Marinette POV:

Marinette knew that she had to attend school the next day. She couldn’t drown herself in ice cream and sad movies forever. As much as she wanted to.

She couldn’t keep moping around.

She had to face the cruel world with a brave face, pretending that she was okay...

That her heart hadn’t been ripped out and stomped on.

That she didn’t feel like breaking down screaming and crying out in agony.

That she wasn’t broken, knowing that the shattered pieces of her heart would never be repaired.

She would be okay...okay...okay. Marinette repeated as she clutched on her blanket, tears streaming down her cheeks wetting her pillow.

Hoping that if she said it enough, one day she would be.

With that thought in mind a heavy sense of drowsiness consumed her.

Marinette grudgingly crawled out of bed and attempted to get ready for school. She decided to start with her hair since it needed the most help. Painfully yanking the brush through her hair, she tried to convince herself that she needed to leave her room.

Giving up on her hair, she pulled it up into a messy bun. She then sleepily got dressed, brushed her teeth and gathered her things.

Marinette slowly trudged down the stairs as she grabbed a muffin.

"Honey are you sure you're feeling up to going to school?" Her mother asked her, looking skeptically at her run down appearance.

"I'll be fine mom." Marinette yawned, her eyes threatening to close.

"Sweetheart what are you doing here, I thought you'd be at school already?" her father said as he walked into the room with a tray of croissants.

"Why would I be at school, I still have plenty of time" the tired girl replied. She yawned again, and glanced at the clock.

"Mom, why didn't you tell me I'm half an hour late for school!" She said, jumping to her feet.

"I'm sorry sweetie you just looked so relaxed" her mother said, giving her an empathetic smile.

"I'm late I'm late I'm so late" she panicked running out the door.

She sprinted to school, and by the time she'd arrived she had missed almost all of the first period.

"I'm so sorry for being late...again!" she said, out of breath from sprinting to school.

"Marinette we need to have a discussion regarding your tardiness," the teacher told her coldy.

“I’m so sorry Miss...I don’t have any excuses.” Mariennete said her cheeks flustered as she hung her head in embarrassment.

The whole class peered at her in curiosity as Chole snickered loudly. “Of course Marinette is late! She is such a clutz and a horrible class rep! I would have been so much better!” Chole said tossing her hair and smirking in triumph.

“Don’t you think Adrikins?” Chole asked expectantly, batting her eyelashes at him.

"I think that Marinettes an excellent class rep Chloe" Adrien told her.

“Boo! What are you doing???” Kagami hissed in annoyance in Adrien’s ear.

“Mariennete’s my friend Kagami. She’s important to me. Being a good friend means having her back, defending her. Like she would have for me.” Adrien said confidence radiating in his voice as he defended his friend and finally stood up to Kagami.

“Chole has a point Marinette...you’ve been really late to school these past few weeks and you don’t seem like yourself.” The teacher said sympathy laced in her voice.

No...no…no Marinette thought in dread, this can’t be happening.

She felt as if she was drowning in a stormy black sea. The raging waves crashing  down on her as she weakly tried to break through the invisible prison, reach the relief of the surface. She thrashed violently, desperately fighting for just one breath of air.

But as much as she fought, thrashed, screamed more gushes of water filled her lungs and her blood pounded. She would never reach the surface. She would never escape.

And she couldn’t do anything.

She was trapped.

"B-but the class voted ME as class rep not Chloe!" Marinette said with a squeaky voice.

"Well since then we've had some new additions to the class, and I was thinking we could have a re-election" she said, smiling.

"B-but but" Marinette said, but failed to come up with a reason why she deserved to be class rep. Her teacher was right, she hadn't been herself lately, maybe she didn't deserve to be class rep anymore.

Alya gave Mariennete a pitiful stare as she saw her deep blue eyes glass over with unshed tears.

"I'm sorry Marinette, you'll still be able to run, but if the class decides you're not the right fit then someone else will take over your duties."

The teacher said, giving her a small smile comfortingly squeezing her shoulder.

Then the shrill bell rang, and Marinette went to her next class.

Feeling lightheaded and numb. She had given up the tireless fight.

She had sunk to the bottom.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~0-0~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Marinette POV:

Marinette gloomily sat down at their table as she pulled out her lunch.

"It's just not fair" she cried glaring at the peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

"Girl I think Ms. Bustier has a point, you haven't been yourself lately and you haven't done anything for the class recently. Maybe it's time someone else takes over." her best friend told her truthfully.

"I thought you were supposed to be on my side Alya!" Marinette said, before, stomping out of the cafeteria,throwing her lunch in the garbage can.

She had lost her appetite.

She didn't know where she was going, but she knew that she wanted to get away from the cafeteria. She needed to get away.

As she was walking away, tears clouded her vision as she bumped into someone's hard chest.

Marienette jumped back, almost falling over onto the hard pavement when she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around here.

"L-luka?!?" She said, jumping to her feat, her face turning tomato red.

