No idea why it takes me so long to get to the part I want to write, I'm sorry for that. I'm going to do lemons in chapter sixish. This chapter is a bit of Hurt/Comfort, we'll go back to humor right after though.

Sorry for the long wait.

Chapter 3_ One Good Deed

Marinette woke with a start. Master Fu was really gone. She wiped the tears from her eyes. Her face was a puffy mess. Nobody could know something was wrong. She cleaned herself up in the shower and used a light pink hue of blush to hide the red that remained. Her eyes were still a little red, but it would fade in an hour or two. She got dressed, put on a fake smile, and headed downstairs.

Zoé was waiting in the bakery, finishing a slice of coffee cake, with a travel mug next to her. The blonde gave a bright-eyed smile and an energetic wave as she always did. "Hey Marinette! Ready to go?" Marinette did her best to copy Zoé's apparent joy. "Yeah, let's go."

She didn't fool Zoé for a second, "Is something wrong?" "Not here." Zoe finished her cake and followed her friend out of the building, "So? What's wrong?" Marinette shrugged. "I'm just in a slump, I'll be fine." Zoé gave her a reassuring smile, "Hey don't worry. If you were never sad, being happy wouldn't mean much, would it? Take that BMW for instance. Its sleek, its clean, its fast. But compared to what? By dad's impala? Sure. But put it next to a drift car or a Ferrari and it looks lame."

Marinette nodded, "Thanks, Zoé." The two continued walking for a while, in silence. Marinette decided small talk was better than silence. "Your dad has an impala?" "Yeah" "Do you know how to drive?" "Mostly" "What's that mean?" "Traffic laws are backwards in Europe. And American's give driver's licenses to all sorts of morons. A monkey could do it." More silence, Zoé picked up on her friends discomfort this time.

Marinette decided to pursue a question that's been bothering her, "So your dad is Portuguese? Your Mom is French? you're Brazilian? Your official citizenship is American? And you're living in France?"

"Yes, to my knowledge, technically, until I turn eighteen, and for now at least."

Marinette took a second to process all that information. "Doesn't that feel a bit over complicated?"

Zoé shrugged again. "If I'm still living here when I turn eighteen, I can pick up my citizenship or I can pick it up at the door for those other places. I'd like to think of myself as a collage, or a mix of paints. I guess American fits the best. With the whole melting pot thing going on."

Marinette looked around. "I don't think I could ever leave Paris. My family, my friends, my whole life is here." "That's what vacations are for." The two girls laughed for a moment.

Marinette paused for a moment before pressing on, "You mentioned your mom isn't in the picture."

Zoé shook her head. "I know my dad fell in love with her here in Paris. I know they both had a passion for art, and I know we have the same blood type because that's how genetics work."

The two girls had the school in sight now. Marinette didn't really want to keep talking, so she fell silent. Zoe noticed the discomfort, "I'm not trying to sound all glum. Geez! Where's Alya when you need her?"

"Wish Granted!" called out the vlogger. She wove her phone at them as the approached. "Did you see the news clip I posted? Cat Noir and Ladybug fought a fucking wizard last night! Some old dude went missing they think he's the one who got akumatized and thar Chat Noir lost the fight! That hasn't happened in a while. I'm hoping for a big team up soon."

Marinette grabbed the phone and played the news clip, "Seventy-eight-year-old, Wang Fu has gone missing after his shop and home was left heavily damaged. A wizard in black robes was seen fleeing the area, after Cat Noir was spotted nearby. The police believe he has been akumatized and is at large. Anyone with information is advised to call this toll-free number as soon as possible."

Marinette let out a breath of relief. "Do you know him?" Alya asked. Marinette looked up at her friends' concerned faces. "Uh yeah. My mom and I have been buying herbal teas from him for years." She didn't want to lie to her friends but there wasn't much choice.

Alya put a hand on her back "Don't worry Ladybug and Cat Noir are just having an off day, there is nothing they can't do. Mr. Fu will be back to normal in no time flat."

