Chloe was sitting in the family limo, quiet but not because she was on her phone, which was held unnoticed in her hand. Her mind was focused on the dream she had had and what it could have meant. She remembered Roman and how despite having heard everything about what she had done, he had still offered her kindness. She sighed, annoyed by the constant reminders of her past but despite that couldn't deny a tiny sense of happiness at the memory of someone she had considered a real friend.
"Naje?" Chloe asked as she watched the building pass by.
"Yes Chloe?" The snake's voice was groggy as it raised its head from where it was resting at her feet. It turned out only one head was a morning person, or snake, which made her giggle. "What do you need?"
"That dream, it was real right? It was my memory of my past life?" Chloe asked cautiously, daring not to hope. She was still secretly terrified this was all a hallucination of her dying mind.
"Yes, it was. You will receive more like it over time. Some may not be in order and there is no telling when the next one will happen. Your next dream might be a week, a month, or even a year from now," Naje said before yawning. "Eventually, you will be made whole again.
Chloe smiled and nodded before reaching down, pretending to adjust her shoes while stroking the sleepy head before letting the ring touch them. They faded from sight, their essence returning to the ring as the limo pulled up to the school. She exited the limo with a nod to Jean and found Sabrina hurrying to greet her.
Sabrina fell in beside her wordlessly and they began to make their way up the steps. Chloe felt a moment of awkwardness because she really wasn't sure what to say to Sabrina. Most of their friendship had been dictated by Chloe and it made her realize that if she wasn't bossing Sabrina around, they rarely had real conversations. It was definitely an issue that she would need to address but with so much already on her plate, Chloe decided to let things carry on as usual for now. In fact, everything seemed rather normal until Alix waved as she passed them.
"Morning Chloe. Morning Sabrina," the diminutive redhead called as she sped up the steps.
Sabrina's hand was half raised before she glanced up at Chloe to see if a scathing response was imminent and blinked as Chloe returned the wave. Chloe didn't pay the greeting much attention but then Kim raced past them.
"Good morning ladies! Chloe, digging the new look! Didn't get a chance to say anything yesterday," Kim said as he jogged up the steps backwards, always trying to impress everyone with his athleticism.
Chloe could feel Sabrina's eyes on her, expecting an explosive diatribe about how Kim wasn't worthy enough to even look in her direction but Chloe was more confused than irritated. Were people being uncharacteristically nice to her? She glanced around, seeing people glance at her before or after glancing at their phones. What was that about?
Chloe considered marching over and demanding to know what was going on, but before she could even dismiss the idea as something only the old her would do, Rose came bounding up the steps with Juleka trailing after her.
"Good morning, Chloe!" Rose said as she threw her arms around Chloe.
Chloe had managed to get her arms up in time to keep from being pinned and she gently gripped Rose's shoulders to ease the jubilant girl off her.
"Morning, Rose, Juleka," Chloe said, keenly aware that Sabrina was gawking beside her. "How are you both?"
"Great!" Rose said.
"Good," Juleka managed to say barely above a whisper.
"People have been commenting on that picture you took of us yesterday!" Rose went on. "They really like it!"
"Picture?" Sabrina asked.
Rose let go of Chloe to produce her phone and show Sabrina the photos. Chloe couldn't read the emotions playing across Sabrina's face as she examined the pictures but from the way Sabrina's face scrunched up, she wasn't exactly thrilled.
"Thanks again, Chloe!" Rose said as she and Juleka continued up the stairs, leaving Chloe and Sabrina in a growing silence.
"You went to hang out with them yesterday?" Sabrina finally asked and Chloe couldn't miss the hurt in her voice.
"I made a promise," Chloe said, "and I always keep my promises."
Hoping that would be enough to pacify Sabrina for the moment, Chloe pushed on and deposited her things in her locker before heading to homeroom. The moment she got in the door, Chloe found herself confronted with another problem.
Marinette was glaring at her the second she crossed the threshold and it nearly froze Chloe in her tracks. It had been shocking enough to learn her greatest nuisance and her greatest hero were one in the same the first time, and it still shook her to her core every time she saw either of them. She made her way to her seat and tried to ignore Marinette's staring, but it eventually began to feel like there was a hole being bored into the back of her head.
