Hehe.

So, to cure my writer's block, as I just cannot figure out how to write what I want to happen for the next chapter of Tainted, I wrote this!

I, personally, love Chloé. Yes, she can be a bit of a bitch. I'm pretty sure I used to hate her, but after we met her mom, and she became a character with depth, I couldn't stop myself from falling in love. And when she stopped herself from being akumatized? THAT'S THE GOOD SHIT MY DUDE.

There are mentions of emotional abuse, as that's kind of what her mom does to Chloé, but her mom is a minor character, yet a major reason Chloé is Chloé, so she had to be in this.

I hope you enjoy!!

I don't own Miraculous, otherwise, Emilie would be talked about a little more.

She had always been a happy child.

It didn't matter who it was. From shop owners to cruel politicians to random strangers. All left her presence with their mood a little higher than before.

Wherever she walked, whether it be to the kitchen to sneak candy or down the street with her hand in her assigned caregiver's, Chloé had the talent to spread smiles. It was mentioned to whatever adult was with her at the time how pure she was. How easily she could lift the mood of those around her.

Her smiles were even more infectious when she was with Adrien. Those two were bundles of energy, his mom and the staff constantly on edge when they were together. But no one wanted to complain, as they were never able to wipe off the small grins that appeared when the troublesome duo showed up to wreak havoc.

Emilie knew Chloé didn't see her parents all that often, so she made sure she spent as much time with them as she could. Whether it meant she listened to them ramble on for hours about their 14th favorite animal or watched them perform hastily made plays.

Emilie couldn't find it in her heart to mind.

The first time Chloé slipped up was one of Emilie's favorite memories. It had been a mistake, she knew it was. But it still, years later, brought tears to her eyes whenever it came to mind.

Chloé and Adrien were in a rather energetic game of tag. Emilie had a book in hand, glancing up every now and then to chuckle at their expressions as they chased each other around the room.

"Mama, Mama! Help, he's tickling me!"

Her book dropped from her grip, Emilie only able to stare in shock as Chloé froze, any and all movement stopped. Adrien looked between the two, not sure as to why his mom had tears in her eyes and why his friend had turned into a tomato.

Chloè wasn't sure what to do. She felt her face grow warm, but she couldn't meet Mrs. Agreste in the eye long enough to apologize. So she laid there, awaiting her fate.

As she watched Mrs. Agreste stand up and walk over, she grew nervous. Chloé was wrapped in a firm hug, but that still didn't help ebb the nerves.

Worried, as the girl was stiff in her arms, Emilie pulled back. The girl didn't seem upset, but she definitely wasn't as happy as she had been minutes prior.

"What's wrong, sweetie?"

Sniffling, Chloé looked down at her feet. "You aren't mad at me?"

The woman knelt before her felt her heart crack as she rubbed the young girl's cheek. Here stood a girl, someone who radiates happiness, who believed she was in trouble over a slip of words.

"No! No, of course, I'm not mad sweetheart!" Emilie tilted the girl's head up. She noticed the tears that had welled up in her big, blue eyes. As a tear began to slip out, a piece of her heart broke off.

"Actually, could I ask a favor from you?"

Emilie smiled to herself, as she knew Chloé loved to help others. With the excitement back into her blue eyes, the cracks in the woman's heart started to mend themselves.

"Would you mind calling me Mama more often? I'd be truly honored if you did!"

With wide eyes, Chloé nodded her head so viciously Adrien had been scared it would fall off. But as he saw his mom and best friend hug again, he couldn't help himself.

"Ah! Adrien, that tickles!!"

Emilie fell backward as Adrien started to tickle her, his tiny fingers aimed at the crook of her neck and her stomach. With an over-the-top gasp, she declared betrayal as Chloé teamed up with Adrien against her.

"What do we have here?" A deep voice asked. The pile to all turned their heads to identify the new human in their mixes.

"Papa! Come help us, Papa! We're tickling Mama!!"

"No, don't help them, Gabe! You can't truly understand the torture they've put me through!" Emilie pleaded, dramatic dripping from her voice as she fended off the duo.

"Well, you know I can't say no to my favorite person," Gabriel said as he made his way over. "Which is why I'm sorry, my dear."

Overwhelmed at the sheer number of people tickling her, Emilie filed this day under 'My Favorites'. Her husband able to goof around, a pleasure he was rarely granted, was a dream. Her son attempted to mimic his father, used his little fingers to tickle her, a sight she could never forget. The girl she unofficially adopted oh-so long ago laugh loudly as the woman squirmed beneath her, which made her heart swell.

Chloé had been a happy six-year-old.

...oOo…

At age eight was when life started to go downhill.

Chloé had begun to pick up on the little details. Such as how her mother never called her by her name on the first attempt. Or how her father tried to buy her happiness with gifts, a lazy attempt to apologize for the actions of her mother.

But the worst of all?

Her mother didn't seem to love her.

Audrey Bourgeois never complimented her daughter. Never said a nice word about her offspring. The only words to leave her mouth regarding her daughter were about what she could do better.

