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AdrienI woke to Nathalie knocking on my door as she usually did in the mornings, calling out to me that I was to get up and ready for school, and that breakfast was on the dining room table for me when I was ready. I groaned out into the still, dim room I lay in, not wanting to move a single muscle as if even the slightest movement would corrupt the air around me and suffocate me on the spot. My stomach on the other hand turned madly as if something I had eaten the night before perhaps wasn't cooked and was kicking around inside of me now trying to get out. The pain was almost too unreal, but the last thing I wanted was to be isolated inside of my bedroom for an entire day. I would not let a little bit of indigestion (which was what I assumed it was) prevent me from going to school. I fought hard for my father to allow me to go in the first place, and I wouldn't dare waste a single moment that I was given.
This being said, I forced myself to a sitting position, holding my stomach fearfully as if my innards were about to fall out, which is quite accurately what it felt like to me. I threw my legs over the side of the bed and pressed my bare feet to the chill wood floor beneath me, my head spinning as I pulled myself up with all my might. "You don't look too hot, maybe you should lay back down. I'd like a sick day honestly; your bag is so stuffy." Plagg called to me as I struggled to stand, wanting to give into his suggestion and just lay back down and let the bed consume me. I stepped forwards and pulled open my bedroom curtains to reveal the morning sun, hearing my kwami-friend groan in disapproval as I did so. "I feel fine, no sick day." I said sternly as I turned back around and walked over to the white coffee table that sat in front of the white sofa in my bedroom where my outfit for the day, which was clothing designed by my father of course, a white button-down shirt which I always wore with the collar upturned unbuttoned, the sleeves rolled up above my elbow. Underneath that was a simple black shirt with five horizontal striped over the chest: yellow, olive green, bright green, dark green, and then periwinkle. Then I just wear simple blue jeans.
As I changed clothes, I could faintly hear Plagg beginning to snore once again, which caused me to roll my eyes and grin ever so slightly. I let him rest a bit longer while I went into my washroom to finish getting ready, and to see what exactly I was working with that morning. I really did not look too good, just as Plagg had bluntly stated before hand. I had dark visible bags underneath my eyes, and my face appeared almost green. It was shocking at a first glance, but I told myself it wasn't so bad and got to work. I sighed heavily and turned on the water, holding my index finger under the running stream until it was warm enough for me to wash my face with. After that, I brushed my teeth, which my father makes into a huge routine so my teeth remain perfect for my photoshoots. The face wash was meant to help reduce the look of bags, and it worked rather well, but I still looked slightly ill. I supposed that wouldn't change. Plagg floated into the washroom with a big yawn, looking at my reflection in the mirror. "Isn't today your sixteenth birthday?" He asked sleepily. I had almost forgot that it was, considering I wasn't exactly awake myself yet. It had been over a year since I had become Chat Noir. It felt strange to think about how long it has been. "Yeah, I guess it is. Doesn't seem like such a great way to celebrate it though." I stated with a small chuckle, looking back at myself in the mirror. I sighed and decided that I had done all I could, and that it wouldn't get much better.
I walked back into my bedroom and grabbed my small grey bag that sat near the foot of my bed, gathering up my math homework from the previous night and tucking it inside. "Come on Plagg, the train is leaving the station." I called out to my sleeping kwami, which caused him to groan angrily and get up slowly. "You never let me take it easy do you kid?" He asked me with a big yawn as he crawled inside my backpack and lay himself down comfortably amongst everything and continued to sleep. I sighed and zipped up the bag, placing it onto my shoulder and walking out of my room to go downstairs. I was beginning to feel a little better now that I had begun moving around. I hoped that my father would come down to see me before I went to school this year since sixteen is supposed to be kind of a big deal. Last year he sort of dissed my birthday, or he didn't really do much for it, so I hoped maybe he'd at least be there to wish me a happy birthday. I didn't even want a gift, all I wanted was a gesture. I didn't think that was much to ask for, but after years and years of constantly being just me and Nathalie, I did have my doubts.
