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"Kitty, come on out for some lunch," Marinette urged the grumpy black cat from under the chaise. She was a little fond of Chat even with his moodiness and wanted him to be her friend.

Adrien thought the opposite. He had no plans becoming friends with the bluenette and wanted to change back to his old self. He found her kindness to be revolting and annoying since startling him awake this morning, running around repeatedly saying, "I'm late! I'm late!"

The peace was nice while it lasted when she left and was able to come out to stretch his legs. About two hours later, Marinette didn't make her return quiet as she clambered up the stairs then pushed the trap door open.

   Adrien had already made it back under the horribly colored chaise, bringing them to where they were.

   Still attempting to coax the cat out from his hiding place, Marinette's phone buzzed. Giving up for now, she stood and pulled the phone from her pocket to read the message. She heavily sighed and grumbled sadly. Curiosity got the better of Adrien and slightly peaked out to see the distressed girl.

   "I wonder what's up with her?" He wondered. Tossing the phone onto the chaise, Marinette's gaze landed on the feline. He quickly retreated back underneath.

   "Yeah, I wouldn't want to be friends with me either," she bitterly spoke then went downstairs. Adrien slowly came out and felt a small pang in his heart.

    "Is this what remorse feels like?" He thought before shaking the idea and feeling away. He's only known this girl for a few hours! Why did he care if she had problems? It's not like there his own problems! Was she stuck as a cat with no idea how to turn back? No!

   That's when the smell hit. Adrien's stomach growled a little and followed the luring fragrance that made his mouth water. This time, Marinette brought some ham. He devoured it since missing out on breakfast because of his stubbornness and she was late.

   Once the plate was empty and drank some water in a small bowl on the plate, his curiosity got the better of him. He hopped onto the chaise and immediately spotted the phone. Pawing at it for a while, he wasn't able to turn it on and if it was possible, then what if there was a password?

   Giving up, Adrien leaped back to the floor when the trap door opened. Blue met green in a split second before the black cat disappeared again. Marinette begrudgingly took the plate and phone before leaving to return a couple hours later with dinner.

   "Come on, Chat. Please come out and eat. I promise I won't bother you if you do. I just want some company, that's all," she urged but Adrien didn't budge, knowing it could all be a ploy to get under his skin.

He wasn't the sentimental kind to feel bad when a girl gets lonely and wants someone to be with her. No way he would fall into that fiend's trap!

    "Fine," Marinette defeatedly went to her desk and worked on something. He sneakily came out and ate the food but before getting to the water, a creaking noise made him look up. Blue eyes watched him fondly before he returned back to his hiding place.

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   He's been living with Marinette and her family for about a week with no luck as to how to change back. He's learned a few things about Marinette during the time.

   Every night, she stayed up late working on something at her desk. He wondered if her homework was just that hard these days or given a lot. This leads to her waking up late and probably arriving late to school or a week day to sleep in.

   Almost every time a message is sent, she either frowned upon it or cheered excitedly, which was rarer. She is clumsy, really clumsy and almost laughed every time she stumbled over something, even air!

Adrien still steeled himself to stay hidden under the chaise, only to come out to eat, or when she's gone, stretch and go to the bathroom. He was also thinking of ways to escape, noticing a skylight above Marinette's loft.

   Like always, Marinette came back home during lunchtime but something changed. She would usually try to convince him to come out but today, only set the food down and paced the floor.

   Adrien wondered if she had any friends. If so, he hasn't heard nor seen any of them. The blue-eyed girl only had a few pictures of her family, Jagged Stone, and some magazine clippings of models, including himself. Yet, there wasn't one picture of a person he didn't recognize.

   He came out to see Marinette sitting at her desk now, looking down at a book and flipping through its pages.

   "No...these are good...right?" She mumbled, sadly, questioning whatever was in the book. A growl escaped her lips and head butted the table before quickly sitting back up, wincing. Adrien almost felt sorry for the girl...keyword: almost.

   Marinette had some struggles, but it didn't involve him. It made things easier to not deal with other people's problems. It was a lonely life though, it seemed that his girlfriend, Chloé was his only close friend.

   He didn't mind too much that his whole life has been pretty much behind four walls of a giant, empty mansion. No freedom and pressure to be a perfect son for his father. Everything planned out everyday of his life. Heck, he could barely survive outside by himself without his bodyguard and Natalie from his experience as a cat.

   "Kitty," a soft voice spoke up, making Adrien drawl his attention away from his water bowl.

   "Have you ever been hurt to the point where you just want to hide from the whole world?"

   Adrien flinched a little thinking of that day, the day his mother passed away and his father was seen less and less, more cruel as the days passed. It seemed he lost both of his parents the same day and just wanted to hide. Yes, he knew very well but grew stronger, just like his father wanted but never satisfied.

   "It just seems these days, people are never satisfied with how hard you try and become someone else but can't. It's not right and you're only hurting others in the end, including yourself," Marinette continued to ramble, hiding her face in her hands.

   Adrien lost his appetite and went back under the chaise. He growled under his breath about how annoying and sappy this girl was. Yet, deep down was a lingering feeling, thought to be lost to the shadows forever, resurface.

A feeling of pity.

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