Click, who is this

Chapter 10

When Adrien walks out of his limousine, he was not expecting to see both Alya and Nino at the front of the steps.

At first, he thought they might have been going out for a lunch date, but when he got closer he realized they were waiting for someone.

He didn't know that someone would be him.

"Agreste," Alya sternly acknowledges, her brows furrowed down and her grin a little too happy to be real. Something was up. The tone in Alya's voice and the frown on his best friend's face was all the proof he needs.

"Alya, Nino! What are you guys doing out here?" He tries diverting, acting as though he didn't pick up on anything, as though he was genuine.

He isn't, he hasn't been since Lila came to the school.

Then again, he wasn't that different before either. He couldn't let the front up, father would be ashamed and lock up completely again. He was finally coming out of his office more—acknowledging his mere presence again. All because he does what he asks him too, no matter how much he dislikes doing it.

A mask was on him, one that's been on him for so long he doesn't think he can really take it off.

There was a tense silence. One he was unsure with how to deal with, but he was used to silence. Really, this wasn't silence, Silence is what he usually comes home to. Silence is he empty house that doesn't fit the definition of home everyone else has. It's the thing that eats and eats and eats till nothing but loneliness and despair is left. So, no this wasn't silence. Anticipation really—not silence. This was just a moment of calm before a storm.

How strong of a storm, he didn't know yet.

Nino was the one to break the tension. His words cutting it like a knife.

"Dude, did you know Lila was lying the whole time?"

Adrien, like the usual coward, got his excuse out. The same lie he gave Marinette. The one he himself doesn't truly believe but what else is he suppose to do? Lila works with father, is probably closer with him than he is and he's his son. With a few words, the girl could easily get him removed from school for good; his only ounce of freedom he has swiped away because of a foxes vile words.

"I didn't think her lies were hurting anyone, really! I thought she was simply trying to gain friends and-" he continued, the same voice he used when forced to lie to his father or Nat. Play dumb, play like a doll. Shouting is still attention, attention means you still mean something. Good or bad, it still means he isn't alone. Good attention equals love, bad attention means you didn't listen to father and father ends up not even looking at you for a week. That was always worse than the disappointed shouting.

"Quit the crap Adrien," Alya stepped forward, her eyes staring at him as though they were trying to truly see his soul.

His instincts screamed to just apologize and say he won't do whatever it is they mean again. It works on father, and he's a difficult man to convince. Surely it'll work on them?

"And before you go on about what sick reason you thought lying to Mari about 'sticking together', I want to hear the actual reason you're being such a spineless coward," Alya spat—he hopes she didn't noticed his shoulders tense up at the mention of sticking together.

Maybe it's because he's afraid of what they might think of him. A coward who's afraid of his own father—how messed up is that?

"I-" His voice cracks, his mask, one he wears more than his own skin, was actually breaking.

Instead of berating him even more, Alya and Nino waited for his response. They weren't going to let him out of this.

This mess was all his fault, he hates himself but he was already doing that before all this. Adrien missed the days they would go out for lunch just the four of them (the times he was actually allowed too of course), with Nino and Adrien rough housing it while Alya and Marinette would just bicker at each other or talk about Alya's blog. The way Alya and Nino would run ahead and flirt and he and Marinette end up being the third wheelers; not that he minded, being with Marinette always brought him the feeling of safety. A warmth he once felt with his mother before she passed (before he realized what she had actually done to him).

He misses them.

And finally, the dam broke. Tears came pouring down his cheeks, his nose was already stuffing itself up. He messed up so badly. He always does.

"I was scared" He huffed, wiping the tears off his face, wishing for Plagg to be here right now so he could just cuddle up with the only thing that's never left him.

Alya's eyes toned down a bit on the anger, something he only seen once when he had seen her talk to her sisters. A sympathy that only cooled the anger—but not fully dissolve it.

"What do you mean?" It was Nino who asked, still not looking at him in the eye. Now that the model thought about it, he doesn't think Nino's been looking at him at all, either his girlfriend or the floor has his attention.

"I-I thought she'd tell my father a-and that he'd take me out of school or-" He croaked, wiping the tears that refused to stay in. "-make me distance myself even more," Adrien knew he could have explained further but something in him held him back. He didn't have the energy to fight it.

"Adrien your father is an actual dick, yes, and while that's a reason I need you to know something," Alya stepped forward, making them only a food or so apart. Her arms were still crossed.

"You aren't the only one Lila is hurting, Marinette has been tormented by that girl and by the end of the day you didn't do a single thing. Now I'm not any better than you but guess what Agreste?" She pointed a finger up, almost in an accusing way.

Adrien knew what she was going to say yet they still had the same amount of effect on him.

"I stood up, admitted I fucked up, and did whatever I could to get Marinette Dupain-Cheng, the nicest, sweetest person on this planet, to forgive me,"

It was almost funny, how affected by a statement he knew was coming. At the end of the day, Adrien was almost an adult, his father couldn't control him forever, and if life goes how he hopes it will he could finally get away from his father in a way that won't force him to loose another parent forever again. Another thing to examine was that his reasoning—his abuse (it's taken countless sleepless nights and immense research to realize that, yes, what his father and mother have been doing for his entire life was abuse) wasn't an excuse to what he's probably caused Marinette to go through. (and that thought is what scares him the most, the fear that because of him, Marinette has to go through a similar mental torture he went through that was trauma).

"I-I have to go—I have to apologize to her I-" He finally stopped crying, but his eyes are puffy (he probably looks red too)

"I have to fix this"

And for the first time in a while, Alya smiled at him (it wasn't a big one, more so just a push to keep him going). Nino finally looks at him, hope shining in his eyes. The realization that they were hoping he'd try to fix this—their group, the lies, Lila—powered him to run off inside.

He has to make things right,

He had to—not for himself, but for her.