Okay! Here's more!

Adrien all but strong-arms Marinette into coming to his place to work on the project (even though they're pretty much done), but let's just say Marinette finds out and lets on more than she should... Where is this going to lead?

I feel like I need to explain something here before we go any further: right now, Adrien's a combination of JD from "Heathers" and Lydia from "Beetlejuice" (20% JD, 80% Lydia - both Lydia and Veronica were played by Winona Ryder in their original films. Cool, huh?), but he's still Adrien at his core and he is healing because of Marinette's influence (and his fast-growing love for her). It's just a slow process.

The thing is, I've noticed that JD and Lydia DO have something in common: they're grieving over their departed mothers and that affects their relationships with their fathers, their behavior towards other people, and makes them suicidal while messing with their mental health to some extent. As you see, these are both incorporated into Adrien.

The JD parts that are here are Adrien's feelings for Marinette, but there are some major differences. Unlike JD's feelings for Veronica, which are genuine yet very toxic, Adrien's are genuine, but A LOT healthier. Mess with Marinette, there'll be hell to pay. That said, Adrien's got MUCH better impulse control, refuses to do anything to hurt Marinette (in any sense), and mentally, he's a HELL of a lot more stable in comparison to JD.

As for Lydia's parts, it's Adrien trying to cope with the grief of losing his mother and trying to get his father to talk about the obvious elephant in the room instead of ignoring him and acting like nothing is going on.

But like I said before, he's healing and there's more going on, so you'll just have to keep reading this story to find out exactly what's happening.

Now, back to the show!


A little less than a week passed afterwords, and Adrien soon found himself surrounded by a bigger group of friends. He almost immediately became best friends with Nino. They respected that he didn't like being touched by anyone other than Marinette, and his occasional bad attitude. And they all noticed that whenever Marinette was around, he became even nicer.

One day during art class with the girls...

"Marinette, you were right about Adrien," Alya admitted. "Yeah, he's surly, but anyone who's got the balls to shove Chloé out of their space and not regret or be scared about it, especially on your behalf, has to have a heart of gold in there somewhere."

"Yeah. We should've trusted you more." Alix confessed.

"Thanks, girls," Marinette said as she kept painting. "I think with more time, that nastiness will fade away."

She still refused to tell the girls that grief was a possible factor in his behavior. She felt it was a private matter that had to stay private, but she couldn't pinpoint why her gut was telling her so.

"I think he's the nicest when you're around, Marinette," Alya pointed out with her sly smile. "I noticed that aside from you, he doesn't like anyone touching him anywhere. In fact, he tends to stick to you like glue the same way Nino and I stick together."

"Come on, Alya," Marinette said, waving her best friend's statement off. "I don't understand why you guys think there's something going on between me and Adrien."

"Isn't there?" Rose said to her in a questioning tone.

"No," Marinette insisted, shaking her head. "Besides, you guys know I have a thing for Luka. I've been trying to find the time to ask him out, but things have been so busy with the project and schoolwork lately."

"If that's the case, then why has Adrien been the only person on your mind lately? You've been talking about him a lot, and I don't mean venting." Alya pointed out to her.

Marinette paused in her painting and looked at her friends. They were all giving her knowing, clever looks and they all seemed to know something Marinette herself didn't.

"I... Um... Well, sometimes its hard to talk to him when he's not comfortable in his surroundings. And I've just been trying to cope with being his partner on this project, that's all." Marinette said, denying anything as she went back to painting, having changed colors on her brush.

"So you say." Alix said with a teasing tone.

Marinette rolled her eyes and turned back to the canvas before saying, "Anyway, less chitchat, more painting?'

The girls dropped the subject and continued to work on their paintings for class.

After school let out for the day, Marinette was walking down the stairs to the school, her hands on her backpack straps, and she was humming along.

As she made it to the bottom of the stairs, she heard the sound of a motorcycle engine roaring out. She looked up and coming towards the curb from the left was a Caribbean blue motorcycle with someone riding on it, head-to-toe in biker gear. She recognized it immediately and made to approach it.

The driver put up the kickstand and took off his helmet to reveal a young man a little older than Marinette with black hair whose tips were dyed the same Caribbean blue, which matched his blue eyes. He also had black gauges in his ears.

"Hey, Marinette." He said with a smooth, deep, calming tone of voice, giving her a charming smile and partially-lidded eyes.

"Luka, hi!" Marinette said, blushing.

Up at the door, Adrien was walking out of the school with Nino by his side.

"You really don't get out much, do you?" Nino asked, surprised at what he heard.

"No, I don't. If anything..." Adrien began, only to pause and go rigid when he saw Marinette and Luka. "Wait, who the hell is that?"

