Anything But Miraculous:

Chapter 7: New Friends

It had been a week and a half since Sora's arrival in Paris, and already his life had changed a lot. For one, he was now a celebrity, enjoying the fame that came with being a hero. But it also brought with it a whole new set of problems. While he had been lucky in finding those Miraculouses, he now had to juggle his school life with his hero life. And that was sometimes difficult to manage, especially when Hawk Moth decided to attack every day, sometimes twice a day, just for a cheap attempt at getting their Miraculouses.

To his testament, Ladybug and Chat Noir were resilient. They fought hard and did their best to keep up. With Sora in the mix, they had been able to work well together, but he knew they were still hostile to him. After all, they had fought in a bell tower not that long ago in an attempt to disarm him. It had been challenging to work with them, but things had gone better. He hadn't fallen into any traps, but he was still wary of them.

Sora had also been following Ladybug for a couple days. He had the honor of working alongside Rena Rouge one night, late into the morning hours. It wasn't even 5am when Hawk Moth, for whatever reason, decided to be a bastard and sic an akuma on them. It had been immensely tiring, especially since he had school that day. After the battle was done, he teleported away like normal, but appeared several houses away, his eyes locked on Ladybug and Rena. He did see them going behind a building, but Ladybug came out alone. It was likely that she had gotten the Fox Miraculous back from whoever she had given it too.

That led her to visit what looked like a massage parlor. She often spent far too much time there, and left rather hastily in another direction. He figured there was something going on there, but he wasn't going to stick around to see what. All he knew was that whenever another Miraculous user was needed, Ladybug would make a pitstop there.

It wasn't hard for him to figure out that was where the Guardian of the Miraculous lived. The man who was the protector of the magical jewels, the same one that had given Ladybug and Chat Noir their Miraculous, and the same person who had been robbed of the ones he had. Though he felt bad for the man, there was no possible way he was going to return his.

Sora sat at the kitchen table, nursing his cup of coffee. He had spent the previous night doing homework while also sourcing the parts he needed to fix Juleka's 3DS. He had gotten some information on a potential vendor, but he had been asking far too much for said parts. He managed to fix the Card slot as well as cleaned up the board and made sure everything powered up. All he needed was a new shell replacement and he could get some work done.

Finding one for cheap was easier said than done.

"Sora? You doing okay?"

He gave his aunt a grunt, taking another long gulp from his coffee, feeling more awake than before. He licked his lips, the bitter, sugar flavor of his drink dancing on his tongue for a few moments before he finally spoke. "Yep."

Annabelle quirked a brow, turning to fully face him. "Are you sure? You've been really tired lately, not only that but you've been staying up late. What exactly are you doing?"

He sat up a bit, clearing his throat. "I'm doing my homework of course. Not only that but I'm also fixing my friend's 3DS, making sure it works and stuff. I gotta get parts to fix it so I stay up scouring eBay,"

The woman frowned, leaning back against the counter, crossing her arms. "You need to focus on your sleep too. I know you want to help your friend but you have to think about your health too. Have you gotten over your jet lag?"

"Kinda?"

She sighed. "Oh, Sora. Just make sure you are getting enough sleep, I don't want to visit you at the hospital or anything. Not to mention your mother would once again, kick my ass."

"I promise, Anna. I'm not gonna overwork myself and I will get plenty of sleep." he said, slowly getting up from his seat. "I'm gonna be late for school, meet you here for lunch?"

"Mhmm, I'll have something made for us," she said happily, relieving him of his coffee mug. "Have a good day at school."

Sora gave the woman a kiss on the cheek, as had become customary. She had insisted on it since she wanted to ingrain tradition in him. He felt kissing someone on the cheek was far too embarrassing, especially someone like his aunt who was only two years older than him, but he couldn't really complain about it. He grabbed his bag and swung it over his shoulder, making sure his fanny pack was secured around his waist.

"Oh right, before I forget." Annabelle said, causing him to turn around. She reached into her pocket for a money clip, pulling out two bank notes. His eyes widened when he saw what they were. "Here you go, an allowance."

"200 euros? Anna that's too much. Sure I wash the dishes, keep up the place and take out the trash. But that doesn't warrant so much money,"

"Yeah well, you deserve it. I mean, you are already in a foreign country, without your usual means of making money. And the exchange program only covers academic things, like school trips and visits to museums and the like. It isn't gonna cover candy, that's for damn sure," she said with a giggle. "Go on, enjoy it. My profit margins are increasing, and I'm getting lots of Mother's Day and Birthday orders so I have more money than I know what to do with. Maybe you can take a girl out to dinner or something."

He gave her a deadpanned look. "Right, as if that could ever happen,"

"You never know, you are in the city of love." she said in a sing song voice. He shoved the money in his pocket, closing the door after himself. "Sora? Oh come on don't be like that. I gave you money!"

The young man stuffed his hands in his pockets as he walked down the stairs, cracking his neck as he walked. Kaalki and Fluff flew out of his hood, floating in front of him with bright smiles. "Your aunt really loves you, little pony. I can tell she cares quite a fair deal about your well being,"

"Indeed, not everyone is willing to give someone so much money like that." Fluff added, tapping her chin. "I say, are we behind schedule? It feels a lot later than usual."

"We aren't behind on schedule, Fluffy. It's 7:45 AM, school begins at 8:15." he said, holding his pocket watch out. The hands were right where he said they were, the hour hand slightly close to the 8 while the minute hand was on the 9. "We'll be fine, nothing is gonna happen. I doubt we'll get in trouble because we're a tad bit late,"

He opened the door, stepping out into the street, sighing with relief, though he was tired he could feel it was going to be a good day. "Alright girls, we're heading out, I need you back in the pack."

The kwamis nodded, flying back into the pack at his waist. He started heading to school, heading up the street like he normally did. His muscles ached as he walked, but it wasn't anything he wasn't used to. Directly after he had fought Ladybug and the others, he had decided to start a workout routine, just like he had when he was training with Miyamoto-Sensei. Yet despite that, he still got fatigued, even while wearing just two Miraculouses. Not as much as before, but enough where he had to go to bed early.

"I know I meant to put Baark away for that one battle, but I haven't taken her out since then. I'm not as tired as I was before, sure, but I feel bad that she's stuck in the collar all the time." he thought, as he arrived at the crosswalk. An errant thought popped into his mind, a frown flashing across his lips. "Maybe I should return her?

