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2022-06-29
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2023-12-13
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7/?
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Finding Yourself

Summary:

After Queen banana, Chloe loses everyone who still puts up with her. Adrien doesn't want to know about her anymore, Zoe has given up trying to make her like her and her parents are still too busy or don't care about her.
Chloe then decides that she will just be herself and stop trying to please her mother and everyone else. She will stop taking her pain out on others and will focus on herself and her feelings. If other people are going to like her, they will have to accept her for who she is. And while she finds herself, she will find some people and opportunities that will help her on her path to redemption. Chloe will find a lot of confusion, love, hate, friendship, but most importantly herself.

Notes:

I decided to make this fanfic because I love Lukloe and I love Chloe. And since apparently we won't have his redemption in the series, I'll see if I can get it here. We'll see where it all takes us in the end.
The age here is not the same as in the series. In fact, the show always confuses me about the ages of the characters. Even if I search for it. Here Chloé is about to turn sixteen and some other characters are also or have already turned. Luka, Adrien, Félix, Juleka, Nino, Lila, Ivan and Kim are one year older. The reason, they simply failed a year, or Juleka, Luka and Adrien missed a school year because they had studied at home when they were younger or just for being. I don't really care what the reason is, it's just that I said so and that's it.
For now, he's more focused on Chloe. But I hope to expand to other characters. Mainly Luke.

Most of season 4 will be skipped. Only some of her stuff will be included.

It might be a bit OOC, I'm not sure I managed to be fully true to the characters. Hope I did a good enough job. If not, I apologize in advance.

My mother tongue is not English. I apologize for any mistakes and ask you to bear with me and forgive me for it. I write the story in my mother tongue (Brazilian Portuguese), so it's easier for me and then I switch to English to publish it.
The fanfic is Lukloe, but there will be other couples. Mostly relationships involving Chloe and Luka with other people. There will also be sex scenes, profanity and sensitive topics. If you don't like any of these things or any couple, don't read. And if you comment, please be respectful. I don't want to be insulted and cursed for not having the same opinion as you.

And that's it. I hope you like it and have fun reading. Kisses and until the next.

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Chloe is angry, very angry. She's felt this way for a long time, but now she's reached a greater and more extreme point of frustration, anger, hatred, and disappointment than any other time. And it's all aimed at Adrien, Zoé, Marinette, Ladybug, her mom, her dad, everyone! But mainly herself.

She doesn't have anyone else, literally this time. Adrien doesn't want to be friends with her anymore, Zoe has given up on trying to bond with her, even though she's still kind and concerned, as usual. Ladybug took her miraculous and gave it to someone else. And everyone at school still hates her and wants nothing to do with her.

Not that she can blame them exactly for that. Chloe has done nothing to make them trust or like her. On the contrary, actually. She was nasty, cruel, selfish, and really, really stupid. As well as her mother.

Her only and greatest wish all her life was for her mother to love her. It shouldn't be asking too much, should it? For a mother to love her daughter, to give her affection and attention. Yes, but it really is asking too much for Audrey Bourgeois to love her daughter, daughters, as Zoé has not escaped suffering her mother's emotional neglect.

But she got tired of trying to be anything other than herself just to please others. It's time to stop being the shallow, selfish girl she's always been. She's determined to be Chloe Bourgeois, the one and only.

Nothing she does will make her mother her notice or love her. It doesn't matter how cruel, horrible and nasty she is. Her mother will never recognize her, be proud of her or show any affection for her daughter. Audrey is unable to love anything but herself. And Chloe is tired of trying to please her by being an utterly awful person and losing everything in the process.

She will also stop trying to be 'nice' like Adrien and Ladybug wanted. She doesn't know how to be good, not quite at least. Chloe is sure she's never going to be a perfect, lovely, uninhibited, sweet girl and all that shit that everyone has always asked and wished her to be. She's not like Dupain-cheng that everything she touches turns to flowers and rainbows of how good and perfect she is as a person, friend, well, everything.

Ugh, nerve. She's so irritating!

Chloe is just so jealous of her. Marinette's got everything! Loving parents, loyal friends who look up to her and love her and would do anything and everything for her. She's talented, generous and, well, perfect. Always willing to help everyone with her happy and optimistic attitude.

Chloe will never be that person.

  She is spoiled, selfish, petty, mean, sincere to the point of being cruel, pretentious and many other things. A person who never cared about the feelings of others and only stepped on and humiliated them to make himself feel better. To impress and get the attention of a woman who's never cared for her.

  But she doesn't like to be cruel to everyone, she always did it to please and imitate her mother. To protect herself from suffering disappointments and losing people she loves, as she lost her mother. But in the end, she lost it all anyway. So why keep being so horrible and nasty when she has no reason to be?

So now she's going to be a sincere Chloe and, well, not exactly nice, but less horrible and cruel than she ever was. She will be herself and not care what other people think. As long as she's true and happy being herself, everything will be fine.

Well, that's what she hopes.

Maybe this will make her win Adrien's friendship again. Chloe might be upset and hurt with him right now, but she and Adrien have known each other and been friends since they were babies and she doesn't want to miss that. He.

The two of them were always friends, well three with Félix, friends who did everything together. Three kids with parents too busy to pay attention to them, who banded together for company, love and friendship.

Of course it all fell apart down the hill when Felix left for London, Chloe's mother went back further to Paris and demanded and pressured her to be as obnoxious as she was. And the icing on the cake Adrien's mother, Aunt Emilie, got sick and then disappeared. (Chloe is pretty sure she's dead, because there's no other explanation. But she would never hurt Adrien by saying something like that, even if she suspects he thinks the same.)

Felix became unbearable and cruel, not far from him she did the same. And Adrien became even more sad and lonely. Chloe has never known how to deal with emotions, not hers and especially not others'. So she tried to be there for Adrien when Aunt Emilie disappeared, but she didn't know how to react so she ended up being the usual spoiled, boring, shallow Chloe. The Chloe who thought giving gifts and spending money was synonymous with love, affection and protection.

  Even though she missed Aunt Emilie too, she couldn't bring herself to show it to Adrien or anyone else. Preferring to keep her feelings deep in her heart and make other people feel as bad and hurt as she did. Hoping it would bring some relief and comfort to her own pain, knowing that other people were just as broken and hurting as she was.

It didn't exactly work. But instead of changing and trying to be a better person, she chose to ignore it and continue with the way she knew how to handle things than face her feelings and be herself, not a ridiculous copy of her mother.

But now enough! She will be a new and improved Chloe. She's turning the page and writing a new chapter in her story, one where she's no longer the utterly horrible, obnoxious person she's become over all these years. And no matter what others think, Chloe Bourgeois will be herself no matter what.

She hopes it's easier from now on.

 

******

 

It's easier said than done.

The 'Be Yourself' project is not going as well as she imagined.

It's really not that easy to change habits you've had for years. Of course, it didn't help the fact that everyone still hates her and doesn't see anything she does with good eyes. Not to mention that Félix is returning to Paris for a while and Lila is also back.

Felix, Chloe can handle it. She's known him for years and knows all too well what he's like and his nasty ways. She grew up with Félix making her life hell and learned to deal with him very well. Making his life hell in return. She won't let him piss her off, if he tries she'll kick his ass back to London.

Lila is different. That girl is unbearable! A compulsive liar and very irritating. Chloe can't stand being around that liar listening to all the nonsense coming out of her huge mouth. And the worst thing is that everyone believes and never questions anything the girl says.

And when Chloe points out the fact that they can't stand the truth, they all hate her. Will understand.

But Lila will have to be a subject to be handled with delicacy. She can't make it too obvious that she wants to unmask the liar. Doing so will make Lila's number one target. And as much as she hates to admit it, the bitch is good. Smart, cunning, and very wicked. The wretch is a master in the art of lying and deceit and would be able to convince a duck that he is a goose.

So while he thinks and works on a plan to put an end to that cunning, lying little creature. Chloe will continue her 'Be Yourself' project. She has already enrolled in martial arts, boxing/kickboxing and archery classes. Since her psychologist and therapist, Dr. Carmaikol, has told her that doing some physical activity – preferably one that involves her taking out her anger and frustration on her – would help Chloe control her cruel and explosive temper. There's also the fact that her body has been magnificent since it started. Even if it's only been two weeks since she started, her ass looks amazing.

She always wanted to do these activities, but her mother refused. Saying that it wasn't worthy for her daughter and that she should play the piano, take ballet, take singing lessons and artistic gymnastics. Not that her mother stuck around to see her daughter do either of those things, Audrey only showed up when something threatened her reputation or her career. Never for her family.

But Chloe wanted her mom to be proud of her so she did what her mom wanted. The piano didn't work out very well and she was horrible and forgot practically everything she learned. And of course her mother never failed to point out how disappointing and unexceptional she was for that. After all, the Agreste son played the piano beautifully, but his daughter was too useless to press some damn keys.

She took piano lessons for four months together with Adrien, until she weeping begged her father to take her away from the torture that was playing the piano. Adrien was a prodigy from the start, Beethoven reborn, but not her. Little six-year-old Chloe couldn't get her chubby little fingers into the right positions or hit the notes and it annoyed her.

Little Bougeois was sure piano lessons were her personal hell. Then she cried and made a fuss begging her father to stop torturing her by sending her to piano lessons. And not even Adrien and his kick-puppy eyes were enough to make the little blonde take her decision back.

Artistic gymnastics she loved and it made her very flexible, which ended up helping her with her ballet lessons. In ballet and in music classes she did very well and was exceptional, in the end they became two of the things she most enjoys doing. Dancing and singing. Not that she says that to anyone but Sabrina and Adrien. The only ones who really know. And Jean, maybe Felix, but Chloe doubts the smug idiot remembers or cares about anything about her.

So she also went back to taking dance and music classes. Just as she started taking Spanish and Russian classes, she also wrote herself in art classes. Chloe always liked to draw and paint, but she always hid it because she never thought she was good enough and didn't want to disappoint her parents or be made fun of for it.

Especially not after the one time she'd shown a drawing she'd done to her mother, Chloe had drawn her in a charcoal portrait, but Audrey just crumpled it up and threw the drawing away. And without any regard for her daughter's feelings, she told him it was ridiculous and that she shouldn't waste time drawing nonsense. That if she was going to design something it would have to be something useful, but the woman also never liked any of the clothing designers that Chloe drew. She then gave up showing her drawings to her mother and anyone else. Not even Sabrina knows about this little secret talent of hers.

But now, if she wants to be herself, Chloe will have to move on and do whatever she likes. And drawing is something she likes a lot. In fact, all kinds of art she loves, but not all of them she can really practice. But drawing is something she does very well, and it relaxes her if she leaves her mind free enough for it.

So on Mondays and Thursdays she has Archery and Music classes. Tuesdays and Fridays classes in martial arts and art. Wednesdays and Saturdays is boxing/kickboxing and dancing day. And on Tuesdays and Fridays she has Spanish and Russian, but those are online and she does them at night. Is it too much? Yup. But Chloe hopes that maybe having so many activities and things to do won't leave her too much time to think about her pathetic, lonely life, so she doesn't feel bad and end up hurting other people to make herself feel better.

So far it's working, despite it slipping a few times. But no one is perfect and she won't be able to change overnight.

 

She's trying and that's the best she can do for herself.

Chapter 2

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Today is the day that Félix returns to Paris. And he's going to be studying in the same class as her, Chloe can't help but roll her eyes at that. He's going to make her life hell, she knows. He'd always liked to pick on her.

But she's determined not to let him get under her skin. She won't give in to his comments or anything he does.

But enough thinking about Félix, she doesn't have time for him now. Right now she's late for her dance class, which starts at eight in the morning sharp and her teachers hate being late. They'll make her suffer for it. But it's not her fault that she's still not used to waking up at five in the morning on a Saturday so she can do her morning run and gym workout. Orders from your boxing/kickboxing teacher, Anansi, who is frighteningly serious about the importance of exercising every morning.

So Chloe wakes up, or tries to, every morning at five o'clock to run five miles and then head to the hotel's gym to exercise for another hour. All to keep her focused and her body ready to be beaten and tortured by Nora (Anansi, as she prefers to be called). Which she definitely didn't do today. But well, it's a project in progress. One day, maybe, she'll get it all done and not look like a zombie at the end of the day, or she won't be late or skip her morning jog and exercise so she can get another hour or two of sleep.

Until then Chloe will have to make do with what she gets. And at the moment that means oversleeping and being late for everything. What is irritating. She'll have to work on it, it's unacceptable for her to continue like this, she almost looks like Marinette. And that's something Chloe absolutely doesn't want to look like.

She runs out of the hotel and goes to buy a coffee and something light to eat on the way. Ironically, Chloe doesn't even like coffee much and only drinks a lot once in a while. But with her new routine, she is starting to take a liking to the energy drink (now the blonde lives on coffee and energy drinks).

She walks, or runs (it depends on how late she is), so she arrives a little exercised for class. She doesn't use the limo for that, on Saturday mornings Alan (her driver) is always busy with Dad. And since Chloe didn't normally wear it at this hour on Saturdays before, she decided not to change that part of her routine. She decided that walking wouldn't be a problem, the extra exercise would help. Even if sometimes, when she's too late, she regrets it. Her decision confused and surprised her father, but he decided not to contradict her about it, which she was very grateful for.

After managing to buy a caramel mocchiato and a smoked salmon and cream cheese bagel, which she eats on the way, she finally makes it to her dance class.

 

Upon entering, Chloe bumps into a brick wall and nearly lands on her ass, only to be stopped by large, strong hands on her shoulders. Looking up, she realizes the brick wall is actually a person.

His eyes meet the deep blue eyes of Damian Holt, a tall boy with dyed pastel pink hair and a beautifully chiseled face. He's strong and lean, older than she is a year or two, Chloe isn't sure, and handsome as hell. So hot that it should be forbidden for anyone to look like that. Not that she's not used to seeing cute boys, she's met a lot of cute guys out there. Her best friend is a fucking model and has an idiot cousin as a copy.

  Well, ex-best friend.

  But none of them are someone she has to often rub and cuddle with as they go through the dance steps. Who often touches her in several different places on her body, and she on his, because the choreography asks.

A girl is not iron, or blind.

“Hey blonde, are you okay? Did it hurt?" Damian asks, letting go of the Bourgeois' shoulders when he is sure the girl is firmly on her feet.

“Y-yeah! I’m fine, t-thank you.” she answers feeling her cheeks heat up. Control yourself, Chloe! It's not the time to be stuttering and blushing, you don't want to look like Dupen-chang! "I'm sorry to bump into you, it's just that I didn't see you there... on my way."

"No problem. There are worse things than getting hit by a small, beautiful girl in a hurry.” The boy responds amusedly, winking at the blonde with a crooked smile on his lips.

Chloe blushes at the compliment. He's good. She wasted no time in playing charming on him. Not that she's complaining. Far from it, she won't complain about being flirted with by a hot guy. Her ego soars to heights with this for sure, she's very self-centered and she's working on it with her psychologist.

“Let's go to class then?” Damian asks. “The teachers have arrived and you know how they are. They hate delays.”