"What is it?" Chloe finally said as she spun to face Marinette.
Marinette rose from her seat and came down to Chloe's worktable, leaning on it so their faces were only inches apart.
"I don't know what you're planning, but whatever your scheme is with Rose and Juleka, call it off now," Marinette said softly and sternly.
"What?" Chloe asked, genuinely baffled.
"If this is some drawn out plan to humiliate or embarrass them, stop it now," Marinette said as she held up her phone displaying the picture of Rose and Juleka. Marinette had her jaw set firmly as she tried to look imposing.
The old Chloe would have screamed and shouted, she would have made threats and come up with a hundred different ways to get revenge, but that Chloe was gone. Instead, Chloe looked calmly up at Marinette, which caught Marinette so off guard she flinched even though Chloe hadn't done anything yet.
"You know, Ladybug would be really disappointed in how you're behaving," Chloe said before turning to face the front of the class.
Chloe felt Marinette's presence vanish and couldn't resist a small smile as class began.
Chloe took a deep breath as the bell rang, signaling the end of school. She had asked both Sabrina and Adrien if she could speak with them after the bell and now that the moment had come, she was terrified. Part of it was the fact that Haje and Naje had informed her she couldn't lie, which could make things very awkward if the wrong question was asked. The other part was that honest conversations were just plain terrifying.
As the rest of class left, Marinette was still watching Chloe as she made her exit. Chloe hoped she would stay, even Marinette's presence would have been encouraging.
A soft voice spoke in her ear, "Do not worry, we are here for you."
Even though she had only just met them and still had no real idea what their presence in her life would entail, Naje and Haje's voices speaking in unison made Chloe smile as she nodded. She stood and looked to both Adrien and Sabrina who were still in the class. They joined her by the window overlooking the street, both looking at her curiously as she stared at people walking along the sidewalk.
"So what did you want to talk about Chloe?" Adrien asked with his usual kind smile. Somehow it both hurt and calmed her.
"Well first, I'd like to thank both of you," Chloe said with a soft smile as she turned to face both of them. Expectedly, they were both confused by her words so she took a deep breath and pressed on. "I know I'm not the easiest person to be around. I know I'm definitely not the nicest or calmest or really anything besides spoiled, aggressive, and irritating. I'm easily upset, and oh, can't forget my need to show how I'm better than everyone. That's definitely not easy to suffer through," Chloe went on before stopping to take a shuddering breath. Her hands were balled into tight fists behind her back as she recalled how she used to be and how much regret and hate she had for her past.
'Damn it, I wish Roman was here.' Chloe blinked, confused by why she was suddenly thinking about him.
"Chloe, are you ok?" Adrien asked, his brow furrowing worriedly.
Chloe hated making him worry, especially as she thought about what Adrien was going through at this point in his life, something she had never been considerate of throughout their friendship. Chloe nodded and sighed.
"Yeah, I'm just trying to do better and that means first I need to do right by the two people who have been my friends for as long as I can remember," she said, looking from one to the other, holding up her hands as they tried to speak.
"Don't try to say I have been a good friend, because we all know I haven't been, not by a long shot. Starting now, I'm going to correct that." She managed a smile for both of them and bowed her head to them. "I'm sorry from the bottom of my heart. Sabrina, you've been a great friend who put up with so much when you should have just left me to rot for how I treated you. I don't deserve you as a friend.
"Adrien, you were my first friend when I was little. You've never judged me for how I behaved and have always given me the benefit of the doubt. Thank you for that."
Chloe felt a lump form in her throat and had to swallow before she could continue, "If you both want to stop being my friend, I understand. I can't lie and say that it wouldn't hurt, but I would understand."
Chloe kept her head bowed as her eyes grew blurry from holding back tears. It became harder to not look up as the silence went on but at the same time she feared looking them in the eyes. She didn't realize she was shaking until a hand landed on her shoulder, trying to get her to stand up straight. She found Adrien smiling with his usual confidence, reassurance radiating off of him while Sabrina looked like she was on the verge of tears herself.
