A/N:
Hey peeps!
First of all, I'd like to give a shoutout to "Cherry", for her amazing words of encouragement! I will definitely follow on some of your requests!
And now, on with the chapter!
Chloe never asked to be cursed. She had never done anything to deserve her rotten fate.
Every day, Chloe would wonder, 'Why me? What did I do to deserve this?'
Finally, she had decided that it wasn't her fault. None of this was. It was that traitor, Marinette. Everything was her fault!
For some reason, it's a lot easier to blame all your problems on one person, than to blame yourself.
For Chloe, Marinette was that person.
And as Marinette approached Chloe with a huge smile on her face, Chloe didn't know whether to laugh, or cry at how unlucky she was.
Settling on a fake smile, the blonde stood her ground as Marinette squealed excitedly, and embraced her.
This is just Lila all over again, she thought, bitterly.
Finally pulling away, the bluenette noticed Chloe's strained smile, and took a step back.
Chloe glanced at Marinette's dress again. "You look beautiful," she said, trying not to sound begrudging.
Marinette immediately blushed. "Thank you! You look beautiful-er!" and after realizing what she said, "I mean not fuller, but more- uh- more beautiful!"
Chloe couldn't help but smile softly at Marinette's rambling, and beetroot-red face.
She was, responsible for the accident or not, still Marinette. Adorable, shy, and clumsy Marinette. Who could stay mad at her for long?
After thanking her, Chloe turned away, and looked around. "So," she mused aloud, "This is what a party looks like."
The aspiring designer tilted her head. "What's that smell?" she pondered.
Both girls sniffed the air. "Chocolate!" They cried in unison, and giggled at their child-like love for the dessert.
Then, a ball of determination, a.k.a Alya, tackled Marinette as fiercely as she had tackled Chloe, and immediately started interrogating her, as to why she had gone, "M.I.A".
Soon, Nino and Adrien caught up with them, and the DJ gently pried Alya off of Marinette.
As content as she was, Chloe couldn't help but feel slightly uneasy at the fact that Adrien's gaze never once strayed from Marinette, and the raven-haired girl blushed every time he opened his mouth.
She was just about to say something, when someone cleared their throat behind her.
It was Kim, the very first guest she had greeted. Chloe had only known Kim for thirty minutes, and she could already tell how annoying he was. The mayor's daughter had, had a hard time socializing with other people, especially because Kim had stuck to her side like a leech.
Kim cleared his throat again, pulling Chloe back into the present. He offered her his hand. "Dance with me?" he asked, hopefully.
Chloe looked back at her friends for support, but Alya had already herded them back to the dance floor.
Some friends I have, Chloe thought bitterly, as she took Kim's hand.
Five horribly long minutes later, Chloe dragged her aching feet to the refreshment table. Kim hadn't stepped on her feet once. Not twice, and not even thrice.
Kim had stepped on her feet four bloody times.
Why, oh why, did it have to be an upbeat song? Chloe was glad she was wearing gloves, otherwise she would have deliberately frozen Kim's smug-self, and "accidently" toppled him onto the floor.
The blonde shook her head. If she thought such dark thoughts, who knows what would happen. Her powers could spiral out of control.
She poured herself a cup of room-temperature punch, ignoring the ice-cold pink lemonade besides it. She had way too much ice in her life, anyway.
"Chloe! Is that you, again? We must stop meeting like this!" a haughty voice called out besides her, interrupting her thoughts. Was that an Italian-lilted voice?
"What do you want?" Chloe grumbled, not looking up from her punch.
She didn't need to look at Lila to know that the Italian was feigning a look of hurt. "Why Chloe," she cooed. "Don't talk to me like in that tone! We're friends, aren't we, chica?"
The blonde resisted the urge to strangle Lila. "We. Are. Not Friends." She seethed, finally looking into cold, olive green eyes.
Before Lila could say anything, Chloe continued,
"Friends don't make each other cry. Friends don't humiliate each other in public. Friends don't abandon you," she paused, and thought of all the times Marinette, Alya, Nino, and Adrien sat outside her door, begging her to come out.
"Even when you've abandoned them." She finished, quietly, looking down into her drink again.
Lila was quiet for a second, but a smirk soon sidled onto her lips again.
"I wouldn't be too sure about that last part," she said, staring at something in the distance.
Chloe followed her line of sight, and gasped.
In the midst of the dancers, Adrien and Marinette were swaying softly together, and were way too close for Chloe's comfort.
Not only that, but they seemed to be leaning in, closer and closer…
"NOOOOOO!"
