4- Gift Box

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After renouncing his miraculous, the brunette tried to carry on with his day, but it was hard considering he couldn't tell anyone. It would put him and his family in jeopardy if anyone knew about his possession of the Ladybug miraculous. He spent the entirety of yesterday deciding who he would give it to because he obviously wasn't up to the task...

In his mind, he knew the best person for the job; his best friend El: she would love to be a superhero and not to mention the fact she willingly dove into danger without a moment's hesitation. His mind was made up.

He stared at the box, clutching it deep in his hand, he needed to do this; he needed to get rid of this damn box and its contents.

With a determined nod to himself, he threw the box in his backpack; hoping to slip it into El's bag later in the day, incase of another Villain making its way to destroy the town once more.

Will actually managed to leave on time for school today despite all the closed roads that were down for construction after yesterday's fight. Apparently, a lot of renovations needed to be made considering the impact of the Mecha-Tank but also the crumbling road from Claw Noir's Cataclysm.

He biked through Mirkwood which thankfully wasn't destroyed by the villain. This whole situation was ridiculous; what is one to do?

He shook his head pedalling faster until he saw the school building in his sites, despite the broken walls, and the renovations occurring the students were forced to go to school; not even a villain could convince the principal to give a day off.

Placing his bike in the bike racks, Will took a deep breath as he approached, preparing himself to give El the Miraculous. Will wanted to do it now or else another villain could appear, and El would run to video the fight; El deserved it more; she was the more courageous one.

Locking his bike, he walked over to his class, seeing El in her seat, gossiping loudly with Max, gushing about the new superheroes, he heard El say, "I can't believe they used MY footage on the news!" She exclaimed.

"That's because we got there before the news anchors did!" Max sarcastically joked

"But still! It's so exciting!" El cheered.

Will nervously took a breath, looking around the room, seeing Lucas sitting behind him with Dustin nowhere to be seen. Lucas merely stared at his phone with his headphones in, not paying mind to the whispers of people around him accusing him of heinous crimes; saying he was 'a liability',

The brunette's heart ached; he hoped nothing bad happens to him. Hushed whispers of the class turned into a never-ending choir of gossip and misinformation. He wanted to help but... he didn't know how to approach this situation.

The brunette sighed, deciding to do something about that later, for now he had more important matters swirling in his mind; the Miraculous. Calming his nerves, he joined El and Max, appearing to be nonchalant as he sat down, his voice a tad shaky, speaking, "Hey, what we talking about?"

The moment she saw him, El turned her full attention toward him exclaiming, "The footage I took of the new superheroes was used on the news... and they also called me and Max heroes for helping!"

"What? You two are heroes?" the brunette furrowed his brows, feigning confusion; obviously he was aware of the whole situation.

Max chimed in, "Basically we helped Elytron win by crushing some piece of paper!" she explained,

"You should have been there Will! You could have been part of the news report." El grabbed his arm shaking him around.

"I think I'd like to stay anonymous... besides I think I would just make things worse..." he whispered the last part; more reserved and cautious; thinking over his previous mistakes with a slight sigh.

"Is everything okay?" Max noticed, turning her head toward him.

"Oh, um, yeah, just thinking." Will mumbled,

"Will, it's okay to be scared..." El placed a hand on his, "But trust me, they will win and fix all this."

"How do you know that? With all these Mechanical beings..." The brunette admitted.

"I saw the superheroes with my own two eyes; you just have to believe in them." El smiled soft,

Max instantly agreed with her point. "Yeah, that Elytron guy was awesome... I wonder who he is." She pondered, placing a hand to her chin.

"Yeah... I wonder too." the brunette mumbled, looking at his backpack where the earrings lie; taking them out, he quickly slipped them into El's bag...

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Mike had an unusually good start to his day despite the news report from yesterday; he tried to look at the more positive side, this way he could meet Elytron and work with him again... he wanted to prove his worth to Elytron after the last villain fight.

