(Monday)
Ring Ring Ring. Waking up I tiredly get out of bed, getting ready for the new day sluggishly and with my eyes half closed most of the time. About to leave my house to head to school Pluto flies out of my bag and asks
"Are you okay Caleb" his tone sounding concerned for my well being
"Yeah, i'm totally fine just not running at peak efficiency that's all" I say yawning, for some reason I just feel extremely drained. Pluto goes back into my bag even though he is still worried about me, once he is settled I head out the front door and on my way to school. Shuffling my feet instead of actual walking I eventually make it to school and get to class a few minutes before the bell allowing me a few moments to put down my head and rest.
"Caleb will you please wake up class is starting" jolting awake I realize that I fell asleep and slept through the bell signaling class to begin
"I'm awake, just a little tired' I say slowly pulling out my notes, seriously what is wrong with me, maybe i'm just tired from the akuma attack yesterday I think, my subconscious however knows that isn't it and that I must be exhausted from something else but I ignore that train of thought. About a quarter of the way into class I start to fall asleep but I quickly catch myself and mentally wake myself up, then I started to fall asleep and this time I almost didn't notice my eyes starting to droop but the moment I do I force them back open refusing to fall asleep. Which keeps getting harder and harder until the teacher right next to my seat and raps a ruler against my desk.
"Caleb if you wish to sleep in my class than you can go take a nap in the principal's office" the teacher says sternly
"No, i'm good now, trust me" I say fully aware that there is a good chance I am going to the principal's office today. When the teacher walks back to the front of the class Pluto suddenly whispers from my bag
"Don't worry I got you Caleb" as he says this he flies out of my bag unseen and lands on the back of my head where no will see him, confused I ignore him turning my attention back to the teacher. A few minutes later I of course start to give in and doze off when I feel Pluto give a sharp tug on a strand of hair pulling.
"Ow, what are you doing" I whisper so only Pluto will hear me
"Keeping you awake" he says pulling on my hair again. The rest of class was filled with me trying to stay awake and Pluto pulling my hair making sure I actually stay awake. By the end of class my mood has gotten considerably worse and I feel exponentially worse. Adrien walking over to me so he can start the lesson for today takes one look at me and says
"Caleb you should see a doctor" his voice not holding any humor in it
"I'm fine, I am just having a ruff day" I say weakly while also pleased with the joke that of course I only understand, well me and a disappointed Pluto I think, i'm pretty sure I heard the little kwami sigh.
"Well today I will just go over stuff you already know since anything new probably won't stick" Adrien says knowing that my stubbornness will win if he tries to insist I go home. Lessons today went very slowly as I struggled to remember even the most basic information that I swear I knew just yesterday. When the lesson was over Adrien told me I should head home and get some rest before he left for some photoshoot he had to do for his father, walking home Pluto acted like a seeing eye dog sitting on my shoulder partially obscured from any prying eyes he told me when I was about to walk into something since I could barely keep my eyes open. Getting home I walk to my room and fall face first into my bed
"Plut can you get the thermometer it should be in a cabinet somewhere in the kitchen" I say my voice muffled by my bed. When Pluto returns with the thermometer I check my temperature, yep I am running a fever "Pluto what am I going to do if there is an akuma" I say despairing over my situation and trying to ignore the fact that I feel like my entire body feels on fire.
"Don't worry about that Caleb you just think about resting and getting better" Pluto says trying to comfort me by cracking open a window hoping a nice breeze will help lower my temperature. Falling asleep I soon find myself inside a fever dream.
(Fever dream time)
Raising my head of my desk I see my best friend from my home town Braden about to poke me with a pencil, "Hey Ruff Rider or should I say Caleb, wake up it's about to start" he says
"What are you doing in Paris how did you know I was Ruff Rider" I ask confused
"What do you mean Paris we're in America like we always have been" Braden says looking at me oddly
"Yeah that's right I live in the good ole USA" I say turning to back to my french teacher, wait I don't take french, looking around I see several things that look off "Braden why am I in a french class"
"Because you're learning french why else" he says like everything is okay
"Because I am taking spanish classes" I say getting up out of my seat and head for the door knowing something is wrong when Braden grabs my arm
"Don't you want to stay in America where all your friends are, where everything that you know is, where I am" Braden says letting go of my arm. Looking from Braden to the door everything tells me to stay and enjoy the time have here when all of sudden Braden isn't there but my parents who push me through the door. Finding myself underneath the Eiffel Tower I look around and see a very angry Alya
"How could you lie to me like that, I thought you were amazing Ruff Rider but you're not, you're just Caleb" she yells
"What do you mean" I ask before turning around and seeing a disappointed Adrien
"Man Caleb who knew you were so pathetic I only am pretending to be your friend you know that right, I felt bad for you so I handed you a handout and now look, i'm stuck teaching you French every week" Adrien says sneering. Trying to run away I run straight into Ruff Rider who shoves me to the ground
"You'll never be as good as your alter-ego, you're not as brave or strong as me, Alya doesn't care about Caleb she's only friends with Ruff Rider. You just want to be accepted but how can anyone here ever accept you if your mind is still over in America" Ruff Rider says standing over me.
"I KNOW ALRIGHT" I shout "I know i'm not what people expect or any where close, and i'm ashamed that everyday I wonder what it would be like if I never moved but guess what" I say standing up now feeling empowered "I wouldn't change a thing." The last thing I see is Ruff Rider, Alya, and Adrien all looking at me approvingly.
(Back to reality)
"Caleb wake up you're having a nightmare" Pluto says shaking me awake, getting my surrounding I see that it was all a dream, sighing I reach for a glass of water Pluto got me I notice that I am sweating, "Are you okay Caleb you were shouting in your sleep." Setting the glass down I say
"I'm fine, my fever addled brain just made me face a few things that I kept locked away" I say feeling a little better.
"Well your fever went down a tiny bit but you're still sick and I after looking on the internet, odds are you have a cold so by tomorrow you should only have a cough or maybe a runny nose" Pluto says flying in front.
"Thanks Pluto but if you don't mind I want to check the LadyBlog for any updates" I say standing up shakily and walking over to my computer. Scrolling through the LadyBlog I see that Alya posted about a bakery with amazing macarons and I realize that she was inviting me to hang out at the bakery using our secret code, feeling bad about missing it I message Alya through the LadyBlog
'Sorry for not being there i'm not feeling too well and I have been asleep for the past few hours'
Waiting for a response I get one immediately 'Ruff Rider why didn't you tell me sooner you were sick how about we hang out tomorrow and I bring some soup'
Sending a response back with a stupid grin plastered to my face I reply 'I'm feeling better already' of course what I don't see is Alya getting my message and faintly blushing.
'Sounds like a deal' Alya writes back
'Deal' going to bed I can't help but already feel a million times better. My sleep that night was peaceful as more dreams were filled with my friends old and new, and they all accepted me for who I was.
I am Caleb and Ruff Rider, I used to see myself as either one but never as both. Now I see only me with or without the mask on.
(Woohoo, Caleb was forced to face some inner demons but prevailed even more confident and headstrong. Accepting that the past can't change, embracing the future, and finally living in the present. Like always please leave any suggestions or ideas or if you want just tell me what you think so far. Knowing that there are people out there reading this allows me to sit down for two hours straight and write a chapter, words cannot express how much you readers mean to me, if I could give you readers the world I would.)