Chapter One

Adrien Agreste was used to the expression of cold indifference on his father's face. Yet it was when the full-on blast of that stare was directed at him that he felt the need to drop his head in submission. But today was different, anger coursed through Adrien's veins as he did his best to meet and hold Gabriel's stare. For once he wanted his father to actually let him do what he wanted to. But logic reminded him that his father's wrath wasn't worth the moment of defiance. The consequences would shorten the leash of his freedom.

Fury simmered beneath Adrien's barely controlled facade of obedience. He hated the lack of choice in his life. Gabriel dictated every facet of his everyday existence. The father's iron will would reign supreme and if Adrien showed any signs of resistance he threatened to remove the few precious liberties his son clung to.

"But why, father?" Adrien asked, trying to stay strong.

"I told you before, that boy is a bad influence. You're not going to his 18th birthday party."

Adrien bit the inside of his cheek. Nino was his best friend and a far better influence than Chloe. Yet his father would never concede. "It's going to be supervised by his parents."

"Parents I've never met. No, Adrien you will not go. Besides you have lessons that day. You need to stay focussed on what's important."

The young man's teeth ground together, knowing it was futile to argue. "Fine."

"Don't you take that disrespectful tone with me. Perhaps you need to resume your home schooling."

And there was the threat. "Sorry, father. I'm just disappointed."

Gabriel gave him a hard stare and Adrien made sure he didn't challenge it this time. "Very well. Finish getting ready for school. I have business to take care of."

Adrien nodded and did as he was told. Inside he was seething. He was sick of conforming to his father's whims and a standard he could never meet. It didn't matter how well he performed in anything, his father always lifted the bar before he could get to it. The only true freedom he experienced was when he was Chat Noir. For four years he'd had an outlet to funnel his frustrations into, plus there was the added bonus of being in the presence of the girl he adored. Not that he'd made any progress on that front. Unfortunately, that thought only fuelled his foul mood.

Whoever the guy was that Ladybug was enamoured with, still had her dancing like a marionette as he pulled her strings. While she rarely spoke of this mystery guy, the times when she did annoyed him to no end. She'd get a dreamy look in her masked eyes and it filled him with both envy and jealously.

Without the mask on Adrien had girls throwing themselves at him all the time. All they ever saw was a famous pretty face. Chat Noir's mask protected him from that. He'd often wondered if Ladybug would have treated him differently if she'd known it was Adrien Agreste under the mask. She was more attentive to him on the occasions that they'd been thrown together when he was unmasked.

His thoughts remained dark as he was driven to school. As he stepped out of the car he was thankful that Chloe wasn't there to ambush him. With his foot lifted to climb the stairs he heard his name called. Turning his head, Adrien saw a rather flustered looking Marinette racing towards him. Taking a deep breath, he moved away from the steps and waited for her.

The girl's cheeks were flushed and she was puffing as she drew to a stop. "Adrien. I-I was hoping to speak to you."

"Here I am," he said as he spread his hands.

She drew back in surprise at his sharp tone. "Um, yeah." Her big blue eyes blinked at him while he waited for her to continue. Normally he had the patience of a saint for his bumbling friend but today it was almost non-existent. His green gaze bore into hers. She swallowed and her cheeks reddened. "So, um, there's something I've been wanting to tell you for a while now." She giggled nervously as she clenched and unclenched her hands.

"Okay," he prompted. Marinette's gaze darted behind him and she nodded briefly. Glancing over his own shoulder, he caught Alya giving a thumbs-up to her friend. His eyebrow raised as a sense of dread settled into his belly.

"So, um, ugh. Geez I had this all planned out in my head." She fisted her hands and straightened her arms at her sides in determination. "What I'm trying to say is that I really like you Adrien, I have for a long time. I was hoping that you'd go out on a date with me?"

Adrien stared at Marinette and his eyebrows settled heavily over his eyes. For a while now he had suspected that Marinette's feelings ran deeper that just friendship and he'd been blatantly ignoring it, hoping he was wrong. Friendship was something that he cherished. He had very few friends that were genuine. The idea of throwing romance into the mix meant potentially destroying the good relationship they had. The thought made him break into a cold sweat. Maybe he could give her a way out that allowed her to save face. "Are you serious, Marinette? Is this a dare?"

The colour drained from her face as her lips parted and flapped noiselessly until she managed to splutter, "N-no, I-I'm serious."

Running a hand through his hair, Adrien looked away from her. Why didn't any of his female friendships remain platonic? Why was the only exception Ladybug? The thought raised his dander and his gaze snapped back to Marinette. "I'm flattered but I'm not attracted to you, Marinette. I can't imagine that I'd ever be." His jaw pinched tight as he realised he was being too blunt. "What I mean is…"

But before he could finish Marinette's eyes began to pool with tears seconds before she dashed off. He didn't miss the sound of a sob being ripped from her throat as she ran into the school, leaving him staring after her, being glared at by Alya. "I've had a really crappy morning okay. I didn't mean to be so harsh."

Alya shook her head at him. "You'll need to explain that to her." Turning her back on him, she chased after her best friend.

"Great, just great." He muttered to himself as he ambled into school. Being so close to bell time Adrien found Nino already in his seat. "Morning," he said with a brittle smile.

"Morning, dude. Are you alright? You look less cheery than usual."

Adrien dropped his bag to the floor and crossed his arms. "There's not much to be cheery about. My father has refused to let me go to your party, so that put me in a bad mood and to top it off I upset Marinette."

Nino rubbed his hand across his chin. "That sucks man. So, what happened with Marinette?"

"She asked me out and I blew her off more harshly than I intended to."

"Ouch," Nino said as he winced. "She's been crushing on you for a while dude."

"Really?" he let out a heavy sigh, his eyes closing as his shoulders hunched. "I didn't realise. No wonder she was so upset."

Their conversation was cut short by the bell and by the arrival of their teacher. Adrien kept glancing at the doorway, waiting for Marinette for to walk in but neither she or Alya came to class.

Thanks for taking the time to read chapter one, I hope you enjoyed it. I'd love to hear what you think. Stay tuned for chapter two!