Chapter 13: Second Chances - Part II

Where Adrien had Chloe to come to his aid, Gabriel had Nathalie.

The woman was unrelenting when it came to her work, after all, so it came as no surprise. It made no difference that he was her boss; Nathalie was there each day to pick him up and guide him back to work. With her insistent encouragement, Gabriel found improvement, managing to bury the majority of burdening blame and moving forward with his life. There was no knowing if Nathalie acted out of dedication to her job as his assistant or dedication to him as a person. It was likely a happy medium of the two. Perhaps Gabriel had anticipated that dedication—even counted on it.

So, when the day came for Adrien to fly off to London, Chloe felt she was leaving him in good hands. That didn't mean she didn't worry, of course.

"He's stopped sleepwalking now, but he still needs to remember his medication so he isn't restless during the night. Oh! And make sure he doesn't embarrass himself with that ridiculous British accent he's been attempting. If he does that on camera, I can't be seen with him in public ever again... And don't forget that—"

"I won't forget anything. I'm an assistant, not a clueless babysitter. Have some faith," Nathalie said, adjusting her carry-on bag. The crisp, professional air about her was broken by a sideways smile. "You gave him his legs, I'll help him start walking, and when he's ready to run, he'll run. He'll get there someday, don't worry."

Chloe swallowed the built up emotion in her throat, forcing herself to relax at Nathalie's words. It was true. After working to get Adrien to a more stable state, he was finally taking his first step towards normalcy. He was taking on a long-term job in London. He'd be in the public eye again, trying to replicate the same lively, ray of sunshine persona that defined his success. It was no small task, but Adrien had accepted the challenge. Chloe knew his reasons were mixed, a large part probably being a need to leave Paris for a while and escape into something that was his own and held no reminders. Modeling was the perfect answer.

"C-Chloe. You're crushing my lungs," Adrien gasped as Chloe gave him a hug goodbye.

"I do it because I care," Chloe said defensively, constricting harder.

"Killing with kindness is still killing, ya know?" Adrien choked through a grin.

Chloe released him only to free up a hand to playfully jab him. "Oh, ha ha. Get a better sense of humor while you're away."

"Only if you get some new friends," Adrien countered.

"I have friends," Chloe said. It was a clear lie, and they both knew it.

Adrien might not go to school with Chloe, but he had never seen or heard about a single so-called friend unless he prompted her. Hell, he was still her shopping buddy. And he was an awful person to shop with. People recognized him too easily and their trips out would turn into autograph sessions instead of Chloe finding a new outfit. If Chloe had so much as a single friend besides him, Adrien was certain he wouldn't be the one getting dragged to the mall.

"Fine," Adrien let it slide. "But still, if I'm leaving, then you need someone to take my place. And I expect a call when you find a new study partner."

Chloe rolled her eyes. "You're not disappearing forever. I can survive without you for a year or two."

Only after the words had left her did Chloe realize her slip up. Adrien's face tightened with a strained smile, trying not to think about the person who did disappear forever, leaving him to figure out if he truly could survive without her.

"Yeah," Adrien said. His words were robotic. "I guess I worry too much, huh?"

When Nathalie called out, her best friend walked away on autopilot to board the jet. As Chloe watched the jet tear into the sky, she hoped for the answers Adrien would find on his journey:

Yes. He could survive Ladybug's death.

Marinette's return was broadcast on the morning announcements. Chloe tuned in just in time to hear the familiar name echo down the halls.

"Today, one of our old students returns to us. Ms. Marinette Dupain-Cheng's reasons for leaving last year were respectively kept private, but it has been requested that everyone be informed of her condition now that she has returned." There was a rustling of paper, and the announcer cleared his throat. "Last year, Ms. Dupain-Cheng experienced an accident that resulted in extensive memory loss."

A murmur rippled across the room. Classmates turned to each other, whispering fervently about the news and attempting to learn anything known about the unfortunate girl with memory loss. Chloe sat amidst the turning tide, motionless. She blinked. The motion felt both abrupt and agonizingly slow.

Chloe hadn't talked to Marinette since middle school. Yes, Chloe had always been aware of the fact that she and Marinette chose to attend the same high school, but she had not spoken to the girl once in their time here. They had never been in a class together, and while Chloe saw her in the corridors on the rare occasion that she drifted to an outlying hallway, there had always been the urge to avoid her at all costs. It was like that with all of her old classmates.

