Credit for the AMV above goes to the YouTube channel Miraculous 101!

CHAPTER ELEVEN

For Marinette's sake, and for his sake too, Adrien sought out to find out exactly who had pushed Marinette to her limit. He followed Kagami's lead, which led him to the one person who wasn't exactly innocent when it came to... well... anything.

Lila Rossi.

If there was one person he hated the most in his school, it would be Lila. She was cunning, smart, popular and pretty, but her heart was dark, ruthless and simply straight up nasty.

If you weren't with her, you were on her bad side; automatically against her and written on her list of people she wanted to destroy. Lila didn't tolerate the ones who said 'no' to her.

The only reason Adrien wasn't on that list yet was because he figured since he was already extremely popular (and a model), that Lila couldn't risk not being his friend, or even more than that, for the sake of her image.

So, she would smile at him every time she saw him, even when they both knew it was fake. She would link her arm with his, and the only reason he never pulled away was because it would only cause a scene. Mostly with his father really. The two of them had modeled many times together before, which unfortunately meant that he had to keep up many appearances.

Or else his father would likely disown him.

Literally.

"Hello Adrien," Lila cooed as soon as she reached his side, her grip around his arm tight as she clung onto him. Her awfully looking, painted-orange, manicured fingernails practically dug into his skin as she forced him to walk down the hallway with her. Her grip on him was so tight, Adrien feared for a few seconds that it might cut off his blood circulation.

Nonetheless, he willed himself to put on a smile. Whether it was strained or not would be for everyone else around them to judge. "Hello Lila. What can I do for you?"

He suddenly weaved around a group of students who were blocking half of the hallway, hoping to lose Lila in the midst of them, but she held onto him like a leech, refusing to let go.

"I'm having a party tonight. Figured I could use a plus one." She ran a finger up his arm, as if that was a seductive thing to do, but really, it just grossed him out.

Adrien wrinkled his nose in disgust. "No thanks. I don't really do parties anymore."

He watched from the corner of his eye as Lila looked up, hoping to catch his gaze, looking at him as if he'd grown an extra head. He kept his eyes forward. "What?" She laughed, "You? The Adrien Agreste? You are the definition of partying."

Adrien scoffed and tried to shrug her off of him. Unfortunately, she held him too tight. "Not anymore."

"What's changed?" She asked him, tugging on his arm as if that would get him to give her an answer quicker. "You used to be the life of the party. As far as everyone knows, you were at every party ever hosted."

Adrien turned to meet her gaze, only to shoot her a nasty glare. "I got tired of pretending to be someone I'm not."

Lila seemed taken aback, only slightly releasing the strong hold she had on him. "Someone you're not?"

"Yeah. I'm sure you can relate."

For a second, he swore he saw Lila's eyes darken. But then her expression cleared, her smile wider as she tried to hide the way his words had actually affected her. "I'm not sure what you mean by that, Adrien."

"Don't beat around the bush with me, Lila. You and I both know you pretend to be someone you're not every single day," With that being said, Lila's grip loosened just enough for Adrien to pull his arm away from her hold. From the way her eyes widened as she looked at him, she seemed genuinely stunned by the boldness that his words held. But Adrien couldn't care less. He was done playing nice with her. For once, he would risk the wrath of his father. "So, with that out of the way, let's talk about what really needs to be said."

Again, Lila's expression darkened. Her smile faded into a nasty frown, and this time, she didn't care if he saw it. "And what needs to be said?"

Adrien stopped at his locker, and Lila paused beside him as he turned to look at her. He didn't even have to remove his eyes off of her as he twisted in his locker combination by memory. His eyes never left hers as he said, "How well did you know Marinette?"

He didn't want to remove his eyes off of hers, mostly because he wanted to see if that question would cause some sort of reaction. Unfortunately for him, it didn't. "Marinette Dupain-Cheng?" Lila brought two fingers to tap her lips, as if she was pondering the name in her head. Then, she snapped them. "Oh, you mean the girl who committed suicide? What a tragic way to die, I'll say."

"Did you know her?" Adrien tried again when she avoided his question.

Lila shrugged and rolled her eyes. "I knew of her. Who didn't? Everyone knew who Marinette Dupain-Cheng was. That's like asking a Parisian if they know who Jagged Stones is."

