The rain continues on and off for the rest of the month. Every person she passes on the streets and in the hallways complain about the constant cold drizzle and the dreary grey clouds. But Chloe doesn't mind the weather. All that rain leaves the air feeling fresh and clean, and the sunlight tastes sweeter because of it.
She returns Marinette's pink umbrella to her the next day and keeps her own collapsable umbrella tucked away in her bag in case the clouds decide to open up on her without warning. Marinette thanks her brightly and asks if she got home alright. It's hard to be on the receiving end of such genuine concern when she's gone without it for so long.
The most she can do is give a vague answer and pretend to be distracted by her phone, scrolling through different apps mindlessly until she hears Marinette talk to one of their other classmates.
Letting out a quiet breath, Chloe relaxes a little. There's still a few minutes before class starts, so she decides to post something on Instagram since it's been a while since her last upload. She scrolls through her gallery, then chooses a picture of the display case of Takahogi's flower shop, where flowers entice people to come in and look around at all the blooms that brighten up the dreary atmosphere of Paris. Outside, the grey skies darken the streets, but the contrast is charming and also the reason why Chloe has about 18 identical photos from other days in her gallery. After a few quick edits and a thoughtless caption made up of mostly emojis, Chloe posts it.
Almost immediately, people are liking it. Sabrina's username pops up, followed by a comment that's a string of umbrellas, rain clouds, and flowers. At the very end is a pink heart. It's thoughtless and sweet and cute and just seeing the comment has Chloe smile before she even realizes what she's doing.
She tries to bite it down, tries to cool her expression into something disinterested and neutral, but it's a losing fight. It always is with Sabrina.
It's not even anything special, just a single heart, but the fact that it's the only one in her comment has Chloe flustered. Surely it means Sabrina likes the picture, or the flower, but for a moment Chloe indulges herself and pretends it's meant for her.
Another notification pops up and Chloe opens before she really sees what it is, and almost drops her phone when she stares at a DM from Sabrina. She jolts, a foot hitting the side of the desk, and tries to bite down a wince.
"Are you okay, Chloe?" Marinette asks, as she and another classmate look down at her, confused and worried.
Chloe can practically feel the blush crawl up her cheeks and looks away from them quickly, heart pounding loudly in her chest. "I'm fine," she mumbles, "Just thought I felt a bug on me."
It takes another few seconds before Chloe hears Marinette start talking to their classmate again, and Chloe deems it safe to look at her phone again.
sabrinana: has it been raining a ton in Paris too?
officialchloebee: almost nonstop for the past week
officialchloebee: you?
sabrinana: it only started raining two days ago but the streets are completely flooded!
sabrinana sent a photo
sabrinana sent a photo
Chloe glances at the time, then around the classroom briefly, before opening the first photo. The scene of a flooded street greets her, with a few people slogging through the water, barely visible through the torrent of rain that pours down. The second photo is a picture of Sabrina, in a teal raincoat with a cartoon frog on the hem, holding up a peace sign. Her hood is up and her phone obscuring most of her face, but Chloe can still make out the barest hint of a bright smile. The Sabrina in the photo stands outside in the rain, using the reflective window of a closed store as a mirror.
She's so cute. Chloe wants to cry. She wants to fling herself out a window, start a fight, scream, get lost at sea, anything in order to deal with all she's feeling.
Okay. She can do this. She can reply like a normal person without being a disaster lesbian.
officialchloebee: woah that is a lot of rain
sabrinana: right!
sabrinana: oh I gtg class is starting! I'll talk to you at lunch!
The green dot showing that Sabrina is active disappears and Chloe's left alone with her thoughts in an empty chatroom. She scrolls up, feels stupid and guilty for only a short moment, then saves the picture of Sabrina to her phone.
A quick look at the time shows that class should have started already, but no one is coming in to take control of the class. Not her teacher, not a different teacher, not any of the faculty. A few other students seem to realize this too, still chatting with their friends and sitting on their desks, but glancing at the clock every few seconds.
Well. She's certainly not going to complain about a few more minutes of free time before class starts.
The minutes pass. Five minutes becomes fifteen, then thirty.
"What should we do?" someone asks as people glance around, setting up piles of their homework on the teacher's desk.
