Adrien woke up covered in cold sweat, his whole body shaking. He took a deep breath, trying to keep down his meal from last night. His heart was beating so fast, he was half-convinced it was going to burst out of his chest soon.
Whipping his forehead with the back of his hand, Adrien sat up and glanced at the clock. Five forty. He still had hours in front of him before the flight, but he knew for a fact he wasn't gonna get any more rest.
He was used to the nightmares. Not only did they haunt him in his sleep, but they also plagued his waking moments, too. He simply couldn't escape them, no matter how hard he tried. No amount of girls, alcohol, or weed could make them go away.
Speaking of, he glanced at the girl asleep next to him. He couldn't remember her name. Something like Alice? Alicia? Alexa? Coming home with her last night seemed like a good idea. She was pretty, sweet, and clearly not searching for anything serious. The perfect deal. But now sober, the idea didn't sound as great. What was he gonna do, now? He couldn't just wake her up and kicked her out of his apartment at this hour.
Sorry, I had a nightmare about the love of my life dying and now I can't stand to look at you, can you please leave? No hard feelings, though, you truly were amazing last night.
Yeah no, he couldn't really say that.
"Hey, what time is it?" her sleepy voice asked.
"Ridiculously early. Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up."
"It's fine," she yawned. "I probably should go home, anyway."
"You sure?"
She stood up and picked up her clothes from the floor. Adrien averted his eyes, looking everywhere but at the naked girl. Even though he now knew her body extremely well, it seemed inappropriate to look when Marinette was haunting his memories.
I should be with her. I should have a life with her. Waking up each morning with her in my arms. Not some random women.
"I wasn't even planning on falling asleep," the girl continued while putting on her high heels, "so yes, I'm sure. I'm just gonna call a car and wait in the lobby."
"OK then," Adrien replied and prayed that his relief wasn't too evident. "Uhh … thanks for last night."
She chuckled. "Thank you. I'm really glad I met you. It was exactly what I needed."
He smirked, pleased by the praise.
"Well, I'm glad to know I helped."
"You sure did. I hope I did a little, too."
"Sure," he lied, forcing his smile and repeating her words back at her. "It was exactly what I needed."
"You know, someday you might learn how to lie."
Adrien's grin immediately dropped. "What gave me away?"
"The look in your eyes. I understand, really. But trust me, time heals everything."
He simply nodded, not having the courage to tell her that in his case, time hadn't healed anything. It had been years now and the pain was still as raw as it was in the first days.
Smiling softly, she waved at him and closed his bedroom door behind her. Once he was certain the girl was gone, Adrien stood up, put on some pajama pants, and went to the living room. He barely noticed Plagg sleeping on the counter next to some Camembert and turned on the television. Even if he didn't really listen to it, he couldn't stand the silence. It only leads to thinking, and thinking never leads to anything good. Therefore, hearing about pop star Reid Kastner was better … ish.
That man was everywhere! Adrien now knew how people felt about his own face being on literally every damn billboard in the city. Nowadays, he and Reid were the only thing people talked about. It was basically impossible to escape his face or his songs.
"Reid has posted a new picture with his girlfriend recently!" the animator, a young woman who seemed way too excited, said on the screen. "But as always, she's impossible to identify! Reid has claimed multiple times that they want their relationship private for the moment. Boo-hoo! But don't worry girls, I'm sure we will see who's the lucky lady who managed to steal our man's heart sooner rather than later!"
Adrien stared blankly at the picture displayed on the screen. Reid was laying in bed and his brown eyes were sparkling with mischief as a young woman with dark hair was hiding her face in his chest.
"Ugh, them again!" Plagg suddenly complained, apparently now awake.
"Get used to it," Adrien muttered. "You'll see him a lot in the next few days."
"Don't remind me. I can't believe we're going to Los Angeles! Ew!"
"It'll be good to leave Paris for a while."
A month ago, Nino received a phone call that could change his whole career. Reid Kastner was preparing for his new album, and his team had decided on a more party-like theme. Screw the love songs and ballads, Reid was now here to have fun. They expected the tracks to play in bars and clubs. Teen girls were great, sure, but they wanted to please a different group of people, too.
Therefore, they hired a DJ who would be in every single song. Unfortunately, the guy had been in a car accident. Well, suck for him, but they still needed someone for Reid's new album. His producer had looked everywhere, but no one seemed to fit Reid's vibe, as they said. That is until they stumbled into Nino's page.
They claimed he was exactly what they wanted. Not too pretty to distract the attention from Reid (at that, Alya had seen red, even though Nino wasn't moved at all), but talented enough so that him being featured on an album with the Reid Kastner made sense.
Nino had immediately accepted, of course. That was the opportunity of a lifetime! And Alya agreed to go with him. The perks of being your own boss and having the most successful blog in Paris!
