Author's note:One more chapter after this one, then I might do a 'chapter' of end notes. Little details that were drawn up but never included, explanatiosn for things happening in the background, etc. It depends on if I feel there's a desire for it.
The barest of lights greeted Chloe when she opened her eyes. Her other senses came online as she was puzzling over what she saw; beeping, antiseptic, a horrid dry sensation in her throat, her right hand locked into a cramped fist.. She was seeing a dull blue glow, until her eyes focused. A monitor. The little light coasting left to right with the occasional jump for joy. Beep. Beep. Beep.
She shifted, not daring too much. Her limbs responded but with a gnawing weariness. At her movement someone beside the bed rose,"Chloe?"
Chloe turned her head, confused,"Ladybug?"
Indeed, the spotted heroine was here, in what Chloe could only guess was a hospital room, in the middle of the night. She looked exhausted. As Chloe's eyes focused on her a smile of relief spread across Ladybug's face.
"What happened?" Chloe began softly, then jerked upright,"Is Kagami safe? Did you get to D-? She choked on the words, her dry throat protesting. A vicious cough followed as she tried to swallow. Ladybug moved quickly, picking up a cup of water from the bedside tray and helping Chloe drink. She was too weak to protest and sipped down tap water as if it were the finest Perignon.
"Easy, easy Chloe." Ladybug set the cup down,"I'll try to explain as much as I know, but first." She took out her yo-yo and turned it on it's side, opening it and pulling out a small yellow, grey, and black charm on a string,"Please, take this. I'm hoping if you wear it, it'll help."
Chloe took the charm unquestioningly with her left hand, she needed answers. "I will." she croaked, her throat still raw. She fumbled one handed to slip the charm onto her wrist; once more Ladybug moved to help her and once more Chloe didn't protest.
"Now." Ladybug said, with some trepidation in her voice,"Your other hand."
Chloe raised it from under the covers, only now registering she hadn't moved it once yet. Out came her balled up fist, the chain of the necklace dangling from it. Her fingers protested in ever growing severity as her brain became aware of the tenacity of her grip.
"Chloe, will you give that to me?" Ladybug gently coaxed.
Chloe raised it up, drew it back to her chest, hesitated. She heard something small, distant, a muffled whisper. She probed,"You, won't use it will you?"
"No one will." Ladybug assured her, holding out a hand with a small box, similar to those for a miraculous in it.
Chloe held the necklace over Ladybug's hand and tried to let go. Her fingers wouldn't budge. She had to carefully unbend them one at a time with her left hand. It was excruciating, and the pins of returning blood flow stabbed at each straightened digit. The necklace dropped onto the padded cushion and lay, just a piece of harmless jewelry to the eye. Ladybug snapped a lid onto the box and stowed it inside her magical yo-yo.
"There, that's done." Ladybug slumped with fatigue but gave Chloe a smile. Chloe was rubbing life back into her hand, watching Ladybug with a desperate intensity but not trusting herself to not explode if she spoke a single word in the darkened room.
Ladybug spoke into the growingly tense silence,"Where to begin." she put her hands together and leaned in,"Kagami is safe. We defeated the Akuma, her mother, and set things right there. Apparently it was over a breakup of some kind."
Chloe registered that fact, and promised herself a squee later. She didn't want to interrupt Ladybug for anything right now.
"What you did, and your friend, it helped a lot. We've never seen a multimonster like that before. The aggression was off the charts again too. There's no way of knowing what they would have done if you hadn't contained them to the park. Thank you."
Chloe burst in,"Dev? Is he okay too?" nothing rational could account for the prickling terror she felt just mouthing those words in this situation. A thousand butterflies, no, moths, malignant and cruel, swarmed in her stomach.
"As far as I know." Ladybug held up a hand,"Let me explain Chloe." her voice was soft, consoling,"There's a lot. About you, about this, and it's all new ground for me." Ladybug lowered her hand and brought them both into her lap, toying with her yo-yo,"He left under his own power, if that helps." She coiled and uncoiled a length of the string,"But both of you… My Miraculous ladybugs couldn't fix you completely." She gestured to the room,"That's why you're here. You're not still injured, but you're not well. It was the same with him, but we couldn't get him to come here."
Chloe huffed,"No, he wouldn't." she picked up the water again and began to sip,"Can I get some food please?" she was a little disgusted with how meek her voice sounded but the energy just wasn't there for anything more.
