Miraculous Startline

Unexpected Arrival

The group entered the lounge again, with Lila following close behind, the music came to a stop, and the group of teens paused, watchful eyes glancing up from their partners and drinks. Adrien saw the looks of confusion and anger engulfing his friend's faces, and watched as Alix stepped forward.

"What's she doing here?" she snarled, glaring at Lila.

"Lila is here to have fun, just like the rest of us" Adrien replied, a hint of annoyance tinging his voice.

"She's a LIAR!" a voice from the crowd of teens called out.

"Lie-la" another teen laughed.

"Stop it!" Marinette spoke up, moving next to Adrien and grabbing onto his arm. "Yes she's lied, and yes she's made mistakes. But we all have, and you never know what someone might be going through." She added, looking up at Adrien who glanced back with a comforting look. "We are just as bad as her if we exclude her any longer. She's to come back to school at some point, and I think she has learnt her lesson? Right?" Marinette asked, glancing back at Lila.

Lila gave a hesitant l nod- her eyes fixed on the floor, and Marinette turned her attention back to the party goers.

"What're you all standing around for? Kitty-Section is up next, right?" Marinette asked, attempting to restart the party. But, when no one moved Marinette grew anxious, maybe this wasn't a good idea?

"Yeah! Let's go guys!" Luka spoke up, walking over to Juleka and dragging her towards the stage. Thankfully, his actions seemed to work. The rest of Kitty-Section made their way to the end of the room and began to play.

As the party kicked in, the group split up. Chloe and Marinette headed over to watch the band. Alya and Nino started a game of pool and Adrien seemed to mingle. Except, what he was really doing was keeping an eye on Lila. As Adrien made small talk, he subtly watched as Lila made her way around the room. She seemed to avoid conversation, and was more focused on the party decorations.

"Weird." Adrien said aloud, mid conversation with Ivan. When met with a questioning look, Adrien apologised and excused himself. He walked across the room, fed up with so focused on Lila at his own party- and approached Wayhem.

"Hey dude," Adrien said, startling the fan as he swung around to face Adrien.

"Adrien! Amazing party!" Wayhem exclaimed in response, beaming a smile at his idol.

"Yeah- thing is, I'm not really enjoying it right now. Could you do something for me?" Adrien asked cautiously.

"Of course! Anything!" Wayhem announced. A smile formed on Adrien's face, he knew he could trust Wayhem.

"Could you keep an eye on Lila? I know we let her in and all, but i still don't trust her enough to let her wander around my house with no one keeping watch."

"Yeah I can do that." He said, his voice drifting off in thought. "Why did you let her in?" He queried.

Adrien reached out and patted his shoulder, with a comforting smile he simply replied "It's complicated." Wayhem seemed to accept this, as he nodded and walked off, presumably to keep an eye on Lila.

Before Adrien could head towards Marinette, an all too familiar voice rang in his ears and he stopped in his tracks.

"Adrien?" The voice asked from behind him.

"Kagami?"

"Hello." She said calmly. "Can we talk? Somewhere a bit quieter?" She added as she flinched at the loud bass echoing through the room.

Adrien hesitated, he looked back at Marinette. She was cheering the band on with Chloe. So, Adrien followed Kagami out into the foyer.
Almost immediately, he questioned Kagami, asking:
"How come you're still in Paris? I thought you left after the ball?"

"That's what I needed to talk to you about." She stated, leaning her back against the banister of the grand staircase and propping her leg up against it.

"Oh?" Adrien questioned, standing his ground in front of the doors.

"After the accident, we stayed in town until we heard if you were okay. Somehow, in that time, my mother found work in Paris... We are having our belongings shipped back over, I'll be moving back to Paris for a few years." she said flatly.

"Right..." Is all Adrien could think to reply, he couldn't tell if she was happy or saddened by this. But he was also confused as to why Kagami was telling him.

"I'm telling you this because, well because I'm being enrolled at your school. Starting September it will be our last year of high school, and my mother wants me to make connections- ready for college you know? So I thought I should give you a heads up after, uh, everything?"

"Oh uh that's great Kagami! I'm sure everyone will love having you back" Adrien replied hastily. To be honest, Adrien still felt incredibly guilty for what had happened between him and Kagami, and especially at the ball. He was completely oblivious to her pain and he was angry at himself for becoming 'one of them boys'.

"I'm not too sure about that." Kagami sighed, hanging her head low as she shuffled her feet on the floor.

"Why wouldn't they?" Adrien asked curiously, walking slowly towards Kagami.

"I'm the villain to them Adrien. They don't see me as Ryuuko, or the girl that made you happy... They see me as the one who stood in between Adrien and Marinette, or the girl who showed up to the Hero's Gala with Lila. They won't accept me" Kagami sighed.

Kagami had missed this, being able to talk to Adrien like they used to when they were younger. It was one of the best things about Adrien, he understood her, comforted her and related to her. Kagami was unsure whether they still had that bond, if he would even listen- but Kagami knew that if she didn't try, she would never know.

"You're not the villain. My father was, is." Adrien corrected himself as he walked past Kagami and sat down on the marble step. "You know, the whole time I let my father treat me like crap. I thought I was helping him, giving him space to grieve. Now, I just can't help but think that if I was even a little bit more involved, if I tried a little harder to reconnect with him after, after my mother 'disappeared'- that maybe things would've been different. Maybe I could've stopped him before it was too late... His trial is Friday, he'll probably spend the rest of his life in jail and never see me again. I'm sure he doesn't care, but it just feels so wrong. I mean, does a man who was trying to save his family deserve to die alone?"

"I don't know," Kagami replied simply as she turned and stood in front of Adrien, relieved that their bond reminded after all of these years.

"I can't take this Kagami. I don't want to see him, I couldn't face him without feeling sick to my stomach. So why don't I hate him? Why don't i want him to spend the rest of his life in prison?" Adrien pleaded, looking up at a deflated Kagami.

"I wonder what we did to end up here? Me, unwanted and shunned by my peers. And you, neglected and abandoned, by your father." She laughed sarcastically.

"If it makes you feel any better, you're definitely less hated than Lila and she's in there, probably chatting up one of my friends from Aunt Amelie's company." Adrien chuckled warmly at Kagami.

"Thank you Adrien," Kagami replied with a smile before turning to leave, walking towards the door.

"Wait!" Adrien called after her, jumping up from the step he was perched on. "You can stay, enjoy the party!" He urged.

"I was never one to party, you know that." she said, with her back to Adrien and she swung the door open and began to walk out.

Turning her head, she gave a soft smile before saying "Happy Birthday Adrien." and exiting, her figure bathed in a halo of neon light.