MARINETTE

I haven't been staying in my apartment ever since that morning Nordic told me that he'll be backing out of the election.

I couldn't handle being alone so I decided to go back to my old home and start helping out around the bakery since Nordic did not want any of his employees to continue with work.

He'll fix everything, he said. He does not want to add any more burden to all of us.

Maman and Papa comforted me when I suddenly arrived home with endless tears streaming down my face and they chose to hug me in silence. Maman fixed my bedroom and placed a new and clean bed sheet. She also changed my pillowcases and propped up the pillows so that they look fluffy and comfortable for me to lay on. Papa prepared a few sweet pastries for me to eat and left them on my desk in the room.

I only told them what happened the day after since I couldn't find the courage to tell them everything. They only knew the things shown on the news but they were in shock when I admitted to them that Nordic is declaring his decision to step down as a presidential candidate by the end of next week.

They couldn't hide their looks of disappointment but they still kept quiet and continued to embrace me as they know that I am taking this harder than I thought it would be.

In order to not ruminate over those feelings and thoughts regarding Nordic's decision, Maman made sure that I went back to preparing some of the pastries we offer in the bakery.

Today is just like the past two days. The whole day will just be spent in one area. When I'm not kneading the dough, I am placing the tray in the oven. When I'm not doing any of those stuff, I'm at the cash register and greeting our customers as they purchase their own share of our freshly-baked pastries.

Every time I look at the croissants, I think of Adrien.

Even my parents asked about him and I had to tell the truth - I do not know. I have not heard from him for these past few days and I can't shake off the feeling of worry for him. I regret not even showing how I wanted to comfort him through a hug as he cried uncontrollably in front of me. It hurt me so much to see him in such a state yet I still did not do anything.

The door of the bakery is pushed open and I immediately greet the new customers loudly out of instinct. "Good morning! How are you..." my voice trails off when I spot two familiar faces. I break off into a smile. "I haven't seen the two of you in awhile."

"We haven't seen you for some time as well, Mari," Chloé utters with a smile and Nath stands behind her, awkwardly avoiding eye contact with me. Chloé notices it and nudges Nath. "Say hi," she commands him and under the whim of his girlfriend, he does let out a soft hi towards me and even nervously waves a hand at me.

I wave back. "It's nice to see you again, Nath." Even if he was against Adrien and I, I still cannot find it in me to get mad at him for I understand where he is coming from. Though it does not matter anymore since the very fact of Adrien and I patching things up is not that likely to happen.

They walk to the counter displaying the fresh pastries for the day and as Chloé goes through them, Nath clears his throat and stands in front of me.

"S-So," he stammers, "how are you?"

I shrug my shoulders. "Still feeling horrible, but a bit better compared to a few days ago. I still...I still can't stop crying about it sometimes."

He lets out a heavy sigh and throws a look at Chloé. "Us, too," he admits. "We've been using these days to spend most of our time together since it helps us to not go much into our thoughts."

"Same here," I breathe out. "That's why I've been working nonstop here. It's better than...sulking in my room."

"Um, Marinette," he pauses to purse his lips then after a few deep breaths he continues, "I'm sorry for how I treated you that day. I let my emotions get the best of me and I shouldn't have allowed that to happen."

I smile at him, thankful for the effort. "Come on, Nath. I forgive you." I reach out and squeeze his arm. "And you shouldn't worry about us. I don't think Adrien and I will ever be seeing each other again."

I flinch in surprise when Chloé suddenly exclaims, looking at me, "What?! What the hell did you just say?"

"Chloé!" Nath scolds her but she does not even spare him a glance.

"Chloé-" I start but she interrupts me.

"Hell no. Hell no! You fought so hard to see Adrien again and now you're just giving up?!"

"Because he does not want it, Chloé," I emphasize. "I can't force him, okay? Would it be fair on his side if we just keep on forcing him?"

She brings a hand out at me. "Give me your phone," she demands of me and I internally thank God that there are no other customers around us for the morning.

