It was interesting, to say the least. Gwen half expected Paris to be one of the most peaceful places on earth. That night, she accidentally got into an argument with a cop and he ended up giving her tickets for the ridiculous things. Gwen just threw them away. The Dupain-Cheng family is nice, she'll admit. Strangely coddling but nice. It has been a while since Gwen spent dinner with a family.

From the spare families in foster care, they would make small talk, be on technology, or they would go to their own rooms. She didn't mind it, not caring for that but sitting across a family who wouldn't stop talking amused her.

"That's right," Sabine smiled at her daughter and Gwen. "The day after tomorrow will be your first day of school. How's your French, Gwen?"

Gwen stopped, placing her fork down and chuckling. "I'm still getting there. I still plan to study."

Sabine smiled, "Don't fret much about it. There are kids here in Paris who are learning English too. Maybe you two can help each other out and make friends."

Marinette choked on her water, snapping her head to her mother. "M-Mom!"

Tom nodded, "That's right. You seem the kind of girl who makes friends easily. Marinette, you could learn from her."

Gwen sweatdropped, her eye twitching as Marinette tried, and failed, to make her parents quiet about the topic. Gwen glanced at the girl. She has talent and is nice. She could be shy but she seems the kind of girl who has a huge group of friends.

"Perhaps even a boyfriend," Sabine smiled blissfully, making Marinette flush more. "Mom!"

The couple laughed, smiling at their daughter softly. Gwen couldn't help but look out the window. It was dark out, save for the lights in the streets. She hummed, knowing that she'd swing by later when the family was asleep.

"Gwen?"

Gwen turned, seeing the couple looking at her expectantly. "I'm sorry, what is it?" Gwen asked.

Sabine smiled, "We were wondering what kind of hobbies you are interested in."

Gwen blinked, looking down briefly at her wrists where her webbing would spring out of. "Well," she started. "I like to skateboard, fix machines, and..." go out on patrol and swing through the air with no problems. "...listen to music," Gwen informed, nodding at her words.

"Oh, that's right!" Tom grinned. "We heard that you like to gather metal scraps too. Do you fix them too?"

Gwen nodded, going back down to the soup. "It keeps me distracted."

Tom and Sabine smiled, now conversing with one another. Marinette kept quiet, glancing at the young girl beside her. Marinette can be observant of some things when it comes to people's behavior. But she had long experienced when someone feels...lonely in someone's eyes. Although Gwen kept a stoic expression, her eyes were dimmed. There's a lot on the girl's mind but Marinette knows not to bother her. They barely met, so why...Marinette glanced back at the girl, frowning as Gwen gazed back at the window, lost in thought.

Why does Gwen seem...lost?

🕸🕷🕸

It was the day. Gwen groggily opened her eyes, blinking as the window above her shined through and the sun was out. She sighed, closing her eyes shut in annoyance. Why did she pick the upper bed again?

Taking a few seconds to think of her life choices, she groggily sat up and yawned. Getting off the bed, she yelped and clutched onto the woodpost. She keeps forgetting about the ladder. One of these days she's going to fall off and splat on the ground.

Gwen sighed once more, climbing down and walking over to her suitcase. She frowned, looking behind her to the spare bed on the side. She blinked, noticing Marinette's bed was already made. Gwen frowned, raising a hand behind her, webbing her phone to her hand, and looking at the time. School doesn't start for another hour, where is she?

Gwen shrugged, walking over to her suitcase and grabbing a spare of clothes. She smiled, picking out a black short-sleeved shirt with a green coat. Grabbing a purple skirt and black spandex shorts. Grabbing the rest of her showering utensils, she stepped out of the room to shower.

She wasn't sure how the day would progress. Closing her eyes, she couldn't help but lean on the warm shower and let her mind adrift like the river. Getting into a new school...she thought. She's going to be in Paris for a few months, so she shouldn't get attached to anyone here. Go to school, and go on about her day, she doesn't need any friends. She doesn't need anyone if she'll end up leaving once again in hopes for her dad to take her back.

