Lila had engaged a group of her peers in a tale where she had been offered to open for Clara Nightingale, and had even dreamt up the choreography for her latest video. Everyone was soaking it all up...except for Alya, whose ears were deaf to the tale as she watched Marinette from the corner of her eye.
Since coming here, Marinette had avoided Alya, and by extension Nino and Lila, like she had rabies. She still spoke politely to her other friends, but whenever Alya came closer than three feet, she took off and moved onto something else. She barely even met gazes with her former friend.
But what really bugged Alya was that he was attached her hip the entire time. Henri stuck by his woman's side like glue. Even the friends that Marinette spoke nicely with felt uncomfortable in his presence. It was hard, with all the dirty history between them and the bully. It took a lot of willpower to hide their hatred and pretend that everything was okay with him around, so close to Marinette.
Soon, the upbeat pop music turned into a soft, soulful ballad, slow but full of joy. People at the party started going off in pairs, putting their arms around each other and swaying to the melody. Nino got his girlfriend's attention and pulled her onto the dance floor, leading the way in the dance, hoping that this would lift her spirits.
To his credit, it did distract her from her woes for a minute or two. But then she glanced over his shoulder to see Henri and Marinette a few feet away. They were holding onto each other for dear life. No one had to go over and shift their hands to the more affectionate positions, like Alya had done last time with Mari and Adrien. She already had her arms coiled around his neck, her head on his shoulder, while Henri had his hands pressed on her lower back, pulling her closer to him.
Nino saw his girlfriend's disgusted expression and followed her line of vision to see the two lovebirds, all cozy with each other, numb to the rest of the world, and his face changed to match hers.
"He holds her any tighter, we'll need to butter them up to get her loose.", remarked Alya, spitting with every other word like she had a bad taste in her mouth. Nino nodded, his upper lip curled in disdainful agreement.
Henri pulled back slightly, meeting Marinette's eyes. Alya wanted to puke when she saw the warm, gooey, lovey-dovey looks they gave each other. Henri mouthed the words, "I love you.", and, not wasting a second more, lowered his head to meet her lips. Marinette accepted him, cupping his face to deepen their kiss, choosing to ignore the gagging sounds from some of her classmates, who knew Henri.
The only one not focusing on the "lovely" couple was the hostess of the soirée. She was focused on finding Adrien's face among her guests. But he never appeared. "What is taking him so long?"
Suddenly, her phone rang. She saw Adrien's photo appear on the screen. "Finally!" She accepted the call without a second's hesitation. "Adri-kin's! Where are you?! The party's half over!"
"I'm not coming, Chloé."
"What?! That's ridiculous! Utterly riduclous! Tell your father I'm hosting it! I'm sure he'll let you go if he knows I'll be here!"
"My father has nothing to do with this, Chloé. I'm not coming to your party because I don't want to."
Her heart jolted. "WHAT?!"
She was so loud, everyone immediately stopped dancing and turned their heads in her direction. Even Marinette and Henri broke their kiss to see what all the hoopla was about.
"What do you mean you don't want to come?! Adrien, if you're playing a joke on me—"
"Its not a joke, Chloé. You think I was born yesterday? You're doing exactly what you did the last time I broke off our friendship."
"I'm just trying to show you I can be nice when I have to be—"
"Exactly, Chloé. You're only nice when you're in danger of losing something you cherish, like my friendship. You're never nice because you know it's the right thing to do. You're only nice to people when you have something to gain or lose from them. If I go to that party, I know what's gonna happen. As soon as I tell you everything's cool between us, you'll go right back to stepping on everybody, just like you did last time."
"Adrien, things are different this time! I promise, I'll be better this time!"
"Prove it. Show me you can be nice at school tomorrow. And the day after that...and everyday after that! One nice thing for our class isn't going to cut it this time. If you can be nice for more than a few hours, I'll reconsider our friendship. If not...well, you know the drill."
A sigh came from the other end of the phone. "Chloé, I gotta go now. But I'll be watching you from now on. Bye."
"Adrien, no! Don't hang up!" But as she was midway through her sentence, the sharp buzzing came from her phone, signaling the end of the call.
