AN:/ This chapter has another big nod to the fantasy theme I have here. Just a fair warning. Also, when it comes time, fonts are given to each character to differentiate who's calling and who's responding. Chloe is italics and underlined. Marinette is italics and bold. Together they're italic, bold, AND underlined. Please enjoy the read and I'll see you at the end of the chapter.
"Dis-Disqualified?" Marinette sputtered. Her first reaction after questioning Tikki's decision was to question her surroundings. A dream! It has to be! Her fingers pinched a bit of her thigh as she waited for Tikki's response.
"I am so sorry Marinette, I-" Tikki looked at her straight on yet everything in her body language screamed that she wanted to look away. In Tikki's defense, if she showed any signs of not being serious, Marinette wouldn't have believed it on first thought. Tikki's eyes were a smooth calm ocean color glazed over with the mystery Marinette had forgotten was there. Her thigh began to throb but Marinette only continued to pinch harder. Has to be.
"Tikki-You saw her out there." Chat Noir jumped into action. He stood right behind Marinette, put one hand on her shoulder, and used the other to emphasize his words.
"I know." Tikki's words were lost to him. No matter what she said at this point it was going to be drowned in questioning. Tikki just stood there and took in the anger that the blond couldn't contain all the while offering apologies to the grieving girl behind him. Marinette's thigh was beginning to bruise and tears began welling in her eyes.
"They came for her."
"The rules were simple."
"Please make an exception Tikki. She had a whole different dance planned out. Let her redo her dance-the one she planned. I'm sure the crowd wouldn't mind the extra entertainment." He had all valid points and Tikki wasn't fighting that. Chat and Marinette could both see the confliction in Tikki's face. With an extra few pushes, Chat was positive he could get a do over. Marinette, on the other hand, wasn't going to press the situation. Rules were rules. And I broke them.
"Listen, Marinette broke the rules and I-" The blond was in the business of cutting opinions off. Tikki right now was his business's top client.
"No! She didn't! I shouldn't have gotten on stage!" Chat Noir motioned his hand to his chest so fast that he didn't have time to stop himself from smacking himself in the chest. The momentum created a loud thud and made his voice waver for a second.
"Chat...I pulled you...on...It's my fault." With each pause there was a hitch in her breath. Despite her tears, Marinette's voice was still very quiet. She wasn't breaking. It was a voice of someone who was taking in a lot of information. The tears were just the excess emotion.
"It doesn't matter who did what. It has already been announced. Chloe remains as Ladybug."
"Well she can challenge her again right? So they can dance again right now." Push forward. It took less than two seconds for Chat to disobey Tikki's words and push through the curtains to the platform.
Saying the crowd was unhappy was an understatement. There was a group plus a line at the bar demanding to talk to management. Chloe was out on the floor shaking hands of people who, somehow, cheered for her. Plagg was at the counter with his hands up but his words were drowned out by the complaints. It wasn't mayhem but the bar was losing money by the second.
"Everybody...please listen." Chat Noir begged the audience. He didn't need to ask twice. Every set of eyes were on him and the tension in the air rose. Plagg was motioning to his throat in a horizontal direction. Either he was threatening him with a swift death or he was telling him to stop talking. Another push forward. "I implore you to stay a moment longer. I would like ev-"
He went cold.
Marinette's fingers gently gripped his wrist. Her touch wasn't timid, shy, or upset. It was-intimate? And determined. Her touch was overflowing with determination. She wanted him to stand down...to stop addressing the crowd. It wasn't the first time that she asserted herself but every time she does, Chat Noir is taken aback.
