Why would Felix do this to me - leaving me alone with a confused guy who thought I was his girlfriend? Standing there near the edge of his floral-themed bed, surrounded by pieces of notepad paper taped all over the walls or dangling from the ceiling by strings, I couldn't help but have my defenses up. Was Luka crazy? What were all these papers - ways to murder someone?
"So, do you want...umm...," Luka cleared his throat, as he sent a frantic gaze across the square bedroom.
"No thanks," I said, taking a step back from him and eyeing ways I could potentially escape. My only two options was the window (that was still open) or the closed white-wooded door with a bronze nob.
With my hazy fever brain and uncoordinated, weakened body, I doubted my ability to successfully climb out a window without rolling off the roof and dying in the snow. The closed door was also risky because it wasn't a true way out - most likely it led to the rest of his apartment: the kitchen, living room, etc. Between the two choices, the door was the safest - I just hoped Luka didn't have a large dog ready to mull my face off.
"Marinette?" Luka questioned.
"I said no thank you!" I yelped, pulled back into the present.
"So, you don't want any water?"
"Water? That's what you asked me?" I asked.
Luka nodded - almost as if he felt nervous.
"Okay. Yes. Please."
"I'll be right back. Feel free to take over the bed," he said, striding towards the door like a man on a mission.
Now was my chance to escape! I guess I'd just have to go out the window. Yeah, that made perfect sense. I wobbled my way over, my face growing colder the closer I got. Snow flakes had fluttered and melted on the tan carpet, soaking my feet. If it was this cold inside, it would be a million times worse outside. This wasn't ideal, but necessary.
"What are you doing?" Luka shouted, tossing the bottle of water on the bed and racing towards the window. He pulled me by the back of my pink sweater. I stumbled backwards, landing in the center of his chest. Warm arms covered me and stabilized my posture.
I wiggled my body and flared my arms until he released me. He gawked at me with wide eyes - as if I were some sort of strange species at the zoo - as if he no longer recognized my behavior. He quickly shut and locked the window.
"If you wanted to leave, you should have said something. I won't stop you," he said, opening the bottle of water on the bed and handing it to me.
I examined the bottle and swirled the liquid around inside, before taking a baby sip. If it was poisoned or drugged, at least only a little would enter my bloodstream - if I felt weird within the next few moments then Luka wasn't to be trusted - if not, I was going to chug the freakin water.
"It's not poisoned," Luka said flatly.
I flushed - feeling embarrassed that my inner thoughts were so obvious.
"I know that," I said, before taking another sip, "I was just making sure it tasted good. Some bottled water can be absolutely disgusting."
"Hmm. Being with Felix has changed you quite a bit, hasn't it?" Luka said, taking a seat on the edge of his narrow bed.
"What are you trying to say? Me liking quality bottled water has nothing to do with Felix," I quipped.
"I'm not sure what he did to you, but I find your current condition depressing," Luka said.
"First of all, this is none of your business. Second, it's not Felix's fault I'm so depressed," I said.
"So you admit it then?"
I snorted - it sounded like a cough mixed with a failed sneeze.
"You're a creep. And yes, I do want to leave."
Luka nodded, "understandable."
"So you admit you're a creep?" I scoffed.
"I admit that I crossed a lot of lines with you. And I regret it," Luka paused.
"Crossed lines?" I scoffed, "That's an understatement. You tricked me and forced yourself on me! Then you hurt my Felix. You're the reason Felix accidentally punched me. So, I'm glad you at least regret it."
"Don't worry. I won't ask you to forgive me."
"Good," I seethed, "I don't plan to."
Luka's lips tilted into a crooked grin - he looked pleased - as if I'd just told him I'd forgiven him. His joyed expression was unjustified and I found it rather annoying. What did he not understand about:
I. Don't. Forgive. You.
"So annoying," I muttered.
"Where would you like me to take you?" Luka asked, rising from the bed.
"I don't know. Let me think."
"Your parents?"
"Absolutely not! They can't see me like this!"
"Okay. Okay. Didn't mean to upset you."
My knees began shaking as my legs grew excessively weak. I must have been standing too long.
"Just take me to Alya's. I'll have to sneak in. As long as her parents don't know I'm there, it should be fine."
Luka nodded, "Alright."
I followed Luka out the bedroom door and into the main area of his apartment. It was small - the kitchen and living room basically married together with the only separation being the tan carpet that ended right wear the kitchen began. The walls were plastered with framed records, a painting of Nashville, dented guitars, and Jaggid Stone posters. This place really wasn't decorated well - but at least it was clean. In the "living room" was a leather black coach that made a L shape in front of a large TV. Well, at least Luka was a little more normal than Felix who didn't even own a TV.
Right before we made it to the front door, my vision blurred. I closed my eyes for only a second - to blink away the specks. That was when my body hit the tile.