"Yea." Chloe gasps. “I'm sure Professor Laviolette hates me for that very reason, I can never get there on time. She always looks at me with a face that says 'I'd turn you to dust with just that look if I could'."

The boy laughs amusedly and agrees with a nod of his head. But before he can respond, the teachers start the class and ask for everyone's attention.

Chloe and Damian still exchange some amused looks during class. Mainly about the rigid and strange way of the teachers. She thinks she might be finding it in Damian, her first friend in years, as well as Sabrina and Adrien.

She smiles to herself happily and continues to perform the dance steps with a little more will and lightness. She is happy.

 

                               ♡x♡                        

 

After class ends Chloe takes a shower and changes clothes. She wears another set of sportswear, complete with leggings, a long-sleeved crop top, and a pastel blue sweatshirt. The previous one was black with yellow stripes (yes, very Queenbee. But whatever, she misses Pollen. Not to mention yellow is her favorite color).

Chloé doesn't put on her sweatshirt, the day is sunny and cool for late March, which is always hotter and sunnier with the start of spring than it was a week and a half ago when it was still too cold to go out without it. But later on for sure she will need it.

Her hair is braided into two boxer braids and that's it, she's ready for her boxer/kickboxer class at half past six. Chloe looks at the time on her cell phone and sees that it is already 2:20 pm, her Saturday dance classes always start at 8 am and end at 2 pm. There are three hours of Ballet and three hours with other styles of dance. She wanted to try other dance styles and not just classic ballet. Stepping out of her comfort zone and trying new things were two of the things Dr. Carmaikol instructed her to do. So she's trying.

Always after classes Chloe buys her lunch, then she goes to the mall to shop or to the park. Or any quiet place where she can draw or just relax and do a little yoga to relax her muscles after intense hours of dancing. So she passes the time waiting for the time to come to be beaten by Anansi.

Sometimes, when she's not busy, Sabrina accompanies her. But the two are working on their friendship so that Sabrina stops being her doormat and she starts being a really good best friend to a girl. And Sabrina has also started doing other activities that she likes that don't involve her, thus cutting a little bit of dependence on the copper-haired girl on her and her on Sabrina doing everything she asks. Helping them have a healthier, truer friendship than ever before. Chloe might not say much, but she loves Sabrina and doesn't know what she would do if she didn't have the redhead in her life. She wants to value her friend and make it up to her for all those years she treated her badly.

It hasn't been easy, she still loses her temper sometimes – more times than she'd care to admit – and Sabrina is a born follower and finds it hard not to do everything for Chloe. But the two are working on it, on their friendship, and they're getting better and better.

At least one thing is going right in her life right now. Thank God for small miracles, she can't help but think.

Chloe finally arrives at the park and looks for a corner where she can sit and eat. She finds one under a tree, it's pretty quiet, and it has a good view of the rest of the park. A great place to relax and draw. She has a few drawings to turn in for her next art class on Tuesday. Her teacher, Sabine (ironic no, that her art teacher is Dupen-chang's mother?), asked them to draw or paint the people we see in our daily lives, anyone, known or unknown. And Chloe still needs two more sketches.

She is still not confident with her drawings, despite Ms. Dupen-chang praising them and saying she is very talented. But Chloe doesn't really believe it, she's sure that all the other students are better than her.

Especially Nathaniel, yes, Nath attends art classes with her. Lucky no? That just when Chloe starts to do what she wants and starts to change her attitudes a little, she ends up coming across people who hate her everywhere.

All even.

  She has Nathaniel in art classes, Kagami in archery and Juleka, Rose, Nino, Ivan and, Luka, Juleka's brother, in music classes. Anansi, her kickboxer teacher, is Alya's older sister. She escaped them in the other activities. But since the universe seems to be working against her, it's quite possible that someone else in her class could end up joining one of her other activities, or all of them.

And it's not that she's complaining about them per se. But it's harder for Chloe to focus and try to be better when she knows they're judging her and wondering what the hell she's doing there. It doesn't help that she hated and didn't get along with Juleka's stupid brother either. He's an idiot who hates her for everything she's ever done to her sister and her friends.

And that's okay, she can't blame him for that. And she also knows she should apologize to them, especially Juleka, for trapping her in the bathroom when they took the class photo and making her feel bad and ended up akumatized. She knows she should apologize for being a horrible person and a total bitch. But her damn pride doesn't fucking allow!

Chloe Bourgeois is a proud bitch and she prides herself on it. She's working on being a little better and she's working on the apologizing thing. But it's not easy and as she's said before, it's a work in progress. Maybe one day she'll get there and be able to redeem herself with everyone for all the wrong she's done to them.

But that day has not yet come.

And idiot Couffaine isn't helping either! He loves to annoy her and loves to tease her by calling her with nicknames like: 'spoiled, little princess, majesty, queen, daddy's girl, blonde' and many others equally annoying and stupid. She's all that, she knows, but the way the idiot talks is what kills Chloe. He speaks with such mockery and disdain that she wants to make him swallow that stupid guitar of his.

And the worst, worst of all is that Luka Couffaine is a piece of bad way. For all his beloved Louboutin's, he's very hot. It should be a sin for anyone to look like that. Even though his clothes are awful and look like he took them out of the trash, he's really cute. She had seen him before and yes he was always handsome with his dyed blue hair, handsome face, and punk and rocker style. Well badboy. With that dangerous, sexy look and style that you know means trouble, but you don't care. Can't stop approaching, he hypnotizes you. Like a moth to a flame, you know the flame will kill you but you can't help but be seduced by its light and heat.

But now, she doesn't know what happened, but Luka is taller, more muscular and has gone from a skinny pretty boy to a tall, muscular, hot Greek God. Even more sexy and dangerous than before. Any girl's wet fantasy, including her. And that's irritating.

Chloe hates him.

To be fair, Luka isn't the only boy who is growing from being boys to wet dreams with legs.

All the boys in your class, for example, are blossoming into extremely hot, handsome guys. Getting tall, muscular, and looking like their bodies were sculpted by the gods (well, Ivan and Kim even more so. And she didn't think those two could get any bigger). Some more than others, but still beautiful in their own way. But Luka is Chloe's biggest problem, because she hates him and shouldn't be thinking about how pink and plump his lips are and how she'd like to kiss them and find out what she tastes like. Or dreaming of what that body looks like without clothes and glued to hers.

Yep, Chloe Bourgeois has had her sexual awakening and is fantasizing about her enemy. Life really sucks and not even a queen escapes its shitty clutches.

And it makes her wonder when she'll get taller and hotter. Well, hot she already is and always has been. It's a fact that Chloe Bourgeois is beautiful and hot. Now that she is exercising and doing a lot of physical activities, she is even hotter.

Her body is developing and she is becoming more of a woman and leaving her little girl body behind. Her boobs and butt are bigger (she finally has boobs, her boobs-less girl days are behind her and Chloe couldn't be happier). Your hips are a little wider, your waist is still slim, your thighs are thicker, and your abs are getting flatter and more defined. All the running and exercises are showing results. The torture was not in vain!

But the height isn't changing, Chloe is turning sixteen in April and she's stagnating at 5'2 (1.57 cm) tall. And she wants to be a little taller, thanks. Some girls in her class have grown up a little bit, especially Juleka, but they seem to be in the same situation as her. Which reassures her and makes her happy to know that she won't be the only runt in the class.

Cruel? Yup. But true. She's glad to know that she's not the only one in disgrace at being doomed to never reach the top shelf.

Chloe finishes her lunch and snaps out of her thoughts to start gathering up her drawing stuff. She still has a lot of time until she has to go to the boxer gym for her classes, until then she will draw and enjoy the cool, sunny afternoon.

It's a perfect day to be outside and nothing could spoil it.

 

                           ♡x♡                         

 

Not far from where the blonde is, a group of friends arrive at the park for a picnic. This group of friends consists of: Alya, Nino, Marinette, Adrien, Félix, Zoé, Juleka, Rose, Kagami, Marc, Nath, Ivan, Mylène, Alix, Kim, Max and Luka.

None of them notices Bourgeois there a few meters away from them and neither does the blonde notice them. But it won't be like that for long.

Notes:

Here's the second chapter! Hope you like it. Comment and tell me what you think, comments are love and it's always good to know what you think of the story. It motivates me to keep going.

This one is Damian as I imagine him: And this is the outfit Chloe wears after dance lessons: That's it, until next time! Kisses 😘

Chapter 3

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

After they eat, the group of friends spends time chatting and having fun. So Marc decides to ask if his friends would like to play some football. He was nervous as he is shy and doesn't like to show up, but he loves football and decides to take a risk. He even brought his soccer ball along hoping his friends would play with him.

Everyone agrees, except Félix, and they split into two teams. Françoise Dupont's students don't complain, as they will have physical education classes and will play some football and a little training is always good.

There, everyone discovers that Adrien Agreste is a football disaster. What's beautiful about the boy, he's clueless. All goes well until their game gets too close to a certain blonde who is sitting a few feet away from them.


                         ♡~♡                     


Chloe's been drawing for a while. She doesn't even know how much, as she always gets lost in her mind and her work when she's drawing. Her fingers are numb and her back is screaming at her for being bent over too long.

  She decided to draw three kids playing nearby. There are two boys and a girl, all three blonde. It reminded her of her and Adrien and Félix when they were younger. The three of them used to go to the park to play, Natalie, Jean or Anatoly (Gorilla, Adrien's bodyguard as everyone calls him. Except Chloe, she always called him 'Toitoi' as she couldn't pronounce his name as a little girl. Or G, as Adrien, Félix and Nat call him.), accompanied them, or sometimes all three together. Or just G and Alan, her driver, were taking them.                     

They played for hours, ran everywhere. Felix was always irritating her and the two ended up fighting and poor Adrien was always in the middle having to separate them. Those were good times. Times when Chloe didn't understand her mother's disdain for her, Felix wasn't that closed off and he still had his father and Adrien had his mother, his father wasn't that distant and he wasn't so lonely and sad.

But life changes for everyone, and not always for the better. Chloe is a good example of this. But maybe she'll be able to change a little again, for the better this time.

Standing up to stretch a bit and stretch her numb legs and aching back, she stretches and groans a little with the stretch. Her bones snapped with the movements and then relaxed with the relief of pressure. Suddenly she is knocked to the ground and all she can see through the stars in her vision is a blue mop.

Dammit! It all hurts. Her entire body aches from the fall and the thud of the much larger, heavier body that crashed into her and landed on top of her. Who was the idiot?! Her back hurts with a sharp twinge where the damned elbowed her, her head is sore from hitting it when she fell and she's a little breathless from the fall and the massive body on top of her.

“Ooh oh shit, everything hurts.” Chloe groans painfully. She looks down and can only see blue. The asshole landed on her breasts. Great! Besides getting run over by the asshole, she still has his stupid face buried in her breasts. Simply amazing! God damn her luck. Extremely annoyed Chloe glares at the idiot, nearly poking a hole in his head with her sharp gaze and yells, "Can you get your stupid face off my tits?!"

The person lifts his head and looks at her shocked. Chloe isn't in a different state, as the last person she thought she'd find looking at her like a wide-eyed idiot is Luka Couffaine. But she should have guessed by the stupid blue hair. But well, she'd just been run over and knocked down by the damn punk and wasn't exactly at her best.

"You!" the two exclaim at the same time annoyed.

While around several people exclaim and ask:

“Chloe?!”

“Are you all right?!”

“Bourgeois?”

"Luka!"

“Did they hurt?!”

“Oh, that must have hurt.”

Chloe doesn't pay attention to the others and looks into the stupid, intense, beautiful eyes of the blue haired boy above her. Not good for her fantasies that image. Control yourself, Bourgeois! This is not the time to think these things! She raises an angry eyebrow at Couffaine and he frowns at her.

“Are you going to get off of me or are you going to keep your stupid face buried in my boobs a little longer?!” she asks again through gritted teeth. By the end of that ordeal, she will have had an aneurysm.

“W-what?! Yea! N-no, I mean y-yes, n-no -” The smurf stutters as he turns into a tomato. Chloe's cheeks also flush with irritation and embarrassment. She closes her eyes taking a deep breath and asking any higher being for patience so that she can go through this ordeal with at least some of her dignity intact. "S-sorry, I'm sorry I-"

Luka continues to stutter and doesn't move an inch off her. He just sits there, babbling and stuttering unintelligible things, writhing like an epileptic worm. Annoyed Chloe in one quick motion flips them over and now she's the one on top of Luka, straddling his hips. Anansi would be proud of her for that move if she saw her now.

There is! Look at this Nora! Tell me now that I'm a featherweight who can't take anyone down, she thinks proudly. Her back complains and she whimpers.

“Aaaaw, argh fuck! I think you hit me a kidney.” Chloe complains rubbing the sore spot on her back and groaning at the sharp pain there. “It will definitely leave a bruise. I'm going to be all purple! And the fault is all your idiot. Don't watch where you're going?!"

Annoyed, the blonde scolds the blue-haired boy and looks at him with a deadly glint in her eyes. Luka shudders and cringes a little, but then frowns in annoyance and snaps back.

"I didn't see you, I was playing and my back was to you spoiled brat!" annoyed Luka responds, scowling at the Bourgeois standing over him. "And did I apologize, or are you deaf?"

“I don't care if you were on your back you arrogant! You dropped me!” Chloe screams back. "And your pathetic, stammering excuses that I couldn't understand half of what you said don't count!"

Chloe clenches her hands into fists and glares at Couffaine. She wants to kill him, wants to wrap her small hands around his thick neck and smother his useless life out of his hot body. Dammit! I can't even angrily stop thinking about how beautiful he is. Control yourself, don't be offered you hate him and your perfect body too!

"It's a pity because they're the only excuses you'll get from me, queen." With an arrogant smile Luka mocks the blonde's face, bringing his face closer to hers to look her in the eyes. She's beautiful, he can't help but think.

What? No Couffaine, don't think that! Not about her, who is currently all over you. Your glorious body and beauty all over you. Holy shit! She fits perfectly on his hips, her ass round and perfect over very sensitive parts of him. And yes, Luka has already looked at Bourgeois' ass. More times than he'd like to admit. At school (now that he studies with them, in the same room.), in music classes and even if he sees her passing on the street. It's not his fault she has a beautiful, perfect ass. Bad, bad thoughts Luka stop!

“Coming from you, I should really expect this. I think it's not just your clothes you found in the trash, your education too!” Chloe responds annoyed and offended, her cheeks getting even redder in anger and frustration.

"Look who's talking, Queen of Education Chloe Bourgeois!" Luka exclaims sarcastically. “You amuse me so much, little princess.”

They continue arguing, Chloe still sitting on top of Luka. And everyone can only observe shocked and surprised at the interaction between the musician and Bourgeois. No one moving to separate them as they are very stupefied by the situation.

And also because they want to know how this totally unexpected and strange interaction between the musician and the little princess of Paris will end.


