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Juleka vs. the Forces of the Universe

Juleka vs. the Forces of the School Dance i

Juleka vs. the Forces of the Universe (AO3)

Hello everyone!!! I wanted to start out by thanking you all for your ongoing support and patience! This has taken me far longer than I had hoped, as I wanted to have this fic done before 2024. Obviously, that didn't happen 😂😅 I ended up needing to take a break to rest after my fall semester because it was super intense. I also had to take some time away from creative writing for personal reasons. your support, patience, and kindness has meant the absolute world to me, and I can't thank you enough for it.

Another reason why this chapter has taken so long is because chapter 17 was becoming massive (as in 20k words and counting). I debated this decision quite a bit, but in the end I've decided to break chapter 17 into smaller parts so that's why the chapter count has gone up 😅😅😅 It's much easier to revise shorter chapters, and I think it's probably easier to read shorter chapters too. This also gives me a bit more time to finish what is now the second last chapter.

I need to give a huge shoutout to the LBSC crew for their ongoing support, and for talking me off the ledge multiple times when it came to this chapter. And also just for being there for me the past few months. And again, another huge thank you to all of you for your support.

I Hope you enjoy the chapter!

ps. if I don't respond to comments on this chapter it's not because I'm ignoring any of you, it's because I don't entirely trust myself not to accidentally spoil something 😂😅

A thousand akumas fluttered in the pit of her stomach as she put the lid back on her lipstick with a satisfying click. She sat back in her chair and sighed. She was used to the feeling of butterflies, except right now it felt like there were silver and black akumas fluttering around insider her, and that mixture was a new feeling.

On one hand, tonight was the night. The night Luka and Mari were going to the dance. Together.

But on the other hand… she grimaced as the reminder for the ‘Operation Fairytale Ball Phone Meeting’ pinged on her phone. Usually they all got ready for dances together, but Marinette had needed the extra time to put the finishing touches on her dress and it hadn’t felt right for the rest of them to get together without her. But, Alya had wanted to go over the plans for the dance one more time, so Alya had scheduled a phone meeting…

She had fifteen minutes until the call.

She silenced the reminder on her phone, and turned her attention back to her reflection. The purple in her hair was nice and vivid, and the waves she had put in her hair added a touch of glamour. And her makeup looked amazing, if she did say so herself. She had gone for a soft but still vampy look with plum and black kohl softly smoked out across her lids and deep plum lips. She smiled as she tilted her head to the side, watching the way the light caught her highlight. Those makeup masterclasses had definitely paid off. In more ways than one.

She straightened her head. And then frowned.

Her bangs had slipped across her eyes again, obscuring her face.

Usually, she liked wearing her hair that way. It had started as a security thing. Her hair had acted as a shield to hide her away from the rest of the world. And there were times she still needed that.

But tonight…

Tonight she didn’t want to hide.

She reached for a bobby pin, but her hand stopped halfway to the tin of them she kept on her dressing table. Originally, she had planned on wearing her hair down, the way she normally did. But then she wouldn’t really be able to show off the back of her dress…

And given what Alya had planned for the night—to say nothing of the schemes she was positive Alya had hidden up her sleeve—she could do with a touch of Tigress.

She grabbed her brush and a black satin scrunchie, and made quick work of pulling her hair up into an elegant, high ponytail. Once the ponytail was secured, she grabbed a couple of bobby pins and pinned her bangs just enough so that they didn’t cover her eyes, but still framed her face to keep an element of drama.

That was much better.

“Hey Jules, have you seen the- Jules. You look beautiful.”

She was unable to control the grin on her face as she turned to the door of their room. Luka was standing in the hallway, he was wearing his good jeans, but his hair was still damp and he was wearing a t-shirt. But even though he wasn’t ready, she couldn’t help but preen under his words.

“Thank you.”

A sappy grin was making its way onto his face. “I’m really proud of you.”

“But I didn’t do anything.”

“Yes you have.”

“No I-“

“Look at you,” he said quietly as he made his way to stand behind her, and direct her attention back to her reflection.

“It’s just hair…” she mumbled, trying to fight the growing warmth in her cheeks.

“You and I both know it’s not just hair. And it’s more than that. You’ve been-“

“A pain in your neck?” she asked with a laugh.

“You always are. But you’ve been more sure of yourself lately. More confident. You’ve been coming into your own. It’s nice to see.”

“You’re such a sap, you’re going to make me ruin my makeup,” she mumbled, waving a hand in front of her eyes to keep them from tearing up. Once she was sure she wasn’t going to cry, she stood and hugged Luka tightly. He returned it just as fiercely.

Once they broke apart, she smacked his arm. Lightly. Ish. “Why aren’t you ready yet, dummy?”

He chuckled, shaking his head as he rolled his eyes. “I need to iron my shirt but I can’t find the iron anywhere.”

“Check the greenhouse, last time I saw it Ma was using it as a door stop up there”

“Figures,” he mumbled under his breath. He was halfway out the room when he turned back. “I really am proud of you, you know.”

“I’m proud of you too.” After all, he was finally not stepping back. “Now go,” she said, smiling as she shooed him out. “You need to get ready, you are not making me late tonight.”

“I thought it was fashionable to be late?” he called from the hall.

“Shows what you know about fashion!” she quipped back before turning back to her mirror and began adjusting the pins in her hair so that everything was just right.

Once she was satisfied, she added a final spritz of hairspray and then began packing her supplies for the evening into her clutch. Lipstick, powder, keys, hand sanitizer and cream, and emergency candy. Just in case. The finishing touches were her jewelry—the black lace choker she had made for herself and a pair of amethyst earrings—and a couple of spritzes of her favourite violet perfume.

As Roarr would say, she had her war paint and armour on, and she was ready for battle.