Chloe, finally capable of seeing how she'd mistreated her former classmates, never found the courage to face them. They had a right to hate her, but the possibility of facing that hate after everything she'd gone through to change was terrifying. It was terrifying because she wanted to apologize, but didn't know where to begin and dreaded how it would end. Was it even possible for them to accept something like that? Did she even deserve to be forgiven? Chloe didn't have the answers. So, she simply avoided ever finding out.

"The damage to her memory spans back many years. Anyone who has come in contact with Ms. Dupain-Cheng in that time is advised to be cautious in meeting her. She will likely have no recollection of old acquaintances or classmates, but do try approaching her, and if she can't remember you instantly, her memory should be triggered in due time. However, it is deeply stressed that students should not crowd Ms. Dupain-Cheng. Her brain is still recovering, and it does not cope well with an overload of information. So, please try not to have more than one person speak to her at a time, and don't try to force memory recollection. Let her remember things at her own speed. Any questions or concerns can be directed to Ms. Alya Césaire, who will be assisting Ms. Dupain-Cheng in her acclimation... That is all."

Chloe was presented with the opportunity to find her answers that very same afternoon. It wasn't particularly hard to notice Marinette when a whole hallway was a traffic jam of clusters of people trying to catch a glimpse of the day's celebrity. Stuck in a classroom doorway, Chloe was well within hearing range of Marinette and Alya as they walked past.

"So I guess 'don't crowd' translates to 'crowd at a respectable distance,' huh?" Chloe caught Alya's remark as the girl passed by.

"Oh, come on. Since when did anyone ever pay attention to what the announcements say?" Marinette asked, taking a moment to look around at the mass of people before shifting her eyes to the ground at the overwhelming number of faces. "Maybe we should call it an early day," she said, slightly strained and trying her best to mask her disappointment of not lasting the full school day.

A sudden wave of dizziness from exertion caused Marinette to stumble, and a last minute reflex caused her arm to latch onto the nearest possible thing to steady herself. This just so happened to be the strap of Chloe's bookbag. Thankfully far more sturdy than the strap that hadn't survived the two's initial encounter, the bag held Marinette's weight without any damage. Chloe, at the sudden force, was thrown sideways and needed to brace herself on the doorframe for support.

The moment came and went, and Marinette was upright once more.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" Marinette said immediately. Appreciatively putting a hand on Chloe's shoulder, she went on to say, "Dizziness definitely doesn't help my clumsiness. Thanks for the save!"

Marinette gave a dismissive laugh at the whole ordeal, and Chloe was left speechless. The girl she had once routinely humiliated was looking her in the eye, smiling, and squeezing her shoulder like she would a friend. No, this most certainly wasn't how she imagined her next conversation with Marinette going.

"U-Um, yeah. No problem," Chloe finally managed.

"Okay, one surprise trust fall is enough for now. Take it easy. An early day it is," Alya decided aloud, taking Marinette's forearm to guide and support if necessary. Alya briefly locked eyes with Chloe before steering Marinette away. Seeing something, or maybe a lack of something, Alya's face softened marginally. "Thank you," she said with full sincerity.

And that brought Chloe two-for-two on unlikely outcomes. After remaining frozen in place a minute after her old classmates had gone, someone eventually tapped on Chloe's shoulder to get by, snapping the blonde back to attention. Chloe went about the rest of her day uninterrupted, paying no mind to the nagging thoughts dancing around her head.

But the day's events kept her awake that night. In particular, her interaction with Marinette had Chloe staring up at her ceiling for hours. There hadn't been any recognition in Marinette's eyes. No hint of the wrongs that Chloe had done to her. Marinette had only seen Chloe in her present self, and she had treated her as a friend.

A part of Chloe's mind entertained the idea of living that feeling again. Exploring it. Embracing it. Coming to know a Marinette that didn't recall memories of a manipulative, snobbish brat when she looked at Chloe. It was a foolish thought to entertain, Chloe knew. If she was given another minute with Marinette, that dream would undoubtedly have shattered the moment Marinette's brain connected enough pieces.

Chloe eventually drifted to sleep after accepting the inevitability that was Marinette linking her to her past self. Even still, she cherished the moment, repeating Marinette's smile over and over again in her mind to relive the kindness and delude herself into feeling that in some way she was worthy of it.

Déjà vu, to a recovering Marinette, was so common that she could no longer mark where the sensation began and where it ended. Most of everything she saw she was seeing for a second time, so the feeling was only natural. Marinette had come to expect it. This made for a fairly confusing ordeal when something she was subconsciously expecting didn't go as remembered.