When I got to the bottom of the stairs, Nathalie was standing there waiting with the tablet in her hand, which would contain my schedule. Of course, I was booked today and wouldn't be able to just have fun. She looked to me and nodded, "Good morning Adrien." She said to me in her usual Nathalie tone. I assumed I had done a good job hiding the fact I felt sick, considering she didn't give me a concerned look or commented on the fact. Usually, if I showed even the slightest signs of illness, they'd all be jumping all over me. If anything, she looked a little ticked off for some reason. "Is my father around this morning?" I asked eagerly, not seeing him anywhere so far. Nathalie stayed silent a moment before sighing and stepping forwards, placing a hand on my shoulder. I already knew it meant bad news, so before she could speak I cut her off. "You know what? It's fine. Thank you, Nathalie." I said in a hushed, disappointed tone as I lowered my head. "Happy birthday, Adrien." She said to me after a moment of silence. I nodded to her and brushed past her. "Thanks… Is the car ready outside?" I asked without turning to face her. "Well yes." She said to me in a confused tone of voice. "But you haven't eaten anything yet." She said as she watched me slide on my orange lace up sneakers with a black butterfly logo on them. "And your schedule for this afternoon, you should- "I'm off." I interrupted her again as I flung open the front doors and ran out. Gorilla was standing by the car and so when he saw me, he pulled the door open. As I got into the car, I heard Nathalie call after me. I raised my head to see her standing in the doorway with a disappointed look on her face as the vehicle drove off.
I should have been the one with the disappointed look, my father didn't even bother to wait around and say happy birthday to me. I didn't even get a text or call; nothing. I could tell Nathalie tried convincing him to give me just a sliver of affection that morning, but I could also tell he turned her down and possibly even got stern with her. He always had something better to do. I rested my elbow against the door as I watched the buildings pass me by. I began wondering if I truly expected anything less, my father had been like this for years now ever since my mother disappeared. Absent from my life. It was almost as if he wasn't really a father to me, but only a landlord of some kind. Someone I am forced to listen to because I live in a house they own. Most of the time Nathalie and my driver/bodyguard, Gorilla, are the ones looking out for me. It sucks that the day had to really suck for me to realize that my father will never change again; he will never go back to the way he used to be. It was almost like he disappeared with her. My mother.
I wondered how different it'd be for me if my mother was still around today. I wondered if my father would be a better father than he is now, if he would put his son first more often rather than treating him like nothing more than a model. That's all I was beginning to feel like. I felt like nothing more than one of my father's brainless employees he gets to control and neglect at his will. I would some days consider quitting modelling, but I've become too popular that if I did quit I think I'd hurt a lot more than just my father's business, and that is something I just could not do. I couldn't hurt others for my own selfish gain, it'd kill me faster than death itself. I did everything he wanted though, I attended fencing as well as my Chinese and piano lessons, and I hardly ever missed a single photoshoot. I enjoyed most of these things of course, but I was overbooked all the time. I never had any time to relax, and when I did I had to do school work or I wasn't allowed to go anywhere or have anyone in. The photoshoots were all for him, to make him happy. I just wished he would do the same kind of things for me every now and then.
Finally, we arrived at the school and the vehicle came to a stop along the side of the road to let me off. "Thanks, I'll see you later." I said to Gorilla, who nodded in response as I grabbed my belongings and hopped out of the vehicle. "Happy birthday sir." Gorilla called after me, which was quite peculiar since he never spoke. I looked at him and gave a small smile, "Thanks a lot." I responded before shutting the door and turning to face the school. I spotted Nino just arriving as well and decided to call out to him. "Hey Nino!" I shouted, jogging to catch up to him. He stopped and turned, smiling and waving. "Hey dude, what's up? You're here early." He greeted me. "Oh, and happy birthday man! Sweet sixteen!" He added enthusiastically, patting me on the back. I chuckled and smiled. "Thanks, and yeah I woke up earlier than usual I guess and didn't want to wait around so my driver brought me a bit earlier." I said to him as we walked towards the steps of the school together. "Did you hear from your father this morning bro? Anything cool planned?" Nino asked me, which caused me to sigh heavily. He gave me a sympathetic look as if I was a wounded animal. I told Nino everything of course, especially how I felt. And so I let it out.
