Hello! Than you all for the amazing comments! I hope you enjoy this chapter! Longest one so far! 4,500 words about, and 13 pages! I hope this was worth the wait. Thank you all again. Please leave comments, predictions, hopes, dreams, critiques, and any other thing you would want to share in a review or comment. I don't know how to explain how nice you all are. Thank you. Traditional Twist
Chapter 7
Alya was ready to scream. She had left the screen for no more than two minutes and she had received confirmation. This was unbelievable. The reporter wanted to run down the hallway and drag Nino back into the room to show him what had happened, but then she remembered the response time; two minutes.
If the reporter hurried she realized she may be able to catch Bug1 while they were still online. She furiously typed away at her keyboard, pressing enter with a lightning speed.
Hey Bug1,
If you are really the one and only Ladybug, how are miraculous powered?"
-A
This was another question that she was certain only three people knew the answer to; herself, Chat Noir, and Ladybug. Alya stared at the computer screen for eight minutes. She refreshed the screen every minute.
Kwami
That was the response. Alya had found Ladybug...sort of. Now she needed to keep Ladybug talking.
Ladybug! I can't believe it is you! Where have you been? Everyone misses you.
Alya waited. Six minutes later there was a response.
Bug1: I don't think everyone misses me. I think everyone is mad at me.
Alya frowned.
Alya: Why? You saved Paris from so many evils.
Bug1: i no
Alya: So why would they hate you?
Bug1: Idk
Alya: You're not making any sense. Can we meet? I will meet you somewhere private. I will climb the Eiffel tower if I need to.
Bug1: I can't. I can't leave.
Alya: Why? You are Ladybug. You can leave.
Bug1: It's not that easy
Alya: I don't understand
Bug1: I can't explain. I'm already breaking a lot of rules.
Alya: What rules? Who makes rules for Ladybug?
Bug1: I can't say any more. I trust You Alya. I know you can find Ladybug.
Alya: But aren't you Ladybug
Bug1: Yes and No
Alya: How can you be yes and no? You either are or you are not.
Bug1: You will see Ladybug soon. You just don't know who she is. I know you will find Ladybug soon. She's not well. I wish I could tell you. I have to go now.
Alya: Wait! Don't leave yet. I don't understand.
The reporter's response was what was left on the screen. She stared at the time on the computer. It was now half past nine. She had stared at the screen for two hours hoping for one last response. There had been nothing, and Alya was now blending together the emotions of excitement and disappointment into a form of anxiety.
She mulled over the conversation she had just had. Why would Bug1 refer to Ladybug in the third person? What had happened to Ladybug? Why was she so afraid? Whose rules was she following that were keeping her from leaving? Alya closed her laptop and went to bed, hoping she would receive some sort of response that night.
_oOo_
Alya spent Sunday in solitude. The only form of contact she managed to have with the outside world was a text from Nino with the time and location of their dinner date with Marinette and Adrien. The rest of the day was spent researching al past Akumatized victims, and their current occupations.
Alya's goal was to help cross out who could not be Ladybug. It was clear to her not that Chat Noir… Adrien… her blonde friend, had a solid hunch saying that Ladybug knew her. Ladybug clearly knew Adrien. On Monday morning she stumbled upon some old footage of herself waiving a ninth grade history textbook in her arms. Ladybug had dropped it, but throughout the day and the attack by an Akuma the reporter had lost it. That was a larger clue than she had realized.
Alya now knew she would need to track every tenth grade student from her old school down in her history. One by one she began to cross them off her list of possibilities; Nathaniel no, Chloe no. Her list began to grow quite small, and her time limited for the day. She needed to go to Adrien's office to make sure he would come out tonight. The blonde had texted he the address that morning and asked her to arrive early to "drag him away from work" that he could see himself getting lost into. Adrien was expecting her at five that night. Alya wanted to have some more time to talk, so she arrived at four.
A taxi cab dropped the reporter outside of a large office building at four fifteen. She walked into the building's main floor. The secretary at the front gave her a puzzled look. Alya watched her eyes recoil as the woman looked at Alya up and down. Her cuffed skinny jeans and loose plaid shirt didn't impress the secretary, clearly. "Can I help you?"
"Yes, I'm here to see Adrien Agreste. I am early. I was supposed to be here at five."
"Name?"
"Alya Cesaire."