                             ♡~♡                             


Alya bets ten euros that Chloe will punch Luka at the end of it all. The girl has changed a bit in the last month, wearing different clothes, more sophisticated and sexy and of course still very expensive and pretty. Obviously, she's Chloe Bourgeois and would never wear anything cheap and off-brand. The girl can change, but not that much. She has to admit, the girl might be a cruel bitch but she's beautiful and dresses really well.

Which just makes it all the more irritating.

Chloe is a girl to be envied because of her beauty and style. Always in stylish, branded clothes, parading around in her expensive heels and killer confidence. But her personality is not the best, she is a bad bitch. Though her attitudes had changed a bit in the last few weeks from what Alya could tell.

The blonde is less boring and cruel, she no longer seems interested in making everyone's lives hell. She's still Chloe, but less insufferable and mean. Still cruelly sincere and not sparing dry and cutting words when telling you the truth. But she's also a little kinder, saying thank you and asking please every now and then. Not to mention that she is no longer treating Sabrina as her slave and being truly friends with the girl.

  Which left everyone shocked, including her.

It can be said that Bourgeois is minding its own business and not caring about anyone else. Not her opinions or anything. Alya doesn't know the reason for the change or fully trusts it, but she'll keep an eye out. But one thing she is sure of is that Chloe Bourgeois and Luka Couffaine hate each other.

The two didn't get along well from the first time they spoke and they constantly argue. And as a future journalist and blogger, she can't help but be interested in their interactions. Alya turns her attention to the situation with the blonde's scream of:

"You're an idiot!"


                                ♡~♡                              


"I won't apologize again!"

Chloe and Luka continue arguing. He is so irritating!

"You bastard guy-"

“Chloe?”

Someone calls her name and Chloe looks around to see who it was. Repairing for the first time the audience they have. Everyone in her class at school, along with Graham and her sister Zoé.

But it was none of them who called her. She looks around and beside them and for the second time that day she meets Damian's electric blue eyes.

“H-hi, Damian.” She stammers embarrassed. It was just what it took to make her humiliation complete. Fuck universe you hate me?!

"What's happening? Are you okay? Is that your boyfriend?” the pink haired boy asks curious and worried. He heard a commotion and when he went to investigate he found his dance partner straddling a boy with blue locks.

“W-what?” Chloe asks confused.

  She looks at Damian who is looking at her with a raised eyebrow and then looks at Luka who is frowning at Damian. And then Chloe finally realizes she's still on top of Couffaine, in a very compromising position.

  Her cheeks heat up and she's sure she must have turned into a tomato. If only he were so lucky. But no, miracles like that don't exist.

Quickly and with the grace of an elephant, she got off the Couffaine and stood up.

"NO! He's not my boyfriend. Not even!" She exclaims in bewilderment, shaking her head incessantly.

Damian looks at her amused and a bit skeptical, raising an eyebrow at the blonde. "Are you sure? You two seemed a little…intimate.”

The pink haired boy answers with a teasing smile. Some of the other viewers laugh as they see the blonde's eyes widen even more and she turn redder than she already was. What no one thought possible. Chloe sure just found a new shade of red.

Why doesn't the ground open up and swallow her?! That way she would avoid this humiliation!

"You're wrong! Hugely wrong!” Chloe exclaims again annoyed and embarrassed. “Me and Couffaine? Together? Pffffs! Ridiculous, totally ridiculous. We hate each other.”

"Are you sure?"

"Yea! Absolutely sure." Answers furiously. “B-but what are you doing here?”

Chloe tries to change the subject. She won't keep talking about her and Couffaine and their ridiculous situation.

“I was just walking around, getting to know the city since I'm new here and I don't know much, you know.” Damian responds softly. "I was walking through the park and I saw a mess and I decided to investigate and find out what was going on, and I ended up meeting you and your boyfriend."

“He is NOT my boyfriend!” Chloe screams in frustration, startling Damian and a few others.

"Not even. I would never date such an irritating girl." Luka joins the conversation after getting up. He looks at the pink haired guy with narrowed eyes and sees how he looks at the blonde with interest. Luka didn't like that guy. No, the idiot thinking he and the blonde are together? Never.

“Humph! You'd be very lucky if a girl like me even looked at you, Couffaine." Chloe scoffs offended. Who does the idiot think he is to reject her? Stupid punk, she's the one who'd never look at him.

Liar, you look at him. Much. Your mind readily supplies.

Shut up stupid brain! That's beside the point. The important thing here is that Chloe Bourgeois would never date Luka Couffaine!

Dating maybe not, but what about other things?

Chloe decides to ignore her traitorous mind when she hears Luka respond.

"Luck? You mean unlucky, right? Why can't I think of anything worse." Luka says looking into Bourgeois' sapphire eyes and controls himself not to blush at the blonde's beauty. Do not!

“Fuck you!”

"Not before you, princess."

"You motherfucker stu-"

“Chloe, what do you think about us going for coffee together?” Damian asks, catching the attention of the irritated little blonde who was about to lunge at the blue haired boy, Luka, if he heard right. Redirecting her focus to him and preventing her and the brunette from continuing to argue. “I don't know many people, or the city. But I know you, kind of, it would be nice to go out with someone who can show me more of Paris. We can also get to know each other better, we can't always talk the times we meet.”

Damian looks at the beautiful blonde girl in front of him with a coquettish smile, wishing very much that she would accept his invitation. Chloe seems to be a nice person, although she seems to have a temper, as well as being beautiful. She must be one of the prettiest girls he's ever seen. He'd like to get to know her better.

With the final words and the way Damian looks at Bourgeois, Luka, Adrien, Félix and Kim narrow their eyes at the pink haired boy and look at him suspiciously and irritated. What the hell does this guy want with Chloe? they ask themselves.

“Oh, of course!” Chloe answers and checks her cell clock at the time. "But I only have an hour until my kickboxer class starts."

“Is Chloe taking kickboxer lessons?” Marinette asks Alya surprised and curious.

“Apparently, yes, friend. Nora is the one who teaches her, she said to me these days. She asked me if we were friends, I almost died choking on my coffee.” Alya whispers back to the friend next to her.

“What a thing, no? Who knew, would never imagine Chloe doing something like this.” The black haired girl comments.

"Yea. I just hope she isn't planning anything with it.” Alya responds and Marinette nods in agreement. The two turn their attention to the conversation between the blonde and the unknown boy.

“Of course, I think an hour will be enough. For today." Damian winks at the blonde.

  Chloe blushes and starts gathering her things. As the two are about to leave someone calls her name. She turns to find Félix Graham looking at her.

What the hell does he want?

Notes:

I really enjoyed writing this chapter. I haven't written anything these last few weeks! I just revised and modified what I have already written. I'm kind of uninspired, but I hope to be able to write more and not leave the fanfic unfinished. We'll see. The days are passing faster and faster and it seems like I just blink and it's already the next day. I pick it up to write and read a couple of chapters beforehand to get the momentum going and when I see it I fell asleep and didn't write anything. But I'm determined to keep going and hope to be able to write a little bit this week.
That's it for today, folks. See you next time!
Comment what you think of the chapter, comments are love and tell me if you like the story or not and that motivates and inspires me to continue.

Chapter 4

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Chloe looks to Felix and waits for him to say something.

"What the hell do you want Graham?" she asks irritably when the idiot blonde says nothing. "I don't have all day."

“I see you are still as irritating as ever, Bourgeois.” Félix comments with the blue-eyed girl's words.

“You know what, I'm leaving! I don't have to sit here and listen to you speak ill of me.” Chloe says and turns to leave. Fucking cocky, she thinks furiously.

Félix grabs the blonde's wrist and prevents her from going. Chloe looks at him confused and irritated. Cheeks burning with anger.

"Sorry, don't go." Félix's emerald eyes beg, which surprises her. "I wanted to ask you something."

“So spits it out and stop stalling! I told you I don’t have all day.” Chloe rips her hand out of Felix's grip. She won't fall for Graham's soft eyes, not at all. She knows him, he doesn't like her, and he's a master at deception.

She hasn't forgotten the last time Félix was in Paris and how he'd called her unbearable and irritating when he pretended to be Adrien.

“I just…” Félix hesitates for a second. “I wonder if you would like to go to lunch with me tomorrow?”

Chloe's eyes widen at the question. Is Felix inviting her to lunch? Why? He doesn't like her, he's always liked to annoy her and in recent years he's always made a point of staying away from her when he comes to Paris. She narrows her eyes suspiciously at the blond boy in front of her.

"What you want?" she asks him bluntly. He sure wants something, she knows Felix, he's not nice and kind just for being. No more. Don't scratch that, he never did anything if he wasn't seeking something in return. And when it came to her, he'd always loved making a fool of her. He must be up to something and Chloe will find out what. And she won't let him get her into trouble and trick her. Not even.

"What? Nothing, I want nothing.” Felix answers confused. “Well, just that you agree to have lunch with me. You know for old times' sake, in the name of our friendship."

"Our friendship? What friendship Felix?!” Chloe asks in disbelief and annoyed. "You never liked me! Always pulled my hair, ruined my toys and irritated me. The two of us just irritated each other!”

"Yes, we always teased each other, but we were still friends despite everything." Félix responds with a charming smile. Chloe's eyes narrow even further. “You know I've never been very good at socializing with people, that's always been Adrien's thing. But I always considered us friends, Bourgeois.”

She raises an eyebrow at him and looks at him skeptically. “Last time you were here, you called me annoying and unbearable.” Chloe says and looks at the small smile that tugs at the corner of Graham's lips. “Or you forgot what you said when you did that pretending to be Adrien act of yours. Again."

Felix laughs. The idiot, he is unbearable. “Oh, that. And I lied?”

"No. But that doesn't mean I like you rubbing it in my face! Or fool me, you arrogant idiot.”

“It's not my fault you fell like a duckling, Bourgeois. And I thought you had already become an expert at distinguishing between me and Adrien whenever we switched places.” He scoffs and Chloe growls at him.

“I was taken by surprise! I didn't even know you were in Paris. Not to mention that by video it is different from in person.” She explains herself by losing patience with the haughty blonde.

"Say what you will, but we both know this happened because I am a master of illusion." Arrogantly, Felix brags. Chloe rolls her eyes and not far away Adrien rolls his eyes as well, while his friends seethe with rage at the blonde bragging about having tricked them.

"You know, you're not convincing me to go out with you."

"Alright, sorry for pointing out how annoying and unbearable you still are Chloe." Félix mockingly excuses himself and smiles at her. So she punches his arm. “There, gross. Why the hell did you hit me?”

"For being an idiot." Chloe responds, smiling without showing her teeth, proud to see him rubbing his sore arm with a grimace of pain. "I'm leaving and I don't accept your invitation."

"No! No, please." Félix prevents her from leaving again. “Seriously now, Bourgeois. I know I was an idiot and I already apologized to Adrien and now I'd like to apologize to you too. You and Adrien are important to me, you were always with me when we were little. Or have you forgotten everything we went through together, the three of us?”

"No, I haven't forgotten."

“I was an idiot and I want to make up for it. I want to resume our friendship, I want a chance to show you that I'm sorry for my actions." Felix says sincerely, looking into Chloe's sky blue eyes. “I don't think you've forgotten about our friendship and how much we cared for each other. If you had forgotten, you wouldn't be wearing this.”

Felix says and reaches for Chloe's necklace, taking the golden sunflower that rested on the girl's collarbone in her hand. He opens the sunflower, separating it into two parts, revealing a silver plate inside with writing and reading: “You Are My Sunshine.”

“You kept it and still use it.” Felix comments while running his thumb over the writing. “Do you even remember what is written on the back?”

Chloe lifts her head from looking at the pendant and looks into Graham's green eyes and nods in confirmation.

“For the girl who brightens our days. Love, Adrien and Felix.” Chloe, Félix and Adrien quote the phrase at the same time. Félix turns over the pendant and finds it there, just as they said.

Chloe swallows hard and holds back the tears. Her eyes are tingling and her throat is closing with the hints of tears. She wants to cry. But she won't, she's stronger than that.

“It was my and Adrien's Christmas present to you. On my penultimate Christmas here before I moved to London. Our moms took us shopping for their gift and when we saw this necklace, both Adrien and I knew it would be perfect for our best friend.” Félix says smiling softly at the necklace. “So please Chloe, just give me a chance. Let me earn your trust and friendship again. Now that I'm staying here in Paris for a while, it can be the three of us together again. Me, you and Adrien. The three Musketeers. Friends Forever Remember?”

Félix looks at Chloe and shows her pinky. Their promise. They would always be friends and be there for each other.

Chloe's throat constricts and she swallows the lump that formed there. A few tears escape her eyes and she looks away.

"I-me and Adrien aren't friends anymore." She responds sadly and quickly wipes the tears from her cheeks.

"Oh!" Félix exclaims and looks away from the sad girl in front of him to look at his cousin with narrowed eyes. Adrien's head is down and his face is sad too. Félix knows that Adrien and Chloe were always closer than he and the blonde. He was never very good at dealing with people and Chloe always made him nervous and irritated. The two always irritated each other and grew up that way. Being very similar, they always ended up having a lot of disagreements. The two learned to deal with each other's ways and their friendship was based on fights, pranks and insults. But deep down Felix liked Bourgeois, well, before she became a copy of his mother.

“I see, that's one more reason to fix our friendship. That way we still keep two of the musketeers together.” Félix answers and smiles at the blonde. “What do you say to me Bourgeois? Will you come to lunch with me tomorrow and give me the chance to be your friend again?”

Chloe bites her lip in thought. She's torn, Félix seems sincere but she still thinks he might be planning something. He's very good at deceiving people and she doesn't want to fall into his traps. But he seems to be sincere, so if he's telling the truth she doesn't want to miss the chance to keep one of the only people who was there for her when she was little.

"I still think you're up to something and up to no good." Chloe replies looking suspiciously at Félix. “But it's okay, I'll take it. I'll find out if you're up to anything anyway. And it's better to have you around for that.”

“So distrustful, Bourgeois. You hurt my feelings.” Félix scoffs with a hand on his chest.

Chloe laughs sarcastically. "You don't have feelings." She mocks. “See you tomorrow at two o'clock, don't be late to pick me up and pick a good place to take me. Don't disappoint, Graham."

“This is not a date, Bourgeois. It's just a lunch with friends.” Felix clarifies. He doesn't want to give the girl the wrong impression. “And I never disappoint.”

Chloe looks at him coquettishly and smiles sweetly, getting very close to the blonde, amused to see the emerald eyed boy blush and get nervous at her proximity. Oh, so he's affected by her. Good to know.

"I know, just friends." Chloe responds softly, looking up at him from under her eyelashes. “And well, we'll see if you're not a disappointment, Graham. Goodbye."

With that Chloe kisses Felix on the cheek just to stun him and turns to leave. She laughs wickedly to herself at the startled, gaping gaze of the green-eyed boy and bites her lower lip to hold back the laugh that wants to escape her. This time no one stops her from leaving and she and Damian head out of the park.

