"No!" Adrien shouted. His body was moving before he had consciously decided to do so. The car had stopped, and the driver had climbed out with excuses on his lips. He hadn't seen her. She came out of nowhere. There was no way he could have stopped in time. But Adrien tuned him out as he sunk to his knees next to Marinette's body. Her too still body.

He felt his stomach churn at the line of blood coming from her mouth.

"Marinette?" He softly asked, his voice wavering. How could this be happening? Bending down, he pressed an ear to her chest and his hand hovered over her mouth. Nothing. No strong, steady beat. No hot breath tickling his hand. Nothing. Nothing nothing nothing!

"Is... is she...?" Chloe started, hesitantly kneeling beside Adrien. The look on his face told her all she needed to know. Chloe fell back, hand covering her mouth as she started sobbing. The blond model gently scooped the bluenette in his arms, cradling her. This couldn't be happening. Not to Marinette... not to sweet, kind, carefree Marinette. Adrien had never realized how fond of his friend he had been. You don't know what you have until you lose it.

Sucking in a deep breath, he laid her back down again. Clasping his hands together, they only hovered for a moment of uncertainty before starting compressions. The heel of one of his hands in the middle of her chest, the other on top as he straightened his elbows and started pressing down. As he counted to thirty, he felt strangely numb. Chloe's sobbing, the driver's voice as he called for an ambulance... it was all muffled like he was underwater. He focused only on the task at hand; not losing Marinette.

28, 29, 30...

He didn't hesitate as he placed a palm on her forehead, tilting her head back, and used the other hand to grip her chin to open her airways. Satisfied, he pinched her nose closed and brought his lips to hers, breathing out a quick breath into her lungs. He kept an eye on her chest to see if it moved; it did. He quickly gave her another breath before resuming the compressions again. For once, Adrien was glad that his father had made him take those First Aid and CPR classes.

To Adrien, this entire mess happened in the blink of an eye. One second, Marinette had been alive and happy, blushing at him as she normally did. The next, she was falling. He had been too late to catch her. The next moment, she stopped moving. He could still recall the awful thud of her hitting the car. The sound of tires screeching. Marinette had hit the front right headlight, rolling over the hood before the car stopped and she fell to the ground.

28, 29, 30...

He repeated the process. Over, and over. A pit was growing in his stomach. She wasn't responding. Where were those paramedics? It felt as if centuries had passed.

Chloe, whose cries were now silent, crawled next to Adrien. There were two definite tracks on her face where her tears had removed the makeup she was wearing. She gingerly moved a strand of hair out of Marinette's face, being the gentlest Adrien had ever seen her. The boy could hear her whispering to herself, over and over, 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry...'

In the distance, Adrien could finally begin to hear the sound of sirens drawing closer. 'Come on, Marinette. You can't leave me. I've lost too many people...' He thought, fighting against the growing desperation that seemed to grip him. He felt like he was losing his best friend, even though he didn't know her that well.

But he did know that she loved playing video games. She was down to earth, modest. Her determination could fill an army. Her laugh was contagious, and her loyalty was unparalleled. She loved designing clothes. She was incredibly brave and resourceful, as he remembered her when he fought Evillustrator. She was Marinette.

He continued the cycle until the paramedics arrived, and they had to practically pry him off her. He felt that if he stopped, there was no chance. This was the moment that Adrien realized that maybe, just maybe, he had viewed her as more than a friend.

Adrien watched as the paramedics swamped her, and then started loading her up on the gurney. Adrien felt a surge of panic. He didn't want to leave her. When they started wheeling her to the ambulance, he felt himself move. With his hand outstretched, he yelled, "Wait! I need to come."

Whether it was because of the stubborn glint in his eyes, the sheer desperation in his voice, or Chloe threatening to call her father, the mayor, Adrien didn't know, but they let him climb into the ambulance, Chloe right behind him.

All but one of the EMS paramedics were buzzing around her, the one who wasn't was sitting next to Adrien and asking him questions. He tried to answer as many as he could, but his mind wasn't on it. Not until she said something that caught his attention.

"...contact her parents to have them meet us at the hospital?" Adrien nodded in response but felt a surge of panic as he realized he did not have Marinette's parent's phone numbers.

Chloe gently nudged him, holding a small pink purse out to him. Marinette's purse. Adrien hadn't even noticed it before but took it from her. The purse felt so small in his hands. Adrien tried to ignore everything else that was going on.

Unclasping it, Adrien dug his hand around blindly, not being able to see with his hand in it, until he felt something hard and cold. Grasping it, he brought out Marinette's phone. What was he supposed to say? How did he tell lovely Mrs. and Mr. Dupain-Cheng that their daughter was on death's door?