Gwen sighed, turning off the water once she felt the warm water cooling down. Changing into her clothes, she stepped back into the room to grab her boots. However, she took notice of her headband in the suitcase. Looking back down at her hair, she deadpanned at the tips of her strands. She needs to re-dye them.

Grabbing her bag and her skateboard, she left towards the bakery. She stopped, spotting Marinette rummaging through her pink bag and muttering to herself. "Hey," Gwen spoke up, making Marinette flinch and look up at the stairs.

"Ready to go?" Gwen nodded to the door.

Marinette gulped, nodding as both girls stepped out of the apartment. It was early in the morning and the bakery was as busy as ever. Tom and Sabine were already setting up new pastries for the customers. As the girls walked down the stairs, they both smiled at the sight of them.

"There they are!" Tom gasped, walking towards them. "Ladies, your breakfasts are getting cold."

"Sorry, Daddy," Marinette frowned, continuing to rummage through her bag. "I'm not hungry today. Gotta go!"

Gwen nodded too, "I don't eat breakfast."

Tom smiled, "That's fine. I'll grab some croissants for the road."

Marinette zipped her backpack closed, blinking at what her father stated. "The road?" she flinched back as her father jumped in with a grin on his face.

"Oh, I am so excited to take you girls to school!" he clapped as Marinette's eyes widened in horror, stepping back. "Wha...No! No, no, no! Dad, this is not the day," she tried.

Gwen chuckled, seeing how Marinette's parents dote on the young girl. She thanked Sabine for the croissant and took a bite, watching as Marinette tried to prevent her father from taking them to school.

Looking back down at her phone, they had thirty minutes before it started. Gwen doesn't mind getting late to class.

"I'm–I mean, we're going there alone," Marinette glanced at Gwen briefly, almost pleadingly to stop her father. "You don't want them to make fun of us, do you?"

Tom frowned, "Of course not, honey."

Marinette sighed in relief, turning to face the door. "Thank you."

But Tom grinned, "I'll come get you after school. I made beautiful sweets for all your friends, and I didn't forget your favorite unicorn cakes!"

Marinette turned around, paling in horror to see her childish unicorn cupcakes. "Oh no."

Gwen's eyes widened at them, "Can I get one?" Tom nodded enthusiastically, handing her two.

Marinette grimaced, "How many times do I have to tell you? I have zero friends."

Gwen stopped, turning to the girl. A scrawny boy with unkempt brown hair and broken glasses suddenly stood in the young girl's place. Bruises on his cheek and ripped clothes were how she remembered. But she can also see the lone forest greens behind his glasses.

Shaking the thought away, she shrugged her bag and started walking to the door as she continued to silently hear Marinette's conversation with her parents.

Sabine stepped beside her husband, giving him a soft yet stern look. "Tom. I smell something burning," she smiled. Tom's eyes widened and gasped. "No, no, no! Not the baguettes!" he ran off to the back.

Marinette groaned, "I'm sorry, Mom. I know Daddy means well, but..."

"What's wrong, honey?" Sabine frowned worriedly.

Marinette looked away, embarrassed at herself at the moment. "I'm worried they'd make fun of me. Can you imagine what they'd think?"

Sabine smiled, stepping closer to her daughter, and placed a hand on her shoulder in assurance. "Stop worrying about what others think. There's only one thing you have to listen to." Lowering her hand from her daughter's shoulder, she placed it gently on the girl's chest where her heart resided.

Marinette looked up from her hand as Sabine nodded to her in understanding. Marinette frowned, knowing her mother meant well. "Mom, but..." Marinette sighed. "How do you make your dreams come true?"

Sabine smiled, "You just have to believe in yourself." She stepped back and walked towards Gwen. "And you..." she smiled, gently grabbing her calloused hand. "Have fun. We'll be waiting for you here."

Gwen's eyes softened, nodding to the woman. "I'll take care of her."

Sabine smiled, "Thank you."

With that, both girls left the bakery and started heading towards the school. It was a bright sunny day, almost comforting to how the people just went on about their day. Gwen had never seen anything like it. People wander around the street and converse with themselves without a care.

