In the two days that Adrien had been suspended for, he found himself secluding himself. After reaching home with an angry father that day, he tried calling Marinette once again but still got no response, and that was the last straw. Even Luka had said that Marinette still cared, but Adrien found it difficult to believe that. If it was true, then why wouldn't she answer. Adrien was now, thinking it was all a lie.

 Marinette didn't care for him anymore. Everyone was lying to him so that he would calm down. Adrien knew that with that fight, he had ruined their entire relationship in a matter of minutes. Adrien couldn't help but also wonder if Marinette's so-called love was also a lie. I mean, how can someone stop loving another in a matter of days? You couldn't do that. Not unless you either fell in love with someone else or never loved the person at all.

Feeling depressed, Adrien decided on taking a whole week off school instead of two days. He was undergoing depression. One that had him locking himself in his room, refusing to eat or drink anything. Gabriel worried for his son as he noticed the sudden behavior change. Adrien no longer cared care about attending school. He either wanted to be alone or refuse to have free time altogether. 

Adrien instead volunteered to model for a crazy amount of photoshoots. Many that would keep him truly busy. Sometimes he did one photoshoot after the other, working up to 12 to 16 hours a day. Many times in the week, Gabriel insisted that he go out with his friends, or invite them over, or at least take a break and eat, but Adrien refused. And the times he was forced to be home instead of working, he laid in his bed refusing to eat.

 Adrien wouldn't even answer his phone when his friends called. He wouldn't watch tv or listen to music. It was as if this was a whole new Adrien. Gabriel saw him send a text once or twice a day. But besides that, Adrien didn't do anything else. Gabriel didn't even have the slightest clue on who his son texted.

After the fourth day of Adrien's depressive state, Gabriel had grown more distraught. He already knew things were becoming worse the second he got called to school for his son starting a fight. Adrien was not a fighter, so this was news to him. The amount of damage he did to that boy's face was scary. Therefore, Gabriel decided to schedule a therapy session for Adrien and hoped that it helped him feel more like himself. He hoped to receive good news but was surprised when the doctor said it was worse than it looked. 

"Suicidal thoughts?" Gabriel asked, genuinely surprised. The doctor nodded in agreement. Oh, it was definitely worse than he thought. Out of all the people in the world, the last person he thought would be suicidal was his son. He was always so happy. How did everything change so fast? He had to fix this, but how? That was when Gabriel got an idea.

________________________________________________________________________

Marinette was having a hard time. Even when everyone else believed she was okay, the truth is that she was far from being okay. She was worried about Adrien. One week, he had been gone from school for one whole week. At first, they thought Mr. Agreste had gotten upset and pulled him out of school but later found out it was not the case from none other than Gabriel himself, who apparently contacted Nino. 

Marinette felt relief from knowing that was not the case, but it didn't stop her from worrying. Actually, it only made her worry more. She wanted to talk to Adrien. She missed him so much. She missed that feeling she would get when he was around and the butterflies in her stomach when he smiled at her. He has not smiled in months, and it was all her fault, but she just wasn't strong enough to talk to him yet.

Marinette often cried herself to sleep, hugging his picture, just to feel like he was close to her. She would pray that the pain she felt would go away and that she could wake up the next day with the strength to be able to talk to him, but morning after morning, it never happened. She would always wake up hurt and scared. She did not know what he would say if she were to listen to him, and the bluenette didn't think she would be able to handle another rejection from him.

Marinette wanted to either forgive him or forget him, but in the end, she was neither ready to forgive the pain he caused her for so long or forget the moments they shared in New york. This all felt like a curse. One time, she almost called him to forgive him but stopped before doing so. She couldn't help but think, what in the word made her think he wouldn't just do it again. But she also couldn't forget him no matter how hard she tried. Not with him constantly reminding her that he was around and waiting for a chance to talk to her.

 The letters and gifts in her locker were a constant reminder that he was begging for forgiveness. Not that she read the letters. Marinette wanted to read them, but what if she wasn't ready to read what he had to say?