"Oh right." Ladybug pushed a button by the headboard of Chloe's bed,"But there's something we have to do. It's not going to be easy for you Chloe."
"What?" Chloe took a larger gulp of the water and was disappointed to find her cup empty.
Ladybug delved back into the magical pocket inside her yo-yo and drew out another Miraculous box, one that Chloe recognized instantly. It must have shown in her eyes.
"This is not what you are thinking Chloe, I'm sorry." There was real pain in Ladybug's tone. She opened the box and out flew a golden spark, resolving itself once more as the lovely little Bee Kwami,"Hello My Queen." Pollen's greeting was a moribund little thing, and the expression she wore belonged in no way on any being so sweet. Chloe instinctively reached up to pluck her from the air for a cuddle but the bee buzzed back, hovering and looking nervously between the two of them. "Are you sure about this Pollen?" Ladybug prompted.
"I am. Anything for my Queen." the saying was rote however, and her little Antenae barely rose above her head.
"Ladybug what is going on?" Chloe asked, she knew she was the only one in the dark over something, and it was something involving her. She was getting scared, and that fear was turning over with an uncomfortable ease into anger again.
Ladybug held out the miraculous,"You used the Maelaculous. Possibly even just wearing it might have made a difference, but using it definitely. It seems like the two magics don't mesh well. Please, try to transform."
Chloe took the comb, here it was. She had it again. Little pollen floating before her, everything she had wanted. Why did she feel so burnt out and hollow? She slid the comb into her loose hair, hesitated, then summoned what energy she had to put conviction into the words,"Pollen, Buzz On!"
It began normally, Chloe had an instant of elation, but then instead of merging Pollen struck the Miraculous and bounced off. The little kwamii landed in Chloe's lap and a lance of pain sparked from the comb into Chloe's head. This time Pollen didn't resist when Chloe scooped her up. Chloe ignored her own pain, she'd had enough of it recently to be all too familiar, she cooed softly to the dazed bee before looking over to Ladybug,"What happened?"
Ladybug spread her hands helplessly,"The magic of the Maelaculous is inside of you. That's what it does. While it's there, no miraculous will work for you." Ladybug took a deep breath,"I'm so sorry Chloe. I should have done more to convince you to part with it."
Chloe let out a humorless laugh,"Do you really think that would have worked?" Chloe leaned over and jabbed the same button Ladybug had hit, then jabbed it three more times rapidly out of spite before returning her attention to pollen, though still talking to Ladybug, "Chloe's not listening again, right? Chloe's got something she wants. Nothing's going to stop her."
"I know it might make you mad-"
"Mad? Maybe. Sad? Probably. I might bawl my eyes out later, or just break some of these machines to see how expensive they really are. Right now though, I just can't muster the energy to do either."
A nurse opened the door and poked her head in, letting in the harsher light of the hallway. Chloe squinted into it then addressed the Silhouette,"Honey. NOW." like a switch the soft weariness of her voice became petulant and sharp.
"I will have to ask the attending."
"NOW." Chloe growled, both figuratively and literally.
"Chloe…" Ladybug warned gently.
"I'll see what I can do." the nurse vanished, plunging the room into deeper darkness again.
"Do you want me to turn on the lights?" Ladybug offered.
"No." In the darkness none of this felt truly real. Chloe drew a nail gently under Pollen's chin, the weary kwami tried to smile at the scritches.
"I'll keep looking into it, but the information is so sparse. I wish I could do more for you Chloe. When I said you might never be given a miraculous again, not like this. I'd always hoped maybe one day…" Ladybug trailed off.
Chloe looked up,"I know. I knew. It didn't make it any easier. You find one thing you want, you really want. Something you never even knew existed for you to want. Something you can't buy. Something you can't replace, then it's gone. It's gone and you are the one to blame, before you even realized what you had." Chloe wondered why it sounded so simple when it had taken her so much to figure out.
Ladybug stood, she reached out, hesitated, but then laid a hand on Chloe's shoulder,"I have to go, I just thought it would be best to hear this from me this time."
Chloe came back around from the mists of her own thoughts,"Wait.. Dev, you said you couldn't fix him either. He never used the necklace, he didn't even know what it was."
Ladybug nodded,"I don't think he did, but his parents gave it to him when he was born. He likely never noticed the changes because he grew up with them."
Chloe ohed,"Will you talk to him too?"
"If I can find him."
The nurse came back in, a little bear bottle of honey on a tray. She set it at Chloe's bedside,"The doctor will be in shortly to have a look at you." she announced, acting as if Ladybug were an everyday visitor at the hospital.
