"𝖍𝖞𝖒𝖓 𝖊𝖑𝖊𝖛𝖊𝖓.
𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚊𝚗'𝚝 𝚊𝚕𝚠𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚜𝚎𝚎 𝚒𝚝
𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚜𝚑𝚎'𝚜 𝚏𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐
𝚜𝚑𝚎'𝚜 𝚊𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚛 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗 𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏
𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚏𝚞𝚜𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎 𝚍𝚎𝚏𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚍"

-𝖗.𝖍. 𝕾𝖎𝖓

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

     "He's in your class?" Luka questioned, tone flat. Marinette raises her head from her sketch of Luka with his guitar. His mouth is pulled into a frown and was looking at her through the screen of her desktop. "How are handling that?"

"Rather well, I believe," she responds, "obviously I'm not, not affected by it, but there isn't anything I can do."

"You can confront him," he returns to the gentle strumming, but his gaze never left hers. "Has he shown any signs of remembering?"

"He knows that I knew him before he lost his memories, though that's about it," her eyes fluttered back to her drawing, continuing to shade the guitar carefully. "I've been staying away from him."

Luka watches, tilting his head a slight to the right, "What about Juleka and Nathaniel? They knew him as well."

Marinette didn't look up from the drawing, but he could tell that his questions were triggering a negative reaction. "Juleka knows I don't want to associate with him, Nathaniel is like a deer in the headlights when he's close, everyone knows he can't lie for shit. Rose and Alix don't know that we know him, yet. Chloe...hasn't said anything about me, I know for a fact."

He scoffs, "No surprise there...and what of Gabriel?"

Marinette's hand stops, brows furrowing and mouth twisting into a scowl.

"He doesn't know where I attend school. If he did it would be an invasion of privacy and I would sue his ass." Luka whistles, shaking his head.

"You still have it out for him."

"I will never forgive him," she spat, slamming her pencil down. "His reasoning is not justified, in fact, it's stupid and-" she stops, breathing, before slumping back into her chair. She's just so drained.

"I'm sorry," Luka murmurs, setting his guitar down beside him to bring his laptop closer. "I knew I was pushing buttons, but I didn't mean to rile you up so bad. I knew better than that, but you can't keep bottling up your emotions like this Marinette."

"You're fine, Luka" she sighs, tilting her head back onto the chair, closing her eyes, "and you're right. But, may I remind you, I am human."

"You're allowed to feel your feelings," he nods, smiling gently, "but please don't allow them to build until you take it out on others. It isn't healthy for you, nor a nice experience for others. You're quite scary when you're mad, you know."

"I am not."

"I beg to differ."

Marinette drops her head forward to shoot an annoyed glare at the male on her screen, who smiles cheekily at her.

"Sometimes I question why I'm still friends with you," she groans, leaning forward, her face blowing up on her little window of herself in the bottom right corner. It must be huge on his screen, but she doesn't care.

He shrugs, smile loosing the playfulness, "I keep you grounded."

Her lips twitch into a smile, "Whatever would I do without you?"

He chuckles, "Go insane?"

"Excuse you?"

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

Walking to school the next morning, hair pulled back in its usual low bun (with the new hair ties that she picked out with Alya, giving her a splash of neon colors in her usual wardrobe). She took her time, the day being nicer, weather pleasant.

It was also just slightly too warm to wear her hoodie, so instead, she wore a sheer, black long sleeve. She only wear short sleeves during dance and summer time.

Earbuds settled in the ears, her music mutes the world around her. Eyes never straying from in front of her, though darted to people and objects that may be a hazard to her path and adjusts her route accordingly.

Halfway there, Alix rolls up next to her on her skates, yanking out her left earbud.

"I was listening to that," Martinette rolls her eyes but makes no attempt to put the bud back in.

"Sorry," Alix grins, not at all sounding apologetic. "You know, I heard that there a large amount of the girls in our school are going to try out to be the weather girl-"

"I should care, why?"

"Rose wants to try," she replies, all enthusiasm gone and replaced with concern.

A pause instills their conversation as Marinette ponders the idea, allowing it to roll around in her head. It wasn't a terrible idea, per se, but she wouldn't want Rose's grades to suffer because she's more focused on something less important. Adding the amount of bullying she might receive?

Marinette nods, making up her mind, "I'll reason with her, but I won't stop her if she still wants to go."

"I'll take it. Juleka is worried, too, but she just wants to be supportive."

"Of course she does," she smiles. "You know, I'm starting to believe that they're closer than just friends."

"I'm ninet-six percent sure that Juleka has a crush on Rose." Alix scrunches her nose and Marinette stops in her tracks. Eyes narrowing, she takes out her other earbud, watching Alix stop and turn to her, confused. "Mari?"

"Do you have a problem with that?" she questions, tone cold, fire in her eyes, calculating. "Would it bother you if they started dating?"

Alix seemed to realize where this was going, hearing 'are you homophobic?' that was left unsaid. She rolls up to her, standing tall (taller, her skates adding extra height to her usual short stature, not that Marinette was much taller than her in the first place). "No," she answers firmly, "people should love who ever they want. It's 2016, society needs to accept that love is not bound to only the opposite sex and accept that there is more than two genders- no, sexes. Gender is nothing but a social construct."

She stops, seeing the fire simmer in Marinette's eyes, and watches as bluebell eyes flicker between both of hers.

Marinette found what she was looking for and nods, a small smile stretching her lips, "I'm glad you think that way as well. I'd drop you as a friend if you said something else."

Alix splutters, "Just like that? I would be out of your life without a second thought?!" Marinette begins her walk again, brushing past her friend and letting her catch up on her own.

"I have no need of a friend without an open mind or heart," she says it so easily, it makes Alix wonder. Marinette has always had an open mind, never not taking into consideration of others around her (sans when she escaped the Stoneheart's attack in their classrooms and made her great escape without them). 

"You know someone like that, don't you? Selfish, doesn't think of others, leaves no room for argument and only makes decisions to benefit themselves..."

Alix observes her from the corner of her eye, Marinette's expression darkening.

"I do."

"You don't like them?"

"I loathe him."

It's a guy, huh? Alix hums, but doesn't push for more, knowing already that Marinette won't let anymore out. Finally arriving at the stares of the school, Alix sat down at the stairs and began taking her skates off and replacing them with her shoes. Putting away her skates in her extra bag, she stood up next to Marinette, who waited patiently for her before they ascended to the front doors of the school.

Another thought hit her, curiously.

"Hey, Mari?" A hum showing that she was listening spurred her on, "You got really defensive about Juleka possibly liking girls," her voice was low, as to not let anyone around them listen in, "made me think- and please don't get offended- but, do you like girls, too?"

She receives a snort, "You're asking if I'm gay because I defended my friend?"

"Well, I've never seen you attracted to anyone. I've never thought 'bout it 'til now-"

"I thought you fixed that speech habit of yours."

"Awe, shut it, I couldn't hold it back forever. Can't blame me for bein' curious."

Marinette shakes her head, "I'll keep the air of mystery, you can find out yourself."

"Damn it, Mari, you're just plain mean."

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

Unedited.