And not a moment too soon.

The screen of her phone lit up with an incoming call, the icon for the Adrienette group chat flashing on the screen.

“Hey,” she said once she had tapped to accept the call.

“Hi bijou!” Rose’s voice came from the screen as the group chat icon filled the screen. Rose had insisted it would be a voice only call since they weren’t all getting ready together, that way that could all surprise each other with their finished looks.

“Hi, Juleka,” Mylène said.

“Hey,” Alix’s voice crackled to life over the phone.

“Hi, Alix!” Rose chirped. “Are you excited?”

“Sure,” came Alix’s nonchalant response. “I mean, it’s a dance. There’s only so much to really be excited about-”

“Juleka?” Mylène’s voice cut Alix off. “My mascara is really clumpy! How do I fix it?”

“Wipe the excess off your wand with a tissue and then brush it through. If you have a lash comb, brush it through your lashes too. That should break some of them up.”

“You’re a life saver, thank you.”

“Are we going to get started, or what?” She had thought at first that maybe Alya hadn’t been on the call—a foolish thought—but it seemed Alya was still officially not talking to her. Which, after last night… she wasn’t entirely sure it was a good or bad thing.

Either way, it was an awkward thing.

Rose and Mylène had been in a tizzy all day, trying to get them to talk to each other. Alix had made a few attempts, but after a while had clearly given up and resorted to sighing and rolling her eyes with great exasperation. But Alya… Alya was stubborn. Marinette and the rest of the class had picked up on it too, except Adrien that was. Even Bustier had noticed something weird was going on.

Honestly, it felt more than safe to assume that the only reason she was even included in this pre-game call, so to speak, was because the rest of the girls hadn’t given Alya a choice. Looking at the screen, Rose had been the one to initiate the call.

“If we have to…” Alix groaned.

“We do. Nothing can go wrong tonight,” Alya said firmly.

Well, they were sort of in agreement there.

They were just… diametrically opposed…

“So, I just texted Marinette,” Alya continued, “She just got out of the shower so she’ll only just be starting drying and doing her hair, which means we all have time to get there and get everything into place…”

Despite the fact that she could have listed the schemes backwards in her sleep, she listened carefully to Alya’s every word. She mentally sifted through every word and intonation, looking for any potential clues for what other schemes might come into play. Because she knew Alya. And after their… talk last night, there was no way Alya was showing up without a fresh set of schemes ready to go.

Which meant she needed to be ready for anything.

But she was feeling apprehensive about the evening for more reasons than Alya was giving her.

An odd clash of elation and dread was brewing in her stomach like a hurricane. She knew all the schemes that had been plotted at the meetings she was present for. She knew Alya undoubtedly had more schemes that she didn’t know about ready to set in motion. She knew she had to be and was ready to deal with those schemes.

She also knew Luka and Marinette were going.

Together.

Of their own choosing.

But she wasn’t expecting much beyond that in the sense that, well… school dances were… school dances. They were fun. But they weren’t the magical and romantic settings that movies and tv likes to play them off as. So while she was elated that they were going together, she couldn’t see much more than that happening tonight.

Apart from all the stupid and ridiculous schemes she would have to derail, that is.

As much as she wanted Luka and Marinette to stop being idiots, they were idiots. Sure, she could give them gentle nudges, but tonight, her priority was to just let them enjoy themselves. They had already taken one step away from idiocy by going to the dance together. Tonight was about letting them just enjoy their one small step towards reason.

But even knowing that… she just couldn’t shake the feeling that something big was going to happen tonight.

“School dances are just so romantic!” Rose squealed, breaking her from her thoughts.

***

The thing about school dances was that they were just about the furthest thing from romantic.

The music was always too loud for an enclosed space, and the base too high. And the music choice was always just what was most popular. Which was fine. There was nothing wrong with music being popular. It was just that Bob Roth had bought XY’s place to the top of the charts, so the playlist by default, was dominated by XY’s music- or rather, the music he had stolen.

To say nothing of the smell. The school dances were always held in the gym, which perpetually smelled like a phys-ed class. And the boy’s locker room. Even the smell of strong perfume and cheap cologne couldn’t mask the eau de body odour. Somehow, it just made it worse.

Awkwardness permeated the very air; whether it was people trying to ask their crushes to dance, or people worrying over what they wore or who came with who. And of course there were the chaperones. It was impossible for anything to be romantic when M. Damocles and Mme. Mendeliev were watching the dance floor like a pair of hawks, on the lookout for any inappropriate behaviour.

How could anyone think school dances were romantic?

“This is going to be so romantic!” Rose’s squeal was high pitched enough to be heard over the music without shouting.

Well, anyone except Rose.

“Rose! Juleka!” She turned at the sound of Ivan’s voice, which somehow managed to travel through the pounding base. Ivan and Mylène were weaving through the crowd towards them. Nathaniel was trailing behind them, in the wake Ivan left as people parted to let him and Mylène pass.

“Are Alya and Alix here yet?” Mylène asked as she joined their group, almost shouting to make herself heard over the music. “Rose, you look lovely! And-” Mylène’s eyes widened a bit as she looked at her. “Juleka! Your hair”

“It looks really nice like that,” Ivan said with a shy smile.

“You look gorgeous!”

“Doesn’t she?” Rose asked brightly, taking a firmer grip on her arm as she leaned against her.

Her cheeks were suddenly hot and she had to remind herself not to hide her face in her hands given she couldn’t rely on her hair to hide her blush. “Thanks. You all look great too!” she added, gesturing to Ivan, who had a small, faux sunflower clipped to his shirt to match the floral print of Mylène’s dress. Mylène had twisted her hair up into a bun, which was also adorned with a sunflower clipped into it to frame a loose tendril by the side of her face. “You too, Nathaniel,” she added as she glanced at him. He cleaned up pretty good.