The woman ran one finger down a computer monitor while her other hand quickly strummed her finger against a computer mouse. Her long white tipped nails tapped on her screen. "One moment please." She picked up the desk phone and dialed. "Mr. Agreste, there is an Alya Cesaire here to see you." Alya folded her arms impatiently. "Yes sir. Yes. She said she was to meet you at five. I see. Should I send her away… are you sure? Of course sir."
She hung up the phone. "Mr. Agreste would like to apologize, but he will need you to wait in room 318. Please take the elevator up, turn left and it is your first door on the right."
"Thank you." Alya nodded at the woman and headed towards the elevator. She entered the small space, pressed the three button and followed the instructions to the room.
When Alya arrived to the room she was surprised to the room filled with young women. All tall, skinny, and perfectly polished; the reporter could help to feel a moment of slight self-consciousness. She sat in an empty chair on the opposite side of the room and took her phone out.
"You can't be serious?" A vulgar tone shot from across the room.
Alya looked up. A girl with dark hair, hazel eyes, olive skin and a rather slender physique. The hazel eyes were glaring at the reporter. Alya looked to both sides to see if anyone was staring back. She looked back to the hazel eyed girl and pointed to herself. "Me? yo are talking to me?"
"Don't act dumb," The girl laughed.
"I haven't said anything to you."
"The fact you are even in this room is an insult to me. You didn't need to say anything, your presence was enough. "
"What is your deal?"
"What is my deal? What is your deal? You think you can just walk into a casting call for the Gabriel fashion line looking like that? You have no respect for the brand. "
"Yeah," another girl with dark brown hair and eyes, "This is our passion. Some of us do this for a living. You think you can just waltz in here and try? You don't even fit the measurement standards. Just look at your hips."
"Why do you two need to comment every time someone comes in here?" A blonde from a few chairs away from Alya added in. "You two have been picking at every single girl that has walked in here. Just shut up. Your models; you don't' speak your mind."
"You did not just tell me to shut up," the olive skinned girl shouted.
Suddenly voices began shouting. At first here were three, but a roar grew from several other.
A hand grabbed Alya's arm and pulled her out from the sea of voices and to a calmer section of the room. "You don't want to be a part of that," the owner of the hand stated. Alya looked up to see a pair of chocolate colored eyes, slightly covered by thick curly black hair.
"Thanks," Alya smiled, "man, what got into them?"
"I think they are feeling anxious. We have been in here waiting for at least two hours, and not one person has been called. I've never been to a casting that took this long before, but I also have never tried for such a big label." The girl smiled nervously.
"Two hours! Why is the wait so long?"
"I have no idea."
The reporter stuck out her hand. "I'm Alya."
"Bri," the model shook Aly's hand.
"So is everyone in here a model?"
"Yes, we are auditioning for the casting call for Gabriel fall fashion show."
"A lot of people showed up, how many spots are there?"
"There are ten openings right now."
"But there has to be at least one hundred people here!"
Bri laughed. "It's kind of a big deal. For a lot of models, getting the opportunity to work under Adrien Agreste is a dream come true. He has been in the business so long and has experience doing everything."
"That kid did take his modeling seriously," Alya began to reminisce on missed group meetings because Adrien had a photo shoot.
"Why are you here? You must not be here for the fashion show if you didn't know anything about it."
"I'm an only friend of Adrien's. I thought I'd surprise him by showing up early, but perhaps I have made a mistake. He seems kind of busy."
The door opened. A woman with a black bun, red turtleneck, glasses and a pencil skirt appeared holding a clipboard. "Alya Cesaire," she called out, "Mr. Agreste will see you now." Alya stood up.
The Hazel eyed girl's mouth dropped. "Are you kidding me?"
Alya smiled and turned to her new model companion. "Guess I'm going to have to leave you here with these girls. I will try to see what's keeping him."
"Thank you," Bri waved.
Alya followed the woman with the clipboard to a small office. There was a desk, and two chairs, with lovely watercolor bird paintings on each wall. Another door with an intercom next to it was next to the desk. The woman hit the button on the intercom. "Mr. Agreste, your friend is here."
"Thank you, Nathalie," Adrien's voice responded. The sound of a lock unlatching echoed in the small space, and the door opened. Nathalie pointed to the door. Alya took the hint and opened the door.
As she entered the room the door locked again, and Alya was staring at Adrien Agreste, in a suit, staring at three different computer monitors. In front of him on a large table were different several different sticky notes all in various colors.