Nino looked where Adrien was pointing and he smiled, saying, "Oh, that's Luka. He's Juleka's older twin brother."

"Wait, our class's Juleka has a twin brother?" Adrien asked, his tone getting cold and a little angry. He bristled when he saw Marinette laugh at something Luka said. He balled his fists.

"Yep," Nino said. "He's a cool guy. He often lets me record some of his guitar music for my mixes. You should meet him, he's pretty nice."

"Nice, huh?" Adrien questioned, his tone laced with anger as he balled his fists.

"Dude, are you okay?" Nino asked as he saw Adrien's body language.

Luka put a hand on Marinette's shoulder, and Marinette looked back at him with a smitten look on her face. Adrien's shoulders hunched up. Nino looked between Adrien and the scene, before a knowing smile came upon his face.

"Well, looks like the vibe between them is pretty good," Nino said, a casual tone. "I get the feeling Luka's about to ask Marinette out. Alya's always telling me about how Marinette has a soft spot for him. But then again, what girl wouldn't swoon over a guitar or violin serenade?"

Adrien snarled loudly, swiftly looked at his phone, gave a firm nod, and started stomping down the stairs with a purpose. Nino silently snickered to himself.

"So, Marinette..." Luka began, giving Marinette a sweet look. His eyes were sparkling in hope.

"Yes?" Marinette responded, looking up at him with a smile.

"The band and I are having a rehearsal today," Luka said, thumb-jerking. "I was wondering if you'd like to come by tonight and-"

"Sorry," Adrien said, cutting in and getting in between them. He all but grabbed Marinette and put an arm around her shoulders before glaring Luka down. "But Marinette and I already have plans."

"What?" Marinette asked, confused.

"Our history project," Adrien elaborated before looking back at Luka. "Marinette is going to be coming to my place this afternoon so we can put the final touches on the project."

"Wait, what? Your place?" Marinette asked. "But Adrien, we already finished our project!"

"Part of our grade is presenting the project within a certain time frame. And don't we need to actually practice doing that?" Adrien questioned. "I can ask Nathalie or my father to be the stand-in audience for us."

"Hmm..." Marinette said in understanding, her eyes narrowing a slight amount. "I guess you're right."

Adrien smiled (a subtle, victorious glint was there) at this as the car pulled up.

Marinette looked at Luka and said, "I'm sorry, Luka. Maybe another day?"

"Sure," Luka said, nodding in understanding. "I'll see you next time."

Luka put his helmet back on, blew a two-fingered kiss at Marinette, and rode off. Marinette giggled a little as she watched him ride away.

"Come on, let's go," Adrien curtly said as he dragged Marinette into the back seat of the car. "I'll call Nathalie and let her know what's going on."

"Are you sure you have free time?" Marinette asked. "Didn't you say your dad doesn't like having visitors outside of family in the house?"

"Yeah, I'm open this afternoon for a few hours. Once Nathalie tells him that you're a classmate and you're there for school reasons, he'll let it go as long as we don't bother him in the middle of work." Adrien said, his tone still a bit dour.

The ride was silent for a few seconds. Marinette looked out the window and saw a few more motorcycles pass by.

"So... Are guys like Luka your type?" Adrien asked, sounding a little upset.

Marinette turned to Adrien and asked, "What do you mean?"

"You know... Tall, dark, handsome," Adrien explained, spitting out the word like it was cyanide. "Motorcycle-riding musicians?"

"I don't know what's gotten into you, Adrien, but you're being a bit mean." Marinette said with a sigh.

"Well? Answer me." Adrien stated, crossing his arms.

"W-Well... Yes, Luka's all those things, but that's not necessarily what I find attractive about him," Marinette began, looking wistful. "He's very charming. Poetic, too. He has a way with words, but he says he tends to make more sense with his music. Not only that, but he's great at reading emotions and is very intuitive, and he always makes me feel so at ease whenever he's around..."

Adrien's scowl deepened before saying, "Oh, please. The way he dresses, I'm not surprised he's a slacker."

"Slacker?" Marinette asked, giving Adrien an affronted look. "What are you talking about?"

"I heard from Nino that's he's Juleka's older twin brother, right?" Adrien explained. "Then how come I haven't seen that guy around school before?"

"Because he goes to a different school for the performing arts?" Marinette said, sounding like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Adrien stiffened and went a bit straight. He grumbled a bit before saying, "Whatever..."


The rest of the ride was nothing but silent and awkward. Marinette didn't understand Adrien's bad attitude, but once the car pulled up to the gate that surrounded the large Agreste Mansion, Marinette all but forgot about it.

