I mindlessly ate my toast, trying not to let my sour mood get out of hand. Dad had left the house hours ago, back to work. Luckily, he hadn't been turned to stone. Ellie flew around me as I sat on the couch, biting on the toasted bread as the news played in front of me.
"These stone beings are scattered all over Paris. For now, they're showing no signs of movement. Police have taped off the areas," The woman on the news Nadja Chamock, reported as she read from her paper. The show then cut to a short segment of Mayor Bourgeois speaking before going back to Nadja. "For now, Paris is relying on our new guardian angels Camoufler, Ladybug, and Chat Noir to save us. Our lives depend on them."
I immediately turned off the tv, letting out a sigh as the silence filled the room. Ellie floated in front of me in worry.
"This is all my fault. I should've known that we had to capture the akuma," I blamed myself as I closed my eyes and leaned back against the couch. I furrowed my eyebrows and crossed my arms. "My first day and I've already messed it up."
"Relax, [Y/n]. We'll be able to fix this, I promise," Ellie promised as she hovered near me. "You don't want to be late for school, right? We should get going. Don't be so negative."
"Yeah, you're right," I sighed, but wasn't really feeling energetic at the moment. I knew as soon as I stepped out the door, I'd have to put on a happy face so nobody thinks anything was wrong.
I walked over to the door, grabbing my bag and putting on my shoes. Ellie flew in front of me before I could leave the house.
"[Y/n]. Cheer up. Don't blame yourself for this. It's going to be okay," Ellie told me, to which I just looked at her. "You're not the one who created the akuma."
"Yeah, but I was supposed to save them," I sighed as I reached to open the door. She flew in front of me once again with a stern look. "There's still a chance to fix this, right?"
"Yes! With Ladybug's help, you'll be able to undo everything. You just have to wait for the right timing, okay? Everything will turn out fine," Ellie encouraged me as she flew into hiding. I nodded once as I stepped out of the house, making my way to school.
Arriving at the building, I saw Marinette and Alya waiting outside on the sidewalk for me. I put a smile on my face once I reached them.
"Hey guys," I greeted them with a small wave. Alya was excitedly tapping away on her phone, and I followed behind her as she quietly made her way into the school. It seemed uncharacteristic for her to be so quiet. Shooting Marinette a glance, she seemed to be just as confused as I. "Hey, Alya? Is everything okay? You're kinda quiet."
"Oh, sorry! I was just updating my new blog," Alya told us, to which I slightly cocked my head in confusion. As we entered the open courtyard that had students buzzing about, she showed Marinette and I her phone. "I call it 'Ladyfler, where you can get all the latest news about the two best heroines!' What do you think? Check out the number of views I got!"
"Wow, that's really cool," I admired, genuinely meaning it. I saw the video of me dodging attacks from Stoneheart, Ladybug launching up into the sky, and me winking at Alya. A smile was on my face when I saw Ladybug throw Chat Noir at Stoneheart, and a small laugh left my throat. "Ladybug's super cool."
"Really? What about Camoufler?" Marinette asked, to which I nodded as well.
"Yeah, she's awesome too. I think they're both really cool heroes," I said, though I wasn't exactly telling the truth about myself. I was having a lot of doubt in whether I'm fit for this.
Marinette looked worried, sad, and anxious. Both Alya and I looked to each other as we each placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Marinette, if you're scared about what's going on, Camoufler and Ladybug will fix it. You don't have to worry, 'kay?" I assured her, to which it seemed like a bit of light came back to her eyes.
"Yeah! They're superheroines!" Alya stated, waving her fists around. A smile was on her face. She then turned to the two of us. "I believe in them."
My heart skipped a beat from pure joy when I heard her say that. Despite me failing to capture the akuma yesterday, she still believes in me?
As the three of us walked into the courtyard, we looked to our right to see Ivan sitting on a bench. Our classmates were all around him, asking him questions about what happened. He said he didn't remember, and just listened as they told him about it.
"Once a monster, always a monster," Chloe insulted him snarkily as she leaned against a nearby pole, making my eyebrows furrow in anger. Ivan stomped past us angrily, walking right between Alya and I. Chloe laughed. "Don't let the door hit you on the way out!"
