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cornerverse · 8 years

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The One Where Chloé Knows

Chloé finds out that Marinette is Ladybug, and ends up telling her more than she wanted to. Marinette offers a new idea: being nicer to people. ((One-sided Chlonette, eventual Chloix))

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, now on Ao3

Chloé walked into class, expecting to pull Alya and Nino away to diffuse their situation. However, they were not yet there. Neither were Adrien and Marinette. Most of the class was there already though, including one sort-of-new addition.

Lila. She’d been absent the last two weeks. From what she’d heard, the first day was recovering from being an Akuma. It was standard now, that if you were Akumatized you could have a day or two off.

Then came ‘Rollersnake’. Someone happened to be in a tree in a park, and recorded a video of Ladybug calling Lila out for lying about knowing her, then submitted it to the Ladyblog. The comments on that were, for lack of a better phrase, ‘not nice’, and a fair amount crossed the line. Alya and Rollersnake, the username for the person who sent it, did try to delete those ones.

But as Lila’s other lies fell apart around her, it induced lot more comments from other people in the school. Chloé herself hadn’t said anything yet, and most of the class was fairly civil considering, but they were still obviously upset. So Lila had disappeared for two weeks, but you can only fake being sick for so long.

Chloé decided that Lila was a good chance for a fresh start. Okay, probably not a complete fresh start, as she had probably been warned to how Chloé was, but she hadn’t had a chance to do anything to her before deciding to be a better person. They didn’t have a history, so it would be easier to be friends. Plus, they both had something in common: everyone hated them.

Chloé walked up to her desk, trying to think of starting topics. Maybe a compliment? She was pretty cute, but Chloé couldn’t exactly say that. Her jacket was nice, maybe she’d use that?

“Hi,” Chloé said.

She’d expected a few reactions. Mostly just a confused stare. What she didn’t expect was her practically jumping back in fear.

“Get away from me!” Lila shouted.

“I-I’m sorry,” Chloé said, backing up a step. “I guess people already told you about me.”

“It’s okay!” Rose said, coming up behind Lila. “Chloé’s been trying to be a better person. It’s okay!”

“Really?” Lila rolled her eyes. “Screaming at a girl until they become an Akuma is ‘being a better person”?

There was a pause. Chloé felt as confused as everyone else looked.

“What are you talking about?” Juleka asked.

"I mean,” Lila said. “Is that yesterday I hear her screaming at someone in the library, and next thing I know there’s an Akuma hunting her down. It doesn’t take a genius to know what happened.”

“You weren’t even here yesterday,” Kim pointed out.

“Not in class,” she waved off the comment. “I had to come by to drop the last bit of paperwork off at the principals’ office. I heard her on the way out.”

They looked to Chloé, waiting for a defense. She tried to say something, but she could barely move her mouth.

“It’s not her fault!”

Everyone’s eyes snapped to the front of the class. Sabrina had stood up and whirled around to face them, though she now looked like she wanted to sit back down.

“I-it was me she was yelling at,” Sabrina explained. “But I yelled first. It was mutual yelling.”

“So what?” Lila demanded. “It doesn’t change a thing!”

“Well, it does,” Rose said. “I mean, Sabrina already was akumatized, and you can’t get Akumatized twice.”

“Ivan did,” Kim said.

“That was because of the butterfly,” Juleka said. “Ladybug has to purify the butterfly, and then you won’t turn again, and she did that for Sabrina.”

“What about Alya and Nathaniel?” Mylène piped up.

“That wasn’t getting Akumatized,” Nathaniel answered. “Uh, Puppeteer had dolls of Lady Wifi and me, er, Evillustrator, that she was controlling. It made us look like our Akumatized selves, but we were, well, puppets.”

“Besides,” Max said. “Sabrina was invisible as an Akuma, not Medusa. And if you paid any attention to the reports, the girl was named Valerie.”

“So I was wrong about that,” Lila admitted. “It doesn’t mean that she didn’t scream at someone else until they were an Akuma. That thing was hunting her down, so she had to do something to it. So, forgive me for not thinking she’s changed from what I was warned about.”

