Chapter 13
Angela sat in her literary arts class watching Miguel as he seemed intently stuck to whatever it was he was writing. Today they were supposed to be studying the history of the Brother's Grim fairytales. What caught Angela's attention was when Ms. Foustein brought up how many of the fairytales ended, with true loves kiss or how the kiss from the prince breaks the evil spell by kissing the princess. She then asked if anyone could explain why. It was Anna who stood up to answer, of course the sweetest girl Angela knew would know the answer to that one. All she would read was stories of true love and true loves kiss.
"Because evil is no match for the powers of true love." Anna answered in her usual sing-song voice which always made Angela see her more as a sweet little princess herself.
Angela almost laughed. She loved Anna's sweetness for all people, she really was a rare flower.
"Miguel I hope what you're writing has to do with our lesson." Ms. Foustein called on Miguel. "Can you tell me what I just said?"
"Most fairytales end with true loves kiss because evil is no match for true love." Miguel answered without missing a beat.
"Very good Miguel." Ms. Foustein said pleased with Miguel as the bell rang. "Remember to read the story of Snow White for our next lesson by Thursday. And don't forget, the Police Academy will be having their Valentine's day ball tomorrow. We hope to see you all there." Ms. Foustein announced.
Angela kept a close watch on Miguel as he crumbled up what he was writing and threw it in the trash. Angela was curious, what could he have been writing? She hung back as everyone left the room and then went and pulled Miguel's paper out of the waste basket.
"Looking for something to eat Angela?" she heard Jezebel jab at her from behind.
"Maybe she's looking for a new hair style." Isabella, Jezebel's friend, laughed with her.
Angela let out a huff to cool her firing temper. "Don't let them get to you, they're not worth it." Tikki said poking her head out.
"You're right." Angela said looking at Miguel's paper. "'Your hair a burning auburn red, your beautiful sapphire eye, I wonder who you are beneath that strong disguise. Every day we see each other I hope that you will be mine. Together our love could be so true. Please will you be my valentine?'" Angela read. "Who do you think he's talking about? Burning auburn red hair, sapphire eyes?"
"Uh, you." Tikki pointed out.
"Don't be silly, there plenty of girls with red hair and blues eye." Angela laughed. If she was being honest, she would hope it was her, but she didn't want to get her hopes up.
"Yeah, but auburn red hair and sapphire blue eye?"
"What could he mean by, 'strong disguise'?" Angela asked.
"He wants to know the real you Angela, he's talking about you." Tikki said with a big smile.
Angela couldn't help it anymore, she just had to leap with joy. "Oh pinch me, I must be dreaming." She squealed. But she soon saw that Tikki was a bit too literal when she felt a strong pinch on her arm. "Not literally!" Angela said rubbing her arm while Tikki giggled.
Angela strode out of the class room with a far off dreamy look on her face humming her favorite love song from the Malos Buenos Chicos.
"Someone's all happy about something." Derek said as he and Abbey caught up with Angela outside.
"Miguel wrote a poem for me." Angela said showing them the poem she had found.
"Oh, someone has their eyes on you Angel." Abbey said as she read it and nudged Angela's shoulder.
"I know." Angela said still staring off into space with that same dreamy look on her face.
"So, why don't you ask him to the Police's Academy's Valentine's day ball?" Abbey said shaking Angela back to reality.
"What? I can't, you know I don't do well asking guys out, especially this one, I can barely even talk to him without blabbering like an idiot. Besides, I've got two left feet, there is no way I'd be able to dance with him at all, let alone at a ball."
"No you don't bra, you've been gawking over Miguel for the longest time. Now's your chance to tell him how you feel." Derek said turning her to face him.
Angela thought it over for a minute. "You're right, it's time I told Miguel my feelings for him. Well, I think I'll start by writing them, on a card that is."
"That's a start." Abbey said as they headed for the bus. "Why don't we go by my place and we can work on it there. My Mom's making Valentine's day cookies."
"Sounds delicious." Derek answered taking his seat next to Abbey with Angela on the end.
When they made it to Abbey's house, Abbey told Angela to just go up to her room and wait for them up there. Angela sat by Abbey desk and pulled out her notebook and started writing potential love letters for Miguel. But she was finding it more difficult than she thought.
"Ugh, I'm no good at love letters, I sound like a total moronadon." She said letting her head fall on the desk.
"Only when you say words like 'moronadon.'" Tikki giggled. "Angela, think about Miguel and speak from the heart." Tikki said offering her advice.
Angela got another look at Miguel's poem sitting on her notebook. "Of course, I'll answer his poem." She said as Abbey and Derek came up with a card in the shape of a heart.
"Check it out girl." Derek said handing it to her.
"It's perfect! Thank you, thank you!" she exclaimed hugging her friends.