He quickly shook his head, waiting for a public bus to drive by, just in time for the crosswalk signal to change. He started moving with the other students and pedestrians, all heading in different directions across the city. "I can't do that. If I give her to Ladybug, then she's likely going to demand I give up Fluff and Kaalki and I can't do that. But then… do I go directly to the Guardian? I'm sure the place Ladybug is visiting is his home but… that would be dangerous too. This man likely has more Miraculouses, he could kick my ass into next week."

"Yo, Sora!"

The boy looked up from the road, spotting a few of his classmates outside of the school. Nino, Kim and Max, three boys that he had been getting to know over the last few days. They had been the more sociable of the class. He had spoken with Nathaniel as well but he seemed more closed off and introverted, so he didn't want to make him nervous. He liked these guys, they reminded him of his friends in New York, but they weren't as reckless or as careless with their studies.

"Hey, what's up guys? Pretty morning isn't it? he said cheerfully, bumping fists with the three.

"I know right? The day after a rainstorm is always the best," Nino said cheerfully. "So how are you settling in? Getting used to the Parisian mornings?"

"Yep, I'm glad I don't need an alarm clock with Notre Dame around,"

"You tend to get used to it after a while," Kim said.

"Before we get lost in conversation, I was wondering, Sora, the three of us are spending the afternoon at the arcade with Adrien. He admitted to us that he has never been to a proper arcade, so we invited him along. Since you are the new kid and all, would you like to accompany us?" Max asked, a hopeful look on his face.

"Um well…" he paused for a moment, thinking about his afternoon plans. They mostly revolved around him doing homework and working out. That was what he had been doing for most of the week, while fighting akumas as well. Perhaps he could afford to skip out on one day. "I suppose I don't mind. I've been mostly studying and working on a few things. I think I can go out for one afternoon,"

"Awesome, that's more like it! Every time we've asked to hang out you always make up a reason. We wanna get to know you man, especially since you won't be here for too long," Kim said happily, wrapping his arms around Nino and Max. "We want to make some cool memories so you can remember us when you aren't in Paris anymore."

"Don't worry, we will. Though I'm sure if my sister was here, she would have dragged me out by my earlobe. She isn't the type to sit around doing nothing all day. She wanted to come here too, so I have to enjoy Paris for the both of us." Sora replied. "I take it Adrien doesn't go out much?"

"It isn't that he doesn't, it's just that his father is… a bit overbearing." Nino admitted, shifting his gaze toward a nearby billboard. It had Adrien's face on it, along with what looked like a bottle of cologne. "As a result, Adrien has a busy schedule. Fencing, Chinese Lessons, on top of the photoshoots, the modeling, the commercials."

"Hm… must be hard being a model. I always figured it would be fun, but there are days when Adrien has this… faraway look on his face," Sora noted, his frown deepening a bit.

"Not only that, he's still grieving the loss of his mother. We don't know all the details, but Emilie Agreste disappeared last year. She just up and left, and Adrien has felt it a lot. He tries to be cheerful and peppy, but even I know it must be hard sometimes," Max added, pushing his glasses up his nose.

Kim sighed, letting out a groan. "Oh come on, guys! Let's not turn this happy morning into a sappy one. We have to make sure all of us have fun, including Adrien. So let's just do that, have a good old boys night!"

"Hell yes! I'll get Nate and Marc too, the Arcade isn't gonna know what hit it!" Nino said, his expression changing into a grin. Sora rolled his eyes, a similar smile flashing onto his face.

"Well, this is certainly going to be an interesting afternoon. It's been a while since I've been to an arcade. Maybe I'll get lucky and find some old video game consoles for sale there."

As the four boys stepped into the courtyard, they didn't notice the pair of girls standing just a few feet away. Alya was busy typing on her phone, updating a video she had uploaded onto her blog, but Marinette was a different story. She had a starry-eyed look on her face, she was prancing around excitedly, as if it were Christmas morning.

"Did you hear that Alya! The boys are going to have a boy's night, and Adrien is going to be there!" she said cheerfully. "I have got to go to the Arcade!"

"Girl, I think you misheard something, or rather, you are forgetting something. You know the fact that it's a boys night. That is very important. You can't just tag along with them, that would be weird," the brunette said.

"Well I know that, but this is gonna be one of the few times that Adrien can come out and hang out with friends. He's been so busy this week. First it was Fencing, then a three hour long photoshoot.. There was a news interview on Wednesday with Piano Practice on Thursday, and then Friday was Chinese. Today is the only day he has nothing scheduled, I have to make use of it!"

Alya shoved her phone into her pocket, grabbing Marinette's shoulders tightly. "Except you can't because you promised Miss Chamack that you would babysit Manon today."

"Oh no, you're right! This is a disaster, how could this happen to me?!"

"Marinette, you possibly couldn't have known about this before it happened. They just made those plans, how could you have figured them out." her friend said, crossing her arms. "I'm gonna be straight with you. You need to speak with Adrien, I know it can be nerve wracking, but he's just a regular old guy."

"No he's not! He's amazing in every way shape and form. He is much more than just a regular old guy! I mean… he's Adrien!" she cried, a dreamy look on her face. "It's why I have to go to the Arcade and-"

"Watch him from afar, enjoying the feeling of being close but not to close, all while drinking sugary soda and dreaming about your married life with three kids and two hamsters?"

Marinette flushed, her cheeks glowing a bright pink. "Dreaming about that isn't the point… I just want to be there, you know? For moral support."

"He's not gonna be operating on someone, Marinette. It's just an afternoon at the Arcade." she said, glancing at her phone, only to see the screen light up. "Tell you what, I'll take over for babysitting and put in a good word with Nino. That way he can lead the boys away, and you can play DDR with Adrien for a few minutes."

The blue haired girl hugged her best friend tightly. "You're the best Ayla."

"I know, I know. Now if only I could get an interview with Blue Bunny, things would be better,"

"Oh… right him." her friend said, mood souring. "Do you really think he's that cool?"

"Probably not as cool as Ladybug and Chat Noir, and especially not as cool as Rena Rouge. But he's got a good head on his shoulders. I mean, he rescued that woman from the Seine and saved her baby. Not only that, but the man he pulled out of the burning car survived with only minor injuries, he would have burned to death if he hadn't been there. There was also that kid that he saved from almost being hit by a car and that purse snatcher he caught at the bank." she said, turning her phone to Marinette, showing the popularity rankings. "Ladybug and Chat Noir are at the top, but Blue Bunny isn't far behind, they're saying he's the people's champion now."

