Author's note:Thank you to the reviews, I hope some of the quesitons have been answered by the intervening chapters. Trying ANOTHER new way to do texting, this time underlined name:text. I've back-corrected existing chapters that way too.

Chloe was free. Paris was her playground. Not only Paris but the countryside as well. She raced across rooftops, leapt the rivers, and plunged through maze-like back streets. Every night of the weekend she had been out like this, scouring the city.

A chance encounter, a woman too drunk and a stranger too bold. Chloe sent the attacker spinning to the street, his teeth a spray of ivory. Without pause she was gone.

Another chance, thieves emptying a store out in the middle of the night. Claws and teeth; the whimpering criminals called the police themselves. Chloe left only a shadowy impression on their fearful minds.

With every blow struck the shadows purred and she felt more alive. Paris was a city full of wrongs, wrongs to be avenged. Transformed confusion died away, purpose too hold. She returned home only reluctantly and late into the night. Tonight was only partly an exception. The Badger took the jump from the street to her balcony in a single bound and stalked on all fours to the double doors. Rising she murmured,"Tscherna, sleep." and Chloe Bourgeois stepped through the doors into her suite.

Well done little thing. You become more interesting.

Should I take that as a compliment?

It matters not. The delays are troubling, there is much to do.

I have a life you know.

The little lies we tell.

Chloe gave up on the exchange. She crossed to the sitting room and picked up her phone. Over a dozen missed texts from Sabrina blinked up at her. Chloe scanned them. Updates from her mission. Trepidation, frustration, excitement, and pure joy radiated from the text,"Oh Sabrina, You precious little thing." The latest informed her that Sabrina was on her way over.

There was one other message as well. Her patience had paid off. Chloe popped it open with a touch.

Dev:I have returned. Is my jacket available? I didn't miss it in Algeria, but I don't have the same excuses here.

Chloe bit the tip of her tongue at the reference to Algeria, but didn't take the bait. Two could play at this game.

Chloe: It is ready for pickup whenever you would like to stop by my suite.

Dev:I thought I was not allowed?

Chloe:You aren't. Be interesting.

Chloe dropped her phone on the opposite couch and put a pillow over it to resist the temptation to answer any reply. Instead she lounged with a purpose, even going so far as to read an English assignment while waiting for Sabrina's arrival.

"Come in!" she called in reply to a knock at the door. In crept Sabrina, exuding a nervous excitement. "You're out late." Chloe called, giving Sabrina a place to focus. Her friend stepped into the room and stood, shifting from foot to foot.

"Yeah, I didn't expect it to take so long." she admitted, thumping her hands against her thighs,"I was worried they wouldn't let me in tonight."

"Oh that." Chloe closed her book and sat up,"That was easy enough. Daddy can't have his daughter failing her subjects now can he? No one will take my Sabrina from me." Chloe finished with a wide grin.

"Oh. Hee." Sabrina shifted over to sit in one of the overstuffed chairs,"I um, am kinda hungry."

Chloe stretched again, shifting around to rest her chin on folded arms upon the arm of the couch,"Details first, treats after."

Sabrina looked disappointed but started off nonetheless,"I had a lot of fun. It was kinda scary at first." Sabrina was fidgeting so much she sat on her hands, hunching to do so, before she continued,"Rose actually showed me around the boat a little before the show. They were having trouble with one of the amps working."

Chloe waved a hand,"No, no. Get to the important things Sabrina; Luka, Marinette. What is happening?"

Sabrina flinched,"I umm. Well. They do kind of look really cute when they are together. He is always watching her." Sabrina seemed to stumble across a thought which put her into pout,"She ran off right when the performance started though." The pout became a grin,"I stole her seat." Sabrina spent a moment thinking,"I don't know if I liked the songs all that much, but it was fun. They really try hard. Luka's got a nice smile when he's playing. His eyes kind of go distant and he looks like he's really into it."

Chloe rolled her eyes,"I'm not hearing anything that gets you back here after dark Sabrina. There's much to do and little time. Get to the good stuff."

Sabrina flinched again, but this time sat up taller afterwards,"I'm getting there chloe." she took her hands out from under her legs,"You see, that bad amp blew while they were playing. Marinette still hadn't come back but they had to cut it short. Luka started trying to figure out what was wrong and I wanted to help. They've got an older Marshall amp. When Luka was trying to figure it out I searched up schematics." Sabrina pulled out her phone by way of illustration, showing how she had PDFs tabbed open,"Then I worked on most common problems. There's so much online if you know how to look for it. Pretty soon he had the whole thing taken apart and we were looking for individual parts online to order replacements. The problem is though that their setup isn't really good for what they're trying to do."

