Adrien's POV

I was in shock. I couldn't move my feet. My brain commanded my legs to move, but they weren't paying attention.

I had to let her go.

My father gripped my arm. At some point, he'd broken through the crowds and made his way to me. He had a stern look and I knew I was so busted.

"It's time to go, Adrien." He spat my name out like I was nothing. I knew my father could be cold, but this time he truly looked at me as if I was nothing.

I tried to move, tried to run after Ladybug. As if teasing me, I finally regained control of my legs, but at this point, it was too late. My father had such a vice on my arm that I couldn't move a muscle.

My eyes trailed upwards towards Marinette. She was running towards the balcony, with a girl -that could've been her twin, they looked so alike- and...Felix?

What the heck was he doing with them?

With renewed strength, I broke free of my father and started to run after the girl I loved.

"M- Ladybug!"

She looked back at me. I could see it in her eyes; she was feeling just as heartbroken as I was. She mouthed the words I love you at me, then swung out onto the roof.

Tears streaming down from my eyes, I collapsed on the floor, not giving a second thought to the worried faces around me. Hands patting my back, arms lifting me up, I didn't care about any of it.

My only concern was for the love of my life, who'd just swung away from me.

~

My father was furious with me. I mean sure, I kissed a superhero, heck, I kissed Ladybug-

And there goes all rational thoughts.

Every time I thought of that moment we'd shared, my body reacted like I was right back there again- heart pounding, face flushed, I finally felt... truly happy.

As fairy-tale like as it sounded, I felt like everything was right in my world.

Until the moment ended and she left me.

The truth hit me like a ton of bricks.

She...left me.

Where was she going to go?

Well, I sure as hell wasn't staying at camp waiting for her- that's just not how I operate. Sure, I can be reckless at times, but I'll always find Marinette. Even if it means I have to place a tracker in her hair, I'd always find her.

My father spoke for the first time since we'd left the ball, driving quickly away in our limousine and avoiding the people circling the vehicle like hawks.

"We will have this discussion when we reach your little 'camp'."

I perked up. "You're letting me stay?" I was sure he'd take me back to Paris the first chance he got."

"Yes. It will be most convenient for my plans."

"What plans, father?"

He ignored my question, and so we drove the rest of the way back in silence.

~

Once we'd arrived, I inhaled sharply as I got out of the car. Everything was so enticing; it all reminded me of Marinette. Tears welled in my eyes as I walked slowly up to my cabin.

My father walked to me to the front doors (strange actions coming from him) and sighed pensively. "Adrien, what was that back there? Ladybug?"

He looked angry, a spark of fury in his eyes that pushed me to answer.

"You saw what happened, father. I found Ladybug."

He raised his voice slightly. "Adrien, I mean, with the-" he gestured, "your...moment together."

A blush blossomed across my cheeks. "Father, I.." I faltered. "I don't know how exactly we ended up like that, but I don't regret it." My voice got louder. I could tell I was making him mad, but I carried on anyway. "Father...dad... I know you're not pleased. But she makes me happy. Father, she really does. And I... love her. Dad, I love her."

His face remained impassive throughout my little speech, and he spoke with restraint. "No."

"What?" I asked, my heart breaking. "What do you mean, no? You can't just tell me what to do-"

"I can and I will!" He shouted, finally showing some emotion. And dear god, it wasn't a happy one.

Inside the cabin, I could hear the chatter from before disappear. Then I heard a series of footsteps, and my friends appeared at the doors. I registered this, along with the fact that Alya looked like she'd been crying and that Luka and Kagami were there too (along with a couple of suitcases each) but I was too focused on our argument to acknowledge them.

"You can't tell me who I can and can't love! That's stupid! I love Ladybug, father, and you can't change the fact that I always will!" I yelled back, the tears now streaking down my face again.

"Oh, I will! I thought you loved Kagami or Chloe, I would've even been okay with that Dupain-Cheng girl, but Ladybug? She's a superhero, for god's sake!"

He muttered something under his breath. I heard the word 'nemesis' but I was too angry to question what that could mean.

My father continued. "And you don't even know who she is! She could be ten years older than you, for all you know! No, I forbid it!"

"Father, you saw it yourself. I saw Ladybug-"

In my peripheral vision, I noted everyone's shocked looks.

"-and we kissed. Happy?"

I could see everyone's massive grins, especially Alya. Her face completely lit up.

"Adrien, I have had enough of this nonsense. You will not-"

"Well, I don't care about a single stupid word that comes out of your stupid mouth because I'm done! I'm done with it all! Your dumb photoshoots, dumb business meetings, dumb everything! I'm through. Find another boy to be your son." I stomped inside to my friends but turned around before the door could close.

"For the record, she loves me too."

I let the doors slam in his face and ran up to my room, falling face-first on my bed and screaming into my pillow.

Alya came up quietly and rubbed my back as I cried into the blanket.

"Why...why? It was easier when I hadn't seen her... but... we-" I didn't get much further than that before another wave of guilty overcame me and I started sobbing again.

