Not Your Seed
“Damnit, damnit, damnit!” Alix whisper-screamed. “How the hell did we forget him?!”
“Alix, keep your voice down,” Max cautioned, only to receive a glare from the pinkette in response.
Alix gripped the ends of her hair and clenched her teeth. “I’m sorry, okay? But Nath is my best friend, I just forgot about him! We all did. We are just- We always do this!”
Myléne rested her hand on the shorter girl’s shoulders. “Not always.”
Nino cringed a bit. “Well... There was Zombizou.”
“And Heroes Day,” Alya added dejectedly, only dampening everyone’s moods when they realized just how horrible they’ve been towards Nathaniel whenever there was an Akuma attack. When checking to make sure all close friends and loved-ones were safe, they always forgot about him, and they’re still doing it. Even Chloé seemed worried.
This week’s Akuma was creating some sort of hivemind and is forcing everyone to sing and dance every ten minutes like they were in a musical. One of the music class students at DuPont had their idea for the Spring Musical rejected, which resulted in their Akumatization into Music Master. When blasted by his conductor’s stick, people would sing and dance in perfect sync with others in the area. And when they weren’t singing, they spoke in an eerie unison and moved in tandem.
Music Master attacked the school first and blasted almost every student and teacher, but the Akuma Class managed to escape, except for one. Then of course, Marinette and Adrien go missing, doing God-knows-what, so after the class finds Nathaniel, they’re gonna go search for their other two friends.
“Okay, the coast in clear,” Ivan whispered.
The Akuma class got out from behind the bushes and parked cars they used for their hiding places and ran to the front doors of DuPont. Inside, they were met with an unsettling silence. Papers and bags were scattered around the courtyard floor due to students being in such a rush to escape that they had to lighten the load.
“We should split up,” Kim suggested. “First one to find Nath, text the others.”
Everyone nodded and went off to find Nathaniel with their respective partners, with Juleka, Rose, and Alix being a group of three due to the odd number.
Ten minutes went by, and they still haven’t found Nathaniel- Not in the library, basement, their classroom, and of the janitors closets, the locker room. They were beginning to lose hope and figured he had left to go find them, only making them all feel guiltier until Myléne texted, saying she and Ivan found Nathaniel in the art classroom.
Only, there was something off about him.
“Dude?” Nino called out to the redhead, only to receive no response as he just painted the Louvre museum, his back towards them. He didn’t even flinch or turn around when they all rushed in after Myléne texted them.
“Why’s he acting weirder that usual?” Chloé snarked.
A dreadful thought came to Alix. She cautiously approached her friend and tapped his shoulder a few times. He still wasn’t budging. “N-Nath?”
That stopped the gentle brush strokes against the canvas. All was silent for a few seconds. He turned to face Alix, greeting her with the sight of the black treble clef notes on his cheeks like the rest of the Akuma’s victims. She was about to back away, but Nathaniel placing his hand on her cheek made her pause.
”It’s all your fault,” he simply said. “That’s the last thought I had before they broke down the door…”
“I'm not your Nath anymore,” he crooned. The Akuma class made sounds of protests, telling Alix to get away from him, but she couldn’t move. She just listened.
“I'm not that boy you decided to come for.” Alix swore she could hear soft harmonies coming from somewhere in the school.
“I'm not your Nath anymore.
I’ve overtook his body, now he’s done for...”
Nathaniel spun Alix gently, sending her a few steps back and into the protective arms of Rose and Juleka.
“You all remembered me after two hours,
And look what happens, nightmare time!”
The redhead tucked his bangs behind his ear so the class could really feel the sting from his gaze that held only betrayed and agony.
“It's worse than you could imagine!
Not depression, not drugs!” His eyes and the treble clef notes glowed the same turquoise as his irises.
“Just Akumas invading minds!”
The melody that seemed to follow him like the other members of the hivemind shifted a bit as Nathaniel angrily vented.
“No more fun class outings together!
'Cause your forgotten ‘friend’ is under the weather!” When he put air quotes around the word, friend, that stabbed them all in the hearts.
“And if you actually paid attention, or just said ‘Hey!’” They never really did speak to him unless it was for a class assignment or there was nothing but awkward silence.
“You'd see, I'm not your Nath!”
”Nath!” Alix called out and tried to reach for him, only to be held back by Kim.
“I'm not that angsty teen!”
”We came to get you!” She added.
“No matter what you believe!
Your friend is long gone- He’s left the scene!”
The music took on a more somber tone as Nathaniel walked past the class, out the door, and went to lean over the railing.
“It's not my fault, it’s yours.” A few looked down, ashamed. They didn’t need to be reminded, especially by him.
“No more anxieties to fall for...
It's not my fault, it’s yours.
No more hoping for salvation as I waited by the door.”
He whipped his head around to face his classmates with the harshest glare they’ve ever seen. “Do you even notice when there’s someone missing?” Clearly a jab at them about Zombizou.
“Look what happens, nightmare time,” two new voices sang. The students whipped their heads in either directions and saw Marc and Jean, also with the treble clef notes on their faces.
Nathaniel let out an angry riff before continuing, “Now look what’s happened- It’s all because of you!”
“Akumas invading minds!” As Marc and Jean sang one of the older lines, Nathaniel belted another pain-filled riff.
“Did you ever invite me to come over?” Nino cringed. Nathaniel had to find out about Adrien’s party from Max.
“No, ‘cause you saw me as some emo Tumblr loner!
And if you wonder what turned your ‘friend’ this way!
You all just left me to stay!”
Marc and Jean joined in as backup. “Not your Nath!
I'm not some angsty teen!
I'm fucking fifteen!
At least I was before you left me!”
The music turned somber again as Nathaniel gripped his arms, tears falling down his face.
Alya pulled on a stiff Alix’s arm. “Girl, we need to go!”
”No! Not without Nath!” She countered.
”That’s not Nathaniel!” Max exclaimed.
“Why does it hurt to trust you?
Why am I in pain?
Why does it hurt to know you?
You've let me down again!
If I suddenly disappeared, would you even know I wasn’t there?”
“Of course we would!” Alix cried.
“Why does it hurt to trust you?
Why does it hurt to love?”
Alix just wanted to make things right again, she needed to…
The music picks back up.
“I'm not your Nath!”
“It’s not him, it’s not him!”
“Now maybe you'll notice to me!”
“Notice me, notice me!”
“Or do you want me to leave?”
“Him to leave!”
“Not your dear friend, Nathaniel K is no more!”
“He’s no more, he’s no more!”
“Not at all your Nath!”
“'Cause I'm not your Nath anymore...” He walked back into the art classroom and continued painting while the Akuma class just watched, guilt eating them up inside.