The Lone Vixen - EDITING

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Cataclysm and an Acid Spray-Bottle

Chloe felt odd. She was happy that they had Marinette and the miraculous back, but she was out of the loop. She was the most recent hero out of the whole, and hadn't been friends for years like they had. Marinette couldn't slip back into her old self, laughing and joking around, flirting with Adrien. He flirted back of course. Old habits die hard I guess. Chloe watched the group as they rested. They needed their strength to retrieve Carapace, and then the strength as a whole to defeat Gabriel and Nathalie. The whole situation seemed awkward. Chloe felt awkward. She cleared her throat, and walked over to Marinette. "I'm sorry."

"What?"

"I'm... sorry."

"What for? You helped save me."

"No. Before that." Marinette quirked a brow, which was difficult to see with the mask on. Chloe sighed. "I treated you terribly, because I wanted to be like you. You are beautiful, and talented, and kind. You have the best friends, and support, the family. Everything I was, you were the opposite, and I felt... If I couldn't be it, I would be against it." Marinette nodded, sympathy in her eyes. "I just..." Chloe teared up. "I wanted to start over." Marinette smiled and stood, extending her hand to Chloe.

"Hello. My name's Marinette. My friends call me Mari, Ladybug, Lady, and LB. What's yours?" Chloe laughed. Were they really doing this?

"Hi Mari. I'm Chloe. My two friends call me Chlo, Queen Bee, and Queenie." Marinette smiled as she shook Chloe's gloved hand.

"Make that three... Queenie." They laughed, and the whole group sat down sat down together, Hawkmoth nowhere in sight. "So... What have I missed?" Chloe and Alya looked at each other with worried expressions.

"Well... quite a lot. Obviously, you missed Chlo getting a miraculous. Um... you missed out on akumas."

"Do not miss that one bit."

"Preach." They chuckled and continued. "You missed our reveals, but I guess now you know. Hm... Well... I'm not single anymore." Alya said with a hum.

"W-what?! I missed your first boyfriend!?" Everyone laughed at Marinette's overreaction. "Who is he?

"Or she." Adrien pointed out.

"Right. Who is your boyfriend or girlfriend?" Alya took a deep breath. Would she be mad?

"Luka." Mari's eyes went wide with excitement, and then went dark with realization.

"What about Nino?" Alya visibly shuttered at his name.

"I... I wasted too much time with someone that would never like me back. Luka actually likes me Mare. He likes me for me. He's spent the time to get to know the real me, and he likes it. Nino... he was more of a school-girl crush. He's nice and talented, but he clearly likes someone else. I can't keep putting my hope into a broken glass." Marinette looked at Adrien with a sad nod, which he replied with.

"Alya... that other girl he likes? It's you."

"W-what? No. He's specifically talked about his crush around me, and she's a completely different person!"

"It's Rena Rouge." Chloe spoke quietly. Alya just barely heard her.

"Oh god no... why can't he just like me for me?" Marinette and Adrien burst into fits of laughter. "What?"

"We've been thinking the same thing for years!" They cried out together. Alya looked down as they laughed, and saw their hands intertwined. It saddened her really. She knew she should be happy. Marinette had been pining for Adrien's affection since junior high. And here Alya was, giving up on Nino, when Marinette had stayed strong, emotionally and physically. 'I don't care how he reacts, or how others will, but when I see Nino, I'm kissing him. Not as Rena Rouge, but as the real me. As Alya.' "You okay?" Adrien asked. Alya had been staring at their hands in silence, not an expression on her face.