"Okay, thank you, please go." Chloe had closed her hand around Pollen, but she was already reaching for the bottle, popping the top between two fingers. The nurse cast one confused look between the two young ladies then left. As soon as the door clicked Chloe was offering the bottle to Pollen, who nibbled hungrily at the dab of honey on the tip.
Ladybug watched a moment then,"I'm going to go. Chloe, the comb?"
Chloe set the bottle down long enough to pull the now useless-to-her comb out of her hair and hand it off. Ladybug returned it to its box and to her yo-yo,"Pollen, you can stay a bit longer if you like. Just don't be away too long. We never know when we might be needed."
Pollen gave Ladybug a plucky smile,"Thank you Ladybug."
Chloe looked back up,"Yes, thank you."
That brought a smile to Ladybug's face,"I'll be stopping in to check on you. There may be other lingering side effects we don't know about."
"The ogre's lived like this for years. Anything he can do I can do better."
Ladybug's smile grew, she nodded then slipped out of the room leaving Chloe alone with her recuperating Kwami.
Pollen could only stay a little while. Chloe filled her in on what had been happening in her life, the good and the bad. By the time she was done what little energy she had had been exhausted. Pollen departed and by the time the doctor finally made his appearance Chloe was sound asleep again.
Days ticked by. Chloe texted Dev but got no reply. Sabrina visited every day after school, bringing news, sharing updates on the still in progress work on the show. Nathaniel and Marc were the ones most in need of practice, without Chloe's suite they met at Nathaniel's house. The programme was apparently progressing well too, all that remained were the Miracular and Queen Wasp costumes. For that Chloe cajoled Sabrina into hauling the materials, sewing machine, and assorted kit to the hospital. It gave her something to do between sleep and rehab which were her life now.
Rehab was a new thing for her, and a good use of her anger. Anger she had in spades. Poisoned by her own hand, trapped away from practice, locked away from a miraculous perhaps forever, and one of her main anchors to this new attempt at life gone. Chloe cried herself to sleep more than once. While lifting weights, running, and swimming she could at least channel it all.
The 'lingering side effects' Ladybug spoke of quickly showed themselves. She wasn't going to be cracking concrete anymore, but she might just give Ivan a run for his money armwrestling. At a dead sprint she had to remember to stay on two feet, not four. She'd always had good poise from dance, but the casual comfort with which she could maintain her balance on the narrowest of paths was a joy. Her senses, much dulled from their height, still surprised her in fun little ways. There were tradeoffs. Her craving for red meat never abated, the rarer the better. She could sometimes hear the suggestion of a whisper or a distant scratching while sitting in total silence. Then there were the nightmares. Most commonly she was alone being chased. The shadows had found her and wanted their due. Worse was when familiar faces appeared, they ran ahead of her. She could see their frightful glances over their shoulders and ran all the faster, hoping to escape together, but when she caught up to them the real shrieking began. They were not running with her, they were running from her. In those inescapable dreams she gave them reason to. They never escaped. The shadows were so proud of her.
Friday, Marc and Nathaniel joined Sabrina. It made things a little more awkward. She just didn't know what to say. It was impossible to feel confident sitting cross legged on a hospital bed. Marc set a small notepad on her table during the visit. Chloe picked it up and opened it as soon as they left.
-B.B. Pari, wealthy heiress and model, vowing revenge against the villainous Hawkmoth for his attacks on her parents, takes up the mantle of The Badger. Too easily recognized she must fight crime in the shadows, coming into the light only in times of dire need to assist Ladybug in protecting the city.-
Beneath was a finished and inked drawing of The Badger in costume. Chloe wasn't sure quite how a heroine that muscled would make it as a Paris fashion model, but it was the thought that counted. Chloe slept with it under her pillow that night, and perhaps by coincidence, no nightmares came.
By Sunday she was getting antsy. Miracular's costume was done and she was almost finished with Queen Wasp's. The days were becoming the same. Tests, rehab, tests. She felt physically fine now, but the doctors kept wanting more tests and more. They frowned at all her results, even when she thought she was doing well.
Sunday Night she snapped out of a shallow post-nightmare sleep to the buzz of her phone. Having THAT had been a fight, but one she had refused to lose. She picked it up groggily, just a kernel of hope.
Unknown number: Is it a bad sign to miss someone after just seven days?
