Day 8: Heartbreak
This was a tough one because I couldn’t think of a romantic heartbreak to write about, but that isn’t the the only type of heartbreak in life, so I did something more like a self love and growth kind of thing. I hope you guys enjoy it!!
For MLValentines2k20
It had come as a surprise to everyone when Marinette quit her position as the class representative.
It was an even bigger surprise when she announced that she would be switching schools, to a prestigious academy of arts nonetheless.
“But how did you-” Lila jumped out of her seat in complete shock and angrily stomped the “injured” foot she had been complaining about for days with no signs of pain.
Her classmates were shocked as they took note of her bandaged leg. They had been helping her carry her things for days, a not so easy task with how heavy her bag was. Suddenly, Marinette’s voice rang in their ears as she warned them that she was lying. Oh how blind they had been…
“Jagged,” Marinette began as she pulled up a picture of the rock star wearing his luxurious new outfit for last night’s music award festival. He held up a certificate with Marinette by his side, in a cute dress decorated in her signature flower pattern. “He has decided to hire me as his personal designer and has decided to sponsor me on my journey to become a professional.”
“That’s impossible!” Lila ran up to her in anger, and tried to snatch her phone away.
This time, there was denying Marinette’s past accusations as some of their classmates let out an annoyed breath as they continued to watch the brunette in anger. Lila was using her sprained wrist effortlessly to try and wrestle Marinette’s phone out of her hands, another clear, irrefutable piece of evidence that proved she had been lying.
“Jagged would never!” Lila’s tunnel vision was so strong, she failed to realize how she was ripping away the blindfolds she had elaborately placed on her classmates.
“Oh, but he did.” Marinette didn’t hold back as she slapped Lila’s hand away and stood her ground. “Because, unlike you, I actually know Jagged and he’s a close friend of mine.” Marinette glanced around the classroom and smiled as realization sank into her classmates. Marinette took a deep breath and held her ground, standing tall and proud against the girl who had tried to break her.
“But-!”
“Enough, Lila!” Adrien walked over to Lila and placed a hand on her shoulder before pulling her back a little harder than necessary. “You just gave yourself away and all because you couldn’t stand the idea of Marinette being happy?” Adrien’s voice was calm and collected but his tone gave away how mad he was. “Mari was right,” he began as he pulled his hand back as if he’d touched something disgusting. “There’s no way you were ever going to stop being a manipulative liar and I was a fool for wanting to believe you’d change.”
“Miss Rossi,” Mme Bustier called in a cold voice as Lila went wide-eyed. “It would seem you have some explaining to do.” Lila looked down at her foot before looking back at the rest of the class who now stared at her in anger and complete disgust. It was clear that realization was slowly kicking in, and she still tried to lie her way out of it.
“I-I can explain!” Lila cried as she tried to back away from everyone as they got out of their seats. In her effort to escape, she failed to realize that running up to Marinette earlier had undone her bandage, and fell as she tripped on her way out of the classroom. It was no surprise to them when she howled in pain as they heard her trip down the stairs with a bang. But no one made an effort to follow her, well, except for the teacher. She was still a minor under her authority after all.
“I’m sorry for not being more open about my support sooner. I really did try to help her change, especially with the whole expulsion incident, but I was an idiot to believe in someone like her.” Adrien rubbed the back of his neck as he looked down in embarrassment of his own foolishness. “You’re my friend, and I should’ve backed you up better, and supported you sooner.” He looked up, hoping to find a smiling Marinette who would reassure him that everything would be okay.
Instead, he found a stern-faced Marinette who looked up at him with watery eyes.
“I’m sorry Adrien, but I can’t accept your apology. At least, not now.” She turned to the quiet class who now stood at the bottom steps of the rows. “The same goes for all of you guys. Knowing you, you’ll try to apologize for being so blind and then ask me how you can make it up to me, but I can’t deal with that right now. I can’t forgive you guys right now.” The class lowered their heads or looked away in shame.
“Mari,” Adrien called softly as he reached out to her.
“Don’t-” Marinette began as she took a step back.
Adrien was shocked, hurt even, that she would pull back from him in such a scared way that she held up her books in front of her as a shield. However, the thing that shook him to the core, was seeing her cry. The tears fell silently, without her seeming to notice as he pulled his hand back and back to his sides.
“It hurt, Adrien.” Marinette lowered her books and looked him in the eyes. “She threatened me, Adrien. To hurt me and to make me lose everything and everyone I loved.” Her voice cracked as she thought back to that day when she had been cornered by Lila. “I was so scared, and yet no one believes me. And even though you knew, you told me to let her be, to be the bigger person and I did because I loved you, Adrien.”
Adrien felt his heart stop. His mind couldn’t keep up with anything anymore and he felt himself gasping for air. Lila had threatened Marinette, and though she hadn’t hurt her physically, she had hurt Marinette in a much more deeper, emotional and psychological way that he couldn’t protect her from. Then her confession sank in. She had loved him. Past tense.
“Mari, I really did try to help her be a better person. I know it’s not a good excuse, but I even convinced her to come clean when you were expelled because I didn’t want you to get hurt. I let her do as she wanted with me, so she wouldn’t hurt you and I really thought I was helping her be good. But I never thought she would-” Adrien felt his eyes sting but forced his own tears back, he had no right to that right now. “God, I was so stupid! I promised to have your back and I let you down. I’m so sorry, Marinette.”