He had woken up early today, feeling more energetic than usual and eager to get to school and hopefully, he would actually make it pass the first day. He didn't count yesterday considering he didn't even get to his first class without the school being under attack. But right now, he needed to get there first; running as fast as he can.

Plagg came out Mike's bag, floating beside him with a groan, "I don't understand why we had to wake up so early... couldn't we be up at a more civilised time?"

"Early is good! I want to be at school; I've never been to one before; I've been couped up at home for my whole life, and now I wanna see the whole world."

"By going to school?" Plagg asked a tad sarcastic.

"I didn't say it was a flawless plan but it's a step in the right direction, right?" Mike smiled,

Plagg looked at the ravenette, shaking his head, "You humans are weird..."

Mike stopped in his place with a pout, retorting with sass, "Aren't you supposed to be hidden?"

"I'm feeling a bit peckish being woken up this early..." the Kwami laughed mischievously,

The ravenette rolled his eyes, reaching into his bag, taking out a piece of camembert cheese in a neatly arranged box. "Here you go, eat your snack and stop complaining." he held up the cheese offering it to Plagg, who eagerly accepted it.

The Kwami excitedly engulfed the cheese in one go as the ravenette scrunched his nose, placing a hand on his hip judgementally, "I can't believe all you eat is this stinky-ass cheese,"

"If you want to be a superhero... your price is stinky cheese my friend," Plagg spoke threw chews.

Mike rolled his eyes, "Oh don't worry, I have the smell covered." quickly taking out a bottle of perfume spray from his bag.

Plagg noticed, his eyes widening, "What you doing with that stuff, Mike?"

The ravenette gave Plagg a sly grin, spraying the Kwami who coughed and waved his tiny arms in the air in attempt to get the particles out his face, "Now you won't make me smell bad!" Mike said capping the perfume bottle.

Plagg squinted his eyes, continuing to grumble, "You're just lucky you give me food, or I would have burnt this place to the ground." he pouted, rubbing his eyes.

"That's very good Plagg." Mike rolled his eyes dismissively agreeing, "Now hide; we can't let anyone else find you."

The Kwami did as told, flying into Mike's bag, ensuring he wouldn't be noticed by anyone in school; last thing they needed was anyone finding out that he was a superhero, the results would be... catastrophic.

With his Kwami concealed, Mike felt ready to face his first official day of school... hopefully one that would not be attacked by a vicious villain.

The ravenette took off running again, periodically glancing down at his watch, noticing his friend Troy waiting outside the school gates. Mike and Troy had become friend because their fathers' were in acquaintance; the ravenette didn't really have any friend's that were his age; most were his father's colleagues' children. However, Mike was unaware of Troy's less-than-friendly reputation in school.

"Hey Troy!" Mike greeted with a warm smile, "Good to see you again,"

Troy flashed a charming grin in return, "Hey dude! How's it going; it's been ages since we've last met!"

"Yeah, totally!" Mike replied, "I came here yesterday but you know..."

"Oh... yeah," Troy nodded, though there was a hint of annoyance in his expression.

Mike hesitated for a moment saying, "That was quite an experience, I'm glad the superheroes were able to save the day; they were awesome!" he subtly bragged.

Troy scoffed, "That Akuma stuff is ridiculous; Lucas is to blame for everything. Did you know he's the one who broke James's arm?"

Mike shook his head, taken aback by the sudden shift of blame; it wasn't Lucas's fault, whoever that was; it was the Akuma. Plagg told him that whoever gets Akumatised becomes the devoted follower of the Butterfly Miraculous wielder. He didn't think the victim was a bad person; it wasn't his fault.

"I mean... we don't know the whole story, right?" Mike said cautiously, hating confrontation, "But I don't think we should blame this boy... this whole Akuma thing is still new," he muttered; he was really sounding like an adult now.