Chloe threw off her blanket and sat up, huddling over her phone.
Chloe: Dev?
Unknown Number: Oh right. Sorry, burner phone. Wasn't allowed to keep my old one.
Chloe squeezed her phone and shivered with a mix of emotions.
Chloe: What happened to you? Where are you? I tried texting you.
Dev: Nothing much, except being entirely too conspicuous. We're out in some backwater villa. My phone was taken as soon as I was picked up. Lost all our conversations. Lucked into one of the goons blowing through happening to know Marc's brother. Brother, Marc, Sabrina, here I am. Sorry.
Chloe worked to process everything. She'd been checking her phone obsessively all week and now her mind was going completely blank on her.
Chloe: You're not coming back, are you?
Dev: Dad's relocating, so not unless I can boost another car.
She could smile at the memory of that time now, it felt like forever ago.
Chloe: I can't see you again if you keep doing things like that. I've got a reputation to uphold!
Dev: Destroyer of Paris? Or is it Savior now?
Chloe: I think I can manage both. I'm a multi-talented girl.
Dev: Not touching that. Knowing you, you've landed on your feet, but is it all going well?
Chloe:Are you SURE you know me? It's... strange, but I'm okay. When you come back, no more cursed jewelry?
Dev: The Romani in me says no promises.
Chloe: I'll have to look that up later to know just how weird you're being. Our show is in twelve days. If you can find a way to *legally* get here, it'd be nice to have you see.
Dev: I will make it happen. Besides, I need my jacket back from you.
Chloe's head jerked up. She scanned the darkened room futily, she knew it wasn't here, but it was reflex. She felt petulance and anger revving up but pushed them back. That was a fight for later.
Chloe: Someone's holding out on me. I'll have to crack some heads. And, I don't think it's a bad sign at all.
Dev: Thanks. I have to cut this short. I'm under the thumbscrews right now, not keen on losing this phone too.
Chloe: Take care of yourself Dev. Can't lose my best means of transport.
Dev: I promise not to be surprised next time. Take care.
Chloe puzzled over this last message, but eventually gave up. She checked the time, Three AM. She fired off a thank you to Sabrina anyway. She'd have to get Marc's number when she saw Sabrina again.
The next day Chloe raised hell until Dev's jacket was found for her. 'Kept with her affects' was no excuse as far as she saw it. Out of sheer spite she wore it during the day's stress testing, running in the oversized garment with an extra ten kilos on just to show these stupid doctors how healthy she was. It still wasn't enough.
Ladybug did stop in, true to her word, but seemed distracted the entire time. They exchanged casual conversation for only a few minutes. Chloe was left feeling uncertain. She knew Ladybug was a hero, even at her worst Chloe had known that. She also knew it wasn't right to be angry at Ladybug for how things turned out, even before the necklace. What she didn't know was how she *was* allowed to feel about all of it; so it ended up being this big enigmatic knot inside of her when Ladybug was close.
Friday, they assured her. Friday should be enough time; maybe Monday. Chloe was starting to seethe at the four walls of her room. Queen Wasp was complete, and with Sabrina's help she even tried it on to be sure. Sabrina's visits kept her up to date, but she still felt adrift. The programme was done. Everything was in place in her suite, ready to go. She felt so out of touch, out of control. Chloe kept the jacket in her room. She would hide in it and exchange texts with Sabrina about her friend's growing interactions with Luka. Chloe was proud, and she could openly admit now, jealous.
Friday came, and it was decided. She would be allowed free. Whatever arcane processes the doctors operated under had declared her fit and functional. Chloe texted Sabrina, Nathaniel, and now Marc too. Free Limo ride, if they'd condescend to come see her return to the real world.
"Chloe!" Sabrina launched herself at Chloe the moment the doors opened. She was probably surprised to be caught and spun, held up at arm's length. If not immediately it dawned on her when Chloe didn't put her down and she was left waggling her feet in the air like a little kid.
"Sabrina, really! It's been less than a day." Chloe pretended offense, but she didn't put her friend down just yet. Instead Chloe looked past Sabrina, fixing Nathaniel with a look,"Have you been taking care of my Sabrina? Feeding her properly? Regular walks?" The joke earned her one chuckle and half a smile, she considered it a win.
Sabrina giggled and squirmed,"Is this permanent?" she asked.
Chloe set her down and shrugged,"I don't know, but I kind of hope *this* isn't." Chloe reached back, she was wearing her hair down and when she flipped it forward over her shoulders the reason became obvious for the two who hadn't seen her as much. In the last two weeks it had grown 10cm. "Fun to style maybe, but I'm already in need of an emergency haircut."