"I'm so tired of it, you know? Depending on him but never having him around. It'd be nice to have some support, or some kind of affection out of him. I thought your sweet sixteen was a big deal, but to him it is just another day." I blurted, frowning possibly as big as I could. Nino sighed and placed a hand on my shoulder as to comfort me. "Yeah, that sounds really tough bro. Your dad is a real jerk. He pushes you around all the time but isn't ever even home." He said. I really appreciated having friends like Nino who empathized enough to try and understand how I must be feeling. It made certain situations easier. I gave him a small smile and shrugged. "I'm not going to let it ruin my day though, I just want it all to be normal, just the way I like it." I stated. We stood talking on the front steps to the school now, formally known as "Collège Françoise Dupont", or Dupont for short. He asked me about any plans I may have and I told him that I didn't look at my schedule that morning so I have absolutely no idea, but Gorilla would probably bring it by sometime soon. Then, another friend came up to me.
"Hey, Adrien." She said, dragging on her vowels like she always does. I smiled and waved, "Hey Marinette, what's up?" I greeted her. She had this big smile on her face and she seemed to freeze a moment, just smiling and staring. I blinked once and looked at Nino, who shrugged. I waved my hand in front of her face a moment and she snapped out of it, blinking rapidly and beginning to speak. "Oh hey there! Sorry about that I, um, was just, I dunno, but, um, anyways I heard that today was a big day, like, super big and I'd be really glad if you..." Suddenly, Marinette seemed to go to pull something out from behind her back but instead she fell backwards off the steps, dropping whatever it was she was holding.
I immediately reacted by grabbing her hand and pulling her back up. Once she was standing up straight again, she looked a little embarrassed, her eyes big and her cheeks red as she stared at me. I guess I'd be a bit embarrassed too, but it wasn't a big deal. Everyone knew Marinette was a clumsy girl, it just made her more fun. "Are you alright Marinette?" I asked her in a concerned tone of voice. She nodded and looked down at her hand that I still held onto. I looked also and then let go, chuckling nervously and rubbing the back of my head. Marinette seemed to go to say something to me, but Nino beat her to it.
"Yo Adrien," I heard Nino say to me. I looked over and saw him holding up a small, thin box wrapped in yellow wrapping paper with royal blue string wrapped around it, complimented by a big blue bow, as well as a it had a little card tucked under the string in a white envelope with Adrien's name written on the back of it. "I think this might be for you." He said smiling and looking to Marinette. My head turned also, "Really?" I asked her just for confirmation. She smiled the big goofy grin again and nodded, which brought a smile to my face. I took the gift from Nino and smiled brightly.
"Thanks a lot Marinette." I said just as the bell rang for everyone to come inside. I tucked the gift into my bag for now and waved to Marinette, "See you in class." I called to her as Nino and I went inside. Nino was chuckling under his breath as we did, and I looked at him with a confused expression. "What is it?" I asked him, not sure to what exactly was so funny. "Oh nothing, you're just super clueless." He stated rather bluntly, grinning at me. "What's that supposed to mean?" I asked in an offended tone, leaning away from him slightly. He put his arm around my shoulder and shook his head, pulling me back. "Clueless about what? Come on." I urged him on, my curiosity perked. "I'm sure you'll figure it out some day, right now, you would never believe me if I told you. It isn't really my place anyways."
I decided to let the subject drop, knowing there was no way I was getting the information I wanted out of Nino, as well as knowing it'd now eat at me until I did know what exactly he meant by clueless. We walked to class together, which was practically empty with hardly anyone sitting at their seats quite yet. Juleka sat in the back with Rose as usual, Rose going on about something she probably read online about a celebrity with her phone shoved in Juleka's face to share said gossip with her. Nathaniel was also in the back, doodling on a piece of paper, only the top of his head visible. Sabrina and Chloe also sat in their usual seats, Chloe tending to her nails, which didn't really need to be managed she just always wanted to ensure they were never less than 99% perfect, and Sabrina seeming to be doing homework last minute, which was probably really Chloe's that she forgot about and didn't give to Sabrina the night before. It was always the same layout, and I wouldn't want it any other way.
Nino and I sat down in our usual seats, and as I sat down something abnormal happened, very suddenly at that. I wasn't prepared what so ever. My head spun wildly out of control like a bull with a cowboy on it's back, which caused me to become disoriented and I ended up dropping my bag onto the floor rather suddenly. I grasped onto the table to keep myself upright, holding my forehead as it continued to pound, like my brain was banging itself off of the walls of my skull. Everything went white for a moment and my ears rang as if a flashbang grenade had just gone off in the room, but only seemed to be affecting me. "Adrien!" Nino shouted as the incident occurred, which caused everyone else to look over in shock of course. A bunch of people that stood in the hallways also came running in, not because class would be starting soon, but because they wanted to see what had just happened, because society was nosy.
