Edited.

Marinette's P.O.V

My breath caught in my throat. I couldn't move. Adrien stared at me in terror, his eyes screaming at me for help.

Maman couldn't see him here. No one could.

"Marinette, is everything alright?"

I jerked back to life and bolted for the door, motioning for Adrien to get under the bed. He obeyed quickly, disappearing in less than a second. I opened the door and forced a sheepish smile as my gaze rested upon my mother's worried face.

"Everything's fine, Maman," I told her, hoping that she would believe me. I'm an appalling liar - no one needs to tell me that.

"I heard a loud noise," she said. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I responded. "I just tripped over something. You know me and my clumsiness." I laughed softly, and my chest felt like it was about to implode.

She stared at me worriedly for a few more seconds before nodding once and sighing. "Well, you should sleep. Don't want you worrying me or your father any more."

"I promise I won't. Sorry for bothering you."

"Oh, don't be silly."

I watched as she trudged down the stairs slowly, waiting until I could hear her voice downstairs. She was talking to Papa. I closed the door softly and rested against it. That had been too close.

"You can come out."

I watched him crawl out slowly from under the bed. He looked up at me in a way that said, any questions?

"Okay, so I guess this is the part where you explain." I walked over to the bed and sat down, my gaze trained hard on him. He stared back, unwavering, before heaving a small sigh.

"Maybe it would've made sense before, but..." he trailed off.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I mean, if I told you what I'm about to tell you before everything happened, maybe..." he paused. "Maybe there would have been a shred of hope that you would believe me. But now that I've been in a mental institution for the past month..."

"You think I'll think you're crazy?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

I let my gaze soften. "Adrien, I don't believe anything they said," I said. "Declared insane or not, I  think you did what you did for a reason. Just one that you don't think people would understand."

He looked up at me, and for the first time, I saw a desperate fear in his eyes. "And you think you'll understand me?"

"I don't know," I responded. "But I'm sure of one thing: f I can't understand, then at least I listened, right?"

I fought back the urge to laugh at myself. I said these things to Chat, but now he hated me. The hypocrisy in my words made me want to retch. I forced back my thoughts. It wouldn't help. Adrien seemed to be in a situation far more serious than any of us had thought, and I knew that I had to listen to him, whether I was a hypocrite or not.

He heaved another sigh. "Okay."

"Okay."

He sat in the middle of the bed, crossing his legs and staring out at my balcony. He stayed silent for a few moments, seemingly psyching himself up to tell me what had happened to him. I waited, watching him battle with himself. It made me heart-sore.

"Okay. I know for a fact that you won't believe most of what I say, but I want you to know that I trust you."

"Thanks."

He took a deep breath, and began.

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Adrien's P.O.V

I sighed in relief, a huge burden lifted off of my shoulders.

I had only told Marinette about Chaos, deliberately omitting any information that had to do with my father. I decided to let her choose what she wanted to believe, but even though what I told her barely scratched the surface of what happened, I felt lighter.

When I looked up at her, her expression was contemplative. I waited for her to speak. After what seemed like an eternity, she took a deep breath.

"So...Chaos feeds on your anger?" she asked.

"Well, any negative emotion," I answered. "Anger, sadness, fear, and pretty much anything similar to those. He uses them against me."

"And then he controls you with them."

I hate to interrupt this therapy session, but I am offended. I just happen to be the one who got you out of the loony bin. This is a very pleasant thanks.

I'm just telling her the truth.

Feh.

"You're talking with him now, aren't you?"

I stared at her quizzically. "What?"

"I can tell," she said. "You sorta...concentrate on your conversation. I can tell that you're talking to him."

Okay, this girl is smart, I gotta hand it to her.

"Do...I really do that?" I asked, and she nodded slightly before sighing.

"I know you already figured that this is hard to believe," she said softly, running her hand through her hair. "But I think it's believable enough for me. It doesn't sound far-fetched or manufactured."

"Really?"

"It sounds like a huge misadventure."

My eyes narrowed.

"A real one," she added quickly, and through her nervous smile I could see the genuineness in her expression. She didn't think I was crazy. That was always a plus.

"So they were either going to transfer me from Humble or 'put me down', as Chaos said," I continued. "After he decided not to take over my body because of my 'newfound intelligence', as he also said, he...turned me into a cat. I passed out as we were booking it, and woke up in your room."

