Chapter One

Adrien began to make his way up the steps of the school, careful not to jostle his arm. It had hurt so much this morning, he had to go to Nathalie for some painkillers. Adrien told her that he had been using the climbing wall that took up a large part of his bedroom. Though he used this excuse a lot, It looked like the woman had believed him.

So, now bearing a blue cast, Adrien was walking into the school, hopes set on an akuma attack cutting class short. Not only would he miss the long, boring classes, but he would get to see Ladybug too, which always lifted his spirits.

He wasn't planning on stopping and talking with anyone before class, too tired after staying up so late last night, scouring the internet for news about Ladybug, but was quickly intercepted.

"Adrikins, oh there you are!" Chloé Bourgeois sang as she approached Adrien from behind. He could smell her vanilla perfume as she got closer. He turned to face her. The pretty girl's hair was pulled back into its usual high ponytail and her pink lip gloss shined. Chloé always managed to look good, though she had pretty much nothing else going for her. The mayor's daughter quickly laced her arm through his, and reached for his hand too, but Adrien stuck it in his pocket before she could. She frowned a little at the floor and brought her hand back down.

"I was looking for you, hon. You always show up so late nowadays, though, and I rarely get to see you before class," the blonde pouted, "Is your father giving you more photoshoots recently." She waited for his nod and was unimpressed at the small frown that lay on his face. "That's a good thing, Adrihoney. He's finally acknowledging you as the future of his company, he's preparing you for when you take over. I can't wait until you do. With me as the future mayor, we could run this city." Chloé beamed at the idea, not noticing Adrien's grimace. Her one track mind didn't match up with his wishes for the future. Adrien wanted to live his own life, make his own decisions, but it seemed that nobody else agreed. And so Adrien was stuck, always trying to do what everyone wanted him to do and trying to make his father proud. That was all the poor boy had to live for, a future that he didn't want, and of course there was Ladybug, but even she could only spend time with him while he was in the mask Adrien sighed as the pair began to reach the classroom, their feet tapping in unison on the tiled floor.

Before they entered through the door, Adrien detangled himself from Chloé, glad to be rid of the girl. She always thought she knew what was best for him. She thought that they were meant for one another. As if, Adrien thought, quietly chuckling. He would never like Chloé like that and could not believe how dumb she was that she didn't understand. That she thought they were a couple. His heart was for Ladybug and Ladybug alone. Adrien cast a sad smile at his feet. She hadn't even noticed his cast.

Adrien walked behind Chloé into the classroom. He greeted his teacher and moved towards his seat, sliding onto the chair beside his best friend, Nino Lahiffe. As he began to take out his notebook and pen, Nino leaned over to him.

"Dude, what happened to your arm?" Nino glanced at his friend's cast. Adrien could hear Marinette and Ayla, the girls who sat behind them, quiet, as they too, waited for his answer. Adrien smiled inwardly, happy that he had such great friends.

"I fell off my climbing wall,"Adrien said, and before Nino could ask, he answered, "I didn't use the harness because I thought I didn't need it. Guess I was wrong," Adrien replied with a playful grin. His friends just stared at him, until Nino began to chuckle.

"Dude, what made you think you could climb that wall without a harness. Do you think you're a superhero or something," He smirked. Ayla laughed and joined him in making fun of Adrien's rash decisions, playfully teasing him. Marinette however, Adrien noticed, remained quiet, only blinking concern through her big, bluebell eyes.

"Are you sure you are okay," the shy girl asked, her hands fidgeting and her eyes wide. She was biting her lip and looked quite nervous, but that was normal. Whenever he talked to Marinette she acted like that. Adrien had deduced that she was just a nervous person.

Marinette's concern warmed his heart and Adrien beamed back at her.

"Positive! It should heal in couple of weeks and I'm on painkillers so I don't really feel any pain." he reassured her. Marinette flashed him a look of relief, then went back to staring at her lap, her hands pushing her hair out of her face. There was a trace of a smile on the girl's lips.

Satisfied with the answer he gave, Adrien turned back around to face the front of the class. Ms. Bustier was teaching them about proper french grammar, something Adrien had mastered long ago. He stifled a yawn and laid his head on his hands. He stayed like that for the rest of class, daydreaming about his Ladybug.

At lunch, Adrien sat down with his three friends and opened up the bag Nathalie had handed him before he left. Inside was an orange and a turkey sandwich, just like Adrien liked. Adrien fished it out then directed his attention to the conversation currently happening.

