[Present-day author: I forgot to add this into the first chapter, but I'm posting this all from my Wattpad, so once I finish uploading all current chapters here I'll probably post new ones there first. Also, Adrien is a smol bean that doesn't deserve the horrors of Tokyo Ghoul. Prepare to hate me.]
There was no doubt about it.
The girl was watching them, watching him.
Adrien wasn't going to lie, she was pretty. But there was something... off... it was as if she was engulfed in an aura that screamed DANGER, STAY AWAY.
"Chill out, dude," Nino interrupted his uneasy thoughts, "You're a model, she probably just recognizes you from a magazine or something."
Adrien sighed, taking another sip of the coffee in front of him, sunlight streaming from the window where he sat at the Dupain-Cheng Café.
"It looks like Marinette's not working today," he noted. His classmate's parents owned the local café, and their home was right above it. It was unusual for Marinette to not be helping.
The strange girl took a shaky breath, standing and making her way to them timidly.
The boys watched the girl with curiosity. She brushed a small lock of brown hair behind her ear, before she then commenced to speak.
"It's Adrien, right? I'm Lila, a friend of Marinette's."
"So, Lila, you're interested in those old legends of the Miraculouses as well?"
"Yeah, I always thought it was amazing how the Miraculouses would work, with normal people being turned into beings with god-like power."
"It is pretty amazing, isn't it."
The two of them sat facing each other, talking idly as they enjoyed the dinner in front of them on their "date". At least, he thought Lila was enjoying it, she'd only taken a few bites of her small sandwich.
"So, what was your favorite Miraculous from the legends?" she asked, leaning forward slightly and causing some hair to fall over her shoulder.
"I'd have to say the black cat, he was always so cool and epic with his powers, he was sort of my idol growing up."
Lila nodded, "I always enjoyed the stories with the fox Miraculous, the way she could always create such realistic illusions with her flute."
Adrien glanced back down to the barely touched food on Lila's plate, "Are you okay? You've hardly eaten anything-"
"Oh," Lila waved it off, "it's fine, I just recently started a very strict diet..." She stood, smoothing out her shirt, "Excuse me, I have to go to the restroom, I'll be back in a minute..."
Adrien nodded, surprised at her sudden need to leave the table.
She's really thin already, though... he thought, watching the brunette's back as she walked away.
Minutes later the waiter came by with his check, and Adrien saw that she'd ordered the cheapest thing on the menu, as well as a coffee, despite it getting late and her already having one at the café earlier.
Lila returned as Adrien set down the money to pay for the food, and the two of them made their way out of the restaurant.
"Thank you for tonight, I had a really nice time."
Adrien smiled, "Same here, it was nice being able to talk about old stories like the Miraculouses. Maybe I'll text you later? We could meet up again?"
Lila began returning the smile, before a small look of fear crossed her pretty face. "Actually do you know what time it is?" she asked worriedly.
Pulling out his phone, Adrien replied, "A little past nine, why do you ask?"
She looked down, twisting her fingers together and shuffling her feet nervously. "I-I actually live by the Notre Dame, and if you've been watching the news... if it wouldn't be much trouble..."
Adrien knew what she was talking about, even if she seemed too timid and scared to say it out loud. "You're worried about the ghouls, right?"
The question seemed like more of a statement than anything else, and his suspicion was only confirmed by the small nod of Lila's head.
"Don't worry, I'll text my dad to tell him I'm walking you home."
Adrien sent a text quickly, before they began heading to the subway entrance down the street.
The ride across the city was surprisingly quiet, and not many people were out. The metro car they sat in was empty, the two of them sitting across from each other. Adrien's eyes were glued to an add that warned people to be careful when walking around at night.
The strange unease of being alone with Lila seemed to creep back as they sat there in silence, it was the same feeling he'd had when he first saw her in the café, only this time they were alone.
He felt his phone buzz a few times, but ignored it. It was probably just his dad telling him to head home and be more responsible with his time, he still had to finish his essay for Chinese, and work on that new piano piece, he didn't have time to hang out with girls.
The metro slowed to a stops, and Lila stood, heading to the doors with Adrien following.
He could see the Notre Dame over the buildings, the lights reflecting off of the aged stone in a simple beauty.
"It's this way," Lila interrupted Adrien's thoughts by taking his hand, leading him further away from the main streets, where even now people were wandering around, doing late-night shopping and getting dinner with friends. "Here, I know a short cut," Lila explains, motioning down a dimly lit alley, going through two apartment buildings in what seemed to be a maze of back streets.
"But isn't this around where ghouls-"
"Don't worry," Lila cut in, "I have you, no ghouls would risk attacking two strong, independent individuals like ourselves."
Lila said it with such confidence, Adrien complied.
That was the decision that determined his fate.
They walked through the alleyways, the occasional light of a building flooding into the trash-filled streets.
Soon they made it to an area beside what seemed to be a construction site, that was when Lila stopped in her tracks.
"You know, I've been meaning to ask you out for a while now," she said nonchalantly, "I-I really like you Adrien, I wish it didn't have to be this way."
Her words shocked him, what was she talking about? The pit of his stomach squirmed with the dread-filled feeling that'd been bugging him for the past half-hour or so.
Every single one of his instincts told him to run — this was where someone would die in every horror story, in every news article-
Lila turned, "It's a shame, I really did like you, Adrikinz."
Adrien didn't see her move, all at once his shoulder exploded in pain.
His worst fear had been confirmed.
Why hadn't he listened to his instincts, at least then he would be safe at home by now, not a care in the world as he worked on homework and texted Nino.
But no, he just had to go down the dark alley with a girl he barely knew.
He saw a flash of something red, and an immense pain erupted from his stomach area. The metallic taste of blood filled his mouth, traveling up from his throat and causing him to cough painfully.
He felt sick, and began shaking uncontrollably as one thought filled his head.
He was going to die.
He was going to die, he was going to die he was going todie he wasgoingtodiehewasgoingtodiehewasgoingtodie-
The thought released inside his head endlessly inside is head until it was nothing back a jumble of thoughts.
He was brought back from his panicked state of mind by the insanity-filled laugh that belonged to Lila, "Human boys are so easy to fool," she giggled, her normally dark brown eyes now filled with black and red, and a cruel expression filled her once pretty face.
Now that he was up close he could see every small detail.
She threw Adrien back with what appeared to be a long, red tentacle that erupted from the base of her back, and Adrien hit the brick wall that bordered the construction sight with a sickening crack, he felt several of his ribs snapping at the impact, and he found he was unable to breath.
Dizziness overtook Adrien as he attempted to move, only to be met with a wave of nausea and pain, causing him to fall back to the ground and for black spots to cloud his vision.
"Aw, is he dead already?" he heard Lila ask, and one of the tentacles wrapped around him, pulling him from his crumpled position. "Such a shame, it's always much more fun to eat while they're still alive. I guess I'll have to be a bit gentler next time."
The iron grip around him loosened, and Adrien felt himself fall.
He heard footsteps approaching him, and as his vision began to clear slightly, he heard the click of metal.
"Now, which part of him should I eat first?"
Seconds later the world around him jerked, and he heard sirens in the distance.
The last thing he could see before blacking out was the silhouette of a girl with pigtails, and a strangely familiar voice calling out his name.
"Adrien!"