"Hi, Alya... How long have you been standing there?" Marinette asked, trying to plaster a calm look on her face.
Alya stood next to Marinette's door, a hand still on the knob, with her mouth parted in shock. She blinked a couple of times and shook her head, not quite grasping what she had just seen. She stood there in her best friends room, frozen in place, piecing together information she hadn't even known she was collecting.
"M-m-Mari?" She asked, taking a deep breath. "You're... Ladybug." she said, struggling to spit the words out. Her hand falls from the knob and to her side, the small movement is all she could make at the moment.
"Alya please," Marinette started, "you have to listen to me. No one can know." She looked at her friend worriedly. "I haven't told anyone. Please. It's not just you."
Alya shook her head and looked down at her phone that was on the floor. She robotically bent down to pick it up, and stared at it for a minute, willing it to answer her questions. The silence of the room was unbearable as Marinette waited to see what she'd do. When the phones screen suddenly buzzed and brightened with a text, she flinched.
"I..." She looks up at Marinette, her eyes filled with sadness and confusion. "I have to go." She says, struggling to keep her voice from cracking. She turns to leave but Marinette is at her side in an instant, gripping her arm.
She looked to her friend with pleading eyes. "Alya, please understand I-"
"Mari. Let go of me." The betrayal was clear in her voice, as were the glistening tears on her cheeks, as she wrenched her arm out of Marinette's grasp. She quickly exited the room and sprinted down the hall, slamming the door behind her.
Marinette stood frozen in place. This was never supposed to happen. She thought, staring at the closed door in front of her, her arm still held out.
[][][]
"What do you mean you don't know, Nino?!" Marinette screamed angrily into the phone. "Someone has to know where she is!" His strangled reply is cut off as she hit the end button and threw her phone onto her bed.
I can't believe this, she thought, her energy rapidly dissolving until she felt limp. She sighed and sat at the edge of her bed with her head in her hands, and she didn't know the tears were coming until it was too late. She cried for a long time, and when her parents came to check on her a few minutes later, they found her with her head in her hands, completely wiped out.
"Marinette honey, what happened?" Her mother asked softly, sitting down on the bed next to her. Her father doing the same and placing a hand on her back. Marinette didn't move, but fresh, hot tears made their way down her face and collected at the bottom of her chin. Her father moved his hand in slow, comforting circles on her back, and her mother lifted up Marinette's face to meet hers.
"Mari, what's wrong?" The worried mother asks, but the only response she gets from her daughter is more tears and a slow shake of the head.
"I can't tell you..." She said quietly, her voice strained from all the crying. "I can't tell anyone."
Her mother brings her into a warm embrace and her father joins in. They sit like that for a while, before they are reminded by the jingle of the bell that they had customers to attend to.
"Sabine, stay with Marinette, I can take care of them." Her father says, getting up to leave. Sabine nodded, but Marinette is quick to protest.
"Mama, I'll be okay." She gave her a reassuring smile. "It's just a friend thing, no big deal." Sabine is unconvinced but nodded anyway, giving her daughter some space.
"Don't worry about getting to school today, dear." She brushed the hair out of her daughter's face. "Being sick doesn't always refer to a physical illness."
"No, It's fine. I can go. I-" Her mother shook her head and exited the room, saying she'd bring up tea later, and that Marinette should rest.
She laid down on her bed, letting out a long sigh, and checked her phone for any messages about Alya.
Tikki finally decided to make an appearance once everyone had left. Marinette jumped at the sight of her Kwami, having momentarily forgotten she wasn't alone.
"Marinette," the Kwami started, "It's not as bad as you think."
"Of course it is," Marinette said, not moving from her position on the bed, still scrolling through her recent messages.
"No, it's not." Tikki said, pushing Marinette's phone to the side. "Alya is your best friend. She'd never even think about telling anyone," she explained. "She won't talk to anyone about it, and I know you know that as well."
"Yeah, she won't even talk to me," Marinette adds bitterly, throwing her arm over her face. "I just can't believe I let this happen. I should have been more careful."
"Mari, you have to stop blaming yourself. Do you really think this is the first time anyone has figured out who Ladybug was?" Tikki asked as Marinette moves her arm out of the way, propping her head up on it.
"Wait, really?" She questioned, her eyes full of hope.
"Yep," Tikki said smiling, happy to see that Marinette was still okay. "Did you really think you were the first to slip up?" Marinette nodded slowly. "Not even close! I remember way back when the first Ladybug accidentally let one of her friends know before I could even explain the danger of telling others."
"The first Ladybug?!" Marinette asked, suddenly filled with a new energy. "What did she do?"
Tikki closed her eyes, as if deep in thought and then said, "Well, I can't tell you much, but everything worked out in the end," she said, deflating a little. "But you should know that, even though it seems rough right now, you are lucky, and Alya is a good friend. I even trust her."
Tikki flew over to Marinette, and gave her a hug. "I know it will all work out." Marinette cupped her friend against her chest and let go, allowing the tired Kwami to go over to the dresser where the cookie stash sat.
Marinette sighed and turned over onto her back, tired from all the crying earlier. She stared up at the ceiling, and after eating, Tikki soon joined her. Marinette sat there thinking.
I wonder where Alya is now... And when she is coming back? I wonder if she'll talk to me... Hey, who knows? She might even be happy that I'm Ladybug...
She laughed at her wishful thinking and draped her arm over her eyes again, lost in her thoughts, and eventually fell into a dreamless sleep.
-
"MARINETTE!" Tikki squeaked into her ear when her eyes finally shot open.
"What time is it?!" Marinette blurted out, immediately remembering her dinner plans with Chat for their celebration or whatever he'd said.
"6:45! Get up, let's go." Tikki said, pulling in vain at one of Marinette's messy ponytails. Marinette got up quickly, earning a squeak of surprise when Tikki was flung a few feet away.
Marinette ran to her dresser and hurriedly pulled out two rubber bands and grabbed her hair brush, combing through her knotted hair until it was straight. She then grabbed the rubber bands again and put her hair back up into its original style.
Rushing over to her closet, she then sorted through the many outfits she had, throwing a couple onto her bed so she could decide between them in a minute.
"Marinette."
"Tikki, not now. I'm a little busy." Marinette said, still pulling items of clothing out of her closet.
"Marinette..." Tikki started again.
"Tikki, I said not now," She said as she continued to look through her clothes. "Unless you want to help me decide what to wear, I need you to be quiet."
"Oh, well I'd suggest the blue dress. It will really make your eyes pop when Chat finds out who you really are." Tikki said, sarcastically.
"Oh... OH!" Marinette groaned, mentally facepalming. "Tikki! Transform me!"
Tikki was pulled into Marinette's earrings as she started the transformation into Ladybug. By the time it's over, she was already out her window and on her way towards the Eiffel Tower where Chat was waiting expectantly.
A/N
Sorry about the late update... I've been working and stuff [insert other genuine excuses ;_;] But hey, I updated xD
E/N
(has she ever mentioned how lucky she is to have me)
A/N
I'm so lucky to have my editor
**** Yay, this one is done too now ^^