Chapter Text
Yay... A new city, a new school. New everything. You had no friends here, on account of only just arriving and being focused on moving into the new house your parents had begun renting. On top of dealing with your parents' scampering around, looking for new jobs, getting you enrolled into a school here, all that jazz.
You had moved here with your mother and step-father, as your biological father had lived in another country all your life and had a woman who you didn't mind calling your step-mother. She was nice, though you had only met once. You also didn't blame your dad for anything, you were an 'accident but not a mistake' as your mother always put it... She had left him after she got pregnant to move back to your home country because she was homesick, even though your father would have loved to raise you with her.
You were an only child though, so at least they only had to worry about getting one child enrolled into a school. You sighed, as you watched your mother quickly make herself some coffee before rushing back to her laptop to put in more applications for jobs. You wouldn't say your family was poor, but your mother spent so much money that they may as well be. She was a huge spender, though at least she had been learning to save money, as she had wanted to live out her dream and move to Paris.
You hadn't really wanted to come to Paris, you would have preferred to go live with your biological father instead of this unfamiliar place, with a language to now had to learn! You barely knew any French... You didn't doubt that there would be a language barrier, though your parents got a place near some more touristy areas, so at least there was that. Maybe if you couldn't find an english speaking friend you'd just go befriend a tourist, there were definitely many to befriend, though they probably wouldn't stay long so you would have to keep making new friends. That sounded like pure hell.
You spent the weekend alone in your room, not bothering to socialise, when your mother knocked on the door before opening it.
"Y/n, I've gotten you into Collège Françoise Dupont! Isn't that exciting, the mayor's daughter goes there and so does a famous model, and you're in their grade!-"
You raise an eyebrow as you look up from your phone, "Oh, wow.. That's cool, I guess-" You assumed your mother would befriend them, for the sake of her own popularity and attention. She loved it when people noticed her, and she probably assumed that if you befriended the children of famous people, that she could then meet those famous people and then people would notice her as a friend of said person. At least she didn't lie about knowing anyone or meeting anyone though... Then you wouldn't be able to stand another day with her. But she was kind of alright, other than her obsession with that sort of thing.
"Yes, of course it's cool, you could date the mayor's daughter!" You froze, forcing a smile at your mother's words. She didn't exactly know you were into men, but you hated it when she tried to ship you with girls, or asked if a female friend of yours was your 'girlfriend'.
"Ugh, yeah, maybe.. Depends, I haven't even met her yet, mum. Maybe she's a bitchy spoiled brat, who knows, maybe the famous model is too!-" You hissed out, a little more annoyed than intended, "I'll try to at least be their friend, mother, I need friends here in Paris. But I'm not going out of my way, and if they're assholes, then ain't no way I'm trying! When do I start anyway..."
"You start immediately! Well, tomorrow, since it's a Sunday! The school year had already started after all. You'll have to focus hard since you have catching up to do! Oh, and you have extra classes outside of school, French classes. Since, you'll have to learn in french, and make friends in french!"
You groaned, great, extra school. You were never really one for school, it sucked. And you were glad your old school didn't have homework, now you're going to have to go to school every day, have homework, and then also learn French! Where was your free time?!
"Yeah, okay-" You muttered out as she left the room to go be busy once more. You had a feeling your first month or two of schooling here was going to make no sense at all, since you couldn't understand any French at all yet. If you were lucky you would be put in a seat next to someone who speaks English who wouldn't mind translating their notes and sharing them. Or if you were even luckier, the whole school would know English. Or just your class even...
You found out there were no uniforms the next day when you needed to get ready for your first day of school in Paris. You were kind of hoping they would have uniforms, because now you had to figure out what on Earth to wear and rummage through moving boxes you couldn't be bothered to unpack yet as you hadn't been able to find anything good! If there really was a famous model in your grade, that meant you could be in the same class, and that meant they might judge you if you wore something you just randomly threw together..!
You didn't really care about the famous people, you cared about being judged by the famous people! You did your best to put together a decent outfit with what you could find, settling on a black tee with a band's logo printed onto it, some fingerless black gloves, black baggy jeans, a belt that had a few small chains hanging and a black cap with a small skull on it. Also adjusting your hair to your liking, any of it that stuck out of the cap that is, then you added your silver watch to your right wrist, and contemplated adding black choker. Before deciding against it.
