-Julian's POV-
The nights following my departure from the team were surprisingly filled with long and restful sleep, all of them, except tonight. Tonight, I lay on my bed, Ossi sleeping beside me as I stare towards the ceiling of my bedroom, deep in thought.
The media has finally seemed to caught on, noticing my absence during the day and increased activity in the night. When asked, all Ladybug and I said was that I left because of "Different values". Chat Noir, doesn't leave any statements.
I should feel terrible, right? I've done nothing but create problems and caused trouble in the past few months. Even ending up leaving a huge rift in the team before leaving the group.
But I don't feel terrible.
No, the feeling of finally making up my mind, feels pretty great!
No more arguments or disagreements, they either let me do it, or I leave and do it anyway, it's just unfortunate that it had to be the latter. Besides, Ladybug and Chat Noir are getting much more rest now since I took over the night patrols, and if they're not resting…
Well, it's hardly my problem is it?
That's a really selfish thought to have, but I refuse to keep walking around like a sleep deprived zombie anymore, it was starting to hurt my relationships with friends and family. Gods know what would happen if I continue down that spiral. However, If there's one thing that I would've liked to change… It would probably be Chat Noir.
I sigh to myself, Chat didn't deserve this, to feel like he has to pick a side, but it's not like I had a choice. He is a part of the team, and therefore needed to be a part of this, even if I would rather give up completely than force Chat to choose between his friend and the one he loves.
Why I didn't let him talk much at all was because he had the highest chances of convincing me to stay, because I value the friendship we have so dearly that I wouldn't have cared about what I really wanted.
That is, if we're even considered friends right now, who knows what they've been talking about behind my back.
I let out a big yawn, eyes getting droopy after what felt like hours of laying in bed.
There is one downside to this arrangement I suppose. Since I've taken on the extra night patrols, combined with visiting my fawns every once in a while, I've been getting home later than usual. And while I have been sleeping better than before, it seems like I still owe my body a couple tens of hours of sleep that would require an entire weekend of snoozing to fully make up for it.
If only we could sleep like that, just take a loan of awake hours and compensate for it some other time.
As my thoughts move on to lighter and less important issues, my eyes finally close as I fall asleep to the sounds of the snoring Kwami beside me…
…
…
…
A sudden loud noise plays all around the room. Letting out a groan, I crack open an eye to notice the sunlight pouring into my room, it's morning already? I should get better curtains...
The noise plays again.
Groaning once more, I reach blindly for my phone, where it showed Alix calling me.
I click on answer. "Hello?" I grumble, voice laced heavy with sleep.
"Julian! You need to get here right now! It's an emergency!"
I quickly sat up from my bed, her tone shocking me out of my sleepy state. "What? What happened?"
"I'll tell you when you're here! Where are you anyways?"
I raise an eyebrow. "At… home?" I say, confused, looking at the time. "Why are you calling so early any-"
School starts in 5 minutes.
"CRAP!" I yell, flinging my blanket off of me and rolling off the bed, running towards my closet.
"What!? What's going on!?" The voice on the phone sounds surprised.
"I overslept! I have to go, see you later!"
"WAIT! GET YOUR MAKEUP KIT!"
I falter for a second. "Makeup kit? Why- Nevermind! Bye!" I hang up, flinging the doors to my closet open.
Quick! What can I wear that makes me look cool while also hiding the fact that I'm terrible at being a human being!?
A black hoodie, perfect!
It even has neon green highlights to make it less edgy! I yank it off the bar while pulling off my pajamas.
"Woah! Kid, what's the hurry!?" Ossi suddenly shouts, flying out of my bed.
"I'm late for school! Why didn't you wake me up!?" I ask, wildly sliding the hoodie on and breaking into my bathroom, squeezing out way too much toothpaste before sticking the brush in my mouth.
"What!? But, didn'tcha say-"
"Alright! Get in!" I interrupt, spitting out the foam before grabbing my bag, stuffing my makeup box in it and taking off down the stairs.
My dad is sitting in the kitchen, calmly drinking a cup of coffee while reading over some scripts. That is, before I crash onto the scene, literally.
"Woah!" My dad shouts as I collide with a nearby cupboard to slow my fall. "What's- Julian? I thought you were at school."
"No time! I'm late! Thanks!" I swipe the croissant out of my father's hands before charging out of the house and running all the way to the school. Stopping in front of its doors exactly 7 minutes late to school and extremely out of breath.
Once again I'm thankful for the exercise I get when I'm out as Faon Vert, or else I would've been dead from the minutes-long run by now.
Ossi pokes his head out of my jacket and whispers to me. "Julian, I think thatcha forgot, today's-"
I gasp, quickly stuffing him back into my jacket with wide eyes, looking around wildly. "What are you doing? We're in public!" I whisper back before walking into the school.
For some reason, the courtyard seems to be filled with more students than usual, it almost felt like an assembly, but that's not possible, unless I misread what day it was…
Even weirder, everyone seems to be staring at me too, making me feel incredibly self conscious. If I wasn't so focused on finding Alix to help her with the "Emergency" she mentioned, I probably would've ran back home.
While I didn't get to find Alix, I did find a familiar face.
"Adrien!" I yell, running up to him. The blond looks up from his conversation with Nino, and-
Is it just me, or does he look… prettier than usual?
"Good morning Julian!" He wishes. "I was wondering where you were, it's almost our turn to-" The boy suddenly stops, staring at me with wide eyes, or more specifically-
My chest?
"Dude…" Nino says, equally as surprised with a hint of, respect?
"W-What?" I ask, feeling confused and more than a little flustered. "What's-"
"Oh my GOD! "
The three of us jump at the sudden voice. Turning to the direction of the sound, I notice Alix and Nathaniel staring at me now too, the former's face steadily growing red as she tries to hold in her laughter.
"Oh- Oh geez, Julian! I can't believe-" She could barely get out before finally bursting into giggles.
"What? What's happening right now?" I ask again, so incredibly confused I might just start laughing too.
