A/N: Hey folks! Who's up for a new chapter of BTDMH? A week into summer vacation, and I'm way faster done with it than I expected! But only thanks to a very special person who was a really big help on this one *wink wink* ;)
Not much to say here, but Despair Bear is one of my favorite episodes of Season 2. Not just because Mari gets to be closer to Adrien than ever, but Chloé begins to change her attitude too, albeit slowly. I personally think Adrien shouldn't have forgiven her that easily in the end, but I guess that's just me (or not?) ':)
to Starshine89 (PM): Thanks a lot, lad! I'm glad the long wait was worth it! It was my first time writing a fictitious episode, and I feel really proud ^_^
The scenes with Alexa and Ryan were the best parts, in my opinion. The fluff, the feelings, the atmosphere... gah, I'm melting again XD
And should I thank you as well, for helping me with the chapter. And also with this one too! I really don't know what I would do without you ;)
to GaoGod (Guest): I guess I did a good job after all, huh? ':) Anyway, I'm glad you liked the chapter. When I read your character description, I was instantly reminded of a friend of mine who learns Japanese. And I figured, why not make Takeru more than just a one-time character? I really enjoyed writing about him, and I definitely plan on making him appear more often ;)
Don't worry, Ryan won't go super... but who knows? Perhaps occasionally in a possible sequel? ;)
No need to apologize, my friend. I admit, it was a bit tricky with the language, but it was also kinda fun. Especially since my friend got to be such a big help (and got a bit of training out of it as well) ;)
Yes, no and no. Rena Rouge, Carapace and Queen Bee will also appear, it won't just be the trio, and I'm NOT replacing the occasional team members :)
And one last thing: I'm afraid your second akuma idea will have to be scratched. Since I (more or less) follow the canonical route - and because of Timetagger - your akuma cannot be. I'm very sorry, but this can't be avoided. BUT, I need one more akuma for this story, so if you have an idea that doesn't meddle with canon (for now), I'll glady accept your idea ;)
to Angelwings2002: Thank you very much :3
to The Sensational SpiderDom321: All is fine, dude. It warms my heart to know you enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Takeru will definitely have a comeback, perhaps not as Dragonfist, but as himself ;)
Ain't they just the sweetest things? ^_^
Was the fight really that realistic? I felt like it was missing some real action ':) But if you liked it, good for you :D
That's good to know. We FFN friends have to stick together, after all ;)
Thank you very much. I hope you'll enjoy this chapter too. It's maybe not as good as the prior, but I did my best ^_^
to fantasy.92: Thx ;3
"So you think you can have anything and everything, huh?"
Acid-green burned into amber. All faces were directed at her, her own paled in horror.
"You think you're the queen of the world? You think you're invincible?" The green-eyed brunette scoffed. "Tell you what? You're nothing more than a filthy little thief! A scoundrel! And the biggest excuse for a human there is!" She gave her an evil grin. "You're nothing! And you will always be nothing… Ali!"
Fingers pointed at her, laughter sounded, names were called out. Amber eyes frantically tried to find the familiar hazel ones. But upon meeting them, they held nothing but disgust and disdain. Desperation filled her, her eyes wide and beseeching, but the blonde merely crossed her arms and looked away.
Her heart shattered. Tears filled her eyes, her breaths turned shallow. She couldn't bear it anymore.
She had to get away from here.
Pulling the hoodie over her head, she fled the room, the shouts and laughter echoing after her. The tears cascaded down her face as she tumbled to the floor.
Alone. She was all alone. And nobody cared.
She screamed in utter agony.
Alexa gasped sharply as she started from her sleep. Her eyes darted in every direction as she tried to soothe her frantic heartbeat. Once she calmed herself down, the brunette sighed in sorrow.
Another nightmare.
Another cruel memory to remind her of what used to be.
And it just had to be one of the worst.
Swiping her hand over her moist forehead, Alexa forced back the tears threatening to escape her eyes and sank back into her pillow, letting its softness calm her nerves a bit.
It's over, girl. None of that will happen ever again. So just forget about it. The past is in the past. With that thought in mind, she slowly succumbed to a (hopefully) peaceful sleep again.
Alexa probed her head on her hand as Miss Bustier delivered her lecture. She suppressed a yawn of boredom.
History was - in her opinion - the most horrible subject ever, next to Social Studies. So what if Hitler took over in 1933 and turned Germany into a dictatorship? People back then shouldn't have been so naive and let that racist and anti-semitic maniac and his party enter the Reichstag. Just because people were desperate and therefore accepted far-fetched answers… that's no excuse! Their naivety caused the Second World War and the Holocaust, for crying out loud!
"Weren't those Nazis your people, Ivanov?" Chloé commented haughtily, earning scowls from the students and a warning from the teacher to guard her tongue. The others then looked at Alexa with sympathy, to which the brunette gave a small smile in appreciation.
Another thing she hated about the current lesson. Her home country was practically responsible for both World War I & II and for that blonde snob to rub salt into her open wounds just made it more unbearable.
Fortunately, the bell finally rang and signaled the end of this dreadful lesson.
"Alright, everyone, that's it for today." Miss Bustier announced. "Please read pages 138 and 139 and summarize the content until tomorrow." Groans filled the classroom. "Mr. Dupain will arrive shortly for today's pastry lesson." At this cheers were heard instead. Miss Bustier merely rolled her eyes in fond exasperation.
Alexa raised an eyebrow in intrigue and tapped Marinette's shoulder. "Your father gives pastry lessons?" she wondered.
"Yes, he does." The blackette nodded. "Papa loves to demonstrate his baking skills in front of the class."
"His baking is the bomb!" Alya grinned. "It could almost rival my mom's cooking. Oh, who am I kidding! It so does!"
