I'm Here

Chapter 10

"I can't believe this. Just move on..."

"I can't move on." Adrien sighed.

Plagg shook his head, "what were you thinking?! What was your plan from the start?!"

"My plan..." Adrien slammed the table, "My plan was to fake my death and stay in Paris. I told myself to move on with Ladybug, but she never showed up anymore. So after the first week of her disappearance, I told myself that Marinette still misses me, so Cat Noir will watch over her."

"That sounds complicated, mate."

"It is. But now I don't know what I'm still doing here with someone like Allan taking my place..."

"Then if it's Allan you're worried about, just wipe him out of the equation."

"You know I can't just kill him..."

Plagg rolled his eyes, "I never said anything about killing. Just get them to break up. You know, there's a semi-formal coming up in two weeks, and you're going to be there."

"So I have to break them up before then."

"Exactly." Plagg nodded as he held out his fist, which Adrien fist-bumped.

"I never thought I'd start taking orders from you." Adrien shook his head.

"Only here to help, my friend." Plagg bowed.

______________________

"This is me when I was younger." Marinette giggled as she flipped through a photo album.

"You look cute in this one." Allan pointed to a picture of her swimming in a kiddie pool.

"Here's me on my thirteenth birthday." Marinette skipped a handful of pages, "just a couple of years ago." She continued to flip through the pages until Allan stopped her at the page she wanted to skip dreadfully.

"Who's this?" Allan pointed at the page with rows and rows of pictures.

"That's..." Marinette breathed in heavily, "that's Adrien Agreste." She bit her lip, trying to hold back her tears, "my deceased boyfriend."

"Oh, Mari, I'm so sorry..." Allan apologized.

Marinette wiped her eyes, "I-it's okay. It's just that... He died not too long ago. In a car crash. And... I still miss him sometimes."

Allan was going to protest against this, but he knew that she wasn't in the right mood to be yelled at.

Meanwhile, Cat Noir peeked through Marinette's window and watched them carefully.

"Aw, she still misses me?" Cat Noir whispered as a tear escaped his mask.

"It's okay." Allan said, "look, the past is past. Go out and live today." Allan said as he held her chin to look up at him, "okay, beautiful?"

Marinette sniffed, then shrugged. Allan smiled as he gave her a kiss, making Adrien tense up.

Allan wrapped his arm around Marinette as he turned to the next page in the album, "Let's go back to..." But his voice trailed off.

"What?"

"This..." Allan pointed at the two pages worth of photos of Marinette with none other than Cat Noir, "this is Cat Noir."

"Yeah. What about him?"

"How do you know him so well?"

"He's like my best friend. Like at the rink. He's been taking care of me ever since Adrien died." Marinette explained.

"Well, just for future reference, Babe." Allan leaned in closer, "stay away from that mangey alley-cat."

"What? Why?" Marinette gasped.

"Yes!" Cat Noir whispered to himself from behind the window.

"Because I can already tell that cat is bad news."

"Well I can assure you he's not." Marinette stood up and crossed her arms, "he's been so kind to me the past month or two, and you're saying that all that is a lie?"

"Unfortunately, that may be the case." Allan shook his head in disappointment.

"What makes you say that?! Cat Noir is a good person!"

"Well how do you know he's a good person? Do you even know who he is under that mask? How can we trust him if we don't even know who he is?"

"Why do you hate him so much? He saves people! What did he ever do to--"

"He doesn't save everyone..." Allan's fists were clenched, "I can't just stand here and pretend he does, because he doesn't do all good in this world."

Suddenly, Cat Noir burst through the window and landed right between Marinette and Allan.

"Well, well, well. Trying to round up your disciples, I see." Cat Noir crossed his arms, "Sorry to burst your bubble, but you'd better stop taking all your problems out on me. Besides, you know I'm not the only hero in this city."

"Ladybug..." Marinette whispered as she stared at Cat Noir in shock.

"Ladybug is gone." Allan said, "because if only she had been here, she could've stopped this hellenistic demon from..."

"From what?" Marinette asked.

"Just..." Allan ignored her question, then pointed at Cat Noir, "you get out of my face before I tear you to pieces." He turned to Marinette before heading out the door, "I'll text you later. I'll try to explain everything. I promise."

And with that, he was gone.

"Cat Noir! What was that?! What's going on between you two?!"

"Look, I advise you stay away from him. As far away as you can get." Cat Noir put his hands on her shoulders, "That guy's bad news."

"How do you know that?! And if you two are just having your own inside cat-fights, then leave me out of them!"

"I wish I could, I really do. But that's a tad more complicated if you're actually dating him." Cat Noir shrugged, "look, I just don't think it's right for you to be dating him. He's just.... Not your type."

"How can you say that?!"

"Because...." Cat Noir had a sad look in his eyes, "if I were Adrien, I wouldn't want you moving on with a jerk like him."

Marinette stared at him, then shook her head, "I don't know. I just don't know. Please don't bring up his name. Ever again."

"But--"

"Just get out. Cat. Please." Marinette ordered.

Cat Noir didn't want to upset her, so he just sighed, then left. Marinette turned to the door, where Allan had just left, then to the window where Cat Noir had just left.

"Marinette, I told you about Cat Noir..." Tikki flew out, "give him a chance."

"But what about Allan? I wouldn't..." Marinette's voice trailed off, then she just shook her head, "I don't know what to do anymore..."

She fell to her knees, right where she was standing, and let her tears fall into her lap.

"I just don't know..."