12:00AM

He lay awake, staring at the screen.

His eyes were bloodshot, bags underneath them.

An alarm went off on his phone.

Scrambling, he grabbed a orange pill bottle and a glass of water.

His shaking hands made it difficult to open the childproof cap, but he managed.

He popped the pills, his eyes never leaving the screen.


4:32AM

His alarm clock went off, and he finally turned off the computer.

Walking to the bathroom, he passed a mirror.

The boy staring back at him seemed cold, lifeless, even... dead.


7:43AM

"Goodbye, Nathalie!" he called as he walked out the door, not even bothering with breakfast.

"Goodbye, Adrien."

The slamming door echoed loudly through the empty mansion, nearly covering up the desperate sob he gave once the door was closed.


7:47AM

The hulking man in the front seat could only watch as the boy he safeguarded bawled his eyes out in the backseat.

He could only make certain the boy had plenty of time to recover and fix and straighten before heading off to school.

He did insist his young charge have some coffee before he departed, if that counted for anything.


9:53AM

"Are you alright, Adrien? You've seemed a little down lately." Marinette said worriedly, searching his saddened eyes with her sincere ones.

"M'fine. Don't worry about it." Adrien replied, giving her an earnest smile.

"Okay..." Marinette eyed him, then closed her eyes and nodded once. "Alright, I believe you. But remember, if you need to talk about absolutely anything, I'm here for you. Just in case."

"Sure. Now, can I go? I'm sorry, but I'm needed for a photo shoot. Hope you understand." he curtly replied, running down the empty hallway; not even noticing as the girl he had left crumpled into a little ball and began to cry.