CHAPTER 10 – I'VE GOT YOU PEGGED

Nathalie Sancoeur stood in the dining room. Two places had been set in anticipation of the two boys arriving for breakfast. Though the actual breakfast would be formally served once the boys were seated, two glasses of freshly pressed orange juice already stood on the table. The glasses were misty with condensation as the moist summer air caressed the icy cold containers.

Nathalie was glanced over her shoulder to check that she was alone. She was.

She reached into her jacket and pulled out a small vial of the vibrant red potion that she had administered to Félix and his mother a few days ago. Nathalie had already added a large dose to Amelie's drip, ensuring that she would remain unconscious for now. This dose was much smaller though, just enough to make the recipient feel a little unwell.

Glancing over her shoulder once more, she emptied the vial into Félix's glass. The potion magically disappeared, leaving no trace. Nathalie smiled to herself. The boys would be down in about five minutes. Both would have good appetites and had a full schedule ahead of them.

-000-

Because nobody was really talking to him, Félix was able to sit as a silent observer of Adrien's school friends. He had always been good at detecting the social undercurrents and it was entertaining to work out who fitted in where. The knowledge would also probably stand him in good stead later, it was always useful to know what made people "tick".

Most of the class were easy to read.

There was Kim – brash, arrogant, competitive. Someone who would probably fall apart once he experienced failure.

Rose – the hopeless romantic who would collapse if her rose-coloured view of life was shattered.

Juleka, the class goth who tried to appear aloof but who secretly loved the company of her girlfriends.

Max, the intellectual who appeared above mundane social relations but who was so desperate for friendship that he had built a robotic friend.

The list went on. Félix saw it all, the furtive glances Nathaniel stole at Marinette, the quiet blush of Nino when Alya complimented him, the sly manipulation of Lila and the glances she stole at Adrien.

Some of the class members were a little more challenging.

Félix knew Chloé socially, she had often played with him and Adrien when they were younger. Anyone would peg her as a cold, domineering socialite, but Félix looked deeper. Her comments were always designed to break others down. With a view to building herself up? Not a dominant socialite, but a girl with deep insecurities. Someone whose "perfect" existence was not as secure as it seemed? But why?

What was it she always said? "Ridiculous. Utterly Ridiculous!" Ahh. Her famous mother's catch phrase. Someone striving to achieve parental recognition? Someone lacking a full family? Hmmm.

Alya was strong, loyal but opinionated. Félix watched her support her friend Marinette when Chloé made a snide remark. Her only weakness appeared to be her focus on the end-goal without considering the consequences of how she got there. Alya was oblivious to the fact that her defense of Marinette had left Chloé glowering. When Lila made mention of talking to Ladybug Alya fell for her lies hook, line and sinker in the hope of getting a scoop for her Ladyblog. She never stopped to even consider the truth of the statements.

In fact only two people in the class seemed to have seen through Lila's web of deception.

The first was Marinette Dupain-Cheng. An intriguing character. Goofy, awkward and disorganized, she was a typical do-gooder. Always giving of herself and trying to be nice to everyone. It made him sick to his stomach. This characteristic was also her greatest weakness. He watched her stare unashamedly at his cousin and collapse into a quivering pile of giggling embarrassment every time Adrien spoke to her. Clearly she was hopelessly in love with him. It was also evident that she couldn't tell him how she felt in case she offended him or hurt him. By putting Adrien's safety in front of her own possible happiness she doomed herself to a life of lovelessness.

Yet a girl who superficially was a love-struck fool had seen through Lila where others had not. Her eyes had narrowed in anger as the lies tumbled from Lila's mouth and her knuckles turned white as she gripped her pencil ever tighter. A core of steel then beneath the façade. There was more to her than a loveable klutz. She was someone to watch out for.

The other person who had seen through Lila was Adrien. Again this was a surprise. Adrien seemed completely oblivious to Marinette's affections, a proverbial innocent whose lack of social savvy meant that he could not pick up on even this most obvious social current. Yet as Lila prated on Adrien saw right through her. He rolled his eyes and shook his head to himself, not being taken in for a second. He glanced over at Marinette's scowl, put his hand on her arm and winked at her with a smile of understanding on his face. The signs of irritation left Marinette's face and she smiled sweetly back at Adrien, who turned back to his work. Could he not see her affection for him?

Félix focused on his cousin for the next few minutes. Adrien's easy nature with his classmates showed the value that he placed in friendship, yet for all his charm and easy nature Félix could see him raising invisible walls to protect himself from being too close to others. Unsurprising given the hurt that Adrien must have felt at the loss of his beloved mother. Though he craved friendship above all, at the same time he feared being hurt by being in too-close a relationship. "Even if he knew about Marinette I don't think he could act on it" thought Félix to himself.

It seemed he had found Mr Perfection's Achilles heel. His cousin would fall apart if a close relationship was lost. But how to act on it? Félix sat back to ponder as the school day ground on.