I finally came to after a moment or so, everyone looking at me with concerned expressions on their faces. Miss Bustier came into the room, pushing past everyone urgently. I looked up at her as she entered, sitting myself upright in my seat. I looked down at my bag and grabbed it desperately, opening it up and looking inside at Plagg, who remained fast asleep just as before. I sighed thankfully that I hadn't hurt him when I dropped my bag, or that I hadn't woken him up and given him a reason to nag at me later that night.
"What is going on here?" Miss Bustier asked, looking at me and then Nino, mainly because that is where everyone else was looking currently. She came into the room rather suddenly, so she must have been down the hallway when it all occurred and ran to aid after seeing the children swarming like that. "Miss, Adrien just- "No I am fine, really." I insisted overtop of Nino's voice, not wanting him to make it seem any worse than it was or overcomplicate things, which I knew he would. He was a drama queen at heart, definitely fit to produce movies. "I just have a huge headache, and when I sat down suddenly, I got a little dizzy and lost balance. I really am alright though, I'm very sorry if I worried everybody." I apologized. Miss Bustier looked at me and nodded her head, a hand on her hip as she sighed, "Alright Adrien. If you need to see the nurse for your headache, you may go." She stated. I nodded to show her I understood, and once she turned away, I let out a soft sigh.
"Adrien, are you alright? I heard something happened to you." Alya said to me as her and Marinette sat down in front of Nino and me, just like every other day. I looked to them both and nodded hesitantly, rubbing the back of my neck. I was a bit embarrassed if I was to be honest, semi-fainting at school wasn't really on my list of things to do. "I'm fine, don't worry about it." I insisted. Nino leaned forwards over our desktop and looked at me, his eyes scanning my face. "Man I didn't notice before but you really don't look so good, you really shouldn't be here." He pointed out. I panicked a bit; I should have known that my efforts to hide the fact I felt sickly that day would wear off sooner than later. It didn't last long if they could already point it out so easily after less than an hour of me fixing it. This added to my already quite intense amount of embarrassment, it practically pouring out of me as I was about to burst. I scratched my cheek and shrugged my shoulders, not quite sure what to respond with. "He is right Adrien, I mean, you look… green." Marinette said to me in a quite voice as if she still wasn't sure if she should speak. "Agreed." Alya added in a serious tone. I continued insisting that I was fine, urging them not to worry. I told them it was just a headache and I was running on little sleep, which was a lie because I got plenty of sleep the night before. I just didn't want to worry them.
They all seemed to sigh in complete unison, which was a bit startling but I supposed it meant they were going to drop the entire subject, for now. I smiled slightly, really appreciating my friends a moment and how they all worry for me. Everyone had taken their seats now, and I knew a few people who hadn't seen me fall over were being filled in on what happened by those who were in the room when it all occurred, which bothered me a little and made me feel sort of socially unsteady, like playing jenga. But I had to ignore it for a little while. Nino had his headphones on now, and Alya was discussing her latest ideas for her "Ladyblog" with Marinette, and so I was left alone to my thoughts again. I was finding it difficult to concentrate on anything right now, my head still pounding as I sat wondering what was going on with me. I didn't eat anything bad, Nathalie would never let that happen. Neither would Gorilla. I hardly go anywhere that I could have picked up a bug of some kind, and as far as I was concerned nobody in class had been sick for a while now. I had no clue what was wrong, but I felt terrible. I thought that maybe it would be better if I left before I got anyone else sick. It must have been during yesterday's photoshoot, something in the air maybe or on something I had touched. We were under a bridge after all.
Class started after the bell rang for a final time, and so Miss Bustier had collected everyone's homework and stacked it in a pile on her desk. Then, she continued to discuss our newest assignment we would be working on in and out of class as well as she was reading out our assigned partners. I tried listening for my name, but I was still unable to concentrate. I wasn't even 100% sure what we were doing to begin with. I found myself staring blankly forwards, sort of swaying in my seat. Once I heard my name called, my attention was caught and I nodded, not hearing who my partner was but figuring I might as well act like I did. I guessed I would have to wait and find out who it was when they approached me. Marinette turned around and looked up at me a few seconds after with a happy expression. She didn't say anything, she just stared. She seemed to go from happy to concerned in an instant. "Well, I guess we will be working together." She said, still staring deeply into my face. I was growing slightly uncomfortable, but tried my best to ignore the fact she was melting my skin with her eyes. I nodded my head skeptically. "Alright, that sounds good to me, we'll do great." I agreed, still not sure what exactly we would be doing great on.
