Chapter 7: Never Been Akumatized
(A/N: This one, although a bit short, took me forever to write? I’ve had to rewrite it a couple times, and I’ve almost added certain characters, but I felt the story wasn’t ready for them, and yada yada yada. However, I really do hope you guys enjoy this chapter because I do not enjoy it… Have fun, darlings!!)
“What in the world made Marinette Dupain-Cheng feel like she had to end it?” Alya broke the awkward silence with a question I know we were all wondering.
I frowned and looked away, taking in another gulp of water. “Them.”
“Who are they?” Nino threw his hands up in frustration. “Boy, would I love to get my hands on whoever they are.”
“Get in line.” I muttered, crossing my arms and leaning back in the cheap metal cafeteria chair.
“Whoever they are, they suck.” Nino chuckled sadly, staring at his now-empty plate.
Alya eyed me suspiciously. “And you’re still not off of my list of suspects, Agreste.”
“Hey, I can tell you without a doubt that I did not…” I paused, trying to gain the strength to finish my sentence. “I didn’t do anything to her this morning. Or ever, really. I have an alibi for this morning, too.”
“That I believe.” Alya nodded, her voice trailing off.
I furrowed my eyebrows. “What? What is it?”
“Ah, nothing.” She waved her hand dismissively.
Nino raised an unconvinced eyebrow. “C’mon, babe. What?”
“Ugh.” She caved, burying her face in her hands. “What if… they… are akumas?”
“No. No way.” I practically laughed.
She glared at me. “And why not? I know for a fact that Marinette’s been the target of akumas in the past, whether they be the butterflies or akumatized people!”
“Butterflies?” Nino tilted his head.
“Ah, right, you guys still don’t know.” Alya glanced away, as if embarrassed. “About two years ago, Marinette’s negative emotions really spiked because… well, Lila threatened her.”
“Woah, what? Lila Rossi threatened Marinette?” I bolted upright.
Alya nodded solemnly. “Yeah… she cornered Marinette in the bathroom and basically told her she was going to ruin her life.”
“Dang.” Nino narrowed his eyes. “Why did Lila threaten Marinette?”
“Because Marinette wasn’t blind.” I spoke quietly.
Alya murmured an ‘ahuh’ and continued. “Anyways, after that, an akuma flew towards Marinette in attempt to akumatize her. She ultimately avoided it by forcing herself to think positively.”
“I never knew Lila was such a snake.” Nino said, taking his cap off and running his hand through his hair. “Nor that Marinette nearly got akumatized.”
Alya forced a smile. “Haven’t you noticed that she’s never been akumatized?”
“Huh. Yeah, that is pretty amazing.” I leaned forward and rested my elbows on the table.
“So I’m thinking…” Alya quieted her voice. “… maybe they are akumas that Marinette wasn’t able to refuse.”
“Would she really go as far as to try and kill herself to stop it, though?” Nino flipped his hat back on.
Alya winced. “I would hope not, but considering she’s never been akumatized, maybe Hawkmoth had something particularly deadly in store.”
“Okay, maybe. But what about the bruises around her neck?” I swallowed without thinking.
“Alright.” Alya groaned, sinking back into her chair. “You got me there.”
Nino wagged his finger. “No, no, she’s right! Akumas are caused by, like, negative emotions, right? So something else must’ve happened beforehand!”
“What, though?” Alya whined in exasperation.
“That’s what the police are trying to figure out!” I assured her quickly, watching her tug at her hair with enough force to destroy Paris.
She crossed her arms and pouted. “Well, they need to figure it out faster.”
“Agreed.” Nino nodded, his voice breaking just enough for me to notice.
An awkward, but welcome blanket of silence wrapped itself around us, and I couldn’t help but feel weak. I felt weak from crying. I felt weak because I wasn’t there to help my friend. I felt weak because miracles were done that day. Everything felt like it was falling apart, even after we were told she would ultimately end up fine. That didn’t change the fact that this entire thing was traumatizing and very out of the ordinary. The cold, hard truth was that Marinette should not have survived a fall like that, especially since she was already so tiny and… and fragile.
I never really put the words “Marinette” and “fragile” together because someone like Marinette was almost everything but fragile. However, Marinette, due to her size, should have completely shattered after such a fall. But she didn’t. Those three words, although comforting, played like a creepy, broken record. I was so, so thankful my friend would be alright. That didn’t change the fact that her being alright was unnatural. I guess I hadn’t given it too much thought beforehand, but my mind was slowly working itself back toward rational thought. And then suddenly, yet another question plagued my mind.
Why hadn’t my father called?
Sure, he could be aloof and sometimes even distant, but he was still my father. I knew he cared about me, even if we did have our differences in personality. So why, after all of today, and after all of this had most likely been leaked to the press, had he not called me? He had to have been aware of it. He also knew how close I was with Marinette. It rubbed me wrong that he hadn’t even tried to get ahold of me, not even through Nathalie or the Gorilla. I suppose it didn’t matter in the long run. I brushed the thought aside, deciding that he was simply busy all day and had no time in between anything to check up on me. That was fine.
“Y’know, babe, your theory makes, like, a lot of sense, now that I think about it.” Nino piped up, interrupting my thoughts.
I mutely tilted my head to the side, and Alya shifted her gaze to meet his eyes. “Does it?”
“Totally!” He shrugged his shoulders. “We all know Marinette as, like, one of the most confident and awesome people we go to school with! Probably in all of Paris!”
“So it had to have been some supernatural force to even get her to self-harm!” Nino winced as he finished, realizing he had stated that a bit too nonchalantly.
Alya grimaced too. “You… you’re right.”
I blinked. “Plus, if Marinette knew it was either her or someone else, anyone else, she would always choose the other person.”
“Even if that weren’t true, I would rather believe that than believe she really did want to…” Alya trailed off again, setting her stare on her glass of ice.
I shot my friends a goofy, yet reassuring smile. “Hey. At least we’re getting somewhere.”
First: https://king-cotton-candy.tumblr.com/post/186355804383/chapter-1-unexpected-jump
Previous: https://king-cotton-candy.tumblr.com/post/186477562323/chapter-6-their-absence
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