Nathaniel stepped forward as Chloe brought Sabrina up to the waiting Limo and Chloe's luggage was loaded,"You're looking a lot better than last week." he offered.
"Oh?" Chloe stopped and leveled a finger at him,"Are you suggesting I didn't look perfect before?" she arched an eyebrow, lifting her chin in warning.
Nathaniel gave that half smile again and countered,"Perfect -ish."
Chloe gestured up and down Nathaniel's height with her fingertip,"Hmm, a little scrawny. But you might do, in a pinch." That got him, and it elicited a laugh from Marc as an added bonus. She gestured to the Limo,"Pile in, I want to be gone."
Inside Chloe passed the little notebook back to Marc as the car pulled away,"I liked that, but does she have to be quite so... big?"
Marc and Nathaniel exchanged a look,"Artistic License." Marc reaffirmed and they both gave her smiles that meant trouble she was sure. She threw her hands up,"Sabrina? Were you a party to this?"
"I preordered the first issue." Sabrina admitted meekly.
Chloe rolled her eyes,"I go away for a couple of weeks and the world falls apart."
Good natured laughs answered her as the car pulled away. She was out, free and among… friends? Is that what this was? Chloe stole a page from Sabrina's book and asked some probing questions about the new comic idea then just sat back in the soft leather seating and let Marc and Nathaniel carry the conversation while she listened in comfortable silence.
There were signs. The hotel staff paid the quartet more attention than normal as they crossed the lobby. There was a tang in the air, Chloe's senses were telling her but her mind was elsewhere. Then there was the simple fact that Chloe had long come to accept, good things just didn't last.
Chloe spread the doors to her suite wide and marched in boldly. The others followed behind, and Natthaniel plowed right into Chloe's back, bouncing off. Near the glass doors to the rooftop patio sat Chloe's mother, magazine in hand, reading by the evening sun. As they entered she looked up from her reading.
"Ah there you are Clov- Chloe." Audrey folded the magazine in her hands,"I've been waiting. I've got excellent news for you. We thought it would be best for your recovery if you were to come to New York with me tomorrow. We'll spend a month or two there while you recuperate and come back when everything's settled and calm. Doesn't that sound lovely? Of course it does." Audrey smiled with absolute assurance at her gracious offer.
Chloe didn't answer. Sabrina moved up beside her, Nathaniel and Marc flanked slightly off to the side, unused to this dynamic. After a few seconds of silence Audrey slapped the magazine against her palm,"Honey, do not just stand there with your mouth open, it's vulgar and ridiculous."
Chloe wasn't even looking at her mother. She was looking at the empty rack beside the windows. A dull ache started behind her eyes,"Mother." She had to swallow, her throat was closing up. Her palms tingled,"Where are the costumes?"
Audrey glanced over to the empty rack,"Oh don't worry dear. I had the staff burn those disgusting rags for you, and all the tawdry little magazines here too. I fired the head of the janitors as well. To think he'd let trash like that pile up in your room."
Sabrina covered her mouth. Marc and Nathaniel exchanged another glance, but this time whatever passed between them they both just looked down. Chloe reached out with a hand towards the empty rack. "You-"
Chloe screamed. This wasn't a yell, it wasn't even an outraged shriek. This was a base primal unintelligible scream. She clutched at herself and fell to her knees, screaming again, louder. She screamed until all the air was out of her and sucked in another breath only to scream again. She rocked on her knees, eyes unfocused. This was something beyond the present, beyond this one moment. This stretched back through years but it was all rushing out of her now in a tidal wave.
Chloe fell forward, hands and forehead on the cool stone floor. She heaved and choked on a dry sob. Her stomach hitched, she was gulping, coughing for air only to scream it all out again. Her fingernails dug at the stone, but too weak now they simply slid uselessly over it. Shaking, Chloe collapsed over onto her side. She registered only distantly her mother's horrified expression and Sabrina crouching in close, reaching out. Finally the tears came, Hot and fat they burned their way across her face. It wasn't even a proper cry, all the parts were happening on their own schedule. She couldn't even yell at her mother. Chloe wasn't here and now.
