A/N This is the start of the New York special! I'm moving the chapters over here so people don't panic. (They used to be in their own seperate book but that was confusing everyone so here we are).

Cover:

Synopsis:

Miracle Box returns for the New York special! Please read Miracle Box book 1 before reading this, thank you.

Chloe Bourgeois is struggling to be the person she believes everyone wants her to be. After putting on so many acts and faces for the people in her life, Chloe finally breaks. Going on a class trip to New York City is her tipping point. But perhaps, being out of her normal life for a bit may help her discover who Chloe Bourgeois truly is.

Marinette on the other hand is having a horrible time dealing with her crush on Luka. He's everywhere all of the time, she can't seem to escape him! And now he's coming to New York with her?! Will this madness never end?

A fic in which Chloe gets the character development she always deserves and Lukanette gets decent screen time, even if it isn't endgame.

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Chloe Bourgeois was really good at minding your business.

And she isn't rooting for you, either.

For an unusually long amount of time, Chloe had been staring at Marinette across the classroom. Being seated at the front row with Marinette in the second, across the aisle separating the desks, Chloe had herself contorted into a misshapen angle because Marinette's business was her business.

Ever since Alya's identity as Rena Rouge had been compromised to the Miracle Team, Chloe had been suspicious of Marinette. She didn't know what she was supposed to be suspicious of but something was certainly suspicious and Chloe didn't like it. She also didn't like Marinette. Or Alya. Chloe didn't think it was that hard to keep an identity secret. Of course she sympathized with Rena Rouge, now called Tigre Rouge after the fox miraculous was lost and Alya replaced it with the tiger. However, Chloe most certainly did not sympathize with Alya Cesaire and her little sidekick, Marinette Dupan-Cheng. Chloe had been Queen Bee for two months now, almost three, and no one knew her identity because she was actually good at doing her job as a superhero.

...Well... Almost nobody knew. Chloe may or may not have received her miraculous right in front of Adrien. Adrien had known since the very git-go that Chloe was Queen Bee. But that was fair to her because she now knew he was Chat Noir. The best way to keep a secret is to tell no one but no one doesn't mean you can't tell your best friend.

Point is, Chloe couldn't figure out if Marinette knew Alya was a vigilante or not, and if so, was she in on the gig? Was Marinette possibly Hawkmoth? Yes, Chloe knows that's a ridiculous question to ask but she wholeheartedly accepted it as a possibility. Marinette was annoying, loud, too eccentric, ugly, oftentimes rude to her friends, and thought she was better than everyone else because she was unique and different. She could totally be a villain. How else would Hawkmoth and Volpina know Rena's identity? It had been weeks since the incident and the Miracle Team (that's what the group of heroes–Chat Noir, Ladybug, Queen Bee, Tigre (Rena) Rouge, and Carapace–decided to call themselves) still hadn't figured out how Volpina cracked her identity. And speaking of Volpina, they still hadn't caught her. She hadn't reappeared, therefore they hadn't gotten the fox miraculous back, therefore it was lost, and in addition to all that, Hawkmoth hadn't akumatized someone in weeks. Lila Rossi also wasn't in class on the first day back to school after Christmas break.

"Chloe, you better look away before it gets weird," Sabrina urged Chloe. Sabrina was Chloe's other best friend, aside from Adrien. Chloe was pretty sure Sabrina secretly hated her.

"Shut up Sabrina," Chloe hissed, glaring at Marinette who was now glaring back.

"Seriously Chloe, what are you doing?"

"Hating Marinette's guts."

"I can see that," Sabrina said and yanked Chloe back into her seat, sitting "properly". Chloe went to look back but Sabrina re-anchored her. "What is it with you and Marinette?"

"Dupan-Cheng is an annoying toxic brat," Chloe huffed, "and she's acting weird."

"We've been at school for five minutes and she hasn't said a word to you, nothing is wrong. You're just trying to start drama."

"What's wrong with drama? It's exciting," Chloe smiled with her lips pressed shut.

"Whatever," Sabrina rolled her eyes.

"Oh, don't 'whatever' me!" Chloe scoffed. Sarbina rolled her eyes. Sabrina was acting more upset than usual. That was probably because someone murdered the shit out of Lenore, her old childhood friend, but oopsies!

