[will delete later] Hi! I realize that the past chapter was slightly confusing, so I added some details to make it not. But so you don't have to go back and read it, I'll summarize it here.
Marinette was taken home by Mister Bug after the akuma battle, which is why she woke up in her bed. Mister Bug didn't tell her what she said when she forgot her memories. (she told him she loved him) Marinette noticed that Mister Bug was extremely quiet, but couldn't figure out why.
Alya is still very mad at Marinette, but couldn't stand seeing her friend in trouble, so she gave her some advise. There will be more on that in this chapter.
Adrien is completely destroyed knowing that Hawkmoth is his father. He connected the dots with the dome on his house and realized that must be where Hawkmoth's, or his father's, evil lair is. He's emotionless because he doesn't know who to trust anymore, and is accidentally taking out all of his pain on his friends, including Marinette.
Adrien's POV
That dome we were talking about? I saw an akuma flying out of it. That just further proves my theory that the dome is the evil lair for Hawkmoth, my very own father.
How sickening. He's absolutely horrible. How can someone go around, preying on other's weaknesses? What does he even want from this?
Tikki pops up in my jacket. "Adrien, you need to stay calm! We can't risk you-"
"-getting akumatized," I finish. "Yeah, I know."
And just for that reason, I've tried my hardest to ignore my feelings. I won't cry. I won't break down. I won't do anything that involves me risking deep emotional feelings, because I know that Hawkmoth could easily prey on them.
That includes telling Marinette that my father is Hawkmoth. I won't tell her anything, because I know that if I do, I'll break down in violent tears.
I left her at the park, alone and confused. I could have told her that I saw an akuma, but I don't want to drag her into this. I can handle the akuma on my own, and then I'll beat Hawkmoth. I'll take the butterfly miraculous away from my father and return it to its rightful place, where no one can use its powers for evil.
Sure, I'm still confused about Lady Noir saying she loved me last night, but that's not what I'm worrying about. It's my father who I can't stop thinking about.
"Adrien!" I hear Marinette call out, running towards me.
I ignore her, feeling the tears in my eyes. I know that if I even say her name, I'll collapse in tears and risk getting akumatized. So I don't.
"Please, just leave me alone," I mutter.
I hear her footsteps in the grass stop.
"Adrien, I know you don't want to tell me, and I've already asked you this question a lot," she whispers, "but what happened at the akuma battle?"
I feel the dark magic grow even more as I think about my father.
"Nothing."
I continue my walk towards where the akuma is going, keeping my head down and praying that Marinette will be okay with me dodging her questions for a while. I can't tell her anything. I can't tell her that she told me she loved me. I can't tell her that I've almost broke down too many times to count today.
And most importantly, I can't tell her that I discovered my father is Hawkmoth.
Marinette's POV
He just... left like that?
Why? Did I do something wrong? Maybe he does hate me...
I sigh and slump back in my seat on the park bench. I feel absolutely awful. The pit in my stomach continues to grow, along with the dark magic on my arm. At this point I'm wearing only long sleeves, even though it's almost summer, to hide the magic. It feels awful and sticky, but what else can I do? And worrying about Adrien is only making it worse...
Maybe I really should move on...
With no ideas what to do next, I pick up my phone and decide to call someone, pressing the phone up to my ear.
"Hey girl, what's up?"
"Hey Alya..." I sigh, "I know things have been awkward and rocky between us, but do you think we can meet at the park?"
"Sure. I'm on my way there asap. And I want to hear the whole story, Dupain-Cheng."
"Yes, yes."
"One more thing, is this about Adrien?"
I stay quiet.
"That's what I thought. That boy is nothing but trouble. Why do you still like him, again?"
Wait. Why do I still like him?
She hangs up, and I place my phone face down on the bench. I sigh and look up towards the sky. Everything has happened so suddenly. Finding out that Adrien liked me, only to find out a day later that he's Mister Bug, and then lying to Alya about our secret identities... it's all just too much.
After a minute or two of stressing out, Alya greets me and snaps me out of my trance. I wave an awkward hi and pat the spot on the bench next to me, inviting her to sit so we can talk.
"So? Are you ready to come clean?" She giggles.
I sigh, looking away. "Yeah. You're right Alya, I am Lady Noir."
She smirks. "And Adrien?"
"Adrien is Mister Bug."
She laughs and leans back on the bench. "That took way to much effort to get that out of you."
I wince. "Yeah. I had no right to lie to you, and I can't tell you how sorry I am about that. Please, please forgive me, Alya."
She looks at me intensely, but then a smile forms on her face. "You're forgiven. But you're going to have to forgive me for calling you a bitch."
"Alya!" I gasp, laughing.
She just shrugs. "Anyways, how are you and Adrien doing?"
I bite my lip and turn my feet inward. "Not so well. He's been acting so strange lately, and I can't figure out why. He won't... he won't even look at me. It's like his heart has been turned to glass."
Alya groans. "Ugh, men."
"I know!" I shout. "Just to recap: first I was 'just a friend'..."
"Mhm,"
"..Then, he just kissed me one day..."
"Yep."
"...And then, he 'broke up' with me, even though we weren't technically dating yet..."
"Ugh, yeah."
"... and then, he starts to flirt with me again," I mutter, "just to blow me off and ignore me! Ugh, I can't!"
Alya rolls her eyes and places her hand on her forehead. "Girl, you are more complicated then Ross and Rachel's relationship."