The three girls shared a round of laughter. Up until this day, Alexa still couldn't believe how lucky she was to have found such wonderful friends like Marinette and Alya.
Said something weird? They laugh with you about it. Feeling down? They cheer you up in any way they can. Being insulted? They defend you without hesitation.
These two girls were two in a million, and Alexa wouldn't ever take them or their deeds for granted. Because they deserved nothing but the best.
(Even if one was a complete mess around the boy she liked and the other was nosy as heck!)
Just then, a tall and broad-shouldered man entered the classroom. He had short brown hair, green eyes, sideburns, and a mustache. His clothes consisted of a light blue shirt with two buttons at the front of the neckline and light brown pants. In his arms, he held several baking utensils and ingredients.
"Speaking of the devil…" Marinette chuckled as the whole class gathered around her father, excited to see him bake. Excluding a certain blond and her ginger companion of course, but that was honestly to be expected.
The three besties giddily made their way to the front desk, eager to see which pastry would be baked today.
Needless to say, something bad just had to happen at some point.
As Mr. Dupain tasked his daughter to put the prepared macaron batter into the cafeteria fridge to chill, Alexa spotted Chloé whispering into her phone, and just mere seconds later the fire alarm went off. And now all the students of Collège Françoise Dupont were assembled to find the culprit of this prank.
Alexa knew it was wrong to suspect someone without real evidence. But the second Chloé accused Marinette, she nearly lost it.
How dare that snot-nosed punk open her oversized yap and play the innocent?! That damned, good-for-nothing, conceited wannabe-diva…
Control your temper, Alexa! her inner voice suddenly called out. Remember: Hawk Moth can feel your anger! Take steady breaths and count to ten! Steady breaths and count to ten. Steady breaths and count to ten…
"Steady breaths and count to ten." the brunette whispered the mantra to herself.
"I'm with you, by the way," Alexa heard a voice next to her whisper. She looked and saw someone that made her heart start beating faster. "Chloé can really be such a bratty jerk. I'm glad you agree with me on that." Ryan said to her, shining her a warm smile.
Alexa grinned warmly at the honey-blond. "I wish I could call her out though," she whispered in a frustrated manner.
Ryan smirked. "What's stopping you?"
"The lack of evidence." Alexa sweat-dropped, making Ryan deadpan and simply nod.
"Fine." Mr. Damocles said, redirecting their attention to him again. "Since no one is owning up, the whole school will be punished."
WHAT THE WHAT?! Alexa started trembling with barely suppressed anger. Alright, this is it. If Chloé doesn't own up in the next five seconds, I'm going to–
"WHAT?!" Chloé exclaimed appalled. "I'm not so sure my father will react kindly to me being punished without any proof!"
SHE CAN NOT BE SERIOUS! THAT… THAT… THAT ASSWIPE! Needless to say, Alexa was getting angrier.
Mr. Damocles flinched at that. "Oh, no! Please, don't disrupt the busy mayor." He coughed shortly to clear his voice. "The whole school is punished except for Miss Bourgeois!"
"That's more like it." Said girl smirked.
"NO!" Everyone's heads snapped at the source of the voice.
"This is unacceptable!" Alexa yelled. "I can not believe you, Mr. Damocles! You are letting yourself get manipulated by that spoiled, bratty jerk just because her father is the mayor?! For all I know, she could spit on the head of the President of France and still get away with it! And now, she does this, just because Marinette and her father are getting the attention they deserve!"
"And you!" She pointed at Chloé. "You can say whatever you want to me, I don't give a damn, but you've stepped way over the line this time! I can not believe that you, you low-life, good-for-nothing, sadistic, selfish, ironic, absolutely zero percent tolerable spoiled bitch would go as far as to waste the time of firefighters who might be missing out on saving a fucking life! All because you couldn't stand not being paid attention to! You should truly be ashamed of yourself, for one, letting your jealousy and hatred get the better of you, two, taking away precious time from the fire department, and three, because you can not get a hold of yourself when it comes to the power of the fucking mayor! Fuck you, Chloé! Fuck you, fuck you, FUCK! YOU!"
A dead silence followed as Alexa breathed heavily through her teeth. The face on all students read astonishment, that such a girl like Alexa could be so colorful-languaged and not afraid to speak her mind, especially to someone like Chloé Bourgeois.
Alexa blinked once, then grinned. Wow! That felt GOOD! I feel so much better now! She genuinely felt proud of herself for delivering one of the greatest burns ever to the one who truly deserves it.
Now if only she could have delivered that to someone else from the past…
Mr. Damocles didn't say anything. He couldn't say anything after Alexa delivered that blow. Technically, while he wasn't happy to hear students swearing, he had to admit, Miss Ivanov did have a point.
Miss Bourgeois was uncontrollable when it came to what her father could do. She was spoiled, it was a fact, no discipline or punishment must ever been used against her. It's no wonder she thinks she's the queen of Paris!
Chloé started trembling and sent a glare that could kill towards the brunette. "What did you just call me, Ivanov?"
Alexa glared back. "Are you deaf, you incorrigible, poor-fashioned, cheese-headed imbecile?"
"That is enough!" The girls snapped their heads towards the principal.
"I have decided. I will not allow myself to be manipulated again. It is either everyone if no one reveals who pulled this prank, or no one, should the prankster come forward. What will it be?"
Silence. Alexa glared at Chloé again. Oh, NOW you keep your mouth shut?!
"Then it is settled."
Alexa facepalmed. She should have figured this. Chloé was too prideful, she would rather have the school (including her) punished than own up to her wrongdoings.
The brunette then turned to Marinette and Alya. "Do you see what just went down?"
"I know." the blackette gushed, making Alexa raise an eyebrow in confusion. "Adrien just talked in my ear."
