Hi!
OK first of all, I know I really should be writing the next Chapter of my other fic Shadow and I promise the next chapter is nearly done but I had to do this first. It wouldn't leave me alone and I couldn't stop myself.
I'm dedicating this to juliette01 who gave me the idea for it. Consider this my birthday present :)
Hope you like it!
The one thing Nathanaël loved most about drawing was the journey it would take him on. When he looked down at a blank page in his trusty sketchbook, his pencil posed and ready for action, he got a thrill from never knowing what would end up on that page. Sometimes it would be something from inside his own head, some mythical creature or faraway land he had pictured in a daydream and then brought to life. Sometimes it would be a scene in front of him, his favourite tree in the local park that he must have sketched a thousand times in his boredom or the view from his bedroom window. Other rarer times it would be sometime completely random that he didn't expect from his surroundings, like the apple on Madame Bustier's desk or the flowers he could see out of the window from his vantage point at the back of the class. He couldn't explain why he drew those things sometimes. It was probably just out of boredom.
However, boredom didn't quite explain why he had just drawn a sketch of Chloe Bourgeois.
He stared down at the picture that had taken shape on the white page in front of him, slightly surprised by himself at the detail that had gone into it. If he hadn't been so stunned by the drawing, he might have said it was one of his best works; the portrait was brilliantly lifelike with two perfect flicks of eyeliner above a pair of lightly-shaded almond eyes, characteristic thick lips pulled forwards in a pout and curling hair done up in a ponytail without even a strand out of place. It was so completely Chloe that it baffled him. What on earth had possessed him to draw this?
He lifted his head up and looked around the class, worried that someone would see and he would be caught with his new drawing but thankfully nobody was paying attention to him and he breathed a short sigh of relief. It was almost the end of Science and the clock was edging slowly towards lunch hour. He looked around at his classmates and saw that everything was perfectly normal. Ms Mendeleiev was at the front pointing a thin bony finger at the blackboard as she went on and on whilst Max scribbled down her every word with rapt enthusiasm. Alix and Kim were shooting each other furious glances, having a silent angry argument meant to show they couldn't stand each other even though everyone knew they were secretly crushing on each other like mad. Ivan was slumped over his desk, his face hidden behind the shield of his arms as he gave soft snores that everyone pretended they couldn't hear. Alya was prodding Marinette in the arm with her pen, trying and failing to get her friend's attention back on their work and away from the head of blond hair that sat in the row in front. That head of blond hair was also taking careful notes, only stopping occasionally to chuckle at a comment made by Nino before he started writing again. He was totally oblivious to the sighing girl sitting behind him and it really made Nathanaël wonder if his eyes were connected to his brain. He was usually so smart with everything but he just couldn't see how hard the girl had fallen for him and it was getting to the point where Nathanaël was thinking he was never going to see it unless Marinette gave him the push he knew she was way too shy to give.
He focused on Marinette for a moment and a small smile curved his lips. There was something about Marinette that just drew him to her. Maybe it was because she was so fascinating to draw, with her pretty doll-like features, her bouncing pigtails that now he could draw to perfection and her eyes especially were stunning to look at. Drawing them was like drawing two precious jewels- he could never quite capture their sparkle or the way they would leap out at you the moment she turned her gaze towards you. She was one of his favourite people in the class as she was always so sweet and kind to everybody all except for one who had tested her patience well beyond that of any reasonable human being. It was really no wonder why so many of the guys and even a few girls had had a crush on her at one point. Heck, he had fallen hard for her at one time, though now his feelings were waning as he knew he didn't stand a chance whilst Adrien still lived and breathed.
Turning his eyes from Marinette, he snuck a quick glance at the front of the class where he could see an indignant blonde ponytail swinging with a huff as Chloe did her nails right under their teacher's nose. Sabrina appeared to be taking her notes for her and, not for the first time, Nathanaël wondered how Sabrina could live like that. Does she get anything out of that friendship? He wondered as he looked back down at his drawing.
He still didn't understand. Chloe Bourgeois was the most hated girl in their class if not in their school. She was snooty, rude, never had anything nice to say unless it was about herself and to top it all off, she was responsible for most of the akumas in the entire city. She had been responsible for his own transformation into a villain and he had made her his target for humiliating him in front of Marinette. He felt his face burn as he remembered the incident that had caused it. He could still hear her mocking laughter as she pointed at his drawings and see Marinette's face as she looked down confused at the splayed notebook that had nearly broken its spine on the tiled floor. It was something he didn't want to dwell on and he forced himself to again focus on the drawing.