"The People's Champion? He's a thief! Sure he might not have stolen the Miraculouses, but he's still using them irresponsibly. Even if he saves people he is still putting millions in danger!"

"Marinette, are you alright? You seem really angry all of a sudden."

"No… I'm fine, I promise. I just get tired of hearing about Blue Bunny all the time. He came out of nowhere and is getting more popular than Ladybug and Chat Noir. He might be doing good things, but you never know. He's acting on his own."

Alya frowned, rubbing her chin in thought. "You don't think he's working with Hawk Moth, right?"

"No, he's made it blatantly obvious that he wants nothing more than to bring him down. According to those videos online that is." she replied, rubbing her neck. "I just hope nothing bad happens that leads to Blue Bunny doing something dumb. Come on, we should head to class before we're late."

xxx

"So Lila still isn't back?"

Rose nodded, a concerned look on her face. "She got really hurt over the weekend. She posted it online and everything, said she almost broke her leg."

Juleka seemed really annoyed, but she remained silent as her best friend kept showing concern to the obvious liar of the class. Sora kept leaning back in his seat, having practically claimed it for himself due to Lila's absences. "What, did she slip on an ice cube running into the Salty Spittoon?"

"Pfft, no. She said she was getting off her plane while meeting with Prince Ali and while walking down the stairs she slipped and tumbled down. She blamed her fall on her already injured ankle from the first day you were here. Apparently she didn't get any medical attention from the school nurse."

"Well at least I know who caused Nurse Esme to get pissed off," the young man thought, resting his face in his hand. "Really? I thought Prince Ali was in Canada this week."

"That's what I said, she's clearly lying but a lot of people here tend to forget because of the sob story she gave." Juleka snapped, being rather vocal about her distaste of Lila. "Can we not talk about her? I'd rather talk about something else."

"Fair enough. I suppose I can give you an update on your 3DS. I managed to fix the card reader, it had completely detached from the motherboard from the fall. Thankfully, it still worked so it doesn't need replacing. The battery is fine, the board is fine and the top screen is fine. Sadly that's where all the good news ends," he admitted, pulling out his phone for a brief moment. "The outer shell is cracked, the hinge is busted so the whole thing will have to be replaced. The bottom screen is totally fucked, so it needs a fully replacement and I think one of the points for the SD card reader is fried so that needs to be fixed. The circle pad needs replacing as well, and finally, it requires a brand new left speaker and a WIFI card."

Juleka frowned, placing her face on her desk. "Oh, what a disaster. I didn't think it was going to break that badly. Stupid Lila."

"Well it did take a fall from at least 30 feet in the air. It isn't as durable as an Original Gameboy. It seems they ran out of Nintendium when they were making the 3DS Family of Consoles." he joked, making the girl smile. "Thankfully, they are all easy fixes. Like I said, sourcing the parts will be tough but I got everything I need at home."

"Alright students, quiet down." Ms. Bustier said, causing everyone to end their conversations. "Now then, since we have been learning about famous poets across French and English history, I thought it would be fun to have you all write some poems of your own. You will present them to the class once you are done, or if you feel so inclined, you could even write a speech. The object of this exercise is to have you practice public speaking. If you aren't good with your words then you can't deliver inspiring speeches."

Everyone instantly glanced at their closed friends, keen on partnering up with them. Though things changed when the teacher continued speaking, having written a few details on the board behind her. "Now, before you all start partnering up, I have to let you all know I have assigned partners for you."

A cacophony of disappointment filled the room. Sora was honestly rather amused by it all, looking up from his notebook for a moment to see the disappointed looks on his fellow classmates. "Alright then, I'm gonna pair you up. Alix, you will be working with Kim, Sabrina you and Nino will be partners for this. Juleka will work with Adrien, Marinette with Rose…"

Sora glanced down at his notebook for a moment as the teacher continued listing names. He was vaguely paying attention, frowning slightly as he thought back to the plans he had made with Nino and the others. "I really hope Hawk Moth doesn't decide to attack today. I really want a day where I can just relax. It's already hard without my friends, just one day. It's all I ask."

"Now then, the last group will consist of three students. Since Lila isn't here, we're an uneven class. So, Chloe, Nathaniel and Sora, you three will be working together," Ms. Bustier said cheerfully. Nathaniel looked up from his book, giving Sora a brief nood, earning one in return from the boy. Chloe meanwhile was completely different.

"What? Why do I have to work with the new kid and the Tomato Head?!" she exclaimed, clearly angry at the woman's decision. "I demand to be put in the same group as Sabrina."

"Why, so you can have her do your work?" Kim said, looking at the blonde with disappointment. "Come on Chloe, you should at least try to make friends with Sora. Didn't you say you wanted to be nice now that you were a superhero?"

If looks could kill, then Kim would have been dead ten times over. Chloe remained silent, grinding her teeth together while muttering things under her breath. The teacher clapped her hands, encouraging the students to get into their groups. Sora grabbed his things, moving toward the front of the room, where the angry blonde still sat.

"Great, what a total Stacey. Here I thought I wouldn't have to deal with bratty girls again. Skyla, I need your help, how does one deal with a Stacey?!"

"Well, anyone got any ideas on what this poem could be about?" Nathaniel asked, sitting down to Chloe's right. "I don't have any good ideas at the moment,"

"Of course you don't, you are always working on that comic book with what's his name. You probably have that on your mind," Chloe replied, reaching into her purse for a nail file. "I do have one idea about what our poem could be about,"

"What… you?" Sora asked, quirking a brow as he leaned against the edge of the desk. She looked up at him, lips curved into a smile.

"Why yes, actually. I think writing a poem about moi would be excellent. After all, I saved Paris!"

"You got turned into Queen Wasp for half an hour and then attacked Ladybug and Chat Noir." Nathaniel said, making the blonde glare at him. "I don't think that counts as saving Paris."

"Excuse me, how dare you say that about me? Did you forget I am a hero? I keep people safe!"

"Don't be so quick to deny her, Nathaniel. She did get that sign put up on the right bank of the Seine after that bad crash," Sora mused, holding back a chuckle.

