Lucy was leaning against the second-floor railing at school, scrolling through her phone when Adrien approached her. He slid next to casually while facing the opposite direction, his forearms held his body weight on the railing as he glanced around slowly before letting his eyes rest on Lucy. The girl, feeling his gaze looked up to meet his eyes, raising a brow at him.
"You alright Adrien?" She asked.
Adrien lifted up his bag and held it against his chest. "Wanna see something cool?"
Lucy's eyes dropped from Adrien to his bag, and then back up again.
"You have my attention."
Before he could utter another word, a girl pushed her way between them, making both teens stumble back.
"Excuse you," Lucy said annoyed. The girl was tan with long brown hair, her thin frame turned to Lucy with an apologetic smile on her face that didn't reach her dark green, eyes.
"So sorry about that." The girl spoke. "I've been introducing myself to people all morning, and when I saw two more new faces I just rushed over and lost my balance. My name is Lila! It's so nice to meet you! Her cheery tone took Lucy a bit by surprise, she had half expected the girl to snub her as some girls tended to do when they came around Adrien while she was also present.
"Uh, it's fine. Lucy." She introduced herself with a small head nod.
"And I'm-"
"Adrien Agreste." Lila finished. "It's hard not to know who you are. Your face is plastered all over Paris."
Adrien chuckled a little and rubbed the back of his neck a little embarrassed. It had been a while since anyone at school had even brought up his modeling or social status.
"So, I was wondering. Since I just transferred, I'm a little behind and was wondering if you could help me with my history homework while we have a free period?" Lila asked sweetly, taking Adrien by the hand and pulling him toward the Library. Lucy squinted at the interaction, resting her hand on her hip.
"Uh..eh, yeah...sure, uh Lucy?" Adrien sputtered out, looking to his friend for help as he was dragged away. Lila looked away from Adrien to Lucy and gave a small, tight smile before nodding her head as if giving Lucy permission to follow them. Lucy clicked her tongue and debated whether or not she should tag along, but the plea in Adrien's eyes made the decision for her as her feet began to move in the direction of the Library. They found a table and Lila excused herself for a moment to go get her book, leaving Lucy and Adrien alone. Lucy sighed and pulled out her own book as Adrien drummed his fingers on the desk. He glanced around once more before leaning over toward Lucy and reaching into his bag.
"Remember that cool thing I mentioned?" He whispered. Lucy nodded silently and watched Adrien pull out an old book and slide it in her direction. He opened the book and pointed down at the page. Lucy leaned in and saw Adrien was pointing at a photo of Hawkmoth.
"Where did you get this?" Lucy asked as she looked back up to Adrien. Before he could say anymore, Lila returned, and Adrien did his best to casually cover the book.
"Now we can get going on our history homework. It's so much more fun doing it together, don't you think?" She asked but quickly noticed the book under Adrien's arm. Lila snatched the book toward herself. "What's that?"
"Oh, uh, nothing! Just a book of superheroes." Adrien explained.
Lila reached out and placed her hand on Adrien's. "I love superheroes."
Lucy watched the exchange and sighed, resting her cheek against her palm ash she leaned against the table. She wasn't really surprised that Lila was making moves on her blonde friend, after all, it happened all the time. Lucy couldn't help but notice anytime she was in a public setting with Adrien, there was always at least one stranger who would come up to him. If it was a female, they would casually ask if Lucy was his girlfriend or worse, his sister, and when their relationship status was cleared up, the female would do their best to flirt with Adrien in hopes to earn his attention. As annoying as it was, Lucy understood it wasn't Adrien's fault. So she would stand by and watch as the model boy politely declined their advances, while still giving in to a photo once in a while. This time was no different. While Lila brought her attention back to the book, Adrien looked at Lucy with his lips sucked into his mouth. Lucy smirked and made a heart motion with her fingers to with he responded with a soft glare.
"Ladybug!" Lila spoke aloud, flipping the page to see a version of Ladybug that was pretty different looking from the one they were all familiar with.