He noted the expression he had given her. Unlike her normal face, her forehead had lost that haughty crease and her eyes weren't screwed up in an angry frown. Instead her face was smooth and free of any lines and her eyes were open, staring out from the paper like she could see something he couldn't. With that expression, she looked open and thoughtful, even a little vulnerable. That took him back a little. Had he ever seen her like this? He glanced up to look at the front again to catch a glimpse of her examining her freshly-painted pink nails. He wasn't sure but now there was a part of him now that wanted to see her like that. She surely couldn't be that bitchy all the time…
"Nathanaël!" A loud sharp voice shook him from his musings and he almost jumped from his seat when all the eyes of the class, even Ivan's, turned to him. "Are you paying attention back there!?"
Nathanaël saw Ms Mendeleiev's steely eyes boring into his and he stammered as he hastily ruffled all the papers on his desk, hiding the drawing from view. "Y-yes Miss."
Her eyes narrowed. "I hope so young man. You are currently failing this class and you can't afford to fail the next test." Her eyes briefly drifted down to his messy desktop before she looked back up at him, sending a jolt of fear through his stomach. "You better not be drawing again. If I catch you at it again, you'll be sent back to the principal's office. Understood?"
"Y-yes Miss. I understand." Nathanaël could feel his cheeks going red as the attention was finally dragged back to the blackboard. He dipped his head in embarrassment as he dug his fingers into his messy red hair, trying desperately to hide behind it. He hated being the centre of attention, whatever the cause as he always got so tongue-tied and blushed brighter than his hair. He knew it was strange of an artist to be so shy of the spotlight; they were usually famed for being so brash and full of themselves but he knew he could never be like that. He hated forcing himself on anybody, even showing his art to people made him feel guilty and he always hid his face when they saw it. He often wished he had more courage and that he could stand up for himself more but at the moment that didn't look likely to happen any time soon.
His head was jerked upright by the sudden sound of the bell ringing through the room. Everyone quickly started to pack up as Ms Mendeleiev shouted their homework over their heads. Nathanaël groaned when it reached his ears. Another quiz due in for next week. Great, just great. He thought as he rubbed at his temples. Science was never something he could get to grips with but the last thing he needed was to fail it and worry everybody back home. That would never do.
He started to pack away slowly when a shadow passed over his desk. "Hey art boy," A familiar snarky voice sneered at him from his left and he felt himself tense up. "What's the matter? Still in a daze?"
He heard Sabrina chuckle and he tried to pick up his pace, shovelling his papers in his bag and trying to stand up. "Leave me alone." He tried to say fiercely but his voice only came out as slightly whiny. "I just want to get to lunch…"
A hand slammed down in front of him and he was forced to raise his head and look into her face. Chloe was staring at him with her eyes narrowed like a hawk who had just spotted her prey and was going in for the kill. Her lips were pulled into a smile of delight at what she was about to do and he could already see the way her blue eyes flashed in triumph. Seeing that expression on her, it made Nathanaël even more confused over why he had decided to draw her at all. She was almost the exact polar opposite of Marinette. Marinette's face was round and soft almost like an apple but Chloe was more pointed with a longer nose and narrow chin. Marinette never wore make-up and her cheeks were dotted with freckles but Chloe was never seen without eyeliner and power blue eyeshadow and she always wore foundation so her skin looked completely blemish-free. Marinette's eyes were wide like a fawn's and their colour was bright like ocean waves whilst Chloe's were thin and needle sharp and were a lot lighter, more like the colour of a spring sky. Nathanaël's brain started to ponder these differences but once again he was shaken back to reality when Chloe's shrill voice hit his ear.
"Hey! Don't daydream when I'm talking to you!" She snapped crossly, looking affronted that he would dare ignore her. He looked back up and winced at the angry look on her face. This really wasn't good.
"I-I'm sorry!" He stuttered, gathering his bag as close to himself as he possibly could to shield its contents before he tried to edge past her. "I just want to go eat…"
"You are in a rush, aren't you?" Chloe neatly side-stepped into his path, almost purring as her eyes locked on his school bag. "Is there something you need to get rid of? Something in that bag perhaps?"
"W-what?" Nathanaël was aware of how painfully obvious he was. His voice had just gone up several octaves and he was now clutching his bag in a death grip. He couldn't have looked any guiltier if he'd tried. "I don't know what you're talking about…"
Before he could even finish his sentence, a manicured hand whipped out and pulled the bag from his grip. "Aha! You were drawing in class again, weren't you?" Chloe said, grinning as he gave a shout and tried to pull it back but Sabrina quickly stepped between the two of them and prevented him from getting anywhere near. "Ms Mendeleiev won't be happy if we show her what you've been doing instead of the work!" Chloe hummed with glee as she dove into the messy crumple of papers and started to shift through them, missing how panicked Nathanaël looked. "I can't wait to see what her face will look like when she sees…"
Her voice died away as she stared down at the sheet in her hand and Nathanaël felt himself freeze to the spot. That's it, he thought. I'm dead. I'm never leaving this room alive. Tell my mother I love her…
He was about to start praying when he realised that Chloe had frozen up too, her eyes still on the picture like there was nothing else in the room. Her eyes had gone wide and her mouth had dropped slightly open and suddenly he realised she looked like she did in his picture, stripped back of all the anger and stubbornness. Without all of that she looked so different and he found that he couldn't look away.
