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Nino wasn't entirely sure when it started, but if he had to pick a date, he would say sometime around the start of the new school year.
He'd always known Marinette as the shy girl he'd been in the same class with for years, but had barely spoken to. Her being Chloé's main target being the biggest reason for that. (He just wanted to listen to his beats. That wouldn't be possible if the mayor's daughter bothered him, because he talked to his youngest classmate.) She kept to herself, almost constantly drawing in her sketchbook. Designing new clothes he knew. They were even cool ones, from the few glances he could catch between her hand and a few strands of hair.
She was also smart! Always on top of the class, despite always being late in the morning and Chloé making her miss quite a few lessons. But she never put herself above anyone. Always helpful and ready to give herself extra work, if that meant lowering the weight on someone else's shoulders. (He'd experienced it himself, when they did a group project. One of the few times he actually interacted with her.)
So he would say, he had a pretty good grasp on her personality.
Then Alya appeared and she showed a whole different part of herself. Brave, ready to confront Chloé and a born leader. She finally crawled out of her shell and shined brightly in the spotlight.
...it didn't stay that way.
Only days later, did she start to withdraw again. Just not like before. She wasn't an animal cowering in fear of a stalking predator again. She was more absent. Less of a participant in the things happening in class and more of an observer, watching something she wasn't a part in.
She often only stood on the edge of the group, eyes flying from one side to the other, nothing escaping her gaze, but no muscle moving to change it either. Expression settled into one of careful neutrality. Now and then she would speak. Mostly to dissolve arguments. She never raised her voice much, though, unusual wisdom covering every word. You had to be quiet to understand. No one dared speaking over her any more. Not even Chloé. It just had that vibe of listen or regret it.
He caught her sitting alone at lunch, just staring into thin air, as if she was seeing something different than the rest. It could just be the imaginative mind of a creator, but in these instances, those deep blues were filled with knowledge. Far more, than any fourteen year old should have. They looked as if they'd seen the borders of the universe and beyond. Seen the beginning of time and it's end. It sent shivers over his whole body. Those eyes didn't belong to a teenager. Or any human at all.
It only happened more often as time passed by.
One time, he found her starring into the sky, lips tugged into a solemn smile, eyes reflecting millions of stars, as they looked into unknown depths.
...it was the middle of the day. No stars were out.
Despite all that, Nino didn't approach her about the subject. It was uncomfortable enough, when she had her attention turned to him from afar. He was sure she could see into his very soul and uncover every little secret he'd hid there since he was little.
Nope, he was definitely not gonna deal with this! Instead, he turned around and put on his beats on full blast to drown out his surroundings.
If it was only that easy.
He'd liked Adrien from the start. ...or at least right after he explained the whole incident with Chloé.
The guy was pretty chill for being the son of a world famous designer and a model himself. He liked hanging out with him. (As much as was possible with Mr. No-fun- Agreste always keeping his son locked up inside.) They played games online, talked before and after classes, did their homework together too. It was fun.
...and then he also started to change. Not as fast as Marinette. There was no 'today' and 'tomorrow' kind of thing. He didn't even notice at first. It wasn't weird for Adrien to stare into the air sometimes, lost in his own thoughts. He was raised almost completely isolated from kids his age. It was no wonder he forgot that others were there with him.
More suspicious, but still not alarming, was the way he suddenly knew things he shouldn't. They were preparing a presentation for history class, researching things from the Egyptian times, when he would start to blurt out the answers to questions Nino was reading aloud. Then he would make that funny expression, where he scrunched up his eyes in confusion and say he didn't know where that came from. He'd never researched the topic.
Nino brushed it off. He'd probably picked it up from somewhere.
Only when Adrien started to quiet down more often and joined Marinette in her odd behaviour, did he really notice the similarities between the two of them.
Was this a sickness, he asked himself. Would they all end up seeing things that weren't there and know things they shouldn't?
But no! Only the two of them exhibited that odd behaviour! Everyone else stayed the way they were. Which made the whole thing even more mysterious.
It got even worse with time. They hardly behaved like teenagers at all, at some point. Smiles became a rarity and never seen without a hint of hesitation.
Being their focus of attention was something the class wanted to avoid. You didn't want to be stared at with eyes that held such knowledge! They were creepy! It wasn't human any more! More like it was a being as old as the universe looking at you instead.
...not that he had anything to compare it to, but that was the first thing that came to mind.
Whatever had changed them, could it please do the opposite? Nino wanted his best friend back! And maybe a chance at befriending the girl too!