The brunette resisted the urge to facepalm again. I swear to god, she's worse than Blacky… She walked over to Marinette and flicked the back of her head, making her wince.
"Focus Loreley, and get a broom or something." the brunette grumbled as she wandered off to get one herself.
Steady breaths and count to ten. Steady breaths and count to ten…
As the students had scattered again to fulfill their punishments, the blonde demon wouldn't shut up and keep sending glares and insults Alexa's way. She just wouldn't stop.
Hell, she didn't even do her damn job!
Alexa was this close to going over there and pulling her ponytail so hard that it would be ripped off.
"Wow, that was sick! Can you believe what just happened?" Alexa heard Alya asking Marinette. She looked over to her two friends and saw them gushing about… her?
"I have to hand it to Alexa, she said what we were all thinking!" Alya stated.
"I know! I've always thought the same thing, but I never wanted to ever say it out loud." Marinette commented.
"Leave it to Alexa to show everyone that we're all capable of doing even the scariest things!" the Ladyblogger concluded.
All Chloé-induced rants were turned off as Alexa let a large grin grow on her face. Once again - no remarks, no nothing (save for Chloé), just support from the best friends in the world.
"I'M TALKING TO YOU, IVANOV!" a yell broke her trance. With a deadpan, she looked at Chloé, who was steaming red.
"Chloé."
"WHAT?!"
"Shut up and do your job otherwise I'll boot your ass over to Iceland."
Quiet "oooh"s were heard.
Chloé was speechless. She then yelled in frustration and went back to minding her own business. Alexa only chuckled and continued sweeping the floor.
"She's right, you know?" Chloé suddenly heard Adrien comment and turned around to see his face full of annoyance and disappointment. "Just because your father is the mayor doesn't mean you get to get away with everything. This isn't fair, compared to the others."
"You actually agree with that Nazi?!" Chloé yelled, causing Adrien to actually glare at her.
"You call her that again and I'll make you wish you were never born." she turned around to see Ryan scowling at her.
"Ryan here is right, you know," Adrien said. "Chloé, you know well that I absolutely despise whenever you purposely say nasty comments, remarks, make offensive statements, and say things that you just can't take back. Alexa is a genuinely good person, and she does not deserve to be insulted by you, Chloé."
"One more thing, Bourgeois." she turned to Ryan. "Adrien mentioned to me that you and him have been friends since childhood, no? Then don't you think you should ask for his opinion on all of this instead of being the selfish, arrogant brat you are and say what's on your mind, and not give a crap whether you hurt people or not?! It's no wonder Adrien wants to stay away from you!"
"I'd rather use the phrase, keep my distance."
"Got it."
"Anyways, Chloé…" Chloé's face was starting to become more and more upset. Adrien felt a little bad, but he had to get this out.
"If you can't learn to be nice to people and apologize for hurting them, then I think it would be better if you stay away from me. If you continue being the rudest person in the world… then we can't be friends. I'm sorry, Chloé."
Adrien and Ryan then walked away, leaving a crestfallen Chloé, who still did not understand what she did wrong.
Later that day…
At Marinette's place, the girls had assembled to see the former's newest creations. The aspiring designer had made beautiful hats, each different than the other. The girls liked them so much, they asked her if they could take some pictures, just for fun. Marinette immediately relented once the infamous puppy dog eyes came into action.
Alexa meanwhile smiled softly as she watched them joke and laugh and try on different hats. She still had a long way to go to feel like she really belonged here. She still wasn't completely used to being in a peer group, but with just a bit of time, those insecurities might diminish for good.
Hopefully.
"Hey Alexa!" one of the girls' voices ripped her out of her thoughts. The female had blonde pixie cut hair and periwinkle eyes and wore a shirt with light pink sleeves, pink and white stripes on the front, and a string tied around her waist. She also had a pink mini skirt with two white edges at the bottom of the cloth.
"I just wanted to say," she spoke again. "I think I speak for everyone when I say this: You're definitely one of the most courageous and fairest, not to mention nicest girls to attend this school."
Alexa felt her cheeks heat up in embarrassment as the others agreed with the blonde girl. "Thanks, um… Rose, was it?"
"Rose Lavillant, yes," she confirmed in a sweet manner.
Alexa nodded before scratching her head sheepishly. "Sorry, I'm not very good at remembering names."
Rose giggled. "That's quite okay. Y'know, Marinette and Alya have told us quite a lot about you. You're one awesome girl."
The girls around then began clamoring with one another and to Alexa, praising her and saying all sorts of kind and sweet statements, saying how brave, amazing she was for standing up to Chloé, wise to be the person to state the truth to both her and the principal, and overall being there for her, showering her with compliments, affection, and friendship.
The brunette was sure her whole face had turn red by this point. In a swift movement, she pulled her hood over her head and squeaked quietly in embarrassment.
All of a sudden, Alya's phone dinged, signaling a notification. Though, it was the most unusual thing ever - an invitation to a party hosted by Chloé.
"Chloé's inviting me to a party," Alya stated in bewilderment.
Oddly enough, it wasn't just Alya. All the other girls received invites too… well, all except for Alexa and Marinette.
"That's so nice of Chloé!" Rose cooed.
"Chloé and nice in the same sentence? Can't be her." Marinette crossed her arms stubbornly.
"Tch, pigs must be flying, I swear…" Alexa muttered.
"Maybe somebody hacked into her phone then?" a girl with multi-colored strands of hair held back by a pink bandanna and golden brown eyes asked.
Marinette got out her phone to check for an invite. "I haven't received a text."
Alexa copied the blackette's action. Nada. "Me neither. Then that means it must be from Chloé." she deadpanned. This statement caused the girls to laugh.
But after a few more moments, Marinette and Alexa's phones dinged as well.
"Ewww, She invited me!" Marinette cried out in revulsion.
