The Mystery of Chloe B.

4 - The Intruder

Chloe had a feeling that she would explode soon. She wanted to leave her own birthday party! What the hell was going on here?!

She was watching Adrien leading Marinette to the dancefloor. Her eyes narrowed ominously when she heard a rock ballad and saw that Adrien embraced Marinette to dance with her. She glanced quickly at the DJ and felt growing irritation. Of course! There must have been Nino! Did everyone have to try to match these two?! Really? That was ridiculous! It looked like a huge misunderstanding!

Suddenly, with astonishment, she discovered that she felt nothing more than anger. She wasn't jealous. That was quite amazing discovery, because until now she had been convinced that she was in love with Adrien. Meanwhile, she missed the basic feeling in a situation when the boy of your life danced with another girl – the jealousy...

But there was something else that Chloe didn't realise at first, and yet it was a hint of her conscience. That she had stretched the truth for her own purposes. And now the letter, she had used to corner Adrien, was burning a hole in her pocket. Just as sudden remorse burned holes in her heart. Chloe didn't like holes. Neither in clothes nor in her heart.

She felt oddly again. She knew she had done something bad, but she couldn't understand why it hurt her. What was happening to her? It seemed to her that the whole world turned upside down. Pigs could fly as well.

It was as if the letter from her mother had woken a forgotten part of her soul. As if – a long time ago – abandoned Chloe had closed a door to her real emotions and threw away the key. And today the key was found by accident and opened the door back. Wasn't it like opening Pandora's box?

Standing on the balcony, watching the dancers, she tried to shut the unfortunate door, but unsuccessfully.

"Is it really so hard for you?" she heard a low, deep voice just next to her.

She scowled at the intruder. He was none of her classmates. Tall, dark-haired with dark complexion and deep blue eyes. He had half-long ruffled hair that Chloe hated. It was too messy for her standard, although she had to admit that he was handsome. She denied to herself immediately, of course.

"It's none of your business!" she snorted to dismiss him. She wouldn't let a stranger get familiar with her!

"But it breaks my heart seeing such a despairing girl."

"So, make a tartar steak of it then!" she snarled. "And besides, I'm not despairing!"

"You're not?" he asked surprised. Or only pretended to be surprised.

"Imagine that I'm only angry."

"Ah, angry... Typical for birthdays. Wrong gifts and that damned additional candle on the cake..."

"Can you leave?"

"But I can't." he grinned.

"I'll call the security! Or daddy." She warned.

"Ah, right. Your dad..." he sighed with a smile. "Scourge of all Chloe B.'s admirers."

"Do you have a problem?!" she lost control. What did he want from her?

"Well, actually I do."

"So, go away, solve it and leave me alone."

"Impossible." He shook his head still with this smile. "If I go, I won't solve my problem."

"That's not my problem." She shrugged.

"It may be a little bit yours. You see, Chloe... If you care about your guests, you should cheer up."

"What a nonsense!" she exclaimed.

"You don't want to meet a little dark butterfly, do you?" he winked to her.

"You mean... the akuma?" she whispered and looked around with fear.

"I've heard they like negative emotions."

"Who are you?" she asked suspiciously.

"Not Hawkmoth, if you ask about this." He winked again.

"Cat Noir?"

"Nope, again. I don't have any super-powers."

"Pshaw! I don't care." She shrugged and turned away. She looked again at her classmates dancing. Was it an illusion or Adrien hugged Marinette tighter?

"I see you want to dance." The stranger didn't give up.

"Can't you see I'm trying to give you to understand that you should leave?!" she said irritably.

"But I can't leave you like that."

"Oh, come on! No one, except you, has insisted on making me feel better." She murmured and added quickly: "And that was fine."

"Really? Was it?" again that little voice of her awakened conscience asked in her head.

"Really? Was it?" the dark-haired intruder asked aloud.

Chloe looked at him in amazement. Could her conscience become human? Oh, come on! Let's not get into paranoia!

"OK. Let's say you're right. It wasn't." she confessed, and she was surprised that she said it loudly. And in front of the stranger! "What do you want?" she asked frankly.

"Dance with you." He answered frankly as well.

"If I agree, will you leave me alone?"

"I can't promise." He smiled.

"You're unbearable." She sighed irritably. "But OK. So be it. Otherwise you would probably niggle me all the evening."

And she let him take her to the dancefloor.