Thank you for the wonderful support, everyone! I'm doing my best on this end; all your lovely reviews give me motivation to keep writing, I couldn't do it without you.
Fair warning, I suck at writing bitchy characters like Chloe.
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The Story So Far:
Chat Noir and Ladybug are spending a peaceful patrol together when a nature-loving akuma strikes. After defeating it, Chloe the Fangirl ruins the mood. After Ladybug departs, Chat Noir finds a safe place to transform back into Adrien, only to realize that Chloe recorded his transformation on her phone, and has now discovered his secret identity.
Chapter 2
Adrien's mind was blank. He'd never anticipated this kind of occurrence. He and Chloe stared wide-eyed at each other, Plagg still whining breathlessly in his cupped hands. Adrien's fight-or-flight response was kicking in, and the cat in him was tense, ready to flee the second Chloe even blinked.
Eventually, his childhood friend – acquaintance – regained control of herself, moving forward a step. "Adrien…?"
His legs moved on their own, and Adrien high-tailed it out of there, dropping Plagg into his jacket pocket. He could hear Chloe shouting behind him, possibly running after him, but he didn't turn back. Luckily the Eiffel Tower was in Adrien's backyard, and it only took a minute before the boy skidded to a halt outside the huge gates that opened to admit him.
"Chloe saw… Chloe saw..." the model panted as he slammed his bedroom door behind him, sliding to the floor in an exhausted heap. His head was swimming, already regretting his split-second decision to run. Chloe had a video of him transforming, why the heck had he left her there? That video could be a viral hit by now, and it wasn't like Ladybug was a hermit living in the middle of nowhere with no Internet access…
Adrien's head dropped into his hands, fighting back frustrated tears that stung his eyes. This sucked. The cat was out of the bag. He had been waiting, anticipating the day that he and Ladybug decided to finally reveal themselves to one another, each entrusting the other with their most treasured secret. And now Chloe of all people…
This was the worst-case scenario. He and Ladybug jumped through hoops to keep their identities secret, from the world and each other, and now all of those efforts were going to waste. His heart crawled up in his throat, an intense pressure rising behind his eyes. He would not cry. He had to be tough and figure this out.
Plagg wormed his way out of Adrien's pocket and immediately went to where the boy kept his stash of Camembert. Munching on it softly, the kwami said, "You okay?"
Adrien glanced upward. "I should tell Ladybug. Do you have enough energy for a phone call?"
Plagg swallowed the rest of the cheese, nodding silently. "Claws out." Once the transformation was over, Chat activated the audio call setting on his baton. After a couple buzzes, Ladybug picked up.
"Make it quick, Chat, my kwami doesn't have much energy."
"What's the code for an emergency?"
"What?"
"You know how in the movies where people are running around screaming in circle shouting 'Code Blue!' or 'Code Red!'? So what's the color for emergencies?" Chat's voice was thin, anxious, and unless he was mistaken, betrayed an undertone of fear. The superhero couldn't recall a time when his voice ever sounded like that, usually opting for a suave and flirtatious dynamic. He closed his eyes and concentrated.
Ladybug's voice was curious. "Code Red, isn't it?"
"Then we have a Code Red. Serious Code Red. Like, my life is ruined Code Red."
"Chat, calm down, breathe, tell me what happened."
He took a few shaky breaths. "I've been found out."
"What?"
"I got caught transforming back to my real self," Chat's voice dropped to a whisper, and he spoke faster with every moment. "I'm not sure what's going to happen… but if it goes public… please don't freak out."
Ladybug was silent on the other end of the line. The only indication she was still there was a sharp intake of breath, and he could practically sense her mind whirling as she processed the sudden development. "Ladybug?"
"Oh… oh…." Ladybug seemed to realize she hadn't spoken and struggled to find words. "What are you going to do about it? You know that if Hawkmoth discovers your identity, he'll send akumas directly to you without rest."
"I know, I know, I'm working on it," he said anxiously. "I just wanted to tell you to be prepared in case… things fall through."
