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It’s been such a hard day for Marinette Dupain-Chang. And after all of it she finds herself walking alone, still feeling awful due to her cold. The sun is already down and the streets are empty. Not a soul in sight, and barely any shops open.
In these past few months she’s felt so lonely. She’s been surrounded by more people than ever, but with her favorite person gone life has felt as barren as the streets before her.
Lila Rossi, the person she’d go to for comfort. Being a super hero is stressful. In many ways Marinette has found that it’s ruined her. But Lila was always there when she needed to cry, though she couldn’t tell her the truth of the matter. Lila was never the most truthful either, so surely it wasn’t wrong.
Lost in her own thoughts, Marinette ends up veering off the path to her home. She snaps out of it when she realizes that she doesn’t know where she is. The shops around her are unfamiliar, and the street is one she’s never been on. She looks at her phone and sees she has no reception. In her panic she decides to simply keep moving forward. She’ll find her way home eventually.
After what feels like hours of walking she finally stops. She’s even more lost, and she’s starting to lose hope. She looks around and spots a familiar advertisement to her left. It’s old. Really old. And even after all this time it still shines as bright as the first time she saw it, but now she sees it differently.
The ad is for Adrien’s perfume. It features Adrien smiling in front of a perfect blue sky. Next to him is the bottle with the title of the fragrance and the brand.
A year ago Marinette would have found herself drooling all over the ad. But now she stares at it, and she can’t see Adrien. Lila is all she can see. All she can think about. She doesn’t even know how long she’s been standing there when she hear’s a voice behind her.
“What are you doing?” It calls out.
Startled, Mari whips her head around to see Nathaniel standing behind her. What is he doing here? Shouldn’t he be at home with his parents?
“Nothing, just… I got a little lost.” She responds frantically.
“I can tell. The bakery is a long way from here.” Nate says walking up to lean against the poster. “But that’s not what I meant. Why are you staring at this poster? I thought you rejected Adrien.”
“Oh yeah… Adrien’s the one on the poster…” She sighs, moving to lean on the poster next to Nate. “I did, but he just reminds me of someone else.”
“Ah, I get it… I think.”
An awkward silence falls between them as they both look up at the ad. It eats away at Marinette. She finally has someone to be around and she cant even find something to talk about. Once again, it’s Nathaniel who manages to drum up a conversation.
“Today was eventful.” He says.
“Yeah, your mom sure has a strange hatred of comics.” Mari chuckles awkwardly.
“Yeah… it’s the comic that she had a problem with.”
“It feels a bit unnecessary, don’t you think? To hate something that harmless to the point of hurting people over it.”
”Mhm” Nate huffs. To him, Marinette has always come off as a bit Naive. He liked that about her at first, but sometimes she gives off the impression that she knows more than she’s letting on. It almost frustrates him. “… Mari? Have you ever fallen in love with someone you weren’t supposed to?”
Marinette looks to Nathaniel, and then back to the building in front of her. “I have, actually.”
“Who? It can’t be Adrien. I feel like that’s pretty standard.”
“No, not him. Someone else. Someone a little more controversial.”
“Oh… do I know this person?”
“You used to spend a lot of time around them actually.” Marinette smiles and looks at Nathaniel. “I’m sure you asked that question for a reason. So tell me, what’s your person like?”
“They’re the sweetest person you could ever meet. The prettiest too.”
“They sound amazing.” Mari has so many questions to ask, but at this moment she looks at her phone. It’s almost midnight, and she needs to get home. “I’d better get going.”
“Do you need help getting home?” Nathaniel asks, not wanting to be left alone.
“I’ll be fine. I finally have at least a little reception. I can try to get my gps working.” Mari laughs, turning to walk away.
“Okay, well… I’ll see you at school tomorrow.” He calls out.
Now alone, Nathaniel turns to the ad he’d found Mari looking at. But now he stares at it, and he can’t see Adrien. Marc is all he can see. All he can think about.