The day had started out a beautiful one, a crystal clear sky shining above the citizens of Paris. The wind, however, began as a whispering in the air. The air seemed crisp and cool to Marinette as she made her way to school. She glanced up at the sky, quickening her pace as the clouds began to gather. She only had a little bit left to go, and the weather seemed so perfect when she left. She didn't bring an umbrella, which was her first mistake. Her second mistake was that she was still staring up at the sky, and not ahead at the bustling Paris street.
Marinette didn't see it coming; there was no way she could've been prepared. She was falling fast, the air's whispering turning into screaming. She didn't have enough time to catch herself, only frown miserably as she landed in a puddle on the sidewalk. She scrambled up, glancing around. Nobody seemed to have noticed that she fell, which made her a bit disappointed. She was just glad that she had an extra pair of pants in her locker; as a klutz, she never knew when she would need to change. She just hoped that Chloe didn't see her – or worse, Adrien!
She walked faster, her heart racing by the time she was in front of the school. She would be fine if Alya saw her. Maybe some of her other classmates... But she couldn't handle Chloe putting her down this morning, or let Adrien see her. If Adrien saw her, she would probably die of embarrassment...
It was lucky enough that nobody saw her fall, but she didn't think that her luck would hold up for much longer. Especially since Adrien and Nino were standing outside of the building. Marinette sighed, trying to think of ways to avoid Adrien. He was right in front of the school... She was usually quick to find a solution, especially when she became her alter ego Ladybug, but when it came to Adrien her mind just... Blanked. She had no solutions. The only solution for her was to take a klutzy walk of shame right past him.
Maybe he wouldn't notice her? It was an optimistic thought, but very unlikely. A few months ago, before she became class president and won his fathers hat contest, he wouldn't have so much as glanced her way. Now he said hi to her, and had tried to start conversations. Unfortunately, every time she tried to talk to him, she always stuttered or she couldn't talk at all.
Marinette made her way up the school steps, watching Adrien and Nino out of the corner of her eye. They seemed deep in conversation and they probably wouldn't glance at her any time soon... She walked faster, almost running inside of the school. That was when the snickering began.
"What happened, Marinette? Wearing dirty pants to school? Did you have an accident on the way to school?" Chloe's laughter turned into cackling. Adrien had to be staring by now.
"No," she mumbled. "I slipped on the way here."
"Right, of course you slipped." Chloe rolled her eyes.
"Excuse me," Marinette sighed. "I need to go change..."
"I don't think there are any pants in the garbage, but knock yourself out." Chloe cackled, stepping out of her way. Marinette resumed her rush into the school, not noticing Chloe's foot in front of her. She tripped for the second time this morning, barely throwing her hands out in front of her.
"Oh my god, Marinette! These shoes were so expensive! I can't believe you just ruined them!" Chloe whined.
"Marinette, are you okay?" Adrien asked, sounding a bit aggravated.
"I'm fine," she stood up. "Just fine. I'm sorry about your shoes Chloe..." She looked down. Chloe's shoes looked perfectly fine...
"Don't talk to her, Adrien," Chloe rolled her eyes. "She just ruined my favorite pair of shoes."
"Chlo, your shoes are fine," Adrien snapped, stepping over to Marinette. "Let me walk you inside."
Marinette nodded, biting her lip. She just knew that something would go wrong today. She knew it would turn out like this. Beautiful days always seemed to have this kind of an impact on her.
Marinette and Adrien walked side by side, something they had done only a few times before as Marinette and Adrien. They didn't talk, mostly due to the negative energy surrounding them. Marinette assumed his morning hadn't been so great, so she didn't push it. When they reached her locker, she twisted the lock until it opened. She grabbed her spare pair of pants, and turned to Adrien.
"U-um... T-thank you for walking with me... I should... Go change..." God she was so awkward around him...
Adrien nodded. "I'm sorry about what Chloe did... That wasn't right..."
She shrugged, glancing at him. "It's fine. Knowing me I'd probably trip regardless of her foot being there..."
Adrien gave her a small smile. "Do you want me to wait for you while you change?"
"N-no it's fine. I'll just see you in class."
He nodded. "Alright."
"Um... A-Adrien? Are you alright?"
"What do you mean?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Just... You seem so upset... Is there anything bothering you?"
"No, Mari, I'm fine. I just hate seeing someone get pushed around so often..."
Mari. He nicknamed her! She blushed, glancing at him again. "It's fine. I'm used to this..."
"You shouldn't be," Adrien shook his head. "Look, we don't have long before class starts and you shouldn't be late. I'll see you in a bit."

Adrien walked to class, thinking about Marinette. Ever since his lady had asked him to protect her, he had a sort of soft spot for her. She was really sweet and cheerful around Chat Noir and everyone else in their class, but never around him. He couldn't help but think that it was because he never really tried to be friends with her. And maybe that was true. But she was always so awkward and distant around him... And today, when Chloe tripped her... That was it for him.
Marinette was too nice to be treated like that on a daily basis. She was nice, smart, and funny... She didn't deserve this constant abuse from Chloe. He always tolerated it because his father demanded that it was important for him to make business connections. But that was before Chloe became infatuated with him. Now everyone who even looked at him became Chloe's victims. He was done with it.