"Thanks…"
"But…" Chat hesitated. "If you want me to tell you right now… who I am, I mean… all you have to do is ask." He knew it was a long shot. Ladybug had made it clear she did not care at all to know the person behind his mask, and he respected that. But Chat Noir was human (cat eyes and tail notwithstanding) and had human emotions and desires. He wanted to be the first person to tell her; she shouldn't have to find out his identity by some shaky video uploaded on YouTube.
Chat had imagined what it would be like, when they finally revealed their identities to one another. He would look at her for a moment, taking in her normal, beautiful self, and wrapping her in a hug. She would be a little surprised to know that world-renowned fashion designer Gabriel Agreste's model son was gallivanting across Paris in a skin-tight black suit, but she would accept it, and their relationship would grow to new heights. His vision was shattered before his eyes.
Ladybug hesitated for a moment. "My transformation's wearing out, Chat, I have to go… Call me when you've worked things out." She skillfully avoided answering directly, but Chat still took it as a rejection of his identity. He couldn't help but feel a little dejected.
"Y-yeah…" Chat fumbled over his words, another first for him, before hanging up on her. He felt bad for leaving Ladybug hanging like that, but at that moment he really had no idea what to do. He curled up tighter into a ball and rested his forehead against his knees, releasing his transformation. He could hear Plagg groan wearily, but the teenage superhero was too stressed to acknowledge.
"Has this ever happened before? Being found out?" Adrien asked the kwami, his voice muffled.
"Once or twice," Plagg said carefully after moments of deliberation. He floated down to rest on Adrien's shoulder.
"What happened?"
Adrien could practically sense Plagg's indecision about whether or not to tell him. Eventually, he said, "Depends."
"Depends on what?"
"On the person. Chat Noir and the unlucky sap who found out."
"Well that's helpful."
A wild knocking echoing through the room interrupted Plagg's retort. "Adrien!"
Chloe's voice. A shiver rocketed down Adrien's spine, and he shot up into a standing position, staring the door down as if it had personally outed his secret. He barely had time to regret not locking it when the blonde haired girl threw it open, hands on her hips and piercing blue eyes drilling holes straight through his skull.
They stood there for a split second, staring each other down. Adrien could practically see her eyes roaming his body, mentally dressing him up as his alter ego as if she needed one last piece of the puzzle to finally accept the truth. Finally, Chloe's demeanor changed as quickly as blinking. In a second she was smiling warmly, her arms open and fingers wiggling in an open invitation to embrace him, her eyes sparkling mischievously. "Adrien, hi!"
Plagg poked his head from over his human's shoulder from where he'd taken cover, looking over at the mayor's daughter skeptically. "Listen, you. I don't know what you think you saw, but…"
"Oooo, it's so cute! Look at his little ears!" Chloe zeroed in on Plagg, who let out a noise like he was coughing up a fur ball.
"CUTE?"
"Adrien, why'd you run?" Chloe returned her attention to the unmasked superhero, wrapping an affectionate hand around his wrist to keep him from bolting. She spoke in a voice that he knew well: the voice she used when she wanted something and would do anything to get it. "I know you're pretty freaked out that I discovered your secret but I won't tell."
Adrien's eyes narrowed, every fiber of his being screaming at him to call her bluff. Yet some part of him wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt… the stupid part probably. "Really?"
"Really really," Chloe cooed, her hands moving from his wrist and up his arm. Adrien resisted the urge to pull away. Don't piss off the girl who can ruin your life with the press of a button. "Would I ever lie to you? I'm so offended that you think so little of me!"
"What about what's on your phone?"
Chloe's smile didn't falter. Without releasing her grip on him, she pulled out her phone and with a few taps of her thumb, displayed the video.
"Chloe, wait up!"
"You're too slow, Sabrina!"
It began moments after Ladybug purified the akuma. The shaky video captured Chat Noir ducking out of sight behind the display sign, barely managing to capture the last few seconds of green light as the last of Chat's black suit fell away into jeans and T-shirt.
"Adrien?"
