Chapter 7 - Return to Normal (more or less) (from Marinette's POV)

I rested a little longer at Master Fu's, then decided it was time to go home. My face felt sore, so I looked in a mirror and saw that there were at least a dozen small scratches covering me. Master Fu told me he had already applied salve to my face to prevent infection, but I thought I should put some more on before leaving.

Then I opened the miraculous case, and was thrilled to see my Tikki again. I gave her a hug, then put the earrings back on and transformed into Ladybug so that I could make it back faster. After thanking Master Fu, I was on my way.

I dropped into an alley near the bakery to detransform, then walked in through the front door. Mom was understandably upset at my long absence during the akuma attack, and the fact that I had scratches on my face didn't help matters. I told her that I had been safely with Juleka on their boat, and that I had tripped and fallen into a bush on the way back- so, at least part of my story was true.

The next morning, I slowly woke up and glanced over at the clock, realized I'd overslept, and started to panic! I quickly jumped out of bed, grabbed my clothes and got dressed. The scratches on my face looked hideous, so I haphazardly slapped on some makeup to try and hide them. I ran downstairs, grabbed a croissant, and hurried off to school.

As I approached the school, I slowed my pace down to a brisk walk. When I reached the steps of the school, I was shocked to find Chloé standing there by herself. She must have been late too, but why is she out here?

"Good morning, Chloé," I said, being as civil as I could, and in spite of the progress she's made, I was still expecting something insulting in return. I really didn't feel like dealing with any sass from her today.

But instead, she did the last thing I would have expected… she walked toward me with tears in her eyes, and threw her arms around me. Even though my instincts told me that this must be some sort of trap, it seemed like she was genuinely crying. I didn't know what to do with my hands, so I held them up in front of me.

"What's wrong Chloé?" I asked in as calm a voice as I could. She must be going through something really catastrophic… especially if she's crying on MY shoulder!

She was almost incoherent at first, choking on her words as she tried to speak. "Dupain-Cheng… sorry, I mean, Marinette… I- I've been ridiculous, utterly ridiculous around you. I've treated you so badly for so long, and I'm so very sorry… I hope you can forgive me."

I was completely flummoxed. Where is this coming from? She sounded sincere, and I managed to put my hands onto her shoulders.

"Of course I forgive you, Chloé. Now, can you please tell me what's going on?"

"See there? No matter what happens, you've always got a positive attitude, Dupain-Cheng… why didn't I want to see that before, or care about it?" Her crying picked up again, so I instinctively gave her a hug to comfort her, then managed to get her to sit down beside me on the steps. She finally composed herself enough to start telling her story.

"Yesterday, Chat Noir came to me, and asked me to become Ladybug."

Wow! So he picked HER?! I guess it made sense under the circumstances, especially since Chloé has been acting more responsible lately. But apparently, she's still not responsible enough to keep her identity a secret. "Oh really? That's amazing, Chloé!"

"Yes, and it was the most thrilling and humbling experience of my life," she continued. "For a few minutes, I got to be the hero everyone looks up to. I got to be the hero I've grown to love and admire. I... I got to be..."

She choked up, then leaned over to whisper in my ear.

"...I got to be... YOU."

Even though I was no longer under the control of Eclipser, I froze for a second and couldn't move. I leaned away from her, and my heart rate felt like it doubled.

"What did you say?" I gasped. How could she know? I was sure Tikki wouldn't have said anything! I noticed that Chloé was now staring at the ground, and seemed to be afraid to look me in the eye as she spoke.

"Yesterday I got to meet Tikki, Ladybug's kwami. I kept looking at her and thinking how familiar she looked. Then it hit me. Do you remember last year, when Prince Ali came to Paris for his toy drive?" I nodded, confused. "If you recall, I found a small red doll lying next to the curb when my limo came to pick me up from school. I snatched it up to give to him as a gift, and when we started driving away you called out to me, telling me that it was yours… but I chose to ignore you. It didn't occur to me until after we defeated the akuma that Tikki looked exactly like the doll I found on the pavement. It didn't move when I picked it up, but it felt warm and soft… the same way Tikki the kwami felt when I gave her a goodbye kiss. She was obviously pretending to be an inanimate object at the time, to avoid attention. Frankly I'm surprised I didn't make the connection after seeing Pollen, since they all seem to be the same size."

Oh my God, I remembered that, and I couldn't come up with any excuses. Even if I tried, whatever I said would sound lame. All I could do was accept it, and own up to the truth. I closed my eyes and composed myself for a few seconds. Then I turned toward her, looked into her eyes and gently pleaded with her. "Chloé, please don't tell anyone my secret."

She wiped the tears from her eyes, and looked back at me with a puzzled expression. "Are you serious? You came to my balcony to help me when I was lost and had done nothing to deserve your help. You spent two whole weeks with me, helping me work through my worthless problems. And you've been putting up with my abuse for years. My God, you're my hero! No one will ever find out, not even Sabrina."