"Good morning students!" Ms. Bustier said as she finally pried herself away from her desktop. 'Kids these days are addicted to their devices, my ass.' Chloe already knew what she was going to say and wanted to leave. Dread. "So, your finals from last semester have all been graded and those of you who got all A's and B's on each test, as you know, are being rewarded with a school trip, just for the seniors! I've sent each of you an email to let you know if you'll be joining us or not, and attached to it is a packing list and a memoir of what to expect from this trip. We're going to New York!"

"Ugh, New York," Chloe rolled her eyes. She'd only been there like, a thousand times. She spoke to Sabrina secretly, "last time I went there to visit my mom, we had a fight. Now she's mad at me for calling her old."

"I believe your exact words were, and I quote, 'eat my hot cheese you old bitch.' I would know, you had me on facetime at three in the morning."

"She acts like I'm a retarded whore."

"You kind of are."

"Hell yes I am."

"Those of you who are not going will still have school like usual. I won't be on the trip, but Ms. Mendeleev will be, so she will have a sub in her class. I know she has a reputation with you guys but please, I ask you to treat her with respect and kindness," Bustier stated.

Chloe already had her tablet out. Apparently, Ms. Bustier has also invited her to a whatsapp chat that contained all the students attending the trip. Boy, there were a lot of them. All Seniors, of course, but surprisingly not a lot of them were from her class. From her class, the kids that would be going were herself (of course), Sabrina, Adrien, Max, Nathaniel, Marc, Juleka, Rose, and unfortunately, Marinette. The only other person on the list that Chloe knew was Kagami, Adrien's girlfriend/boyfriend/partner thing (Chloe didn't know what to call them but she really didn't care). Glancing at Adrien, she could tell he was excited to go. Whenever he left Paris it was for his father's brand. He never did "vacations" or went anywhere just for fun. Well, except when he went to London but that was always to visit his family and that wasn't very pleasant either.

Wait, there was another person she recognized on the giant group chat. Luka Couffaine. Wasn't he dropped out of highschool? Why was Juleka's stupid twin brother coming with them on their SCHOOL trip? Chloe would not be having this so she raised her hand and asked her question before Ms. Bustier even looked at her.

"Why is Juleka's drop out brother coming?!"

"Chloe," Ms. Bustier sighed and shook her head, "those are for reasons I cannot openly disclose."

In the back of the classroom, Juleka whispered something to Rose who repeated it back to her a little louder which Chloe's ex boyfriend heard and decided to announce to the world.

"Juleka has anxiety issues?!" Kim said like the dumbass he is. Ms. Bustier looked like she was about to lose her mind and Rose was going feral in the back of the room.

"Well, now that it's just been said, can I elaborate for the sake of not allowing rumors to spread, Juleka?" Ms. Bustier asked. Juleka shook her head no. "Very well then. Kim, I would like to see you in the hall." Ms. Bustier's face was plastered and agitated. She forced Kim out of his seat and disappeared with him out the door before Kim could protest.

"Juleka! Are you ok?!" The stupid girl that sat behind Chloe, Mylene, said. God, she was also annoying.

"I'm fine," Juleka mumbled.

Marinette looked like she was on the verge of losing her entire mind. She was so annoying. Chloe shot her a glare and the glare was returned. Marinette pulled out her phone and started furiously texting someone, probably Luka. Alya was teasing her. Chloe was more annoyed.

Once homeroom was over, the class had economics. Apparently making cookies had something to do with economics because Marinette's father was there. Mr. Tom Dupan was the owner of a bakery and his last name literally meant bread. How funny.

Truth was, it was the first day back at school after the break and Ms. Mendeleev didn't want to teach because apparently being thrown in as a chaperone for a school trip across the Atlantic ocean was giving her a midlife crisis. So Tom Dupan was doing a mini baking lesson to occupy the time and teach the kids some skills. Chloe didn't think they were skills.

"I'll let you in on a little secret," Tom said to the class, "I always add cream to the chocolate to make the ganache extra velvety. Then, I let it infuse for one minute."

"You didn't tell me your dad was coming in today," Alya whispered to Marinette who was obnoxiously standing right next to Chloe. She was in a wheelchair, filming the whole thing.

"Jesus Alya, do you have to film everything?" Chloe said with a cruel tone in her voice.

"Whatever Chloe," Alya ignored her.

"Why do we even need this?" Chloe complained.

"Well, in case you want to make this at home-" Tom began to say.

"Do you seriously think I'm going to get my hands dirty like some maid?" Chloe scoffed. "If I want a croissant I just make my butler get it for me."