The current Adrien winced as he saw the shocked expression on his video-self's face, undeniably his, looking undeniably guilty. Incriminating video evidence. Even the top of Plagg's head was visible in his hands. Adrien had hoped that whatever footage Chloe had gotten would have been blurred; after all, the girl was no videographer like Nino.
"You mean this?" Chloe shook the device in her hand. "It's insurance."
Adrien made a grab for it, but Chloe was too quick and pulled it out of his reach. "Delete it, Chloe."
"Oh come on, you can trust me!"
He certainly didn't trust that grin on her face. "You don't know what you're dealing with. If that video gets out –" Adrien paused, not sure how to describe the consequences of outing his secret. How could he possibly explain Hawkmoth and the entire purpose of his being Chat Noir to the girl who had been the cause of most of their akumatized classmates?
"You can trust me because now it's my secret too! Which makes it our secret." Chloe brought her lips close to his ear and whispered low, effectively freaking him out even more.
He pulled his arm away from her, stepping back. Luckily she didn't follow. "What do you want, Chloe?"
A grin almost on par with the most evil villains he'd faced crossed Chloe's lips. She pocketed her cell phone and patted it condescendingly. "You'll figure it out at school on Monday."
.o0o.
It was times like this Adrien wished that he had a friend who already knew his secret. This was a situation to confide in others with, for advice. As much as Nino meant to him, he wasn't sure if his friend could provide for him in this situation.
It was Monday morning. Chloe had left with a kiss against his cheek and an unconvincing promise to not let out his secret, blowing a kiss for good measure. She was his childhood friend, sort of, but how could he trust her? She was a girl; girls – especially Chloe – can't keep secrets! (Except for Ladybug, but that doesn't count.) He could only hope that the blonde girl's dimness would work in his favor and she would have forgotten everything, but he wasn't holding his breath.
With Plagg still tucked safely into his shirt pocket, Adrien half-expected to be bombarded with both the paparazzi and akumatized baddies the moment he opened the front door. No one waited for him, and for the first time in his life, he was glad to have a normal morning.
As usual, Natalie appeared at breakfast to present him with this schedule. As usual, he gathered up his bag and stepped out the door into the crisp morning air where his driver waited for him. And as usual, Nino greeted him outside the school with a cheerful wave.
"Hey, bro, what's up!" the dark-skinned boy clapped a hand on Adrien's shoulder, a cheerful smile on his face.
To the boys' right, Marinette and Alya walked by. Adrien caught the dark-haired girl glancing at him out of the corner of her eye, and she squeaked when he waved at her. Alya giggled and manually raised Marinette's hand to wave back. Marinette pulled her hand free and scurried up the remaining steps, Alya laughing good-naturedly as she followed.
"Hey, dude, what do you think about Alya?" Nino asked suddenly, and Adrien followed his friend's gaze after the girls.
"Alya?" he said. "She's cool." He wasn't about to admit to his friend that he followed her Ladyblog religiously.
"Cool?"
Adrien suddenly got a chill up his spine, and his instincts as Chat Noir kicked in. Grabbing Nino, he suddenly dove to the left, just barely dodging a large round disc that exploded against the concrete where he and Nino were standing a second before.
Adrien hovered protectively over his friend, who groaned and rubbed the back of his head. Across the street, a buff man in a solid red sleeveless suit was striding towards him, one hand held out to the side. The disc, which had lodged itself deep within the concrete, rattled from the rubble and returned to the man's hand. The newest villain laughed loudly, taking a stance that Adrien knew meant that he was about to throw his weapon again.
Just before he could, a flash of red, and the man's wrist was suddenly restrained by Ladybug's yo-yo string. His eyes followed the string to the roof of the school, where the scarlet superhero stood confidently, blue eyes blazing.
"Why don't you pick on someone your own size," she taunted, and proceeded to draw the akumatized man away from the school, skillfully dodging flying discs and ushering passersby to a safe distance.
After double-checking that Nino was safe, Adrien grit his teeth and took the school steps two at a time. It didn't take him long to find an empty classroom to transform, smiling as timid Adrien melted away into confident Chat Noir. He was about to leap out the window, when…
"Go get 'im, Adrien!"
