As it turns out, I ended up back at work early and thus this didn't come out at quite the speed I had planned but hey, here you go.

Andre Bourgeois liked to believe he was a good man. He took his job as the mayor of Paris very seriously, and he took his job as Chloe's father just as much. It seemed like so long ago now when Andre had met his beloved wife. Audrey was fresh out of fashion school and interning for a design company. Andre had bumped into her quite literally at a company party that he was working at within his younger years. She had been so angry with him for spilling his drink on her, but he had never seen someone so beautiful. Audrey had always been a driven woman. Her dreams had always been to be a successful fashion designer, a passion her parents had criticized her for. Their lack in faith in her was what drove Audrey, and that drive eventually leads her to prove her family very wrong. Andre's father was an architect, and Andre had always believed he would simply follow in his father's footsteps but Audrey had convinced him to aim higher. He did not understand how or why, but this...force of nature of a woman wanted him in her life and he was willing to appease to anything she wanted to make sure it stayed that way. He went to business school. Designed and ran his grand hotel. Andre loved Paris and its people. When he gained more interest in politics, Audrey was more than supportive of his endeavors. Her career in fashion grew larger by the day as did his in politics and soon they were one of those most well-known power couples around. Chloe was not planned. Andre and Audrey had talked about children in the past but it was always something that was but on hold. When they found out about the pregnancy, Andre was overjoyed, but Audrey saw it as more of an inconvenience. It took a long time for his wife to see the potential in having a child, but when it hit her, it hit her hard. The first kick Chloe had given had stopped Audrey in her tracks and from that moment on it was as if his wife had become a different person. She slowed down. She was excited even.

Shortly after Chloe was born, things changed, however. For almost the whole first year of Chloe's life, Audrey had made her daughter her priority. Andre was happy with where he was in his career and how things were with his family, but it didn't last for Audrey. This life they had together wasn't enough. She went back to work. Slowly becoming more and more grossed by it till eventually Andre and Chloe hardly saw her. Then she got an opportunity to run her own magazine in New York. It wasn't much of a discussion when she brought it up to Andre. It was more Audrey telling him that she wanted to take the job and that trying to convince her not to was telling her that he didn't believe her ambitions were important. That she shouldn't have to choose between her passion and her family. He agreed of course. He loved her, how could he try and stop her from going after her goals. Andre had hoped that New York would be temporary. That, after a few weeks she would realize just how far away New York was from him and Chloe. That Audrey would miss them enough to come back. He was wrong. Audrey's visits grew shorter and less frequent as time went on and Andre had to watch his daughter's heartbreak every time her mother walked out their front door. She didn't understand why she wasn't enough, and frankly, Andre didn't either. Chloe's mother didn't have enough love to give, so Andre did the best he could to love Chloe enough for both of them. He gave her everything she ever wanted, in hopes to distract her from the one thing he couldn't.

To twist the knife in the wound a bit more, not long after being in New York, Audrey had informed Andre that a reason she would not be able to visit was due to her being restricted from flying. Restricted from flying, due to her being pregnant again. Andre at first had been less excited about this news because he already had one child who never got to see her mother, and the idea of having to bear that reality for another child made his heart hurt. He expressed his concern only to be scoffed at from the other line. The child wasn't his. Audrey had explained that her time away had made her rather lonely, and then proceeded to tell him that perhaps if he had made more effort to come to see her, rather than expecting her to always go to him, that this sort of thing would never have happened. His lack of effort had placed her in the arms of another, and it resulted in a child. She had been so calm about it, so smart and calculated that he had been the one to apologize. 'How could I have let this happen? I should have loved you harder. I'm so sorry my dear.' He asked if she was going to leave him. 'Of course not.' she told him. 'Ridiculous, utterly ridiculous.' Audrey didn't give details about her pregnancy, nor about the man who caused it. Andre did not ask. And that was that. How could he let that love go, one he'd been holding onto for so long, one that felt like home? It's not easy to let go of the pieces, even though they're the reason for his pain. He gripped them so hard that his blood fell like rain. Everyone wears masks. They come in all different shapes and sizes. The only problem with trying one on - is that it fits. How easily we fall into the trap that we don't have to be who we really are. How easily we convince ourselves that we need to cover up what we were born to be. It's a tragedy - that fear keeps us from our destiny. It's hell - when the person you were created to be - is covered up by some cheap imposter. People will go through their entire lives justifying every decision…they'll fight for all the wrong things until finally, the right thing stares at them square in the face. That's when the choices start to matter. Because in the end, we are creatures of habit. So you may want to choose right, but choose wrong in the end — because you're so damn used to it. It's tragic, then again, life's tragic.

