Amnesia [MARICHAT]

1

"Are you sure you're all settled in, honey?" Marinette's mother asked.

Honestly, it felt a bit odd to call the woman "mom," but she wasn't going to call her Sabine. She knew that would hurt her, and it felt just as strange. "Yeah, thanks."

"And you're ready to go to school tomorrow? Are you sure?"

"Yes." Marinette pulled the covers over her. "I don't know where I'm sitting or which classes I'm in, though..."

Sabine smiled. "Alya will show you. She's in all of your classes."

Marinette had met the girl just yesterday. Alya was trying not to cry - trying to act casual about the situation and not seem too overwhelming, but she knew the girl was seriously hurt. Her eyes were shining and her voice was shaking. Marinette detested disappointing everyone. 

She didn't remember anything. All of her childhood, her recent years - everything was gone. Her mother and father felt like strangers she may have passed on the street, her supposed best friend was someone she had never seen before - and Marinette  perceived each word out of their mouths as if it were greek. 

She liked to design? She didn't know. She had a crush on a model named Adrien? Never heard of him. She had noticed pictures of a blonde green eyed boy on the wall above the desk in her bedroom. She had to assume that was him by Alya's description. But why would she be in love with a model? They seemed to always be arrogant and not very kind. She almost couldn't believe herself. How naive. 

"Okay," was all she said. Her mother smiled, attempting to hide her grimace, but Marinette saw right through it. 

It made her feel terrible.

These people were only trying to help her. They payed for her medical bills, they were patient, they got her everything she needed without a single complaint - but she could see the weariness in their eyes.

"Goodnight, mom," she whispered as the room darkened and her trapdoor closed. 

Marinette spent fifteen minutes scrambling her brain for any crumb of a memory - and found none. She was empty. Her entire identity had been erased.

She had few injuries. The car hadn't hit her hard, but enough so that she had hit the ground and her head had taken a powerful blow. She had a concussion that was almost gone - she had been in the hospital for quite a while - and her right arm was in a cast. She had broken her wrist. Nothing hurt, really. Sometimes the large scar on her temple ached in acknowledgment, and every few minutes she found herself feeling that bald spot on her forehead where they had shaved her hair in order to operate. It was growing back enough that you could hardly tell it was ever there in the first place, and Marinette didn't really care if it looked weird. Or if she looked harsh with the scar and the expression she held almost all the time. She didn't mean to appear angry - but she most definitely felt that way. 

It sure as hell wasn't fair in the slightest. So, she gets hit by a car. It wasn't even that bad of an accident, and she loses her entire life? She has to start over now?

The doctors said that she had a fifty percent chance of regaining her memory. It was better if she stayed around people she was close to before the incident, and didn't go anywhere far from her home or school. 

Marinette sighed, burying her screwed up head into her pillows, and fell asleep, hoping to remember all that she had forgotten. 

-

"Wake up, honey. You have to get ready for school."

After completing her morning routine, which Sabine had kindly taken to writing down on a piece of paper for her, Marinette grabbed her pink backpack and pushed through the front door of the bakery her parents owned.

She thought that was pretty neat, to own a bakery. Sweets whenever she wanted!

Alya was waiting just outside, and she turned to Marinette when the door closed behind her. "Hey girl, are you ready? Just warning you - not everyone knows your situation, and it's going to be pretty overwhelming."

Marinette smiled. "I know. I spent all morning mentally preparing myself for this. I think I'll be fine, it just takes some getting used to."

Alya grinned back at her. Marinette decided this girl was pretty cool. "Awesome. I'll be with you the entire day. I sit next to you in class, too, so you don't have to worry about getting too close to people you don't know."

"Okay."

"I'll tell you about some of them on our way, of course," Alya said as she began walking in the direction of their high school. "Our friend Nino sits right in front of us next to Adrien. He loves music, and he's a DJ."

Marinette nodded her acknowledgement. 

"Adrien is Nino's best friend. And I know what you're thinking - no, Adrien is not a snotty rich brat."

Wow, she was good. Marinette tried and failed to hide her small laugh. It made Alya smile wider. 

"He's actually incredibly kind for a rich kid. His dad is your favorite designer, actually."

It felt strange to be told what you yourself was like and not recognize any of it.  

"You have - well, had, I guess - a crush on Adrien because he's so nice. Honestly, it kind of surprised me, too. He's a great person."

At least she wasn't naive. I can trust myself, Marinette thought. Everything I was is who I really am - because why would I be anyone else?

"He is cute," she mused, tapping her chin with one finger and taking great consideration into looking both ways before crossing the street. 

"Yeah, he's not bad- wait. How do you know what he looks like?" Alya blinked at her.

"There are pictures of him in my bedroom."

After a few seconds of silence, her friend burst into a fit of laughter. "Okay - maybe you should know." She covered her mouth to quiet herself.

Marinette's brows furrowed. "Know what?"

"You didn't just like Adrien. You were obsessed. Any further and you could have been considered a stalker."

It was Marinette's turn to laugh. "Me? A stalker? You can't be serious." How did a crush on a boy become so out of control? And herself of all people! She didn't feel like someone who would do something like that at all. 

"Well, we're here now. Ready to go inside?"

No. She was not.