"I think we can all agree that the famed Scarlet Lady is getting desperate for attention-" Chloe clicked off the tv, wishing she could punch that stupid newswoman in the face.

Who was she to disrespect Chloe so utterly!?!

"That woman was ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!" Chloe shouted, throwing the remote at the tv.

Tikki sat on top of Chloe's bed, making sure to get cookie crumbs--Dupain-Cheng cookie crumbs-- everywhere, "Chloe, you shouldn't act so childish. A superhero should always be a symbol-"

"Can it, rat!" Chloe spat.

Tikki bit down the rising anger, and wished--for the thousandth time-- that she could just rip those earrings right from Chloe's ears! But, no matter how hard she wished, she knew it'd never be a possibility. The same magic that Tikki was made of kept her from doing so... the same magic that kept Nooroo from taking HawkMoth's miraculous.

Chloe sat on the bed, scowling at the crumbs--and Tikki-- then whipped out her phone. After a few minutes of scrolling, she suddenly gasped, dropping her phone, "Oh my gosh! Why didn't I think of this sooner!"

Tikki, curious, asked, "What?"

"I know why that Marigold is so popular!"

"Umm...because she's righteous, selfless, kind, reliable, and a good superhero?" Tikki guessed though she doubted that's what Chloe was thinking.

Proving Tikki right--as usual-- Chloe scoffed, "That? Ha! No. It's not even Marigold herself that makes her so popular... it's Chat Noir."

Tikki's eyes widened, "Chloe... what are you thinking..."

Chloe smirked, "I'm thinking I judged Chat Noir too soon... that poor cat may be WAY desperate, and annoying... but maybe he's not as below me as I thought... and besides, every truly great superhero always has one thing. A super boyfriend..."

...

I jumped from the Louvre and flipped onto a nearby building. I bowed to the clapping people below, a smile sliding over my face. It was good to be impressive...and awesome... and loved by all... (And extremely humble)

Turning back to my patrol, and jumped away from the crowd, scanning the city. No akumas so far...

As much as I was relieved that there were no akumas, a part of me kina wished HawkMoth would hurry up and try to send one. Today was a solo patrol, so it meant an ENTIRE day without my lady.

Suddenly, I heard a giggle.

Surprised, I turned around...and wished I hadn't.

My tail swished in annoyance, but my ears were tilted in confusion. Scarlet Lady stood there... looking... different. Her hair--which was normally up in a ponytail-- was hanging down, curled perfectly. She had more makeup on than usual but somehow pulled it off.

She was wearing a sparkly crown-wait, were those real diamonds- with matching earrings, necklace, and bracelets.

"Oh, hello Chat Noir! I didn't see you there," She said, looking innocently surprised as she--wait, did she just call me Chat Noir? She NEVER calls me that-- caught me starring.

"Umm... hi Scar?" I said, confused, "Umm... whatcha doing here?"

At this, Scarlet Lady put on a sad...dare I say, regretful face, "I've had an awakening! I... I've seen how wrong I've been! To make you and your sweet little sidekick do all the work, what with patrols and everything, while I laze around! But now I'm here to make up for my past mistakes..." She explained.

"Umm... are you saying you want to help with patrol?" I asked.

For a split second, I saw her eyes flick with annoyance, but then it disappeared, "Yes, I am... and I was wondering-if I'm to start taking on more responsibilities- if you could show me how to patrol around?" She asked.

I hesitated, then spoke, "Uh, thanks for the offer Scar, but me and Marigold got the whole patrol thing."

Then, Scarlet Lady nodded, "Oh...I see. I guess I can't blame you. I've been so awful to you in the past... this is what I deserve! I've made too many mistakes...too many!" She wailed, (dramatic much?) "I'm UNFORGIVABLE!!!! I-I-I guess I'll go live with my guilt..." She said, head hanging, and began to walk away.

I stood there for a moment, then, "Oh, fine Scar... you can help with my patrol tonight... I guess we all deserve a second chance, right?"

She practically tackled me in a hug, "Thank you, thank you, thank you, Chat Noir!"

We began to walk off, Scar hanging on everything I said--and my arm-- but the entire time, I only had one thing on my mind... how was I gonna explain this to Marigold?

...

Where was he? He was supposed to be here TWENTY FREAK'N minutes ago. I dialed Adrien's number for the eighth time... just like before, it went to voicemail. I was starting to get worried about him.

Mr. Agreste suddenly walked into the room where I sat, "Adrien has been located, Miss Duapin-Cheng. His bodyguard informed me that Adrien is in his room... he's not feeling well at this moment."

"Oh no, that's awful!"

Mr. Agreste nodded, "Yes... but Adrien will recover. And I've had Nathalie call in another male model. The fashion show will begin in an hour and twenty-four minutes, are you ready?"

I hesitated, then nodded.

"Wonderful... come to meet our new model. You'll have to check him before he goes on stage to make sure everything looks as you want it," Mr. Agreste explained.

