A Miraculous Tale: Hawk Moth

Ch. 12

Adrien's foot was thoroughly bruised. Being rejected by Marinette was devastating. All he had done the remainder of the afternoon was cry on his bed, kick the sofa, cry on his bed some more, pace, and now he was back to kicking the sofa. Natalie and his nanny had realized he wasn't feeling well, so they had reluctantly decided to leave him alone. It was now late at night, but Adrien couldn't sleep.

"Want some camembert?" Plagg held out a piece of the stinky cheese.

"No thanks, Plagg." Adrien mumbled.

"Are you sure?" Plagg offered again. "It's so beautifully rancid it'll make you forget about everything."

Adrien shrugged. "I should've seen it coming, Plagg. She's rejected me as Ladybug so many times. Why did I think this time would be any different?"

Plagg was quiet. Adrien continued kicking the couch. He was positive he was going to have a giant bruise on his foot by the end of the night, but at the moment he couldn't care less.

"Maybe we could do something?" Plagg offered; he was still holding the piece of cheese.

Adrien gave up and fell onto the couch. "Like what?"

"You do have to fight Hawk Moth tomorrow night. Why not prepare?"

Adrien stared blankly at the ceiling. He'd have to face Hawk Moth tomorrow with Ladybug, also known as Marinette, the girl who'd rejected Cat Noir too many times to count.

Just the thought of it made him groan.

"You'll have to face her sooner or later." Plagg said.

"Maybe I can just hide in my room forever. Besides, isn't that what my dad's always wanted?" As an afterthought he realized he'd be fighting his dad.

"You don't look so good." Plagg said.

Adrien looked at him. The piece of cheese that had been in his hands was now on a plate.

"I feel betrayed." Adrien stated. He stared at the blank ceiling again, wondering what his life had come to. I've fallen for the same girl twice, and I've been rejected by her at least three times. My dad happens to be the villain that I have to defeat. Mom's dead, so I can't even ask her for advice. His vision swam from staring at the ceiling for so long. He blinked. I wonder what Mom would do if she was in this situation. She'd probably fight 'till the end. What am I saying? She would fight to the end. That's what she did, in the end. She died a hero. His eyes had begun to tear up as he remembered reading her diary entries. He had discovered so much more about her. It made him feel closer to her. Mom would be disappointed that I'm lying on the couch feeling sorry for myself. She'd want me to fight, but how? What would she do? His mind started wandering between fragmented entries from her diary, and somehow epic tales weaved their way into his mind as well. With a sudden jolt he came to a conclusion.

He jumped up and grabbed his bag, dumping his school things out of it. They fell to the floor and scattered, but Adrien couldn't care less.

"What are you doing?" Plagg asked as he followed Adrien around the room. Adrien picked up a flashlight. All adventurers needed flashlights.

"I'm going to stop Dad before he can fight us tomorrow night."

"Stop him how?" Plagg was clearly intrigued.

"He must have a lair somewhere in the house. Every villain has a secret lair. I just need to find it, then I'll do something that will stop him."

Plagg nodded. "Count me in!"

Adrien smiled as he picked up a thing of dental floss and stuffed it in his bag. In stories dental floss always seemed to come in handy when least expected.