For instance, Marinette might have the passing sensation that she was meant to babysit Manon after school. One afternoon, Marinette found herself at Ms. Chamack's door, only to be reminded by the family friend that Manon was now several years older and no longer required a babysitter. Such seeming contradictions felt unnatural. It was like stroking sandpaper and feeling the touch of silk. Luckily, confusing certain aspects of a memory was rare, sparing Marinette from frequently having to sort out reality.

However, faced with today's Chloe Bourgeois, a far cry from the classic Chloe of her memories, Marinette's brain was in for quite the puzzle.

Of the four desks at the table, only one was filled. Unknowingly, the familiarity of seeing Chloe sitting alone was what caught Marinette's eye when she walked into the room. Just as before, Marinette was drawn to help.

"Now that all the classes have arrived, I'll go over the instructions one more time." Waving in the last class to stand at the far side of the room, Mr. Lacroix then clapped his hands together and began. "As many of you may already know, there is a mandatory senior project for all business and fashion students. This project also doubles as a competition. Keep in mind, your project is of great importance to not only your grade, but also to your future in the industry. This is a platform. Use it as such." His eyes raked the crowd, as though daring anyone not willing to take the challenge seriously to leave. When everyone remained seated, he continued.

"In previous years, this was an independent project. You've probably guessed by the desk arrangement that this will no longer be the case. For an additional challenge, your teachers have decided to make this a cross-classroom group project. This will add an element of realism—while your success largely relies on individual capabilities, being able the mesh and work cohesively with coworkers is arguably the most important and necessary skill in today's world."

"We ask that you separate into groups of four. Not three. Not five. Four. Don't think I was born yesterday and come to me with excuses; I know everything divides evenly. And the classes must mix. There should be at least one business and one fashion expert in each group. For the first couple of classes, those educated in business will have a blue tag, and those educated in fashion will have a red one. You will be designing and producing a runway-worthy piece, so both aspects of expertise are key in making a finished product given your limited resources and time constraints."

"My students are already seated. I trust that you can sort yourselves into the remaining seats." Seeing students silently making eye contact with their desired partners before eyeing the open desks, Mr. Lacroix grinned. "Further instructions will be on handouts. Good luck."

Organized chaos ensued. Amidst every student darting for a desk, Chloe waited for the three seats around her to be filled by whoever remained after the dust had settled. Instead, the whine of a chair being pulled out next to her proved Chloe wrong.

"Hey again!" A familiar voice greeted Chloe, making her jump. "Sorry, I didn't properly introduce myself last time. My name's Marinette."

Chloe turned to her left to see bubbly, blue eyes and an eager, open hand. And here Chloe thought she would just avoid Marinette and keep hope alive that the girl would never remember her old, bitchy ways. Well, that dream was dead in the water. The clock was ticking; it was only a matter of time before Marinette found out.

Chloe took her hand cautiously. "Chloe," she replied, feeling like saying her name alone was walking on eggshells. But Marinette's expression didn't sour. "Nice to, uh, meet you."

"You, too!" Marinette immediately echoed. Turning away for a moment, the clueless girl missed the look of shock on Chloe's face as she waved over her best friend. "Alya! Alya, over here!"

Soon, the seat across from Marinette was filled as Alya joined the table. "Good, at least now I know I'm not gonna fail this course and have to repeat senior year," Alya breathed in relief as she sat down. Looking to Marinette she said, "With you, I'm golden."

"Don't say stuff like that!" Marinette scolded. "You'll make Chloe think you'll be a deadbeat partner!" To Chloe, she hurriedly promised, "She's not, I swear. She can just be a bit dramatic at times." Flipping back to Alya, it then seemed to occur to Marinette that she hadn't introduced the two. "Oh, right! Alya, this is Chloe. Chloe, Alya."

"I already know Chloe," Alya supplied. Chloe couldn't help but wonder if it was purposeful that Alya hadn't added, 'and you knew her, too.' It was also surprising that her name held no malice, something Chloe had been expecting.

"God, this is the third time today," Marinette groaned to herself. "I really need to start asking that first."

It took a while for their final group member to arrive. When every other group had been decided, the last piece fell into place with Nathanaël sitting across from Chloe.

