Dearest Chat Noir..(Complete) #MLWattysAwards

Adieu Akuma

"Marinette.... Marinette, wake up!"

Marinette's eyes shot open, as she looked over at Alya. The brown haired girl was shaking her, to wake her up.

"Girl, you fell asleep! You almost landed face down in your plate!" She exclaimed, pointing at the plate of food in front of her. Marinette looked down at her untouched plate of mashed potatoes with macaroni and cheese. Taking a deep breath, she sat up straight, picking up the fork in her hands. Her fingers were shaking, and her hand was numb, like she hadn't held anything in forever. Gritting her teeth, she began to eat again, her movements slow. The two girls were at Marinette's house, in the kitchen. They'd been sitting at the table eating, as Alya explained the events of yesterday to her friend.

"As I was saying, Lady Misfortune hasn't caused an attack in three days! The Parisians have been grateful, but are anxious that she could be planning something huge! Or, she'll attack us when we least expect it!" Marinette smiled slightly, laughing to herself. It was true, she hadn't caused an attack in a while, but that was only because she was experiencing memories of her and Chat. Every time she transformed and got ready to go cause chaos, a memory would flash through her mind of her and Chat, either talking, flirting, or just being around each other. And each time, Lady Misfortune would give up and go home. The same memories happened to Marinette, of her and Adrien. The time at the park, when they were at Jagged Stone's concert, during the filming where he almost kissed her.. And each time, Marinette would also frown, and stay silent for a while. Tikki and Plagg avoided her, and constantly seemed to be plotting something. She also hadn't received word from Hawkmoth in a while either. Sometimes, when Marinette was in her room, she would take Adrien's ring and examine it in her fingers, the cold metal making her skin tingle. She had been feeling, normal again. And she was confused. She didn't want to feel this way! Or did she? She finally made Chloe scared of her! But, what was the point, without Adrien? Sighing and coming back to the present, Mari took a few bites of her food and pushed it away.

"I'm not hungry anymore." Alya sighed. She placed a hand on her friend's shoulder, causing the girl's eyes to instantly flick over to her, startled and looking like she was about to initiate a fight - or - flight reflex. Alya hoped it wasn't going to be fight. After seeing it was just Alya, Marinette's eyes closed halfway once more and looked down at the table. After a while, the two headed up to Mari's room to play video games. While Mari was looking for a game, Alya noticed something about her friend. The ribbon that Marinette always kept in her hair; whether it was let down or in pigtails, glowed with a purple light for a split second. Alya grew curious. But she said nothing to Marinette. After pondering a bit, she came up with an idea.

"Hey Mari! We should have a slumber party! It's been so long since we've had one, and I think that it would cheer you right up!" Alya beamed. Marinette looked over at her friend, her blue eyes containing a skeptical look in them for 1/4th of a second. Then she turned back to finding a game and shrugged.

"Sure, fine with me." She muttered. Alya smiled.

"I'll go tell your mom, then text my mom, Kay?" She exclaimed, before jumping through the hatch and hopping down the stairs. As Alya went searching for Mrs. Dupain-Cheng, she furrowed her brows in thought.

"That ribbon definitely holds an Akuma. No wonder Mari has been acting so weird! If I can get the ribbon from her, maybe I can destroy it and get her back to normal! But then, how will I purify it?" She mumbled under her breath.

"I can do it."

Alya jumped at the sudden voice, her brown eyes scanning the room.

"Who said that? Who's there?" She called, her body tensing up. Tikki flew out from somewhere, landing in front of Alya's face. Alya was about to scream, but Tikki stopped her.