"I am sorry everyone. I have let you down." Her voice was very forward and strong. She made her way in front of Chat and held herself like a champion rather than feel bad for herself behind the scenes. "I would like to ask all of you for a second chance." Chat took notice of the bruise on the back on her thigh very quickly. Guilt filled overflowed and filled any space that wasn't occupied with strategies to help Marinette out. He wanted to escape the stage but despite Marinette being in front of him, she hadn't let go of his wrist. "It was wrong of me and I would like to perform again. Ladybug-"
Chloe stood still in the crowd with her arms crossed. Her glare didn't falter throughout the whole speech. Sabrina was at her side, whispering in her ear. A couple of her fans were mumbling amongst themselves.
"If you were okay with it. Could we do this over?" Marinette released Chat to offer the opposite hand out to her foe. Chloe's eyes darted from Marinette to her outstretched hand then back to her. "Fair and square?" There was a huff before Chloe helped herself onto the stage, completely disregarding the help. Sabrina followed her like a shadow.
"Well if we do this again. Let's make it interesting!" No one liked the sound of that. Chloe continued, "I win...again…"
Sabrina was in her all black uniform. Marinette knew it was so she could scurry behind the curtains and not be noticed. Although everyone knew her as Ladybug's extra hand, the all black would often remind some of the staff of a certain cat. There were some times that Marinette suspected she wanted to be more than just a helper.
"You abandon all hope of being on stage. At all. Forever." Sabrina had her chest puffed out and proclaimed terms that she knew Chloe would approve of. In fact, Chloe stood behind her smugly. She was right in her assumptions.
"Oh, and you take me on a date." Chloe tacked on the extra bit. She had pointed behind Marinette then curled her finger and chewed on the nail. "When I win."
"I'm not available." Chat Noir was quick to refuse.
"Oh? And why is that?" The blond froze. He couldn't say he was together with Marinette. He couldn't even say that he always thought of her. Marinette has already expressed there was nothing going on. Or rather, refused to disclose something had transpired. He was available...in a sense. "What I thought. Then we have a deal."
"Chat…" Marinette's tone erred on the side of caution. Her stance said it all. She didn't want him to agree at the same time she recognized it was his decision. Marinette didn't want to admit to it, but everything about that deal just made her blood boil. She didn't want to disclose how she felt about him. Because honestly? She didn't want to say until she was 100% certain, beyond a reasonable doubt, that she wanted to be with him. That being said...a certain flower child kept her at only 99% positive.
"You're not losing." Chat reassured her. As if there wasn't already enough pressure.
"And if I win?" Marinette's voice was challenging.
"You become Ladybug." Sabrina's answer was obvious. That part of the deal was. On the other hand, Marinette had another bet in mind.
"You abandon all hope of being with Chat Noir." Not obvious at all. Gotta think fast. "You are constantly bothering him. I want you to leave him alone." Nice one, Marinette. It wasn't just a cover up for the obvious but a simple observation. Anyone with eyes could see that Chat Noir despised being pulled around by Ladybug. He never says or does anything about it but it was as plain as day on his face.
Chloe and Sabrina shared an expression of shock. The statement had hit them pretty hard in the face. Sabrina wanted to fight for Chloe's honor and Chloe wanted to simply argue she was never a bother. They also never considered Marinette being a threat to a relationship between Chat Noir and Chloe Bourgeois. Before another word is said, Tikki walks in from stage right with Plagg following not long after upstage.
In that moment, it was clear that the owners were mad but allowed the chaos to save the night. "Well? Do you accept the terms of this next dance?" Her question wasn't directed to any of the four. The customers that had left were filing back in and the answer for Tikki came in hordes of screaming. People who had missed the previous events were packing themselves. Any more and it would start smelling fishy. "The verdict has been overruled."
"And with that a contract has been made." Plagg wasn't known for encouraging magic tricks but if the time called for theatrics then theatrics there must be. His arms were held out straight with his wrists flicked up. Tikki stood strong behind him and created a hologram of a contract between the two of them. In green lettering were the bets they had placed. Two empty lines with an 'x' to the left laid below the agreement. "All that's left is the verbal confirmation. For this, we need complete silence."
You could hear a pin drop.