She checked out my face with some concern. "I heard about your fight with Eclipser, and I see you still have some battle scars. Let me help patch you up. Trust me, I know a thing or two about beauty." She took her compact from her purse and gently dabbed the powder onto my face. It felt so refreshing for her to want to help me out.

After finishing my makeover, her expression changed and she dropped her head into her hands.

"I've done a lot of thinking since yesterday, and I realized that making Ladybug's everyday life miserable is just a small part of the damage I've caused. Marinette, you've helped me understand that I've got an attitude problem, and I lash out at others when I don't feel like I'm in control. I make others feel small so that I can feel more important. But that's something I can and will change about myself. I've also been so jealous of how everyone loves you, and I think that made me target you even more. But… it's so amazing to me that in spite of how I treated you like dirt, and how badly I screwed up my opportunity the first time around, you were still able to find it in your heart to give Pollen back to me." She started choking up again. "Seriously, you've given me something to be proud of in my life, and I don't think I can ever thank you enough for that."

Her unexpected expression of gratitude actually made me tear up a little bit. I managed to put my arm around her shoulder.

"It's okay, Chloé," I said. "I have to admit, I've been pretty mad at you, and there were even a few times I came close to hating you. Adrien's the one who helped remind me that there's good in everyone, including you. Like I told you as Ladybug, I was very impressed with how you apologized to Miss Bustier that one time, and I'm really glad I decided to give you back the bee miraculous on your balcony. You've shown that you're capable of caring about others, and even though I haven't heard all the details yet, I know you must have shown a lot of courage yesterday. Anyway, I'm really glad we're not enemies anymore."

"Me too," she said, and leaned her head on my shoulder. "I know it doesn't sound like much, but here's something I'll promise you for starters. I know how much you like Adrikins, and I know he likes you too, so I'll try to stop dragging him away from you so much." She chuckled a little as she saw me blush. "You know," she continued, "I was just thinking about how ironic it was that he called you our 'everyday Ladybug' at the picnic on Heroes' Day! It's kind of funny if you think about it." I blushed a little, but I had to laugh with her about that. I was definitely enjoying this nicer side of Chloé.

Suddenly, Tikki poked her head out of my handbag. "Hi again, Chloé! I wasn't going to say anything, but you're a smart girl and it doesn't surprise me that you figured it out. And sorry Marinette for not telling you earlier that she's the one who got your miraculous, there wasn't time this morning. But Marinette, you should be proud of her, she really lived up to her responsibilities!"

Chloé's face lit up as she looked down and saw Tikki smiling at her. Chloé reached down and stroked her on the head. "Hey girl, I'm so happy to see you again!" It felt super weird watching another person besides Master Fu interact with my kwami, but in a way it felt good to have someone else to share my secret with-even if it IS the girl who's been my worst rival.

After that, we stood up and went inside. As we walked down the hall Chloé stayed in step with me, and kept looking over at me and smiling. It was actually pretty creepy, and her sudden shift in attitude toward me is definitely going to arouse suspicions. I stopped her when we reached the classroom door.

"Chloé, first of all, thank you so much for taking care of the akuma yesterday. Paris and I owe you a lot for that. But the rest of the world still thinks you hate me, so we'll have to be careful for a while. And let's face it, the fact that you know who I am isn't going to magically take away any differences we still have. But it's cool that we now share a common bond, and I hope we can develop a friendship over time."

She hugged me again. "I'm sure we can," she said. "As for the rest of the world, they'll just have to learn to deal with the new me. But for now, I'll go in first and tell Miss Bustier I saw you coming through the front door. Just wait a few seconds before you go in."

After Chloé went in, I looked down at Tikki. "Tikki, how could this happen? I'm scared! Do you think things are going to be okay?"

"I understand your concern Marinette, but I actually think everything will be fine. I felt some panic when I first saw who was getting the earrings, but she really did prove herself out there. She idolizes Ladybug, and by extension she now idolizes you. Along with the counseling you gave her, I think this experience will help shape her into a much better person. Just go with it."

I nodded at Tikki and closed my purse. I waited for about twenty seconds, took a deep breath, then opened the classroom door and walked in. Alya, Adrien and Nino gave me a wave. Chloé glanced over at me with an indifferent stare, then turned her head back toward the front. But as I sat down, she casually turned her head back toward the door and looked at me out of the corner of her eye with a little smile. That must have freaked out Alya because she asked me what that was all about. I just shrugged my shoulders and brushed it off.

I watched Chloé during class, and I could see her laughing and talking to Sabrina in a way that I hadn't noticed before. They actually seemed more like real friends now. And maybe even more surprising, not ONCE did Chloé brag about being Ladybug! I'm thrilled to know that she's learning to change. And I do believe her when she says she'll keep my secret. I can't see us ever hanging out together... but who knows... I suppose stranger things have happened.

TO CONTINUE THIS STORY, PLEASE SWITCH TO "CHLOE'S REDEMPTION 3: RISE TO THE CHALLENGE 2 - GROWTH AND CHANGE", ALSO ON THIS WEBSITE.