the next holders//mlb fanfiction

7//feelings

After de-transforming, Autumn searches for Miles and together, they return to school. The whole way back, Miles talks excitedly about the video he got on the new heroes, Autumn can only enjoy it. Once they walk into the classroom, everyone starts talking. They followed Miles' livestream and can't stop asking questions about the things they had seen.

"Are you okay?" Catherine asks Autumn.
"I'm fine, don't worry." Autumn answers with a smile.

"What did it feel like to be captured by that villain? It looked like a neat scene in an action movie!" Roux interrupts.
"I was really scared back then, but now it feels kinda amazing." Autumn responds.

"Yea, it's amazing how you got involved in a dangerous situation that didn't concern you." El mumbles sarcastically — she returned before Autumn and Miles — and even though it wasn't her intention for anyone to hear it, Roux did and immediately gets hot-headed towards El.

"What's your problem?" El shrugs, she's not in the mood to get into another fight today. Fighting villains is tiring. "You haven't even been in this school for a day and you're already acting like a brat! I'm not surprised you haven't made any friends so far." Roux says harshly, Autumn tries to stop them, but it's no use.

"It's not like I'd want to be friends with someone like you." El says, still uninterested. To Roux, it feels like she's mocking them, which makes them even more angry.

"What do you mean 'someone like me'?"

"You're friends with Autumn, right? That's what I mean by it. Nothing more or less."

"What's your deal with Autumn? She's kind, caring and the most selfless person you'll ever meet. She's always prepared to help her friends, her family or even strangers. You'd know that if you gave her a chance!" Roux shouts, which gets their classmates and teacher to notice their small fight. The teacher interferes and gets both of them to back off and sit down.

"You better enjoy those good times you have with her and cherish those memories, because she'll leave you sooner or later." El manages to whisper to Roux before the teacher starts the class.

After school, El is the first to leave the classroom. She's skating home when Plagg comes flying out. "I'll steal some cheese to recharge your energy once we get to the orphanage, don't worry." She tells him, assuming that's what he wanted to say. He hasn't been able to recharge because he ate all the cheese earlier today.

"I'd like that, but that's not what I came to talk to you about." Plagg says, but El pushes him back into her bag when she gets to a busy street.

"We'll talk about this once we're alone, I can't risk anyone seeing you." She whispers, Plagg understands and stays hidden.

Although, when they arrive at the orphanage, they can't find a moment to be alone. El's roommates are in their room and the cafeteria is crowded with people too. El whispers to Plagg that he can steal some cheese from the kitchen if he promises to be careful and that he won't be seen. Plagg nods and flies off.

El walks into her room. She doesn't bother to greet her roommates and lays down in her bed. Her bed is the top side of the bunk bed, she likes the privacy there. She opens her bag and is about to grab her sketchbook when she notices a piece of paper. She hasn't been able to read that yet, it's the letter that came with the skateboard. She opens the letter and starts reading.

"goodmorning, afternoon, evening or whenever you read this. I found this skateboard on the street after that akuma attack and I knew it belonged to you. As you might know by now, Ladybug's power is to repair all damage done by the akuma. Since your skateboard broke because of the attack, it got restored to its original state. Although, that's not all this letter is for. I hope you liked the accessory I gave you that day, because it's not an easy thing to return. Besides, it's the reward you deserved for saving my life. I'll also ask you to take care of the cat plushy that came with the accessory, his name is Plagg and he can be very sensitive sometimes. For now, please take good care of yourself, El. 'til we meet again."

El finishes. 'A plushy she should take care of' and 'an accessory that cannot be returned', El thinks it's written in the best way possible. To everyone, it sounds like a random letter with no useful information, but it's actually helpful to El. She now knows it's that man that gave her the miraculous and she might meet him again. He also told her that Plagg can be sensitive, she knows Plagg would never admit something like that himself.

For now, she stores the letter safely in her bag and takes out her sketchbook. She draws for a while and eventually finishes a drawing of Ladybug and Lady Noire. Ladybug catches an akuma while Lady Noire stands next to her. It's a beautiful drawing, but El thinks it looks awful, she's rarely satisfied with a drawing she made herself.

After a while, Plagg returns to El. He rubs his stomach with his small hands as a sign he succeeded. El giggles a bit and lays down her hand. Plagg sits down on it, looking at El with a confused look in his eyes. El smiles at him, rubbing his back with her index finger. Plagg secretly enjoys it and doesn't stop her. After communicating non-verbally for a while, El's roommates finally leave the room, announcing they're going to get some dinner. El says she'll eat later and her roommates leave without her.

"So, what is it you wanted to talk about?" El asks Plagg, who had already forgotten about it.

"Why do you dislike that girl so much?" He asks, El didn't expect this question and sighs.

"It's a long story and it's not something I enjoy talking about. But if you really wanna know, I'll tell you." Plagg insists he wants to know, so El starts explaining. "As you probably already noticed, I'm a loner. I don't have a lot of friends and I don't really fit in. I remember the day I got transported into the orphanage. I was only five years old, I was a shy girl that just lost both of her parents in an accident. I remember that I was sitting in a corner, it was dinner time, but I wasn't hungry. Then Autumn walked up to me, she was about a year younger than me, yet when she offered me food with a warm smile. She gave me this feeling as if she would always be there for me. She became my first friend ever. We had much fun together. For example, when we were 9 and 10 years old, we escaped the orphanage through a window to watch the fireworks on new year's eve from an abandoned place where no one could find us. But we were young and we fell asleep together, just to be found the next day by Miss Blanchard. We got in a lot of trouble, but at least we got into trouble together. Sneaking out on new year's eve became our thing, we started doing it every year. Most of the time, I was the one carrying Autumn back to the orphanage, since she had fallen asleep while watching again. Then, three years ago, in early December, Autumn started to act weird. I asked her multiple times what was going on, but she never answered. Two weeks after she started acting weird, I came into our room just to see her bags being packed. She was in tears and simply told me she was leaving. I wouldn't believe it, but it did happen. However, New Year's eve was coming up so I still got my hopes up. On the 31st of December, I went to our special place, I waited for her to come, but she never did. That's when I realized I'd never ever see her again. It took me about a year to actually move on. I haven't made a friend ever since. And I still can't forgive her for not telling me she was leaving."