That was why the Mayor of Paris was currently being brought to his knees. Chloe had been put out by her classmates, and once again had come to him to fix the problem in her favor. She and her mother demanded that he close the school down forever, as well as kick a classmate and her family out of Paris. Both requests highly unreasonable and highly out of his pay grade. It never stopped amazing Andre how much Chloe's personality resembled her mother's for a girl who hardly spent time with the woman. He supposed that like with most things in his family, that was mainly his fault. Now, it seemed Chloe and Audrey had their minds set on moving back to New York. Andre didn't know what to do. He couldn't be the Mayor of Paris in New York. To go there would be leaving everything behind. But how could he even consider letting them leave without him? He wanted both of the ladies in his life to be happy.

"But what more can I do?" He sulked as a pesky little butterfly attached itself to him.

OoOoOoOoOo

The sound of a helicopter brought a large portion of the school's population to the courtyard, where Chloe popped out from the side, a megaphone in hand. "Hey there, losers! I'm headed to New York with my mom." She tells them all, throwing flyers from the helicopter. "I'm leaving you all behind in your pathetic little school and your pathetic little city. Adieu!"

"Chloe's leaving?" Nino asked.

"Forever?" Added Nathaniel.

Marinette picked up one of the many flyers showing an image of Chloe with the Statue of Liberty in the background. "Looks like it."

The cheers startled Lucy, who, although didn't expect anyone to shed tears over Chloe's departure, didn't quite expect a rave to form in the heart of the school. Lucy frowned a little at the sight. It was evident that Chloe craved validation. She needed to feel important. Needed a reason for people to see her as important. That was probably why Chloe couldn't let the small time she spent as Queen Bee go. Being a hero was a way for the blonde girl to give people a reason to see her as something more than the daughter of the Mayor or even of Style Queen. It was a reason all her own for people to look at her and think she was a necessity. Exceptional. The problem was that even with what she considered fabulous editing skills, everyone was well aware that Chloe was no longer in possession of a Miraculous, and with good reason. She also may have forgotten to wear her ladybug wig when making her little "interview." Alya was quick to call Chloe out on the train stunt she had pulled and Alix was quick to remind everyone that Queen Bee only lasted for a short time before she managed to get Akumatized. The thing about real life is, when you do something stupid, it normally costs you. In books, the heroes can make as many mistakes as they like. It doesn't matter what they do, because everything works out in the end. They'll beat the bad guys and put things right and everything ends up cool. In real life, vacuum cleaners kill spiders. If you cross a busy road without looking, you get whacked by a car. If you fall from a tree, you break some bones.
Real life's nasty. It's cruel. It doesn't care about wanna-be-heroes and happy endings and the way things should be. In real life, bad things happen. People die. Fights are lost. Evil often wins. And trying to build a new version of yourself can be extremely difficult when the old version is so deeply engraved in everyone's minds, including your own. Adrien made his way through the locker room doors to Lucy's side, looking around at all the happy people with a raised eyebrow.

"Hey, what's going on here? What are we celebrating?" Lucy hesitates to answer Adrien, knowing full and well he won't see Chloe running off to New York as something worth celebrating. Marinette managed to beat her to the punch, excitedly giving the boy the answer.

"Chloé's gone! She's moving to New York!"

"Chloé left…? For good?"