"Mme. Lonie has never been late before."
"She's never missed a day at all. Should we get another teacher?"
"Why don't we just leave? Clearly we're not having class. Might as well go home early."
Marinette stands and immediately has everyone's attention. Something about her makes you pay attention, to look and listen to her. Chloe's jealous of her natural leadership, but the thought of taking the lead and messing things up for everyone makes her throat tighten and her hands shake. Better to just sit back and let someone else take over.
"I'm going to the principal to tell her that Mme. Lonie isn't here. Can one of you call me if she comes in while I'm out?" Marinette slings her bag over her shoulder and makes her way to the front of the room while other students promise to call her if anything happens while she's not in class. "I think we're supposed to start our section on Romantic literature, so if you don't have anything else to do, start reading that chapter of our literature textbook," she adds on, and once she sees people nod and pull out their books, she leaves the classroom.
Chloe pulls out her textbook to get started with the chapter just so she doesn't get bored waiting for Marinette to come back with news, but before she can even find the right page of the Romantic section, two people appear in front of her desk.
Tense and prepared for the worse, Chloe looks up to see a girl with short hair dyed dark blue and a boy with long hair and round glasses standing before her. They both usually sit near the back, towards the windows, so Chloe doesn't know much about them, including their names. They hadn't gone to Dupont either, so they're not people she could have met but forgot about. That also means she has no idea what they want with her either.
At the very least, they don't look upset. Chloe's gotten used to people becoming upset just by being in the same room as her, but it's not happening so often now that she's decided to stick to herself. The girl even looks happy to have Chloe's attention, a smile on her face as she rocks back onto her heels. The boy isn't frowning, but he's not smiling either. He looks vaguely apologetic and stands slightly behind the girl as though he's looking after her.
Chloe waits, but neither of them say anything. They just stare at her.
"Did you need something?" Chloe asks, breaking the silence, unnerved and desperately wishing Marinette was with her so she could take control of the situation.
"I just wanted to talk to you!" the girl says, "We've been in the same class for months, but you've never really talked to anyone besides Mars. So I figured I'd be friends with you!"
"Just for the record," the boy cuts in, "I tried to stop her from bothering you. She does what she wants all the time and if she bothers you let me know and I'll handle it."
They want to be friends with her? Or, at the very least, one of them wants to be friends with her? Chloe can't fathom anyone willingly reaching out to her unless they were being blackmailed.
"Thanks?"
"No problem! I'm Zee, and the grump is Katte."
Is this how people normally make friends? Just go up and ask them? It's so much easier being social when she knew everyone hated her and she hated them right back. Now she actually cares about other people and only hates herself.
"Um. Hi? I'm Chloe," she says, just to say something.
Katte tilts his head, then walks around the desk to sit besides Chloe in Marinette's seat. "Do you mind if we go over the chapter together?"
Something about him is calming. He's put together and self-assured. Chloe relaxes, decides these two aren't going to hurt her in some way, and nods, putting her textbook on the table between them.
Zee hops up to sit on the desk, then says, "Let's take turns reading out loud!"
"Won't that bother the others?" Katte asks, looking pointedly at her.
She thinks for a moment, then claps her hands together. "You're right! I'll ask them if it's alright." Then she turns to face the rest of the class and says, "Hey! Is it alright if we read out loud? It won't bother anyone?"
A few people mumble answers, shake their heads, then a louder voice answers, "We don't mind. Why don't we read the chapter out loud as a class?"
"We'll start here and go along the front row to the back. I'll start!"
Zee runs back to her own desk in the back to grab her textbook, then returns to sit on Chloe's desk and begins to read. Chloe reads the next paragraph, Katte the next, and so on through the first few pages of the chapter. Half the class reads before the door opens and Marinette walks in, followed by the principal, who looks rather distraught.
"I'm glad to see that you're all working hard even without a teacher here today," she says. "I'll be taking over for the rest of the day, but you'll have a substitute teacher soon."
"Where's Mme. Lonie?" Katte asks.
Chloe glances over to Marinette, who worries her bottom lip with her teeth, tapping her fingers against her thigh. She looks like she did years ago, when Chloe was still bullying her before Alya joined their class at Dupont.
