Chapter Four: The Love Square Straightens Our (Idk, very bad at these titles.)

Ava was still getting used to being Lady Crimson still. Not to mention she still didn't like Luka. Or Prince. It was a big difference from being a normal girl, that was for sure. So far, they had defeated minor akumas, including an akumatised Ezra again. (Poor Ezra, someone keeps making him feel bad about his writing, but Ava doesn't know what to tell him!)

The forecast was rainy today, so, she grabbed an umbrella and began her fifteen minute walk to school. Her experience with her mother wasn't the best, not to mention her father left when she was born. Ava brushed her bangs out of her face as she walked up to the front doors to her school. Quietly, she sat down at her desk and pulled out her sketchpad. She made a nice sketch of the facial shape of Prince, and then began the details. Ava was always the first person at school, but late for practically everything else.

School was a place she wasn't forced to go, but she chose to go. Home wasn't much of a place she wanted to be. Like, ever. Her thoughts wandered as she created Prince's face. The light reflecting off the eyes, the way his hair laid in a messy blob on his head, the smiling face that lit up his whole face. To be honest, he was quite handsome. And sweet. No. No no no nonononono. She wasn't falling for the cat, was she? Maybe. Possibly. Yes. She quickly slammed her sketchbook only to feel someone watching over her shoulder. She shuddered a sigh, and turned around to see Thomas.

"You've gotten better, A," Thomas said.

"What do you want, Thomas?" Ava asked, not making eye contact. Thomas turned his head so he could meet her eyes.

"You still hate me," Thomas stated.

"You know what you did," Ava said.

"I know- and I'm- I'm not sorry," Thomas lied. Ava sighed.

"I know you aren't. Or you would've changed. Now go away," Ava said.

"I still love you, ya know," Thomas said. "I'm just really bad at loving people."

"I know," Ava replied simply. "I know you are." Thomas walked away, slowly. What had happened between them, he thought could never be fixed. He could only wish. But, slowly Ava chipped away at his heart, breaking him more than he could have ever thought he'd be broken. .

He slumped against a wall, and pulled out a small piece of paper. It was a drawing of him that Ava had done when they were in third grade. "Ava, what happened to us? What happened to you?" A purple butterfly landed on the paper and Thomas felt his face heat up.

"You are trying, what more can you do?" a voice said, inside of Thomas' head. This sent spirals of anger up his spine, something he had never felt before.

"Ava just can't see that I still care!" Thomas said.

"Black Knight, I give you the power to show your friend that she means everything to you, all you need to do for me is get Lady Crimson and Prince Noire's miraculous. Do that for me and Ava will never be out of your sight!"

"I'll show her she will be protected!"

…

Luka didn't show up. Weird. He wasn't one to never show up without an excuse. That's when the akuma alert came on, surprising Ava, making her jump. That's when the akuma burst through the front door. He looked like a knight, but instead of silver armor, it was completely black. It had a purple feather in the helmet. And then the akuma grabbed Ava, taking her out of the room, somewhere she didn't exactly know where.

"Don't you worry, Ava, no one will hurt you again," the akuma said. Ava blinked.

"Luka?" Ava asked.

"Wrong. You don't like Luka, so he is locked up where you won't have to see him again," the knight said.

"Who are you?"

"You wouldn't like to know, but don't worry, you are safe here," the knight said. "I am Black Knight, and I will protect my Rose." This caused Ava to blink in confusion, once more. She was placed in a cage- that actually looked comfortable. It had a pillow and blankets, a… TV? So, while Black Knight was watching, she settled down in the blankets and waited. "There is one thing that will keep me from protecting you at all times, my Rose, and that is a cat and a bug. Once I take their miraculous, you will never be heartbroken!" And with that, Black Knight went off to cause some ruckus so that Lady Crimson and Prince Noire would show up.

Ava stood up and slammed her shoulder against the bars that held her. "This isn't going to work!" Tikki said. "You're going to get hurt!"

"I know, but I need a way out and…" Ava was cut off when her cage (which was hanging off the ground) started swing. "AH!" Ava fell backwards onto the pillows that slide against the cage.

Heart pounding in her chest, she heard, "Cataclysm" and felt a dropping feeling in her stomach. Prince caught her in a wedding hold and set her down.

"Good gosh, you gotta warn a girl before you cataclysm their cage and make them drop!" Ava scolded, holding her heart.

"Are you okay?" Prince asked, steadying the girl.

"I'm fine," Ava lied, but to tell the truth, she felt like she wanted to throw up. Her body swayed before collapsing. "I don't do well when I'm scared to death." Ava's voice was unsteady, and Prince helped her walk into an alleyway.

