𝓐𝓶𝓫𝓲𝓿𝓪𝓵𝓮𝓷𝓽- 𝓐 𝓕𝓮𝓵𝓲𝓷𝓮𝓽𝓽𝓮 𝓢𝓽𝓸𝓻𝔂

𝐹𝒶𝓂𝒾𝓁𝒾𝒶𝓁 𝑀𝒶𝓉𝓉𝑒𝓇𝓈

A dream of any Parisian girl would be to live with Adrien Agreste.

Unfortunately, Felix was neither and hated the strict schedules of his cousin. Every morning he would awake and begin practicing the piano, play with Noir, or any other action that included noise. Félix was a light sleeper but believed no sane person should be awake before 7 AM.

Félix had piano lessons in an orchestra hall near his home in London. Here, the chords of the same Mozart songs echoed through the halls constantly, even as Félix lied down for a nap.

The worst part about living at Agreste Estate though was attending events with the father-son duo. Journalists constantly asked where his father was, and Félix would have to use one of the many excuses his mother fed to him as a child.

He hated defending the bastard, but the pressure from the press was worse.

After he awoke, he noticed the French model standing in the doorway.

"Hey, Félix. Need help?" He asked.

It was too early in the morning for small talk. "No, I'm fine. Thank you." He returned to his pile of boxes in the corner, picking up the one labeled 'Do Not Touch'.

Seemingly not getting the hint, Adrien continued speaking. "How have you been? I hope everything is okay."

He set the box down near the bed, slid it underneath, and threw the comforter over to hide it.

"Yes, everything is great." His annoyance grew prevalent in his voice, so he tried to keep his sentences as short as possible.

"That's good."

Félix hoped he would take the silence as a sign to end the conversation. But as he turned around, he noticed Adrien's attention focused on the small silver ring  on the desk.

"Hey, can I ask you a question?" Adrien pondered as he kept his gaze on the ring.

"Sure." Since he wouldn't leave, Félix would have to answer all his questions.

"What's it like having total freedom to do whatever you want?"

Félix paused his thoughts. It was a dangerous idea to tell Adrien anything, but it was more dangerous to tell the truth.

"I don't have total freedom, it's just a sort of lease of me being here. I can't do anything without your dad's permission, at least."

"Really?"

"Yeah. The only way I was able to go to the bakery was if I brought back some for you and your dad."

The two remained silent for a minute, and then Adrien sparked conversation.

"So your dad still has control over you from London..." He murmured.

"In a sense, yes. But I don't always listen to those old heads." Félix shrugged off the thought of his father. He knew it was one of the only topics they could discuss, but he didn't appreciate his father being the main focus of the conversation.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, that I break the rules every once in a while. What, you've never done anything against your family's wishes?"

"Why would I do that?" Adrien's eyebrows scrunched in confusion and worry.

"I thought you were a goody two shoes, but jeez. You haven't snuck out to go to a party or something?"  

Adrien shook his head.

Félix wasn't sure what overcame him at that moment, but he suggested something remotely dumb.

"What, do you want to go to one?"

"A party?"

"No, a funeral."

The drop on his cousin's face almost made Félix laugh, but he realized how impossible this idea was. At 14 years old, the guy already had a nanny and bodyguard shaped like a refrigerator.

If they were going to sneak out together, it would likely have to be during one of his scheduled events.

"What class or club do you have next?" He looked at his phone. It was 6 p.m., and most public places would likely close in the next 2 hours.

"I don't have anything else planned for today. But tomorrow, I have fencing from 5 to 7. I could try to get out of that by calling in sick."

"No, your dad has to call in sick. Trust me, I used to do lacrosse back in London, and they had a strict rule that parents had to call in sick for their kids so that nobody would be unaccounted for."

"Darn it. What now?"

"We could cause a distraction, cause a scene. If there's a big commotion, your father would be distracted, and we could make a run for it."

Félix opened the door more and motioned for Adrien to leave.

He looked around the room as he fidgeted with his hands. "Are you sure we can do this?"

"No, but if I have to hear that piano one more time I'm going to lose my mind."

Adrien's laugh echoed into the hallway as he left the room.