You dove through your window with barely a second to spare before detransforming. Vladd flew out of your ring and landed in your cupped hands. You looked down at him as he stretched his tiny arms and yawned.

"Oh, man. You were really pushing it today," he told you.

You shrugged your shoulders. "I guess I needed to prove myself against what I thought was a new partner." You let out a heavy sigh. "I just don't know if--"

You heard an angry growl from downstairs, followed by Gabriel yelling, "Adrien! (Y/N)! Get down here this instant!"

Your heart dropped into your stomach. You set Vladd down on your desk and hurried downstairs. When you exited your room, you saw Adrien was next to you, looking just as panicked.

When you got downstairs, you found Gabriel and Natalie standing in the kitchen. Natalie had a manilla folder in her hands, which she opened up as you and Adrien cautiously approached.

"What's going on?" you asked. But you already knew.

Gabriel turned to Adrien. "I am going to ask you one time, Adrien. Tell me the truth- what happened to my book?"

You gulped and looked over at Adrien. Before you could protest, Adrien spoke up. "I took it this morning when you went upstairs to help (Y/N)." He looked down at his shoes.

"You." Gabriel glared at you over the rim of his glasses. "You were a distraction. You come into my house and you help my son steal from me?"

"I-I..."

"Pack your bags. You are not welcome in my home anymore."

You burst into tears. The world crashed down on you and your hands began shaking. You covered your face with your hands and took a step back.

"She had nothing to do with it, Father. I just saw an opportunity, and I took it," Adrien said, stepping between you and Gabriel.

"Why did you take the book?" Gabriel asked.

"I... I just wanted to know what you were hiding behind that portrait that was so important. You.. you never told me about those things. I was intending to give it back to you, I swear! But then... I lost it."

You hadn't known that Adrien had lost the book. You thought back to the last time you had seen the book- with Lila. You wondered if she had taken it.

"How can I possibly trust you again, Adrien?"

"Sorry... I'll get you another copy."

Gabriel turned away from him, crossing his arms and shaking his head in disappointment. "It's one of a kind! The book's the source of my inspiration." Gabriel took a thoughtful pause. "You won't be returning to school. You'll be home-schooled again...with Nathalie."

You gasped. You took a look at Adrien, and his eyes met yours. You wanted to speak up, find a way to take all the blame. But you had been shown photos of Adrien sneaking into Gabriel's office. You couldn't explain that away. Adrien caught your eye, shaking his head to silently beg you to stay quiet.

Gabriel sneered. "Go to your room," he told you. "I need to speak to my son alone."

You nodded wordlessly, sniffling as you slowly managed your way back to your bedroom. You slumped into your desk chair and wiped your eyes with the sleeve of your jacket. We'll, Adrien's jacket, and something about being warm in Adrien's hoodie made you feel a bit better, as though he was in the room with you.

"Oh, Vladd," you sniffled. "I just ruin everything for everyone."

Vladd rolled his eyes and laid on the desk next to your elbow. You absent-mindedness began to rub his head with your index finger and thumb. "None of this is your fault. You were going to ask Gabriel for a jacket anyways. You aren't the one who took the book and you aren't the one who lost it." He crossed his arms. "You need to stop acting like every bad thing that happens is because you didn't step in."

You groaned. "Stop being logical and ruining my pity party," you laughed, getting pulled out of your crying for a moment. "Even so, I might get kicked out of another home. I might get sent home for stealing."

"I'm sure there's someone who would take you." But Vladd spoke as though he had someone specific in mind if it came down to it.

You heard banging coming from downstairs. You jumped out of the chair and hurried to your bedroom door, cracking it open and looking around. You saw Nathalie standing in front of Adrien's bedroom door, blocking him from coming out.

You bit your lip and slipped back into your room. You looked back at Vladd helplessly.

----------------------

A few minutes later, you heard Nathalie scream. You ran out of your bedroom door, nearly falling down the stairs as you ran to the foyer. There you found Gabriel, akumatized.

He held up a book towards you, "(Y/N)! You'll make an excellent addition to my collection!" Gabriel then through the book towards you. You barely dodged it in time, diving to the left as it nearly skimmed your shoulder.

"Mr. Agreste, please!"

"I'm not Mr. Agreste! I'm the Collector!"

You ran back upstairs to your room, and he began to chase after you. You screamed desperately as you reached your bedroom. You slammed the door shut behind you, even as The Collector pushed back against it.

You locked the door and ran to your window, jumping out even before you called "Vladd, ears out!"

You landed hard on your feet on the building closest to Agreste Manor. You let out a pained groan, attempting to roll out of the aggressive fall.

Your nunchucks began beeping, letting you know you had a message holding.
~•♡•~•♡•~•♡•~•♡•~•♡•~•♡•~•♡•~•♡•~•♡•~

You arrived to a rooftop near the Palais Garnier to find Chat Noir and Ladybug discussing that seemed fairly heated.

"Hey, what's going on?"