Nathaniel gives me a pitying smile. "It's nothing Julian, it's just… Your hood."
What?
Looking down, I immediately start wishing for anything, preferably lightning, to strike me down.
Because in my haste to leave, I had grabbed the hoodie that Alix, Nathaniel and I bought for each other as a joke that I swore to never, ever wear in public.
A black hoodie, with neon green accents and the words " Paw-purr-ty of Chat Noir ~💛" also written in green and finished with a bright green heart.
Oh my gods.
"Oh my gods!" I squeak, quickly covering the words with my bag, face rapidly heating up as Alix further devolves into fits of laughter.
"I thought- I thought you said you were never wearing that-" Alix barely gets out before laughing again.
"I-I..." This can't be happening, why is this happening?
Nino lets out an awkward laugh as well. "Uhh, at least you look good in it. Right dude?" He jabs Adrien in his side, snapping the blond out of his trance like state as he looks at me, blushing, probably feeling embarrassed for me.
"Yeah, I haven't seen a jacket like that before." The blond says, attempting at a smile.
"That's because we got it custom made as a joke." Alix explains, slapping my back with way more force than necessary as I wince. "I'm impressed Lian, and on Picture Day too."
I look at her with wide eyes. "Picture Day!?"
Oh.
Oh no.
-Flashback to the Night Before-
"I heard that it's ya school's picture day tomorrow." Ossi comments as we watch the last episode for the night.
I hum. "Yeah, but I'm not going to go, pictures are kinda scary."
"But ya can't just skip school, ya dad's still here."
I smirk, moving my bowl of popcorn to the side. "That's where you're wrong, you see, dad's gonna be busy with the movie all morning because of time zone stuff. So I'm just going to turn off my alarm, and sleep all day. After all, he can't make me go to school, if school's over by the time I wake up." I tap the side of my head, pulling out my phone and switching off the alarm.
Ossi scoffs. "Alright, but don't come crying to me if this plan bites ya in the ass."
"Come on, it's fool-proof!"
- End of Flashback -
It's biting me in the ass.
I should never have challenged the universe, flew too close to the sun and got burnt. Ossi must be so smug right now.
The skater tilts her head at my wide eyed realization. "Yeah, Picture Day, look." She points towards the center of the courtyard, the person from under the stairs, Marc and his class is seated along the bench in three separate rows. The photographer yelling orders and shifting them around before finally snapping a shot.
"Next!" The photographer yells, adjusting his camera as the next class settles in.
No.
"No." I echo my thoughts out loud, looking at my friends wide eyed. "I can't have my picture taken wearing… wearing this!" I whisper the last part, showing them the offending piece of clothing once again before hiding it behind my bag. "I can barely have my picture taken with regular clothes!"
Alix frowns, sharing a look with Nathaniel. "Why'd you wear it then?" She asks.
I shake my head frantically. "I didn't wear it on purpose ! I overslept and your phone call sent me into a panic!"
"Oh!" Alix suddenly gasps. "That's right! The emergency! Julian, you need to follow me!" She says, grabbing my arm and pulling me away from the crowd.
"A-Alix! This is also an emergency, I have to- Bye!" I yell the last part to Nino and Adrien, the latter returns a hesitant wave, face still red from the second-hand embarrassment.
"Lian, you don't understand." Alix shakes her head. "The bigger emergency is of greater importance, for today, we are breaking a curse. We can figure out your wardrobe error later."
I tilt my head in question. "A… Curse?"
The skater says nothing, only pulling quicker through the crowd. Nathaniel follows me by my side, looking as if this is a very much normal occurrence.
Eventually we arrive by another set of stairs, our other classmates, Juleka and Rose are seated on top of the steps, the former looking… sadder than usual.
"Jules! Rose! I brought him!" Alix stops, finally allowing me to regain my bearings. I blink at the two of them.
Rose, ever the energetic one, squeals loudly before tackling me in a hug.
"Oh Julian! Thank you! You don't know how much this means to us!"
"I-I, umm, what?" I ask, looking at Alix in confusion.
The pink haired girl smirks. "Did you bring your makeup?"
What?
"Yeah?" I say again, processing everything. "Did… Did you want a touch up, or…?"
Alix gags. "No thanks, makeup always feels on me. No!" She quickly leaps behind Juleka, pushing her forward. "Today you'll be doing Juleka!"
What?
"I'm- I'm sorry?" I ask again, not sure if I'm hearing everything right.
"Juleka thinks she's cursed to never have a good photo taken of her." Nathaniel (bless him) finally explains.
Rose untangles herself from me, giving me a rare serious look. "We tried telling her that it's not true, but she never listens to us!"
"I'm right here you know…" Juleka interrupts grimly. "It's okay if you don't Julian, since I won't be in the photo anyways…"
Rose pouts angrily, gripping the sad girl's hand tight before looking at me. "You see what I mean? We have to save her!"
I frown, looking at everyone. "Okay? S-Sorry but, I still don't understand why I'm here…" I trail off.
Alix sighs. " Because Lian, you're like, crazy good at makeup!"
Blushing, I glare at her. "I-I'm not 'crazy good'! B-Besides-" I look back at Juleka and- oh.
"You're not wearing any today?" I notice. I wanted to bring up the fact that Juleka is actually leagues better than me when it comes to cosmetics, especially in the style that she usually has on, but right now…
"That's what we're saying. Jules is so depressed that she didn't even bother to look good for today." Alix comments drily, earning a scandalous gasp from Rose.
"How could you say that? Juleka always looks good!" She retorts, before giving me a sheepish look. "Still, a little polish here and there would make her look even better! "
"Gee, thanks babe." The girl in question retorts sarcastically, eliciting a gasp from the blonde before drowning out the conversation with a myriad of loud and sincere apologies.
I look at the three of them, this is way too much thinking that should be done before 12 pm. But…
"If Juleka wants to, I-I don't mind…" I mutter.
"YES!" Rose screams, drawing in a lot of attention before hugging me again. "Oh Julian, thank you thank you thank you!"