Adrien smiled admirably and sighed. "She's amazing."
"Sooo amazing." Lucy mocked in a Cali-girl tone. Adrien blushed and gave Lucy "shut up" eyes.
Lila brought her chair closer to Adrien and leaned toward him. "A girl doesn't need to wear a costume to be amazing, you know."
"Yeah Adrien, gosh!" Lucy agreed jokingly with her hand on her hips as she bobbed her head from side to side.
The boy looked between the two girls uncomfortably. "I mean, Uh, I don't know, I-"
"You got a soft spot for the bug," Lila said knowingly. Adrien stuttered as he looked between Lila and Lucy, who had her eyebrows raised at him with a smirk. Lucy noticed movement in the corner of her eye and looked toward a book cart that had casually rolled near their table on its own.
"You know, I happen to be very close friends with Ladybug," Lila said, gaining back Lucy's attention. Lucy did not hang out with Ladybug the wat she did Chat, and once she had even asked him about Ladybug's feelings on their friendship. Chat had told her that Ladybug was a lot more strict with how she interacted with civilians. That she had warned him that getting close to someone as his hero persona was dangerous and had initially advised against him continuing to see Lucy. However, over time, realized Chat was going to do whatever he wanted to do and eventually stopped lecturing him about it. Chat had gone on to tell Lucy that Ladybug would love to make friends as her hero self but personally didn't want to risk them being used against her. Lucy had then joked that Ladybug was right and Chat must not like her very much to put her in such a dangerous position. Chat did not find the joke funny. He told Lucy she was right. That he was putting her in danger. That he had grown so accustomed to her existence too quickly, and now the idea of staying away, even for her safety was almost impossible. He'd miss her too much. Lucy wasn't scared to admit, she'd miss him too. It was that conversation that let Lucy know immediately that Lila was lying. It wasn't a terrible one. Lucy was sure Lila wasn't the first, after all, Chloe existed. Saying something like that wouldn't;t be hard to lie about. What would anyone expect you to do? Bring your hero friend to a party? No, they're busy saving the world. Regardless of this, Lucy decided to have fun with Lila's little lie.
"Wait! You're friends with Ladybug? I'm friends with Chat Noir! How crazy! We should all get ice cream sometime, it'll be great!"
Lucy's tone held mockery disguised as amazement and Lila looked at her almost unsure of how to respond. Lucy assumed that maybe Lila didn't believe her. That she knew Lucy was poking at her story with a lie of her own, however, the difference was Lucy wasn't lying, and if it really had to go there, Lucy could prove it. She prayed that Lila would agree. She prayed that they would meet for ice cream, and Lila would be standing there alone, with an excuse for why Ladybug couldn't make it and assume Lucy would have a similar excuse for Chat Noir. They would just be two liars getting ice cream together. But Chat would show up, and then he would ask where Ladybug was and when Lila stands there, wide-eyed, trying to give him the same explanation that something had come up, he would call Ladybug, just to ask himself. And when she answered, he would tell her Lila and they were waiting, to which she would reply, "Who?". Oh yes, that would do just fine. Unfortunately, Lila was a clever girl.
"That would be awesome Lucy! But if that's true you know how busy those two are. It would be selfish to try and take them from their responsibilities. I only get to see Ladybug every once and a while due to her being so busy, and it's always a little random. I just don't think it would be realistic to plan such an outing," She pouted. "that's too bad." She brought her attention back to Adrien who was intently watching the two. Lucy didn't bring up her friendship with Chat very often. There were only a few select people who really knew about it. For safety, it was just best to keep it that way. The idea of going out and getting ice cream with Lucy as Chat wasn't unappealing to him, but he knew why it wasn't the best idea. So did Lucy, which was what made her words so odd.
"But, Adrien, if you're interested in some Ladybug detailed info, we can chat about it if you want. Not here though. Why don't we meet at the park after school and I'll tell you everything."