Immediately, she sat down and began to think about how her reply poem should sound. As the words seemed to flow from her pen, she wrote out her poem in answer to Miguel's.
"Don't forget to sign it." Abbey said pointing at the bottom. Out of nowhere, a ladybug came in and landed on Angela's card. "This is a good sign, ladybugs are good luck, especially in matters of love."
"Really?" Angela asked.
"Of course. After all, a ladybug is how me and Abbey met and you of all people should know about ladybugs." Derek answered.
"Why would you say that?" Angela asked feeling very nervous.
"'Since ancient times, ladybugs have been a sign of good fortune and a guide on the path of love and devotion.'" Abbey read. "It was on our blog this week, you read it didn't you?" Abbey asked showing Angela the page.
"Right, of course I did." Angela answered sighing with relief.
After she finished her card for Miguel, Angela and Abbey raced down stairs through the kitchen and stopped as Abbey's Mom, Mrs. Jackson was pulling the cookies out of the oven.
"Would you like to try some sweet hearts?" she asked as she set the tray down.
"Thanks Mrs. Jackson." Angela answered pulling one off the plate. "Oh, these are so good. You really have a gift Mrs. Jackson."
"Oh, thank you Angela. You are so sweet."
After grabbing one more cookie, she, Derek and Abbey raced outside to the mailbox.
"Go on Angela." Abbey pushed.
"Come on dude, do it before your confidence wipes out." Derek pushed.
Angela took a deep breath and stepped up to the mailbox and hesitated as she held her card up to the mailbox. Slowly she pushed her hand forward inch by inch until finally, with one last burst of courage, she shoved her card into the slot.
"I did it!" she exclaimed hugging her friends. All at once, their phones started to buzz. "Jezebel? Since when has she ever wanted to text us?" Angela said skeptical.
What they saw when they opened the message shocked them to the core. A picture of Danny soaking wet in the Firelight Fountain in Central Park with a rose in his hand.
"What a witch!" Abbey said clearly furious with her. "And I was the one who encouraged Danny to do it." she confessed. "I didn't know he was talking about her."
"Man, I hope Miguel doesn't do the same thing to you Angela." Derek said as Angela began to panic. "Oh no, I mean…."
"Ahhh! What have I done?" Angela said trying to pull and pry the mailbox open.
"Chill girl, Derek was joking!" Abbey said trying to get her down. "Miguel would never do that to you."
"What is that?" Derek said pointing their attention up above them.
All three friends looked up and saw strange man standing on a black cloud looking down at them.
"All love must disappear!" he declared throwing sharp thorns at the three of them from a rose in his hand.
Angela managed to dodge but Derek and Abbey weren't so lucky. "Guys, are you okay?" she asked them, only to pushed down and then had a handful of cookies thrown on her. "Seriously you guys?"
"You're not our friend, you're a sad pathetic joke." Derek yelled at her looking at her with his normally green eyes and his lips now black.
"Miguel's going to laugh his head off at your pathetic attempt at poetry." Abbey said with the same changes in her eyes and lips as they ran off laughing.
"What did he do to them?" Angela said picking herself up. As she got a closer look at the guy, she saw the rose. "I've seen that in, it's Danny's rose! He's been akumatized!" Angela realized in shock. "This is not good. We've got to find him fast." Angela said letting Tikki out behind the building. "Tikki, Spots On!" she called transforming into Ladybug.
She followed Danny across the city until she saw him stop at the Corrine Corps building. As he readied to take a shot at Jezebel, she threw her yo-yo stop the shot, but missed it too little too late. As the shot hit its mark, Ladybug saw Jezebel get hit, but there was no change.
'What does this mean? No, there'll be time for that later.' She thought as Danny turned his attention to her. "Danny, you have to stop!" Ladybug yelled trying to reason with him.
"I'm not Danny, I'm Heart Thorn and if I can't have love then no will." Heart Thorn answered back.
"Fine Heart Thorn, I get it, Jezebel totally broke your heart. But that doesn't mean you need to take out on the rest of New York!" Ladybug declared hoping she could reason with him.
"Yes I do and I will not stop until love is destroyed. Said good bye to your other emotions Ladybug, because from now on, all you'll feel is hatred." Heart Thorn declared back throwing more thorns her way.
Ladybug was able to deflect the thorns, but she was losing her footing upon the narrow roof. After dodging several more shots, she fell but was able to save herself by hooking her yo-yo onto the rain gutter. She watched as Heart Thorn flew off on his black cloud as if he were looking for her.
"Falling for me already mi senora?" Cat Negro said getting her attention a short distance down. "I need to tell you something."
"It's gonna have to wait. Heart Thorn…"
"Shh, I swore to myself I would tell you as soon as I saw you." Cat Negro said helping her down and holding her close on his rod high above the ground. "Ladybug, I…"
"Look out!" Ladybug yelled seeing Heart Thorn coming from behind him. She quickly turned them around and took the shot.