"Alya! I didn't expect you so early!" Adrien flashed a smile at her. "As you can see I'm not completely free, but you may have sped up the process."
"Yeah!" PLagg flew into Alya's face arms crossed. "You took all my fun today! I thought we agreed five?"
"We agreed?" Alya questioned.
"Five?" Adrien questioned. "I thought dinner was at six?"
Plagg turned to Adrien. "I told Alya to meet here at five to make sure you were out of her. I'm surprised we don't sleep her more than we do?"
"Plagg, your impersonating me?"
"You sleep here?" Alya questioned.
"I just sent her a text is all," Plagg stated. "It's not like you don't have me doing work behind other people's backs anyway?"
"Woah! Wait, Adrien Agreste doing dirty work?"
"I haven't done that bad." Adrien protested.
"Blackmail isn't the worst thing in the world, kid," Plagg commented. Alya's eyes grew wide. "You were dealt a bad hand. Honestly you beat yourself up too much. The guy was a creep and you know it."
Adrien hung his head. "I wouldn't have used that information if I hadn't learned what a horrible guy he was."
"Who?" Alya asked innocently.
"No one you need to worry about," Adrien looked back up at her. "You can however help me out with this casting call."
"How? I know nothing about modeling."
"But you know about people. You see I have spent far too much time in the fashion world as a model. Everyone wears a facade. Rarely is anyone genuine. This is something I am sick of. So I vowed to change that." He motioned to Alya to move to where she can see the monitors. "I know that a part of being a model is being stuck in a room with people you don't know. When I'm in the room everyone who has a facade uses that. I can't judge their character like that, so I want to get to know these models by watching how they act when I am not there."
"Is that why they have been waiting out there for two hours?"
Adrien nodded. "Normally I send Plagg to sneak around and pull people's hair, or mess with the temperature, but you coming in stirred up the crowd enough that I can start weeding out the girls. I'm debating between the girl you were talking to at the end and someone else. What's your opinion?"
"Who, Bri? She was really cool."
"Excellent, I'm going to go tell the group I have picked." Adrien stood and walked towards the door.
Alya stood confused. "So you aren't even going to look at their photos or how they walk?"
"Nope. I've been in this business long enough to know that you can teach anyone with a good attitude what a person with horrible attitude." Adrien walked out of the room.
Alya took Adrien's seat in front of the three monitors. Plagg joined her on the desk to watch the show. Alya saw Adrien walk out into the room. All the models went still. Looking at the faces girls who had been mocking her earlier, she could see the facade Adrien was talking about. Models who had been chewing down their equals were now poised, and smiling politely.
Alya watched as one by one, a few girls were called up to form a line front of Adrien. She grinned as Bri joined the other 9 models. Adrien grasped his hand, pointed to the door, and directed Natalie to escort the the chosen few out. The ninety other models made a loud uproar that could be heard from the office.
"I don't get why he goes out there every time," Plagg commented. "He could easily just have Natalie do exactly what he's doing."
Alya nodded. "Adrien has always been more personable." She looked down at the kwami. Her eyes darted from the black cat to an odd looking envelope. Curiosity got the best of the reporter, and she reached over and picked it up. It was still sealed, and felt rather heavy for any sort of letter. Her eyes grew big as she read the name on the return address: Gabriel Agreste.
Plagg looked at the brunette and noticed what paper she was holding. "Ahh," he cried, "don't touch that." With that he bit the girl's hand.
"Ow!" Alay cried and she dropped the envelope.
Plagg flew into Alay's face with his paw pointing at her. His eyes, though small, were menacing. "You saw nothing!" Alya nodded her head out of fear. The cat relaxed. "He needs to just have fun tonight. That's why I texted you to arrive here earlier; so he would get out of here."
"Understood," Alya agreed.
At that moment Adrien opened the door. "Alright, we are done with work. We just have to wait for all those girls to leave so we can get out of here. In the meantime, I need to change. Are you alright hanging out here for a little while?"
"Sure," Alya replied.
"Awesome! I will be right back then. Plagg, claws out!" A green light flashed before Alya's eyes. She raised her hands up to block the light from her face. The light vanished, and there stood Chat Noir in the place of her friend.
"Woah," was all Alya could respond with.
"Sorry, this is the fastest way to travel. Umm, I guess we will both get used to this. The hero placed a hand behind his head. "Just umm... cover for me if anyone comes looking. I will be back soon." He opened the window, extended his baton, and left.