"Doria!"

All three girls' eyes snapped to the angry blonde approaching them. Zoé wove hello in a friendly manner. "Hi Chloé." It wasn't returned "This is the third day in a row you've worn that disgusting hoodie to school" Marinette started to panic, Zoé had been in school here France for less than a week and Chloé was already targeting her.

"It's comfy." The pink dyed blonde responded. Smiling wide.

Her fancy mirror wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Do you own any actual clothes?" Marinette wasn't sure where this was going but wasn't sure how to stop it. "Yeah, jeans, t-shirts, sweaters, summer shorts, converse, I have a pair of crocs-"

Chloé covered her mouth with her hand she had a look of fury in her eyes, "Stop talking, before I kill you." Marinette decided to stop this, "Hang on a second."

Zoé took a step back from the increasingly loony teenager, "What's the problem?" She asked, turning to look at Alya and Marinette for help. Marinette was about to say something when Alya took over, "You dress like a hobo and it vexes her." Alya translated.

Chloe clasped her hands together in joy. "Exactly!" Zoé snorted, "My wardrobe offends you? Well tough luck! I don't own anything else." Marinette wanted to laugh at the face Chloé made to express her reaction, but feared that reaction would cause problems, "Then I'll just have to take you shopping."

"What?" all three girls asked. Chloé looked annoyed, "Like at the mall? I'll buy you real clothes and in return you burn that ugly hoodie." Zoé started laughing, Marinette started to panic laughing at Chloé was never a good idea either. "Deal" Chloé paused for a moment. "I also want to throw your crocs into a trash compactor. I'll buy you a few pairs of shoes too." "Deal"

Marinette couldn't believe her ears. Neither could Alya evidently, "Wait, wait, wait, Who the hell are you and what have you done with Chloé?"

Chloé made another annoyed face "Oh, go to hell, I'm saving the world from this walking fashion nightmare."

Chloé strut off, Sabrina in tow. Zoé started laughing again, "Ha, ha, ha, I thought you said she was evil?" Alya turned to Marinette, "I'm scared girl." Marinette smiled weakly, "Maybe she's trying to be nice?"

Zoé watched to two of them for a moment. "It's possible that you guys had the wrong impression of her." "No, definitely not."

Alya smiled at Zoé "Maybe you have this effect on everyone? You can sit next to Lila as a control group." Zoe shrugged, "Okay sure best-case scenario, you guys become friends with Lila too."

Marinette looked concerned, "You should take someone with you when you go shopping, to make sure it isn't just a big prank."

Zoé Doria

Zoé finished recounting this morning's events to Lila at lunch. "…And that's why I sat next to you today."

Lila had trouble containing her laughter. "I'm not a villain. I swear. Marinette has it out for me because we're both crushing hard on Adrien." Zoé glanced over at the teen model, he was attractive, golden locks of hair, sparkling green eyes, smooth skin, a casual, approachable, posture that seemed to make the people around him relax. "I see the appeal, he's gorgeous, but rich kids always think they're better than everyone else, don't they?"

Lila shook her head. "Adrien's really nice, the problem is every high school girl in the city wants to date him." "The straight ones anyway" Zoe corrected. Lila smirked at the joke. Zoé started peeling her orange.

"Marinette's one of his crazy stalkers, she snuck into a party at his house once. She has pictures from of all of Adrien's modeling gigs."Zoé stopped peeling for a moment. Marinette couldn't be a stalker, not a crazy one, Adrien hadn't even come up as a topic in conversation. She could ask Alya about it. "Seriously?"

Lila nodded, "Yeah, she even threatened me in the bathroom last year." Zoé felt concerned. She only knew Marinette a few days, but she couldn't see it, "Marinette doesn't seem all that threatening." She said dismissively and began peeling her orange again.