"Chloé!" Nath starts at it again but she only rolls her eyes at him.

"If Marinette does not have the guts to call Adrien then I'll be the one to initiate it."

In order for her to calm down, I do reach for my phone inside the back pocket of my pants and present it to her. Just as she reaches over to take it from me, it starts to ring. Immediately, I look at the caller I.D. and Alya's name is displayed on it. "Sorry," I mutter and swipe on my phone to answer the call before placing it against my ear.

Chloé looks defeated and Nath rubs a hand on her back. "I told you," he whispers softly.

I face the other direction and utter, "Yeah, Alya? What's up? You know that I'm still in the middle of work, right?"

"Mari?" She breathes out, and it is the tone of her voice from just that word alone which starts to make me feel bothered.

My brows furrow together as I ask, "Alya? Alya, what's wrong?"

"Just...oh, Mari...can you come to my apartment now?"

I look at the wall clock to read the time. I think I can let Papa take over for awhile. "Yeah, I can. Just let me fix some things here and I'll go there immediately."

"Great. I just...I need to see you right now and I'm sorry if I sound like I'm panicking or-"

"Don't worry, okay?" I interrupt her, "I'll be there. I'll make sure that you'll be okay."

"Stay safe, please," she whispers suddenly before ending the call.

Stay safe? That's weird. Is there something wrong with my safety?

I slowly turn to meet the concerned gazes of Chloé and Nath.

"Is everything okay? How is Alya?" Chloé starts to bombard me with questions and I gaze at the two of them in confusion.

"She wants me to meet her now," I reply, still in a bit of a daze. "She sounded so different and it's making me worry."

Nath brings out his car keys. "We can drive you there, if you want."

I wave a hand in dismissal at him. "N-No, thank you. Really, I can handle it on my own. I just...I might have to leave you with my Papa. He'll take your orders."

I take off my apron in a rush and call Papa from the other side of the bakery since he's still busy with working at the back.

Turning back to Chloé and Nath, I deeply apologize again, "I'm so sorry. I-I'll call you, okay? I just need to go now."

Chloé nods eagerly. "Call us if you need help. Nath and I are willing to help you with anything."

I show a half smile at them. "Thank you," I whisper. And just as Papa takes my place, I leave the bakery and get in my car.

I park the car outside Alya's apartment and get out. While walking to her front door, I fish out the extra key she gave me a year ago for emergency purposes.

Thankfully, as I turn the knob it's not locked, so I take it as my cue to push it open.

"Alya!" I exclaim once I enter her apartment and she stands from being seated on her sofa, looking at me with wide eyes. I almost run to her but my body tenses up when another person, a man, stands with her to look at me.

Nino.

My voice hitches in my throat and out of instinct I take a step back, almost ready to dash out of the door.

"No, wait!" Nino shouts and I freeze in place.

I squeeze my eyes shut, waiting for whatever might happen with him here. I did not expect another person, aside from Alya, to be here. And it brings more of a shock for me to see that it's Nino.

"Mari," Alya utters in a soft voice breaking the palpable tension between the three of us, "you need to stay and listen to what Nino has to say..."

I start off uneasily, "Byvael can know about this-"

Nino cuts me off, "Luka is keeping him busy and I uh...I asked Alya to meet you here. She knows about what I need to bring up with you now, I told her everything."

"That's why you need to listen to him, Marinette," Alya adds and my eyes flutter open slowly before I look back at them. Alya takes a step closer toward me and clasps her hands together out of worry and uncertainty. "...it's about Adrien," she whispers.

My ears perk up and my attention goes to hearing his name. "Adrien?" I murmur.

Nino nods sullenly at Alya then looks at me. "Marinette, maybe you should take a seat first." he gestures toward a free space on the sofa.

"I'll give you two some privacy," Alya says, "I'll be in my room. Call me if you want me to be here." She bows her head and walks to her room. When we hear the door to her room close behind her, I take a few slow steps toward the sofa and slowly sit on it, still feeling a bit tense with Nino's presence.