———————————
My head throbbed as I attempted to open my eyes. Where was I? My body was enveloped in soft warmth and my head was on a pillow. What had happened to me? Last thing I remembered Luka and I were on our way to Alya's house.
I must have passed out...which means I must still be at Luka's house.
The hanging pieces of ripped paper confirmed my suspicions. I tried to sit up but my body refused. At the edge of the bed sat a concerned looking Luka.
"Drink some water," Luka said, pressing a plastic bottle to my lips. Half of the water drained down my throat while the other half streamed out of my mouth and down my chin. Luka wiped it away with a paper towel, he had wadded up in his palm.
"Sorry," I coughed.
"Don't be sorry. Try to drink it slowly."
I nodded and followed suit.
"Did I faint?" I questioned.
"Yeah. You were behind me. I didn't expect it..." Luka said, clenching a fist in his lap. Clearly, he felt guilty that I had landed.
"It's not your fault," I sighed, "How bad is my fever?"
"It's pretty high," Luka said, placing a warm palm over me. My skin felt cold when he removed his hand.
"You could have put me on the coach," I said.
He raised his brows.
"Don't worry, today was actually my semi-monthly deep clean. Those sheets were washed."
I nodded. I felt weird being in Luka's bed. Especially since this was the man who thought I was his girlfriend and kissed me. That kiss. It was a mistake for me to even recall it. Now I was drowning in awkwardness.
"Could you maybe get off the bed and sit on a chair or something?" I asked. I couldn't tell if the heat surging through my face was caused from the fever or my weirdness.
"Of course," he said, retuning with a metallic panted chair.
He set it down backwards, resting his arms on the support.
"You should try to sleep," Luka said.
"Could you maybe not stare at me then?" I said.
"Oh. Okay," He said, turning himself around so that he was facing the wall.
Honestly, I didn't feel comfortable letting my guard down and falling into a deep sleep like death. What if the sight of my unconscious face lured him to kiss me much like Prince Charming did to Snow White. How could I be sure that he hadn't already kissed me when I passed out? Would he do something like that? I felt uncomfortable all over again.
"I hope you keep lips to yourself this time," I muttered, "If I fall asleep and wake up to you
snacking on my lips, I swear to ..."
"Just go sleep, Mari. I won't do anything. Even if I tried, Felix would probably pay to have me assassinated," Luka chuckled, "A chance I am not willing to take."
"He totally would," I muttered.
I stared at the ceiling, but I wasn't tired anymore. In fact, I felt energized - not well enough to get out of bed and leave but no bad enough to sleep.
"What's with all these pieces of paper? They look like recipes," I said.
"Do I strike you as a chief?" Luka asked.
"No."
"Their songs. Fractions of songs, actually."
I reached for a piece of ripped paper and read the cursive written words:
We said it wouldn't happen to us
But it did, and it does, and it will
Just because
That's the nature of life - of time
And the distance that breaks our binds
"Why just fragments and not entire songs?" I asked.
"It's how I write I guess. Fragments until I can piece together something complete . It's odd, but it works for me."
"So, then becoming a musician is your passion?"
"It's one of my passions," he said.
"Just one? By the looks for your room, it seems to be a rather all-consuming one. Why do you work at Agreste Inc?"
"Unfortunately, music does pay the bills like a corporate job does. When I make it big, it will be a full time gig - but until then."
"Maybe you could play me one of your songs," I said, "Play a slow one though - maybe it can help me feel tired."
"Are you sure? I'd hate to subject you to an unprofessional musician's ramblings."
"Surly you can't be that bad."
The truth was I wanted something to distract my mind. I was weak and sick - right now I could do nothing to help Felix except for sleeping and getting better. I knew Felix was very capable to fight Natalie, so I wasn't too worried. I just hoped Natalie didn't launch an attack on Paris - if she did, there was no way Felix could defend the city all by himself. I needed to be well enough to help him.
Luka strapped his electric guitar around his waist and played. The flow of music was slow and downcast. It was sad song about a boy living in Wonderland - questioning if the world he lived in was real or imagined. Part of the boy wished Wonderland was reality while the other half of him wanted to see the real world.
"That was sad," I said.
"Great music often is," Luka said, resting he guitar against the wall.
"You were the boy in the song."
"It's open to interpretation," Luka shrugged.
I nuzzled further into my blanket - it smelled like cotton. For the first time in while, I thought what must it be like to be Luka: to have a scrambled brain. The world he remember wasn't the real world - I guess in a way it must feel like Wonderland to him - up is down, left is right.
"What was it like?" I asked.
Right on cue, the power shut off and the room went black - except for the glowing window.
"This happens a lot," Luka warned, "It will be back on in a few minutes or so."
I wondered if my question would go unanswered - then again, I was so vague that he probably didn't even know what I was asking.