"I'm sure she really appreciates that," Lucy said shaking her head.
Suddenly the book cart rolled down the aisle with a crash causing the three teens to gasp and stand to see what had just happened but found no one around. Adrien's phone then began to ring, letting him know that his fencing class was about to start. Not wanting to be late Adrien quickly gathered up his belongings. Lila moved closer inquiring once more about meeting her at the park, causing Adrien to drop his bag at her sudden closeness. The green-eyed girl picked up Adrien's bag and handed it to him as he quickly agreed to meet her before running off. Lucy sighed and looked at Lila a little awkwardly.
"Did you still want help with your homework?"
Lila gave her a polite smile and shook her head. "No, it's okay. Thanks anyway though!"
Lucy pursed her lips together and nodded before turning to head out of the library.
Under the table the three had once all sat, Marinette hid. She watched Lila pick up the book that belonged to Adrien and walk away with it. Tikki informed Marinette that it was important they followed Lila to get a better look at the book she had taken.
OOoOoOoOoOoOo
After school, Lucy strolled out of the building with a headache. Lila had been the topic of conversation on everyone's tongue. Lucy didn't argue or point out the story flaws when anyone brought her up. Instead, she nodded her head and took in the information. Carefully noting all the little lies Lila had conjured to impress those she encountered. Adrien appeared beside her in a flash and Lucy couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at him.
"Shouldn't you be heading to the park?"She asked making the blonde boy give her a confused stare.
"Well, yeah, aren't you?"
"Can't say I was planning on it." She answered honestly with a shrug.
"You're not curious about what Lila knows about Ladybug?" Adrien asked in disbelief.
Lucy scoffed a little, stopping her stride as she looked at Adrien Skeptically.
"Adrien, after all the things I have heard today, I can almost guarantee Lila and Ladybug have never even been in the same air space, let alone are friends. I don't understand why she is going around trying to impress everyone with these stories. It's so much to keep up with."
"You don't know she's lying for sure though, Lucy," Adrien told her, trying to defend the Italian girl. Lucy laughed and shook her head.
"Sweety, if you wanna go to the park and listen to Lila give you some half-baked information about Ladybug, by all means, go for it. But I'm not so easily swayed."
"Then come with me!" Adrien insisted. "Listen to what she has to say and decipher it yourself."
"Adrien."
"Pleaaseee." He begged, grasping her hand in his own. Lucy rolled her eyes and sighed. She really didn't understand why this was so important to him or why he needed her there, but Adrien had over time developed a small power over Lucy, one where he managed to give her those big green eyes and would get her to agree to help him with almost anything. So Lucy would join him, and when Lila's information fell short, she would be there to tell him, "I told you so.".
When they arrived at the park, Lila greeted them both, but it was clear to Lucy, that Lila had not expected Lucy to be with Adrien or want her to be. Still, she plastered on a smile and invited them to sit.
"Lucy, I didn't think you would be joining us."
Lucy sighed and shrugged. "I wasn't planning on it, but somebody felt the need to drag me along." She answered honestly.
Lila looked between the two for a moment. "Are you two a couple?"
Adrien's eyes went wide as he felt his face grow hot, stuttering out a no. Lucy on the other hand threw herself against Adrien's back and wrapped her arms around him.
"Should we tell her, Looovvvaaarrr." She drew out. Adrien, stiff and embarrassed by Lucy let out a weak laugh.
"Heh...why are you like this?" Lucy rolled her eyes and released Adrien and laughed.
"I'm joking, no. He wouldn't know what to do with this." She said gesturing herself with her hands while rolling her body. Lila gave a small smile and nodded her head.
