Hi lovely readers, thank you so much for reading this! It would make my day if you could leave a small comment of encouragement or constructive criticism below. But seriously you guys reading this has already made my day :)
Disclaimer: I don't own Miraculous Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir, I'm just a big fan with a huge passion for writing!
"She was amazing! Did you see the way she managed to use fish food to defeat the Akuma? So cool!" Exclaimed Alya. Chloe flicked her hair.
"I mean yeah she was good, but she was let down by her lousy partner! She should replace him with Queen Bee instead!" Adrien felt his cheeks turn red and he hurriedly put his head down, staring at the table.
"I wouldn't go that far," began Alya. "But Cat Noir has got hit a lot in the last few battles. Its because he's too busy flirting with Ladybug." Nino scoffed.
"Honestly, she just needs to say no. I don't know how she takes all his flirting and goofing around, he's so full of himself!" Adrien's cheeks were getting hotter and hotter as he pushed his face closer towards the desk.
"It feels like Ladybug would be better off without him." The blogger commented. "He just slows her down. When the day comes to take down Hawkmoth, I don't think he'll be focused enough to get the job done. I don't trust him with such responsibility anymore." She concluded. Adrien's heart sunk. His eyes pricked with tears. He bit his lip hard to hold in the emotion. Picking up his bag, he silently left the classroom, no one noticing. They were all too busy finding different things wrong with Cat Noir. He trudged down to the bottom of the staircase, where he sat down on the final step. He pushed his face into his hands, his palms becoming wet with the cascade of tears that were flowing uncontrollably. Why did he have to be so useless? The one thing he thought he got right, the one place where he felt happy, it was all a lie. He was just a nuisance to Ladybug. Adrien shook his head. Next Akuma attack, he wasn't showing up. He would stay at home, or at school, just away from the trouble. It would mean he wouldn't get in the way, and Ladybug could do her job without having to worry about him. It would be for the best. What they were saying was true.
A yell, followed by a small thump snapped him out of his thoughts. He turned around and saw Marinette on the ground, hurriedly retrieving her spilt belongings. Adrien instantly made his way over to help.
Her eyes met his and she jumped, her backpack spilling once again. Adrien let out a small laugh as he picked up a sketchbook and slotted it back in its home. When the final pencil was off the ground, the two stood up.
"Th-thanks Adrien." She stammered. Adrien gave her a small smile, hoping she hadn't noticed his tears, when over her shoulder he saw Alya and Nino.
"Got to go, see you later Marinette!" He said, as he made his way towards the out of the school. He didn't turn back.
Instead he ran to him house, the mansion it was. After breezing through numerous security checks, Adrien pushed open the grand doors, and was confronted by the stern face of Nathalie Sancour. Her eyebrows were knitted tightly together, her arms crossed and her expression fierce.
"You were supposed to ring us to come pick you up, not walk home by yourself." She said seriously.
"Sorry, I forgot." He replied. Nathalie barley glanced at him.
"Go into your room and study for your upcoming trigonometry exam." She ordered. Adrien obeyed, his feet silently trudging towards his oversized room. He knew all to well that there was no point protesting.
Minutes turned into hours, hours of tireless reading of sin, cos, tan and everything else the topic held. As his eyes began to drift shut, a loud vibrating sound shook him out of his daze. His eyes fell on the lit up phone, a notification having just come through. It was a news alert. An Akuma attack.
Adrien sat up straight, on high alert. He clicked the notification and a news report began to play.
Nadjia Chamock's face lit up the screen, as she crouched behind a news van, microphone grasped firmly in her hand.
"I'm here, live in front of the Eiffel tower, where the new supervillain is destroying all the nature! Will Ladybug and Cat Noir be able to stop her in time, or will Paris become a barren desert forever?" A large thump sounded as the news van behind Nadjia was thrown backwards. A girl with dead leaves for hair, and a short brown dress pointed her trident at the news reporters threateningly. In just seconds the screen went black.
Adrien's eyes fell on his ring. Plagg hovered in the air ready to transform. "Claws," He began, when something made him stop.
"Ladybug would be better off without him." "He just slows her down." "Lousy partner." The words flooded his brain.
"No." Adrien mumbled, then without a second thought, slid the ring off his finger. Plagg vanished. He put the jewelry on the desk. This would be it. Today, he would know if he truly was a nuisance to Ladybug. Today, he would be watching from the sidelines.
He hurriedly opened his computer, finding the Ladyblog website, and sure enough, saw Alya's live stream.
"So basically guys, the villains trident can make things disintegrate, including people. And all the disintegrated stuff, she can use as a weapon and throw out of her trident. She can shoot trees, its so cool. And she uses vines as rope things, Ladybug has to be super careful to make sure she doesn't get hit." Came Alya's excited voice. She filmed Ladybug flying through the air, expertly dodging and attacking the villain. It was mesmerizing for a while, but soon became a fixed stalemate. Adrien was betraying every instinct in his body, all of them were telling him to get out there and fight. But he resisted the temptation, and stayed firmly planted in his seat.
Ladybug called on her lucky charm. "Wow, a floral T-shirt? What's she gonna do with that?" Alya inquired. "What's this, she's, she's retreating, folks Ladybug has just disappeared over the rooftops of Paris. This can only mean one thing!" She let out an excited squeal. "Another miraculous! I mean that would make sense because Cat Noir didn't show up, but who will it be? Rena rouge, Carapace or Queen Bee? Speaking of which, make sure to check put the poll I created to show which superhero you like best. Personally, I think Rena Rouge has the moves, but -" Adrien zoned out and into a bubble of thought. He had always been upset that Ladybug didn't trust him enough to give him their identities. The only one he knew was Chloe, and that was only because she revealed it herself. Ladybug didn't trust him with anything. No one did.
"She's back!" Alya exclaimed loudly. "And look who it is! Carapace is with her too!" Adrien gulped, mentally ticking off the "replaceable" box in his head. He watched in shock as Ladybug and Carapace easily took out the Akuma, Alya's commentary barley registering in his mind. In just a few minutes, ladybug had snapped the trident in half, a dark butterfly emerging. A few more seconds, and the trident was back to a garden fork, the girl de-evilised and confused. Ladybug smiled at Carapace.
"Pound it?" She asked. Adrien felt like his stomach had been ripped out as Carapace accepted the fist pump. "Let's get out of here." She said, and the two disappeared.
"That's all for today fans, but don't forget to read the post Akuma analysis, that should be out in an hour, and if you haven't already subscribed -" the talking silenced as Adrien closed the tab. He let his head fall into his palms, sadness overwhelming him. He was such a useless human being. Nothing he did was right.
"Adrien!" Came a yell. Startled he turned around, and saw Ladybug perched on the open window. How on earth had she got there that fast. It had only been, what, five minutes? If that. She must have been in a rush. He looked to where her eyes were focused, and panicked. It was a large black and purple butterfly. An Akuma. It was coming right at him.