Amnesia [MARICHAT]

2

The building was large, with a staircase leading up to the front doors. Students were already streaming inside. "Okay," Marinette breathed to herself. "I can do this."

Alya gave her a slightly worried look, but began walking forward. Marinette followed, trying to breathe slowly and deeply. People smiled at her, and she smiled back, but they were strangers all the same. 

"Hey Alya, Marinette!" A voice called. The girls spun around and Marinette saw a dark-skinned boy with a red hat running up to them. "What's up? Did you study for the test today?"

No. She hadn't. 

Alya again gave Marinette that worried glance. "Um, Nino... You remember how Marinette was in that accident?"

Marinette bit her lip, her head bowing a little bit as she looked at her feet.

"Yeah. You're okay, right?" He directed at her. She didn't answer. She heard Alya speak again. 

"Actually, she hit her head pretty hard...and her memory is gone." She could feel Alya wince next to her. Marinette looked up at Nino.

He was wide-eyed at her, gaping like a fish. "Seriously?"

Marinette nodded. "I'm sorry I don't remember you..."

"Don't be! Dude, it isn't your fault! I'm sorry you have to go through this," he said, holding his hands out in front of him. 

She was a little surprised, to say the least. She was afraid everyone would react differently - especially people who were her close friends. "T-thanks," she stammered, blinking. "Alya told me about you. I hope we can still be friends."

He grinned. "Always, Mari. But all of your memory is gone? You don't remember anything?"

She shook her head, looking down again. 

"Mrs. Bustier already knows," Alya informed the two as they began to walk inside. "I'm sure she'll say something to the class. You've been out for a few weeks so they're sure to ask questions. But you'll be fine, girl. I believe in you."

"Me, too," Nino said from the girl's other side. "You're really strong, Marinette."

She smiled, genuinely. These two made her feel strong, too. "I really appreciate it, you guys."

She followed them down a hallway and into their classroom. She lead her to the second row of seats, and her friend sat beside her, Nino sitting in front of Alya. An orange-haired woman walked towards them.

"Hello, Marinette. I'm Mrs. Bustier, your teacher. I'm so sorry about what happened to you."

"Thanks, um... There's a test today?"

Mrs. Bustier nodded. "Yes, though I'll have you working on make-up work until you catch up with the class. You'll be skipping most of the assignments - just the basic necessities."

"Okay."

"I'll let the class know your situation, so you don't get asked too many questions, okay?"

"Thank you." Though she wasn't sure if that was what she wanted. 

Alya passed her a stack of papers and told her it was some of the homework she had to do. Marinette sighed. She flipped through it, noting what she remembered and what she needed to learn. The class filed in all the while, each of them saying something along the lines of, "I'm glad you're okay, Marinette."  She smiled at each of them, hoping to hide the fact that she had no clue who they were. 

Then, just as the bell rang, a blonde boy with startling green eyes ran in, panting, and sat down next to Nino - just in front of her. She stared at him for a moment. This was Adrien. He turned around to look at her and smiled. "Hey Marinette. How are you feeling?"

"Um, fine. Thanks."

He nodded and turned to Alya, who was watching the exchange with narrowed eyes. "How come you haven't posted anything on the Ladyblog lately?"

Alya shrugged. "The last time there was an akuma attack, Chat Noir was alone. Nobody knows where Ladybug went."

"Who?" Marinette asked.

Adrien cocked his head, obviously confused at her lack of knowledge. Alya quickly explained the situation to him. "So she doesn't remember anything at all."

Adrien stood up so fast she was afraid he was going to fall. "I'm so sorry, Marinette. My name's Adrien Agreste." He thrust out his hand at her almost panicked-like. 

She took it over her desk and they shook hands. "It's okay," she laughed. "Alya already told me about you, so you don't need to introduce yourself, though I appreciate it."

He scratched the back of his head and squeezed her hand one last time before sitting back down. "All good things, I hope," he smiled sheepishly. 

He really was incredibly kind, Marinette noticed. "Of course. I heard I even have a crush - mmph!" Alya slammed a hand down on Marinette's mouth.

"Don't tell him that," she hissed. "Are you insane?"

Nino was trying hard not to laugh, but failed. "Close call," he said.

"What?" Adrien asked, looking between the three of them. 

Marinette pried Alya's hand off of her face. "Nothing. Never mind," she said.

"Okay," the boy said slowly. 

Mrs. Bustier called for the class to quiet down, and Marinette glanced over at Alya to see the girl grinning to herself, shaking her head and muttering, "I can't believe she almost did that." 

She didn't see what the big deal was. It wasn't like she had a crush on him anymore - she didn't even know him! Who cared if he knew? She might never like him the same again.

That thought made her strangely sad. She realized she might never look at anyone she had known the same way as she had before - even if she got her memory back. 

Marinette was beginning to see the downfalls of her memory loss more than ever - and it killed her. 

She tuned back into reality when the class shouted a collective "WHAT?" 

Everyone was looking at her with some shred of pity, and it pissed her off.

So when a blonde girl in the front row sneered and said, "Ooh, little miss Marinette can't remember how horrible she is? How lucky for her," Marinette snapped. 

She stood up, walked down the aisle, and slapped the girl across the face.