All the while a certain blue-haired boy watched the interaction between Bourgeois and Graham with a certain bitterness. Telling himself it was because he couldn't stand them both, Chloe for everything she's done to her sister and her friends and Félix for tricking them all by pretending to be Adrien. And not for the strange attraction he felt for the sapphire-blue-eyed blonde.

 

                                ♡~♡ 

 

 

“What just happened here?” Alya asks what everyone there was wondering. “Luka and Chloe discuss again, which shouldn't surprise us anymore. But for some reason it still does. And you, Félix, asking spoiled Bourgeois out?”

Adrien looks at his cousin, as does everyone else. He can't deny it, he's as surprised as everyone else by his cousin's attitude. He didn't expect this of him. Usually when he comes to Paris, Félix doesn't make a point of knowing about Chloe. In fact it's the opposite, he always tries to stay as far away from her as possible.

Felix and Chloe were never very close, not like him and the blonde at least. His cousin and his best friend had always fought and teased each other. Their friendship was based on that. Adrien knows that when they were younger Felix had feelings for Bourgeois, but that's been over for years since the other blonde went to London. So yes, he was very confused when his cousin asked the blonde girl out.

But maybe her feelings for her have returned? He can't deny it, Chloe is a very pretty girl. She always was. Adrien is not blind, he can see when a girl is beautiful and admire it, with Chloe it is no different. He grew up with her and saw her go from a cute and sweet kid to a very beautiful and wicked teenager.

And in the last few weeks, since her wardrobe change and a bit of her antagonistic attitude waning, Chloe has been looking more beautiful than ever. She has left her simpler clothes that she normally wears behind and is dressing sexier, bolder and more sophisticated. And that only highlighted the beauty of Bourgeois even more. Her best friend is at her best and is really going from being a little girl to being an extremely attractive woman.

Which catches everyone's attention, especially the boys. And contrary to what many might think, Adrien is not indifferent to Bourgeois' beauty. Not really. He doesn't have romantic feelings for the blonde, but he can't deny that she's attractive or lie that he's never been intimidated and attracted to his best friend's beauty. It's really shocking to wake up one day and realize that your best friend is no longer a little girl but a woman, almost. Very pretty and attractive that manages to mess with your head and make you have thoughts that no boy should have for the girl who is practically a sister to you.

The problem with Chloé was never her appearance, but her personality and way of acting. Her personality is difficult and she is not an easy person to deal with, but deep down she is good. She just doesn't show it that much. And in the last few years she's gotten really cruel and mean, treating everyone like they're inferior to her. This was something Adrien couldn't believe his best friend was doing and couldn't accept when she refused to change.

It hurt him to have to end his friendship with Chloe. They have known each other and have been friends all their lives, he cares a lot about her. But the way she was acting and treating others was unacceptable. He couldn't continue to be friends with someone like that.

"It's none of your business!" Félix coldly responds, snapping Adrien out of his thoughts.

“Felix! Don't be rude.” He scolds the cousin who only rolls his eyes at him. "Alya only asked one question, you didn't have to be rude."

“Don't worry Adrien, coming from him was already to be expected. He was never very nice to either of us, if we remember how he treated us in that video where he pretended to be you.” Alya responds by looking daggers in Felix's direction. “I see that you and Bourgeois are very similar. You two sure deserve each other. Two insufferable and unpleasant people that no one likes!”

“And I should care about your opinion why?” Felix asks mockingly. “I don't care what you and your little friends think of me. So save your sermons and damning words for another.”

“You are really hateful!” Marinette exclaims to him. “How can he be related to Adrien?!”

Marinette is so cute, such a good friend always defending everyone. He's lucky to have her as a friend.

“I will not respond to that. You're not worth it.” With that, Félix leaves and heads towards the car where Gorilla is waiting for them.

"Sorry guys, Félix is very antisocial and doesn't know how to deal with people." He apologizes for his cousin's rude and rude attitude.

“He is very hateful and idiotic you mean right?!” Alya exclaims annoyed, rolling her eyes.

“No need to apologize Adrien.” Luka says with a soft smile and puts a hand on his shoulder and squeezes. "You are not to blame for his actions."

“Yes, dude!” Nino also comes to her side and slaps her on the back. "It's not your fault your cousin is a complete idiot."

Everyone agrees with Luka and Nino's words and Adrien smiles gratefully. But he's still going to have a conversation with his cousin.

“Thank you, you are amazing friends.” He says and before he can go on he hears his car horn. He looks in the direction where he's parked and sees Felix looking at him impatiently and Gorilla in front with his usual straight face. "I have to go, I have piano lessons."

All his friends say goodbye to him, some say how much they wanted him to stay, especially Marinette. But in the end everyone understands he has to go. He's so lucky to have found friends so understanding.

Adrien walks towards the car and gets in. Félix looks at him with a sour face, but still doesn't say anything. After buckling his seat belt and Gorilla leaving for the Agreste mansion, he decides to talk to his cousin about his attitudes towards his friends.

“Félix, you were very rude earlier. You shouldn't have spoken to Alya that way. They are my friends and I would like you to respect and get along with them. Especially now that you're going to be in Paris for a while.”

"I'm sorry cousin, but I don't want to have anything to do with your friends." Felix responds coldly. "I don't know what you see in them to be friends with them."

“They are nice, fun, kind and treat me really well. They are amazing friends and I really like them.” Adrien answers. “You will study with most of them, you should try to get along with them.”

“I prefer not.”

“Félix, you can't walk away from everyone! You should make friends, go out with other people, and for that you need to be kinder.” He says, trying to make his cousin see that he can't keep everyone away forever.

"No thanks." Félix responds emotionlessly and Adrien throws his arms up in defeat.

Adrien has always thought that Félix needs to be more sociable. That he should meet people, make friends and not spend so much time alone reading. Adrien loves making friends and socializing with other people and for years he was prevented from doing that. He is still held back somewhat, as his father rarely lets him hang out with his friends. Or from home.

He's only allowed to go out if it's going to school, photo shoots, events or anywhere his dad wants him to go. If he weren't Chat Noir, Adrien would rarely leave the house. Being the bearer of the black cat miraculous was the best thing that ever happened to him.

As Chat Noir, he gets the freedom he never had. The freedom to be himself, with no strings attached or reputation to think about. Without the pressure of being the 'perfect boy' that everyone thinks he is. They want him to be.

He can be a hero, helping people and fighting villains. What boy never dreamed of being this? Having the freedom and power to make a difference. It's not easy, it's hard and thankless work but it's still worth it. It's worth knowing that he brings hope to many people, worth being able to be your true self without fear of what others will say. Without being judged. It's worth having moments of freedom to be whoever he wants to be.

Being Chat Noir he met his Lady, the strong, determined, kind and amazing girl he fell in love with. Although she doesn't reciprocate his feelings. But he doesn't blame her for that, you can't command the heart. Just as he can't help but love Ladybug, she can't forget her love for the boy she likes either. But he still hasn't given up on conquering her, he won't pressure her to be with him, obviously, but he thinks he can show her how amazing and cool he is. Prove that her feelings for her are true and who knows, maybe at some point she'll choose him? If not, he will have to accept that he will never have his lady's love and will have to try to find love elsewhere.

Like Adrien he has a million girls (and boys) after him. Many would give anything for a chance to call Adrien Agreste their boyfriend. But all these people only see the rich and famous model, not Adrien. They don't really know him, only what they see in magazines and the internet. They don't know that he has a very silly side, which loves jokes and puns. That if he sees a pretty girl he will flirt and play with her, he does it like Chat because like Adrien he can't do anything.

Being Adrien Agreste 'the model' is always stressful, difficult and suffocating. But to be Adrien "the Chat Noir", is to be free, is to be himself, is to jump across the roofs of Paris at night, is to fight villains, is to joke and make jokes, is to flirt without fear of breaking a poor girl's heart. And that's what makes him love being a superhero so much.

"I'd like to know something cousin." Félix's voice snaps Adrien out of his thoughts. He looks at his cousin and sees him already looking at him.

“Yes, what is this?”

"What happened between you and Chloe?" Félix asks when he's sure his cousin's full attention is on him. It's been bothering him since Bourgeois commented that they're not friends anymore. It surprised him to hear that, he never thought he'd see the day when his cousin left his friendship with the blonde behind.

“Oh, this. Well,” Adrien sighs, of course Felix was going to ask him about it. What can it say? I think the truth. “Chloe is no longer the girl we knew as a child. The sweet, fluffy girl who was our best friend.”

"Just now you've come to realize this?" Félix asks with derision. It's pretty obvious to him that Bourgeois is no longer the little girl they remember. But her cousin was never the smartest or most observant person.

“I'm saying she's cruel, dismissive, rude and selfish. And it's okay, she's always been a little like that. But now she is a thousand times worse, the sweetness, the kindness and the care she had is gone. Looks like there's nothing left of the sweet, kind, worried little girl she once was." Adrien says sadly remembering how his best friend once was. “She mistreats, snubs and thinks she's superior to everyone, humiliates and hurts others for her own good and interest and is a bully. She bullies and has turned into a totally horrible person. She looks more like her mother than ever.”

"Oh, I see." Félix comments without showing any emotion. “Is that why you stopped being friends with her?”

"Yea. I tried to help her, I told her she had to be nicer. That she couldn't treat others like she was doing and that if she continued like this we couldn't be friends anymore." He explains to cousin. “But she hasn't changed. She threw a party, changed her attitude for two minutes to make me happy, and then stayed the same. There came a moment when I couldn't take it anymore and I said we couldn't be friends anymore. She was akumatized after that, I tried to talk to her afterwards but she wouldn't listen. If she's not going to change, it's best that we're not friends anymore. I don't like to see her hurting the people I care about and I won't accept that."

"So that's why you threw away a friendship of a lifetime?" asks Félix, looking at his cousin with an arched brow.

Adrien looks at the other blonde in shock. Felix didn't hear anything he said!?

“What did you want me to do? Continue to let her mistreat everyone? That I allow her to continue humiliating and hurting my friends and still be her friend? No! I can't. I told her if she didn't change we wouldn't be friends anymore, she hasn't and I kept my word." He answers simply. He's upset his cousin doesn't understand his attitude.

“You could've helped her.” Félix simply says, as if it were the simplest thing in the world.

"But I tried, I said-"

"No!" Félix coldly interrupts before he can say more. “You didn't help her. You subpoenaed and threatened her.”

“I didn't do it!” he exclaims upset and shocked by his cousin's words.

"No?" Félix asks scornfully. “You told her you two couldn't be friends if she didn't change. Said she should be kinder and nicer to other people. This isn't helping, it's threatening. You used the affection and friendship that Chloe has for you to change her. You subpoenaed her saying that if she didn't get better and was a better person you wouldn't be friends with her anymore.”

"But I-"

“If you wanted to help her, you should have talked to her to find out why she was doing it and then help her to be better and treat people better.” Felix interrupts again. “Changing attitudes that one has had for a long time is not easy, Adrien. Never that overnight Chloe would change into a sweet, kind, respectful girl just because you wanted to. Habits are hard to break.”

Adrien thinks over his cousin's words. Maybe Félix is right and he didn't handle it all as well as he should have. But he still thinks that Chloe's actions were very bad and he couldn't just sit back and watch and do nothing about it.

“You might be right in saying that I didn't handle the situation the best way. But Chloe crossed the line with her mean attitude, I couldn't continue to be friends with her with her acting like that anymore.” He answers his cousin with sincerity and sadness.

"I understand. But you know Chloe always did everything she could to get her mother's approval and love. And that Audrey never cared and only paid attention to her daughter when the girl was as awful as she was. Can you really blame her for acting the way she's been taught to act? Can you blame her for seeking her mother's love and affection, by any means possible, when you also have a complicated relationship with your father?” Felix asks.

"I don't know."

“You and I are two of the people who most know how much Chloe has suffered from her mother's abandonment and rejection. The two of us, you more than me, were the ones who comforted her every time she cried herself to sleep because her mother didn't care about her, for never calling or even remembering her name or birthday. She had always craved Audrey's affection and acceptance, it's not surprising that she has become just like that insufferable woman. That was one of the reasons I walked away from her.” Felix says. Reminding Adrien of many childhood memories of the three. Mostly from a crying Chloe and sad that her mother doesn't love her.

It was one of those times, a few months after Audrey went to New York and abandoned her daughter for years, that he gave her Mr. Cuddly. He wanted to cheer Chloe up, so her mother took him to buy her a gift. When he saw the yellow teddy bear with black stripes on its belly, Adrien knew it was perfect for his best friend.

He has a lot to think about what Félix said, about Chloe and their friendship and all. He doesn't know what to do, doesn't know if she would want to talk to him. From what he's seen today, she's already got another boy to replace him and be her best friend. Adrien will have to keep an eye on that boy, despite cutting his friendship with Chloé he doesn't want her to get hurt. Especially with some stupid kid who just wants to take advantage of him and make her suffer. Then he'll be alert about that pink haired boy and his intentions with Chloé. Or maybe Félix will take his place in the blonde's life, as he wants to rekindle their friendship and they've known each other forever. A little bitterness can't help but seep into him for that. May he easily be replaced in the blonde's life.

Adrien is also afraid that if he approaches the blonde again, it will make her go back to her old self. In the last few weeks she is no longer being so mean and cruel to everyone, she is no longer humiliating and mistreating everyone all the time and for no reason, and he doesn't want her to lose all that progress because of him. He doesn't know the reason for her change in attitude, whether it was really losing their friendship or something else. But he could see in a few moments the old Chloe back and it made him very happy. He doesn't want to spoil this for the girl.

Suddenly Adrien has an idea. Maybe he can't approach Chloe like Adrien, but like Chat Noir he can. She wouldn't know it's him and maybe that would make her open up about her issues. And well, Chat is a hero. He helps people and could help Chloe to be a better person and treat others with respect and kindness.

Yes, that's what he will do. He'll pay his best friend a visit as his feline alter ego and try to understand and help her if he can.

Notes:

And that's chapter four! I hope you enjoyed it. Comment and say what you think, I like to interact with you and know what you think of the story.

I didn't write as much as I'd like, but I did write about eight thousand words and went on another chapter and a half. Inspiration has relapsed, but I'm writing when I can and inspiration hits. I have a lot of things planned for the story and I really want to not give up before writing them.

Speaking of the chapter, we had a little Felix and Adrien. Tell me what you think of Félix's intentions? Are they true or is he deceiving Bourgeois? What about Adrian? Has our golden boy even faltered in dealing with his childhood best friend and her attitudes or not? We will have Chat Noir visiting the blonde at some point. How will this interaction be? Let me know what you think, I'm looking forward to hearing your opinions.

And that's the necklace Chloé is wearing.

Chapter 5

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

 

“Your friends seem to be nice, although some are weird.” Damian comments as they walk. "Your boyfriend couldn't stop scowling at me and the blonde who was talking to you."

“He's not my boyfriend! I told you, Luka and I would never date. We hate. He's also already made it clear to you that he wouldn't date someone like me." Chloe responds and looks at the boy next to her annoyed. Why the hell does he insist on this idea that Couffaine is her boyfriend?! Never!

“Well, fine. But the two of you seemed very close and a tension exuded from both of you.” Damian shrugs.

