Chapter Text
She had had enough. It was the last straw. They’d ignored, whispered, commented and on occasion sneered at her and it had eventually become too much. Chloé stomped her way through the streets of a quiet part of Paris. Anger was searing her vein but she tried to wield it to stay below her neck. Not even the icy droplet of rain could do anything to cool her down, however it did majorly threaten her perfect make up. She really had had enough of today. It was only getting worse by the second. She hurriedly closed her blazer and lifted a hand over her head for whatever minimal coverage it gave. The seconds lengthen the longer she was in the rain. Wind blowing left and right smacking her ponytail in her mouth more than once. At this point Chloe didn’t know if she desperately needed to see her state in a mirror or avoid the reflection like the plague. Finally a cafe front illuminated the street and Chloe didn’t think twice before walking in. Her first thought upon entering the room was that she should’ve thought twice.
The space was packed with family, friends and couples, all chatting away seemingly unaware of the rain. The room was so cosy and full with love and good emotion that it nearly made her gag. Great now it either I go out, walk home and risk being seen like a drowned rat. Or I stay here, risk being seen with a crow of oblivious people that wouldn’t believe you if you said WW2 actually happened, still looking like a drowned rat! She barely had the time to think about her option properly when she heard a smooth voice asked.
“Can I help you miss?” Wiping, around still shivering from the rain, Chloe hugged herself to converse as much heat as possible. The guy must have been her age, or not much older, but he was fucking gorgeous. She knew what handsome was supposed to look like. Tidy, neat and shiny, like Adrien. Having looks that could make someone do a double take because you looked like the incarnation of Apollo certainly proved of your value. But he was a different kind of handsome. He stood tall; even if he probably wasn’t that much taller than others but, he held his head high and shoulders down. His shoulder length hair was in a half bun so as to not get into his eyes, with vibrant teal tips at the end. Despite all this he had this sort of energy oozing out of him of calm and serenity. It somehow affected her too and her shivers subsided for a moment. She stood there, gaping, not remembering what to say or what he said for the matter. It wasn’t until he addressed her again that she regained some sense of self and shivered for an entirely new reason. “Can I help you miss?” At that moment their eyes meet and if it wasn’t for seventeen year of training to be proper, she probably would’ve collapsed. As if he knew what effect he had on her he smirked. But Chloe was too focused on his eyes. They were the same colour as the sea. As if to contrast his electrifying tips, his eyes reflected the serene and content atmosphere he gave off. What surprised Chloe is that, the more she looked, the darker they seemed to get, like they might hold secrets and truth that were buried deep down and left there for her to dig and discover.
Wow there! What is happening? You’re a hotel heiress. Pull yourself together! Her thought made her pull back and if that wasn’t enough his next words did the trick to douse her fantasy.
“Wait… Are you Chloé Bourgeois?”
“No!” Her response was immediate. She would rather take away her perfect manicure than be seen in a place like this, looking like this, speaking to someone like him. It was below her reputation.
It must have taken him by surprise because he raised his hand in an innocent way. “Sorry. It's just… you have the same ponytail… and I just assumed… well you kind of look like her.” He ended awkwardly.
“Well many people can have the same hair! I mean she does look amazing with it but it’s not because I’m copying her amazing sense of style that I’m her. Not many people dress as bad as you and yet, I don’t know who you are.” She wrinkled her nose as he looked curiously up and down his hoodie and jeans form. Such a handsome guy, ruined by his limited amount of knowledge on how to dress. Ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous.
“That bad you think?”
“You have no idea. Hoodies with neon logos and big writing have been outdated since the 2000s. Who even listens to Jagged Stone anyway? If it were me I would-“ she didn’t have time to finish her sentence before a terrible sneeze racked her body; it sent her shuddering all over again. His grin dropped as he re-evaluated her state. He tucked his notepad and pen in his apron pocket and quickly said “Wait here, I’ll come back.” Chloe was about to protest that she didn’t take order but he had already left. She stood there, self consciously; she was about to walk out when a warm weight wrapped around her shoulder.
“There you go. Should keep you warm for now.” Sceptically, she fingered the worn leather of the jacket. It was huge on her with decorating stickers across the chest and shoulder; she only kept it on because the light fur lining was warm from what she supposed was the remaining heat of a radiator.