You sighed, you looked decent, it went together that's for sure, though people might not talk to you now, cause you look edgy and intimidating! Which you might not complain about but some people get bullied for dressing like this. And if there's possibly famous people in your class they might judge you and then every popular kid would think you're some emo, depressed loser! You shook your head quickly, no time to overthink it, you look presentable. Sure it's a dark outfit, but at least you didn't put together an outfit that didn't go together!
Your step-father didn't offer to take you to school, your mother already out for a job interview, so you sighed and pulled out your phone to find directions to the school, it looked a long way away, but you just adjusted your cap over your eyes, stuffed your hands in your jeans' pockets with your phone and went on your way. Making a mental note to be ready earlier so that you wouldn't risk being late from walking so far.
You really hoped no one would talk to you, and amazingly, nobody did! So once you got to the stairs of the school, you raised the cap up to uncover your eyes, as covering them made you look much less approachable. Then you shuffled your way inside, it was kinda huge, and you had no idea where your classes were! Or where the principals office was to collect your schedule and find out where your classes were.
You looked around, seeing people pretty much wherever you looked, not really moving from the entrance way. You jumped when people suddenly began to scream behind you, hesitantly turning around, seeing some blond guy get out of an expensive car, girls fangirling and greeting him, you cringed slightly. Ugh, famous people... You got to moving, hoping not to get in the way of whoever that was or the fangirls that were screaming things in french.
Eventually you made it to your home room class with Ms Bustier, after finally tracking down the principal's office, getting your schedule and being told directions. You didn't want to sit in anyone's seat, so you lingered outside the classroom and watched everyone take their seats. The blond famous guy from before was in this class. Just great, you hoped no one would disturb the class or fangirl all the way through it.
Once you assumed everyone was seated and no more were on their way, you headed to an open space, the only open space. Which was beside some guy also wearing black with really short hair that was dyed in the front, he looked like he could crush you.. You had muscle, but you were shorter than these guys and you had more of a sleeper build, so you looked more like a twink. ESPECIALLY next to this guy.
You jumped slightly when the teacher started speaking in french, "Ah, there you are! Everyone, we have a new student, (Y/N) (L/N). He doesn't know much french, but please do welcome him!"
You heard a 'tsk' from a blonde girl in the front of the class, "Ugh, another emo loser, we already have enough of them! And he can't even speak French, it's almost too easy to make fun of him!"
You couldn't understand what she was saying, but you could tell it probably wasn't anything nice from her bitchy tone...
"Ugh, Chloe, don't make fun of people, especially not in a language you know they can't understand, why are you always so rude!? Don't just assume things about people, and-" A black haired girl with pigtails had started yelling at the blonde until she was shooshed by the teacher and she sat back down. You hated not knowing what they were saying. It was horrible!
The big guy next to you smiled at you warmly, sensing your tension. You sighed and smiled back, trying to mimic the soft expression to show you were fine.
Luckily the first real class you had was with Ms Bustier, French literature. So you didn't really have to go anywhere. You watched everyone get out their books, the books were written in french, this was a complete and utter nightmare! You stared at your own book, wishing you could use your phone to just translate everything, but you couldn't use your phone in the middle of class!
You then wished your french tutor, whoever they were, was here to translate everything. Another wish that couldn't be granted. As if helping you escape suffering, an akuma alert went off. Luckily you knew what that was, since your mother had researched akumatisations thoroughly before getting you to move here with her and told you everything you needed to know. Which basically was just, 'negative emotions make evil people, if an akuma alert goes off, run and hide, don't get caught by whoever it is!'
You shot up from your seat as everyone else fled the classroom, leaving their stuff behind to be retrieved later. But you grabbed your stuff, why would you leave it there? You wouldn't.
You didn't follow everyone else, they were running all over the place, some out of the building, some hiding in the bathroom, some hiding in classrooms under desks. You just left, and did your best to try and get home, but unfortunately luck wasn't on your side this time. Some giant akumatised villain was on the road to your house, the same way you walked this morning. You'd have to go around...
You grumbled to yourself, annoyed as you went another direction to try and get around, but you flinched as the giant akumatised villain stomped on the ground, making it shake and toppling buildings over, the buildings in between you and the fight beginning to crumble, you heart sinking as pieces fell from above you as you scrambled to get away, another stomp only shaking the ground harder, forcing you to fall to the ground.
You slammed your eyes shut, bracing for the incoming pain, tears welling up within. But pain never came, instead arms wrapped around you felt like you were flying.
"..huh?"
