This is a sequel of Day 8

Marinette should have seen it coming.

When she invited Adrien over for the class' pool party, she knew that Chloe would tag along. It was an open-to-all pool party anyway, so there's really no reason for her to ban Chloe despite her deep hatred towards the blonde. Being the class president, she must act accordingly and not be swayed by her jealousy.

"You should have told Adrien not to invite her!" Alya hissed on her best friend's ear.

"But she's Adrien's friend!" the pig-tailed designer retorted. "I can't strip that away from him!"

"Thanks of your selflessness, Chloe is now stripping your chances away to be with Adrien!"

Alya was right.

Chloe was clinging to Adrien in every possible way that no one, not even Nino, could tear them apart. It was obvious from the outsider's point of view that the blond didn't like it, but he was a gentleman and she was his childhood friend. They have a special bond since young that was only strengthened through time.

A bond Marinette wished she has.

"What kind of party is this?!" the mayor's daughter screeched loudly much to everyone's irritation. "Let's go, Adrichou. We don't need to join the affairs of these imprudent peasants."

The pig-tailed designer tried not to lurch at her face when she scrutinized her from head to toe.

"Are those cheap-looking swimsuit a design of yours, Dupain-Cheng?" the blonde sneered. "Your parents must be broke they can't even afford to buy you a decent pair."

"Excuse me, my parents can afford anything," Marinette spat out. "I'm just a considerate daughter who doesn't want her parents to splurge on something childish."

"Are you telling me that my bikini is childish?!"

"Your words, Chloe, not mine."

Someone hooted in the background, while others made a sizzling sound effect as if something was burning. Alya even jerked her thumbs up and mouthed 'good job', and the action itself infuriated the blonde more.

"Have you seen how these filthy peasants insulted me, Adrichou?" she bawled theatrically at her companion. "Come on now - I bet Sabrina brought us some delicious meal, unlike their smelly, mediocre foods."

"Hey!"

The blond model cracked a smile as he followed his friend despondently.

Marinette sighed. She wasn't expecting much about him since she knew he could not go against Chloe.

From the corner of her eye, she saw a familiar sports bag being thrown out from the rooftops.

The first thought that struck in her mind was 'Wait a minute, that's my bag!"

The second was 'I left Tikki inside!'

It was too late; her reflex wasn't fast enough to save her bag from plunging into the waters.

There was a scream when she dived into the pool to retrieve her belongings - cellphone, towel, toiletries, a sketchbook she was thankful she hasn't used it yet, coloring pens that spilled out from its box, change of clothing, undergarments, a wallet with a few paper bills, and most importantly, her pouch that contained her kwami.

She immediately snatched it from someone's grasp, and when the person did not read her cues, she slapped its hand and screamed, "LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Marinette could never forget Adrien's shocked face as he released her bag and the way his eyes lost its vibrancy when she rose up from the waters and ran away.

"Marinette?" the red kwami poked her head from the opening. "Please, don't cry. We can still salvage your things, okay? I found a dryer in the building that we can use for your dampened clothes, and there's a towel in the hanger - "

"Marinette?" Alya's voice caught their attention. "I know you're in there, girl. So please, open this door."

She unlatched the bathroom locks and let her best friend inside as she poured out her crushed feelings.

"I hurt Adrien, Alya," she sniffled. "I slapped him when he was trying to help me. I didn't mean it."

"Oh girl, why are you crying over useless things?" the bespectacled brunette cooed with bemusement. "If you only stayed there for a minute, you might have witnessed how Adrien shamed Chloe in public."

"He what now?"

"It was Sabrina who dumped your things, and obviously under Chloe's selfish orders," she told her. "Adrien immediately jumped into the water to help you, which freaked out Chloe. When you slapped him - of course, everyone saw it, sorry - Chloe began to badmouth you. And you know what happened next? Adrien marched towards her and justbam, he snapped! The sunshine boy exploded! I didn't know he has a wide vocabulary of expletives until today. That guy could swear like a sailor."

She stared at her in disbelief. "Bu - bu - but Adrien cares for Chloe!"

"Adrien care about you more than anyone else, including Chloe. Have you not realized that he's always there to support you?"

She remembered how the blond boy patted her back when she won the class election against his childhood friend, believed in her ability to win his father's Derby hat contest despite his said childhood friend was also joining, cheered on her when she participated the UMS tournament with Max, helped her when he learned about her Chinese dilemma with Uncle Wang, brought Jagged Stone's CD and have her autographed it because she designed the jacket, defended her from Chloe's claim that she triggered the fire alarm, praised her cooking ability, and recently, scolded Chloe on her behalf.

Adrien was always, always, behind her in many ways she could barely count.

"So stop wasting your tears, Marinette. Here - you can borrow my soap and towel. I have a spare shirt here from Rose, gartered shorts from Alix; bra and underwear from Juleka - they're unused, mind you, and still on their original packaging - and a tote bag from Mylene. Max is fixing your phone right now, Nathanael is drying out your coloring materials, while Nino took care of your ATM card, IDs, and paper bills. Kim and Ivan are checking the pool area in case we missed out some things. I'm sorry for your sketchbook though."

"It's okay, Alya. There's nothing important there - and besides, I can redraw my designs if they ever got destroyed." she replied casually which earned a fierce hug.

An hour later, after Alya's insistence, Marinette went out from her hiding place to meet her friends.

She didn't expect that Adrien, still in his swimming trunks, met her in the hallway.

"Marinette?"

She stepped back.

The blond model immediately stopped his tracks. "So - Sorry, I didn't mean to - I will not go there if you don't want me to. I - I just want to see you if you're okay."

She didn't say anything.

His eyes were filled with sadness, as well as frustration, and the way his body slacked from where he was standing broke her heart to pieces. "I just realized how often I defended Chloe from her actions, and convince people, including you Marinette, that the real Chloe didn't have ill intention to harm anyone. How selfish of me," he chuckled darkly. "To push such image I know since I was a kid, without considering the people around me. That time could change anyone. I was blinded by my past to see the present, to see that someone I cherished most was hurt. My egotistical attitude was to blame on this."

"Adrien..."

"I'm not here to say sorry on behalf of Chloe, or to ask you to forgive her," he continued, fighting back the tears that were threatening to fall. "What she did was uncalled for, and I understand if you resent her. I just want you to know that I do not tolerate her actions, including Sabrina, and I will do my best to avoid this incident to happen again. Here."

Her bluebell eyes traced the paper bag that was crinkled by his shivering hand.

"I had to convince Nathalie to look for an exact copy. I know this can't compensate the designs that you lost, but at least you have something in case you run out of paper. I'm sorry that I failed to save your sketchbook."

Instead of accepting it, Marinette tackled the blond and hugged him tightly. "It's okay, Adrien. You don't need to this for me. Thank you."

Strong arms wrapped around her waist as he returned the hugs with fervor. "I'm sorry, Marinette. I should have said something about her when I sensed something was wrong. I could have avoided you being hurt."

"You're wrong, Adrien. I was the one who hurt you - "

"It was appropriate, Marinette. I deserve that slap. I deserve that cold shoulder. Hell, I even deserve to be punched," he sighed as he burrowed his face on her hair. "I don't deserve you."

A small hand began to ruffle his blond locks. "Silly Adrien, you deserve anyone in the world."

But not your love, he muttered to himself as he enveloped her warmth.