"Rose calm down, you're gonna make Julian faint." Alix saves me from said fate as Rose immediately detangles herself from me.
"Oh! Sorry!" She sheepishly apologized.
"I-It's okay…" I reply, letting out a breathe I didn't realize I was holding from the hug, I sit down beside them, quietly unpacking my bag and taking out a box and setting it at the side.
I give the brunette a small smile. "Are you ready?"
Juleka hesitates for a moment, looking at Rose as if she wants to say something, but sighs and nods anyway.
Letting out a hum, I open the box, revealing the different layers of supplies I have inside.
The next couple of minutes, I make sure that Juleka looks like how she usually does, focusing on changing a few things here and there to make it more special for the occasion.
"Wow Lian, you're taking this really seriously." Alix comments.
"Yeah! It's even better than me! How'd you get this good?" Rose asks, but refrains from hugging me since it might ruin everything.
I blush. "Umm… YouTube." I answer honestly, because when you've been a hermit all your life, you pick up a couple things for fun, like putting on makeup, or making slime, or any other pointless stuff.
"Alright, you're done." I give the brunette a small smile, locking up my box before giving her a playfully serious look. "Remember, looking pretty is one thing, but to properly break the curse, you have to feel pretty too. Fight for pretty." I don't know what else to do, so I stick my fist out for a fist bump, visibly cringing at the awkwardness of said action.
Juleka lets out a small laugh and returns the bump. "Thanks Julian, I'll try." She says, opening the small pocket mirror on her sleeve to look at herself. While she does that, I give the rest of my friends a weary look.
"Now that we're done… Can we figure out what to do with um… this?" I gesture vaguely to the hoodie.
Rose giggles. "Oh! That's so cute!"
"Isn't it?" Alix smirks.
"Alix…!" I whine, falling back on the steps in defeat.
"Chill out Lian, we still got time, let's go to the art room, I'll spray paint it over or something." The skater offers and-
"What?" I sit up, frowning at her. "I don't want to paint over this jacket."
Alix waves her hands in dismissal. "Relax, you can take it off while I find the right shade, afterwards we can get rid of the smell by-"
"I mean," I interrupt. "I don't want to ruin this jacket…"
The skater gives me a confused look. "What? Why? You said it's embarrassing."
I blush again, looking away. "It's- It's because…"
I sigh.
"You and Nathaniel bought it for me, I don't want to destroy it…" I admit quietly.
Silence.
"Oh my God!" Rose breaks it, squealing unintelligible nonsense. "You guys are so cute! Oh! You three should get friendship bracelets! I know someone who knows someone who knows someone's cousin, who-"
As she trails on, I spare a look at Alix, the skater is for once in her life, looks speechless. Looking at me with a flabbergasted expression that makes it really hard to decipher what she's actually thinking.
In the end, I didn't have to decipher anything, as she scoffs.
"You're way too soft Lian." She says before socking me in the shoulder-
" Ow!" I yelp, glaring at her while rubbing the now sore spot. "Wh-what was that for!?"
The skater girl shrugs. "That's how I show affection, deal with it."
Oh so that's how she wants to play it.
Planning an equally witty comeback, the sudden sound of footsteps interrupt our conversation.
"Nathaniel?" I ask in surprise as the boy catches his breath in front of us. Huh, I didn't notice him leaving at all. Where'd he go?
"Sorry! It took me a while, luckily my mom had to come here anyway, so she could get it." The redhead explains before standing up and-
Oh my gods.
Displayed brightly on his green hoodie with white highlights are the words "Fawn'd of Faon Vert ~ "
Alix bursts into laughter again, Rose squeals louder, even Juleka chuckles.
"Oh my God. I-" Alix can't even finish her sentence.
"N-Nathaniel…" I try to say, eyes both wide and kind of teary at the display.
The artist in question, while blushing heavily, smirks at me. "Now we match, and also…" He pulls out a bright red hoodie from behind him. "I got Jalil to drop this off too, Alix do you want to-"
"HELL yeah I do! Hurry, give it!" The skater rips the hoodie out of his hands before yanking it on. Displaying in black colored words, " Buggin in Love with Ladybug ~ "
"There! Now this picture is gonna be three times as awesome!" The skater declares.
"Y-You guys…" I say softly, rubbing the welled up tears from my eyes while letting out a relieved laugh.
"Thank you." I finally say, giving the two of them the brightest smile I can.
The skater returns an equally bright grin. "Anytime Lian!" Alix shouts, before raising her fist in the air. "C'mon!"
Nathaniel and I share a look before laughing, why the hell not. The three of us connect our fists in the center.
"Pound it!" We shout in unison, before devolving into giggles again.
The next few minutes were filled with energetic chatter from both Alix and Rose as we wait for our turn. Eventually, while the class before us were getting their photos taken, our class was grouped up by the side to wait for our turn. Rose and Juleka went off to chat with Marinette and Alya, whilst Alix, Nathaniel and I sat towards the edge of the stairs.
"I didn't know they were dating…" I say, looking at Rose and Juleka talking with Marinette, Juleka stills looks a little hesitant about having her photo taken, but at least it was better than before.
Alix and Nathaniel snickers. "Apparently, they're not." The former informs.
"What?" I look at them with wide eyes. "But, they fit so well together."
"That's what I said! They're basically all over each other." Alix exclaims.
"Juleka also calls Rose 'babe'" Nathaniel adds, which receives a groan from Alix again.
"But according to her, it's "just a joke" and Rose is just "a very good friend" ." She use air quotes. "Honestly, this class is filled with either oblivious airheads, or romantic disasters . Only Mylène and Ivan have their act together." She gestures to the people in question, who were too busy being cute with each other to notice.
"Maybe it's the water." I suggest with a snort.
Alix sends me a playful glare. "Don't act all high and mighty Le Beau, like you haven't been checking Adrien out every chance you got in the past couple minutes."
Dammit.