I throw my hands up at the sky. "Why, world?! What did I do to deserve this?!"
"Drop him, already!" Alya begs.
I sigh. I really want to at this point.
"Did something happen at the akuma battle?" Alya asks, tilting her head.
I place my finger on my lip. "That would make sense. After all, he was flirting with me right before and during the battle, then as soon as the battle was over he was dead silent."
"Good point!"
"Ugh, but I don't remember anything!" I groan. "How about you? You've got to remember something. Anything!"
Alya sighs. "No such luck girl. I don't remember anything at all. When you're akumatized, it just feels like a fog is in your head. You don't know what's happening, all you know is what you want to get. And for me, that was revenge."
I cringe. "Sorry about that, again."
She smiles. "Anyways, are you sure Adrien didn't tell you anything at the akuma battle? Maybe something happened that made him upset?"
I look towards the sky, thinking. "Well, he did act awkward when I asked if I said anything when I forgot my memory, but I don't think that's it. Nothing I could have possibly said would have impacted Adrien this badly."
Alya nods. "Well, what if he found out something about Hawkmoth?"
My eyes grow wide and I look at Alya. "Hey, you're right. Maybe Adrien found out his location... or ooh! Maybe Adrien found out who Hawkmoth really is under the mask!"
"Wow! Paris would finally be safe! He must be so happy!" Alya beams.
I groan. "That's great and all, but we still don't know what actually happened. Everything we just said is only a theory and not confirmed. I hate when he keeps secrets!" I shout.
Alya chuckles.
"Oh, speaking of which, how are you handling finding out that your best friend was Ladybug the whole entire time?" I chirp.
"Still in denial."
I erupt in laughter, doubling over. We continue to talk after that, wondering how on earth Adrien could be so cruel and heartless, when suddently we hear a huge boom coming from the center of Paris.
I jump off the bench and clench my fists tightly. "What was that?"
Alya shakes her head. "I-I don't know! Maybe an akuma?"
I stand on my tip-toes, trying to glance over the tall Paris buildings to get a peak at the town square, but there's no such luck.
"If it was an akuma, Adrien would have texted me, or called me from his yo-yo!" I insist.
"Well girl, take a look," Alya mutters with a concerned look on her face.
I run over to her and peer over her shoulder, glancing at her phone. She presses the play button on a YouTube video, and Nadja Chamack starts talking.
"Don't be bemused, it's just the news!" She begins, holding papers in her hand and wearing a tux. "Breaking news today: Chloé has once again been akumatized, this time into the villain known as Heartbreaker."
I gasp.
"People of Paris, please be careful! We know nothing about her powers as of now. If you can, stay at home and keep the doors shut tight."
Alya shakes her head. "No way..."
"Mister Bug is on the scene, but where is Lady Noir?" Nadja Chamack asks the camera.
Alya looks up at me with big eyes. "Adrien left to go fight the akuma and didn't tell you."
"Why..." I whisper. "Why didn't he tell me? He's heartless."
"My only guess is our theory from earlier. Something related to Hawkmoth," Alya explains.
The dark magic on my arm grows even more.
"He's avoiding me, Alya," I mutter. "He's hiding something from me."
"Yeah, we've established that," Plagg announces, flying out of my purse.
"AAAH!" Alya screams, jumping up off the bench.
Plagg smirks. "I am the god of destruction! And now, I shall destroy you! Any last words?!"
"PLAGG!" I shout, grabbing the tiny black body of the kwami.
"Sorry," he snickers.
"So... so he's not going to kill me?" Alya frantically asks.
I shake my head.
She smiles, relieved. "Good to know. Hi Plagg, I'm Alya."
Plagg bows mid-air. "Nice to meet you too, Alya. Anyways, I-"
"Can we stop the chit chat?" I beg, jumping up from the bench. "I've kinda got an akuma to fight."
"Aww, but I wanted to talk about my cheese tastes with this Alya girl of yours!" Plagg whines.
"You literally just told me that you wanted to kill me," Alya points out with a frown.
"Big deal. Everyone makes mistakes!" Plagg replies with a smirk. "Especially Adrien!"
"Hah!" Alya laughs. "I like your kwami."
"Actually, I'm Adrien's kwami, which is the only reason I'm making fun of him," Plagg informs, then turns back to me. "Look Marinette, he's just very confused."
"W-What?" I stutter. "How do you know?"
Plagg sighs. "I know who Hawkmoth is. I've sensed his kwami's presence, and knew that Hawkmoth was near by."
"So?" Alya snaps, putting her hands on her hips. "That doesn't give him an excuse to ignore Marinette!"
Plagg frowns. "Hawkmoth is someone very close to Adrien. He's... he's probably heartbroken right now. You need to give him some space. I'm sure he doesn't mean to hurt you."
I frown, not believing him. "How do you know? As far as I'm concerned, Adrien has hurt me more than I can count."
"What if he's avoiding you for a reason? What if it's because he knows his dark magic will grow even more if he opens up and talks to you, feeling the pain stronger than ever?" Plagg points out. "You both don't have much longer. Dark magic is lethal, Marinette."
Oh. Oh my god.
I never considered that.
Suddenly, a bomb goes off and a building collapses, sending smoke into the air. Alya screams and turns to me.
"Transform Mari! Go! Now!"
I nod, sprinting away from her and dashing to an alleyway. "Plagg, claws out!"
marinette: why do i bear boss music?
anyways as always make sure to upvote the chapter and send any typos to chats_lady ❤️