As soon as they had told him the news, eagerly asking him to come with them, Adrien had said yes. After all, he had his own luxurious apartment in LA, in which they could all stay. It would be way less expensive than renting a room or a hotel! And besides, he had two cars over there, which Nino could use to go to the studio.
And if Adrien could escape Gabriel for some time… Well, he wouldn't complain.
Unfortunately for him, his relationship with his father hadn't improved over the years. At twenty-six years old, almost twenty-seven, he still felt like a child being manipulated by his father. The only difference now was that he had moved out. But he still worked for him, still had his whole life planned by Evangeline, who'd replaced Natalie after the latter had resigned, seven years ago. Hell, now he even had to study management so that he could, someday, take over his dad's empire.
Adrien absolutely hated his life.
Sometimes, he closed his eyes and imagined what life would be like if they had won that fight, seven years ago.
If Marinette was still alive.
He would still be in their bed right now, Marinette curled up next to him. She would be wearing a gorgeous diamond ring on her left hand. She would be an amazing fashion designer and he would be in school, working on his physics final thesis, perhaps. Or maybe he would still be in management. He didn't completely hate it. He just hated the fact that he was doing it for his father, and not for himself.
Or, maybe he would be a teacher. Or a lawyer. A surgeon. An athlete. Maybe he would have a bachelor's in music, like Nino. He didn't really care. All he knows is that he would be happy.
He would come home from work at night, to find Marinette sitting on the couch, frowning while creating a new dress. He would kiss the top of her head before asking her if she was willing to go for a run. And they would go. They would run on rooftops, before stopping at their spots. And Adrien would ask her if she was ready. And she would say yes, and they would smile and kiss, knowing that they were gonna start a family soon…
No! Adrien mentally shouted, opening his eyes.
He knew he was dreaming. Of course, he knew. And yet, his heart couldn't help but break when he realized that he was alone in his apartment. Adrien furiously whipped the tears on his cheeks and stood up. How early was too early to start drinking, again?
"Kid, you have got to stop doing this to yourself."
"Yeah, yeah Plagg, I know. I'm gonna go take a shower."
Maybe I can drown myself in it.
—
"Dude, not to be a bitch, but you look like absolute shit," Nino said while the plane was taking off.
"Gee, thanks."
"Don't listen to him, sunshine! Although…"
"Although I do look like shit?"
"Well, yeah."
Adrien sighed. "Thanks, you two, I really appreciate it."
Alya, who was sitting on the other side of Nino, reached for his hand.
"You know we're just saying this because we're worried about you. Did you sleep at all last night?"
"Alya, I'm fine." Adrien lied, gently pulling his hand away from hers.
He didn't miss the concerned look his best friends exchanged, but decided to ignore it. Just as he had ignored all the previous ones.
As soon as they had met at the airport, Alya and Nino had obviously figured out how Adrien was feeling. It was, after all, impossible to miss the shadows dancing in his eyes. At first, they had tried a more… Subtle approach. Tried to convince him to sleep while waiting to board. Tried to change his mind. Joked a lot. Slowly but surely, however, Alya went into full-Mom Friend mode. She would bring him snacks, and drinks, randomly hug him sometimes, and probably would've held his hand while walking if Adrien had looked a little bit worse. She'd done it before.
"Look, I just don't feel like talking," he said and forced a small smile on his face. "How about we just watch a movie?"
"Sure!" Nino exclaimed. "We've got what, almost twelve hours before reaching LA? Let's make the most out of it!"
Thankfully, most of the flight was completely uneventful and Adrien was able to turn off his mind and simply not think for a while. But reality crashed into him while they were looking for their third movie and Alya had come across the second Ladybug and Chat Noir movie. All three froze, teary eyes fixed on the screen before Nino rapidly changed the screen and pressed play on some random comedy. It took another hour before Adrien was able to once again chase Marinette away from his thoughts.
An hour before touching down at LAX, Nino fast asleep between them, Adrien murmured to Alya: "I feel nervous."
"What for?" Alya asked, frowning.
"I'm not sure… I just have this weird feeling that something's gonna happen, you know."
"It looks like a panic attack, do you want me to—"
"No, no," Adrien interrupted. "It's not necessarily something bad, it's just… I don't know, weird. It doesn't make sense, does it?"
"No, not really," she admitted. "But when's the last time you've traveled, huh?"
"A little over six years ago, for that shoot with Lila in LA," Adrien answered, trying his best not to cringe while naming the girl. "It's not like I could get out more, you know, with the whole cat thing."
"You could, though. Just like you can, now. You know we can trust the others to take care of everything while we're gone. No, I think you're anxious because you're leaving Paris and although you might not want to admit it, you're happy to be going elsewhere."
Alya paused for a moment, before adding: "You don't have to stay there forever, Adrien. It's not gonna bring her back."
"I know that, Alya," he retorted, glancing at the ground below them.
He definitely didn't need to be reminded of the fact that nothing could bring her back to life. Back to him.
"Do you, though?"