Marinette and Nino switched spots since Nino was partnered with Alya, and I was partnered with Marinette, making it more efficient for us all to work together. Marinette and I sat silently for a few moments, me being silent just because I felt faint once again and didn't know what to say, and she appeared to be deep in thought about something, a smile on her face with her cheeks tinted a rose pink. She began speaking though after a moment, and I simply stared at the desk trying really hard to concentrate on what she was saying to me as to not be rude, but my head began spinning again, and my vision was failing me. "Not again." I said out loud as my vision began to go fuzzier and faded out. "Adrien?!" I heard Marinette next to me calling out as I began swaying. "Dude grab him, he's going over!" I heard Nino shout, and seconds after, I felt myself falling over just as he predicted, everything going white as my stomach clenched tighter than it ever had before and I felt almost empty inside, like I wasn't even existent at that moment. It was like I phased out of life momentarily and wasn't in my body, except gravity still affected me and pushed me down. I didn't hit the ground though, I was caught in someone's arms that felt like pins on my body and then was lowered into them.
For a moment, I could only hear voices all around me, but I couldn't make out what they were saying what so ever. It was like being abducted by aliens and waking up on their spacecraft just as they are about to cut you open. When I came back to reality, I saw Marinette's face looking down at me with her eyes big and worried and her mouth hung open slightly, along with many other faces all speaking at once. I blinked a few times as my eyes peeled open and looked around. "What just happened?" I asked in a croaky voice, sitting up slowly off of Marinette. I was on the floor now, my chair and the one next to it tipped over onto their sides. "You fainted, I think." Marinette said to me. "No duh you fainted! It was super scary, but Marinette totally saved you from hitting the floor and hitting your head." Nino commented. "I've never seen Marinette move so fast before, you must of really scared her." Alya commented with a small smile. I heard Marinette whisper to them sharply, but didn't make out what it was she was saying. "Marinette, please take Adrien to the nurse's office. Then Adrien I'd advise you to go home and rest, you are in absolutely no condition to be at school today." Miss Bustier instructed. "Y-Yes ma'am." Marinette stammered in response. "Yes ma'am." I repeated after her in a disappointed tone, standing up slowly with a discontent frown on my face. I looked to Marinette, who was momentarily talking to Alya before Alya seemed to spot me looking in their direction and gave Marinette a little push towards me. We looked at each other a moment, not saying anything.
"So, uh. D-Do you need, well…" "I would like help walking if you don't mind, I'm still a bit dizzy." I said to her, just filling in the blanks to what exactly she was trying to offer me, and so she nodded and held her arm out. I put my bag over my one shoulder and then threw my other arm over Marinette's shoulder for support, not using her too much for support in fear of straining her. Then, we made our way out of the classroom slowly as to not push it, moving quickly hurt. Something about it felt so natural, the way me and Marinette were right now. It was strange, as if she carried me like this often. Déjà vu maybe? I dismissed the feeling immediately, and once we were in the hallway, I spoke again.
"Thank you for helping me before, I am not really sure what's going on with me if I am being honest, it doesn't seem too serious though right?" I said to her. She giggled awkwardly and nodded, "No problem, and I'm not too sure, I just hope you are alright. I kind of panicked when I saw you like that I didn't know what to do until Nino told me to catch you." She admitted, seeming to go down on herself slightly. "Hey, don't worry about it. You still got there in time, right? I'm sorry if I scared you though. I guess I really should have stayed home. Now everyone is worried because I'm too stubborn." I admitted, no matter how against the thought of being home I was. "I think even if you stayed home, people would still worry about you. Everyone loves you Adrien. You're such a great person, you're friends with everyone. If they heard you were sick at home, I'm sure they'd be just as worried as they are now." Marinette explained with such a kind expression on her face, which kind of made me feel better. I smiled to myself, realizing now that all the compassion and affection I didn't get from my father, my friends at Dupont supplied to me ten-fold. In that instant, I was so thankful for all of them.
