"i really believe that there is an invisible red thread tied between him and me, and that it has stretched and tangled for years - across oceans and lifetimes. i know that it won't break because our souls are tied." - jennifer elisabeth

☾ ☽

This had to be the worse day of Marinette's life. She had trouble walking down the stairs; her legs wobbling as if she were on stilts. Her mind was still trying to comprehend what she just saw. Trick of the eye, perhaps? The blow to her head was causing more hallucinations? No. Marinette knew. She was only trying to deny it, but she knew. Marinette remained silent; through eating, packing up, not even thinking about saying goodbye to her mother. Her feet went on autopilot and took her to school while she thought about the string.

She had ditched the evening patrol because she was afraid. Afraid of what might happen. Afraid of why it happened.

Tikki popped out of her purse, seeing the mixture of emotions on her owner's face. Marinette's face was a canvas, and her expression was the paint. The blend of emotions grew dull, like a painter does when combining too many colors at once. Tikki knew she couldn't say anything; Marinette was already in a state of distress. The kwami disappeared back into the purse, leaving Marinette to think on her own.

As Marinette finally found the motivation to enter the classroom, she spotted a dreary looking Adrien slouching in his seat. Of course, he had the annoying girl with the worse sense of fashion wrapped around his neck, but he seemed worse than usual. Dark, lifeless, and loss of hope. This wasn't the Adrien she knew.

But it didn't matter to her anymore. Her fate wasn't tied with his, apparently. She smoothly walked by, ignoring the traditional Chloé comments that would often jab her in the side. "Hmph. What's up with her?" The blonde scoffed, tightening her arms around his neck, "Adrien, darling, want to hang out later today? I'll let you take me on a date." Any tighter and the boy would start to suffocate if he weren't already to her potent perfume.

"Are you just going to stand by and watch this?" Alya leaned over, whispering to Marinette as she watched the dark haired girl unpack for class. Her brown curls tumbled over her shoulder as she continued to say, "It's absolutely cringe worthy; I can hardly take it myself."

Marinette shook her head, "Not today, Alya. And probably not ever anymore. It's not worth it."

"Wha-," Her friend gasped in shock and was about to say something when Miss Bustier entered the room, indicating that class was about to begin. Terrible timing, obviously, but teachers manage to mess up the moment anyways with incessant lessons. The two watched as Chloé Bourgeois begrudgingly went back to her seat while managing to continue making lovesick faces at the model.

A pain stabbed Marinette in the heart.

What was this string trying to tell her? That her fate would never connect with Adrien's? She shook her head, trying to focus ahead of her; past Adrien and towards the lesson. This would be a first.

Time seemed to zip by and within moments, the school day was over. Marinette's reality was no longer functional, nor was the time in her reality. She swiftly picked up her bag and scurried down the stairs before Alya could say anything. Doing so, she nearly bumped head first into Adrien Agreste, who just stood up from her seat. "S-Sorry!" Her habitual stutters returned in that moment and she felt her face flush bright red.

He placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her a noticeably dry smile, "No worries." Adrien then patted her shoulder and left his seat and left the classroom, probably heading out to another photo shoot. Marinette bit her lip. There definitely was something off about him today, but she couldn't place a pin on it. No, she couldn't have her mind wander again. Marinette rushed out the classroom door, leaving her best friend behind with many questions.

The trip back home was a lonely one. As soon as she opened the doors of the bakery, Marinette rushed up the stairs without a word to her parents and dived head first into her couch.

Her purse clicked open. "Marinette," Tikki said to the girl whose face was deep inside a pillow, "Like I said before: just because the red string is showing you one thing, doesn't mean that you have to follow it. You should be able to decide who you want to be with; not have fate pick it out for you!" She flew over to Marinette's side, trying to get a look at her.

Marinette rolled onto her side, exhaling sharply. Her bangs hung over her eyes like a curtain, and her cheek was still sunken in the cushion. "Tikki, let's face it. Even without the string, I still wouldn't be able to get Adrien's attention. Everything was useless to begin with." She then returned to burying herself into the pillow once more. "He's a smart, kind, athletic, and a model. I'm just-."

"You're Ladybug!" Tikki finished her sentence, not allowing Marinette to continue to let herself down, "And you save lives! Even someone like Adrien doesn't deserve someone as great as you."