"Whatever..." Troy turned to Mike with a furrowed brow but decided to drop the subject, instead opting to give a rundown of the school as they went inside the building. "Let me fill you in with how things work around here. First rule: hang out with the right crowd. Don't waste your time with the poor kids; they're going nowhere. Stick with me, and you'll do just fine."

Mike frowned slightly, feeling uncomfortable with Troy's words, questioning, "What's wrong with the 'poor kids'?"

"Trust me, us and them are on two different playing fields; we are up here!" Troy said, raisin a hand high to the air before lowing it completely down. "They're here... got it? They just aren't the crowd your father would like you to be a part of." Troy explained with a dumb excuse.

Mike processed the information, not sure if he should stick to Troy's advice or do what he wanted; his desire as to befriend people he likes rather than just the pressure of being friends with people who are 'father approved'.

Absentmindedly, the ravenette followed Troy to the lockers, not fully absorbed in where he was going until his friend spoke again. "I can't belief I forgot this yesterday," Troy chuckled to himself, reaching into his locker pulling out a small, neatly wrapped box; a sinister tone in his voice, "I forgot to 'surprise someone' yesterday," he said with a wicked grin.

The ravenette snapped out his entranced state, "You brought a gift for someone?"

"Always for the first day of school." Troy chuckled.

"For who?" Mike questioned with a furrowed brow.

"A boy in my class... he deserves it." Troy said in an ominous tone.

"Oh nice!" Mike said, being oblivious to any hidden meaning; he wasn't the best at seeing the bad in others, simply nodding, "You should definitely give him the gift. It's always nice to surprise someone."

Troy nodded, closing his locker, leading Mike to their homeroom; the conversation seemingly harmless. Once they arrived outside the classroom, Troy tapped his shoulder, leaning closer, asking with a sinister edge once more, "Actually Mike, you know what? How about you give the gift? It helps to start of the year with a reputation."

The ravenette agreed enthusiastically taking the box in his hand, still completely oblivious to the true intention, "Sure that sounds like a great idea!"

"Great!" Troy nodded, sniggering to himself as he pointed into the classroom, "You see that boy with the bowlcut?"

Mike followed his finger, seeing a boy with a bowlcut talking with two girls, seemingly lost in conversation. "Yeah?"

"It's for him." Troy chuckled, before saying, "Don't let him know I gave it until after he opens it... I don't want to take all the credit." he winked.

Mike smiled, genuinely excited at the prospect of making a new friend; in the back of his mind, he praised Troy for being such a good person, gifting others... Troy must have a lot of friends. With the mysterious box in hand, he opened the door, walking into the class and to where the boy was sitting.

Clearing his throat, he got the trio's attention. Mike turned to the brunette, his hands shaky as he placed the box on the table with a friendly smile, "S-someone asked me to give this to you. It's a surprise," Mike said, his voice full of anticipation; could this be his first friend?

The boy was perplexed and looked up at Mike with a furrowed brow, "Who... asked you to give this to me?" he asked with guarded expression.

The ravenette scratched the back of his neck looking away at Try for a mere second before turning back, nervously admitting, "I can't say... it's a secret, but I promise you'll like it; my friend said you would."

The boy only looked at the box with hesitation, but the two girls leaned closer, curious about the mysterious gift, the doe-eyed girl couldn't contain her excitement and said, "Come on, Will, open it! Let's see what's inside!"

The redhead joined in, chanting, "Open it! Open it!"

Mike had learnt the boy's name; it was Will.

Will hesitated for a moment but with the insistence of his friends, he carefully unwrapped the box, slowly opening it. As the lid came off, out climbed a living, black, hairy tarantula.

Will let out a high pitch scream, and in panic stumbled back knocking his chair to the ground. Both girls jumped away in surprise, not expecting such a thing to come out the box. The classroom turned to face the group; all various states of shock; others laughing.