"That's wonderful, er...." Tom forgot her name, "but these are macaroons." He began stirring the concoction he'd been making in a bowl. All the students were huddled around the front desk with him. "It's all done with a flick of the wrist, but you mustn't go too fast or you might splash yourself."

"This gives me an ick," Chloe whispered to Sabrina who was probably done with her bullshit. Tom was clearly ignoring her but that didn't stop Chloe from continuing to complain.

Chloe was in a mood.

Maybe Tom Dupan was Hawkmoth.

He definitely looked evil. Probably. With his big stupid round head and fat brown mustache that covered his lip. And he was practically a giant. Giant old baker man.

These were the thoughts running through Chloe's head.

She didn't touch the finished product of the macaroons he made when Marinette offered them to her at lunch. She would never accept anything given to her by Marinette. Marinette was clearly fed up with this and decided to provoke her.

"I get it Chloe, you're displeased with everything. You don't need to make it everyone else's problem," Marinette said, taking her macaroons and preparing to leave Chloe at her table.

"Sounds like a you problem," Chloe said cockily.

"Oh my lord- Chloe! Can you just even pretend to be a decent human being?" Marinette snarled.

"I'm more decent than you. I could smell your deodorant before you even got to my table. It's off putting, but I'm sure the BO it's covering is worse," Chloe smirked. Sabrina was hiding her face.

"Why do you- Take the stupid macaroons!" Marinette said, aggressively throwing three macaroons onto Chloe's half empty tray and storming off.

"She's got a stick up her ass," Chloe snorted and passed the macaroons to Sabrina.

And then Adrien came.

"Chloe, what was that?" Adrien said, taking a seat next to her.

"She's being annoying," Chloe said, paying him no mind.

"Chloe..." Adrien took a deep breath, "how long have we been friends?"

"Since we were toddlers," Chloe said with a smile.

"Ok, well, I'm sorry but ever since I came to public school I've been seeing a different side of you. And I've seen you through so many situations and lenses and all the faces you wear and now I'm scared that this Chloe here is the real Chloe," Adrien laid out flatly, "I don't want to be friends with you."

"What?!"

"I don't want to be friends with you until you're nice and respectful to people. I mean, you were treating Mr. Dupan like he was dirt today and then took out whatever anger you've got going on onto Marinette again."

"You're joking."

"I'm not joking. I'll talk to you later," he said and stood up.

By 'talk to you later' Chloe was sure he meant 'meet me later as Queen Bee on patrol tonight because I'm going to totally apologize and reveal that this was all some joke or prank Marinette is pulling on you and I really do love you probably more than I love Kagami so I'm going to break up with them and get together with you because that's what I really meant when I said we shouldn't be friends.' Duh.

No. He looked serious. He probably meant 'I'm really pissed with how you're acting and I'm disappointed in myself for not saying anything sooner. By the way, I hate you.'

I don't want to be friends with you.

***

"I don't want to be friends with you" could mean a lot of things. Maybe Chloe was overthinking it. He couldn't possibly have meant that literally, right? But Chloe was a wreck of emotions and by the time she got home she was behaving like a hormonal pregnant woman who lost her car keys and was having an emotional breakdown over undercooked pasta. Exactly that. Chloe's eyes were swollen by tears by the time she got from the lobby to her bedroom of her father's hotel. And her makeup was smeared by the time she curled herself up by the window which had a perfect view of Paris.

"Mademoiselle does not look very happy today," her butler said when he came into her room (with her permission, of course.) He came bearing gifts. Chocolate truffles. Chloe took them without thanking him. She was too busy crying and stuffing her face with chocolate. "May I ask what is the matter?"

"Adrien says I have to be nice to everyone or he won't be my friend anymore but he doesn't understand what it's been like to put up with those people all year and I just can't take it anymore!!" Chloe wailed. "How could he do this to me, Jean Michelle?!"

"My name is actually-" her butler's expression fell to disappointment- "nevermind. Perhaps I can help you keep your friendship with Adrien? I know how much he means to you."

"Why would you do a thing like that, Jean Jaques?"

"Because that is what kindness is all about," he said with a sincere smile. He was a stereotypical french butler, if you can imagine. "I'm sure you can remember being a little girl when Mr Cuddly was always nice to you when times were sad?"

"Mr. Cuddly?" Chloe said, suddenly recalling her stuffed teddy bear from her childhood. "I haven't seen him since the... divorce."