"Yeah! Isn't it great?!" Adrien looked from Marinette to Lucy for some sort of confirmation. Lucy gave him a sympathetic look.

"Uh… no. I think it's terrible...How can you celebrate a thing like that?" Adrien couldn't help but be surprised at Marinette's visible glee. He knew that she and Chloe did not get along, but he never expected to see her so overjoyed about someone being so upset that they believe their best option is to leave town, even if it was Chloe.

Marinette frowns at Adrien's response. "But, Chloe's a total brat to everyone. She was useless anyway." She would never understand Adrien's friendship with Chloe. He was so...and she was so...

"Nobody's useless, not even Chloe," Adrien told her. "When I was little and wasn't allowed out, she was the only friend I had."

"Ow— well, uh… shoot," Marinette said, guilt bubbling in the pit of her stomach.

"She left angry and unhappy. I can't celebrate that." He told her sadly before turning to walk off. Lucy placed a hand on his shoulder as he passed. He gave her a weak smile, patting her hand with his own before it slipped off from the distance.

"Uh, I'm really sorry, Adrien," Marinette says, mostly to herself. She brings her eyes to Lucy who is giving her a knowing.

"Useless? Really?"

"It just came out..." Marinette explained. "You know how Chloe is Lucy. You can't be mad people are happy about it."

"I know exactly why everyone is happy about it Marinette. Really, I do." Lucy told her. This of course was no lie. Lucy was well aware of the amount of Akumas that occurred due to Chloe's poor attitude and overall negative behavior. That wasn't enough for Lucy to say good riddance though. After all, Chloe Bourgeois was only one fraction in a large multitude of people harnessing negativity. Her absence wouldn't suddenly solve the Akuma problem, as much as everyone wanted to believe it would. Lucy didn't want to say she would miss Chloe's dramatics, but that didn't mean she was happy Chloe chose to run from her problems either. "But this-" she said gesturing the party. "this is a bit much for me. To be honest, I expected a bit more of you."

"Please don't be mad!" Marinette said as Lucy began to walk away, grabbing her hand before she could do so. Lucy sighed at Marinette.

"I'm not mad." She told her. "I'm disappointed." Lucy gave Marinette's hand a firm squeeze and then pulled away, making her way over to Adrien who sat sulking in the corner. Marinette groaned as she watched after her.

"That's just 'mom' for mad!"

OoOoOoOoOOoO

In most cases, when her father informs her that he has the ability to do what she has demanded, Chloe is filled with satisfaction. However, when that ability is gained from having been akumatized, the power seems much less appealing. So when her father..eh...Malediktator...showed up to inform she and her mother that he was taking care of everything, Chloe couldn't help but be less than happy. Just when she had convinced her mother to take her to New York with her, here came an Akuma to take it all away. Malediktator had used his power to convince Audrey to stay in Paris and be more devoted to their family. Some children might like the idea of their parents rekindling but Chloe's mom and dad had been distant for so long that it made her uncomfortable to see them any differently. She quickly bolted for the subway, only to then realize where she was about to go to get away from her parents. She took a deep breath and reminded herself that she was bigger than the stench of public transportation, quickly making her way down to catch a ride home.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

"Do you really think she's gone for good?" Adrien asked as Lucy took the spot beside him on the steps as they watched literally everyone party. Lucy sighed and gave a small shrug.

"I don't know." She nudged Adrien with her elbow, getting the boy to look at her. "I wouldn't worry too much. Chloe is like..." Lucy moved her hands in a juggling motion as she tried to pull her words together. "I'm really trying to find a phrase that isn't related to an STD or an insect but I'm really drawing a blank here.." She then admitted, earning a "really?" look from Adrien. "My point is, she's not that easy to get rid of."

"I guess..." Adrien muttered resting his chin on his arms that rested on his bent knees.

"You know, for someone with so much faith in who Chloe could be, you sure don't give her much credit for who she is."

"Uh-! What do you mean?" Another shrug was given by Lucy as she played with her thumbs.

