Chapter 10: Zoe and Chloe

After tidying Chloe up and putting her to bed, Marinette and Zoe sat down to talk.

"I sure hope no-one was recording that," said Zoe. "Imagine what Chloe would do if someone had caught her peeing all over herself on camera!"

"Moi? I did not do that! The Mayor's daughter carries herself with much more propriety! Huh! Ridiculous! Utterly ri-diculous!" Marinette imitated Chloe, and Zoe giggled.

"Well, whether we got filmed or not, let's not tell Chloe about this. We'll never hear the last of it," she said, brushing her hair out of her face.

"Agreed," said Marinette.

"But I still can't help wonder why we became suspects," said Zoe.

"Yeah," said Marinette, "you certainly don't look like the sort of person who'd kill somebody."

"I guess the murder happened at the same time as the akuma attack," said Zoe ponderously, "because the hotel had been cleared for the most part. I reckon someone broke in during the attack to steal something, and when the guard walked in on them, the killer fought back."

"Maybe it was self-defence, because the guard might have manhandled the killer," said Marinette.

"Either that, or it was to stop the guard from saying something to the authorities."

"You're right," said Zoe. She paced up and down the room.

"All I know was that it couldn't have been me - I was with the others. Kim, Lila and Chloe were with me. But Marinette, you and Adrien weren't there. What were you up to?"

"It wasn't us either, Zoe," said Marinette calmly, although she was a little offended - she thought that Zoe was assuming things. "We took cover in the room. Adrien hadn't been allowed to go out if something like this happened - his father's instructions - so I was keeping him company."

Marinette couldn't tell Zoe that she was Ladybug, and that she'd been fighting the akuma. Would the white lie keep her safe from suspicion?

Zoe placed a hand on Marinette's shoulder.

"I believe you, Marinette," she said. "You don't seem like the sort who'd kill someone, either. I was just curious."

A relieved Marinette's offense dissipated.

"But admit it: you do love Adrien, don't you?" added Zoe, a cheeky smile creeping up her face.

"I do," sighed Marinette. "I've fancied him since he joined school last year, but I've never been able to bring myself to tell him how I feel. I always make the most elaborate plans about it, and in the end, I make a total dorkasaurus out of myself and he slips away."

"Marinette, I don't know if anyone has told you this, but just go with the flow," advised Zoe. "The best impressions are spontaneous. Unscripted. Sincere. Believe in yourself. You're not a total dorkasaurus and you are perfectly capable of starting a wholesome romantic relationship with Adrien."

Marinette considered. Zoe's advice did seem very effective.

"Besides, he should be a nice enough boy. He'll let you down gently if he isn't interested - though I'm sure he is."

"Thanks Zoe," said Marinette. "I guess I needed that reassurance."

It was six-thirty in the morning. Marinette and Zoe had agreed to keep an eye on Chloe during the night, and told Sabrina to take a break. They'd agreed to take the job in turns, so now Marinette kept watch on Chloe while Zoe slept.

Marinette was surprised by how Zoe was able to sleep: Chloe snored like a demented diesel engine! She wondered if Zoe was using invisible earplugs.

"If she is, I could buy some for myself," thought Marinette. Just then, there was an almighty yawn from Chloe, who had woken up.

"Ugh! Someone get me some water! Sabrina! Where are you? Get back here and give me some water!" she demanded.

"Good morning to you too, sister," said Zoe, waking up. "

"Why does my head hurt?" moaned Chloe. "It feels like someone has dropped a ton of bricks on me!"

"You had a hangover, Chloe," explained Marinette. "Here, have some water - uh, I don't think you should check your phone now."

Too late: Chloe had made her way to the phone, opened Instagram, and had somehow watched the video of her drunken accident (Kim had filmed it).

"Chlo?" said Zoe nervously, as Chloe stared blankly at the screen. Marinette thought Chloe was going to go on one of her rants, perhaps even insult Kim on social media.

So imagine the girls' surprise when Chloe burst into noisy tears.

Zoe, being the kind one, picked her sister up in a hug.

"Come on, Chlo... it was a mean trick," she said comfortingly. "It's alright."

"It's not alright!" wailed Chloe. "The fact that everyone hates me is not alright!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," said Marinette. "Chloe, is something wrong?"

"Everything is wrong!" screeched Chloe. "The fact that people think I, Chloe Bourgeois, daughter of the Mayor, killed a man is wrong!"

"You didn't kill him?" said Marinette.

"Marinette, listen to what Chloe has to say," said Zoe assertively. "Chlo? Tell us your side of the story."

Chloe sniffled, then spoke.

"Chloe," said Sabrina nervously, shaking her. "Wake up!"

"Ugh, what do you want, Sabrina?" muttered Chloe crossly.

"We're going to have to evacuate," said the lackey. "There's an akuma attack and we're in danger!"

"Ugh," grumbled Chloe. "Again? That incompetent Ladybug shouldn't have fired me from my post as Queen Bee. I would have put a stop to this."

Nevertheless, she got out of bed and joined the others as they fled from the scene. As usual, Marinette and Adrien weren't there - not that anyone suspected anything.