“That's because the idiot ran me over and knocked me to the ground with everything. I'm all sore!” she says and rubs her back with a dramatic but true groan. She's all sore! “And all this tension you saw was hate and anger. The stupid one knocked me down and still didn't even want to apologize and kept yelling at me, being that he was the one who was in the wrong. Stupid, poorly dressed punk.”

Damian laughs. "That's not the tension I was talking about."

"I don't know what you're talking about, but you're wrong." Chloe declares firmly.

“Ah, but I think you know what I'm talking about. But it's okay, I won't insist."

"That's good, because they don't have anything to say." Chloe says nodding in agreement to let the matter go.

“But just to let you know, my grandmother always told me the saying: 'Never say you won't drink from this water, for the next minute you'll be drowning in it.' Or 'Don't spit in the air, if you don't fall on your face.'” Damian comments amused at the girl's denial about not feeling anything for the blue haired boy. "You never know tomorrow Chloe so don't deny something so much because it might come back and bite you in the ass."

Chloe looks irritated and blushing at the boy next to her. She doesn't know what the hell he's trying to say, but he's wrong. There's nothing and there never will be anything between her and Luka Couffaine!

“This is ridiculous, totally ridiculous. And these sayings are also ridiculous. You and your grandma are wrong, this will never apply to me and that idiot blueberry.” she declares determined. “I feel nothing but hate and loathing for him.”

Liar! Her mind yells at her. Keep lying to everyone and yourself, Bourgeois. But deep down, we both know you're extremely drawn to everything about Luka Couffaine.

Shut up, traitorous mind!

"Fine, but if you later drown yourself from being madly in love with the 'blueberry', don't tell me I didn't warn you." Damian replies mockingly, making quotation marks around the word blueberry.

"You are ridiculous! That will never happen.” The boy laughs at the statement and Chloe continues to glare at him. "Where do you want to go?"

  She asks, changing the subject. She doesn't want to talk about Luka or anything stupid and totally impossible to happen between her and the rocker.

"I don't know, let's go somewhere quiet where we can have a coffee and talk." Damian answers. "I don't know anything about Paris, so I'll trust you to choose."

"Okay."

She takes him to a small cafe that is close to the boxer gym where she takes classes. The place has become one of her favorites since she started going there just over two weeks ago. She went there after one of her classes, desperately in need of something to eat and some drink, whatever, to give her some energy. The day had been very busy and her night would be no different, the little cafe was very close and she decided to take a chance. She loved it and it became one of her favorites.

After a few minutes of walking, where Chloe points out Damian several places and tells him more about Paris, the two arrive at the cafe. The property is one block from where the boxer gym is located. The cafe's name is 'Café de Tournesol', a quaint little place with its dark wood tables, yellow stools, fairy lights and brown, beige walls and sunflower wallpaper. The table centers are sunflowers and much of the decor is the same. The place is small and cozy, Chloe really likes it.

It's never crowded and it's always quiet and peaceful. She loves going there to draw while she waits for her class to start or after if she doesn't want to go to the hotel yet. Their coffee is delicious and they also have pastries that are very good. Not as good as the ones at Dupen-chang bakery, but still very good.

They enter, sit down and order. Chloe orders a black iced tea while Damian orders a cappuccino. The two stare at each other for a few seconds before Chloe decides to start the conversation.

"So, as the mayor's daughter, I think it's my duty to ask you... How do you like Paris so far?" she asks not sure how to begin the conversation. She hadn't socialized with many people besides Sabrina and Adrien before. She is not good at small talk.

Until a few weeks ago, Chloe would never have agreed to go out with Damian. In fact, she would never have even met him, as she wouldn't be taking dance lessons with him and all the other fellow dancers. Before, if she wanted to take dance lessons, she would have had her father hire the best dance instructor in Paris and would have taken private lessons alone at the hotel. This is something her mother would do, and that in itself was reason enough for Chloe to do the same.

  But now she wants to be more herself and wants to get out and stop doing everything just to please her mother. And so maybe she learns to socialize with people and maybe makes friends. Well, at least that's what her therapist says she should do. So she is trying, so far she is enjoying it.

"It's beautiful. The city, the culture, the art, the music, the food...well, everything.” Damian answers excitedly. "I haven't seen it all, it's only been two weeks since I got here, but from what I've seen so far, I really like it."

“Paris is amazing! The world's best city. But I'm biased to talk. I'm a proud Parisian and the mayor's daughter, so I'm not sure my opinion is the most credible. But I'm sure you'll like it a lot.”

"I believe so. I've traveled a lot in my life and so far Paris is turning into one of my favorite places. I hope more things keep me here than just food and art.” Damian replies smiling warmly at Chloe.

She smiles back at him, not knowing how to act. Was that a flirt? She's not sure. She's never been through this before, usually the guys who are interested in her are much more idiotic and direct in her flirtations and intentions. And she still has those who approach her solely because she is the mayor's daughter and rich. From these she keeps even further away than from the others. She doesn't want people around her out of interest.

For a while in her life she was happy to just get the flattery and attention from other people, not caring that they didn't like her but what she could offer them. But that veil fell from her eyes a long time ago and she prefers to be with people who truly want to be with her. Which are basically none these days, except Sabrina.

“Do you travel much then? I never left Paris much, but I want to see other places in the world.” She decides to focus on something she can work on from what he said and not on the uncertainty of whether or not he flirted with her.

“Yes, look. My parents are archeologists and historians, this requires them to travel a lot. And they love it, it's the part they love most about their job. Go to different cities and countries and excavate and uncover their long lost and buried history. So from a very young age I'm jumping from country to country, city to city.” Damian answers. Their order arrives and Chloe thanks it, waiting for the waitress to leave to continue their conversation.

“That's cool. It must be wonderful to be able to travel the world and discover so many places and their stories.” She comments in wonder. Chloe has always wanted to see other places in the world, a dream she shared with Adrien and Félix. They always promised that they would one day travel the world together. But they were just innocent children who didn't know what the future held for them.

“Well, yes it is wonderful. But when you're a kid or teenager who wants to socialize with other kids your age and make friends, it doesn't look so amazing anymore.” Damian says smiling sadly. “You're always the new guy, the one everyone teases for dying his hair or dancing ballet. You never have enough time to make friends, even if you stay in one place long enough to do so, whenever you do, you end up having to leave them to go to the next destination.”

"Oh," Chloe exclaims, not knowing how to respond to what he's said. She smiles awkwardly and looks at her tea and then back to Damian. “Looking at it that way, it's not so wonderful anymore. I think I'd rather just visit on vacation then.” She comments with a shy smile and an embarrassed shrug.

Damian laughs and shakes his head. “That would be the best option in my opinion.”

"So if your parents always leave, does that mean you won't be here long?" Chloe asks, expectant. She's seeing Damian as an opportunity for a new friend, without having the weight of her reputation and past evil deeds interfering. He's someone new and interesting, someone who can give her the chance to make friends and redeem herself without suspecting everything she does for fear of her freaking out at any moment. But if he isn't staying in Paris for a long time, it means that even if she befriends him, it won't be as lasting as she would like.

"Oh no! I'm really staying in Paris.” He answers quickly and Chloe smiles at him. “Like I said, jumping from place to place is hard, when you're a rebellious teenager angry at life it's even worse. You end up being affected in some parts of your life, like school, your grades go down, you mess with the wrong people and you do a lot more than your parents accept. I flunked last school year and was about to go down the same path this year. I managed to save myself a little, but I'll have to work hard these last few months to pass. And that's why my parents sent me to live with my grandparents, uncles to be exact, since my grandparents live on a flower farm two hours from Paris, near Giverny. And my uncles run the family flower shop.”

"This is amazing!" Chloe exclaims excitedly then blushes at her burst of excitement and stutters. "I mean, not your grades and all your troubles, but you staying here."

"I also think. I look forward to seeing more of Paris and the people in it.”

“You'll love it, there's a lot of everything here, food, art, music, heroes and villains...” she comments, amused.

“Oh yes, I've seen these heroes in action. I must say I was impressed.” Damian says smiling. “But everyone here must be used to it.”

“Mhmm. After a while you get used to it. But it's still irritating at times." Chloé wrinkles her nose. A little sadness set in as she remembers she'll never be Queen Bee again. Who will never be a hero again, who will always be doomed to be the villain. “But so, flower farm? Seems interesting."

  Quickly she changes the subject, she doesn't want to open doors about her feelings about Paris' heroes or its villain. And she sure as hell doesn't want to talk about her role in those two aspects.

“Well yes, my mother's family owns Fleur De Nuit Floricultura, it's an old family business. My uncles run the shop here in Paris, while my grandparents run the farm where the flowers are grown.” Damian explains and Chloe is stunned.

"Oh my God, this is my favorite flower shop in Paris!" she exclaims excitedly, not believing in the coincidence. “It's where the hotel buys all the flowers and whenever I'm organizing a party, dance or any event that's where I buy the flowers or anything botanical. It’s always so fresh and beautiful.”

“I'm glad you like it, Miss Bourgeois. It's really an honor to have the mayor's daughter as a client.” Grinning Damian says and she smiles back and gives a half bow with her head. "But what about you tell me more about yourself."

With that, Chloe's smile disappears. She doesn't want to talk about herself. There's nothing good about her to say. If she tells him about her, Damian is sure to hate her just like everyone else. He seems to be such a nice boy and she doubts he would want to be friends with a girl as horrible as she is, someone who has mistreated and trampled on everyone. If even Adrien who has known her his whole life couldn't put up with the utterly despicable and unpleasant behavior she had, this nice and fun boy who barely knows her is sure not to accept it either and will distance himself from her. Like everyone else in her life eventually does.

Taking a deep breath, Chloe calms her racing heart and the fear inside her and decides to tell the truth.

“Well, I only have one friend, Sabrina. I used to have another friend, Adrien, but he doesn't want to be my friend anymore because-" she starts to tell, but Damian interrupts her.

"Wait! Do you only have one friend? But what about all those people in the park? I thought they were your friends.”

Chloe laughs, she can't help it. The surprised and confused face of the boy in front of her is a lot of fun. And her words also amuse her a lot.

“No, they're not my friends. In fact, it's the other way around, everyone hates me.” She explains a little sadly, not because they don't like her, she doesn't care. But because of how her attitudes drove everyone away from her to the point where she practically had no one. “Not that they have no reason to hate me. I've always been a cruel bitch to them. I humiliated, mistreated and trampled on them. I never cared about their feelings and made them suffer many times, I can't judge them for hating me and wanting nothing to do with me. This is usually what you get for being hostile and arrogant. Solitude. The problem is, I've only really noticed and cared about it now. And it's already too late.”

“I don't understand,” Damian says confused. “You seem like such a nice person, why would you do something like that?”

“You see, I, like you, have issues with my parents. Mostly my mom. She is a well-known fashion critic and the founder and CEO of Style Queen magazine. In my mom's life her reputation, career and work will always come first. Never his daughter, daughters, husband and family. She left me and left for New York when I was four and didn't come back for years. Not that she's been in Paris much before, she was always going back and forth. She would spend a few months in New York and then come back and spend a few weeks here.”

She explains to Damian how she's always been with her mother. What it's like to have her mother living in New York and Paris at the same time, so to speak.

“So your mother lived for years like this? A time here and a time there?” Damian asks interestedly.

"Yup. And when I was four she left and didn't come back for like three or four years. I barely spoke to her on the phone, she kind of didn't care that she had a daughter here who missed her and was suffering from her abandonment. Because of course for Audrey Bourgeois fame and her reputation would always come first, always be more important than anything else. Including me." Chloe says upset. “But when she came back, she wanted me to be like her, a horrible, authoritarian, cruel, unfeeling, selfish person. And I happily accepted, I wanted my mom to love me and stay with me and would do anything to make that happen. I wanted to make her proud and for that to happen I didn't care about being a horrible person, because in the end I would get my mother's love and for me that was worth losing everything else.”

Chloe says sadly. That's always been the truth behind her actions. In the end it always came down to her wanting her mother's love, making her proud and for her to never go away and abandon her. Not that that excuses her actions. Because it doesn't.

"I'm sorry. It must have been hard.” Damian says and takes one of Chloe's hands which is resting on the table and squeezes. She squeezes back and accepts his words of comfort, even though she hates the pity she sees shining in his eyes. She doesn't need or want anyone's pity. But she decides to let it go and say nothing. She doesn't want to scare the boy away when she's trying to be his friend. Being kinder and more humble are two of the things her psychologist says she has to practice being and that she shouldn't push people away over small things.

“It's life. I learned to handle my mother's indifference. I didn't give up trying to make her proud, but nothing worked. Never works. And when I lost the friendship of my oldest and best friend, Adrien, I realized I had to change a little bit.”

It's not easy for her to say such things. Opening up and telling someone how her relationship with her mom is bullshit and virtually non-existent. But it's good to vent and have someone who listens and doesn't judge. Maybe that's why she's opening up to Damian, because he's someone new in her life and it's easier to open up to him. She takes a deep breath and smiles sadly and hurt before continuing.

“I realized that if I continued to be horrible and still seek my mother's approval, which she will never give me, I would end up alone with no one. So I decided to improve my attitudes a little, I'm still not a very good person, I don't think I ever will be. But I'm trying not to be as horrible as I was before. It's hard, especially to fix all the wrong I've done. But my therapist says that little by little I'll make it, if I keep trying. So I'm trying to fix my pathetic, broken life. Trying to be more myself, a version that isn't obsessed with the approval of mom and other people." she says and smiles a truer smile this time.

“That's good. I'm happy for you." Damian smiles at the blonde and she graces him with a pretty smile in return. “But I must say that this Adrien is not really your friend. If he were, he would have helped you through your problems and become a better person. Not forsake you like he did. But what about your father? Do you have a better relationship than you do with your mother?” asks, interested in knowing more about the girl.

Damian's words about Adrien shock Chloe. She doesn't know what to think or say about it. Her friendship with Agreste has worn out a lot, it is no longer what it was when they were children. They grew and changed and so did their friendship.

But Adrien is someone very special and important in her life and she loves him. Losing him hurts her more than she lets on, hurts more than anyone could ever imagine. Even Adrian himself. So she won't talk about it yet and decides to only answer about her father. She and the Agreste is a very fresh and delicate subject to debate yet, the best she can do is not poke him and end up more devastated than she already is. Playing strong is hard enough without touching on topics that make her want to bury herself in her bed and cry for weeks. Her parents are something she is used to being let down by and is easier to deal with at the moment.

“Yes, my relationship with my dad is much better than the one with my mom. Not amazing and perfect, but good enough. Dad loves me but he doesn't have time for me. He tries, but being mayor and having the hotel to look after doesn't leave much time for me to spend.” she says, pausing and taking a deep breath through the feeling of helplessness that takes over her.

Damian nods, encouraging her to continue with the story.

