62. Day 5 Part 1

"Can you believe it, Zzubo? He told me he was going to marry that dumb psychiatrist… all without even the courtesy of a formal meeting between us! O-Or maybe there was, I just don't remember it. Damn my head… where's an instant memory tablet when you need one?!"

"Chloe, please try not to fret. I promise that everything will be alright. All you have to do is concentrate on your own personal improvements now, and the rest will fall into place. If you worry about things too much, it'll only distract you from what I know is going to be a crucial day for you at school. Just try and keep a level head, and you'll be fine."

"T-Thanks, Zzubo. You know, I'd kinda forgotten what it was like to have someone… or some-kwami to properly confide in you know, after that turncoat Sabrina ditched me then put me through that stupid ordeal with my teacher and the social services. Remember, I still have her 'special' brooch in my pocket. I can't wait to play smashy-smashy with it later on… we'll just call it part of destroying the past I regret so much now."

"I know you don't want to hear this Chloe, but I'm afraid if anyone was to blame for your break-up with that girl it's you. From what you've told me, her and I aren't exactly miles apart in terms of us both trying to make you a better person. The difference is, while you seem to have turned her down flat in her proposal, you're coming on in leaps and bounds with me! I wonder what my appeal could be…"

"Well Zzubo, she can't make me a cool superhero for a start, so that's an added incentive on your side. Also, it wasn't even Sabrina's idea to give me an ultimatum about my 'attitude', it was that overweight dad of hers. Finally, she confronted me about my supposed misdeeds in the middle of the entire class, which is so not cool for a bestie to show me up like that. Add all that together, and you have yourself a horrible friend who I don't regret dropping like a bad habit for a single second! Oh, and her standards in doing my homework were slipping, too! Can you believe she got one long division sum wrong just last week?!"

"Why Chloe… that's positively unforgivable! I'm sure that puts all the numerous times you bullied, blackmailed, threatened, isolated and generally forced her to act the way you used to be in the shade! I see now that you were right all along, and it was Sabrina herself who made you pick on her every single day! What was I thinking?! Please accept my most humble apologies…"

"You know Zzubo, that smart mouth of yours can really grate on my nerves. Anyway, you don't have to worry for now… I remember my promise to you that I wouldn't permanently sever ties with her until I was one hundred percent sure we were past the point of no return. Even if it doesn't all work out though, at least I'll still have plenty of friends left over in the end thanks to my efforts the last few days. And when I've cleared my good name regarding the sacking of Alya's mother, I'll get even more. No-one is going to stop me, not even my father and especially not that dowdy dumpster of a girl, Maritrash!"

"Chloe, it doesn't matter how often you call her such insulting nicknames or tell me otherwise, nothing will convince me that Marinette is anything but a lovely girl who could be a fantastic influence on you. All you have to do is think carefully about the past history with her beyond your own prejudiced outlook, and apologise to her for all the unprovoked nastiness you've put her through the last four years, alongside everyone else you're trying to make amends with this week. I'm sure, being the big-hearted person she is, she'll accept…"

"Z-Zzubo! H-How many times do I have to tell you?! I'd sooner be Mrs Philippes's officially registered daughter than break bread with that utter waste of space and oxygen. Hey, did you see what I did there? I made a bread joke about you-know-who! Talk about using your loaf! Ha ha ha!"

"Chloe, this is serious! I'm trying to get you to broaden your social horizons and help correct your regrettable mistakes from times gone by, not turn you into the next wisecracking Cat Noir! How would you feel if Ladybug swung around every day while on patrol, making bad puns based on her identity?!"

"Cut her some slack, Zzubo. The comical possibilities with ladybugs are nowhere near as rich as they are with felines. Although having said that, I've just thought of a couple of good 'uns… If there's one 'lady' who always 'bugs' me, it's Marifat! I'll always knock 'spots' off of her! See what I did there, Zzoobs?"

"First of all Chloe... Zzoobs?! Please never call me that again. Secondly, I hope you're not going to be this silly when you take on the responsibility of becoming Queen Bee, or I might just be tempted to take a one-way ticket back to my Master's boudoir! A cramped box in his parlour sounds positively divine compared to tolerating those awful excuse for jokes all day long while we're patrolling the city!"

