All The Bright Places

Warnings

Everything was bright. As Adrien's eyes adjusted, a girl in the distance caught his eye. All he could make out was her dark hair and the dark red outfit she had on. "Hello?" He called out for her, but she never turned around. "Hey! Wait!" The closer Adrien tried to get, the further off she seemed. And then, she stopped. Adrien halted in his tracks as he watched her drop her arm to her side as a dark red substance pooled beneath her feet. Then he realized her outfit wasn't supposed to be red. It was blood stains. She turned to face him, but everything was still a bit blurry. He still couldn't clearly make out who she was. Her voice was as quiet as death itself when she called his name.

"Adrien..."

"Adrien.."

"Adrien"

Adrien slowly awoke to Nathalie standing at his door, calling his name. "Adrien, your alarm has been going off for an hour straight. You're late for school." And with that, she turned and left. Adrien glanced over to his phone and hit the stop button before laying his head back down on the pillow. It was a dream, but it felt so real. He wondered if it was supposed to mean anything.

He quickly got dressed and went downstairs, heading straight to the door and skipping breakfast. He was still a little shaken up from the dream and tried his best to shake it off. He looked forward to going to school today, not only was he able to get out of his home, but he also looked forward to seeing his friends. He knew if he could make Marinette smile today, his worries would be merely nonexistent.

But when he got to class, he waited and waited. It was normal for her to be late but... not this late. Had she slept in? Maybe she was sick. He laid his head down, listening to Mrs. Bustier's lesson. Since he was one of the top students, never got in trouble, and always paid attention, she decided to let him have his rest. After all, she knew how busy his life was outside of the classroom. Eventually, the darkness took over and he drifted off into a sleep.

She was there again. The same girl. A few strands of her dark hair blew in the wind as she called his name.

"Adrien! Please! I need you..."

She repeated those words over as Adrien tried to run to her once again. Yet, it seemed as if she got further and further away with each step he took. He looked up at the sky as a loud and muffled ringing noise filled the air and space around him. The sky turned dark and when he turned back, she was gone.

Ring.

Riiing.

Riiiiiiing.

The bell. Class was over. He slowly stood up and took the notes, stuffing them into his backpack. Adrien couldn't stop thinking about the dream no matter how hard he tried not to. The same questions lingered in his head. Did it mean something? This was the second time.

"You good, dude? You never sleep in class." Nino rested his hand on his friend's shoulder as they walked down the hallway. "I'm good, just worried about Marinette. She's always late but never misses school unless she's sick. Do you think she's okay?" Nino nodded and held his phone up. "She told Alya she had a cold."

"Oh. That's not good. I hope she starts feeling better." Adrien gripped the strap of his bag. "Yep. Me too. Being sick sucks!" Nino added, as he slid his headphones around his neck. Adrien made a mental note to visit Marinette again tonight. He had to see if she was okay because that's what friends do, right? It would also help him clear his head from the dreams he was having.

"I'll see you later, Nino! I have fencing practice today so I have to leave early." He waved at his friend as he hurried to the car that awaited for him. Nino waved back and then went to meet up with his girlfriend for lunch.

The blonde stared out of his window as the car made it's way down a few blocks. When it pulled up to the front of the building, he grabbed his bag and thanked the driver. "You don't have fencing practice today, do you?" The small black kwami hovered over his holder's shoulder. "Nope but they didn't know that. I asked Nathalie if I could eat lunch with my friends again and she said yes but I think I'll visit a friend instead."

Plagg shook his head. "What lame excuse are you going to make up this time? Is it going to be your cat senses again that you don't even have?" Adrien chuckled. "Maybe. She doesn't know that I don't. It seems believable, right?" Plagg shook his head once again. "Marinette isn't dumb. You know, I worry about you sometimes."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Adrien swatted his hand at the creature as Plagg took cover in Adrien's pocket, laughing along the way. Out of all of Plagg's past holders, he had to admit, Adrien was indeed his favorite but maybe not the brightest.

Just before Adrien could transform, his phone rang. Nathalie's name appeared across the screen. He sighed and accepted the call, holding it to his ear. "Hello?" He heard Nathalie clear her throat as she began to talk. "Adrien, your father has requested you to eat lunch at home today. I'm sorry for the trouble, he changed his mind. I will have a car pick you up in ten minutes."

And with that, the line went dead. He frowned as he trudged back towards the school on foot since the driver had already left. "I guess I'll visit Marinette later tonight." Plagg poked his head out with a smirk. "I guess you will."