Honestly, why do you still run around at this age?

You actually plan to leave the house in that outfit? It's utterly ridiculous!

Why do you smile so much? It's rather unbecoming of you.

That's when the mask started to form.

In an attempt to show her mother how like her she could be, Chloé slowly began to forget her true self.

She wore the clothes her mother wore. Her smile became a rarity, usually reserved for when people messed up in front of her. Strutted everywhere, just like her mother. Began to use her mother's catchphrases on the regular.

All she wanted was for her mother to love her, was that so wrong?

The Agrestes picked up that Chloé had changed immediately. They noticed she never ran after Adrien anymore, refused to wear the silly dresses she was so fond of, hardly smiled anymore.

They all subconsciously agreed to slow the process. Before Chloé completely lost herself.

Adrien tickled her, told her jokes. He challenged her to dance-offs, told her about his favorite animes, played board games with her. He brought out her competitive side because he knew it would make her act a little more Chloé.

Emilie hugged her, showed her photos of old times. Embarrassed Adrien, much to his dismay, by hauling out his baby albums (he refused to admit he was amused by it). She referred to her as her daughter, complimented her at every turn. Hoped to break through the unsteady brick wall Chloé had under construction.

Gabriel took time out of every day she visited to see her. Asked for her input on designs. Commented on pictures of her and Adrien when they were younger, temporarily mortifying his son as he told her about his first bath time (he still refused to admit it). Dreamed she would laugh like she used to once more.

Chloè noticed what they were doing. Saw how they attempted to remind her of when she was happy. And as grateful as she was, they could only delay the inevitable.

It was worse now that Chloé was in school. Adrien stayed at home, tutored privately so he could model for his father's company. But Chloé attended public school, which made it harder for them to help her remember who she truly was.

Chloé, at first, wasn't that bad. She was nice to her classmates, even thought she had made a few friends! She even liked the prospect of homework, glad to have something to do other than walk the halls she could navigate while asleep.

When her mom caught her doing homework she was flabbergasted.

Audrey scolded her daughter. Told her someone as high up as her does not do homework. Even went as far as to shudder as the word was spoken.

Crying, Chloé isolated herself in her bedroom. Her mind was a mess of emotions, her nausea growing as she tumbled and twirled through emotions an eight-year-old shouldn't have. She felt depressed, couldn't breathe properly, and the worst of all? She felt the mask form, continue to strengthen until it was beyond the point of stoppable.

Her cruelty levels grew. Her ability to spread smiles diminished. Her happiness slowly started to fade.

Slowly, Chloé became someone else.

Her potential friends all left her. Nino said it was uncool the way she was acting. Kim said it didn't make sense. And Marinette? Marinette was the last to speak, saying she wasn't sure why Chloé wanted to pretend to be someone else, but she hoped she would come back one day.

She had Sabrina, though. Sabrina refused to leave, even offered to do her homework for her. Sabrina stood by her side as everyone left her. Sabrina let her vent about her mother, comforted her when Chloé needed a shoulder to cry on. Played with Chloé when no one else would.

Even though she no longer was kind to those around her, she still couldn't bring herself to truly be cruel. Sure, she wouldn't stick up for anyone who was bullied. But she herself wouldn't participate in the activity.

This game of lies went on for years. Chloé made frequent use of the mask, only allowing it to slightly fall when with Adrien.

But then Emilie disappeared.

Nobody knew what happened. She had gone out for the day, wanting to wander around Paris as she hadn't had the opportunity in a while. She promised Adrien she would be back within a couple of hours.

When the sun had set, and his mother hadn't returned, Adrien knew something had happened.

They sent out search parties. Called her cell. Tracked her location. Asked civilians if they had seen the famous actress. Nobody was sure what happened, and there were no clues to follow.

Twelve was the last time Chloé let her mask fall.

As she cried with Adrien, watched as her childhood friend refused to smile, used one that went nowhere near his eyes for photos, Chloé's mask was perfected.

Her last thought before her façade was sealed was an apology.

I'm sorry, Mama.

Instead of ignoring the bullying that happened, Chloé joined in. She was cruel to Sabrina, as she knew she was too timid to leave her. She went out of her way to annoy Marinette, as she still claimed Chloé wasn't being truthful to herself.

Who was she to say who Chloé truly was? Marinette didn't know the real Chloé! Hell, no one knew the real Chloé!

.

.

.

Not even her.

...oOo…

Time went on.

Adrien convinced his father to allow him to go to public school. Chloé was over the moon. She was able to see her best friend on a regular basis! He could meet at Sabrina! They could hang out again!

But he started to distance himself.

He was civil, of course. The boy didn't have a mean bone in his body. But he made other friends. Made friends with that Marinette of all people.

It hurt.

So she threw herself on him. Hoped he would pay attention, hoped they could laugh together once more.

But she wasn't stupid. She knew the smiles were fake, having spent a long time watching him put on a fake smile for the camera in recent months. Knew he just humored her. Hoped he could exit every conversation as soon as he possible.

