Adrien spent the entire night curled up in bed with Luka, and leaving was reluctant. He kissed the sleeping boy and made the quick walk home to get ready for school. He waved to his bodyguard, who looked utterly confused to see Adrien walking in the front door and not from his room, the poor guy nearly dropped his coffee. Adrien skipped up the steps, elated to having seen Luka after so long and excited to hear (Y/N)'s grateful voice when he calls them to fill them in on what they missed in class.

He showered and pulled on a sweater Luka had gotten him, a deep forest green and loose-fitting black jeans. He always found it ironic that his boyfriend had better taste than his father who made fashion his living. He pulled on his black boots (a gift from (Y/N) simply because they thought boots would suit him) and slicked his hair back loosely. He loved not having to follow the "boyish" look his father picked for him. He finally looked like a person and not a band member from 2000s boy band. He wondered if a piercing would suit him, but pushed the thought aside for now as he grabbed his school bag.

"Morining!" Adrien slid onto his chair at the dining table and dug into his breakfast, his bodyguard (who wasn't allowed to eat with him until Adrien took over the house) smiled, but stayed silent, putting a hand on his shoulder. Adrien was beaming, happy he didn't have to eat alone anymore. He was a little sad to go to school without (Y/N), but he had the band and Nino.

He dropped his dishes off in the dishwasher before getting in the car, stepping out and waiting for Nino to show up. The two boys walked into school, just as ready to get the day over with as they were to hang out with the band after.

Something felt off when Marinette walked into the room, she wasn't ignoring Adrien- he tried to avoid eye contact by looking at the floor but her shoes, along with the rest of her, were swiftly in front of him. Nino tensed, visibly getting ready to defend Adrien.

"You look good," she said simply, but not leaving.

Adrien looked up, questioning the girl simply from the look on his face. "Thanks," he looked anywhere but her face, he didn't realize how much he was dreading talking to her. "Luka thought it'd be fun to help me switch up my style, so-"

"So this was his idea?" Marinette crossed her arms, visibly tensing in the shoulders at the mention of Luka. Which was curious, seeing as their breakup was much less recent.

Nino rolled his eyes, "not to sound rude, but did you need something?"

Marinette nodded, fiddling with her fingers as a nervous laugh escaped her "I was wondering if we could talk. Alone."

It was Adrien's turn to laugh. Mostly out of sheer surprise. "What could you possibly need from me that you can't say in front of other people?" He kept his tone light, but the message firm.

Her face flushed "I-I just-"

Adrien stood up, glancing at Nino "watch my things for me." Nino nodded, saying something as Adrien held the door for Marinette as the two left. He didn't like Marinette, but he was still a gentleman.

Marinette led him to the now empty locker room. She was visibly as nervous as Adrien felt. She sat on the bench while Adrien leaned against (Y/N)'s locker. "You wanted to talk, so talk."

"Did you know that Nino broke up with Alya?" Marinette asked, her voice quiet. Of course Adrien knew, he was there when Nino asked him and (Y/N) for advice. All Adrien did was nod and wait for her to continue. "I can't help but feel like it's our fault-" Our fault? The hell did I do Adrien thought to himself, but stayed quiet "Because of everything with you I just- Alya got so protective that anytime Nino mentioned you it started a fight."

"And that means it's my fault because?" Adrien asked, genuine guilt settling uncomfortably close to his heart. He knew how much Nino loved Alya, if really was his fault he had no idea what he'd do.

"Because if you didn't break up with me this wouldn't have happened." Marinette stated simply, he never realized how entitled Marinette was until he was staring her down in this moment. "I was thinking maybe if we got back together maybe they would too-"

Oh. Realization settled in. This had nothing to do with concern for her friends, she was capitalizing on a chance to get Adrien back. He was nauseated at the thought, and he found himself feeling horrible for Alya having a friend so willing to use your horrible circumstances to get something. He stopped leaning on (Y/N)'s locker and sat next to Marinette.

He smiled softly, "Are you sure that would work?" He parted his lips slightly as he watched Marinette nod, her breaths slowing as Adrien leaned closer, his hand slowly moving to hold the back of her head the way he used to.

It was easy to slip back into the routine for a moment as he leaned in, as if he was about to kiss her. His lips hovered over hers as he spoke, his voice sickeningly sweet "You're fucking delusional, my lady."

That was the look he was waiting for. The shock, the hurt she should have no right to feel, the entitlement burning beneath her mask of disappointment. The look at who Marinette really was before she could put her mask back on. "If you think I would throw away what I have for a cheating, obsessive, joke of a girlfriend you're even dumber than I thought you were." His smile turned borderline sadistic "did your little boy toy dump you for someone else? You finally getting a taste of what you did to my boyfriend? You deserve every fucking shitty thing that happens to you, Dupain-Chang. I'm not gonna be there to pick up the pieces because suddenly it's convenient for you." Adrien moved his hand away and got up, walking to the door "and if you so much as try to guilt trip me or anyone I care about, something tells me Tikki might need a new holder."

Marinette was frozen, just looking at Adrien with pure fear on her face "You're gonna become your father, you know." She said, her voice barely above a whisper

That was all it took for Adrien to snap. He opened the door and slammed it shut behind him. Because she had a point.

***

His hands were done shaking by the time he sat down at his desk again, receiving a questioning look from Nino right before the teacher came in to start the lesson.

Adrien's head was a mess the whole lesson, he all but jumped out of his seat when it was time to go to the library. He made a beeline for the bathroom and locked the door behind him as his breathing became more erratic. He pulled out his phone, his finger hovering over luka's name. His throat swelled up as Adrien slid into the corner, hugging himself for some kind of pressure.

He was mean. He stooped to his father's level with the way he looked at Marinette. Hell, he smiled while he did it. He liked it. The last thing Adrien wanted was to be like his father, but he fell into the role so easily. Acting like he was above everything, digging into someone and their insecurities to stun them into silence, breaking them the way he broke Adrien.

Tears began to slip from his eyes, being soaked up by his sleeves as he desperately tried to control his breathing. He felt like he was back in his room, sobbing after his dad broke what little self-esteem he had. He wished he had the guts to call Luka, to take solace in his voice, but he knew if he told Luka what happened that Luka would take care of it. And he didn't want Luka to save him every time. He didn't want to run away, but he was terrified of becoming a monster should he fight. He regretting telling Plagg to stay in the ring today, but he didn't want the kwami to see him like this.

So there the little kitty sat, the snake in the garden, the Raven flown away. And him, alone, the monster in him fighting to come out to play as the boy shook and sobbed with fear. Fear of losing his loves, fear of losing his friends, fearing losing himself as he morphed into his father. He cried just a little harder, because something (a little voice sounding like a certain ex) told him he deserved it.

Until a knock on the door came.