MARINETTE

"Stop tugging your ear."

"Am I?" Now driven aware with the fact that I have been touching my ear.

"Mari, yes you are," Chloé mutters, her mouth still in the form of a smile as we both walk by the set stage for the presidential debate. We dodge some of the technical and camera crew who were still setting up last minute changes around the stage. "We are all dressed up for this debate and here you are trying to destroy how beautiful you look."

"I haven't even noticed that I've been doing it-"

"Is this because he's not here?" She asks and relaxes her mouth once we finally reach backstage.

"What?"

She scoffs and rolls her eyes at me. "Don't 'what' me. I'm not stupid. I work under Nordic for Pete's sake," she hisses out, completely aiming that backhanded comment to the other team. "So, tell me," she continues, crossing her arms as she looks at me with a raised eyebrow, "why does it bother you, the fact that he's not here? Shouldn't you be happy? Aaron Byvael's main campaign manager is not here. This is our chance to boost up Nordic's morale and rapport with the people."

I can't tell her everything that happened in the pre-debate meeting. The team knows about what happened in the meeting room because Nath told them of the events that unfolded there. But no one, except Adrien and I, knows what happened outside that room.

"I, in my honest opinion, just think that it's fair if Agreste is here, too. Byvael must want his main manager with him just like how Nordic has every person in his team with him today," I tell her then remember the box of croissants in my car that maman made me fetch from the bakery very early this morning. "Plus," I huff and pinch the bridge of my nose. I can't believe I'm even going as far to tell her this, "my mother baked croissants for him-"

"He met your mother already?!" She sputters and immediately her hand flies to her mouth to cover it before she could say anything further.

"Yes," I hiss. "Now, shut up."

"I wouldn't be surprised if you tell me a week after this that you two slept together."

"Ew! Chloé, what the heck?"

She scoffs, "What? You're getting so defensive."

"In the middle of the campaign period, really? And with the political rival from all people?"

"A cute rival, though," she whispers, smirking cheekily at me.

"Oh, shut it." I bring my arm up to read the time on my wristwatch. I take note of the the time left before the event starts. "Please do me a favor and check up on Nordic. Give him a run down of the different topics for the debate which will start in an hour. I prepared his arguments for each topic but in terms of rebuttal, most will be on him. Please remind him on that as well."

"In short, you want the annoying Chloé out of your sight. Got it, boss." Without even waiting for a reply from me, she saunters off the side and heads for the dressing room where our team and Nordic are preparing for the debate.

I breathe out a long sigh and raise a hand to my ear, yet I stop halfway when I realize what I was about to do.

Dammit.

This is Adrien's fault, really.

I'm going to kill him once I see him here. That is...if he really is going to arrive here. Why isn't he here?

Maybe he's just late or maybe he's hiding from me. Perhaps he's sick? What if...he doesn't want to see me?

"What the hell is wrong with you?" I mutter under my breath and lightly slap myself as punishment.

Why can't I just leave it alone?

God, there is a part of me that needs to know and I try to suppress the feeling.

Yet I can't help myself. I need to know. Also, I do have a reason to call him. I need to tell him about the croissants freshly baked for him.

I grab my phone and find the nickname I gave him in my list of contacts and tap the button to call him. I bring the phone to my ear and walk to an area where there are not that much people standing by.

It rings for seconds until it stops as he finally picks it up.

"Hello? This is Adrien, speaking."

"Where the heck are you?" I spit out in a whisper, being wary of the people around me and if they could hear me.

"Marinette?" He utters, sounding confused.

"Where are you?" I ask again, cupping a hand over my mouth as I continue to talk on the phone, "This is an important event and Byvael's main campaign manager is not here?!"

"I am at the rural area checking out their buildings and everything else," he answers.

I furrow my eyebrows in confusion. "What rural area? What are you talking about?"

"Uh...I don't know if you recall, but I did mention in our talk at the university that I used to volunteer in different areas. It's one of my continuing jobs under Aaron."

"You really did volunteer work?" I ask in disbelief.

He softly chuckles over the phone. "You thought those were all lies? Come on, Marinette. I'm not always spouting out made up shit."

