lila's revenge

Chapter 17

marinette's pov:

It was the day of the party, and as promised, i had trailed around the shops with Alya last night. She was super curious why the dynamic between him and I had changed but of course i just brushed it off. Not like i could tell another person my secret. Although she is a superhero so maybe she's a better person to know compared to Adrien.

Tikki pulled my hair, waking me from my daydream rather abruptly.

"Come on Marinette, we need to meet at Chloe's in 10 minutes!" 

Glancing at the alarm, i saw she was right, grabbed the dress and made my way downstairs. Mama and Papa were out on a delivery round, so i left them a note and walked out of the bakery.

It was a hot temperature today. Nice, but it was heavy. I could feel it pressing down on me as I wiped my forehead. Best to not show up all sweaty in front of Adrien.

As i keep walking, my mind takes a turn to the events of yesterday. Not even the ladybug drama could make me forget Chloe's day.

The poor girl was put on immediate bed rest, but her private medic has deemed her well enough to continue with the party plan. It was a major relief when i heard. As much as i love Alya, i will definitely be spending the party with Chloe and Adrien around. I feel safer that way.

A few moments later, i reach the entrance to the hotel and look upwards. There have been so many akumatization fights here but I can still picture every one. Kung Food on the roof, Despair Bear in the private bar just below, Vanisher in the foyer. I gulp as i remember Antibug. Chat Noir hung over the roof whilst I was detransformed. That could have ended so badly. How am I going to tell Chat Noir that someone knows i'm Ladybug. We agreed to tell each other first. He's going to be so disappointed in me.

I'm brought back to earth with a bump when Chloe hugs me. I'm still standing outside but she must have spotted me from her CCTV. Pretty smart of her if you ask me. I mean, she's got complete surveillance over the hotel, despite how big it is. I'll have to use that to my advantage next time an akuma gets loose here.

"Hey Chloe." I smile, returning the hug.

She releases me and smiles back. "Hiya. Adrien's already here in my room so we should probably make our way there."

I nod and we make our way to the elevator. Once the doors are safely shut, she turns to me with concern.

"Hey, before i blacked out yesterday, I heard Alya and Nino ranting about you off on a walk and Adrien being MIA." her eyes crinkle slightly as she smiles. "Now, i know that wasn't true, and you don't need to tell me the real sequence of events but, are you okay?"

I can hear the concern and warmth coming from her words and I know she genuinely cares about my wellbeing, rather than trying to gather gossip.

I take a breathe before deciding to come clean. It will be easier to keep up the lie if she's in on it.

"Adrien was being weird yesterday morning and Alya told me not to message him. But he texted me saying he needed to talk to me really badly. So we spent lunch at the Eiffel Tower talking." i explain quietly, in case the elevator brings us too close to Adrien.

"And what did he say?" she probes, not knowing the internal battle going on between my head and heart.

"He knows that I'm...." i start, before the elevator doors ping open and we see Adrien standing there politely waiting.

"Oh Adrien what are you doing out here?" Chloe asks, rather startled by the boys appearance.

"I felt it was rude of me to spend time in your bedroom by myself." he explains nervously, rubbing the back of his neck.

Chloe glances at me with confusion but humour glimmering in her eyes. I have to agree with her, he is being a bit weird and awkward, even for him. Maybe even for me.

"Well now that everyone's here we can get ready!" Chloe decides, walking to her closed bedroom doors.

"Were you about to tell her?" Adrien whispers in shock, once he and i are standing side by side near the elevator.

I shrug and before I can say anything else, Adrien walks through the doors with a sigh. Chloe turns back to me with her eyebrows raised in confusion. I make my way into her room as well, and she pats my shoulder in comfort as i pass by her.

I always forget how beautiful Chloe's room is. I've been here more as Ladybug, but the view never gets old. I walk over to the balcony and rest my arms against the railings. I stay there for a few moments, just watching the view of Paris.

Suddenly, a loud boom breaks the serene scene of the Parisian streets. I panic, Chloe will never let me leave without an explanation. I turn back to see her watching me with curiousity. When she sees my discomfort she blinks in surprise. Within moments, something casts over her eyes. Understanding. She knows, she worked out I'm Ladybug.

"Come on Adrien, I need to show you this super cool thing I bought from New York." she claims, leading Adrien out her room before giving me a wink and a thumbs up.

I transform and leap out of the window, checking to see no one was watching.

I almost fall backward when i see a figure staring at me through the next window along. When i realise its Chloe, i smile in relief as i see her amazement and pride, before waving and leaving.

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adriens pov:
Chloe leads me out of the room, which i don't argue with. I know Marinette needs to transform so this is a good distraction. The only flaw is I don't know how I'm going to transform myself, with Chloe hanging on to me. After a few failed attempts of excuses to  leave, i sit on the floor with my head in my hands, wondering how I'm going to be able to assist Ladybug.

Little did I know, Chloe was regarding me with amusement.

After a while she giggles. I look up at her in confusion before she smiles at me and says the last 5 words I would ever expect her to say.

"You're Chat Noir aren't you?"