The Lone Vixen - EDITING

Chapter Twelve: Blackmailing a Fox?

Luka sat on the front steps of the school tuning his acoustic guitar. He had a gig downtown after school, and was using his lunch hour to practice. Alya watched him from the shadows of the entrance, entranced by his calmness after he had just learnt of the most stressful secret ever. She didn't really understand him. She had met him on his boat three years prior. It was the day his mother became akumatized. She remembered how brave he seemed while the whole ordeal took place. She knew that she was scared to death when any of her family was akumatized. "So," he said, not looking up from his guitar. "You got back pretty late last night. We never got to continue our conversation." Alya slightly blushed, his tone of voice slightly erotic.

"There's nothing more to really say."

"What? There's plenty to say! You don't just let the fox out of the bag and not answer everyone's questions."

"Oh puh-lease. I can answer anything I want, and I don't feel like answering your right this minute."

"Is that so?" He said, raising his head to look her in her hazel eyes, speckles of gold and green shining like stars. "Well... I'm pretty sure that I could just tell Nadia Chamock. I think she would be glad to tell everyone of the identity of Paris's most important hero." Alya gasped.

"You're not blackmailing me!" she raised her voice. "You can't do that!" He gave her an oh-really-you-think-I-won't look, which was the smuggest thing in the world. "G-h.... Luka!" She yelled. He burst out in laughter, barely holding it together.

"Oh, that was good! I wouldn't blackmail you Alys, you're too cute when you're flustered, that's all." He played a little tune which was upbeat and whole, filling the air around him. Out of the blue, he looked up and plainly said, "we should go on a date sometime."

"A-wha... huh?"

"A date. You know, we hang out in a romantic way, and probably go to dinner, maybe see a movie?" It was tempting. Alya really liked Luka, but it felt wrong. Her heart was already struggling to decide if it should go to Nino, or Carapace. She'd been dating Nino, but her protective partner had edged his way into her heart.

"How about... lunch, and a movie. Tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?"

"There's no school. Come pick me up around 11:00."

"Wow, you wasted no time." He smirked. "Maybe after that, we could go to my place and-"

"Goodbye Luka." Luka watched as Alya left for her lunch hour, the sway of her hips intoxicating. He knew she wouldn't choose him. They never chose him, but he still wanted it while it could last. When Alya made it far enough from the school and was out of sight, Trixx came out of her pocket.

"Wow..."

"Yeah... I kinda like it."

"No no no no no no-" Trixx kept mumbling. "Luka and you are not meant to be together."

"Wh-Trixx! You can't just say that kind of stuff! I know you love Wayzz or something close to that, but you can't just say we're not meant to be together, that's no-"

"Your red strings are tied with Carapace. They always are. Chat and Lady's are tied, Rouge and Pace are tied, the moth and peacock are tied."

"What about Queenie?"

"Oh... she, well... The bee miraculous doesn't ever get a full red string. They get the friendship red strings, as well as the love string, but they don't have a soulmate one."

"That's terrible!"

"It's not too bad. Most people don't even think they exist, so they don't think too much about it." Alya was silent as she entered her house, still thinking of what to say.

"So..." she said, a sandwich in her hand as she sat on her bed. "my... my soulmate is C-Carapace?" Trixx nodded, breathing in deeply. "And... I'm going on a date with another guy?"

"It only makes sense. Carapace has been gone for a while, and Luka is the only guy who's been on your side this whole time. Also, he's pretty cute and nice. You want someone to take care of you, someone to tell you it's all right and give you a kiss while you snuggle. Everyone wants that. Even tricky old foxes like me like that kind of stuff." They were silent for a while, allowing Alya to finish her sandwich in peace. She gathered up her stuff and began the walk back to school. "Kit... did I upset you?"

"W-what? No! I just... I needed time to think about what you said. It's this feeling... I feel like I'm betraying Carapace, or even Nino. It's not like I was dating Carapace though, and me and Nino split up when I was trying to figure out my feelings."

"You liked Nino, then you liked Carapace, you kept your loyalties to both, but you just found out Pace is your soul mate. I would be pretty confused too. I say you get what you need from Luka, and then throw him out."

"Trixx!"

"What'd Trixx say?" Luka asked. Alya realized that she was on the steps, and he was packing his guitar away at the top.

"She, uh... said something really inappropriate. Can't share it on school grounds." She walked up to meet him.

"I guess we can't do anything bad then." He said, kissing her cheek and grabbing her hand.

"Luka!" Alya whisper-yelled as they walked into the school holding hands. "People will see!"

"What's wrong with them seeing?" Alya really didn't know. She assumed it was because deep down, she didn't want to be seen with him. They got to class as the bell rang, the classroom kicking straight into work. They constantly sent each other cute notes, the first one saying "No wonder you're Rena Rouge. A foxy woman like you could hardly have gone unnoticed." It made her blush, but also laugh. She sent one responding to it. "Are foxes attracted to artificial hair colors and deafening guitar solos?" He only looked and nodded. It all made Alya sad. She and Nino used to send little notes throughout class. It was so much different now.

"I need to go to the restroom Miss!" Alya called from her chair. She was dismissed from the classroom in less than a minute. The way to the bathrooms was a simple walk, but Alya ran. She had tears welling in her eyes, and she knew she was about to start bawling her eyes out. When she stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom, she tried imagining her old self. Healthy, pretty, happy... nothing compared to now. She didn't have her friends to make up her life... and it was killing her. "T-Trixx." She shakily sighed. "I can't do this anymore. I... I gave up cutting four months ago, but now it hurts even more. If we don't find them in the next month, I... I feel like I'm going to kill myself."

"Don't say that!" Trixx shouted. Thankfully, the bathroom was deserted. "You have a loving family, a highly important job, a bright future, and your friends are still out there. I can feel it." Trixx flew up to Alya and rubbed her soft head against her cheek. "You're going to get through this." An idea suddenly popped into the small kwami's head. "Why don't we go see the Guardian? We could see if we're any closer to completing our mission." Alya thought for a minute. It would be nice to go visit him. She nodded her head.

"Yeah... yeah, let's go.