Each time she received each letter, each text, each gift, and each call broke her walls down more and more. She wanted nothing more than to run into his arms and get lost in a hug. For the two of them to hang out as they did in New York. She wanted for him to joke around and even throw a pun or two like when he pretended to be Chat Noir, but she couldn't. She was sure he played with her feelings. He made her believe that she could have a chance only to tell her later that he was dating Kagami. What if the letters were to make fun of her?

"No, that is not like Adrien. He would never make fun of me like that, right? I mean, he might have accidentally played with my feelings, but he is not evil, is he?" She thought out loud. She attempted to erase that thought from her head. But it was replaced with the image of his hurt and pained eyes he gave her after the fight.

The look in his eyes did more damage to her heart more than any words could say. For a second, it made her believe that he loved her, and seeing her with Luka broke his heart, but that couldn't be. He rejected her. I mean, why would he reject her if he loved her? No, he didn't, she was just confused, but then again, that look in his eyes was real. It felt like it---.

Marinette's thoughts were interrupted by Chloe. "Marinette, I know what your thinking, and he does. He truly does. He never meant to hurt you. Give him the chance to explain. I am sure this is a misunderstanding." It was now Saturday, and Marinette, Chloe, and Alya were having a sleepover. They were all engaged in a talk about boys when Marinette stayed silent and allowed a tear to fall, catching Chloe's attention.

"I can't. I don't think I'm ready. You don't know how many times I have thought about it. How many times I wanted to forgive him and at least be his friend, but I don't think I can live with the pain of watching him love someone else while my heart still belongs to him. I can't keep being the friend that hides her hurt and unhappiness just so that he can be happy. Chloe, I gave him advice. I tagged along on a date with him and Kagami. I even went against his father, who could ruin my dreams of being a fashion designer just for him to be happy, pretending I was as well, but I am not. I am hurting, and each time it hurts more and more. I can't handle it anymore," Marinette cried.

Chloe pulled her into a hug, trying to comfort her. Marinette was too good. Chloe always knew that, but she had been stuck in her own little world of fancy things and celebrities to notice that sooner. She wished she had sooner because Marinette has been the perfect friend, but now it was her turn. "What if you are wrong?" Alya asked. The girls broke the hug and looked at her. 

"What if you are wrong, and he does love you? What if he made a mistake and has been trying to tell you that? Marinette, you can't push him away forever. You are both hurting, and it's time to end this. How can you not see that he loves you? He literally almost killed Luka out of jealousy. Not one guy would do that for just a friend. Give him a chance, Mari. Before it's too late and you end up regretting it."

Marinette watched as Chloe nodded in agreement. "I-I," Marinette tried to speak, but nothing came out. Maybe they were right. Even if Adrien did not feel the same for her, she knew how much it meant for him to have friends, and she made sure to ruin that. Oh God, he was not the bad one she was. She thought to herself. "Look, how about you read the text messages and letters, and then we can go from there, okay?" Marinette nodded and picked up her phone.

Marinette finished reading the message from this morning in tears. "He l-loves me?" Already knowing the truth, both Alya and Chloe nodded. "Did you guys know?" She asked, her voice sounding like a whisper. "Yes, we did. At first, I didn't believe him, but then it sort of became more obvious. He has been trying really hard to explain things to you, Marinette. He is in more pain than you could ever imagine. I wanted to tell you everything, but he told us not to. He said that this was something he had to do himself. I then tried convincing you to listen to him, but you refused. Look, I think you should read the letters, Marinette. There is more you don't know." Alya answered, afraid that her best friend would be mad at them for withholding the truth.

Marinette sighed. "I left them in the locker," she stated sadly. She was mad at herself. If only she had not been selfish. If only she would have listened, she would probably be by Adrien's side right now. How could she have been so stupid?

"Actually..." Chloe stated before reaching into her bag and pulling out the letters and gifts. Both girls looked at Chloe, confused at how in the world she got those. Chloe smirked. "What? I am Chloe Bourgeois my daddy is the major. Opening your locker was nothing." Alya laughed, earning a smile from Chloe. After the girls quieted down, they turned to look at a confused Marinette. The bluenette held the letters as if her life depended on them, yet she didn't attempt to open them. "Mari, please, it's time," Alya said, hoping her friend would finally get it done.

Marinette nodded, looked down at the letters, and breathed in deeply before opening the first one.