Sabrina was talking faster as she got into her flow. This time Chloe let her. Sabrina took a breath and continued,"So I mentioned that then he started telling me about what he really wanted to do if he could. We looked up all sorts of rigging, cables, speakers, everything. I never knew there was so much involved. I set up a spreadsheet with all the stuff he wanted then dug up prices so we could see just what it would take. Then we started swapping out different things to see what would bring the price down and how much. He wants a new Bass for Juleka. The-" Sabrina searched for a newly learned word,"Pickups on hers are starting to get a little temperamental. So we started talking about all the different kinds and why you'd use each one. Before I knew it it was dark out and everyone was gone." Sabrina blushed,"He did get a message from Marinette. She couldn't come back, something with the bakery and her parents. I think it made him sad." Sabrina's blush faded as she turned over the memory,"He's nice. He shouldn't be sad."

"Well then, you'll just have to see to it he isn't won't you Sabrina?" Chloe mused,"They need equipment? Hmm, maybe we can kill two birds with one stone. Write down what kind of- bass was it?-that he wants for Juleka. I'll have daddy buy me one and you can give it to them."

Sabrina hesitated,"Won't that seem suspicious?"

Chloe sat up,"Just tell them I was bored with it. They'll believe that. It'll let you visit again and winning over his sister is bound to help you out."

"I guess." Sabrina seemed suddenly reluctant. Chloe put it out of her mind,"Now, you can get the food and we'll work on homework. I've been so busy this weekend you wouldn't believe it."

Sabrina looked like she had something else to say, but whatever it was she swallowed it and headed off.

Chloe fished her phone out while she waited, and did indeed have a message.

Dev: Found me out did you? I guess that's how it goes. I'll see you soon.

Chloe tried to make sense of it briefly but then put it too out of her mind and leaned back on the couch, wondering if she might find time to sneak out again tonight.

A voice was cutting through her sleep. Chloe fought waking with the persistence of the totally exhausted.

"I'd be gone already, but you seem to have made that difficult. Consistent to the end."

Chloe's mind absorbed the words and pushed her into sudden wakefulness. She bolted upright. In the deep twilight of a Paris night she could make out the large shadow at the foot of her bed, crouched on the Diwan.

"Dev, what?" she mumbled through a rush of dizziness from the sudden motion. None of this made sense.

"I've come for my jacket, just as you said. You seem to not be quite finished with it though."

Chloe was caught out, too late to hide anything. The jacket was on one side of her, just as Mr. Cuddly was on the other amid the tangle of sheets. She put a hand on it and embarrassment rose, but confusion was hot on its heels and a sharp retort,"How did you get IN here?"

"You already know the answer to that." there wasn't the usual humor in his voice. Choe was starting to regain her focus. He wasn't just a shadow, he was there, dressed in black; pants, cap, sweatshirt hood up, even his hands we gloved, both of them.

"The necklace." Chloe guessed, it was the only thing that made any of this make sense.

"Necklace?" Dev still hadn't moved, perched like an oversized gargoyle, remarkably still even for him,"I suppose I should take that too."

Chloe shot a hand up to grip the pedant, sharp edges and all,"It's mine!" she snapped with a vehemence that surprised even her. Then,"How, could you have used it if I had it?"

"Used it?" Confusion broke into Dev's melancholic delivery. Then resignation,"Look, keep it. Call it a memento. I've come all this way though, so I'd better come back with at least one of them."

Fear at losing The Badger subsided. Chloe scooted down to the foot of the bed, closer to Dev,"You're not making sense, and not even in your usual way. How did you get in here?"

"What, looking for a family job? Do we really need to play this game? It's never fun. I thought I had a bit longer this time." He was talking past her, and it was starting to spook her.

Chloe scooted right up to him and grabbed the front of his sweatshirt, trying to shake him, or even shove him off the Diwan, but even crouched on his toes he was immovable,"Dev, stop it. Make sense. You're being ridiculous, utterly ridiculous. How did you get in here? Why are you acting this way?" The fear was growing.