"Well, anyway as I was saying in the library, not only did Ladybug save my life, we've become very close friends because we have something very special in common- it's what I wanted to tell you about. I'm the descendant of a vixen superheroine myself, Volpina. "
"Volpina?" Adrien and Lucy repeated together. "Hey, I think I saw something about her n my book!" Adrien exclaimed as he reached to open his bag. Lila stopped him, resting her hands on his. "Of course she's in your book. She's one of the most important superheroes. More powerful and more celebrated than Ladybug. Between you and me, Ladybug doesn't even make the top ten. My grandma gave me this necklace." Lila continued holding a fox tail pendant necklace.
Lucy looked at the necklace curiously. She had to admit, Lila told a good story. However, Lucy had come to the conclusion that either A: Lila was telling the truth, but was a really shitty miraculous holder. Chat had discussed plenty of times how important it was for identities to remain a secret when it came to holders of miraculous. Yet, here Lila was, telling a boy she hardly knew about it. Or of course there was the most likely answer B: Every single word out of her mouth was complete and utter nonsense. As it turns out, Lucy didn't have to think to much on the subject because Ladybug decided to swoop in and put everything in perspective.
"Well hey, Lila! How's it going? Long time no see. I saw your interview on the Ladyblog, awesome job." She said, putting her foot on the bench between Lila and Adrien. "Oh, sure! I remember our instant connection when I saved your life and we've been really good friends ever since! Practically BFF's! Uh actually, when did I save your life again, Lila? I don't recall. Oh yes! Of course, now I remember. Never! And we're not friends either! Luc and Adrien watched Ladybug, slightly taken back by how harsh she was being with Lila. Looking at her they could see the girl was clearly embarrassed to be caught in her lie. "Miss Show-Off here was trying to impress you and everyone around her."
"So, I'm guessing you aren't a descendant of a superhero either?" Adrien asked, but Ladybug spoke before Lila could answer.
"More like a super liar!"
"Ladybug," Lucy said, gaining the heroin's attention.
"What?"
"She's already down." Lucy scolded. "Stop kicking."
"How dare you!" Lila shouted before grabbing her bag and running off in tears.
"Wait, Lila!" Adrien called out but it was no use. "What was that all about?" He asked, turning to Ladybug. "I mean, weren't you a little harsh with her?"
Ladybug looked a bit taken back for a moment before regaining her serious face.
"I...I don't put up with lies, especially when they're about me." Before either of the two could get in another word, Ladybug took out her yoyo and zipped away.
"What is going on with you Ladybug?" Adrien asked around, not used to his partner reacting so intensely.
"Well, whatever it is, she better get it together. Do you know how many people probably lie about knowing her? You can't just jump down people's throats like that. Call her out, sure, but that felt personal."
OoOooOoOo
Ladybug's eyes grew wide as her eyes spotted a meteor falling from the sky as she landed on her roof.
"Code Red!" She shouted as she headed toward the meter, but was cut off by something flying quickly past her. She stood on top of another roof off in the distance and watched the unknown person push the meteor back into space. Volpina was what she called herself and Ladybug watched her full of suspicion.
"Volpina?"
"Looks like we have a new partner." Chat Noir spoke as he and Tigress arrived beside Ladybug.
"Don't you think it's weird, this superhero just appearing out of nowhere?" Ladybug asked, clearly unsure.
Tigress shrugged and elbowed her gently. "I kinda did."
Ladybug looked at Tigress and opened her mouth to speak but couldn't come up with an explanation to argue. Tigress had come out of nowhere, but for some reason, it wasn't hard for Ladybug to trust her. With this girl, something just felt terribly off about the whole thing. (I hate doing in-story A/N but honestly looking back at this episode, I don't see how Ladybug for even a second didn't know who Volpina was. She had literally just come from the park where Lila had said she was a Volplina. Or at least her descendant. But it takes Volpina bringing up not being her friend for her to connect the dots. You call a girl, who talked about having a miraculous and the name Volpina, a liar and make her run off crying, knowing strong negative emotions get people akumatized, and then when this random Volpina shows up your confused? Smh. Anyway, we will blame it on the fact she thought she was going to have to stop a meteor that caused her to momentarily forget that whole interaction.)
