Violets & Bluebells
A Julenette Fanfiction
Cover Image by StarrdustCrusader
Chapter 1
AN: Hello and welcome to my very first fanfic! I've been a huge fan of this show since it came out and have been wanting to write some stories with my favorite characters and/or pairings that I would like to see or think would be fun to explore. I'm a huge fan of hurt/comfort and fluff so expect some heartache but also lots of fluffy stuff ahead! It should go without saying that there will be some minor spoilers ahead if you haven't seen the show. This story takes place after season 4's episode, Mr. Pigeon 72, for reasons I won't disclose yet in case anyone hasn't seen it. It's also worth noting that this story is meant to replace season 3's episode "Reflekdoll" and season 4's episode "Guiltrip" so the events of those episodes don't exist in my story. Both of these episodes are what inspired me to write this story and explore this character pairing so I hope you all enjoy it! Also, thanks to StarrdustCrusader for letting me use their artwork for my cover image! You can check out their work on Deviant Art. On with the story! ^_^
Juleka sighed as she walked up the steps to yet another long day at school. Each step seemed higher than the last and It felt like she would never reach the top. It wasn't like she was eager to though. When she unfortunately did, she was greeted by the all too familiar view through the arched entrance into the inner courtyard.
Her stomach churned as she stepped under the archway and paused there for a moment. She brushed her violet bangs out of her view and took a quick look around the courtyard. Small groups of students were clustered throughout the area, all busily chatting before the days classes began.
She didn't see Chloé amongst any of the groups and gave a sigh of relief, letting her bangs fall back over the left side of her face. Hopefully she would be able to get upstairs to class and avoid another confrontation with her. Ever since class photo day, it seemed as if Chloé was making it her life's mission to torture her.
She headed for the small group of steps that led down into the courtyard and gave a small wave to her best friend Rose when she saw her. Strangely though, Rose didn't wave back, even though she seemed to be looking right at her. Juleka thought that was odd but guessed that maybe she hadn't seen her.
Right as she was going down the first step, she felt someone push her from behind and she tumbled painfully down the concrete steps. She landed hard on her stomach and winced in pain as the wind was knocked right out of her.
Juleka didn't even have to look up to know what had just happened. She grimaced as she caught her breath and pulled herself up onto her knees. Sure enough, there stood Chloé at the top of the steps, arms crossed and a nasty smile spread across her face.
"Oh, I'm sorry Juleka! I didn't see you there!" Chloé exclaimed in a mocking tone of insincerity. "You're so invisible you blend right in with the pavement!"
Chloé started laughing down at her and Sabrina came up beside her and joined in the laughter.
Juleka wanted to scream at them both but couldn't find the words or the courage to do so. It felt as if the very air around her had become heavy and it was getting difficult to breathe, let alone find the strength to be able to stand up.
She looked over at Rose in desperation, hoping that she would rush over to her aid. To her surprise, Rose was busy laughing at her along with Marinette and Alya. She looked around in disbelief as everyone else in the courtyard had joined in and was laughing at her too. The laughter started to echo in her ears as everyone slowly began to gather around her.
"Why don't you save the janitor some time while you're down there and clean the floor up,"Chloé sneered down at her. "That's all your good for anyway."
Juleka looked on helplessly as everyone around her, including those she thought were her friends, started laughing even louder at Chloé's cruel joke. She felt her heart start pounding in her ears even louder than the laughter and she wished she really was invisible.
"Stop it, please!" She begged helplessly as her eyes started watering. She thought that she had shouted but her voice came out just barely over a whisper. She tried to get up and escape but it felt as if she was glued to the ground.
"Oh, look at the poor baby! Are you gonna cry?" Chloé mocked.
The laughter got even louder until it was almost deafening.
"Stop! Stop it!" Juleka tried screaming but her voice was so quiet she couldn't even hear herself over the laughing and jeering students. Tears started streaming down her face as she looked on in despair at her hopeless situation.
"Just look at you, Juleka!" Chloé snapped. Her voice had gotten much louder all of a sudden, almost like she was yelling at her through a megaphone. "You're useless! Utterly useless!"
"Utterly useless!" The mob of students started chanting over and over.
"No! No! No! Stop it, please!" She begged as she covered her ears with her hands, trying desperately to drown out their cruel chanting.
"You're worthless! Utterly worthless!" Chloé's voice boomed over everyone else's.
"Utterly worthless!" The students started chanting.
"No! Stop! Please stop!" Juleka tried screaming again but her voice caught in her throat and she fell silent. She felt her emotions swell and start to consume her and she knew it was about to happen again. The only thing that scared her more than Chloé was fast approaching. She looked up just as a storm of akumas was descending upon her and then everything went black.
Juleka bolted awake covered in a cold sweat. Her nightmares seemed to be getting worse and she didn't know how to make them stop. She rolled onto her side into the fetal position and tried as hard as she could to hold back her tears. The waves of emotions were rolling through her and she started to tremble. She took a slow, deep breath and then another to help herself calm down, because she knew if she let her emotions overwhelm her, she would become easy prey for Hawk Moth.