“Thanks,” he said, his voice almost lost to the crowd. “Oh, I see Marc! If you guys don’t mind, I’m going to go…”

“Of course!” Rose squealed, grinning. “We’ll see you on the dance floor?”

Nathaniel nodded with a smile before slipping away.

“So…” Ivan said slowly, “I know you all had some sort of plan but if Alya and Alix aren’t here yet, maybe you and I could dance?” he asked, turning to Mylène.

Mylène was just nodding when a familiar voice carried through the music.

“I bet you I could dance for an hour straight!”

“I bet you would trip over your feet in the first ten minutes,” she heard Alix say as she caught a flash of pink hair moving towards them.

“Yeah? Well how about we-”

“Absolutely not!” Rose said indignantly as Kim and Alix joined their quickly growing group. “This is a dance. It’s supposed to be romantic. And bets aren’t romantic!”

“Thank you, Rose” Max sighed as he stopped to stand on her other side before adding under his breath, “I think.”

“Aww, c’mon! What’s wrong with a little fun- Whoa! Juleka! I don’t think I’ve ever seen both your eyes before!”

She couldn’t help but chuckle at how utterly Kim he was. Before she could reply to what she assumed was his attempt at a complement, Rose opened her mouth.

“And?” Rose asked, her high voice holding an edge of danger.

Kim’s eyes widened as they darted to Rose, in all her swirly, pink, white kitten-print glory and swallowed. “You look really pretty! I just- I wasn’t expecting you to- I mean, you never wear your hair up…” he said, tripping over himself as he tried to both clarify his compliment and appease Rose.

She nudged Rose gently with her elbow and gave her a look before she smiled at Kim. “Thanks. You look pretty good yourself. You all do,” she added, glancing to Max and Alix as Kim puffed his chest out in pride.

“Oh, hey Luka!”

“Hey, Kim. Everyone” Luka said just loud enough to be heard over the music as he slipped between her and Max, shooting Max a grateful smile as the shorter boy made room for him.

“Did you escape in one piece?” she asked.

“Escape?” Ivan asked, his brows furrowing. “From who?”

“Damocles cornered him when we got here,” she snorted. “He wanted to know how lycée is going for him,” she added with a smirk as Luka groaned.

“I feel like he and his sister have a bet going about me and Dingo or something. He kept asking about our science classes and showcase performances…” he said, his voice trailing off as he oh so subtly scanned the crowd around them. “So has anyone seen Marinette yet?”

“No sign of her yet,” she murmured before gently elbowing his side and shooting him a smirk. She hadn’t called him a ‘sap’ out loud. She wasn’t that mean. Besides, she didn’t need to say it for him to get the message…

He rolled his eyes before turning back to the conversation. He was lucky the lighting in the gym hid the pink tinge to his ears. For the most part…

She turned back to the conversation as well, which had somehow worked its way back to Kim and Alix trying to have a competition that Rose wouldn’t outright destroy them for for having at the dance. But she only listened with half an ear, if that. Luka was there to help keep Rose in check should she decide Kim and Alix were ruining the ‘romance’ of the dance too much.

And she had other things to worry about…

Surreptitiously, she scanned the crowd, looking for any signs of Marinette. And crossing all her fingers that Marinette would arrive before Alya… though she wasn’t holding her breath…

The crowd ebbed and flowed around them in a blur of coloured lights and party clothes. Their group was far enough off to the side that they weren’t being overrun by the people dancing, but they were still close enough to the action. She caught sight of Nathaniel and Marc dancing on the fringes of the dance floor. A girl in a yellow dress—similar to the one Chloe had worn— crossed her line of vision, holding a cup of punch, which only served as a reminder of one of the more harebrained schemes Alya had come up with for ‘Operation Fairytale Ball.’ The thought of the schemes left a bitter taste in her mouth, and a lead weight in the pit of her stomach.

Things had been bad enough when she was only contending with one set of schemes… but after last night… there was no way Alya didn’t have contingency plans…

Another song passed with anxious anticipation. And then she saw it. The unmistakeable flash or orange by the doors to the gym.

“Alya” Rose shouted, standing up on her tip toes to be seen past Kim, “over here!”

Whether she had actually heard Rose, or more likely, seen Rose’s glitter clutch as she waved it and Ivan and Kim’s large forms in the crowd, Alya turned in the direction of their group. And then started weaving through the crowd towards them with a determination that didn’t bode well for her plans for the night…

“You look great, Alya!” Rose chirped once she had joined their quickly growing group.

“Thanks,” Alya said, flashing a grin. “You all do too,” she said, smiling to all of them. But then Alya’s gaze landed on her. Alya’s hazel eyes widened in surprise for a moment, the way everyone’s had when they had first seen her with her hair up and away from her face. But then they had narrowed. And while she had still smiled at her, it was rather frigid.

And she hadn’t said anything to her, so it seemed like Alya was still dead set on the whole no talking thing.

“I like how you did your hair,” she said to Alya. And it was true. Alya’s hair looked great.

Alya, for her part, didn’t seem sure how to respond. On one hand, Alya still seemed determined not to talk to her, but on the other…

“Thanks,” Alya said slowly, her face guarded. “Yours looks nice too,” she added, with just the slightest hint of suspicion detectable in her voice. But it was clear as day in her eyes. And then Alya turned to look at Luka, and her eyes widened all over again as soon as she saw what Luka was wearing.

Alya made a strangled, chocking sound that she quickly tried to cover in a cough.

“You ok?” Mylène asked worriedly, taking a step towards Alya to place a hand on her back.