They looked at Chloé again, but she couldn’t answer them. There wasn’t a way out. She’d caused an Akuma, even though she was trying to be better. It didn’t matter how.

She could hear the whispers already. They’d hate her again. They’d think she’s just as terrible as before. But it’d be worse. Because she’d been trying, because she’d have something to lose.

“Hold it!” Alix shouted, stomping up to Lila’s desk. “How about you shut up about things you know nothing about?”

“Know nothing about?” Lila laughed. “Please! It’s simple. Don’t Akumas always go after the person who made them upset?”

“Yeah, Chloé technically caused an akuma,” she replied. “But she did it by falling down a freaking staircase! Valerie and her statue were on the way up, and got knocked over!”

“And what’s your proof of that?” she demanded. “Other than ‘your word’ of course!”

“Check the Ladyblog!” she said. “There’s video of the Akuma attacking us, and of the new heroes saving us! You can see her wearing the ankle and wrist braces I gave her because, you know, she fell down the stairs and I figured I should get her to a hospital or something? She’s lucky Ladybug can fix that stuff!”

“But if you want to talk ‘video proof’,” she continued, lowering her voice. “Then you might want to stop trying to turn people against my friend. Because you’re lucky I was nice enough to only post half of the video.”

“You were the one-“ she began.

“Oh, I get it,” Chloé laughed, despite the tension. “’Rollersnake’. That’s cute.”

“Yeah, well, I broke my phone getting that video,” she said, rubbing the back of her neck. “No one notices the girl in a tree, so when the girl who says she’s ‘bffs with Ladybug!’ shows up in the park alone, waiting to meet someone, I figure it’s Ladybug. Of course, she showed up later.”

“Didn’t take you for the ‘posting incriminating videos’ type,” she smirked.

“Yeah, well, not usually,” she frowned. “If I’d caught her, I don’t know, singing embarrassing pop songs I would’ve just deleted it. But people need to know when she’s manipulating everyone.”

“So you’re going to blackmail me?” Lila said. “Just because I’m concerned that your ‘friend’ is going to attack me? Talk about manipulation!”

“No,” she frowned. “I don’t know what your goal is with trying to make her seem worse. Maybe you want everyone to be mad at her so they’ll forget about you, but I don’t care. I kept the first half of the video because I wanted to give you a chance. But you’re going after my friend, so no, I’m not going for blackmail. I’ll just tell her.”

“What are you talking about?” Chloé asked.

Ignoring Lila’s anger, Alix turned to Chloé.

“Before Ladybug got there,” Alix explained. “Lila here was trying to convince Adrien that she was a superhero, just so he would try and date her. Even bought a fake Miraculous and everything.”

Chloé took a moment to process what was just said. This girl had tried to manipulate her best friend into being with her. She felt rage wash over her. Suddenly she was glad Alix had posted that video.

“Stars, I’m glad I can’t be an Akuma again,” Chloé sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Because honestly? Right now would be a great time!”

“What?” Lila asked. “Upset you didn’t try it first? From what I’ve heard, you’re no stranger to doing anything to get what you want. Heard you once locked a girl in the bathroom just to stand next to Adrien in a school photo. All’s fair in love and war and all that.”

“Okay, I’m trying to be a better person right now,” she stated, keeping a hold on her anger. “That is the only reason I haven’t tried to punch you in the face. However, that’s just me. How do you think everyone else is going to react to this?”

Lila stole a glance at the rest of the class. Some were still in shock, others had switched to anger. While she doubted they’d actually attack her, Chloé knew that a lot of them cared about one another, that they’d protect one another. She’d seen that protection turned against her plenty of times.

“Fine,” Lila said, standing up. “You win, for now.”

“Where are you going?” Chloé asked.

“Who cares!” she answered, walking out the door. “Another day absent won’t matter at this point.”

It was only a moment after she left that Chloé’s rage collapsed, bringing back fear and relief right after one another. She pulled Alix into a hug.

“Thank you!” Chloé exclaimed. “I-I thought you were going to turn against me for getting that girl turned into an Akuma. I don’t want to lose you guys now! I like having you guys like me and I’m sorry for that breaking that statue and all. And seriously thank you for not abandoning me because oh stars that would’ve been so much worse now because I actually have you guys and oh stars thank you.”

“Hey, it’s okay,” Alix said.

“Um, sorry for whatever made you think we’d leave you,” Rose said. “After all, Akumas are pretty easy to cause. Even Marinette caused a couple.”

“And Ladybug too,” Max said. “Not that I need to remind you about Akumas Ladybug caused.”

“Yeah,” Chloé half-chuckled. “You really don’t.”

“By the way,” Alix said, reaching over to her backpack. “Here’s your shoe back, Cinderella. And I managed to save your wallet. Your phone and makeup were busted, and I tried to get the tire tracks out of the purse, but that stuff didn’t come out.”

“Thanks,” she gave a half laugh, taking the shoe and wallet.

“Sorry for telling her about the bathroom thing,” Juleka said. “How was falling down the stairs? Are you okay?”

“Well, it hurt,” she answered. “But I was probably okay.”

“Yeah, no thanks to me,” Alix said, smacking her forehead. “I really should’ve ran and got someone instead of trying to have you half-walk to Marinette’s. After I left I thought of so many things that could’ve gone wrong if your injuries were worse than I thought.”

“Okay, but I’m fine,” she said, sticking out her leg and moving her foot around for emphasis. “Besides, if you left me, who knows what else might’ve happened.”

“For all I know, I could’ve made it worse,” she said. “If it weren’t for Ladybug, I could’ve messed them up so much that we’d have to chop them off! And then, naturally, that’d mean we’d have to shove Adrien into a suit of armor.”

Maybe it was just the emotional whiplash of the whole morning, but she snorted at the joke. Then it turned into full on giggles.

"Did you-“ Alix began. “Did you just snort-laugh at a Fullmetal Alchemist joke?”

“Were you setting that up?” Chloé asked, still laughing. “It felt like a setup.”

“Yeah,” she admitted. “I was hoping you’d ask what I was talking about, and then I could suggest we watch the series on Saturday. But you’ve already seen it?”

“Y-yeah,” she said. “Adrien made me watch a lot of things.”

“So what you’re saying is that you’re secretly a total nerd,” she laughed.

“No, I’m totally not a ‘nerd’,” she defended. “Adrien’s a nerd. He just made me watch a bunch of shows and play a few games since I was his only friend for years. And they happened to be decently good shows and games, but that doesn’t make me a nerd.”

“No, liking ‘nerdy’ things doesn’t make you a nerd,” she rolled her eyes. “But something tells me that the Ladybug costume you have isn’t your first cosplay.”

“I am not answering that!” She pouted and turned away.

“I can always ask Adrien!” she said.

She really hoped Adrien had become a better liar since he got a secret identity. Or that he won’t show the pictures since they included him dressed as a Cardcaptor. Chloé burst out laughing again.

“Remembering a costume?” Alix asked.

“No, just thinking about that ‘shove Adrien into a suit of armor’ thing,” she laughed. “He makes a great Alphonse. He has the hair, the whole ‘ray of sunshine with hidden sass’ thing. And he really likes cats. Like, really, really likes cats.”

“Likes cats or likes ‘cats’,” she asked.

She had that look on her face. It was a look that usually was followed by ‘hold my drink and watch this!’. Thankfully, there wasn’t much to jump off of.

“Hey, Max!” Alix exclaimed. “I think I have another bet to put down!”

“Oh no,” Max groaned.

“A bet?” Chloé asked.

“Yeah,” Alix said, pulling her over to the desk. “You haven’t been involved because, well, you know. But we bet on a lot of things. Kim’s challenges, who’ll be the next Akuma, all sorts of things! But, one of the biggest ones, and the one filled with the most ‘joke bets’ is the romance section!”

“You bet on romance?” she asked.

“Yeah!” she said. “It could be anything from betting on who will get together, to just betting on who likes who. It’s mostly kept to just us classmates, but we did add Ladybug and Chat Noir as a joke. Mostly because Alya wrote a note with her and Nino’s numbers on it and stuck in Chat’s belt last time he saved her.”

“I didn’t know she did that,” she laughed, making a mental note to tease Adrien later. “Maybe it’s a good thing I didn’t know, because I would’ve cleaned you out.”

“That confident are we?” she asked.

“Yeah,” she said. “But what are you betting on?”

“Well, you said Adrien likes cats, right?” she asked. “Think he likes Chat Noir?”

Chloé’s brain short circuited for what felt like the fifth time that morning.

“Well, they’d definitely get along,” was Chloé’s answer.

“Alix, I know it’s a joke bet,” Kim said, “But you’re going down. Because they’re probably both straight.”

“No one who wears a leather cat outfit is straight, Kim!” Alix retorted.

“And Adrien’s surrounded by other literal models all the time,” Rose commented. “Literally the hottest people in the city. If he hasn’t at least found an ‘exception’ by now, there’s no hope for romance.”

“Wait, Chloé,” Alix turned to her. “You know Adrien. Is he straight or not?”

“I do not know if I can answer that question,” Chloè answered carefully.

“We can always be direct!” she said, looking over her shoulder.

Turning, Chloé saw Adrien walking in with his usual quartet. Alya and Nino weren’t speaking to one another, but Adrien and Marinette were trying to get them back into it. She debated grabbing them and sorting out their issues before class, but she’d forgotten about Alix.

“Hey Adrien!” Alix called across the room. “Are you gay?”

Adrien gave her a confused look, but Marinette tripped and flew two feet forward to the ground

“Wh-why is that a question?” Adrien asked.

“Chloé said a thing about you liking cats,’ Alix shrugged. “And I wondered if it meant you liked Chat Noir, and now we’re wondering if there’s actually a chance at you making out with Chat Noir.”

“I am so, so sorry,” Chloé whispered.

“Would you or would you not be into making out with Chat Noir?” she asked.

Adrien just stared at her. Marinette looked like she was trying, and failing, to not imagine said making out.

“Well, he’s probably hot enough to be a model,” Adrien answered.

“No one’s going to judge you,” Alix said. “Most everyone here as said something about wanting to make out with both heroes.”

“Yeah,” Chloé agreed, laughing a bit too much. “After all, I just found out that Alya and Nino gave Chat their numbers. You might have some competition!”

“In my defense,” Nino said, “Have you seen Chat Noir? I’m straight, but damn if that ass doesn’t make me question some things.”

Chloé laughed at Adrien’s expressions. She wondered who would die of embarrassment first if they knew he was Chat Noir. She also wondered if she could push the joke to the point where Adrien would admit to being Chat just to stop it all. Then again, that might be too mean.

“If you don’t want to answer that,” Alix said, sending a smirk Chloé’s way, “you could always tell us whether Chloé here has had more cosplays than just the Ladybug suit!”

“You wouldn’t,” Chloé gasped.

“Well, since you started this” Adrien chuckled, pulling out his phone, “I do have a few pictures from last year.”

“Nope!” she shouted.

Chloé talked him, yanking the phone out of his hands. She stretched her arm out to keep it away from him, but he stretched just as far. Curse his long arms. She did the only thing she could think of, and slipped the phone into her shirt.

“That’s not fair,” Adrien pouted.

“Too bad,” she said, sticking her tongue out at him.

“Honestly, that was enough of an answer for me,” Alix laughed.

Chloé felt her face turning red as she went over what she’d just done.

Thankfully, she was saved by the teacher coming in. Everyone had to calm down and go to their seats. She could still feel her ears burning as they whispered, but she was glad that it was more friendly teasing than the whispers she used to hear from them.

As the class started, Chloé glanced to Sabrina sitting next to her. She debated about talking to her, but she knew their teacher would call her out on it. Of course, she could always use the ‘don’t put me in detention because my dad is the mayor!’ card, but she’d figured out playing that hand wasn’t really helpful to being a better person.

She settled for writing a note instead.

“Thanks for standing up for me,” she wrote. “I would’ve understood if you hadn’t. I’m still sorry about what I did. And I’d like if we could be friends again. Real friends, where I can share things with you, and you don’t have to do my homework or pretend I’m perfect.”

She slid the note over the desk. Honestly, she didn’t hope for a response, but she was glad when she got one.

“I’m sorry too,” Sabrina wrote back. “I shouldn’t have reacted like I did. I’d like to be friends again, but I need some time to think this out.”

She smiled. It wasn’t exactly what she’d like, but it was a start.

She had to wait until the end of class before dragging Alya and Nino off to talk. As she walked up to do said dragging, she heard Alix start talking to her.

“Hey, Chlo!” Alix exclaimed. “Watch this!”

She watched Alix run up to the desk behind Kim, and climb on top. Before Kim could even think to look at the sound of sneakers-on-desktop behind him, Alix jumped and wrapped her arms around his neck.

As strong as he was, and as small as Alix was, Kim wasn’t strong enough to stay up with an extra hundred pounds around his neck. They crashed backwards. Kim looked like he was slightly dying, but Alix just climbed out from under him and waved.

Chloé laughed and waved back before going back to what she had been planning on.

“Hey, you two!” Chloé said, grabbing both Alya and Nino’s wrists. “We need to talk!”

Before they could ask why, she dragged them out of the class and down a hall. She pulled them into the first empty classroom she saw. That was a familiar feeling. Why was she always with Superheroes in empty classrooms?

“What’s going on?” they both asked before glaring at one another.

"Okay, I know her problem with you,” Chloé said, turning to Nino, “But what’s your problem with her?”

“She won’t tell me where she went,” he said. “She shoved her phone at me and ran off, but I have no idea why!”

“Well you won’t tell me where you went!” Alya retorted. “Honestly, I’m not even mad about you giving Aurore my phone anymore. Just tell me why you did it!”

“I literally can’t tell you,” he stated. “But you still won’t tell me even though you want me to tell you?”

“Well, I can’t tell you either!” she shouted.

“Yes, you can,” Chloé said.

“You know exactly why I can’t tell him!” Alya said.

“So Chloé can know but I can’t?” Nino said.

“You need to tell her too,” Chloé said. “And before you ask, yes I know exactly why you disappeared. Now you both need to tell each other why you disappeared.”

“I can’t!” they both insisted.

“Okay, I am done playing nice!” she said. “Wayzz, Trixx, I know you’re both here, so please talk some sense into these two!”

“How did you-“ both tried to ask.

They were interrupted by giggling. The voice sounded almost mischievous, as if they were setting up a joke.

“Looks like we’ve blown our cover!” the voice said.

A Kwami gently flew out of Alya’s hair. It was small, orange, and definitely a fox. Glinting purple eyes and a half-smile matched its voice.

“Curious,” said another voice.

The voice was calm, even more so than Tikki. A green Kwami appeared, and she could only guess the second voice belonged to him.

“What’s curious?” Chloé asked.

“You are,” Wayzz answered. “You do not wield a Miraculous, yet you know of us.”

“Who cares why!” Trixx exclaimed. “I’m just glad these two aren’t going to fight anymore! It’s ridiculous!”

Chloé looked to Alya and Nino, who were staring at both Kwamis before staring at eachother. She expected them to scream or something.

“We are never allowed to call Adrien and Mari oblivious ever again,” the two of them agreed.

“Good to know I’m not the only one who thinks they need to go for it,” Chloé laughed.

“Well, now that we know you’re on board,” Alya said, sliding beside her. “You can help us set them up!”

“Alya, no,” Nino sighed.

“Alya yes!” Trixx replied.

“Setting them up might be harder than you think,” Chloé said.

“Thinking about Mari’s thing for Chat Noir?” Alya asked. “She won’t admit it be we all know it.”

“Plus Adrien’s head over heels for Ladybug,” Nino agreed. “I mean, they obviously like each other, but I think that whole ‘I like someone else too’ thing is getting in the way.”

“You have no idea,” Chloé muttered.

“You know what would be hilarious?” Alya asked. “If they were Ladybug and Chat Noir!”

“Oh stars!” Nino laughed. “Can you imagine! Them falling for each other twice and not knowing it?”

“Especially because if they knew it would solve all their problems!” she said.

“I mean, Adrien definitely likes puns enough to be Chat Noir,” he said. “And be lucky you didn’t have to help with his cheesy poetry on Valentines day.”

“And Mari does have leadership and quick-thinking skills,” she mused, smile turning into a thoughtful frown. “And as clumsy as she is, you should see her reflexes.”

“And they both look similar,” he said, tilting his head.

“We-we’re not seriously considering this, are we?” she asked.

“Well, it’d be pretty hilarious,” Chloé said, trying not to laugh. “And not frustrating as hell for everyone involved.”

They were all quiet for a moment. Nino and Alya considered the facts. Chloé looked to the Kwami. Wayzz had a good pokerface, but Trixx was holding in laugher.

“Chloé,” Alya began, oddly serious. “How did you know about Trixx?”

“Wayzz said you didn’t have a Miraculous,” Nino stated. “But you knew about Kwami, even their names.”

"Before I say anything,” Chloé defended, “This conversation is not my fault at all.”

“Oh stars, they are Ladybug and Chat Noir,” Alya gasped. “How’d you figure it out?”

“Figured Adrien on day one,” she shrugged. “Found out about Marinette when she jumped into the wrong classroom to transform. It was back when she fought Silencer.”

“This is so weird,” Nino said. “I-I don’t get why I didn’t see it before.”

“I think it’s just suspension of disbelief,” she said. “Like, even though you know Ladybug and Chat Noir are people our age who live in our city, and honestly probably live in our area considering their reaction times to Akumas, you’d never think they’d be someone you actually know unless it’s someone you’ve known all your life and could recognize anywhere.

“Then, you figure out one,” she continued, “But there couldn’t possibly be two. Then there is two. So after that, the suspension of disbelief is broken, and next time you look at someone in a superhero costume, you’re just like ‘yep, that’s the kid from my class’.”

“And that’s how you figure out us,” Nino sighed, taking his glasses off to rub his face.

“Pretty much,” she said.

“Was it Plagg or Tikki who told you about us?” Wayzz asked.

“Tikki, actually,” she answered. “I haven’t gotten a chance to formally meet Plagg yet. By the way, she wanted me to say hello for her.”

She gave them a moment to let it sink in. Wondering what these two Kwami liked to eat, she thought of another thing. And if she was thinking of it, the rest would catch on. She caught Trixx’s eye, and judging by the gleaming, she could guess she was thinking the same thing,

“Want to start the countdown?” Chloé asked.

“What countdown?” Alya asked.

“This is gonna be great!” Trixx said, ignoring her Chosen.

“Three, two, one!” they counted in unison.

At the end of the countdown, both Nino and Alya screamed.

“Oh my stars!” Alya shouted. “Marinette’s heard everything I ever said about Ladybug! I think I might die!”

“You think you’ll die?” Nino screamed. “I literally just said ‘I’m straight but damn if Chat Noir’s ass doesn’t make me question some things’ to Adrien’s face!”

“You know,” Chloé laughed, “I was going to let you guys freak out over this another time, but wow am I glad I got to see this!”

“This is beautiful!” Trixx cackled, clutching her stomach.

“Most Miraculous Chosen usually end up developing romances with their teammates,” Wayzz said, giving Nino’s head comforting pats. “Although, they usually happen well after working together.”

“Does it really happen that often?” Chloé asked.

“Oh yes!” he answered. “When you are so close with someone that you trust them with your life, romance tends to follow. Of course, matchups aren’t always the same. Ladybugs and Black Cats usually end up together, as they are two parts of a whole, but there have been infinite combinations over the years, and more than once were there multiple together.”

“Huh,” she said. “Well, Alya did say ‘superheroes are on the ‘go for it and I won’t be mad’ exception list, so I guess it still counts.”

“I’m going to go jump in the Seine,” Nino said.

“No need for that,” she laughed. “But good luck looking Adrien in the face next time you see one another.

#Miraculous ladybug #chloé bourgeois #Alix Kubdel #Lila Rossi #Adrien Agreste #Alya Cesaire #Fox!Alya #Nino Lahiffe #Jade Turtle #Trixx #Wayzz #Chlolix

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