"Hey, lighten up a bit, Zzoobs! You added on an extra title to my surname yourself, so the least I deserve is to honour you with a special nickname! Also, I'll have you know that when I'm 'stung' into action, the a'pollen' bad guys will soon 'bee' told to 'buzz' off! Now, what other funny words can I squeeze into my brilliant superhero stand-up routine. Hmm…"

"I've got a few more for you Chloe… when you 'drone' on like that you make me break out in 'hives'! Now let that be an end to it all. Don't you have a class to get to in like, five minutes from now? If you 'fly' this instant, you might just make it… so earn your 'stripes' and get a move on!"

"Gulp! Y-Yes, Z-Zzubo!"

"Oh, before you go 'honey...comb' your hair."

"Zzubo! You're worst than me, now."

"Admit it. You were asking for this, Chloe Bourgeois-Marigold. Now step on it, unless you want to be caught in the 'swarm' on the way there..."

"...Whatever."

….

Having been up half the night arguing with her father about the potentially disastrous implications of inserting a strange new woman into their small family, as well as simultaneously comforting him for her apparent disappearance, Chloe had woken up rather late the following morning, and was now remonstrating with her kwami while preparing for the day ahead.

As was typical of her new wardrobe of late, her dress sense had come a long way since her somewhat tired yellow and black ensemble. Now, she was resplendent in a light blue crop top, together with a pair of skinny jeans which fit her as snug as a bug (which was funny, as a bug had picked them out). She was also wearing her new favourite pair of inexpensive yet comfortable sneakers, and had braided her hair in sumptuous dual colours of dyed neon pink and natural blonde.

Needless to say, Chloe's 'Daddykins' would've choked on his morning Wheatos if he'd seen his pride and joy make-up free and all trussed up like an unsavoury commoner, but frankly she didn't care a jot anymore. She was a teenage girl who'd only be young once, and she intended to make the most of that small window of opportunity by presenting herself however she wanted to, without any interference from her overprotective, overbearing male parent.

Fortunately, he was long gone from the hotel, helping coordinate the search effort for Mrs Philippes and giving tearful appeals on national TV, so the heiress easily slipped off to continue her newfound independent streak unimpeded. The limo being an unmissed remnant of the past, she joyfully half-ran, half-skipped to school, completely unrecognised by the passing pedestrians en route to her place of education. Just the way I like it from now on… she thought happily to herself, ...and I hope I can carry on being as anonymous when I don my new costume to save Paris from danger.

Having made a plan that she was going to be nice to everyone all day (with obvious exceptions, like a certain baker's daughter) and with Zzubo munching on a well-deserved bag full of nougats in her holdall, things couldn't look more rosy for both of them. Chloe even seemed as if she was going to be dead on time for the first lesson of the day, despite her somewhat delayed departure. Yes, it's good to have a clear outlook on the future… no complications… life is but a breeze... OUCH!

Apparently taking clumsiness lessons from her arch rival, Chloe found herself up close and personal with another school-bound individual just as she made a headlong dash for the school steps. The collision was so impactful, that the whole world seemed to spin afterwards like some kind of vomit-inducing white-knuckle fairground ride.

About to snap callously at whatever stupid person dared to not look where they were going, Chloe quickly reminded herself that today would be the first time she'd planned to make a determined effort not to do anything wrong, and so quickly buttoned her lip. Swallowing deeply as her surroundings finally grind to a halt, she retrieved her bag and approached the still on-the-ground other victim of their unscheduled crash.

"I-I'm v-very s-s-sorry…" The heiress struggled to change years of rude behaviour, by offering a sincere apology. "I-I wasn't aware of your presence. I-I hope you can forgive me…"

Zzubo better give me some major credit later for this humiliating display of capitulation… hang on just a tick. Chloe's internal dialogue immediately stopped in its tracks when she saw who she'd been unfortunate enough to ram into. It was a boy with a face as red as his hair, and he stared up at her with sheepish yet somehow endearing round turquoise eyes.

"N-Nathanael…" she stated unnecessarily, losing the full range of her speaking faculties for some unknown reason.

"C-C-Chloe…" Came the equally articulate reply from the gobsmacked artist, and for a few seconds the pair seemed to be engaged in some kind of impromptu silent staring contest.

"Y-You look, n-nice…" Nathanael spoke once more, as he finally dared to move his eyes around a bit to scan Chloe's fresh new appearance.