"Grr, you wouldn't know how to be a hero if a Miraculous fell into your lap!" she snapped, making Sora roll his eyes.

"Oh if only you knew, sweetheart." he laughed inwardly, clearing his throat. "Okay, okay, let's not bullshit around, my queen. We need to actually do our work here. Would you mind scooting over a bit so I may sit?"

She didn't say anything, but she slid over enough for him to sit. He pulled his notebook from his backpack, opening to a clean page. "Now then, I do have one a idea. Ms. Bustier said we could write a poem or recite a speech. We could come up with one, but I also think writing a song would be a neat idea."

"A song?" Nathaniel asked, earning a nod from Sora. "I like it, songwriting is technically a form of poetry. But what could the song be about?"

"Queen Bee's theme song?"

"That's gonna be a hard pass from me," the boy replied, making Chloe sigh angrily. He adopted a pensive look, glancing up at the ceiling for a moment. "Well, one of my favorite bands writes thematic music. They pick something like say, a storybook character and write a song about them. They ended up writing a song about Anne Frank and what she experienced when she was hiding from the SS,"

"That sounds pretty cool actually. If it can be anyone, that means we can pick from lots of things." the red headed boy said cheerfully. "What about you Chloe? Would you like to select the character?"

"I don't care who you pick, you can pick Santa Claus for all I care. Just as long as I don't have to do the work!"

The boys shared a look, their smiles turning into frowns. It was clear Chloe wasn't going to end up helping them at all. But to Sora, it didn't matter. He had gotten a rather neat idea, and he did have her to thank for it. "Hey Nath, you like drawing comics right?"

"Sure do, it's one of my hobbies. Why do you ask?"

"If I write the song lyrics, would you mind drawing the scenes out? Maybe we can do a comic style lyric video. That would be sweet. Of course I can't really sing, but that doesn't mean we can't present it as a film."

"That would be nice yes, but we need to make this a group effort."

Chloe sighed audibly, looking up from her phone at the redhead. "Look, I don't really know a damn thing about comics, but I do know you ink them at the end. So like… show me what to do and I'll ink them for you. Okay?"

"You'd seriously do that?"

"Trying to be a better person, remember?" she simply said, pocketing her phone. "Well chop chop, get to it so we can finish. I expect nothing less than an A+!"

"I'll get started with the sheets, Sora the lyrics are all yours."

"Copy that, Nath. I promise, this is going to be a really great song!" he said, swallowing the lump in his throat. "I hope."

xxx

"Are you sure we can come over to your place, Sora?" Nathaniel asked, earning a nod from the boy.

"Sure you can, we gotta work on this project right? Although it likely won't be to Chloe's tastes, it is still a modest place. I do hope you don't mind stepping into a lowborn residence, my queen~"

"Can you not?" she snapped, clearly annoyed. "I am already mad that we have to do this project together. I would rather we get it over with without much issue. And stop saying My Queen! it's annoying!"

He folded his arms across his chest. "Sheesh, I'm trying to be polite,"

Nathaniel was clearly amused, it was the first time someone dealt with Chloe in such a unique manner. He was handling her bratty attitude as if he had been dealing with her for her entire life. It didn't take them long to reach his home. He stepped through the door and headed up the stairs, reaching into his pocket for his keys.

"We can review what we got before we get to work. Thankfully we have the entire weekend to work on it so we should be fine. You know, if 'He who shall not be named' decides to stay quiet," Sora said, sliding his key into the hole. "It's a nice day too, I really hope he takes the day off,"

"Villains don't take days off, Sora. You best get used to that, life in Paris isn't like it is in New York."

"You wanna bet? We might not have akumas, sweetheart, but we have hardened criminals. Guns are just as scary as akumas." the young man said with a sigh. "Sadly, crime is everywhere. In Paris, it's Hawk Moth. In New York it's Techno Pirate, getting rid of crime around the world is like trying to take the stink from a hunk of shit."

"God, you are so vulgar!"

"I'm from Noo Yawk, what do you expect!" he replied with a chuckle, having stressed his accent. He opened the door, expecting silence only to be greeted by loud gunshots and explosions, all coming from the living room surround sound system.

Sora took two steps into the living room, only to facepalm. It seemed his aunt had decided to take a personal day. She had remained in her pajamas, the nightwear having large panda prints all over it. Her hair was tied into a messy side ponytail, long bangs partially obscuring her eyes. There were several cans of soda on the living room table, along with a bowl of chips, a half eaten bag of popcorn and chocolates. She had a Kitty-Eared Headset, glowing a bright pink as she kept her eyes glued to the screen. She had a matching controller in her grasp, which she was squeezing far harder than she needed to.

"I swear to God, CookieMonster, if you get me killed one more fucking time, I am going to shove my hand through this television screen and twist your balls clean off your body!" she shouted into her microphone, mashing buttons and pressing triggers. "No! Mahoney, you Jackwagon Piece of Shit! I fucking told you not to throw that fucking flashbang, fuck!"

Sora took a breath to speak only for a loud scream to erupt from the woman. "Oh my fucking god! Why is it that when I flash someone, it's like I just slapped them in the face with a fucking napkin from a little kid's birthday party. But when I get fuckin' flashed, it's like a big brollic black dude named fucking Requis, pulls a bedsheet over my head and proceeds to SKULL FUCK ME!"

"Anna!"

"WHAT?" she shouted, looking at Sora, her eyes went wide, a gasp shaking her frame as she let the controller god. "God Jesus, tell me you didn't hear all that."

"Oh we heard all of it, sweetheart," Chloe said, brow quirked as she filed her nails. "I wonder what people would think if the sweet Annabelle La'croix is revealed to be a potty mouthed gamer chick."

"You tell anyone about that and I will make sure no one finds your body," she said firmly, clearing her throat. "Well, Sora… you didn't tell me you were bring over friends,"

"We were assigned a project in class today and decided to work on it during lunch break. You already know Queenie, but this is Nathaniel, he likes drawing comics and writing stories."

"P-pleasure to meet you, Miss La'croix, um… I think my mother bought some flowers from you once." the boy said, looking away shyly. Annabelle let out a giggle.

"I'm sure she did, my little shop has been exploding recently. Also don't call me Miss, if you are a friend of my nephew's, you are a friend of mine. Just call me Anna." she said cheerfully. "Now then, I did promise you lunch, Sora, so I'll get started on that."