Alya nodded, “Fine,” she said hoarsely before blinking to do a double take at Luka. Luka blinked at her, his face shifting into something guarded, and Alya’s eyes narrowed again, her mouth setting into a grim line as her gazed flickered back to land on her.

She should have known Alya would take his outfit choice as a sign of her ‘betrayal…’

Luka nudged her shoulder. “I’m going to go get something to drink. Want anything?” His voice sounded almost tinny through the base.

“No, but you should-“ He was gone before she could finish telling him he should wait until Marinette go there. Now that Alya was here… Marinette could show up at any time, and she didn’t like the idea of Luka going off on his own and leaving Alya with an opening.

“So, where’s Nino?” Kim asked, seemingly wonderfully oblivious—as usual—to everything. “We need some good song recommendations for a dance off and he’s the go to guy for that kind of stuff.”

“He isn’t playing-”

“Well, yeah,” Kim laughed, “that’s why that other guy is up there,” Kim said as he nodded to the hired DJ. “But I’m sure we can make requests.”

“That’s true…” Alya said, turning to Alix as she pulled her phone out of her purse “But remember-”

“I know, I know,” Alix groaned, holding up her hands. “But they’re not even here yet.”

“Who isn’t here-” Kim started to ask.

“Nino just texted, he and Adrien are almost here,” Alya said as she read something off her phone.

“I know!” Alya shouted over the music.“And Marinette should be here any minute! And-“ Alya began frantically waving. “Nino and Adrien are here!”

“Do you want to dance?” Rose grabbed her hand, beaming up at her as she tugged her towards the dance floor.

She wanted to. She really wanted to. But she also didn’t want whatever Alya had planned to go ahead. Which meant she needed to be ready for-

“Hey dudes.” Nino was grinning as he and Adrien joined their group. But then he caught her eye. His eyes widened, dnd then his gaze dropped, like he couldn’t look her in the eye. Nino had always been a bit of an open book. Subtlety wasn’t exactly his forte.

And this all but confirmed her worst suspicions.

He was definitely in on whatever Alya had cooked up.

“You look great, Adrien!” Alya said.

Adrien, who had looked morose and like he had every intention of at least half-sulking the entire evening, looked up. “Oh, thanks.”

“Yeah, you clean up good, man! Do you think you can dance in that getup? Because Alix and I were going to- oof”

Kim’s obvious attempts to get Adrien to join in on the impromptu dance off were quickly cut off by Rose’s elbow.

“I probably could, but they’re not really made for that kind of dancing.”

“Yeah, Kim. Those kinds of clothes are for dances like the waltz. You know, the romantic kinds? There’s nothing more romantic than a waltz! Just imagine, a candlelight waltz, or a waltz under the city lights,” Rose sighed dreamily. “There’s nothing that could be more romantic than that.”

“Yeah? You really think?” Adrien asked, immediately perking up. Even after their fight, he was still concerned about that?

“There’s Marinette!” Mylène’s voice was almost lost to the music.

Bewilderment crossed Alya’s face. “Her dress…”

She whirled around, tugging Rose along with her.

Marinette wasn’t wearing green to match Adrien’s eyes, as per her prediction. And despite Alya’s suggestion—demand more like.

“She looks gorgeous!” Beside her Rose practically swooned. “She looks like a princess!”

Marinette’s dress was simple; a sweet heart neckline and spaghetti straps, with a full and voluminous skirt made up of what looked like layer upon layer of gauzy fabric. It was a soft shade of blue, caught somewhere between summer skies and calm seas. It was the blue of where the horizon met the sea. It was the blue that lived somewhere between the shade of Luka’s eyes and Marinette’s. A simple silver pendant that looked remarkably light a floral treble cleft matched her shoes.

And her hair was down. She couldn’t remember the last time she had seen Marinette with her hair down; she always had it pulled back, even at sleepovers. But now it cascaded over her shoulders in loose waves.

It made her look… freer.

Rose was right. She did look like a princess. She was about to elbow Luka in the ribs when she remembered he had gone to get a drink.

Shoot.

“Wow, Marinette looks great!”

Shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot.

Now was not the time for Adrien to start noticing what he was missing out on.

Despite her initial reaction to Marinette’s dress, or more specifically she assumed, its colour, Alya smiled smugly. “She sure does,” she said.

“I’ve never seen her with her hair down…”

“Maybe you should tell her to wear it down more often…” Alya suggested.

Adrien shrugged blithely. “Maybe, but I like the pigtails. They remind me of Ladybug.”

There is was.

Because even with his so-called Lady standing right in front of him, he couldn’t see her, he was so blinded by the scarlet and spots.

“Hi guys!” Marinette said a little breathlessly as she pushed through the last bit of the crowd standing between her and the rest of the group.

“Hey,” she said, louder than she usually would so as to be heard over the pounding music.

Marinette turned to her and the smile that had been gracing her face grew even wider. “Juleka!” she gasped before pulling her into a hug, “you look incredible! I knew that dress would be perfect for you, and the shoes and your hair!”

“I know, right?” Rose chirped. “I think you should wear heels more often,” Rose added added as Marinette pulled away.

“And Rose! You look fabulous! You all do!” Marinette squealed as she looked around their group, grinning at everyone. But she was also oh so very obviously looking for someone who wasn’t there. She had to fight back a grin at how transparent Marinette was. “Has anyone seen-”

“Girl, that dress looks great on you! It really brings out your eyes!” Alya said as she pulled Marinette into a hug. Though she knew Alya had misgivings about the colour Marinette had chosen, the compliment was obviously genuine. Marinette did look incredible, and the colour of her dress made her eyes all the bluer.

Marinette smiled at Alya as she released the hug. But there was something guarded about her smile still. The way it had been every time she had smiled around Alya the past few days. “Thanks. You look great too.”

