Author's note: Wow guys! Thank you for every review, fav and follow. I hope you'll like this chapter – so far my favorite. It was fun to write this one, as the story gains momentum. As always, please share your comments and reviews, I really appreciate it.

CHAPTER 4 "The draw"

As it was Chloé's idea to throw the party and also because it was to be held in Le Grand Paris, together with Sabrina they took over the whole planning business, including the execution of the lottery. However, to avoid any unfortunate incidents, Miss Bustier had prepared the lots herself. She gave them to Sabrina at the end of their lessons. The girl put them in a designer beret and set off to conduct the draw. Her hands were shaking a bit because all of her classmates were staring at her.

The first person to draw was Adrien. He smiled encouragingly at Sabrina as he saw how uptight she was. He put his hand into the hat and drew a piece of paper. But before he was able to read it, Sabrina lost her grip on the beret, possibly because of the shaking hands. As she tried to catch it back, she knocked the paper out of Adrien's hand and it feel onto the floor.

'I'm sooooo sorry, Adrien!' she cried in embarrassment, and immediately threw herself to the floor to pick it up. 'Here it is.' She handed the paper to Adrien.

'Now you have to read what it says,' said Chloé, secretly dying to check whether Sabrina had carried out her instructions. 'We all want to know who you'll get to impersonate,' she declared in a sing-song voice so full of cheer that Alya couldn't resist making a face at her.

Adrien looked at the piece of paper in his hand and paled. His mouth flapped open and shut a couple of times, but it was obvious to the class he was rendered speechless. Instead, he passed it to Nino who read it aloud so that everyone could hear it. 'It says "Chat Noir" here. Wow, congrats dude, you get to be one of our superheroes for the evening!'

Adrien smiled faintly and sat down to absorb this news. Sabrina walked to Nino and he drew the paper marked "Darkblade". 'Not bad, huh?!' He showed the lot to Alya who was seated behind him.

Now it was Marinette's turn. Her hands were shaking just like Sabrina's. She really didn't want to get to dress as Ladybug, now even more since Adrien was going to be Chat. After all, who would want to see a super duo, half of which was temporarily mute due to terrible shyness towards the other half?

Nevertheless, she managed to pull out a piece of paper without causing any accident. The name on her lot said "Santa Claws". She breathed with relief. 'And to think I worried so much,' she thought. 'Tikki was right'.

As Marinette and Sabrina were preoccupied with the draw, Alya didn't waste her time. She paid careful attention towards Sabrina's sleeves. She thought she saw something stacked in the left one before Sabrina approached Adrien, but when the girl went to Nino, she couldn't see it anymore. That was suspicious. Alya still tried to figure out what was Chloé's agenda and she gasped at the sudden realization: that spoiled girl probably wanted to pair with Adrien for the party! And what better occasion to spend time with the boy than to dress him up as Chat Noir and become Ladybug herself? 'So that's her plan!' Suddenly all the pieces clicked into place. 'That means Sabrina must have hidden the Ladybug lot somewhere on herself so that no one but Chloé could draw it!' she concluded.

When Sabrina came towards Alya and brought the beret closer to her, Alya pretended to mix all the pieces before drawing one, while at the same time she looked for the place where Sabrina might have hidden a certain lot. There was something white just under Sabrina's right sleeve! Alya moved forward like she was about to fall over and caught Sabrina's right hand for support. 'Sorry, Sabrina, I must have slipped,' she said apologetically as she pulled a piece of paper from the sleeve of the unsuspecting girl with a gentle tug and pretended she had already drawn it out of the beret.

'So, what does it say? Tell us!' Nino urged Alya to reveal her character for the party.

'It says "Ladybug"!' Alya exclaimed with what she hoped sounded like genuine surprise.

'WHAT?!' snapped Chloé, but then thought better of it and sat back clutching her fists.

'Wow, that's fantastic, Alya!' said Marinette, relieved. 'Now you get to be a superhero just like you always wanted!'

'Yeah, that is great!' said Alya dismissively, as she turned her eyes to Chloé, who looked extremely angry. She was making muffled noises and glared at Sabrina with murder in her eyes.

'Gotcha!' thought Alya with quiet satisfaction. 'And prepare yourself, girl, for this is just the beginning. I have a plan myself!' She smiled inwards at this promise.

The rest of the lottery was uneventful, except for Chloé's rage which she failed to conceal. By the time Sabrina approached her with the last two lots in the beret, Chloé was boiling. Without even looking at her friend she pulled one of the remaining lots from the hat. She took a look at it and groaned, this time not even attempting to hide her discontent.

'What is it, Chloé?' called Kim. 'Who did you get?'

Chloé sent him a piercing stare. 'Kung Food!' she burst out.

There was a collective gasp at this news. As Chloé was responsible for quite an impressive amount of akumatizations, Kung Food was possibly one of the most terrifying. The villain actually tried to cook the girl in his soup. And Chloé loathed soups. Well, at least after Kung Food she acquired a very good reason.

'And there's post-akumatization karma for you,' Alya murmured. She thought only Marinette, Nino and Adrien would hear her, but in fact her comment reached everybody, including Miss Bustier. The teacher took pity on Chloé and raised her voice.

'Let me remind you, that the purpose of this whole exercise is to challenge the negative experience together and to support one another in their struggle,' she announced. 'As you remember, we've also agreed that you can swap lots, as long as there is mutual consent to do so,' she added, looking directly at Chloé, who was already whispering feverishly into Sabrina's ear. Her friend was shaking all over with dread.

'Now you can start preparing your costumes. The party is in three days,' the teacher continued. 'Chloé and Sabrina – thank you for organizing the draw. Let me know if you need any help with the party,' she added. 'That will be all for today, thank you.'

AN: Soooo, you think Adrien's down on his luck? Well, just wait till the next chapter. I certainly can make him more miserable… [wicked smile]