*Breathes deeply*

ALL ABOARD THE HYPE TRAAAAAAAAIN! WE'RE GOING TO ULTRA SPAAAAAAAAAAAAAACE! TOMORROW, PEOPLE!

But if you're reading this, chances are that you are here to read Bee-utiful and not my excitement for Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon which comes out tomorrow holy murkrow~

Ahem. Anyway, here is the next chapter! Enjoy~

Holly was glad that she and Paige had made up after school that day. She felt ultra bad for her outburst, but that didn't justify Paige's actions a few weeks after.

"You owe me one," she argued, pushing Holly's phone back under her nose. "It'll be fun! C'mon, please?"

"No."

Paige sighed, annoyed. "Come on. It's just a party, and we've both been invited even though I'm not in your class. And it's Alya, too. You like her, right?"

"She's cool, yeah, but I don't want to go to a party," Holly said firmly, maintaining her position. "I owe you something that's not going to a party."

"You said that Nathaniel will be there too, right? So that's another person you like that will be there. We should both go. Besides, how awkward would it be for me to go and be the only one not in their class?"

Holly took a deep breath, making a spur-of-the-moment decision. "You know what? Fine. I'll go, but I won't like it." She grabbed her phone and shot a quick text to Alya. "And now, I don't owe you anything, and I don't have to go to any more parties after this. Deal?"

"Deal," Paige grinned. "This is gonna be so much fun!"

Holly rolled her eyes, going back to the fanfiction she was reading on her laptop. Finally, she could get lost in the world of fanfiction, where the only parties were the ones where the main characters either got together or broke up. She refused to think about this party again.

So it stood to reason that she pretended to completely forget about the party.

"I'm not letting you get away with this," Paige said, literally dragging her out the door, grabbing both of their coats with her free hand. Their parents, like usual, were still at work, even though it was already almost seven o'clock. "We are going to Alya's party and we are going to have fun, whether you like it or not."

"I'm betting on not," Holly muttered, pulling her hand out of Paige's grip and slipping on her coat. It was nearing the end of November, but it wasn't as chilly as she expected. At least Alya lived close by, so it only took them a couple of minutes of walking to arrive.

Alya's face brightened when she opened the door to let them into her apartment. "You made it!" She stepped to the side, letting them in. "So this isn't really as much of as party as it is a giant hang-out session, but it'll still be lots of fun! You can just leave your coats anywhere for now."

Paige thanked her for the both of them and struck up a friendly conversation about the school blog, which Paige had expressed an interest in joining. Holly, meanwhile, scanned the room, only seeing Marinette and Nino so far. She was kind of surprised that Marinette was one of the first there, as she had a tendency to be late to class. She expected Nino to be there, however, because Nathaniel had told her that he and Alya had been dating for a few months.

"Hey dude," he greeted her with a two-fingered wave and a grin. "Ready to have a fun night?"

She didn't really have any other choice, so she nodded. "Yeah, sure."

Marinette smiled warmly at her. "It'll be nice for you and your sister to get to hang out with the class. Or at least, most of it."

"What do you mean?" Holly tilted her head, somewhat confused. "I thought the whole class was invited."

"Well, even if the whole class was invited, not everybody would come," Marinette started, looking like she was trying to choose her words carefully.

Nino continued on for her. "Alya didn't want to invite Chloe the queen bitch, and there's no way Sabrina would come without her anyway."

"Nino, watch your language," Marinette chided with a light punch on his shoulder.

He laughed at her weak hit. "C'mon, Mari, like you've never thought that Chloe's a bitch. I'm pretty sure even Rose and Mylène have thought that at least once, and I've never heard either of them swear."

She paused to consider this, finally coming up with a response. "Yeah, but that doesn't mean you have to say it."

After that, the first part of the night passed with Holly mostly blending into the background, occasionally talking with Nathaniel about random things- mostly centering around the recent akuma attack of Concealer and the new superhero. Feigning innocence was actually a lot easier than she had expected it to be.