"I'm sorry-" Chloe tried to go on before Sabrina leapt on her, hugging her and crying. Chloe froze for a moment and then melted into the embrace, hugging her back. They wept into each other's shoulders before Adrien's arms enveloped them both as he joined the hug. For a long moment there was just crying and reassuring pats before Chloe finally broke from the hug.
"Oh Chloe, apology accepted! You don't have to worry, we'll always be best friends!" Sabrina said as her smile nearly split her face.
Adrien nodded in agreement but before Chloe could say anything Adrien said, "But I do think it's unfair you got a picture with Juleka and Rose before taking one with us." He held up his phone with a teasing smirk, "So why don't we make it even?"
Chloe entered her room, falling back against the door until it shut and then slumping down to the floor feeling more physically and emotionally exhausted than she would have ever thought possible. Despite that, she smiled widely as she thought about the day.
"The first step is always the toughest," Chloe said with a huff, quoting what she had always told her students before she heard the hiss of Naje and Haje as they slithered up her arm.
"Every step is hard, Chloe, but also rewarding, and today you had the reward of acceptance," Haje said, resting his head on her shoulder.
"Now for our reward, I say we eat and this time something with meat. Fruit is nice but doesn't compare," Naje said with a hiss.
Chloe giggled and nodded before asking Jean for dinner, a big one that she enjoyed. There was something about her increased appetite that wiggled something in the back of her mind, a memory that she couldn't fully recall. Before she could focus too much on it she became distracted by the movie she had let Naje and Haje choose.
They had picked a movie called "The Predator", which sounded like a documentary about animals and boy, Chloe could not have been more wrong. The last thing she expected to see was a bunch of men built like they could snap someone in two, and she most definitely didn't expect to see an alien just as built hunt them down gruesomely, and worst of all, she didn't expect to enjoy it so much. There was something particularly thrilling about it all, especially watching Dutch fight the alien shirtless at the end.
"Is it wrong I hope there are more movies with him?" Chloe said to herself as she ate a bite of her dinner, which was two dishes she picked personally based on a craving from a memory, a potpie and the other dish called meatloaf. Jean had gasped in horror when she insisted on both dishes but she didn't mind as she savored both dishes during the movie.
"Which one, the man or the alien trying to kill him?" Naje asked, eating the a piece of meatloaf.
Chloe hummed to herself as she smiled softly, "Why not both?" Chloe had said it as a joke but also thought more movies about the alien might be nice. They finished the movie and started another, which was a documentary on animals. Chloe laid on the couch to enjoy the documentary with the snake curled against while she digested her meal.
Chloe lost track of time until she heard something tapping on glass, which instantly filled her with a sense of unease. When she checked the time it was nearly midnight and she gulped as the tapping continued. She sat up slowly, looking towards where the sound was coming from and it wasn't until the moon came out from behind a cloud that she saw a tall figure at the window.
"Oh shit," Chloe hissed as she ducked back down. Naje, Haje, there's an intruder," Chloe whispered. Both heads tilted in opposite directions curiously before slithering up the back of the couch to look at what it was.
"It's not an intruder, it's a messenger. It seems it is time for your first task," Naje said.
"Sooner than we would have liked," Haje grumbled before shaking his head. "We should go greet them," he added.
Chloe looked at them worriedly before getting up, picking them up as she did and heading to go greet the messenger. As she got closer she realized just how tall the messenger was and that he wasn't exactly human. Sure, being seven feet tall was impressive but having the head of a jackal was definitely something new. At the same time, Chloe got a good look at the creature's impressive physique and couldn't help thinking back to the alien in the movie.
"No need to worry, the first task is normally simple."
Chloe took their word for it as she opened the door to the rooftop patio. The jackal headed man stared down at her, its gaze sharp and its canines showing. It held out both of its hands and opened them, revealing two scrolls, each carrying a different symbol on them. She heard a sharp intake from the snakes before they sighed.
"Scratch that, it seems your first task will not be easy. Not by a long shot."
Edited and co-written by GrayNeko