In actuality, Marinette didn't hate Chat Noir; on the contrary, he was a great partner. He always managed to be there in the perfect moment, even though he tended to overreact and dramatized everything. He was a good friend. But he just wasn't the person Marinette was hoping for.

"And think about it, Marinette!" Tikki exclaimed, waving her tiny arms in the air trying to get Marinette's attention, "We don't even know who Chat Noir's real identity is! Who knows, he might even be-."

"Tikki!" Marinette sat upright, this time with tears in her eyes. The kwami froze, suspended in air. Marinette's bottom lip was quivering. Her fingers shook. She rapidly tried to blink the tears back, but to no avail, they tumbled down her rosy cheeks. "It's impossible. I-I'm so sick of this," Her voice trembled and her shoulders shook. She got up from her couch and slowly walked towards her desk. Tikki watched with wide eyes, not entirely sure of what to do. "I'm sick of being dragged around." Marinette opened a drawer as she spoke.

"Marinette..." Tikki said slowly, "What are you doing?"

Marinette ignored the kwami.

"Sick of Hawk Moth."

She pulled out a small pair of scissors.

"Sick of the Akumas."

She opened them with two fingers.

"S-Sick of Chat Noir."

She placed the blades against the thread.

"Marinette, no!" Tikki tried to fly over quickly as fast as her speed would let her.

Marinette looked up at the kwami, with her blue eyes glistening from her tears.

"I'm sick of this red string!"

The blades closed. And this time, they cut right through.

☾ ☽

On the other side of town, a blonde-haired boy was troubled. He slunk in his bed, upturned at his ceiling and thinking to himself. Plagg, not being the wisest kwami in the box, ignorantly bit into a slice of Camembert above Adrien's head. "What's the deal, kid?" The kwami gulped down his food with delight, "You seem a bit weird today."

"That's because of what happened, Plagg," Adrien rolled his eyes, understanding that the kwami's love for cheese was greater than its love for him. "Then again, I guess you can't see the red string. I hope my emotions weren't noticeable; it didn't seem like it."

"Waddya mean?"

Adrien sighed, propping himself up with the backboard of his bed. Plagg fluttered down, and the stench of Camembert wanted the boy to push his kwami away. But he needed someone to talk to. "Remember yesterday? Ladybug didn't show up to patrol when she promised she would," He frowned, "But I'm sure that's not her fault. Maybe something came up, like a secret mission."

"And what does that have to do with the string?"

Adrien rubbed his temple in frustration, "I was going to talk to her about it, remember? And confess my feelings to her..." His words trailed off. Plagg tilted his head, finally starting to get a grasp of the situation. "And earlier this morning, I saw something. Something I definitely didn't want to see."

Plagg's whiskers twitched, "The only thing that could possibly be worse than Ladybug standing you up is if you saw your string connected to Chloé!" The kwami burst out laughing, "That would be hilarious!"

The boy didn't say anything.

Plagg continued to laugh until he noticed that Adrien wasn't saying anything. "Ohhh, oh boy," Plagg said, slowing his chuckles down until it settled in his stomach, alongside the cheese. "You gotta be kidding me."

"Why would I mess around with the string?" Adrien retorted, slightly frustrated. "I saw it around the time Chloe was picking on Marinette. It was only for a minute, but I thought I saw our strings connecting." He blew at his blonde locks which were getting in his eyes while shuddering at the thought that his fate would end up with Chloe. True, they were childhood friends, but that's as far as he ever wanted to go (or maybe a little less).

"Man, you've got bad luck," Plagg nestled himself Adrien's head, as if making a makeshift nest in his hair, "Really bad."

"That's all thanks to you," Adrien scratched Plagg's chin, and the kwami made a purring sound. "But I've made up my mind. Even though the string might be connected to Chloé, it doesn't mean that I can tell My Lady my true feelings for her." He held up his silver ring, "Alright Plagg, let's see if we can find her today-."

He paused.

Plagg looked down, squinting at Adrien's line of sight, "What is it?"

Adrien raised his right pinky, which was freed from the red knot tied around it only moments ago.

"The string is gone."

---

i hate to admit it but i caved in and watched the korean origin eps when tumblr because a spoiler zone.

it was worth it.

creds to my bæ, SinTxstic for the cutting string idea; she's the angst queen.

xoxo,

arisa