"You… you honestly don't know?" He really looked at her for the first time since she woke up. His left hand reached up and covered her right, plucking it gently but inexorably from his sweatshirt,"Well then, I'm a damn fool aren't I?" A smile crossed his face, but it was a sad pitiful thing.

"YES!" she thumped him with her other hand,"You're always a damn fool." She still wasn't sure what was happening but the fear wasn't subsiding and it wouldn't turn over to anger for her, it was dropping into sadness instead,"Now explain it to me, because apparently I'm a fool too." she sank back to sit on the bed. Emotion was cutting through a fog inside of her. She had vivid memories of the weekend but they played choppily, like a movie on a broken TV. She felt she owed Sabrina an apology for something she couldn't remember.

Dev moved finally, shifting from his crouch to sit cross legged. Any other time Chloe might've enjoyed how much it lowered him down to her height. "I've spent hours being angry and frustrated over nothing it seems."

"I wouldn't know anything about that."

Dev pushed his hood back and sighed then rubbed a hand over his face. He was visibly coming back from whatever dark place he'd been,"Who challenges someone to break into a hotel out of the blue?"

Had she? Maybe. Chloe glanced to her nightstand, she could check. She wasn't sure she wanted to at this point. She spooled up the sheet in her hands,"Well, who actually DOES it?" she countered. Then after another click,"And how do you know how to?"

Dev leaned slightly to one side, propping his chin up on one hand. He looked more thoughtful than Chloe'd ever seen him, "That's just it isn't it?" he mused,"I don't. Or I shouldn't, but now I do and I'm not thinking you can be convinced this is just a really bad dream." He facepalmed again,"This all would've been easier angry."

More pieces were falling into place for Chloe,"You are going to leave aren't you?" she was whispering now.

"That's generally how it ends up going. Thought I might keep ahead of the pitchforks this time."

Chloe looked down at her hands, or rather the bundled knot of bedding she'd wrapped them in. She squeezed her hands into fits inside of it and tried to find words. Should she scream? Should she cry? She wasn't doing either. Instead she offered a plaintive,"Why?" carrying so many unasked questions in its wake.

Dev pulled off his hat and in an odd gesture bit the edge of the rim while thinking,"I suppose I owe you that." he settled himself back properly and Chloe turned to face him fully again, sitting up to listen out of reflex.

"So I've got a complicated family situation." he began.

Chloe snorted at the humor in that, Dev paused long enough to show he caught it but continued,"My dad's not in telecoms. He's in communications though. He makes sure certain messages are heard, very clearly."

Chloe gave him a blank look and in return Dev drew a single finger across his neck,"Oh."

"Not the best career, especially for a family. Too much opportunity for… negative feedback." Dev waved his right hand in the air to illustrate his point. "And no one in their right mind wants to be caught up in that. So each move is a new chance to pretend it all doesn't exist with a clock ticking until it does."

Dev was bracing himself. Chloe could feel it and recognized it all too well. He was probably expecting a lot of things, and she could guess. Lines of questioning opened up in her mind. Disbelief, recrimination, anger, betrayal, any of them would work. Chloe met his gaze and saw herself so clearly in it. She knew there had to be something else she could do.

"Do you, you know, too?" she asked, keeping her voice small and controlled through force of will.

"What?" That had him off balance, small victory,"No! I'm just stuck in this." Dev brought a hand up and rubbed the back of his head,"Got two more years before I can get the heck out and then pray people decide I'm not worth it anymore."

Chloe had a response to that, one she'd been told herself recently,"Worth quite a lot I think."

"Ha!" Dev said humorlessly,"A lot of dad's associates put stock in spite. Time will tell. He wants me to take up the business of course, but I wouldn't want to do this to anyone else." Dev shook his head,"Pretty good at goodbyes, I just have to add one more person to the list when I can and then see where it takes me."

"So, that's how you got in here?" Chloe changed the subject, not liking the path it was taking.

"Not like you can exactly refuse EVERYTHING your old man tries to teach you."

Chloe leaned in with a grin,"What else do you know how to do?"

She hadn't expected the hurt look she got in return. She switched topics again before he could get a word out,"Let me show you what I did!" she threw aside the sheets and scrambled back up the bed to drag his jacket back. Chloe flipped it over and spread it out to show off Alix's work.

Dev leaned over and picked it up, holding it out easily at arm's length and studying the bee insignia. After a moment a smile finally crept onto his face,"Not exactly subtle, but I don't entirely mind the implications."