"Oh, so you do admit that you do say made up stuff?"

I hear him sigh and I can imagine him rolling his eyes at me. "Anyway, we are home to numerous historic buildings not designed to withstand natural disasters like fire, earthquakes, or even hurricanes. I'm checking out the place and hopefully they'll be alright."

"Okay, that sounds great but why would you leave your team alone and-"

"Do you miss me?" He interrupts me abruptly.

"Excuse me?!" I sputter, almost choking on my own words.

"Marinette," he drawls out, "you sound like you miss me."

"N-No!" I stammer, and inwardly curse myself for acting this way. "I'm actually mad because I don't know who to talk to for matters with Byvael!"

"Oh, just talk to Nino. He's actually in-charge of our team for today."

"Listen, I'm aware that Nino is here. How come I was not made aware that you would not be here?"

He hesitates for a while before replying, "After that meeting...there were a few change of plans."

I blink, realizing what he meant by 'meeting'. "O-Oh."

We never mentioned what happened that day. We always avoided the topic all throughout. It was best if we forgot it - both teams. It was a waste of our time...and my tears.

I think Adrien has always wanted to bring it up but I would shut it down in every chance I got.

Now, I have this feeling that the outcome of that meeting led to the their team's arrangement for this debate.

"You're there now because they are suspending you, aren't they?" I ask him quietly, turning sullen.

"I-I wouldn't call it that, but-"

"It's because of what you mainly did for me that day, isn't it? Agreste, you might as well be blunt about it."

"Marinette, don't worry," I hear him whisper. "I...anyway-" he stops when there are other voices heard from behind him. "Yeah? Okay, I'll be right there. I'm sorry, Marinette. I have to go now. We're about to start - Hey! How about you come here? You know, after the event? I can show you around and maybe Nordic could hold something for the people here. Of course, it will just be a secret between us. You can bring one of your assistants if you want. That dude with red hair is someone I know you trust. I'll text you the details in a while."

"What-" He ends the call before I could even fathom everything he said at once. I look at my screen, clearly in disbelief. Did he really just end the call like that?

I did not even get to tell him about the croissants from maman.

My phone screen flashes a new text message and I open it to read the address Adrien sent to me. "Hm, it's around two hours away by car."

I really am thinking of going to that place. Not to see him, of course not. It could serve as another place for Nordic's various immersions around the country. Yes...just that.

I receive another text which puzzles me since he only did tell me that he was just sending the address, and this new one is relatively long.

Yet, after reading through it, I wouldn't deny that my heart started to swell with newfound emotions.

Marinette, this has been on my mind for the past couple of days and I think I can let them out through a text...

I don't think I'll ever understand you, and I've come to realize that, Marinette. Even if I give up everything to see from your perspective, I'll never achieve to see from the same view as yours. But I hope you'll allow me to say this: continue putting us in our place. Men, including me, should learn more about being human from you rather than our stupid ego's. So, cry it out if you need to in order to stand tall again and be the bad bitch the world needs.

I read it twice, and again, and again. It's not what I expected from him but maybe it was what I needed, truly. The tears brimming my eyes is proof of that. From all people, these words came from a rival. And still I'm thankful for that.

Just as I start to type in a reply, another message shows up.

BTW, I told the people about your hair. They wanna see your blue head. And weirdly enough, I think I'm starting to miss it, too. One more thing, Nordic is going to suck at the debate later. Byvael, for the win, always.

I breathe out a laugh, finding him to be such an unbelievable guy. I decide to not reply and delete the draft of it. I'll see him later. I'll tell him in person.

------------

"Tell me why I'm seated in the back, again?"

"Because I don't like sitting at the back. Less leg room," Chloé says matter-of-factly and I glance at her before looking back at the road again.

"Sorry, Nath. The queen says so," I utter, looking at Nath through the mirror.

"Chloé," he pleads, running a hand on her arm, "can we switch later, at least?"

She shoos his hand away and fixes the vent of the air conditioner in the car. "Marinette's been driving for the past hour and a half. You can still survive there for the next 30 minutes."