"T-Thanks…" As much as Chloe would've loved to tell this weird scrawling stalker dude where to get off, something in his gentle, soothing voice and charmingly nervous demeanour made her want to stay for a bit longer. Just a little bit longer... What's the matter with you girl? You're going to be late! Why can't you tear yourself away from this weirdo? Could it be that you…

"Of course not!" Chloe almost reached inside her head to punch her brain to stop it formulating all of these diabolically soppy thoughts… but as it was she just reprimanded it out loud, which led to Nathanael giving her rather an odd look.

"Hey Chloe, are you alright?" He asked with genuine worry, picking himself up off the ground and resting a hand on her left shoulder.

"I-I'm absolutely fine… not that it's any business of yours!" Chloe quickly shrugged off his limp grip, before managing to snap out of the strange trance she'd found herself in just a few moments earlier. "I suppose you were on your way to hide behind a tree and spy on me while drawing another one of your stupid pictures. Well, don't let me stop you…"

"Pictures…" Nathanael mused on the word for a few seconds, as if he was trying to recall something important, before an expression of sheer horror suddenly appeared on his face. "Pictures! Oh no! What have I done?!"

"H-Huh?!" Chloe had absolutely no clue what the anxious artist was banging on about, until she followed his horrified gaze all around the school exterior… and the pair probably wished they could've jumped down a hole at that precise moment to never see the light of day again (separate holes, naturally).

For, after dropping his precious binder full of work during his little accidental collision with Chloe, it just so happened that the folder had fallen on its side, spilling the contents all over the street. The wind soon picked up the flimsy pieces of paper, and now there was a veritable gallery worth of illustrations flying around, the lion's share of which prominently featured a certain heiress. In case there was any room for doubt, most of the drawings had little hearts with arrows dotted around them, as well as the initials of two unmistakable people in Miss Bustier's class.

To make matters even worse, teenagers who were just arriving at school for the day were now picking up the pieces of A4 blowing around, looking confused at first regarding their significance, but soon giggling loudly upon discovering the mortifying images contained on them. There was already a ripple of laughter going around, fingers being pointed and a few indistinct comments of mockery… all aimed at her.

Chloe froze in shame, all optimism for the day ahead all but vanished. And things were looking so good as well, until…

Before she knew what was happening, The Artist Who Quite Possibly Could Have Ruined Her Life As She Knew It had placed both of his arms around her neck in a half-hug, a look of sincere regret apparent on his ashen face. "C-Chloe… I-I'm so sorry... I-I didn't mean for this to happen... I-I…"

"Get away from me, you sick freak!" The heiress was in no mood to hear Nathanael's mealy-mouthed apologies, so she abruptly shoved him away before sprinting as fast as she could through the double doors before any further unwarranted embarrassments could be heaped on her.

"C-Chloe…" Nathanael softly whispered as he sank to his knees in an ocean of his own artwork, all lingering hope that he might stand a chance with the heiress now thoroughly expunged from his mind as a result of his own careless actions.

Little did either Chloe or Nathanael know however, that a certain someone had been watching their interaction together from the sidelines very closely indeed. Adrien Agreste had been dropped off by the Gorilla a few minutes earlier, and had witnessed the blushes and broken sentences between the pair, before disaster struck.

He looked down thoughtfully at the picture which had blown over at his feet, that depicted Chloe in a gorgeous white wedding dress and Nathanael wearing a tuxedo complete with nice flower in the lapel. The rest of the class were also there, throwing confetti at the happy smiling couple as a pair of silver bells chimed in the background.

"Interesting, very interesting indeed…" The model thought, with an enigmatic grin.

….

AUTHOR'S NOTE: First of all… I'M SORRY! I'M SO SO SORRY! I won't give you the usual litany of excuses for my extended absence (I've been on holiday, family drama, loss of inspiration for writing blah blah blah, even though it's all true) but just to let you know I'm back now, enthusiasm for writing fully restored and ready to update faster than you ever thought possible! So, hope you liked this most recent chapter, and see you all in the very near future! :)

Oh and P.S… I'll be replying to a lot of stacked up PM s also soon, so stand by those inboxes! Also it's my birthday in three days… don't forget to wish me many happy returns! (Of course the best present would be an announcement date for season 2… but, meh.)