"Nino, what is so important with meeting each other now?" I ask quietly as he takes a seat beside me.

He gazes at the ground and heaves out a deep breath. "...Adrien hasn't gone to work for the past two days."

"What?" I snap, in which sounded like a mix of shock and dread. "Then...you should be the ones checking up on him. I bet he's in his apartment laxing off-"

He looks up at me and this is when I only notice his crestfallen eyes, the droopy skin on his cheeks and the lines on his forehead. Something is really wrong here. "He's not there," he whispers in defeat.

My brows pinch together and I scoff, "Then check the club, the bar - wherever he goes!"

"We don't know where he is...and he won't answer our calls. We can't track him, not even his car."

I stand, shaking my head furiously. "No, no, he's playing with you," I mutter under my breath and bring a hand to my forehead. Still, I can't shake the growing dread and restlessness filling my senses. "He's still around here, he wouldn't just do that."

"Marinette, Adrien ran away-"

"No, he won't!" I cry out and stand, pointing a finger at Nino in a stern manner. "Why would he run away? You are winning! Nordic is backing out of the presidential run and you are finally getting all the attention Byvael wants!"

"But...but at what cost?" Nino whispers helplessly. "The cost of the life of my best friend? The life of the man you care so much for?" He squeezes his eyes shut and shakes his head before turning away from me. I cannot see his face but I see how his shoulders shake lightly.

What does he mean by the life of Adrien? I quietly call out to him, "Nino?"

"...please don't blame him," he utters, his voice above a whisper. "Don't even get mad. He had no choice-"

"No choice with what?" I throw him a look of exasperation. "What did Adrien do that I would consider wrong?" And as if I can find it in my heart to get mad at him, I continue in my head, it's useless to get mad now.

He looks back at me and I see a number of tears falling down his cheeks. Nino purses his lips then murmurs, "He knew about Mark Nordic's cases...Adrien was part of the people Aaron Byvael asked to make sure that the tax evasion cases would be exposed to the public."

His words stun me and I fall listlessly on the couch in a complete state of shock. I...did not expect that. "W-What?" I breathe out in disbelief.

"Aaron Byvael planned it all," he continues, "He wanted to make sure that the public would know during the campaign period."

Tears start to well up in my eyes and I pant softly. "And...And Adrien was for it?"

"No," Nino goes back to sitting beside me. He turns his body to face me and places a hand on my shoulder. "Adrien was against it. He did his best to stall the investigation and even stop it from being released to the public."

"Then, how-" A sudden realization then hits me.

And if you love me, Marinette, then why are you making me choose? 

"That's why he was pushing me away..." I utter, my voice above a whisper.

"All of us," Nino adds quietly, "he was pushing all of us away."

I bitterly squeeze my eyes shut and let my head fall to my hands. "Oh my God, Adrien," I cry out, although it comes out muffled. My shoulders start to shake and I succumb to the tears I've been holding in.

Adrien has been feeling so alone and none of us knew. I can't help to feel guilty and disappointed in myself for not even thinking from his perspective.

"I wish I knew," I continue to cry, "I should have known..."

Nino starts to gently rub my back to give me comfort. "That's why we need to find him. He can be anywhere, Marinette, and he can hurt himself."

I slowly lift my head to look at him and he continues in a pleading whisper, "I beg of you. We need your help. There may be places that only the two of you know, places that may be special for you both. He always protected you, so please, he needs you to protect him, too."

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

"Maman, I am really sorry for making you worry like thi-"

"Don't be. As soon as you informed us, your Papa and I wanted to help out."

Chloé and Nath immediately agreed to accompany me when I went back to the bakery to grab some of the stuff that I may need as I prepared to search for Adrien. The couple was shaken when they saw me all bothered and distracted - I could not even talk straight at them.

My parents also noticed my sudden change of mood and agreed to also help out in any way that they can.

Alya and Nino have gone out to search for him together.

"Maman, thank you so much," I whisper, not finding the strength to continue since I could burst into another fit of tears again. "In case anything happens to him, please prepare any of the rooms at home where he could stay."

