Has it been two weeks, yes it's been two weeks, but I did manage to get this chapter out despite getting the second COVID shot and being sick because of it. I AM NOT ABANDONING THIS STORY!
That being said, I can't imagine that there will be more than three more chapters. I know that would make this 'story' super short – but I'm finding it increasingly hard not to let this character study/experiment be affected by all the new promo coming out for season four. Zoe really is starting to feel like what Chloe was supposed to be, if the writers and creatives of the show had done their job and followed her character rather than her archetype.
The class fell into a hesitant routine in the new dynamic, enough so that Alix only scoffed once every morning when she realized that she would have to give up her seat again, no longer trying to beat Sabrina to them.
Lila had taken another trip to Achoo, claiming she needed a vacation after the 'exhausting recent events'. Chloe knew she was high maintenance, but even that was a bit much.
The more Chloe noticed about Lila, the more they seemed alike. Like Chloe was some sort of blend between Lila and Marinette.
Marinette and Chloe learned to walk confidently together into class, the same way they did at the beginning of the day on Friday to Mrs. Mendeleiev's class. The class was set to take more notes on plant structure, so the lab equipment was no where to be seen on the white lab desks. Mrs. Mendeleiev was drawing some kind of diagram on the white board at the front of the room in black marker. But the most interesting part of the room was where Sabrina was saving the chosen seats for the three girls, because Lila was trying to make small talk with her.
Whatever Chloe had been planning to occupy herself with that day, it needed to take the backseat. Lila was back, and she only would've come back if she had something planned.
Chloe approached the pair first, but Marinette wasn't too far behind.
"Hey Chloe!" Sabrina greeted warmly. "I already talked to Mrs. Mendeleiev, and she said we could have Marinette sit with us here again for the afternoon."
Chloe had anticipated needing to actually ask Mrs. Mendeleiev about the new seating arrangements – she was much stricter with that than Ms. Bustier was – and if they got permission beforehand, then no one could complain when they weren't allowed to do the same. It had also probably helped that Sabrina had been the one to ask, as she decided to come study with the teacher before school.
Chloe was consistently impressed by Sabrina's instincts. She always had the details sound.
"Marinette?" Lila asked, just a touch of her sweetness ebbing away. "I didn't realize you were such good friends."
"She's been having a really rough time lately, so Chloe and I are helping her out."
Lila's face completely fell. "I thought we were friends, Sabrina."
Chloe rolled her eyes. Clearly it had been a while since Lila was actually in school, either that or she had never bothered to pay attention to existing dynamics before trying to change them.
"We are!" Sabrina assured, "Chloe just asked me to help out."
Lila fully rounded on Chloe now. Chloe appreciated the action; she'd been waiting a long time to go toe-to-toe with the cheap jumpsuit.
Lila at least attempted to restore the sweetness to her voice. "That's odd, Chloe, I thought you and Marinette didn't get along very well."
"If you're really that determined to be two-faced, can you at least get rid of the bangs for one of them?"
Lila didn't say anything, so Chloe kept going. "And just a hint, if you want people to take you seriously, don't choose your outfit from the sale rack at Party City."
Chloe brushed past Lila to take the seat diagonal from Sabrina, while Marinette walked around to the other side to sit down. Choe nearly rolled her eyes, it would've been much more effective if she'd brushed past Lila too.
Over the next forty-five seconds the rest of the class filtered in, with varying degrees of greetings to Lila, who was definitely waiting for an opportunity behind her impeccable sweet and innocent tone.
Mrs. Mendeleiev started the class by snapping at Alix to take her seat, which she did so with less resistance than she had that morning. Without waiting for everyone to pull out paper and writing utensils, Mrs. Mendeleiev started gesturing to the diagram on the whiteboard.
"This is a relatively new scientific discovery that I only recently learned about myself. This is known as a virophage. These interesting creatures infect viruses and render them unable to infect a host. These have only been observed in relatively large viruses, but more are being discovered rather quickly over the years. Yes, Lila?"
The girl at the back of the class had her hand raised. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Mendeleiev, I'm not quite sure I understood that. A virophage is something that infects a virus?"
