When I got home after school, I immediately fell into bed, all the shame and embarrassment pulling at my soul.

I curled up into a ball, pulling a pillow over my face.

That wasn't supposed to be how it went, at all.

I was supposed to be able to just laugh off whatever had happened and pretend that everything was normal.

But it had gone something a lot closer to this:

"Nathanael!" Juleka shouted, running towards me and latching on, her eyes wide. "Are you okay? Everyone's been worried about you!"

"I'm fine, I promise," I said.

"You've been saying that a while," Ivan noted. "But I don't see why looking at your comic was such a big deal."

"It was personal," Marinette said suddenly, interjected into the whole affair. "It was rude to just take something like that from him when he clearly didn't want you to look at it."

"Well it's just what friends do," Ivan said in response. "Sorry if I'm stepping on anyone's toes."

"Friends don't violate boundaries!" Marinette declared in a Ladybug-like voice.

Okay, so maybe that's not how it actually went, but it'd be a lot more dramatic if it had come down to it. Ladybug herself, defending my honor in front of the horrible sketchbook-snatching classmates.

More accurately, when I came back into the room, there had been silence.

Dead silence.

No one had asked what had happened or where I'd been or if I was okay. Instead, everyone had just shut up.

I could tell they'd been talking about me.

And without anyone initiating conversation, my excuses, apologies, and nervous laughter turned into an illusion I could only wish for.

No one talked to me for the rest of the day.

I'd gotten my wish.

And I couldn't be more miserable.

I pulled out my cellphone and checked for messages, but I saw nothing.

Typically around this time of day, Juleka would text me to ask what was up, but there was nothing. Just more silence.

"It's like they're all waiting for me to get akumatized again," I muttered, burying my head back in my pillow.

"Who are waiting for you to get akumatized?" a tiny voice spoke up.

"Everyone in class," I muttered. "Though I don't know if anyone can get akumatized twice…"

"It can happen," the voice assured me. "Though it's unlikely."

It was in that moment that I realized the voice I was hearing wasn't another one of my imaginings. It was a real, actual voice that I was hearing with my real, actual ears.

I raised my head just a bit and saw a small, fox like shape.

"What the…?"

"Hello, Nathanael!" the small creature squeaked in a too happy voice. 'My name's Vall. And I'm your kwami."

I shot up into a sitting position, staring at the small creature, my jaw working but no sound coming out. "I… uh… ee…"

"Easy there," the little creature said, floating towards my face. "Take a deep breath. I promise, I'll wait for you to process."

"Wh-what are you?" I asked in a stricken tone of voice.

"I'm a kwami," she said, sounding a little put out. "Your kwami, I might add. The old man brought me here!"

"I don't… what are you doing here? Are you some kind of alien?" I reached out a finger to poke the little creature, but she put soft paws on my hand, pushing it down.

"No, no no. Nothing like that," she assured me. "I guess you could say I'm…" she considered. "Like a pocket-sized goddess. Small, portable, and extremely dangerous!" She flashed tiny fangs to demonstrate. "And I chose you as the next fox."

"I don't understand."

"Ugh. I don't see what you don't get." She rolled her eyes then drifted down to my phone, touching the keyboard and bringing up pictures of Chat Noir and Ladybug. "You're like them, get it? You're going to be a superhero."

My heart stopped. "Like Ladybug?"

"Well, maybe not quite like Ladybug, but close," she said, nodding vigorously. "First though…" She zoomed through the air towards a little box on my drawing desk. "You need to take your miraculous. Or I can't really form a bond with you."

I got up slowly, approaching with caution. I glanced up at her then reached out, opening the octogonal shape to reveal a small pendant on a chain.

"This looks like Lila's necklace," I commented.

Vall shrugged. "It is," she said. "Kinda. I mean, her necklace is a replica of this. But she was never chosen like you were. Even if she got her hands on my miraculous, she wouldn't make a very good fox." She rolled her eyes. "I can't believe the old man was scouting her out before you. Most my users are male. It's weird he didn't think of that first."

I picked it up, finding the chain wasn't full-sized like Lila's. Instead, this was like a bracelet. It would fit a little loosely around my narrow wrist, but it definitely couldn't fit around anyone's neck.

The kwami seemed to get excited the moment I picked it up, zooming around the room to land on my shoulder. "You're taking this rather well," she commented. "I expected a lot more "ah! Save me! It's a flying fox baby!" but you're pretty chill."

