A Monday began the new week, and Adrien was once again back at school. Now that it was October, he had firmly adjusted to his last year of lycée, or high school. The workload was slowly picking up, but thankfully, he had gotten used to it.

His first class was Accounting with Mr. Wayzz. So far, he enjoyed accounting because he liked working with numbers and spreadsheets. If he was going to take over his father's fashion business one day, he would have to learn how to run it. That was one of the few things he actually wanted to do in life instead of doing something he only did because his father chose that path for him. It also helped that Mr. Wayzz had his occasional moments of being cool and relaxed. This was when he wasn't giving a lesson and making sure the students understood the material. He also seemed quite young. Though Adrien had his fair share of cool teachers in the past, they were a bit older.

Though he had felt a bit stressed waking up on Monday morning, he made sure he was looking forward to his Accounting class. Having taught himself how to have laser focus whenever he needed to keep Ladybug out of his mind, he made sure to just focus on the lesson and answer all the questions.

He had been so engrossed in his work that he was surprised that the period had already ended, and he scrambled to pack his bag and go to his next class.


Before he knew it, it was lunch time, and Adrien sat at one of the benches in the hallway. He was joined by Nino, Alya, and their friend, Marinette –– whom Adrien sat next to. They were also joined by Chloe. She had a sandwich, so she didn't mind standing. If you had told Adrien 4 years ago that Chloe was going to be part of his friend group, he would've laughed in your face. The blonde girl used to be a big bully and a spoiled girl back then, but now, she had redeemed herself before starting high school when she helped him and Marinette against an even bigger bully who annoyingly spread fake rumors about people. He was relieved that she stopped flirting with him, though she still sometimes jokingly and playfully called him "Adrikins", which was the nickname she always used.

"Did you guys see Chat Noir and Ladybug's stream on Friday?" said Nino.

"I did," said Alya. "I know Adrien and Marinette did because they're so devoted to those guys."

"I watched some of it," said Chloe.

"Dude, it looks like Chat Noir is making more moves on Ladybug," Nino teased Adrien. "You have no chance at competing. You don't even talk to her."

"Yeah, you have a point," Adrien played along. "I should probably let go sooner or later."

"Well, do whatever suits you, man," said Alya. "If you wanna stay single for a while, then do that."

"I would find it hard to balance a relationship with everything else in my life," said Adrien. "I won't be done modeling anytime soon, and I still need to take more fencing and Mandarin classes. My father wouldn't want me to date."

"Well, if you're ready to make a move on someone, make sure you know her in real life," said Marinette.

When the bell rang, they went their separate ways. Adrien headed to Pre-Calculus with Nino.

"Dude, you should let go of Ladybug and make a move on Marinette," said Nino.

"What are you talking about? She's just a friend," said Adrien.

"Are you serious? You've been saying that forever. I think Marinette would be good for you."

"Whatever."

They then sat in the classroom. This was another class that Adrien enjoyed and was easy if he worked hard. He was interested in the material, though, so he was more willing to grind.


It was the end of the school day. After Adrien grabbed everything from his locker, he walked out of the school's front entrance. He saw Marinette sitting with Luka, one of their friends. Luka was playing his acoustic guitar, and they were both singing with smiles on their faces. Adrien felt his chest tighten a bit as he stopped to look but thought nothing of it as he hopped into his car and drove to his fencing class. For now, he had more important things to think about.

He saw his school friend Kagami upon arriving. He had a bit of feelings for her which had been on and off for 2 years. She could be someone he could go for –– though for some reason, he thought it was better to go for Ladybug. His friends thought his feelings for Ladybug were pointless. Of course, they didn't know his true identity.

Class ended and Adrien was tired and sweaty, but he was in good spirits, and he was glad to have spent the time with Kagami. He then went home, did some homework, and finally had dinner. It was a rare time when his father joined him. For a few years, it was three meals a week at best, but recently he joined more often on weekends. Adrien didn't like eating alone for so long. Most of the time, he would grab his food, eat alone, and retreat into his room.