“So he does everything I want. If I asked him for the moon, he would find a way to get it for me. I think he sees it as a way of making up for not being able to spend much time with me and for my mother not loving me. So he buys me everything I want and does everything I want. What in the end helped a lot to worsen my behavior and horrible way of being, made me think I was superior to everyone. A queen amongst commoners.” Chloe laughs in disgust. “But he was always like that, not only with me but also with my mother. He is an amazing father, but a little absent and neglectful.”

“This is quite a life story. His relationship with his parents is clearly worse than mine. All right, Miss Bourgeois, you win the 'Neglected Daughter' of the Year award." Not knowing what to say Damian comments, trying to make the beautiful girl in front of him smile. Then Chloe begins to laugh and he soon joins her. It worked.

He says that because he hasn't met Adrien and Uncle Gabe, she thinks amusedly. The way Gabriel treats Adrien, especially after Aunt Emilie disappeared makes a huge desire grow in her to punch the famous fashion designer's cold, emotionless face.

“Well now that you know about my sad, neglected rich girl story and how horrible and cruel I am, you might not want to be my friend. Surely there will be no shortage of people in Paris to tell you that I'm not a good person and that you should stay away from me. Might want to save the headache and leave now.” Chloe says with a smile, but completely serious in her words.

She's giving Damian the chance to jump ship now. She doesn't want to cling to him and then lose him. She prefers to spare herself the pain of losing another person she cares about. So it would be better if he walked away at this time when they weren't so close and spared her the pain of clinging to him and losing him.

He looks at her a little confused, but then a soft smile crosses her face. "I think I'll take a chance and see for myself." He answers and Chloe looks at him wide-eyed. “I like you Chloe and I'd like to be your friend. That's if you'll accept me.”

She looks at him a little surprised and blushing at his words and intense gaze, but still nods. “Okay. I think we are friends then.”

"Excellent!" Damian smiles. “It is truly an honor to be friends with such a beautiful, cool and talented girl like you Miss Bourgeois.”

She smiles and feels her cheeks get even hotter at the boy's words.

"And you're wrong you know?"

Chloe looks at Damian confused and asks "About what?"

"About it being too late." The pink haired boy answers softly. “It's never too late for anything. Chloe, it's never too late to try to be better and regret your actions. If you really want to do it, it's never too late to try."

“Easier said than done, you know.” She says, looking into Damian's bright blue eyes. “Sometimes I think it would be easier to stay the same as always, to continue to be the way I was taught to be my whole life. That it's not worth trying to find myself and be a better person. That Chloe Bourgeois will always be evil and there is no better or only version of myself. A version that is not corrupted. That maybe being a horrible, manipulative, despicable person is in my DNA and no matter how much I dig I will never find something good in me. Something worth saving.”

“Always worth being yourself Chloe. To be saved, to save yourself.” Damian responds smiling. “And I'm sure Chloe Bourgeois is well worth saving. Wherever she is buried inside you, she is worth every effort you make to save her. And I think you are closer to finding her than you think.”

Chloe smiles at the boy's words in front of her. "Thanks." She gratefully thanks. “I think you're the only one who thinks that. And you don't know me very well, otherwise you certainly wouldn't be saying this, but I'm still grateful."

The two laugh amused at her words.

  After that the two spend the rest of the time talking about their dance classes, their lives and family, she even tells about her sister and how she didn't even know she existed until recently and how their relationship isn't the best. Mostly her fault. When Chloe's class starts, Damian asks if he can accompany her as he is interested in boxer and she accepts.

After class Chloe calls her driver and drops Damian off at his house. The pink haired boy doesn't stop teasing her for the limousine, which earns him a punch in the arm for it. And he couldn't help but be impressed by the girl's strength, for someone so small, Chloe is very strong. He likes her a lot.

Chloe the entire way to the hotel has a big smile on her face. Alan not failing to notice and being very happy to see his lady so happy and excited. It's been a long time, years, since he's seen her like this and he's worked for the Bourgeois family since Chloe was a baby. Just like Jean.

Alan has known the girl forever and although he was fired many times, he was never actually, in fact, fired. And Chloe was always very lonely and hard to deal with. And the more she grew, the worse her attitudes and personality got. But it's hard for you to watch a little girl grow up and not become attached to her. Don't feel bad about her being ignored by the person who should love her. The mayor always loved and did everything for his daughter, but he never had time for the girl. So he and Jean tried to be there for her and in the end they started to love the little blonde like a daughter. And that only made them suffer even more to see her become their mother. A bitter, cruel, despicable and lonely person. But she seems to be getting better, he's getting to see more of the little girl she once was and he's so happy about it.

Upon arriving at the hotel, Chloe only thinks about taking a relaxing bath in her big bathtub and then eating something and resting. But when she enters, she comes across her mother, who wants to talk to her and demands that she have dinner with her family.

Apparently her day still hasn't ended as she thought it had.

Notes:

That was today's chapter. I don't know when I'll post the next one. I'm a little down these days and I haven't really written anything in all this time. I ended up writing another fic of mine and just tweaked that one. But I'm determined to keep going, I have a lot of cool stuff planned and I didn't want to stop writing this. So we'll see what happens with the fic and my inspiration and mind.

 

Laziness and discouragement is overwhelming. I'm honestly wishing and asking all the gods to take this away from me.

Chapter 6: Chapter Six

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Her mom wanting to talk to her isn't a good thing, Audrey sure wants something and Chloe doubts she can say no. Now it's just a matter of knowing what it is, and how she can take advantage of it. Because she will. Her mother can be someone impossible to say no to. But that doesn't mean Chloe won't win something and make the most of it by doing whatever her mother wants her to do.

She is not silly. And it was her mother who taught her to always change situations to benefit her more than anyone else. And Chloe isn't above using it against her. The woman never cared about her and never failed to use her daughter for her own benefit. Now it's her turn.

She goes to her room and turns up her nose upon entering and seeing him. She's not happy with him anymore, she doesn't like the colors, wallpapers, or anything. She doesn't feel like it's hers. She's been wanting to expand her closet (already gigantic) for some time, but she wants more space in it and in her bathroom, as well as the rest of the presidential suite that she owns. She could take the adjoining room to enlarge her own, it would be perfect.

The entire top two floors of the hotel are reserved for the Bourgeois family only. Like an apartment. There are eight suites in total: Chloe's, her parents' and two more are on the top floor and below there are four more, where Zoé and Jean Pierre's room is. A kitchen that is seldom used, living and dining room and bathroom and a movie theater.

Hardly ever used either, as the bedrooms also have everything except the kitchen and the cinema room, but the bedrooms also have TVs. Chloe's has two, one in the bedroom across from the bed and one in the living room of the suite. And in her closet there's a digital system with a big digital screen where she has all her belongings cataloged and can access anything on the internet, listen to music or put together looks.

Chloe smiles wickedly. She already knows what she will want in exchange for doing what her mother wants her to do, whatever it is. A complete makeover in her suite and closet. And she won't take no for an answer.

With that in mind, she puts the tub on to fill and as she fills it, she goes to her closet, enters the big room full of clothes, shoes, bags and expensive jewelry from assorted brands. She then chooses an outfit to wear to dinner, a long black dress with spaghetti straps and lace trim. The dress is pretty simple, but she doesn't have to look like she's going to the Oscars when she's just going to dinner with her family.

After her hot and relaxing bath, Chloe gets changed and does a light and very natural makeup, just putting on a pink lipstick and mascara and letting her hair down. She goes to the dining room and finds her sister Zoé waiting there. Sitting down opposite the sister who smiles towards her, she smiles back a small smile. Which seems to surprise the other girl.

“Hi Chloe! Are you okay? You didn't get hurt when Luka knocked you down, did you?” Zoé greets her and asks worriedly. She cares about her sister, even if Chloe doesn't care much for her. But the older girl smiled at her, so it must be a good sign.

Looking at her sister emotionlessly, Chloe responds, “Hi. To answer her question, yes I got hurt. I've got a huge purple bruise on my back where the clueless Smurf hit me."

She turns her back and shows her sister the bruise. The dress has an open back and she doesn't have much trouble showing the other girl proof of the crime.

“Oh! I'm sorry, I'm sure Luka didn't mean to hurt you. We were playing and he didn't see you." Zoe apologizes and Chloe frowns at her.

"You don't need to apologize, it wasn't you who brought me down." She says confused as to why the other girl is apologizing if she didn't do anything.

“I know I don’t need to apologize, but I’m still sorry.” The other blonde says softly.

She decides to leave it at that and shrugs it off. She takes out her cell phone and starts checking social media and messaging Sabrina, telling her everything that happened to her today. Her conversation with Damian comes back to her mind and Chloe realizes how easy it was to talk and be friendly with him. She thinks it's because he hasn't met her before, it's always easier to talk to someone who doesn't know her. The person doesn't judge or distrust her actions or feelings as they didn't know her as the spoiled witch Bourgeois but only Chloe. It's easier to make friends when the weight of her past actions isn't interfering with people's judgment of her.

Maybe that's why getting along with your peers in dance classes and some in music and art classes is easier. In other activities of hers too, but she didn't get close to many people in these other activities.

She met two girls in dance classes, the three of them talk sometimes. Also in the dance classes she met Claude, a very handsome and kind brown haired boy who talked to her a few times and the two got closer. He's also in music class, but she keeps a little distance from him there because he's friends with Luka and she can't stand the rocker.

Her parents arrive and she comes out of her daydreams. Audrey looks at her and her outfit with disgust, but she doesn't say anything. Halfway through dinner, Chloe decides to ask why her mother called her there.

“So mom, what would you like to talk to me about? Any other secret brothers you have hiding around?” she scoffs sarcastically and looks towards her mother. Audrey shoots her a death glare and stops eating, drops the silverware and wipes her mouth with a napkin. Chloé ignores the death glare and continues eating and looking at her mother, one eyebrow raised waiting for the older woman to say what she wants from her.

“Oh yeah, about that. You'll be modeling at New York Fashion Week, for Gabriel along with Adrien and Félix if he agrees to participate. The three of you will also do some photo shoots for Style Queen and other magazines, some will be done here in Paris and some in New York. Fashion week starts in two weeks, so start getting ready.” Audrey simply says, deciding not to comment on her daughter's mockery.

Chloe is shocked by her mom's words. Audrey wants her to model? She hasn't done this in years since she was eight. Why the hell does she want Chloé to go back to modeling now?

"What? I don't want to model.” She simply says. “Also, it's Sabrina's birthday in a few days and I was planning a day of Spa and shopping.”

The problem isn't modeling, she's fine with that. For a long time she tried to work on it but her mother always told her that she wasn't good enough. And she only called her for some work when she really needed someone like her or couldn't get another model good enough in time. So Chloe kind of gave up on that and now Audrey wants her to go to New York the week of Sabrina's birthday, her best friend. Chloe is not okay with this.

"I thought you'd be happy Claudia-Chloé." Her mother says. Choosing to ignore the error with her name. “You're always begging me to take you to New York and spend time with you. Not to mention it's a great opportunity for you and our families. You three are young, handsome, and from wealthy, distinguished families. People are going to talk about you, people are going to speculate about you and your relationships and that will help everyone.”

With her mother's final words, Chloe finally understands the reason for all this.

“Oh, so this is all about marketing, not spending quality mother-daughter time.” She comments accomplished and Audrey doesn't even have the ability to deny it. “You, Uncle Gabe and Aunt Amelie are using me, Félix and Adrien as a marketing strategy for their companies. What will it be? Are you going to make everyone speculate about a relationship between me and one of the two boys? Or is this a love triangle? I can even see the headline ‘Agreste or Graham by Vanily? Which of the two Bourgeois will choose? '" With a shocked look on her face she scoffs with a wave of her hand in front of her as if the headline is flashing before her eyes.

Chloe laughs, of course her mother wouldn't want to spend any time with her. She doubts that she'll see her mother more than a few minutes the entire time she's in New York. It will surely be her assistant and Natalie who will be responsible for her, Adrien and Félix while her mother and uncle Gabe ignore them. But it's okay, she'll accept to do the job. It's not the first time she's done this and it's not the worst thing her mother could have asked of her. Chloé knows a lot about modeling, fashion, anything in the business and it won't be difficult. She is not a newbie trying to make a name for herself and a career, she already has a name and will be modeling for a famous brand and with partners who also have experience in the business. The only thing she will have to do is show up and do whatever she is told to do. So yes, she will agree to do the work. But it will cost dearly, very dearly. It's good for them to do her every wish.

“Don't overdo it Claudette-Chloé, it's not like it won't benefit you. Everyone will look at you and maybe you can win one of the two boys. They are good matches for you, rich, of good family, and very handsome.” Her mom says and Chloe looks at her in shock and disbelief. Is that really the only thing that woman thinks? Money and status. Like she'd want a man for how much money he has in his bank account or his social status. She wants someone who loves her completely, flaws and all. Not being the trophy wife of some idiot millionaire who doesn't care about her and just wants to flaunt her like she's a pretty vase he bought. She wants to be happy and not have an empty, horrible marriage and relationship like her parents.

"Don't worry, about relationships I'll decide who's best for me." She says dryly, ignoring her mother's annoyed look, her father's worried and her sister's shocked look. "But let's talk about what I get for doing all this."

“You get attention, fame, the envy of all the girls and of course you get a big paycheck.” Audrey answers her daughter, secretly feeling proud that the girl thinks what she can get out of it. “Here's the contract, everything you need to know about the job is in there, as well as how much you'll get paid. Just sign it.”

Chloe takes the folder from her mother's hands and flips it through. She will read it all later. “I'll check it out later. But I want more than just a paycheck.”

She says and her parents look at her. “What do you want, sweetheart?” her dad asks.

“First I want to take Sabrina with me. We're going a few days before her birthday, the 4th, to be exact. Four days before Sabrina's birthday so we can enjoy the city and spend an unforgettable birthday together in New York.” She begins. “Sabrina is my best friend and she never left me and always put up with me even when I was horrible and cruel to her. She deserves an amazing birthday and I will give it to her.”

Her parents say nothing, but her father nods in agreement.

"Great. Now let's talk about me specifically.” Chloe smiles a wicked smile. “I want to renovate my suite and closet. I want to enlarge and change the decor, I'm thinking about getting the room next door for that. I no longer feel like he belongs to me. It seems it belongs to someone else. I'm moving and I think my room also deserves a makeover. I can handle everything myself, the only thing you need to do... is pay for everything.”

She looks at her parents and they look back. A few seconds later her mom shrugs and her dad nods. “Alright, honey. We accept your terms. You'll go to New York with Sabrina and get a new room with everything you want. And you'll be back in time for your sixteenth birthday party, we're having a ball and you can't refuse. It's an important date, we are an important family and we can't let something like this go unnoticed, especially because the elections are coming. Then you can also start the preparations and the guest list.”

Chloe takes a breath at that. She doesn't want a party. But that's okay, she can put up with another stupid ball, even if this one is for her specifically.

“I know daddy, I'm already organizing everything don't worry. It'll be perfect.” responds to the father. Chloé has been preparing everything for months, she knew her father wouldn't give up on the idea of the ball. So she started, with Sabrina's help, to organize everything. “Invitations will be ready this week. Just send me your guest lists and I will send them to the organizers to send them to everyone.”