It was only once everyone had been there a short while that Alya got their attention. "How about we kick this night off with a nice game of Truth or Dare?" she suggested with a smirk. "Although, this way will be a little different."

Holly hated Truth or Dare to begin with, so a new addition could only make it worse. "What do you mean?" Leave it to Paige to be interested in something like this. Holly sent a small glare her way for dragging her here.

"I'm glad you asked." Alya produced an empty soda bottle from behind her back. "Truth or Dare is being combined with a game I found online called 'Slap or Kiss.' That will be explained when we get to it, but know for now: If you don't like the truth or dare you get, you can choose to play Slap or Kiss instead. Are you ready?"

"Yes" came the majority of the answers. "No" came Holly's muttered answer, which only Nathaniel could hear, as he was next to her. He laughed under his breath, shooting her an amused glance.

"Alright, then. Let's begin." Everyone sat in a circle, arranged mainly boy-girl with a few exceptions. "Nino, truth or dare?"

He didn't even think for a moment before answering. "Dare, definitely."

Alya grinned, eyes full of mirth. "I thought you would say that. I dare you to go to the kitchen and eat a big spoonful of the leftovers in the red plastic container."

"That shouldn't be too hard," he shrugged, getting up and heading into the kitchen. After rummaging in the fridge for a minute, he produced the red container Alya had talked about. He opened the lid, nearly dropping the container once he'd done so. "Dude, what is this?"

"Leftovers. I already told you that." Holly could tell that Alya was hiding a laugh.

Nino shook his head vigorously, holding his nose. "Leftovers of what, raw meat and dead rat?"

Alya shrugged nonchalantly. "Mom was going through one of her experimental phases last night. That's all I'm going to say on that."

A few giggles ran through the circle. Nathaniel leaned over to Holly and explained in a whisper, "Alya's mom is the head chef for Mayor Bourgeois' hotel." She nodded, still watching Nino reacting to whatever was in the container.

Three minutes passed with Nino trying to get the leftovers close to his mouth. He got really close to finally getting the spoon into his mouth before he shoved the container onto the counter. "I can't do this," he announced. "I choose slap or kiss."

Alya burst out laughing. "Hear that, everyone? So early into the night, and I broke the unbreakable!" Nino returned to the circle with red cheeks, Adrien reaching over Juleka to pat his shoulder.

"Whatever, man. How does this work?" he asked in a mutter, his tone betraying how embarrassed he was.

"Slap or kiss is like spin the bottle, except that everyone else gets to vote on whether the person gets slapped or kissed. The person that spins the bottle has to go into the bathroom and wait for us to vote, and the person the bottle landed on doesn't get to vote. Also, my own rule is that instead of only doing male-female kisses, you have to kiss whoever the bottle lands on, boy or girl. That makes it more. . . interesting. Also, it doesn't have to be a kiss on the lips; it can be a cheek or forehead kiss, too." She glanced around the circle, not noticing Holly's slightly uneasy expression. "Everyone got that?" Nods all around. "Great. Go ahead and spin, Nino."

With a deep breath, Nino took the bottle from her and set it in the center, spinning it around. Once it stopped, the neck of the bottle landed on Paige, who looked absolutely ecstatic. "Nino, go to the bathroom until we call you out," Alya ordered, giving him a light shove on his way. Once they heard the door close, Alya grinned at them. "Everyone but Paige, raise your hand if you think Nino should be slapped."

Alya, Holly, Nathaniel, Ivan, Kim, Alix, and Max all raised their hands. "That's the majority of us," Max informed them once he counted hands. "To be precise-"

"Alright, Nino, come back in!" Alya called, cutting Max off but also nodding her head in acknowledgement. Nino walked in, a slightly nervous tint in his eyes. "Please go to the center of the circle with Paige, where she will give you your slap or kiss."