Adrien, playing the gentleman, brought Marinette out of the car and brought her into the mansion. Inside, Marinette looked around at the fancy interior of the building and the large staircase that led to a giant, framed portrait of Adrien and his father, Gabriel Agreste... The latter of whom just so happened to be standing at the top of the stairs. He was a tall, stern man with cold, almost emotionless blue eyes with glasses, pale blonde hair slicked back, and well-dressed.

"Adrien." He said, his hands behind his back and giving his son a cold, unemotional expression.

"Father." Adrien greeted with a flat, cold tone. Marinette looked at Adrien out of her peripheral. She couldn't see his entire face, but she could tell he was scowling.

Gabriel briefly glanced in Marinette's direction and he asked, his tone still cold, "Who might this be? And what business does she have here?"

"I-I-I'm M-Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Monsieur," Marinette said, anxious. "I-I-I'm Adrien's classmate."

"She's here because we have that history project to finish, and we need to practice presenting the piece." Adrien explained, not looking at his father.

"I see," Gabriel said, his tone not changing. Marinette noticed that he wasn't looking at Adrien directly for whatever reason. "Be on your way to your room, then."

As he turned to make his way up another flight of stairs, Marinette said, "Monsieur Agreste? I..."

Gabriel paused and looked at Marinette out of his peripheral vision.

"Um, w-would you be willing to help us by letting us practice in front of you?" Marinette requested.

"I'll have Nathalie help you with that. I have no time to be sitting and watching the two of you. " Gabriel said bluntly as he once again made to leave.

"Oh yeah, since you're obviously too busy to give your son the emotional attention he needs!" Adrien snapped, crossing his arms and glaring at Gabriel, causing him to pause in his step.

"Excuse me?" Gabriel asked, his eyes narrowing and his voice dropping several octaves. Marinette shuddered, his voice sounded like ice.

"Come on, father! Admit it! You're deliberately avoiding anything to with me, leaving all of that to Nathalie because you haven't looked at me in ages!" Adrien snapped. "I can't even remember the last time we had a meal together!"

Marinette watched as Adrien ranted towards his father, not saying a word.

"I'll bet the only reason you enrolled me in public school was to get me out of the house because you see me as nothing more than a stain on your reputation! To you, I'm a disgrace!" Adrien all but shouted.

Gabriel stiffened and tightened his hands before saying, "That's enough!"

Marinette looked between the scene, choosing to step back.

"...You continue to behave this way and I'll pull you out of school," Gabriel threatened. "Now go to your room with Mlle. Dupain-Cheng."

Adrien refused to respond, instead snatching Marinette's hand and dragging her up the stairs to his bedroom. Neither father nor son looked at each other.

Adrien all but threw the door open to his bedroom before bringing Marinette in. Her eyes widened at the absolutely humongous space. There was a spiral staircase to a second floor library, a three-screen PC computer, a huge flat-screen TV with a couch, several arcade games, a rock wall, a foosball table, a grand piano, a king-sized bed, etc.

"This isn't a bedroom - it's a four-bedroom apartment space with only one bed!" Marinette declared as she looked around in awe.

"Yeah - a boy's dream-come-true... Just no one to share it with." Adrien bitterly said.

Marinette looked around the room and saw the screensaver on Adrien's computer. It was a picture of him and his mother, Emilie. They were smiling and sitting with each other.

"Wow..." Marinette murmured. Adrien looked up and saw what she was looking at.

"Oh yeah... That's me and my mother," Adrien said as he gave the picture a smile. He sighed before coming towards the computer and getting ready to work on the project. "I think you two have a lot in common, Marinette."

Marinette, a wistful (if not attracted) smile on her face, said, "You must miss your mother a lot, huh, Adrien?"

Adrien stood up straight and slowly turned around and looked at her over his shoulder, his eyes narrowed.

"Wait, how did you know my mother recently died?" Adrien asked, his tone cold.

Marinette covered her mouth and she felt chills go down her spine. She was thinking, 'Oh, SHIT! What have I done?!'

"I-I-I-I-" Marinette stammered, fearful, but she face-palmed in defeat before sighing. "Okay, I... The other day, when you accidentally hit me in the face with the door, I actually caught you singing about it. All I know is that your mother recently passed and it's caused a strain between you and your father..."

Marinette's eyes widened when she realized another possibility that Adrien was worried about and she quickly said, "B-B-But I didn't bring it up to anyone else, I promise! I... I was just worried about you."

"You? Actually worrying about me?" Adrien asked with a disbelieving scoff. "For once, and I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm just glad somebody noticed for a change."

"Well, you can't expect anyone to notice when you act the way you do towards anyone else." Marinette pointed out.

"...Like I said before, it's not like I have anyone that cares about me anyway." Adrien stated.

"How can you say that?!" Marinette said, more upset out of concern for Adrien than anything else. "Your mother cared about you, didn't she?!"