"I doesn't seem like you're fine," Prince said, setting Ava down on the ground, her back against a wall. "Do you know who the akuma is? Or what he wants?"

"Well, I don't know who is behind the mask, but I do know that he calls himself Black Knight, and apparently I'm his 'Rose.' He told me he'd protect me, but I don't know what," Ava explained.

"Sounds like someone doesn't like the thought of someone getting hurt," Prince said. Ava stared at him.

"I don't care who it is, I just want to get rid of the akuma. The fact that there is another butterfly miraculous holder in Paris is not good, let alone what if you or Lady Crimson got akumatised? There would be a big problem there," Ava said.

"Good point, but my partner will always pull through. Look, all I'm trying to do is live up to people's expectations of what a Cat Noir is. He is punny, he is always flirting with his Ladybug, but my Ladybug doesn't even care to see that I'm just joking around," Prince said. "Getting akumatised wouldn't be bad if she saw that. Because she would be willing to save me."

"I'm sure she already is," Ava said, quietly.

"What was that?" Prince asked.

Ava's face heated up in bright red blush. "Uh- I- I- Nothing." Prince let out a chuckle.

"You'll be safe here. After the akuma is released, I'll come back here and take you back to wherever you need to go," Prince said. Ava smiled graciously, and Prince launched away. This is a side she hadn't seen of Prince… And she liked it. This side was sweet and endearing, not constantly making puns. But, now was not the time to think about how amazing Prince was.

It was time to transform.

…

"Miss me?" Lady Crimson said, with a bit of a smirk. She swung down beside Prince Noire, (she had finally gotten used to the whole yo-yo thing.) and smiled.

"You could've came earlier!" Noire said, dodging a blow from the sword that Black Knight lunged at him.

"Give me your baton, and we'll talk about this after the akuma is purified!" Crimson said.

"Why give you my baton? You have a yo-yo!" Prince asked.

"Time to switch, then," Crimson shouted, throwing her yo-yo at Prince for him to catch. Prince reluctantly throws her his baton, and Crimson takes the stance of a fencer.

"On guard," Crimson said, lunging at Black Knight. The baton was much heavier than the sword she usually had, and her form was off by a bit, but her ability to dodge and reflect any hit was incredible! When she finally had enough, she ducked under Black Knight's sword, and grabbed it out his hand and broke it.

And the akuma flied out. Not that Lady was actually suspecting it to fly out. She just wanted to get rid of his weapon. Prince tossed her the yo-yo and she caught the akuma. She threw her yo-yo up in the air and said, "Miraculous ladybug!" She had seen it one time, when Ladybug hadn't called a lucky charm. Her yo-yo still fixed everything. And before she could see Black Knight de-akumatise, she launched off, knowing that if Noire found out that Ava had walked somewhere, he would be on high alert.

…

Being dropped off at school by a superhero is one thing. Being dropped off at school by a superhero when everyone is filing in is another. Let's just say everyone just kept asking her what Prince Noire was like. It wasn't until Luka came in that Ava could actually get a word in. He said she had obviously had a rough time with this akuma, and that they should stop asking. He said Ava would share when she wanted to share. That was one little thing that made Ava feel like she had made a friend.

…

Opening up her umbrella, Ava started walking outside. The rain circled around her umbrella, dripping off the side. Luka stood there, his books over his head, trying to stay dry. In response to this, Ava pulled her hood over her head and put the umbrella over his head.

"You didn't bring a coat, that's not a smart idea, ya know," Ava said. Luka hesitantly grabbed the umbrella.

"I guess it was warm this morning, so I didn't bring one," Luka said.

"That's why you check the weather. Look, Luka, I know we may've set off on the wrong foot, but I'm no good at this 'being a friend' thing. The one friend I have is Nina, and she wouldn't be able to tell you my favorite food. Not because I don't like her, just because I don't want to get attached. So, I guess, thank you for early today. And, maybe we can be friends?"

"Yes! Yes, of course!" Luka agreed. Ava smiled, and started walking home.

"Hey, would you like a ride?"

"No! I like the rain!"

...

AN: Well, there you have it folks, the umbrella scene. I was having a hard time choosing what way the love square was going, and now this chapter sums it up. Some good Anoire scenes, too, if I do say so myself. Thank you, Little Croissant for commenting and making me feel good about this story! Like you requested, I made a scene similar to the umbrella scene, with it's own Luka and Ava twist. I'd like to hear what you think about it, too!