Lila shrugged, "Just be careful. Her cute little ditz act has the half of the class fooled." Zoé shook her head. "No, I'm sure there's any explanation. They seem to have an inaccurate interpretation of you and Chloé. I think the opposite is also true. Chloé is taking me shopping after school today why don't you and Marinette come. I bet you guys will get along if you try."

Lila gave a concerned look. "You want me to go shopping with the two people that hate me?" Zoé nodded cautiously. "Yeah, pretty much. I seem to get along decently with all three of you, you can't be that unalike. For example, you have a similar taste in boys."

Lila sighed and picked at her salad. "That's a bad thing." Zoé waved it off. "Ok, if you wanna get nitpicky, Marinette is a fashion designer, Chloé Is a fashionista, you clearly dressed yourself. Swapping notes on that end would be healthy."

Lila sighed again "Fine, I'll help you go shopping, but if one of them attacks me you better step in." Zoé snorted with laughter, "They won't attack you!" the look on Lila's face wasn't reassuring. "Lila you guys aren't going to fight at the mall."

Zoé looked over at Marinette. She had her nose buried in a notebook, her face expressed confusion, she hoped it wasn't the math homework stressing her out. She couldn't imagine her threatening anyone, let alone in a fist fight with someone. Chloé sure, but that fight wouldn't take long. "I'm fairly confident in my ability to body flip any one of you." Zoé decided to ask Chloé if she could bring a friend. Chloé didn't care, Sabrina was coming anyway, so it didn't matter to her.

That's how the four girls found themselves climbing into a limo after school. "I don't understand why we're riding in a limo." "This is what a group activity looks like in high society." Sabrina explained.

Zoé asked, "Have you two ever been in a limo?" Marinette shook her head, Lila smiled, "Of course I have!"

Zoé turned to Marinette, "You can't leave me alone with these rich people ok?" Lila and Marinette both found that amusing. "Ok I won't."

The girls shopping trip consisted of Chloé handing Sabrina things to carry, Zoé looking confused, Marinette looking confused at price tags and Lila wondering aloud if Adrien would like the look of it on his floor.

Zoé ended up picking out a few tops and a leather jacket. Marinette mostly completed the outfits with skirts or leggings. Marinette gave her recommendations that Chloé attempted to ignore before rephrasing them to sound like her idea. Lila contributed little in regard to the reason for the trip.

Chloé was seemingly shopping for herself at some point. Marinette decided to try to get her on topic, "So are where are we going to burn that hoodie?" Chloé looked up from the dress she was holding, "We can do that at your parents' bakery for all I care. Zoé put that back."

Marinette turned to see Zoé sampling a perfume, "Why? I think it smells nice."

Chloé scowled, "Because you are trying to be my friend. La' Errol will not be having my business ever again."

Zoé didn't ask her to elaborate further. Shoe shopping was almost pointless. Zoé couldn't walk in heels, and didn't want to wear anything she couldn't run in. So, to the annoyance of Chloé the trip ended a bit early.

The shopping trip ended with a visit to Zoé's house. It was a small two-bedroom apartment. The living room was cluttered with various painting supplies on the counter. She should probably explain. "This is my dad's personal art gallery. He's been doing this a while."

Chloé made her opinion known, "I don't care, just show us your room." Zoé led them to the smaller bedroom. Lila decided to browse the gallery first. Her room had paintings too but smaller and far less numerous. A wide variety of paints sat on a shelf above her desk. A mason jar held a collection of paintbrushes, each one was in excellent condition Marinette noticed.

Chloé didn't bother looking at her room or art, she threw open her closet and started tossing items to her bed. She let out a gasp of horror. "Oh, god I thought the crocs were a joke" She backed away from the closet, "Ugh! Sabrina, put those things in a trash can. Now!"

Sabrina left the room with the forbidden footwear. Lila joined them in her room. "Your dad has some really nice work." "Well yeah, he does it for a living." Then Lila asked, "You do a lot of painting too. Which one is your favorite?"