You hesitated before opening your eyes, your gaze landing on a blond cat boy, the bell on their neck making soft, quiet noises as they jumped from roof to roof with ease, you in their arms. You struggled slightly, you were far enough from the action, where the hell was this guy taking you! Sure your mother told you there were superheroes to beat the akumatised villains, but she didn't tell you one of them was some cat boy! In your defence, how are you supposed to know if this was a good guy or a bad guy?
"Wha- Let me go! Y-You asshole, we're far away enough from that thing, any further and I'm going to think this is a kidnapping. . .!" You exclaimed, trying not to sound scared, but your voice wavered.
The guy's ears flattened slightly and he stopped, placing you on the roof of the random building you were atop of.
"I'm sorry.. Didn't mean to scare you. I mean, I did just save your life, you should be thanking me! I thought you'd want to be as far away from the villain as possible!" The guy spoke in english, which made perfect sense since you had spoken to him in english.
You sighed.. It did make sense, "Yeah, I guess that makes sense... But it doesn't mean you have to take me across the entire city you know.. I'm going to have to find the way back to my place, and it's going to take me like an hour!" You took your cap off, rubbing the spot between your eyes slightly in irritation. "What a day..."
"Ah, I mean, if you'd like.. I could take you home. M'lady is quite capable of defeating the villain on her lonesome, and this one's kind of easy if the civilians are out of the way, which is why I'm on civilian watch!"
"Then shouldn't you be like.. making sure other civilians aren't in any danger?"
"Ah, well... All civilians kind of fled the area as soon as the villain appeared, so I'm sure it's fine. Especially if you're planning to go back over there! Then I have to watch you!" The cat boy put one hand on his hip, the other pointing to himself with his thumb, a proud look on his face.
"Ugh, whatever. If you're that bored you can take me home. Better than going back to school, the akuma attack gave me a reason to skip my first day, which is sick as hell." You shrugged, allowing the cat boy to pick you up again, leaping from roof to roof, you gave him directions, but you didn't want to tell him where you lived, he was still a stranger after all. So you just told him to leave you at a bakery you saw, since it wasn't too far, just a few blocks away from your place. Also, out of the area of the akuma attack.
The hero dropped you off outside the bakery before taking off to join the fight again, you sighed in relief that that interaction was finally over and decided to get something at the bakery, since you were already here. You went in, a bell near the top of the door jingling, reminding you of the small jingle of the cat boy's bell but louder. You shrugged and went over to the counter, instead of trying to communicate, since you didn't know if they spoke English, you pointed to what you wanted and smiled sweetly at the woman serving you, so you didn't seem rude. She handed you your purchase after you paid.
She smiled at the door as you heard a jingle, and a black haired girl with pigtails ran past you, you recognised her from your class today. The one who yelled at the blonde girl.
She skidded to a halt before staring at you, her eyes sparkling. "You're the new kid in my class! Hii! Sorry, we didn't really have time between classes and then there was the akuma attack, so I couldn't introduce myself! I'm Marinette, my parents own this place, you're (Y/N), right?! I think that's what the teacher said-"
You nodded sheepishly, the woman at the counter seeming to realise why you hadn't spoken to her as Marinette started to speak in English to you.
"Oh, ah- Yeah, that's my name. It's nice to meet you, Marinette."
"Mhm, I feel so sorry for you, your first day and school gets disrupted by an akuma attack!- Ah, are you planning on heading back? I was getting a snack before doing so myself, I mean, probably best to miss as little as possible since it's your first day."
"I actually... I wasn't planning on going back to school today, I just stopped by the bakery to get a snack and then head home. The book we're reading in French literature is unsurprisingly in French, so I can't really understand it yet..."
"Ah, I can help you if you want..! I'm sure Alya wouldn't mind switching seats with you for a little while, just until you learn a bit more French! Pretty much our entire class speaks English, since we're basically forced to learn another language or two during our schooling! So maybe we could get the teachers to teach in English for a little while?.. Ah, the point is, if not me, someone else could probably help you too!"
Good grief does this girl talk a lot... I can barely keep up and she's speaking English...
"Well, I suppose, that would be nice of you, Marinette. But I don't want to intrude, I don't know who this Alya is, but I wouldn't want to make her move..."
You smile softly as you reject the offer, a tad reluctant to since you kind of needed it.
"Ah, she's my best friend, and she's really nice, she definitely wouldn't mind (Y/n)! Besides, you could also meet her and the guys that sit in front of us. Her boyfriend, and ..Adrien!"