Shaking, Adrien dialed the number under the contact of 'Maman'. The dial rang and rang until finally there was a click.

"Marinette?" The concern in Sabine's voice was unmistakable. "Is something wrong? Why aren't you in school? Hello?"

"Mrs. Dupain-Cheng..."

"Who is this? Where is Marinette?"

"This is Adrien Agreste, ma'am. Listen, there was an accident..."

•••

The sharp scent of the hospital was never a pleasant smell to Adrien; it reminded him too much of death and sickness.

The doctors had rushed Marinette into the ER, leaving Adrien and Chloe to wait. They both sat in the waiting room but didn't say a word to each other. What could they say?

Tired of sitting still, Adrien brought his phone out and started making phone calls. Alya was the first person he called, and he could hear the panic in her voice as he explained what had happened. Nino was second, and while he never strayed from his normal passive voice, Adrien could tell that he was worried.

By the time that Adrien hung up with Nino, the Dupain-Cheng's had arrived. They immediately bombarded him with questions, wanting more information than the brief explanation he had given them over the phone.

Adrien was patient and answered all of the questions they asked to the best of his ability. As he continued answering he eventually noticed the side glances they were giving Chloe. He expected them to be angry at her, angry for putting their daughter in this predicament, but all he saw was a deep look of sympathy. Now he didn't have to wonder where Marinette got her good heart from.

Just as he was finished answering their last question, Chloe stood up and came to shyly stand next to Adrien.

"Mr. and Mrs. Dupain-Cheng... I'm so sorry!" The mayor's daughter burst into tears again, hands covering her face in shame. Both Sabine and Tom sent a look to each other before moving to hug the crying girl, cooing comforting words to her. Adrien felt something stir in his chest, but it was a something he was familiar with; jealousy, longing. The want, the need, to belong to a family. He often experienced this at Nino's, watching him interact with his siblings and parents.

The doctor walked through the double doors, snapping Adrien back to reality. The doctor, Adrien could now see his name tag said 'Dr. Roberts', walked up to the group of three hugging, gently clearing his throat.

"Mr. and Mrs. Dupain-Cheng, I presume?" They both nodded in response. "Good. If you could follow me, there are some things I would like to discuss with you, and I'm sure you have questions of your own."

The doctor led the Dupain-Cheng's to the back, leaving the two teenagers by themselves in the near-empty room. Adrien could see Chloe hastily wiping the tears off of her face, sniffling to herself. Sighing, Adrien went and laid a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Chloe responded by turning and throwing her arms around his waist; but unlike the other times she had flung herself at him, he could tell that it was purely for comfort. After a hesitant second, he wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

"I did-didn't mean to hurt-hurt her. I just wanted her to... to-... I was so jealous! Be-Because everyone likes her! No one likes m-me-me. I'm so sorry, Marinette!" Chloe blubbered. Adrien didn't respond. He could say nothing to comfort his old friend.

"Adrien? Chloe?" Someone questioned. Adrien lifted his head and spotted Alya, who had spoken, and Nino coming into the waiting room.

Adrien let go of Chloe to meet his friends but hesitated when he saw the glare Alya had directed his way. It wasn't until Alya pushed past Adrien and violently shoved Chloe to the ground, pinning her with a knee to her chest, that he realized it wasn't pointed at him, but behind him.

"This is your fault, Chloe! If you weren't such a stuck-up brat with no moral..." Alya was cut off as both Adrien and Nino grabbed one of her arms and dragged her off of Chloe, who was crying hard again.

"Enough, Alya! She feels awful enough already. And Marinette wouldn't want you to fight her. For goodness sake, get a hold of yourself. I get that you're hurting..-"

"You get nothing, Adrien! That's my best friend that's dying. And it's all because of her!" Alya pointed an accusing finger at the blonde girl, but tears filled her eyes and her voice shook.

"Alya..." Nino murmured, pulling her into a comforting hug. Adrien was almost surprised that Alya didn't sock him, but she didn't return the hug either.

"I know that I- that I messed up. But I swear, Alya, I never meant to-to-to hu-hurt Marinette. I didn't real-realize that she-she'd fall. I didn't mean to. I didn't. I'm sorry." Chloe apologized, her eyes downcast as she propped herself on her elbows. Alya didn't respond for a minute, seeking comfort in Nino's shoulder. When she did, her voice was unwavering and steady.

"I'm not the one you need to apologize to."

•••

The two girls didn't talk to each other. Or more like, Alya ignored Chloe and Chloe eventually gave up trying to make amends. Nino and Adrien tried to keep up a light conversation, but the icy silence emitting from Alya soon enveloped them, too.