"Of course. Make sure you stay safe, as well, okay?"

"Yes, Maman," I utter and she ends the call. I place my phone on my lap and continue to look outside the car window, my face contorted in pure anxiety and fear.

"So," Nath says, his hands on the steering wheel and his eyes on the road, "what did your mom say?"

I allowed him to drive for me since I am not in the right mind to even focus on driving.

"Maman told me that they are also helping out," I answer, "If ever things go wrong...we can keep Adrien safe at my home."

Chloé scoffs, sitting at the back seat, "I can't Byvael has been doing this, even to his main campaign manager."

Nath mutters under his breath, "I completely despise that man."

"I don't care about Byvael now," I state in haste, "I don't care about anything regarding the campaign and all that shit. I...I just want to find Adrien. We need to make sure that he's safe."

They both fall silent then I feel Chloé's hand rubbing my left arm gently.

"And we will find him, Mari," she says softly, reassuring me. "We will help you find him."

We first arrive at the rural side of the area where Adrien and I spent the night after the earthquake with Baby. We drive through its roads slowly, trying to find his car that could be parked somewhere.

I also went down to ask the people in-charge of where Adrien would spend his time volunteering if they saw him around. It's a small place, he could not come here without being noticed.

My heart drops when the people there tell me that they haven't seen or even heard from him for the past days.

After I leave my contact details with the people there in case they do see Adrien, we head to the next destination immediately - the place where we had the party the senator held one night.

Nath questions me once we near the place of where the event was held. "Where else did the two of you spend time together? Was there any place that the two of you went that wa not related to any campaign event?"

I shake my head. "I can't think of any place else. I'm trying, I'm trying to go through every place that we..." I trail off when one specific place comes to mind.

The motel where Adrien and I stayed a few nights ago.

But will that be it? Will Adrien visit a place like that and hide there?

"...there is one place," I say after awhile of thinking, "I'm not so sure if he'll be there but..."

"But?" Chloé presses on.

"But there could be a chance...if his car is there, then he might also be."

Changing our route, I give the directions to the motel and we arrive there in less than 30 minutes. Under the afternoon sun, I can now see how small it is and if Adrien really is here, it would be easy to spot him.

But his car is not here. And no other traces of him are here. The person working at reception tells me that no one with the same physical traits as Adrien has checked-in the motel, even after I gave a few bills to bribe them.

"Adrien, where could you be?" I mutter under my breath, continuously running my hands through my hair in distraught.

We decided to still stay at the small parking lot as we go over different places that could pose as a lead to where Adrien might be. The three of us stand outside the car as we talk about any possible plans we can come up with.

Night falls as the sun sets and I fear that this will make us harder to find him. I feel tired but I know I can't stop now or else it might be too late for me to protect him in any way.

Just as I pull my jacket tighter around me, my phone rings in my back pocket and I grab it, giving myself a second to read the name of the person calling, then answer it without any hesitation.

"Yes, Alya?" I greet her, hoping for any kind of good news.

"...Mari," her voice shakily whispers my name which causes me to tense up. "Nino and I can't find him at all," she cries, "He's not anywhere in the city or even nearby."

I choke down a sob and muster to murmur, "Thank you for the update..." Without waiting for any reply, I end the call instantly.

Chloé rushes in front of me. "What did she say?" She inquires.

With quivering lips and trembling hands, I could only shake my head before I start to break down - full-out sobbing in front of the two of them. Chloé immediately wraps her arms around me and I feel Nath stand by my left side. Chloé brings a hand behind my head to let it rest on her shoulder as I weep uncontrollably. I feel Nath rubbing my back as the two of them try to comfort me as much as possible.

But I can't.

It's hard to feel comfort when I know that the man I love is not receiving any of that now.

"Where could he be?" I cry loudly, "I can't lose him, I-I can't lose Adrien!"

"Mari," Nath starts in a soothing voice, "we will find him. We won't stop until we find him."

