Coward and Proud of It
(Nathaniel is drawing in his sketchbook after another akuma attack, and notices his classmates looking embarassed, their faces riddled with guilt.)
Nathaniel: Why do you guys look like that?
Alix: Dude, weâre such horrible friends! We forgot about you again!
(He looked confused. She sounded sincere, but why?)
Rose: I canât believe we left you behind! Weâre supposed to look out for each other!
Nathaniel: Uh, what are you talking about?
Nino: We didnât go back to look for you dude! We were too busy saving our own skins. (He looks ashamed. Nathaniel realizes whatâs going on.)
Nathaniel: Are you talking about the last akuma attack? You think you abandoned me?
Kim: Yeah! You were nowhere to be found. Werenât you looking for us?
Nathaniel: Uh... no? Guys, you didnât leave me behind. I left you.
(The entire class gasps in shock.)
Chloe: What are you on about, Kurtzberg?!
(He just rolls his eyes at the girl.)
Nathaniel: Whenever I am able to do so, I slip away from you guys. Afterall, Akumas seem to have a magnet for our group. And the best way to avoid getting killed is to lay low, away from the source.
Adrien: You make it sound like weâre a liability to you!
Nathaniel: *Bluntly* You are. You all run around like headless chickens, instead of ducking for cover and keeping your heads down. If this were a zombie apocalypse, youâd fail horribly. Well, except for Adrien and Marinette. Somehow you two always manage to avoid the brunt of the attacks. Not to mention youâve never been akumatized yourselves. Main character energy if Iâve ever seen it.
Marinette: Yeah... thatâs the reason. *Internally sweating*
Max: Nathaniel, you make up one fourteenth of a group. I am pretty sure weâd realize if you had abandoned us.
Nathaniel: Well, Max, for a guy with such a high iq, you clearly werenât smart enough the other four times I did it.
Alya: Hold on a second, youâve left us FIVE TIMES?!
(Nathaniel nods. He doesnât understand why everyone seems so surprised.)
Nathaniel: You make it sound like itâs such a hard thing to do. When youâre all freaking out like that, itâs easy for a quiet guy like me to slip away.
Alix: (Talking about the Art Club Squad) But every time we texted you in the group chat, you acted like you were trying to find us. You even said you understood how panicked we got.
Nathaniel: Yeah, I was lying. You think Iâm gonna reveal my escape plans? Then youâll wanna join me, and I canât have anyone from this class, even my friends, putting a target on my back via association.
Juleka: *Mumbling* Ouch, dude.
Chloe: Hmph! Well if youâre so elusive, tell us how on earth a nobody like you managed to survive all these attacks.
Nathaniel: Why should I tell you? Youâd just try to join me next time.
(Rose uses her puppy dog eyes, and he caves.)
Nathaniel: Alright, fine. But Iâm not taking any of you next time, you hear me?
(They grumble and nod.)
Nathaniel: Ok, Stormy Weather was pretty easy. All I had to do was avoid Alec, head home to my house, shut all the windows, lock the doors, hide under the bed, and done. For some reason, Akumas usually attack anyone unlucky enough to be outside. If they donât have a specific victim in mind that is.
(The classmates all mutter in agreement. He had a point.)
Nathaniel: Next up was Guitar Villain, and once again you all ran off together, not even thinking of splitting up. And it seems none of you got the idea of just pretending to like the music. Thatâs what I did, just copied what I saw Ivan doing in class the day before, and headbanged like there was no tomorrow. I find the music to be cringe as all hell, not to mention the singerâs a deadbeat dad with an obviously fake English accent, but I had to fake it to make it.
Juleka: *Muttering* He really is a scumbag.
Nathaniel: Then there was Frightingale. I didnât escape by myself, since I got a helping hand from a certain cute writer who I had been in the music video with. Turns out we had both been crushing on the other for awhile, and finally had the courage to ask eachother out. He took me to a safespot with the other kids in Mendelievâs class, they took a liking to me, since I actually bothered to ask about their lives. You do realize that the kids besides Marc, Mireille, Jean and Aurore have names right?
Marinette: Of course we did!
Nathaniel: Really, what are they?
(The class is unable to even come up with a guess.)
Sabrina: Uh...
Nathaniel: Thatâs what I thought. Anyway, Zombizou was my favorite. Me and the Science kids got to kick love-zombie ass, and in order to avoid suspicion, Marc and I kept making out whenever they were near. It was so awesome! (He blushes before getting back on topic.) So yeah. You guys never abandoned me, I abandoned you. And before you say anything, no, Iâm not sorry.
Alix: *Looking forlorn* But dude... weâre your friends!
Nathaniel: Well, you are. Most of the Art Squad is, but the rest of you only interact with me if you need something for your ships. You realize Iâm an accomplished cartoonist, right? The Ladybug comic I work on with Marc is a huge success. Iâm just as important as the rest of you!
Kim: Dude, we arenât saying youâre not.
Nathaniel: Well I wasnât important enough for any of you to notice I was being bullied by Chloe?
Chloe: Oh please, Kurtzberg. You got off easy.
Marinette: She made everyoneâs life bad, Nathaniel. Not just yours!
Nathaniel: When you get bullied, everyone coddles you. When I get humiliated in front of the class, nobody besides my art friends came to comfort me, to explain to me why I got akumatized, why I was right to feel angry about what happened. Marcâs class also took the time to explain to me how it was creepy to write my self-insert being in love with a real classmate. Theyâre the reason I apologized to you, Marinette.
Chloe: Well if theyâre so cool, then why donât you join them!
Mylene: Chloe! We wouldnât want that! Nathanielâs our friend!
Nathaniel: Actually, thatâs what I plan on doing next year. No offense, but I can only tolerate like half of you. Iâd rather be with a class that actually recognizes my value, that takes the time to ask how Iâm doing. If that makes me a background character in your world, so be it.
(He gets up and sees Marc waiting for him.)
Nathaniel: Iâm not some helpless little lamb that gets lost whenever thereâs an akuma. Iâm a survivor, a coward, and Iâm proud of it. Now if youâll excuse me, Iâm gonna make out with my boyfriend.
(He smirks as he sees each classmate with their jaw on the floor.)
Turns out our Nath wasnât abandoned after all. Heâs just an escape artist. This felt so cathartic to write, and I hope you enjoyed it. As usual, let me know your thoughts in reblogs, replies, posts, and asks. @artzychic27 @msweebynessÂ