"Well, at least she got the job done. If she hadn't been here-" Chat Noir spoke only to be cut off by Ladybug who responded defensively.
" I could have easily stopped that meteorite myself!"
" Hey! Relax!" Chat tried to defuse. "I'm just saying she seems seriously awesome."
Suddenly Voplina landed in front of them. "Hey, guys! Glad you dropped in, I need a hand. Come on!"
OoOoOoOoO
Several blocks away, Lucy sat with her mom on the couch, channel surfing while enjoying the deep-dish pizza they had delivered. As the tv skipped past the news, Lucy halted her mother's search.
"Hey, wait go back!" She said leaning forward, her eyebrows pushing together as her mom put the channel back.
"A small series of strange and nearly catastrophic events this afternoon as Paris came close to experiencing being hit by a meteor. Witnesses say, instead of Ladybug and Chat Noir, the meteor was instead intercepted with a new hero who called herself Volpina."
"What?" Lucy asked allowed as her mother raised her eyebrows in surprise.
"Looks like we got another one."
"No..."Lucy said. "I don't think so."
"Not long after, another tragedy seemed to take place, as a corner apartment shifted to collapse. It can only be assumed that whatever caused the collapse was rectified by Ladybug, as the building appeared restructured almost immediately after its fall. As of the moment, there is no sight of Ladybug, Chat Noir, or Volpina. Stay tuned as we report with more information.
OoOoOooOooO
Chat Noir jumped in through his bathroom window and detransformed. Plagg looked at the boy confused.
"Wouldn't Chat Noir be better for this situation?"
"If Volpina's got a thing for me, I can make her see sense without Cat Noir. Maybe then she'll listen."
"You really think you can take down Volpina without your superpowers? Without me?" Plagg asked sightly offended and highly skeptical as he floated in front of his owner. Adrien wasn't sure if his plan would work, but he certainly hoped it would. As he noticed Volpina coming his way, Adrien quickly told Plagg to hide. The fox themed "hero" flew into his window, calling out his name. Adrien gave her a hello back and did his best to act as though they had never met.
": Do you remember this necklace?" She asked holding it in her palm. "I didn't know how to tell you the truth, but at least this way you can see for yourself that I'm not lying. I am a superhero."
"Lila?" Adrien faked shock.
"You can call me Volpina. I'm sorry about the scene in the park earlier today. Ladybug's jealous because she's not as powerful as me."
Just then Ladybug swung into the room, along with Tigress, ready to confront Lila head-on.
"See what I mean! She's jealous of me, of you, of us, but this time you aren't going to ruin our date Ladybug!" Volpina said, glaring at Ladybug, getting into a fighting stance. Adrien, without thinking, quickly corrected Volpina.
"Mm excuse me, but it wasn't really quite a date, per say." Volpina turned to him, clearly upset by his words. Not wanting to make her angrier, he attempted to fix his wording. "I mean- what I meant was it could've become one right? Lucy was there, after all, so you couldn't really count it as one. No need to get bent out of shape!"
"Ohhh, rejected." Tigress joked with a sour face.
"Excuse me." Ladybug spoke to Adrien. "We need to have a talk with super liar." Her eyes then train on Volpina. "You! Stop thinking your illusions are reality!"
Adrien quickly took the opportunity to run into the bathroom, changing back to Chat Noir. Not of course, before getting an I told you so from Plagg.
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO
"This just in, it looks as though the woman going by Volpina may have taken a hostage. Witnesses say they saw Ladybug and Chat Noir, and Tigress follow behind what we are now made to believe is an akumatized victim, up the Eiffel tower. The hostage looks to be nonother than Adrien Agreste, son of famous fashion designer Gabriel Agreste."
Lucy and her mother watched the tv intently as the camera looked up the Eiffel tower to see four figures toward the very top. The image was a bit blurry, even zoomed in, but Ladybug, Chat Noir, and Voplina's unique outfits stood out significantly. Monica gave her daughter a squeeze, resting her head on Lucy's shoulder.