Mariennete looked up in awe to see Luka smiling gently down at here, his comforting arms still wrapped around her waist.

“I-m s-sorry L-luka, I wasn’t watching w-where I was g-going.” Mariennete said a tint of pink coating her cheeks as she brushed a black stand of hair behind her ear.

"It's alright Marinette, I was looking for you anyway, I need to tell you something" he said, looking deeply into her bluebell eyes.

"O-ok L-luka" she stuttered, her cheeks turning a deeper shade of pink.

"Come with me" he said, grabbing her hand and pulling her towards the music room.

When they arrived at the music room Luka grabbed his guitar and gestured for her to sit down.

"I made a few tweaks to your song," he said, smiling.

"Th-that's really nice of you Luka, you totally didn't have to do that," she said, her cheeks turning from pink to red as she sat close beside him.

Luka then began to play her the most beautiful song she'd ever heard, before it ended abruptly.

"I was trying to find the ending when… it's better if I play it for you" Luka said, before strumming a different melody.

Marinette looked at the boy in confusion, when finished, unsure what he meant.

"It's the song I wrote for myself, but when you put the two songs together…"

He played a song that was a combination of the two melodies, the chords echoing through the room.

"It's a sign Marinette, a sign that we're meant to be together, our songs mix perfectly to create the ending" he told her excitedly.

"Wh-what are you trying to say Luka?" she asked

"I'm asking if you'll let me finish your song, I'm asking you if you'll be my girlfriend" Luka said, looking longingly into her bluebell eyes.

Marinette's head began to spin. Luka liked her. Luka wanted her to be his girlfriend. She had always wondered if he had a crush on her but she'd dismissed it.

Luka had always been just a friend to her, and she didn't know if she wanted it to be anything more.

"I-I'm not sure wh-what to s-say Luka" she stuttered.

"I knew you would reject me" Luka sighed, gazing into the distance.

"But no matter how hard it is to understand, Adrien has a girlfriend, and he's stupid for not realizing how amazing you are Marinette. I get that you're not over Adrien but I know you and I can treat you how a girl like you needs to be treated, and I hope you'll give me a chance" he told her.

"N-no Luka I'm I'm over Adrien it's just…" she said, not knowing how to explain the situation. She wanted to give him a chance, but her heart belonged to Chat Noir.

Her thoughts drifted to when she had first went to the music room with Luka. Before they had left the cafeteria Alya had said something about a "rebound".

Maybe that's what she needed, maybe she needed a rebound to get over Chat Noir. And maybe Luka could be that rebound.

"I'll... I'll think about it Luka" she said, offering him a small smile.

"Thanks Marinette, your such an amazing girl" Luka said grasping her hand in his and softly kissing her knuckles.

Marinette's face began to heat up again when her phone beeped. She opened up the notification to see that there was another Akuma attack!

She immediately became alert glancing quickly around for a place to transform. She had to make up an excuse and fast!

“Um...this has been really f-fun L-uka but I have to go...wash my...CAT!!! Yeah my mom just sent me a text saying that I need to come home right away and wash my do—cat!”

“I didn’t know you had a cat Marinette,” Luka asked skeptically.

"I'm really sorry, I have to go bye Luka!" she said, grabbing her purse and running out of the room.

She quickly ran to the washroom and transformed into Ladybug.

Leaving the school, she started heading towards the park, where the super-villain, Delivero was attacking local civilians and trapping them in packages.

Ladybug arrived at the park and immediately took in her surroundings. Large delivery packages were scattered everywhere. She could hear distressed voices and calls of help coming from inside the boxes.

She looked around for Delivero in confusion, where he could be hiding? She felt something land beside her, and quickly turned around in shock, before letting out a breath of relief realizing it was Chat Noir.

Good, he was here.

Then she remembered that her and Chat Noir weren't on the best of terms, and a familiar wave of dread washed over her. Why had she confessed her feelings, why couldn’t she had just kept it to herself, she KNEW he had a girlfriend.

"Do you know where delivero is?" Chat Noir asked, his voice distant and monotone.

"No, I don't" she said, giving him a small smile.

“Let's split up then and look for him,” Cat Noir said coldly as he vaulted away off in the distance.

Maybe if she kept smiling and pretending everything was fine then the old Chat Noir would come back.

He would be hers again.

She knew she was hoping for something that had a slim chance of happening, but she clung to that sliver of hope as though it was the only thing keeping her alive.

“Ladybug watch out!” She heard Cat Noir’s voice call out to her and rip her away from her trance.

“Cat Noir?” Ladybug said in confusion as he raced towards.

But before she could react, she felt a gush of wind prickle her back and than pitch black darkness consumed her vision.

“Oh no!” Ladybug yelled in frustration as she banged on the closest wall, desperate to escape.

She spun around looking for any possible way out, feeling around for any possible hole or rip in the exterior of the delivery box…

But then she felt what seemed to be a smooth hard chest under her hands and she gasped in fear and confusion, backing away from the mysterious figure.