Chat flinched, glancing over his shoulder to see Chloe in the doorway, a mischievous smile on her face and her fist pumping the air encouragingly.
"Uh huh," he grunted, whipping his tail in a display of annoyance before jumping fearlessly from the second story.
Chloe had kept his secret this long, a record for her, and yet his still didn't have any idea what she had in store for him. The day had barely begun, and already an even heavier sense of dread was overcoming him. It dominated his thoughts throughout the battle with the Strongman, an overweight frequent at a local gym who had been constantly criticized by other gym-goers, the main perpetrator being an upperclassman at the school, hence his attack there so early that morning.
He managed to subdue Strongman long enough for Ladybug to force the akuma from the shattered disc and purify it. The Healing Cure rushed through the city and pieced cars, concrete, and exploded windows back together again, leaving the victim in the grass with a confused look on his face.
Ladybug looked at Chat, obviously aware of how off his game he seemed today. He avoided her eyes, instead noting that he had already lost two paw prints on his Miraculous; Ladybug was already down to three.
"Have you figured anything out yet?"
Chat shook his head. "She hasn't given me her terms yet."
"SHE?"
Ladybug's tone was incredulous. If he wasn't mistaken, it sounded a little… jealous? Or maybe that was just his heart wanting to believe that his love felt that particular way. He shook the thought from his mind. "Who was it?"
Chat grimaced. "I guess you have a right to know… it was Chloe. She followed me after you pushed her away, and caught my transformation on video."
Ladybug looked like she had swallowed bitter cough medicine, emitting a strange gurgling sound in her throat. Her fists clenched at her sides, and she opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted as both their Miraculous beeped another warning. Instead, she fought back whatever she was going to say and suggested, "Call me later and tell me how it went. Keep me updated at all times."
Chat nodded, and took off at a run as Ladybug threw her yo-yo and swung out of sight. Luckily, the battle hadn't taken them too far from the school, but he still barely managed to swing back into the (thankfully) still empty classroom before his transformation wore off. With a flash of green light, Adrien Agreste had returned, a disheartened expression warping his features as he stared at his exhausted kwami in his hands.
"That was great, Adrien!"
The model's mood was no more encouraged when Chloe raced up to him. "What do you want?" he asked bitterly, digging a piece of cheese from his bag and feeding it to Plagg before slipping the kwami gently into his usual pocket.
"That's not important!" Chloe crooned, grabbing Adrien's discarded bag from the floor and placing it impatiently back on its owner's shoulder. "We have class to get to!"
"Since when do you care about class?"
Adrien was ignored. Chloe looped her arm through his and pulled him out the door, the boy trailing behind in subtle protest. Adrien willed himself to not get on Chloe's bad side, appease her for as long as he could until he could get a hold of that video and delete it. Without video evidence, anything Chloe said would be taken with a grain of salt, and eventually rumors would die out.
Chloe strode confidently through the door to the classroom, Adrien stumbling to a stop next to her. Mrs. Bonnaire turned from writing on the board to stare at her two students sternly. Adrien's gaze flicked apologetically toward Nino, who was staring at him confusedly.
Where'd you go, dude? He mouthed.
Later, Adrien mouthed back.
"Chloe, Adrien!" Mrs. Bonnaire confronted the two, hands sternly on hips. "I expected this from you, Ms. Burguois, but Mr. Agreste, I am disappointed in you!"
Adrien's head bowed as he accepted his teacher's admonishment. He was definitely going to hear about this from his father, later.
"Oh don't worry, Mrs. Bonnaire," Chloe said sweetly, gripping Adrien's arm extra hard. "We were just taking our time before class." Her eyes turned to his, and Adrien suddenly got a bad feeling deep within his gut. "See, we're dating now."
Now we've gotten to the meat of the matter, and things will be rocketing from here! Hope ya'll enjoyed! Check out my one-shot Please Leave a Message while you're waiting for the next chapter!
Updates for my other stories are in the works, so if you're following them, chapters should be up in the next few days. Look forward to it!