Closely observing her body language, response, and even her attitude, Adrien casually leaned against his locker with his arms crossed, his expression neutral. "From what you're saying, it seems as if you weren't too fond of her."

Adrien watched as Lila's expression darkened, as if it could get any darker. But apparently, it could. And that was a bit frightening. "Marinette thought she could be friends with everyone, and that's where she went wrong."

Adrien simply raised a brow, the corner of his lips twitching as the temptation to smile nagged at him. "So, I'm guessing you two weren't friends then?"

"We were anything but," Lila spat, "She was annoying, way too bubbly, and had a habit of upstaging everyone."

Adrien frowned, trying to keep his cool, though Lila's words made him want to strangle her. "That doesn't sound like Marinette at all."

"As if you would know." Lila laughed loudly as she leaned against the locker beside his.

Ha... Adrien couldn't help but smirk. Little did she know how much he actually knew. "Maybe. But I didn't really know her that well, unfortunately."

"Unfortunately?" Lila held her giggles back behind the palm of her hand. "You should be thrilled then. Marinette wasn't popular enough to be at your level. Consider yourself lucky."

And you are...? He wanted to say. But what good would that do?

Once again, his frown returned. "How can you say something like that? You do realize that Marinette is dead. No one should be degraded like that."

Lila glanced down at her nails. "Like you said, Adrien, she's dead. It's not like she can hear what I'm saying."

"But I bet she could hear all shit you used to say about her when she was still alive, couldn't she?"

To that, Lila froze as if she'd been caught like a deer in headlights, the smug smile that had graced her lips only seconds before vanishing in an instant. He took that time to really look at her, paying attention to the way her lips pulled up into a slight scowl, and how her brows came together angrily. But he wasn't afraid of her. Her response was all he needed to know really. When Marinette had once still been alive, Lila had been just as cruel.

That didn't surprise him at all.

Adrien leaned away from his locker, instead reaching to grasp the straps of his book bag. "You bullied her... didn't you?"

Lila rolled her eyes. "Please. It was more like me putting her in her place."

"And who are you to judge where her place is?"

"Are you defending her?" Lila raised a challenging brow at him, her smug smile returning. "Not that there's anything left to defend, besides her worthless memory."

Adrien chuckled dryly to that. "Y'know what I don't get?" With the ugliest glare he could muster, the blonde moved his gaze up and down her figure in disgust. "I don't get why you, out of all people, are so insecure, that you feel the need to talk shit about someone who isn't even alive anymore. It's pathetic."

If those words perturbed her, Adrien barely saw it. Only the mere twitch of an eyelid was enough to tell him that his words had struck a nerve. "Y'know what I don't get?" She asked through gritted teeth. "Why Marinette is suddenly so important to you."

Adrien didn't even bat an eye. "She's always been important to me."

To that, Lila laughed, "You're so full of shit, Adrien."

Adrien didn't miss a beat. "Bold of you to assume that I actually give a fuck about what you think of me."

Lila's eyes widened in absolute shock, but she only held that emotion for a second before her expression clouded with anger. She dared to lean forward and jab him in the chest with her nasty, painted-orange, manicured finger. "If it wasn't because you're Gabriel Agreste's son... and I currently have a modeling contract with him, I would've dragged your name through the dirt a long time ago. There are things that I know that could ruin you."

He swatted her hand away, sarcastically remarking, "It's nice to know where your priorities lie."

Lila folded her arms across her chest, looking at him smugly. "You think I'm joking, Agreste? I did it to Marinette. I could do it to you too."

Adrien rolled his eyes playfully, his gaze focusing over Lila's shoulder. Behind her, he could see Nino and Alya down the hall by their lockers. He couldn't help the smile that tugged at the edges of his lips as he watched Nino reach for Alya's hand, who seemed a bit hesitant to take it at first. But eventually, she did. And he watched with a fond smile on his lips as the two of them rounded the corner of the hallway hand-in-hand as they headed for their next class.

He was happy that they were getting along again, and willing to work things out with each other.

"What are you smiling about?!" Lila suddenly snapped, reverting him back to his unfortunate reality.