I stopped walking suddenly when a thought came to me, which of course meant Marinette stopped as well. She turned and looked at me with a confused look on her face. "You can go back to class, I think I'm just going to call my driver and go home. My father won't want me using the school nurse he'd rather call a doctor to come to the house." I stated, but really, I just did not want to go to see the nurse after all. "Would you like me to walk you to the front at least then Adrien? I'd feel horrible if something happened…" She offered me, but I shook my head to reject the offer. "Gorilla will be here two minutes' tops, no big deal. I'll be fine until then." I explained, giving her a smile and stepped away from her grasp, removing my arm from her shoulders. "Thanks though Marinette." I added quickly, not wanting to seem rude or anything. She nodded skeptically, possibly doubting her decision to allow me to go off alone, before walking away back in the direction of the classroom. I watched her a moment with a smile on my face, and as she got further, my smile slowly faded and I let a heavy sigh escape my lips. I then turned and walked myself to the front of the school past the nurse's office and to the front doors, opening them up and stepping out onto the front steps.
I took out my cell phone from my bag and opened my contacts, searching for Gorilla. When I found it, I clicked to call and waited for him to answer, rehearsing my lines in my head. It always worked to keep it simple with Gorilla, because he never asked questions, but I always liked to fill him in anyways. I was shocked when the machine went to voicemail, pulling the phone from my ear and looking down at the contact with a confused expression, hanging up the phone. Plagg floated out with a yawn and sat upon my shoulder. "What I miss? How did we end up here?" He asked. "I fainted twice, and so we are going home." I said as I clicked on the number a second time and held it to my ear. "Woah really? Twice? You really should have stayed home. You should listen to me more often Adrien." Plagg remarked. "Not now Plagg, I'm trying to get my driver on the phone." I said just as the ringer went to voicemail a second time.
This time, I did leave a message, "Hey it's me, I need picked up early. Call me when you get this." I said and then hung up. I was very confused to where he was, or why he had his cell phone somewhere other than on him. I decided my best bet would be to call home next and see if Nathalie was around, and so I put the number in and waited eagerly. Plagg stared at me patiently, waiting to find out what was going on with a quiet snicker as he was enjoying the situation too much. "Hello, you've reached the Agreste residence, it appears that no one is ale to take your call so please leave your name, number, and we will be sure to get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you for calling." Nathalie's voice came over the receiver, but not in the way I would have liked it to: which would be the real Nathalie of course. I groaned and hung up, giving up completely now. Everyone seemed so busy today, it kind of made me angry, but I wasn't sure why. "Looks like we are walking home Plagg."
"Fine by me," He responded with s shrug and a cackle. "I don't have to move a single muscle, I can just relax." He said as he retreated into my backpack once more. I rolled my eyes and put my phone back in as well. "Glad you're so comfortable." I commented, dragging out certain words for emphasis. I could call my father maybe, but if he was too busy to contact me on my birthday, I was positive that he wouldn't pick up his cellphone for me either. And so, I began walking home for the first time in a long time, as regular old me anyways. It wasn't too far, my home. I could probably walk everyday to and from if my father wasn't so controlling over when and how I got places, as well as where I was.
The sidewalk was practically empty that day, mainly because the weather was getting hotter and no one wanted to walk around. Also, with everyone at school, most adults were driving to work or running errands, meaning everyone was driving that day. The sounds of traffic did not help much with my head, the abrupt sounds of the speeding cars adding onto the throbbing. So, to avoid further pain, I took some short cuts through the alleyways, which I knew from my time as Chat Noir. Being Chat Noir made life so easy for me; I knew exactly where to go, and how to get there fastest because I knew all the tricks. The chances of me getting lost in the city was slim after protecting Paris for a solid year, constantly going all over the place to defend the beautiful city I lived in. It was a real honour to be given such grand opportunities like being a super hero and giving back to the place I adore and the people I adore. I don't think anything will ever make me as happy as I was the day I met Plagg, which the day I became something more than what I was. I could be the part of me that I was forced to hide away for years as Adrien Agreste.