I nodded... I could feel myself starting to panic already. This was really happening. A fashion show. With my designs...

"Get yourself together, Marinette," I muttered to myself.

I saw Mr. Agreste give me the side-eye, but thankfully he said nothing. Finally, we came to a trailer with a star that read, 'Male Model 1'. Mr. Agreste knocked.

After a moment, the door opened, "Umm... hello?"

A boy stood there. He was wearing one of my outfits. A dark grey boat with a high collar, black show buttons, and no pockets. He wore a green, black and red dress shirt underneath, with a black-tie paired with black jeans... but he was just wearing it. He wasn't wearing it.

"Oh my..." I said softly as Mr. Agreste frowned.

I looked at him, "I'll fix it, Mr. Agreste..."

"Good... and Ms. Dupain-Cheng," Mr. Agreste looked again at the model, "Maybe you should have a few words on fashion with this young man."

"Of course Mr. Agreste," I nodded as he walked away. Then I turned to the model.

"Umm, hi?" He said, waving.

I smiled, "Hello... mind if I step inside?" I asked. The model shook his head, and I walked into the trailer. It was pretty standard. A rack with the show outfits, a few chairs, at least five mirrors of differing sizes, and a radio. I also noticed a guitar off to the side.

Finally, I turned to the model, and frowned... oh gosh. He was clashing with the outfit pretty terribly... He had large black earrings that looked way too much like the buttons on his coat, his fingernails were also black, but more of a gray-black which in turn clashed with the buttons, pants, and tie. And finally, his hair. It was actually a very nice color. A black fading to aquamarine blue... BUT MY OUTFIT HAD RED AND GREEN.

"Oh... I'm so so so sorry... but I don't this is gonna work... umm... what's your name?" I asked, feeling guilty already.

"Luka, miss."

"Luka... I'm sorry... but you're kinda clashing with the outfit. I think I might have to dismiss you and have-"

"Wait! Please, I really need this gig... my mom just lost her job, and for my sister to keep going to her private school, we need the money," Luka begged.

"Oh gosh, oh gosh, oh gosh," I murmured, then, "Okay. But it's gonna take work... We're gonna have to totally change you," I said, and grabbed out my phone. I immediately dialed Nathalie, "Umm... Ms. Nathalie? I have a fav-"

"Whatever you need, Miss Duapin-Cheng. But be quick about it."

"Okay. I need nail polish remover, cotton balls, black hair dye, hair dye remover, and basically every makeup product you can find. Plus lotion... and hair gel..." I looked at Luka, "Lots of hair gel..."

...

"Ready?"

"Yup!" Alya said at the same time Luka said, "No..."

Luka sat in a chair covered in plastic wrap, and towels.

"Oh, don't worry! I've dyed hair lots of times!" Alya said confidently to Luka.

I bit my lip... Alya had dyed hair lots of times... her sisters' barbie dolls' hair... I tried to get the image of their hair out of my mind. We were doing black! You can't go wrong with black... right?

As Alya started with the hair dye removal, I took nail polish remover and started scrubbing Luka's fingernails. What was this stuff? Permanent wall paint?

I scrubbed harder, finally managing to get the protective coat off the top. After that, the polish came off easily. After about twenty minutes, I finally finished, sighing... then had a thought.

"You don't have polish on your toes, right?"

Luka was grinning guiltily.

I sighed, "It's fine... You'll be wearing closed-toe shoes."

Then, I stood and dumped a bunch of lotion onto my hands, "Umm... what are you gonna do with that?"

"You'll thank me later when you're taking off your stage makeup. The lotion will keep your face hydrated."

Then, I started rubbing lotion onto Luka's face while Alya continued with his hair. Once all the lotion was rubbed in, smiled at Luka's face, "You got it in my mouth!"

"Oops... sorry?"

...

"Miss Dupain-Cheng? Is the model ready?" Came a call. Nathalie.

"Umm... give me thirty seconds!" I called as I finished rolling up Luka's sleeves.

"Well... I guess you're ready," I said, stepping back to look at him. Luka looked much better now. His collar was turned up, sleeves rolled up just enough to see Luka's wrists. His tie was smartly tied, and his now fully black hair was masterfully swooped back. His earrings were gone, and his nails were a neutral color. He'd lost his bad boy look... and while he'd looked cute like that... man, now he was HAWT. Like, SMOKE'N.

But I quickly put those thoughts away, You have a boyfriend, Mari! Get it together!

I walked out of the trailer, Alya and Luka behind me. Nathalie looked Luka over, "You clean up nicely, Mr. Couffaine."

Luka frowned at the term 'clean up'. I frowned a bit too. There was nothing wrong with how Luka had looked before.

"Miss Dupain-Cheng, would you please run over to the Female Model trailer and check on her?"

My heart dropped... please don't let this girl have bright pink hair that was six feet long.