"Yes, I know, but I have a surprise for you," Jean said and stepped across the room to Chloe's bed. "I was doing some deep cleaning today and I happened to rediscover Mr. Cuddly under a box of all sorts of forgotten things." Jean pulled a yellow glittery teddy bear off of Chloe's bed, "I put him here to surprise you, but I don't think you noticed him yet."

"I thought he was still in New York..." Chloe said. She hadn't seen that stupid bear in years. It was a gift from her father that she got as a present for completing her first day of kindergarten, and now here it was so many years later to comfort her in her senior year. She lost Mr. Cuddly when her mother and father finally divorced and Chloe lived with her mother in New York for a few weeks. When she came home, she couldn't find Mr. Cuddly anywhere and he was lost forever. She used to sleep with that stupid yellow bear every night. She took it with her everywhere but her butler always made sure he was properly cleaned each week. Seeing him brought a sense of both joy and melancholy.

"I remember you would throw a party almost every night, pretending you were the hostess and he was the guest of honor. You used to have me play with you and Mr. Cuddly all of the time," Jean said, handing her the beloved bear.

"Party..." Chloe repeated. She threw parties all the time and they usually ended up being drunken messes with someone losing their virginity. Not as innocent as she depicted them as a child. It did give her an idea though. "I have an idea! I know how I can make everyone know I'm nice!"

"What's that?"

"I could invite them all over to a party?" Chloe hesitated on every word in that sentence.

"Brilliant idea mademoiselle."

"Great!" Chloe said, whipping out her phone and sending out invites. She got through everyone and was satisfied. "There! I'm nice!"

"Did you invite the baker girl?"

"Dupan-Cheng? Do I have to?"

"Yes mademoiselle, even her."

"Fine." Chloe gagged and sent Marinette an invite.

"Mademoiselle, when did you schedule the party?"

"Tonight."

"...I better get decorating then," her butler sighed.

The celebration room was lit with colorful lights and pink decorations. Jean-whatever-his-name-is was good at throwing something like this together on the spot at Chloe's sudden request. Chloe had invited her entire class as well as some others for fun. The room was already filled with people yet Chloe stood over them on a balcony, overlooking them with disgust.

"You should greet your guests with a proper hug and a kiss-bise," Jean-butler-guy said to her, joining her on the balcony. Chloe cringed.

"You're kidding Jean Cluade, you really expect me to touch cheeks with them?"

"Well, it would prove to Adrien that you're nice."

"Oh fine!" Chloe said, a little bit of her soul leaving.

Just then, Adrien entered the party room. Chloe felt her heart swell. She quickly raced downstairs and latched onto Adrien, giving him two bises (french kiss greeting).

"Adrien! What do you think of me inviting everyone to this party? It's nice, right?"

"Yeah you... do have parties all the time..." Adrien said.

"Thanks for the invite, Chloe!" Rose, the most annoying girl in the world, said and kissed both of Chloe's cheeks.

"Yeah, it's really sweet of you!" her ex boyfriend, Le Chien Kim, said and also greeted her the same way. Chloe's face twitched.

"I've never been to a party like this!" Max Kante declared and also greeted Chloe. She almost gagged from his nerd boy smell. Chloe turned to escape and bam. There she was. Marinette Dupan-Cheng. Chloe clammed up. Marinette was either giving her a 'you're so fucked' look or maybe she was also horrified of the idea of kissing Chloe for greeting. Adrien nudged Chloe. Chloe swallowed her pride and leaned forward.

"NOPE!" Marinette yelped and jumped away. "Sorry, not sorry, no."

"Ass," Chloe muttered incoherently.

After greeting everyone, Chloe retreated back to her butler in the corner of the room. Usually when she threw parties, they were full of celebrity kids her age, popular kids, her friend circle, and people above the standard of baker girl and Alya the amputee. Seriously, the wheelchair Alya used was killing her vibe. Normally there was more rowdiness. But the seniors she'd invited were all playing video games or engaging in the ballpit and food. It was boring.

"Ok, I did it. Adrien should be happy," Chloe said in defeat.

"Shouldn't you check that your guests are having a good time?" Jean suggested.

"Why would I do that, Jean Marc?"

"Because it's a nice thing to do, and Adrien would-"

"Ok fine, I get it," Chlue grumbled.

She marched away to the snack table where Nathaniel and Marc were talking. Chloe slammed her fist on the table to get their attention and both the boys yelped in surprise. They stared at her, waiting for her to say something, and she stared back at them, waiting for something to happen.

