"he became obsessed and started following the thread. all his decisions were made towards the idea of finding the woman who shared the red thread with him." -joy l.

☾ ☽

     The mere fact that Adrien was able to see his string thanks to Ladybug's yo-yo only caused him to think about her more. He stared at the ever changing colors on Alya's Ladyblog, hoping to find some answers. "You're helpless," Plagg sighed as he downed another slice of cheese, "She's got two eyes, legs, and arms like every other ordinary person. Ladybug isn't tasty looking like Camembert!" The rotting stench from the snack infiltrated Adrien's thoughts and forced him to shut down his thoughts on the thread for a mere second.

     "Plagg! Go eat your cheese somewhere else," Adrien complained. Plagg mumbled under his breath something about finding a good place to shove up a cheese, but Adrien merely ignored the comment and swiveled back in his chair at the screen. "Alya, please don't fail me now..." He muttered as he clicked article upon article for any clues that could lead him to someone.

   Anyone.

   But none came up.

   Ladybug was doing a great job at hiding her identity, as he was with himself. This frustrated him. He groaned, slouching in his seat and heaving a heavy sigh. The small kwami noticed the boy's depression and pushing the thoughts of cheese aside, which in Plagg's case was nearly impossible, tried to cheer him up. "On the bright side, you've got school this morning," Plagg said, floating over to the boy like a bobbing balloon, "Maybe the so called love of your life will be there-."

     "Brilliant idea, Plagg!" Adrien shot up in an instant, grabbing the surprised kwami out of the air, who, mind you, was squealing in fear, and shoved the creature into his backpack, "I'll keep an eye out on the string when I get there." He smiled down at the red thread with was tied around his pinky. As he felt the nearly unnoticeable tug from the string pull him a bit forward, his grin grew wider, nearly Cheshire-like. Slinging the bag over his shoulder, the young model zoomed down the stairs, completely neglecting his breakfast and pushing right past his father's assistant.

A flash of worry appeared on Nathalie's face, but was immediately erased due to her distant demeanor. Her mind was unable to comprehend why the boy was so energetic, especially ever since the disappearance of his mother which caused his family to erupt into chaos. "Is everything alright?" She called as Adrien rushed to the doors, clutching a clipboard with his schedule tightly to her chest, "Should I call your father?" She honestly didn't want to report to Gabriel Agreste that his son was acting strange, as of wanting to keep her job, but it seemed necessary at the time.

     Adrien looked over the diligent assistant quickly. Her tight bun and turtleneck sweater emphasized her uptight behavior. Even though even though everything she wore was black to demonstrate her formality, such as the black dress jack and matching pants, the red streak in her hair was her personal rebellion against the world. "No worries, Nathalie!" Adrien waved enthusiastically as he pushed the doors wide open, "I'll be heading out with the Gorilla."

     "Remember, you have a modeling shoot at three-," Nathalie tried to say, but was quickly cut off by the sudden slam of the door. She rubbed her temple while a churn of emotions burned inside her. "I'll tell the cook to stop preparing for breakfast, then," She swiftly scribbled on her clipboard and headed back towards the dining room. Her dark heels clicked against the floor, with each sound interfering with the silence of the mansion.

     Click.

     Click.

     There was a pause.

     She had stopped in her tracks. In that moment, Nathalie was spontaneously hit with the realization of how quiet the house was.

☾ ☽

Adrien slid into his seat as if he was mimicking a Michael Jackson dance move and held up his fist. "Woah, dude, why are you so hyped up today?" His best friend Nino chuckled, bumping his own fist against Adrien's. "But I'm glad you're in a good mood. Cough up." The rims on his glasses glistened, reflecting his suspicions.

     "It's nothing you need to know," Adrien chuckled while popping open a bottle of water to quench his thirst, and while the blonde gulped it down, Nino snapped his fingers as if a light bulb went off in his head.

     "Dude. I got it! You like someone," He enthusiastically elbowed Adrien, who choked on his water and spat it out in an instant while locked in a flurry of coughs.