"Chloe, what was that? That was so uncalled for!" I lost my temper as I walked over to Chloe, Alya following close behind.
"You're acting like the real Stoneheart here," Alya added on, to which I nodded in agreement.
"Oh, so I'm the one who broke Sabrina's dad's arm, am I? Just because your footage of those lame heroes got on tv, you think you can act so high and mighty." Chloe walked up to us, getting close in Alya's face. She then popped her bubblegum right in her face, making me blink a couple times.
"You little-" Alya held back a curse as she looked enraged. I grabbed onto her arm as she looked like she wanted to lunge towards her.
"Oh look out! She's going to turn into a monster!" Chloe faked fear, making my irritation shoot through the roof. I tugged on Alya's arm, prompting for us to leave. "Aw, and now they're running away."
"Alya, it's not worth it," I told her, to which she glanced at me. She calmed down, and turned around and walked away back to Marinette. I then turned back to Chloe. "I've only known you for a day and a half and I'm already sick of your attitude. You're so rude to others for no reason at all. You had no right to speak to Alya nor Ivan like that."
"Aw, are you and Alya trying to play heroes for Stoneheart? You did see the damage he caused, right?" Chloe sneered, making me roll my eyes. This girl is going to be the death of me. I turned around and walked away, back to Marinette and Alya, but unfortunately, Chloe's voice still reached me from this distance. "Adrikins! You came!"
Ignoring the rush as everyone went to crowd the new boy, I instead headed with Marinette in the direction Ivan went. Alya stayed behind to talk to the new boy as well.
Marinette and I found him in the locker room, his headphones around his head as he sat on the ground. He had his knees pulled into his chest, a sad look on his face. Once Marinette kneeled down beside him and I stood behind her, he took off his headphones.
"You know, you should tell Mylene how you feel," Marinette suggested with a kind voice, me nodding as well. I could see from how Ivan looked at Mylene that he clearly thought of her as more than a friend, which was probably the cause of Stoneheart yesterday. Apparently, Kim had given him a cruel note, which probably was teasing him about his crush on Mylene.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Ivan immediately denied it, but Marinette wasn't stupid.
"Oh come on, I've seen the way you look at her," Marinette continued with a small knowing smile. Ivan looked angry and upset again.
"Ah, don't be so negative! Yeah, be positive!" I interjected quickly, trying to save him from being akumatized yet again.It seemed to work, albeit barely.
We sat there for a couple minutes as Marinette and I tried to encourage him. He had said he wasn't good with words, so we tried to come up with an alternative. After multiple suggestions, all of which were turned down, Ivan finally decided on writing a love song for her. Of course, Marinette immediately gushed over it and expressed how that's what any girl would love to hear.
After Ivan left, Marinette and I high fived. "Maybe he'll actually do it. Him and Mylene would be cute together," I said, to which she nodded. Walking out of the locker room, we saw Alya there waiting for us.
"Sorry about that. Had to get a picture," Alya apologized and waved her phone, to which Marinette and I tilted our heads in confusion. "You don't know? The famous model, Adrien Agreste, is joining our class today!"
"Never heard of him," I replied, but it was overrun by Marinette's squealing as we made our way up the stairs. My eyes widened, and I winced for a second as Marinette's volumes soared to heights never before heard.
"You mean the son of the super famous Gabriel Agreste? Like, the crazy awesome and amazing fashion designer?!" Marinette fangirled as we got to the classroom. I had forgotten that yesterday, during a get to know you activity in homeroom, Marinette had said she wanted a future in fashion.
"Yup, that's him!" Alya confirmed, to which Marinette smiled widely and clasped her hands together. We arrived at the classroom a second later and I looked wide eyed at the scene before us. "Yeah.. that's him."
Said model was kneeled down right at my seat, doing what looked to be putting gum on my seat. Shock and anger invaded my system as I hurried over. "Hey! What're you doing?!"
"I just, I, uh," He began stuttering, as Chloe and Sabrina started laughing. I looked between them and the boy, who I guess was Adrien, with narrowed eyes and a fierce glare.
"Nice job, very funny," I muttered the last part sarcastically. The guy darted up to his feet with a frantic expression that almost made me believe he was innocent. I've had too many people bully me like this to know when it's fake.