"I'm an artist," I said in response as if that was all she needed to know. I put it back down, though. "I don't think I'm the one you want for this. I mean, yeah, it's pretty cool that you chose me and stuff, but I… I'm not… "

"You don't deal with people very well," she said as if she already knew. "I get it. Look, it's okay that you're shy. Shy and clever aren't mutually exclusive."

"Clever?" I asked sharply.

She hummed. "Clever. All my users absolutely have to be clever. My abilities are… unpredictable at best. They're absolutely useless for someone that can't think on their feet."

"Well then you definitely got the wrong person. I'm not clever. I don't even think I'm cut out to be a hero. I'm the Evillustrator, the villain. No hero would have gotten akumatized like that!"

"Hey," she said. "It's okay. People make mistakes. You certainly are clever. And creative. You figured out Ladybug's secret identity when no one else has, right? Wouldn't you call that clever?"

"I'm in love with her," I said sharply. "That's a little different."

"Chat Noir is in love with her too," Vall pointed out. "He hasn't even gotten close to figuring it out."

"He probably doesn't even know her as a civilian…" I said, then stopped myself short.

That was untrue.

I knew for a fact that Chat Noir always appeared just as quickly as Ladybug when our school was in danger. When Mylene became a monster, he'd already been at the college even though we were trapped inside.

I'd been thinking so much about Marinette, I forgot about the obvious.

She wasn't the only one in my class who disappeared whenever things got serious, and she wasn't the only one who was never quite there when their alter was.

"But that's… " I murmured, lost in thought.

"Clever," Vall said with a smug look on her face.

"Shut up," I growled in response. And then the absurdity of it suddenly made me laugh.

"I can't believe it!" I said. "But she's in love with him and he's in love with her and…" I trailed off. "I literally have no chance, do I?"

"Sorry kid," Vall said, not unsympathetically. "Chat Noir and Ladybug have always been together throughout history. They're made for each other. Even if they hadn't become superheros, they'd probably have inevitably fallen in love. You can't defy fate."

I tasted bile in my mouth, but what she said made sense. My heart would always belong to Marinette, but her heart was Adrien's. And his heart was also hers. There was just no place in that neat little picture for me.

"I still don't think I'm right for the job," I said in a low voice, looking away from the little fox creature.

"Hmph," she said. "Look, Nathanael. I really don't want to press the point if you don't feel comfortable with it, but Marinette is in a lot of danger, okay? And she needs your help."

"She has Chat Noir," I said in almost a bitter tone of voice. "She doesn't need me."

"The Old Man would beg to disagree," Vall said, crossing her arms. "And I'm not in a position to disagree. With every akuma, even though Hawk Moth has failed to obtain the miraculous, he's become more powerful. He wouldn't keep doing a method that didn't work if it didn't serve him in some way. That's just plain insanity." She cleared her throat. "Anyway, Chat Noir won't be able to cope before very long. The two of them are already reaching their limit. They need help. And you are the only one that can help them. You're the only one that can save Ladybug."

"I…" I trailed off, unable to respond. Marinette needed me? Chat Noir couldn't keep her safe?

This was news to me.

"So then what do you want me to do?" I demanded, looking her in the eye.

"That's simple," Vall said. "I need you to become the Fox and protect her."

"How?" I asked.

"Put on the miraculous," she symbolized the bracelet.

I hesitated a moment before doing what she said, strapping the bracelet around my wrist, doubling up the chain so it fit semi-correctly. The fox-tail pendant hung loosely down into my palm.

It'll get in my way I thought with apprehension. I didn't need some dangly piece of jewelry close to my art. And the tail would probably hook on the paper way too much.

"Okay, what now?" I asked.

"When you're ready," she said. "Say "Fox Trick". I'll enter the miraculous and grant you superpowers."

"What kind of powers?" I asked.

"Ladybug has the power of creation. Chat Noir has the power of destruction. I grant you the power of misdirection. I'm a trickster. I can't create anything, or destroy anything, but I can change the perception of others." She held up a paw. "A word of warning, however. Like Ladybug and Chat Noir, you only have five minutes after you use your ultimate trick-whatever that might be-before you change back. Be careful with it."

I gave a nod. "I… I'm still not sure about this. But if Marinette is in danger… I really can't say no. This is… temporary, okay? Just until you find someone better than me at being your fox or whatever."

Vall giggled. "Alright then. When I find someone better suited than you, you'll promptly get replaced. Until then, I'm counting on you, Nath."

That giggle was way too mischievous for me to be comfortable.

"Okay then…" I prepared myself. "Fox Trick!"