"She was the only one, Marinette!" Adrien shouted, taking Marinette aback. He breathed heavily before opening his eyes, feeling depressed as tears fell down his face. "But... Now that she's gone, it's like everything in my world has gone dark and I can't find a fucking way out! I don't know what to do..."

"Adrien..." Marinette began, her tone softening as she stepped closer to him. "You can't keep pushing people away when they try to reach out."

Adrien looked at her, but there was still some doubt in his eyes.

"I can't bring your mother back, that much I know. I don't know how to explain this, but... There's a darkness in you that's starting to consume you from the inside out and I want to help chase it away, or at least make it less of an influence on you." Marinette said to him.

"...What's your angle here, Marinette?" Adrien asked, a skeptical tone in his voice.

"Angle? What angle? All I want is to help you," Marinette said, a bit of an offended tone in her voice. "Not for recognition, personal gain, or anything. I just want to do it because it's the right thing."

Adrien looked at her, a nearly heartbroken expression on his face.

"...Is it a crime that I feel like you need help and I want to be there for you?" Marinette asked rhetorically.

"...You don't want any leeway with my father or anything?" Adrien asked, crossing his arms.

"No," Marinette promised. "Honestly, that's the last thing I want. After what I saw today, I don't think talking to him is going to do any good. He doesn't treat you well, so why should I talk to him? Yes, I want to help, but there's a fine line between helping and meddling."

Silence. Deafening, suffocating, cruel silence for what seemed like ten minutes.

Adrien let out a big breath of air before saying in his usual curt tone, "...Let's just set up the presentation and practice."

Marinette nodded in agreement as she watched Adrien turn around and begin uploading their file.

"Um, Adrien?" Marinette asked.

"Yes?" Adrien asked.

"I, um... Well... I promise that I'll keep this thing about your mother to myself, like I have been up to this point, and I'll let you tell people when you're ready..." Marinette began. "Just... Let me help you."

Adrien turned around and gave Marinette a smile before saying, "...Thank you."

Once that awkwardness got out of the way, there was a knock on the door.

"Adrien." A woman's voice said, and in came a taller woman wearing a black and red suit, her black hair with a red streak in it in a bun atop her head, wearing glasses over cold blue eyes.

"Nathalie," Adrien neutrally greeted. "This is Marinette."

"Yes, I've been made aware of the situation," Nathalie said as she took a seat on the piano bench. "Please, let's go over this presentation."

"I think a few practice rounds will be fine," Marinette began as she took the provided water bottles that Nathalie brought in. "Now, let's start."

After several rounds of the two of them presenting the piece (several meaning nearly ten), the two teenagers were sprawled out on Adrien's bedroom couch, looking pretty tired.

"I'm glad we got that over with," Adrien said, using his phone to look at the time. "And we made good time."

"That's great," Marinette said as she sat upright and stretched her arms. "Now, I gotta go..."

"Wait, what?" Adrien asked as Marinette began to stand. "You're leaving?!"

"Well, yeah," Marinette said casually. "I gotta go home for dinner."

"No, you can't go!" Adrien insisted as he also stood up.

"Huh?" Marinette asked, confused.

"You can't leave! Not now, I..." Adrien began, before awkwardly scratching the back of his head. "Um... I..."

"Yes?" Marinette asked.

"It's still early," Adrien said, checking the time. "And... Well, I-I-I was thinking we could take a break and play some video games if... If you're interested."

Marinette smirked with confidence before asking, "Got Ultimate Mecha Strike XXIII?"

Again, she couldn't see his whole face, but she caught a glance of a smile.

"Sure do, Princess." He said, his tone much less harsh than when he usually used the nickname.

Again irked by the endearment, but choosing not to say anything about, she said, "Then you're on."

At first, Adrien and Marinette were evenly-matched in the game. Marinette chose a mecha that resembled a ladybug while Adrien's resembled his black cat hoodie. Adrien tried several combos on the controller, only for Marinette to catch up to him with another move.

"D'oh! Damn, I nearly had that!" Adrien chortled, surprised at the sight of Marinette putting the beatdown on him.

"Nearly being the key word here, chaton." Marinette said as she once again did a complex combination move to score points.

Adrien paused and with a sly smile, he asked, "Chaton, huh?"

"Your hood makes you look like a kitten," Marinette responded, using his distraction to her advantage. It only took another second for Marinette to win the round. "BOOYAH! Nailed it!"

"Hey, did you just butter me up to win the round?!" Adrien accused, although his voice was nothing short of happy and laughing.

"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't," Marinette responded, a teasing tone in her voice. "Anyway, how about another round?"

"It'd be my honor." Adrien said, holding up the controller again.