"I was just trying to take it off!" He tried to defend himself, but I rolled my eyes. I took out a tissue from my bag, putting it down on the gum so I wouldn't have to sit on it.
"You're Chloe's friend, right?"
"Why does everyone keep saying that?" Adrien muttered, which I ignored as I sat down in my seat and away from the gum. I put down my bag beside me, not sparing Adrien another glance. He walked over to his seat as Marinette and Alya sat in theirs in front of me.
"Chloe's friend, teen supermodel, and daddy's boy? Forget it," Alya said to me as she turned around, though was sure to not be too loud. Alix, who sat beside me, had been asleep ever since I walked into the classroom, so I assumed she had no grasp on the situation so far.
"Yeah, sounds like it," I muttered and put my cheek in my palm. Miss Bustier began calling attendance, to which I responded with disinterest. I shook Alix when she called on her, who tiredly responded with a "present."
Miss Bustier had a kind smile on her face, which I assumed was always there since she just seemed like that kind of person. She looked down at her paper. "Bruel, Ivan-"
"PRESENT!" A rock monster growled, or more specifically, Stoneheart, as he knocked down the door to the classroom. He began stomping around the classroom, Alix now fully awake as we both ran to the front of the classroom and away from Stoneheart. My eyes widened as he grabbed Mylene, saying this was for his love for her. He then noticed Chloe, who was cowering beneath her desk. "You!"
He scooped up Chloe in his other hand. Despite the students' and Miss Bustier's protests, Stoneheart kicked a hole in the wall and leapt out with both girls in hand. Alya was really close to the hole he punched, quite close to falling out, as she watched him walk away. She then turned to me and Marinette. "Let's go follow him!"
"Um, you can do that. I'd prefer to hide," I said with a smile, Marinette nodding as well in agreement. She was under a desk while I was closer to the door. I glanced at it, then to the two of them. "See you later! Update me on the heroes!"
I ran out of the classroom, sprinting all the way to a secluded area of the school. I made sure nobody followed me, and that nobody was hiding in that area either. As soon as we were alone, Ellie came out of hiding.
"This is what I was talking about earlier! Once we get Ladybug and Chat Noir with us, you can take him down and repair the damage no problem!" Ellie said with a positively determined face. I smiled back at her as she flew closer to me. "Just say the words."
"Ellie, camo on!" I said with a smile, Ellie getting sucked into my bracelet. The blue light shined as I was transformed into my alter ego, a spike of energy surging through me, I ran out of the secluded area, into the courtyard, and extended my whip.
Swinging up onto the roof, I saw the Stoneheart army throwing cars at Chat Noir, who was barely dodging. Alya was hiding behind a trash can, while Marinette was standing there with Alya's bag in her hand.
"Ladybug and Camofler! I could use a little help!" Chat Noir yelled, to which I obliged. Right before one of the minions could hit Chat, I quickly wrapped my whip around its arm and yanked back, effectively dragging and slamming the monster back to the road in front of the school's entrance. I did the same with another, taking half the soldiers away from Chat to lighten his load.
I then dropped down to the ground, landing with my whip in my right hand. I landed right beside Marinette, as in literally less than a foot, effectively startling the girl. Maybe I should've landed a few more feet away. Whoops.
"Thanks!" Chat Noir yelled out from behind me, to which I nodded in acknowledgement. As one of the monsters begant to get up, I wrapped my whip around it's legs and ranked. It fell back onto its back a second later.
"You need to get out of here," I gently pushed Marinette in the shoulder to get her to move over as one of the soldiers picked up a car. "Now! Go!"
I wrapped my whip around the car and swung it back at the rock soldiers, knocking the thrower over. The other soldier picked up it's own car, and I waited until it was in the air to wrap my whip around it. Turning over my shoulder, I saw a car chucked in Alya's direction. My eyes widened as I was already struggling to keep the car away and having my whip wrapped around it.
"Chat!" I screamed, to which he chucked his staff towards Alya. By doing that, he lost his weapon. I barely dodged another car being thrown at me as Marinette was still a little too close to the scene. "Mari- ma'am, you have to go!" She glanced between the three of us fearfully before nodding and running off with Alya's bag. "Ladybug! We could use you right now!"