"The implications?"

Dev's smile turned into a teasing grin.

"Put that down for a second."

Dev neatly folded the jacket in two lengthwise, handling it like any summer breaker, and set it beside him on the Diwan; then got a face full of pillow. He recovered just in time to get a second. Then Chloe was satisfied and relented.

"Earned that did I?"

"Yes. Utterly ridiculous." Chloe mock-pouted.

Dev glanced around then noted,"First time in a lady's room for me."

"Contrary to what you might have read, breaking in isn't all that charming." she chided.

"Noted. I'll try to avoid it in the future. Doesn't being invited to break in count for something?" Dev picked up the jacket again, setting it across his knees.

"Maybe." Chloe conceded,"If I were feeling generous."

A silence bloomed between them. Chloe realized they were stalling, badly. She decided to tackle it head on,"So you're leaving?"

"Yeah, s'what I do."

"Do you have to?"

That seemed to surprise him,"Normally, there's a lot more yelling right now. Or being shoved out the door. But even then, can you imagine how your father would take it if he actually did enough research to find out?"

Chloe felt like yelling. Probably not for the reasons he expected. She was sitting so still right now, barely breathing. She wanted to bawl. If she let herself cry though, she would scream. If she let herself be sad, she would be nothing but mad. It was all there right inside her skin, if she moved too quickly it would break free. Chloe struggled to find words that weren't a rehash of all the other failures in her life. She made a choice and then reached out slowly, straining to keep the balance of emotions inside of her. She caught hold of his sleeve,"I don't want you to go."

Dev hung his head, looking down at her hand,"Think I want to?"

Chloe flexed her fingers, taking a fistfull of fabric this time,"Then don't."

"But-" he trailed off. Silence grew again. Chloe wasn't used to being on this side of things. It wasn't as scary, but there was a responsibility to it.

"Move over ogre." She broke the silence.

"What?" Dev came back from where his mind had taken him. Chloe let his sleeve go.

"Move over." she said, and without waiting she scooted off the end of the bed and onto the Diwan. She sat sideways on it, facing him and brought her legs up cross legged,"Come on, lay down." she said, patting her lap.

He was completely lost, and this time she was in command of herself enough to find it adorably amusing. Teen Magazines don't fail me now. Chloe nudged and prodded him until he got the hint, turning onto his back and laying lengthwise along the Diwan. There was just barely enough room with his legs hooked over the far end, and his head in her lap facing up,"This is a first." he managed.

Chloe cupped his cheek in her hand, and slowly ran the nails of her other hand through his hair,"It's a trick I know." she explained.

The effect was almost instant. His eyes opened wide, then drooped to half-closed. "Do it often?" he rumbled.

"Never."

He laid still for several minutes, Chloe could feel the tension leaving his shoulders as they relaxed against her knees. Eventually he brought a hand up, covering hers against his cheek,"You sure about this? Not the best situation for your reputation."

Chloe laughed softly,"I may have been part of an evil plot trying to take over Paris once or twice. I think my reputation will handle it."

Dev let go and brought both hands up, shrugging expansively against her lap,"So, what comes next? I'm out of my element at this point."

Chloe moved her hand from his cheek to tap his nose,"Now, for once, two people don't both have to go all the way back to the beginning and ruin something new."

Dev laughed,"Can just keep on ruining what we've already got?"

"Play to your strengths." Chloe mussed his hair,"You should probably go though. I don't think I'm in a bad enough mood to yell my way out of this one right now."

Dev slowly sat himself up, fixing his hat back in place and tugging his hood up,"This is probably all a terrible idea you know."

"Yes." Chloe said, hands in her suddenly cold lap,"But it's MY terrible idea and that counts for something."

Dev picked up the Jacket that started all this,"See you at school?"

"Oh, you're going to show up now?"

"Seems like I might enjoy it more."

Chloe rolled her eyes,"Alright, now shoo." she waved him off,"I need my beauty sleep, Well no I don't, but it's still good practice."

Dev had one last soft laugh, she liked that laugh, then he slipped out of her bedroom. Chloe listened to hear the sound of the door opening to the hallway, but it never came. She got up and tiptoed to the entryway, intent on not being ambushed, but the entry was empty, door closed, no sign of Dev. Okay, I'm impressed.

