"Chloé, who are you going with to the dance?"

"Why, Adrien, of course."

"Ooh! How will you ask him?"

"Sabrina, don't be silly," Chloé snapped. "The boy must ask the girl."

"Oh… But what if he doesn't?"

"Of course he will! Adrien loves me!"

The pair heard applause from the courtyard. "Another promposal?" Chloé mused.

They followed the sounds. In the middle of the crowd stood Juleka and Rose, the latter holding a bouquet of pink roses.

"You've got to be kidding me," Chloé tittered, striding up to them. The crowd parted for her, growing quiet. "What made you think you could ask someone to the dance?" she said, poking Juleka in the chest.

"I–"

"Ohh, I get it. You knew none of the boys would ask you… So you took yourself and your unwanted friend out of the pool in one go, so that you wouldn't have to embarrass yourself. Well, I've seen right through you."

Rose fumed. Chloé bullying her was one thing – Chloé bullying her best friend was quite another. "Juleka is my best friend, and there's no one I would rather go with to the dance," she retorted. "And anyways, I don't see you with a date."

Chloé laughed. "Oh, I'll have a date. The boys know they'll need the best promposal to ask moi, so they haven't yet. But you'll see. All the boys will want to take me. It's for the best that you got yourselves out of the way."

She whirled around and walked away, Sabrina tailing her. "Rose, it's okay," Juleka said.

Rose shook her head and ran. She could not remember having ever been this angry.


And so quickly the prom finds its victims. Épine, you have been wronged by one who does not believe in your love for your friend. In return for granting you the power to enact revenge, you must bring to me Ladybug and Chat Noir's Miraculous.

"Will do, Papillon."


Ladybug threw the red and black spotted watering can into the sky, restoring the town to its state before the akuma attack.

"Bien joué," she and Chat Noir said, pounding fists.

"I'll be back," said Ladybug, going to speak to the boy who'd been rejected.

Chat Noir watched her, smiling. They had seen a few rejection akumas over the past few days – it seemed the askings had picked up since Nino's. Every time, Ladybug went over and spoke to them afterwards, to give them hope again.

This attitude she has, he thought, lifting their spirits after they've been akumatized… One of many reasons why she's the perfect Ladybug.

"Ladybug," he said when she was done, "may I–"

"AAAAAAAAAUGHHHH!"

The duo looked in the direction of the scream, then back at each other. "Another…?" Ladybug began.

"Maybe not…" Chat said.

"We better check…"

They sprang into action, leaping onto rooftops and swinging through the streets until they stood above the scene: right outside Grand Hotel Paris, a few onlookers running, a few people pinned to the wall by their clothes. The security guard was tentatively trying to stop someone from entering the hotel–

"Is that Princess Fragrance?" Chat Noir wondered.

Whoever it was, they pointed an object at the guard. Chat Noir and Ladybug jumped down from the roof across the street.

"Stop right there, Princess Fragrance!" Ladybug demanded.

The akuma glared over her shoulder and whipped her weapon – a bouquet of roses – at them. "It's not Princess Fragrance, it's Épine," she said. "Stay out of my way, or you'll end up like them – or worse." Épine gestured at the bystanders. Ladybug and Chat Noir glanced at them, Épine took the opportunity to catch the guard unaware and rush into the building. Chat Noir started after her, but Ladybug grabbed his tail.

"We have to check if they're okay."

The bystanders who'd been attacked were physically fine, though shaken and pinned to the wall by what seemed to be giant rose thorns. Ladybug tried to pull one out, but it slipped through her hands. She found the same result when she used her yoyo string.

"Don't worry, we'll get you out of here," she told the frightened man. "For now, you'll be safer outside." It wasn't much, but there weren't better options.

"Is that Juleka?" said Chat Noir.

Ladybug looked up and saw a dark figure running towards them. Juleka stopped in front of them, breathing heavily. "Have you seen Rose?" she asked, winded.

"We think so," said Ladybug. "We were just about to go inside."

Juleka looked at the people pinned down by thorns. Her shoulders drooped a little. "She's akumatized, isn't she?"

"Do you know what happened?"

Juleka nodded. "I asked Rose to the cotillon. Chloé made fun of us, and Rose got upset."

"She must be after Chloé, then," Chat Noir said, looking up at the hotel front.

"Thanks for letting us know. Did you happen to give her flowers?" Ladybug asked.

"I – yeah. Roses."

"That's probably the akuma. Thanks. Uh, could you stay here and… Watch over these people?"

