Marinette sat on her bed, staring at the necklace and thinking. She'd only just gotten ready and now realizes she has to face another day at school, but this time without Alya by her side.
Marinette expressed her worries about Alya to her parents at breakfast, leaving out the whole reason why Alya ran away, obviously, and after a quick phone call, learned that she was safe and at home. She didn't want to speak to anyone at the moment according to what her parents said, but Marinette suspected it was only a certain person she didn't want to talk to. Alya's parents thanked the Dupain-Chengs for their concern and hung up soon after so they could head to work.
Marinette heard her alarm ring and was woken up from her thoughts of earlier that morning. She knew she had to go to school, but she'd be going alone. Her parents had told her earlier she could stay home and visit Alya if she wanted, but she knew that wouldn't end well.
She sighed, pulling her hair into the usual ponytails and slipped her backpack over one shoulder. She set the necklace down on her dresser and turned to leave, but walks back to grab the necklace again. She picks it up, clasps it in the back and puts the jeweled ladybug under her shirt.
What's the use if I never wear it? She thinks as she finally makes her way to school.
She arrived the same time the first bell rung, but it seemed like it was way off in the distance, almost like she was underwater. She stared at the floor and dropped her backpack down beside her desk, fighting the urge to just slump down in her chair and sleep.
She folded her arms in front of her and stared at the desk, still thinking about this morning. After finding a small chip in the paint, she sets her eyes on that and imagines different little shapes inside of it. She doesn't move until she feels a slight pressure on her left forearm.
"Hey, Marinette. Roll Call." It was Nino, trying to get her attention for the third time.
"Oh... Here," she said quietly. Mrs. Bustier huffed and blackened out a mark on her clipboard, locking eyes with the tired girl.
"I'd appreciate it if you'd answer me the first time, Marinette," the teacher said in a kind voice, contrasting with the words she uttered. She'd seen how "off" Marinette was today and cut her a little slack. Marinette nodded her head and returned to staring at her desk.
Soon enough, Mrs. Bustier asked everyone to choose a partner for the next project. Marinette bit her lip and continued to stare at her desk, pushing away any dangerous emotions.
This day just can't get any worse, can it? First Alya is gone and now we have to choose partners for some dumb project. How am I even going to focus on anything?
"Hey, um, Marinette," a voice asked from the desk in front of her, interrupting her spiraling thoughts.
"Yeah?" She responded, still unable to take her eyes off of the small chip in the paint.
"Do you want to be partners?" asked the voice again.
Marinette blinked in surprise, recognizing the voice and finding herself staring into Adrien's green eyes when she finally looked up.
"Uh, yeah. Sure," she said, fumbling over her words like always. He looked a little confused but gave her a slight smile before standing and grabbing his bag. He walked out from behind his desk and moved to sit next to Marinette.
She quickly kicked her bag out of the way and put her hands in her lap, finding the chip in the paint on her desk very interesting again.
"Dude," Nino said from the row ahead of them with a meaningful glance at Adrien. Adrien shrugged in response.
"Dude," Nino said again, turning around and looking towards the back of the room. His eyes locked with Ivan's and he moved to sit beside him as everyone else found their partners.
"So, Marinette..." Adrien started, looking towards Marinette. She was still staring at her desk, trying desperately to figure out what just happened.
"But, uh, why are you, uh. I mean, I thought you and Nino would be partners," she said, interrupting his next thought.
He gave her a sympathetic smile. "Well, I noticed Alya wasn't here and you didn't seem like yourself, so I figured we could just partner up."
"Oh, yeah. Okay," she said lamely, looking up at Adrien's green eyes only for a second. "So I might have uh, missed the whole part where Mme Bustier explained everything and, uh..." She bit her lip and looked down at her hands.
Adrien looked a little surprised. "Wow, you really aren't yourself today, huh?" Marinette winced and started to mutter an apology but Adrien waved it off.
"No, it's not- I mean we all have those days, right?" He gave her a reassuring smile and explained the project with an odd, slightly proud look on his face.