“I can see why this took you so long,” Mylène said as she looked at Marinette’s dress before pulling her into a hug as well, “just how many layers are there in the skirt?”

“I lost track around seven,” Marinette laughed. “But where’s Luka?” she asked.

“He went to go get a drink, he should be back any minute,” she replied as Rose pounced on Marinette, enveloping her in a hug. From across their little group, she caught Alya eyeing her suspiciously.

And really?

That was what was eliciting that look?

What did Alya expect her to do? Ignore Marinette’s question? Did she expect all of them to ignore Marinette’s question.

“Oh, ok-”

“While you’re waiting for him,” Alya interrupted before turning to Adrien, “You like this song, right Adrien?”

“Yeah, it’s fine-”

“Why don’t you two dance? The crowd is so thick it could Luka a while to come back, plus if M. Damocles wants to talk to him again-”

“But-”

Another flash of yellow in the crowd caught her eye. This time, it was Chloe.

Chloe had proven to be very effective in coming between Adrien and Marinette before… she just needed to get Chloe to notice him…

Behind Chloe, she saw Aurore and Mireille drifting through the crowd.

She shifted a step to the side so that she was closer to Adrien, and reached up and began to wave. “Mereille, Aurore! Over here!” she called as she continued to wave, keeping her gaze on Chloe’s ponytail.

She hadn’t expected either of them to hear her, and evidently they hadn’t heard or seen her as they disappeared back into the crowd. But that didn’t matter. Because Chloe had noticed her. And more importantly, Chloe had noticed who was standing with her…

“Oop. Chloe incoming,” Alix said, but it was too late.

“Adrikins! I’ve been looking everywhere for you!”

“Hey Chloe,” Adrien said, rather unenthusiastically.

“Aren’t you going to compliment my dress?” Chloe asked as she looped her arm through his and began tugging him towards the dance floor.

“Where are you going?”

“To dance. Obviously, Césaire,” Chloe snapped before dragging Adrien off.

She turned back to the rest of her friends as Adrien and Chloe started dancing, to find Alya glaring at her suspiciously. But she just shrugged innocently. It wasn’t like she had called Chloe over. Alya couldn’t reasonably accuse her of doing anything.

Just Alya couldn’t get mad at her for helping keep Mendeliev from finding some of the scheme…

“Hey, angel,” she said quietly, leaning down to whisper into Rose’s ear, “you and Mylène hid the flowers are under the tables right?” Rose nodded. “Mendeliev is poking around over there.” She straighten up and glanced knowingly towards the tables that had been set up for people to sit at when they needed a break from dancing. Mendeliev wasn’t exactly poking around them, but she was circulating amongst them. And Mendeliev was eagle eyed…

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Rose’s eyes widen as she followed her gaze.

“Alya! Mylène! I need a girl talk real quick!” Rose sad, grabbing them both by the arm and not waiting for a response from either of them. “I’ll be right back, bijou!” Rose called over her shoulder before saying something into Alya’s ear.

It was hard to tell from behind, but based on the way Alya picked up the pace towards the tables, she felt safe to assume Rose had told her Mendeliev was alarmingly close to the flowers Alya, Mylène, and Rose were supposed to use for one of the schemes. Alya shot a conflicted, yet suspicious glance over her shoulder at her as she hurried towards the tables.

“Welp,” Alix said, “I guess that means it’s time to check out the snacks.”

“Wait!” Kim called as Alix began to saunter away, “I thought we were going to have a dance off now! Or! I bet you I can-” whatever it was that Kim had been saying was lost in the noise of the crowd and music as he disappeared after Alix, pulling Nino along with him.

Max sighed. “I suppose I had better go make sure neither of them choke if they end up having an eating contest or something.” She shot Max a sympathetic smile before he turned and trudged after Alix and Kim.

“C’mon,” she said to Marinette, nodding towards the end of the gymnasium the refreshment tables were set up in, “let’s go find my brother before Damocles corners him again.” Marinette nodded as she looped her arm through hers.

Marinette’s brows twisted in confusion as she began to follow her through the crowd. “Before Damocles corners him again? What-”

“Did you know Damocles has a twin? And that she’s the principal of Saint-Saëns?”

“There’s two Damocles?” Marinette asked in disbelief as they began to weave through the crowd.

“I’m afraid so.”

“You don’t think she also dresses up Knightowl, do you?”

“I hope not,” she laughed. “Luka hasn’t said anything about it but you never know-”

“Jules!” She pulled Marinette to a stop as she turned in the direction of the voice. Luka was smiling apologetically at someone she recognized from the year below her as he awkwardly side stepped towards her. “I thought I had lost you Jules- Marinette.”

She didn’t bother to hide her smile at the look on her brother’s face. She had never seen his eyes so wide. And she swore she could almost hear the sounds of his brain short-circuiting. His plastic cup clattered to the ground, thankfully spilling only a few drops as it had been almost completely empty. “You- you’re beautiful,” he said, almost reverently.

She glanced at Marinette at the corner of her eye, even as Marinette unhooked her arm from hers to take a step towards Luka. Her smile only grew. Marinette was equally wide-eyed, and she was practically glowing.

“Your dress, it’s incredible. I knew it would be, but… wow,” Luka laughed breathlessly.

“Thank you,” Marinette said, almost shyly. “But Luka, your tie.” Marinette reached out as if to touch it, but stopped just short, her hand awkward hovering a few inches from Luka’s chest.

The sap looked down to grin at the floral tie, which was the same shade of pink as his cheeks and ears, before smiling back up at Marinette. “Yeah, I-“ she watched as her brother reached up to rub the back of his neck as a bashful smile and flush crept across his face. “It made me think of you.”

***

Phase ’And Their Eyes Will Meet’ had gone off without a hitch.

