Chapter Six
"A list seems a little . . . impersonal?" Adrien said.
Felix looked up from his work—a list of names of who he'd apologize to scribbled in a notebook, along with thoughts on what to say.
"Lists help me think." Felix didn't often apologize. Last time he did was to Adrien for making the video, but it was all for show. Even then he'd practiced what he'd say over and over in his head.
"You don't have to be nervous," Adrien chuckled, "I didn't think you were still so shy."
"I'm not shy." Felix knew where he got that from. A few years they'd overheard Emilie and Amelie when Felix and Adrien were supposed to be playing in another room. Amelie was worried because Felix wouldn't talk to his classmates. It wasn't because he was afraid; he just had little interest in bothering with other people. And they had little interest in him. After that, Felix tried to make friends, to make her happy. He gave up on it quickly.
"Sorry," Adrien said, "I didn't mean to upset you."
Felix slammed his notebook shut. "Forget it." He stood from the bench. He craned his neck around the corner to make sure no one was around. They were in the locker area, everyone else still in the cafeteria or gone for lunch. Others would be coming soon, and he'd have to start his apologies.
The thought made his stomach turn. This morning he'd hoped he could have avoided seeing any of Adrien's friends at school. But Gabriel insisted he be put in Adrien's class with almost everyone who'd seen that video. Felix hoped, they were all as nice and naive as Adrien.
Felix stopped at his locker where he'd stored the school books Miss Bustier had given him. Before his locker opened, but now the door would only rattle and refused to open. No surprise something in this school was broken. Felix couldn't believe Gabriel agreed to send Adrien to a dump like this.
"Adrikins!" Chloe's shrill voice sent a shiver through Felix. She ran past, shoving Felix into his still-closed locker as she threw herself onto Adrien.
Felix bit his tongue to keep in the insult he wanted to spit at her. Angering her wouldn't help. Adrien insisted Felix apologize to her. Chloe was at the end of the list. Maybe Adrien would forget. Felix tried his locker again but still couldn't force it open.
Chloe stopped fawning over Adrien just long enough to laugh at Felix's struggle. Half the class was at their lockers. It felt like they were all watching him. Some even chucked under their breath. That couldn't be true, but he could feel their eyes digging into his back.
"I think it's jammed," one of the boys said between snickers. He was definitely laughing at Felix; not that a jammed locker was all that funny. "Try closing it all the way then pull really hard."
Despite the laughter, Felix did what the boy suggested. It worked, and the cause of the jam was clear. Trash from garbage bags someone had shoved inside spilled out onto Felix and the floor. The school erupted into laughter, Chloe's voice rang out above the rest.
This was her. They'd been torturing each other since they were children. Felix had hated being forced to play with her when he visited Adrien, and Chloe hated anyone who infringed on her time with her precious Adrikins. The only fun they had together was making the other miserable.
"That wasn't funny, Chloe," Adrien chided before Felix could say anything. It was for the best, Felix had no idea what cruel thing would have come out of his mouth.
"Please, you think I did this? Don't be ridiculous, I would never touch garbage. It was just my idea. Not my fault if everyone else went along with it."
Felix stormed off toward the bathroom. Adrien grabbed his arm. "Felix, it's okay."
He yanked out of Adrien's hands. "Just leave me alone," he shouted before he stomped away.
. . .
Gabriel prided himself on a lot of things; his business strategies, his designs, his son being one of the most popular teen stars in Paris. More than anything, he had become an expert at manipulating situations to create akumatized villains. Style Queen, Miracle Queen, Volpina, Gorizilla; all situations he fabricated. Maybe the akumas themselves failed against Ladybug, but if he wanted someone akumatized, he found a way to do it.
Except now. For the past two days, he'd tried to make Felix upset enough to akumatized him and demand he hand over his miraculous; putting him in the smallest room, insulting him any chance he got, throwing out all his clothes. The most he managed to do was upset Adrien with their fighting. Felix was never really happy, Gabriel could feel that with the Butterfly Miraculous, but he was never quite miserable enough to akumatize.
"I don't know what else I can do without looking suspicious," Gabriel said as he paced across Nathalie's room.
He'd barged in on Nathalie after he was sure Adrien and Felix had gone back to school. She hadn't said a thing as he ranted, but now finally spoke. "It's not like Felix or the Miraculous are going anywhere. Something will set him off."
She was right, but Gabriel couldn't shake off his frustration. The thought of his failures so far made his head burn. "I will not let a teenager outsmart me. He even managed to get Adrien to lie for him." Gabriel clenched his jaw hard enough it hurt. "I cannot let that happen."
Nathalie sat up in bed and reached for him, but he was just too far. "It's alright. As far as Adrine knows, you have no idea the rings are Miraculouses. He probably thinks keeping it from you is protecting you from Shadow Moth." Gabriel nodded and stepped closer to her. "Gabriel," Nathalie spoke again, a little unsure, "are you absolutely sure the other hero you saw was Felix?"