It seemed like centuries before the doors finally opened to reveal Tom and Sabine. By then Adrien had drained two cups of coffee, Alya had drained four, and Chloe and Nino passed on coffee entirely, both settling for muffins and orange juice. They all stood. Adrien noticed the calm expressions on their faces and felt relieved.

"Well, what's the verdict?" Alya asked, impatient for news on her friend. So, Sabine told them what the doctor had said.

•••

The beeping was the first thing that registered to Marinette. Really loud, really annoying beeping. The stinging scent of anesthetics hit her nose next, causing it to crinkle in automatic response. She had never been fond of the smell of hospitals; reminded her too much of sickness and death.

The beeping grew more irritating, and Marinette attempted to find the source by opening her eyes but quickly squeezed them shut as bright lights blinded her. After several minutes of hesitantly opening and shutting her eyes, they grew accustomed to the light. Once she could keep her eyes open, she dared to peek around.

White. Everything was very white.

Marinette realized that the reason it smelled like a hospital was that she was actually in one. Go figure. Looking around, she noted that the room was empty.

To her right, there was a curtain that she assumed was blocking the door. Other than that, there were various machines she was hooked up to around her hospital bed, two chairs to her left, a door she guessed led to the bathroom across from her bed, and a window behind the two chairs which illuminated the entire room.

Marinette moved to sit up but groaned as a wave of pain hit her. The beeping sped up and became, if possible, even more annoying.

The sound of the door opening made Marinette jump, but she relaxed when she saw a friendly looking nurse enter from behind the curtain; Marinette's suspicions of there being a door proved correct.

"Marinette? Hello, I'm Emily. How are you feeling?" The nurse, Emily, asked as she fluttered around to the different machines, checking them for something.

"Umm..." Marinette paused as she assessed herself. She only felt pain when she made any sudden movements, which she told the nurse.

"Well, that's to be expected. The bruising your body has endured is almost impressive. Do you remember what happened?"

Marinette struggled to recall something, anything. She was looking for something... no, for someone. Adrien. She was looking for Adrien because... he had given her his jacket. Right, his jacket. But then, he had told her to keep it for the day. What happened next? Chloe had come, she had pushed Marinette in the way of...

"Did I get hit by a car?" Came the incredulous question from the girl. The nurse chuckled at the girl's tone.

"Yes. It's good that you can remember that. We believe that you may have a slight concussion. But given all you've been through, I'd say your injuries were on the lucky side. You have some major bruising on your ribs and spine. A sprained left ankle, and right wrist. You have some minor abrasions. And almost your entire right side is bruised. But other than that, you're as healthy as can be. Which truly is a miracle considering the state you were in when we arrived on scene."

"What state was I in?"

"Well, Marinette... you were technically dead. When you hit the car, your body went into shock, and then cardiac arrest. But don't panic!" The nurse smiled reassuringly at my troubled expression. "That friend of yours, what's his name? Adrien?" Marinette desperately hoped that the nurse hadn't noticed the spike in the heart monitor when she said his name. "He performed CPR until the paramedics arrived. And most likely, without him, you wouldn't still be here with us."

Marinette struggled to come to terms with the fact that her long time crush had saved her life. "Is he still here? What about my parents?" What about Tikki? Marinette felt a pang of worry for her Kwami, who had been in Marinette's purse at the time of the incident. What if she was hurt? Did anyone grab her purse? Was Tikki alone and injured, on death's door right now? What if someone had found Tikki? What if-...

A knock at the door derailed Marinette's train of thought, and she looked up to see a man with salt and pepper hair walk in. Judging by the way the man held himself and the white lab coat, she made the assumption that he was the doctor. Her guess was made correct when he introduced himself, "Hello Marinette. I'm Dr. Roberts."

"Hello." Came her timid response.

"How is my star patient feeling? Any pain?" He asked as the nurse handed him the clipboard she had been carrying, scanning its contents.

"I feel fine until I move. I feel like a did a work out for a week straight. I'm really sore."

"Hmm, okay. That's good..." Apparently satisfied with whatever was on the clipboard, his sparkling hazel eyes regarded me. "You feeling up and to some visitors? I know a few people who are eager to see you."

Marinette nodded enthusiastically.

Chuckling, the doctor went to the door and pulled it open, motioning for whoever was waiting outside to come in.

Shock filled Marinette when Chloe walked in, her head lowered in submission and a pained expression on her face. The doctor and nurse both excused themselves, leaving the two girls alone in the hospital room.