"A force to be reckoned with. Chloe is a flawed individual, to say the least," Lucy told him with a small eye-roll. "but she has an unmatched ability to make things typically work out in her favor one way or another. She's wanted to go with her mom to New York for a long time it seems. She may have chosen the route out of anger but the destination might just make it all worth it. There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind."

As Adrien watched Lucy's face change from that of annoyance, to mild admiration, to serious, he couldn't help but wonder where her mind had taken her as she spoke those words. Far better things ahead, than any we leave behind. As far as Adrien could tell, Lucy had done her fair share of leaving things behind. Her home, her friends...her father...Chat. He momentarily scolded himself for his bitter assessment of Lucy's relationship with Chat ending before it could even begin as her leaving him behind. That wasn't what it was, even if it sometimes felt like it.

"Adrien," Lucy spoke, pulling the boy out of his thoughts. "Chloe..." Lucy sighed trying to find the words the properly expressed her perspective without totally crushing the rose-colored glasses he sometimes seemed to wear for Chloe due to the history of their friendship. "Maybe a fresh start in a new place wouldn't be such a bad thing for Chloe. I don't know if you've noticed but even when she attempts to do the right thing...her good doesn't outweigh her bad for most people. She's done too much, hurt too many. I don't know if that will ever change. I'm all for a good character arch, I would love to see Chloe become the best version of herself first hand but..." She stops, gesturing to the party crowd. "The worst part is, is that as much as I don't agree with the...extreme expression of joy they are displaying, I can't blame them either. Can you?"

"No," Adrien admitted with a sigh. "I just wish..." He hung his head and Lucy wrapped her arm around his shoulders, leaning her head against him. "I know Adrikins. I know."

Suddenly, though not at all surprisingly, another helicopter came over the school, this time with a very akumatized mayor.

"By the power vested in me, I declare this school a demolition site!" He shouted, blasting a ball of energy into the courtyard. The mass majority of those who had been celebrating Chloe's departure now began recking the school.

"Damn it, Chloe." Lucy cursed. "We should probably-" She turned her head to find Adrien no longer standing beside her and raised an eyebrow. "get out of here?" Trying to dwell on the fact that Adrien had just pulled a 'Batman' she made her way to the exit, noticing Alya filming for her Ladyblog. Alya noticed her in the corner of her eye and looked away from the action.

"Lucy! Where is Adrien? I thought you were with him."

"I was," She said jumping out of the way of a chair being tossed. "He ran off I guess."

Alaya hummed as she brought her attention back to her phone. "Guess that says something if he'll just leave you in the middle of a disaster." She mumbled. Lucy squinted at her. "What?" Alya closed her eyes and shook her head.

"Nothing just..." She trailed off. "Forget it, where are you going?"

"To find Chloe."

OoOoOoOoOooOoO

"What are you doing?"

The question made Chloe scream from under her sheets as a hand gripped the edge, ripping them off her head.

"How did you get in here!?" Chloe shouted and Lucy tossed her a master key card she had causally swiped off a passing maid on her way up.

"Now, what are you doing?" Lucy asked once more with a bored expression. "I thought you were off to New York."

"Well, I was! Until daddy got himself akumatized and ruined it all!" Chloe huffed, crossing her arms. Lucy tilted her head to the side and placed her hands on her hips. "And do tell, why was he akumatized?"

"Because Marinette sucks!"

"Mature."

"It's the truth! Did you not see how she got everyone to gang up on me in class?!" Lucy sighed.

"Chloe, I know why you're angry. I want to know why your dad is. Chloe, what did you do?" Chloe scoffed and looked away from Lucy, her foot shaking under her legs.

"The same thing I do to everyone."

Lucy licked her lips and walked over the bed, sitting down next to the pouting blonde.