As they played the next round, Marinette and Adrien were laughing and enjoying themselves like old friends. The screen showed the two mechas trying to beat each other up, and they kept scoring points with each hit. Marinette was holding on to a small lead, and it was getting bigger with each hit on the controller.

"Oh yeah, I am so gonna crush you like a graham cracker ready to be made into pie crust!" Marinette said as she hit one last button and did another combination move that ended the last of the life on Adrien's mecha.

The game started playing the music that indicated that Marinette won.

"That was fun!" Marinette laughed as she looked at her companion.

"Yeah, only because you won the round." Adrien said, a combination of teasing and sincerely disappointed. His arms were crossed and he still had a cocky smile on his face.

"Aw, are you a sore loser, chaton?" Marinette giggled, a sly look on her face.

He leaned on one hand on the couch, the picture of suave, and looked at Marinette with a similar expression (though the top half of his face still wasn't visible).

He said, "No, I'm not a sore loser. After all, you're the only person I've ever lost to."

Marinette blinked and her sly, confident face melted into something more sad. She asked, "Really?"

"Yeah..." Adrien admitted as he started to scoot closer to Marinette. "And..."

"Yes?" Marinette said, almost sounding a little too eager to hear him out.

Adrien began to reach out to her with both of his hands. Marinette stayed in place, anticipating something...

Only for that "something" to be a tickle assault. His fingers were dancing on the sides of her waist, and she cracked up at the sensation. She was laughing like crazy and Adrien was laughing along with her.

Marinette, though laughing uncontrollably from her sides getting tickled, couldn't help but notice the genuinely happy, almost childlike laughter her friend was letting out.

At one point, Marinette was lying on the couch on her back and still laughing. She started coughing from lack of air, and Adrien stopped. The two of them were breathing heavily, catching their breath, and it didn't take long for Marinette to get off her back and sit upright on the couch.

"Wow... I... I don't think I've had this much fun in a long time," Adrien admitted as he also sat up and laid his back on the couch. "You really are a bucket full of sunshine, Marinette."

Marinette looked at him, her worry for him evident on her face. He looked back at her, stood up and moved closer to Marinette. He sat down right next to her, and he took her by the shoulders.

"Adrien?" Marinette asked, looking at him.

Adrien began leaning in closer, and he started moving his hands down her shoulders and made it to her waist. Marinette looked at his hands for a second before looking back up at his partially-covered his face.

Marinette's heart throbbed a bit at his touch, but not in the kind of way that made her feel grossed out. If anything, the sensation felt good.

"Marinette..." Adrien began in a husky tone, when...

"Adrien," Nathalie said as she came in suddenly. Adrien pulled his hands away. "I believe it's time for Mlle. Dupain-Cheng to go home."

Marinette looked at her phone, gasped, and stood up at the time. She said, "Oh my gosh, look at the time! I was having too much fun! I-I-I-I should've been home by now!"

Adrien grunted petulantly, saying, "Why not call your parents and tell them you're staying for dinner? I-I mean... I eat alone way too often..."

Marinette blinked at him in surprise. Eating alone at home? A father that wouldn't even look at him? What kind of hell was Adrien living in, Marinette wondered.

"I don't think your father would be open to the idea of an unexpected dinner guest, Adrien." Nathalie said, dropping obvious hints.

"Fine," Adrien griped as he stood up and grabbed Marinette's hand. "But I'm bringing her home in the car. Don't argue with me on this."

Nathalie, taken aback by the sight of Adrien holding a girl's hand, steeled her features before saying, "Understood."

Adrien dragged Marinette out of his room, leaving Nathalie all but aghast at the situation.


Once again, Adrien and Marinette were in the back of the car in utter silence. Marinette looked at Adrien out of her peripheral vision, and noticed that as usual, he seemed to be in a surly mood. He had his fist propping up his face and he was slouching for the most part.

"A... Are you okay?" Marinette cautiously asked, realizing that he was in a brittle state of mind.

"I will be," Adrien quipped, annoyed. He let out an angry breath of air. "Killjoy..."

"Hey!" Marinette said, affronted.

"Sorry," Adrien said, realizing his mistake. "You're not the killjoy - I was talking about Nathalie."

"Oh." Marinette said, feeling a bit stupid for assuming such a thing.

"We were having such a great time, and I was about to ask you to stay for dinner, and then she goes and ruins it!" Adrien groaned. "Why is it that every time I try to find some light in my dreary, meaningless life, they go and snuff it out?!"

Marinette didn't answer. Truthfully, she didn't have one. She didn't have firsthand experience of what Adrien was going through - she was just a second party that was only hearing about it from the person. It wasn't the same as walking a mile in his shoes.