Something bad must have happened.
"Unfortunately," the principal says, "Mme. Lonie was involved in a large accident this morning on her way to the school. We were contacted by the hospital twenty minutes ago at her request. She'll be hospitalized for the next few months."
The class is horribly still and silent upon hearing the news. Even Chloe feels her heart drop; the injuries must be really bad if she has to be hospitalized for so long. Mme. Lonie is a good teacher, fair and often calls in students during lunch or after school to work one-on-one with them to make sure they understood their coursework.
(She worked with Chloe once too, when she came back after a week of being absent, and never once pushed for an excuse or explanation, just patiently explained and went over what the class covered that week and excused most of her homework. Chloe was on edge for most of it, but by the end, she relaxed and found that she could trust Mme. Lonie to help her without judgement.)
The class mutters amongst themselves as the principal situates herself at the front of the room, taking the literature textbook from Mme. Lonie's desk and flipping through the pages.
"Where were you before I came in? We'll pick up from there."
It takes a minute before the class settles down and begins to read again. Katte and Zee return to their seats to allow Marinette to reclaim her desk. Chloe can't help but feel that something is wrong, something is off and out of place and she takes to digging her fingernails into her thigh to keep from spiralling. No seems focused on the reading, forcing themselves to stare at the pages without seeing the words.
A few students have given up entirely and the principal, though she clearly sees them on their phones, doesn't say a thing.
It's only near the end of the next page, the reading circling back to the front and Marinette is reading, that the sombre stillness breaks.
"It's an akuma attack!" Rose yell, standing from her seat. In her hands is Juleka's phone, eyes skimming over whatever she's reading. "They didn't realize because it was quiet and out of the way, but an akuma is causing car accidents around Paris."
Marinette drops her textbook on her desk and looks shocked. The rest of the class pull out their phones and read through the news, detailing the many accidents the akuma has caused so far. Chloe turns to Alya's blog to see if she's heard about the akuma yet, but the latest post is still an opinion piece on the creation of akumas.
Zee runs to the front of the principal, holding out her phone. "They're saying the akuma is heading this way! Should we go on lockdown? Evacuate? Are we going to be safe?"
"I'll make an announcement. We won't evacuate, as it'll be dangerous out on the streets with all these car accidents. Take your stuff and head to the auditorium, we'll wait there until Ladybug and Chat Noir deal with the akuma." She sets the textbook down and turns to Marinette. "Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng, if you could lead your class to the auditorium, please."
"Right!" Marinnete fiddles with something in her bag, then stands up as the principal leaves the classroom. "Everyone pack up! We'll go once everyone is ready."
The next minute is filled with a flurry of activity as people shove everything they have into their bags and stand, crowding around the door. Chloe sticks to the wall, trying to keep from being pressed into the middle of the group, desperate to keep her panic under control and not lose it in front of everyone.
Katte pushes his way through the throng to stand next to her, not saying anything, but creating a barrier between her and the crowd. The relief she feels is overwhelming, but Chloe also can't fathom why someone would be so nice to her without wanting anything in return, without even knowing her for a full day.
Under Marinette's instruction, Rose leads the way while Marinette herself stays in the back to make sure everyone sticks together and the classroom is closed behind them. Halfway to the auditorium, Chloe hears Marinette quickly mention going to the restroom, but by the time she looks back, Marinette is gone.
.
.
.
The auditorium quickly fills up with both people and noise. Chloe keeps an eye out for Marinette, but she never finds her. The others occasionally glance around as well; no one could possibly take that long in the restroom. Katte suggests that Marinette went to make sure the other classes were okay and made their way to the auditorium, which is a very Marinette thing to do, so Chloe latches onto the idea to calm herself down.
It's weird worrying for Marinette when just a few months ago, she was just Dupain-Cheng, the girl she bullied for years and then avoided out of nerves.
It's weird worrying about anyone besides herself, Adrien, and Sabrina.
She's sure Takahogi would tell her that worrying about others, fearing for their safety, is a good thing, a sign that she's reaching out and connecting with others. But Chloe's finding that she hates it; the tightness in her chest, the adrenaline buzzing through her veins, the mirage of horrible thoughts that fly through her head, whispering what if-
No, it would be better if there was no one to worry about. Better if there was no reason to worry at all.