"I- wha…? eheh…" I blush, scratching the back of my neck in embarrassment, because what else can you say when you've been caught red-handed?
"Okay! Time to flash your pearly whites guys!" The photographer thankfully stops this sudden train wreck of a conversation, pointing at Alix. "You! And you, and you three." He points at Max, Rose, Marinette, and Mylène. "Take a seat at the front bench."
Nathaniel and I snicker at the pink haired girl's offended look, but quickly shut up when she glares at us. "Think being short is funny? You boys better watch your backs."
I smirk. "As if you could reach it." I couldn't help but retort, earning a sudden laugh from Nathaniel as the skater looks to be one step away from tackling me.
"Quickly! Please! I still got sixteen other classes to shoot!" The photographer once again saves my life, herding the girl away as she sends me a final death glare, promising my end at her hands to be long, and painful.
"You shouldn't have done that, now she's going to come after you." Nathaniel warns as I snicker again, before whispering.
"Not if you and I team up. C'mon, we can form the 'Victims of Alix' alliance, there's strength in numbers." I suggest wisely.
"You, you and you!" The photographer interrupts again, pointing at Nathaniel this time. "Go stand on the rear bench please!"
The redhead gives me an apologetic smile. "Sorry Julian." He laughs before walking to the bench, leaving me alone to suffer the ire of Alix's glare as he stands with Alya and Sabrina.
"Wait just one minute!" A shrill voice sounds from the group, Chloé looking incredibly disappointed. "I'm supposed to be in the middle row, right next to Adrien. Preferably the center." She informs, grabbing the blond boy and pulling them closer. "Look, we're the same size!" She demonstrates by showing the very clear height difference between them.
"Nah." The photographer immediately shuts her down. "Go and stand in the back row, behind the rest." He further orders, enraging her even more.
"How dare you put me behind the rest? Do you know who my father is?" Chloé stomps towards him.
The man remains unfazed. "Is… he a photographer?"
She gasps. "No! He's-"
"Bummer, I could use an assistant. Now hurry up and take your place, or I'll put you up front with the 'babies'!" He threatens, leaving the blonde with no choice but to angrily walk all the way to her designated spot.
Holy crap. I look at the man with wide eyed admiration, my dad always says that the photography industry is filled with stubborn and no-nonsense people. I'm starting to see what he means by that.
"The rest of you boys go in the middle row!" The photographer issues. I gulp, thankfully, having already expected this (even if I'm considered slightly shorter than average, Adrien and I are still roughly the same height).
But…
"U-Umm… Sir?" I say quietly, as Kim, Nino, Adrien and Ivan walks past, drawing his attention.
"Yes boy?" He says, looking at my hoodie with clear judgement.
Crap . I grip my fists tighter.
"You- uhh… Juleka, hasn't gotten a spot yet…" I mention, gesturing the girl with purple highlights, who looked surprised at my words. As if expecting to just be forgotten.
"Ah! Sorry, my bad." The man apologizes profusely, patting her on the shoulders. "Go stand in the middle row, next to that blond haired boy!" He says.
Juleka nods, giving me a small thankful smile as she walks to her place. I sigh in relief, thankful that the situation didn't turn out as bad as my brain thought it would get, before following suit, standing next to Ivan in the middle row.
The photographer frames us with his fingers before sighing. "No, this isn't right, something's not working here."
Chloé scoffs. "Uhh, course it's not working! I'm in the wrong spot!"
She was ignored as the photographer walks to Ivan. "You! Move over… Here, will ya?"
The boy nods, walking to his new spot as I step in closer to-
Oh my gods.
"H-Hi…" I say pathetically as I slide up next to Adrien, who gives me a small smile in return.
"Hey again." He greets, before looking back at my hoodie, blush returning to his face. "Still wearing that, huh?" He quips.
Blushing myself, I want to just bury my head into the cement. "Y-yeah, I was in a hurry to school today, so I wore it… By accident…" I excuse.
"Oh." The blond looks surprised for am moment, before smiling. "You should've told me, I brought extra t-shirts today, in case something goes wrong."
What?
I'm pretty sure my face is permanently red now, as I quickly turn to stare at anywhere else that's not him.
Me? Wearing Adrien's shirt?
"It- It's fine!" I squeak, extremely thankful that I was hurried away from him this morning before I could explain everything.
Or else I would be standing here…
Wearing one of his shirts...
Dammit Alix I can hear you laughing!
"Sorry, was that too weird?" I hear the blond ask sheepishly through my embarrassment. "It's just that today's going to be my first ever Picture Day, so I don't want to mess it up."
Gods dammit, why are you so cute and why must your first ever school picture contain me wearing a joke hoodie about Chat Noir? Was what I desperately wanted to say.
"I- It's fine, y'know, it happens, sorry I'm wearing- you're first pic and I- Chat..." I end up stammering off, gods Alix is right, I'm a total disaster.
The photographer sighs in frustration (same). "It doesn't matter where I put him, it throws the whole picture out of whack!"
"My spot is unacceptable!" I jump at Chloé's voice from behind me, turning to see her attempting to shove Juleka away from her spot.
"That's right Juleka, don't let her push you out of the way!" Marinette cheers on.
Our homeroom teacher Miss Bustier was less impressed. "Ms. Bourgeois, behave yourself!" She reprimands, but was ignored as the blonde is now trying to completely climb over the other girl.
"Hey! Nobody asked you loudmouth!" Chloé adds to Marinette.
"This isn't gym class, you know Chlo." Adrien jokes, which I laugh a little at that, before glaring at Alix, who was giving me a much too suggestive look.
In the end, the photographer finally rearranges the students to how he likes, which honestly is quite the achievement, our class it filled with a lot of uniquely dressed people, and I'm saying that as the boy wearing a jacket that brags about being claimed by a superhero. Unfortunate (or not), I was moved to the back row and away from Adrien, but did I end up standing next to Nathaniel. The two of us laughing again at our hoodies while Alix pouts by herself in the front row.
