chat to protect the midnight black blue haired girl - Marinette was going to go on a date with the Evillustrator, who had been the akumatized Nathanaĕl.

She seemed like a very sweet and bubbly girl, whenever it came to being in the classroom with her, Chloé always bullied her. Usually, Marinette never let it get to her, as far as Adrien knew, but it looked like she was having a particularly hard day today.

After Professor Bustier had started class, Alya came back alone, looking upset. Alya said that she went all over the school and she didn't find her anywhere.

During lunch, Adrien, Nino and Alya were sitting at a lunch table, Alya holding her phone close to her ear as she tried to phone her best friend. After several phone calls and text messages with no response. Alya put her phone down on the table, sighing.

"Nothing?" Nino asked.

Alya shook her head. "Nothing. I'm worried about her Nino."

Nino rubbed her shoulders comfortingly. "Maybe we should go looking for her after school?" He suggested.

Alya nodded, looking over at Adrien. "Want to join?" Alya asked.

"I wish I could, but I have something to attend to." Adrien apologized.

In reality, he had nothing to attend to, he just wanted to transform into Chat Noir and it would be much easier trying to find her that way.

The school day passed and Alya hadn't received any response from Marinette. Towards the front of the school, Adrien, Alya and Nino were talking about their plans for the rest of the day.

"Nino and I are going to Marinette's house to see if she's home."

Adrien nodded. "Let me know if you find her." He wasn't that close to Marinette really, but he worried about her wellbeing. Ill feelings led to an akuma attack.

As soon as Adrien was able to get somewhere where there wasn't any people, he opened his satchel, finding Plagg pigging out on a wedge of camembert.

"It's interesting, to find you interested about someone that's not Ladybug." Plagg spoke, mostly teasingly but it struck a nerve on Adrien.

"Whatever." He rolled his eyes. "Plagg, transform me." Chat Noir ran his gloved hand through his hair, passing his hands over his ears as he pulled his baton out of belt loop. His baton extended him up above the buildings and he began to jump from building to building, towards the bakery that Marinette's parents owned.

Once there, he stopped by a nearby roof, finding Alya and Nino standing outside with Marinette's mother.

"No, Marinette isn't home... She called me to tell me that she was with you..." Her mother had a worried expression on her face as she looked towards the inside of the bakery, calling her husband. Alya and Nino exchanged some worried glances and said they would look for her.

"Marinette is missing?" Chat spoke, mostly to himself. He decided to scout the area, looking for the girl. He was jumping from building to building and as he passed the park, he noticed a familiar figure gently swinging the swing set.

Chat landed quietly behind the swing set and placed his hands on the chains of the swing she was sitting on, his hands just above hers. "Need a push princess?"

Marinette jumped out of swing and stumbled forward, tripping on her own feet as she tried to turn.

Quickly, Chat stepped forward and caught Marinette by wrapping his arm around her waist and bringing her flush against him.

"C-Chat."

"Careful princess. Wouldn't want you to get hurt." New tears stung at Marinette's eyes and she found herself hugging the boy.

Chat was surprised, but held her back, relief flushing through him as he was glad he found her.

"W-What are you doing here?" She stammered, pulling away from him.

"I was on patrol and I happened to pass by your house. I think I saw two of your friends asking if you were home and Mom said that you said you were with them." Chat made hand motions between Marinette and two imaginary figures.

She nodded slowly, remaining silent. He looked down at her, noticing that her eyes were still swollen and pink.

"Are you okay?" He asked softly, tucking some of her hair behind her ear.

Marinette couldn't reply, new tears streaming fresh down her cheeks. "I don't know anymore Chat." She said between sobs.

This caught Chat completely off guard and he had no idea what to do.

Marinette had no one else to vent to and she was glad she was able to even talk to him after what happened last night.

Chat took her hand and brought her to a nearby bench, where they were hidden from the public eye.

"What's the matter?" He asked her in a soft voice.

She brought her hands to her eyes, rubbing the tears away. "Everyone is finding their end to their rest string. My best friend found her other half. I-I'm happy for her, b-but... It just got to me last night. Slowly but surely, all my classmates are finding their ends and then there's me." She swiped her nose with her sleeve, giving out a small sardonic laugh. "It's funny. There's this girl who makes fun of me in class. She always says that I'm going to end up like a loner, crazy cat lady. Honestly... I'm starting to believe she's right."

Chloé. Adrien had been present when Chloé had bullied Marinette today, but he never knew that she said all these harsh things about her. It made him mad that she would say these sorts of things to such a nice girl like Marinette.

"That's not true at all." Chat reassured her as he put his arm around her shoulder. "I'm sure you're old enough to write a message to them."

"I've tried, but I get no response." Marinette lied, sniffling. "I probably am going to end up as a crazy cat lady." She said, her voice cracking as she started to cry again.

Chat gave a sigh and pulled her down, bringing her head down to rest in his lap. She looked up at him questionably, but he brought a finger to his lips.

"I don't usually do this, but will you listen to me as I rant?"