POUND IT! (On hiatus until my brain cooperates with me...)

Chapter Twenty Eight

"Marinette." The tiny kwami said as she put her hands on her hips, "Are we not gonna talk about how you nearly ghosted Adrien."

"He deserved it. He's made it clear that he wants to mess around with my feelings, I won't let him." Marinette snapped back.

"But Marinette, don't you already have a boyfriend? Y'know, Chat Noir?" Tikki reasoned.

"I do, but it also happens that Adrien's fricking Chat Noir!" She fumed. Then she put her head in her hands, sobbing softly. Whoever was in the girls bathroom right now hopefully just thought she was having an emotional breakdown. Although, truth be told, she kind of was.

Tikki froze at this sudden change in mood. Marinette didn't usually act this erratic-well, most of the time anyways-she was usually calm and collected. Then she understood, "Oh Marinette..." She flew up to her chosen's cheek, nuzzling it softly, "I'm sorry."

Marinette sniffled, "Don't be. It's not like he was my boyfriend for very long, he probably just felt bad for me that night, and then things got out of hand from there."

"But if you think about it, he has been your boyfriend since Mr. André got akumatized into Glaciator. He told you that he loved Ladybug, and I think you were in love with him too." She faced Marinette reassuringly, "He really does love you. Whatever happened between him and Kagami must've been an accident. I know neither Chat Noir nor Adrien would be that cruel."

"But that's the thing Tikki! He was in love with Ladybug. Not Marinette. When I'm Ladybug, I'm sassy, confident, brave, and cool! But as Marinette..." She started, "I'm clumsy, shy, and I can't even say a full sentence to Adrien!"

Tikki stared at Marinette with a serious face, "Marinette Dupain-Cheng. I will not let you say those things about yourself! You are confident, brave, sassy and cool in and out of the suit! If Adrien can't see that, it's his loss then!"

Marinette was surprised by this new side of Tikki, but she understood at the same time. Tikki had seen love, war, and death. She had lived through the best and toughest times the earth had faced. And yet here she was, comforting Marinette about a silly thing. Marinette quit her sulking and walked out of the girl's bathroom.

Alya was waiting outside the bathroom, arms crossed across her chest, "Girl, where were you? It's not like there's an akuma or anything-" Then she noticed how exhausted her best friend looked. Her cheeks were tear stained and she had a small pout on her face, "Marinette? Are you alright?"

"Yeah Alya, I'm fine." She gave a strained smile. Maybe she was being a tad overdramatic, but just finding out that your boyfriend was cheating on you with his other identity, that's messed up.

Alya looked Marinette up and down, "Oh no girl, I don't think you're just fine." She sat Marinette and herself down on the nearby bench, "Now, tell Auntie Alya all of your troubles."

Marinette had to crack a smile at her best friend's attempt to help, "Thanks Alya, but it's not something I can just say out loud."

Alya tightened her grip on Marinette's shoulders, "No. Whatever's bothering you, you should get it off of your shoulders."

Marinette removed Alya's hands and smiled teasingly, "There. Done. Now can I go back?"

"Ouch, Marinette." She put a hand over her chest in mock offense, "But seriously, if there's something you need to talk about, you need to tell me. With balancing being Chat's girlfriend and Ladybug, I think you need some Marinette time."

Marinette tensed at the mention of Chat's name, "Well..." Should she really tell Alya? How would that go down with Adrien/Chat? She was still furious with him, but she wasn't going to expose his identity over a silly little thing...

"Well, what?"

She sighed, "I figured out who Chat Noir is."

"Oh."

That's it? Just Oh? Usually she would be pummelling her with questions, "No pressing questions you want to ask me?"

"Oh I do," Alya admitted, "But if you're so upset about it, you don't have to tell me anything."

Marinette unconsciously fiddled with her hands in her lap, "I would tell you Alya, really would. But..." She took a deep breath, "It's not my secret to share. And if you knew who he really is, you would be planning his death." She tried to laugh it off.

"Is it someone I know?"

"Well, um... yes. You know him pretty well." Marinette said.

Alya made a dramatic gasp, "Is it..." She paused for emphasis, "Adrien?" She laughed at her joke. "Yeah right, like Adrien could actually be Chat Noir. That boy is locked up in his room when he's not in school. If he actually was..." She trailed off, studying Marinette's pale expression. She took a moment for her mind to connect the dots, "Oh shoot."

"Well... it's not confirmed or anything, but it seems all too coincidental. When Adrien asked me out, I accused him of being Chat Noir, I was joking of course, but he looked really nervous. After I got akumatized, Chat Noir came to visit me. He asked if I hated Adrien with a look of self-pity on his face. When I denied and went rambling about how amazing Adrien is, Chat Noir noticeably blushed." She went on, "And just this morning, he totally ignored my Ladybug persona. When I confronted him about his rude behavior, he snapped at me. And that's when I noticed the bracelet he was wearing. I gave it to Adrien to help with his gaming skills, so why would Chat have it unless he himself was Adrien?" She finished, giving Alya a moment for this to sink in. Marinette was hanging on a tiny string of hope when she added, "Of course, this doesn't mean anything, it could just be a series of coincidences.

"Whoa. Um... I-" Alya was speechless, "The evidence is clearly there. And I have seen Adrien cracking a cat pun or looking at you like you were his girlfriend... Wait. I thought he was dating Kagami..." Then her expression hardened, her tone dark, "Oh no Mr. Agreste. You messed with the wrong girl's best friend." She rolled up her sleeves and stalked in the direction of his classroom.

Marinette grabbed Alya's arm before she could do anything stupid, "Alya, no." She looked her best friend dead in the eyes, "If anyone is gonna confront him, it's gonna be me." She gave a pleading look.

"Fine." Alya said as she backed down, "But can't I just kill him a tiny bit?" She made a small space between her pointer finger and her thumb.

Marinette shook her head, but she was laughing, "Not even a little bit. Now c'mon, I wonder what Mr. Scott would think if we stayed out of class any longer."

Alya laughed as well as the two girls headed to their classroom.

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Ooooooh! Alya's going all protective on Marinette, huh? Also, get ready for a loooooooong Marichat chapter.

- Midnight 📚