"In very loose terms, that is correct."
"So, say if the class was a host, and," Lila looked around wildly to appear as if she was picking a person at random, "Marinette was a virus, and I was a virophage, I could stop her from infecting the class?"
That witch.
She wasn't even subtle.
"That is technically correct Lila." Mrs. Mendeleiev replied, taking half a breath before continuing. "Now the existence of these creatures is fascinating, showing that there may be even pyramids of organisms that will attempt to infect our infectors."
This time it was Alya that raised her hand. "Mrs. Mendeleiev, you keep talking about these things like they're alive. I thought viruses weren't capable of being alive." Ayla crossed her arms.
Marinette's gaze fell to the desk in front of her, closing her eyes. It had been a couple days, and she was staying strong, but Alya's affects seemed to be multiplied. Especially the one and only time Marinette tried to text her, only to find she had been blocked.
Mrs. Mendeleiev became even more stiff, a sure sign she was excited. "Well, that's just the thing, what defines something being alive? Surely something that was never alive could also never get sick, and yet we have always thought viruses to be lifeless and robotic."
"Well, which is it?" Alya asked impatiently. "It sounds to me like there's conflicting evidence."
"No, not conflicting," Mrs. Mendeleiev explained, "new. We were right before, and we can also be right to change it. Science is completely based on what you know."
Alya's brow furrowed, but she fell silent.
Lila changed tack pretty quickly, "Mrs. Mendeleiev?" she didn't wait for a response, "can I stop-"
But whatever Lila was going to say, she was cut off by a large explosion outside. The class fell silent immediately, and packed what few materials they had gotten out into their bags.
"I'll see you all for afternoon classes." Mrs. Mendeleiev reminded them all, as they fled from the room to find safe hiding spots. Marinette was the first out of the classroom despite sitting on the opposite side from the door, followed closely by Lila, and then Adrien.
Chloe knew the drill like the back of her hand. Get to the Hotel, with Sabrina in tow. Sabrina preferred to watch the news from Chloe's room, where she could see if her father was involved. Chloe decided to watch the news from her phone on the rooftop, where she could watch as the fight unfolded, both from the sky and the ground. This was not the first time an akuma had run rampant through the city over the past couple of days, but for some reason these last few made Chloe more weary than normal. Chloe really only came up here out of habit, rather than really being invented in the fights. It was easier not to get akumatized if she didn't really pay much attention. She was taking a position that was no longer really needed, with Ladybug back in full action.
Chloe was vaguely aware of Alya being targeted by the akuma victim, but she was saved by Ladybug within moments. Chloe caught herself spacing out at the spot on the roof where the Queen Bee spotlight called home every once upon a time. It wasn't too long after that the fight was over.
Once the akuma was released, the press was pretty quick to descend on Ladybug and Chat Noir like storm clouds throwing hailstones of questions at them. They gave a quick 'goodbye' and 'feel better' to the victim, before reconvening at the Hotel. This time however, Ladybug brought the victim.
"This is Chloe," Ladybug explained to the victim, leading him over to where Chloe was sitting on a lawn chair. "She's the one that's been helping me."
Chloe gave him a half-smile and whisked her eyes over his clothes. Not bad, but not good either.
"So you're actually okay, then?" He asked, quietly, without acknowledging Chloe.
"Yes, I am." Ladybug giggled. "It takes a bit more than Hawkmoth to knock me down. Come on, I'll take you home now."
Chloe scoffed as Ladybug whisked away the victim, back the way she had come.
"What's that guy's problem?" Chloe asked, giving him a dirty look as he and Ladybug disappeared among the buildings.
"He was akumatized because he was convinced that Ladybug was being disrespected, and that she needed help." Chat answered. "Weirdest akuma I've ever fought."
"What so he was a super fan?" Chloe laughed. "Talk about not having a life."
Chat's eyes narrowed at Chloe, opening his mouth to speak. Chloe caught her mistake and asked another question.
"Why'd she bring him here? I don't need any more superfans."
