Chapter 3

"Marinette, I wouldn't normally say this, but I am truly in love with you. I am also really worried about you. Please talk to me," Adrien's hands on my shoulders. I shutter.

"You don't care. Why would you? I mean look at Chloe, she is the perfect girl to make you image shine brighter. I am ugly and useless," And I have no idea why I am telling him all this. I just want someone to listen. "I am not okay, I more than just sad. I can't get the voice to stop. It is telling me to jump. Telling me to climb a building and jump. I can't believe a word anyone says because it says so."

"Marinette," His voice calls out full of care. "I love you because to me you are beautiful and sweet. You are such a good person. I don't care what that voice says, I don't want you to jump. I want you here in my arms. I want to marry you eventually."

Tell him to prove it. Tell him!

"But you have to promise that you aren't going to hurt yourself. You haven't cut yourself, have you?" He asks, and I look down. He takes my arms and pulls back the sleeves to see the twenty new cuts and several others that are either healed or partially. He slides the sleeves done. "Okay, it will be okay. We will get through this together."

Really, tell him to prove he loves you.

"Prove it," I whisper. His eyes look into mine and the next moment he is kissing me. It is soft and caring at first like he is afraid that I will break or disappear. Then when I start to kiss him back, it grow more intense. With need and want in the same basket.

We hear someone clear their throat. We pull away and see Nino smirking and Alya with arms crossed.

"Alright Adrien, you want to date my best friend. So here are the rules," Alya starts and both of our eyes go wide. She is way to protecting. "1 - if you hurt her, I will kill you. 2 - you must always be there for her, or I kill you. 3 - do anything except the right thing, I will kill you."

We look at each other and start to laugh. Nino shortly joins in, earning a glare from Alya. As we calm down, Adrien states, "Okay, but I am not going to be dying."

Do you think you can trust them?

I stiffen a little and Adrien notices since he still has his hands on my shoulder. I see him look at me with a soft glance telling me that we would talk later and we hurry of to class before the bell rings.

After school, Adrien goes to Natalie and explains that he wants to be with me. She tries to tell him that it isn't a good idea but then he whispers something in her ear. So, in the end, she allows him to come with me and promises to pick him up later. We walk to my house and upstairs. I will explain to my parents later.

"So, what did you whisper to her?" I ask Adrien and he blushes.

"I told her that I had asked you out and told you that I love you," He replies and then it is my turn to blush. "What are you going to say to your parents?"

"Exactly that, the truth."

"So, I want to get the rough stuff over with first. If that is okay with you," Adrien points out.

"Sure," I actually now want to hide but this conversation is inevitable.

"What did that voice of yours say today after I told Alya that I would meet her demands?"

"It said 'Do you think you can trust them?' and then it was over. Which is rarely the case."

"What do you think?"

"I think I can trust you, but the voice says otherwise. Adrien, it comes a lot now. I am scared."

"I think you should know something about me," He pauses and I look at him. He takes a deep breath then continues, "I once had a voice. I almost killed myself. But because of how you, Alya, and Nino treated me, Nino was able to convince me to keep fighting. If it weren't for that this never would have happened. We would never have confessed to each other. I wouldn't be alive."

I look shocked and he must have taken it as a sign that I didn't believe him. He pulls up his shirt and shows me the cuts that are healed on his sides.

"I couldn't cut my arms or below mid thigh because of the modelling so I carefully placed them everywhere else. Places no one thought of looking. But then one day, Nino and I were hanging out and my stomach was revealed. I ran because I thought he would hate me, but he ran after me. I almost jumped that day."

"I am so sorry, Adrien."

"Don't worry about it, now we have to turn our focus on helping you through this."

"Adrien, this isn't the first time I have fell like this. And this time is a lot worse."

"I am here, okay. Together, we will do this. Baby steps."

"Okay," I am crying. I know that he cares, the voice was wrong.

"First things first. You have to stop cutting. Where are all the blades?" He asks. I start pointing and telling him. He gathers them all up and places them in a pile in front of me. When we get to the last one he comes behind me and hugs me.

Take one, and cut. He placed them right there, he wants you to.

I shudder, and he walks to grab a bag. He must have figured out immediately what happened. When he walks back in sits across the pile.

"Help me, put them in this bag. Then I will take them and place them in a box that I will tie shut. That way if it isn't perfect the next time I come over here, I know that you are still struggling with the first step. I can't come over everyday and make sure you don't but I can try a different tactic."

I nod and we take up all of the blades. Placing them gently into the box in which he turns around and ties. Then we place in underneath my bathroom sink.

"Now, how about we play Ultimate Mega Strike III?"

"Prepare to lose Adrien, I am the master at this game," I tell him and he smirks.