With a playful expression still written in his features, Adrien met her eyes again. "I'm smiling at the fact that you actually think I'm afraid of you. Your threats mean nothing to me."

Lila bristled, her mouth agape. "Laugh all you want, but from now on, you better watch your back—"

"My back is heavily protected, in case you didn't know."

Lila huffed in frustration. "Just know that I am not afraid to take matters into my own hands."

"And I am not a pushover," Adrien shoved his hands into his pockets, his playful smile and demeanor long gone and replaced with a tight frown. "Your method of implanting fear into people may have worked on Marinette, but I'm not her. If I were you, I'd watch your back."

And then, Adrien pivoted on his heel and turned his back to her, walking down the hall to his next class. He could practically feel her eyes burning into his back as he left her standing there, but he couldn't have cared less.

Adrien only had to talk to Lila for a few minutes, pushing her buttons in all the right ways, to get the answers that he needed.

Lila Rossi, without a shadow of doubt, had driven Marinette to her breaking point.

Now... all he had to do was find proof.

"Chat Noir! Chat Noir!"

A camera flashed at his left, and the superhero flinched, keeping his smile tight as he tried to hide how painful it really was having so many camera lights flashing in his face at once. He regarded the frantic reporters with a raised hand, insisting that they give him the room he needed to speak.

When Adrien had first told Plagg about his plan to set up an interview regarding Ladybug's disappearance, he hadn't expected it to be this hectic.

A microphone was practically shoved into his face a moment later. "Chat Noir, what exactly can you tell us about Ladybug's disappearance?"

"Not much unfortunately. Ladybug is currently not transforming," An eruption of gasps fell from the peoples' lips. "But we believe she still has a miraculous in her possession—"

"Why isn't Ladybug transforming?" Another reporter asked him.

He smiled wearily, taking a step back with his hands extended out. "I-I don't know why she's not transforming—"

"Could it be that she's done being a superhero?"

Chat Noir blinked. His smile fell in a matter of seconds. All around him, the cameras flashed, and the microphones came closer seeking an answer, but he didn't have one to give. Was Ladybug really done being a superhero? Is that why she disappeared?

That... that couldn't be true, could it? Ladybug wouldn't just drop everything and abandon him, would she? They had always been partners; an unbreakable duo; best friends. There was no way Ladybug would leave him to fight Hawkmoth all on his own...

Right?

"Uh.. um no!" Chat Noir cleared his throat, his mouth suddenly feeling dry. "If Ladybug was to quit, I would be the first to know."

Because Ladybug would tell him if she was considering quitting and giving up her miraculous...

Right?

"If Ladybug was to consider retirement, who would step up to take her place by your side?" Another microphone was pushed towards him, an eager reporter holding it close, and Chat Noir wanted nothing more than to smack the man's hand away. A few cameras flashed as well, capturing the look of uttermost disgust written across his face.

Oh no... no one was going to replace Ladybug. Absolutely not. He did this job with her and her only. If she was done, so was he.

Chat Noir stood up straighter, his frown prominent and his fists clenched at his sides. "If Ladybug decided to quit, so would I."

The reporters around him erupted into chaos. Cameras flashed all around him and too many questions were asked at a time for him to properly answer any of them. His sensitive hearing, due to his sometimes-incredible abilities from his miraculous, began to hurt his ears as all the voices all around him began to grow louder, and louder. He tried to block out their voices, but he found that it only fueled his irritation and worry.

But he needed to remain calm. For the sake of all Parisians and the city he had vowed to protect, he couldn't afford to lose his cool in front of the press.

Chat Noir inhaled and exhaled slowly, "Calm down everyone!" He raised his hands above his head, patting the air in hopes that it would calm the people. In a way, it worked, considering most of the reporters settled down. "We will figure out what is going on with Ladybug," he said, "But in the meantime, keep under consideration that I, Chat Noir, will do whatever it takes to keep our city safe. And that is a promise."

And he meant every word. For as long as Ladybug was missing, he would protect this city and its people.

But he hoped she would return soon.

Because he couldn't do this all on his own forever.

When Adrien returned home that night, he was surprised to find that Plagg was in no mood to refuel. If anything, the kwami had no appetite.

And that was strange all on its own.

