Dear Bugaboo

The Door

Hey, guys! Surprise chapter! This is for a special occasion: The Miraculous Ladybug NY Special today! I'm a little too hyped and decided to do something for today! So, here is an early chapter!

Enjoy!

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Nathalie stared down into the dark, ominous staircase that was hidden under her ex-boss's bed. Her eyes were wide and mouth slightly agape in shock. A shiver ran down her spine and nose wrinkled at the horrendous smell.

Adrien stood next to her in worry, continuously glancing between his temporary guardian and the hidden stairwell. Adrien explained everything about his mother's pin and the weird carving in the wooden bed frame. He didn't know what Nathalie was thinking but the look on her face sure concerned him out of his wits.

   Heck, the blonde was a little frightened by the woman's silent, stalk-still form. It seemed even Nathalie was too intimidated to get any closer to the entrance than Adrien was. With a shaky breath, Adrien spoke, "Are we going to call the police about this?"

   Nathalie was snapped out of her deep thoughts and looked at the teen. Her lips thinned out for a moment before replying, "I'm going to have George go down there before the police."

Adrien was about to ask who "George" was until remembering that that was the "Gorilla's" actual name. The ex-model would sometimes forget that his bodyguard had an actual name since he never talks, only grunts.

   "Wait," Adrien said, coming back to the situation with the stairs, "Why are you sending him down there before to police? We don't know what's going to be at the end of those stairs."

   With a shaky sigh, Nathalie sent a quick text to the "Gorilla" to come immediately with a flashlight before turning to answer Adrien. She knelt down to the teen's level and secured her hands on his shoulders. Curious green eyes met unsure blue.

"I know it might be dangerous but...we might find answers or clues to all the questions we've been asking. The police might classify those things from us since your father was one of the top illegal criminals in Paris," Nathalie explained. Adrien wasn't sure how much he liked that answer but didn't question her any farther. Then, his bodyguard arrived just a split second later.

His eyes widened at the sight of the stairwell before Nathalie explained everything that happened. The "Gorilla" nodded in confirmation and headed over to the eerie-looking stairs. He pointed the end of the flashlight down at the stairs and turned it on.

   Most of the darkness vanished instantly, showing more steps leading down deeper into the depths of the ground. The light illuminated the old, brick-like stone walls and stairs. Yet, the blanket of shadow still covered whatever mystery lied beneath its surface.

   Adrien could feel a slight chill run down his spine. This shouldn't have surprised him that his father would have a secret room within this giant mansion. This shouldn't have scared him as much now knowing his father was the notorious criminal, Hawkmoth.

So, why was the blonde so alarmed and felt his body tremble in fear? Why was he still surprised by the most secretive man Adrien's ever known having secrets? Why did his stomach twist and churn? Was it from the smell...or something else?

Adrien had taken in a shaky breath of air and released it through his nose, combing his hand through his golden locks of hair. He sat down on the floor when felling a little lightheaded and suddenly hit by a wave of tiredness.

Nathalie saw this and made her way over to the teen. She crouched down and placed a hand on Adrien's shoulder, gaining his attention.

The woman gave a small, reassuring smile as she said, "Why don't you go lay down for a bit and rest? Then, we can go to that one bakery across from the park."

Adrien glanced away from Nathalie for a moment to look at the stairs before returning his gaze back to her. He nodded his head in agreement before standing up and headed for the door.

Adrien stopped at the door and turned around, asking, "If it's not too much trouble, could you please get my mother's pin back to me when the bed comes back down?"

"Of course," Nathalie replied. With that, Adrien left for his room.

The "Gorilla" finally began to make his way down the stairs, every step he took echoed off the walls. There were also sounds of dripping water accompanying in the capacity of noises. At times, he came across spider webs and flinched away from each one he stumbled upon. He did have a bad case of arachnophobia, after all.

George eventually arrived at the bottom of the cold, musty stairwell. He was met by an iron door with a small, one-way window embedded in the metal. The bodyguard reached out his oddly ape-like hand to the handle and twisted it open.

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   As promised earlier, Nathalie took Adrien to the Tom & Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie. The said blonde was wearing his usual disguise while munching on chocolate-filled croissants. Yet, he didn't have his go-to joyous attitude like he usually did when he came to the bakery.

However, Nathalie was across from him with tense muscles and looking everywhere that wasn't Adrien. There wasn't much to look at considering there was only one other person sitting in a faraway table and the bakers were in the kitchen. This didn't stop the fidgety woman though.

The blonde didn't seem to really notice, too focused on the sweets and continuously glancing at the one other person in the bakery. It was hard for him to see but that person seemed...familiar.

   "Hey, Nathalie. I'll be right back," Adrien said, getting up from his seat and walked off. Nathalie didn't say anything. She was too anxious waiting for a text message from George about whatever was down the steps.

The teen planned to just do a walk by and act like he was heading to the restroom. Green eyes glanced over at the person and immediately knew who it was.

And, it seemed this person recognized him too, even with the disguise.

Both brown and green eyes went wide.

"Never thought I would see you here, Adrien Agreste."

Adrien blinked before replying, "Ditto."

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