"Just shut up and kiss me" – Chlonath
Nathaniel was sitting under a tree with his sketchbook in his lap. He was drawing a picture of Queen Bee, who had saved his life only the other day. There was a blanket spread out next to him, but he preferred to sit on the grass.
Chloe plopped down on the blanket. She couldn't risk her designer jeans getting grass stains on them, so Nathaniel had started bringing it for her. They had met in one of the smaller parks in town, so that they would be less likely to run into anyone they knew. "You like Queen Bee, huh?"
"She's a superhero," Nathaniel replied with a shrug. "It's hard not to like her."
Chloe rolled her eyes, as if it didn't please her that he liked her alter ego. "Do you like her more than the others?"
He shrugged. "I think they're all pretty great, but Queen Bee does tend to save my life more than the others." He paused. "I wonder why that is."
She coughed. "Anyway, let's get to the lesson."
A few weeks ago when Chloe had found a little black box on her dresser, Pollen had presented her with the opportunity to become a superhero. Although being Chloe Bourgeois had its perks, she welcomed the opportunity to be famous on her own terms. She wanted people to love her, not because she forced them to, but because they actually liked her.
However, she quickly discovered that she had a lot to learn about being a good superhero. On her first day of the job, she had been bossy and self-centered. She had clashed with Ladybug pretty hard with Ladybug in a bad way. When she had attempted an apology, she learned that she lacked the skills to say sorry, to anyone. She honestly couldn't remember the last time she had said those words.
After that first day, she had asked Nathaniel to help her become a nicer person. At first, he was skeptical, but when she actually showed up to their meeting place and showed sincere desire to be better, he was all-in.
"You didn't have to tell Sabrina her clothes were knock off designs of thrift store brands this morning," he said, looking down at his sketchpad.
"But did you see what she was wearing? It was-" she started.
He held up a finger. "It doesn't matter that you think they were hideous. Not everyone has the same style as you. Or the same amount of money. If you think something is bad, you don't have to say it."
She crossed her arms. "So no matter how ugly it is, I have to pretend it's not?"
He finally put down his sketchbook to meet her eyes. "Today's lesson is about being empathetic."
"Empa-what?"
"Empathetic. It means imagining what someone else is going through," he replied, waving his pencil around while he talked. "For example, instead of telling Sabrina that her clothes were ugly, remember that her parents aren't rich like yours. As much as she may want to have an exact copy of your wardrobe, she may not be able to afford it."
Chloe shrugged. "Why doesn't she just get more money?"
"It's not easy to get money, Chloe," Nathaniel snapped. "Especially as a high school student. Every person has to take the card that's dealt to them. You may be lucky to be the mayor's only daughter, but some of us have to scrape by with what they're given."
It was quiet for a moment while Chloe processed that she had hit a sore spot with Nathaniel. Of course she knew his family didn't have a lot of money. It was one of many examples of how she didn't think before she spoke. She always seemed to rub people the wrong way, even if she didn't mean to.
"Um, I'm sorry," she mumbled.
Nathaniel dropped his pencil. "What did you say?"
"Are you going to make me say it again?" she grumbled, crossing her arms.
He leaned in toward her and stared at her expectantly, until she sighed and said louder, "I'm sorry."
Nathaniel smiled, feeling for the first time that they had made progress in their visits. "It's okay. Just remember when you want to say something mean that you don't know what their story is."
She took a deep breath. "I'm sorry."
He raised an eyebrow. "You already said that."
"I said I was sorry for being insensitive," she corrected him. "But now I'm saying sorry for everything else I've ever done for you."
Nathaniel didn't say anything. Instead, he started laughing.
"Do you think my apology is funny?" she snapped.
"No, it's just that I never thought Chloe Bourgeois would apologize to me for anything." He chuckled.
"You're, uh, helping me," she told him. "Even though I've never been anything but mean to you."
He closed his sketchbook. "Are you about to thank me?"
She leaned over and placed a kiss on his cheek. "If that's what you want to call it." Thanking people was never something she'd been good at, either, but she'd come to sincerely enjoy her time with Nathaniel.
He touched his cheek. "Wow I can't believe-"
"Don't say it," she warned. "Just shut up and kiss me."
Nathaniel placed his lips over hers. She may be a pain, and she may be mean, but he admired the fact that she was trying to change. And now, it seemed, they were in this together for the long haul, for better or for worse.