Chloé and Nath decided to join me in this trip. I told them that I was going to visit a potential place for Nordic's next immersion after the debate and it was Chloé who was skeptical about my true intentions so I decided to tell about Adrien to her in secret. I did not tell Nath so he decided to just go with whatever the plan was.

The debate was tiring and very stress-inducing. One wouldn't know who had the upper-hand at the end of the debate. We had very good rebuttals but Byvael also gave out good arguments. Even if Adrien wasn't there during the event, I'm sure he prepared a lot for Byvael to study. Playing devil's advocate is hard in these types of debates and if I were one of the adjudicators, it would be hard to choose which side gained most of the attention.

Maybe that's the main reason why Chloé and Nath tagged along, it's a nice way to relax after a long day.

It's nearing evening, the sun is setting in the horizon and some cars have their headlights on already. There is one exit that I am heading to as I continue to drive the three of us along the freeway. Traffic is starting to build up since people are on their way home. With the extra time left in our trip, I decide to talk politics with them.

"What are Nordic's upcoming events for the next two weeks?"

"Two audiences in two different areas and another presidential debate at the end of the second week," Nath answers from the backseat.

I nod in assent. "Is there a way to insert an immersion for him in those two weeks?"

"Chlo?" Nath calls her and she grabs her phone from her bag and goes through the campaign calendar.

"Tuesday next week is free for him," she quips just as I find the exit and change lane to head right.

"Any other days?" I add.

"Hm," she scrolls through the calendar and goes through the dates. "There is- Ah!" She suddenly lets out a scream in shock as we all feel a sudden jolt, enough to throw the vehicle off course. I move fast and hold on tightly on the steering wheel to make a sharp left to get back on the lane, I almost hit another vehicle in the process.

"What the heck?!" I spit out as it's a struggle for me to stay in a straight line. Even the cars around me are honking at each other since there have been countless instances that we've almost hit each other. "What is happening?!"

"Mari, slow down to a stop! I think an earthquake is happening right now!" Nath utters in a loud voice and I follow through, trying to stay in the rightmost lane.

And he's right. Once we slow down to a stop, the ground continues to shake. We could even notice some of the cement breaking on the road we are on. I turn on the blinking lights on the car and we see other cars follow, most even stopping in the middle of the road in weird positions. The shaking has not stopped and it feels like we are being buffeted by a very strong wind.

Chloé clutches on tightly to the handle overhead. Her other hand is being held tightly by Nath from the backseat.

After another minute, it seems that the ground has stopped shaking profusely yet we could still feel the swaying as the car moves along with it. I make sure to put on the emergency brake. Panting heavily, my heart beating fast out of my chest, I turn on the radio immediately to hear if there are any news of an earthquake that has happened. But all we hear are static in some radio stations. I finally reach one where the voice of a news reporter reverberates in the car.

"-est if we do not panic," the voice utters in an authoritative voice, "Again, an earthquake with a magnitude measurement of 5.3 just occurred with varying intensities depending on the area. The epicenter right at the outskirts of the city with an intensity of 6.4. Please stay cautious and find an open space to stay for safety reasons. Aftershocks may occur..."

Our phones all vibrate at the same time and I check it to see that it's a mandated emergency text sent to everyone.

"We're by the epicenter," Nath whispers, still in a state of shock. We all are. Earthquakes do not usually happen here and for it to be a great one, none of us are ready with what to do.

"It's best to stay in the car," I tell the both of them as some people get out of their cars to see what's going on. I'm sure we all know what happened.

Are we going to be stuck here? I have a feeling that we will. It's not safe to continue driving and there might be buildings that have collapsed during the earthquake. The roads are not safe for any of us to continue driving, and there is a likely chance of an aftershock to occur. None of us will ever know.

"Oh, my God," I gasp as I start to remember Adrien's words during our call hours ago.

"...we are home to numerous historic buildings not designed to withstand natural disasters like fire, earthquakes..."

I dial Adrien's number immediately and bring the phone to my ear, and start to pick on the skin on my lips out of anxiety. "Pick up, pick up," I mutter continuously in growing worry.

Sorry, the number you have dialled is currently unavailable. Please try your call later.