"You're not hungry?" Adrien asked as he held a piece of Camembert between his thumb and index finger. He watched as his kwami settled into one of the pillows on Adrien's bed, tucking his tail around him and burying his little head in his folded arms. When the kwami silently shook his head, the blonde edged closer to the little being.

"What's wrong?" Adrien asked as he settled himself on his bed. "You never turn down food. Especially Camembert cheese." As an attempt to lighten the mood, he playfully added, "That would be extremely abnormal, coming from you." He laughed lightly.

Unfortunately, his attempt to make a joke didn't fall onto equalized ears. The kwami remained silent, simply burrowing his face further into the pillow beneath him.

Adrien furrowed a brow. He didn't understand why his kwami was acting this way. "Seriously, Plagg. What's the matter?"

Plagg shifted his little body around the pillow, as if he was searching for a more comfortable position, before he lifted his head to meet his holder's eyes. "Did you really mean what you said at that interview?"

"I said a lot of things, Plagg," Adrien frowned slightly, "Which part are you talking about?"

The kwami's eyes remained fixated on his holder's as he said, "The part where you told the entire city that if Ladybug was to quit, you would too."

Adrien eyes widened as he tried to come up with some legitimate excuse for his words. When he did say that, he hadn't really thought about how Plagg would feel about that notion, considering the blonde had been the kwami's chosen for three whole years. And although that was a bond Adrien didn't want to break or lose, he also couldn't imagine being a superhero still without Ladybug as his partner. For three whole years, that was all he'd ever known.

He couldn't even begin to imagine what he would really do if Ladybug decided to quit, or if Master Fu chose someone to replace her. Would he even want to still be a superhero with a new partner? He just couldn't see anyone else taking his lady's place. And even if his new partner was nice, caring, maybe even drop dead gorgeous, and just as friendly, would he be able to look at her without thinking about Ladybug?

He wasn't so sure.

"I-I didn't mean it like that, Plagg," Adrien said softly, hoping that the little kwami wouldn't take his previous words to heart. "I mean, I know what I said... but... to be completely honest with you, I don't know what'd I do if Ladybug decided she was done."

Plagg huffed, his ears pressing flat against his head. "You meant every word you said back there, Adrien. Including giving up your miraculous."

"I said what I said out of anger and frustration," Adrien frowned deeply at Plagg, his patience already running dry in a matter of seconds. "But if the time ever came, I don't think I would really do it. I care about our friendship too much to just give it all up, Plagg."

And although Adrien meant every word he was saying now, they did nothing to ease the kwami's conscience. Plagg was utterly defeated, his face buried into his arms and into the pillow again, and the blonde didn't understand why. Why was Plagg being so emotional? Why was he so worked up over Ladybug?

And then, it was as if something clicked inside of Adrien's mind, opening a whole new window of realization.

Because Plagg knew something that Adrien didn't.

Adrien stood to his feet. The blonde placed his hands on his hips and exhaled heavily. If that was true, and Plagg really did know something about Ladybug and her mysterious disappearance and was unwilling to share it, then Adrien was already anticipating the feeling of betrayal.

But then again, hadn't that been exactly how Marinette had felt when he'd turned his back on her countless of times?

He'd betrayed her so many times, and yet, she found it in herself to love him even until she died.

If that wasn't true love, he didn't know what was.

"Fuel up, Plagg," Adrien said sternly, already sliding his shoes back onto his feet. "We're leaving."

The kwami lifted his head from his arms, his ears tilting slightly to the side along with his head in confusion. "Where are we going?"

The blonde turned sharply on his heel, his frown ever-so-prominent, marching towards his windows and opening one of them with both of his hands. His back remained faced towards Plagg, and he could hear the little kwami nibbling on a piece of cheese as he waited for an answer.

"You are going to tell me where Master Fu is," Adrien said with little emotion in his voice. "Right now."

_______________________________

Hello everyone! I know it's been a while with this book... actually all of my books in general. I haven't been updating and I apologize for that. I could make a few excuses for my inconsistence, but I won't.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter... which was written a little longer than most (you're welcome ◕‿↼). And also, Adrien is getting closer and closer to figuring out just what happened to Ladybug.

Prepare yourself for the next chapter, my friends!

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