"So, today is the day that Ladybug and Chat Noir first appeared in Paris, and the day that Ladybug made her first speech. Mme Bustier wants us to make a tribute to them." His eyebrows pulled together and he sighed. "I'm out of ideas at the moment, though."
"O-oh. That's okay. I know we'll think of something to do," Marinette said, reaching down into her backpack and pulling out a small spiral notebook. "We could use this to write ideas down on, I guess." She grabbed her pencil and opened it to the first blank page she could find. The rest of it was filled with senseless doodles and different designs for clothing items she'd been working on. They sat in a short, awkward moment of silence as they thought of good ideas for the tribute.
Marinette chewed on her lip and after a while turned to Adrien, who still looks deep in thought. "So, uh... Got any ideas yet?" Marinette asked, stealing a quick glance and playing with the pencil.
"Maybe," Adrien started, looking over at her. "I think if it's for them it should definitely be something to show how grateful we are. We should see if we could somehow get everyone involved in it to make sure they get the message."
Marinette nodded and wrote a few things down. "Maybe like a, um, letter to them?" Marinette asked. "I mean we could get everyone to write letters to them about the times Ladybug and Chat Noir saved them. Like, the ones that were special to them or something." She mentally breathed a sigh of relief. That was one of the most normal-ish sentences she'd ever spoken to him.
He smiled excitedly. "Yeah, that's actually a great idea! First, we'll have to get everyone on board and then have them all write letters. Oh, and maybe we could make some big posters and other things like that," he continued animatedly and Marinette blushed slightly at his cuteness.
"Okay, so, um. Should we ask Mme Bustier?" She questioned, unable to shake off her nervousness after all. Adrien was writing something down in his own notebook, but he stops and nods his head.
"Yes, I'll go do that now actually," he said, scooting out from behind the chair. Marinette watched him walk up to Mme Bustier and is pleased to see that she looks excited about it as well.
This is going to be so great! Even though I'll have to write a letter to myself, which will be weird. I do get to work with Adrien, though. Marinette thought, smiling. She turned to her left to tell Alya about it but was greeted with empty space.
Oh... Right. She took a deep breath and pulled out her phone secretly to see if maybe Alya had texted her. She didn't of course, and Marinette missed her now more than ever. Who else is she supposed to talk to when something as exciting as this is happening?
I guess this wouldn't be happening if she was here, though... She thought, trying to decide her feelings about this situation.
"Good news, Marinette," Adrien said, walking back towards the desk. "Mme Bustier said we could do it! She's about to announce it to the class because she-" he stopped mid-sentence as he notices Marinette's expression. "Hey, what happened while I was gone?"
Marinette blinked a couple times and gave him a small smile. "Oh, it's nothing. I was just thinking about some stuff." She tried to make her smile more believable, but it came out a sort of sad grimace.
"You sure you're alright? You looked pretty bummed a second ago..." Adrien said, searching her face for any sign of the sadness or discomfort he'd seen a second ago.
"No, just thinking about the project." She said more convincingly this time. He still wasn't sure but their exchange was interrupted by Mme Bustier.
"Alright class, Marinette and Adrien have come up with a splendid idea! We are all going to write letters to the heroes." She said animatedly. "We should make posters as well and place them at the bottom of the statue that was dedicated to them." A few people nodded and mumbled their agreements as she continued. "I was thinking we could even finish it up today if we all worked on the letters instead of doing individual projects. Does everyone like that idea better?"
There were lots of excited nods around the classroom and even a few sighs of relief. Mme Bustier smiled at the class and tells everyone to get to work.
A/N
Yes, this chapter is kinda dumb, and yes, it's taken me way too long to update once again. My only real excuse is that I am an unmotivated high school graduate looking for a job. (50-50 I might get one tho.) But anyways, to cheer everyone up -maybe- I have the rest of the story outlined and there will be a looooooootttt of Adrienette in the next chapter :D please don't give up on my sorry excuse of an author. THANKSSSSSS I love you.
P.S. My editor is still fabulous.
E/N
Yes I am.
**Heres a present for you ^^
Well actually a past. Case the tense was updated.... hahhahahahaha get it?
I'm so funny.