Chapter Text
"Chloe? CHLOEEEEEE!"
Before Adrian could remind his little sister , that she should actually wait until Chloe found her way into the room on her own, young Valène had already stormed out into the hallway and down to the large marble staircase , to meet the daughter of the to welcome the Mayor of Paris.
Every attempt by Adrian to call after the younger girl that Nathalie would definitely send the visitor up soon was ignored by the young glasses-wearing woman.
Through the open room door, Adrian heard Nathalie's muffled attempt to curb Valène's joy at Chloe's presence and he also heard the high-pitched voice of the visitor, how Chloe's laughter at the younger Agreste's enthusiasm , made her day a little better.
A part of Adrian was looking forward to spending the coming hours in Chloe's presence...but an even larger part of the young model was trying to process the past events and the failed breakfast together with his father. It had started so well and so promisingly.
Nathalie had picked up a huge bag of fresh French pastries from the best bakery in Paris and the children had picked a bouquet of flowers outside in the garden, set the breakfast table beautifully and even squeezed fresh juice from a few oranges.
They had gotten up extra early for all of this and had Placide show them how the coffee machine worked and were very excited when Gabriel came down the stairs in his suit.
Adrian and Val had intercepted him in the entrance area and asked full of hope if they all wanted to have breakfast together, as had happened so often back then. You could sit at the table, talk about the week, drink hot chocolate and coffee and start the day comfortably.
And Gabriel didn't appreciate all this effort, just mumbled that he didn't have time and had to meet a business friend in town. Val wanted to make another attempt and bring a small tray of food and a cup of coffee to her father before he left...but Gabriel roughly took the tray out of her hand and hissed at her to get the hell out of him Leave alone.
The mood had been terrible and the bitter look behind the glasses could have intimidated even Medusa. At least Placide was able to persuade himself to eat breakfast with the children in silence. But it was still a fiasco...despite all the effort and getting up early.
"And Sabrina? Did you make friendship bracelets too?"
"Homemade friendship bracelets? I beg you Valène, that would be ridiculous. Sabrina is at some boring event with her father"
"Why is it ridiculous? You're everyone's best friends?"
"Of course we are, just like my best friend is your brother. But we don't need friendship bracelets to say that we.....give each other gifts. Oh that reminds me, we need to go shopping together. Your fashion style is so.....childlike. You are an Agreste and the perfect companion for you is.....ME"
The footsteps came closer and the little conversation between the girls took Adrian out of his memory and yet, the teenager clearly saw the disapproval flashing behind Gabriel's glasses and the disgust his father had for the well-intentioned idea.
The fashion designer didn't even need to say, how useless and unnecessary he thought this organized breakfast was.
A look said more than a thousand words. And the head of the family's lack of appreciation for breakfast was as noticeable as a fresh gust of wind in spring.
"Adrikins! It's so good to finally see you again" - Chloe interrupted his wandering thoughts and pulled Adrian into a warm long hug.
Adrian could smell that the mayor's daughter had changed her perfume.
An expensive brand, yet different. How long had it been since the young friends had seen each other?
"Chloe! It's so nice to see you. Sit down please", - Adrian replied honestly and hugged the blonde back before invitingly pointing to the large sofa.
Chloe didn't comply with this request twice and collapsed onto the sofa, placing her designer handbag next to her. The bracelets she wore on her right hand jingled like in the funny sequence of a piece of music.
"It's been far too long since I've seen you and your sister! Our fathers should really talk to each other more often! I mean daddy is the mayor of Paris and your father is one of the most famous designers in the country - it can't be that hard", Chloe shook her head and her blue eyes had a slightly reproachful look to them.
"Daddy didn't even want to have breakfast with us today! That was really mean!" - Val flopped down on Adrian's other free side and just couldn't keep this detail to herself. They had put so much effort into this.
"Don't worry, your daddy is just as busy as mine and I always get room service for my breakfast!" Chloe commented as a matter of course.
"Dad has a lot to do, not as much as Chloe's dad, who is the mayor but... it would still have been nice," - Adrian sighed. In front of his only friend his age, he couldn't desperately maintain this mask, this facade. And Chloe noticed that.
They had known each other since childhood. Chloe was the Agreste siblings' only social contact outside of the family......and then there was their cousin Felix and his parents Amelie & Colt. But contact with this part of the family has been very limited since Emelie's death... the last thing Adrian knew through a conversation between Placide & Nathalie was that Felix's father was seriously ill.
"That's what I'm here for! And before we let the fun begin and start the film, I'll tell you the latest from school! You won't believe what an embarrassing appearance Mary-Looser had on Friday....." - and so Chloe started talking about what her nemesis had done to make the whole class laugh at her and the derogatory hand gestures , that the mayor's daughter made were completely automatic.