Now, Gwen didn't know exactly how it happened. She was looking at the city and back at the girl but blinked to find the girl nowhere to be found. "Where'd she go?" she frowned.

Her senses flared, making her move aside and deadpan to find Marinette crashing into waiters and painters in the street. The girl even found herself accidentally running on top of a rolling barrel. "How...?" Gwen tilted her head in confusion.

Her eyes widened, and she rushed over and pulled the girl aside before someone ran her over with a cart. "Are you always this clumsy?" Gwen chuckled as Marinette sighed in disappointment. "I have bad luck," she grumbled.

Gwen's eyes glinted in curiosity. "Interesting," she mused. "Come on, I don't know where the school is and you're my tour guide."

Marinette hummed, looking around with uncertainty as they crossed the street. Gwen wasn't bothered by the blocks they had to cross. It was a nice sunny day. A little exercise shouldn't be a problem.

Unfortunately, Marinette stumbled into a red carpet and fell forward with a yelp. Gwen immediately caught the girl, wincing as the people around stared at them strangely. She helped the girl up, blinking as a woman with slicked black hair in a low bun and red strands stared back at her blankly.

Marinette shuddered, grabbing Gwen's hand and rushing away. Gwen followed along, stopping as her senses flared. She blinked, looking around in search of danger but couldn't find anything. She frowned, turning away and following Marinette to school. Unaware of a black Volkswagon driving past her and stopping at the building. The doors automatically opened, allowing the tall man to step out.

"The teams are ready for you in the showroom," Nathalie, his assistant informed.

The man grunts, nodding at the woman as he steps inside the building. He ignored his calls from the photographers and started to work.

🕸🕷🕸

Gwen stood awkwardly beside Marinette. The poor girl was hunched over with anxiety as they stood in front of the large school. Gwen sighed, raising a hand and slapping the girl's back. Not hard enough to hurt but to snap the girl out of her daze.

"Hey," Gwen looked down at the girl. "It's going to be fine. School's always filled with weirdos, us included," Gwen shrugged, smiling at the girl. "If anything goes wrong, call me." Gwen walked forward, making Marinette's eyes widen, and grabbed the girl's green coat.

Gwen stopped, turning her head in confusion.

"W-Where are you going?" Marinette frowned.

"Unfortunately," Gwen yawned. "I have to meet with the principal and get my schedule. You can always come with me but I'm sure it's boring." Gwen waved, walking away. She was hoping to get some free time and go to the library. She hadn't read in a while and hoped to find good books.

Marinette watched her go, taking a deep breath and slowly walking towards the school. She yelped and grunted as she bumped into a few students however, she knew that everything was going to be all right...she hoped.

Sighing deeply, she walked towards the stairs when a boy with a red cap skated through and nearly tumbled into her. The boy yelped, moving away before crashing into her and falling to the ground. Marinette's eyes widened and stumbled back, bumping her back into someone.

"AH!" a girl exclaimed, making the students turn to the commotion and gasped in horror. A drop of coffee fell onto the girl's black and white striped shirt.

Marinette paled, knowing exactly who she bumped into. Chloé Bourgeois. The popular girl of the school and also known for being the daughter of the mayor...also known as the girl who gets easily cranky if someone looks her way.

Chloé groaned, glaring at the girl. "You just ruined my Gabriel Agreste sweater!" she exclaimed.

Marinette gasped, stepping back. "I...I'm so, so..." she yelped as Chloé stormed towards her and pulled her close by her collar, glaring down at her.

"Marinette!" Chloé glares. "You are so–!"

Someone cleared their throat. Chloé stopped, turning to the side, and frowned as a girl smiled at them, holding a camera at them. A glint in her hazel eyes didn't waver from amusement. "Don't stop on my account. I'm just a fly on the wall," she winked.

Chloé gritted her teeth, her eye twitching. However, she stiffened as she felt a hand on her shoulder. A grimy hand on her shoulder?! She snapped her head to the side to shout at them when she was met with cold blue eyes staring at her.

Chloé stiffened, never seeing such cold eyes before.

