When the Phoenix Falls (Adrien Agreste)

Chapter 4: The Bubbler

Colette had arrived early at school that morning, knowing that it was Adrien's birthday and hoping to give him his gift before school started. She was well aware that the boy was not allowed to eat in the cafeteria during breaks or stay late after school, and so she might not get a chance to give it to him during the times when students usually interacted with each other. This had caused her to get up extra early, though her parents were already awake and prepared to open the bakery by the time she left the house. She was armed with a bag of almond croissants - knowing that they were Adrien's favourite - as well as a few of the apricot type she preferred. Her schoolbag was packed with all the books she would need for the day, alongside a sketchbook and her present for Adrien, which was encased in a silver file as she was not very good at wrapping presents and Marinette had not been around to offer assistance.

Colette had perched herself on the steps at the bottom of one of the pillars leading into the school, knowing that there was no way she could miss the sight of the car that drove Adrien to school every day from such an angle, and she wouldn't be bothered by other students hanging out around the staircase. She was most of the way through sketching the outlines of pigeon she had seen the previous day and taken a picture of with her phone, when a voice startled her out of her thoughts, incidentally causing her to create a harsh line across the page.

"Whatcha doin'?" Nino asked, before noticing what had happened and smiling apologetically. "Sorry, dudette, didn't mean to scare you."

"It's fine, Nino." Colette assured him, closing the notebook as though that would somehow erase the accidental line. "I was just waiting for Adrien and thought I might as well start drawing something before he got here."

"Well, I think that might be his car just pulling up." Nino told her, offering a hand to help her up. Colette tucked her sketchbook into the bag, slipping the pencil into an inside pocket of her waistcoat, before accepting the offer and joining the boy as he went to greet his best friend.

"Hey, Dude." Nino greeted, throwing his arm around Adrien in a half hug before going back to blowing bubbles.

"Hi, Nino. Hello, Colette." Adrien greeted them, though both of his friends could hear the tinge of sadness in the boy's voice.

Colette exchanged a worried look with Nino, unsure what could have caused the boy to look so upset on his birthday, she gestured for the other boy to ask.

"So," Nino started, dragging out the word in a way only he could do without sounding strange. "What's up?"

Adrien hung his head, "My father won't let me have a party."

"Dude, seriously, has your Dad always been such a downer. You'd think he at least remember what it was like to be young and want to party a little."

"No, I'm pretty sure he was a downer back then too." Adrien almost smiled before going back to his unhappy state. "Oh well, at least I tried."

"It's your b-day, dude. Insist." Nino told him, but Adrien only shrugged.

"I don't know, Nino, my father isn't one to change his mind."

"Well, if you won't feel any better on that front." Colette said, reaching into her bag and drawing out the silver file. "I do have a present for you that might make for some of it."

"Thanks, Colette!" Adrien smiled, sounding genuinely excited by the concept of receiving something. "I wasn't expecting-"

He fell silent as he opened the file and looked at the slim book inside. He opened it up and his eyes flitted across the pages, still not saying a word.

"Do you like it?" Colette asked, starting to feel slightly nervous, as though she had not done the correct thing. "I didn't know quite what to get you and I thought you might-"