"Ladybug!" Cat Negro yelled as Ladybug began to cringe in his arms.
"Cat Negro, run." She groaned fighting the effects as long as she could.
"Why?" Cat Negro asked concerned.
"Because," She tried to warn him, but it was no good, the effects took hold and all she could feel for Cat Negro now was hatred. "Because I hate you."
"Ladybug, snap out of it."
"You're nothing Cat Negro and nothing to me! I hate you!" she shouted pushing him off her but losing her balance in the process and falling from Cat Negro's rod.
She saved herself this time by hooking her yo-yo to the terrace of one of the rooms of the Corrine Corps building. Cat Negro made a jump for the roof of the building next to them and disappeared behind the chimney stacks. Ladybug pulled herself up to the roof again and looked up to see Heart Thorn standing in front of her.
"I can help you take down Cat Negro, but I want his miraculous in return." He offered her.
"No, problem." Ladybug accepted grinning darkly as she took his extended hand.
They followed Cat Negro and saw him trying to pull Jezebel and her friend Isabella to safety. Heart Thorn gave chase to Jezebel and her friend while Ladybug confronted Cat Negro.
"Not so fast gatito." Ladybug smirked at him.
"I don't want to fight you Ladybug." Cat Negro declared to her.
"Ugh, that friendliness, it just makes me want to be sick." She retched. "You're definitely not my friend and did you really believe you ever had a chance with me?" she sneered at him as she threw her yo-yo trying to hit him.
Cat Negro managed to dodge her over and over again as she followed him across the roof tops along the street. At last he caught her yo-yo and pulled trying to stop her.
"Why are you so full of hate Ladybug?" Cat Negro asked.
"Because hate conquers all." She declared to him venomously.
"I know you don't believe that, hate doesn't conquer all, love does." Cat Negro answered back.
"You're just buying time!" Ladybug said freeing her yo-yo. "Fight!" she demanded.
"I'll do better than that." Cat Negro said with a smile.
"Huh?" Ladybug said confused by his sudden change in demeanor.
"Come senorita, just a peck." He said walking closer to her leaning in for a kiss.
Ladybug jumped out of the way in disgust. "Get away from me you savage!" she yelled taking off with Cat Negro not far behind.
When she tried to leap across an alley way, just as her yo-yo was about to hook an anchor, Cat Negro's rod deflected it and she began to fall, but she was caught before she could hit the ground. Cat Negro held her with her back to the wall.
"No, no." she said squirming to get free.
"Don't worry, when you're free of this, I think you'll find that you actually like it." He said moving to kiss her again.
But just before his lips could meet hers, a barrage of thorns came flying in and he let her go as she ran and met up with Heart Thorn across the way in Central Park. She saw Cat Negro follow her and they stopped at the Firelight Fountain.
"How are going to fight both of us now wuss puss?" Ladybug jabbed pulling out her yo-yo.
"Do you think he'll use his cataclysm?" Heart Thorn asked her as if he wanted Cat Negro to hear him.
"He won't have a choice. I know he's wondered what would happen if he used his cataclysm on someone." Ladybug laughed.
As Cat Negro came at them, Ladybug and Heart Thorn spilt up and began to attack him from all sides. At last he threw his rod and knocked Heart Thorn off his cloud and he landed tangled up in the tree branches. He turned his attention to Ladybug.
"Now to free the princess." He said as she came at him.
They struggled a minute and Ladybug finally got the upper hand when she jumped and landed, pinning him to the ground.
"Ladybug, his miraculous." Heart Thorn called to her while freeing himself from the branches.
"With pleasure." She said looking at his ring. "Finally, I'll find out who you are Cat Negro." She sneered taking his hand reaching for his ring. "The cat will finally be out of the bag."
But before she could even make a move to take it, he grabbed her face and pulled her lips to meet his. In a moment she wanted to fight back, but her mind went hazy and she began to lose track of what was happening. When she opened her eyes, she was having a hard time thinking.
"What am I doing here?" she asked rubbing her head.
"No time, Heart Thorn's about to free himself." Cat Negro said helping her up. "Where's his akuma?"
"The rose in his hand." Ladybug answered pulling out her yo-yo. Heart Thorn finally appeared out of the trees on top of his black cloud. "We're sitting ducks on the ground. But we can destroy his flying cloud, then we may gain equal footing."
"Good thinking mi senora." Cat Negro answered. "Cataclysm!" he summoned. "Hey Heart Thor, bet yu can't hit me!" Cat Negro taunted.
Cat Negro ran for the cloud dodging Heart Thorn's thorns. At last he reached his point and jumped and reached for the cloud. At one touch, the cloud disappeared in a puff of smoke.