Next morning, the class was heading to breakfast. Chloe, who always liked having something to moan about, decided to moan about the disturbance caused by yesterday's akuma attack.

All of a sudden, she and the rest of the class were brought to a halt: the dining room had been cordoned off. Everyone found out that a night watchman had been murdered on duty.

That evening, a policeman came to tell the class that it was a student - one among themselves - that was guilty ("How did he even come to that conclusion? That idiot should have checked his facts!")

Nothing, however, had taken her by surprise as much as the revelation that she was one of the seven suspects. The other six were Mylene the coward, Dupain-Cheng the baker girl, simple Kim, her own useless half-sister Zoe, Lie-la Rossi - and her sweet, innocent Adrikins.

Chloe, in spite of her wealth and status, was never the most popular person around. And that just seemed to get worse.

The previous afternoon, the class had been at lunch, talking about the murder.

"My Daddykins was most unimpressed with the fact that we have to stay at this dump of a hotel!" proclaimed Chloe.

"Yeah, yeah," said the Ladyblogger. "Only Daddykins can cater to your every need, Chloe."

"That's NOT the point," butted in Chloe. "We're all traumatised after the murder occurred."

"Yeah," said Nathaniel the tomato. "You're just about as traumatised as a kid whose toys got taken away."

Everyone laughed.

"In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if you were the one who murdered the guard," said Juleka the vampire coolly.

"Yeah, there's no point hiding it, Chloe Bourgeois," said the unsophisticated, redheaded skater girl.

"I would say you need to go to jail," added Marc Anciel, the boy whose hair made him look like a demented hedgehog.

"Moi? The Mayor's daughter? No way! I may have made your lives hell, but I would NOT kill somebody!" Chloe protested.

"She's right to an extent, guys," said Adrikins - always sticking up for her. "We really should check the facts thoroughly. We still don't know for sure who killed the guard."

"Oh, come on, Sunshine boy," said Ivan. "We all know Chloe's just getting defensive."

"I am NOT getting defensive, fat boy!" screeched Chloe.

"Yes you are - you're telling us that you're innocent when you're clearly not!" hit back Ivan. "And I'm not fat, I'm big-boned!"

"And we all know a criminal when we see one," added the four-eyed DJ.

"Whatever!" screeched Chloe. "Except you, Adrikins, you're all ridiculous! Utterly ri-diculous!"

And with that, she stormed off, as the others laughed at her. She marched back to her suite, opened the minibar, and promptly found solace in a bottle of vodka. How dare they suspect her of comitting the crime!

That evening, after a nice long binge, Chloe decided to thank her Adrikins for standing up for her. She stumbled onto the balcony, where he was holding hands with Dupain-Cheng (ahem!).

"ADRIKINS!" she squawked, giving him the biggest of big hugs.

"Easy, Chlo," he said. "What happened to you?"

"Oh, you won't give your oldest friend a kiss? You're bad." Adrikins was being especially oblivious to Chloe's display of affection. Dupain-Cheng got mad at this.

"Chloe, that's sexual harassment," she had told her. "Get off Adrien and get a grip on yourself."

Staggering off her friend, Chloe proceeded to bring up the contents of breakfast and lunch. The peasants were watching, and didn't hide their disgust.

"What the heck is up with her?" said simple Kim.

Dupain-Cheng inspected her.

"The poor cow is completely plastered. Blind drunk."

Chloe wanted to scream when she heard that: she wasn't a cow! But she was so bladdered that she couldn't scream.

"Oh no!" said Sabrina. "What do we do?"

"Don't worry, Sabrina, we'll take care of her. Zoe, take the legs - I'll take the arms. Chloe needs to sleep it off," said the baker girl.

Chloe felt the baker girl and her useless half-sister lift her up and carry her upstairs. For good measure, she emptied the reservoir that was her bladder onto her sister, while still being unable to move.

"And that's my side of the story," said Chloe, wiping away a tear. "Happy now?"

Zoe put her arm around Chloe. "I believe you, Chloe," she said. "I know it couldn't have been you. You were with me the whole time during the akuma attack."

Marinette paused. "Guess what? I never thought I'd say this... but I believe you, too, Chloe," she added.

"You said that, Dupain-Cheng?" said Chloe. There was a pause.

"You are forgiven," she said.

Marinette smiled. Now she knew that Chloe - and Zoe, Lila, Kim - were innocent. Just then, Max and Markov came in.

"I seem to have made a mistake," said Markov sheepishly. "Zoe Lee, Chloe Bourgeois, Lila Rossi and Le Chien Kim couldn't have been the perpetrators - they were with Max and the others."

"See, Chloe? You're clear," said Marinette.

"The trouble is, Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Adrien Agreste are still under suspicion," beeped the robot.

"I wish it wasn't true, since you're both very nice people, but it is true."

Marinette walked out of the room, quietly. She knew she hadn't murdered the guard, and Adrien couldn't have either.

If no-one - not she, Adrien, Zoe, Chloe, Mylene, Lila or Kim had killed the guard, that could only mean one thing: the security systems had been tampered with. The footage had been edited. But who was behind this?

Who indeed? Find out more in Chapter 11. Also, did you notice my Cartman reference? I don't own South Park.