But she was determined. So determined, she didn't realize she had begun to push him away.

When her mother came to town for the Gabriel fashion show, she was determined to win her favor. To show her the new Chloé. Show her the façade she had perfected over the years.

But when her mom was akumatized, she wasn't sure how to feel. Her mom hurt Adrien! Wanted to hurt Ladybug!

So when her mom insulted her in front of everyone, in front of Marinette, asked Marinette, to go to New York with her, Chloé snapped.

She was stupid. She would later admit it to Ladybug herself, would apologize for her reckless behavior. Allowed the mask to crack for a second.

When Marinette managed to bring Chloé and her mother closer, she felt her heart warm, something she hadn't felt since before Emilie disappeared.

As her mother and she made her butler's life difficult, as they bonded over an activity Chloé wasn't entirely over-the-moon about, she couldn't help but smile to herself, making sure her mother wouldn't see.

...oOo…

Years went by. Chloé helped out Ladybug a number of times, embodying the role of Queen Bee. She even was trusted enough to be there for the final battle, fighting the monster that was Hawkmoth.

The monster that was Gabriel Agreste.

She had to be dragged away, screaming and kicking at the man who had hurt her friend for the past few years.

Chat Noir also had to be dragged away, but that was because he had frozen when Gabriel's identity was revealed. Had fallen to his knees. Tears poured from his eyes as his body trembled. Nobody understood until after the battle.

Instead of leading Rena, Carapace, and Chloé away to detransform, Ladybug asked them to stay. Asked them if they wanted to reveal who they were as civilians.

Chloé was the first to relinquish her miraculous, as her identity was no secret. Rena and Carapace were next, which left Chloé shocked. She had joked around with two people whose lives she made miserable on the regular.

The mask started to slip.

After Chat was done hugging, and crying on, Alya and Nino, he and Ladybug turned to each other.

All three of them knew this was the hardest for those two. They had been Paris' guardian angels for years, there for every single fight.

As they held hands, calling for their transformations to release, Chloé felt her jaw drop.

Now she knew why Chat had reacted. Why he still had geysers erupting on his face. As Adrien stood in front of her, Chloé felt guilt slowly traverse up her spine. But the identity of Ladybug physically took the wind out of her lungs.

Marinette.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

Marinette trusted her to save the day. The same Marinette Chloé made miserable. The same Marinette that knew Chloé wore a mask.

As she watched Marinette and Adrien take in the other's appearance, before they sobbed and hugged each other, Chloé felt the mask fall off completely.

As she watched her enemy-turned-idol kiss her childhood best friend, a tear slipped out. As she listened to Alya and Nino cheer, shutter sounds rapidly coming from the former's phone, she hugged herself.

"Chloé?"

Looking up, she saw four worried expressions.

Four.

All four of them cared about her. Even though she was so cruel to all of them.

Falling to her knees, Chloé allowed herself to truly cry for the first time since she was twelve.

The first person to reach out to her was Marinette.

That made her cry even harder.

Marinette pulled Chloé into a hug. Rubbed her back. Rocked her back-and-forth. Allowed her to cry, to let it all out.

"Why?"

Marinette paused her rocking to look down at the girl in her lap.

"Why what?"

Chloé took a shuddering breath.

"Why did you trust someone as malicious as me with something as important as a miraculous, even though I stole it, revealed myself to the whole city, and made your life a living hell every school day?"

Marinette shrugged. "I saw a girl worth believing in." As if it was that simple. That obvious.

Her throat closed up before she began to cry again, nestling herself into Marinette's arms.

"I'm, I'm, sorry. I'm sorry." Chloé said, much to the surprise of everyone.

"I'm sorry for being mean. I'm sorry I wear the stupid mask. I'm sorry I didn't take it off as you told me to all those years ago."

Chloé looked up at the other three, taking the time to acknowledge them all.

"I'm sorry I cling onto you, Adrien. I wanted everything to be like before. But I went about it wrong. I let my mask stay on, even though Mama wanted the exact opposite."

Adrien kneeled down next to Marinette, joining the hug, his tears mixing with hers.

"I'm sorry for making fun of your obsession with Ladybug, Alya. It was my attempt to make myself feel more special, which was not right. I let my mother's words change me, and I'll forever feel guilty about it."

Alya pocketed her phone and tackled the growing hug pile.

"I'm sorry I made fun of your music. Sorry I changed the way I acted the day after we became friends. I wish I had listened to Marinette."

Nino was the last to join the pile but made up for it with the ferocity in which he hugged them.

Chloé had always been a happy child.

But that night?

She became a happy person.

YUS!

So, that's the fic!

It's still shorter than I would have preferred (I have trouble getting chapters over 3k, something I'm planning on working on).

This is a one-shot, so I won't be adding anything else to it.

I'm going to read over this after I've posted it and find 102928347.383 mistakes. FML, lmao.

I hope you lovelies enjoyed my writing, and keep an eye out for the next chapter of Tainted coming out within the next week!

You lovelies better have a wonderful rest of your day or I'll fight the day!

Bye!!