Holly, knowing her sister, knew she would have way too much fun with this. And she was right: Paige leaned into Nino like she was going to kiss him, but at the last second, she delivered a hard slap to the arm.

"Ow! Man, you have a hard slap," he complained, rubbing the spot she had hit. Everyone, barring Adrien and Holly, burst out laughing. Adrien smiled sympathetically as Nino rejoined the circle. "Okay. . . Adrien, truth or dare?"

"Truth," the model answered immediately. Nino nodded, thinking for a minute.

"Would you rather kiss Chloé or Hawkmoth?" A few people laughed at this.

Adrien took his time thinking it through, clearly not able to decide. "Well, nobody knows who Hawkmoth even is, so I would choose Chloé, even though she would probably never leave me alone after it."

Alix snorted. "Or she'll die of happiness. Or both." Kim barked out a laugh, and the two high-fived each other.

Alya shook her head, smiling. "Your turn, Adrien."

X-X-X

A few rounds passed without Holly being called on, which she greatly appreciated, especially given the dares and truths those that were called on were given. Kim actually managed to eat a bite of the Mystery Leftovers, and would have went for another had the girls and Max not stopped him. The only slap or kiss round that was played ended with Max being kissed by Rose, one that Holly had actually voted for.

It was Paige's turn now. Her usually angelic smile turned devilish. "Holly," she singsonged, "truth or dare?"

"Truth." There was no way in hell that Holly would trust her sister with coming up with a dare for her. Then again, maybe she shouldn't even trust her with a truth.

"Screw marry kill. . .Adrien, Nathaniel, and Nino."

A classic Paige move, turning a truth into a screw, marry, kill, purely because she knew Holly hated the game. Ugh, she was so going to get Paige back for this! She could feel everyone's gaze on her, and she knew she was going to regret this. "I choose slap or kiss."

Paige's eyebrows shot up in surprise. She probably didn't expect her to go down that path at all. Alya smiled encouragingly as she handed Holly the bottle. "Go for it," she whispered.

Holly closed her eyes, setting the bottle in the center and giving it a spin. She didn't want to see who it landed on, she wouldn't look-

She didn't need to look. "Alright, Marinette!" came Alya's exclamation. "Holly, go ahead into the bathroom until we're done voting."

"Okay." She scurried into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her and closing her eyes tight, leaning against the door. Cierr, who had been in her purse, phased out.

"This is so fun!" the kwami exclaimed quietly, excitement clear in her big eyes. "We should go out more often."

Holly sighed, rubbing her temples. "Please, no. I think this is my limit for the century."

"Holly, we're ready!" Cierr went back into the purse with a reassuring smile as Holly opened the door and walked to her slap or kiss fate.

She sat in the center immediately, where Marinette was already waiting, cheeks tinted pink. "Go ahead, Marinette," Alya prompted. Holly expected a light slap like she had given Nino earlier. It was then that she learned to expect the unexpected.

Marinette leaned in, giving her a quick kiss on the lips. It lasted only a second, but Holly still picked up on the brown sugar taste of her lips, reminding her so much of Amelia's. Her mind ran off at that thought, leaving her sitting there. Damn, she missed Amelia, her quirks, and her kisses. It felt like so long since they had their last semi-date. Even though they hadn't come out to anyone except each other, they still had lots of good memories together.

Which got her thinking. They were about two and a half hours away from each other now. They were both trying their best to keep their relationship through texts and the occasional call, but Holly felt them drifting apart. She didn't want to face that reality yet, just like she didn't want to come out to anyone else yet, but still the thought saddened her.

"Holly? You okay?" Nathaniel asked her, a hand on her shoulder. The weight snapped her out of her thoughts, and she realized she had been sitting there for a minute. In a snap decision, she shrugged off his hand and stood up, grabbing her coat from where she had left it.

"Holly, where are you going?" Paige got to her feet, attempting to follow her. She could feel people's eyes on her, some worried, some confused. They all just seemed to drive her out the door even more.