"Don't worry baby. I'm sure everything will be fine. Ladybug and Chat Noir always handle things. Adrien is in good hands."
Lucy sighed and nodded, but that still didn't stop the anxiety running through her veins. One of her closest friends was dangling hundreds of feet in the air. Knowing Ladybug, Chat, and Tigress were there only helped a little. One wrong move and it was over.
"And there you have it, folks! It would seem the hostage situation was only bait! Ladybug, Chat Noir, and Tigress have apprehended the Akuma! All is well in Paris once again!"
Both Monica and Lucy let out the breaths they had not realized they were holding as they watched Ladybugs power shoot into the sky on the tv. Always such a miraculous sight.
"I gotta go," Lucy said standing, grabbing her keys.
"Yeah, yeah, sure. Go on, don't be too late though." Her mother said, not even needing to ask where her daughter was going.
"Give Adrien a hug for me!"
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO
Chat watched Ladybug leave with a sigh. That was a close one. He couldn't help but almost wish he would have got caught. Finally, share his identity with his partner, and maybe get her to share hers as well. He knew things could never be so simple though. Transforming back to his civilian form, Adrien walked over to his window, looking in the direction Ladybug zipped off. It seemed the only time he could get anywhere near Ladybug while he was Adrien was if his life was in danger. He supposed that wasn't all that surprising. It wasn't like Ladybug was hanging out in coffee shops causally. Adrien's eyebrows knitted together as he noticed a familiar figure speeding down the street on a...moped? When did she get a moped? Racing out of his room and down the steps Adrien almost ran into Natalie who looked at him with a neutral expression.
"Adrien. Where are you running off to?"
Before he could answer her the doorbell rang, grabbing the assistant's attention. She walked over to the intercom ad went to ask who it was, only to hesitate upon recognizing Lucy through the camera lens. Natalie sighed and looked back to Adrien who gave her a sheepish smile. Hitting the button to open the gate, Natalie then went to open the door, as soon as she did Lucy ran past her, yelling a quick excuse me, sorry, and smashing into Adrien. Adrien wasn't quite prepared for the full force of her and stumbled back slightly before returning the hug.
"Hey." He greeted, smiling into her hair. Lucy pulled away from Adrien and gave him a bewildered look.
"Hey."
Natalie looked the pair over before clearing her throat, gaining the two teens' attention.
"Adrien, I know you have had a somewhat...eventful day, but do remember your piano instructor will be here in an hour."
Adrien gave her a small nod and then brought his eyes back to Lucy.
"Come on, we can go to my room."
Adrien took Lucy by the hand and lead her upstairs, leading the way even though she had already been there once before. When they got to his room, Adrien shut the door behind him and found Lucy hugging him once more.
"I'm glad you're ok." She said softly. "I saw the news. I know it wasn't real but for a minute there I was really worried."
Pulling away Adrien smiled down at Lucy. She would never understand how much it meant to him to know she worried about him. That he was even a minor thought in her mind.
"I'm alright Lucy. It was just an illusion. Besides, even if it hadn't been, Ladybug, Chat, and Tigress were there. There is no need to worry when those guys are around."
"And yet I do anyway," Lucy said with a sigh. "I have as much faith in our cities superhero team as the next person but Adrien, bad stuff just happens sometimes."
"We'll it didn't this time." He assured her.
"Yeah. What was all that about anyway?" Lucy asked as she walked over to his white couch across the room. She didn't think she would even get over how huge his bedroom was. There were 2 floors for crying out loud. She sat down and brought one leg up, bent half under her while her elbow rested on the back of the couch, her face leaning against her fist. Adrien joined her, facing forward while leaning his head back against the back of the couch.
"So you know Lila?"
"Yeah."
"She has a thing for me. Or had? Not sure now."
"Shocker," Lucy said sarcastically, giving Adrien an eye-roll.
