Chapter Text
"Rise and shine, Plagg! I don’t want to be late for class!" Adrien pulled on his signature striped shirt, messing up his wild blonde hair. Because it was fall, the sun had begun to rise a little later. Usually, this meant extra sluggishness in the mornings for students like him, so he tried to remedy it by, well, waking up earlier. The sky outside was still a washed-out pastel blue, the sun barely over the horizon.
“Kit, you’re up before the sun is. Could you please calm down,” begged the tiny lump in his sheets. Chuckling, Adrien lifted the blanket off of the little god and rubbed his head gently, eliciting a whine from the small, black, cat-like entity. “Rubs aren’t getting you anywhere… it’s just too early…”
“It’s never too early!”
“Why are my Chosens always morning people…? Why can’t I be lucky for once? I’ve been good; I’ve never asked for more than I needed; I…”
Adrien scoffed at that, how much of a glutton Plagg is coming to mind. Letting Plagg complain on his own, the blond moved to his mirror and inspected the mess on his head; he ruffled it to make it look like a more stylish mess, grinning at his success. “Showered nicely, clothes on, teeth brushed, hair mussed-- I think we’re ready to head out!”
“--and he lives like five minutes away from the school--!”
“Plagg, we still have to eat breakfast, and I don’t like having to rush on our walk there,” reasoned the blond, sighing at the Kwami’s theatrics. “You can sleep during class, anyway!”
"Seriously, leave me here to die, Adrien," groaned his Kwami from his bed, burrowing further into Adrien’s sheets. "It’s too early for this. How are you so chipper in the morning?" Plagg didn’t look like he was going to get up any time soon. Tired of trying to reason with him, Adrien tried a different approach. He knew just how to deal with Plagg.
"Pere made camembert rolls," Adrien bribed, "and I’ll give you extra if you hurry up.”
“You don’t have to tell me twice!” exclaimed Plagg, zipping straight into his charge’s jean pocket. Before Adrien could leave his room though, the kwami said, “you know, kid, denim isn’t exactly comfy against my fur. Can’t you put on an extra layer for me to hide in?”
“Alright, alright,” replied Adrien, slipping on a white blazer. Plagg made a sound of approval, floating behind the softer cloth. “Now can we go?”
“Only if you make good on those extra camembert rolls.”
“You got it. Let’s go.” Grabbing his school bag, Adrien pulled open his trapdoor and made his way down into the bakery below.
The rest of the morning had been relatively uneventful, if not routine. Adrien, with his lunch and a container of extra stinky cheese rolls packed snugly in his bag, took the scenic route to school. Due to the slight chill, he chose to don a coat and a thin scarf where Plagg could hide in so he could see and talk to his charge. The bright greens of the plants were slowly melting into golds and oranges as autumn loomed closer. He had enjoyed the cool breeze, pleased that even Plagg was choosing to be quiet as they treaded on towards his school. The only time the silence was broken was when he had passed the Agreste mansion. “Big for a small family, isn’t it?” Plagg mused, looking up at the looming building. “Aren’t there, like, four people in there?”
“No, there must be employees in there, too,” Adrien replied, raising a brow at the random topic. “Why’re you bringing it up?”
“Obviously because it’s way too big for four people,” responded Plagg, sarcasm dripping from every word.
“Hey, I’m just saying. You never say anything every other time we pass by this place.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Plagg said, bright green eyes staying on the aforementioned mansion even after Adrien had walked past it.
When they had arrived at Collège Françoise Dupont, Plagg was back under his blazer. Adrien had arrived which just enough time to leisurely go to his locker and be at least five minutes early to class. He wondered if Nino was going to be late again today.“Yo, dude!” Ah. Speaking of the devil. The blond turned to his best friend, sharing a half-hug.
“‘Sup, Nino? Glad to see you aren’t late today,” teased Adrien, shutting his locker as Nino opened his own. The bespectacled teen rolled his eyes, stuffing his own coat into his locker.
“Not so glad you still look like you’ve never seen a comb before. Seriously, dude, bed head isn’t a fashion trend.”
“Oh purr-lease,” sniggered the blond, “I look like sexy beast with a wild mane.” He struck a pose that could only be described as ridiculous, earning an exasperated sigh from the other male. Nino ignored his finger guns, deciding to walk off so they could start heading to class.
“Finger guns are my thing, my man, don’t wear them out.”
“Isn’t sharing caring?”
“Not when you’re making something cool look so lame.”
“You wound me. I thought we were best friends.”
“Did you use past tense?”
Before Adrien could reply, a commotion distracted the duo from in front of their classroom. Much to their surprise (not), their ever-so-yellow classmate was harassing yet another person. Chloe Bourgeois had her finger to a student’s chest, one he had never seen before. “Watch where you’re going, you filthy little rat. Don’t you know who I am? I will have my father on your ass the next time you cross paths with me.”
“She’s in a bad mood today,” said Nino from beside him. Adrien wondered when Chloe was ever in a good mood.
“C’mon. Let’s break it up before anyone gets akumatised.” The girl, however, looked far from upset or angry. Instead, she placed a hand on her hip, raising a perfectly arched eyebrow at the blonde.
“As a matter of fact, I don’t know who you are. And for the record, you bumped into me. Get your facts straight, honey.”
“Whoa,” muttered Nino, “she’s fiery.”
“Come on, Monsieur Lahiffe.” Adrien marched over, Nino right next to him, and cut in before Chloe could retort. He stood, arms crossed, between Chloe and the girl, who looked a little surprised at the sudden intervention. “That’s enough, Chloe. Don’t you have anything better to do that pick on people and start fights?”
“Dupain,” Chloe spat, eyes narrowed. “Figures you’d jump in. Trying to bait another girl into your petty little fanclub?”
“He doesn’t need to bait anyone. My man gets ladies on sheer charm,” defended Nino with a grin and a pat on Adrien’s back, though Adrien knew he was gonna take that back later on in class, much to his amusement.
“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good people do nothing,” Adrien recited. “You, Chloe, are evil. We are the good people. We can’t let you get away with bullying anyone.” Unable to say anything in reply to his sudden spiel, Chloe turned tail and stomped into their classroom, muttering something along the lines of not having “time for these losers.” Grinning widely, Nino and Adrien shared a whoop and a high five.
“Majestia said that, didn’t she? You a superhero nerd?”
“Oh!” Adrien turned to the girl, forgetting that she was there for a second. “Y-Yeah! You could say that! Sorry about Chloe. She’s… kind of…”
“A bitch,” was Nino’s helpful input.
“...intolerable.”
“And in my class, judging from the fact that she just went into that room,” sighed the brunette, running a hand through the reddish ends of her hair. “Just my luck.”
“Hey, that’s our class, too!” Nino exclaimed. “You new?”
“Yeah, I am! Alya Cesaire,” she grinned, sticking both hands out for them to shake. “Today’s my first day here.”
“Nino Lahiffe, DJ extraordinare!”
“Adrien Dupain. That welcome was a bit… unorthodox, but I hope you’ll like it here.” Adrien shook her hand, smiling widely.
“Why don’t you sit with us? There’s two free seats in front of us,” said Nino, “but they’re at the front of the class, if you don’t mind.”
“And we can show you around later after school and fill you in on who’s who and whatnot,” added Adrien.
“Sweet, thanks,” grinned Alya, just as the warning bell rang. “Let’s go.”