"the moth's apprentice" chat noir x y/n

Moth to A flame

Life is unfair.

Tell me about it. 

The voice in my head wasn't normal, exactly, but it did try to hide itself within my usual thoughts. It was a trivial point in the derailment of my reality and imagination. Because of my inability to separate the two, I was left with the frequent notion that I was, in fact, losing it. 

Maybe I was losing it. 

Disguised amongst my real thoughts, it started out by calling my name. 

"Y/N." 

I whirled around. 

"Hey, do you want to, uh, sit with us?" Marinette's friendly invitation was appreciated, but by the expression on her face, I surmised that she still felt embarrassed that I saw her with Adrien Agreste. In an, ahem, intimate position. 

Lunchtime brought confusing feelings, partially because my insanity was taking over, but also due to the fact that I was once again the new kid, and drawn into the harrowing crowds of a high school environment. 

You're not crazy, Y/N. 

There it was again. Or was that just my regulatory thoughts kicking in to reassure me? Either way, I was so. fucking.done. 

"Yeah, I'll sit with you," I tried to force my best smile. "Thanks for inviting me, Mari." 

Marinette stiffened. "Sorry, what did you call me?" 

I immediately backtracked. "Oh, shit, do you not get called by a nickname — or — sorry —I just assumed..." 

She waved her hand. "No, it's no big deal, Y/N, it's just that no one's called me that in a long time..." she tapped her forehead. The girl sitting next to Marinette bumped her shoulder. "Oh! How rude of me. This is Alya, she's my best friend." 

Alya raised a hand to wave. She wore a button down plaid shirt and a dark pair of glasses. 

As lunch continued, I had the strangest sense of deja vu. It was like I'd had them before. These girls, the way the talked, the way they laughed, the way the divulged their thoughts to each other...I had the strangest sense of jealousy. But it didn't feel like real jealousy. It felt like it was mine or at least, it used to be. 

But that wasn't possible. 

Anything's possible.

"Excuse me," I stood up, flustered. "I need to use the bathroom." 

They didn't really notice, but Mari — Marinette gave me half a wave before I grabbed my bag and disappeared around the hedges. I ended up in the very south end of the building, next to the library. 

Only then could I slump against the wall and breathe a sigh of relief. 

You can't hide from it forever. You can't hide from me forever. 

"Hiding from something?" 

"Shut up," I told the voice, only to realize that it was indeed a very real voice. A real person had just said those words and I'd rudely told them to shut up. 

"Wow." 

I looked up to see a familiar blonde. His endearing, head tilted smirk. His hair was combed neatly, as opposed to the post-sex messy hair I'd seen the last time I'd met Adrien Agreste. He was easily recognizable as the boy on all the billboards. The esteemed fashion designer's son. His clothes screamed wealth, and his face reflected all the praise he'd been given over the years. 

Adrien was carrying his book bag over his shoulder, looking unbothered as I struggled for coherent words. 

"You know, you could warn someone before sneaking up on someone," I mumbled. His haughty expression only infuriated me more, but I couldn't think of anything smart to say, let alone hold a conversation. 

Talk to him, Y/N. Say something useful. 

Useful? 

Yeah, are you deaf?

"Doesn't my presence announce itself?" Adrien shot back. Stretching his arms over his head, he eyed me with a curious expression. "You're the girl I saw in Marinette's room, aren't you? What's your name?" 

"Y/N," I said. "I already know who you are." 

Shit, that sounded really creepy. What are you doing? Why are you being like this? Do you really not remember? Come to your senses, already Y/N, I'm waiting for you. It's been so long...

I wanted to grip the sides of my head and tell the voice to shut up, subsequently shutting myself up. But I couldn't bring myself to any sort of understanding with the voice, let alone silence it. 

"You look kind of familiar to me," Adrien spoke, ignoring my remark on his fame. "Have I seen you before yesterday? Are you a fan, or something?" 

I scoffed. "No. I'd never even heard of you before I moved here." 

"You just moved here?" A glassy eyed expression took over his face. "Strange... I swear I've seen you at school before this." 

Frowning, I opened my mouth to respond but he beat me to the punch. "But I'd remember someone who looked like that anywhere, so I guess not. See you around, Y/N L/N." 

He walked away, leaving me confused. More confused than before. First off, I never told him my last name. Second off, was he flirting with me? It's true...he could never forget you. Not completely at least. 

With no one watching me make a compete fool of myself, I crouched down, putting my head in my hands. 

Luckily enough for my complete humiliation, at that moment there was an explosion overhead. The roof of the school began to crumble, and bits of debris rained down on my head. 

Hawkmoth's getting desperate now, Y/N. Be on guard. He's a candle, drawing you to the flame. Don't give in. 

Don't trust anyone.