I was unable to get to Ayla or Chat since I was currently holding off the soldiers in front of me. Chat managed to get defeated, being carried away by the stone soldiers. They threw one more car at me, which I narrowly dodged by slamming myself into the building wall and dropping the whip. They then marched off and followed the other members of the Stoneheart army.
Crap, I thought as I stood back up, conflicted on what to do. I only know the general direction of where they went. Chat Noir's going to need back up for this.
As I hurried back to my feet, Alya suddenly tumbled out from behind the car. I noticed a yo-yo cord wrapped around the car, quickly became untangled as the cord was retracted back to its owner. I grabbed my whip and Chat Noir's staff, looking over to the other Miraculous holder present.
"You can't stay here. It's too dangerous," Ladybug informed Alya. I smiled as we both took off down the street side by side, flying in the direction of the Stoneheart monsters.
Once we caught up, she reared back her arm. "Chat! Send it!"
He fell out of Stoneheart's fist, tumbling onto the ground with his staff now in his hand. I landed on a lamppost as Ladybug latched onto a building nearby. I wrapped my whip around Chat Noir's ankle, pulling him up right before he got crushed by a Stoneheart monster.
"Sorry we were late," Ladybug apologized for us as she hopped down from the balcony she was standing on and stood next to the lamppost on the ground. She wrapped her yo-yo around the legs of a nearby monster and swept them out from under their feet since they were getting too close.
"M'lady, have I ever told you you turn my world upside down?" Chat Noir joked with me, to which I rolled my eyes.
"Quite the comedian, I see," I said with a smile. As the three Stoneheart monsters began closing in, I decided it was time to go. "Let's head out before they smash us to pieces."
Ladybug followed my suggestion, the both of us jumping up to the roof of the building beside us. Chat Noir was dragged up with us, me having not unwrapped the whip from his ankle.
"If we want to take care of them, we've gotta go to the source," Ladybug voiced her thoughts, which were the exact same as mine, as we leaped over buildings. We landed smack dab in front of the eiffel tower, where Stoneheart had taken Mylene and Chloe.
Our trio ended up standing in front of armed cops, who were prepared to fire at Stoneheart after he had chucked Chloe to the ground. Ladybug and I rushed forward. catching her before she crashed into the pavement.
"You know it'll only make it worse!" I yelled to them, which the lead cop ignored. Chloe was almost shaking at this point, but despite my dislike for her, I sent her a smile to calm her down. "You'll be fine. You're on the ground now, okay?"
"I don't need your comfort!" She shouted, then glanced around. I heard her mutter a small "thank you" before taking off towards her dad nearby. "Daddy!"
"We're professionals, unlike you. You've already failed once," he replied, which I could tell upset Ladybug.
"He's right. If I had captured the akuma, this wouldn't have happened again. I knew I wasn't the right one for this job," Ladybug cried, to which Chat Noir and I sent each other a glance.
"Are you kidding? You just saved that girl from being chuckled to her death," I nodded in the direction of a crying Chloe. Chat Noir nodded in agreement.
"Without us, they won't make it. We'll prove it," Chat Noir encouraged her, to which I nodded.
"We may not have captured the akuma the first time, but don't forget that we did beat Stoneheart once before. We can do it again," I added on, making Ladybug smile as she glanced between us. "Okay?"
"Okay!" She said determinedly just as Stoneheart roared out. The three of us glanced back to look at him. His roar turned from a roar to a cough, to a sputter. Dark butterflies erupted from his mouth a second later as his head was angled up towards the sky, making my jaw drop. Stoneheart then fell backward and into the interior of the Eiffel Tower.
The dark butterflies formed a shape, which resembled a face. Everyone's eyes were locked on it as it began to speak.
"People of Paris, listen carefully. I am Hawk Moth," the butterflies said, probably relaying the Butterfly Miraculous holder's message.
"Hawk Moth?" Chat Noir, Ladybug, and I all echoed.
"Ladybug, Chat Noir, Camoufler! Give me the ladybug earrings, cat ring, and chameleon bracelet now! You've done enough damage to these innocent people," Hawk Moth demanded, but I wasn't intimidated in the slightest. It seemed Ladybug wasn't either, because she began walking forward.
