We drove in separate cars to the fashion show; Adrien arrived with his father, and I went with my parents. Mr. Agreste and my fiancé got there before us; the scene was already pretty busy by the time our car pulled up. I have a bit of a confession. Despite studying fashion- more particularly historical fashion- for my whole academic career, I've never actually attended many up-scale fashion, runway shows before. They're pricey and I just never got in with the right crowd to get myself invited to the right events. Guess that was different though with a famous fashion designer and model soon to be in the family.
Mom, Daddy, and I showed up with no particular attention given to us; everyone was racing around and busy with their own stuff. Makes sense- we had nothing to do with this show ourselves. Just like everyone else here in the lobby, we were here to watch. Mom and Daddy looked particularly out of sorts, like they didn't know what to do with themselves. I understand that- we don't fit in naturally with these sorts of people. So we kept to ourselves, jostling our way through the crowds. Mom linked her arm with mine so not to get separated.
"I wonder where Gabriel is?" She asked ponderingly. My shoulder shrugged as I scanned over the room. "I'm sure he's around somewhere," yeah, probably smooshing with Mr. Bourgeois for some sort of political gain. I wouldn't put it past him whatsoever. I was stopped by my mom giving my arm a tug, keeping me back for a minute. She motioned off to the side with her head, making me look in the direction she was aiming. My head turned and my eyes widened- and not in a good way. "Oh, look. There's Adrien," Mom said, completely obvious to the situation now starting us right in the face. When I didn't reply, she added: "and that must be Chloe, Mayor Bourgeois's daughter."
It was indeed Chloe Bourgeois. This was my first time seeing her since our run-in at the palace. She was standing with Adrien off to the side, wearing a great big smile and leaning in a little closely toward my fiancé. Adrien, oblivious to our presence in the room, looked really uncomfortable but wore that sort of expression one makes when they're doing their best to try and be polite. He was clearly not enjoying himself, and Chloe neither knew nor care. We couldn't hear what they were saying from here, but judging by how happy Chloe acted, I'd say it had something to do with that apology Mr. Agreste forced Adrien to do.
My eyes grew, my hands quivered uncontrollably when this bitch had the audacity to throw her arms around Adrien's hug, pulling herself in for an embrace. I must have had this horrified look on my face. I'd been jealous of Cat Noir before, but nothing super serious. Unlike his experience with Luka, I've never had an equivalent on his end. Sure, my boyfriend had scores of fangirls literally throwing themselves at him, but I had the same thing as Ladybug. Cat Noir always found it peculiar that I was never "jealous" of him and Ladybug, especially when people really started shipping them- er, us- hard in later years. I wasn't immune to jealously but this…. Seeing Chloe hug a flustered and embarrassed Adrien like that…. This feeling was new.
And it was powerful.
I don't think I've ever hated anyone more than I utterly detested her in that instance. I wanted to march over there and physically rip Chloe away from him. I wanted to scream in her face to keep her damn hands off MY man in front of everyone. I wanted to make it crystal clear that she doesn't have a chance with Adrien; he's mine! All mine! Now I knew how Cat Noir felt whenever he saw Luka touching me. How dare she?! She knows we're engaged, and she still acts like this?! God, I hate her; I HATE this woman!
The purest form of jealous rage suddenly cracked at the sensation of Mom's hand landing on my shoulder. I blinked over to her like I'd entirely forgotten her standing next to me all this time. Her expression was, shall we say, sympathic and understanding- unfortunately. "Oh, I wouldn't worry, honey. They're just old friends, remember? Nothing wrong with giving your friend an innocent hug," she must have sensed my jealously, it was radiating so hard off me. Innocent, huh? Poor Mom, she has no idea…. Still, for her sake, I forced a very bitter grin. "Yeah, you're right," you're so not right. That demon wants my fiancé, and she'll do everything she can to destroy me to get to him.