"Okay… we were planning on using the living room but uh," he paused, glancing at the storm that had passed by it. "I think we'll just head to my room. Come on you guys,"

Chloe remained silent as she walked through the house, nose scrounging slightly as she looked at the in her opinion, ghastly looking art pieces. The scent of flowers was nice, and it helped her relax. There were flowers everywhere, but the roses were what attracted her the most. A bright yellow rose caught her eye, her lips curving into a genuine smile.

"Wow, that's the first time I've seen you smile, Chloe. And it doesn't look fake."

"Tch, what are you talking about? I smile all the time, how else would I be able to show my beautiful shiny smile?"

"Come on you two, let's not start arguing," Sora said, leading the pair into his room. It was a lot different than it had been a week before. Though it still lacked posters and generally eye catching things, he did have his bean bag chair and gaming and computer chair in the room, along with his PC, which he had express shipped the night before he had come to Paris. "It's still a little barren but I hope to have some posters and stuff up soon."

"It has a lot of potential, I can point you to a cool store in town that sells posters. I get all of mine from there. Heck, they have one of my designs for sale too."

"Whatever, can we get to work?" Chloe snapped, taking Sora's seat. He was going to complain but decided not to, instead sitting on the corner of his bed.

"Alright, I already started the initial drawings with the lyrics you gave me in class. I think they're coming out okay," Nathaniel said, handing his sketch pad to Sora. He looked them over for a bit, nodding to himself.

The first one depicted the opening scene, with the words "T'was the Night Before Christmas". It showed a cold winter night, with a decorated house and snowflakes in the air, the next scene had the next few lyrics, "My Parents were butchered in the blistering cold" and though only an arm and a leg was shown on a carpeted floor, with a Christmas Tree in the background, there was an outline depicting a pool of blood, with a knife at its center.

The next scene was of a man dressed in red, clearly attempting to be Santa Claus, but he was soaked in blood, holding an axe in his grasp, the words "He seemed jolly at first, in his suit stained with red" the next drawing was the man hefting his axe over his head, large "Ha Ha Ha's" were written around him while a frightened person was pleading for their life, the shadow of a child visible on the fire light.

The drawings were a lot better than he had been expecting. Even though it was all pencil work, the lines were really good. The shadows were expertly drawn, and the expressions on the character's faces looked very realistic. "Nathaniel, this is really good work."

"Huh… well… I'm impressed, you've certainly improved from your Evillustrator Days." Chloe said. Nathaniel frowned, not wanting to be reminded of the time he had been akumatized, but earning a compliment from Chloe had made him instantly recover.

"If it impressed you, Chloe, then I'm doing something right."

"Evillustrator?" Sora asked, making Nathaniel sigh.

"My akumatized form." he merely said, making Sora sit up a bit. "I don't exactly remember what I did, but I saw videos on the Ladyblog. Apparently I was able to bring whatever I drew to life. Gave Ladybug and Chat Noir a real run for their money."

"All because you were crushing on Dupain-Cheng. I can understand why Hawk Moth targeted you."

"You were Akumatized too, Chloe! Need I remind you of Antibug?" the red haired lad said, making her shut up. Sora glanced away for a moment, lips pressed into a thin smile.

"What's it like, to be akumatized that is?" he questioned, causing Chloe and Nathaniel to share a lot. The boy shrugged, but Chloe was able to reply to him.

"It feels like a surge of power, like your emotions are being brought to the forefront of everything. Hawk Moth hones in on what you are feeling and gives you a power that he thinks you want or need. I once wanted to be like Ladybug, so he turned me into her opposite. Then when he turned me into Queen Wasp, I had all the powers of the Bee Miraculous, but they were dark, and disgusting. I'm ashamed to have fallen twice to his grasp."

"At least you were able to reflect from those times, right?"

"I suppose so. Being a hero is way better than being a villain, that's for sure. Queen Bee is so much better than Queen Wasp or Antibug. I may still be learning how to be a hero, but I'm certain things will be better." she admitted, only for her to jolt up. "Wait a minute, why the hell am I opening up to you two? Shut up and get to work already!"

"As you command, my queen." Sora replied with a wink, making her growl. Her nail file was swiftly snapped in half, but being she was Chloe Bourgeois, she was quickly able to replace it.

xxx

"Well guys, we managed to finish the song. All we need to do now is put the finishing touches on those illustrations and we got ourselves a finished project!" Sora said cheerfully. Nathaniel had been carefully drawing everything out, while guiding Chloe on how to ink the panels. She had been able to do a great job, surprising Nathaniel a lot. He even told her she might had a knack for it but she quickly turned that idea into mush. Sora reached for his pocket watch, glancing at the time. "Perfect, just in time to head back to school too."

"Nice job all around, we work well as a team, despite us all having never worked together."

"Could be worse, we could have gotten stuck with Lie-la. I'm sure she would have convinced you two to do her work for her while faking an injury of some sort." Chloe said, handing the freshly inked panels to Nathaniel who looked them over with a close eye.

"What's up with that girl anyway? She left such a bad impression on me when we met. Not only did she break Juleka's 3DS, but she's the likely reason Nurse Esme was turned into Nurse Redheart."

"I can't really say for certain, I don't talk to her much. I do agree that she over embellishes a lot of her stories. But as long as she isn't hurting anyone, I don't really care."

"You have to care, Tomato Head," Chloe snapped, using her nickname for the boy. "She's a terrible person capable of getting anyone to eat out of her hand. She has half the class convinced she's a good girl, when she's a sly and disgustingly evil fox. Even though most of them know she's lying she somehow manages to convince them otherwise. Ugh, she is ridiculous, utterly ridiculous!"

"Huh… well I certainly am not falling for those tricks." Sora said, placing the finished lyrics in a folder for Nathaniel to take. He had written his name along with Chloe's and Nathaniel's at the top. "There's this girl I know back at my school, she's pretty much a Stacey, but she's just so gross. She's mean-spirited, thinks she rules the school, lies a lot and uses her popularity to bully people that she doesn't like. All while making everyone believe she's a good girl."