"Hey," Nathanaël said as he slumped into his chair. Once seated, he looked around at the faces of his teammates. "Wow, I lucked out!" he reveled, looking back and forth between Marinette and Alya. "And here I was worried that I'd get a group of total strangers. I think this is the best possible group I could've hoped for." The last statement was said sheepishly, accompanied by him scratching the back of his head.

"Nathanaël!" Marinette greeted. She must have been reintroduced to him sometime in the past week. "Okay, I second Alya. Now our group is golden."

A million thoughts bombarded Chloe, but two rose to the forefront.

One: somewhere in between middle school and now, Nathanaël had hit puberty, and he'd hit it hard. Chloe was half certain that Nathanaël had accidentally taken two swipes at it when he'd only meant for one, and some kid elsewhere in the world would remain forever short and high-pitched to pay for his mistake and retain balance. Tall, toned, flaming hair tied back to frame a jagged face and bright eyes, she barely recognized the guy.

"Nathanaël, this is Chloe. Chloe, Nathanaël," Marinette introduced enthusiastically.

"Fourth time," Alya chimed.

"Dammit!"

Nathanaël chuckled as Marinette hung her head. "Aw, you didn't have to correct her! I was going to let her have it." He turned his attention to Chloe. "It's been quite a while, after all."

Chloe swallowed. "Yeah... Quite a while."

Two: there was now yet another old classmate to bring up the demons of her past.

Nathanaël's "best possible group" was Chloe's worst possible nightmare.

"Mind if I interrupt?"

The voice cut through her study music and made Chloe jump. Pulling out an earbud and sitting up from her work, Chloe found Alya seated across from her, waiting for an answer.

"Huh?"

"Can we talk?" The fact that she was already sitting didn't make it much of a question.

"Sure?" Chloe pulled out her other earbud. "I didn't think we had anything to talk about... Did you already have a question about the project?"

"No, it's about Marinette." Alya paused. "And how you pretty much avoided all eye contact and spoke a total of ten words to her last class."

"I wasn't—"

"Ya know, Nino would talk about you a lot. I wouldn't call it complaining, but if you asked me, I definitely would've said he was a tiny bit jealous of how much time you spent with Adrien."

Chloe blinked and felt her face contort in confusion. Why the sudden change of topic? This hadn't been what they were talking about at all.

"He'd go on and on, 'Adrien's helping Chloe with this,' and 'Adrien's teaching Chloe that.' I didn't buy the whole 'she's decided to become a decent person overnight' shtick. But Nino kept talking about it. I didn't see you around school though, so there wasn't any solid proof. I found it so unbelievable that one day I called him out on making the whole thing up. I asked him, 'Why haven't I seen this new, reformed Chloe then? Last I saw her, she looked like her normal, stuck-up self.' It distracted him from his regular tangent and made him think for a second. He eventually came up with, 'I think she's ashamed.'"

Alya lifted Chloe's book enough to see the cover, mockingly retched, and continued. "He said Adrien didn't talk about what he felt he didn't have the right to talk about, so he had only told Nino that you and Sabrina had ended on bad terms. Nino assumed that's where your revelation came from and guessed that once you'd moved on to become this new person, it hurt to look back."

"He said, 'I think Chloe feels guilty when she's reminded of who she was. She's too ashamed to face anyone.'" Alya looked at Chloe. "I wasn't able to tell if he was right until today." She paused, trying to gauge Chloe's reaction.

"You don't want Marinette to remember you, do you? You were attempting to avoid triggering her memory. You'd rather she only know you as you are now, so you'd have one less person to feel guilty about?"

Chloe was silent. Alya briefly let the silence marinate before following up with, "Sorry, that's really personal. You don't have to answer that." Acting like she had never broached the topic, Alya leaned back in her chair to look nonchalantly at the ceiling.

"Anyway, Nino and I broke up. Adrien became withdrawn, and I left to help Marinette. Nino couldn't deal with the changes. He moved. I remember being disappointed in him. Not because he left me—I can handle myself just fine. I was disappointed that he left Adrien, who desperately needed help and support."

"I couldn't get through to Adrien, but I called his father. His assistant answered, and when I expressed that I was a worried friend and wanted to help Adrien, she told me that somebody else was already doing just that. I asked for a name, and she told me, 'Chloe Bourgeois.' Whatever proof I thought I needed to determine if you had really changed... I guess that was it."

Chloe didn't know how to react. "I don't know what I'm supposed to say to that," she admitted.