Zee slings an arm over Chloe's shoulders, forcing her out of her thoughts, and waves her phone.
"The Ladyblog is livestreaming the akuma fight! Wanna watch with me?" Zee already has the livestream open and playing, muted so they wouldn't have to try to listen over the noise of people talking.
With Katte focused on his own phone, Chloe is left on her own with Zee, and decides she has nothing better to do and it's better to watch another akuma fight than agonize over texts that Sabrina won't see for a few hours.
"Sure," Chloe replies, settling into her seat, "Might as well keep an eye on the fight to see how long we'll be here."
On the small screen, Chloe watches as Ladybug shouts something at the akuma, a man with white tear stains trailing down his cheeks, eyes glowing like headlights, clothes in tatters. He looks despairing, agonized, a tragic opera figure come to life. He floats above the streets as though he's a ghost, bringing misfortune upon Paris as he waves a hand at the two heroes and cars pile up in front of them.
"Apparently, he's a victim of a terrible car accident. Hit by someone driving while drunk and his injuries are so severe he'll never be able to live as he once did. That's why he became akumatized," Zee explains in a whisper, strangely quiet and subdued. "Poor guy."
Something in her voice is heavy. Chloe can't respond, her voice stuck in her throat, so she settles for watching in silence as Ladybug and Chat chase after the akuma, dodging vehicles and helping the last few people out on the streets into safety.
The video shakes and blurs as Alya runs after them, sticking close to buildings in order to have a place to hide quickly in case she finds herself in danger.
When she stops and begins properly filming again, the first thing they see is Chat pushing Ladybug out of the way of a driverless car and being hit instead. Chloe's grip on the armrests of her seat tightens to the point that she loses feeling in her fingers.
Every part of her tenses, desperately frightened, staring at the unmoving form of Chat as he lays sprawled on the street. Her heart thunders in her chest hard enough to be painful. She thinks she must be shaking, but with how focused she is on the livestream, she can't really tell.
Zee has one hand over her mouth, eyes wide. The hand holding the phone shakes, and it takes Katte placing a hand on her shoulder to get her to start breathing again. The three of them watch in tense silence as Ladybug knocks the akuma away and runs for Chat, picking him up gently and taking him away from the scene.
When Ladybug emerges a few moments later, she's enraged, hair beginning to come out of her pigtails. She looks like an avenging goddess who cares little for mercy, and descends upon the akuma.
The livestream ends a few minutes later and the rush of Ladybug's magic sweeps through the city. Immediately, the tense atmosphere in the auditorium dissipates and the school cheers, already leaving to return to their classrooms.
Chloe can't process anything. The image of Chat being tossed through the air, the memory of him hitting the ground keeps replaying in her mind and Chloe knows she's spiralling and about to lose it but he's her friend she can't lose him-
Katte and Zee grab their things and hers, haul her out of her seat, and link arms with her. They guard her as they follow their class down the hall to their classroom, hiding her shaking from the others, then walk right past her desk in the front and sit her between the two of them in the back.
She doesn't know why they're doing this. They've only known each other for a few hours. Why are they being so nice to her? What did they want?
Chloe can't focus; her thoughts spin and go between panic and memories of Chat, of death and dying and being alone and anything that's happening outside of her head isn't registering with how bad she's doing. Stuck between Katte and Zee, no one bothers her and Chloe can't help but be grateful for the way they guard her against the rest of the world.
The class doesn't do anything. No teacher or staff is in the room with them and with the akuma attack, the last thing anyone wants to do is schoolwork.
Marinette runs in a few minutes later, out of breath. The class immediately hounds her with questions about where she's been this whole time.
"I was waiting at the front gates to make sure Alya got back safe! You know how she always runs into danger to try to report on these things." She collapses into her seat and brushes her bangs back, relaxing as she gathers her breath. Chloe feels her attention drift away and the only thing she can hear is the pounding of her own heart.
Katte gently nudges her shoulder. She can barely feel it.
Everything's become… dull.
Chat pushes Ladybug away.
Her body feels so heavy; she's trapped in it, unable to pull herself out of her thoughts. It's like she's drowning. Everything is muffled and distant and she's sinking further and further out of reach.