"But...But what if it's too late?" I cry, "What if when we get there, we can't do anythi-"

Chloé pulls me back and firmly holds my arms. With a voice of conviction, she sternly tells me, "That will not happen. We will get there on time and we will make sure that you'll be with him again, okay?"

I could only sniffle as she narrows her eyes at me. "Cry all you want," she continues, "but losing hope means that you are surrendering to Byvael, and I know that you would never allow that." She rubs her thumbs underneath my eyes to wipe away my tears. "Come on, Marinette, there must be some place else where he might be. It has to be special to the two of you. Perhaps it could be the place where, I don't know, you started being friendly to each other?"

I pant heavily and start to tug on my ear restlessly. I let her words repeat in my head. A place where we started acting differently toward each other?

Did it start at the university when we were called to give that talk? No, it can't be. If it were that place, then Alya and Nino would have found him by now.

Where else did we go after that? What else did we do after that? When and where did I next see him?

"Here..." his voice echoes in my head as past thoughts and memories of mine resurface, "Seawater, right?"

I gasp sharply, widening my eyes as I peer into Chloé's.

She immediately notices my sudden change of mood. "What? Did you think of a place?"

"T-The beach," I stammer. "The resort where the president celebrated his birthday," I utter in haste. "Adrien...Adrien might be there."

We do not waste any more time after that. Nath gets the car ready and drives fast to the resort, revving up the engine as needed to get there as fast as we can.

"Okay," Chloé begins as we know that we are a few minutes away fron reaching the location, "once we get there, Nath should check out the resort building, I will check out the outdoor garden, and Mari-"

"I will check the beach," I cut her off, eyes stuck on the road we are driving on.

Through the rearview mirror, I see her nod her head. "Got it," she utters in assent, "if one of us finds him, make sure to call either of the other two."

"Noted, love," Nath says before pressing down on the accelerator, making the car zoom through the highway faster than ever before.

Once we reach the resort, we first go through the almost empty parking lot, hopefully to find his car here.

I spot a lone gray car almost hidden at the back and the sight of it alone causes my heart to beat wildly against my chest.

"T-That's his car," I stammer and unbuckle the seatbelt around me. "That's his!" I exclaim, feeling the adrenaline pumping in my body that drives me to push open the car door and rush to it.

"Marinette!" Nath calls out to me but I disregard it and still make my way to Adrien's car.

I finally arrive right in front of it and try to see through the glass. It proves to be a tricky task for me since it's too dark already to see what or who is inside. I fumble with grabbing my phone from my pocket and use the lighted up screen as a flashlight.

Once I shine it through the window, I could only see empty cans of beer and glass bottles of different spirits that litter the inside. There is even a stain of splashed beer on the dashboard.

But there's no one in the car. It's empty, completely empty.

"No..." I utter breathlessly, "No, Adrien has to be here."

"Mari!" Chloé calls me, she and Nath are running toward me.

"He's not here," I tell the both of them. They let out disappointed sighs and Chloé clicks her tongue.

She instructs all of us right after, "At least we know that his car is here. Then it's time to go to our different places here to find him. Go, Mari!" She drags Nath with her as the resort building and the gardens are at the same direction. It takes a different path to reach the beach.

I nod at the both of them before I run as fast I could towards the beach.

Tears build up within me again and I find it hard for me to catch my breath. My running is not the only problem, but it's the fact that I am feeling all kinds of anxiety that are eating me up alive.

What happens if he was not here this whole time? What if he just left his car here and decided to go somewhere else by foot? What if...what if his body was washed away by the waves?

I shake my head, erasing such thoughts. Though they come back, slowly creeping into my mind leaving me to only feel uncertainty as the hope slowly diminishes.

With my phone in my hand, I still use the light from it as my flashlight. I almost trip once I reach the sand of the beach. Small sheds are lined up along the beach and some of its lights are still on. Though, it does not mean that someone is in it. Some of the lights are left on for the beach to not be as dark as it could get.

"Adrien!" I shout, cupping a hand around my mouth, "ADRIEN!"