Alya sighed. She took out her phone and opened up her Ladyblog to pass the time while she waited.
_oOo_
It had taken Adrien an hour to get back to Alya. It then took another twenty minutes for him and Alya to get through the garage and get on the road. Adrien was a fast, and careless driver. Alya made a mental note to ask Nino for a ride home after saying a silent prayer. He sped the entire way to the restaurant.
Alya couldn't help but sigh for relief when Adrien had parked the car. "You are not driving home!"
"Sorry," Adrien frowned, "I just didn't want to keep Nino and Marinette waiting."
"We are only five minutes late. Besides, Nino is with Marinette. I have never seen Marinette be on time for anything. If they are here before us, then it is a miracle."
"I guess you're right," He laughed. "I'm just excited. It's been awhile since I've just relaxed with friends."
"Well good! Then let's get in there."
To Alya's shock, Marinette and Nino were already inside the restaurant when she and Adrien arrived.
"How did you get her on time, babe?" Alya asked bewildered. Nino stood up to hug Alya and Adrien. "I tried to do that for years! I was just telling Adrien there was no way you beat us."
"Well, Marinette only lives a few blocks from here," Nino laughed.
"I can be on time!" Marinette muttered into Alya's hair, "and did I hear you say babe?" Alya laughed in response.
"Nice to see you, dude," Nino hugged Adrien.
"Nice to see you too, Nino." Adrien said. "Hey Marinette! It's been a while." The blonde gave the blue haired girl a light hug before taking a seat.
"N-n-nice to see you too, Adrien." Marinette stammered. "It's been a while."
"Yeah," Adrien said.
The waiter arrived and asked the table for beverages after listing off tonight's specials. He left after writing down everyone's drinks. The group began to reminisce about old times together.
The group spent the next minutes judging each other on drinks. Adrien's girl cocktail brought quite a few laughs to the group. Nino and Alya were slightly flirty, which made Adrien and Marinette question what was going on between the two.
"Can't you two just let a thing be a thing without any labels?" Nino pleaded.
"No!" Marinette and Adrien said in unison. They laughed and toasted to the unison. Alya smiled. It was nice to see those two both relaxing, let alone relaxing together.
The waiter arrived to take their order. The group settled and read off what they wanted from the menu. They listed sides, requested a round of water, and collected the menus and passed them to the waiter. The waiter thanked them and left.
An awkward silence fell on the table. Alya strummed her fingers and smiled. "Oh, neither Adrien nor I explained why we were both late. Someone," Alya elbowed Adrien, "didn't inform me that he would be doing a casting call before I arrived to his office. When you have to fight one hundred models to get out of an office building, it takes some time."
"That's a lot of models! Do you have a show coming up soon?" Marinette inquired.
"Yeah. Our fall collection will be showing in a couple weeks. Actually, if you are all available, I would love to invite you all to come to the show."
"Wow, Adrien, that's very nice of you." Alya watched as Marinette's posture changed. Her shoulders rolled forward and her. She was shocked that Marinette wouldn't be more excited. Alya knew her friend was obsessed with fashion and would watch the runway shows every year for the Gabriel line. Surely she would be more interested with the line if she personally knew who was running it?
That sounds amazing! Thanks Adrien. I'm sure we would all love to go." Alya nudged Nino.
Nino recoiled from the contact before he answered. "Yeah, thanks man. That sounds like a lot of fun! You can count me in."
"Thanks man! Thanks Alya." Adrien turned to the blue haired girl. "Do you think you would be able to come Marinette?"
Marinette blushed. "I will need to check with Nathaniel when I get the date, but I will do my best to make sure I can."
"Oh, are you dating Nathaniel?" Adrien asked.
Marinette waved her hand in disagreement. "Oh no, we are not dating. Well, um I mean we did for a very brief time, but then Nathaniel wanted to open a studio, and we moved in together. Everything got complicated. We were better partners with talent than with dating."
"Sorry to hear that," Adrien apologized.
Alya shared a side glance with Nino. It appeared that neither of them were aware of a period of Marinette and Nathaniel dating.
"It's fine, really." The pigtailed girl reassured. "It's just, it's hard when you have two artist trying to make enough money for rent on two buildings."