"No, please." I try again and it rings. But it leads to nowhere. He's not picking up the phone. "Adrien," I whisper and Chloé hears it. Her eyes widen, realizing as well.

"Oh no, Marinette," she gasps, "he-"

I cut her off, feeling disorganized as I'm starting to act out of my gut instincts, "I need to go." I look out the window, estimating how long it would take me if I run to Adrien's area. I know we're near. It would be around 10 minutes if by car...I'll just sprint as fast as I can.

I unbuckle my seatbelt, keep my phone in my hand, and open the door. Just as I was about to step out, a hand grabs me and stops me in place.

"Woah, where the hell are you going?!" Nath scolds me and I turn around to face him. "An aftershock can happen any minute from now!"

"We're near our destination," I fight back, "I can run."

"Marinette, that's ridiculous! There is no need to see the place now!"

I face Chloé and plead from the bottom of my heart, "Chloé, please take care of my car with Nath."

"Of course," she utters, nodding her head. "I got you."

"What?!" Nath hisses in disbelief. "You're going to let her go like that?! Marinette, it's best if you stay."

"No, don't listen to him," Chloé retaliates, "Go, Marinette." She reaches over and separates Nath's hand from my arm.

"Chloé!"

"Nath, I love you but you wouldn't understand. Marinette, go. Don't worry about us here, we'll take care of everything!"

I nod in gratitude at her and leave the car door open as I start to run in the right direction to the small town where Adrien is at the moment.

"Marinette!" I hear Nath's voice shouting for me to stop but I don't stop. I choose not to.

My anxiety is going over the roof, cold beads of sweat form all over me as I dread whatever could have happened to Adrien.

I feel like it's my fault that he's here now. If he did not run after me at that meeting, if I just kept my mouth shut when those misogynistic remarks kept on spewing out from that man's mouth - Adrien wouldn't have been put in probation by his own team.

Tears start to well up in my eyes and I cannot fathom the mix of different emotions I'm feeling now. The adrenaline coursing through my body pushes me to continue running, suppressing the pain that I'll surely feel after. I would tug my ear every once in awhile, hoping that it would calm me down.

I reach the small town and watch in horror at the devastation left by the earthquake. Adrien is right. None of these buildings were designed to withstand any natural disaster, and now we have innocent citizens suffering from the brute force brought by mother nature.

Some houses look like they were never built in the first place. The earthquake completely toppled down the shelters of thousands of people. I see a rescue team helping out with bringing out people trapped in the rubble and debris left of their houses. The loud sound of helicopters pass through the sky overhead, surely bringing additional rescue teams to help out around the area.

I continue to run, trying to find Adrien anywhere. I still can't contact him and now those tears are falling down my face. I don't even bother to wipe them away - there's no use in doing so.

I look around in worry. How would I even know where Adrien is?

I could try asking people but they are all busy with helping others, most are also finding their loved ones amidst the debris. I see a pile of body bags brought in by the rescue team and I could only look away in sadness, whispering a short prayer for those who passed away  due to the destruction caused by the earthquake.

I just hope Adrien is in neither one of those.

This earthquake, although a force that fully came from nature, is going to be a turning point in the election period. Whatever the candidates will do for the citizens will affect their standing in the election.

This is what I hate the most about politics. Devastating events turn into political statements and arguments, sometimes it separates the people instead of uniting them.

The town has an area that leads uphill and most of the buildings have fallen down. Some parts of their walls are the only things left standing. I start to run uphill, the burning feeling in my legs is starting to grow and spread along the rest of my body. I completely forgot that I am wearing a pair of heels. Now that it dawns on me, the pain is now noticeable.

Still, I continue to move. I won't stop until I find Adrien or know that he's safe.

I continue going uphill and notice a familiar-looking car parked at the side of a pavement. I run to it and see that it's Adrien's car, though he isn't in it. Still, it's a good sign. He must be around here somewhere.

I start to not mind the other people running to help out the rest as I go into the heart of what was once a lively-looking plaza at this part of the town. Now there's nothing to it, just fallen debris.

