Chapter 3

Marinette stepped outside into the morning sun. Her shoulders were tense as she scanned the up and down sidewalk. Furrowing her eyebrows, she turned around in a circle. Where did he go? Hadn't he had been just right here?

"Have you ever had a croissant? They're delicious."

Marinette jumped and spun around. Out of nowhere, Adrien was slumped against the cafe's window display. She let out a long breath before putting her hands on her hips.

"Yes, I have. Now, what are you doing here? Are you following me?"

"Who said I was following you?"

Marinette rolled her eyes. "It's so obvious. I bet you were eavesdropping too. Do I need to call the police, or will you tell me what you're doing here?"

"Oh, the police, huh?" Adrien straightened and brushed the croissant crumbs off of his hands on his pants. "Tell me, what would you tell them? That invisible people are bothering you? Trust me, little girl, you'll be sent off to a mental asylum before you could blab about monsters and 'akumas'." He made air quotations to emphasize his point.

"My name is not little girl," she snapped, her teeth grit together. "It's Marinette."

He smirked. "I know. Pretty name. Sounds like a name that belongs to a princess."

Marinette folded her arms. "You still haven't answered my question. Why are you here?"

He shrugged and turned his attention away from her. "You know, you sound just like Chloe when she gets mad. Folded arms, narrowed eyes, and the disdain so strong, you can almost taste it. But she's an Akumahunter and you're a Mundie. Funny, don't you think?"

"I'm a what?"

Adrien shook his head and laughed to himself. "You're just as clueless as the rest of them. They have no idea what types of threats lay just under their noses."

"I saw you murder someone last night!" Marinette exclaimed. "The least you can do is answer my questions."

"You're aren't paying attention, are you?"

Marinette was taken aback. He gave her this look like she was some sort of clueless dog running in circles around his legs. It only made her angrier.

"All you've told me is that you're some sort of hunter of monsters, I act like you overdramatic blonde accomplice, you calling me names, and that you like croissants!"

A faint smile flickered across his lips. "Oh, they are delicious, aren't they, Princess?"

Marinette threw her hands in the air. "I give up. If you're not going to answer my questions, I'm just going to leave."

She turned to back into the cafe. At least Nathaneal was on some degree of normal, unlike this freak. Before she could take a step, Adrien grabbed her wrist. She turned to glare at him, but his expression had changed. It looked almost pleading.

"Wait, Princess."

She glared at him, but she couldn't resist or fight against the desperate look in his eyes. She let out a short breath.

"What?"

"I need to know, how can you see me?"

Her eyebrows furrowed. She looked him up and down, taking in his black clothes, olive jacket, combat boots, and golden locks.

"Um... you're standing right in front of me."

Adrien let go of her and pulled up his sleeve. On the inside of his arm, a dark symbol that Marinette didn't recognize shimmered on his skin.

"Do you know what this is?" he asked.

She looked at him like he was crazy. "A... a glitter tattoo?"

His eyes hardened, unamused by her joke. "No, it's a Mark."

"A Mark?"

He nodded but didn't say anything. He just continued to look at her like she would finally have some sort of realization and be like, 'Oh yeah! Marks! I remember those!'. But it wouldn't happen.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Adrien. I'm sorry."

His jaw muscles flexed. He pulled down his sleeve. "Princess, a Mark is a rune that protects Akumahunters. You shouldn't be able to see me right now."

Marinette took a step back. She scanned him again. No, that couldn't be possible. She could see him perfectly fine. The sun was shining off of his golden hair, a drop of sweat traced his brow, and one of his many Marks seeming to soak up the sunlight.

"B-but... That's not possible."

"I know."

"Then why are you here?" Marinette gestured wildly at him. "If you're here just to stalk me because you think you're invisible-"

"Princess, it's not that."

She let out an exhausted breath. "Then what is it, Adrien? Why are you here?"

He looked away from her, his gorgeous green eyes fixating on the curb. For a split second, he looked like he might puke. He stuffed his hands into his jean pockets and his expression changed to one of stone. It was like he had changed into a completely different person. Then, he glanced at Marinette's pocket.

Immediately, her phone started to buzz. Marinette pulled it out and saw that it was her mom again. Scowling, Marinette declined the call and was about to shove it back in her pocket, but it buzzed again. Her mother was calling again. After furrowing her eyebrows in concern, Marinette accepted the call.

"Mom?"

"Oh, Marinette. Oh, thank the heavens above." A shiver of panic ran down Marinette's spine. Her mother sounded panicked. "Listen to me-"

"It's okay, Mom. I'm fine. I'm on my way home-"

"NO!"

The terror in Sabine's voice made Marinette tense. She held the phone with both of her hands. "M-mom, what's-"

"Do not come home! Do you understand me, Marinette? Don't you dare come home. Go to Nathan's. Go straight to Nathan's house and stay there until I can-"

A noise in the background interrupted her: the sound of something heavy hitting the floor. Crashing, shattering, maybe even a scream.

"Mom!" Marinette shouted. "Mom, are you okay?"

There was a weird noise in the background as her mother shouted, "Just promise me you won't come home! Go to Nathan's and call Tom. Tell him that he found me-"

Her words were cut off by a harsh, screeching noise. Marinette heard her mother take a deep breath before saying softly into the phone: "I love you, Marinette."

The line went dead.

"Mom!" Marinette cried. "Mom, are you there?"

She looked at the screen. Call Disconnected.

"Marinette," Adrien said. She was taken aback for a second; this was the first time she'd heard him say her name. "What's wrong?"

She ignored him. She redialed the number again. There was no answer except the double-tone busy noise.

Marinette's hands began to shake. She could feel her emotions starting to catch in her throat, a collection of fear, despair, and confusion. She tried to call again, but, due to her clumsy nature, it slipped out of her hands. It hit the ground with a CRACK!

After swearing to herself, Marinette reached down and picked it up. Her screen was cracked and her phone's battery light was flashing. In a fit of frustration, Marinette shoved it into her pocket and punched the cement.

"Hey, stop," Adrien said, kneeling down next to her and putting his hands on hers. "What's wrong? Has something happened?"

"Give me your phone," she said and reached for his jacket. "I need to-"

His grip on her hands tightened. "Mari, stop. You have to tell me what happened first. I can help you."

Her blood boiled in her veins. In a fit of rage, Marinette pulled away from him and slapped him across the face. He fell back in surprise and she took the opportunity to jump away from him and run as fast as she could down the sidewalk.

About a block down, she looked back, expecting to see Adrien on her tail, but he was gone. Her pace slowed as she scanned the streets looking for him. However, when she saw no one, she hardened her expression and kept going.

She ran for home. 

---

Oh my gosh, I cannot believe I updated this. I've been meaning to for sooooo long. But hey! the update is here! And that means the action is finally starting up!

I want to thank you guys for being so patient with me. College has been really kicking my tail and it's been really hard finding the gumption to keep going. 

Since I don't have much to announce, let's go to my favorite comment. 

Favorite Comment: 

By: She-Wolf5127

OMG! YOUR SOOOO COOL! THANKTHANKTHANKYOU! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS! OMG! I LOVE TMI AND MIRACULOUS AND FOR YOU TO MAKE A CROSSOVER... YOU BEAUTIFUL SPECIMEN. I LUV the cover by the way. Matches the real one so well😂😝😘

And, as always, have a Miraculous day!