Imagine If The First One To Find Out Ladybug’s Identity...

Imagine if the first one to find out Ladybug’s identity...

…is Chloé Bourgeois. 

I can easily picture Alya finding out; I swoon at the thought of Adrien finally knowing. thelastpilot has given us an extremely spot-on characterization of Nino finding out who LB is. 

But when it comes to Chloé knowing, a part of me hesitates. Because I honestly don’t know how she’d react to that. She LOVES her some Ladybug, but absolutely cannot STAND Marinette. How does a person reconcile that? Will she like Ladybug less? Or stop altogether? Or will she stop being awful to Marinette? It could go so many ways! 

Imagine Chloé realizing that the girl she was secretly jealous of, the kind Marinette who made friends without money or fame or threats, the girl that Adrien seemed to enjoy being around, THAT girl was ALSO Ladybug? Who was loved by all of Paris? Including herself? 

Would her jealousy just get worse? Would she hate Marinette more? Try to sabotage her because no way can she have it all. She can’t be this popular pretty girl in school and ALSO a super hero. She doesn’t get to be so close to Adrien in school AND have him gawk at her as Ladybug. It’s just so UNFAIR. 

But then imagine Chloé knowing that with all the YEARS of harassment and rude comments  she’d subjected Marinette to, LB STILL saved her life. Multiple times. Marinette let Chloé call her a friend when she was behind the mask, even knowing she’d got back to school the next day and hear the mayor’s daughter throw insults at her. 

Maybe that is what, once and for all, stops Chloé’s reign of terror. Kinda. 

Imagine the class’s reactions when Chloé starts asking after Marinette’s health. Suddenly feeling guilty and realizing the girl might be falling down a lot because she has bruises or broke something in a fight or GOD what if she has the flu? 

Imagine Marinette’s skeptical reaction to that, and Chloé’s nonchalant “Well don’t think I actually CARE or anything…just don’t want your nasty germs getting all over me Marinette Dupain-Cheng!” 

Imagine Tom and Sabine’s bakery suddenly getting it’s debts paid off, courtesy of the mayor. Imagine them getting invited to cater at high-profile events and galas in Paris. Suddenly business is booming even MORE than before. The Dupain-Cheng’s don’t have to worry about money anymore. 

Imagine Chloé suddenly asking Sabrina to do two sets of geography homework. “You know…just in case I lose one or something!” But she knows an akuma attacked late last night and there’s no way Mari had time to do hers. 

Imagine there’s an akuma attack, and all their classmates wonder where Marinette is, and Chloé distracts them with a “Who cares about her anyway? She probably tripped and got herself locked in a closet somewhere. Let’s just go!” 

Imagine her purposely being late for school (she makes Sabrina do it too) as well so that the teacher leaves Marinette alone. Because if Marinette is in trouble then so is Chloé, and who would dare give the mayor’s daughter a tardy, and “We’re not late, the rest of you are just early!” 

Imagine that Chloé Bourgeois still pretends to be the stuck up rich brat everyone knows her as just to keep Marinette’s secret safe. 

Imagine her actually wanting to be Marinette’s friend even MORE, but feeling super embarrassed about everything between them and not really knowing how else to be. This is all new for her, and she’s never been really good at making friends. ;) 

And she thinks maybe that’s what she deserves for treating Marinette so terribly. Maybe she doesn’t deserve to have her as a real friend. But she’s definitely going to do what she can to help.

She IS Ladybug’s number one fan after all.