Adrien couldn't believe what he had just saw.
No, he could.
And that's what angered him the most.
He allowed Marinette to run back to the safety of the classroom, and carefully exited the locker he had hidden in, in fear someone would see him detransform. Right when he was about to step out, he heard Marinette running to leave the same locker room he was in, which was quite a close call. However, Lila got in her way - probably to put back a book or something - and once she realised Marinette was alone, well...
Adrien clenched his fists tightly and sat down on one of the benches near the locker room. "Did you see that Plagg?" He asked, anger filling his voice. Plagg nodded, afraid for once to speak, and Adrien continued. "I can't believe she'd do something- no. I can."
He sighed and stood. "Come on Plagg, let's head back to the locker room quickly." Plagg put up no fight, and flew back into Adrien's jacket, as Adrien opened his locker back up, and grabbed a small camera device from the corner of it.
He pulled it out of the locker and inspected it. "Father wanted me to leave this in my locker to make sure none of my friends stole anything from me, and wouldn't let me object to it, so I hid it as far in the corner of my locker as I could. Instead I'm now going to do the opposite."
He headed to the corner of the locker room, where there was a large cabinet shelf for general school supplies, and attached the camera to the top, making sure it could see everything while also being quite hidden.
"There." He said with a huff. "Now if Lila physically hurts Marinette again here, it'll be on tape. This locker room and the bathrooms are the only areas without cameras - aside from the hallways of course, so I'm certain Lila will drag Marinette here eventually."
"And you're just going to let her hurt Marinette?"
"Of course not, Plagg! I'm going to do all I can to make sure she doesn't! But if she does somehow hurt Marinette here... she'll regret it."
Plagg wisely kept silent and flew back into Adrien's jacket, as the bell rang to signal the end of class. The akuma was on the other side of town, so when Ladybug had alerted him, he had to make up an excuse and head for the locker room. What was that excuse again? Oh, right. Adrien quickly grabbed the book he'd left in his locker and headed back to class, to catch up with them before they all disappeared home.
"Adrien!" Lila said, grabbing onto his shoulder. It took all he had not to violently pull his arm away, and instead he gently pulled, not wanting to hurt her. However, she wasn't letting him go. "I went to the locker room to check on you, but you weren't there?"
Ahh crap. "Y - Yeah, I went to the... bathroom, after grabbing my book. Anyway, I really have to go so-" Suddenly a flash of blue caught his eye. He should make sure Marinette is okay. "Ah, Marinette!"
Forgetting about not wanting to hurt anyone, he ripped his arm away from Lila, making her stumble and almost fall down, and ran towards Marinette. "Hey, Marinette?!"
Marinette turned around, hearing him call for her, but when she spotted Lila, her composure shattered, and her face whitened. "Ahh... Adrien..." She forced out a weak smile and wave, before darting off. Growling in slight frustration, Adrien chased after her.
---TimeSkip---
"Marinette, please!"
"Adrien, stop! If Lila sees us-"
"We're almost at your bakery - I could just pretend I'm buying something!"
Marinette slowed down, taking his words into consideration. It's true, he could probably do that... but... if anyone else saw them together... She pulled down her sleeve slightly, knowing while in public Tikki would stay in her bag, and glanced at her scars, using them to motivate her to stay away. If he spent time with her - it'd probably get worse than even this.
Adrien caught up to her. "Marinette!"
"Wha - Adrien?" She didn't think he'd arrive so soon. She quickly hid her arm behind her back and tugged the sleeve down, but from Adrien's whitening face she could guess he saw. "D - Don't tell anyone!" Her voice shook with fear, knowing if people found out, everything would just get worse.
"But Marinette-"
"Don't."
The cold icy tone in her voice made Adrien jump, and he backed away slightly, looking upset. "A - Alright... If that's what you want, Marinette."
Marinette nodded, and turned away, running back into the safety of her bakery. She breathed in the scent of fresh bread and cakes, trying to forget the fear she had just felt, and the horror she experienced every day at school.
"Are you alright Marinette?" Tikki asked, as they climbed the stairs to Marinette's bedroom, and she flew into the centre of the room.
Marinette smiled. "I'm fine Tikki!"
Her smile wavered slightly, her eyes shifting towards her escape.
"I just need to use the bathroom."
Hiya! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Now a lot of plot important pieces have been put into play - I genuinely think that soon, the chapter could conclude. Not soon NOW soon, but soon as in... three weeks maybe a month? I'll probably be aiming for 25 to 30 chapters total, so... soon!
I'm looking forward to seeing you all again soon!
But for now...
Peachy out! 😊