Impressed? But are you well little thing?

You're here? Why wouldn't I be well?

Talking to yourself in the middle of the night is a sign of madness.

The meanings of that statement blossomed inside Chloe's mind, every petal a potential poison for the soul. With an audible snarl she yanked the necklace off and threw it across the room. The sudden blow to her senses was a shock. She staggered to flop on her bed. A small part of her mind told her the jacket was still gone, that had to be good, right?

In the morning Chloe struggled with memories of the weekend. She had the kitchen whip up an expansive breakfast for Sabrina and goaded her friend into sharing the details of the trip to see Luka's band a second time, filling in the gaps that had formed in Chloe's memory. She fired off a text to Dev while getting ready.

Chloe:Last night actually happened right?

His reply,

Dev: I've been asking myself that too.

Was comfortingly frustrating. She spent entirely too much time holding the necklace and looking in the mirror. In the end she stuffed it in her bag, just in case. The sun was out, but not murderously so. The breeze wasn't enough to mess up her hair. Sabrina was chattering away about newly discovered musical facts at a steady enough pace to blend seamlessly into the background noises of Paris.

Chloe set her bag down, took her seat and took a deep breath,"You know Sabrina. I think today's going to be a good day."

A voice rippled through the air,"Hey Chloe!"

"Annnd it's gone." Chloe mumbled before fixing a smile back onto her face,"Yes miss Du-pain-chang?"

Marinette skidded to a stop beside Chloe,"Well, I noticed you weren't wearing that necklace today. Did you give it back? Still working on that art project here and if I could get a hold of it for even a day that would be SO helpful."

Chloe sighed,"Ugh, no Du-Pain-Chang. I just didn't wear it today okay?" then she switched tracks,"Oh, Sabrina says she loved the little get together, didn't you Sabrina?"

Chloe glanced over her shoulder and was rewarded with enthusiastic nodding. Chloe turned her gaze back to a suddenly awkward Marinette,"you'll have to let us know the next time you have one. Who knows, I might attend, and Sabrina definitely will. She had so much fun talking shop with dear Luka. It's a shame you had to leave so early." Chloe knew she was laying it on a little thick, tough love.

However the reaction wasn't satisfying at all. Marinette seemed to close in on herself; no awkward excuses, no angry rebuttals, not even a proper bit of embarrassment. All Chloe got out of it was a mumbled,"I'm glad Sabrina could have a good time." and Marinette turning to walk away.

"One boy at a time, Marinette." Chloe said to her retreating back, somewhere between a dig and an apology.

As soon as she was gone Chloe flopped across the desk,"What good is a world where I can't enjoy making fun of Du-Pain-Chang anymore?" she groused to Sabrina. Chloe looked back again, Marinette was still withdrawn, pulling things out of her bag. Chloe caught a look from Alya though. Alya was frowning hard over her glasses. She locked eyes with Chloe and jabbed a finger at her. Chloe replied with a shug and mouthed ,"She started it!" That earned her another fiercer finger jab, then Mrs. Bustier walked in and class started.

The walk home was an actual first for Chloe. Sabrina, Nathaniel, and now Marc in tow. The small squad was more than had willingly accompanied her anywhere that she could ever remember. The instinct was to turn things into familiar impressive topics. She could talk about Daddy's hotel. She could regale them with the people who had stayed there. She could find any number of things to stand on to raise herself up to be seen.

That hadn't ever helped before though. She couldn't possibly keep them all listening to her the whole time either. She had almost no idea who Marc was or how to capture his attention. A glance his way told her he seemed slightly nervous too, walking close enough to bump Nathaniel every few steps and scanning the middle distance as if expecting an attack. Nathaniel took Marc's hand and gave both a squeeze and a smile that had Chloe a touch jealous.

Chloe edged closer to Sabrina and gave her friend a little nudge,"Say something." she mumbled,"I don't know what to talk about."

After a few more steps Sabrina piped up, asking about the comic, how it was coming along. To each of Nathaniel's answers she had a new question that drew out more information for more questions. Nate did most of the talking, Marc and Chloe just listened, Chloe in silent awe.

Once they were up in her Suite Chloe felt… safer? She was glad to see the order had come up. The central table in the entryway was cleared off to the side, the flowers removed and a spread had been laid out on it. She'd made a point to keep it more modest than her first instincts, just a half dozen different types of pastry and petite-fours with a few pitchers of ice water and juice.