She stared. "Okay, I find that a little harder to believe," she said.

"I don't believe it either," I responded. "I still think he's just screwing with me."

Believe what you want. I got you out of that place, so I don't have to answer any questions.

You could at least do it again in front of her, to convince her.

No, you idiot. That would raise questions. Why, of all things, a black cat? And then she realizes you have green eyes, and then boom! She figures out you're Chat Noir.

Since when do you care about who figures that out?

I don't. You do. And Plagg sure as hell does. Aaand he can be veeeery scary when he's mad.

It was true. Mari was smart. She could easily put two and two together. It wasn't a good idea. I snuck a glance at her; she was watching me intently, which meant she knew that Chaos was talking to me. I had to say something false, and quick.

"He says he isn't obligated to answer any questions since he's the one who got me out of there in the first place." I decided to go with Chaos's earlier words, and she nodded with a slight chuckle. I gave a mental sigh of relief.

At least lying is something you're decent at.

Shut up.

"What's he saying now?" she asked, and I saw the fascination in her eyes. It made a odd feeling spread through me; it was somewhat warm, but only just barely. Like a single ray of sunlight hitting a thousand-year-old glacier.

It made me smile.

It was ironic, how the girl I had hurt in so many different ways was still this kind to me. It was foreign, and it still repulsed me. Kindness wasn't something I deserved. Yet, there she was, smiling with me, standing by me, believing me.

Understanding me.

I grinned, despite myself. "He's just being a jackass, like he always is."

Thank you for noticing.

She smiled. "Well, at least we've gotten the whole explanation outta the way," she said. "But there's still one slightly ginormous problem."

I knew what it was. "Humble's going to be looking for me," I said. "And if they find out that you're housing a maniac, you could go to jail."

The possibility of incarceration didn't seem to faze Marinette. "So what do we do now? You can't go back to Humble..."

"But I can't stay here, either."

"But you can't live on the run for the rest of your life."

Seems like you've got yourself between a rock and an asylum, Yellowhead, Chaos mused.

You're in on this too, I thought. You're a part of me. And don't call me that. Only Plagg calls me that.

You let that poor excuse of a feline call you by a pet name? You dirty-minded, kinky little bastard.

"Oh my god." I cringed and his my face in my hands as I realized that Marinette was still looking at me. I looked at her with a pained expression. "I'm sorry. Chaos is just...terrible. Really."

You are the worst kind of person, Adrien.

She laughed softly, and then shook her head. "You know what, I think we should brainstorm on what to do tomorrow," she chuckled. "You seem busy arguing with the voice in your head, and I...am wiped." she flopped back onto her bed to pass her point completely. She did it a bit too well, because I found myself yawning.

"I guess you're right."

So we turned in for the night, with Marinette on her bed, and me on a thin duvet underneath it. She said that her mother came in during the night to check on her, so it would be best to be safe.

Once I was comfortable, I kicked Chaos into the furthest recesses of my brain and tried to sleep. I could hear nothing but the sound of Marinette's breathing, and it puzzled me how she fell asleep so fast.

It was almost kind of funny, how I was here, sleeping in Marinette's room, whereas if I had shown up here as Chat, I would probably be unceremoniously kicked out. The fact that I was getting more affection than my lovable alter-ego was so appalling it was almost comical.

Just when I was about to fall asleep, I heard the soft whisper of Marinette's voice again.

"Goodnight, Adrien."

Once again, I felt the tiny warm feeling, and a sudden, intrusive thought popped into my head.

This girl is going to be the death of you.

Shut up.

*                    *                    *

 In my dream, I saw Hawkmoth. His hard eyes pierced into my soul, making me feel cold.

I'm close, Chat Noir.

The voice wasn't Chaos'. It was deeper, more sinister, and it had the same effect on me that his eyes did. I could see countless moths fluttering around his masked face, glowing with malice. I shuddered.

I am much closer than you think. And when I finally get to you...

I felt a wave of nausea wash over me. I wanted to retch. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't speak. There was nothing but the voice in my head, and the face branded into my mind.

There was a small, evil chuckle.

There will be nothing left for you to protect.

My lungs screamed for air.

Not even her.

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Word Count: 1784.

I posted Bury a Friend with this chapter because even though this chapter isn't eerie like that, it kinda shows you what Adrien's mind might be like.

Sorry for a lack of updates. I was basking in holidays. I'm still working on a schedule.