"If you don't mind, she's my roommate and I need her alive," Gwen narrowed her eyes at her. "So I suggest letting her go before things get messy, all right?" Gwen smiled, gripping her shoulder.

Chloé's eyes widened, never thinking that someone would be so intimidating. Looking at the girl closely, she can see the multiple piercings in the girl's ear and her brow. Her short blond hair had blue tips. She was tall...and pretty. But the faint scar on the girl's jaw made Chloé pale.

Is she a delinquent?

Chloé composed herself and let go of Marinette. "...gonna be my new best friend," she chuckled and dusted Marinette's sweater. "It's just a priceless cashmere sweater. Come on, Sabrina," she snapped her fingers to the ginger beside her. "Let's get to class. We have much to study."

Chloé immediately grabbed Sabrina's arm and dragged her away. "I'm so angry right now!" Chloé fumed. "I could eat...a piece of bread with butter!"

Sabrina's eyes widened in shock at the girl. "But that's carbs and fat. You could break out!"

"I know!" Chloé exasperated, walking away in despair.

Gwen watched them go, sighing and shaking her head. She turned to Marinette and raised an unimpressed brow. "I leave for what? Two minutes and you already have an enemy? I don't know if I should be shocked or impressed by a new record."

Marinette grimaced, "Sorry. Were you able to get your schedule?"

"No," Gwen chuckled. "Once I heard gasps, I ran out." She glanced to the side as the girl from before stepped beside them with a smile. Marinette noticed and walked back inside the school. The girl followed them with a soft smile on her face.

"You didn't have to do that," Marinette turned to the girl but she only grinned.

"Oh, sorry. Did I need to take a number behind the line of friends coming to your rescue?" the girl smirked and turned to Gwen. "You're cool. I'm Alya, by the way."

Gwen blinked. She rolled her eyes, turning to Marinette. "Hey, I'm gonna go. So please come back alive?" she chuckled teasingly. Marinette relented, nodding at her while Gwen walked away, leaving the girls to themselves.

"She's cold too," Alya mused. "I like her. What was her name again?"

"Gwendolyn," Marinette replied. "I'm Marinette."

🕸🕷🕸

Gwen hummed to Metallica as she stepped into the principal's office. However, as soon as she opened the door, she blinked owlishly at the man in front of her. She oddly found the principal stuck on the desk. Her eye twitched. The Principal looked up at her.

"Oh! You're here early. Come, come. Your schedule is right on one of those chairs, but it seemed I got myself into a sticky situation. Don't mind me," he waved his hand, struggling to pull his tie from the staple.

"Uh...Do you need help?" She walked to the chair, grabbing her schedule.

"Oh, no. I'll get myself out of this in no time. Now, go ahead. You don't want to be late," the man smiled and pulled.

Gwen hesitated but left the office, closing the door behind her. "That was weird," she whispered and looked down at her schedule, deadpanning at herself. "I don't even know where they are."

It was a miracle by a long shot. She ended up finding herself sitting next to a boy with red hair. She spotted Marinette too but didn't bother to sit next to her. She didn't want to look like she was hovering over her and sat silently.

Her first period was music class. Everyone participated, playing a few notes with the cacophonous flute. Everyone did well, including her. But the moment Marinette tried to play, it squeaked loudly, making everyone groan at the high-pitched sound.

Gwen sighed and flopped her head on the table. Is it always going to be this exhausting?

"Is that a dog whistle?" she heard a boy, Kim, asked.

Her second period was gym class. Surprisingly, everyone also had to participate in the gymnastic beam. Gwen sweated nervously, seeing as Marinette went first and completely fell over, tragically failing the moment. Gwen went second, climbing over the beam, and stood on her toes. Raising her arms high, she jumped down and did a front handspring, a front tuck, aerial walkover before finally ending it on a roundoff backtuck. Landing on the mat, she raised her arms high in her finish, hearing the awes and gasps from her classmates.

Ballet classes paid off.