"Chloe?" The bluenette asked, her head cocked to the side.

"Hi, Marinette." The blonde replied sheepishly, almost as if she was afraid. Marinette could not remember a time that Chloe had looked so... defeated.

"Was there a, uh, reason you're in here?" Marinette didn't want to sound rude, but a growing curiosity was budding.

"I-..." Her speech stopped as she seemed to choke. Something glistening fell down her cheek. Marinette couldn't believe it. Was she crying? Regaining control of herself, Chloe continued, "I am so sorry, Marinette! I'm sorry! I only wanted to come in between you and Adrien... I didn't mean to shove you so hard! I didn't-I didn't mean for you to get hurt! And I never meant-... I've always been jealous of you! Because you're so nice and everyone loves you!" Chloe sucked in a breath, her bottom lip quivering.

"Chloe, you don't have to-..."

"Yes, I do. And I'm not done. Marinette, you are so cute and smart and amazing, and everyone always liked you. That's why I hated you. Because the only person who was my friend, or at least tried to be, was Adrien. Sabrina only hangs with me because I bribe her. But when you started liking Adrien... I got scared. Because I thought you'd steal away the last friend I had. But I swear on all of the clothes in my closet, I never wanted to hurt you. And I know it's unfair to ask for forgiveness from you."

Marinette could feel tears start budding in her eyes but quickly willed them away, "Chloe... I forgive you."

"I know that you have no reason to forgive me for what I did-... Wait, what?" Chloe's sharp blue eyes snapped up to meet Marinette's.

"I said I forgive you, Chloe." Though Marinette wasn't sure how she could forgive this girl that she had despised for so long, who had bullied her constantly for years... well, looking at her, so pitiful and full of sorrow... Marinette couldn't help but forgive her. Chloe had never been as honest as she just had, admitting to being jealous of Marinette. Although the baker's daughter wasn't sure how the mayor's daughter was jealous of her. The secret super heroine grabbed Chloe's hand and gave her a soft, reassuring smile that for once wasn't fake. After a few seconds, things got awkward. Marinette pulled her hand away.

"I've, umm, got to go. My daddy is waiting for me." Chloe turned before pausing, throwing a look over her shoulder as she said, "Don't worry about medical bills. My daddy will pay for all of them." And then she turned forward and left, leaving Marinette surprisingly relieved. Not that she had left, but that she had come. Marinette didn't think that anything would change for Chloe; and for once, she was glad to be proved wrong.

After Chloe had left, five more people filed in. Marinette gave them a huge smile and gently waved with her left hand.

Adrien, Alya, and Nino all went to stand on the left side of her bed; Nino was farthest, with Alya closest and Adrien in the middle. And her parents closely huddled on the right side of her bed.

"Hey, girl!" Alya was the first to break the silence, reaching out to squeeze her friend's hand.

"Hi, Alya. Hi maman, papa. Nino." The girl finally tore her eyes away from Alya, landing on the blond. "Hi, Adrien." They all responded with various 'hello's, but Marinette could have sworn she saw a slight blush tinge Adrien's cheeks. But that wasn't possible.

One by one, they each told the bluenette their points of view of the incident; all except Adrien, who remained uncharacteristically quiet. He wouldn't meet Marinette's eyes.

After almost a half hour of conversation, Marinette finally spoke. "Could I have a few minutes alone with Adrien, please?" Adrien's eyes widened in surprise, as did everyone else's. And the young girl heard the boy audibly gulp. After a few moments of hesitation, they all filed out of the room. Once the door shut behind them, she reached out and grabbed Adrien's clammy hand.

"How are you doing?" Marinette felt worried about the odd behavior coming from the blond.

"Huh? Oh, I'm fine. Yeah."

"You don't have to pretend around me, Adrien. You haven't spoken the entire time you've been in here except to say hello. Did I-... Did I do something to upset you?"

Adrien's mouth popped open and shock filled his features. "Did you do something... No! God, Mari. Of course not. You haven't done anything wrong." He explained, but his head was still lowered. It wasn't until he lifted it that she saw the tears running down his face.

"Adrien...?" He fell to his knees, hand clasped tightly in hers.

"You weren't breathing, Marinette. You were so still... and I was so scared that-that you were..." He trailed off as he buried his face in the blankets covering her lower body.

"Adrien, look at me." His head stubbornly remained buried. She let out a frustrated sigh. "Adrien!" She dropped his hand so that she could grab his chin and raise it so that he would face her. No more tears were falling, but he still looked vulnerable. "Look..." She grabbed his hand again and brought it to hover underneath her nose and lips. "Look, I'm breathing. Feel that? I'm alive, Adrien. I'm alive because of you. You saved me. I'm going to recover and I'm going to be fine."

