Half & Half

.9.

"Copy Cat"

(Part 2)


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"I'm sure you've outdone yourself, Théa." A light voice said from her right. A young lady with dark chocolate hair pulled into a perfect bun turned towards the speaker and was pleasantly surprised to find none other than Mayor Bourgeois, rotund and hair greying towards the roots, in an impeccable state of dress with a silky black pant suit.

Théa smiled, a sort of eagerness bottled up inside her as she considered the decent sized audience that the event had attracted. "It was my honor. And I can't wait to meet Ladybug, I hope he'll autograph the photo I used as the inspiration for the statue."

Andréa peeked up at the veiled masterpiece, a child-like sort of gleam in her deep blue eyes that Théa found quite charming for a woman of her age. "Oh, it's nearly time. Ladybug and Chat Noir should already be here by now."

A crowd was gathered at The Place des Vosges, throngs of people buzzing with excitement. The two of them were somewhere towards the front, not far off from the center statue of the place, covered with a with a clean white sheet. Théa Barbot nibbled her cheek in deep thought, nerves fried from sleepless nights and trying not to pick at her calloused hands from work. Trying to put herself at ease, she burrowed her left hand into her dark blazer and fiddled with the edge of her prized picture. She had given her all into this statue, she knew that Ladybug had to love it- she had captured his very essence. It was perfect. Like him.

"Hey, everybody!" and the crowd's noise increased tenfold at the sight of a boyish youth hugged by red and black, swooping through the air. He had a welcoming grin stretching his cheeks on his way down, his fans making way for him like a parting sea, only to surge forwards again as if to embrace him. He laughed joyously, and had to worm his way through the horde. Soon enough, the lad was standing right in front of artist and mayor, a hand held out in greeting. "Théa Barbot, correct? You designed my statue? I bet it's amazing."


.

Meanwhile, Al and Adrienne were still having a crisis, the blonde googling different ways an audio message could be retrieved or deleted, only to come up empty handed. Al was suggesting that she either find a way to snatch his phone by meeting up with him that day, or accepting her fate and letting him listen to the message on his own. However, when the two called to see if he could hang out, the boy didn't answer his phone. When calling the bakery and asking his parents, they were told that he had left the house just then. Al grumbled, "Marion never mentioned anything about going out today. I just saw him, like, an hour ago. But hey, he was charging his phone cause it was on low batt, and he hasn't answered my texts lately. My boy is way forgetful, so it should be in his house somewhere."

Adrienne wanted to protest against stealing his phone- they would have to go to his house, after all. But she found she might not have any other choice. In the midst of trying to find a reasonable solution that didn't involve breaking and entering, a flicker of red passing them by caught their attention, the red blur taking shape of a young man doing acrobatics in the air before landing in The Place des Vosges.

"They're unveiling Ladybug and Cat Noir's sculptures today! I totally spaced!" Al exclaimed, whipping out his phone to check the time.

"Oh." Adrienne frowned as the realization settled in her. "I probably won't be able to make it, either."

"You're going too? I thought you had fencing." Al turned on her to raise a thick brow. "Listen. About Marion's cell phone, what if we go right after?"

"If we wait after the ceremony, Marion might have his phone back by then."

"Shoot. I gotta cover this event for the Ladyblog... I'm sorry, Adrienne!"

Adrienne looked unsure, but found her resolve, knowing that it wouldn't be fair to drag Al along with her to fix her mistake. "It's fine. I'll find a way."

"You sure?"

"Go ahead, Al."

"Cool. Good luck, seriously. His passcode is 2-4-6-6-4-7. Got it?"

"Got it, thanks!" And she watched as her classmate made a beeline for the event across the street. She sighed tiredly, slapping a palm to her forehead in defeat. How was she going to do this? She felt squirming in her breast pocket, and her black, cat-eared companion poked himself out of her bag. Plagg yawned, "So, Chat Noir isn't going to be there?"

She pursed her lips, trying to weigh her options. She felt a little guilty that one of her responsibilities to the public and her partner would be put on hold for a personal issue, but she couldn't risk possibly losing any sort of chance with the boy of her dreams. She wanted for him to find out about her feelings on her own terms. The blonde squared her shoulders. "I wish she could, but Adrienne still has something to take care of."

The little devil side eyed her and then rolled his eyes. He hated when she spoke in third person. Retreating back into her pocket, Plagg gave her a dismissive flick of his tail. "Sure, whatever. As long as I can nap longer."


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Théa could have been dreaming. It was surreal, her idol standing just two feet away from her, blue-black hair swept from the wind and sapphire eyes blazing from behind a vermilion mask. He looked distracted, however, as she and the mayor meant to entertain him, head turning towards the skies then, eyes searching. "Excuse me, Ladybug-"

"Where is that alley cat?" Ladybug muttered. He gave Théa an apologetic glance, "No worries, I'm sure she'll be here any minute. Neither of us wanted to miss this."

She paid no mind to that. She wasn't particularly concerned with Chat Noir's appearance, after all. Théa swallowed thickly, taking out the photo from her pocket and holding out a pen. "It's just that, I wanted to ask if you could autograph this photo. You're just so amazing. So brave and smart, the way you always save everyone…"

As Théa was singing her high praises, Ladybug grew a slow smile, cheek dimpling on the left. Touched, his voice was laced with affection. "Thank you. It's always a special privilege of mine to be of help."