He and his father Gabriel were joined by the assistant, Nathalie, and Adrien's bodyguard and personal driver, Gilbert –– though Adrien nicknamed him "Gorilla" thanks to his large build.

"How was school today?" Gabriel asked. His tone wasn't the warmest. Not even close.

"It was great, Father," said Adrien. "I've been enjoying accounting a lot. I also had my fencing class which was a good way to unwind."

"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself," said Gabriel, showing the slightest hints of a smile. "Whatever it takes to help run the company in the future."

Adrien was glad that he had grown to enjoy a few things his father put him through. It wasn't like he was forced to do everything. He grew to like the idea of taking over his father's company one day. It wasn't always like this when he was younger. Before, he had to learn the piano and, over time, he didn't enjoy it. Although at least his father let him stop learning it 3 years ago. He wasn't that big of a music person. Maybe some parts of his personality were hardcoded into him. No amount of hard training would make him enjoy the piano, even if he played well.

"Speaking of that, I've been trying to work more efficiently to try getting more things done early so that I can free up extra time," said Gabriel. "It's how I'm here more often."

"Well, I'm glad to hear that," said Adrien.

"Looks like your father's journey in improving himself is going somewhere, isn't it, Adrien?" Nathalie asked.

"Agreed," said Adrien.

"You might not be used to seeing me around more, but I'll make more of an effort," said Gabriel. "I can't keep doing this to you. You know how hard it's been since Mom left, but that doesn't excuse the poor job I've done raising you."

"I appreciate that," said Adrien, putting away his plate and going up to his room.

Adrien flopped onto his bed to think about what had just happened, surprised that his father was really changing. He had not really been a good parent since his mother walked out of the family to be with another man when Adrien was 12. His father had been understandably hurt by that lack of loyalty. Adrien realized that his father buried himself in work to forget the pain. It wasn't the best way to cope, but at least he didn't need to deal with his father being drunk or worse. Gabriel had seemed cold and distant, though, as if to protect himself from forming bonds with people. When he put in extra work in his business, it earned them more money, but it was pointless, as they had been rich before Adrien was born.

Adrien logged onto his PC to edit his videos to have some fun and entertainment. His father spent a few thousand euros to get him his gaming setup. At least he had the decency to help Adrien build the PC and put everything else together. It was probably the best moment he had with his father ever since his mother left.

Material wealth wasn't always the key to happiness. Call it a cliché, that the rich people are the ones saying that, but clearly it was true to Adrien's life. People would say that he shouldn't have anything to be depressed about because he was too rich. Being rich didn't matter if your family was broken, and it didn't help relieve him from the resulting stress. His father bought him a lot of stuff that he liked, but he wasn't present often. Money was no substitute for love.

He had barely remembered his mother. It took him a lot of time and effort to forgive her, knowing that she wasn't sorry for what she did and wasn't interested in coming back. She walked out for a reason. When he chose to get past his feelings of anger, sadness, and insecurity, he felt free –– like he had control of his life again. He never understood why she left, as she had been fine as a mother, having taught him a lot of things. When she left, he wondered if he wasn't good enough for people, or if he was a failure and didn't deserve love or respect. To this day, he still had other insecurities that weren't caused by his mother leaving.

It was a good thing Nathalie was there to take care of him when needed. At least he had some positive female figure in his life. He was fighting to make sure his parental neglect didn't mess him up. Although he took longer to learn social skills, he had lasting friendships. He may have seemed cold and distant sometimes, and often preferred to be alone; instead, being focused on his hobbies that he enjoyed by himself. Another side of him was a more compassionate side, though he preferred to spend quality time with friends and valued fun, rather than winning them over with his money. Most of the time, he didn't pay for his friends whenever they went out to eat or do things that cost money.

After a while, he finished editing a video that he planned to upload on Wednesday. It was a 10-minute-long montage of his Valorant highlights. He had also uploaded a video today which was an episode of Elden Ring. It was quite an enjoyable game because of the story and interesting map, though he had a lot of frustrating moments. The episodes were always edited so the viewer didn't have to see him die dozens of times per video.

After a few hours of browsing the internet and listening to music, Adrien logged off and went to bed.