"I don't think you really need to say anything," Alya said, shrugging. "I just wanted to say that I've been forced to grow up a great deal this past year, and I think it'd be childish of me to hold something against you when you're clearly not the same person now that you were then... You seem like a decent person, and I'm happy to have you in our group. I hope you feel the same way."

When Chloe failed to respond, Alya backed out her chair and stood. "And just so you know," she added, "I expected Marinette to remember you immediately, too. When she didn't after running into you, I thought it was a fluke from dizziness or mental exhaustion. But when she didn't the second time, I realized that her brain must legitimately have trouble recalling you. I don't know if it has to do with the changes to your personality or that her first re-encounter with you was positive instead of negative, but it is what it is."

Alya kept private her likely suspicion that Marinette struggling to remember Chloe might have something to do with how close her memories of Chloe were tied with Adrien. It'd been similar when Alya was trying to remind Marinette about Nino.

"Her doctor said it was best if Marinette tried to remember people on her own, so I usually don't go out of my way to remind her of anyone. I don't speak for Nathanaël though, so I suggest talking to him to see if he's willing to do the same."

"In the meantime," Alya offered, "I say be yourself and see how it plays out."

Chloe caught Nathanaël at his locker the next day. It was surprisingly easy to find. All she had to do was give a passing girl a description of the guy, and some intense blushing and babbling later, Chloe had directions. The hard part had been actually talking to him.

"Okay. Rewind." Nathanaël closed his locker to give his full attention. Chloe wished he'd left it open. "Why are you even worried about me talking about you in middle school?"

"Because I want a shot at Marinette getting to know me now, not remembering how I was then," Chloe repeated, carefully moving a hair back into place to look more composed than she felt.

"Yeah, I got that part," Nathanaël said, crossing his arms loosely. The body language didn't read as angry, but as confused. "What I don't get is why you think I'd mess that up for you."

Chloe blinked rapidly. "Well, no, not on purpose." She could feel his turquoise eyes on her, and naturally looked in every other conceivable direction.

"Really?" Nathanaël questioned. "Because I don't feel like you'd be asking me like this unless you felt I had a reason to want to tell Marinette."

He had her. And when Chloe opened and closed her mouth in a failed denial, he knew it.

Eyebrows scrunched together, Nathanaël bent down to try to catch Chloe's wandering eye. "Do you think I hate you or something?" Chloe's gaze followed a student walking at the opposite end of the hall. "Hey." Nathanaël snapped his fingers in front of her face. The action, coming from Nathanaël, was startlingly unexpected enough to demand her attention. "Well? Do you?"

His intent eyes drained away any possibility of a diversion. Chloe gave a weak shrug. "I don't know... I'd hate me, if I were you."

Nathanaël's eyebrows rose. "Well, I don't." He sounded a little taken aback that he had to actually say the words out loud. "I think I'd have to be a bit demented to hold a three year grudge."

"I humiliated you," Chloe pointed out.

"No, Ms. Mendeleiev humiliated me," Nathanaël corrected. "She was the one who tore up my notebook and put me down. All you did was point out that I had a crush on Marinette. Kinda embarrassing, yeah, but not a huge deal. Definitely not something to hate you over."

Nathanaël gave a relaxed eyeroll. "And like I said, that was three years ago. People can change. From what I hear, you changed a great deal. I changed, too."

Yeah, no shit. Chloe kept the comment to herself, but couldn't help thinking it as she gave a once-over to the previously shy boy that hardly spoke, who was now talking to her with confidence.

"I can stand up for myself a lot better now than I could then, so trust me, if I actually hated you, I'd let you know." Nathanaël smirked.

As he finished, the bell chimed, signalling for students to make their way to class. Hiking his bag onto his shoulder and consulting the clock across the hall, Nathanaël motioned in the direction of their last class of the day. "That's our cue." He started walking, but when Chloe didn't fall in step, he paused. "You coming? It won't be much of a group project if we're missing part of the group."

They walked to class in silence. Companionable silence, maybe? Chloe was out of touch with what that felt like. Eventually, the silence was broken by a mumble when Nathanaël held open the classroom door for her.

"Thank you." Chloe wasn't talking about the door. Nathanaël was tempted to say she didn't need to thank him, but one look at her told him the words meant too much to be turned away.

Instead, Nathanaël nodded towards their group table. "Come on," he said, "I think we'd all like a chance to get to know you."

Talk about your skill strengths.