"There, perfect!" The man says, reaching for his camera.
"Uh, no! It isn't! It's not perfect at all! I'm totally not next to Adrien!" Chloé retorts, causing the blond boy to sigh and shake his head.
The principal finally chimes in. "Please Chloé, we still have sixteen classes to photograph! Go ahead Vincent."
"Say, spaghetti!"
"Spaghetti!" The entire class shouts while I attempt to smile how I normally would, but for some reason it was like I completely forgot how to smile, leaving my face a weird crooked version of one.
The photographer groans again. "I don't believe it! I'm sorry, I have to go and fetch another battery." He walks to his equipment stand. "Nobody move!" He shouts.
I sigh. Gods can this just end already? What did I do to deserve such a nerve wrecking experience?
Juleka seems to agree, as she dejectedly walks away from her spot and to the bathroom.
"Do you think it's taking so long because of the curse?" I hear Nathaniel ask me, looking stressed out as well. Oh yeah, I'm not the only anxious person worried about having their photo taken here.
I sigh. "I think a curse that stops you from having your picture taken seems far-fetched. I mean, if I was a witch, I would use the ingredients for something more… dangerous." I explain.
"It could just be a pettiness thing, but what could Juleka do that would offend a witch?" The redhead ponders.
We couldn't finish the discussion as the photographer finally returns with a fully charged battery. "We're back in business!"
Suddenly a someone else jumps into Juleka's spot.
"Hey! What are you doing? Where's Juleka!" Marinette scolds Chloé, who scoffs.
"Who cares! At last, I'm in the right spot!" The blonde says, yanking Adrien closer to her, the latter looking extremely uncomfortable.
"I want you to flash your best smiles! Because it's the last time we are doing this!" The photographer declares, reaching to the button and-
What?
"Wait!" Marinette and I yell, but it was too late, the camera shutter goes off, probably taking the most unflattering picture of me possible, but whatever.
"Thanks kids!" The photographer continues.
"Julian, what's wrong?" Nathaniel asks, I give him a wide eyed look, gesturing at Juleka's old spot.
"Oh wait! Please sir, we have to redo the photo!" Marinette voices my concerns.
"Why's that?" Principal Damocles asks.
"Because Juleka's not in it." The bluenette informs.
"Jule-who?" He says.
I frown as Marinette tries to explain further. Seriously? Not only is Juleka a student in his school, but Marinette clearly said her name at the start of the thing too.
Adults suck.
"Uh, Mr. Damocles, aren't we meant to be heading off to lunch? And aren't you paying the photographer by the hour?" Chloé manipulates him like a puppet.
"Why yes! No time to retake, class move along, now!" The principal says, ushering all of us away.
Sulking, I frown at Nathaniel. "Something isn't right, I don't think this is a curse thing and more of a Chloé thing."
"I think so too…" The redhead thinks for a moment. "Maybe we can get the photographer to change his mind?"
I shrug. "Possibly… Maybe Alix can-"
"JULIAN!"
"Oof!" I grunt, feeling someone jump on my back and holding on for dear life as I struggle to stay standing.
"What were you saying about my height just now? Huh ?" The familiar voice of Alix threatens, pulling the hood over my head and yanking the strings taut, completely blocking my vision.
"That it's perfectly normal and we're all just tall freaks of nature!" I yelp, afraid of crashing into a wall or something.
The girl jumps off of me. "That's more like it." She says, satisfied. I try to pull back the hood, but the jerk skater tied a knot with it!
"Alix, we need your help." Nathaniel starts, ignoring my suffering as I slowly try to untie my hood like a wounded animal.
"What's up?" I hear her ask.
"We think Chloé had something to do with Juleka missing the photoshoot." Nathaniel explains as I finally untie the stupid hood.
"Witch hunt?" Alix asks with surprising enthusiasm.
I look at her with wide eyes. " No! No witch hunt!"
"Julian's right." The redhead nods. "We were hoping if you could talk to the photographer though, since… since you're-"
"Alright, I get it." The girl smirks, stretching her arms into the air. "Let's go talk to some guy." She says, leading the way to the photographer's equipment zone.
Nathaniel and I share a look.
"You were already planning to do it weren't you?" I deduce.
"Yep! Now c'mon, let's go break a curse." Alix confirms, leading us towards the area.
Currently, Principal Damocles and the photographer are in the middle of a lunch, a drinks and sandwiches in their hands as we approach them.
"Excuse me, sirs!" Alix starts.
"Yes..?" The Principal says.
"I'm Alix, and this is Nathaniel and Julian." She points to the two of us. "We're from Miss Bustier's class, and we think that you should retake our class photo."
The principal shares a surprised look with the photographer. "Young lady, I appreciate the honesty, but we simply do not have enough time for a retake."
"But, th-that's not fair!" I interject.
"He's right, Juleka is part of our class too!" Alix adds.
"S-She deserves to be in the photo." Nathaniel joins in.
"Children please, it's-"
"Hello!"
Someone suddenly drops behind us, turning around, I see an Akuma wearing extremely garish makeup and dress, smiling evilly.
"What? Who- Who are you?" The principal demands.
"Nobody's ever noticed me! But those days are over! But from now on, everybody will notice me because everybody will look like me! Time to get a new look!" The Akuma declares, firing two shots at the Principal and the Photographer, turning them into picture perfect copies of herself.
"Soon there will be Reflektas everywhere!" She aims her wrist beam at Alix, Nathaniel and I.
I gulp, this isn't good-
The three of us let out panicked screams as the beam hits us, turning us into Reflekta lookalikes.
Opening my hands, I look at my hands, they look exactly the same as the Akuma.
Oh no!
Reaching into my chest, I panic at the missing Miraculous pen tucked away in it.
I can't transform!
"Julian! Are you okay?" I jump at Alix's voice, turning to see another Reflekta looking at me worriedly.
"I'm- I'm fine!" I lie. "We have to get out of here! C'mon!" I start running to the door.
"Julian- Wait! I- OW!"