She was six, alone in an empty room. She was eight and screaming at a line of teddy bears, firing each in turn as they stared blindly back at her. She was ten, staying up all night and counting minutes until a plane would arrive, one thirty five in the morning, from New York. The plane arrived, but the only passenger that mattered had chosen not to board. She was twelve, sending over a dozen packages overseas with her precious ideas packed tenderly inside. While she was planning the fourteenth the first came back, 'return to sender'.
Chloe managed to flop over onto her back. The adrenaline was kicking in. She giggled a manic little sound. The sadness was turning over into anger again. There was so much of it, she couldn't even hope to stop it this time. Out of the corners of her vision, Sabrina, Nathaniel, Marc, with looks showing a range of concern, fear, and she imagined pity. Her mother, upside down to Chloe's eyes, looked horrified, and more than a little disgusted. That sealed it.
"GET AWAY FROM ME, ALL OF YOU, you worthless, useless things. Mother out! Everyone out! Go jump in the river. GO!" she flailed her arms, no one moved,"What? No? Too slow!" Chloe bolted upright, knocking Sabrina's hand out of the way with her shoulder. She took to her feet, stumbled, then launched herself out the door into the halls of the hotel.
Chloe was wedged onto a windowsill when Sabrina found her; huddled up and as hidden by the Curtain as possible with her loose hair screening her face like a shield. Chloe was chanting softly under her breath; staring out the window at the setting sun.
"Akuma, Akume. Come right now. Set me free. Akuma, Akumu. Take this girl and make her new."
She had no idea how long Sabrina had been there, or if she had heard, when Sabrina cleared her throat Chloe turned her head to look back,"It's been weeks you know. I've been so mad at times, sad at others. Not a single butterfly. I wonder if Hawkmoth is done with me too."
"Chloe, won't you come back up to the suite?" Sabrina siddled a little closer, hesitantly reaching out a hand.
Chloe's anger flared,"No! Go home. All of you, just go away!" She stuffed her face in against her knees and choked on dry angry sobs that wouldn't give her tears.
"No Chloe." Sabrina's voice trembled.
Chloe lifted her face, rage boiling,"WHAT?"
"No." Sabrina clenched her fists at her sides and took another small step forward,"No, I'm not going away." Another step, Sabrina swallowed. "I told you what would happen if I did." Another, she reached out again and threw her arms around Chloe's shoulders,"I don't want that." She finished, laying her head against Chloe's.
Chloe shook. Anger spiraled into sadness, sadness back into anger. She wanted to throw Sabrina off. She was desperately scared Sabirna would let go. She wanted Sabrina to say something, anything more; to yell at her, get mad, tell her how stupid she'd been. Her friend remained silent though.
"I- I just-. I'm useless, utterly useless. I ruin everything." Chloe's head fell again.
"Chloe, you didn't ruin anything. It's not your fault. It was your mother." Sabrina rested her chin on Chloe's shoulder, still not letting go.
"She's MY mother though. What good's a show without costumes? What was I supposed to do? Costumes." Chloe's voice was a tremulous singsong,"It was a dumb idea anyway."
Sabrina sat up sharply,"It is not! Everyone's excited, we'll figure it out."
Chloe grunted, emotions knotting inside, she fought being consoled and retreated back into isolation,"Don't pretend with me Sabrina. I know you're all just here because I made you." She lifted her head, uncurling and turning to hang her feet off the window sill,"I bought Nathaniel with all those lovely sketchbooks." she gestured as she spoke,"Marc? A Ladybug costume." she laid eyes on Sabrina,"And you? Well, I don't really have to say much about that do I?" Chloe's voice cracked at the end. She put both hands on the sill to steady herself and squeezed, nails digging into the paint.
Sabrina stood with her hands in front of her. Her eyes darted side to side. She was working herself up into something, Chloe had long since learned those cues.
Whatever Chloe had been expecting, Sabrina suddenly shoving her wasn't it. Chloe's back thumped against the window. "Chloe you're soo. Ugghh!" Sabrina fought for her words,"Don't you get it?" Sabrina was pleading now,"Nathaniel worked on the programme nonstop. Even in class, He was taping sketches to Ivan's back." Sabrina's voice thickened,"Marc's been practicing with the ladybug yo-yo ever since you showed him those tricks. He keeps it in his bag." She snatched at one of Chloe's hands, holding it in both of hers,"And, I'm here because it's where I want to be." Sabrina squeezed then collapsed to the carpet, rocking back on her heels, drained from the effort,"You might've Chloe'd to start it up, but we want to be here."
