The sun was shining bright through the windows of the classroom. The air was perfect outside; not too hot, or too cold. It was a perfect day... outside.

But everyone knew that everything was wrong inside the classroom.

Gracelyn was broken. Instead of her bright and colorful outfits and vibrant, beautiful hair styled perfectly, the girl was dark. Her clothes consisted of tattered old acid washed skinny jeans and plain black sneakers. She wore an oversized hoodie that had the familiar smell of her brother on it, clearly something he gave to her to cover up the bandages all over her body.

But that isn't what everyone found off putting... Gracelyn's blond hair was gone. She had dyed it a dark brown color and it was a complete mess; all over the place. Dark circles were under her eyes and she looked much paler than normal- it was impossible for her to sleep at night.

Adrien had been woken up by her blood curdling screams of terror for the last 3 nights in a row. It had gotten so bad that she had refused to sleep in her own room and begged him to let her stay with him all night long. Adrien didn't mind but it would be better if he didn't wake up and Gracelyn was on the floor and whimpering like a wounded puppy.

And now here she was in class, hardly keeping it together. No one dared talk to her. Everyone was completely confused on how to feel about all of this. Usually when an attack like this happens, no one knows who it is and the attacker's memory is wiped... That is what Ladybug is meant to do... But this time, it didn't work. Everyone knows what happened.

So now Gracelyn sat in class... What was left of her, anyway. No one knew who this stranger was. Gracelyn had been completely wiped from her face. All that was left was an empty shell that resembled the pop star.

The news was going insane. It had gone public with what Gracelyn had done, and her appearance was all but ruined. She was pretty much destroyed; any hope of growing passed Paris had been wiped out. She was nothing. Her fame was gone. Her friends were gone. She had nothing.

So when someone called her name in class, she barely managed to look up from her desk.

"Gracie?" Madame Bustier spoke.

Gracelyn sputtered the first thing that came to her head in the form of an answer: "C-Covalent bonds."

Chloe and Sabrina snorted from the front of the class and it made Gracelyn put her hand against her forehead and look at the teacher.

"I'm sorry, ma'am. What did you ask?"

"I asked if you were feeling okay... You look a little..."

Gracelyn bit her lip and worried if she would finish her sentence or leave it alone. Unfortunately, luck wasn't on her side.

"-Pale. Do you need to step out for a minute? Get some fresh air and a little water?"

"I-I wouldn't feel very comfortable going alone, ma'am."

Madame Bustier answered almost immediately. "Someone can go with you."

Gracelyn expected for Adrien's hand to shoot into the air but instead, it was a familiar slender fingered hand that she had come to know very well. "I'll go with her."

"Thank you, Marinette. Be careful," Marinette jumped from her chair and quickly ran to the door, waiting for Gracelyn to leave her chair. She slowly stood up and flinched at her still healing wounds groaning agony. Very slowly, she made her way to the door, looking back and making eye contact with her brother who gave her the most sympathetic look she's ever seen him have in her entire life. It made her heart melt.

Once they were outside, Gracelyn let out a whimper of pain. Marinette could feel her heart breaking with every pained noise Gracelyn let out. These wounds were all her fault anyway...

"Are you okay?" That was the stupidest thing Marinette could ever say. But she said it anyway and now there's no way to take it back. Gracelyn nodded, tears in her eyes as they walked down the stairs and to the girl's bathroom. Gracelyn limped to the mirror and took off her hoodie, staring at herself in the mirror.

Marinette gasped in horror at how terrible she really looked. Cuts and bruises littered her body, along with sloppy bandages over the cuts. The black tank top barely fit her, it was far too big for her body; it was obviously Adrien's.

Gracelyn turned on the water, splashed the cold liquid in her face and on her neck, closing her eyes and wiping her forehead.

Gracelyn sighed and turned off the water before wiping her hands off on the towel near the door and pulling on her hoodie. But once the hoodie was on, Gracelyn felt a pair of arms snake around her waist and something hard gently snuggled in between her shoulder blades.

"I'm so, so sorry Gracelyn... This is all my fault." Marinette sniffled and Gracelyn felt Marinette's tears leak through her hoodie and her heart melted.

"N-No, Marinette, this isn't your fault." Gracelyn turned around and grasped the girl's hands in her own, gently kissing her knuckles. "I was going to kill you... you didn't have a choice..."

"I still feel horrible... I don't know how you could ever forgive me, I did horrible things to you and now you're hurting and I can't help in any way and I just feel terrible about it and I jus-"

Marinette's unwarranted self loathing monologue was cut off by Gracelyn pressing her lips gently to her own. Marinette gasped in surprise and squeaked in confusion but sighed in her throat, closing her eyes and gently leaning in to the girl's lips that still tasted sweet and amazing.