   "Wha-, no-!" Adrien heaved with his chest tightening. His throat tickled, and he continued to cough.

    This sight was immediately beheld by Marinette and Alya who had just walked into the classroom and Adrien's face immediately flushed with embarrassment. He wiped at his mouth in a hurry, but paused as Marinette held something out to him.

     "D-Do you need this?" The girl gave a glance as she handed him a small, white handkerchief. Her forehead wrinkled with worry and as he examined her closer, he realized that there was a small spray of freckles across the bridge of her nose. Her cheeks were painted with a light pink as if chosen with the most delicate of colors on a palette. The crystal blue in her eyes seemed to strangely remind him of someone familiar, but he couldn't place a pin on it.

     Snapping out of the trance, Adrien reached for the small piece of cloth, "Oh, yes. Thank you, Marinette." He gave her a kind smile, in which inflamed the girl's face even more. As he took hold of the soft fabric, something caught the corner of his eye.

     A red string.

     Tightly wrapped around the girl's own pinky finger was a tiny bow, like on a present on Christmas. His eyes looked down at his own string, remembering his objective, but realized that it were intertwined and knotted up among the rest of the classmates in the room. Adrien shook his pinky slightly, not wanting to look too strange. The string trembled a bit, but stopped due to all the ties in the room.

     Marinette's eyes widened for a brief second and shook her head, as if dismissing a thought. After wiping the handkerchief against his mouth and the table, he looked up at the shy girl, "Do you mind if I hold onto it? I don't want to give it back dirty."

      She waved her hands in protest, "No, it's fine! I can wash it when I get home..." She reached for the cloth in his hand.

     Adrien immediately stopped her by taking her hand in his, and was surprised by how soft it was. "Believe me. I'll clean it up for you," He gave her a wink, and Marinette froze up, laughing nervously. He looked at her hands, and the strings on their fingers almost looked as if they were connected. 

      Alya and Nino were stifling their laughter in the back, excited by the scene before them. Adrien let go of her hand, and she finally smiled back, "O-Okay. I-I'll see you later then..?" She was quickly pushed by Alya up the stairs to the seats behind them.

      Nino slapped him playfully on the back while pushing his glasses up in place, "Man, you were smooth!"

      Adrien chuckled, "Coughing up my water was smooth?" He opened up his bag and gently placed Marinette's handkerchief next to a giggling Plagg. He frowned. "What's so funny?" Adrien whispered to the kwami.

     "Nothing," Plagg held his tiny stomach as his shoulders shook, "I just have the feeling that something funny's gonna happen soon."

     "The choking on water bit didn't do it for you?" Adrien groaned, rolling his green eyes. The door opened again, and Ms. Mendeleiev, the teacher, entered the room. Her white lab coat hung on her body like a dead animal's skin. He quickly sat upright, because Ms. Mendeleiev had to be one of the strictest teachers he ever had.

     Halfway through the day, Adrien tried to follow his string up and around the classroom. Alya? No, it was obvious that she and Nino were meant to be by the sight of their strings. Chloé? Anyone but her. Marinette..? He turned around to the girl behind him, who was eagerly scribbling something down in her journal. A new design for an outfit, perhaps.

     "Alright class, let us begin the next subject. Please open up your physics books on your tablets to pages one hundred and-," She was interrupted by a loud CRASH outside the window. A being flew by the window, too fast for the human eye to see. "It's another one. Class, we'll end quickly today. Read over those pages for homework!" She ran out of the class, with everyone right behind her.

     Adrien waited for everyone to leave, and opened his bag again. Plagg flew out, shaking his head, "You weren't able to find the love of your life?"

     He shook his head, "No, but I have a feeling that I'll be seeing her soon."

---

i was literally gone for a few weeks due to finals and already 3k with 200+ votes?

o.o *screeching noises in the distance*

wow. you guys are absolutely amazing. i'll work hard to update more frequently! thanks for everything!

xoxo,
arisa