"Yikes, me too!" Alexa grimaced, before suddenly stopping short. "Wait a second… how did she even get my phone number?"
"Awesome!" Rose cheered, ignoring the brunette's question. "This will be so much fun!"
"Wait! You're actually going to go?" Marinette asked appalled.
"She probably wants to say sorry for this morning," the rainbow-haired female reasoned. "Maybe she's nice. Very, very, deep down."
"Nice?" Alexa echoed dryly. "Mylène, the only time you hear the words Chloé and nice in the same sentence is if the word isn't is between them."
"I agree with Alexa," Marinette nodded. "Chloé's the exact opposite of nice. Whatever, you guys can go but don't count me in."
"Same with me," Alexa declined. "Apart from the fact that Chloé invited me, I've never been much of a party person."
In that moment, Alya's phone dinged again, the brunette grinning at the received text. "It's Nino. He's going to the party with Adrien."
Marinette squeaked at the mention of her crush. "O-okay, yes, you guys are right. We should totally give Chloé one more chance." Alya merely shook her head in fond exasperation.
"REALLY?!" Alexa cried out chagrined, startling the other girls. "The second Adrien is mentioned, you cave in?! And here I thought you just grew some balls, Mari!"
Said girl blushed indignantly. "You're one to talk!" she accused. "I remember a certain someone being overly excited about attending karate lessons with Ryan!"
"I used to practice karate, Mari," Alexa countered. "It was a good excuse to start again. And sharing lessons with Ryan is just an added bonus, so I don't feel completely left out." At the raised eyebrows of the others, she threw her arms up in surrender. "Fine, be that way! Go and act like the basket case you obviously are!" She crossed her arms and turned away with her chin up. "But don't expect me to tag along. Unlike you, I've got my pride."
Marinette opened her mouth to say something back, but she closed it when her mind came up blank and simply pouted.
Alexa sighed. "I mean, let's face it - you're completely hopeless when it comes to the boy, because he's so oblivious that he doesn't see what's up, but come on, you're going to go to a party held by your childhood bully, just because your crush is going? I mean, I guess I can see where you're coming from, but–"
Alexa stopped mid-sentence as her phone rang. Her face instantly reddened when she saw who was calling.
"H-hey, Ryan! What's good?" Alexa answered, then instantly lost her confident smirk.
Wow, way to greet him, girl! Very clever! What are you, American?!
"Hey there, Alex! Sorry to interrupt anything, but I was wondering… you heard about the party the resident devil's holding, right?"
Alexa laughed upon hearing that. It's so ironic, yet it's totally accurate.
"Yeah yeah, I've heard, what about it?"
"Well, for some reason, Bruce wants to go there, because of, you know, the epicness that comes with a party held by a rich person," This statement made the brunette cringe a bit. "And since he doesn't want to go by himself, he asked me to tag along, but considering it would be a bit boring being the third wheel there… would you like to come along with us?"
Alexa went rigid. What should she do? Decline and let Ryan party alone? Well, he would be pretty disappointed, he seemed very eager for her to come along. But, if she accepts… what could she really do? Alexa was never a party person. She pretty much never attended any high school parties, any big parties were usually birthday parties for her or for Lukas when they were little.
So, to party or not to party? That was the question… and thinking about it made Ryan worry a bit.
"Alex? Are you still there?"
Alexa sighed. "Yeah, I am, sorry… Alright, you got me, I'll tag along. Since you asked me so nicely…"
Ryan lit up on the other side of the phone. "Awesome! See? I told you she'd come, Bruce! See you at the party, Alex!"
"Yeah, see ya!" Hanging up, Alexa finally let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. And it was only then she noticed the smug looks the girls were giving her, Marinette and Alya in particular.
"I don't want to hear one word, okay?!" Alexa exclaimed, blushing.
"Oh, don't worry, girl," Alya smirked. "We're silent."
The party was (unsurprisingly) in full swing once the guests arrived.
For some reason, despite the blonde's reputation, lots of people had made their way to the party and were even enjoying themselves. That was one of the first things Alexa noticed when she arrived alongside Marinette, Adrien, Alya, Nino, Ryan and Bruce.
The gang wasn't slow to arrive once everyone had discussed whether to go or not.
Chloé was talking to her butler about something, and then, Alexa saw something… strange. It seemed the butler was holding a yellow teddy bear. The girl's thoughts were interrupted when Ryan asked her something.
"You don't think this party is a bit bizarre?" he asked. Alexa only shrugged.
"Well, I've known Chloé the longest," Adrien added. "She's incredibly arrogant and rude, but believe me, she has a nice side too. She just doesn't really want to show it." he sighed at the end.
"Adrikins!" an excited, and rather shrill, voice sounded from behind said boy. The model's face turned exasperated for a second.
Ah crud, here we go again… he put on a fake model smile as Chloé quite literally leaped into his arms and pressed a kiss to his cheeks.
Alexa felt bile build up in her mouth. This is just so wrong, regardless of whether best friends or not.
And surprisingly, she went around and started kissing everyone else's cheeks. Even Marinette and Chloé also shared cheek kisses! They both gagged upon doing so. After Bruce and Ryan… Alexa was next.
Chloé reluctantly went ahead, ready to give her a cheek kiss, but Alexa glared and put a finger to her forehead, stopping her.
"Kiss my cheeks, and I'll stitch your lips shut." she growled. The blonde backed away, with a bit of a worried look.
Once greetings were done and gone, the party officially began. Nino took his place as the DJ and started up the music, and everyone was enjoying themselves. Chloé may be a spoiled, narcissistic brat, but Alexa had to admit something - she knew how to throw a good party, no matter how forced it might seem.
While the girls and boys were chatting among themselves, the brunette headed off in a random direction to recollect her thoughts.
