The Boy In The Coffin

Fix

We are the victims just like our parents taught us to be

Roots planted firmly but we fell so far from the tree

And still we cling to the past with an iron grip

As we all fall fast asleep

Dreaming of security

The chance to redefine

The years we've wasted

Living on borrowed time

My will is spent

I used the very last drop

Trying to keep my head on straight enough

I know it hurts

It hurts to feel it all slip right past you

I just want to ask you

Was there something holding you back?

Have you had to cover your tracks

So long, you lost your identity?

Is there something dragging you down?

Crippled under the weight of the crown

What are you waiting for?

What are you waiting for?

I'm reaching out please take my hand

The water's getting higher and I can't understand

Why I can't pull you in

Do you even care?

Do you even want me there?

—Crooked Path– Polaris

Monday morning was not like the rest, and everyone attending Dupont was aware of it the moment Adrien Agreste stepped through its front doors. It began when he walked into homeroom wearing nothing but a baggy hoodie and loose pants.

As the son of the Agrestes, their golden child is expected to be looking his best every day, even when not making public appearances. It was a miracle his father or Nathalie had allowed him to leave the house that morning. Unlike them, his attire did not go unnoticed by his classmates who would quietly gawk amongst themselves when Adrien was out of earshot. Of course, they didn't say anything mean, they were just shocked to see Françoise Dupont's ray of sunshine looking so...grim.

Adrien being Adrien, it was unlike him to show others this side of himself. Very few got to see him when he wasn't that same bright boy they saw on the cover of magazines and billboards showing off perfume ads. But that morning, Adrien didn't have the energy to play that part or wear that mysterious smile of his. Keeping up that perfect facade has its flaws, one of them being that there are very few he can confide in anymore. When his mother first disappeared, it took a long time to adjust to the changes, those being that even wracked with such grief, he still had to ensure nobody saw it.

When Plagg came along, things changed, if only a little. He had a small, sentient being that he could tell his feelings to. Most times, the tiny chaotic creature would brush him off or have no responses worth his while, but still, it was someone he could talk to, who knew everything even if he didn't want him to. As long as he wore that ring, Adrien's life was Plagg's life.

But that Monday, Adrien did not come to school wearing his ring. It was in a small black box in his bag, leaving his finger feeling cold and naked without it. He felt unsafe without it, not just in the fact that there's always the chance an Akumatization could happen, but in knowing that the second half of his personality was gone. Chat Noir.