The smell of roses

Chapter one: The backstory

Marinette's POV:

Ok, the first day of high school. Nothing to be scared of, except I'm terrified. I don't know why and, honestly, I don't want to know why. I just want to get through it without messing everything up and without being the klutz I always am.

After that extreme grade school experience, it would be nice to have a normal freshman year. At the end of the eighth grade, most of us split paths, unfortunately. Some of us stuck together. Alya wanted to go to the same high school as me, Nino, followed Alya because he wasn't particularly interested in high school, Juleka came afterwards because Luka goes here too, and Rose after her. Rose, Alya and Nino got placed into the same class and Juleka and me in another. But I am so happy that I don't have to face a completely new environment. I can start the year along with some familiar faces and, maybe, I can make some new friends from that point on.

Adrien Agreste, the love of my life, was forced by his father to go to a private institution where he will focus on his studies without being distracted by stupid things like friends or fun, or so his father says. When I found out I was straight up heartbroken. I cried for several days, though I was smart enough to cry in short periods to make sure no Akuma got a hold of me. Alya was always at my place trying to make me feel better and every time she was next to me I pretended to be happier so she would leave me alone. I appreciated her concern for me and the fact that I knew someone out there cared that much about me, helped me get better. Tikki also tried to stop my tears, but she got the same results as Alya. She was also sad to see me like that. She hoped for the better so she went and got Plagg for backup. The little black cat tried his best to make me laugh, but in the end, all his attempts were pointless.

Throughout the first month of the summer holiday, I could only think about the blond-haired, green-eyed boy who I would never see again. Every time I stepped foot outside of my parents' bakery I would see Adrien everywhere. And it wasn't just because of the huge advertisements that were presenting his model face in the foreground. Every patch of grass reminded me of his bottle-green eyes and every ray of light of his perfect golden locks. I was a total wreck. And that's far from all of it.

I wanted to make myself feel better so I went to get some ice cream. Chances were that André the owner of Sweetheart's Ice Cream was nearby and so I decided to visit him. When I arrived the ice-cream seller seemed very happy to see me and because he is so good at seeing through people, he immediately discovered my troubled heart and gave me a cone on the house. But because that was more or less a special occasion, André made me a special kind of blend.

"Dark chocolate-chip for a confused soul, pinkish-red raspberry for the heart of a fighter, and a coconut scoop for that bright smile of yours." said the cheery ice cream man. I looked at him surprised because he doesn't usually serve cones based on individual characteristics, but he smiled as if everything was going as usual then said to me:

"I may give out sweethearts ice cream, but love can be tough so there's no harm in making people love themselves first," concluded André with a sad smile on his face.

"Oh, pretty Marinette, I, myself, once fell down this dark, dark rabbit hole and it is not an easy journey to take. The most important thing you need to remember is that you can't give up because you are still breathing, still moving. That means that life hasn't given up on you."

Andé made me feel better in a second. His little speech gave me a drop of courage, just the amount that I needed so I could be able to stop crying.

I went home happy that day. I was overflowing with confidence, but I had no idea what to do with it. Luckily, I got a text from Juleka telling me that Kitty Section needed my help and that they were waiting for me at her house. Of course, I rushed out of my room, took my bicycle, and headed straight to the Couffaine's boat-house. When I arrived I saw everyone standing on the dock with worried expressions. I immediately got concerned and started running over to them. Rose was the one who greeted me fast before starting to babble something about their band's costumes. The one's that I designed.