"Sounds like you had a bad time with her,"

"I did, freshman year she convinced me to go on a date with her, and I foolishly fell for it. She stood me up, made me feel like an idiot and then laughed at me when I went back to school," he said, shifting his gaze toward the picture of his sister. "But my sister set her straight, took her out behind the school and beat the living hell out of her. So much so that she had to get some teeth replaced. My sister spent the week in jail,"

"Well I know who not to mess with if I ever go to New York." Chloe said, earning a laugh from Sora.

"Just don't insult her, me, the weird mole she has on her collar or her massive boobs and you'll be fine." he said, glancing at his watch. "Well, shall we head back?"

Nathaniel gathered his things, stepping out of Sora's room first. Chloe did the same, making sure she had stuffed her things into her purse before leaving. She paused for a moment to look at the yellow rose in the hallway, admiring it longingly before taking off down the hallway. Sora snagged a hold of it, keeping it hidden as he stepped into the living room.

"Oh, you guys are leaving already?" Annabelle asked, pausing her game for a moment. "I thought you had another hour?"

"Not today, we only have two hour breaks on Thursday," Nathaniel replied, looking away from the young woman. "Thanks for having us over, and for lunch. It was great,"

"It wasn't anything to write home about, but it wasn't bad either," Chloe added, tapping away at her phone. "At least it wasn't pizza, ugh."

"Hey, what's wrong with pizza?"

"It's gross peasant food, I will never eat it."

"You wouldn't be saying that if you had tried a New York style pizza." the young man said with a grin. "Come on, before we're late."

"I'll go on ahead, we have Chemistry next so I like to make sure the station is clean. Not just that but I have to speak with Marc about our book." Nathaniel said, darting out of the apartment. Sora gave his aunt a wave, leading Chloe out.

"Doing work with you wasn't so bad, new kid. At least you aren't a liar like Lila." Chloe said, as she looked up from her phone. "But don't get any weird ideas, we're not friends."

"Sure, whatever you say, my queen~"

"Grr… I thought I told you to stop calling me-" Chloe was cut off when Sora held the yellow rose she had been looking at before. "-What are you doing?"

"I saw you looking at it earlier, figured a pretty girl deserved a pretty flower." he replied, handing it over. He continued walking, giving her a grin. "Try not to be late, Chloe. And be careful, I didn't remove the spines."

With a wave, he headed off, leaving the confused girl rooted in place. She wanted to say something to his retreating form. Insult him for calling her "His Queen" and a myriad of other things, but she remained silent. She smiled a bit as she sniffed the rose in her grasp. "Maybe the new kid isn't so bad… oh what am I saying? Ugh… how ridiculous!"

"You know Sora, you shouldn't tease her like that," Kaalki said to the boy, once they had gotten out of earshot from Chloe. "She might end up hating you."

"Eh, I'm not really in the market to make friends like her, Kaalki. I've dealt with too many bratty princesses in my day. Though I will say, she acted a lot nicer than I thought she would. I definitely do not want to know what she was like before she was Queen Bee."

"She was probably a lot meaner! Oh dear, we're gonna be late, late, late. You better get a move on, Sora! The last thing we want is to get behind on school work,"

"Yes, Fluffy, I'll try to walk just a tad faster." he chuckled, shaking his head.

The rest of the day was rather uneventful. School ended, and just like he promised, Sora headed out with Nino, Max and Kim, who were cheerfully chatting about their boy's night. Nathaniel and Marc had turned them down, saying they had to work on their book, with the former putting the finishing touches on their class project, which Sora understood. The last person from their motley crew was Adrien, who was standing out in front of the school, staring at his phone.

"This is your first time hanging out with Adrien, right Sora?"

"Yep, we've talked in school but not that much."

"Well don't worry, you'll be talking like a pair of old ladies once you truly get to know him. He's a good kid, but he's a bit awkward. He's still getting used to the public school life," Nino said, clapping Sora's shoulder. "Figured you two would get along great, seeing as you are from America and he has few friends."

"He's good at video games too! He's likely gonna school all of us on the arcade boxes," Kim said, while Max pulled out his calculator, tapping away at it like a mad scientist.

"I regretfully agree with Kim, there is a 93% chance that he will in fact, school us at the arcade."

"Well he hasn't played video games with me, trust me. Retro Games are my specialty, and if there are old Mortal Kombat boxes at this place, he's gonna get schooled," he replied, grinning.

"Yo, Adrien, bro, you ready for the best afternoon of the year?" Nino asked, as he greeted his best friend. The blond boy nodded, smiling back.

"You bet I am, it took me all of my lunch break to convince my father to let me go. He's been acting a bit strange, kind of like he does when he's stressed about a new clothing line," he said, taking notice of Sora. "Oh Sora, you're joining us as well?"

"Mhmm… Nino here convinced me to take an afternoon off. I can't really stay inside and do homework all the time. I'd miss the best part about being an exchange student, the exchange part!" he said, cracking his knuckles. "Fair warning though, I was told you were the best when it came to video games but you are about to go against the best."

"Oh yeah? A round of Cherry Soda at the snack bar says you don't!"

"Hah, you had me at Cherry Soda!"

Meanwhile, Marinette was currently at home with Alya, having hastily brushed her hair, tying it back into its normal pigtails. She had been moving back and forth around the room, throwing things around like a wild woman. Alya and Manon, the girl she had agreed to babysit, sat on her bed, just watching the glorified mess unfold, a hint of joy on their faces.

"Oh what do I do? We managed to get out of class early so I could get ready but I still look like me! I need to look prettier so that Adrien can fall in love with me!"

"Girl, you look beautiful just as yourself. There is no need to doll yourself up, if Adrien really likes you, he will like you for you. Freckles and all."

Marinette turned around, glaring at her best friend. "I do not have freckles!"

"Yes you do, they're tiny little things on your nose, that you expertly hide with foundation. I think they're adorable," she said, leaning back a bit. "Word of advice for the future, Manon, if you ever fall for a boy, be yourself. Don't waste your time doing what Marinette is doing."

"Boys are gross, I'm never falling in love."

"Yeah, I said that too around your age," she replied, glancing at her phone. "Oh, Nino told me they just got to the arcade. Adrien challenged Sora to a came of Mortal Kombat. He's been cleared for the entire afternoon, right until around 8. You better get going or you are going to waste it."

"Ah, ah! I can't, I haven't found the right shirt!" the blue haired girl cried, throwing several articles of clothing out of her closet and onto the floor. She pulled two out, a polka-dot covered pink blouse and a bright blue sleeveless shirt with sequins all over the front. "Which one do you like more?"

