Trust Me When We Fall

Act One: II

I paused on the school steps and grasped the handles of my book bag tighter. I'd made up my mind not to come, had told Mama and Papa I didn't feel well. The thought of seeing Adrien made my stomach turn. These weren't your average, run of the mill butterflies. I was terrified.

"This isn't the end of the world, Marinette,"  Tiki had said to me. "Adrien is still Adrien. . . He's just Chat Noir too."

I hugged my bag protectively against me, knowing two little kwamis were nestled inside. In separate pockets. Though getting them there hadn't been easy. In fact, the whole weekend I'd had to keep Plagg from finding out he wasn't the only magical being in my house.

I walked into the school grounds and paused at the edge of the court where Kim and Alix were fooling around with a ball. I tried to dodge out of their way and murmured a greeting.

"Hey, Marinette," Kim said, and shielded the ball from Alix with his body. While his attention was on me, she lunged for the ball and managed to get away with it. She made a shot that danced on the rim and dropped in.

"Come on, Alix. I was distracted," Kim protested.

She probably said something witty back at him, but I hurried past. My eyes darted around the gym, searching for a certain head of blond hair with little luck. Maybe he's not here yet. So I relaxed. A little.

Alya and Nino sat on the stairs that led to the second floor, their shoulders together, both scrolling on their phones. Alya must have a sixth sense, psychic powers, or Marinette radar, because she looked up while I was still several yards away. She nudged Nino with her arm, and he glanced around, startled. He finally spotted me and gave a little wave.

I waved back, and managed to giggle at the two of them. "Hey, you guys."

"Don't think I didn't notice, because I did," Alya said, and gave me a look that pierced my very soul.

My brain sifted through all the things Alya could have found out. What if she knows I'm Ladybug? What if she knows I'm Ladybug and Adrien is Chat Noir? What if she can tell I didn't wash my hair this morning?

A panicked laugh came out. "Noticed what?"

"You're looking for Adrien."

Hearing his name sent a jolt through me, but then I let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, right."

Nino rested his arm on his knee, his eyes downcast. "I still can't believe what happened to him."

"Yeah. . ." I looked down at my shoes. "I feel so bad for him."

"Me too," Nino said, and looked like he might feel worse than Alya and I put together.

Although Alya was so engrossed by her phone, I'm not sure she was even listening.

"What's so interesting?" I asked.

She glanced up. "Have you seen the latest scoop on Ladybug and Chat Noir?"

"What is it?" I asked, a part of me grateful for the change of subject. Although really, we were still talking about the same person.

"This guy posted a selfie he took with them on le Pont des Invalides on Saturday."

Oh yeah. That was a thing that happened. It had been such a brief moment, and subsequent events caused me to forget about it until now.

I leaned in to see Alya's phone and couldn't help the smile that spread over my face. The picture was foggy and crisp from the rain. The guy– I think he'd said his name was Aaron– was wearing the biggest smile. My bangs clung to my forehead and I was kinda making a weird face.