Of course, that was another lie, Chloe didn't really have 'superfans' not the way Ladybug, or even Adrien Agreste did. Chloe knew that, as did Chat, and she cursed herself silently. Not the best cover up she'd ever done.
Thankfully Chat chose to ignore the discrepancy, "Ladybug wanted to show him that she already had all the allies she needed, and that he didn't need to worry about her."
"She could've just introduced you and leave it at that." Chloe spat, closing the news on her phone.
"Don't sell yourself short, Chlo-e. You've done great things to help. I can help Ladybug, but I'm not really in that great of a position to help Marinette." Chat rubbed the back of his neck guiltily. "But you've been helping a lot."
"It won't be long until she's back to acting like that as Marinette." And then she won't need Chloe anymore. It'll be back to the same old routine, where Chloe was the bully, and Marinette was the hero. As it always was, and as Chloe feared, it always would be. Maybe it'd be better to start acting like that again. Maybe she already was.
The rest of the day passed like syrup dripping off a spoon and filling out a lake. Marinette retorted to Lila's accusations by asking Mrs. Mendeleiev whether or not there were virophages (Lila) that attacked the good viruses (Marinette) that supported the health of the human body (the class).
"Mrs. Mendeleiev, I don't want to hold up the class anymore. We can do the notes on plant structure now."
"Are you sure, Lila? You asked me to spend a lesson talking about this to help you better understand your viral diseases."
"Don't worry about it Mrs. Mendeleiev, I think I know enough now that I can do more research on my own. Besides, I don't want to hold up the class anymore."
Chloe smirked, and gave an approving glance at Marinette who was trying to hide that she felt like she just won a medal.
The car was waiting outside the school as usual to take Chloe and Marinette back to the hotel, but Marinette was dragging her feet as they made their way out the doors. Sabrina didn't notice, and headed to the car without another thought. Thinking perhaps that Marinette was trying to avoid someone, Chloe looked around to find Alya shifting her weight from one foot to the other, and watching Marinette. Chloe nudged Marinette for her attention.
"Just get to the car, she can't say anything if you're not here."
"I want to talk to her." Marinette admitted, coming to a stop.
Chloe almost laughed. "What for?"
"She was at the akuma attack today; I think she has something she wants to tell me."
Chloe rolled her eyes. This was a mess, that's not how things worked. People didn't have eureka moments where they recognized the error of their ways and just decide to be different. If Marinette was going over there, then there would be a major incident, something Chloe didn't really want after their sweeping victory over Lila that morning.
"Whatever, I have a call to make anyway." She didn't, but she wasn't going to tell Marinette that.
Chloe put her phone to her ear and pretended to have a conversation with all her usual bravado, completely prepared to cut off the conversation and swoop Marinette into the car.
But the moment never came. Chloe did in fact, have to cut off the conversation when Marinette and Alya were hugging each other and Marinette was walking back over to her while Alya waited behind wiping at her eyes.
"What was that?" Chloe asked, stunned and wary.
"She said she's been thinking about what happened and the way she's been acting. She told me she was sorry." Marinette explained.
"So what she's sorry." Chloe scoffed. "She got you akumatized. You can't trust her."
"Lila did that, Alya was confused." Marinette reasoned.
Somehow Chloe was more upset than she would've expected. "So what, you're just going to forget that any of this happened?"
"She was my friend, Chloe. That counts for something."
Luka's words from a couple days ago rang around in Chloe's brain. If you trusted them once, why can't you trust them again? You chose them Marinette, that means something.
Somehow Chloe didn't really like that idea as much when it applied to more than her.
"This is not a good idea." Chloe insisted.
"I think it is. I want to be friends with her again." Marinette insisted. "I've decided to spend the night at her house tonight, and then I think I want to go back home."
As much as Chloe was angry before, this felt like a slap to the face.
"We can still meet for lunch to figure out how to deal with Lila. If tonight goes well, I can bring Alya too, she can help."
Of course, the stagnant lunches where they 'talked' in circles about how to expose Lila. Nothing ever worked, Chat and Adrien could never get any new info from her, and what had already happened was too air tight to try and punch holes in. Besides, bringing up old wounds was a good way to look attention seeking. They'd have to find more evidence somewhere, something Alya would probably be able to help with.