Chloe dropped her bag right by the door and kicked her shoes off, moving on autopilot from her brief time in ballet. She mimicked her teacher, clapping twice before raising her voice to a 'teaching' tone."Okay people, we've got a lot to do. Refreshments are available as you need them, but we can't waste too much time. Do we have all the diagrams?" She rounded on the trio only after she finished speaking, head held high and looking at no one in particular.

There was a brief moment of awkward silence before Nathaniel spoke,"I have them. I couldn't make copies yet though." He dug the sketch pads out of his backpack and held them out.

Chloe took both from Nathaniel and flipped through the second one quickly, seeing more of the same diagrams as the first,"allright." she said, then held them back out, this time to Sabrina,"Go make copies downstairs. Four of each page so no one has to use the master." She gestures to Nathaniel,"You should go with her, that many pages won't be light." then looked at a suddenly apprehensive Marc,"I can see if my old costume will work for Marc while we wait. I'll need your measurements too by the end of the night Nathaniel."

Sabrina was more than used to that voice. She sprang right into action, pulling a slightly baffled Nathaniel with her. Chloe took solace in the fact that the instructions weren't unreasonable this time. Marc was looking ever more apprehensive by the minute. Chloe wasn't about to make things any easier for him either. She walked over and pulled the sashes on the curtains screening off the sitting area. She tugged the curtains closed then walked back towards her bedroom, gesturing back to the curtains,"Go get yourself undressed. I'll bring you the costume and we'll see what we've got."

Marc emitted what could only be termed a squeak,"Undressed?" he stammered out, shifting from foot to foot,"I mean-."

Chloe stopped and made a shooing motion to emphasize her words,"Oh pshh. Have you ever been backstage at a fashion show? You're lucky you get that much. You're going to be attacked with a tape measure in any event. Don't make it strange," then she finished her journey and dug out her packed up Ladybug outfit, her tape measure and pins, and as an afterthought she brought the yoyo too.

Marc had at least left the entryway. Chloe crossed to the curtains and stuck her arm through waggling the package,"Here you go." She considered her previous instructions may have been imprecise to a novice,"And, keep your undergarments on." She waited for the package to be taken then stepped away.

Chloe turned the Ladybug mask over in her hand while she waited. It was weird. She had been so angry with Ladybug she had let herself be akumatized. It seemed like ages ago, but was less than a month in her past. Now she couldn't quite describe how she felt. Disappointed; In Ladybug? In herself? Maybe both. She knew now she had a hole inside of her. It had been there forever, Ladybug had filled it. Someone to look up to, someone to believe in. People noticed Ladybug.

Now, what? She felt somehow betrayed, but also knew she wasn't really owed anything. No it wasn't her exactly, it was Queen Bee who was betrayed. The Queen Bee and Chloe that might have been. Betrayed, isolated, manipulated, reduced to a memory of someone not good enough and nothing more; by Ladybug, by Hawkmoth, by her mother and by Chloe herself. Thinking about it caused a dull ache in her chest. She wanted to put it into words, get it out of her heart through her mouth and let it go. Turning the mask back over again some part of that pain broe loose inside of her and found its way out.

Chloe met the vacant eye holes of her Ladybug mask and accused,"You were supposed to be better than me."

The soft sound of a cleared throat pulled Chloe out of her introspection. Marc's head was poked through the curtains,"I'm ready." he said, with no indication of what if anything he had heard. Chloe threw the mask at him, only barely moderating the throw to be catchable,"Let's see you then, come out, do a slow turn."

Marc did, and Chloe immediately lamented her task. By the end of the 360 his face matched the outfit, but that wasn't half the problem,"I think I'm going to have to start from scratch." she said,"How does the mask fit?" Marc adjusted it, shifting the straps under his poof of black hair,"I think it works. I guess maybe a little tight?" he offered. Chloe hmphed, reaching out and pinching the costume, tugging the fabric this way and that without any mercy for Marc's embarrassment,"Well Marc, you're not the most strapping of specimens, but I'm afraid we can rule out you being a stunningly fit and attractive teenage girl."

That got her a confused look, but it might have just shocked him out of his embarrassment for a moment. It was getting annoying. Chloe stepped back and gestured to the whole of the costume,"That was made to fit me, and with a few of the important differences we have it's going to bunch and bag in some key places." Chloe moderated her language for the sake of his nerves. She plucked at a loose bit under the armpit, making Marc squirm,"Now normally I could just snip and stitch in a few places, but with this pattern you'd notice." Chloe paused,"Well, I'D notice."