"Oh, well are you looking for another job?" Adrien asked innocently. Nino hit his forehead. "I actually lost a few designers. I saw the dress you made for Alya. It was really stunning! "
Marinette lost all breath as he spoke. "Tha-that's a very nice offer, Adrien. But I couldn't. I mean this is the first time I've seen you in years. An-and you haven't seen any of my work, and I don't have a degree. I couldn't be qualified."
"I could come to your studio." Adrien retorted. "That's where you are showing other designs, right?"
"You really, don't have too..." "She was interrupted.
"But I'd like to."
Alya felt a nudge under the table. She looked over to Nino to see him mouthing "say something." Alya realized that he was right. Somehow Adrien's compliment was changing the mood to a thick and tense atmosphere. The waiter arrived with the group's food. "Hey, look our food is here," the reporter interjected. Silence fell on the group only to be interrupted by soft mutters of "thank you" from each member as a plate was placed in front of them.
The group began eating. Alya and Nino took big mouthfuls, not sure of what to transition the conversation too. Adrien was eyeing Marinette. Marinette was staring at her plate, completely untouched.
Marinette pushed her chair away from the table. "I'm sorry. I can't." She stood up and ran away from the table.
Adrien looked shocked. "Marinette! Did I say something wrong?"
Alya stood up. "Marinette, wait! Nino..."
"Adrien duty. Got it. Go!"
Alya ran after her best friend. First out of the restaurant and then around the corner. The blue hair girl was fast, and managed to continue to creep away from her best friend. However, Alya had an idea of where she was going. The moment Alya turned a corner and saw the designer enter her apartment complex, she knew for sure her friend ran home to her apartment.
Alya banged on the apartment door. "Marinette let me in!"
The door unlatched, and opened. The person on the other side was not the blue haired girl, but a brown haired girl. "Are you the reason she's crying again?" The girl was annoyed.
"No, Lila. I did not make her cry. Please let me in. I need to talk to her.
Lila opened the front door completely. "You might as well come in and ruin our date too." She pointed to the couch where Nathaniel sat. A few comfy blankets were bunched up on the opposite side of the couch.
"Hey Alya," Nathaniel waved.
"Hey Nathaniel, where did Marinette go?"
"She's in her room."
Alya walked over to Marinette's door. She tried the handle but it was locked. She banged on the door. "Marinette, open this door!"
"She locked herself in. You are going to have to wait until she decides to come out if you want in," Nathaniel interjected, "She does this a lot."
"She cries like once a week," Lila complained. "I just want one date where I don't have to deal with this."
"And you guys do nothing?" Alya questioned.
"We used to try talking to her, but she needs to learn to get over whatever this is," said Lila. "Besides we can't keep letting her ruin our dates. We wanted to see a movie, so we are watching one."
"Can't you two just go to your place, Lila?" Alya asked.
"Not if we want to do anything not interrupted," Lila snarled.
Alya put her hand to her head. "Look I don't have the time or patience to deal with you two. If I pay for you guys to go to dinner and a movie, will you leave this place?"
Both heads perked up. "If you pay," Lila answered.
Alya pulled out her wad of cash Adrien had paid her. She took out a few bills and extended them to the couple. "Here take this and leave us alone for the evening."
Lila stood up and snatched the money from Alya's hands. "Guess we are going out. Let's go Nathaniel." The couple gather their things and left the apartment. The sounds of Marinette's cries were muffled by the walls, yet audible.
Alya sighed. "On to the main issue." She walked to Marinette's room and knocked on the door. "Marinette, this is you last opportunity to open the door yourself." Alya pressed her ear against the door. She heard muffled cries, but no footsteps.
Alya lifted her head away from the door. "Hard way it is." She pulled out a bobby pin from her hair. She stuck the pin in a small hole that was on the outside of her door. She heard the door unlock. She took a deep breath and opened the door.
What she thought would be a room decorated with pink and bright colored fabric all over, was instead covered with black and green. From floor to ceiling Marinette's room was covered with Chat Noir related objects. Chat Noir designs, cloths, drawings, and more filled every space available. Marinette stuck out in the center on the floor against the black and green. A red figure near Marinette floated towards Alya.
It was a red, small, and had black spots all over it. "Alya, thank goodness you're here!" The small creature said floating into the reporter's face. "She's a total wreck."
Alaya stared at the creature. It looked like something she knew; Plagg. The realization dawned upon her. She closed the door and walked over to her friend sobbing in center of her room. "It's going to be alright, Ladybug," and tears slid quietly down Alya's face as Marinette's began to bawl.