Chloe slid from the sill, slumping down to the floor in front of Sabrina. She wet her lips to speak but nothing came out. Anger fell, sadness rose. It emptied into her and passed right into anger again. Back and forth the tides swam. "I feel sick."
Sabrina made a soft confused sound,"What?"
Chloe smiled humorlessly,"I feel sick." she repeated,"I'm pretty sure if I stand up I'm going to ruin daddy's carpeting." a strange laugh escaped her,"I'm so tired Sabrina. I'm tired of being wrong. I'm tired of knowing I'm messed up." Chloe rubbed at her eyes,"Being good is so much harder than being angry, and I think maybe it hurts more too."
Sabrina scooted forward, shifting around to sit beside Chloe,"Not all the time right? We have fun too don't we?" Sabrina paused, then added,"Find any notes lately?"
Chloe couldn't help the smile that slipped across her lips. She hip-bumped Sabrina,"No. Not lately. Gah, I miss that idiot. He made me furious." She took a deep breath that rattled in but slipped out a little more evenly,"Can you apologize to Nathaniel and Marc for me? I can't go back there tonight."
Sabrina digested that request then said in a voice small again,"I think you have to."
Chloe's nerves lit up at the mere thought of returning to her suite. She envisioned a hundred scenarios, two hundred curses, four hundred pairs of eyes staring at her failure. "Do I really?" she squeeked.
"You owe them an apology I think."
Chloe picked at the rug,"They are used to me. It's just Chloe being Chloe, no one expects anything else."
"I do." Sabrina tugged lightly on Chloe's sleeve,"and I think they might too. They like you Chloe, or maybe they will if you let them?"
Chloe tsked,"I'd settle for not hating me." she flicked a bit of fuzz from her nail and stopped picking the rug.
"You do need to say you're sorry though."
Chloe rocked once then pushed herself to her feet. Against her expectations she remained upright,"I know." She closed her eyes,"I'm not going, you know, to New York. Even if I have to run away I'm not leaving Paris."
Sabrina moved up beside Chloe and took her hand, giving a small giggle," I don't think they have room service on the streets."
Chloe brushed back her overlong hair, revealing her face again,"How do the poor survive?" she mused, both joking and suddenly aware. She squeezed Sabrina's hand back and they began the trek back up to her suite.
They met Marc and Nathaniel at the elevator. Chloe stopped sharply and tried to let go of Sabrina's hand but Sabrina wouldn't let go of her. They didn't LOOK mad, but Chloe was suddenly more nervous than she had ever been in front of her own father.
Nathaniel spoke first,"Hey, we just-"
"I'm sorry!" Chloe spat out the words too loudly and flinched.
Marc and Nathaniel exchanged one of their meaning-laden looks. This time it was Marc who spoke,"Chloe, it's fine." He stepped closer,"Are you okay? You scared us back there a little." he paused for a thought then added,"Again." and gave a hesitant smile.
The expected blow never fell. Braced for it; Chloe felt shock, relief, and in a very unhealthy way a little cheated. She fidgeted with her free hand,"I'm- okay, I guess? That was.. A lot. More than just costumes." Chloe laughed a soft laugh,"Turns out I'm a little more messed up than I thought."
"A little?" Nathaniel quipped.
Chloe squinted at him,"You are not helping."
"We can though. If you want." Marc took another step and took her other hand. Nathaniel followed up but the obvious problem presented itself.
"I'm out of hands." Chloe noted.
Nathaniel reached into his sweatshirt pocket and pulled out a well worn pencil. He tucked it behind Chloe's right ear, and stepped back to survey his work,"There, close enough."
Chloe looked up at it out of thecorner of her eye, moderately disgusted but the sentimentality and ridiculousness of it won out. She giggled, a little uncontrolled. The giggle threatened to turn over into a new round of crying, but Sabrina latched onto her from one side, Marc the other, and even Nathaniel stepped into the group hug. Chloe was surrounded with support. The giggles stayed giggles until they passed and she huffed in a deep breath and the huddle broke.
"Thanks. I guess I needed that." Chloe detached from Marc just long enough to resituate the pencil and her hair, but she left it in. "So, we go back and start over?"
Nathaniel's mood dropped,"That's why we came looking for you. Your father is up there now, and Sabrina's too. We left to find you before anyone told us why."
Chloe didn't have any answers to that. She squeezed both hands she was holding,"I guess we just have to wait and see."
"Together." Sabrina added, squeezing back.
Chloe repeated,"I am NOT going to New York."
