"And so I just let it all out and told her everything. But she told me her real favorite color in the end, so that means something, right?" Zoe asked.
She was talking to Marinette, Luka, Juleka, and Rose, while they prepared themselves for their performance tonight as Kitty Section.
"I think it's so sweet! A sure sign that deep down, maybe Chloe does care about you!" Rose said, holding her hands tightly together with a cheery smile on her face. Juleka murmured something that meant she agreed.
"It's a step, especially considering what Chloe's usually like." Marinette rolled her eyes.
"One small step at a time will eventually equal one big leap," Luka said with a smile. It was the same thing he was dealing with when it came to repairing his relationship with his father. Slow and steady, but eventually, it would lead to progress.
"I'm going out for some fresh air," he remarked a minute later.
Luka let out a heavy sigh once he was sure he was by himself. His life was anything but simple. Jagged Stone, his father, had once seemed like a joke. Now it was a reality, and he wasn't sure how to deal with it. He hadn't even told Juleka yet, because he wasn't sure how to. She was never as curious as he was about it, but she still deserved to know. Luka just didn't know how to tell her.
Then, there was Marinette. She seemed so troubled and stressed, but he couldn't figure out why. It hurt him to know that she couldn't trust him enough to tell him. It didn't make any sense. But one problem at a time. Jagged Stone being his father, and now trying to be supportive, was exhausting all on its own.
"What are you doing here?!" came a familiar voice from behind.
"Hello Chloe," he greeted, as calm as ever. She looked a little outraged, but more than anything, shocked.
"Every time I come here, there's some cute guy who dresses like garbage preventing me from being by myself!"
Cute? Did Chloe just call him cute? A small smile curved onto his lips.
"What?" She demanded in that bossy tone of hers.
"Nothing," he said. She must not have noticed. Luka took a seat, down by the saint-martin canal, as if it was a replay of before. "Care to join me?" he asked, without looking up.
Chloe placed both hands on her hips. "I most certainly will not! In fact, I will complain to my daddy that you won't leave and he will-"
"I'll leave, if you really want to be alone Chloe, but I can warn you, it doesn't make you feel any better."
Chloe blinked a few times. "What do you mean?" she asked, cautiously, but also curiously.
Luka let out a deep breath. "My father is Jagged Stone."
"Yeah, yeah, I know, I was there the other day, remember?"
"I didn't know until a few weeks ago. At first, I wasn't sure what to think. And now...I still don't know."
"Your family issues are none of my business. As if I care." Chloe should walk away right now. There was no point in wasting her time with this loser.
"No. But it helps to talk about it. Want to try?"
What? An invitation to gripe and let out all her troubles? Why did he care? Would he use it against her? She couldn't see how, or why. Chloe looked into those deep blue eyes of his. Calming, like the sea...
And for the first time, in a long while, she let her guard down.
Luka listened, for close to an hour, as Chloe let everything come pouring out. She needed it, he could tell. She looked so stressed and confused, that it made him feel sorry for her. She had pushed everyone away, and now she was all alone. True, most of it was her fault, but that didn't mean she didn't deserve a second chance.
"And so now I'm stuck with this half-sister I didn't even know about, who pretends like she cares about me all so she can loosen my guard and bring me down!" Chloe huffed out. Why did it feel so good to get all of that off her chest?
Luka drummed his fingers gently across his guitar strings. "It might surprise you, but Zoe isn't pretending. She actually cares about you."
"What? No, why would she?" That was outrageous, unbelievable!
"Because you're her sister. And you've been through the same thing. She wants to help you, Chloe, because it's the right thing to do," Luka said.
The right thing to do. "You sound just like Ladybug! And you know what she did to me? She stole my miraculous, and never gave it back! I did everything she asked, and she never did anything in return for me!" It might've been over a year ago, but it still hurt Chloe. That bee miraculous was hers.
"No, you've got it all wrong. It's our actions that speak to who we are. It was your choices that took that away, and if you keep making the wrong ones, it's what's going to tear your life apart, unless you choose to build it back together."
Chloe was furious. "You're as bad as she is! A liar at every turn!" There, for a small second, Chloe felt some hesitation in her. What was Luka talking about?
"You can blame as many people as you want. You can defend yourself, and play the victim a thousand times over again, but it's not going to change anything. Don't push people away. Let them help you."
"Oh please, what would you know?" Chloe snapped back. "You have no idea everything I've been through! You don't know how many people have-"
"Yes, I do," Luka cut in. His voice was stern, almost threatening. "Chloe, I want to help you, I really do. But you have to take the first step. You have to get out of your head and face reality. Please don't even pretend that you're the only one who has problems. Almost everyone has something to deal with that they wish they didn't."
Chloe was taken aback. She had never before considered...how many other people suffered, even worse than she did. But they didn't matter, right? It was only about you. Wait, no, that was just what her mom had told her. Chloe's mind began to overflow with confusion. What was right, and what was wrong?
Luka looked down to the ground. "I didn't mean to hurt you with what I said, Chloe." He sounded almost remorseful.
"Well, you did." Chloe held back her tears. "Thanks for reminding me that I'm useless, no matter what I do."
Useless. Once, as Queen Bee, she had been someone. She had been important. Now she was just Chloe Bourgeois, the perfect rich girl that everyone hated. She had no friends, nothing to look forward to. Maybe Luka was right. She was no better than anyone else here.
Chloe wiped away a few tears as she tried to walk off. But suddenly, Luka grabbed her by the hand and stopped her.
"No, you're not useless. You're special. You're unique. You're you. No one is ever useless."
What? Why, why would Luka say that? Could he possibly...mean it? No, that was impossible. He had no reason in the world to care about Chloe. "It doesn't matter what you think," she said. "I'm not a superhero anymore. And I never will be." Hot tears started running down her cheeks. She didn't even care that she was crying in front of Luka. It hurt too much. The one thing she had ever really wanted was gone. She would never be able to have it again.
Luka watched her for a moment, his heart swelling inside of him. Deep down, he could see ever so clearly how Zoe was right. There was good in Chloe. He just had to help her find it. "Then be something better than a hero."
Chloe stopped crying and looked up at him. "There's nothing better than a hero. There's nothing else out there that would ever be that great."
"I can think of one," Luka said thoughtfully.
"What?"
"Be you. Whoever that wonderful, funny, beautiful person turns out to be."
Chloe almost blushed. What, was Luka talking about? "I already am me," she said with an eye roll.
"Partly," Luka agreed. "But I think you're more like your sister than you think. You fake who you are, but you've gotten so mixed up playing a role that you can't tell what part is real or not. The hard part is trying to discern that."
Playing a role? Chloe had never thought of it like that. Was she? Was all of this, her nasty behavior, mistreatment of others, all fake? All one big act meant to please people like her mother? Why did it sound so crushingly true? "I-" Chloe couldn't think of anything to say.
"And if you ever feel alone...I'll be there for you," Luka said. He took a step closer to Chloe, and before she knew it, he pulled her into a tight hug.
It felt...warm. Chloe was shocked, just like she was when Zoe hugged her. Could they possibly...actually care for her? Chloe closed her eyes and pulled herself into Luka's embrace. She relaxed, and for once, put down her guard. It's okay to feel hurt...it's okay to feel hurt, she kept assuring herself.