The command was scrawled across the chalkboard, and Mr. Lacroix was nowhere in sight. It was going to be one of those classes. Chloe determined it meant there'd be no hand-holding in this project; every group was left to their own devices.

"Skill strengths?" Marinette read aloud. "That's easy enough!" Dipping a hand into her bag, Marinette pulled out a piece of paper and wrote down each group member's name. She jotted notes next to her own as she spoke. "I'm into Fashion Design." Marinette poked her red tag with the pencil's eraser. "I like sketching and creating clothing the most, but I'm good with accessories, too. I have more ideas than I know what to do with, so if you don't like one, there's plenty to choose from." A couple bullets down, Marinette paused in thought before adding, "Oh! And I'm also a killer baker, so if we pull any all-nighters, I've got snacks covered!"

Alya snorted. "Good! Glad to know my number one concern will be addressed!" It earned her a kick under the table, but the jab was well worth it. "Kidding, kidding," she laughed.

"Well, I'm Business," Alya began, carrying on from Marinette's example. She flicked the blue tag on her shirt. "Making plans, handling finances and resources, networking—all the fundamental stuff. I'll keep you guys connected, in check, and on schedule."

After Marinette had scribbled her skills down, Nathanaël started.

"I'm actually bridging both programs," he said, gesturing at his lack of a colored tag. "I plan to create my own business, and I like fashion, but I'm not sure if I want to go fully in that direction. I'm big on Technical Design, which is more engineering based. Basically, I figure out how to bring sketches to life and produce what's on the page."

Marinette nodded to herself as she wrote, looking up when she finished. "And Chloe?"

Remembering Alya, Nathanaël, and above all, Adrien's words of encouragement, Chloe swallowed the nerves holding her back. Marinette might remember her, or she might not. Either way, Chloe was going to take her second chance and run with it.

"I'm in Fashion, too," Chloe said. "I know the basics of designing and like handbags and shoes the most. I was hoping to go into a weird niche though. Fashion Trend Analysis and Prediction."

Marinette raised her eyebrows in surprise. "So, you guess fashion trends?"

"Kind of. A bit more complex than guessing," Chloe explained. "I'm really good at math, and I didn't want that to go to waste. It's a hybrid of genius forecasting and trend extrapolation. Like, a melting pot of intuition, insight, data cycles, and mathematical models. From that, I can figure out what styles will be hot based on stuff like location or time."

Looking around the table and getting a mixture of confused stares, Chloe simplified, "I can do research, crunch numbers, and essentially tell you what direction to go in that gives our design the best chance at winning this competition."

A grin broke out on Nathanaël's face. "That we can work with."

Alya nodded in agreement. "Sounds good to me."

Marinette proudly looked down at her summary sheet. "Those other teams don't stand a chance!"

Being a part of something felt... Surreal. Chloe couldn't find any other word to describe it. Over the course of their group project, she happily stumbled across these surreal-feeling moments and held them close.

"Sleepover?"

"Yeah," Marinette said, already unfurling some blankets on the ground. "We've been sketching and making plans for hours, and it's already so dark out. Why not just commit to working ourselves to sleep?"

Staying at Adrien's was more like babysitting a sleepwalking superhero than a sleepover. The last actual sleepover Chloe had was with Sabrina. This made Chloe hesitant, but after some encouragement from Alya that they could make some serious work progress, Chloe agreed. It was the best thing she'd ever been talked into.

There were 3 A.M. cookies. They listened to every Jagged Stone album back to back. Nathanaël took a half-hour nap and woke to find his nails freshly painted and no one to fess up for the crime. They nearly pulled an all-nighter, and everyone woke up in a tangled mess of limbs, pillows, and paper. As a group, they walked together to school—the girls wearing loaned outfits from Marinette and Nathanaël in mismatched clothes that were meant for gym class. And when they finally got to their senior development class, they all fell asleep at their desks instead of getting any work done.

It was aimless. It was fulfilling. It was a night Chloe wouldn't trade for the world.

"Every other group is hiring amateur models," Chloe said.

"Exactly!" Alya exclaimed. "Do you know how much money we could save by just having you as our model? Answer: a ton! We'd get a huge financial advantage!"

"I don't know about this—"

"Oh, come on! They didn't ban it in the rules! They were practically begging for people to find loopholes like this!" Alya pled.

"It's a good plan," Nathanaël seconded. "And you'd be perfect for the role."

"You've had some experience, right? And your hair would go so nicely with the colors you picked!" Marinette added.