Chat gets hit. Chat goes flying through the air.
Chat doesn't get up.
Being a superhero is dangerous. That much is obvious. Chloe has known that this whole time, with the amount of akumas that have gone after her that Ladybug and Chat have had to fight.
And Chat gets hurt. And keeps getting hurt. Will always be hurt.
He's her friend. He's her friend. Chloe protects what's her, like she protects Sabrina from her own feelings by pushing her away, but pretending nothing's changed. She protects the flowers in Takahogi's shop and the flower he gifted her.
She can't protect Chat.
He's a superhero fighting akumas with incredible powers that defy reason and logic. He gets hurt; it's practically his job.
It still leaves a bitter taste in her mouth; watching him be thrown around and hurt like it's nothing when he's her friend, someone who matters, someone she cares about, how dare they-
A warm hand cups her cheek. It pulls her out of her thoughts.
Marinette stares at her, worried, her thumb gently brushing along Chloe's cheekbone.
"Are you alright?" she asks, voice soft and genuine, "You looked far away for a second there."
There's something magical about Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Something about her glows, like the sun; warm and healing. She's good to her core, and that kindness radiates out and everyone knows they can rely on her. Her care is legendary - the food she brings, the clothes she makes, the help she gives everyone, but especially those she's close to. Which would seem to include Chloe now.
Chloe's only ever seen Marinette look like this for Alya, or Nino, or, more recently, Adrien after she hears that he hasn't been eating enough due to his diets.
So Chloe does the most logical thing when faced with a worried Marinette, reaching out to her: she trusts her, relies on her, and reaches back.
"Chat," Chloe whispers. Her voice is weak. Her everything is weak. This is the only word she's able to say, but Marinette understands.
Her eyes soften. Her hand remains on Chloe's cheek, a warm anchor to keep her tied down to the here and now. "He'll be okay. He always is."
Chloe shakes her head. "He's my friend. He shouldn't be getting hurt at all."
The surprise on Marinette's face is quickly hidden, but it was there long enough for Chloe to see.
"It's a risk of being a miraculous holder. Chat knows what he's doing."
"He really doesn't," Chloe frowns, "He acts out of the good of his heart no matter the consequences and fakes his way through everything. He doesn't think things through. And everyone keeps trying to hurt him!"
"Ladybug's cure fixed him up-"
"That doesn't change the fact that he was hurt! His pain matters."
Marinette is silent for a long minute before she says, "Yes. It does."
She reaches down and takes Chloe's hand, which had curled up into a trembling fist, and tightens her grip. She looks at Chloe, then Katte and Zee, and nods to herself.
"I'll be back soon," she says, "Don't leave without me."
And then she's leaving the classroom, eyes bright and focused. She's on a mission and everyone knows to stay out of her way.
As the minutes pass, Katte and Zee quietly talk to each other about something. Chloe can't focus, attention drifting around the classroom, trying to work out her conversation with Marinette and force the memory of Chat lying unmoving in the road out of her mind.
The intercom crackles to life, and Chloe thinks she hears something about teachers staying behind to discuss something and lunch being made, but that familiar haze is covering her so completely she can't really hear or feel anything at all. She just sits, and waits, and listens to the pounding of her heart as her awareness fades away more and more.
Someone is shaking her. Chloe's not sure how long this has been happening before she forces her eyes open. She's not sure when she closed them either.
Zee stands in front of the desk, holding Chloe's bag and smiling at her. "Come on!" she says, "Mars is at the door and everyone else is already leaving."
It takes a moment for Chloe to process the words before she says, "Leaving?"
"Principal dismissed us. Too much trouble with the akuma, lots of staff aren't in today because of it. Since Ladybug's cure fixed it everyone affected should be back in a few days. So we're being released early. Teachers are staying to help students and the canteen is still serving lunch," Katte explains as he stands and pulls Chloe along with him. "I don't know how, but Marinette managed to get us out of school early."
"Oh."
It's not really surprising to Chloe; Marinette can get anything done if she puts her mind to it. The world bends to her. If it doesn't, she finds another way.
"Wanna get lunch with us?" Zee asks, holding out Chloe's bag.