Chloé looked around and saw that everyone was staring at her, making her feel as if she were drowning. Marinette gulped and kept her gaze firmly on her rival. She expected Chloé to snap right back to her usual horrible self, to start yelling and insulting them, now that she no longer had to act nice for Adrien's arrival.
Instead, her reaction surprised Marinette. Fresh tears bubbled in Chloe's eyes, and she dropped her phone and ran out of the room sobbing into her hands. Sabrina ran after her best friend to comfort her. Everyone watched them until they were out of sight.
It was so quiet in the room that you could hear a pin drop. Marinette was stunned. She had only seen Chloé cry once before, when she was ashamed about hurting her dad's feeling, leading to his akumazation, and about how lonely and useless she felt. Even then, that was quite recently.
A part of Marinette felt sorry for Chloé. Even though she was mean, she really did care about Adrien. After all, he was the only true friend she had. Sure, she had Sabrina, but the little redhead had no idea how friendship worked. Even when she tried being friends with Marinette, Sabrina had acted more like a lackey than a friend. She was nice, but she was too eager to please, and had a lot to learn about what a real friend was.
"You okay?"
Marinette looked up at Henri, returning his concerned expression with a guilty one. "I know I shouldn't, but..."
"You feel bad for her."
She nodded. "I mean, I know Chloé can be nasty to the rest of us, but she really does care about Adrien. A lot. I mean, they grew up together. He's the only one who sticks up for her. Without him, she doesn't have any real friends."
Henri pauses before he spoke. "Hey, why don't I talk to her? Cheer her up?"
Marinette's lip worried. "Are you sure that's a good idea? Chloé can be really nasty, especially when she's been jilted to dissed. Maybe you shouldn't poke the bear?"
"She's never been mean to me.", said Henri. "Even though everyone else has. Maybe it's a sign she likes me? Or at least doesn't hate me."
Marinette slowly nodded her head. That was true. It was strange that the friends that she had once thought were the nicest people she met could be so horrible towards such an innocent boy, while the meanest girl in school had spared him from her usual cruelty. But if she had not taken the opportunity to pick on him, even while the rest of her peers were all ragging on him, maybe that meant she sort of liked him. Or at the least, she respected him enough not to target him.
"Well...if you think you can help, I say go for it.", she said, snuggling up to his side. "Just...be careful, mmkay?" She kissed him on the cheek for luck.
He returned with a kiss to her temple and went jogging off in the same direction Chloé and Sabrina had gone. Marinette turned to her other friends, who were giving her puzzled looks.
"He's going to to try to help Chloé.", she explained. "He's so sweet."
When she looked away, everyone rolled their eyes.
—————————
"How could he do this to me?", wailed the mayor's daughter as her red haired lackey patted her hand to soothe her. "I gave him everything, and he abandoned me!"
"There, there!", cooed Sabrina. "I'm sure it's a misunderstanding! I know Adrien will come around sooner or later!"
"I dunno, Sabrina.", Chloé sniffled. "He sounded serious this time!" Her face then twisted into rage. "And it's all because of that rotten little liar!"
"Who?"
"Lila Rossi! She's been lying about everything since she came to school!"
Sabrina dropped Chloe's hand. "Oh, come on, you sound like Marinette now."
"Sabrina, it's true! Adrien told me Lila is a liar!"
Sabrina's eyebrows shot up. "Adrien told you that?"
"Apparently, Ladybug called Liar Rossi out for her crud right in front of him on the day she started at school."
Sabrina looked doubtful. "Are you sure?"
Chloe's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Are you calling my Adrikins a liar?"
Sabrina held her hands up in defense. "No! No, I'm not! ...at least, I don't want to, but...". She bit down on her lip hard. "Chloé, don't you think it's odd that he chose to tell you now? I mean, if he knew all along, why didn't he say something sooner?"
"Because he's got the backbone of a jellyfish."
Both heads whipped around to see the new guy standing in the doorway. Well, yeah, technically, being in their class for, like, six months meant that he wasn't really new to the class anymore. But he was still relatively new to Chloé and Sabrina. They had barely interacted with him since he had transferred to their school.
It was such a shame. With his looks and charisma, he could have easily ruled the school alongside Chloe, the power couple of Françoise DuPont. But no...instead he had chosen to date below his social class, latching onto boring, middle-class Dupain-Cheng. Such greatness, wasted on someone so unworthy. But hey, it got her out of Chloe's hair, so she wasn't complaining.