She shook her head, heading out the door and closing it before Paige could follow her. As soon as she was out of the building, she turned into a dark alley and texted a quick apology to Alya and a text to tell Paige she was going home and not to bother her before she called on Cierr to transform her. It was close enough to midnight where she could go on patrol to get her mind off of anything.

Before she really started, though, she stopped back at her home and closed and locked her bedroom door in case Paige got home before her. Paige would probably assume she was sleeping and leave her alone, at least until she emerged from her room.

She scoured Paris, taking her usual route and covering parts of Ladybug and Chat Noir's as well, as she hadn't seen any signs of them at their usual meeting spot. Finally, after nearly an hour and a half of going over their routes, she decided to just sit down at their meeting spot and stare at the Paris skyline. It was really a pretty sight, she decided. Everything seemed so peaceful.

"You're out late." Chat Noir's voice startled her, and she jumped, ready to fight, though relaxing when she saw it was him. "Aw, Honey, don't bee a scaredy cat." He laughed at his double pun, leaning on his staff.

"Not in the mood, Chat," Honey Bee mumbled, pressing the heels of her hands to her face. "Nowhere near in the mood, actually."

He sat down next to her. "What's on your mind, if I might ask?"

"Nothing that I want to be there." She stared out to the horizon once more, feeling the redness lingering where her hands had been a moment before. "I kind of had a rough night, so I came to patrol early. I finished your route and Ladybug's route, too."

Chat frowned. "Thanks, but you didn't have to do that. You should go home, get some rest for the weekend."

"I'm not going to be doing much of anything this weekend if tonight was any indicator," she sighed out. "I may just stay out here a little longer. I need the distraction."

"I'll stay with you, then. You shouldn't be out here alone at night, even if you have a miraculous." He put his hands behind his head and stretched out his legs, getting comfortable. Meanwhile, Honey Bee curled into a tighter ball. A few moments of silence passed. "You can always talk to me or Ladybug, you know."

She nodded absently. "Yeah, I know. I just don't want to talk to anyone right now, I guess." Right now, she didn't even want to talk to Amelia, as much as she had been yearning to earlier.

So they just sat there, each in their own thoughts. Honey Bee's mind was still reeling from the night. She had known she was lesbian for a couple of years, now, since she had first fallen for Amelia. Her parents and Paige didn't know yet; she and Amelia had kept their relationship on the down-low. As much as she wanted to keep this to herself for a little while longer, she knew she had to tell her family sometime or other, though she was unsure as to when she would come out. She was fairly certain they wouldn't judge her or anything like that. There was one thing she was sure of, though: she was exhausted.

"What are you two doing here?" Ladybug's voice pulled her out of her thoughts.

"Honey Bee covered patrol for us," Chat answered for her, standing up and giving Ladybug's hand a quick peck before she had a chance to pull away from him. "We were just looking out at the skyline."

Ladybug's eyes met Honey Bee's. "Thank you, then. You must have been out here a long time."

She averted her eyes. Ladybug's eyes looked so much like Marinette's, which made her think back to that quick kiss earlier. She felt like she was blushing, and though she knew that they couldn't read her mind, she stood up, pacing to the edge of the roof and putting down her enlarged disc. "I have to go," she mumbled before hopping on and taking off towards home. She could sort of hear the whispers of her friends behind her, but she kept going. Maybe all she needed was a nice, long rest. At this point, she wouldn't mind sleeping the whole weekend.

Note: I found the game Slap or Kiss online, courtesy of tumblr user andasr

This is also my first time writing a lesbian character, and I would appreciate any sort of feedback on how I wrote her.

Thanks to JimPlazasta for favoriting, following, and reviewing (twice; sorry for the delay in the first one), chasesgirl2 for favoriting, AwesomeName (Guest) for reviewing, the traveler90 for following, Fernanda.g1104 for favoriting, and everyone else for reading!