Being akumatized was the worst thing that had ever happened to her, even more so than how invisible and alone she felt sometimes. Ever since class picture day when she was akumatized for the first time, she had been living in fear every day. The other times she was re-akumatized after that only magnified her fears to greater heights and she was terrified of losing control of her emotions again. Even though she normally kept most of her feelings inside, she was so afraid that if she let even one negative one slip out, it would all be over.
So many people in Paris, including students in her school, had been akumatized multiple times. She didn't know how any of them were able to handle it since she was barely coping with it herself. After being re-akumatized again just last week, she felt as if she was reaching a breaking point and knew that she had to do something about it or it would just keep happening and potentially get worse. Mr. Ramier had been re-akumatized into Mr. Pigeon dozens and dozens of times and she felt like that would happen to her eventually too with no end to the misery that followed it. Sure, Ladybug would no doubt save her every time as she always had, but the fact that it would still happen regardless, offered no comfort to her.
She had tried so many times to talk to her best friend Rose about this problem she was having but she never seemed to be able to find the right time or the right words. She wasn't even sure if she would be able to tell her. She felt so alone in her misery and didn't want to drag her down into it. Rose was always so happy and cheerful and she didn't want to corrupt or taint her with this darkness that was consuming her. She felt badly since Rose had been re-akumatized a couple times but had never talked about it with her and it never seemed like it had affected her at all.
Maybe she could tell her though. The one who had broken her photo curse and like Rose, was always so sweet and kind to her.
"Marinette…"she whispered aloud to herself.
Just saying her name already had a small smile playing at the corners of her mouth. She was a lot like Rose but so much more besides. She was bubbly, cheerful and was always thinking of and standing up for her friends. That was the main reason she had been on her mind since that day. Marinette had gone out of her way to selflessly help break her photo curse and she had never felt more visible and more alive in her life. She often wondered if she would feel that way all the time if she were to spend as much time with her as she did with Rose.
She had been friends with Rose for a while and she cared for her but she had always thought of her as more of a sister. That wasn't the case with Marinette though. Ever since that day, she had started to see Marinette in a different light. Each and every one of her qualities, whether graceful or quirky, felt attractive to her. She found herself staring at her all the time in class. Whenever all the girls in her group of her friends from class would get together, she was always busy sneaking glances at Marinette when she wasn't looking.
Whenever she had one of her klutzy moments, it always made Juleka smile or giggle, even if Marinette didn't see it. She wasn't making fun of her, of course; far from it, in fact. She found it absolutely cute and endearing, especially when Marinette would grin sheepishly or get embarrassed. Juleka felt her cheeks flush just thinking about it.
Whenever Marinette was sticking up for one of her friends, which was usually when Chloé was bullying someone, she'd get so mad so quickly. Even when she got upset, Juleka still found it to be a cute and attractive quality since she cared so much about her friends. She was never afraid to give Chloé a piece of her mind and Juleka wished she could be as confident as her.
Marinette wasn't always that confident though. She had her moments when she would get tongue-tied and mix her words up completely. Juleka always found that to be her most adorable moments, even if it was usually Adrian that was the cause of it. Juleka liked to fantasize a lot that Marinette was that way around her and she hugged her pillow to her chest with a playful smile just thinking about it.
And then there was her smile. Her thin, soft lips were always so beautiful and expressive, perfectly matching all of her moods and emotions. Whether she was laughing with her friends or having a nervous or klutzy moment, she always seemed to have a reason to be smiling. Rose smiled all the time too, but it didn't affect her the way Marinette's smile did. Everything seemed to slow down and fade away and nothing else seemed to matter whenever she was smiling. Every time Juleka closed her eyes, she could see her sweet smile and without thinking, she brushed her fingers over her own lips, imagining how soft Marinette's lips must feel. Oddly enough, Juleka didn't even realize how much she had been smiling this whole time just thinking about her.
Juleka had always been so timid and she didn't know if she would be able to say the things that she wanted to say when she wanted to say them. Marinette would be worth the effort though if she was able to. Maybe she could try and talk to her today… maybe. Even if she didn't say the things she wanted and needed to say, it would be a start. Although, it was Friday today and if she couldn't work up the courage, she would have to wait until Monday to try again. She usually spent her weekends with Rose so maybe she should just talk to her instead about her problem since she was her best friend, after all. Rose had been akumatized multiple times like her and maybe she would understand better.
"Oooh,"she moaned aloud putting her hands to her head in frustration over her inability to decide.
Juleka jumped when her alarm clock suddenly went off. She turned it off and fell back into bed, looking hazily up at the ceiling. She always seemed to be in a better mood after she daydreamed of Marinette. She also realized that she had forgotten completely about her nightmare for a while too. That had to be sign.
It was then that she decided that Marinette really could be the one to help her. She had nothing against Rose but there was something about Marinette that she couldn't get out of her mind. She didn't know why but it felt like Marinette could be the one to save her from her fears.
"Marinette…"she whispered to herself again. She felt another smile spread across her face and she got up and started getting ready for school.