Nino was watching a video on his phone, completely zoned out as he ate his slice of pizza. Ayla was arguing with Marinette about something she had posted on the Ladyblog. Ayla seemed convinced that Ladybug was more important than Chat Noir, while Marinette kept saying how Ladybug and Chat were partners. This was one of the few times Adrien got to see past her nervous demeanor, and he still couldn't get used to it. Marinette was not having any of Ayla's arguments.

"Girl, have you seen Ladybug? That girl is badass," Ayla was saying, "There is no waaayy she needs Chat around. He just makes the fights go quicker. Ladybug is the one with all the real power. Can Chat purify and akuma or return the city back to normal? I think not!" Ayla was making a compelling point, though Marinette refused to back down.

"Ladybug would be nothing without Chat Noir!" Marinette exclaimed," He is always backing her up and does a lot of the fighting! And he's always sacrificing himself for Ladybug and civilians, all who would've been seriously hurt if not for him. Do you remember Timebreaker or the Illustrator? Chat Noir had to go after the Illustrator all by himself!" Marinette huffed indignantly. Marinette and Ayla stared at each other, refusing to give in. They kept at their bickering for a few minutes, but neither seemed to be winning. They were at a stalemate. Adrien decided he would give his opinion on the matter.

"I think Ayla's right," Adrien interrupted. Both girls turned their eyes on him, shocked. "Ladybug is the real superhero of their duo! Anybody can see that!" The answer was so obvious to Adrien. "Chat barely does anything to help. He's not that good at fighting or at coming up with plans. Ladybug is always the one who pulls through. If she really wanted to, she could protect Paris all on her own," Adrien spoke from the heart, releasing all of his pent up thoughts after working side-by-side with the heroine for over a year. "Chat Noir is honestly lucky that Ladybug keeps him around at all!" Adrien looked up at the best friends, one who was trying to hide her horror, and the other trying to even comprehend everything Adrien had said.

"Are you kidding me," spat Marinette. Adrien was appalled at her boldness, as this was a new side of her he was seeing. "Chat Noir is just as valuable as Ladybug! I can't believe you two. Only idiots would consider Chat Noir as less of a hero!" Marinette turned her defiant eyes towards Adrien, then, realizing what she had just implied, began to apologize. "Oh Adrien, I didn't mean that you were, you know, an idiot…," Marinette seemed to be struggling with what to say. "I just cannot believe people think that Ladybug is more important than Chat Noir!" the girl rephrased. "Again, I really don't mean to insult you, you are never wrong… well I mean you are- UH I mean…" Marinette was back to being the stuttering mess she usually was. Adrien assured her that he knew she didn't mean it, though the girl still looked worried. Adrien was impressed with this new side of Marinette and he respected her a little bit more. That didn't mean she was right, though. Ladybug would always be more important that he was, that was just a fact.

By this time, lunch was almost over and the friends started to clean up their table. Adrien looked back and gave Marinette one more reassuring smile before they headed to their next class, troubled that she would think he was mad at her. She beamed back at him, her cheeks tinged pink.

Later in the day, when Adrien was in science class, a loud thud came from outside the window. All of his classmates rushed out of their seats and towards the window. Adrien pushed his chair back and tried to get a good look at what the fuss was about. Though, Adrien didn't need to look to know it was an akuma. He grabbed his bag and, while everyone was distracted, snuck out of the room. As soon as he was sure he was alone, Adrien opened his jacket, letting his kwami fly out of its front pocket.

"Plagg, claws out!"

Chat Noir leapt from building to building towards the noise, which seemed to be heading towards downtown Paris.

When Chat finally caught up to the villain, he decided the best plan of action would be to asses the situation. He found a tall building and settled down to scope out the problem. The akuma was a man wearing a coat made of what looked like gray fur. Ears lay on top of his head and a long dog-like tail trailed behind him. The wolf-like man snarled as he hurled cars at passersby. From his perch, Chat could hear him calling,

"I am Howler. Ladybug and Chat Noir cannot save you from me," the man howled, staying true to his name. Chat's cat instincts told him that he did not want to fight this man, (animal?), alone. So Chat began to look for Ladybug.

She showed up only a few minutes after he did.

Ladybug swing onto the building across the street. Her eyes met his and she leapt over to talk with her partner.