After a few seconds, Gracelyn pulled away from her lips and blushed a bright red, smiling happily.

"Marinette... Shut up," Giggling like a little kid, Gracelyn wrapped her arms around Marinette's waist and sighed with content as the girl in return gently kissed her exposed neck but wrinkled her nose at the ammonia smell from the hair dye.

All of this was overwhelming to Marinette. Just a few days ago, she had the biggest crush on Adrien, and now here she was, making out with his sister. It was surprising how a change of heart could occur, almost overnight. That night, after Marinette had let Chat Noir talk Gracelyn home, she went back to her own house and stayed up all night, thinking- crying, even. An akuma has never made Marinette this stressed or worried in her whole life.

Marinette was careful for the next few days, helping Gracelyn whenever possible and trying to treat everything delicately as to not upset her or try and remind her how horrible things were...

But this was the first time she apologized for what happened. And although Gracelyn didn't blame any of it on Marinette, Marinette believed it was all her fault; and the guilt was eating her up inside.

But if Gracelyn herself is standing here, telling her that it's okay, she has to take it to heart. It must be okay to her.

"Marinette," Gracelyn spoke softly to get the girl's attention- she had zoned out while holding Gracelyn in her arms.

"I, uhm... I know what you said before- about us not being able to work... And I know now that it's because you have a thing for my brother,"

Marinette blushed a deep crimson and held her tighter, burying her face in her neck out of embarrassment. Gracelyn sighed and pushed the girl back to look her in the eyes... Those beautiful blue eyes...

"But I was hoping we could try it to where... You see me for me? And not just for my brother?" She could see the heat and pain within Gracelyn's eyes; she was hurting so badly over these last few days, her heart almost exploding with the overwhelming feelings she was experiencing. Between knowing the identity of Paris' most desired superhero and becoming extremely attached to the girl in question, Gracelyn didn't know how to feel anymore.

And keep in mind, this is the girl that Marinette kicked the hell out of a couple of days ago. Of course she didn't know how to feel about any of this either. Holding onto a huge secret like this was scary for both of them. Not that Marinette didn't trust her, she did. But it was still scary knowing that her entire life was in Gracelyn's hands.

But maybe they could both forget about it for now; forget that Gracelyn was a famous pop star and Marinette was a red-clad hero. And for just a little while, even for just a few days, just pretend they were nobody but two girls in a world full of extreme chaos.

The moment was sweet while it lasted, but at some point, they had to return to class.

When the door opened, everyone in the room flinched. Clearly, no one was very comfortable being around Gracelyn in light of the current events. Even Gracelyn's mother refused to accept her visits at the hospital.

Getting through the day was harder than she ever believed possible. But once it was over, she quietly trudged outside towards the front of the school where the limo was waiting for her, Nathalie in the front seat and their driver waiting patiently for the two to get in. Gracelyn sighed and looked at Adrien who was walking down the stairs, chatting with Nino.

She quickly sent a text to him and walked passed the car, not wanting to sit inside of it when her father called to tell her the schedule for the rest of the day. She wanted to do nothing that her father told her to.

The jeans that loosely clung to her waist began to scuff against the sidewalk, tearing a small bit behind her heels. Clearly, she hasn't worn these jeans in months. Running a hand through her sloppy new hair, she walked as if she had ten pound weights attached to her ankles; like moving her legs was the most complicated task in the entire world.

She felt her phone buzz in her pocket but she chose to ignore it and quickly stepped up to the gates at the front of her home and pushed them open, stepping up the path and towards the front door. She pressed the key inside the lock and turned it the opposite way. Her brain was so foggy that it took her a minute to turn the key in the right direction and push the front door open.

She knew her father was home but she could care less. Ripping the key from the lock, she dropped them down into the dish next to the door and walked up the staircase and down the halls, towards her bedroom.

When she reached it, she dropped her school bag down and closed the door behind her. Stripping from her clothes, she stood in just her sports bra and boyshort panties, lazily stepping towards the mirror that hung from her wall. She stared at herself for several minutes, studying everything.

The scrapes, the cuts, the bruises... Everything that proved that she was nothing more than a monster. She remembers everything she did, all the harm she caused. She hurt so many people... And now everyone feared her.

Tears stained her eyes and streaked down her cheeks as she stepped away from the mirror and crawled under the safety of her blankets, feeling the warmth surround her body and keeping the cold air from touching her skin, or her heart.