"Nice try Hawk Moth, but we all know who the bad guy is," Ladybug began, and a smile came to my face as I followed after her, whip in hand.
"Let's not try to reverse the roles here, okay?" I added on as I shouted to the akumas, and she sent me a quick glance from the side of her eye in appreciation. "I think we all know who the real bad guy is here, and it's definitely not us three."
"Without you, none of these innocent victims would be transformed into villains. Hawk Moth, no matter how long it takes, we will find you, and you will hand us YOUR Miraculous!" Ladybug shouted, then ran at the face. She launched into the air, and began swinging her yo-yo at the butterflies. "TIme to de-evilize!"
She then disposed of all the akumas, collecting all the butterflies. I watched from below in awe as she stood up there confidently, Chat Noir having moved up to stand beside me at some point.
"Let me make this promise to you: no matter who wants to harm you, Chat Noir, Camoufler, and I will be there to protect you and keep you safe!" She then opened her up-yo, the white butterflies being released and scattering all over Paris.
"What an icon," I said with a smile on my face, being the first one of Chat and I to speak. He looked over to me as the sun shone down on the two of us, highlighting his green eyes. I turned to him and smiled. "Let's help her beat Stoneheart."
He looked deeply into my [e/c] eyes, almost seeming like he was hypnotized. "Let's go, kitty cat."
"Yeah," he agreed after a moment with a nod. We both made our way up to Ladybug, and stood in defensive stances in front of Stoneheart.
"You'll never take Mylene away from me!" He shouted, then ran off to start climbing the tower. "Come to me, my stone beings!" Glancing down, we saw that his minions were beginning to climb up the tower.
"We're surrounded. What do we do now? We can't attack him!" Chat exclaimed, clearly nervous.
"We know where his akuma is," I began with a hand under my chin. Ladybug and Chat Noir looked at me as I thought. "I think I have an idea. Follow me up."
The two followed me up to the top of the Eiffel Tower. Helicopters surrounded Stoneheart, flying around him as we got to the top of the tower.
"Everything is gonna be alright!" Ladybug yelled down to Mylene, who exclaimed that she was scared of heights. Chat Noir stood on the platform below the point, He held off the stone beings as Ladybug and I nodded at each other. "Lucky Charm!"
A parachute fell into her hands, and she glanced around before putting it on her. Looking around, I got the same idea as her. I swung my whip, wrapping it around Stoneheart's arm as Ladybug stood by for now. I pulled on it, bringing Mylene closer to Stoneheat's face. "Chat Noir! His hand!"
"Got it!" Chat responded as Stoneheart let go of Maylene and the akumatized item, Mylene hanging onto his hand. Chat jumped down, using his staff to hit the piece of paper back up to Ladybug and I. I caught it in my hand, then handed it to Ladybug.
"Home run!" She exclaimed happily, clearly glad we did it right this time. She broke the akuma, the butterfly flying out. She then began swinging her yo=yo around. "No more evil doing for you little akuma. TIme to de-evil-"
Screaming cut us off as I saw Ivan turn back to normal, which meant he was now falling off the tower. I immediately jumped off, Ladybug's face shocked.
"Chat, get Ivan! I've got Mylene!" I yelled, and he nodded. As I flew through the air, I looked at Ladybug for a second, who hadn't snapped out of her surprised trance. "Ladybug! Get the akuma!"
Ladybug did as I said, going after the akuma. Chat Noir activated his Cataclysm, rusting part of the Eiffel Tower and grabbing Ivan. At the rate I'm falling, I won't be able to get to Maylene in time. I'll have to try something else.
"Duplicate!" I chanted, making a copy of my whip. A green one appeared in my left hand, and I chucked it down to catch Mylene. It secured tightly around her waist, and I extended my original whip to wrap around a beam of the Eiffel Tower. Both of us hung there securely, the effect of the Miraculous making the whip more strong and secure than a normal one. A sigh of relief left my mouth as I saw we were successful,
Mylene and I got down to the ground a moment later with the help of Ladybug and her parachute. Chat Noir joined us with Ivan's arm over his shoulder.