Becoming Chat introduced a lot more to me than the city and it's wonders though, it also brought me my true love, Ladybug, Paris' greatest wonder of all. Ladybug is the girl of my dreams, the only one for me in the whole city. She is so awesome, and brave, and compassionate; the definition of a hero. That's Ladybug. The moment I first saw her, I knew she had my heart, and that fact only grew and grew the longer I knew her for and the more we spoke. I wonder how she feels about me, if she feels anything what so ever besides her obvious annoyance towards my puns and flirtatious attitude. I wonder if she, the real her, the her she hides behind the mask, knows me; who I am behind the mask. I wonder how she would react to learning that Adrien Agreste had been the one she was fighting alongside with and rejecting all this time. I wonder if she would think of me differently, positively or negatively. I could only hope that one day she would acknowledge me as more than just Chat Noir, the annoying black cat, and maybe, we can be more than just partners, or teammates, or whatever she thinks of me as.
But I guess chances of that happening are slim, so I really shouldn't ponder on it. We had an agreement it was for the best we never know, or, at least she said it and I accepted it. I sometimes forget that fact, that we aren't to know who one another are in real life. She would probably find me pathetic anyways. A poor teenage boy, always pouting over how lonely he is. She is so cool, and I'm sure she is so much different from me. I'm sure she doesn't need to wear a mask to let out the child in her she cannot show in the real world. I bet she is perfectly balanced in real life between her id and her ego. I bet she has a loving family and loving friends. I bet everyone loves her. I probably don't have a chance, not even a sliver of one. I wouldn't be surprised if Ladybug had a boyfriend, or a girlfriend in real life, I don't know. We don't share our personal lives with one another in fear of exposing our identities. Sometimes I want to know her real name and am tempted to asking, or I want to give her my name or de-transform in front of her just so she will know and I will feel better, but I know I can't. Because we agreed, and that agreement stands.
I sighed to myself, thinking of Ladybug just making me feel like an embarrassment. I pushed it away to the best of my ability and began to wonder if anyone had gotten back to me while I mindlessly walked in the direction of home. I zipped open my bag to see Plagg fast asleep again, and so I carefully removed my phone from beside him and turned on the screen. I had nothing except that I had gotten a text from Nino who told me I was crazy for not seeing the nurse, which meant Marinette had told them all about it. I sighed, and closed the text for now, deciding texting and walking wasn't exactly the best thing to do when you are at a high risk of passing out. I began wondering about that again, curious to what exactly it was that was making me sick in this sense. I had never been like this before. I ran over all the symptoms I showed: Nausea, headaches, dizziness, fainting, pale skin, blurred vision, lack of concentration… I wanted to continue thinking, but something was pulling me away from it subconsciously. I was dragged away from my thoughts as the atmosphere around me began to drastically change, which I hadn't noticed before now.
An eerie feeling crept over me suddenly, as if it was clawing up my spine and digging its nails into my flesh. It caused me to release my cellular device from my hand and have it hit the ground with a light thud. I can't explain the feeling I had in words alone, not in a way that could be relatable somehow to those who do not understand. But I can say this, for sure, it was like having déjà vu, that jittery feeling where you recognize a situation and wonder if time has repeated itself in some way, but you didn't know what situation you recognized. An unrecognizable scene that your conscience tells you that you've experienced before. Or like being stuck in a lucid dream only instead of seeing the demons, you could feel them all around you. Their breath on your skin, their eyes stuck like glue onto the back of your head. It was a feeling that left me immobile. I froze in place and dared not to move. As if being sick and sent home early from school wasn't enough.
I could hear something from behind me, and I dared not to turn and investigate. I knocked myself out of it, realizing if there was something wrong here I had to go, and so I grabbed my phone and continued forwards to see if I could manage to escape the alleyway in time for me to escape. I could have cried out for help at the few people that may or may not be passing by, but I was unaware if anyone would even be there to hear it. The streets were practically empty today, everyone preferring to drive in the heat rather than walk in it. And it might have been the hero in me, but I just wouldn't admit I needed the help. I acted as if I was alone in the world. I slowly reached down to my angular grey bag that sat at my hip and peeled open the zipper just enough for a certain someone to peek out. Plagg wasn't strong enough to transform at that moment, neither was I. And if someone was behind me and trying to do god knows what to me, I needed Plagg to be able to escape. Which meant he'd take the ring with him. I loosened the ring on my finger without removing it to make things easier for precautions.
And then, the last thing I could remember was the world spinning, my body going numb head to toe so I couldn't tell what had just happened, and then all I saw was gravel and dirt in my face.
Then, in went black.