—
After landing, the trio had been met by a member of Reid Kastner's team. They had hoped to go directly to Adrien's apartment, unpack and relax a little. Maybe have a little drink and try on the impressive indoor pool in the building. Unfortunately, Reid's team had other plans.
They had been waiting for them right outside the airport and had driven them straight to the studio. Adrien could feel Plagg mumbling incoherently inside his shirt, definitely bored. Hiding like this for hours wasn't exactly his cup of tea. But it's not like Adrien could let him roam around freely. Still, he was pretty sure that if they didn't leave soon, Plagg was gonna plant his claws in his chest soon. It had happened before. Multiple times. Needless to say, Adrien wasn't excited to relive this painful experience.
"Babe, this room is bigger than our apartment!" Nino exclaimed. "Oh my God, dude, have you seen this guitar? Guys I swear, this place is awesome!"
But before either Alya or Adrien could answer, another voice, coming from the door, said:
"Isn't it?"
Surprised, they turned to look at the star. Somehow, Reid was even prettier in person. He exuded both confidence and charisma, but without any of the arrogance some might have expected of him. Even his smile seemed sincere as he approached them, extending his hand to Nino.
"You must be Nino Lahiffe!" Reid continued. "I'm Reid. It's so nice to finally meet you! I've got to tell you, I'm a huge fan of your work."
"So am I! Uh, I mean, I'm not a huge fan of my work, of course, but of yours! Thank you so much for the opportunity dude, uh, I mean, Reid. I promise you won't regret it!"
Reid laughed. "Dude is fine. And I'm sure I won't." He then turned toward Alya, who was staring at him open-mouthed. "You must be the girlfriend. Alya, right? And Adrien Agreste, of course!"
Adrien raised an eyebrow, confused. "Have we met before?"
"Oh no, of course not! But you're pretty well known everywhere, men. No one in the world can escape your face."
"Guess we could say the same about you!" Alya joked before clapping a hand over her mouth as if she couldn't quite believe what she had said. But she didn't have to worry as Reid only laughed;
"Ah, I guess, yeah! So," he clapped his hands, "we are going to be spending a lot of time together, aren't we? I was thinking we could…"
"Excuse me, Reid?" the assistant interrupted, coming back into the room. "Your girlfriend's here. Should I tell her to wait in the lobby?"
"No, tell her to come here!" Reid turned back to look at the group as the assistant left. "I mean, I guess I can count on your silence, right? We're a team now, Nino and I. We gotta trust each other."
"Of course, dude!" Nino answered while Alya nodded.
"Yeah, don't worry about it," Adrien added.
Reid was about to add something else when a girl with long, brown hair opened the door. For a second, the three friends stood frozen, eyes fixed on the familiar face. They hadn't seen her in years, but she hadn't changed much. She was just as pretty as before, unfortunately. Perhaps even more. She had grown into herself in a way that could make any celebrity jealous, with a body that could rival professional models, a confident smirk, perfect skin, and deep green eyes.
Adrien was fairly certain he was gonna puke.
Fuck, I should've stayed in Paris.
He wasn't sure how, exactly, he managed to keep a straight face. He could almost hear Plagg laughing in his pocket.
"Oh, my God!" Alya finally screamed, making both Reid and his girlfriend jump. "Lila!"
"Alya ?" Lila said, a hand on her heart, her eyes jumping from Alya to Nino and Adrien like she couldn't quite believe what she was seeing. "What are you guys doing here?" she asked, running to Alya and hugging her.
"Nino's our new DJ I told you about, babe," Reid explained. "You know them?" he asked, eyebrows crunching in confusion.
"Of course, I do! We went to school together! Nino, Adrien, come here, boys!"
No thanks, I'd rather die, Adrien wanted to say. But instead, as he always did back when he was a teenager, he faked happiness and hugged his long-lost "friend". Nino and Alya never understood Marinette's hatred of the oh, so sweet girl. Didn't understand why Adrien rejected such a beautiful girl. Well, they did understand that part better once his and Marinette's identity was revealed, but still. They didn't know about the manipulation, the lies, and the bullying.
Adrien could only hope that Lila had changed over the years. He had to admit that he was pretty surprised that she wasn't running around screaming to the world that she was Reid Kastner's mystery girlfriend. Maybe she had changed.
Doubtful, but still.
"Well, then, we should all eat together sometimes! What about tomorrow night, at my place? Oh, babe, we should invite Vee and Dylan. I'm gonna text him right now. I know they're free tomorrow, he told me about his high school friends canceling their little reunion."
"Sure …," Lila hesitantly trailed off before smiling, all sweet and fake. "I mean, of course! This is gonna be amazing!"
Alya frowned. Despite what Adrien might think, she wasn't completely obvious. Over the years, she had realized some of Lila's lies, but she just thought that they were the fabrications of a teenage girl who felt lonely and needed attention. And now, she hadn't missed Lila's reticence. She simply didn't know what it meant.
And Alya had always loved a good mystery.