She considers, wants to say yes, but with the way she's feeling, Chloe knows she's going to drift away again. So she has to decline, and decides to go to someone she knows will help: Takahogi.
Marinette walks with her. She's so quiet Chloe forgets she's there until Marinette steps into her field of vision or stops Chloe from crossing the road before checking for cars. She walks with Chloe all the way up to the entrance of the flower shop, where she stops Chloe by grabbing her wrist.
"If you ever need help," she says, "You can come to me."
Chloe knows. Marinette helps everyone, but "everyone" has never included her before. It's overwhelming, thinking about how much has changed. The sudden swell of emotion chokes her, and all Chloe can do is nod then enter the flower shop before she starts crying.
What a fucking day.
Takahogi emerges from rows of plant-filled shelves at the ringing of the bell and smiles when he sees her.
"Chloe! You're here early."
"School ended early because of the akuma. Too many staff members out to handle all the students."
"Have you had lunch yet?" He's guiding her to the tatami room before she even gives an answer, and he knows the answer is no, because it always is with Chloe. "Sit, I'll have tea and food out soon."
"Thank you," Chloe manages to say. She's feeling calmer, now in a space she knows is safe. Here, surrounded by quiet and calm and flowers, she knows that Takahogi will take care of her and the plants will never judge her. Here, she can let go of her anxieties and stop worrying about what other people think of her because the only thing she has to do is take care of plants.
She feels settled now, no longer feeling like a stranger in her own body, drowning.
sabrinana: Are you out for lunch yet?
sabrinana: More clouds are coming in!
sabrinana sent a photo
Chloe looks at the time and realizes that it is around the time that she's usually getting lunch. The akuma attack in the morning really messed with her sense of time. Before she replies, she opens the photo Sabrina sent, a picture of grey clouds over the buildings of Le Cheylard with Sabrina's hand in the bottom corner of the photo holding up a peace sign.
Like always, Chloe marvels at Sabrina's ability to make her smile so easily.
officialchloebee: akuma attack this morning. school ended early
officialchloebee: getting lunch rn. how are ur classes?
sabrinana: Good! I'm doing really well
sabrinana: Better than in Dupont actually bc I don't need to worry about akumas here
sabrinana: You're alright? Akuma didn't hurt you?
officialchloebee: i'm good it didnt come to the school
officialchloebee: what are u getting for lunch?
sabrinana sent a photo
sabrinana: Checking out this restaurant! It's small but has good reviews!
officialchloebee: that does look good
sabrinana: Come over and I'll take you to all the best places!
Chloe drops her head to the table and groans. God, if only. There's nothing she wants more than to go around Paris, or Le Cheylard, or anywhere walking hand in hand down the street, exploring the area and trying out new foods together. It's one of her top gay daydreams alongside imaging a life together with her wife (who Chloe tries not to put a face to but always thinks of Sabrina anyways) and their cat, tending her plants on a balcony the looks out to the ocean as her wife sings in the kitchen.
One of these days Chloe's going to die and the cause of death will be lesbianism because Sabrina keeps casually saying these things that could be flirting but could also be platonic.
Takahogi places a tea cup down in front of her, smiling knowingly when she glances up at him.
"Tell your friend hello for me," he says, laughing when Chloe sticks her tongue out at him.
officialchloebee: i would if i could but my dad u know
sabrinana: I'll just kidnap you then!
sabrianan: No one can stop me when it comes to food!
officialchloebee: i know i was there when u tried to stab me for taking one of ur raspberries
sabrinana: You're a THIEF and you know it
officialchloebee: how is le cheylard? ive never been
sabrinana: It's nice! I miss Paris but it's not so bad here
sabrinana: Come visit during a holiday or a break and I'll show you around!
officialchloebee: plan it out and i might say yes
Very quickly, Chloe opens her chat to Adrien and sends a quick "aldksjfaiofjas" before switching back to Sabrina. They're still pretending nothing happened, and Chloe wants desperately to openly flirt with Sabrina, but knowing that Sabrina only sees her as a friend keeps Chloe toeing the line between "friendly" and "too much".
She keeps trying to be nicer, a better friend, but with Sabrina that often crosses the line of "desperately crushing" that Chloe can't do anything about.