At least, from her perspective.

The best part was, she hadn’t had to do much. And that meant that there was no way Alya could turn around to try and pin the phase’s failure on her. Especially given she had alerted Rose to Mendeliev getting a little too close to the faux flowers for comfort. She had almost felt sorry for Adrien as Chloe dragged him off to dance with her.

Almost.

But knowing what she knew… yeah. She didn’t.

Plus, it got him away from Marinette. And more importantly, Alya.

And that had given Luka an opening. Of course, the DJ had just had to put on an XY song, which meant Luka and Marinette weren’t dancing… They were hovering by one of the walls of the gym, glasses of the saccharinely sweet punch completely forgotten in their hands as they laughed over something. Sure, they were maybe leaning a bit into wallflower territory, but they were together.

The other good thing about them standing there by the wall was that it was relatively easy for her to keep an eye on them and the things going on around them as Rose spun her around the dance floor. She would have been more than happy to sit this song out too, to be honest. It wasn’t like any of them had a soft spot for XY. The complete opposite in fact. But even the sourness of the memory of their music being stolen wasn’t enough to dampen Rose’s spirits. She had practically begged to dance, and when had she ever been able to say no to Rose? Especially when she used her puppy eyes…

“I can’t wait until they play a slow song!” Rose somehow both sighed and squealed as she pulled her into an enthusiastic spin.

“Neither can I,” she chuckled, blinking as she teetered on her shoes and tried to steady herself. While she was able to keep an eye on everything from the dance floor, keeping everything she saw straight was another thing entirely with Rose leading…

“Sorry,” Rose said, cringing as she smiled apologetically.

She couldn’t help but smile at how unabashedly Rose was leaning into the rose-tinted romance she perceived the dance to be. “It’s ok, maybe just a little less… gusto?”

Rose nodded brightly before tugging her a little closer, her smile dimming a little. “You’re still doing ok?”

She blinked down at Rose. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

Rose shrugged as they continued to dance. “Yesterday… it was a lot. It was a lot for me and Mylène. Heck, it was even a lot for Alix. We’ve… none of us… well, I don’t remember the last fight any of us had like that. I don’t know if we’ve ever had a fight like that before…”

“It was a lot,” she agreed, nodding slightly.

“I know we talked it out last night, but this morning, and during the phone call… Alya wasn’t exactly…”

“Talking to me?” she snorted. Rose nodded, and she sighed. “You and me? We’re alright. I promise,” she added, squeezing Rose’s hand. “Me and Alix and Mylène? We’re fine too. I talked with them both last night.”

“And you and Alya?”

She bit back a groan, but some of it still slipped into her sigh. “I don’t know where we are right now. But I know that she needs time to let it go and- what is she doing?” She craned her neck to get a better view of what she had seen over Rose’s shoulder.

Alya was dancing with Adrien. It was very obvious that Adrien was trying to lead the two in the dance, and it was even more obvious that Alya had taken the lead. And that she was steering him right towards…

Rose turned to look over her shoulder in the direction she was looking and sighed. “I forgot about that plan…”

“What plan was that?”

Rose turned back to her, and to her surprise, rolled her eyes. “It was one of the ones Alya came up with. One that we weren’t supposed to tell you about,” she added apologetically. “We tried to tell her it wouldn’t work but…” Rose’s words trailed off in a shrug. “I suppose she didn’t listen.”

That was an understatement.

“Hey,” do you think we could maybe take a bit of a rest?” she asked as casually as she could. “I’m getting a little tired, I’m not used to wearing heels and we’ve been dancing for a while…”

Both were true. They had been dancing for three songs now. And she wasn’t used to wearing heels.

But that pang of guilt still lodged itself in her chest. She still wasn’t sure what the best course of action would be, with the girls. Telling them everything—well, not everything—or keeping quiet. She knew she would have to decide one way or another eventually. But today- tonight didn’t feel like the right time.

All she was sure of, was that she needed to keep Alya away from Luka and Marinette.

“Of course, bijou!” Rose said brightly. “I was getting hungry anyways. Want me to go grab some snacks?”

“Sure. I’ll wait over with Mari and Luka?” she asked, nodding towards them.

“That sounds good! I’ll bring snacks for them too, we can all rest for a bit.”

She pecked Rose on the forehead before they parted ways. Rose heading towards the refreshment table, while she headed into what felt like what was going to turn into a storm…

***

The music was still pounding.

The gym was still dimly lit by the lights and the disco ball that had been pulled out from the school storage for the occasion.

The gym still unfortunately smelled like Kim’s locker. Maybe even worse now that people had been dancing for a while, not to mention topping up their perfume and cologne in the bathroom. She had nearly choked on the clouds of clashing scents when she had ducked into the ladies room.

And while somewhat expected, it seemed Luka and Marinette were still no closer to stopping their mutual idiocy than they had been when they had arrived at the dance. Or last week. Or last month…

The only thing that had changed in the past hour of the dance had been…

She narrowed her eyes as she watched Nino sling an arm around Adrien’s shoulder with a laugh. Normally, that wouldn’t be something she would even bat an eye at. Nino was just like that, always slinging an arm around his friends’ shoulders or ribbing them when joking around, or slinging an arm around Alya’s waist. For all the ways he presented himself as a chill, nonchalant kind of guy, he was actually very touchy-feely and outwardly affectionate to the people close to him. In some ways, he was quite a bit like Luka, being more than content to let things be and happen as they did.

And he was a terrible liar. And a terrible actor.

She wouldn’t have batted an eye at the way he had slung his arm around Adrien’s shoulder, if not for the almost mechanical way he had done it. Like it was timed, or he was overthinking it in trying to make it look casual.

And of course, there was the fact that he had shot a not-so subtle glance at Alya where she was standing over by the refreshment table, sipping a glass of the overly sweet punch.