“I-me too?” Zoé asks shocked when she realizes Chloe has included her in her warning. “Can I invite my friends?”

“Yes, are you deaf? I'm telling everyone present and you're here too." Chloe tells her sister dryly. She doesn't have many people to invite other than Sabrina, maybe Damian and Claude too, she hasn't decided yet. So she doesn't mind Zoé inviting her friends. And she's also trying to be nicer, might as well start by being nicer to her sister.

“Even Marinette and Luka?” Zoé can't help but ask as her sister doesn't like them very much.

Again Chloe takes a deep breath before answering. She's not very fond of them both it's true, but she supposes she can ignore it for one night. She's going to be magnificent at your party and despite all the change she's looking to make, she can't help but want to rub Dupen-chang and Couffaine's face how amazing, wonderful, beautiful and hot she is. Chloe won't deny it, she wants to kill them all with envy with her wonderful person. She might be changing a little, but she said she would be herself. And Chloe Bourgeois is arrogant and haughty, she doesn't deny it.

“Yeah, you can invite Dupen-chang and Couffaine. You can invite whoever the hell you want.” She mutters it through her teeth and gets a reprimand from her father for the language.

“Oh thank you, Chloe!” Zoe screams and runs to hug her sister. Chloe awkwardly returns the hug, not being very used to being hugged by people other than her dad, Adrien and Sabrina. “Girls will be so excited!”

An almost imperceptible small smile appears on the blonde's lips with her sister's excitement.

The rest of the dinner proceeds calmly, with only Zoé and her dad asking about prom preparations while her mom ignores them.

 

 

                                  ♡~♡  

 

An irritating, very loud noise is what wakes Chloe up. And for a few moments she doesn't know where she is, what day it is or what time it is. Her mind still clouded from sleep and the stupid sound ringing in her ears. Not letting her mind focus on anything other than her soft, warm, comfy bed that's calling her back to sleep for another week or two.

Looking around, she realizes she's in her room and remembers it's Sunday. One more look around the room and she detects where the irritating noise is coming from and realizes it is her alarm clock.

Why the hell is there an alarm clock going off on Sunday!?

She thinks for a few seconds, until she remembers that she has a date, like, with Graham. Damn it. She hasn't even decided if she's going to accept the idiot back into her life and he's already disturbing her sleep and driving her crazy. Annoying blonde. Sunday is Chloe's only free day. With her new and busy routine, she doesn't have much free time anymore. But Sunday is the day she has nothing to do or worry about. The day she can sleep as long as she wants and spend all day in her pajamas, watching TV and eating whatever she can get her eyes on.

She loves her lazy, sloppy Sunday. It's her day to be disheveled and disheveled, doing nothing but sleep, eat and watch ridiculous rom-coms, lame teen movies, her favorite animations, bad horror movies and catch up on her shows. Sabrina comes to the hotel on Sunday morning, or comes on Saturday and spends the night, the two of them lock themselves in their suite and don't come out until Monday morning, when they both wake up and the redhead accompanies her on her morning run and workout at the gym and then go to school. And that's what would happen that Sunday.

But Félix, always the rock in his way, got in the way. And now she has to get up to shower and get ready to go out with the cocky blonde. It better be worth it.

Staggering towards the bathroom, Chloe enters the spacious room and finds a bubble bath already prepared. She smiles fondly, knowing that Jean is responsible for this. He knew she was going to meet Felix and had her bath ready minutes before she woke up. He knows her so well.

Bathing helps you relax and wake up. When the water starts to cool, Chloe gets out of the tub, dries herself off, and starts her skincare routine. She was applying body cream, perfume and makeup before she went to put on her clothes. The night before she left out what she will wear today.

With her makeup and hair done, she goes to where she left her strawberry-print pink flared dress set aside for her to wear today. She wears the dress and shoes, an olive green satin high heel Scarpin. All said and done, Chloé is ready to make jaws drop and heads turn, and Graham is only a few minutes away to get her.

A few minutes later, while making sure her makeup, hair and clothes are perfect, Jean knocks on her door and tells her that Félix is waiting for her in the hotel lobby. With that Chloe grabs her bag and leaves the room and walks to the elevator.

A few minutes later she meets Félix and the two leave. And to her surprise, he's driving a black Mercedes.

“Do you have a car now Graham?” she asks raising an eyebrow and pointing to the car when Félix opens the passenger door for her.

“It's leased. But I'm thinking of buying one. I don't want G carrying me everywhere like Adrien does.” He responds as he helps her into the car.

“Mmm. I'm flattered that you rented a car just to hang out with Felix.” she comments sarcastically as the blonde sits next to her in the driver's seat. “Who knew you could behave like a gentleman and treat a lady well.”

“Don't get too excited Bourgeois, I didn't do it for you. I told you I don't want the Gorilla taking me everywhere, you have nothing to do with it.”

"Ogre. You don't know how to treat a lady as she deserves." she rolls her eyes and huffs at Graham's gruff reply.

“I'm a perfect gentleman, Bourgeois.” Félix comments and smiles maliciously. "So when you see a lady, let me know so I can show you."

Chloe's mouth opens in shock and she looks at Felix in shock and huffs indignantly at his words. Who does that blond weasel think she is, talking to her like that?

"Idiot! Gross, ill-mannered. For your information Graham, I am a perfect lady. I took lessons in etiquette and manners for years, there is not a lady in all Paris more polite, cultured and perfect than I am.” she says pompously, puffing out her cheeks in annoyance.

"Really?" Félix asks seriously, a questioning eyebrow raised. "Because the way you carry yourself doesn't show at all that politeness and cultured ways."

She looks sharply at him and Felix looks back, not giving in to her death glare. Daring her to contradict him. Which she obviously can't, because the idiot is right. Fucking arrogant.

“Just because I don't show it to people doesn't mean I'm not a cultured lady. Because I am."

"I make your words my own, Bourgeois. Just because I don't show it doesn't mean I'm not a gentleman and don't know how to treat a lady right. Because I am and I know.” Félix smiles and responds arrogantly.

Chloe rolls her eyes but still smiles and laughs at the conversation. Félix starts the car and starts driving through the streets of Paris, but he still risks a few glances in her direction when she doesn't stop laughing.

"What is it, have you gone mad?"

Chloe laughs even harder at Graham's question and worried face. He's cute worried and even cuter angry. She forgot how cute Felix can be when he shows emotions. That was one of the reasons she always pissed him off. She wanted to see him make all these cute faces at every new emotion she provoked in him. It'll be fun to find out if they're still the same and how many new ones she can provoke in him.

Perhaps rekindling that friendship isn't as bad as she initially thought it would be. Chloé giggles at her thoughts and sees Graham's frown deepen, the tips of his ears starting to turn red with irritation. It's so cute and so hilarious at the same time, how easy he is to tease when he normally behaves like an emotionless ice cube.

"What the hell is happening to you Chloé?!" Félix asks annoyed and confused, not knowing why the blonde started laughing like crazy. "You're laughing like a hyena and I don't understand why."

Chloe laughs even harder. A few seconds later, under the even more confused and irritated look of the blonde next to her, she calms down and takes a deep breath before answering. "It's just... we haven't been in each other's company for five minutes and we've already insulted and irritated each other." she says with a giggle. "If this isn't us anymore and how our friendship works, I don't know what else is."

Félix laughs with her this time and agrees with her words. She hasn't heard him laugh in a long time, it's good. Felix's laughter was always a rare thing to hear, except when he was doing something mean, even then it wasn't the same. But the real laugh and pure fun without any malice or cruelty, that laugh was rare but very good to hear and Chloe always cherished and kept those moments in her memory.

 With Adrien it's always been so different.

The Agreste model was always very cheerful and easy to laugh, it was never difficult to make Adrien laugh. But Felix was almost a mission impossible. So Chloé and Adrien always tried to make him laugh more and for that reason in their childhood there were always many tickle monsters.

“You look really cute when you laugh, you know?” she lets out gently. Her cheeks heat up and she sees the same thing happen to Graham's cheeks. With the frog out of the bag, she decides to move on and continue. “Actually any emotion you show makes you cute, always has, I just forgot how much I enjoyed seeing it on you. Seeing anything on your face other than that mask of ice, indifference and rudeness you always show everyone.”

Her words shock him, she can tell by her flushed face and wide eyes. It shocked her too, she hadn't expected to say any of this to him, but she slipped away and Chloé always liked to be honest no matter what the consequences of her sincerity in telling the truth. Which has always pissed off a lot of people, as apparently no one likes to hear the truth. Everyone always judges her for her words and rude and rude way of speaking, but they ignore the fact that they would rather lie to themselves and others to spare their feelings than to tell the truth.

But Chloé prefers to live with the pain of truth than the illusion of a lie.

“Did you drink?” Félix asks her perplexed.

"What? No!" what the fuck? Looking at him confused, she replies. “It's two o'clock in the afternoon and I'm not old enough to drink yet. What the hell got into you to ask that?”

“You called me cute, Bourgeois. I never in my life thought I would one day see Chloé Bourgeois say anything nice to me without having a gun pointed at you.” Felix replies, a teasing tone in his voice. “And as for booze, you know age doesn't stop anyone from drinking. Hidden at least. There are many things that are forbidden for minors to do and still no one stops doing it.”

Chloe looks at the boy next to her with exasperation. “The answer is still no. And don't exaggerate about me saying something nice to you, I'm just telling the truth. You make me look like a monster incapable of being kind or nice to anyone.”

“And you're not a monster? My life was a lie, I was deceived my whole existence. How cruel of fate to do something like that to me.” Dramatically Felix scoffs with mock despair.

Looking at him with a sharp look and a raised eyebrow in exasperation as if she said 'Really?', she rolls her eyes at Graham's antics who starts to laugh.

"You're an idiot. It's sounding like Adrien with all these horrible jokes and all this drama.”

“Now you are offending me Bourgeois. Comparing me to my goofy cousin.” Felix says, shooting her an offended look.

“Oh for God's sake, Felix! You and Adrien are identical. Could it be twins and you are offended to be compared to him?” rolling her eyes at the blonde's pointless drama, she replies. “And Adrien is not silly.”

With that Felix looks at her skeptically, left eyebrow raised and a questioning, mocking look.

"Alright, he's silly." admits.

The truth is, Adrien is a silly clown. If you let him, the kid won't stop clowning around, making jokes, or saying awful puns that he thinks are awesome; but they are just idiots and clueless. But he's cute and a complete cinnamon roll, so Chloe always let it go and never discouraged that silly side of Agreste.

If that makes him happy, she's always been happy to leave him in the dark of not knowing what a dumb clown he is. And Felix can also be very silly if he wants to. He can say what he wants, but he and Adrien may be more alike in their personalities than the two admit. In some ways at least.

  “But Adrien has many other amazing qualities.” She then says to point out that the Agreste is not just a silly clown.

"Yes, yes he is the perfect boy." Felix rolls his eyes.

“Stop being so spiteful and envious Felix.” She scolds the blonde for his words about the Agreste.

"I'm not being spiteful or envious!" Graham exclaims. “I would never envy my cousin. He doesn't do anything he wants, always doing just what his father says without ever opposing anything. I just told the truth, everyone sees Adrien as the perfect boy.”

“Mmmm, fine. Where are we going? You still haven't told me.” she asks, changing the subject. Talking about Adrien isn't what she wants to do, least of all about his relationship with his father or everyone's opinion of him being perfect. What he is not. The young Agreste has flaws, few, but he does.

“We are going to Kong, the view there is amazing.”

“Oh yes, I've been a few times, food is really good. You get some points for that Graham.” She winks at the blonde and grins.

The rest of the way they pass in comfortable silence. Neither of them wanting to break the peaceful, quiet atmosphere that had settled in the car.

Chapter 7

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Luka is sitting on the Liberty's deck, his guitar in his lap, trying to play the melody that has been stuck in his head for weeks. Since he met the damn blonde.

Since the day he met Chloé Bourgeois, just over two weeks ago, Luka hasn't been able to get his melody out of his head. Or she. He can't find notes or chords to compose anything that comes close to what he heard from the blonde. Which isn't surprising, as the girl's melody is a cacophony of sounds, all very jumbled and messed up. It's as if she doesn't know who she is, as if she's confused about herself, about which notes to choose, which melody to create.

She's complicated to listen to, intriguing and unique. Strange when you first hear it, but the more you listen, the more you can decipher this strange but beautiful melody. She has a touch of boldness, shyness and softness. There is also sweetness, haughtiness and fear. It's something completely complicated and unique. He had never heard a melody like this, so strange but truly beautiful in its strangeness. Chloé's melody is an unknown quantity, as is the girl herself.

And Luka can't get either of them out of his head. It's like they've lodged themselves in a corner of his mind and refuse to leave, no matter what he does.

It's irritating and very weird.

He and Chloe didn't get along at all since the first time they saw each other. He already didn't have a good opinion of the girl. Not after hearing everything she's done to her sister and friends. Luka has always been very protective of Juleka and doesn't allow his sister to be harmed, just as he doesn't like injustice and people who think they are superior to others. He didn't know Chloe, and even though he'd only heard bad things about her, he decided to wait and see for himself before forming a definitive opinion about the mayor's daughter. And when he met her, he discovered that she was the devil himself.

  It was his first day at Françoise Dupont, he transferred there after his school had a problem with the plumbing and everything flooded. Thus causing students to have to transfer to other schools in order to finish the school year, as the school would have to be renovated and would not finish in time to finish the school year. His mother then decided it would be a good idea for him to go to the same high school as his twin sister.

Luka didn't complain, he has a lot of friends who study there and he was happy to spend more time with his sister.

-

So far, Luka's first day at Françoise Dupont is going great. He was well received by his friends and fellow students. He's excited to study with his sister and friends, he's in the same class and room as Juleka and her whole group of friends. Which makes him excited that he knows almost everyone in the class and hopes to get along with the ones he doesn't.

But Luka is known to be a very calm and understanding guy. He gets along with everyone, it's very rare for him not to like someone. He always tries to get to know people and understand who they are and understand their particularities.

"Guys!" Professor Bustier calls the class to attention. “I'd like to introduce you to a new student, Luka Couffaine. I hope you will welcome him and be kind. Luka, would you like to perform for your classmates?”

The teacher asks and Luka nods in agreement. He turns to his colleagues and begins to speak.

"Hey guys!" he starts and waves his hand. “Most of you already know me, but for those who don't, my name is Luka Couffaine, as the teacher already said... And I'm Juleka's twin brother. I'm also a musician and I love to play instruments, especially string ones. I also compose and I think that’s it.” He looks and smiles at the teacher when he finishes.

“Thank you Luka, for introducing yourself, you can choose a seat and sit down.”

Mrs. Bustier says, but before Luka can take a step towards the seats, someone bumps into him hard, nearly knocking him off balance. He quickly turns and grabs the small figure, stopping it from falling. The girl clings to him as if her life depended on it, large, impeccable nails penetrating his clothes and skin on his biceps and shoulder, uneven breathing, chest heaving, eyes wide with fright and fear of falling.