She paused for a moment to drool at the thought of Adrien, making you cringe slightly. She obviously had a crush, and you had never seen anyone actually act like that at the thought of someone in real life before... Your question was, which one was the boyfriend of the best friend and which one was Adrien. The famous blond or whoever else was there. You assumed it was the blond she was drooling over, since at the start of the school day a bunch of girls were swarming his car and fangirling, maybe Marinette was one of those fangirls.
"Fine.. I guess I'll go back to school again." You groaned out, she seemed like she really wanted to help you, as well as help you make friends with her friends, so why say no... You needed friends.
"Yay! I can't wait to introduce you to everyone, (Y/n)! Just let me get what I came for and I'll go back with you."
She ran behind the counter and then shot up the stairs, clearly rushing. You sighed and stood beside the door of the bakery, waiting, raising an eyebrow as the small woman who served you earlier came over with a smile and a small bag of goods.
"Here, for you. Because you're a new friend of Marinette's, and because you're new in Paris. Just some free samples of some stuff in our bakery. I hope you enjoy it, and that you come back again to buy some more sweets or pastries!"
She smiled, if this was her way of advertising and getting you to be a regular, it was working. You smiled and thanked her before trying one of the samples, the flavour melted on your tongue and your eyes sparkled with delight. It's so good, you thought to yourself, trying another sample and another. And so on, until Marinette finally came back down in a rush.
You chuckled softly before following her out the door as she passed you.
You went back to the school with her, French literature already over, arriving back for science class with Ms Mendeleiev. The blond boy in the front of the classroom still seemed shocked to see you as you and Marinette arrived. You had zero clue why.
You went to find a seat, a free seat still on the same spot beside the guy you next to before, but Marinette grabbed your hand, leading you down to where a chick with glasses and reddish-brown hair was seated. The girl raising an eyebrow, you just standing there awkwardly.
"Alya, this is (Y/n), (Y/n) this is my best friend Alya!"
You nervously waved, the guys in front perking up and moving their seat back joining the conversation.
"Heya dude, the name's Nino." The guy with a red cap and glasses held his hand out, introducing himself, then after you shook his hand, he pointed to the blond.. "This is my man Adrien. He and I are tight. Right Adrien?" You nodded, you were right, Adrien was indeed the blond, and Marinette was a fangirl...
"Uh, yeah, right-" The blond muttered out, now also holding out his hand for a handshake.
You shook his hand, before trying to go to the spare seat again, Marinette once again stopping you.
"Hey, Alya, do you mind if (Y/n) sits beside me for a little while, just so I can help him out? Since he doesn't really know French!"
"Oh, nah girl, that's fine! I'll be right behind you with Ivan, it's not like I'll be across the classroom. You take good care of the new guy, and don't make Adrien too jealous.." Alya teased quietly with a wink, Marinette's face going red as she freaked out at the idea of Adrien getting jealous over her spending time with another guy, daydreaming as Alya grabbed her stuff and moved a seat backwards.
You sat down as Nino and Adrien both went back to their table by scooting their chairs forward. You grabbed Marinette's hand and pulled her down onto the seat as she finally relaxed and snapped out of her daydreaming. The lesson started.
When lunch came, Marinette and Alya showed you where the cafeteria was, talking amongst themselves as you followed, not really knowing what to say. You all got your trays of food and you followed them to where they sat, Nino and Adrien sitting at the same table before you spoke.
"So.. What exactly is up with that cat boy?"
"What do you mean?" Alya questioned, raising an eyebrow, Adrien seeming to freeze slightly before looking at you with his eyebrows furrowed in confusion, Marinette and Nino looking equally confused.
"The cat boy hero.. Is he usually doing everything except his job?"
Adrien started questioning your questions, "What do you mean? He's always doing his job, isn't he?"
Marinette also asked what you were talking about, "Yeah, he's been doing his job along with Ladybug, what do you mean?"
Nino just watched you, waiting for your answer with curiosity.
"Oh, well. The cat boy saved me from falling rubble earlier today during the akuma attack. He took me way further than necessary, and when I complained he brought me all the way to Marinette's bakery.. He said he was on civilian watch, but that doesn't mean you're meant to watch a singular civilian, what if someone else got hurt?"
Alya and Nino seemed to think for a moment, Marinette sighing in annoyance at the cat's behaviour. For some reason. Adrien seemed to look away awkwardly. Which made you very confused..
Alya hummed softly, "Well, maybe he was tired? I mean, usually he doesn't leave Ladybug's side, Chat Noir is clearly in love with her and stuff, has been for a while. Or maybe he's been rejected so many times that he needs some time away from her!"