"I… sure–"

"Great, thanks."

Ladybug and Chat Noir bolted into the hotel, leaving behind a stunned Juleka.

"Why is she watching over them?" Chat Noir asked.

"So she doesn't follow us in. People do crazy things in love."

Chat Noir bit his tongue to stop himself from saying anything.

They split up to recharge from the last fight – "Plagg, hurry up." – "I can't remember the last back-to-back akuma attack, Tikki." – "I'm appreciating the cheese!" – "I mean, it kind of happened with Timebreaker, but at least they were in the same place at the same time." – "Appreciate it faster, please!" – "What if they keep happening back-to-back? If this keeps up, we won't be able to handle them all…" – and met again in the lobby.

They had been to Chloé's room before – too many times, really – so finding Épine was easy. Chloé was pinned to her bedroom wall by rose thorns, shrieking.

"You've RUINED my NEW SWEATER do you have ANY idea how much this COST–"

"To be fair, probably just a drop in the bucket for your father," Chat Noir said casually.

Épine turned around. "I told you not to follow me," she growled, whipping her bouquet at them. Chat Noir whirled his baton, defending himself and Ladybug from the barrage. The thorns stayed embedded in his baton.

"Lucky charm!" Ladybug shouted. She tossed her yoyo in the air and caught the item that emerged…

Okay, a shovel?

She looked around. The shovel. The wall. Chat Noir's baton. Oh, this one was easy.

Ladybug whirled her yoyo. "Pin her," she muttered to Chat Noir.

They fought with thorns and deflections, Épine backing up slowly as they advanced. Ladybug threw her yoyo at the bouquet. Épine deflected it, but not before Chat Noir threw his stick, hitting her forearm. The thorns on the ends of his baton stuck to the wall, holding her bouquet arm out to the side. Ladybug threw the shovel spade-first, slicing through the roses' stems. An akuma fluttered out of the beheaded flowers.

"No more evildoing for you, little akuma." Ladybug split her yoyo and whirled it at the akuma. She caught it and released its pure form.

"Bye bye, petit papillon."

She threw the shovel in the air, and within moments everything was back to normal. Chat Noir's baton clattered to the ground, free of thorns, and Chloé fell back down with a squeal. The townspeople outside were likely freed as well.

Around now, Épine transformed back into Rose. Suddenly, Juleka ran in.

"Rose! Are you all right?"

Rose looked a little bewildered. "I think so…?"

Juleka ran over and hugged her best friend. "I'm so sorry. I went for it even though I knew it might go badly. I didn't even think about how it might affect you. I'm so sorry."

"Wha– I was only mad because she was being mean to you–"

"Chloé? I think she just doesn't know."

They all looked at Chloé, who was standing awkwardly where she'd fallen.

"Quoi?" she snapped.

"Some girls fall for girls," said Juleka, helping Rose to her feet. "Not you, perhaps. But I am very much in love with Rose, and there is no one I would rather take to la cotillon."

Chloé's face flickered back and forth between the two. "Well… whatever. Do what you want," Chloé muttered, turning and stomping out of the room.

"Wow," Chat Noir mused. "That's almost an apology, coming from Chloé."

Ladybug caught Juleka's eye. "That was really brave of you," she said. In all the time she'd known Juleka, she'd rarely heard her stand up for anything.

Juleka blushed a little. Then she shook her head. "She just needed to learn. It wasn't even a risk, saying that."

"Still."

"People do crazy things in love," Chat Noir reminded Ladybug, grinning lopsidedly. She laughed. He took it a step farther and said, "They do tend to see the world through rose-tinted glasses."

Ladybug facepalmed. Chat Noir grinned. Juleka and Rose giggled.

Juleka and Rose left together. Ladybug's earrings beeped at her. "Gotta go. See you later," she said, opening the door to the balcony.

Chat Noir's smile fell a little. "Ah, wait a second," he said.

Ladybug looked at him. She was already halfway out the balcony door. "What is it?"

He froze up. "Um." There was a wall of panic somewhere between his heart and his vocal chords. "Are… Are you going to la bal with anyone?"

She thought about it. Was she? Would she ever ask Adrien, and would he agree?

"Um… I'm not sure yet."

"Oh, okay," Chat Noir said quickly. "Let, let me know when you decide."

Puzzled, Ladybug replied, "Okay. See you later."

"See you."

She threw her yoyo and swung away.

I mean, I guess that was progress, Chat Noir thought.


Hell week of midterms is over, so... writing time? :)