He looks at the girl in his arms and the first thing that comes to mind is that she is beautiful. She looks like an angel with her golden hair, sapphire blue eyes, soft and perfect heart-shaped face, slender figure wearing light blue jeans, a simple white blouse with a little cleavage, nude colored heeled boots and a big furry coat white. A beautiful and sexy angel.

That's what he thought, until she opened her mouth.

“You can let me go now, idiot! What the hell were you doing standing in front of the door like a stupid statue?!” and so the angel turns into a demon in seconds.

The girl looks at him angrily and pushes him away from his arms, cleaning and arranging her clothes as if he had contaminated her just by touching her. Looking at him like he was the worst scum she'd ever seen on the face of the earth. Luka's temper heats up at the harsh words of the little blonde harpy.

"As I remember it was you who bumped into me and I saved your ass from hitting the floor!" he retorts offended. "You should be thanking me, blonde."

"I wouldn't have bumped into you if you weren't standing like an idiot in the middle of the room in front of the door!" the girl exclaims irritably, not giving in that she is the wrong one. “And don't call me blonde, blueberry!”

“Miss Bourgeois!” the teacher calls attention and the blonde looks at her. Luka is shocked to find that this is Chloe Bourgeois, she doesn't look like the girl he saw on TV. Her clothes are different and she is much prettier than he remembers. Shit Luke! Stop thinking she's pretty, the girl is insufferable, and she's your sister's bully. “Chloé, you arrived late, bumped into your new colleague and are insulting him; that's not manners for a girl like you. Please be kind and apologize to Luka.”

The blonde looks shocked and betrayed at the teacher, as if the woman had asked her to pull out a kidney and give it to him instead of just apologizing.

“Why do I have to apologize if he's the one who stood in my way and almost made me fall?!” indignant question.

“Chloe...” Mrs. Bustier says in exasperation.

“Don't worry teacher. From what I've heard of Miss Bourgeois she never apologizes to anyone. She thinks she's too superior to be polite to people.” Luka reassures the teacher and looks at Chloe defiantly. “So, you're the famous Chloe Bourgeois. Heard a lot about you, only bad things. My sister warned me that I should be careful with you and stay away. That you think you're superior to everyone and don't mind stepping on anyone. And from what I'm seeing, she's right."

The girl looks at him with a frown before a mask of cold indifference slides over her face and she looks haughtily at him. “Oh and who is this sister of yours who seems to know everything about me?”

“Juleka Couffaine, the girl you humiliated and caused to be akumatized. As well as most of the school and Paris.” he responds looking into the disdainful eyes of the blonde, who snorts indifferently at her words. As if nothing he said affected or bothered her. She focuses her eyes on him and Luka shudders at the intense gaze in those beautiful blue eyes, as if an ocean of sapphires is daring him to look away.

“Oh, so you're the overprotective brother who hates me because I hurt his little sister and her friends? That you think you know me just because some people have told you horrible things about me.” She says, indifferent to what this boy thinks about her.

“No, I'm the brother who heard his sister and her friends complain and say many horrible things about an insufferable blonde who thinks she's superior to everyone and humiliates them without caring about anyone's feelings. I tried not to form any opinions about you until I met you, but you're just proving everything everyone says about you to be true.”

“What do they say about me?” defies.

Luka smiles crookedly and moves a little closer to the smaller girl. “That you are the demon in person!”

Chloe raises an eyebrow at his words. She doesn't seem the least bit affected by her words, in fact she even looks a little proud. A wicked smile creeps onto the blonde's full, red-painted lips and Luka has to concentrate to look away from the Bourgeois's mouth. She closes the distance between them and looks up at him, having to lean back a little to meet her eyes. She's so petite that even in high heels the top of her head still barely reaches her shoulders. Luka has grown a lot over the past few months and stretched even taller.

“You don't know how devilish and hellish I am, Couffaine.” She snarls at him, voice low and husky. Luka shudders at her closeness, looking her up and down; couldn't help being affected by the beauty of the girl in front of him. Her breath tickling her skin and making him shiver. Damn that woman! "I don't care what you and your sister and your friends think of me. So don't waste your breath telling me things I've heard from other people more important to me than you and I still don't care about your words.”

“Chloe apologize to Luka soon or I’ll send you to the principal.” Mrs. Bustier demands again before Luka can recover from the Bourgeois’ proximity. Her scent making him dizzy, she smells sweet like vanilla but also bold with woody notes and soft with a floral hint of lavender. She is heady.

Chloe sighs in resignation after a staring contest with her teacher. “I’m sorry I bumped into you,” she says through gritted teeth. “And for the harsh words I said, I’m sorry.” She adds to the teacher’s steady gaze.

“I accept your apologies. Even though they are fake.” Luka responds with a fake smile.

“Did you see!? He’s the one being na asshole!” the blonde exclaims at the teacher.

“Just… take your seats, you two!” Miss Bustier says, squeezing her fingers between her eyes in exasperation and walks over to her table.

Chloe rolls her eyes and goes to her seat. But just before she sits down she turns and calls Luka.

“Ah, Couffaine!” she says and waits for the boy to turn and look at her. “Next time you talk to me... remember my eyes are up here.” She smiles wickedly.

  “The role of nice, polite boy who doesn’t let rude comments and overprotective brother defending little sister from the monster here, falls apart when you can’t take your eyes off my breasts. Or well... everything about me. ” She winks at him with a wicked smile and smirks as she sees the blush rise to the boy’s cheeks.

Damn woman! She can’t help but have the last word, he thinks irritably and embarrassed.

Luka quickly looks away and sits down. He lowers his head and tries to hide his red face from the others. Some laughing at their embarrassment. He didn’t think he was being so obvious in his stares. He really tried not to look at her cleavage too much or anywhere on her that wasn’t her face. He didn’t want to be disrespectful or look like a pervert. But he isn’t iron and Chloe is beautiful and he couldn’t help it.

She really is a demon. Of course satan would not make his servants ugly, no, he makes them beautiful and irresistible. To tempt you and make you fall into the flames with a smile on your face.

  And Chloé is not just any demon, no, she is one of those who would even make the devil doubt himself.

He’s fucked, totally fucked.

-
And that’s when Luka began his enmity with Bourgeois. When he realized that he couldn’t get the annoying girl out of his head, not even if he opened it and tried to remove it.

Luka prides himself on being calm and understanding. He prides himself on not being swayed by appearances or what people say, only forming na opinion of someone after meeting them.

With Chloe it was no different, despite everything they told him and him not liking her very much for what she did to her sister. Luka still tried not to form any opinion about Bourgeois, waiting to meet her to decide what to think of her. But when he met her, he discovered that the blonde has a special way of irritating him and taking him out of his mind.

He doesn’t know what happens, but whenever he and Chloe are around each other they can’t help but argue or insult each other. The blonde manages to bring out the worst in him.

Luka always tries to be calm and serene, not letting his emotions get out of control. He doesn't like to get out of hand, because when he does, he can't control himself. This is one of the reasons he always avoids getting involved in fights and discussions. The few times he got into a fight, whenever he hit some kid who provoked him he lost control and couldn't stop until he was dragged off the other boy and left him a bloody mess.

That's one of the reasons he prefers to focus on his music and also meditate to keep his mind and body in tune and have control over both.

Now he is also exercising. Kim's uncle opened a gym, where he has everything from sports, fighting, martial arts, climbing and training equipment. And to help Uncle, Kim recruited Luka and all the other boys and a few girls, Juleka and Alix, to join the academy. He got them a group subscription where the monthly fee would be more affordable for everyone and so they started training three or four times a week if they have time. But sometimes Luka goes there when he needs to de-stress and focus, when his music fails to calm his rage and hurts.

Even Adrien was allowed to join in, which surprised everyone. None of them thought the blonde’s father would allow him to do that to them, but surprisingly he did. According to Adrien, his father agreed because it would be good for his image to take care of his body, and developing it would be beneficial for his modeling career.

None of them complained. All were happy to have their friend with them. And that was a perfect excuse to have Agreste go out with them more often and to get him out of the house more.

Sighing, Luka snaps out of his thoughts and stands up. He needs to get ready to go see his father. And later he even has practice with his band, not Kitty Section, but the one he has with his other friends. But now, go see Jagged.

It’s weird that your idol is your dad. Never once in his life had he imagined that Jagged Stone would be his father. Well except in his wildest fantasies, where he imagined how awesome it would be for his dad to be a famous rock star. But that was when he was eight and didn’t know any better about how life really works.

But it turns out that life has a way of tripping you up and laughing in your face, which is how he ended up having his fantasies come true. And it wasn’t perfect like he imagined as a child.

For years he had begged his mother to tell him who his father was, but she would never tell him. She always managed to change the subject or just refused to talk about the man. He needed to be akumatized to get the truth out of his mother. And finding out who his father was was like getting punched in the gut. A very strong punch, the kind that take your breath away and leave you curled up on the ground.

It was a shock.

It was all weird. He had a million questions. He still has many questions. Only some of them were answered. His parents haven’t been as open as he’d like them to be now that he knows the truth. His mother still holds a grudge against Jagged, and his father has accumulated a lot of guilt over the years. After the disaster that happened on his and Jules’ birthday a little over a month ago, where the two were akumatized, they’ve talked and seem to have worked out some of their issues and are being friendlier with each other. But he doesn’t know how long that will last.

His mother is a strong-willed woman. She is intense and likes things her way. Even though her way is too crazy and intense for most people. And she holds a lot of resentment. And Jagged is just as intense. He has a free and childish way, always wanting everything how and when he wants it. His parents are so similar, but so different at the same time. It’s always very strange and fascinating to watch them interact.

Luka is still hurt by them, yes his mum too. He forgave them. Okay, maybe not completely. Jagged for leaving and his mother for hiding the truth from him for so many years. But some of the hurt still lingers. He can’t help but feel betrayed and abandoned. He’s trying to have a relationship with his dad, he’s trying really hard to include the man in his life. But it isn’t as easy as he thought it would be. Never is.

No matter how much we wish and delude ourselves into thinking that everything will be easily fixed, reality is always much more disappointing and difficult. Building a relationship from scratch is difficult, it has its ups and downs. You discover and get to know different aspects of people, some that you don’t like very much but you have to learn to accept in order to have that person in your life. You have to open your heart and let go of all the hurt and sadness this person has caused you in order to have a relationship with them. Or in Luka’s case, missing his father caused him.

And it’s not like Jagged hasn’t been trying hard too. Because he is. The man is trying his best to make up for all the years he hasn’t been there in their lives and seems to be truly committed to being a good father. But it’s all very new and they have their ups and downs.

With faith and patience, Luka hopes to be able to build a friendship and good relationship with his father. And one day, perhaps, he can truly forgive the man completely, can look at his father and not feel any bitterness and resentment for not having been there for him for so many years.

But for now they will have to deal with all the problems and learn to know each other and build a father-son relationship.

He hopes this can happen and that the past is behind him.


Luka changes his clothes, gets off the boat and gets on his bike (he’s been saving for months for a motorcycle) then begins his journey to Le Grand Paris, the hotel where his father always stays when he’s in the city of lights. His mind is still filled with thoughts of his father, his mother, and Marinette.

It’s been months since he and Marinette broke up, but Luka still feels sad about it. His feelings are still strong for the girl with the double ponytail. He knows he is partly to blame for their relationship ending. From the beginning he knew that she was in love with Adrien, he also knew that this hadn’t changed when they started the relationship. But he naively thought that she could get over him or be open enough to make their relationship work and then she would get over her feelings for Agreste.

But it didn’t happen that way. And although Adrien wasn’t really the reason for their breakup, he’d be lying if he said the model wasn’t one of the causes. Yes Marinette was hiding something from him, still is, Luka felt betrayed that she didn’t trust him enough to tell him the truth. He has always tried his best to show her that he can be trusted and that he would always be there to help her with her problems. He gave his all to their relationship, while Marinette seemed to find every pretext she could to stay away from him or run away when they were together.

For these reasons and others they ended. And despite the French-Chinese girl denying her feelings for Adrien Agreste and saying that her passion was in the past, Luka knew it was a lie. Marinette couldn’t leave her feelings for the blond behind and this also got in the way of their relationship.

Luka was understandable, as he knew what he was writing himself into when he entered into a relationship with Marinette knowing her feelings for Agreste. But that doesn’t mean it hurt any less to see how her eyes sparkled at the blonde, how she always sighed when she saw him or blushed and stuttered whenever he spoke to her. She even called him by Adrien’s name a few times and it actually hurt him more than he let on.

It didn’t get better after the breakup, as Marinette seemed determined to avoid it. Even now that the two are back as friends, she still acts a little strange around him sometimes. Guilty.

Luka won’t lie and say that he doesn’t wish he could fix everything and they could try again and be together. A part of him still maintains a small flame of hope that one day, perhaps, Marinette will choose him as her first option and want him like he wants her. But the more rational part of him knows that that won’t happen, that Marinette won’t give up on her passion for Adrien.

So the only thing left for him is to accept. Accepting that whatever his destiny, whether Marinette or not, he has his own path to follow and it depends solely on him to achieve his dreams. That he cannot hold himself back by lost opportunities or unrequited love.

Even if it takes time to move on and it hurts like hell.

Luka comes out of his thoughts when he arrives at the hotel, he goes down just before the entrance to attach his bike to a post on the side of the building. As he begins to walk towards the hotel entrance he sees a couple leaving through the doors of the large building. Both are blond, the man wearing formal clothes with dress pants, shirt, vest, tie and blazer. While the woman is wearing a pink strawberry-print dress and high heels, she exudes elegance and looks like a model as she walks to the car accompanied by the man, who looks incredibly like Adrien.

Wait a minute. Getting closer, Luka recognizes the two.
Fuck!

They are Chloé Bourgeois and Félix Graham de Vanily, Adrien’s cousin and Paris’ number one preppy. The girl who doesn’t leave Luka’s thoughts, who at this exact moment is beautiful and exuberant in the arms of na arrogant idiot. He watches a little more and sees Graham open the car door for Chloé, she says something to him with a provocative smile and gets in. Félix turns around, a small smile on his face and then gets in the car too and they soon leave.

For some unknown reason his stomach tightens and a cold, unpleasant feeling stirs inside him. He doesn’t know what it is, but he doesn’t like it.

Luka shrugs and enters the hotel. It must just be the disappointment of meeting two of his least favorite people. There’s no other reason.

He needs to find his father and doesn’t have the time or inclination to delve into his feelings about the obnoxious blonde double act.

Notes:

So... what did you think?

This was Luka's first chapter! Yay!!! I really enjoyed writing. I don't know if I got Luka right, he's more complicated than he looks to write him. But I hope it turned out well.

I have one more chapter ready and I hope to have more written before posting it. But I'm going as inspiration strikes. Leave your love in the form of comments, they make my day much better and my inspiration comes to life.

 

Chloé's outfit in Luka's flashback.

Notes:

I hope you enjoyed it. Comment what you think, comments help to know what you think of her and help to improve. Thanks for reading and see you in the next chapter.