The nice gesture only made her sceptical. She didn’t know him, he didn’t know her. “What do you want?”
“Uh… Excuse me?”
“I said. What do you want?” She narrowed her eyes and lifted her chin in a manner that scared a lot of people off. Chloe only hoped it would intimidate him into admitting his true intention behind the nice gesture.
“Nothing.”
“I don’t believe you. Nobody does anything and expects nothing in return.”
He passed a nervous hand through his hair, placating the strands against his neck. “Would it be so hard to believe that I did it out of good will?”
“Yes.” The response was immediate. However, he chuckled trying to dissipate the tension. When they locked eyes again something seemed to pass through them.
“Alright then, I’ll tell you.” He leaned closer so that only she could hear. The lack of space sent her heart banging against her rib cage. Nobody dared enter her personal space until today. “When I saw you walk in I thought I would come and greet you like any other customer. But then I saw the yellow and the ponytail and I knew. No matter what you may think of me I’m not stupid. But I am also not cruel enough to tell everyone that Chloe Bourgeois entered the cafe I work at looking like a dripping rag, looking lost and shivering like a terrorised kid.” His melodious voice and sweet smile were a good pretence of a pleasant conversation to anyone who was looking; but his next words were seeping with condescending. “You can say that I took pity on you.” At that moment all the sweet, for once nicer thoughts left her head. Her heart was thundering for an entirely different reason. No one insulted Chloe Bourgeois. She was fuming. How dare he mocked her in a public place? If it weren’t for the people around she would be screaming in his face, call her daddy and threaten him that she could make his life miserable. Actually she would’ve done that either way, with or without people around. She was about to do just that when she realised why she hadn’t done it yet. Luka had one eyebrow raised, waiting for her reaction. Mirth was dancing behind his eyes. Forcing deep breaths through her nose she schooled her expression to neutrality. Chloe would rather wear a bad combination of orange and purple 80s clothes than give him the satisfaction that he had got under her skin.
So she did the only thing she could to win. Chloe’s electric blue eyes look straight into his aqua ones; she scoffed and walked out the door not turning back once.
——
The next couple of days were filled with the smell of coffee and the noise of people. Chloe had gone back to that shitty cafe and, not exactly stalked in a not exactly desperate way, tried to catch Luka (who she had learned his name via a fan girl)in the wrong and get him fired.
But the guy was so sneaky! It looked like nobody would even consider a bad word about him.
When she had come back the first time she had made sure to get a good seat so as to better scrutinise his action. She had waited there for hours before the thought stroke, that maybe she could call it a day and come back the next. Not even five minutes after Luka had come to her and dropped a coffee cup and a white paper bag. “I thought you might want that. When people admire me they tend to forget to eat or drink.” The implication that she might be here because she was attracted had made her gag but she managed to suppress it. Chloe’s anger rose, however before she had the time for a retort he had left her with a wink. The last act was enough to make her rush outside to prevent unfortunate accidents.
Chloe had come back everyday after that; scanning everyone of his actions, every word or side glance. She had a full detailed list of Luka’s work attitude but apparently nothing was good enough to incriminate him as being the person that only Chloe seemed to be able to see. Of course there were some useless things that she had scribbled down like; how nice his smiles were or, how caring he was around children or, this one time when this kid was crying and he had sung a tune to calm him down. His voice had travelled in all the crooks of the place, filling it with his voice. Before that day Chloe hadn’t thought that a voice that sounding more fit for rock could sing a soft song and bring new depth to it.
Ugh! What am I doing? She underlined the written memory for the lack of scratching it out. It had been nice but she couldn’t lose her goal. This is just to help me make a better case. She reasoned. After all, if she could understand how the enemy works it would be better to bring him down.
Like wise Sun Tzu would say “know thy enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles, you will never be defeated”. She sighed thinking that general Sun Tzu was one of the only real wise men because he was right; Chloe had to know the enemy and she did know herself (at least what she wanted to know) and she would never be defeated. Because even if Chloe Bourgeois was many things, there was one thing she wasn’t. A quitter. Luka was going to pay one way or another and she would see it through till the end. However, that was before Chloe had checked the calendar and, that the start of school was scheduled in two days and, however Chloe wanted to play it this was not a battle she looked forward to.