Marinette tried to find something to talk to Adrien about to get his mind off his troubles, so she said, "So... Um... You're really good at Ultimate Mecha Strike."

Adrien smiled back and said, "Thank you. Years of practice. I guess it's the same for you? You kicked my ass."

"Yep," Marinette said. "My dad and I play it all the time!"

Adrien gave a hum before saying, "Lucky you..."

Marinette was about to ask about the situation between Adrien and his father when the car stopped. She looked out the window and saw that they were at the bakery.

"Oh, this is my stop," Marinette said as she got out of the car. "See you at school tomorrow?"

"Um, yes..." Adrien said as he also got out of the car.

"What are you doing?" Marinette asked.

"Walking you to your door, what's it look like?" Adrien curtly asked as he roughly hooked his arm around hers.

Marinette didn't question it, allowing Adrien to walk her to the door of the house (which was inside the bakery building anyway).

"I... I had a good time," Marinette said as they made it to the door. "I'm glad we got some practice in."

"I..." Adrien began, before clearing his throat. "I wanted to invite you over to my home for a while now."

"You did?" Marinette asked, surprised.

"Yeah, I..." Adrien said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I honestly just used the project as an excuse to get you there. Truth is, unless it's for professional reasons, my father doesn't let me have friends over, so..."

Marinette shook her head, and she said, "Let me get this straight: your father micromanages your schedule, makes you go to and from school via your driver, makes you eat lunch at home, doesn't let you have friends over, and he doesn't even bother to check up on you or spend any time with you?!"

"That about sums it up. He's... Overprotective of me." Adrien confessed.

"This isn't being overprotective, it's being abusive, Adrien! You gotta-" Marinette began, only for the door to her home to open.

"Ah, Marinette! We were just about to call you and ask when you were coming back," Tom said, delighted to see his daughter. He saw Adrien. "Thanks for bringing her home, Adrien."

"You're welcome, sir," Adrien said, lowering his head at the sight of Marinette's father. "I... I should get going..."

"No, no, please come in!" Tom said as he made to grab at Adrien's hood. The blonde tensed.

"Dad, no!" Marinette swiftly said, blocking her father's arm. "He... Um... Well, he doesn't like it when people go after his hood. In fact... He doesn't like people other than me touching him. I don't know why, but..."

"Ah, got it," Tom said, nodding in understanding. "But still, there's plenty of food. Why not stay for dinner?"

Adrien sighed and smiled before saying, "I'd love to, but... Knowing my father, he'll probably want me home for dinner right now. So... Maybe another time?"

Adrien turned on his heel and made to leave. Tom looked on, sad, and he said, "He doesn't seem very happy, does he...?"

Marinette shook her head and said, "No."

She didn't elaborate, remembering her promise, and she went inside to eat.


At school the next day, Marinette was sitting at her desk, waiting for Adrien. She was still wondering how he was doing. Was his father ignoring him again? What stupid mandatory activity did Adrien have to do? Eating alone? She should've insisted on having Adrien eat with her and her family the night before. If his father was so unwilling to even look at his son, then what did Gabriel care that Adrien was eating dinner somewhere else?

"Hey girl." Alya said as she approached Marinette.

Marinette didn't respond, merely tapping her pen on the table.

"Girl?" Alya asked, waving a hand in front of Marinette's face. "Everything okay in there?"

No response again. Marinette was thinking too much about Adrien to focus on anything else, and she was glancing at the door every time she heard it open and shut.

"MARINETTE!" Alya shouted in Marinette's ear.

Marinette shouted and flailed her arms in response to Alya's yell, and she said, "I'm up! I'm up! What...?!"

"Girl, that's what I wanna ask," Alya said as she leaned her hand against the table. "What is up with you this morning?"

"Um, well..." Marinette began. "I... Let's just say I got to know Adrien a bit more."

"I need details!" Alya said, lighting up. "What happened?!"

"Well, we went to his house to get some practice done on presenting the project, and then we played some video games together, but that's about it," Marinette said. "I... Did learn a few things about his home life, but..."

Alya was about to ask for more, but she saw that Marinette seemed a bit distressed, so she said, "I guess you promised not to say anything to anyone?"

Marinette nodded in confirmation.

"Got it." Alya said, giving Marinette a sympathetic smile.

Marinette gave a smile in gratitude, saying, "Thanks, Alya."

"Speak of the devil, there he is." Alya said as Adrien came in. She saw him and Nino (whom he walked into the room with) do a complicated handshake, and both girls smiled in delight at the scene.

Alya walked over to sit next to her boyfriend, meanwhile Adrien walked to the back where Marinette was sitting.

He smiled at her before sitting down next to her and taking her hand into his own, giving it kiss. Marinette held back a blush as Adrien gave her hand a squeeze. Marinette smiled back at him.