"What do you want, LeRoi?", snapped the mayor's daughter as she snatched the tissue Sabrina was offering and used it to dab at her watery eyes.
He strutted into view, out of the shadows, and Chloé suddenly got chills up and down her spine. And not the good kind.
Now that his face was bathed in the sunlight, she could clearly see the devious smirk on his face, one she recognized from various akumas while they were kidnapping or attacking innocent civilians. But his eyes are what really scared Chloé. They were cold, unfeeling, examining her like a lion about to pounce on it's next prey.
"Oh, how the mighty have fallen.", he said in a low, mocking tone. "I'd like to see how your Daddy gets you out of this one!"
Chloé and Sabrina were caught off-guard by this. They hadn't expected such cold remarks to come from someone who was highly admired by goody-two-shoes Dupain-Cheng. Sure, Chloé hadn't been the nicest person to anyone, but did he really have to kick her while she was down?
"Excuse moi?!", squealed Chloé, jumping to her feet. "How dare you speak to me like that! Do you know who I am?!"
"You mean, besides a spoiled brat who walks around thinking she's God's gift to humanity, while in reality, if she got run over by a car, the world would be a way better place without her?"
Chloe's jaw fell open, and so did Sabrina's.
Okay, now that was a low blow.
"You've got a lot of nerve coming in here, acting like you're the King of France and can say whatever you want!", she snarled. "I have a good mind to call my Daddy and have him ruin you!"
"There you go again.", smirked Henri. "Crying to your daddy to bail you out! You do realize he's not gonna be the mayor forever, right? Especially when word gets out that his teen daughter has him whipped. Then how are you gonna survive?"
Chloé just stared back at him. Henri smiled cruelly and continued.
"You're never gonna survive in the real world, Bourgeois. One day, your precious Daddykins will be out of office, one way or another, and you'll have no more power over any of us. Then the world will see you as you really are...a useless little twit."
Chloé gasped. "I-I'm not useless! Ladybug said so!"
"Ladybug?", chortled Henri. "You believed that softie? Ladybug thinks everybody is useful! She's like one of those lame little kiddie shows that preach that everyone is special and you should be nice and bake cake for all to share!"
"Don't talk about Ladybug like that!", snapped Chloé. "She's a hero who deserves your respect!"
"Respect...ha!", laughed Henri. "She's been fighting Hawkmoth for like what? Two years? And she still hasn't gotten back his miraculous! Even though she had the perfect chance to on Heroes Day! She could have snatched away his miraculous as soon as he got close enough. But noooo...she wanted to give him a chance to repent!" He said that last word like he had a bad taste in his mouth. "I respect winners! Go-getters! And Ladybug isn't one of them! She's just a softhearted idiot who can't see past her own sanctimonious nose and look clearly for the real solution!"
He shot Chloe a mean smirk. "But...if you want to believe her that you actually have value, be my guest."
Chloé and Sabrina were now gaping at Henri like a pair of fish. Was this the same boy that was dating Marinette Dupain-Cheng? Marinette, one of the nicest girls in their class, who couldn't stand it when someone was bullied or belittled? This was a whole new side of LeRoi, a side that contrasted so vastly to his girlfriend. A side Chloé knew that Dupain-Cheng must not be aware of. Even though they were not the best of friends, Marinette would not condone anyone talking to the mayor's daughter like that, especially not while she had just suffered a blow from one of her best friends.
"I can't believe it...", murmured Sabrina, shaking her head, her eyes wide and unfocused. "The rumors were true..."
Chloé whipped around. "What rumors?"
Sabrina looked up. "Everyone was saying how Henri has been picking on them, making them look bad in front of Marinette! They said that he makes it look they're bullying him when he's the one doing the bullying! And if he's capable of saying things like that...". She became quite pale.
Chloé spun around to glare at the boy before her. "Why, you...". Her face went red. "You pretentious little snot! You're not nice at all! You're just pretending to be so poor, naive Dupain-Cheng will like you!"
Henri quirked a brow. "Yeah! What are you gonna do about it? You gonna go whine to your Daddykins? Go ahead. I'm sure he'd be happy to punish the son of the founder of Ulterquick Corporations."