"Having a good time?" she asked through gritted teeth. The boys just continued to stare and look confused. Or maybe she just interrupted a really private important conversation that would alter the projection of their lives forever. Ruined by yours truly, Chloe Bourgeois.

"Oof!" Mylene appeared at the table looking hot and flustered, "I've been dancing so much I'm sooooo thirsty. Do you know where I can get some ice cubes?"

"Why would I know? I'm not your servant! Go find them yourself. And if you're hot, why don't you take off your cheap sheep wool sweater and throw it in the trash where it belongs?!" Chloe snapped. Adrien appeared at the snack table. "Ahhaahhahahahahahahahahhaa I'm totally joking! I'll get you those ice cubes!" Chloe said and darted away. She dug around in the back kitchen and found a pack of ice cubes, returning to the snack table and awkwardly sliding them over to her without a word.

It wasn't Chloe's fault Mylene's jacket was atrocious.

Someone messed with the music and now it was playing a romantic slow song. It made Chloe's blood boil so to cool down, she sat as far away from the dance floor as she could. She wasn't going to check up on anyone else. Marc and Nathaniel were a complete embarrassing disaster for her already.

"Chloe, would you uh... dance with me?" Le Chien Kim said, stepping in front of Chloe.

"No." Chloe scowled. Stupid ex boyfriend. She hated his guts. But then Adrien walked by and Jean was giving her a weird look from the balcony. Her face twitched again. ".... FINE!" She said, forcing herself to join him. Kim chuckled in disbelief and took her to the dance floor. He already had his hand on her hip. Chloe wanted to die.

When they danced, she leaned as far away from him as she could. But Kim was reading all the wrong signs and kept trying to pull her close. He kept apologizing for his dumb mistakes in their past together and started whining like an old dog and a broken record, begging her to take him back. Chloe was tired. Her lazy agitated eyes found Adrien dancing with Kagami and her heart sank a little.

Of course. Adrien got to be happy. Not that she didn't want him to be happy, but they were both supposed to go through ups and downs together. He didn't want to be her friend and Kagami was probably closer to him than Chloe ever would be. But she wasn't jealous. She wasn't jealous at all until she saw Marinette with Luka. They both looked awkward and out of coordination with each other but something was there that Chloe never had and that's when her fuse blew.

"Kim, please don't ever talk to me again. I was trying to be nice, I didn't want you to whine to me about our relationship. We're done," Chloe said bitterly. She ripped away from Kim and stormed off, probably to go make a scene. She was straight-lining it for Marinette and that bastard son Luka.

"Mademoiselle!" she heard Jean call to her, trying to get her attention. Chloe just shot him an agitated glare and continued forward. "Mademoiselle Chloe!"

"What?!" Chloe shouted, getting everyone's attention onto her. She looked at Marinette who had a stupid smug look on her face.

"I was wondering if-"

"You're fired!" Chloe said, finally losing her temper.

"What?"

"Get out!"

She heard everyone murmuring things. Faces she didn't know looked at her with mockery, and people began saying things behind her back. Jean-the-no-longer-butler left the room without a word and Chloe had made a fool of herself.

"You have no idea how much of a problem he was," Chloe lied to get everyone off of her back. But still, they were judging her. "Keep dancing."

Chloe scowled in Marinette's direction. She and Luka looked utterly confused, but the commotion had caused them to separate and 'success success' they'd stopped dancing. Marinette's happiness was Chloe's responsibility now. And she wasn't the nurturing type.

"Chloe, what was that about?" Sabrina asked after approaching Chloe. For some reason, her asking that brought Chloe to the brink of tears.

"You don't understand," Chloe snarled and stormed away. Sabrina trotted after her.

"Chloe, please! What's going on?!"

"Nothing's 'going on' Sabrina!" Chloe growled.

"You're acting weird," Sabrina said, taking Chloe by the wrist and dragging her into the main kitchen. The kitchen was luxurious but confined to a tight working place. "Something is up with you. You've been extra agro about Marinette all day, and then you spontaneously throw a party which you invited Marinette to, with no reasoning whatsoever, and it doesn't even look like you're having fun."

"Of course I'm having fun!" Chloe scoffed.

"You look miserable, Chloe. Are you upset because of the New York trip and your mom?"

"It's none of your business!"

"So it is then."

"What?! No! Well, not entirely," Chloe cocked her hip and rolled her eyes with sass. "Just... that..." something moved in her peripheral vision, but when she tried to see what it was, nothing was there. "It's... it's that... Adrien..." She swore she saw something move.