I stop with a gasp, looking at my best friends with wide eyes. Alix and Nathaniel had tripped over themselves and fell onto the floor.
"What happened!?" I ask frantically.
The person who I assume is Alix lifts her head up to glare at me. "Did you seriously not feel that? We're wearing high heels!"
"What?" I ask in confusion, looking down and-
Oh.
"Technically, they're platforms." I say.
"What? Julian, how can you-"
"There's no time, c'mon!" I help the two of them up. "Keep your back straight and walk small steps, make sure to watch where you're walking and don't underestimate the extra height from the heels." I advise.
"What the hell! How do you know so much about walking in heels!" Alix complains as she walks towards me with Nathaniel, both wincing in pain.
I blush, hoping that the Reflekta disguise hides it. "Uh… YouTube, and my mom's extensive shoes wardrobe."
Turning around, I notice with dismay that the entrance to the school had been barricaded with lockers.
"Oh c'mon! All that walking for nothing!" Alix complains. I give her a small glare.
"It's fine, there should be another exit-"
"Faon!"
Letting out a gasp, I was tackled into a hug by a sudden blond boy in black spandex.
"Ch-Chat Noir?" I ask.
"I was so worried that you wouldn't show up!" The boy continues, hugging me closer.
"U-um…" I trail off, extremely uncomfortable.
"What's happening?" I hear Nathaniel ask, confused.
"I have no idea- Hey! Chat Noir!" Alix shouts, getting the hero's attention. "Why are you calling Julian Faon? Did the Akuma hit you on the head or something?"
The blond looks shocked. "Wh- Julian?" He turns to look at me.
I wince. "Y-Yeah, I'm Julian…" I say, because I am Julian, I just can't transform.
"Oh." The cat hero finally lets me go, a faint blush on his cheeks. "Sorry! You just, you kind of sound like-"
Suddenly a beam strikes him right in the back, turning him into a copy of Reflekta.
"Chat!" I yelp, stopping him from falling over.
"Much better! I hate cats!" The Akuma appears from behind us.
"Everyone stand back." The used to be cat hero raises his hands in the air. "Cataclysm!" He yells, but just like that one move in Pokémon.
Nothing happens.
"Huh? Wh-" Chat checks his hands. "My ring! My Miraculous! It's gone!" He says.
"Huh." Nathaniel says.
"Wow." I say.
" Seriously? Man what a waste of an Akuma." Alix comments drily, Nat and I nodding in agreement, how can Hawk Moth get his Miraculous now?
"Now's not the time." Chat reprimands. "C'mon, follow me." He instructs, starting a run-
And falling flat on his face.
"Chat!" The three of us yell, hurriedly making our way to him and helping him up.
"Seriously…" The cat hero laments, glaring at his new shoes. "Who invented these things!?"
"Maybe Julian can teach you, since he learned it on YouTube ." Alix says with a sarcastic flourish.
I glare at her. "I did learn it on YouTube, there are tutorials on- Nevermind." I say, looking at the blond. "What were you planning on doing? Let me help."
Chat looks hesitant, but decides against it, whispering his plan in my ear.
"Okay, got it." I nod, turning around and running towards the locker room, cracking the door open to see a bunch of Reflekta lookalikes hiding in fear.
"Hey." I say. "Do you guys want to go back to normal? Listen up." I quickly explain the plan. "Chat Noir says that there's strength in numbers, and we have to help Ladybug." I finish, relieved that mostly everyone agreed to help out. Even if Ladybug and I are at odds, letting her fight against an Akuma alone leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
Gathering the victims of Reflekta, I exit the room to see three other Reflekta look alikes standing there.
"Julian! Did you do it?" One of them asks and- oh, that's Chat.
I nod. "Yeah, here you go, Chat Noir's Army." I gesture to a crowd of determined Akuma copies.
"Perfect! Alright everyone, follow me!" The cat hero instructs, leading all of us to the entrance.
"Damn Julian, good job with the public speaking." Alix compliments, nudging me in the shoulders.
"Huh?" I say and- Oh, right, I did just talk to a bunch of people, without freaking out too. "I-It's only cause I was technically wearing a mask…" I admit, scratching the back of my head awkwardly.
As the group approaches the entrance, Ladybug suddenly appears, on the defensive as the Akuma slowly approaches her.
"Soon, like everyone else you will look just like me!" Reflekta says, grabbing Ladybug's arm as she tries to hit her. "But first, I'm gonna take your earrings as a trophy!"
"Time to face off!" Chat shouts, distracting the Akuma as she looks at us with surprise.
"Catch her!"
We charge at her, trying to grab her as she cartwheels away.
"You're no match for me Ladybug, this will all be over soon for you!" The Akuma threatens before leaping away.
I sigh in relief, thank gods, no one got hurt.
"Everyone seems to be crowding Ladybug huh?" Alix comments, looking a the group of students walking up to her.
I shrug. "Eh, make sense, she would know what to do after all."
"I dunno about that…" Alix says, sitting next to me to catch her breath.
"What do you mean?" I ask, giving her a confused look.
She just shrugs in return. "Call me biased, but if Faon Vert can't get along with Ladybug, then there's got to be something wrong with her, right?"
I gulp. "I-I think you're putting too much thought into it…" I mumble, looking away guiltily. The last thing I want is for people to be mad at the spotted superheroine.
Suddenly Ladybug leaves the place, along with a Reflekta lookalike whom I assume is Chat Noir. I sigh again.
"Alright everyone!" I grab their attention. "We need to move the lockers out of the way so that we can get out in case she comes back." I point towards the door. "Once that's done, just go home and hide, okay? The ladybugs will find you regardless, uh, I think…" I add.
Quickly corralling the people into group and working together to clear the door of debris. As soon as the door opens, the entire school of people come pouring out, running out of their school and straight home.
Watching everyone run, I take a seat by the steps and letting out another sigh.
I miss Ossi.
