He’s Already Losing
Adrien barely made it to school alive.
Which, given his circumstances, was ironic.
Still reeling from his horrifying realization—oh my god, I’m in a dating sim—he had barely managed to escape Marinette’s sparkling, croissant-covered presence. He didn’t have the mental fortitude to deal with a meet-cute first thing in the morning, nor did he trust the game’s mechanics not to throw another one at him if he lingered too long.
So naturally, he ran.
The problem was, he had no idea where he was running to.
Because Adrien Agreste had never been to school.
This wasn’t an exaggeration. This wasn’t some tragic backstory about being homeschooled and yearning for the "normal student life."
This was just his reality.
In his actual life—before the cursed macaron incident—school had never been an option. His father had never allowed it. He had been the Gabriel Agreste heir, and that meant endless hours of work, lessons, photoshoots, and interviews.
All he knew about school was what he had watched in anime. And, if those were anything to go by, school life was full of accidental classroom confessions, bento-sharing, rooftop brooding, and elaborate, painfully slow-burn romance arcs. (Unless you were Light Yagami, in which case, school was just serial killing with homework on the side.)
So it stood to reason that a dating sim school setting would be ten times worse.
And judging by the way people were staring at him the moment he stepped inside the building, he was absolutely correct.
A group of students had gathered near the lockers, whispering among themselves. Their eyes flickered toward him, bright and full of intrigue, as if he were the main attraction in a reality dating show.
Adrien tensed.
Oh, god.
He was the main attraction in a reality dating show.
A scripted one.
[System Alert: Attraction Points +5!]
What.
He barely had time to process that horrifying notification before—
“Adrien!”
Too late.
Marinette had arrived.
His spine went rigid as she practically materialized beside him, her expression an unsettling mix of determination and nervous excitement. She clutched her schoolbag to her chest, eyes darting toward him every other second, her mouth opening like she wanted to say something but couldn’t find the words.
Adrien wasn’t sure whether to feel relieved or even more terrified.
Before she could speak, he did what any rational person in his position would do.
He fled.
Not dramatically—he didn’t run away from her—but he walked very, very quickly, taking long strides toward the building with every ounce of fake composure he could muster.
Marinette trailed behind him.
He felt her trailing behind him.
A lot.
Even in class, her gaze burned into the back of his skull like a laser beam.
He couldn’t blame her. She was the protagonist. He was a capture target. She was probably following the game’s natural inclination to make her gravitate toward him.
But he wasn’t following the script.
He slouched in his seat.
He stared at the blackboard with the intensity of someone trying to will themselves into another dimension.
He avoided eye contact with Marinette like his life depended on it.
And when the bell rang for the end of the school day, he bolted out the door before she could corner him.
It wasn’t personal. He just had no interest in being seduced by the dating sim mechanics into playing along.
Until a very normal, very real voice called out to him.
“Yo, dude! There you are!”
Adrien nearly jumped out of his skin.
He turned, ready to fight for his life—
And froze.
[New Character Encountered! Unlocking Introduction…]
Name: Nino Lahiffe
Route Status: NPC
Traits: Chill, Reliable, The One Sane Man
Appeal: The Best Friend Who Deserves Better
Game Description: A loyal, down-to-earth guy who just wants to vibe, make music, and survive high school drama without being dragged into drama.
Adrien blinked.
Then exhaled in pure relief.
Nino Lahiffe stood there, waving at him casually, blissfully normal and not a capture target.
Adrien felt like crying.
“You.” Adrien placed his hands on Nino’s shoulders like a man on the verge of collapse. “You are normal.”
Nino blinked. “Uh. Thanks?”
Adrien gave him a wild-eyed, desperate look. “Do you know how important you are to me right now?”
Nino frowned. “Bro, are you good?”
Adrien was not good. But for the first time today, he wasn’t alone in this hellhole.
And he was clinging to that.
Unfortunately, he didn’t get to bask in his newfound sanity for long, because the moment he stepped outside, his ring started tugging him toward an alleyway.
[Event Triggered: Mysterious Power Awakens!]
His stomach twisted as a strange, insistent pull radiated from his left hand.
He turned his wrist, staring at the sleek silver ring on his finger.
It pulsed.
Adrien’s breath hitched.
Magic.
He slipped into the alley.
And that was when a tiny, floating cat thing popped into existence.
Adrien yelped, flinging himself back against the wall.
The tiny thing—no bigger than his palm, with beady green eyes and twitching ears—hovered midair, staring at him like he was the strange one in this situation.
Adrien’s brain completely blanked.
Was this… a bug? Had he broken the game? Had he unlocked some kind of secret boss?
[New Character Encountered! Unlo@#%$@—]
[ERROR. ERROR. ENTITY DOES NOT CONFORM TO SYSTEM PARAMETERS.]
[Attempting Auto-Classifica—]
[ATTEMPT FAILED. ATTEMPT FAILED.]
[RETRYING…]
[RETRYING…]
[FORCE ENTRY—]
Name: P███gg
Route Status: ??? (Not Romanceable, You Freaks)
Traits: Ch@#%*tic, Uncontrollabl█, Cheese-Obsess█
Appeal: [DATA CANNOT BE PROCESSED]
Game Description: ██████████ ERROR ERROR ERROR ████
A mys█████████ ancient ███████████ chooses to spend eternity
messing ███ teenagers. ████████████████ in power, fathomable ███ laziness.
Your legally █████ tiny demon.[SYSTEM OVERRIDE FAILED. SYSTEM OVERRIDE FAILED.]
[UNABLE TO CLASSIFY ENTITY.]
[RUNNING FAILSAFE PROTOCOL…]
[REVERTING TO DEFAULT SETTINGS.]
[SYSTEM OVERRIDE FAILED. REVERTING TO DEFAULT SETTINGS.]
Adrien stared.
Then at the floating… god?
Then back at the notification.
Then back at the immortal god blob.
“…Oh,” Adrien said faintly. “Oh, no.”
Plagg squinted at him. “What are you? You’re Adrien, but you're not Adrien.”
Adrien jolted. “What?”
Plagg circled him once, looking way too suspicious for a flying plushie. “You’re… different.”
Adrien’s skin prickled. “Different how?”
Plagg squinted at him, tail flicking. “I dunno. You smell different. My real holder usually has this nice, comforting scent—like the divine aroma of perfectly aged camembert.”
He floated a little closer, nose scrunching. “You? You smell… generic.”
Adrien blinked. “Uh. Thanks?”
Plagg waved him off. “Look, kid, I don’t know what’s going on here, but if you’re my holder, we need to have a serious talk. Preferably somewhere with cheese.”
[New Ability Unlocked: Transformation Sequence Available!]
Adrien grinned.
“Plagg,” he said, voice trembling with excitement. “Do I get a transformation sequence?”
Plagg’s tiny paws met his face. “I am so screwed.”
Adrien arrived home that evening still high on magical euphoria.
His chair swiveled around.
Adrien froze.
Felix sat there.
Arms steepled. Expression unreadable.
The only thing missing was an evil-looking cat to stroke ominously.
“Welcome home, Adrien.”
[Warning: Hidden Route Unlocked!]
Adrien did not scream. (He did consider it though.)