All The Bright Places

Hazy Shade Of Winter

(Unedited)

Marinette's POV

Luka pulled me off of the stage after our song and smiled down at me, holding my hand tightly.
"You were great!"
"T-Thanks..." I returned the smile until I saw Adrien walking from the small bridge that connected the boat from land. He seemed sad?

My heart started to pound and I pulled away from Luka's grip.
"I-I'm really sorry guys but I have to go..."

I turned back to look at him again, trying to hurry before he got out of sight. Luka frowned and nodded.
"Well, it was very nice to see you. I hope you come visit because I'd love to see you more often."

"I-I'll try!" I gave Alya and Nino a small wave as I rushed to catch up with him.

I didn't even know what I was going to say, I just felt like something was telling me I needed to talk to him.
I seemed to walk faster with every step I took until I was practically running to him.

"A-Adrien!" My voice was shaky as I called out his name. He turned around, looking at me confused.

When I finally caught up to him, I could barely breathe. The cold air seemed to sting my lungs and my heart pounded even harder than before.
"Adrien, I..." I stood in front of him, looking into his emerald green eyes not knowing what to say.

"Marinette, is something wrong?"
I shook my head, 'no' and tried to regain myself.

"Adrien, do you have a minute? I was hoping I could... talk to you about something?"
I was surprised that I wasn't stuttering. Maybe I actually was losing feelings for him after all.

"Of course, want to sit at the park?" He pointed to the empty park as I nodded.

He gave me a smile, glancing behind me before turning to walk again. I followed behind him closely but turned around only to see Luka watching us. I turned back, realizing he was a lot further ahead now so I jogged until I reached him again.

We sat down on a bench, under a giant tree. I put my hands in my lap, folding them together nervously. I knew I had to talk to him about something, but I didn't know what it was.

"Are you cold?" He broke the silence.

"A little but, I'm okay."

"Here, take my jacket." He smiled, taking it off of his shoulders.

"No! You keep it, you'll get cold!"

"I'll be fine." He put it around me and pulled it together in the front as I put my arms through and he zipped it up to my chin. I could feel my face heating up as the sweet smell of cologne hit my face. It was so big on me.
Now I remember why I fell in love with him.
He was so sweet and nice.

"You wanted to talk to me about something?"

"Oh, right. I actually... forgot what I was going to say..." My voice trailed off. I couldn't think of anything to say so maybe he believed that.

"That's okay, there was actually something I'd been meaning to ask you."

"Oh?" I looked up at him but he didn't make eye contact with me. Instead, he stared off at the water.

"Have you been... okay? You've been acting different lately. You don't talk to us much anymore, you seem so... distant. I know it's none of my business but I just worry about you."

I sighed, not exactly wanting to answer.
"I'm... okay. There's things I've been dealing with lately that have been bothering me. I didn't mean to worry you. I'm really sorry, Adrien."

"Don't apologize. I just want you to know that I'm here. Okay? Seriously... Don't hesitate to reach out to any of us. That includes Alya and Nino as well."

I shrunk down into his jacket until it was up to my nose.
"I know..."

He went silent for a few moments.

"I'm really glad you came to the party"

"Me too, I missed you guys."

"You and Luka did an awesome job with the duet"

That was... random. 

"Thank you" I smiled, looking back up at him. This time, he was looking down at me and when our eyes met I felt shaky again.

"You guys seem... close."
I raised an eyebrow, looking at him confused.

"What do you mean? He's a great friend. Someone I can rely on but I wouldn't say we're exactly... close?"

"Right. You guys would seem kind of cute together. As a couple?"

I couldn't tell if he was being serious or just joking but now I was starting to get flustered.
"Adrien! No! It's not like that. I... I like someone else..." The last sentence came out before I could stop myself from saying it.

"Oh?" He smiled and turned his whole body towards me. I shrunk further down into his jacket until it was right under my eyes. I peeked out at him, hoping he couldn't see my face that was now blood shot.

"And who might this person be?"

"It doesn't matter"

"It matters to me"

"Why?"

He shrugged, reaching up and pulling down his jacket so he could see my whole face.  
"Marinette, are you sure you're okay? Your face is red. Do you have fever?" He held his hand to my forehead, making me jump a little. I didn't think my face could get any redder but it felt like it did.

"Adrien! I'm fine, okay?!" I pulled back so his hand was no longer on me.

"Okay, okay." He laughed softly, putting his hand down.

"Like I said before," He looked back out to the water, his voice calming down. "I just worry about you. You mean a lot to me and... that's what friends are for." He smiled but it seemed sad.

"I know..."
I looked up to the sky as more snowflakes started to fall again.

"Anyways, I really enjoyed seeing you. I wish we could do this more often." He stood up and held out a hand to me. Taking it, I stood up with him still not wanting to look at his face.

"Y-yeah. Me too."

"Want me to walk you home?"

"Sure..."

We started back to the bakery as the snow started to pick up and fall faster. It was getting dark which meant it was also getting harder to see. As we started to cross a road, a car came speeding our way, trying to slam on breaks but the roads were too iced over which made them go faster and spin.

"Marinette!" Adrien reached out and grabbed my arm, yanking me back towards him. The car finally slowed enough for the people inside to regain control.

I yelped in pain, yanking my arm away from him. Dark red blood started to seep through his jacket, staining it.
My eyes widened as I tried to cover it up even though it was way too much to be able to do so. He grabbed my arm again, this time lower, holding it out in front of him.

"Marinette... what is this?" He looked terrified but before I could answer, everything started spinning.
I felt my body start to fall as I blacked out.