"Adrien...dude..." It was Nino, who'd appeared at the door with Luka and Kagami.

"We know how tough it must've been to see her again-"

At this, I buried my head in the pillow again to mask the tears that had suddenly reappeared.

"-but did you see anything? Any clues to where she might've been going?"

"The last I saw of her..." I slowly sat up straight, "she was swinging up onto the roof of the palace."

I snapped to attention. "Oh yeah. Did I forget to mention she was with my cousin? And a girl who looked like she could be her twin?"

"Felix?" Nino, Luka and Kagami gasped.

Alya stayed silent. "Alya, what's wrong?"

"The other girl..." she started carefully, "did she have slightly longer pigtails than Marinette?"

I thought about it. "Yeah, but what does that have to do with-"

"And was she wearing a gold necklace with a purple gemstone on it?"

I tried to picture the girl in my mind. "Yeah...yeah. She was. Why? Alya, what's going on?"

She stared at the wall, gaping. "She's alive."

Luka looked at her. "Who, Alya? Who's alive?"

She remained in her trance, just repeating those words over and over, "She's alive. She's alive. Oh my god, she's alive!"

Kagami came over and waved her hand in front of her face. "Alya? Earth to Alya?"

"ALYA!" I yelled, and she finally snapped out of it.

"No need to yell, Lover Boy, what is it?"

"Will you stop grinning at the wall like it's the most interesting thing in the world and actually tell us who the hell you're talking about?"

"Oh... oh. Oh, um, okay." She sat down on one of the beds. "Get comfortable, we're gonna be here a while..."

We all made ourselves comfortable on the beds and looked attentively at Alya she began talking rapidly.

"Marinette told me this only once. Promise me you won't tell anyone else until Marinette's ready to?"

We all nodded our consent, eager to hear what was coming next.

"So, Marinette was born with a twin sister."

Woah. Not the answer I was expecting.

Evidently, it wasn't the answer everyone else was expecting too, because they all leapt out of their places and began freaking out.

"Holy-"

"Nino! Language!"

"Sorry, Kagami. OH MY GOD, MARINETTE HAS A TWIN! Better?"

"Much."

Alya just stared at them with a tired expression, then came to sit next to me. "Hey, you okay? You seem to be taking this news well."

"I mean..." I sighed, "I... knew something was off- if that makes sense? I knew somehow they had to be related, so I guess it's not much of a shock to me."

I mean, I was completely freaking out inside my head, but I stayed calm on the outside.

"Okay." Nino breathed. "Freaking-out time aside, let's continue."

"Right." Alya hugged a pillow to her chest. "Okay. Her name was... is... Bridgette. She's the younger sister, born around seven minutes after Marinette." She faltered, then continued. "Marinette never told me why, but Bridgette was separated from her family at the age of 6. Everyone who knew her was given a mind wipe, except Marinette and her parents, who wanted to keep their memories of her. Behind their backs, the people that took her away implanted memories of her 'death' in their heads. For some reason, it didn't work on Marinette. She has no idea why, but she knows that they tried to make her think Bridgette had died."

"And her parents never questioned why Marinette didn't think Bridgette died?"

"Nah, Luka, she acted as if she'd died. Do you know how tough it was for her? They were as thick as thieves. She told me it was...unbearable. And to make matters worse, she wasn't even sure whether she was alive or...dead."

We were all silent as we digested this piece of information. It must've been terrible. I couldn't imagine pretending I had to live without...Felix, say, even if he could be a pain in the-

Felix!

"Hey, about Felix... any theories on why he and Bridgette were with Marinette?"

"Well," Kagami spoke up thoughtfully, "I had a thought that she might've met them on the way to the ingredients for her dad's cure-"

Dang it, amidst all the confusion of Marinette disappearing we'd completely forgot why she'd left in the first place!

"-and they might have offered to help her? If they're anything like Marinette, they won't stop at anything to help someone."

"True that," Nino called.

"So, we have to help Marinette, obviously!"

A chorus of consent followed.

"So, how do we do that? It's not like-"

Alya was cut off by the loud knocking on the door.

"Ugh, who'd want to come to visit us at this hour?"

"The pizza man bringing my pizza?"

We all glared at Nino.

"What? I got hungry before you got here!"

Luka sighed and went to answer the door.

"Oh...hell no." We heard him say, accompanied by a groan.

We all exchanged quizzical glances before going to check on him.

We found Luka there, glaring at a girl. She had really big bangs and hair tied up in loose plaits. She was surrounded by a load of luggage and wore an innocent look on her face- though we all knew that was fake.

"Oh...hell no," I mumbled.

The girl grinned. "Hey, guys!"

We all groaned in unison. "Hello, Lila."

A/N: We're getting closer to my chapter goal! I estimated around 30-40 chapters for this book, and I think it's going to stay that way.

Sorry for the delay, but I hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Also, for the record, when this story is over I am going to go over EVERYTHING, check spelling, word order, POVs, etc. I'll let you guys know if I make a major change but most likely I won't.

-MyCrazyFandoms