"Miraculous Ladybug!" Ladybug shouted, and threw the parachute up in the air. The item exploded into ladybugs, and my mouth parted in amazement as they flew around and repaired all the damage that had been done by Stoneheart.
"That's incredible," I muttered, which made Chat Noir look at me. I was still entranced by the ladybugs too much to notice the way he was looking at me.
"I think you two have things to talk about," Ladybug said to Mylene and Ivan after the ladybugs had cleared and cleanup began. I walked over to Chat Noir with Ladybug as we watched the two talk to each other. Ivan's face turned red as Mylene complimented the song he wrote for her, making me smile widely.
"They are so made for each other. True love," I commented with a smile, my hands moving to my chest. My gaze shot to my left when I saw Chat reaching out for me hand.
"Just like us~" he flirted, which made my face beat up since I wasn't expecting it. I grabbed onto his wrist, yanking it forward.
"Oh look at that! Looks like we've gotta go," I told him as I pointed at his beeping Miraculous. I smiled at the two, preparing to swing away. I sent them both a wink before swinging away and yelling over my shoulder. "See ya later!"
Hopefully soon.
~~~
The next day went by quickly. I was in high spirits all day, especially the morning. With our success yesterday, I got a lot of praise from Ellie. Hearing people in Paris praising the three of us also made me elated.
My favorite part of the day was when Marinette stood up to Chloe, calling her out for her attitude and how she wasn't going to put up with her anymore. After that, Chloe and Sabrina were forced to sit in the front row where Marinette and Alya were yesterday. I still sat behind the front row beside Alix while Marinette and Alya were across the aisle, but I was okay with it because Alix was cool.
Now I stood outside the school, under the overhang, the skies gray and dark. A sigh left my lips.
"I knew I should've brought an umbrella this morning," I sighed as I reached out a hand, testing how heavy the rain was pouring. My dad was still at work, so I wouldn't be able to get a ride home. "Guess I'll have to walk through the rain."
The door behind me opened, revealing someone I had been trying to avoid all day. I looked away as he held a black umbrella in his hand.
"Hey." Adrien greeted me, but I just sent him a quick glance from the side of my eye. I didn't respond, which made him sigh and frown. His umbrella extended, and he put it above his head. He then turned around and looked at me. "I just wanted you to know, I was trying to take the gum off your seat. I swear."
My [e/c] eyes shifted to his striking green ones as he looked over his shoulder. Now that I was looking closer at him, I could definitely tell how he was a model.
"I've never been to school before," he continued, and I felt guilt rush through me. "I've never had friends. It's all sort of new for me." He turned back around and began to walk away, but I extended a hand.
"Wait!" He turned around, and suddenly I was embarrassed at my loud volume. I retracted my hand, holding my backpack straps instead. "I... I'm sorry. A lot of people bullied me before I moved here and they would always try to lie when they got caught, so I just assumed that's what you were doing. I'm really sorry."
A smile appeared on Adrien's face. "Apology accepted."
"Well then I guess your apology is accepted too," I smiled back at him. Thunder rumbled quietly as the rain continued to pour down in front of us. "I'm [Y/n]."
"I'm Adrien," Adrien responded, then glanced back down to his car. He swung his umbrella out from above his head, putting it over mine instead. My eyes widened as he held it out for me, and I reached for it. Our hands brushed against each other as I took it from him.
It seemed luck was not on my side when the umbrella suddenly closed around my head, and my cheeks instantly turned hot in embarrassment. Opening the umbrella, I saw Adrien laughing, which made the smile reappear on my face as I laughed as well.
"See you tomorrow, [Y/n]," Adrien bid farewell as he turned around. I waved at him with my free hand as he walked away and towards the car that was waiting for him. I watched as he got in, then drove off.
"Yeah.." I trailed off, feeling stupid because I had forgotten to speak when he had said bye. All of a sudden, a green kwanj popped out of my pocket and flew in front of my face.
"Ooh~, looks like someone's developing a crush," Ellie teased me, making my face turn hot. I huffed and looked away, but she just flew back into my line of vision. A small smile formed on my face nonetheless, since I couldn't stay mad at the little Kwami.
"Let's get going," I said to Ellie, avoiding the topic as we walked down the wet pavement and back to my Paris home.