Chloe's blood ran cold. "Did you say Ulterquick Corporations?"
"Ulterquick Corporations?", Sabrina asked. "As in the major player of the internet? Who own like, half the major websites? Chloé, aren't they your dad's biggest political supporter?"
Chloé shook, but tried to put on a brave face. "I don't believe you. There's no way your dad is the founder of Ulterquick!"
"You're right. My dad isn't the founder."
Chloé smiled triumphantly. "Ha! I knew it!"
"My stepdad is."
The triumph vanished. "Your stepdad?"
"Still don't believe me?", said Henri. "Fine."
He pulled out his phone and swiped at it. Minutes later, a voice came from the device. "Henri! Salut, my boy! How are you doing?"
Henri smiled kindly. "Hi, Rodger! I'm at a party with Chloe Bourgeois! You know her, don't you?"
He turned his phone around, and Chloé gasped to see the face of Rodger Tate's was indeed on the screen.
"Why, of course! We met a few years ago at a political meetup! How are you, Mademoiselle?"
Chloe's face was as white as a sheet. "Moiuser Tates! He...Henri is your stepson?"
"Well, my former stepson.", explained Tates. "His mom and I got divorced a while back, but we still keep in touch! And I still feel like he's my son, even if the courts say otherwise. I hope you two are getting along!"
Chloé just stared at him like she had seen a ghost. Slowly, her eyes traveled upwards to look at Henri's smug, vicious grin, spread across his face. She quickly put in a facade of peace and looked at Mousier Tates. "Of course! He's so cool! You know, he's dating one of my best friends now! They're a totally cute couple!"
"That's great to hear! Henri, you should be her with you when you visit me for Christmas at the Swiss Alps!", said Tates.
"Sounds great, Rodger. Til next time." Henri hung up and put his phone back in his pocket, still focusing his cruel glare on Chloé.
Suddenly, Sabrina spoke up. "How come you never told anyone that your mom married the founder of one of the biggest tech companies in the world and Mayor Bourgeois's biggest political supporter?"
"And risk painting myself as a suspect when things go wrong in someone's life? My mother's been married to all sorts of powerful men. I have stepdads in high places. And they all adore me like I'm their own son. I can easily convince any of them to ruin my enemies. And because I'm not related by blood, no one can trace the bad things back to me."
"Than why are you telling us?", Chloé asked.
Henri shot her another mean look. "Because no one will believe you if you tell."
"Not even Dupain-Cheng?"
Henri laughed, loudly and shamelessly, right in her face. "Marinette? You really think she'd trust you over me?! You, the girl who tormented her for years?! Fat chance! She didn't believe the others, and they were actually her friends! You can go ahead and tell her everything. I'll just deny it. It's my word against yours, and you've already shown her on multiple occasions that you can't be trusted."
Chloé was fuming now, but Henri wasn't quite done yet. "Face it, Blondie. You've met your match. And if you do tattle to your daddy, I'll get Rodger to back his opponent in the next election. And then all your rich, high society friends will drop you like the worthless piece of trash you really are. Just like Adrien did."
He spun on his heel and started to walk towards the exit when suddenly, he stopped. He went over to a pedestal and picked up a pretty painted china cat, turning it around in his hands to examine it.
"Hey! Watch it!", sneered Chloé. "My mother got that for me!"
Henri raised a brow. "Did she?"
Sabrina came up to Chloé's side. "Henri, please...put that back. Chloé really likes that cat."
Henri just blinked twice.
"You heard Sabrina! Drop it!"
Both eyebrows shot up. "Okay." And with that, he literally dropped the china cat, letting it fall at his feet and shatter on the cold, hard, shiny floors.
Chloé went rigid, staring at the mess of painted shards on the marble grounds. Sabrina gaped at Henri, but the boy simply shrugged, shoving his hands into his pockets. "What? She said drop it." He smirked and marched out of the room, beaming with sinister pride.
Chloé fell to her knees, crawling over to the mess of pieces Henri had left behind, tears blurring her visions. So many emotions hit her all at once; anger, sadness, loss...a lust for revenge against that snot-nosed butthole, a burning desire to make him pay...
Neither she nor Sabrina noticed the little butterfly fly to where she knelt until it was too late.