Probably noticing that I still wanted to go tear Chloe a new one, Mom dragged me towards the refreshment table, where Daddy already found himself at. In an attempt to calm myself down, I loaded my small plate up with fruit, cheeses, and deli meats. We each got something to eat and stood around awkwardly as we munched in silence. Then there was an announcement over the speaker telling everyone to go take their seats. Mr. Agreste got us front-row tickets, though I'm not sure why. We hadn't even seen him since we got here. Plus sitting up front with all the fancy, rich "somebodies" was not comfortable for us "nobodies". We stuck out like green thumbs.
Setting my bag down, I quickly turned to my parents. "I'm going to go use the bathroom." "Ok. Make sure you're back before the show starts," Daddy told me. "I will!" On my way to find the ladies' room, I somehow found myself backstage, which really was by accident. Afraid I might get into trouble, I was about to rush back out into the main hall when I suddenly spotted Adrien's dressing room. It had his name on it, anyway. Adrien…. My feet paused as I stared at the door. A smile- for real this time- drew over my lips. Weeeeeeeeell, maybe there's a little time to wish him "good luck" with the fashion show.
"Adrien?" Whispering, I turned the doorknob. To my disappointment, no one was inside. Ugh rats; I really wanted to see him too. Oh well…. I don't what possessed me to go further into the room; he obviously wasn't in there. I didn't see Plagg anywhere either. Picking up a hat which was laying on the vanity, I inspected it carefully. I wonder if he's going to wear this in the show today. I have no idea what he'll be in…. While I was busy with that, the door unexpectedly opened again.
"Hello? Mr. Agreste? I just wanted to give you….." This woman's voice trailed off once she spotted me. She looked roughly the same age as me, with med-length orange hair and square-rim glasses. She was clearly as surprised to see me in Adrien's dressing room as I was to see her there. Her head spun around, glancing across the room. "Oh, I'm sorry. Is uh… Is Mr. Agreste in here?" "Gabriel Agreste? No, sorry; I haven't seen him," my head shook. Her eyes perked up. "Not him- Adrien."
That's when my smile started to fade. She didn't look like someone who worked for the fashion show, but I was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. "Adrien's not here either. Can I help you with something?" Being his fiancée, I thought it right to offer her my services in his place. It was her turn to look disappointed. "Oh, I thought he might still be backstage. I've got something from Chloe to give him."
Chloe?! A flare of anger flashed across my eyes. My stare fixed onto this girl- whoever she was- intently. Still, an opportunity did seem to present itself here. I actually smirked at her, a little too eager for what I would say next. "Actually, I'm his fiancée. You can leave that with me if you like. I'll make sure Adrien gets it," I crossed my arms across my chest for emphasis. You could tell that she was conflicted by what I'd just said, adjusting her glasses on her nose and glancing to the side awkwardly. "Uh, actually I was told to give it to him directly….." It didn't take a genius to realize that this girl was Chloe's flunky.
I frowned, keeping my arms folded. "I haven't seen him; he must be getting ready for the show. You can just leave it here," the contempt in my tone was ripe. Looking at me for a solid minute, orange-haired girl stepped into the room, coming over to the vanity and setting a wrapped thin rectangle box down onto the vanity. I honestly didn't think much of her during the whole process, but when she again looked- or rather, glared- at me, she was just full of contempt as me. She walked back over to the door, setting her hand on the handle before shooting one last glare my way.
"You don't have a shot with him, you know." "Huh?" I perked up, both shocked and alarmed. But her expression said it all. "Chloe's right about you. You're nothing but a low-class, low-born peasant girl who's trying to steal her prince. There's nothing special about you- nothing that I can see, anyway." "E-Excuse me?!" My hand rose defensively up to my pounding chest. Her eyes merely sharpened onto mine from behind her glasses. "I don't know where you came from, but you'd best go back there. Adrien is Chloe's; she's been in love with him since forever. You have no right to barge in and ruin everything for her." "I didn't "ruin" anything! It's an arranged marriage!" Seriously! What were these two psychos missing about that point?! Do they not know the meaning of the word "arranged"? But orange-haired girl's face remained stone-cold, continuing to glower at me with a vitrail that could match Chloe's eyes. "I'd watch myself if I were you. Chloe knows what's hers…. He was hers long before you came into the picture.
Chloe's going to fight tooth and nail to keep it that way."
