A/N: So much like the first chapter, this chapter's also a bit slow in the uptake. I'm currently trying to set the setting as quickly as possible, which may not be entirely necessary considering the fandom's already found knowledge of how things are, where things are, and why they're there. Nonetheless, I enjoy orchestrating the setting as much as I can allow myself without encumbering my writing. There are some characters I've yet to fully introduce in this chapter. . . And that doesn't mean they're unimportant, it's just that they slipped my mind - whoops.

Please feel free to rate and review. If you haven't any idea what to review or don't feel like giving a rating, a follow is just at equitable! Thank you thus far for the recent follows!

Chapter three might go up tomorrow as well; this depends on my schedule, of course. After that, updates will try to be regularly every week. However, this ultimately depends on the views and follows/ratings/reviews I've accrued. Follows are just fine, but although I am writing this for my entertainment, my publishing it also means it's for others to enjoy as well (and perhaps live vicariously through some of the characters presented).

Chapter Two: New School, New Student, New Embarrassment

After Naaru's explanation, Giulietta – or Giuli, or perhaps Juli, as Naaru had dubbed her – was completely laconic. The young girl had sequestered herself away from the Kwami, keeping to herself and relishing in her taciturn nature – though, perhaps, relishing isn't exactly the word. Giuli had no idea how else to feel about these sudden turn of events. First, she arrives in Paris to live with her enigmatic grandmother, and then she discovers that she's next in line to be a super heroine. It was all too much.

So much that she passed out shortly thereafter, awaking in the early dawn, an hour or so away before she actually had to awaken. She wasn't sure what to do at this point, and as she stared groggily out of her window and tuned into the sweet tweets of bird song, she stared at butterflies which fluttered about her grandmother's front yard. Her blinks were slow, like her thoughts – and she absorbed nature's grace in all its effulgent glory.

Was it all a dream? Or was this a nightmare about to begin?

Fortunately for a certain Kwami, it wasn't a dream. Naaru quickly darted from the hexagonal box and levitated next to the exhausted Giuli.

"How are you this morning!? It's morning! Yay! Now, we can get to work! Do you want to try transforming? It's awesome! You'll love it! And you'll look so cool!" The Kwami cavorted around Giuli, unleashing an exorbitantly excitable storm.

Giulietta, on the other hand, wasn't too excited – not for her first day at a foreign school, and not for becoming a heroine with a clandestine identity.

"I don't know. . ." She replied, despondently. "It's. . . I thought it was all a dream, but I guess not. This is actually happening?"

Naaru mimicked Giuli's own crestfallen attitude, whom was less than even a little excited to become a true Miraculous holder. "I know it's a lot to take in right now, Giulu," The Kwami began. "But, you wouldn't have been chosen by the Miraculous if you weren't ready to make a change," For once, the Kwami didn't sound like a party charged with positivity, but a sage which knew much more than they led on.

"Ready? Ready to become a heroine? To fight evil? To do all those things that Ladybug and Chat Noir do on a regular basis?" She shook her head, incredulous and in disbelief. How could she even hold a candle to those two? "It just. . . It doesn't make sense. All my life, I've been invisible and kept to myself. . . I never dared to be out there, and now," She jutted her arms out, and then allowed them to fall to her sides, slapping them subsequently.

"You just need to try, Giuli! You won't get anywhere without trying! You won't know what you can or can't do if you don't find out first hand!" Naaru encouraged.

All Giulietta did was cast a gaze of concern and doubt, though it was laced with hope. . . Hope that Giulietta could truly become more than what she was now – someone in the background with little to speak about or relate to.

"I suppose. . ." Was all she could say, before heading to her bed and planking onto it once more. Her arms and legs were outstretched, her nose directly pegged to her comforter.

Naaru followed suit shortly after, sitting onto the bed and tilting her head at Giulietta.

"I'm sure you can do it – no, I know you can do it!" The Kwami encouraged once more, but this time with more fervor and meaning in her words. After all, the Miraculous chooses those whom are truly worthy. But, where exactly did the hexagonal box come from? Was it always there? Or did someone place it there for the sake of convenience? Maybe it arrived via mail and her grandmother left it in her room, thinking it was a package she sent on ahead?

Giulietta wasn't sure.

Boosting herself from her laze, she sat up and looked down to Naaru.

"I think, first, I should uhm. . . I should go to school first, and then work from there. I'm still really sleepy, though," She admitted, rubbing her eyes. She got how many hours of sleep? Five? Six? Certainly not enough for a fifteen year old girl, that's for sure. Thinking about sleep made her yawn, dazedly moving back and forth.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay awake, though? Sleeping is boring," Naaru protested, her visage drooping, along with her antennae and tiny wings. "You could stay awake instead and transform! It'll be awesome!"