Marc looked down at himself, and flexed his fingers in the one-piece gloves,"Is it going to be that bad? It's only for a little bit right?"

"Two things." Chloe held up a finger,"First, you must look fabulous, utterly fabulous at any and all times if possible. Allow no shabbiness you can avoid. People will think less of you if you're shabby, even if they won't say it to your face." She held up another finger,"Also, you will be taking this home after the performance if you wish. Are you telling me you'll never put it on again?"

Chloe was fairly certain the shade of red Marc turned was in fact darker than the ladybug costume. She patted his shoulder,"We'll get you looking your bug-best don't you worry. Now go get that off and call me when you're ready."

"Ready?" Marc asked, taking the mask off and fiddling with the invisible zipper at the neck of the costume.

Chleo gave him a nudge in the right direction,"Wearing nothing bulky." She pulled out her measuring tape and gave it a mock whip crack. She was rewarded with a hop and slightly panicked look before Marc disappeared through the curtains.

Chloe fiddled with the yo-yo for old time's sake while she waited. Sabrina and Nathaniel returned before Marc called her with their arms full of paper,"The Concierge hates us I think, but we got it Chloe!" Sabrina beamed. She and Nathaniel started separating the papers into stacks.

"How's the fitting going?" Nathaniel asked, casting a concerned look at the curtained off room.

From the room in question came the apprehensive,"Ready Chloe."

Chloe grinned at Nathaniel,"Oh, you'll find out soon enough, you're next." She whipped The yo-yo down, spun a quick around the world, then walked the dog right through the curtains.

When she came back out Sabrina was already working on showing Nathaniel the basics of transitions, all the little movements between main beats of a routine. Chloe picked out one of the snacks and then nodded to the curtains,"You're up Mightydancer."

Nathaniel processed the quip, and apparently decided it wasn't meant to be a dig because he smiled and shifted his bangs back with a hand,"You didn't traumatize Marc too much did you?"

Chloe waggled the finger sandwich noncommittaly in the air,"Hopefully you're not quite as ticklish as he is."

Nathaniel pinked slightly, though nothing to match Marc's standards,"No, not quite." he said, turning to head off.

Chloe scooted up beside Sabrina and whispered,"Wait 'till you see Marc without his sweatshirt. He looks like a little gymnast. I don't know why he's so shy."

Sabrina covered her mouth with a hand then grinned,"You call me terrible?"

"Just looking out for my friend." Chloe patted Sabrina's shoulder and finished off the snack,"How is Nathaniel?"

Sabrina looked for her words,"He's... Willing to learn." She settled for eventually, then she added,"You seem a lot more relaxed Chloe."

Chloe curled the measuring tape around her fingers,"I am. I know what I'm doing here. Marc is fun to tease too. Don't worry, I'm being good."

Marc stepped out wearing a tank top, his sweatshirt and the yo-yo in his arms. Sabrina stifled a giggle-squee while Chloe stepped forward to cover her,"Marc, you're all Sabrina's for now. Once I finish with Nathaniel we can get to the good stuff."

Chloe crossed paths with him, and heard him ask Sabrina just as she pushed through the curtains,"Is she always like this outside of school?"

Nathaniel was studying the room when she entered. As she came in he looked her way and set the tempo by speaking first,"You don't like this hotel room, do you?"

Chloe stopped short then huffed and flicked the tape measure at him,"Okay, now you're sounding like someone else I know and I don't need that in my life twice right now."

Nathaniel shrugged a little with a smile,"Well, I figured I had to get one back for Marc. He said you were giving him a bit of a rough time."

Chloe mentally reset herself and stepped up to Nathaniel,"Sweatshirt off. You're good with the rest though, your costume won't be as tight as his." She waited for him to comply before beginning with collar size. With the tape measure around Nathaniel's neck she felt a bit more composed,"I didn't think I was that bad."

Nathaniel kept himself completely still as Chloe worked around him, lifting his arms for a span, circumferences along the arm, shoulder width,"He can be a little sensitive until he's sure of someone."

Chloe bit her bottom lip,"Not sure of me yet is he?"

"Really?"