Sabrina's text bubble shows three moving dots, and Chloe stares, waiting for Sabrina to finish typing when a plate is set down on the table.
She looks up to thank Takahogi and instead ends up gasping, dropping her phone on the tatami.
"A little bird told me you were worried about me," Chat grins, standing over her.
"Chat!" Chloe launches herself at him and he catches her with a surprised laugh. "I was so worried!"
"About what? I'm doing purrfectly fine!"
Chloe smacks his arm. "The akuma attack this morning. I watched you get hit by a car and not come up. It fucking terrified me. Don't do it again."
"I can't make any promises, but I will try to be careful."
With him being a superhero, that's best she'll get. She's glad he's not turning her worry into a joke and is instead taking her and her feelings seriously. It's been a long time since anyone has treated her as something other than a rich, bratty girl throwing a tantrum.
"Eat lunch with me," Chloe demands, sitting down.
"I don't have anything to eat."
"Sorry to keep you waiting!" Takahogi says as he enters the room, another plate in his hands. "I'm glad you could join Chloe for lunch here, Chat Noir, especially after this morning." He sets the plate down on the table and looks pointedly at Chat until he sits down, and nods before he turns to leave again.
Chloe gives him a thumbs up, which he returns, then he bustles out to mind the store again.
"I can't believe you both conspired against me," he mutters, taking a seat besides her and pulling his plate closer.
"To get you to eat? You're welcome."
He pouts as he takes a bite of his sandwich, but smiles when Chloe laughs at him.
The panic and anxiety is completely gone now. Chat is besides her, uninjured and making puns, safe as he could be for the moment. The tension disappears from her body and Chloe can finally breathe easy, knowing that he's alright now.
She's said it before and she'll say it again: what a fucking day.
They eat their sandwiches in silence, content with just enjoying each other's company. She checks her phone to see if Adrien's replied to her keysmash, but the message remains unread. Usually he replies faster, but it's possible that he's doing something his father commanded him to do now that he has free time from school being ended early, so she doesn't think too much about it.
Sabrina, on the other hand, has sent a few more messages, and Chloe is already trying to bite back a smile just from seeing her username.
sabrinana: I'm gonna eat now!
sabrinana: CHLOE YOU HAVE TO COME HERE THIS IS SO GOOD
sabrinana: Nothing else will ever taste this good….. How will I live….
sabrinana: Maybe I should try cooking? I don't have the money to come here everyday so I might as well just make it myself
Chloe smiles as she reads Sabrina's messages, unable to stop herself. She knows it's a lovestruck, dopey grin, but she can't help it.
The changes in her own mood is going to give her whiplash at this rate. What a day.
Besides her, Chat nudges her, jamming his elbow in her arm with a knowing smirk.
"What?" she snaps without any real heat, batting away his arm as she tries to type out a reply with one hand.
"Soooooooo," he draws out until she hits him, "How's it going with your crush?" He peers over her shoulder to peek at her phone as he asks.
Chloe freezes. It feels like a stone's been dropped in her stomach. She repeats his words in her head over and over and over and what it implies doesn't change and has he always been so obvious?
"What."
Chat frowns. "What do you mean 'what'. You've been texting her again! Sabrina! This is exciting!"
She turns around to face him, fast enough that it knocks him off balance and sends him reeling back.
"Who are you?" Chloe hisses, jabbing a finger against his chest. "I never mentioned a crush to you, much less a name."
Chat pales, suddenly, and looks sick.
"You shouldn't know that. But you do." Chloe leans forward, getting into his space, and Chat steps back with wide eyes, stuck and unable to twist his way out of the situation. "So, who are you?"
"I - I don't - I can't-" Chat's hands shake, and he trips and stutters over his words. "I shouldn't have - ah heck."
He clearly isn't going to answer. So Chloe draws back, gives him space, and looks him up and down.
It better not be, she thinks, remembering everything she forcefully ignored and turned away from.
Blond hair. Green eyes, possibly caused by the mask. Easy laughter and puns. Reckless but caring. Only a few inches taller than her. The same age as her.
Knows who Sabrina is and what she is to Chloe.
Chloe looks, and everything clicks into place.
Fuck, it is.
"Adrien?!"