"The one you are wearing," Alya deadpanned, rising from the bed. "Mari, seriously, just be yourself. You look adorable the way you are dressed. You will be fine,"

The girl sighed, placing the shirts on her computer chair, frowning. "I know, but a part of me worries a lot. I can't hardly get a word out when I'm near Adrien, I figured dolling myself up a bit would give me the confidence I need to speak."

"If you wanna talk just talk, why is it so hard?" Manon asked, clearly confused.

"You'll understand when you're older," the brown haired girl said, giving her a pat on the head. "Marinette, you'll be fine. But if you need a little help, just put on your earpiece and I'll walk you through it."

"Thanks Alya, you're the best. If mom asks where I am, just tell her I went out to get some stuff for school."

"For four hours?"

"I'm sure you'll think of something, thanks, again!"

Without another word, Marinette dove out of her room, leaving Alya in charge of Manon. The young woman reached for the television remote, turning on her favorite soap opera, a smile on her face. "Manonj, you are about to learn why women turn into blushing bumbling idiots when they fall in love with cute men."

"Ew, can we watch Caillou instead?"

"Absolutely not! I'll watch cartoons with you but not that annoying little-" she cut herself off, swears were unbecoming of someone like her, and it wouldn't be good to teach Nadja Chamack's daughter how to swear early in life.

xxx

"Scorpion Wins, Flawless Victory, Fatality."

"I believe you owe me a pitcher of Cherry Soda, Mister Agreste." Sora said, a grin plastered on his face as he defeated his opponent. Adrien groaned, placing his face on the machine.

"I thought I had you, but you kept juggling me!"

"It isn't your fault, I've played this so many times I memorized the combos. There's an arcade like this a few blocks from my house in New York. Me and my sister spent so much time there that we hardly have to pay for anything, aside from the cabinets themselves," he said, patting his shoulder. "You'll get me next time. You nearly had me in round two."

"You wanna play something else? I'm pretty sure Left4Dead2 is open," the blond said, gesturing to the other cabinets.

"How about Mario Kart Grand Prix? I love that game, but my sister never lets me win,"

"I'm not the best driver but I don't mind going a few laps against ya,"

As they walked toward the Mario Kart cabinets, they passed by the DDR Machine, where Kim and Max were facing off against each other. Their feet were hardly visible from the flurry of precise movements. Their stomps echoed through the establishment, as a small crowd had gathered to watch them. Nino was cheering them on, apparently they hadn't missed a single note and were en route to get a new high score.

"I was never good at DDR, I have the dance skills of a drunken monkey,"

"Pfft, you and me both. Aside from formal ballroom dancing, I can't dance at all," the teen model said, stepping into the Mario Kart machine. "I've always wondered what it would be like to have a talent like that."

"It'd be pretty fun, I'd wager. I would have thought modeling would be fun. Isn't it?" Sora asked, making Adrien frown. He had a faraway look on his face, as he struggled to come up with a good reply.

"It used to be fun at first. I liked the cameras and pretty much grew into it, my mom was always there to cheer me up. She said I would one day grow into a very successful model, but it's a lot more stressful than you imagine. Dieting isn't fun, the hours of practice on the runway, the fittings, the cameras, the interviews, it can be really stressful. But thankfully, I can get some rest when I'm at school,"

"You are probably the only person I know that sees school as a place of relaxation,"

"Isn't it the same for you, Sora?"

"Not really, no," he replied, placing a few coins into the machine. Once it had connected with Adrien's, he started looking through the cups, not knowing which one he would select. "I sort of… fell into a bad crowd back home. My middle school friends and I started skipping school a lot, saying that we didn't need it. We'd leave home, meet up at Central Park and just wander the city. One day we'd be in Queens, the next in Brooklyn. Because of that, I sort of developed a bad rep at school,"

"Oh?"

"Nothing like what you are imagining. I'm not a bully and I keep my nose out of people's business. It was mostly due to my grades. I started with some really high scores, and I studied a lot to make up for when I did skip class, but that didn't help me. I ended up failing Junior Year, twice."

"Yikes,"

"Mhmm. Worse than that, my sister decided to follow my footsteps. She was aiming for a perfect attendance award. She never missed class, had perfect grades and was even selected to be the Class Valedictorian Candidate for what would have been our Senior Year. With her scores, she could have gotten a scholarship to any school she wanted, but she tanked it all because of me. She didn't want to leave me behind, hanging onto the notion that since we're twins, we gotta stick together. She pissed it all away because of me," Sora said, squeezing the steering wheel tightly. "Among the many things I've done, I think doing something that made my sister take that drastic of an action is my biggest regret."

Adrien remained silent as he kept his eyes on the screen, sifting through the characters. His eyes were narrowed in thought, trying to figure out why Sora seemed so familiar to him. "I know I met him before, but where? He hasn't visited Paris before… so it had to have been…"

"Actually, scratch that. I think pulling my sister toward the subway is my biggest regret. It was during Hawk Moth's attack on the city. I was trying to get her to safety, but Techno Pirate attacked, and a piece of concrete crushed her leg,"

Adrien's eyes widened, turning to face Sora, finally remembering where he had seen him. "Of course, he's that boy from New York, the one that was almost attacked by that akumatized villain!"

The scene was vivid in his mind. The akumatized Techno Pirate, the injured girl screaming because her leg was destroyed, and Sora, who was bravely facing off against a villain that he was powerless to stop. All while cursing Hawk Moth's name. He remembered Ladybug reassuring him, and him promising to take care of everything. He always wondered what had happened to them after the attack. With New York City being so big, he figured they were fine but.

"I'm… sorry,"

"Hm? Why are you sorry? Hawk Moth was the one that caused all of that, not you." Sora said, tilting his head a bit.

"Well yeah I know but… I can't begin to imagine what it would be to stand between my injured family member and a villain. A villain who likely would have killed you. Hawk Moth has gotten way too out of hand, and a lot of people have been hurt by him. It just… makes me sad that he does that. Makes me wonder what his motivations are,"

"Motivations?" the New Yorker asked, finally selecting a cup. "People like Hawk Moth don't have motivations. They do the things they do because they enjoy it. He wants Ladybug and Chat Noir's Miraculouses… no not just theirs, Blue Bunny's as well… maybe even Rena Rouge's, Carapace's and Queen Bee's. Power is the name of the game, that's what he wants in the end. If I knew who he was, I'd make him pay for what he did to my sister, and then some."

