(Author's Note)
Hi, again!
Yeah, so this one took longer to write than I had planned... Mostly from second hand embarrassment on Adrien's part.
Thanks for all the nice reviews!
I DIDN'T FORGET THE UMBRELLA SCENE X)

Dear Bug,
all was not well. My father allowed me to go to school, (for reasons I won't reveal) and I was starting to fall into the rhythm of classroom life, but there was still a problem- you seemed to hate me still.
Nino said to just be myself, but I wasn't sure exactly who I was. Polite, (mostly) obedient Adrien, or brave, outgoing Cat Noir? There was something so exhilarating about wearing that cat mask. Wearing it, nobody would know who I was; everything I did wouldn't be discussed and reviewed by the press and my father. I was anonymous.
That was the way I liked it.

So how could Adrien make you like me? There wasn't anything… special. Sure, my father was rich, and I guess every other magazine had my face on it, but that wasn't me. That was my father's brand.

I was trying to figure this out, when class dismissed, and you gathered your stuff and headed for the door. Do you know that old saying? Don't let the sun go down while you're still angry? I decided to do that for you- talk with you before too much time had passed, and it grew routine to hate me.

It was raining. I caught up with you at the door, just under the roof where it was dry. You turned away. I sighed, pulling out my umbrella, studying the rolling of the clouds. It opened with a pop, black as the cat I'd been hours earlier. My bodyguard sat impatiently in the car at the end of the steps.
Just get it over with.

"Hey."
You ignored me.
"I just wanted you to know that I was only trying to get the chewing gum off your seat, I swear. I've never been to school before. I've never had friends. It's all sort of… new to me."
You looked up and took a tiny step forwards, testing to see how wet you'd get.

I stood there for a second, not sure what to do. The rain poured. Then my hand stretched out, covering you with the umbrella. Thunder crashed. Your eyes widened at the sound. I smiled, handing you the umbrella. You took it quickly enough, avoided touching my hand. I didn't see any cars other than mine; I couldn't just let you walk home in the rain, could I?
What kind of friend would let you do that?

You hesitated, then took the umbrella. I smiled at you, and then you were smiling too. Your shoulders dropped, relaxing.
Click. You accidentally hit the release button, and the umbrella snapped closed on you.

I burst out laughing.
You pushed it open, and bit your lip before giggling, too.

Rain slipped down the side of my face, my bodyguard honking his horn to remind me that I was supposed to be more responsible than to let myself get sick, with photoshoots the next day. My laughter faded. I started down the stairs.
"See you tomorrow."
"Uh… see you to- to… mo- tomo…"

Dodging puddles, I nearly made it to the car when Plagg bumped me with his nose.
"First day of school and we already have two lovebirds."
"Whatever," I told him, pushing the cat back inside my jacket where he was supposed to be hiding. "She's just a friend." Oh. A friend.

I glanced back, trying to see if you were smiling or scowling in disgust at me, but you held the umbrella tilted, so I couldn't see your face. Oh, well. Friendship is a tricky thing to act.

Marinette, I'll take the time now to make a promise: Everything that I, Adrien Agreste, will write will be the truth, the whole truth (or until my hand gets tired) and nothing but the truth. Even the sort of… awkward bits. What would be the point of writing this, of reminding you of stuff, if I lied and tweaked it?
(…Plagg says stop being cheesy and get back to the action. The hypocrite.)

For a couple of days, it was quiet and normal. At least, I think it was normal for school. I wouldn't know. But then, a special day came by… my fourteenth birthday! I was brushing my teeth when Plagg flew up to me.

"Happy birthday, Adrien!" It would've been a nice gesture, if his "present" hadn't smelled like socks a runner had worn three days in a row.
"Ugh, Plagg! Get that filthy piece of camembert out of my face!" I waved him away.
The Kwami shrugged and ate it himself, ribbon, and all. Disgusting.

A little later, I was eating breakfast when Nathalie walked in and handed me a tablet with my schedule.
"Thanks, Nathalie."
She started to leave, preferring to keep from interacting as often as possible, like always. This shouldn't have bothered me. It was what she always did. Relay the message, check that off the list, keep going and do something else productive.
That day it did bother me, and I blurted out: "Hey, um, did my father get back to you about my birthday party?"

She froze, glancing at her shoes. My face dropped when I realized she hadn't even mentioned it to him. "Well, um- He doesn't think it would be a good idea."
I turned away. 'Course she didn't talk to him. It would've be a waste of time.
"Happy Birthday, Adrien," she called, before retreating to the simplicity of computer work. Spreadsheets were much easier to handle than teenage boys.

Minutes and school blurred together until I found myself outside during a break between classes, waiting for my ride. With Nathalie and father in charge of my schedule, not a minute went to waste.

"Dude, seriously?" Nino shook his head, waving his bubble wand as he spoke. "Has your dad always been such a downer? You'd think he'd remember what it was like to be young and wanna party a little."
"No, I'm pretty sure he was a downer then, too… Well at least I tried." Last year I hadn't bothered asking Nathalie or father anything. I'd expected this outcome.
"It's your B-day, dude! Insist!"
As if that would help with anything. I smiled, a small one compared to Nino's large, slightly concerned one.
"You know what? I'm gonna have a little convo with your pops."
Oh, sweet, optimistic Nino. "Don't waste your time. He's not gonna change his mind."