But if Chloe was already uncomfortable with Chat and Luka, two of Marinette's friends that sort of accepted her, adding Alya to the mix would be sure to alienate her completely. And then as soon as Lila was exposed, those lunches would end too.
"I'll have your stuff brought to her house then." Chloe conceded, and without waiting for a response, she got in the car and the driver sped away.
The trip back to the hotel was silent other than Sabrina asking where Marinette had gone, and Chloe giving instructions to the hotel staff to get Marinette's things taken to Alya's.
Sabrina got out her homework, and Chloe tried to do the same. The assignment from Ms. Bustier was at least mildly interesting, but she couldn't focus on it for more than a minute or two.
She could not think of a single time where anyone she had forgiven had actually been good for it. It had been a while, true, but she did have a couple memories of being stabbed in the back at her old school, before she came to Françoise Dupont and decided that she would be the controller rather than the controlled.
The one time she was forgiven was when Marinette forgave her for something stupid, something about a birthday present, she thought, but then again that made Marinette's leaving even worse.
Leaving? Marinette was not leaving, honestly what did Chloe expect, that Marinette would live at the hotel and need her help forever?
Well, if it was Chloe, that's probably how it would've gone. Being enemies with Lila forever, and neither one ever getting the upper hand. Add a cherry on top labeled 'everyone taking Lila's side' and that would be the kind of sundae the kitchens brought to her whenever she was feeling particularly celebratory. After the victory in science class, Chloe was ready to order three. Now the very thought made her sick.
Why was it then that things always seemed to work out for Dupain-Cheng anyway? Whenever Chloe caused an akumitization, hell itself reminded her of it every waking hour. Even when Hawkmoth himself targeted her and orchestrated an entire plan just to put Chloe in a situation where she felt afraid and abandoned, with practically no choice but to be akumatized, that was still Chloe's fault. But when Dupain-Cheng did the same thing, everyone seemed to forget, or all was forgiven and fixed after a three-sentence conversation. That's not how it worked.
Well, that's how it worked for Marinette. That's how it worked for Ladybug.
Chloe realized with a jolt that Pollen had been in this exact room for days now, and they hadn't been allowed a conversation. She would've loved some support and praise right now. But that wasn't possible, that wasn't how it worked. Unless you were Ladybug. Unless you were loved. Unless you were valued.
"I'm going on a walk."
It was Friday night, so Chloe couldn't necessarily wander around the streets of Paris. Somehow it was already much later than Chloe had anticipated. She reflected it had probably been a bad idea to go outside where it was much easier to be akumatized, so she made sure she wasn't holding anything, and tried not to think about whether or not she was wearing anything even remotely connected to the situation at hand.
Throw and say no, she repeated over and over in her head. If she was akumatized now, she would never be forgiven. That wasn't even how it worked for Ladybug.
Chloe tried to make it back to the hotel as quickly as she could, using even the most unfavorable of the back streets. Her heart was hammering, her mind repeating the montra that could keep her from becoming a victim once again. She tried to keep her attention on the air around her, looking for butterflies, but what caught her gaze stopped her very being in its tracks.
There, in the dingy back-alley store window of Paris, was Lila's grandmother's pendant.
Chloe had known Lila's necklace was fake, but this was too good. She hadn't even bothered to get it custom made? Somehow, Lila sliding around these dark alleys fit the bill a little too perfectly.
This was it; this was the proof she needed, the thing that could prove Lila had been lying the entire time. All she had to do was buy it, save the receipt (eww) and wait for the right moment to reveal.
But did she really want to do that?
It would be easier, wouldn't it, to stay in this perpetual emergency state, where the enemy of my enemy is my friend rule reigned. Once the common enemy was gone, there wouldn't be anything to keep them together. Things would go back to the way they were.
But that would probably happen anyway. If Chloe didn't use this evidence, Alya would find something else, and it would be the same either way.
Well, if Chloe was going back to the bullying controller, better to do it on her terms.
And maybe, just maybe, if Chloe was the one to find the evidence, Marinette might not leave her abandoned. Again.