Marinette sighed heavily as she stared up at the daunting manor in front of her. She had always been intimidated but intrigued whenever she gazed upon it's massive gates, many security cameras, and modern style. Now, however, she was just annoyed.
She sighed again before lifting her finger to press the call button. A camera swiveled around right into her face.
"What are you here for?" A monotone voice asked.
Marinette scowled. She'd been wondering the same thing. "I'm working on a school project with Adrien." She said instead. The camera stared at her for a second before it swiveled back into place. The massive gates opened. After a moment's hesitation, Marinette walked through. She trudged up the marble steps and walked into the elegant foyer.
Adrien was waiting for her at the base of the staircase. He stood up as she walked in. He offered her a smile, but Marinette turned her head to study the walls instead.
The front door closed with a massive thud that made Marinette jump, and a woman cleared her throat.
"I will be close by if you need anything, Adrien." Natalie walked off. Adrien and Marinette stood there in an awkward silence that seemed to last hours. Finally, Adrien cleared his throat before taking a tentative step toward Marinette.
"I, um..." He cleared his throat again. "I just wanted to ask..." He took a deep breath and let his words tumble out. "Why-are-you-mad-at-me?"
Marinette started laughing. It wasn't the pleasant, cheerful, light hearted laugh she always had around Cat Noir. It was a scornful, angry laugh.
"Why are you laughing?" Adrien asked bluntly. Marinette stopped and eyed him. Then she turned her gaze back to the walls.
"Like I'm gonna fall for your stupid tricks again. Let's just get this project over with." She started to walk up the stairs, but Adrien blocked her. She tried to go around him, but he moved to where he was a constant, highly annoying, barrier.
"Move, Adrien." She growled.
"Not until you tell me why you are mad."
She shouldered her bookbag. "That's not gonna happen."
He shrugged. "I guess we're gonna be here all night then."
"Fine." She retorted. She walked back down the few steps she had climbed and sat on the bottom step. Adrien didn't move. They stayed that way for a long time, and tiny doubts began to creep into Marinette's mind. What if he truly doesn't know what happened? Kagami could have been lying, but she seemed so sincere. Ugg! Why does life have to be so difficult? She counted her breaths and tried to steady her thoughts, but the doubts wouldn't go away.
"Do you really not know?" She whispered; her soft voice was barely audible. She heard some shuffling, and a second later he was sitting next to her.
"I really, truly don't." He whispered back. Marinette studied her shoes. He used to be my friend. I used to trust him... would it be so bad if I trusted him one more time? Wouldn't he do the same for me? She took a deep breath and decided to take a leap of faith.
"That night, at the gala, Kagami came up to me. She said you and her were talking about me."
Adrien nodded. "That is true."
It took all of her willpower to continue the story. "Kagami said that you said you hated me." She bit her lip. "She named a whole list of hurtful things you said about me, so I went up to you and asked if it was true and you said yes."
"Every last word." Adrien finished in a hushed voice. Marinette nodded, remembering him saying those exact words to her when she'd asked him.
"When I said I meant every last word, I thought Kagami had been talking about something totally different."
Marinette looked at him quizzically.
"Earlier that night we were talking about you, but we hadn't been talking about you being awful. We were talking about how amazing and what a great friend you are. Kagami must've twisted my words. Marinette I am so sorry. I'm sorry I didn't ask you about this sooner. I was a total jerk."
Marinette snorted. "That's an understatement."
"Biggest jerk of the year?" He offered.
Marinette smiled.
"So, can we be best friends again? Like we were before?" He asked her.
She hesitated. Then she gave him a firm nod. "Yes, but I don't think we'll be exactly like we were before."
Adrien was silent. Then he smiled. "At least we'll still be friends. I don't know what I'd do without you, Marinette."
He reached for her hand. Once Marinette realized what was happening she jerked away. He looked shocked for a moment, but he accepted it and pulled away.
Marinette stood up and took a couple steps back; her arms were folded across her chest. "We should probably start working on that project."