You raised an eyebrow, damn... If that was true, that's just sad. You felt kind of bad for not being the nicest to the cat boy.
Through the lunch break, Alya went on to talk about her ladyblog, and most of what she knows about the superheroes, and you listened a little curiously. They protected Paris, so why not learn about them? Especially if you might run into one of them again, you'd prefer to know more about them. They're complete strangers to you after all, and sure it'll remain that way, but you don't want people you know literally nothing about grabbing you and carrying you places like that, even if to get you out of danger. Because what if you thought it was a hero but it actually wasn't, and you were in danger and didn't know it!
Alya told you about more than just Ladybug and Chat Noir, there were a bunch more heroes, it was so hard to remember them all! Why were there so many..?
You sighed as Alya went on about Rena Rouge, the fox hero with the power of illusions, about how great she was, and pretty and stuff. But she didn't have any photos on her ladyblog, having to get images of the hero from elsewhere to show. Even though she had pictures of pretty much every other hero on her ladyblog.. It was kind of suspicious, especially if she liked this specific hero so much...
"Mm, Alya, if this is your favourite hero then why don't you have any photos of her of your own? Especially since you've captured so many of the others.." You probed, one eyebrow raised somewhat.
Alya laughed nervously, "Oh, right- She's not really... active any more! And I never managed to get any photos of her beforehand, none good anyway. They were always blurry or she was out of frame when I got photos, so I just deleted them."
She shrugged, eyeing Marinette in a way that made it seem she was asking if that was believable enough. Nino nodded nervously, totally not knowing anything... Meanwhile, Adrien just smiled, not really seeming completely suspicious, but seeming to know something at least.. You eyed the lot of them with scepticism.
"Right.. Yeah, totally- Though, I still find it strange. I mean, even a superhero would be able to get photos of themself- And, you say you're always following the heroes around to get pictures and videos..."
"Huh? How would a hero get photos of themself in action?" Adrien asked, with curiosity, seeming happy about the possibility.
"Oh, well, there's lots of ways, y'know? If someone knows your identity, get them to take photos of you. Or, place a camera or phone somewhere to capture the fight, making the video seem like it's in a hiding spot. And then, if necessary, you could add a voice over to the video to make it seem like you're behind the camera, reacting in real time."
Adrien and Nino nodded along as they listened, Alya listening without nodding, and Marinette looking a little awkward with a nervous smile in her place.
Though, eventually it came time to go to yet another class, and you spent the day about the same as the rest of it had been up until now. You go to classes, Marinette aiding you when necessary, spend the other lunch break talking about superheroes, then finally the end of the day comes.
Marinette basically rushed to your side as you were heading down the stairs away from the school.
"(Y/n)! You were heading home but stopped by the bakery on the way back, right? I think that's what you said.." She seemed to go deep into her thoughts, trying to remember the exact conversation.
"Oh, yes, that was true... But also, I didn't want Chat Noir to know where I lived, so I got him to drop me off at a nearby, public place... It's a few blocks away from my place."
Marinette grinned, "You wanna walk home together? Since we need to go basically the same way! We could split up at a certain point in between if you need to go another way. I could also help you get to know the area, y'know?"
"Oh, yeah, that would be nice, I pulled up directions on my phone to get to school..."
"It's settled then, we'll walk together!"
You saw Adrien's car from this morning pull up and Adrien wave at Nino before rushing to get in, Marinette also noticing, her cheeks going red. Her crush was... way too obvious. Every time she did this, you cringed slightly, but it couldn't be helped. She may be cringe in your eyes, but at least she has them. You'd never really fell for anyone that hard, which was good in a way, but it also felt horrible sometimes. You never let yourself crush on anyone or develop real feelings for anyone, automatically assuming anyone you meet is straight and couldn't possibly love you, to avoid being rejected or heart broken. And if your feelings developed against your wishes, you would isolate yourself from and avoid that person...
"Earth to Marinette-"
You waved your hand slightly in front of Marinette's face to snap her out of it, and were successful, Marinette grabbing your hand and pulling it down to look for Adrien, "Ah, He's gone!"
"I'll leave you behind if we don't start moving soon, Marinette. I've unfortunately got a pretty busy schedule.."
"Oh, yes, of course! We can go!-"She rushed off and you followed, struggling a little to keep up. You felt like it was a mistake rushing her, because now you were going way too quick to get back to your homes.