The Jacket

Ice Cream and Kisses

I would like to formally apologize if I have misinterpreted what my character went through at all. I based her reaction off of what I knew and understood about PTSD and shock as well as my own experiences, so if it is not accurate I just want to apologize for not representing those who do have to deal with those kinds of issues correctly. I have not received any complaints, but I am truly sorry if you feel I have misrepresented you or the issue at hand.

Disclaimer: Nothing but the plot is mine.

Marinette didn't come to school the next day, a fact the entire class noticed. Adrien was worried even though he knew why she was gone. He promised himself that he would visit her as Adrien after school and as Chat Noir later. Ah, the perks of having multiple personas.

Aside from Adrien, however, no one was concerned. They hadn't forgotten what Lila had accused her of, and as they believed Lila, they thought that Marinette deserved whatever had caused her to stay home.

As soon as school was over Adrien raced to Marinette's house, anxious to see her. He almost ran into someone coming out the door, muttering a quick apology before bounding into the bakery.

"Mr. Dupain, Mrs. Cheng, can I see Marinette?" the model asked, out of breath.

"You know we told you to call us by our first names!" Sabine scolded. "But of course you can go up. Just promise that if she asks you to go away you will."

"Of course Sabine, I wouldn't want to press my company on her." With that, he made his way up to Marinette's room, knocking on the trap door that led to her room.

"Come in?" Marinette called after Tiki had hidden herself, confused. Her parents usually didn't knock before coming into her room, and she didn't have any friends at school anymore. 'Except for Adrien,' she realized as the blonde's head poked up above the floor.

He smiled at her as he climbed up, glad to see that she looked much better today than she had the night before. She returned his smile, grateful that she at least had one friend. Aside from her kitty, of course. She took in his outfit, which was different than usual.

He had on a dark blue Gabriel brand sweatshirt, as well as a pair of Jeans and a pair of black Vans on, foregoing his usual orange Converse.

"Hey Mari, I noticed you weren't at school today so I took these notes for you. Here," he told her, handing her several pieces of paper with his neat scrawl on them.

"Thank you," she told him—without stuttering. The fact wasn't lost to either of them, and Adrien smirked. It seemed that a certain black cat had made it into her heart more than he had previously thought.

"Of course. Is there anything else you need?"

"No no, don't inconvenience yourself, I'll be fine," she told him.

"Once again you aren't fine right now, you will be fine," he pointed out. "Do you want to get ice cream? I doubt you have been outside the house all day."

"That would be nice. Thank you for the offer and for the notes."

"Of course Mari, anything for you," he told her, purposely leaving out the word "friend."

She didn't catch the difference, however. She just smiled at him and grabbed her purse, made sure Tiki had time to sneak into it, and climbed down the ladder and they walked out of the bakery together, chatting away.

They saw André, his outfit the same as ever. He wore a blue and white striped shirt with an apron covering most of it, and dark grey pants. A thin red scarf was tied around his neck, and a dark blue beret sat on top of his head.