Adrien stood up as well. "Let's put your things in my bedroom, then we can look in the basement. That's basically our storage room."
As Marinette followed him upstairs, a sinking feeling engulfed her. Not every friendship heals overnight. She thought. Though, with all of her heart, she wished it would.
**********************************
Adrien clicked on the light.
"Wow." Marinette breathed. Unlike the rest of Adrien's house, which was immaculate, the basement was a cluttered combination of dust, boxes, old furniture, and more dust.
Adrien laughed sheepishly. "Yeah. It's a lot."
Marinette shook her head as she walked through a cobweb. "Eeeew!" She brushed it off.
"Sorry about that." Adrien reached to help her, but she jerked away. Still not ready.
Adrien stepped back with a hurt look. Marinette cleared her throat once she managed to remove the cobwebs. "Let's get to work." She left him to go search the boxes. It was a very long, very boring process. Most of the boxes held decorations for parties from the past. There were holiday decorations along with a bunch of old gowns. Marinette guessed they belonged to Adrien's mom, but she didn't say anything. Adrien was as successful as she was, and they got discouraged after a while. Just when Marinette was about to call it quits, a large, old, dusty trunk caught her attention. She knelt down in front of it and blew away the dust. She coughed as she waved the small particles away. Then she squinted at the gold plaque below the lock. Emilie O'Connor Agreste. She read.
"Adrien! I found something!" She called excitedly. He ran through the cluttered mess and knelt by her side.
"That must be my mom's." He whispered.
"This chest has to have some info about your family."
Adrien nodded as if he hadn't really heard her. His fingers reached toward the chest, but he hesitated when the were only a breath away.
"Hey, it's okay." Marinette whispered.
"Yeah, I know. It's just that I've never known that much about my mom because she died when I was only six. My Dad won't tell me anything either, so it's like there's always been a giant hole she left behind. And I don't know what I'll find when I start to get answers. I'm excited, but also scared." He laughed softly. "I'm not making any sense, am I?"
"Don't say that; I'd be scared too. Whatever happens, know that I'm always here for you; that's what friends are for."
That seemed to help him make up his mind because he opened the lid a second later. They both leaned over the chest. It was filled to the brim, so they decided to empty it piece by piece. There were masquerade masks, make-up, perfume, a costume, and hair accessories. Adrien pulled out a small box and opened it with a gasp.
"What is it?" Marinette asked while leaning towards him.
"It's her birthstone ring." He picked it and looked at it. He looked like he was trying to soak in every possible detail. Marinette left him studying the ring and went back to work. There were more hair accessories and makeup.
She was surprised when she found a photo album. "We can use this." She told Adrien gently, placing the book next to him. She went back to looking, but she didn't find anything else that was super important. There was a box full of jewelry, and Marinette thought a charm bracelet she found looked pretty. One of the charms had a heart that said sisters forever. Marinette didn't know Adrien had an Aunt, but she didn't think now was the right time to bring that up.
When they had reached the bottom of the chest, Marinette gently pulled out a long, folded white gown. "This must be your mother's wedding dress." She told Adrien. He looked up and lightly touched the soft fabric. He smiled sadly.
She placed the dress down onto the floor. "I think that's it, Adrien. You wanna go back upstairs and check out the photo album?"
He nodded. "Sure. I think I'm going to take the ring with me though."
"Do you want to take this as well?" She offered him the charm bracelet she had found, and he took it.
"Thanks."
Marinette picked up the wedding dress and started to place it in the box.
"Wait!" Adrien said. "I think you missed something." He reached into the chest and pulled something out. Marinette placed the dress in the chest.
"What is it?" She asked him as she placed everything back where they had found it.
"Her diary."
Mariente closed the chest and looked at the book in his hands. It was average size with a binding made of brown leather. A colorful peacock was stitched on.
"We should probably head up." Adrien said. "I can ask Natalie to get us a few snacks if you're hungry."
"That sounds good." Marinette replied, so they got up and took their findings to Adrien's bedroom.