"Ladybug? Do you agree to the arrangement?" Plagg had dropped a pitch or two. The room waited eagerly for her response.
"Yes. I do." Chloe's response was so forced it almost sounded sarcastic. A scribble on the first line was hard to make out but it was her signature. It was a good thing Chloe never took time to sign anything important so it looked like a line with a little ladybug on the end.
"Challenger?" Tikki's voice had gotten just as stern and mysterious as the day she met her.
"Of course. Yes." Marinette's signature started to write. As soon as an "M-a" was written in elegant cursive, the contract rolled up, shrunk down, and fell into Plagg's hands. She let out a puff of relief, knowing her name was still confidential.
"Since the decision was impromptu, so will the dance. Duet style." 'The Boy is Mine' by Brandy and Monica eased onto the speakers. The stage cleared the way for the two. Marinette gazed at the pole. Two dancers competing with only one beam. This wasn't going to be easy. It would take a lot of talent to pull in as much attention as she would need to pull this off.
'I'm Brandy.' Chloe mouthed to Marinette. Marinette barely caught it but nodded. At least they were on the same page. She would have picked Monica anyways. The lights blacked out and relit in a small dance of red and pink spotlights. The red one fell on Chloe and the pink claimed Marinette.
"Excuse me," Chloe sauntered up to Marinette, making sure her hips were in full swing. When she made it up to her, Chloe planted her hands on her hips and leaned towards her competitor. "Can I please talk to you for a minute?"
"Uh Huh, sure." Marinette crossed her arms causing her body to firm up and seem predatory. "You know you look kinda familiar." She pushed the blonde away from her with a finger to her forehead. The proximity between the two was too close.
"Yea, you do too but," Chloe made her way back over to the pole and spun gently once around and looked back at Marinette. "Umm" She swung her tight ponytail. "I just wanted to know...do you know somebody named…" She pretended to look at her manicured nails then glared over them at Marinette. "You know his name."
"Oh, yea definitely, I know his name." Marinette passed Chloe and stood stage left with her back to the girl groping the pole. The pink spot light diligently followed its mark. She reached to start fixing her jacket. If it weren't for the pink light, a blush would be visible on her cheeks. She could either admit that she forgot about the long discarded jacket or she could fiddle with another piece of clothing. Her fingers plucked at the highest point of her lace trimmed top—placing it back to where she felt it belonged. She opted for option two.
"I just wanted to let you know, he's mine."
"Huh?" Marinette pivoted and sashayed with the sass of an underestimated queen. The stature of a woman's rule that would bring nations to their feet. Her hair flipped out perfectly and her eyes stone cold. "No, no, he's mine."
The chorus rang about the room and each dancer competed for the center of the stage. For the most part, Chloe was consuming all the time possible on the pole, forcing Marinette to dance around her-almost as support than a competitor. But Marinette was smart. Even if it hadn't dawned on her just yet, if it was to end here and she had to take one thing from this whole ordeal, there was only one blinding fact.
A supporting character, no matter how small, can steal the show.
"I think it's time we got this straight." Marinette had gotten a hold of the beam and Chloe was dancing around trying to get Marinette's attention. When Chloe would be facing her dead on, Marinette would twirl and face the other direction. In a moment of unclear anger, Chloe pulled Marinette's loose hair and forced her to stay in one spot. "Let's sit and talk face to face," her face got extremely close to Marinette's and she couldn't shake her loose. Marinette was pulling away but Chloe only kept leaning forward.
"There is no way you could mistake-" She finally let go of her hair. Marinette let a huff of relief but even the relief was short lived. Chloe plucked Marinette's fingers from holding the bar and Marinette fell the short distance to the ground. Everyone who worked at the bar saw this pattern in Chloe's attitude and it wasn't popular to the audience. It benefited her none. It was just pure childishness. "Him for your man, are you insane?"