Third period. Her favorite class. Chemistry. She sat by Marinette this time, not wanting the girl to suddenly create acid gas. She seemed to notice the girl from earlier was friendly with Marinette now. Gwen smiled at that. Marinette finally has a friend.

Putting the right mixture into the glass beaker, she gently moved it and saw the color green change to blue. Gwen's senses flared, her eyes widening in realization and turning to Marinette but it was too late as the girl dropped the wrong mixture into her beaker, causing it to explode. Marinette blinked, noticing that Gwen was hovering over her. Marinette apologetically looked at the girl, seeing some shards stuck in the girl's temple.

"This is going to be a long few months," Gwen sighed, dropping her head in exhaustion, unaffected by the drops of blood falling off her head.

"That's so cool!" Alya exclaimed.

🕸🕷🕸

Footsteps echoed throughout the long room. Adoring different kinds of dresses displayed on the sides. Their colors were vibrant and dull but the silks and fabrics were to die for.

A lone man walked into the long room, his eyes focused entirely on the dress across the room. His eyes were solemn as he slowly walked towards it.

"My love," he could hear. "Where is that dress you promised me?"

Standing in front of the blue gown with see-through sleeves, he frowned at the beauty. "Honey," he muttered. "I'll get to it. We have all the time in the world."

A faint silhouette wore the dress. The beautiful blonde woman smiled lovingly at him. Her green eyes vibrant as ever like the stars. "And I don't mind waiting forever."

He sighed, seeing the silhouette disappear, leaving the finished and perfect dress on the mannequin. "I would give every moment I have left...for just a glimpse of you in that dress, Emilie," the man solemnly frowned. He breathlessly sighed, raising his clenched fist and looking at the jewel lying in his palm.

Silver four wings with a small amethyst stone in the middle. He couldn't help but shudder, voices ringing in his head. Almost luring him to wear it, to use it.

"To be honest," a small man shuddered.

It was the middle of the night. After years of Emilie gone, Gabriel has tried to move on. He really did but it was difficult to bear. But...after years of searching. He finally found the solution and it relied on a single magic jewel.

"I've never seen such a strange artifact," the curator frowned at the jewel. Sliding the jewel forward, Gabriel was instantly captivated by it. "It gives me the chills."

A flash of disaster in Paris appeared in his mind. The wailing screams of the people as they melted through the river of lava caused shivers to run down his spine and gasped in horror.

🕸🕷🕸

"There...you...go," the nurse smiled, putting the tools away after removing the shards on the girl's temple and placing a bandaid on it. Of course, after disinfecting the wound. She's not that horrible.

"Thank you," Gwen nodded, stepping off the paper bed and stepping out of the nurse's office. She couldn't help but chuckle, knowing how back in the United States nurses would solve the solution with an ice bag.

Shaking her head, she walked towards the library. There better be good books in there. Opening the large doors, she found herself in awe at the room. It was grand and beautiful. "Wow," she chuckled, walking over to one of the isles.

It was empty and quiet. It felt nice for Gwen. She hummed to Michael Jackson, bobbing her head as she pulled out her earbuds and played Dirty Diana. It has been an eventful day for the girl, she can't help but be amused at Marinette.

She just hopes the girl doesn't get into more trouble while she's gone. Hopefully, Alya can handle the girl for now as Gwen doesn't want to lose an eye...yet.

"She likes to boys in the band, she knows when they come to town," Gwen muttered to the song as she looked through the books. She is still learning French so she might as well get one in French and one in English...preferably a spicy book could be cool.

"Every musician's fan after the curtain comes down. She waits at backstage doors, for those who have prestige," she hummed as she pulled out a book, reading through the summary. "Who promise fortune and fame, a life that's so carefree." She grinned, finding the book interesting, and grabbed another book in French.

Spotting a rolling chair, she hopped on it, rolling across the room and onto a table. "She says that's okay. Hey baby do what you want. I'll be your night lovin' thing, I'll be the freak you can taunt. And I don't care what you say, I want to go too far. I'll be your everything if you make me a star!"

Grabbing a few spare pencils, she grinned as she started tapping them on her thighs as she played her imaginary drums for the guitar. "Dirty Diana! nah!" She closed her eyes, feeling the tune of the song.