"Adrien? Did you two have a fight? He's been avoiding you all night."

"Yeah, well I don't even know why he came in the first place. He doesn't want to be my-" she saw it again, but this time, behind Sabrina. Again, when she tried to look at it, it wasn't there. "Sabrina, I think there's mice in here."

"Mice? Chloe, I don't think it's possible to have mice anywhere in this hotel with the insane amount of money your father spends on pest control."

"I saw what I saw!" Chloe snapped.

"You're trying to change the subject! I'm worried about you!"

"You don't have to w-" And then she saw it. A living breathing teddy bear crawling across the floor to Sabrina's ankle where its beady button eyes were fixated on, almost with bloodthirst. "SABRINA!" Chloe yelped and pointed at it, jumping away in fear.

"What?" Sabrina said and looked down. She screamed upon seeing the bear. The bear leapt on her ankle, attaching itself to her. Sabrina's eyes went blank and she lifted her head in Chloe's direction in the creepiest manner Chloe would ever think to behold.

"Sabrina-"

"Why don't you be a little nicer and open with your friends, Chloe?" Sabrina asked, slowly stepping towards Chloe. Chloe backed away in fright.

"What are you doing?"

"Teaching you a lesson, Chloe," Sabrina said, grabbing a knife off one of the kitchen counters.

"Stop it!" Chloe shrieked, grabbing a pan to defend herself with. She didn't have pollen with her. Pollen wanted to stay up in her room to try and make contact with Dusuu (which they knew was impossible but Pollen was desperate). Chloe didn't have her miraculous.

"You've hurt so many people in your life Chloe but when it's you on the other end of the stick it's suddenly not ok?" Sabrina shouted, slashing at Chloe with the knife. Chloe thwacked the knife out of her hands with the pan. Barreling past her, Chloe bolted out of the kitchen and into the party room, screaming. Sabrina pursued of course but Chloe made herself lost in the crowd, panting, crying, and utterly panicked.

"Hey, what's going on?" someone asked, putting a hand on her shoulder. Surprisingly, it was Luka. Chloe didn't think Luka even cared about her. Like, ever.

"Akuma-" Chloe blurted out.

"What?" asked Marinette. Oh. Of course she was with Luka.

"Akuma!" Chloe said again. Someone else put a hand on her shoulder.

"Why don't you let me protect you?" It was Kim. Chloe jerked away. Something wasn't right about the way he was moving.

"Leave me alone, Kim!" Chloe shrieked.

"He's just trying to help!" Marinette said.

"Stay out of it Marinette!"

"I know you don't love me anymore, but," Kima grabbed her again, more aggressively this time, "the least you could do is try not to humiliate me every chance you get. You've probably never dealt with heartbreak? Have you Chloe?"

"Let me go!"

"If I let you go you'll run away from me again. I want you to stay with me!"

"She said to let go!" Marinette said, shockingly coming to Chloe's rescue. She ripped Kim's hands off of Chloe, freeing her. Chloe spotted the evil teddy bear on Kim's ankle. Crap. The akuma. The bear jumped off Kim and onto Marinette who also saw it but didn't get to say anything before it possessed her.

She was much more violent than the other two.

"Chloe Bourgeois, why are you a complete asshole to me all of the time?!" Marinette shouted angrily, picking Chloe up (for she really didn't weigh that much) and throwing her to the ground. By now the music had stopped and people were forming a crowd around the scene. "What did I ever do to you?!" Marinette shouted, grabbing Chloe's ankle and dragging her across the floor, pushing her way through the crowd who made no effort to stop her. "All I am is a normal fucking girl with a normal fucking life and yet you go out of your way every single day to make sure I feel miserable and disgusting about myself? Maybe you're compensating for something, maybe it boosts your ego, or maybe you're just fucking racist because coincidentally I am the only asian girl in our class and I'm the one you specifically try to bully and torture every fucking day without fail!"

"Let me go!" Chloe screamed, throwing her feet and trying to kick her. Marinette was pulling her towards one of the giant windows. Oh no.

"I've wanted to hurt you so bad. All these years. But I never did because I'm a nice person! I'm not morally insane!" Marinette seethed. Now at the window, she kicked and shattered it with her foot. Did the evil teddy bear give her insane strength because how on earth did she just do that? By now, other people were screaming at Marinette but still not doing anything to stop her. "Don't worry. People will look at this and wonder if you fell straight out of heaven, or crawled right out of hell. Enjoy the fall, prick."