"There are two kinds of guilt, Chloe. The kind that's a burden and the kind that gives you purpose. Let your guilt be your fuel. Let it remind you of who you want to be. Draw a line in your mind. Never cross it again. You have a soul. It's damaged but it's there. Don't let them take it from you." Chloe met Lucy's eyes and Lucy held out her hand for her to take. "Come on. It's not safe here."

As if the universe heard her words, Malediktator's voice was heard from the other side of the door as he called out for Chloe. Lucy quickly grabbed Chloe's hand and dragged her behind one of the nearby chairs to hide as Malediktator stormed into the room in search of his daughter.

"Chloe. Where are you, sweetie? I've done almost everything you wanted me to do." Lucy silently gestures toward the balcony and quickly rolls over to the next couch. She then signals Chloe to join her. Chloe nods and attempts to switch hiding spots, only to trip as she does so. "So you can stay here with Mommy and Daddy. Come on, Chloé; you don't want to upset me..." Thinking fast Lucy dragged Chloe carefully out to the balcony and around the corner. "Do you?!" He makes his way to the balcony, knocking things over in his search. "My patience has its limits, Chloé. Don't make me show all of Paris just how powerful I can be!"

"We can not find her, Malediktator." The butler said, aggravating him. "Well, keep looking. She's got to be hiding here somewhere. Call me as soon as you find her." Malediktator leaves Chloe's room and the two girls make their way to the roof. In their haste, they come close to crashing directly into Ladybug who seemed like she had been looking for Chloe.

"Are you okay?" Ladybug asks as Chloe gets off the floor, ecstatic to see the superhero had arrived. Ladybug glanced past Chloe to see Lucy give her an awkward wave. Ladybug supposed she shouldn't be surprised to find Lucy with Chloe. The two girls had an odd relationship. Ladybug wasn't really sure she could call them friends but it was evident that Lucy did care about Chloe's wellbeing. She had proven as much on more than one occasion.

"I'm fine with helping you, Chloé, but first… I need you to tell me what happened. Why is your father— I mean, Malediktator, so mad?" Ladybug asked, setting Chloe directly into defense mode, not wanting her hero to look at her the same way everyone else does.

It's because of this super lame loser named Marinette Dupain-Cheng. She's this horrible girl in my class and she hates me. She's ganged everyone up against me and she—"

"Maybe this Marinette girl isn't entirely to blame?"

" Uh! Ugh. Okay, it wasn't totally Marinette's fault. She is really mean to me sometimes, but actually, this time, Daddy got angry all by himself." Ladybug looks from Chloe to Lucy simply sighs.

"All by himself?"

"Yeah, because… there was something he couldn't do…" Ladybug puts a hand on Chloe's shoulder.

"Chloe, it's me, Ladybug. You can trust me. You can tell me the truth."

Chloe hesitates before Lucy gently nudges her side, giving her a gentle nod.

"It... it was me. I hurt my daddy's feelings. Because I want to leave Paris, forever."

"Because of what happened in school?" Ladybug inquired. " I'm sure Marinette probably didn't exactly mean what she said."

"Oh, it's not just her, actually, I don't even care about her... it's because I have no reason to be here: nobody likes me; I have no friends. I'm… useless." Lucy frowned at her words as they seemed to echo Marinette's. Ladybug felt the hit again. The hit of guilt in the bottom of her stomach.

"A friend once told me-"

"Nobody is useless," Lucy stated, her gaze fixed on Chloe. Ladybug, having forgotten that Lucy had been there for that conversation was somewhat relieved for the interruption. She cleared her throat and nodded. "Yeah, everyone had a purpose."

"It's easy for you to say that. You're Ladybug, a superhero. You serve a purpose." Chloe told her and Ladybug smiles.

"Yes, I can fix up all the messes. You said it yourself in your documentary."

"You saw it?!" Oh! I'm so embarrassed. That film's ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous. I realize that now."

"Don't worry Chloe." Ladybug told her. "You can fix your own messes if that's what you want. You, too, can serve a purpose, but you have to want to."

"We are products of our past, but we don't have to be prisoners of it." Lucy told Chloe before sending Ladybug a smile.