Alright, I'm at a huge party thrown by the biggest bitch I know besides Laura. This party is most likely forced to get Adrien's friendship back and I'm merely here because the boy of my dreams asked me to. She pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. Just what have I gotten myself into?
Alexa shook her head a bit at the entire situation. She then decided to go to the bar, get herself some refreshments. The only thing was, when she got there, it looked like rude Chloé had returned. She was about to go and tear her hair out, but she suddenly acted nice to Mylène! She even patted her hair, for crying out loud!
Either Chloé's a really good actress, or she's trying way too hard to win back Adrien… will she ever stop?
Alexa sighed. "What is happening…"
Alya and Marinette then walked over to Alexa.
"Hey, Alexa," Marinette greeted. "How are you doing?"
The brunette deadpanned. "Remind me why I'm here again?"
"Because Ryan asked you to come along," Alya snickered. "And you didn't want to feel guilty for leaving him on his own."
This made Alexa facepalm, sliding her hand down her face.
Sense of guilt. Her second biggest weakness.
She then heard a slow song start - this could only mean… slow dancing.
Alexa inwardly sighed to herself in exasperation. Dancing was never her thing. She had two left feet - any dance she ever attempted resulted in unnatural clumsiness.
She witnessed Kim asking for a dance, but Chloé, being Chloé, was naturally rude, seemingly refusing him and OH MY LORD WAS THAT AN AKUMA?!
Alexa's eyes weren't deceiving her - an akuma was right on top of them!
The good news was that Chloé made up her mind and went to dance with Kim, while the akuma fluttered away. The brunette let out a breath of relief she had no idea she was holding in.
Meanwhile, the two besties appeared to be none the wiser of the only just averted impending akumatization, instead, Alya was convincing Marinette to go and dance with Adrien, while she went and danced with Nino. Yet, despite the fact that it was Marinette who desperately wanted a slow dance with the model, it was Adrien himself asking to dance!
Alexa smiled to herself when she saw that. Give it some time, and they'll be all over each other…
The brunette then felt someone poke her shoulder. Ryan. A blushing Ryan. Her eyes weren't deceiving her, it was a nervous Ryan MacAuley blushing in front of her, holy moly!
"H-hey Alex," the honey-blond stuttered, almost causing the brunette to gawk because Oh my god, Ryan was nervous! "I was wondering, since everybody seems to be doing the same… " He then held out his hand to her. "… Would you like to dance?"
"D-d-dance?!" Alexa squeaked, feeling her face heat up. "A-as in, us two?"
"Well… yeah," the boy answered nervously. "W-why? Is there something wrong?"
Alexa bit her lip lightly. "I… I don't know about that… I'm not a very good dancer." she whispered that last part.
Her eyes cast down, the brunette didn't notice the warm smile forming on Ryan's face. Nor did she expect him to suddenly take her hand in his and squeeze it comfortingly. But oh boy, nothing ever felt more amazing than this.
"A girl who can stand up to the meanest person in school," Ryan began. "surely can manage a little dance with me." He winked at the last part.
Be still, my heart! "B-but what if I accidentally step on your toes?"
Ryan simply shrugged. "I'll handle it. Just follow my lead, okay?"
All fear of dancing forgotten, Alexa absentmindedly nodded and allowed the honey-blonde to pull her to the dance floor. Ryan took Alexa's hand and put his free hand on her waist, whilst Alexa put her free hand onto his shoulder. The two began a graceful waltz, despite Alexa still trying to keep her attention on her feet so as to not step on Ryan's.
But overall, Alexa had to admit it - this was amazing.
She never thought she would be invited to this party. She never would have thought that she would actually end up enjoying said party held by the rudest person in the school. But most of all, she never thought that she would ever get to slow dance with Ryan.
Alexa smiled to herself when she also witnessed one of the most heart-warming slow dances by Marinette and Adrien themselves. It also helped that Alya and Nino weren't so bad themselves. Things just kept getting better.
You're doing good, girls. Especially you, Mari. the brunette grinned.
But unfortunately, all good things had to come to an end.
Chloé had an outburst, again, because of Adrien and Marinette dancing, what a damn surprise, but…
… her butler had something strange in his hand, waving at Chloé. The same yellow teddy bear Alexa saw earlier.
"Oh, please Chloé, dear," the butler said in a squeaky voice. "You've been such a good little girl. Mr. Cuddly is so very proud…"
Alexa felt the edges of her mouth curling up. Chloé has a teddy bear? And his name is Mr. Cuddly? A snicker escaped her lips before turning into a full-blown laugh. The same thing went on with everyone else. Obviously, Chloé was incredibly upset when she saw what was happening.
"I didn't know you still have a teddy bear, Chloé!" Alexa called out mirthfully. "What comes next? You sucking on your thumb when you sleep?"
The other guests burst into incredulous laughter at that… well, all but Adrien, the ever-'faithful' friend, and Marinette, even though a little snicker seemed to have escaped her mouth, but she quickly pulled herself together again so the blond boy wouldn't notice her little outburst… oh wait nevermind, he was laughing too, so why bother?
As Chloé quickly fled the dancing hall in shame and anger, Alexa felt someone tap her shoulder through her laughter.
"You're such a riot, Alex," Bruce snickered. "I've never seen anyone grill this bitch the way you do. You just seem to have a retort for everything she says."
"What can I say?" Alexa shrugged. "A person like her deserves it, no?"
"Damn straight! I never would have thought you can be this bold, Alex!" Bruce said, grinning. "You blessed the school the second you stepped in! Never change, 'kay?"
"Wouldn't even dream about it." Alexa winked.
Bruce then went over to whisper something to Ryan. "You need another reason as to why Alexa might be a better choice?"