Zoé thought for a moment, "That's a hard question. Probably that one." She pointed to a cityscape above her bedframe, "My dad painted this for my birthday, it's Rio. We were planning to move to New York, he kept it secret for the whole move and the two months after. I liked it because the Christ the Redeemer statue is right behind it."

Lila seemed surprised, "So you're religious?" Zoé was concerned, "No, not really. I just think it's cool that a painting can hold a secret." Lila smiled at her discomfort, "Were not judging, just curious about our new friend." Zoe smiled at the word friend. My favorite piece of mine is probably here. Zoé pulled a canvas from one of the shelves under her bed.

The painting in question was of a crowded beach, with a sailboat anchored offshore, and seagulls circling one of the people to the left. "It's not my best work but I think I enjoyed making it the most. It's the first time I used oil and acrylic paints on the same piece. I also made sure that nothing was one solid color, I wanted each brushstroke to feel important."

Marinette was taken aback, it had depth, literally, there was more paint on the foreground images than the items further in. Lila and Sabrina were similarly impressed though Sabrina was more vocal, "You actually painted this?"

Chloé looked like she was thinking about how well it would burn, then she put a finger to her cheek as if she was thinking, "My mother would probably think a dead guy made it."

The group was instantly confused. Marinette decided to ask, "Would you care to elaborate?" Chloé looked at the group. Then realizing said, "I'm not insulting it, it looks good, but it doesn't look like you're coping some other artist, so if its original, she'd assume it was some dead guy's piece, given it's not some modern abstract garbage." The group remained silent. "I like it. It looks nice. Ok?"

Sabrina decided to move the conversation forward, "When do your parents get back?" "My dad should be back in an hour or two. My mom checked out before we moved to Rio."

Marinette decided to press on, "So, you haven't even met her?" Zoé broke eye contact "It's not a big deal, lots of people are raised by single parents." Lila looked over to Sabrina "I've never seen your mom before Sabrina." "You must not read a lot then. She works at the city library."

Zoé hung up the last item of her new clothes. "Ok, were done here, let's find some food." The girls followed Zoé to the kitchen. "My dad and I aren't the best at cooking. I've been marinating some teriyaki chicken we can throw that in a pan with some broccoli and carrots."

Chloé didn't look appetized. "I think I'd rather go home. I have a chef on call. Take off the hoodie and so can go." Zoé smiled, "Not until you admit you only took me shopping because you wanted to be friends." Chloé looked a little embarrassed, "I'll be your friend, but I'm not hanging out with Dupain-Cheng." Zoé gave Chloé a thumbs up "close enough"

Zoé tossed her hoody to Chloé who threw it at Sabrina, "Ew! Sabrina! Carry that for me. We're going to go burn it."

The two girls left, and Zoé put a pot of water on. "I'm either making a rice or pasta so what do you guys want to eat?"

Marinette checked the time and let out a cry of surprise, "Its nine-thirty?" "Ah no, my dad set that clock to the wrong time. It only eight fifteen." Buttons started beeping as Zoé corrected the clock on microwave.

Marinette relaxed, "Yeah I can hang out longer." Lila decided to press an earlier topic of conversation, "So, what do you know about your mother?" If the blonde was made uncomfortable by the question, she didn't show it. "I have a picture of her, it's in my room."

Lila and Marinette followed her into her room, where she retrieved another painting from her closet, "It's in here because I thought it was weird to have the woman who abandoned me watching me while I sleep."

Zoé showed them the painting. Lila nodded, "She's pretty." Marinette said nothing. Simply staring on in dumbfounded horror. Zoé was about to ask

Marinette sputtered out, "But that's Audrey Bourgeois."

Next up is a Hawkmoth P.O.V. its will be short but I want to nail the monologue. Sorry for the long wait, I turned twenty-one on May first, had whiskey with mountain dew chasers. Happy Cinco De Mayo, I wish you spicy salsa and a stronger stomach.

HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY!