Be Myself

Be Myself - Chapter Seven

"Rose! Don't!" Marinette screamed, bursting out of the roof door. Because she was in such a rush, she tripped and her flat shoes fell off her feet.

It was then, as she went to grab those shoes, she spotted Rose. Small and petite, normally easy to miss, but this time Rose caught her attention. She was already prepared to fall and Marinette wasn't close enough to stop her yet.

Luckily enough, Rose caught sight of Marinette's shameful trip, and it distracted her through laughter. As Rose laughed, Marinette slowly approached.

"Rose, tell me your woes! What's going on? Why do you want to... well... you know..."

Rose sighed. "You've probably heard it all before." She turned away from Marinette and back toward the edge of the roof, trying to shield her tears from Marinette. "Everyone ignores me... Everyone steals..." She clenched her fist in anger, remembering the conversation she had with Alix. She then sighed, thinking of Juleka and how now they'll never be together. "I don't fit in with anyone here."

She begins to lean back, before halting at Marinette's words.

"FOR GODS SAKE, PLEASE! Are you serious, I just can't believe that for some stupid reason YOU GOT HERE BEFORE ME!"

She walked up to Rose and grasped her hands before Rose could shy away.

"'Cause even so, you're still loved by everyone at home, there's always dinner waiting on the table, you know?"

Marinette looked at Rose, "Rose, please look at me."

Rose did so, and Marinette kept eye contact. "Remember your parents, remember you best friend, Prince Ali? Remember Juleka."

Rose looked away. "Juleka... she won't like me. Not after the rumours Chloe has been spreading about me."

"Of course, she will! Rose, Juleka won't let some stupid comment Chloe made, define how she sees you. She... she really cares about you. You may not see me as a friend, but I care about you too. So please... willingly take my hand and step down from this rooftop. Please."

She lets go of Rose's hands and waits for Rose's decision.

Gingerly, Rose's hand lifts, and grasps Marinette's. A quick tug was all it took, and Rose was away from the edge, and safe.

"Phew." Marinette sighed in relief. She felt a small tug on her cardigan, so she turned, and saw Rose.

"Are you feeling alright, Rose?" She asked.

"A lot better now – although I'm feeling quite hungry." She laughed quietly. "I want you to have this."

She opened her bag and removed some flat shoes. It was red, shiny and had specks of glitter all over. It looked gorgeous. On each side was a sliver rose, standing out in the bright red surrounding it.

"Rose, they look amazing, but these are yours! I-"

"Please." Rose interrupts. "Don't worry – I've never worn them. Honestly, I didn't want to jump, but I felt like I had no choice. I brought these with me, in case... I was stopped, somehow. I got these last year, from Juleka. I always wanted to wear them, but... they're too big for me." She laughed again, although more sorrow filled her voice. "However, I think you'd be a perfect fit. So please, please wear them for me."

Marinette looked away from the fancy shoes and saw Rose's pleading face. Marinette could tell this meant a lot to her. So, she sighed in defeat, and removed her comfy, worn flats, and put on her gift from Rose.

"Wow... they really do fit perfectly." Marinette muttered, the beauty of the shoes she now wore the immediate focus in her mind.

Rose shed a tear. "They look amazing. I understand if you're unable to wear them to school, but please try to wear them as often as you can."

"I promise." Marinette replied, hugging Rose tight.

Suddenly the doors burst open, and Mylene came out, followed by the rest of the class.

"Wow two losers all alone?" Chloe jeered. "Maybe Marinette was trying to shove another girl off the roof?"

"No, she wasn't!" Rose jumped in. "I... I..."

"I was eating lunch here. By myself. Rose decided to join me." Marinette jumped in, realising that Rose probably didn't want to tell her entire class her plans."

"Uhh, yes! That's what happened yesterday too, with me, I mean." Mylene interrupted. "I was about to join them both."

A murmur rumbled around the roof – was Chloe really lying?

"Alright stop!" Chloe said, shoving Mylene away from the group and towards Marinette and Rose. She turned towards her group.

"Listen, all of you! Those three are trying to trick you into believing their lies, so that you all will stop being my friend. They want to destroy this school and ruin the lives of everyone who dwells inside it!" She yelled, flicking her hand towards them all. A strange yellow powder emerged from Chloe's hand and surrounded the group. One by one, they rubbed their eyes, and then glared in distain at the three of them.

"I can't believe you want to destroy our school!"

"Don't you care about us?"

"I'm disappointed in you."

The class angrily yelled at them before going back down the stairs.

"No... Ivan..."

"Juleka..."

"Alya..." Marinette wiped her eyes. "Adrien..."

"On the good side, I don't think Adrien was there, Marinette. I couldn't spot him in the crowd." Mylene tried to comfort her.

"I didn't notice him either, but then again, I couldn't bring my eyes away from the disappointment in Juleka's eyes." Rose cried.

"I know girls, we just need to – wait..." Marinette trailed off. "Did you notice what WAS there?"

Mylene and Rose look at her in confusion.

"The yellow powder Chloe threw at everyone! They were starting to side with us, to take our word for granted, but after she threw the dust at them, they believed her.

"I think...

"That Chloe is akumatised."

Okay, that's another chapter done!

I had this planned from the start, but I hope it still came as a small shock to everyone. This explains how... well, I'll just let Marinette explain it in the next chapter.

Speaking of next chapter, I guess I'll see you all then! I hope you enjoyed the latest addition to the series.

But for now...

Peachy out! 😊