"See I know that you may be" Marinette played it off and pretended to brush off dust from her costume. The smirk she wore was 99 shades of sass. It was such a raw emotion that it forced Chloe to return with her own form of expression. Chloe looked at her with disgust. "Just a bit jealous of me," Chloe had walked into the trap Marinette laid. To the customers, that's exactly what it looked like. It looked like Chloe pushed her and pulled her hair because she was jealous. Marinette was playing her like a well-tuned fiddle. "Cause you're blind if you can't see" Marinette rolled to her feet. Her hands laid gently on her chest where her heart was and pulsed it a couple times. "That his love is all in me."
"See I tried to hesitate" Chloe walked towards the front of the stage and covered her mouth. "I didn't want to say what he told me." She turned her head to glance at her. "He said without me he couldn't make it through the day," she feigned an apologetic look while shrugging her shoulders. "Ain't that a shame?"
The dance soon became more akin to a theatrical cat fight than dancing. Sure, there were some twirls and lots of bouncing but it was mostly a battle. Chloe had gotten so far into it that she had her arms all over the place. Marinette always stood firm in her 'argument' and slayed every movement with her expressions. The crowd had grown silent since the beginning. The drama was a train wreck that no one could look away from but didn't want to admit they were watching unfold.
"He is a part of my life," Chloe had her arms spread out and one leg further than the other as she belted along to the song. She turned around, leaned forward, and pointed to Marinette who was sitting in the air like there was an invisible chair with her back against the cold metal. "I know it's killing you inside."
Marinette rolled her eyes for the ninth time. Chloe was getting too much soul into the performance and didn't focus on how it looked. Her belting was far off key and didn't match the tempo. "From the truth you can't escape." Marinette sang smoothly from her stomach and rolled her arms; first motioning to herself then to Chloe. "I can tell the real from the fake."
"When will you get the picture?" Chloe didn't get the hint from Marinette's sudden stanza of song. Her voice wasn't bad-it was just off key and off tempo. It could be a reason to dock points from her, but the two girls were lost to it at this point. Marinette tried to warn her. She didn't get it. There were no second chances. "You're the past, I'm the future. Get away it's my time to shine, if you didn't know the boy is mine."
Saying I'm the past would insinuate that there was anything to begin with. Marinette checked out for a moment. There was something. She started to think about the moments she practiced hours upon hours together. The way he delicately lifted her as if he was so afraid of breaking her. She saw the glances. Knew the way he looked at her when he thought she wasn't looking. He'd stand up for her when she wasn't around to speak up for herself. He even brought her a flower once. Dark chocolate of all things! She inwardly chuckled as she took a few steps closer so that she was flush against the queen bee. As if I don't get enough sweets at the bakery.
Chloe added pressure where their chests met. Marinette's feet were grounded and she didn't cave to the pressure.
"I'm sorry that you," once Marinette was inches away from Chloe's face, Chloe was able to reset her tempo. They sang in sync. It was clear whose voice was whose. All Marinette could hope for was that the duet was able to be properly scored. After this, whomever won is a fair winner. She wouldn't complain.
"Seem to be confused." After all. How could she? She gave it her all.
"He belongs to me" Everyone helped her through it. Tikki lent her the old costumes. Nino provided music to dance along to. It was hard to pick the right song most of the time and Nino was there with a computer and a smile. And Alya? How could a person live without the emotional support of a good best friend? And Chat Noir. He pulled it all together in the nick of time.
"The boy is mine."
"Chat Noir is mine."
AN:/ Sorry for the long wait! I passed my exams (with a .04% over passing!) Thank you for all those who have patiently waited. Between the last time I updated and today, I posted the first chapter to the companion story. Now, I know most of you haven't seen it yet. It's called "In Search of Her Spotlight". I am currently on the lookout for a good BETA if anyone is interested. I just picked up a second job (at a bakery) so my update schedule is going to look similar to this past update.
Who will win? It could go either way to follow the story line! Vote now on your phones!