It's so stupid, since it's barely been a couple hours, but the two of us have gotten so close that I can't ever imagine us apart anymore. I wonder if Chat and Ladybug feel the same way about their Kwamis.
Is it just the universe making sure that I don't go back on my word? I mean, I did say that I would leave the team, but I'm not going to go out of my way to avoid transforming and helping them out…
If an Akuma is attacking somewhere that I'm in, of course I would jump into action. I'm just not going to actively check the internet for strange criminal activity anymore, that's all there is to it.
Ladybug probably wouldn't like that, would probably say something about how I'm making it easier for Hawk Moth to narrow down my secret identity or whatever, which will be a whole new thing.
Not like it matters anymore I suppose, now that Ladybug, Chat Noir and the rest of Paris think Faon Vert is just that petty.
Is this how it would feel from now on? As I sit by the sidelines and watch as my teammates risk everything to protect Paris? Just so I can be selfish enough to not do that same?
What was that about me finally making up my mind? What bullshit, all that sleeping and energy and confidence was me in denial from the start. I was trying to delude myself into thinking that I was happy about it from the start.
"Feeling tired?" I jump at the other voice, turning around to see two more Reflektas giving me concerned looks.
I shrug. "Kind of… Today has just been, a stressful day." I admit, before giving them a glare. "What are you to still doing here? I thought I said to go home."
One of the copies shrugs, sounding like Alix. "Yeah well, we have the right to ignore stupid requests. Besides, this Akuma is pretty weak honestly."
"She didn't take Chat's ring before turning him." The one sounding like Nathaniel adds. "Judging by the list so far, I still think Puppeteer is the strongest."
Wincing, I scratch the back of my head, remembering that fateful day. " Tell me about it. Every time I think of that fight, I keep wondering what would happen if the Evillustrator made it to her. He could've made her more dolls if you think about it."
"Shh! Don't give Jerk Moth any ideas." Alix chastises as the three of us laugh.
I hesitate slightly, clearing my throat. "Why'd you think Faon Vert didn't show up?" I ask cautiously.
"I dunno." Alix shrugs. "He probably didn't want to butt heads with Ladybug anymore. From what I know he doesn't like conflict all that much, so doing what he did probably took a lot out of him and he didn't want a repeat of that."
"I see…" I trail off. "Did- Did you think what he did was… The right thing to do?" I ask again. "B-Because, he's basically sacrificing everyone else to help the few people he cares about, right?" I press on.
Alix looks conflicted and doesn't say anything, I sigh.
"Whatever he does, we'll understand." I jump at Nathaniel's voice, the soft-spoken boy adds with quiet determination. "I mean, I won't get mad at him, if what he did what he thought was right." He says.
"T-That's…"
Exactly what I needed to hear. I think to myself, squeezing my eyes shut.
Right after that, a swarm of ladybugs come pouring, covering us and turning us back to normal as we collectively let out relieved sighs.
"Oh it feels so good to be in sneakers again!" Alix exclaims, hugging her knees close. "When I get home, I'm gonna go skating!"
I take a deep breathe. "I think I'm just… going to go home." I admit quietly, might as well get some sleep before patrol tonight.
My two best friends share a look, before nodding. "Okay, let us know if you need anything, okay?" Nathaniel offers.
Giving them a smile, I wave them back into the school as I send a text to my chauffeur to pick me up.
"Julian…?"
Snapping my head up, I notice Ossi floating in front of me.
"Kid, didcha have any idea what just hap-"
"Ossi!" I squeal with glee, pulling him into a tight hug.
"Kid- Can't- Breath!" The Kwami chokes out as I release him, pouting.
"Don't even start, you're an immortal creature and- Nevermind! Hurry up and breathe so I can hug you again!" I plead brightly.
Ossi sighs good-naturedly before flying back into my grasp.
We hugged until my chauffeur finally arrives. I smile at Ossi immediately diving into my hoodie, even though I was in a slump for a while there, seeing Ossi again really brought my spirits back up.
Even if I'm all alone, as long as there's people who need me, I'll never stop.
After arriving back home and taking a much needed nap, I prepare myself for that night's patrol, making sure my room is properly locked and that my dad doesn't want to do anything special.
"Hey, Julian." Ossi calls from the bed as I turn to him.
"What's up?"
"You got a couple photos from the class chat." Ossi says, bringing my phone to me.
"Oh?" I open my phone and click open the classroom chat. To my surprise, inside are the many pictures of mostly everyone from class, Juleka is always in the center of the photo.
"Juleka managed to break the curse, awesome." I inform Ossi, before seeing all photos again with a frown.
"They didn't invite Chloé, or Sabrina..." I realize.
Ossi groans. "So what? The brats didn't exactly earn it."
"But they're part of the class too, maybe if someone tells Chloé that it's not okay, she would understand." I say, looking through the photos again. "Besides, if they were taking so many photos, I'm sure she wouldn't be so mad about sharing Adrien if she gets at least one…"
"Julian..." Ossi sighs.
Frowning, I pocket my phone. "I know I know, I'm overthinking it." I interrupt, glancing at the clock. "We should get ready." I pull out the familiar pen from my pocket. "Ossi, Horns Drawn!"
-A Couple Hours Later-
I let out a quiet hum as I finish the last of my patrol on top of the Eiffel Tower, opening my packaged box of supper that I had stashed here and letting the sounds of Paris wash over me. Feeling for a piece of sushi, I plop one in my mouth, chewing quietly as I continue to keep an ear out just in case.
Slow, quiet footsteps from the left.
Immediately snapping my head around, I flash a smile in that direction. "Heya Kitten!"
"F-Faon?" Chat's voice sounds surprised. "Why do you have a blindfold on?"
Oh.
Putting down my supper, I reach behind to pull off the blindfold, giving Chat an embarrassed grin. "Sorry, I was practicing."
The blond looks confused. "Practicing?"