"You won't beat me!" Heart Thorn yelled sending a barrage of thorns in their direction.
Ladybug and Cat Negro dodged and hid behind the fountain.
"Lucky Charm!" Ladybug summoned. What came to her was a spool of ribbon. "What am I supposed to do with this?"
"You plan on wrapping him gift or something?" Cat Negro commented.
Ladybug looked around and saw what she had to work with. Heart Thorn, a tree and the spool. "Well, kind of. Just keep him distracted but lure him to that tree over there and I'll wrap things up." She instructed him.
"Got it." Cat Negro said jumping out from behind the fountain getting Heart Thorn's attention.
Ladybug followed close behind and danced around Heart Thorn as he got closer and closer to the tree. At last she pulled on the ribbon and it tightened around Heart Thorn securing him against the tree with his hand immobilized.
"Looks like we've got this situation all wrapped up." Cat Negro grinned.
"The rose Cat Negro, grab it." Ladybug said holding on to the ribbon.
"No!" Heart Thorn said as Cat Negro snatched from his hand.
"Sorry, need that." He smirked. "Happy Valentine's day." Cat Negro called to Ladybug tossing her the rose.
"Ahh, you shouldn't have." She smiled. "Opps." She said immediately dropping the rose and crushing it beneath her foot. "No more terrorizing for you moth." She said readying her yo-yo. "Time to be purified." She called capturing the akuma. "Be free little butterfly." She whispered freeing the purified akuma. "Miraculous Ladybug!" she summoned as the glow spread throughout the city repairing the damage caused by Heart Thorn.
"Olé!" Ladybug and Cat Negro exclaimed high-fiving.
Ladybug's earrings started to beep. "Opps, gotta go."
"Ladybug wait, I need to tell you something." Cat Negro called to her.
"Look, about everything I may have said, I never really meant it. You know you mean…"
"No that's not it, I just wanted to…" he tried to say but his ring started to beep too.
"Look out Cat Negro, your ring is flashing." Ladybug warned him.
"Yours too."
"We're about to turn into pumpkins and I don't know about you, but I'd rather not see that." Ladybug giggled as she took off.
She made it back to Abbey's as her transformation wore off and Tikki landed in her purse where she had some of Mrs. Jackson's cookies waiting for her. Angela made it back inside and saw that Derek and Abbey were waiting for her.
"Girl, where have you been?" Abbey said crushing Angela in a hug. "Girl we are so sorry for anything we said or did. We didn't mean it, we weren't ourselves." Abbey apologized letting Angela breathe.
"Guys, it's okay. I know it wasn't your fault." Angela said accepting her apology.
"So you forgive us then?" Derek asked.
"There's nothing to forgive." Angela answered pulling her friends into another hug.
"Good, well the mail man's going to be here soon. You want to go make sure he takes your card?" Abbey asked.
"I should, I want to make sure Miguel gets it." Angela answered heading out for the mail box.
A minute later, the mail man came and opened the box. "There's your chance to get your card back." Tikki said poking her head out.
"That was before," Angela answered. "I realized that even with so much hate everywhere, love still wins. But I want to win over Miguel, he needs to know how I really feel about him."
"That's my girl Angela, never give up." Tikki smiled.
"Yeah, I'm just glad Cat Negro was able to free me from the effects of Heart Thorn so I can still feel love for Miguel. Although, there is one thing I still haven't figured out."
"And what's that?" Tikki asked.
"When Heart Thorn's thorns hit Jezebel, they did nothing. But when they hit Derek, Abbey or me, we felt nothing but hatred. What do you think it means?"
"I don't know."
"Maybe, the thorns could only change someone if they had feelings for the ones we cared about." Angela figured out.
"That must be it, which also might mean you have feelings for Cat Negro." Tikki teased.
"Oh Tikki, you know how I feel about him. He's just a friend and a great partner. But honestly, that's all we're gonna be is friends, really good friends." Angela smirked back. "Come on, Derek and Abbey are probably wondering what's taking me so long." She said as they headed back inside.
"So, did you take your card back?" Abbey asked.
"No, I didn't take my card back." Angela answered proud of herself.
"Looks like I owe you two cookies." Derek answered. Angela laughed. "And you remembered to sign it right?"
"Uh, actually I don't remember if I did or not." Angela answered realizing she couldn't recall ever signing her card.
"What do you mean you don't remember?" Abbey pushed.
"I mean just what I said. The ladybug came along while I was writing and then you were going on about the Bug Blog and it's all a blur." Angela confessed.
"Looks like you owe me two cookies." Derek laughed.
"I can't believe you, the girl didn't even sign it." Abbey laughed handing Derek back his two cookies.
"We love you girl, but sometimes you seriously bug. You know that?" Derek laughed.
Angela couldn't help but laugh along with them. They were right, it just part of her being a total scatter brain.