Sabrina's voice suddenly piped up, startling them both as she stared worriedly at her friend. "Chloe? Is everything alright?"
For a split second, Chloe looked panicked, like she didn't know how to answer, before her old haughty look fell back over her face. "No! Everything is not alright!" She spat. "This filth isn't worth showing to anybody! Honestly, I'm surprised at you, you clod!"
Nathanaël was taken aback when she scrunched up the paper into a ball and then sniffed at it like it was something disgusting she'd found on her seat. Was she… not going to show anyone? Now he was really confused. He had thought that surely she would use this as prime blackmail material but instead she just looked like she was going to throw it away.
"Urgh, this is no fun at all!" Chloe sniffed again, putting her hands on her hips. "C'mon Sabrina, let's go and leave the pipsqueak be. He's worth even less than I thought."
She then swung around, flicking her ponytail at him in the process, before she strode away from him and towards the door. Sabrina's eyes helplessly flicked between her retreating figure and the stunned Nathanaël- she obviously had no clue what was happening either.
"Hey, wait for me Chloe!" She called as she ran after her, quickly catching up and walking in step with her. Nathanaël watched them as they walked out of the classroom, leaving him there alone with his whirlwind of thoughts. What the heck just happened? He thought before he ran over to the window to watch them march down to the courtyard. Why didn't she just blow up at me? Sure, she called me names but that's pretty much her tame version and she could have done so much worse…
He spotted them both at the bottom of the steps, Chloe leaning against a pole whilst Sabrina appeared to be chatting away, handing over a stack of paper that had to be the science notes she took for her. Chloe accepted them, giving them a quick glance but she seemed preoccupied, like she wasn't really concentrating on anything. He saw her dismissively wave her hand and Sabrina suddenly went running off in the direction of the lunch hall. Probably going to get her lunch, he thought. I will never get why that girl hangs around her.
That was when he saw it. As he focused his attention back on Chloe, he saw her lift up her hand and uncurl her fist. Inside her palm was his drawing, still scrunched up and in a little ball. Nathanaël felt his mouth drop open as he tried to press himself closer against the glass to see better. She had kept it? Why had she done that? She just called it filth! Shocked, he watched as she carefully unfurled it, her fingers being gentle as she smoothed out the paper and tended to its creases. She moved with an almost expert ease and soon the paper was out almost flat, the drawing once again visible. He saw her stare down at it with a small smile on her lips before she opened up the stack of papers Sabrina had given her and slipped the drawing inside. She pressed down on the paper, making sure it was as flat as possible before she put it in her bag. Then, looking around to make sure no one had seen her, she put her bag over her shoulder and walked over to the lunch hall, quickly disappearing from his sight.
Nathanaël stared after her in amazement. He didn't think he'd ever been more bewildered in his life. Had he really just seen that or had the long boring Science lessons finally taken a toll on his mind? Somehow, he staggered back to his seat but he still felt like he couldn't think straight; his mind felt just as blank as one of the unused pages in his sketchbook. Think about it, the logical part of his brain told him firmly. She's probably just saving it as blackmail later, tomorrow she'll be tormenting you about it. That was the thing that made the most sense, he knew that, but somehow something was telling him that there was something else behind her actions. It couldn't be that she had… liked it, surely? He felt his cheeks burn again at the thought- even though everyone knew he loved drawing he rarely ever showed his art to people, he had never had the confidence. He picked up his pencil, hoping he could just forget about it but his mind won't stay still enough. He couldn't visualise a thing to draw and he only made a few half-hearted lines before he snapped the book shut.
Pulling himself to his feet, he dragged himself down to lunch, his mind still buzzing with Chloe and her reaction to the drawing. As he walked down the steps to the lunch hall, he peered over the heads of his fellow classmates, his eyes searching for a glimpse of blonde among them. You should just forget it, his logical voice spoke again, this time more urgently. He knew that would be the easy way out of this but somehow, he knew he wouldn't. He pressed his lips in a firm line as a sudden and very new feeling of determination spread over him. He needed to get to the bottom of this.