“Shh m’lady don’t worry it's just me.” She heard a familiar voice softly whisper to her in the endless darkness, calling to her, soothing her.

She felt his warm strong arms wrap around her waist pulling her close in a comforting hug.

She sighed in relief and happiness

But as soon as she began to melt in his warm embrace he...pushed her away.

"Wonderful job Ladybug, we're trapped. I can really see why you're such a great super-hero" Chat Noir sarcastically told her.

"Chat? Y-you're trapped here too?" She asked, her voice betraying the hurt she felt at the sudden change in his tone.

"Yeah, now are you going to do your job and get us out of here or what?" His emotionless voice asked.

“I d-don’t k-know how yet...b-but I’m sure we’ll figure it out kitty. We’re a t-team right? She asked, hope flooding into her voice.

Hope that she could break through his cold, stony exterior and get the old Chat Noir back.

Her silly, kind, supportive, and fearless partner, who she was proud to fight beside.

Her best friend, who she could always count on.

the boy of her dreams.

All she wanted was to see love once again shining through his eyes.

“Don’t call me that!” he hissed at her “and as far as I’m concerned you're not my partner...you're an embarrassment. He said venom laced in his once caring and teasing voice.

He couldn’t even look at her.

Ladybug felt her heart throb in agony as she stumbled back clenching her chest.

Don’t cry Mari, you can’t cry, not in front of him.

She battled with herself painfully biting her cheek, trying desperately to keep everything inside, all the sadness and heartbreak that consumed her.

Your Ladybug, you can’t be weak, you can’t afford to be weak.

You have to stay strong.

She gathered all the courage she had left.

She could feel her fear and she trembled in her spot.

She wanted to run and hide…

But she couldn't. She had a responsibility. She had a job to do. She had lives depending on her and a city to save.

And she remembered…

the boy who always believed in her

Who made her feel like she could do anything or be anything

Who encouraged her to be brave

The boy who was proud to fight beside her

She had to be strong. For him.

So gulping down the lump of fear stuck in her throat…

She decided to be brave.

"Chat, I don't understand why you're acting this way, but whether you like it or not we're a team" she said, taking a breath.

"If you have a problem we can work it out later, but right now we have a job to do" she told him, before her confidence dissolved.

She turned away, her face burning. Why was it so hard to stand up for herself?

She tucked thoughts of Chat Noir in the part of her brain marked "deal with later", and began to work on a plan to get out of the box.

She frantically racked her brain, trying to come up with anything that had a chance at working.

Come on Ladybug think she told herself, there has to be something you can use, anything.

She was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't notice the walls of the box closing in.

"Give me your Miraculous or you'll be crushed!!!"  Delivero's cold booming voice rang through the hollow walls.

“Great! Just great!” Cat Noir said bitterly, “way to go, not only did you disappoint me, but you're going to let down all of Paris. You're going to let all these people die! How can you even call yourself Ladybug.”

Resentment and venom was laced in his voice and each word was a deel blow to her heart, these blows would make her heartless.

If she wasn't panicking before, she was certainly panicking now. Not only were her and her partner stuck in a box, they would die if they couldn't get out and all of Paris would suffer.

Not to mention the way her self-confidence had crumbled, leaving her with unbearable sadness.

What had she done wrong?

Why was he like this?

As the box closed in further she felt her body collide with Chat Noir, which made her feel a flurry of emotions she didn't have the time to analyze.

She focused on trying to think of a plan, struggling to come up with anything.

She was afraid to use her lucky charm, because she might desperately need it for later to come up with a plan to defeat Delivero.

I need to stop this box from getting smaller, she thought, trying to wedge her legs between the box.

It seemed to be working, before her legs slipped and the box grew smaller yet.

With no other ideas, she used her lucky charm, hoping that it would give her something helpful.

Instead, a roll of packing tape fell into her hands

What was she supposed to do with packing tape, she thought. The last thing she needed was something to make the box close even more!

"That's it!" she thought, a plan coming to her at last.

She looked around the box before finding the spot.

"Chat Noir, cataclysm the packing tape, right there!" She said, pointing to the seam of the box.

"Oh look at that, someone remembered their job" he retorted.

"I don't have time for this Chat Noir, cataclysm the packing tape!" She said, urgency in her voice.

There was a brief silence before a call of "Cataclysm!" echoed through the box.

With the packing tape destroyed they were able to escape the box.

Ladybug grabbed the box before sprinting towards Delivero.

He fired a box at her, but she expertly dodged it, jumping over him while sliding the box over his firing arm.

She quickly secured it with packing tape before he could shake it off, and then took several steps back.

She looked at Delivero, trying to find the akuma.

Delivero began to charge at her, but she was faster than him.

Jumping to the side she grabbed a letter clenched in his fist and purified the Akuma.

She turned to offer her fist, but Chat Noir was already gone.