It's only the sound of the waves hitting the sand replying to my shouts. It is so quiet that even the breeze from the sea creates a kind of whooshing sound that makes the hairs at the back of my neck stand. It is too cold out here, I don't know how anyone could survive out here without a jacket or anything to keep them warm.

"Adrien! Adrien, where are you?!" I continue shouting and go through each shed. I have to shine the light from my phone at some of the sheds that are pitch black.

Exhaustion is starting to overcome my whole being, my legs hurt from all this running. And it does not help that I'm running on sand.

"Adrien?" I utter, looking through one of the sheds and I exhale deeply when it's another empty one again. "Come on, Adrien...where are you?"

Neither Chloé nor Nath have called me yet, so I know that they are still busy looking for him.

I stand in front of another pitch black shed. Breathing heavily, I force an exhausted arm up to shine some light into it.

And the first thing, or rather person, I see breaks my heart into a million pieces.

I am rendered speechless as my eyes are set on a man sitting on the floor, arms wrapped around his knees as he blankly stares at me.

It's Adrien who looks completely beaten down.

"...Adrien," I gasp.

There are more empty bottles around and a black duffel bag sits beside him. His left eye is swollen with black and bluish hues around it.

My hand clasps my mouth tightly as my tears finally overcome me. "A-Adrien..." I cry out softly.

He keeps his deadpanned expression. Then scoffs and forces out a laugh. "Are you here to jeer at me?" He utters, his voice croaking.

I enter the shed slowly and shake my head. "No..." I immediately deny, letting my hand fall as I look around, noticing broken glass shards surrounding him. "Adrien," I whimper once I see dried up blood on his white polo.

He averts his gaze from mine when I carefully kneel in front of him. I go through all his disheveled features with worry and concern clearly written all over my face. I slowly reach out a hand at him but he immediately slaps it away.

"Leave me," he spits out.

I shake my head again. "I'm not going to leave you," I cry and heave in a deep breath as the tears continue to spill from my eyes. "I...I don't want to leave you."

"Don't even look at me!" He shouts, causing my heart to clench tightly in pain, "You should be ashamed that you love a man who supports a wicked person."

His lips tremble and he bursts out sobbing, covering his face with a hand. His whole body shakes as he cries uncontrollably.

I shrug off my jacket and wrap it around him before I pull him into my arms. He buries his head in my neck and I could feel an arm of his wrapping around my body before clutching on tightly to my shirt. His skin against mine is so cold and I notice late that he's been shivering this whole time.

"...I imagine you as them," he whimpers, "I imagine your helpless tears, your cries of protest...I would rather die a painful death than know that you are treated in such a manner."

"But I was never treated like that-"

"You could be." He draws back to peer into my eyes. In such a heart wrenching voice, he whispers, "And I am but one man who wants to protect you...I'm weak and powerless."

I weep more for him and I could only press a longing kiss on his forehead.

"You said saltwater that night," he continues, breathing heavily, "...will saltwater cure all the pain I'm feeling now?"

Adrien starts to cry again as he repeats two words, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." His head falls listlessly and I tightly hold him against me as we both cry hard.

"Don't apologize, y-you should not apologize..."

Adrien's body has not stopped shivering and I could hear labored breathing from him. Things won't work out well for him if he stays out here in the cold any longer. And it makes me worry all the more.

I make sure to dial Chloé's number and it only rings once before she picks it up. "I found him," I cry into the phone, "I'm at one of the sheds. Please hurry, come here. H-Help me bring him to somewhere safe."

"Marinette..." he murmurs, "Marinette..." I pull away to see how his eyes are slowly drooping.

"A-Adrien?" I breathe out in concern. I feel his hold on me loosen and his arm falls to the side. "Adrien?!" I profusely shake him yet he would not budge at all. I then bring my phone to my ear, "Please hurry, Chloé!" I beg amidst my tears, "Run faster, please!!"

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

Woah, this is a LONG chapter.

Still i hope you liked it :)

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