"Okay, that's fair. I don't like it and you didn't have to say it, but it's fair." Chloe swept the tape around Nathaniel's waist, he only squirmed a little,"Why's he so spooked? I think he could probably beat most of the boys in school with those stealth-muscles."

Nathaniel grimaced,"It's complicated. This isn't the time. He's getting better."

Chloe let it go. She moved from waist to hips and asked instead,"Does he work out a lot?"

"It's Savate."

"What's that?"

"French martial arts. His brother takes it, Marc decided to too."

Chloe paused,"okay, That is not anything I would have expected from him." Chloe decided to warn Nate unlike the way she had surprised Marc,"The Inseam's next, don't panic."

He handled it well. When she was done he said,"Yeah, it's related to his brother. He does like it though, I think." Nathaniel grabbed hold of the conversation again,"I think you made some headway with Alix friday."

"She likes me now?" Chloe raised an eyebrow incredulously.

"She doesn't hate you maybe?" Nathaniel offered with a helpless smile.

Chloe finished with Nathaniel's cuffs and stood,"great, at this rate I'll be the most not-hated girl in school soon."

Nathaniel spread his hands then noted,"You didn't write a single one of those measurements down."

Chloe puffed up slightly with pride,"Oh, it's all right up here." she tapped her temple.

"Wait, I've seen your math quizzes. You're telling me you just remember all those numbers?"

Chloe scoffed,"That's different. Math is stupid, just a bunch of meaningless exercises. Measurements help me create something."

Nathaniel reached down to pick up his sweatshirt, when he stood back up he had a more serious expression,"Why're you doing this?"

Chloe paused at his expression,"For Sabrina." she said finally,"I wanted to do something, make a production out of something she liked. I saw the music and went with it."

"No." Nathaniel held up a hand,"Not just that. This." he swept his arm up and down indicating all of Chloe. "There is no way Marc and I should be here."

That knocked Chloe right out of her comfort zone. Queasiness tingled out along her limbs. She let out a groan,"Why do people keep asking that?"

"Because it's such a change." Nathaniel insisted.

"Look, I know!" Chloe brought her hands up to her head,"I know. I know it's a change. I know it's different and I have no idea what I'm doing." The emotion boiled up. She locked eyes with Nathaniel,"I get it okay? I know I was horrible. I understand that now, are you happy?"

Nathaniel didn't look happy, he looked poleaxed, but he persisted,"You didn't?"

"NO!" Chloe knew her voice must carry and that just made it worse. She bit the measuring tape in frustration. "Not like. No. I mean-" she brought her hands up again, thinking about it just made everything worse,"I did, but I didn't." She sighed and leaned against the back of one of the couches,"It wasn't helping." her voice got softer,"Nobody liked me, I knew that much. It was easier to pretend it didn't matter; pretend everyone was just wrong. You win by causing the most damage. Plow through and you're on top." Chloe looked back up at Nathaniel,"Have you ever met my mom?"

He seemed to have calmed as Chloe's explosion ebbed,"No?"

Chloe laughed softly,"You'd know what I meant." she tried to feel her way through the next bit, each word falling shakily into place before she even knew what the next one might be,"It was, not as scary you know? If everyone keeps hating you then it doesn't matter. If someone actually likes you though, you could lose that." She shook her head, not sure if she'd hit it just right but out of words.

Nathaniel Kneaded his sweatshirt in his hands, absorbing it seemed,"You know, I didn't hate you."

"You attacked me with a giant Hair dryer!"

Nathaniel laughed,"I did. I was angry. Since then? We've barely crossed paths. I let it go."

Chloe rocked back on the couch enough to lift her feet off the ground, then looked at him and asked,"How?"

Nathaniel spoke words of wisdom,"Um.." then laughed to clear the air.

Chloe did too, "I hope you got what you were looking for. I need to ask you a favor in return." she kicked her feet to keep her balance before letting herself rock forward to standing again.

Nathaniel cocked his head,"What kind of favor?" but there was none of his former suspicion.

"I don't want to have to keep doing this. So, if someone elbows you in class and asks what's up, just tell them. You're an artist, embellish if you want, just keep people from asking ME about it."

Nathaniel smiled,"I can try." he stepped over closer to Chloe, but stopped short again, hanging back and hugging his sweatshirt against his chest.

"Good enough. Now let's go see how much work we have to do." Chloe led Nathaniel back out to the entryway.