“I’m sorry too,” Marinette began as she wiped at her tears with the palm of her hands. “I’m sorry that whatever life you’ve had before, has blinded you so horribly to what defines a good person. And I’m sorry to myself for letting myself be put down like that because I believed that you would help me. I’m sorry for having wasted so much of my time trusting you like I did,” she turned to the class as she tried to fan her face to stop the tears. “Because if you had really cared, if you had really been my friends,” she turned back to Adrien as she allowed one last tear to fall for him. “You wouldn’t have sat in silence as she repeatedly broke my down.”
Adrien’s heart broke as he watched Marinette try to regain her composure with several deep breaths, but something about it, made it hurt more than he had expected it to. Seeing her so vulnerable tore at him, like someone had reached into his chest and gripped his heart with the intent of ripping it out. The embodiment of love had lost her spark, and it was all because of him. He found himself unable to move, despite wanting nothing but to hold her in his arms and tell her that everything would be okay. That they would make it through this together, them against the world, but as she looked up at him with eyes that refused to shed any more tears, he realized it was too late. He had lost something far more precious than he had realized until it was out of his reach.
“This was meant to be a happy good bye, not this heartbreaking farewell.” Marinette placed a hand on her chest as she began to relax, gaining the strength to once again stand tall and confident. “I realized that I need love myself, that I am under no circumstances someone else’s emotional punching bag and that I deserve to be loved. I deserve to be surrounded by real friends who trust and respect me. Why? Because I am a human being. That’s why I agreed to transfer, because I need to do what’s best for me, and what I need,” she looked into Adrien’s eyes with a rueful smile, “It isn’t here. It’s somewhere out there, waiting for me to find it.”
Marinette could feel her heart ache, but this was for the best. She once again pushed aside her feelings, but smiled as she remembered that this time, it was for her own sake. “So,” she began as she turned to look at each of her classmates, “When I am ready, I will accept your apologies.” She adjusted her hold on the books that didn’t fit in her backpack, and looked at Alya and Nino. “Until then, I will be working hard to make my dreams come true.” She turned to Adrien and offered him one last smile. “I am glad that I got to meet you, all of you, I’m just sorry it didn’t work out. Hopefully when we’re all ready, we can give it another go. Until then, I wish you all the best.”
With that, Marinette turned around and walked out of the classroom, leaving everyone in a guilty silence.
It hurt, to cut off her friends like that, but it was for the best. Marinette held her head high, allowing herself to look back one last time, only when she had reached the steps outside of the school. She smiled fondly at the memories she had made with all of her friends and at the memory of the kind boy she had shared an umbrella with. He would always be her first love, but that was all he was ever meant to be. A beautiful memory, a fleeting dream, of what could have been. With one last deep breath, she turned around and walked away.
Since that day, the pain in her heart slowly began to disappear, and as she adjusted to her new school dorms, she began to make new friends and actually enjoyed her classes for the first time in a long time. It was still hard, at times, to get away when Ladybug was needed, but it didn’t take long for new, more permanent heroes to help her and Chat Noir.
Her feline partner had fallen quiet for a while, but eventually regained his spark when she told him that she was now having the time of her life. He knew her heart was still healing from her first heartbreak, but to her surprise, he wasn’t pushing his luck like before. He kept the flirting down to a bare minimum while respecting her space. He had turned to look her in the eyes when he’d said that someone he loved had taught him the importance of boundaries and respect. His eyes seemed to flash with recognition for a moment and he reached out to her, but he caught himself and shook his head before apologizing for how he had tried to pressure her into loving him.
It had taken her by surprise, but she accepted his apology and hugged him tightly. “Thank you, Chaton!” She allowed herself to hold him tightly without having to worry about his flirtatious advances. “You’re my best friend, and I was scared of losing you because I couldn’t return your feelings. It’s always been you and me against the world, and without you, I would be lost.”
Chat Noir was shocked. Not only did he realize that he had been pushing her away with his advances, but he confirmed what he had been suspecting since Marinette left school. Ladybug and Marinette were the same person. Their eyes, though slightly different because of the magic they used, still held her usual strength and kindness to them. It was then that he made a vow to himself. He may have failed her as Adrien Agreste, but he was going to protect her as Chat Noir. With a promise in his heart, and a new resolve, he gave her a gentle squeeze and left her with a smile as his ring began to beep.
And so, the days came and went, and one day, she realized her heart no longer heart. She was happy, even if she did sometimes run late to class. She laughed as she thought of Alya telling her off for being slow and considered replying to her message later.
“Wooops!” Marinette felt her body lurch forward and prepared herself to hit the ground but was surprised when a strong arm caught her.
“Careful,” a boy hissed as he pulled her up. He wore a scowl on his face but it didn’t take long for Marinette to recognize his icy blue eyes and golden blonde hair.
“F-Felix?” Marinette stumbled back in embarrassment, causing her portfolio to slip from her hands. Oh no.
“Oh, it’s you.” Felix adjusted his violin case as he noticed the pieces of paper on the floor. “What brings you to my school?” He asked as he kneeled down to help her pick up the detailed sketches.
“Fashion design,” Marinette laughed awkwardly as she took the sketches he had gathered and carefully placed them in her portfolio. She flipped through the pages to make sure that nothing was missing, “You?” She nodded when nothing seemed to be out of place and was surprised when she found Felix peering over her shoulder.
“Music, design, business, you name it.” Felix took a step back and nodded towards her portfolio. “You’re actually pretty good. I’m surprised my uncle hasn’t hired you in an ironclad contract.”
“Actually, Jagged Stone did.” Marinette laughed as the warning bell rang. “Ack! That’s my cue, I gotta go. See you around Felix!” She cried with a smile as she ran off.
“See you around,” he laughed as he made his way towards the music hall.
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I really wanted this to make the class realize they were lied to, but not in a salt kind of way. It was difficult since I haven’t written this much in a long time, but boy was it fun.
