~

          All of Adrien's classes  went smoothly, and soon it was time for lunch. Adrien sat with his friends when he felt a pair of eyes resting on him. He turned to see   Lila staring from her table of fans. She smiled and gave a soft wave. He gave the slightest of waves, and propped his head on his hand. He watched out of the corner of his eye, and saw her stand up. Oh no. She walked over and tapped him on the shoulder. He popped his head up and turned around. "Yes?" he asked.

          "Adrien! I wanted to talk to you about something," she said.

          Adrien looked  across the table, and noticed Marinette eyeing Lila cautiously. He turned back to Lila. "About what?" he asked skeptically.

          Suddenly serious, she leaned down and whispered, "Adrien, I promise, I'm not lying this  time. I need to talk to you." This alone made Adrien sit up straighter.

          "I'm coming." He  stood up and followed Lila to a quieter place. "What's wrong, Lila?" he  asked, his voice laced with concern.

          "It's about Ladybug," she said. Adrien was torn. He knew most of Lila's talk about Ladybug was lies, but he found himself wanting to believe her.

          "I'm listening," he said. Please don't lie to me, Lila.

          "After the last akumatization, she came to talk to me," Lila said. After the last akumatization, her Miraculous was flashing, so she left... Adrien tried to piece things together, but it already made no sense. He nodded, as if he understood, to let Lila continue. "She... She wanted to talk about you."

          "Me?"

          "Yes. She told me that she was worried about you," Lila said. She seemed serious, but happy.

           "Ladybug? Worried about me? I wasn't even caught up in any of it." Great, now I'm lying.

       Lila cocked her head. "Now that we're friends, she wanted to talk to me about a few things. She said she was worried you were out when it was freezing! She couldn't-"

          "Lila!" he shouted. "Ladybug knows where I live! She's been there multiple times! If she had enough time to talk to you about it, she could've checked on me if she was so worried. If I had been in trouble, I have little to no doubt it would have ended up on the news, so she could have seen it there. You’re lying again, aren't you?" he asked angrily.

           "Of course not, Adrien! What's going on? I-"

           "No Lila! Lying is like breathing for you! Why can't you just tell me you want to talk when you want to talk?! I would've listened, but no, you lied to me, about Ladybug of all people! What's so important to you that you lie to me again, other than attention?! You know what? Don't answer that. You'll just lie again."

           "Adrien, wait-"

           "Shut it," he said, walking away. She called out for him, but he ignored her. He sat down next to Nino, fuming.

           "What's wrong, dude?" Nino asked.

           With a sigh, Adrien ran a hand through his hair. "Lila was lying as always, and I snapped at her."

      "Wow. It takes a lot for you to snap. What happened?" Alya asked.

          "She just pushed the wrong buttons. She lied about Ladybug and said something that didn't even make sense! I was pretty harsh to her, but she deserved it," he  said flatly. Marinette was shocked to hear all this. Adrien? Saying she 'deserved it'? I mean, what he said couldn't have been that bad, but that just doesn't sound like him...

~

     Beep! Beep! Beep!

     Turning off the alarm, Adrien sat up with a smile, before cracking his knuckles. “Here we go.” He stood up and got ready. He threw on a green t-shirt, a pair of jeans, and a leather jacket, with a paw print on the back. 

      “Uh, kid, are you sure you should be wearing that?” Plagg asked.

      “Yeah, why?” Adrien asked. He ran a hand through his hair, and looked over to Plagg.

      “I was just thinking that a paw print wouldn’t be the best idea considering exactly who you are?”

      He rolled his eyes and said, “Yeah, yeah. I get it, I’m Chat Noir, and that wouldn’t be the best idea. Whatever! You told me last year that people are idiots. I think I can agree with you on that. If they haven’t figured it out yet, I don’t think they’re gonna get it any time soon.”

      Plagg stood there, shocked. “What happened, Adrien?” Plagg asked.

      “You wanna know what happened? I’m just tired. I’m sick and tired of being kept locked up in here, sometimes even on school days. I’m tired of only getting to show who I am as someone nobody really knows! I’m tired of Ladybug not even caring that I love her. I’m tired of hiding. What’s the real disguise? Chat or Adrien? I- Ugh. Plagg, what I’m just trying to say is that I want to let the real me show, okay?”

      Plagg nodded with a frightened look on his face. “Okay kid. Just, don’t be too obvious about it.”

      Adrien nodded. “No reveals, got it.” He put on a pair of shades, and continued.

~

      After getting ready, Adrien went to school. He stepped out of the car, and was greeted with an unpleasant surprise. “ADRI-KIIIIINS!” Chloe ran up to him and hugged him.

      “Not right now, Chlo,” he said with a sigh. He shrugged her off, and walked away. He walked over to Nino and smiled. “Hey!” 

      Nino turned at the voice, and said, “Hey dude!” He stopped and looked at Adrien’s outfit. “Woah. New look?” he asked.

      “Yep.” Adrien turned his head to see Alya and Marinette coming over. “Hey Marinette, Alya.”

      Alya smiled before pushing Marinette forward. “H-h-hey A-Adrien! I love- er, like your new look. You look hot in that jacket- I mean, um…”

      Adrien’s smile slowly morphed into a small smirk. He leaned in close and took her hand. He whispered, “Thanks. Not so bad yourself,” into her ear. Nobody else caught it, but they could all tell he said something, because her face turned bright red.

      “Thank you,” she peeped. She grabbed Alya and ran away.

      “Wow dude, what did you say to her?” Nino asked.

      “I just returned the compliment,” he said casually.

      Nino stood there for a moment, lost for words. When he realized what Adrien was thinking, he said, “Don’t give her the wrong idea, bro. I thought you already liked someone?”

      Adrien shook his head. “I used to, but it was never gonna happen, and then I came to my senses,” he said, glancing over at Marinette.