Being the center of attention was something that Chloe had cautiously avoided the last couple of years. It was a toxic position to be in, she thought. But in the moments of reassurance in her modeling their designs and undivided care in taking her measurements to alter sketch dimensions, Chloe learned it was only the negative attention she should fear, and that this positive attention was meant to be cherished.

Going shopping with Adrien had been a nightmare. With Marinette, it was a dream.

"What about these ones?" Marinette struggled with juggling the bags of cloth she'd purchased to point out the shoes. "It looks easy to strip and refashion the design."

Chloe considered them for a moment. "They're not quite what I had in mind, but the shape is compatible. They're okay."

"Hm," Marinette hummed. "Try them on," she suddenly commanded.

"Really?"

"Yeah," Marinette insisted. "I've just got a feeling about them."

A minute later, Chloe was humoring her whim. The moment she was standing, Marinette started nodding furiously.

"They're perfect," she declared, grinning at her partner like a lunatic. "Your calves look gorgeous with them. You'll be the star of the runway in these!" After a requested spin and walk, Marinette had made up her mind. "We're getting them."

Chloe had missed shopping with a friend.

"Are you going to tell us where we're going now? You've been driving for an hour," Nathanaël questioned the back of Alya's head. They'd been driving so long that Marinette had already conked out in the passenger seat.

"Sure," Alya laughed. "We're a safe enough distance now that it'd be stupid to turn back!"

"Oh God," Chloe said from the back seat. "This trip isn't related to the project at all, is it?"

"No, it is!" Alya said with a smile. "Breaks are a necessary part of projects!"

"What is this 'break' then?" Nathanaël asked from beside Chloe.

Taking her final exit, the answer soon became apparent. "The beach!"

The spontaneous day trip was better than any expensive cruise or vacation that Chloe had ever experienced. Marinette woke up to sand and sun, Alya picked out the perfect tanning spot, and Nathanaël disappeared to rent a surfboard the minute his shoes hit pavement. Chloe relaxed the day away in the lull of the waves. Floating on her back, she achieved weightlessness, and when she returned to be with the others on the shore, she swore she was still soaring.

"You know, at the beginning of all of this, you said this was the best group you could've hoped for." Chloe watched Nathanaël measure her finger a second time before switching to make adjustments to the ring band. "And I thought it was the worst thing that had ever happened to me," Chloe said, chuckling. She certainly wouldn't have predicted anything going this well. "But now, I think I've got to admit... You were right."

"Could you repeat that clearly into the microphone?" Nathanaël joked, looking up from his work long enough to see Chloe roll her eyes.

"Don't push your luck," she warned.

The classroom was full of frantic students working up a storm, but their table was calm and half empty. Marinette and Alya were away working on the dress at home. They were the only group ahead of schedule and were simply working on the final touches in this homestretch. Chloe's work had long since been done; all that was left was for her to strut the runway and win them the competition.

With a smile, Nathanaël returned to tinkering with the ring. "The actual reason I was so excited to be in the group was just because Marinette was in it," he admitted easily. He didn't even blush, and that was something that Chloe noticed Nathanaël had quite the habit of doing. "I still had a stupid little crush on her then."

"Then?" Chloe asked, eyebrow quirked. "Not anymore?"

"No," Nathanaël answered, giving a slight shake of his head. "Like I said, it was a stupid schoolboy crush that I was still holding onto. I barely even knew her to begin with, but I guess I made it out to be like I knew her in my mind." Each ring finally the appropriate size, Nathanaël sat back, satisfied. "Though I stand by this being the best group I could've asked for," he said, looking over at Chloe. "Maybe not for the reasons I expected, but I think the unexpectedness of it made it that much better."

Testing to make sure, Nathanaël slipped what he knew to be Chloe's favorite ring onto her finger. It was a perfect fit.

"Hey, Marinette?"

"Yeah?" Marinette paused, a piece of sushi raised halfway to her lips.

The two had come to the little Japanese place in the mall for an end-of-year hurrah at finishing their project. Maybe it was because they were here for fun and not work that Chloe felt enough courage to ask.

"Do you remember me at all?" Chloe asked, but already felt she knew the answer.

In the past few months, there were countless weird reactions Marinette had when around Chloe. Marinette would get headaches. She'd sometimes space out looking straight at Chloe and ask her to repeat whatever she just said. Her face would randomly contort into a different expression. And occasionally, Marinette would spit out some random knowledge about the blonde that Chloe was ninety-nine percent certain she hadn't told her.

