A Miraculous Tale: Speechless

Ch. 6

Cat Noir held Marinette. How could you Kagami? He thought over and over again; he ached for his best friend. He hugged her tighter.

"I'm here, Marinette. I'll always be here." He whispered into her ear. They stood there in the silence of the Paris night, and Marinette's sobs racked the air. Silent tears slid down Cat Noir's face, and he put a comforting hand on the distressed girls head. He whispered soothing words to her over and over. After a while Marinette's sobs quieted, but the two didn't let go of each other.

A clock somewhere chimed midnight, and Cat Noir gave a sudden start as he realized what time it was. Marinette pulled away from him gently, and he looked at the broken girl with concern.

"I should go to bed." She whispered hoarsely.

Cat Noir's brow furrowed. "Will you be okay?"

Marinette dully nodded, and a stray tear leaked from her eye.

Cat Noir stepped closer to her and gently wiped the tear from her face.

"I'll come back to check on you; I promise." He paused a moment and gazed at Marinette. Her arms were wrapped around her skinny frame and her head was bent to the ground. He wanted to cheer her up, to give her some encouragement, but he didn't know how.

"Goodnight, Princess." He used the nickname he had gifted her at the hospital. A faint smile graced her lips.

"Goodnight." She whispered. Marinette climbed down into her bedroom and shut the hatch, leaving Cat Noir by himself on the empty balcony.

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"How could I be so stupid!" Adrien yelled as he paced his room.

"Yeah, you were being really stupid." Plagg said after he swallowed a slice of camembert.

Adrien slumped down onto his sofa. "So stupid..." He had never felt very angry before, but now anger coursed through his veins because of the torment he had brought to his best friend.

"I can't even tell her, Plagg! She'd know I was Cat Noir instantly, unless I placed the blame on Alya or Nino, but then I'd break their friendship!" Adrien never thought he'd find himself in such a hard situation.

"Well, Adrien has lost Marinette's trust and friendship, but Cat Noir hasn't." Plagg said while grabbing some more cheese.

"Cat Noir?" Adrien asked, not following Plagg's logic.

"Yeah." Plagg sighed. "You really have a thick skull. Cat Noir has regained the trust and friendship of Marinette, so..."

"So I could still be friends with her, but as Cat Noir!"

"Bingo!" Plagg said and ate another piece of cheese.

Adrien smiled. "Thanks, Plagg. Where would I be without you?"

"A ditch maybe? Or a museum."

"A museum?" Adrien asked, curious to see what his kwami was getting at.

Plagg swallowed a bite of cheese. "Yeah, and right above your head would be a big plaque that said 'The Boy with the Thickest Skull.'" Plagg snickered.

"Oh, Plagg! You never miss a chance to tease me do you?"

"How could I turn down an opportunity like that?"

Adrien just shook his head in mock despair.

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The next day at school was hard for Adrien. He had to avoid all his close friends. Everyone had heard various rumors about what went down between him and Marinette, and they had all decided to ignore him too. That is, everyone except Chloe.

"Adrikins!" The blond haired girl screamed as Adrien entered the classroom. She ran up to him and gave him a bear hug.

"Hey, Chloe." Adrien gently pushed the girl off of him.

"Adrien, I heard of the wonderful thing you did to Marinette. Just when I thought you couldn't get any better you did!"

Adrien was confused. "Wait, what exactly did I..."

"Sabrina agreed to trade spots with you. You don't want to be sitting next to all those meanies who've been ignoring you, do you?"

"Well, actually..."

"Great!" Chloe interrupted. She grabbed Adrien's arm and dragged him over to her seat. The poor boy had no choice but to sit down, and Chloe sat next to him. Sabrina sadly trudged over to sit next to Nino. Then class started.

An hour later Adrien dragged himself into the lunch room. He sat at a table by himself, and he saw Chloe talking to Rose.

Phew, a moment of peace at last.