Suddenly, a number of people from behind me start to dash in the same direction and I decide to follow them, curious to see what's causing the rush. A breath hitches in my throat as the view in front of me changes into something so horrible.

A huge landslide toppled over the houses of the residents here and most of the people are digging through the ground and hoisting up the ones trapped beneath it.

A rough hand lands on my shoulder and I flinch a bit when the person, a woman, immediately says, "Join us! We need help in taking out those trapped under!"

I can't refuse, so I follow her and she tells me to stand on one side of what looks like a wide roof of a house. Other people start to gather around the roof and once we're just enough, she counts and by three, we lift it up altogether to bring it away from the mess.

"M-Marinette?" Suddenly, a voice across from me utters my name. It's Adrien, covered in dirt and blood, standing as he gapes at me. I clasp a hand on my mouth and run to him as he does the same.

"I couldn't contact you so I started looking all over for you," I cry as he holds my arms. I see that he has a wound on his forehead as a spot of dried up blood has formed around it. There's even blood on the white polo he's wearing. "Adrien, you're hurt."

"I'll be fine. When did you get here?" He eyes me from head-to-toe, his face contorted in worry. "Are you alright? I shouldn't have let you come here if this was going to happen."

"My car is stuck in the exit from the freeway. I ran all the way here," I tell him.

"W-What?" He asks incredulously, deeply furrowing his eyebrows. "Why would you do that? You could have waited until everything was clear."

"I-I couldn't," I admit quietly.

"Why?"

I got very worried.

"I-"

The sound of a crying baby interrupts me and it alerts both Adrien and I since we start to look around us to see where the sound is coming from.

"Did you hear that?"

"Yes," he answers in haste and continues to look around the area.

The crying is still there, yet it's faint. One would miss it if they were not paying attention.

The problem is where it is coming from. If there's no baby around us now, then the baby must be underneath.

I go down on my knees and focus on the ground, I crawl and try to follow the sound of the crying baby. I reach an area where it's just an irregular lump of ground but I'm certain that I could hear the loudest of the crying from under the area.

"Adrien!" I call him from behind as he's also checking the other area. He turns and runs to kneel across from me. "It's the loudest here," I tell him in an instant and he bends down to place his ear against the ground. We both hear it at the same time and immediately, he starts to dig through the ground. I help him, grabbing a scrap of metal and using it as a makeshift shovel.

"Hey! We need more hands who could help out here!" Adrien shouts, catching the attention of others. Around four other people arrive and Adrien briefs them with what we heard. They start to work, going through the lumps of ground with us.

Once we're deep enough, someone hits something metal under and we start to take it out with our bare hands. Altogether, we raise a metal part of a roof. Lo and behold, we see a baby, covered in dirt, in the arms of an unconscious woman, who I presume is the mother.

I instantly reach down and grab the baby in my arms, carefully bringing the baby up for me to coax the crying. The rest carefully bring the woman out of the place and check to see if she is still alive. They notice something protruding from the side of her body and I face the other way to not see any more of it.

"Shh, shh," I coo, lightly bouncing the baby in my arms. "You're safe now," I whisper softly, the baby's cries somewhat die down but it was still moving about. I make sure to keep my hold on the baby firm. "They're checking if your mommy is okay. Rest first."

Adrien appears from my side and in a hushed voice, utters, "The mother has a weak pulse. The rescue team is transporting her to a nearby hospital for an operation. She's badly injured, Marinette."

I frown and look at the baby in my arms. "Oh, my God," I breathe out.

"I told the rescue team about the baby," he continues, "they have it listed down so that they can keep track of it. But they can't take care of the baby now."

"So, you're saying..." I trail off then he nods.

"I'm saying that it's going to be us, for now. You wouldn't mind that, right?"

"Not at all," I whisper, truthfully. I gaze up at Adrien and form a tired smile on my face, peering into his eyes. "I'm just glad to see you safe."

He softly smiles back at me and runs a thumb on my cheek, perhaps taking away a speck of dirt on it. "I'm glad to see you safe, too, Marinette."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

That was a long chapter HAHA

I hope you enjoyed it :)

My second term is starting so expect slow updates again huhu sorry

Vote?
Comment?
Thank you!