"I do want to!" Chloe told Ladybug who then pulled out a miraculous box.

"Chloe Bourgeois, here is the Bee Miraculous, which grants you the power to immobilize your opponent. You will use it for the greater good." Hesitantly, Chloe takes the box from Ladybug and opens it. Balls of light fly around her and Pollen, the Kwami of the Bee miraculous, appears.

"At your service, my Queen." Pollen greets.

"Looks like you are being given just what you need Chloe," Lucy stated as Chloe smiled at Pollen.

"A Miraculous." She spoke softly.

"A chance," Lucy corrected. "to be better."

Once the job is complete, you will return the Miraculous to me. Can I trust you, Chloe?" Ladybug then asks. Chloe places the hair comb in her hair and gives a confident smile.

"I won't disappoint you this time, Ladybug."

And she didnt.

OoOoOoOoOo

Lucy stood off to the side and watched Chloe take selfies while showing off to Sabrina her new phone case. Marinette had gotten the school body together and throw together a party to celebrate the rise of a new hero, Queen Bee. She could see the look of astonishment and joy on Chloe's face as she found the party to be in her honor rather than her departure.

"Chloe!" She called out, gaining the girl's attention. Lucy nodded her head over to the side. Chloe rolled her eyes and walked over to Lucy. "Yes?"

"I wanted to talk to you-"

"Yes, yes, I know, everyone does. This party is about how amazing I am remember?"

"Right, I promise not to take up too much of your time your majesty, but I wanted to talk to you about yesterday and what you told Ladybug." Chloe adjusted her sweater and tilted her chin up.

"It hardly matters now."

"I think it does, Chloe you told Ladybug that everyone hates you and you have no friends."

"Yes, and now I'm a hero and everyone loves me, what is your point?"

"Sabrina was your friend long before you became Queen Bee." Chloe sighed and brought up her sunglasses to her head.

"So it's another heart to heart you wanna have huh?"

"Yeah I know, a habit of mine."

"Sabrina is my friend because of how being friends with someone like me can benefit her."

"You really think that?"

"I know that," Chloe told her. "It's fine. I use her too. It works."

"What about Adrien?"

Chloe swallowed and closed her eyes, thinking about the boy who had been by her side her whole life. Adrien was there when her mom left, and she was there for him when his fell off the face of the earth. Both grew up rather sheltered in the beginning. They were alone together. But eventually, Chloe was let out and put in public school and things changed. Those things mostly being her.

"Adrien is friends with the part of me he knew as a child. If we met here, he would be just like everyone else."

"But you didn't and he's not. Adrien see's the good in you Chloe, even if you can't."

"Yeah.." Chloe muttered, her eyes suddenly finding interest in her shoes.

"And you have me too." Lucy stated. Chloe looked up at her with a look of surprise. "Now, I'm not gonna kiss your ass like Sabrina, or look the other way when you're acting foolish like Adrien. I will call you out on your nonsense. Always have, always will. I will hold you accountable for your actions and do my best help you become the best possible version of yourself."

Chloe rolled her eyes, looking away from Lucy's intense gaze. "What is this, marriage vows?"

"A vow..." Lucy said shrugging her shoulder. "Or simply a promise. To be there, when you really need me." Chloe looked back at her and smiled lightly.

"Oddly enough...always have." She admitted. Lucy nodded.

"Always will."

Thats the end of this one! Wanted to get it out sooner but of course things never go to plan for me. A very Chloe centered chapter. I know you guys are here for the Adrien/Chat love but no nes life should totally revolve around just one person right!? Anyway I hope you like this chapter and I can't wait to see your comments and thoughts. For those of you that don't know I do have this story one Quotev, Wattpad, and Fanfiction. To my friends reading this on Fanfiction, I obviously cant respond to comments the way I can on the other sites, so try and keep your eye out from my Author name in said comments to try and answer when I can! Or just go to the other sites! Up to you! Have a lovely weekend and I will see you in the next chapter!