Chapter Text
Chloé made one fatal mistake, Marinette thought to herself. Saying she can’t write a love letter to save her life. Well, Marinette was just going to have to prove her wrong.
Once she got home, she sat at her desk and began writing. Chloé wanted a love letter? She was gonna get one, and then Marinette was going to kiss the smug look right off her face. With her best brand of lipstick too, she was gonna smear Chloé’s. By the time she was through with the blonde, she would be begging for more.
And she was gonna give it to her.
She finished the letter within the night, and then went to bed. This time, she remembered to sign her name. However, she felt the need to play the pronoun game and not mention Chloé’s name, in case anyone ever stumbled upon the letter. She didn’t want people knowing about her attraction to Chloé, the majority of Paris hated her.
Marinette hated her… but she loved her, but no! She hated her!
Once she got into the classroom, she naturally tripped over her own feet. The letter flew out of her hands and into the hands of Zoé Lee, the Bourgeois’ half-sister.
Marinette immediately began to panic, wondering if this would be it? Her crush on Chloé outed? No!
“What?! Zoé?! What are you doing here?!”
“Sabrina wanted a transfer, and I agreed to swap with her.”
Chloé, who was seated in her usual spot next to Zoé, buried her face in her hands. As if spending time with Zoé at home wasn’t annoying enough. Naturally Zoé felt different, maybe she could get her class to not hate her sister so much. Then again, they knew her better than she did.
Marinette quickly snatched the letter back and pulled Zoé outside the door.
“What are you doing, Marinette?” Zoé screeched as Marinette pulled her as far away from Chloé as she could.
“I-I-I can’t let you see that letter! It’s to… uh… you! Yeah you! And I don’t want to ruin the surprise!” Marinette babbled.
“Surprise? For me? Aww Marinette, that's so sweet of you!” She threw her arms around the dark-haired girl.
Just like that, Marinette’s heart began to race. She returned the embrace and simply slipped the letter in Zoé’s hand.
“Well, since it is for you and you already know about it you might as well read it now.”
Her cover had not been blown.
Chloé caught a glimpse of the events before her. First Zoé makes her lose her servant, and now she’s stealing the love of her life? She had to be right?
Adrien had to be Zoé’s target, she told herself. Why else would she be confronting Marinette like she was? How else would Chloé be able to explain that envious feeling she had? Zoé was stealing her thunder. Yep, that had to be it. She wasn’t a moron, she knew there was no way Marinette could have known that Zoé would be transferring. Even she didn’t.
Of course when Adrien came in, he went to his seat and so did the two girls. Nothing out of the ordinary seemed to happen. Zoé barely batted an eye to Adrien, but perhaps she was onto Chloé.
Marinette noticed the seething look on Chloé’s face as Zoé finally made it to her chair. She looked like she wanted to chuck her out the window.
Her plan was working perfectly.
Zoé didn’t suspect a thing. She opened the envelope to read Marinette’s letter. The handwriting was absolutely beautiful, detailed and at the bottom of the letter was a lipstick mark.
I have been thinking about you so much and what you said to me just told me I needed to write this. You said I couldn’t do it, but I did! I wrote the letter you said I could never write and I just want you to know that every minute I spent writing it, I thought of you. That beautiful golden hair flowing about as you run your smug little mouth about how awful I am.
You sure as hell use a lot of makeup, what’s with that anyway? Trying to cover up a face that’s already beautiful? Embarrassed about some birthmark that isn’t even that noticeable? Well, by the time you’re done reading this it’ll all be smeared. Think of it as a taste of your own medicine. Hope it tastes as sweet as my revenge.
Love you, Marinette
Typical Dupain-Cheng to chicken out and play the pronoun game. But for Zoé of all people? Why? She hardly knew her, and she only just recently switched classes with Sabrina. Something was off.
Miss Bustier noticed the note.
“Zoé, are you passing notes?”
“What? No, I..”
“Would you like to read it to the rest of the class?” The normally carefree teacher told her newest student. She couldn’t put her finger on why, but she didn’t care too much for Zoé. Perhaps for being a new student? Or maybe because she replaced Sabrina?
Whatever it was, there was a clear bitterness.
Glumly, Zoé walked to the front of the class. Marinette began to panic, Miss Bustier was gonna know it was her letter! She had to do something.
Chloé just sat back and enjoyed the show, seeing Zoé embarrass herself was the most delightful sight she could ever behold. Let it be a lesson for those who dare attempt to disturb the hierarchy.
Zoé read the letter nervously, as an uncharacteristically stern Miss Bustier looked on. But just as she was about to say who the letter was from, Marinette rushed from her seat and snatched the letter, tearing it to pieces once she got her hands on it.
“It was me! I wrote the letter!” She called out, loud enough for the rest of the class to hear.
Realizing this would be the perfect cover, she placed her arm around Zoé and dipped her for a kiss.
By that point, Chloé was just about ready to march up there and take Zoé’s place. Everyone else just about fell over.
“Miss Bustier, I was the one who wrote that letter!” Marinette gallantly confessed. “I love Zoé Lee! Ever since I laid eyes on her, I just couldn’t stop thinking about her. The moment she walked in this class!”
Zoé could practically taste the ham in Marinette’s performance. As an actress, she knew when someone was faking it. The moment Marinette dramatically threw her arms around her, she gazed over the girl’s shoulder.
Her sister looked pissed, if Chloé didn’t hate Zoé enough as it was, she was livid with her now. First she steals her “friends”, then her “life”, and now she’s stealing her “girl”?
Of course Chloé never bothered to put forth the effort to keep these things and only now wanted them because someone else had them.
Zoé figured this out too.
She returned the flamboyant Marinette’s rough, yet touching embrace. “I love you too, Marinette.” She said, nervously.
Miss Bustier looked like she could barely contain her laughter as she asked the girls to sit down.
Marinette felt awkward, but her secret was safe so disaster averted. When Zoé took her seat next to Chloé she looked ready to explode. Marinette noticed this and shot her hand into the air.
“Miss Bustier, may I trade seats with Zoé?” The teacher nodded. As long as she could get to her lesson some time in the day she’d let Marinette teach the class.
Chloé’s anger turned to butterflies when Marinette took the seat next to her. Marinette of course was very much enjoying the bratty blonde’s inability to control herself. Was that jealousy she smelled? Giggling, the pigtailed girl whispered into her ear.
“That letter was actually yours.”
Smugly, Marinette blew a kiss to Zoé before facing forward for her lesson.
Chloé was peeved of course, but the longer she looked upon that smug look of satisfaction for a plan well done, all she could do was giggle. Marinette overheard, but she didn’t bother to call out her closeted delight.
This stunt got Chloé’s undivided attention albeit not in the way Marinette had expected. As far as Chloé was concerned, Marinette was indeed worthy.