Ryan rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Cut it out, bro. I already told you: I felt it," he whispered back. "Bloodhound is the one for me. I just know it."
Bruce sighed and covered his face with his hands. "I caaaaaan't…"
"What are you two whispering about?" the devil butted in, an eyebrow raised in confusion.
"Err, nothing!" Ryan exclaimed nervously. "Just a talk between best buddies, that's all!"
"Well actually, we were t–ow!" Bruce winced as his best friend elbowed him in the ribs, effectively shutting him up and stopping him from whatever he was about to say.
Alexa, like always, felt her curiosity sense tingle. She was about to dig deeper, when suddenly Nino decided that the show must go on and started the music again, this time a more peppy one. In the end, Alexa ended up shrugging it off and went to enjoy what she could of the party.
But not long before the party continued, another commotion broke out. Turning their heads, the friends saw Chloé running away from Sabrina, who was… holding a brush in her hand?
And Sabrina's eyes seemed to be colored an eerie shade of green…
That's when Alexa saw it. A purple-colored teddy bear, a bear very much resembling… Mr Cuddly?! It was clinging to her leg and it seemed to be controlling her.
Don't tell me…
Then one second Chloé hid behind a tall and broad boy with olive skin, grey eyes and black hair with golden dyed ends styled into a sharp quiff - what was his name again? Kim? - and the next the bear changed hosts and the boy pulled the screaming blonde into a dance.
Alexa facepalmed. Why can't things just be normal for once?
It seemed that attention was drawn on to the possessed boy, so the brunette took this opportunity to sneak away and transform. She ducked behind a corner and Yapp came out of her hoodie pocket.
"Looks like the blondie caused some trouble after all," the dog kwami sweat-dropped.
"You don't say," Alexa deadpanned. "The first party I ever attended and enjoyed just had to be ruined by an akuma caused by its very host… I knew it was gonna happen. Alya owes me twenty euros…" Shaking her head, her expression turned serious. "Anyway, time to unleash the dog."
"Yapp, Bark on! Aaroooo!" With the magic words said, Alexa transformed into her superhero alter-ego.
With a leap, Bloodhound pelted through the door again and pounced at Kim, aiming for the teddy bear on his leg. The other guests gasped as they saw her and the boy tumble across the floor.
"Hold still, will ya!" Bloodhound exclaimed. As she was able to grab the boy's leg, she saw that the teddy bear was gone, and all that was left was a confused boy.
Her partners decided to show up in that exact moment. "Where's the akuma?" Ladybug asked.
"It's the teddy bear, Lass! The akumatized object is the akuma itself!"
"And what do we do about her?" Chat Noir pointed towards Chloé, who had somehow landed in a ball pit.
Bloodhound looked for a few seconds, then shook her head. "… nothing." Her sensitive ears suddenly picked up a movement close to the red heroine and her eyes widened. "Lass, look out!"
Ladybug picked up what Bloodhound was saying in an instant, and dodged a flying chair with a massive leap. It was a boy with dark skin, curly brown hair, and brown eyes covered by glasses who had thrown the chair and, surprise surprise, he was being controlled by none other than Despair Bear.
Chat Noir leaped at the boy, but the akuma decided to change hosts again and claimed Alya, who tried to keep Ladybug grounded, but the spotted heroine swiftly rolled over and Despair Bear was gone again.
"Guys, guys, this is pointless! He'll just keep jumping from host to host!" Bloodhound exclaimed. "We need another plan!"
"Bloodhound, watch out!" Chat shouted, and the dog heroine ducked to avoid Despair's next victim - Ryan.
Oh, verdammt! Now it's Ryan?!
"Ryan, snap out of it!" she yelled, but he suddenly lunged at her and pinned her to the ground. For a mere civilian, Ryan was really strong.
That thought brought a slight blush to her face.
"Despair Bear, make the boy grab her Miraculous! The choker!"
Ryan then started reaching for the jewelry, while Bloodhound vainly tried to squirm herself free.
Luckily, Bloodhound was saved by Ladybug who pushed the boy off of the dog heroine and pulled her aside.
"Phew, that was a close one," Bloodhound sighed in relief. "Thanks, Lass!"
Ladybug nodded before she was suddenly grabbed by her wrist by her partner. She was about to reprimand him when she saw the eerie green in his eyes, not the normal green, but the possessed green.
The cat hero then started fighting his spotted partner. "Snap out of it, Chat Noir, it's me!" Ladybug only got more punches as an answer.
This can't go on like that! Bloodhound thought. I gotta do something… but what? Come on, think… think… think… *gasp* Brain Blast!
The dog heroine jumped onto the cat hero and wrapped her arms and legs around him. The sudden weight caused Chat to let go of Ladybug and try to throw off whatever clung to his back. With all her strength, Bloodhound threw her struggling teammate onto his stomach and hooked his left arm behind his back, pinning him to the ground.
"Lass, grab the akuma!" she called out to her partner, only for Chat to somehow overpower her and roll them over, straddling her to the ground.
"Cataclysm!" His right hand bubbled with destructive energy as it sunk onto her face.
"Paws off, kitty!/Get away from her!"
It seemed Chloé was about to get her chance to shine, but Ryan beat her to it and quite literally pulled Chat Noir off of Bloodhound and tossed him over to the nearby sofa! The sofa instantly disintegrated from the Cataclysm.
"Hey! No fair!" Chloé called out annoyed. "I wanted to help!"
Ryan ignored her in order to check up on the dog heroine. She seemed a bit shaken from the near-Cataclysm experience, but could anyone blame her? No one knew what a Cataclysm did to a living creature, and no one really wanted to know.
"Are you okay, Hound?" Ryan asked her in the most gentle voice Bloodhound has ever heard. It caused her to blush involuntary.
Is there ever a time when he isn't a sweet and caring angel?