Nino shook his head, about to add something else, when you stumbled in front of us, like you'd tripped or had been pushed.
Waving your arms to catch your balance, you grinned, almost forced and a little sheepish. "H- hey."
I blinked. "…Hey."
"I, um- I wanted to, umm, gift you a make-" You blushed, shifting your weight, holding something behind your back. "I mean, gift you a give I made- I mean…"

Chloe joined us from inside, tapping her foot while you stuttered. It had surprised me that she waited for you to trail off before interjecting. She wasn't normally so patient.
Finally, she leaned forwards and wrapped me in a hug, so I couldn't see anything but her fluffy blonde hair.
"Happy birthday, Adrien!"
"Yeah, thanks, Chlo."

She beamed, her blue eyeshadow perfectly in place, ponytail high and bouncy. "Did you get the gift I sent you?"
"Uh, no."
Chloe narrowed her eyes, looking off to the side like she was glaring at whoever's fault it was. "What? Oh, those delivery guys. I bet it was too heavy, so they had to go back and get another guy to help. Those slackers!"
She wrapped her arm around me again, smiling again. "I'll make sure they get it to you by tonight." She sauntered off, humming.

I must say, Chloe was much better at lying than Nathalie.

Nino and I chatted before my ride pulled up to the curb, engine humming softly. I gave Nino an apologetic smile. "Gotta go. Photo shoot."
He nodded, giving me a little wave as I climbed inside the plush and overly-expensive car. Why couldn't father tone it down, a little? I doubted anyone would forget he was rich if I rode in the smaller, low-key car that I preferred.

It was a good hour later when I finally returned home, tired. Plagg was whining about starvation and cheese being good for a cat's health. Maybe I could manage to sneak past Nathalie and-
Why was Nino here?
And- my father was on the steps. Listening. Or pretending to.
Since when did that happen?

"… He never screws up in class," Nino pleaded, "he always does whatever you tell him: photoshoots, fencing, Chinese, piano-"
"Nino? You're here."
He glanced at me out of the corner of his eyes, brightening. "Anything for my best bud." He turned back to father. "Show some awesomeness, d- I mean, sir. Please."

My father tensed.
"Forget it Nino," I interjected, trying to play things down. I glanced at father where he stood on the stairs, posture straighter than the perfectly hung portraits. "Really, its fine."
"Listen, young man," my father rumbled, and my heart had plummeted. "I decide what's best for my son. In fact, I've just decided that you're a bad influence and you're not welcome in my house ever again. Leave now!"

"Father, he was just trying to do something cool for me-"
-but he turned and left, back to his office or whatever was more important than his son.

Nathalie nodded from her position near the base of the stairs, stepping over briskly to escort my friend away. "Goodbye."
Nino pressed his lips together. I followed him to the front stoop.
"Nino, wait!" He swallowed, looking up. I hurried before Nathalie could whisk me off to the next thing on her list. "My father- …he's pretty stubborn. It's just best to stay out of his way."

He narrowed his eyes.
"It's not fair, Adrien. Harsh… Uncool." He crossed his arms and started down the steps.
"… Thanks anyway, Nino."

Marinette, you're probably wondering why I let you in on that cheerful context. See, the evil Hawkmoth thrived on using his Akumas to create evil villains. Those dark purple butterflies that you captured with your yo-yo was Hawkmoth's key to giving us no sleep- Oh, I mean, taking our Miraculous.

I only saw him do it once, and I didn't get a good look at it, but this is what happens: Hawkmoth's lair was swarmed with white butterflies, all identical to each other. He'll take one and preform his dark magic- err, his Special Move on it.
Whatever he does, it turns the unfortunate thing evil, before being sent off after whatever sad, poor soul Hawkmoth chose, and it turns them evil, too.
Oh. It also allows Hawkmoth to manipulate them into destroying as much as possible and stealing our miraculous.
That's about it!

It was after lunch when I encountered the akumatized villain.

The house was silent, except for my footsteps. I paused, waiting to hear Nathalie typing or Father pacing. Neither happened. Oh, well. I figured they were in a back room, and headed outside, to the car.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY," cheered a crowd of teens. I jumped. From inside my pocket, Plagg nudged me, wanting to see.
"Hey, hey, hey, Birthday Boy!" Standing… on top of a bubble, was a familiar face, wearing a plushy costume of red, blue, and yellow. He held what looked like a plastic sword… or, a bubble wand. His beady eyes shone. "Guess what? Daddy's gone. While the cats away, mice will play!"

"Nino?!"
"The Bubbler's brought all your homies together for one single-sole purpose: to celebrate!" He leaped from the bubble, landing on a raised platform with huge speakers and records. Nino- or, Bubbler, shoved headphones on and looked up in with an unnerving grin. "Let's get this party started!"

I ran back inside the house.

After closing the door behind me, I took three deep breathes. What was THAT?
"What's your problem?" Plagg hovered midair, stretching. He was probably glad to be out of my jacket. "Relax! You're getting the party you've always wanted."
Outside, fireworks exploded.
"But Nino's been akumatized! I've gotta help him!"
Plagg narrowed one eye, his way of raising an eyebrow. "You may never get this chance again! C'mon, let's have a little fun while your father's away. Then we'll save Nino, trap his akuma, and all will be good."
I hesitated, then nodded. He was probably right. If my father found out, I'd be even more grounded until past college, if that was legal. And, Plagg was a kwami. He'd been around for hundreds, maybe thousands of years! Surely, he knew what he was talking about. I could trust him.

AHAHAHAHAHAHA.

"Okay, you're right," I had said naïvely. "This might be the first day in my life that I actually get to do what I want for once."
Never trust a cat, Marinette.

Yeah, so there's that.
In the next chapter, I'll finish up the Bubbler episode, then move on to Stormy Weather.
I have a few episodes in mind...
(Copycat, Puppeteer, Dark Cupid, Collector, etc)
...but any suggestions/requests?
I'm not doing all of the episodes, but am willing to consider.