"Of course I am," Gabriel snapped at her. He'd noticed the two heroes looked similar to each other when transformed. After Adrien detransformed they suddenly did not look alike—that was the magic of the Miraculouses; it hid the identities of their holders. Even still, the other had to be Felix. He had the other ring, and despite his attempt to lie, Gabriel knew he'd worn it on the train.
Gabriel felt a rush of negative emotion, a tingle that grew out from his Miraculous; anger, humiliation. It was coming from the school, but Gabriel wouldn't know more until he transformed. He smiled, his plans might have paid off after all. He'd wanted Felix in Adrien's class for this reason; everyone there had seen the video he made, and Lila and Chloe were there. A perfect storm for negative emotions.
He stood. "I think things are finally going my way, Nathalie."
"Glad to hear that, sir." Nathalie smiled at him.
. . .
As terrible as Felix was, Marinette had been on the receiving end of Chloe's cruelty enough to feel a little sympathy. Just a little. She still hated Felix, and still needed his Miraculous back.
Chat had been right; if she could avoid a fight, she should. A Miraculous in the wrong hands could be destructive. Chloe had shown her that; Marinette wouldn't let another one stay in the wrong hands.
She hadn't figured out how to get it yet without a fight. Felix had been wearing the ring this morning, but when Marinette snuck a look while he was struggling with his locker, it was gone. It had to be on him somewhere, Felix wasn't dumb. He wouldn't leave it behind.
"That was mean, even for Chloe," Alya said.
"Yeah," Marinette said, half-listening. Her focus was on Felix as he disappeared into the boy's bathroom.
"Aw, looks like he ran away to cry, just like when we were kids." Chloe's eyes fell on Marinette and she grinned. "Why don't you go after him, Dupain-Cheng. You're the done who defended him in class."
Marinette should have known that would come back to haunt her. But the smile on Adrien's face when she did was worth it. And it gave her an idea.
"Just leave it alone, Chloe." There was more bite in Adrien's voice than normal. Chloe huffed and walked off with one last glance to the bathroom.
"We should get to class, Ms. Mendeleive hates when we're late," Alya said. The halls had started to clear, lunch break almost over.
"You coming, dude?" Nino asked.
"I should wait for Felix," Adrien said.
"I can do that!" Marinette blurted out before she could stop herself. Once the words left her mouth a warm blush spread on her face. She could hardly breathe, especially as Alya and Nino stared at her in surprise. "I-I-I mean, I'm the class representative! That means I should be the one to help a new student! Besides, I'm sure your father wouldn't be happy if you both missed class.".
Alya and Nino glanced at each other. Alya leaned close to Marinette and whispered, "Are you sure about—"
Adrien smiled and cut her off. "Marinette, that would be great! Then Felix will know he has another friend than just me. He won't admit it, but I think he feels alone."
Marinette smiled, but felt a twinge of guilt, though she let it pass. It wasn't her fault, Felix was alone because of his own actions.
"Well, alright then." Alya shrugged. "I guess we should head to class."
The three of them headed toward the door back to the main hallway. Nino looked at her over his shoulder. "Good luck with that, Marinette," he said with a wink.
She was alone. Good. Marinette inched over to the boy's bathroom and pushed the door open just enough to see Felix by the sink, as he wiped a spot on his shirt. His kwami was out, it floated in front of him, shaking its head as Felix complained. If he had his kwami, the Miraculous couldn't be far. Marinette shut the door.
"If you want, I could try and sneak and talk to his kwami," Tikki suggested as she poked out of Marinette's purse.
"No. What if Felix sees you? I'm worried he might try and do something to you."
Tikki reluctantly nodded and disappeared back into her purse. To Marinette's shock, Tikki had agreed with Chat Noir the night before and thought she could give Felix another change. Tikki was far too forgiving.
Marinette went into the bathroom. Felix jumped and the kwami darted behind his shoulder.
Felix narrowed his eyes. "Oh, it's you. What, are you looking for Adrien?" He turned back to the sink to wash his hands. The kwami poked his head up over Felix's shoulder.
Marinette shook her head. "You should be more careful. What if someone else saw you with a kw—with that?"
"I told you to stay hidden," Felix said to the kwami. "It's not like he listens to me."
Marinette looked him over. The ring had to be on him somewhere. Stuffed in a pocket or in the bag that hung from his shoulder. "I hope you at least have the Miraculous in a safe place."
"I'm not an idiot." He dug in his bag and grabbed a cologne bottle. "No one will get it from me."
He sprayed the cologne. Marinette recognized the scent immediately. Her own bottle was buried in her purse. "Is that Adrien the Fragrance?"
"No," Felix threw the bottle back in his bag. "Don't tell Adrien, I'll never hear the end of it."
The kwami let out a cackling laugh. "You wear your brother's perfume?"
Felix rolled his eyes. "I thought dealing with Chloe was bad enough, you're even worse." He growled under his breath. He looked up at Marinette. "So? What do you want? Did you come to laugh at me?"
"I wouldn't laugh at anyone, even someone as terrible as you."
"Terrible? You're that mad because I deleted your little love confession to Adrien?" Felix scoffed. "If anything, I did you a favor. What idiot confesses their love for someone on the anniversary of their mother's disappearance?"