A look of surprise dawned on Marinette. Not surprise at the content of Chloe's question, but merely that it was finally being addressed.

"Bits and pieces," Marinette eventually answered, popping the sushi into her mouth. "Not a lot in the beginning, but stuff started coming through after a while."

"You... Why didn't you say anything?" Chloe asked, her own food entirely forgotten.

"Well, I didn't really think it mattered."

Marinette said it like it was the simplest thing to understand.

"I don't live in the past. People always seem to think that I'm the same person from before, but I'm not. Not entirely, at least. I'm still me, but I like to think that I'm a different version of me, if that makes any sense," Marinette explained between bites. "So, if I'm this new version of me, and you're this new version of you, then I don't see why we can't treat this as a fresh start and be friends."

Chloe didn't realize she was crying until there was a napkin pressed to her cheek and Marinette was dabbing away her tears.

They had a small bonfire to celebrate their victory. All the others had fallen asleep next to the smoldering embers that remained, and it was then that Chloe had snuck away to make a much-needed phone call.

'You've reached Adrien Agreste's personal line. I am not available. I am currently taking some personal time due to recent events. I ask not to be contacted during this time. Thank you for your concern. Do not leave a message.'

Chloe disregarded the automated message and waited for the beep. "I know you still listen to these things, Adrien," she immediately called him out. "I didn't want to leave a message with Nathalie, but I promised you a call."

"That thing you told me to find?" Looking back over her shoulder to the figures splayed out on blankets, Chloe smiled. "I think I found it. They're not great study partners or anything—don't worry, you're still number one—but they're... A lot to me."

Chloe was silent for a while as she looked up to the sky. "I hope you're finding something to make you happy, too."

After high school, Chloe's goal was to make it in New York City. She took an additional year to finish her already partially completed Associate's Degree in Mathematics, but after that, she couldn't waste another moment.

So began a year of job hunting. She started off strong—three interviews in one week. But when each place got back to her in an uncanny, timely manner and each letter included her father's name, Chloe realized the positions had been bought instead of earned.

After explicitly telling her father to remain uninvolved, Chloe found the process to be a great deal harder. Underqualified and inexperienced. Those were the words she heard over and over again. At the end of the year, feeling the environment to be too competitive and her options exhausted, Chloe returned to Paris. The job environment wasn't much different, but it was home. After a month or two, Chloe unknowingly stumbled into her fated interview.

"Hi, I'm—"
"Chloe?"

Halfway through shutting the door behind her, Chloe saw the face of her interviewer. "Marinette?" she exclaimed, shock apparent for both women. It took Chloe a couple seconds to piece it together. "Oh my gosh, you're interviewing for your company! I knew you said you were starting up, but wow... You're actually going big," Chloe said, completely in awe.

Chloe sat down, locking them in an hour long catch-up session. Marinette was quick to get her up to speed on everything she'd missed while in America, and Chloe was eager to listen. It filled her with such pride hearing her friend go on about her and Alya building up DCD and all the well-deserved success coming their way.

"It's all been so crazy," Marinette exhaled. "But it's been so worth it."

"No kidding," Chloe said, breathless. Taking a moment, she finally noticed the clock behind Marinette's head. "Well, I better let you get back to this," Chloe said, standing to leave. "How does meeting for coffee later tonight sound?"

"What do you mean, 'get back to this'?" Marinette asked, confused. "I'm done. You've got the job."

Chloe began to shake her head. "No, really. I don't want some position handed to me as a favor."

"A favor?" Marinette asked incredulously. "That's what you think this is? You're joking, right?" Standing up and rounding the desk, Marinette moved to grab Chloe by her shoulders. "That project, us working together, was what launched my career. If that's not a successful trial run, I don't know what is! I'd be an idiot not to hire you!"

"So, what do you say?" Marinette, eyes alight with a passionate fire, extended her hand. "Will you join DCD with me?"

A/N: How did I ever think I would fit this all in one chapter?... Ah, Finals. Makes your brain go to mush. Sorry I missed last Saturday. I severely underestimated packing time.

Anyway... Who would ever hire (let alone befriend) their reformed rival? Alya was right; "unconventional" really does sum up DCD. The Chloe arc, complete with friendship montage, has come to a close! Thanks for humoring my ramblings. We return to our regularly scheduled program and full cast next week... Happy shipping.