"Yeah!" I pat the floor next to me, indicating for him to sit as the excitement of talking to my teammate again takes over me. "Y'know when someone says if you lose one of your senses, your other senses get stronger?" I hold up the blindfold. "And y'know how I have super hearing, right? Well, if I cover my eyes with something like this, I just have to sit in a few parts of Paris and I would've covered everywhere." I brag.
The cat hero looks incredibly impressed. "Really?"
"Yeah!" I give him a bright smile. "It was a little freaky at first, but I'm learning how to tune out the unimportant things."
"That's amazing…" Chat says in awe.
Blushing at the sincere compliment, I distract myself by picking my lunch off the floor. "It's nothing, I guess the Deer Miraculous is more meant for stuff like this, reconnaissance and versatility." I frown a little. "Although… It was pretty difficult to pick out your sounds, even if you were so close to me. You have really light footsteps, perks of the stealthy Kitten I suppose." I tease.
The blond smiles shyly. "It's… been a while since you called me that." He notes.
"Oh." I gulp, crap did I mess things up? "S-Sorry, I didn't make you uncomfortable, did I? I'll-"
"N-No! Not at all! It's fine, really." He reassures with a flush.
I give him a once over, wondering if he actually means that, but decide to let it go. "Okay. Kitten." I tease, eating another piece of sushi and laughing a little at his deepening blush.
"You want some?" I offer him my box of sushi. "Nothing raw I'm afraid, can't leave fish in the open for so long…"
"Oh, no thank you, I-" The blond pauses as he looks at the contents. "Is this… From that Japanese restaurant near Le Grand Paris?" He asks in surprise. "That place is really good!"
"Isn't it?" I push the box into his hands. "Have some." I insist.
"W-Well, if you say so…" Chat crosses his legs, balancing the food box on his lap before digging in.
I let out a relaxed sigh, closing my eyes and letting my hearing run wild again. No screams of terror or angry yelling so far, seems like another peaceful night.
"Hey, Faon?" Chat pipes up.
"Hmm?" I open my eyes, turning to him.
He swallows his food. "Why… can't you and Ladybug get along?" He finally asks.
I sigh, already expecting this. "I wouldn't say that it's because of just one reason…" I start, awkwardly messing around with my coat. "It just sort of, escalated. Ladybug didn't want me to abuse my powers, but she wasn't honest about it, and then I notice how her stubbornness can sometimes lead to reckless actions… And then the whole 'you can't visit anyone as Faon.'" I try to imitate Ladybug's voice to ease the tension a little, it didn't work.
Hugging my knees closer to my chest, I continue. "And then before I knew it, we were just, butting heads every time we met." I give the blond a sad smile. "We were lucky that it didn't affect our ability to defeat Akumas so far, but, it would only get worse, ya know?"
"But!" Chat interrupts. "You didn't have to-to leave ." He says, sounding pained.
I look away. "No, I-" I take a deep breath. "I had to."
"What? Why?"
" Because ." I glare at the blond. "Ladybug didn't want me to visit my fawns at first, so I didn't, for one month. And when Puppeteer attacked, guess what happened?" I gesture to the city. "Nathaniel got re-Akumatized anyways!" I sigh in frustration. "After that, it was like a wake up call. Ladybug doesn't always know best."
I trail off, that's really it isn't it? I'm just tired of Ladybug acting like she's in the right all the time. We're the same age! Maybe, listen to us every once in a while and not act so high and mighty with her advice. Or, I don't know, explain why she thinks something's a bad idea instead of being all logical, emotionless-robot about it. Maybe I would be able to tolerate it more.
"I'm sorry." I end up saying, surprising the cat hero. "I didn't want to tell you this, because you like, love her and stuff-"
"What? Faon, wait."
"And I didn't want to make you choose, you know?"
"Faon-"
"And gods whenever the two of us fought you always have this kicked puppy look that makes me feel like shit. I mean, I get it, when you like someone and they're getting yelled at it-"
" Faon!"
I jump at the pair of hands grabbing my shoulders and shaking me out of my ramblings.
"Faon, I don't like Ladybug anymore." Chat admits.
"What?" I ask, in shock.
The blond blushes before shrugging. "I-I, you know. After being rejected so many times, it just, fizzled out?" He says, sounding unsure.
I swallow, feeling nauseous. "This isn't… Because of anything I said, right?"
"What?" He looks at me with wide eyes. " No! Not at all!" He shakes his head wildly. "It's definitely not! Believe me." He places a hand on his chest. "I just, realized that she would never like me, that's all. Besides…" He blushes and looks away. "I… I think I might have feelings for someone else."
Huh?
"Really?" I ask.
" R-Really ." He repeats nervously.
"I-I see…" I poke around my food awkwardly, the blond not saying anything else.
Dammit, this is all my fault, I made things all awkward again.
"You know…" I start quietly. "You need to be careful." I say.
The cat hero looks taken aback. "Wh-why?"
I shrug. "Because, pretty much everyone knows that you used to be in love with Ladybug, right?" I clear my throat before continuing. "You need to be careful, or else, this new person you like might feel like some kind of rebound."
" What?" Chat says, horrified. "That- He- They're not gonna-"
"It's okay Chat, I know you don't mean it that way." I close up my supper, no longer hungry. "There's just been way too many movies where it ends up like that." I pause for a moment. "I mean, if it were me, I probably can't help but be insecure about it, but that might be because Ladybug and I are kind of at odds right now…" I try to joke, but for some reason that just made it worse. Chat Noir lowers his head in shame, not looking at me anymore.
Something painful twists in my gut, regretting that I said this in the first place.
"Hey, Chat, it's alright." I double back. "I'm sure that whoever you like won't feel that way at all, I'm just kind of dumb and have to use movies for everything."
" Stop. " He says, voice broken and sad.
"You're not dumb, don't say that…" He mumbles, standing up. "Sorry, I have to go." He says again.
I frown, reaching for him. "Chat, wait-"
"Bye Faon." He says before diving off the tower, reminding of when I did the same.
"Dammit." I curse, falling flat on my back and staring at the sky.
"Why am I so bad at talking to people!" I scream.