Alya was watching in amused delight, but she saw Nino was looking at the pair in worry.

"What's up, Nino?" Alya asked. "You look upset."

"I feel for the bro, dude," Nino said to her. "I mean... The poor guy."

"What?" Alya questioned. "Marinette said she knows stuff about his home life, but she didn't say anything to me."

"Oh, not what I meant, babe," Nino began. "I just heard that his birthday is coming up and... Well, I don't think he's ever had a birthday party before."

Alya gawked before saying, "Are you for real?! He's having a birthday soon and he's never had a party?!"

Nino shook his head.

"WTF?!" Alya hissed under her breath. But she got an idea before smiling mischievously and whispering something into Nino's ear.

"Ooh, love the idea, babe." Nino snickered.

Once break period rolled around, Marinette was in the art room with the girls, working on some new items for everyone to model.

"Okay, I think a pink pearl anklet will be good for this outfit for you, Rose," Marinette said as she showed Rose her sketches. "Thoughts?"

"Oh, it's so beautiful!" Rose said in delight, her eyes bright with joy and anticipation of wearing the item.

"So that's the last of Rose's accessories," Alya said as she checked things off their checklist. "What's next?"

"Juleka's hat is done, I've already finished the pocket watch protector for Alix, Kagami's yukata needs a few more details done, and I'm making great headway on your Halloween outfits, Alya," Marinette listed off. "Now, Zoé's jacket needs some repairs, and I think that's about everything..."

"Not quite everything," Alya cut in, causing Marinette to look over to her best friend. "I heard through the grapevine that Adrien has a birthday coming up."

"What? Really?" Marinette asked.

"Yeah, the big one-eight. It's in a few weeks, actually," Alya said before acting depressed. "According to Nino, Adrien says that he's never celebrated his birthday in his life."

Marinette looked at Alya in shock, and then her face fell in dismay. Considering what she saw at Adrien's house...

"Maybe you should make something for him and give it to him?" Alya suggested. "After all, I'm sure he'd appreciate a handmade birthday present from someone, especially since Nino said something about his father not even bothering to celebrate his birthday."

Marinette didn't register anything else Alya had said, the gears in her head turning as she whipped out her sketchbook and started drawing something in it.

"A birthday present for Adrien... And I know just the thing!" Marinette said as she smiled and showed everyone her idea.

"That's perfect!" Zoé said.

"I love the idea!" "Good thinking!" "Simple and easy to get done." "Perfect!"

Marinette smiled at her friends' support before checking her phone. She asked Alya, "Hey Alya, does Nino know the exact date for Adrien's birthday?"

Alya smiled, thinking, 'Game, set, and match.'


Time came and went in the blink of an eye and soon, it was Adrien's birthday. Marinette had doubled-checked his schedule and asked him if she could come over to his place to celebrate. Adrien was too happy to say "yes" to this.

Thus, she was standing in front of the mansion with a flat, blue box with a ribbon around it in hand, as well as another package of passionfruit macarons.

She rang the doorbell, and then a round, eye thing came out of what she assumed was the wall.

"Hello?" A voice said from inside. Nathalie.

"Hi there, this is Marinette, Adrien's classmate," Marinette said, but for some reason, calling her relationship with Adrien "classmates" didn't seem to fit. "I heard it's his birthday, and I wanted to come by and visit him to celebrate."

"Yes, he mentioned you would be coming by," Nathalie said, her tone still stone cold and neutral. "Normally we don't allow visitors other than family in here, but Adrien insisted on it."

The gate opened and Marinette said, "Thank you."

She walked up to the door of the mansion and entered the building, once again greeted by the well-presented, yet cold and unfeeling interior design. She saw that Gabriel wasn't in the immediate area, so she took a deep breath and started to walk up the stairs. She knew where Adrien's bedroom was, so she took the most direct route there.

She made it to the door, and after steeling herself once more, she knocked on the door.

"Adrien?" Marinette called. "It's me. Marinette!"

No answer. She checked her phone before saying to herself, "That's weird... He should be free right now."

She put her ear to the door, only to hear something like... Water running?

She knocked again, but no response, and she tried to open the door. Unlocked.

Marinette, against her better judgement, went inside the room with her items in hand. She looked around, getting reacquainted with the familiar room, and still wondering where the birthday boy was.

So, she sat down on the couch in front of the TV, choosing to look around the room and wait for Adrien as opposed to shouting for him.

She heard the water turning off in the background, and the ensuite bathroom door opened.

Marinette stood up from the couch and turned around with a smile, loudly saying, "Happy Birth-"

Adrien shouted in surprise just as Marinette screamed/gasped at what she saw in front of her. There Adrien stood, covered only in a towel that was tied around his waist, exposing his stern, broad shoulders, his toned pectoral muscles on his chest, and his heavily defined, four-pack abs. His arms and legs were pretty jacked, too.

