A Whole New Life

Chapter 6

Is that him?

Is that really Adrien Agreste?

Did he really forget everything?

The words drifted around him as he skulked along the street, trying to get to school with as little attention as possible. So much for that.

When he found the building labeled Collège Françoise Dupont, he hesitantly stepped in, finding himself in a large commons area. Immediately all of the eyes in the room went to him.

"IT'S MY ADRIKINS!" A snobby looking blonde squealed, throwing her arms around him. He shrugged away, not exactly sure how to respond.

Many of the students smiled and walked over to him. A few came running.

"Dude, we totally missed you!"

"I can't believe you're here!"

"Adrien's back! This is definitely going on my blog!"

One stood out among the others.

"Are you ok?"

He turned to find the source of those three words, which he found was all the way across the room. He didn't know how he heard it. A beautiful blonde girl with a very worried look on her face stood off in the distance, looking at him. Recognition pounded in his chest, and he had to stop himself with every fiber of his being from bolting over to her. There was something so strikingly familiar about her, like he'd said her name a million times or more, but it was impossible to remember right then. There was one other thing that stood out, she was wearing that same pendant of a black swan around her neck. It hung ominously, and Adrien then knew that it was no coincidence that he found them. They were sent to him. He didn't know how or why but he knew that those pendants in his nightstand drawer were supposed to find him, some way or another.

He got caught in a huge group hug, with himself at the center. The pressure of everyone around him was consuming, and he yearned to slip away to find the girl. When everyone finally let go, she was gone. He looked around, but there seemed to be no trace of her anywhere.

Something slipped through the fog in his mind. It took several moments to form, but then it was there and he could never forget it again.

"Foster."

When he whispered it felt right, like he had said it countless times before. He had no idea how, or why, or when he knew her, but he knew without a doubt the girl who disappeared was Foster, and the big brown round eyes stuck in his head belonged to her.

He couldn't take it anymore. The knowing but not knowing, the worried looks people who once knew him were showing, the looks of relief and pity he saw when he was with people who were strangers to him. Because of all this he slipped away, needing to be free of the things he didn't know. People called after him, but he didn't care. He ran faster, drowning out the calls of worry he didn't want to hear. He needed to find something that he knew. Anything.

With that thought the slender blonde girl with the necklace came back into his thoughts. He needed to find her, he needed to find the one thing he knew better than anything. Then it struck him. He didn't know her at all. He only knew how cute she looked when she was worried like that. He knew those beautiful eyes he had been lost in countless times. He knew that somehow, she stood out from everyone he had seen so far.

But that was all.

This was all he knew. Everything else was a blur. He didn't remember opening the door to the men's bathroom, yet he was there. He didn't care if anyone saw him, and so he cried. He cried for all the things he didn't know. He cried and it felt so selfish, considering he had been woken up from a coma. You could've died, Nathalie had said. He cried for Marinette, wishing he remembered her. He cried for the girl who had disappeared. Foster. There was one difference from when he cried last night. This time he was alone. This time he didn't have anyone to lean on, and it made him want to beat his head with a rock until all he could see was red.

He was empty.

He was alone.

Or so he thought, as there was a voice from outside the bathroom, "Hey dude, I'm sorry we got all clingy like that. We didn't know you'd be upset, I thought you were chill again." The boy walked into the bathroom. He had headphones around his neck and a red baseball cap on. Adrien could tell by the way he walked towards him that he was one of his best friends.

"It's ok, it's not your fault," Adrien said, now realizing how scratchy his throat was from all the crying. He could hardly see with how puffy his eyes were.

"Dude, I'm sorry. We just got so excited you were back and forgot that..." his voice trailed off. He didn't need to finish the sentence.

"So, what's your name?" Adrien was getting tired of introductions.

"Name's Nino. Dude, you're my best bro! When I heard the news you had lost your memories..." he trailed off, "Well, we can be best bro's all over again! I'm cool with that! What do you say? Bro's for life again?" Adrien could tell that Nino really did seem cool with that, so he made his best effort to cheer himself up for Nino's sake.

"Yeah, sure!"

"Cool dude!"

They both smiled, and Adrien tried to be happy. He had made a friend! Well, he had been introduced to who was supposedly his best friend.

They walked out of the bathroom after Adrien had splashed some water on his face, trying to make it look like he hadn't cried. It didn't work as well as he had hoped. Marinette was right outside the bathroom door.

"Oh, Adrien, I'm so glad to see you here at school again!" Marinette seemed exhausted beyond measure, but she was trying, and failing, to hide it.

Adrien sent Nino a look to signal him to give him a moment alone, to which he happily obliged. "Hey, Marinette."

She threw her arms around him too quickly and suddenly, sending them tumbling backwards onto the floor. Marinette was sprawled out on top of him, and for a moment he couldn't move. He just kept staring at her, hoping to remember the beautiful girl she was.

Then the awkwardness of the situation kicked in.

"I'm so sorry! It was an accident I- I didn't mean—" he cut her off her stuttering by putting his index finger up to her lips, making her bluebell eyes go wide.

"This is fine, I could get used to this." He smirked and cocked an eyebrow. She rolled off of him, standing up and rolling her eyes.

"You sound like Chat!"

"Huh. I wonder why."

She rolled her eyes again, giving him her hand so he could stand up. He didn't let go, even when he was standing. She turned him to face her.

"Are you really ok?" Her words pierced his soul, and he wished more than anything that he could say yes without it being a lie, so he told the truth.

"No."

She rubbed circles into the back of his hand as he held tightly. He might have known Foster before, but he knew Marinette now. "I'm sorry. Do you need me for anything?"

"Yes, I need you for this."

And with that he wrapped his arms around her tightly, this time without them falling. This time he didn't need to cry, as he had already cried himself out. It took her a second to hug him back, but when she did it felt like the crumbling world he hardly knew was complete.

Almost.