Will stepped backwards hitting the table behind his. Fortunately, it was none other than Lucas, who was seated behind them; he was always a caring and kind soul, rushing forward to help Will, moving closer to place the tarantula back in the box,

"Come on little guy," Lucas smiled at the spider, "You're scaring these people,"

Will's eyebrows raised, grateful for Lucas's quick assistance, releasing a deep breath, "Thanks Lucas. You're a life saver."

"Oh, don't worry; this guy's actually harmless." the athletic boy replied, "Dustin taught me all about the difference in tarantula and insects," he spoke with a fondness.

However, their moment of relief was short-lived when James, with his arm in a sling-cast spoke out upon seeing the commotion, "Look at him, even after breaking my arm he finds a way to talk about his precious Dustin again; try not to get Akumatised for a second time!" he jeered.

Lucas squinted his eyes, hurt by the comment; staring straight at James. He didn't want anyone to bring up the Akumatisation nor Dustin's name today; he was still coming to terms with what happened. He was frustrated and embarrassed; not wanting to stand here and be ridiculed any longer, he stomped out the room in a huff without saying another word; taking the tarantula box with him.

As the other students watch Lucas leave the class; the redhead turned to James, her face stern with disapproval. "James what the actual fuck is wrong with you?" she scolded,

James, however, didn't take her reprimand well, retorting, "Calm down Weasley! I'm allowed to do this; he broke my arm! No need for you to be a bitch about it,"

"You were the one who angered him yesterday; I say he should have broken more bones!" she rolled her eyes, her face reddened with anger, retorting sharply, "Oh, and my name is Max; call me a bitch one more time and I'll break your other arm,"

James merely rolled his eyes, looking for a way to deflect the blame, finally saying, "You're giving me all this crap, but no one is saying anything to Wheeler about bringing the tarantula box."

Mike, feeling accused and suddenly brought back into the conversation, defended himself nervously with his arms raised in surrender, "I swear I had no idea what was inside! Troy told me to give the box. I didn't know there was going to be a live spider in it!"

Will, who had been observing the confrontation, met eyes with Troy across the room who had the biggest smirk he had ever seen... suddenly the brunette turned to the ravenette, his voice frustrated, "So I see you three are working in cahoots! You expect me to believe that you had no clue what was in the box?"

Mike felt guilt; even if he didn't know what was in the box, he felt responsible, doubling down on his point, "I swear I thought it was a normal gift!"

"Yeah, very funny you three!" Will huffed, casting his eyes between Mike, James and Troy; assuming they were working together to make peoples live difficult.

With that, the brunette muttered, "Asshole!" only loud enough for the ravenette to hear, bumping shoulders as he stormed out the class.

Feeling somewhat responsible and wanting to make amends, Mike started apologising to the girls profusely, hoping he could convince them of the truth, saying, "I swear I really didn't know what was in that box. I thought it was a normal gift... I just wanted to make a new friend." he whispered the last sentence.

The doe-eyed girl gave a sympathetic look, hearing his genuine tone and the remorse in his eyes. She gave a tight-lipped frown not saying anything... she somewhat believed him.

The redhead huffed, able to sense his sincerity but she wasn't so ready to forgive him just yet, "Listen, just... go away for now! We'll figure this out later."

Mike, feeling  guilty and isolated decide to leave the girls, heading back to Troy who had originally given him the tarantula box, saying aloud, "Troy! What the hell was that? A live tarantula!"

Troy merely chuckled, unapologetic and dismissive, responding with a smirk, "Byers is always an easy target. It's just a little fun, man."

Mike furrowed his brows; he couldn't believe his friend would do this... he looked over at the girls' again, casting a frown; he needed to make this better.

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After the tarantula incident, Will decided to leave the classroom and find Lucas. He made his way to the locker room where he found Lucas sitting on the floor with the tarantula box in his hands. He was wearing headphones as if trying to shut out the whole world.