Up the Elevator and into her suite. Audrey was still in her chair, and while they stopped as soon as the doors opened it was quite clear she had been arguing with Andre. Roger Raincomprix stood off to the side, in full uniform and looking decidedly uncomfortable.
"Ah Chloe, there you are!" Andre stepped forward with his hands out,"We were worried, but I knew Miss Raincomprix would bring you back to us." His gaze took in all four of them,"Now, it's been a very trying night, and you're freshly home from quite an ordeal. I'm sure once you're on your way to New York and all the wonderful things there are to do in another country you'll be able to relax again." Her father was using his 'speech' voice, even down to little mannerisms and glances from person to person, conciliatory but authoritarian. "Officer Raincomprix is here to help escort your friends home so we can all get some rest. I'm sure a good night's sleep will set things right-"
"DADDY!"
Chloe was shocked as much as the others, because it wasn't her shriek that split the air. Sabria stalked over to her father, so red this time that her hair almost looked blond by comparison. She jabbed a finger at Audrey,"I want you to arrest this woman! Article 311- 3 Theft! Chloe was in the hospital so we paid to print those comics with our OWN money. I have receipts! She had someone burn them! That's a forty five thousand euro fine, and up to three years in jail!" Sabrina's outrage was impressive, then Chloe noticed the way she was standing, the tilt of her head. The girl had been watching, watching Chloe all these years.
Roger wasn't looking intimidated though, he was looking proud. The shouted words bounced off him completely as he said,"Quoted exactly right down to the subsection. That's my girl." He plucked his handcuffs from his belt, turning towards Audrey,"She's right I'm afraid."
Audrey was aghast, she stood and backed up from the approaching officer. Andre turned to intercede,"Here now. This is entirely irregular." he protested,"It's just some comic books."
Sabrina followed up behind her father, the red subsiding but her intense expression still fixed,"Actually daddy it might be 311-4. She did have someone else do it, that's a conspiracy. Seventy Five thousand Euros and up to five years."
Roger was practically beaming, entirely at odds with the atmosphere in the room,"So smart." He praised Sabrina, moving to step around Andre.
Audrey was still backing up,"Andre, Do something! Fire him! This is ridiculous!"
Chloe mouthed the words under her breath,"Utterly Ridiculous." but didn't dare interrupt the tableau.
Andre sidestepped in front of his wife again,"Surely we can work something out. The costs must be minor. We can just pay for the damages."
Sabrina advanced equal to her father,"It's not about the money. We needed those! We'll go to trial and in the papers everyone will see the kids the Mayor's wife traumatized by destroying weeks worth of their hard work."
As if on cue both Marc and Nathaniel put on hang dog expressions, something they were excellent at. Andre looked between the three of them, rapidly coming to the realization he'd lost control of the situation.
"What do you want me to do? The books are lost…" he protested.
Nathaniel spoke up,"I still have all the proofs." He took Sabrina's vacated position beside Chloe.
Marc added in,"We need the costumes too, or we can't perform." pushing the issue while it was rolling,"Chloe remembers how to make them."
Chloe mumbled off Marc's measurements, the cloth used, stitching, accessories. All of her work, stored in a safe spot of her mind, possibly where Geography should have been. The information dump was the tipping point. Andre made a placating gesture,"Fine, fine. We replace them, replace everything. No one gets arrested, nothing shows up in the papers, right?"
Sabrina dropped her angry expression, shifting to looking utterly pleased so quickly that Chloe positively glowed with pride. "That sounds good! Thank you Mr. Bourgeois. Thank you daddy. It was good to see you, Mrs. Bourgeois. I hope you all have a good night."
Audrey rounded on Andre, stalking out and dragging him with her by the cuff,"This was YOUR idea, and now I'm the bad guy." she started, and from the sound of their retreating voices she was just getting warmed up.
Roger looked around the room once, putting his cuffs back on his belt,"Well, looks like my work here is done." he said proudly,"But you get yourself home soon Sabrina." he smiled at his daughter, fatherly pride still evident on his face.
Left alone, the surreal moment passed Chloe mused out loud first,"I didn't even have to yell at all."
Sabrina finally let herself sag and then bounced,"I know! Oh my god, I can't believe I did that!" she squeed, running back to the trio.
Marc spoke,"You WERE kind of scary."
"I had a great teacher." Sabrina was still abuzz.
Nathaniel gave Chloe a wry look,"You're to blame for this you know."
Chloe grinned,"I won't apologize."