Just looking at Felix and thinking of everything he did, how he hurt all her friends, how he tried to force a kiss on her made anger bubble up inside her. The need to yell at him scratched at her throat. She took a heavy step towards him. "Yes, I do think you're terrible. And if you ever hurt Adrien or any of my other friends again, I will . . . I'll . . ." She stumbled over her words. Threats were not her thing.
The kwami rolled his eyes. "Ooh, she's a scary one."
If Felix was intimidated at all, he didn't show it. "What are you gonna do? Tattle on me to Ladybug again?"
All of her confidence drained from her body. "What?"
"Don't play dumb. Chat Noir said you told her I had a Miraculous. But I'm not afraid of Ladybug, and I'm definitely not afraid of you. Let's go Wingg" Felix stretched out the collar of his sweater and the kwami flew in.
Marinette did not go after him. He had to be lying. Chat wouldn't go behind her back to warn him she wanted his Miraculous. Chat wouldn't even know Felix was in Paris. Marinette had no idea until this morning, and she knew everything about Adrien and his family.
"Marinette? Are you okay?" Tikki looked up at her.
"He's lying," she said, more to herself than Tikki. "Trying to turn me and Chat against each other."
"How else would he know?"
"Chat wouldn't go behind my back." But Tikki had a point. Felix heard that Marinette told Ladybug from somewhere. "Felix must have been spying on us. Probably transformed and went looking for Chat and Ladybug as soon as he got to London."
Tikki shook her head. "I'm not sure about that."
Marinette wasn't either. It made no sense for Felix to spy on them. Ladybug hated him. He was smart enough to know listening in on the heroes wouldn't end well if he was caught.
Still, she preferred that to the alternative. Chat didn't know Felix tried to kiss her, but he knew he caused three people to be akumatized and that he offered to work with Hawk Moth. Felix couldn't be trusted; Chat knew that.
Marinette left the bathroom. She would be late to class, but that was nothing new. If she was really careful, she could sneak in while Ms. Mendeleiev's back was turned. That would be harder to pull off if Felix walked in a few seconds before. She considered catching up to him and warning him, but decided against it. If the school called her parents for being late, they were always quick to forgive. She had a feeling Gabriel Agreste was not the same way. Let Felix get in trouble.
While Miss Bustier's class was with their teacher for Physics, Ms. Mendeleiv's class was in PE in the open hall of the first floor. Marinette would have to squeeze by to get to the staircase. Felix had already done so and was halfway to the second floor.
Marinette stopped to wait for a clear path through when she saw the akuma. It squeezed through an open window and flew toward Felix. Marinette slipped back into the empty locker room.
"Guess Chloe's prank upset him more than he let on," Marinette said. "Tikki, spots on!"
She transformed and ran back out just in time to see the akuma fly into Felix's bag. Felix stopped at the top of the stairs. Shadow Moth had to have figured out if one hero was Adrien, the other was Felix. She wouldn't let him get the other Miraculous.
Ladybug threw her yo-yo. It wrapped around one of the top railings on the second floor. She swung herself up beside Felix and grabbed his bag. He hadn't been transformed yet, luckily Shadow Moth liked to talk.
Ladybug pulled at the bag until it ripped. It tore at the seams and the akuma flew out. "No more evil-doing for you, little akuma." She caught it in her yo-yo and let it back out, de-evilized. A white butterfly flew out, heading back toward the window where it came in. Emergency over, she turned back to Felix. Since he hadn't been fully akumatized and transformed, he'd recovered quicxkly. His eyes widened as they fell on Ladybug.
She smirked and held out her hand. Other students were watching from below. "You have something I need," she said.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Ladybug grabbed his arm and pulled him toward her. "The Miraculous. I'm not joking around," she whispered. Last thing she wanted was anyone else hearing that he had one. Some of the other students were already watching from below.
"I don't have it on me."
"Liar."
Felix wiggled and tried to pull out of her grasp. "Let go of me."
She tightened her hand around his wrist. "Oh, do you not like it when someone touches you without permission?"
Felix gritted his teeth and looked away from her. For a second she thought she caught a flash of shame in his eye.
"Ladybug?"
She turned. Adrien. He stood nearby, his eyes swished from her to Felix, and back again.
"Everything's fine!" Ladybug said with a smile. The confused look on Adrien's face made her heart flutter. She couldn't tell him the bad things Felix had done. Adrien seemed to have forgiven him for the video. He didn't know about forcing the kiss, or him offering to help the villain. She couldn't understand it, but he seemed to care about Felix. The truth would only hurt him. She let go of Felix. "I was taking care of an akuma. Are you okay?"
"Me? I'm fine, I was just looking for him," he said motioning for Felix. "And Marinette, she's missing too. Is she alright?"
"Oh! Uh, I think she ran off to hide when she saw the akuma. I'll find her and tell her it's safe now. Everything's fine, you two should go to class. Education is important!"
Felix nodded. "Thank you for saving me, Ladybug." He flashed a smile that could almost rival Adrien's. Even knowing it was fake, Ladybug spotted no trace of deception in it. He was good at pretending. That made him more dangerous.
She had to get that Miraculous. Soon.