"Mmm, no thanks," Giuli stated bluntly, wrapping herself in her comforter and drifting to sleep quite easily. Naaru puffed her cheeks up, completely affronted. But, she got over it and flitted into the hexagonal box anyway. Giulietta will come to terms with the fact that Paris depended on her now, soon enough. She just needed time! At least, that's what Naaru told herself. Hopefully the Miraculous hadn't made a mistake.

Shaking her head violently, she rebuked the thought, "No! No way, I can't doubt Giuli now. I have to trust that she will be awesome at this! I know it. . . She has to be. . ." Sighing, Naaru curled up and quickly went to sleep as well. She disliked sleeping, but sometimes, it was amazing.

Sometimes.

Although it was two hours of sleep, it had only felt like a few minutes. For, when her grandmother came in to wake her, Giulietta felt as if she held anvils in her eyelids. Perhaps heading back to sleep after waking up naturally wasn't such a good idea. Groaning about the fact that she had to wake up, get ready, and head to her new school was incredibly daunting – more so now than before. Before, she just speculated about certain scenarios, but now. . .

Now it was actually happening.

And thus, the young soon-to-be heroine of Paris prepared herself, tossing on her knee-length, lilac daisy print dress, along with her brown boots and jean jacket. She equipped her brown satchel as well, which kept all of her academic material within. Naaru took liberty of handing the bracelet over to Giulietta, and after some thought, she placed on the Miraculous then. It was a perfect fit.

"It really is beautiful," She acknowledged, looking to the ebony charm.

"Mhm! And I'll be in your bag whenever you need me, so fear not, for Naaru is with you eternally!" Giggling once more, the Kwami settled herself into the crevices of Giulietta's bag and cozied up.

At breakfast, Giulietta and her grandmother enjoyed some light conversation, which typically consisted of how her first night was like. Luckily, Giulietta had enough energy to dissemble, and she told her that it was just fine – which realistically, it was. The shock from meeting a Kwami and having to be a super heroine was enough to knock her out, so she was well rested. . . Or could have been if she hadn't slept more than her body needed her to.

Sleep cycles are weird.

It wasn't long before the two were on the road, heading towards Giulietta's new school.

"Would you like to get a gift for your new classmates? Maybe some pastries? I know a lovely bakery near your new school that is wonderful," Her grandmother asked. It took Giulietta a second to grasp what her grandmother offered, before nodding.

Perhaps that would help break the ice.

And so, the two took a quick detour to a certain bakery aptly named the Tom & Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie. A charming building which seemed to be not just a bakery, but a home in of itself. Giulietta and her grandmother entered, and immediately did her grandmother engage in a conversation with the chubby woman over the counter. She seemed to be of Asian descent – no, she was definitely of Asian descent.

"Ah, Sabine – this is my granddaughter, Giulietta. Come here dear, to meet one of my friends," Her grandmother suggested, gesturing for her granddaughter to stand next to her.

With her hands behind her back, Giulietta shied away slightly, barely looking at Sabine in the eye. "Ah. . . Hello, my name is Giulietta," She meekly stated.

"A pleasure, my dear – I am Sabine," She responded gratefully, luscious lips curving into an authentic and brilliant smile. "She looks so much like you, Cadence – almost a spitting image,"She complimented.

"Indeed! She looks much like myself and her father. But, anyway, we came to take a few pastries for her new classmates. After all, she starts school today here. Ah, in fact, I think it's the same school in which young Marinette is attending as well!"

"Is that so?" Sabine questioned. "Well, certainly Marientte can help Giulietta adjust. Feel free to speak to my daughter, Giulietta – she's quite friendly,"

"Ah, sure – thank you, Ms. Dupain-Cheng. . ." A respectful tip of her head is offered, and soon the conversation between the three ended at that. With a goodbye from Cadence, grandmother and granddaughter once again entered the vehicle, and were on their way to College Francois Dupont. This time, however, Giulietta harbored an elegant and frilly box of sweets in her lap.

"Those smell so good. . ." A small voice came, and Giulietta leered in surprise to Naaru's peeking head from her bag. The Kwami was practically slobbering. "Shh! You need to stay hidden!" She squealed.

"What was that, dear?" Her grandmother asked, flicking her gaze momentarily to Giulietta as she quirked a brow. The young girl had spoken in Italian, so Cadence wasn't too sure what she had said.