She didn't like the baker's daughter and took every opportunity to annoy her. Then she talked about the upcoming tests and work and the school ball, where she will absolutely be the ball queen.
Adrian sometimes wished he had the self-confidence that his best friend exuded, but he didn't complain, listened attentively and simply enjoyed the lightness that Chloe alone gave with her visit.
Maybe she couldn't have guessed it, but the film together and the afternoon spent together lifted the Agreste siblings up a bit and made them forget the loneliness and the failed attempt at breakfast.
It was quite an afternoon to spend with a good friend and just live in the moment. In the evening, Chloe was picked up again by her private driver, she wrapped her siblings in a tight hug at the front door and promised to work with her father so that the next meeting could take place at the hotel.
At the mention of the big pool, Val started clapping her hands enthusiastically and told Chloe that she would miss her terribly. Chloe gave the two siblings a goodbye kiss and then left the property. The door slammed shut and silence fell.
Footsteps were heard and the siblings turned to their father, who seemed like he wanted to say something.
But Adrian took courage and wanted to express a wish before his courage failed him again. He wanted to go to the same high school as Chloe. He wanted to be among young people his age and experience what his best friend describes every day as the boring existence of a student. He didn't want to be homeschooled anymore.
"Father? I want to go to the same school as Chloe too!"
"Me too! Exactly the same that Adrian wants!"
Gabriel closed his open mouth again and his eyes darkened. His suspicion that these loose rules would only further test his authority as a father was only confirmed. The visit from the mayor's daughter had made the afternoon much...louder and...more disruptive.... And now... these ridiculous demands are completely far from reality.
"Shut up! Both of you! These ridiculous demands will not happen. You both will continue to be homeschooled and the rules will be more structured! Go to your rooms and don't waste my time with meaningless demands! You have everything you need right here in your home !" - came sharp and unyielding from Gabriel Agreste.
While Adrian grimaced in pain and looked down, his little sister reacted with big tears.
Sobbing loudly, she ran past her father and his co-worker, up the wide stairs and moments later she heard a room door slam shut loudly.
Adrian stopped for a moment, looked at his father in the hope of seeing a movement in his face.....something...that was more than cold and showed the walls that the glasses wearer had built up within himself....yes the eyes flash just as cool and repellent behind the glasses as they did this morning during the breakfast fiasco.
Nodding, Adrian also took the stairs up and since he heard Val crying loudly in her room, he knocked on the door.....tried to push the handle down, but nothing happened, Val seemed to have locked the door from the inside ....perhaps she would seek comfort from him later. But who gave Adrian the comfort and confidence he so desperately needed?
The Agreste did not have an answer to the question. And Val didn't sneak over to his room that night to spend the night. The young woman wearing glasses was probably just as sad and perplexed as Adrian himself. Why had father reacted so coldly and angrily to such a simple question? And what would it mean...the rules would be more tightly structured? Could he have even less freedom than was already the case?
Adrian should find out an answer to some of these questions on Monday morning.
His father had handed his right-hand man a new schedule, more activities after homeschooling and even less free time. Strict performance monitoring by Nathalie and if social interactions have to be outside of the modeling assignments, then joint activities with his sister were planned. It seemed to be even more tightly scheduled and there was hardly any room for imagination and free time.
"Nathalie? If Daddy doesn't like breakfast with Adrian and me.....would you like to have breakfast with us if....it works? Where did you get the delicious croissants from Sunday?" - the hope that Val placed in this statement and the look she gave Nathalie was so intense that Adrian couldn't even look , when Nathalie said no and only pointed out that the new everyday plan was very strictly timed and a large part of it was here in the property had to take place.
"Don't you like us?" - the little girl promptly replied uncertainly and Nathalie crouched down in front of her for a moment, put a hand on her shoulder and assured that this wasn't the case.....her but had to stick to the new plan.
"Nathalie is just doing her job. Even if she deserves a little more free time," Adrian said. There was no anticipation of the upcoming homeschooling and the busy afternoons.
"You'll adapt and get used to it. But... on Saturday afternoon you have 'sibling time' - you could play tennis in the garden, watch a film in the home cinema or bake something?" - said Nathalie, apparently scrolling through the to-do list for the coming days on her tablet.
"Can we go shopping with you? We're not running away at all?" Val tried again.
"I'll see if that can be arranged on Saturday", Nathalie answered cautiously and turned to the tray as the siblings sat down at the breakfast table.
"Adrian? Maybe we can make crêpes & tartelette aux fraises on Saturday or Sunday? Mama loved making them with us"
And Adrian really liked this idea.
At least in this way they could be a little closer to their deceased mother.