"She got akumatized after the whole thing with Ladybug. Got herself turned into a 'real' superhero, to try and discredit Ladybug, as well as trick her, Chat Noir, and Tigress."
"As akumas tend to do," Lucy said causally.
"She made it look like she kidnapped me to get the heroes to give up their miraculous."
"Where were you really?"
Adrien paused. "I uh...was... I was actually tied up, on another floor of the tower. Volpina wanted the miraculous, but it seemed she was pretty confident she wouldn't have to harm me to do so."
There was truth to his statement. Volpina never even attempted to find him really. She just automatically created the illusion so he and Ladybug would panic. He didn't think she anticipated them looking to see if he was actually gone or not, and had Chat not claimed it to be an illusion, it seemed Ladybug would have done just that. Gone without even looking.
"When Ladybug used her special power, I ended up right back here. Safe and sound." Adrien finished as he gestured the room.
Lucy nodded and sighed again. "What a crazy thing to lie about. Being a superhero. How would she have even thought to keep up with that?"
Adrien shrugged. "People lie about a lot of things for a lot of reasons."
"I don't," Lucy said with a scrunched face.
"So you're always honest?" Adrien asked skeptically.
"Usually. Aren't you?"
"No," He told her. "I'm not."
"Well, that's good to know, I guess," Lucy said, her eyebrows raised in surprise.
"I'm not saying I'm a liar," He clarified. "That's not how I meant it, anyways."
Lucy gave a light scoff. "How'd you mean it, then?"
"I just...I don't always say what I feel." Adrien tried to explain, not sure how to word what he meant.
"Why not?" Lucy asked and he supposed he wasn't shocked she did. As far as he could tell Lucy had always been a pretty straight forward person. No time for bullshit as she would say.
"Because the truth sometimes hurts," he said.
"Yeah," she replied. "So do lies, though."
It's no surprise to Lucy that Adrien, along with any number of people, hardly tell the truth about how they feel. The smart ones keep to themselves for good reason. Why would you want to tell anyone anything that's dear to you? Even when you like them and want nothing more than to be closer to them? It's so painful to be next to someone you feel so strongly about and know you can't say the things you want to. She thought about Chat. His secrets and Ladybug. How terribly painful.
"Adrien."
He didn't trust the way she said his name. Like something awful was going to come after.
"Yeah?"
"I want you to promise me something okay?"
"What?"
Lucy's eyes looked at him tensely as her fingers played with the stitching of his couch.
"Never lie to me. Not about important stuff at least. Not about how you're feeling."
"Lucy..I..."
"I need you to know that I would never judge you or treat you differently because of something out of your control. I need you to know that I..." She paused. "That you're my friend, and I love you, and I don't want you to feel like you ever need to hide things from me. Not to spare my feelings or anyone else's. I just want you to be able to be you, no matter what okay? I need you to know that, and promise me."
Lucy was such a mystery to Adrien. She had so many secrets of her own. She didn't talk much about her life in America or her childhood. Adrien thought about the scars on her body that were currently hidden away by her clothing, and how she never talked about them either. Then again. He never asked. He never asked because he wasn't supposed to even know about them. Chat did. He wondered if he asked her as Chat if she would tell him. Here Lucy was, looking at him in a way that seemed more vulnerable than he had ever witnessed as himself. You're my friend, and I love you, and I don't want you to feel like you ever need to hide things from me. Oh, how he longed to do just that. To just let it all go and give away his every secret. To share the most important thing with her. Trust me, kid, it's better this way. Plagg's words echoed in his head as he forced his words back.
You're my friend
I love you
Be you, no matter what okay?
Promise me
"I promise." He whispered. And the lie tasted like vinegar.
Okay there you go. At 5500 words I think this is my longest chapter yet! I hope you like this chapter and are enjoying the story so far! Remember to like and comment to give me your thoughts! Its always great motivation and just good to have insight into my reader's feelings! Till next time my friends!