Marinette lifted Chloe up and shoved her out the window. Screaming, Chloe hoped Pollen would come save her. Pollen, someone, anyone! Alya was at the party, right? Surely Tigre Rouge would come save her! But as the window grew further away and she could hear the people on the streets below more vividly, she realized no one was going to save her. No one would that deeply wanted to.

Everything became muffled and silent. Chloe lost the sensation of falling. She would have thought she was dead but she was pretty sure that Chloe Bourgeois of all people had more to say than had been said in seventeen years of life. She was going to live longer.

And she was right. A forcefield projected by Carapace had caught her right before she hit the road below. She was safe.

She was also alone.

Passerbies ran in fear because the appearance of Carapace's Shell-Ter meant an akuma was nearby and they were all in danger. Not one of them stopped to ask if Chloe was alright.

Several minutes went by and Chloe was still stuck in the forcefield.

Good. She was safe.

Bad. She couldn't be Queen Bee.

Fifteen minutes went by. She could tell something was happening up in the hotel but she felt at a loss not being able to tell what it was.

By the time she hit the twenty minute mark the forcefield slipped away. Carapace had transformed... or gotten his miraculous stolen, how would she know? Chloe didn't waste any time in getting back inside the hotel and rushing up the elevators to the event room where the fight was still taking place. Everyone from the party was gone. Ladybug, Chat Noir, Carapace and Rena Rouge were fighting each other. The little teddy bear was continuously latching onto one of their legs and making one go rogue with the power to use magic against the other; much more powerful than possessing Sabrina or Kim.

That teddy bear was slightly misshapen and completely a different color, but Chloe knew it was Mr. Cuddly. Her butler had been akumatized. Because of her. Figures.

"Chloe?! Get out of here!" Chat Noir shouted. In that moment the bear jumped onto his ankle and latched itself. His eyes changed, as did the entire way he held himself.

"Oh we are so screwed-" Tigre Rouge muttered, eyeing him cautiously.

"Ladybug..." Chat Noir cocked his head in Ladybug's direction. He summoned his cataclysm to his hand. Shit. He was going for the kill.

"Chat Noir-" Ladybug took a step back.

Chat Noir didn't say a word. He just lunged at her, outstretching his destructive hand. Carapace caught it with his forcefield, trapping the cataclysm but not immobilizing Chat Noir. Chat Noir swerved to hit Ladybug who ducked aside and went to snatch up the bear. He kicked her right in the face.

"Hey! You stupid cat!" Chloe shrieked, "don't even touch her like that ever again you dumb ass fuck!"

"Brat," Chat Noir glared, now fixated on Chloe.

"Lucky charm!" Ladybug called out, summoning a.... Fork? Chat Noir was now pursuing Chloe.

"Selfish snob," he muttered.

"Hey! Kitty!" Ladybug waved the fork in the air to get his attention. It worked and now he was going back after her. She ran up a spiraling staircase with Chat Noir following. And then there was awkward silence.

"You need to get out of here," Carapace said after a beat. Tigre was already going up the stairs.

"They're crazy, they'll never make it without me," Chloe muttered to herself and ran off. She went straight to her room where Pollen was frantically running about.

"There you are! I was so worried!" Pollen said, practically tackling Chloe into a hug.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Chloe hugged her back because it felt like the right thing to do. "I need to transform."

"Here," Pollen said and handed her the bee comb. Chloe put it in her hair. "Ready?"

"Pollen, buzz on!" Chloe said and transformed into Queen Bee in a flash of golden light.

Here's the thing. It would be suspicious if Queen Bee showed up to battle so late. Kinda would suggest who she was under the mask. She'd have to hide from the other heroes and work behind the scenes. Queen Bee planned to work it out on her way to the battle.

She found herself up on the roof where Ladybug had drawn Chat Noir too. The duo was fighting each other next to the outdoor pool. Queen Bee perched herself up on the towel shack to observe.

They'll need me soon enough, she told herself. It was a lie.

Ladybug jumped away from the possessed Chat Noir and threw her yoyo at him, shouting, "I guess we needed those practice fights against each other on patrol after all!" He easily deflected the yoyo with his baton as if it were a bat cracking against a baseball. Ladybug retracted the yoyo and did it again, jumping over him through the air this time. He deflected it again and they were back to hand to hand combat. Getting fed up, Chat Noir threw his baton like a spear. Ladybug dodged it but it anchored itself into the roof Queen Bee was perched upon, exposing her.