She almost frowned before she remembered herself. It wouldn’t do to look suspicious; she was at a dance after all, she should look like she wasn’t trying to unravel Kwami’s only knew how many unknown convoluted schemes Alya had cooked up. She turned her attention away from Alya and back to Mylène. Or rather… at the spot just over Mylène’s head where she could see Nino and Adrien talking.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a whirl of bubblegum and serene blue. Rose and Marinette flew through her field of vision, laughing and giggling as Rose swung them in a twirling dance that wasn’t so much a dance per se as a whirling tornado of pink and blue, puffy chaos. A smile curled across her face at the sight; she had needed to take a break from dancing. She still wasn’t used to wearing heels, so there was only so much dancing she could do at a time. And Marinette had seemed disappointed to not be dancing to this song while Luka was in the bathroom trying to dry off, so of course she had no objections to Rose dancing with Marinette for a while.

Her smile faltered.

It had seemed like an accident…

But she of all people should know things aren’t always what they seem.

And it was just a little too convenient that Kim’s water had ended up all over Luka. Sure, it was easy to brush off; Kim wasn’t exactly what anyone would call observant. And he had been goofing around—as usual—when he had bumped into Nino and sent the water all over Luka’s side. But the fact that it had been water as opposed to the syrupy punch that had ended up all over Luka’s sleeve made it feel too deliberate. For all her flaws, Alya wasn’t mean. She wouldn’t stoop to completely ruining Luka’s shirt.

And of course, there was the fact she had been Nino. That, and she had seen Alya give Nino what she assumed was meant to be a covert look a couple of minutes before it happened.

It was just water. But it was enough Luka had ducked out to the washroom to try and dry off some of the water with paper towels and the hand dryers.

And now…

Her gaze narrowed in on Nino and Adrien again. Nino was nodding his head towards Rose and Marinette, his movements painfully stiff and awkward looking. She couldn’t tell what he was saying from here—there was no way on earth she could hear him from that far away over the music and frustratingly, lip reading was harder than she had initially thought. But she had a hunch.

She watched Adrien and Nino as Nino continued to talk with exaggerated motions. For her part, she nodded along as she listened to Mylène talking about her plans for the first couple of weeks of the summer break. Adrien nodded again, and Nino’s face broke out into a look of relief.

That couldn’t be good…

The song—one of Clara Nightingale’s recent releases—was still going, but she recognized the lines enough to know it was nearing its end. And-

Nope.

Adrien was walking away from Nino now, making his way through the crowd of people dancing with his usual supermodel grace.

That was not good.

Nino was watching Adrien go as he made his way towards Rose and Marinette.

It was definitely not good.

And across the dance floor, Alya was also watching Adrien heading towards Marinette and Rose, grinning like the cat that had just caught the canary.

“I’m going to go find Luka,” she said, rather abruptly if the look Mylène and Ivan gave her was anything to go by.

“He’s probably still in the washroom though, right?” Ivan asked.

Max pushed his glasses up his nose before nodding. “That would be the most probable answer. That cup was quite full-”

“I said I was sorry!” Kim interjected, earning a look of good-natured ire from Max.

“But it also doesn’t take that long to dry off a shirt. He can live with a damp sleeve and he’s missing everything.”

“That is also a good point-”

She shot Max a smile, and then before anyone else could protest, she slipped away from their group and began fighting her way through the fringes of the dance floor. She was sure to make a show of looking around like she was looking for someone and wasn’t really watching where she was going—lest Alya spot her and decide to make more accusations—as she made a beeline for the spot it looked like she would cross paths with Adrien.

“Oh, excuse me- oh, hey Juleka.”

She turned to look down at Adrien—who she was towering over even more than usual in her shoes—with feigned surprise. “Oh, Adrien. Sorry about that, I didn’t see you there.”

Adrien shot her one of his easy, effortless, supermodel grins. “Don’t worry about it,” he said. “So, are you enjoying the dance?”

She nodded. “I am. Yeah.” Ok. This was awkward. She had been so laser-focused on intercepting Adrien before he could reach Marinette and, she assumed, ask her to dance, that she hadn’t even thought about how she was going to keep him occupied.

And for all his obliviousness, even Adrien seemed to be picking up on the pure, tangible awkwardness that was filling the air.

“So…” he said, letting the single word trail off.

What was she supposed to say? What could she possibly talk to Adrien about now?

Come to think of it, what could she ever possibly talk to just Adrien about? They had nothing in common other than their teachers and classmates!

“Are you having fun?” The words blurted out, but that was fine. That was a nice, safe, impersonal topic.

Adrien grinned again. “Yeah, it’s great! I’m glad father let me come, it’s a lot of fun dancing with everyone. I was just on my way to ask Marinette to dance- oh, looks like Luka is back.”

She held back a sigh of relief as she turned to look behind her where Adrien was craning his neck to see. Luka was back, and even though the song hadn’t quite ended yet it looked like Rose had released Marinette from their tornado like dance to reunite with Luka. Marinette was busy inspecting Luka’s sleeve—probably to make sure he had properly dried it or something—while the dork stood there blushing and staring at the top of Marinette’s head like a lovesick idiot.

But a ways behind them…

She could see Alya staring at the two. Her brows furrowed and there was the familiar gleam in her eyes, the one she always had when she was plotting and scheming…

“…but Nino said I should try to dance with Marinette, I’m sure they won’t mind if I interrupt-”

“Why don’t we dance?”

Did she really just say that?

Why? Why? Of all the things she could ever possibly say to him, why did she have to go and say that?