I hurried over to the trailer, entering without knocking. A girl sat with her back to me. She had long chocolate brown hair that fell in large curls. Her skin was deeply tanned. Then, she turned to me. She had bright brown eyes and a smile that said she knew more than you thought she knew.

"Umm... hello?" I had the oddest sense I'd seen the young girl before... She looked about nineteen.

"Hello, Marinette," Came her voice.

My eyes widened, "P-Pandora?"

She smirked, "Yes, Marinette... now, what do you think of the outfit? I'm told it was designed by an especially special girl."

Pandora stood, and did a little spin. The outfit looked perfect on her.

"I... you... how?"

Pandora smiled, and gestured to herself, "I look a little younger than usual, don't I?"

I nodded, but she gave no further information than, "I wanted to model your designs... I mean, they are spectacular!"

I blushed, not used to compliments on my designs, "Thank you, Pandora..."

Then, I got to work. Looking her over, I really only needed to tuck her leggings into her boots... and making a last minute decision, I stepped out of the trailer so she could change from the flannel shirt she wore to a plain white one. Then, I tied the flannel one around her waist. Much better.

Suddenly, my phone ringed, "Miss Duapin-Cheng... It's time," Came Mr. Agrete's stern voice.

"O-O-Okay," I said, nerves suddenly knotting in my stomach.

Pandora gave me a little wave as I left the trailer, and headed towards the back of the runway. When I got there, a woman suddenly ran up to me, and covered my face in powder.

"Phfft! What-"

"Shhhhhh. You need it, hun. Now stay still!" The woman ordered as she pulled out the mascara. Two minutes later, I had a full face of stage makeup.

Then, I was dragged into a trailer, "There's a dress in there. Put it on."

I hurried into the trailer, and true to what the lady said, a dress...whoa. What a dress!

Quickly, I put it on, and looked in the mirror, blushing. The dress came just above my ankles in the front, but in the back, it trailed behind me. It pushed and pulled at my top, making my waist look tiny, and made me blush when I looked at my bodice. It wasn't too revealing... but HECK WAS IT different than what I usually wore. It was my favorite shade of pink, with flowers and butterflies hanging onto my hip on one side. It was ruffled in layers, with a faint showing of my signature pink and black flower design.

The woman suddenly burst into the room, with a hairbrush, and a giant bag. In less than five minutes, my hair was in a bun with fresh flowers tucked in the side of it. My bangs hung loosely around my face, completing the look.

"Done," The woman announced, then left the trailer.

I turned towards the mirror, surprise written all over my face... because the girl I was looking at... wow.

"I take it you're satisfied with the dress?" Came a voice.

Mr. Agreste walked next to me, smiling slightly, "You look just as I expected, Miss Dupain-Cheng. If only my son were here to see it... he'd be proud of his friend."

"I... You made this for me?" I asked, amazed.

"No, some other person did that. I did, however, design it..." Mr. Agreste smiled.

"W-Wow..."

"Come on, Marinette. Time to go... the public awaits."

(It was only later that I realized Mr. Agreste called me 'Marinette' instead of 'Miss Dupain-Cheng'.)

I followed him into the reserved private box we had. A few minutes after, the music started. I smiled as Luka, then Pandora, came down the runway.

Halfway through, my phone started beeping like crazy. I quickly fumbled to turn it on silent. Suddenly, Nathalie came into the private box, and Mr. Agreste was forced to leave so they could talk.

Then, just as Pandora came on with the last outfit, Alya called me. I of course hung up on her... but she called me three more times. I looked back at the runway, and to my confusion saw that Pandora had stopped. She was staring up at the sky. A moment later, the music cut.

Then, Pandora turned to me... and pointed up. The fashion show was a colosseum like structure with a retractable dome. Because it was so pretty out, the dome was retracted. And there, sitting on the ledge was Chat Noir and Scarlet Lady... kissing.

My eyes widened, and I pulled out my phone, answering Alya's call, "ARE YOU SEEING THIS!?!" She screamed.

"Y-Ya..." The superheroes were still kissing. Why hadn't Chat Noir pulled away?

"Watch the video I sent you! That stupid, filthy cat! He's cheating on Marigold!" Alya spat in rage.

Keeping the call going, I opened my messages app, and found the video. Apparently, they got there just as my show started... then they started talking... and finally, Chat Noir leaned close to Scarlet Lady... and kissed her.

I felt tears beginning to sting my cheeks... no... no... no...

He was kissing Scarlet Lady... no, worse. He was kissing my archenemy. Chloe...

Then suddenly, Scarlet Lady and Chat Noir stood. And Scar spoke, "People of Paris! I would like to make an announcement! Chat Noir is now my boyfriend, and to prove my love is greater than the love he ever had for Marigold... Tikki, spots off!"

"NOOOOOooOOOOO!" I screamed, my voice cracking. But my voice was drowned out by the collective gasp of Paris... and there she stood. Chloe Burgoise.