Adrien frowned, turning back to the machine, forcing a smile onto his face. "Come on, we didn't come here to talk about Hawk Moth, we came here to have a bit of fun. You said your sister never let you win, right? Well I'm not letting you win either, I happen to be a great racer."

"Oh yeah? We'll see about that!"

xxx

As Marinette approached the arcade, she couldn't help but get nervous. The thought of being in the same place Adrien was at made her nervous enough. But it was the fact that it was meant to be a Boys Night that made her feel worse. She had overheard their conversation and had invited herself in just for a shot at the boy she was crushing on. It made her feel rather scummy on the inside. She always managed to get swept away by the emotions in her heart, that she never stopped to think about things.

Having slowed down to a light walk, she couldn't help but wonder, if maybe she should just go home. From within her purse, Tikki could feel something was wrong. From the pace Marinette had taken to the way she kept looking around and rubbing her arm. She could tell she was having second thoughts.

"Marinette, are you okay?" she asked softly, enough so that her friend could hear. She looked down at her purse, giving Tikki a smile.

"I'm okay, Tikki, just wondering if I should go through with this. I mean, this is meant to be a Boy's Night, right? Adrien has been swamped with photoshoots, school work, Piano, Fencing and Chinese. He deserves this day to hang out with friends, yet here I am trying to get him to fall in love with me." she said, leaning up against a nearby wall. "It's making me feel like a shitty friend,"

Marinette hardly ever swore, Tikki had noted. The second she did, she was either very aggravated, or feeling really really down. She wanted to fly out of the purse and comfort her, but since they were in public, there was no way she could do that. "Marinette, I know you feel bad about this, but you also have to settle your own feelings. Perhaps encouraging you to do things like this isn't a wise idea, but you are growing up. You have to face off against the world at some point."

"I know that, I know but… I don't know," she replied, sighing. "I've been so stressed lately. School has been getting tougher, my life at home is getting harder with the constant lying to my parents. Then there's Hawk Moth and his stronger and more frequent akumas, and finally Blue Bunny and the stolen Miraculouses. I don't know if I'll be able to juggle it all while being Ladybug,"

Tikki was honestly thankful there was no one around. Marinette could be careless at times but this was far more careless than she had been in recent days. "You have to stay positive, Marinette. I know things are hard and will get harder, but you have what it takes to brave any kind of obstacle thrown your way. You have been one of the strongest Ladybugs in recent years, I'd say you are even on par with Jeanne d'Arc."

"Heh… I still can't believe you knew Jeanne d'Arc. What was she like?"

"She was sweet, kind, loving and everything a Saint should have been. She fought to protect this land, and her people, and she paid the ultimate price for it. She told me she suspected people would come after her. But she kept fighting with that smile on her face. It was too late to do anything by the time I realized she had renounced me." Tikki said sadly. "I miss her sometimes, as I do with all my former holders."

"Then… I have to do my best, to make sure that I stop the evil terrorizing this city. It doesn't matter if I go down in History or not. I just want to make sure Hawk Moth doesn't hurt anyone else," she said, a bright smile on her face. "Thanks for cheering me up Tikki, I think I'm gonna go home. Adrien deserves to hang out with his friends without me there,"

"Well well well, if it isn't Dupain-Cheng, what are you doing here? Going out for a walk? Or are you stalking my Adrikens again?"

Marinette's mood did a 180, turning on her heel to face Chloe, who was standing beside her with a look of indifference on her face. Sabrina was next to her, holding a bag that looked to contain food. Marinette noticed the yellow rose pinned to Chloe's shirt, but decided to say nothing about it. "I'm not stalking Adrien, Chloe. I was just running an errand for my mom. I'm supposed to be watching Miss Chamack's daughter this afternoon,"

"Oh really? Then why are you here, next to the Arcade? There aren't any stores or shops around here? Did your mother ask you to buy an arcade cabinet for that dingy bakery you are running?"

"It isn't a dingy bakery, Chloe! Also what's wrong with taking the scenic route to where you have to go, hm?"

"There's nothing wrong with it, if you have something you are doing. But you are clearly here to gawk at my Adrikens, and I am not letting that happen. Come on, Sabrina. Let's go play some games with Adrien. I'm sure he wouldn't mind if his best friend showed up with some of his favorite snacks."

"Oh… okay! By Marinette, have fun shopping!" Sabrina said cheerfully, only to get berated by Chloe when they walked away. Marinette growled angrily, her fists shaking slightly.

"That little, I'll show her!"

"No, Marinette, you can't go in there! I thought you were going home!"

"That was before Chloe showed up! I can't let her get all over Adrien!" she replied, darting toward the arcade entrance. Tikki let out a sigh. Just when she thought her friend was getting somewhere, she went back to square one.

"Oh, Marinette. If only you didn't let your emotions dictate your actions sometimes, I think you'd be a much happier person." the kwami thought, a frown on her face as her friend entered the arcade. She tucked herself into the deepest part of the purse, preparing herself mentally for the awkward tango that would be Marinette failing to flirt with Adrien.

A/N: Well guys, I hope you are all having a great day! I decided too upload today because I got Rune Factory 5 today so I'll be playing that for the foreseeable future. Thankfully, I have a bit of a backlog so I don't have to worry but still, felt like I needed to inform you. To my reviewer who left a couple reviews last chapter, I would like to say thank you for leaving your thoughts for me to read! It's always nice to see that. I do understand that some things that I included in the last chapter, Purple Tigress and Ladybug's Yo-Yo storage might have come later but I want to do something different with this story, there's nothing wrong with sticking to the canon while also adding and changing things around. I really liked Purple Tigress and wanted her in the story a little earlier, and the Yo-yo storage is more convenient in my opinion, so there's no reason why Ladybug wouldn't have it. As for Mitsuu's Miraculous, well I can't have Sora have it because of reasons that will be addressed later! All I can say is stay tuned, and as always thanks for the review.

Finally, I would like to give a shoutout to one of my newest friends and readers, IcyBehaviour, not only for reading this story but for letting me ramble on about this story for days on end lol. I hope you are enjoying it so far!

Whelp, that's it for now. As always, thanks for reading, I'll see you all in the next one. Peace Out!