"Uh huh…" she lost-thoughtedly replied and nodded. If Ryan noticed her dreamy look, he didn't seem to acknowledge it and gave a bright smile in return.
In that moment, Ladybug finally decided to use her summoning superpower, and the object revealed itself to be…
"... a fork?"
Simultaneously, Chat had seemingly recovered from his crash and started chasing Ladybug. The red heroine in turn started making her way towards the rooftop to escape the cat hero, and Ryan was about to rush and help them, but got shoved out of the way by none other than Chloé.
Bloodhound, being the only witness, could only scoff and roll her eyes. She helped Ryan up and told him to stay downstairs with the others.
"Oh, by the way," she smiled. "Thank you. For saving my life back there."
Ryan's face exploded in a bright red. Too elated to answer, he chuckled and scratched the back of his head sheepishly.
And even as the dog heroine disappeared upstairs, the grin never left his face. When Bruce saw it, he facepalmed.
"I caaaaaaan't…"
Ladybug rushed upstairs, looking for clues on how to use the Lucky Charm.
Despair Bear, a nearby umbrella table, her yo-yo and the fork lightened up and an idea was born.
Ladybug nodded to herself, and Chat Noir just reached the roof and began sparring with Ladybug, trying to get her Miraculous.
"ALRIGHT, THAT'S IT!" Bloodhound's voice thundered across the rooftop, having arrived just mere seconds ago. "I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOU, YOU LITTLE BASTARD!" She pulled out her bat and charged furiously at the teddy bear, and right at the last moment, it let go of Chat - unfortunately, Bloodhound didn't take that into account and ended up tossing the cat hero over the roof!
"WAAAAAH!"
"Oops," the dog heroine murmured sheepishly, flinching when a quiet crash was heard from down below. She went to the edge of the roof and gazed over it. "Are you okay, Blacky?"
"MY LEG!"
"Two versus one now, ladies." The girls turned around to see Despair Bear right near Bloodhound! Before anyone could react, the akuma grabbed onto her leg and took control of the dog heroine!
Oh, for god's sake!
Before Bloodhound quite got the chance to attack Ladybug, the latter quickly attached her yo-yo to the akuma's head and tied the string around the fork before throwing it towards the umbrella table, securing it onto one of the beams.
"Chloé, would you be so kind?" the red heroine called out as her partner started attacking her relentlessly with her bat.
Chloé, who had arrived at the rooftop earlier, saluted and started spinning the umbrella table, pulling off the thread from Despair Bear's body as well, until only the head remained.
Because Despair Bear lost his grip due to this, Bloodhound came about.
"Wha? Lass? What happened?"
"Oh, you know," Ladybug shrugged. "just saving your skin with the help of our new little sidekick."
Chloé smiled smugly… and Bloodhound once again resisted the urge to facepalm.
Suddenly, her dog ears acknowledged squeaky noises from down below, and she chuckled in amusement at the sight of a little man kicking her boot. She gently picked him up by the scruff of his suit. "So you're Despair Bear, huh?"
"Give me your Miraculous! You haven't defeated me yet!"
Bloodhound simply laughed. "Wow, you are freaking scary. No joke." She then turned to her spotted partner. "Do us the favor, Lass?"
Ladybug nodded and ripped the thread off the teddy bear's head, watching the evil butterfly flutter out. "No more evil-doing for you, little akuma." She opened her yo-yo and spun it wildly. "Time to de-evilize!" Throwing the tool at the akuma, she caught it with ease. "Gotcha!"
"Bye bye, little butterfly." Ladybug cooed at the purified insect before throwing the fork into the air. "Miraculous Ladybug!"
With all that said and done, everything got repaired and Despair Bear transformed back into Chloé's butler… in Bloodhound's arms.
"GAH! DAMNIT!"
Ladybug giggled. She then walked over to Chloé.
"Thanks for the help, Chloé," she said, handing the girl back her teddy bear. "It was really nice of you."
"I know, wasn't it?" the blonde replied smugly. Ladybug smiled in slight exasperation while Bloodhound facepalmed this time.
"Will you ever change?" she inaudibly spat.
Chat then jumped up and landed on the roof, feeling better from the cure. Needless to say… he looked pretty mad.
"What the hell, Bloodhound?! Who gave you the right to toss me off the damn roof?!"
Said girl held her arms up in defense. "Woah, easy there, Blacky! It was an accident, I swear!"
"An accident?!" Chat exclaimed aggravated. "So you "accidentally" threw me off the roof? Is that your statement?"
"I wanted to hit the akuma, not you!" Bloodhound countered. "How was I to know he would detach himself from you last second?"
"Just admit it! You did it on purpose!"
"Did not!"
"Did too!"
"Did not!"
"Did too!"
"Did–"
"SHUT UP!"
Their yelling stopped abruptly. The two heroes turned their head to see an annoyed Chloé glaring at them.
"You two are bickering like preschoolers! Just accept that it was an accident from Bloodhound's side! And even so, she didn't think it through! You're both right and wrong, both of you! Okay?!"
The Miraculous trio was surprised by the blonde's outburst. Rather, not the outburst itself, but rather why she had an outburst. Who would have known Chloé would ever attempt to play mediator?
"Mademoiselle, I apologise for interrupting, but I must confess, I don't remember anything." Chloé's butler commented.
Chloé smirked. "Well, basically, you turned evil and I saved you. In fact, without me, Ladybug, Chat Noir and Bloodhound would never have succeeded." She turned to the trio with a smug smile. "I'm even better than you superheroes. I don't even need a costume."
"No, no, no, no, no…" Bloodhound stated. "Just… no." And we're back to square one.
Beep beep beep!
"Uh oh, time's up!" Chat fretted. "Gotta get going!"