Will hesitated for a moment, approaching the boy who appeared visibly upset, "Hey, Lucas..." he said, kneeling beside the boy with a look of compassion on his face.

The athletic boy turned to the brunette, looking at him with a hint of surprise, "What do you want, Will?" he asked, somewhat guarded, still irritated by James's comment and the whole situation.

Will took a deep breath, "I know we're not that close, but I just wanted to make sure you were alright. I don't want you to get hurt because of what they did."

The athletic boy's face softened slightly, nodding with a reply, "Thanks, Will. I appreciate that."

The brunette smiled, tilting his head; he knew he couldn't bring up the akumatisation directly so he chose to be careful with his words, saying, "I think we should find a way to resolve this whole conflict, so things don't get worse."

Lucas however, abruptly asked a more personal question, catching the small boy off guard. "How do you do it Will?"

Will furrowed his brows confused, "Do what?"

Lucas clarified, "I mean dealing with Troy and James everyday... they've been targeting me since last year,"

Will sighed, despite not being particularly close to Lucas, he empathised with his struggles, "I get it, they can be tough to deal with. I guess I've learnt just to ignore them and focus on my family and friends. It's not easy, but it helps," he shrugged; knowing his advice was generic but what else could he say?

Lucas nodded thoughtfully, considering Will's words, "I see, thanks for coming here Will."

"Just ignore them, James and Troy have nothing better to do in life..." the brunette admitted. "For them to make fun of you because of Dustin is low; like whoever you like is not their problem." he said without thinking.

Lucas blushed, taken aback by the mention of Dustin but mentally noted Will's tone was soft. The athletic boy stammered slightly, "Oh, um, I don't... I mean, I don't like Dustin like that." he lied.

Will, noticing Lucas's reaction, gently stopped him, saying softly, "It's okay, I understand," he smiled, giving a look that told Lucas he understood the real truth of the situation and still passed no judgement.

"You... you do?" The athletic boy questioned in disbelief.

"Of course I do." Will smiled,

Lucas looked down to the floor, his cheeks flushing, admitting, "Well, maybe I do like Dustin a little."

Will offered a kind an understanding smile, saying, "I'm proud of you for being able to tell me." pausing for a second, "If you ever want to talk about it or need help, I'm here for you."

"Actually, there is something I need help with..." Lucas whispered, appreciating the supportive response, "How do I... tell him... that I like him?"

"Oh!" Will blinked taken aback by the question, "You want to tell him?"

The athletic boy nodded, "I just don't know how to... what if he doesn't feel the same way, or it ruins out friendship? We've been friends since we were in diapers... I don't want to ruin that!"

Will thought for a second, placing a finger to his chin as he thought, "Well, you said he likes insects, right? Give him the tarantula." he pointed at the box in Lucas's hand, "It doesn't have to be a big declaration of love just give him the tarantula and tell him how you feel or write it down if it's too difficult." Will continued his rambles, "And Dustin would never stop being your friend; he's one of the nicest people I know! He used to speak about you a lot in Science class, you know?"

The athletic boy's eyes lit up, "Really?"

"Yeah!" Will smiled, "He always used to say, 'Lucas and I did this' and 'Lucas and I did that'... sometimes I feel like I know you!" he chuckled the smile.

Lucas's eyes shimmered with hope upon hearing Dustin talking highly of him. Just then, the school bell rung, signalling the end of their conversation.

Will was the first to speak, "We should go to class! Everything will work out, don't worry!" the conversation providing Will with a distraction towards his own internal struggles and his own goals of giving the Ladybug Miraculous to El.

Lucas, however, was left with a glimmer of hope, and as they made their way to class, he considered confessing his crush on Dustin after the class; before all his confidence wavered; It was a good plan, he was sure of it. 

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3889 Words

For those asking what an Elytron is, its the shell that protects/ covers a Ladybugs wings

I've been asked how they look so i made these

This is Will as Elytron

This is Mike as Claw Noir

Stay Safe <3

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