As attractive as his body was, that wasn't what scared Marinette. What scared her was the sight of what was on those muscles.

Scars. Scars everywhere. The skin looked it'd been melted and warped as the melted areas cooled off, with bumps and dents in the scarred areas. The largest scar was on his chest and it started from beneath his waist on the right and ended at least behind his left shoulder. But that wasn't the only scar. There were smaller, more subtle scars on other parts of his body. The right side of his head was scarred up very badly, to the point where Adrien looked like he had a naturally-occurring mohawk. But the scars that stood out to Marinette the most were the ones on his face.

It looked like his face had ashes smeared on parts of it and the heat turned his skin permanently red in those areas. His forehead was spared, but there were smaller scars on his cheeks and there was also a scar that covered part of the areas near his left eye and temple. It didn't resemble anything even close to Zuko's scar, but it was still bad.

Marinette was close to throwing up as the thoughts and questions rapid-fired in her mind. What in the absolute name of God had this poor guy been through to cause all of those scars?! Who did it to him?! Why?! Why would anyone want to damage such a sweet (albeit discourteous) young man?!

She didn't have time to think about the answers, though.

"What are you doing in here, Marinette?!" Adrien roared, his eyes widening in what seemed to be fear, only for them to turn into anger.

"I-I-I..." Marinette stammered, her thoughts racing with confusion and fear.

What could she say?

"I won't repeat myself: what are you doing here?!" Adrien demanded again as he pulled up his towel and wrapped it tighter around his waist.

"I, I just wanted... We agreed that I would come for your birthday and-!" Marinette tried to say, but the sight of Adrien's scars made her so worried for him that she couldn't get the rest of the words out of her mouth.

Adrien growled like a wildcat, clenching his fists and demanding, "How did you even get into my room?! Did you even knock?!"

Marinette screeched in fear and backed off, saying, "YES! I knocked, and y-y-your door was unlocked, so I-I..."

"LEAVE!" Adrien shouted as he raised his face to the ceiling.

Marinette gasped in fear as she backed into the side of the couch, bumping her knee and causing her to fall onto her stomach. Her blood went cold as the ideas of what horrors Adrien had experienced flashed before her eyes.

Adrien grabbed some of the books on the shelf near his computer and threw them down, once again roaring, "I SAID LEAVE! GET OUT!"

Marinette screamed, scrambled to her feet, and ran out of his room like the Road Runner in a Looney Tunes short. She slammed the door behind her.

As Adrien was huffing heavily, he saw that Marinette dropped a few things. There was an open macaron box, and its contents had spilled. The cookies and the container they came in looked like they'd been trampled on, too.

When he saw the blue box with the ribbon on it, he walked over to where it was. He picked it up and looked at it with a curious expression. When he opened the lid, he softly gasped at the sight of what was inside.

It was a baby blue knit scarf, obviously handmade, and inside the box was a card. He took it out and read it.

"Adrien,

I heard that you've never had a proper birthday celebration, or even a present in your whole life.

So, I made this for you. I hope you like it as much as I liked making it for you.

Happy Birthday, Adrien!

Love, Marinette"

At the sight of it, Adrien grunted, grit his teeth, closed his eyes (which were leaking tears), and raised his face to the ceiling again, roaring in guilt-ridden agony.

Marinette was racing down the hallways to get out. She heard the sound of something crashing behind her, but she refused to look back. As she made it to the stairs, she pivoted on her heel and made to run back down.

"Ah, Marinette," Nathalie greeted as she walked up to the stairs to Marinette. "Are you-"

"SOSORRYGOTTAGOSEEYOULATER!" Marinette shouted in a rush as she flew down the stairs and dashed out of the mansion, leaving Nathalie confused.

Marinette cleared the gates before running down into the metro station, only then allowing herself to cry...


And BOOM! Marinette runs out of there like a bat out of hell! And now we know what Adrien's hiding under his hood and clothes! But I'm also sure you're wondering exactly what caused those scars, right? Only one way to find out: stay tuned and keep reading!

Coming up, Marinette can't get stop thinking about Adrien's scars, and everyone else is noticing the negative change in Marinette and Adrien's dynamic. What's gonna happen NOW?!

As for why I put in a scene of Adrien getting jealous over Luka? IT'S SOMETHING I'VE BEEN STARVING FOR IN CANON IN THIS SERIES AND WE'VE ONLY SEEN A SNIPPET OF IT IN "FROZER" - WE NEED MORE LUKANETTE-TRIGGERED JEALOUS!ADRIEN!