"Do you really want to know?" Luka asked - I couldn't see any of his features - only the moon's outline of his frame and his glowing aqua hair. He looked beautiful, actually - almost angelic.
I nodded.
"I'll preference this by saying my brain is pretty jacked up. I've seen doctors and had my head scanned - they don't know what's wrong with me or why I'm experiencing false memory - probably since no one have had survived a Silver Akuma."
"Oh," I recalled Felix saying that Luka's mental scrambling was his fault - was this brain fog caused by a Silver Akuma - the Eel - or both?
"So, what do you remember - how did we meet?" I asked. The answer should be at Agreste Inc cafeteria.
"You were in high school - my sister invited some friends over to my mom's house for the music festival. You wondered down to my room," Luka chuckled, "I startled you and you started stuttering. M-Marinette."
I had no recollection of any of that - in fact, I didn't even know Luka had a sister. I thought he was an only child.
"I never met anyone like you in high school. I would have remembered that."
"Remember - I'm the insane one. Not you," Luka continued, "Anyway, you had a huge crush on this guy in your class. You were too shy to talk to him and every time you did you would stutter."
"Was it Felix?" I asked.
"No," Luka said, drawing a finger to his head as if trying to recall details, "Nate. Nathan. Nathaniel! His name was Nathaniel. Red hair."
I shook my head, "There was a guy in my class named Nathaniel - he always sat in the back of the class. But I never liked him. I actually never liked a "real boy" until Felix. They were all fictional characters or movie stars."
"Hmm. Well, you had it so bad. You even invited me ice skating on your date with him because you were too nervous to go by yourself. He ended up bringing along another girl in his class and you were stuck skating with me," Luka chuckled.
"When did I fall for you?"
"It took some convincing - I confessed you right before a concert. You didn't say anything. You kept friend zoning me, until you reached a breaking point. Then you told me you loved me. We dated since then."
"How long?" I dared to ask.
"Three years," He said, "Don't worry. I know it's three years of a delusion. I won't hold you to it."
"Do you remember anything about the gala?"
"Still a blur," he sighed.
"In your world, where was Felix?" I asked.
"He was there. Living in isolation at Agreste Inc. You never worked for him though. You were an intern in the Fashion and Design department."
I wasn't qualified for any of the fashion internships - they required two years of professional experience. That's why I had to settle with being Felix's assistant. I was hoping to work my way up the latter, but in Luka's world, I'd already made it and therefore never interacted with Felix. Maybe it was a good thing I wasn't able to get the internship I wanted. Would I really have dated Luka without Felix being an option?
"What about Alya? Are you still unable to remember your feelings for her?" I asked.
"She was dating Nino. He also worked at Agreste Inc."
"They never broke up?" I asked.
"Not in my delusion."
I sighed - how was his mind able to come up with a detailed world? Was the Eel really that good at recreating memories in the mind?
"So, basically - you woke up, and I was your girlfriend from what you remembered," I asked.
"Exactly. But I know the truth now. I just hope I get my real memories back."
There was a heavy silence.
"You've asked me questions, now I want to ask you some of mine," Luka said.
"Okay."
"What happened to your earrings?" He asked.
My eyes widened. Seriously? Not him as well! How did the entire world seem to know my identity?
"You know?" I cried.
"Well. Yes. I was your boyfriend of three years and you weren't good at hiding things from me."
I sighed. At this point, another person discovering my identity shouldn't surprise me. But it did.
"Do you know who Chat Noir is?" I asked.
"I have my guesses. So, what happened? Did Chat steal your Miraculous?"
"Well, yes and no. It was destroyed. That's all I can say."
"I see. I won't probe any further than," Luka said.
I fidgeted when the lights and power flashed back on.
"I'll let you rest now," he said.
"One more question," I said, "You said I've changed quite a bit by being with Felix. What did you mean? How am I different?"
"Goodnight, Marinette," Luka said, ignoring my question.
Luka flipped off the lights. My heavy eyelids finally sealed shut and I slept like a baby.
————————————
"Marinette! Marinette!" Luka shouted, shaking me by the shoulders, "Wake up!"
"What?" I croaked, my eyes blinded by the lights.
"We have to go now. Something is after us," Luka said, pulling me from the bed.
"Who?"
"It's only a matter of time before the building collapses," he said.
My heart rate pounded and adrenaline finally wiped away my grogginess.
Oh.
We were standing in Luka's room - except the entire building surrounding it was rubble and the ceiling had been ripped open. We stood under a winter sky.
Where did the building go? What happened? Was there a bomb? Did everyone else in the apartment die?
It was horrifying. Nothing worse to wake from a peaceful sleep to a nightmare reality. Luka grabbed me by the arm, and guided me into the rubble. Was this the world I truly lived in? Somehow I felt like Luka - trapped in a horrid Wonderland.