"I know, I know. I'm sorry. For getting so emotional, I mean. I guess I've just been bottling up all of my emotions and you getting hurt... well, it uncorked the bottle. Seeing you hurt... You're such a great person, Mari. And if you had... and if you had died..."

"But I didn't. I'm here." She let his hand go and reached up to gently stroke his hair back. Her eyes instinctively darted to his lips. Her cheeks went red as she noticed that he was staring at hers.

The sound of the door opening had both of them jerking back; Adrien hastily stood and Marinette ran a nervous hand through her hair, just now noticing that it was loose and around her shoulders instead of her usual pigtails. Alya rounded the curtain and raised her eyebrows at the two blushing teens.

"Am I interrupting something?" She teased. Marinette could only mumble incoherent words under her breath and shake her head. "Here, I brought some cookies." Alya sat in one of the chairs to the blue eyed girl's left, and Adrien took the other one. The auburn haired girl started passing out the cookies.

"Oh!" Adrien let out as he quickly bent down and scooped up a small purse; Marinette's purse. "Here." He handed it to her, smiling shyly. Nino joined them a few minutes later, holding various drinks and snacks in his hands. Marinette passed, but Adrien and Alya started wolfing down the snacks as fast as they could. Marinette laughed, and Nino joined her. 

"Oh! Befo I foget..!" Alya spoke, her mouth full. She bent down to her bag and grabbed a stack of papers, setting them on the edge of Marinette's bed. She swallowed before continuing. "I grabbed the homework for the rest of the week. I figured you'd want something to do." Marinette thanked Alya.

Dr. Roberts came in, interrupting them; turns out visiting hours were going to be over soon, and Marinette's parents wanted some time with their daughter. A deep feeling of loss filled Marinette as she watched Adrien go; they hadn't discussed what had happened. What if he didn't even think anything had happened? But she let them go when they promised to visit her before school tomorrow.

Sabine and Tom came in, and after talking to their daughter, explaining what the doctor had told them, Marinette could feel her eyes drooping.

She fell asleep before she even noticed she was in danger of it.

•••

"Is this good? Are you comfortable? Do you need anything?" Marinette's father fussed to her as he helped her lower herself down on her chaise lounge. He had helped her get up to her room, but they both figured it would be too hard to get her all the way up to her loft bed.

The hospital had discharged her that afternoon, after keeping her overnight for three days. It felt incredibly good to be home.

"I'm fine, papa. Don't worry. You can go back to work. It was swamped when we went through and I'm sure maman needs your help more than I do." Marinette saw the indecision on his face and flashed him a smile while making a shooting motion with her hands. "Go! If I need anything I'll text you or maman." Nodding, her father left her to go down to the bakery; which they lived above.

With a wince, Marinette laid back. She was instructed to avoid damaging her ankle further and advised to not go to school for the rest of the week. She did not argue with this; she felt sharp jolts of pain whenever she moved faster than the pace of a snail.

"Are you really okay, Marinette?" Tikki asked as she flew out of the bluenette's purse. Marinette remembered how relieved she felt when she found Tikki... or more like Tikki found her. Apparently, Adrien had almost discovered the Kwami while looking for Marinette's phone. So once they arrived at the hospital, Tikki had phased through the purse and followed Marinette into the ER, hovering nearby until she got her alone after everyone left when visiting hours ended.

"Yes, Tikki. I've taken my pain medication, and the doctor said there wasn't anything I could do but rest."A slight buzzing sounded, and Marinette groaned as she lifted herself up and grabbed the phone from her purse at the edge of her couch. Turning it on, she saw a message from Alya. Her, Nino, and Adrien all visited her every morning before school and after. There was still a tense air around Adrien and Marinette, and she desperately wanted to talk to him again; to discuss what had occurred between them. But it never seemed like the right moment.

Just as Marinette sent her reply, a quiet knocking sounded. Tikki and Marinette shared looks of panic and confusion. The knock had come from her balcony's door. Sucking in a breath, the injured girl hobbled over to the ladder, climbing it she went to the door and hesitantly opening it while Tikki hid. There was only one person she could think of that could get onto her balcony. Sure enough, as she opened the door her blue bell eyes were met with electric green ones.

"Good evening, Princess."

A/N: Anna here! Heyo, guys. What's up? How has your week been? Mine's been great! Welcome to the end of chapter two! Thanks for reading!

The song for this chapter is Wait by Group 1 Crew

Word Count; 4668

That's all I've got this chapter. Have a fliptastic week!