He accepted the pen and paper from her grip and signed it with smooth calligraphy. He handed the photo back to her and she took it into her hands like something precious. Her chest swelled with passion. Ladybug was so kind, someone loved by all. She took in his smiling face, hoping that maybe, she could be the one to be loved by him, too.


.

Adrienne took a deep breath and forced herself into the bakery, a chime above her head announcing her entry. She was immediately enveloped by the smells of sugar and wheat and everything sweet. Her mouth watered a bit. She had always had a bit of a sweet tooth, but couldn't indulge often since her mother insisted only on healthy snacks. But, for herself, substitutes like granola and honey could never compare to the warmth of a homemade cookie. She smiled a bit to herself. From underneath Marion's light cologne, she could always make out the scent of the boulangerie .

She didn't have many chances to visit the bakery with her busy schedule, so she found herself trying to breathe it all in. She felt a bit out of sorts, appreciating how the cozy house suited her dear friend, but also discreetly counting the other patrons and trying to find a way up to the house, past the counter where M. Dupain was-

"Adrienne!" The short, raven-haired man looked positively delighted. "How are you, my dear?"

Adrienne flushed at being caught, locking her gaze with grey, upturned eyes, looking like a deer in headlights. She stammered in a higher pitch, "Monsieur Cheng! Comment allez-vous?"

He smiled so that the skin around his eyes wrinkled. "I'm doing well, merci. Is there something I can help you with?"

"Um, yeah. Is Marion in his room? Al says he has my textbook here." For Adrienne, the lie comes out smoothly.

He shook his head. "Marion isn't here right now, but why don't you head on up and look for it? I have to stay here to watch the bakery."

"Okay." Adrienne breathed out heavily and nodded, her stomach twisting into knots. At the concerned look M. Cheng gave her, she quickly shook herself and spouted another lie, "Pardon! I'm fine, it's just really hot outside. The walk here was brutal."

"Oh, you poor thing. My wife should be upstairs. She can help you to a glass of water if you ask. "Ah, a witness. Shit. She hoped that his father won't expose her later that day. And won't mention her snooping around his room.

Adrienne beamed nonetheless and gratefully made her way into the living space of the bakery, but not without a, "Merci!"

Adrienne tried to keep her steps light on the way up to the living room, ready to swerve out of sight if need be. It was most likely that M. Cheng would mention her visit in passing to his family later, but for the time being she still wanted to avoid another witness if she could. She gracefully kept on her toes upon entering, not letting herself get distracted by the floral and pink accents of the kitchen and lounging area that was so befitting of her prince-

"Oh! Bonjour, Adrienne." Dammit. The poor teen felt the thin hair of her arms stand on end.

"Bonjour, Madame Cheng!" She hoped her years of modeling paid off in her acting. "I'm just gonna be in and out! Marion borrowed my textbook."

"Please, call me Tammy. And what's the rush? Have you eaten yet?" The woman wiped her flour covered fingers onto an already heavily powdered apron and took her ashy brown hair out of its small bun. Adrienne laughed nervously. "It's okay. I'm going to eat at home."

When the woman's soft, round features scrunched in distaste Adrienne winced, already knowing the silent lecture that was coming. Tammy Dupain-Cheng was a big girl, with luscious curves that fashion magazines from her mother's line was void of. And she had big arms for the biggest, warmest hugs to match her warm heart. "My, but I just finished making a quiche and a fresh batch of cookies."

"I would love to, but I'm on a diet."

"You're already very thin. I understand you're a model, but," The woman smiled kindly again, but something there was firm, and they both knew her next offer was indisputable. "You're a growing girl! Just a snack couldn't hurt. Why don't you grab what you need from Marion's room and join me for lunch afterwards?"


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Chat Noir was still a no-show. Ladybug resisted the urge to nibble on his nails in front of his fans. There were guilty, ugly feelings of resentment bubbling in him for his partner, but he quickly stomped them out. Chat Noir could be held up by something in her civilian life. He just hoped he wasn't visibly pouting to himself.

"It's only proper for Paris to pay homage to those to protect us from evil. Ladybug and Chat Noir!" Ladybug snapped out of his gloom for a moment by the mayor's announcement, taking in the flawless, bronze work, but a shade less enthusiastic about it than before. If anyone had the idea that he was uninterested in the statues, that definitely wasn't the case. It was just...

Had he misread something? Him and Chat Noir had talked excitedly to each other when they got the news, but was he remembering it wrong? Was it just him that had been thrilled at the idea of them, their partnership, immortalized side by side? A monument to their relationship and everything they've been through together? They'd been looking forward to the unveiling for weeks. Did he have it completely wrong? How could she just forget?

"Can I get some photos for the Ladyblog?" Ladybug was once again forced back into focus on one happy Al Césaire. In the confusion of picture taking and autographs, he didn't catch the crestfallen face of Théa, who, when she saw traces of disappointment in her hero, gripped the picture in her pocket as hard as the grip he had on her heart.

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Sorry for my absence as of late! It's been rough couple of months but C'est la vie :/ thank you all very much for your support. Your comments, follows, favorites, or even just the effort and time put into reading this is very appreciated, and I very much hope you'll come back to this story. Again, if there are any situations or suggestions anyone might like to see, I'd be very happy to hear from you!