"Me too!" Ladybug added, then yo-yoed away, and Chat vaulted away as well.
Since Bloodhound didn't have to use her superpower, she wasn't in such a hurry. But nevertheless, the party was practically over, so she had no reason to stay any longer. With a salute, she jumped away from the hotel's rooftop and headed home.
"Bark off." She whispered as she landed close to the front door. She then headed inside and up to her apartment door. She entered quietly, as everyone else was sleeping.
With a quick change, Alexa then headed to her room for a good night's sleep. She flopped down on the bed, ready for some shuteye, when her phone suddenly rang.
She groaned in annoyance and stood up to answer it. Her eyes widened as she saw who was calling. Ryan.
Her cheeks heated up as she answered the call. "Hey Ryan, how goes it?"
Aced it!
"Hey Alex, where did you go? Not long before Bloodhound appeared, you vanished! Is everything alright?"
Alexa froze up. He noticed?! "Oh, uh… w-well, I, er, was needed at home! I-I promised my dad to help out with… programming! Bu-but it slipped my head, so, uh, I had tooo… slip away! Yeah! Hehe…"
Damnit! There goes my normalness!
"Hey, no sweat. I get it, family obligations and stuff." he reassured her. "It's too bad you didn't see Bloodhound though! Like, she was sooo…"
He seemed to trail off…
"Sooo… what?" Alexa inquired. Her curiosity sense was tingling like crazy. She just had to know what her crush thought about her alter-ego!
There's something about the way he speaks about me-err, Bloodhound. But what is it?
"Er, uh, sh-she was great! Yeah! The way she handled the akuma with ease! It was awesome!" Ryan answered a bit too quickly…
Alexa frowned. Ryan was slowly starting to worry her a bit. He seemed so nervous when talking about her alter-ego.
"Ryan… you seem a bit nervous. Is everything okay?" she couldn't help it, her curiosity was getting the better of her.
"I'm… I'm fine. Really. What about you? Are things going alright?"
He's trying to change the subject. Meh, I'm too tired to think about this anyway…
"Yeah, more or less. I was just about to hit the hay, you know?"
"O-oh, I'm sorry! Should… should I have not called?"
"No no, it's okay," she reassured him. "I'm actually glad you called."
"Really? Why is that?"
"Because…" she hesitated a bit. Should she enlighten him with her dilemma? Or was it too early? "Because it shows me that you care. You care enough about me to call me, to wonder about my whereabouts and my wellbeing. And… I'm really glad we're friends."
Alexa didn't know, but on the other side, Ryan smiled warmly and actually blushed a little.
"Of course. I care about you a lot, Alexa. You're such an amazing friend. And can I just say… for someone who was so scared to do it, you're a pretty good dancer!"
The brunette blushed at the praise. "I guess I just found my perfect partner, that's all."
A few seconds passed before she realized what she had just said. Her face exploded in heat. "NO, WAIT! THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT! I MEAN, JUST THAT I FELT AT EASE WHEN DANCING WITH YOU! NOT THAT YOU ARE A BAD PARTNER! THAT'S NOT IT AT ALL!"
Ryan burst out in mirthful laughter on the other side. "It's okay, girl," he quickly said before she could assume the worst. "I'm glad you consider me such a good dancing partner. Who knows? Maybe we could dance some more some time. Would… you be up for that?"
At these words, Alexa felt her heart skipping a few beats and a warmness spread through her whole body.
Should I? Should I not? Holy moly, he did not just propose we dance some more! This is so amazing!
"Alex? Are you still there?"
"Yeah, I am. Sorry." she apologized, grinning like an idiot. "I would love to, honestly. Perhaps you could teach me to dance properly before prom arrives?"
Ryan grinned on the other side. "Definitely. How about we take our first dancing class in… four days?"
"You got it."
"Great! Sooo… I guess I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Yeah, sure. Have a good night, Ryan."
"Thanks. Sweet dreams, Alex."
And with that, the phone call ended. Alexa placed the phone on her bedside desk, then flopped down onto her bed and sighed happily.
Yapp then flew next to her and smirked. "So…" he started. "Dancing lessons with Ryan, huh? And here I thought you were pretty insecure about dancing…"
"Oh shut up, will ya." Alexa said playfully, causing the kwami to chuckle. "What about you? You seemed pretty quiet today, even for you."
The dog kwami actually flinched a bit at that. "Could we… perhaps discuss this another day?" he tried. "Today was a long day and I need some sleep."
Alexa wasn't buying it. "Not a fan of crowded places, are you, buddy?"
Yapp fidgeted a bit. "That obvious?"
The brunette shrugged. "Me neither. Never was. I know that feeling, so don't be ashamed." she reached out to him and lightly scratched him behind his ears, smiling when he started to pant happily. He leaned into her touch, tail wagging.
Alexa could only let out a little giggle from the dog kwami's actions.
God, I freaking love him. I'm never letting him go, ever.
"I think it's time we get some shuteye." Alexa said, as she gradually stopped.
Yapp instantly mourned the loss of her finger on his head, but then yawned loudly. "Yeah, I guess you're right," He flew up to his chosen and gave her cheek a hug. "Goodnight, Alex."
She returned the hug happily. "Goodnight, buddy."
Yapp then flew back to his cherry pit pillow and immediately dozed off. Alexa followed not long after.
All in all, today had been quite a successful day in Alexa's book.
A/N: Not much originality here, but still a good bunch of. Not as long as Dragonfist, but close enough. All in all, I'm satisfied :)
Alright, now that this is out of the way, I need a break. Not to relax, but there's a bunch of stuff from my personal life that need to be done. And that's top priority right now!
Next chapter will be a fictitious one. Dunno when it'll be done, but for now, enjoy what you have ;)
As always, reviews are greatly appreciated, and remember:
Stay cool and so long!