Gwen chuckled, shaking her head as she dropped the pencils and opened the book. She blinked, once, twice. She frowned as she was suddenly reading Paris' history. She flipped through the pages, frowning more and more as her spicy book suddenly turned into a history lesson.

What the hell did she get?

"Um..."

Gwen snapped her head up, her jaw dropping as she sat across a boy. She blinked, seeing the boy staring back at her. He had fair skin with brushed-back blond hair that was swept to the side, a rosy tint on his cheeks, nose, and tips of his ears. But his forest greens captivated Gwen for a moment.

"Um..." Gwen spoke, unsure of what to say.

The boy frowned, giving an uneased smile as he looked down at the book in her hands. "I seem to have accidentally gotten your book," he chuckled, handing her spicy book to her.

Gwen's eyes widened in shock, internally deadpanning at her luck. Marinette really rubbed off on her. Gwen chuckled, scratching her nape. "That's not mine," she shrugged, picking up the history book once more and covering her face with it.

The boy frowned, trying to peek at the girl but Gwen refused to look at him. "You placed this book here just a few seconds ago," he tried to grab his book back but Gwen kept a firm grip on it.

"You must have been confused," Gwen whistled while the boy sweatdropped.

He immediately recognized the girl. She was from a few days ago on top of the bakery. Who would have thought that he would meet her in the library of all places? It was...amusing to see her lightly dancing in the book isles, unaware of his presence, and pick out two books. He couldn't help but chuckle as she jumped to one of the rolling chairs and rolled over to him, dropping the books on the table and taking his pencils before suddenly using them as drumsticks.

She was interesting.

But now, she accidentally grabbed his book and refused to give it back. He frowned, looking down at the books she grabbed and trying to read the summary.

Gwen peaked and gasped, dumping the history book back on the table and reaching over to grab her spicy book from his curious eyes. "Oh, it's mine! You're right!" she nervously laughed, trying to snatch her book back but the boy kept a firm grip on it and read the summary from the back.

His face slowly reddened and his eyes widened by the second, making Gwen pale even more. She yelped, using her strength to pull her book back in instinct but grunted as she not only pulled the book back but the boy too.

The boy ended up flying across the table and fell on top of her, causing the chair to collapse. Both teens yelped, falling on the floor and toppling the other books and papers on the ground.

Gwen groaned, flopping her head on the ground while the boy trembled on top of her. She sighed, "Look, sorry about that. But you shouldn't be reading other people's books, you know–"

Gwen stopped, looking down at the boy. She frowned as she heard the boy chuckle, before laughing loudly. She blinked, looking at the boy in disbelief as he sat up with a grin on his face and flushed. His laughter echoed loudly in the library, making her chuckle too.

"W-What are you laughing at?" Gwen sat up and glared at him but he continued to laugh. He shook his head in disbelief, never believing that someone would make him laugh like this. It has been a while.

"You're strong," he wiped a stray tear away, chuckling at her.

"You're stupid," Gwen deadpanned.

The boy finished his chuckles, reached over to the books, and started picking them up. Gwen crouched beside him, picking up the books too, and snatching her books back. They later stood up and faced one another.

Gwen frowned, not liking how the boy was now smirking down at her. Her eye twitched, and started walking away. She huffed, grabbing her earbuds to play another song but before she could even place one of the earbuds into her ear, she heard him call out.

"Adrien!" he spoke into the quiet library. "My name's Adrien."

Gwen clicked he tongue, "...Gwen. Just Gwen," she spoke as she walked closer to the doors. She opened the doors and slammed them close behind her.

Adrien couldn't help but chuckle, sitting back down by the table. His eyes were still on the doors where she left. "Gwen," he muttered, looking back down at his book, not finding it interesting at all.

"...It's going to be an interesting year," he chuckled, grabbing his things before leaving the library.

(っ◔◡◔)っ ♥ Next Episode: Heroes in Paris? L&C Pt.4 ♥

Published: December 5, 2023

Word Count: 4714