"Ladybug thinks Gabriel Agreste is Hawk Moth!" Chat Noir growled. He crossed his arms and turned his head away from Ladybug.

Your eyes widened in shock. "Do you have proof, Ladybug? I mean, Gabriel Agreste may be reclusive, but do you think he'd really be Hawk Moth? What about all the times his son has been in danger?"

"I can't tell you what my proof is," Ladybug sighed.

So, I'm supposed to just... accept that?" Chat Noir scoffed. His face seemed pained, as though the accusation of Gabriel Agreste cut him deeply.

"You must trust me on this," Ladybug countered."

You scoffed. "No, Ladybug. I'm not going to just trust you. I'm fully willing to accept the possibility that anyone in France is Hawk Moth. But if you don't trust me enough to tell me what's going on, then I don't trust your word about anything." You bit your tongue, trying to soothe your anger. "You have messed up so many times before and you don't acknowledge that we have to bail you out."

You turned on your heel, looking back for a moment.

"Where are you going?"

"Gabriel Agreste has been akumatised. Handle this on your own, since you like to act like you've never needed me. Try not to break anything."

You began to walk away, but Chat Noir spoke up, "I have to help Ladybug with Gabriel Agreste... but afterwards... me and you are a team. Where you go, I go."

You nodded once and took off.

~•♡•~•♡•~•♡•~•♡•~•♡•~•♡•~•♡•~•♡•~

You had steered clear of Agreste Manor in order to give Ladybug and Chat Noir time to defeat The Collector. When you saw Ladybug yo-yoing away, you figured they had some everything they needed to do.

You heard a beeping from your nunchucks. You looked down at the to see a message from Chat Noir, asking if you'd be willing to fix the Agreste Manor because it had been all but destroyed during the battle.

You stood up from the ledge you were sitting on and went back home. You landed in a back alleyway, revamping the damage of the battle near and detransformed.

When you arrived to the front door of the manor and quietly walked through the front door, you were surprised to see Marinette in your foyer, talking to Gabriel.

Marrinette held out the brown to Gabriel. You gasped, pressing yourself against the wall to keep either of them from seeing you. "When Adrien put the book down and walked away, I wanted to take a peek. You see, I thought it was a portfolio with lots of pictures of him 'cause he's so cute." Marinette let out a small giggle. But she corrected her self and looked down at her feet. "Uh, but you already knew that." Marinette scratched the back of her head nervously. "Anyway, um, when he came back, I was scared he'd see me staring at his book so I hid it in my backpack and I know it was a dumb thing to do. I'm really, really sorry."

Gabriel sneered, taking the book from Marinette's hands. He lifted his nose, but still looked down at him. "I see. So, you're one of his admirers?" Gabriel handed the book to Natalie.

"Admirers? Yeah. That's the word. You won't say anything to him, will you?" Marinette pleaded. Gabriel shook his head, and Marinette continued to say. "Are you going to let Adrien come back to school?"

"Well, considering he didn't actually lose my book as it was borrowed by you, yes I will."

"Will (Y/N) still be going back home? Since she's the reason it was stolen?"

"I think that's enough. Nathalie, escort our guest out."

Gabriel turned away as Nathalie took Marinette by the shoulder and led her to the front door, where you were standing. As she passed, you, you both locked eyes. You grabbed Marinette by the arm and put your head close to hers, mumbling in a quiet voice, you said, "How did you get the book if Lila took it?"

Marinette shook her head, silently telling you she wouldn't explain the situation to you. You narrowed your eyes, letting go of her arm and frowning.

Then, something dawned up you.

"(Y/N), come here." Gabriel beckoned you over with a wave of his hand. You walked out from your hiding place, handd shaking. "I know you heard everything. So let me clarify what's going to happen to you." He cleared his throat. "You are going to stay here, if that's what you wish. And I've alerted you Foreign Exchange Organization that if they approve you to remain in Paris for another year, you are welcome to stay here."

You gasped in surprise. A wide smile spread over your face. You couldnt help yourself when you threw your arms around him. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

He gently pushed you off. "My son has become a nes person since you've been here. You also have been a very easy guest to manage. If something like this happens again, you'll be disciplined like Adrien. I will not threaten to kick you out again." Gabriel began to head upstairs, "Now, I'm going to go apologize to my son."

~•♡•~♤•~•◇•~♧•~•♡•~♤•~•◇•~♧•~

You closed the door of your bedroom and pulled Vladd out of your hoodie. He flew out and sat on your desk, grabbing a pen and absentmindedly playing with it.

"Marinette is Ladybug," you breathed out. "She thinks Gabriel is Hawk Moth because he had the book." You sat down at your desk, burying your hands in your head. "It's why I thought Ladybug liked Adrien- because she does. That's why she embarrassed Lila in front of Adrien."

"What are you going on about?"

"The hair, the eyes..."

A/N: Hey, my 5yo neice got me with this: knock-knock?
Who's there?
Cash!
Cash who?
Cash these hands! *proceeds to punch me in the stomach*