She wasn’t sure who was more surprised. Her. Or Adrien. He was staring at her, his mouth gaping open not unlike that of a fish. And honestly? She couldn’t really blame him…

“Uh, yeah, sure. Sounds fun.” They stood there awkwardly, looking at each other. “I guess we should…?” Adrien asked, his question trailing off.

“Oh. Yeah. Uh…” she glanced around, trying to spot Luka and Marinette so that she could get Adrien as faraway from them as possible. The two were dancing to the upbeat song that had started playing. Marinette was glowing, she was smiling so brightly at Luka. And Luka was looking at Marinette like she was the sun, the moon, and all the stars rolled into one as he laughed at something Marinette had said.

Her thoughts soured as she glanced around for Alya. There was no way she wanted Adrien anywhere near them lest Alya—or Nino—find a way to interrupt.

Alya was staring at her, her eyes hard and her mouth downturned in a frown. Nino was standing beside her, looking like he was trying to placate her. But Alya looked like she was ready to do business.

She definitely wanted Adrien away from those two, and any plots Alya cooked up on the fly, as well.

“Let’s go over there,” she said, nodding her head to the other side of the dance floor where the crowd was thinner. Far away from Luka and Marinette. And far far away from Alya’s interference…

Adrien nodded, and began heading in the direction she had nodded. The wove through the crowd until they were on the fringes of the far side of the dance floor, far away from any of Alya’s plots and schemes.

Hopefully.

Adrien turned to her with another practiced smile and placed a hand on her waist.

She couldn’t stop herself from stepping back in surprise.

“What are you doing?”

Adrien’s brows furrowed. “Dancing?”

“It isn’t really the right kind of song for that kind of dancing,” she said, nodding to the people around them who were bobbing and swaying to the fast beat of one of the other songs from Clara’s new album.

“Oh,” Adrien said, his brows still furrowed. But then he smiled and chuckled as he ran a hand though his perfectly coiffed hair. It was such a Chat like movement she almost grimaced. “Sorry about that, guess I’m not used to school dances since father never really lets me go to them,” he said, his voice full of its usual model charm.

“No problem.” Nodding, she began dancing, trying to ignore the awkwardness that was making it feel like she was moving her stiff limbs through jello. She was never a big dancer, but it was also never hard for her to dance. But this? This was painful.

But at least if they were dancing they wouldn’t have to make small talk…

Clumsily, Adrien mimicked her movements. “So…” he said again, breaking the silence between them.

There went that small comfort…

“You like Clara’s new album?” she asked, desperately looking for something- anything to talk about that would maybe hopefully dissipate at least some of the awkward tension. Or at least distract her long enough to get her through this song.

Except that was a mistake. Bringing up Clara’s new album. Because it had another Ladybug song on it. Quite a few actually. And a song a lot of people were speculating was intended to be about Tigress…

With no mention of Chat in any of the lyrics…

Adrien’s face darkened into almost a scowl before he seemed to remember himself. “It’s fine,” he muttered before brightening marginally. “The lyrics about Ladybug’s eyes are spot on,” he half laughed, half sighed. “She really is brilliant- Ladybug that is. Clara’s first song, the one about Ladybug and Chat Noir is still my favourite though.”

Of course it was.

And was he- was he humming that song about Ladybug and Chat Noir?

This was more than painful.

“Hey, you seen Chloe recently?”

“What?” Why would he be asking her that?

“I haven’t seen her for a while now, and I saw another girl wearing a similar dress-”

“Last I saw her, it looked like Sabrina was trying to keep her from noticing. I think I saw Sabrina talking to the girl earlier, probably trying to convince her to change.”

“Oh.”

Was he seriously disappointed by that? Was he actually hoping Chloe would see the girl wearing a similar dress? Something that would almost surely end in akumatization, if not for the poor girl then for Chloe. Except, it wasn’t really surprising because of course he would. Because where there were akumas, there was Ladybug. A wave of disgust washed through her. “Why are you asking?”

Alarm passed so quickly through Adrien’s eyes she would have missed it if she hadn’t been watching for it. “Oh, you know. It seemed like there’s always an akuma at school dances.”

“Hopefully the evening won’t come to that.”

“Of course,” Adrien said, casting her a charming, supermodel smile that was completely repulsive.

She nodded, trying to return his smile. It wouldn’t do her any good to try and disagree with him. But trying to smile at him made her stomach feel like it was flipping inside out.

Thankfully, he was Adrien. He took her smile—well, her rather poor attempt at a smile—at face value. “I wonder if Ladybug likes dancing…” She ignored him as he continued to muse about whether Ladybug liked to dance and what kind of music she liked and wax poetic about her in general.

The song was still no where close enough to being over when she caught sight of Alya and Nino. She had to bite back a groan at the sight of them. They were standing, chatting with Luka and Marinette. She had been able to keep Adrien away from those two, but she had overlooked the crucial fact that it wasn’t just Adrien she had to be worried about. If anything, he really should have been what she was least worried about.

Alya was the mastermind of all the plots.

Alya was the one doing her utmost best to be a wedge between Luke and Marinette.

And she had been so stupid to get so caught up on the Adrien plots that she had overlooked the reality she was contending with.

Still… the night wasn’t over. Maybe Alya was keeping Marinette and Luka from enjoying their time together right now, but the night was still young. And the song would be over—though not soon enough—and she could make her way back to the two idiots. She just had to grin and bear it a little longer. And at least with Adrien waxing poetic about Ladybug, she could focus on figuring out how to keep Alya away from Luka and Marinette.

#juleka vs. the forces of the universe #juleka couffaine #luka couffaine #marinette dupain cheng #alya cesaire #nino lahiffe #rose lavillant #mylene haprele #alix kubdel #ivan bruel #le chien kim #max kante #adrien agreste #endgame lukanette #lukanette endgame #alya salt #adrien salt #chat noir salt

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