"Ah! Nothing, grandmother, nothing at all. . ." She responded, this time in French. A light and nervous chuckle then followed, which seemed somewhat uncharacteristic. It would've been messy if her grandmother had discovered Naaru. Giulietta has a sneaking suspicion that no one should know about the Kwami, let alone about her potential secret identity. That would certainly spark unnecessary attention that she didn't want, whatsoever.

Now, it was the moment of truth. Her grandmother pulled up to the golden building of Giulietta's new school, complemented by a running fountain in the middle of the courtyard. At first, Giulietta made no movement to exit the car. Instead, she stared at the kids whom were already situated at the steps, speaking amongst themselves, with dread. She had no idea what she would do, or how they would react to her. She was the new girl, an enigma to them – they didn't know who she was, and she didn't know who they were. "Ah, there's Marinette dear," Her grandmother pointed out, locking onto the raven haired girl with great fashion sense. Although Giulietta wasn't much for fashion, she could appreciate when someone was certainly working well with new fashion statements these days.

"You should go say hi to her – tell her you're my granddaughter. She'll definitely warm up to you then. She's a bit shy, just like you, but I'm sure you two will click just fine," Giulietta gave her grandmother a concerned look, but she knew she couldn't give a viable excuse to not go to school. So, instead, she exited the car, along with her things, and waved her grandmother goodbye. She would return when the school day ended, she said. And so, off she was, into the distance. And now Giulietta was alone, though not completely. . .

"This is going to be a mess," She muttered shortly after, staring yet not staring at each individual waiting on the steps for class to begin. "It'll be fine, Giuli!" Naaru retorted. "You just have to introduce yourself, and then offer up the sweets! And then everyone will like you! Yay!" She clapped her small hands together at the thought.

"For some reason that makes me feel less assured than before," Giulietta admitted, dropping her head. But, either way, she had no choice in this situation. Inevitably, she would have to introduce herself, and thus would have to offer up the pastries. Giulietta knew that she would stutter or perhaps say something foolish in French, but this was how things had to be. . .

The bell soon rang, and all the students began to rush in for class. Giulietta followed suit, box in hand, being gripped tightly to the point of creasing the cardboard. Inhaling and exhaling before entering the class, she settled herself in an empty seat in the back. She caught glances from students, to which she quickly averted her gaze from. She didn't want to speak to anyone in fear of embarrassing herself. She had enough on her plate with potentially embarrassing herself when she introduces herself in front of the entire class.

Soon, class starts, and Mrs. Bustier walks in, greeting the class with jubilee. It was time for French, Giulietta knew – and what a perfect class to quash her dreams of being liked. Perhaps Giulietta was overthinking all of this.

"You're really overthinking all of this, Giuli," Naaru whispered. "All these kids look really nice – I don't think anything bad will happen if you mess up a few words," Giulietta knit her brows in worry, looking to Naaru, before she was immediately distracted by Mrs. Bustier's call to attention.

"Hello, class. So, today we have a new student! Ms. Giulietta Bisset, can you please introduce yourself?" She asked, smiling lightly as she looked directly at Giulietta.

Rising slowly, Giulietta cleared her throat. She felt a cold shiver through her spine, and it was almost as if her blood was curdling, running cold. She inhaled and exhaled once, and cleared her throat once more.

"Oh, get on with it already," Called a pompous voice, evidently snobbish. This made Giulietta's attention snap to a certain blonde girl sitting at the front row, elbow poised on the desk and jaw held with her open palm. She seemed eternally displeased, greasy pink lips and a judging leer given to the new student arrival. Everyone's attention was diverted to Chloe's momentary comment, garnering several glares from certain individuals. Adrien had his arms folded tightly, brows furrowed in disappointment. Nino and Alya squinted at Chloe, and everyone else was doing just about the same - except for Sabrina, of course, whom was sneering much like her queen bee.

Only one person spoke up in Giulietta's defense, though.

"Can it, Chloe," Retorted Marinette, frowning in her direction.

"Now, now, settle down," Mrs. Bustier interjected. She looked back to Giulietta. "I apologize for that. Continue?"

"Ah- uhm, I'm. . . Giulietta and. . . I came from Italy, and uhm," She fidgeted with a section of her dress, gulping down bile. She can do this – she has to do this. "And uh. . . I don't speak French very good – I mean, very well and, uh. . ." Afterwards, she just sat down and dipped her head in shame. Mrs. Bustier nodded and thanked Giulietta. The class continued on from there. No one stared at her. No one said anything. Things went along just fine and smoothly. . .

For now.