"Queen Bee?!" Ladybug exclaimed in alarm, nearly getting decked by Chat Noir.

"Yes, hi, I'm late," Queen Bee said, her words slurring together.

"Glad you're here," Ladybug said, swooping around Chat Noir and jabbing the fork her lucky charm had summoned into the teddy bear attached to his ankle. She'd somehow tied her yoyo string to the end of the fork. Chat Noir kept fighting her, so it was a bit tricky but eventually she was able to successfully throw the yoyo up to Queen Bee who caught it.

"Got it!"

"Watch your step, kitty," Ladybug sneered. Chat Noir froze up, looking confused. "If you move too far from Queen Bee that fork will rip a hole right through that teddy bear on your ankle."

"What?" Chat Noir reached to rip out the fork but Queen Bee jerked on the string just in time. A large tear formed in the teddy bear's back, exposing its fluffy insides to the world. Pushing its way through the fluff came a little man that looked an awful lot like Chloe's butler.

"What the-" Ladybug's nose wrinkled up.

"You cannot stop me! I am everywhere! In your bed, in your closet, in your-" Ladybug interrupted the little man by picking him up.

"Yeah yeah where's your akuma?"

"I am not telling you!" the little man pouted angrily. Chat Noir, now back to his normal self, picked up the teddy bear and ripped its head off, releasing a little black butterfly from within.

"Ah, thank you very much chaton," Ladybug said, dropping the little man and purifying the moth.

"It's a pleasure, m'ladybug."

With the akuma situation miraculously resolved, Ladybug, Chat Noir, and the other two bid their goodbyes and left without saying another word to Queen Bee. There was no 'thank you for helping us out there in the end' or 'if you hadn't caught that yoyo, Chat would still be possessed!' or anything of that sort. Queen Bee never felt so useless in her life.

Chloe's butler Jean-what's-his-face looked absolutely miserable sitting there on the roof all alone. Dreadful, really. He just lost the job he'd had for the past thirty years because of Chloe. He was practically a part of the Bourgeois family at this point and she fired him because his actions slightly irritated her. Chloe could see what Adrien meant.

Chloe was an asshole.

So after detransforming and returning to the roof as the rich blond girl, Chloe approached her former butler with shy attentiveness. "Jean Claire?" She said timidly. He did not respond. "I am sorry. I let my emotions get the better of me. Can you forgive me?" Still no response. "I didn't even want to fire you. I don't think I even have the power to do that. You're not actually fired, you know."

"But you still said it anyways."

That stung.

"I know. I was overwhelmed and acting stupid because I'm... scared."

"You are scared?" Thank god he finally looked at her.

"Yeah. I'm realizing I am... not a great person and that even with all the filters and smiles in the world, people can see right through it. I don't want to lose Adrien. I don't want to lose you either. Please, come back inside."

"I will. You need someone to help you pack for your school trip after all," Jean said with a knowing smile. Chloe felt her soul die a little.

"Hahah... right..."

A/n In case some of y'all didn't know, I dropped Miracle Box in August, 2023. Rip. I was starting college give me a break. So what do I do the second 2024 begins and my college workload is now 25+ hours a week? Pick it up again! :'D I am insane. This being said, there will be NO WEEKLY UPDATES. Like wtf was I on with that? It was stressing me out even when I was on break man. The ONE TIME I was able to pull off updates like that was with my fic "Peter Will Die" WHICH I UPDATED DAILY???? And consistently every day??? During basketball tournaments??? I was a different breed when I was 16 ig (the only older fic of mine I will tolerate you reading tbh)

In case you're confused, the epilogue in the last chapter was the conclusion to season one of my version of miraculous, and this here is the beginning of my version of New York. This part of the fic will dominantly follow Chloe and Nino.

Also pls tell me if you want me to write a chapter (or separate book) explaining the characters here in detail because guys I made so much lore and I feel like some of the changes I made should be talked about. But only if you're interested :')

Anyways, today will be spam from this fic as I catch it up to where I left in in August before I start resuming updates. I have already written like a page or so of a new chapter whcih hasn't seen the light of day anywhere, AND IT FINALLY FOLLOWS NINO so I'm not a liar THIS FIC IS TOTALLY ABOUT HIM.

Anyways, see y'all later lol

-Peter