[Chloe's POV]

I wake up like any other day, with a big yawn and a wide stretch. Man, school's a drag, but at least I get to see everyone. Sabrina, Adrien, Marinette, Alya, even Nino...and especially Nathaniel.

I smile softly to myself, nothing but the colour orange consuming my mind.

"You seem happy," Pollen observes. "I guess last night was a big one for you."

"Hm?" I reply absentmindedly. I shudder with a sudden realisation. "Oh! I have a mother now!"

A broad grin stretches across my face as I throw my blankets off and hop out of bed.

"I have a mom!" I sing as I twirl across the room. "How exciting! I wonder what it's like to have a mom. Is it like a best friend? Do you think she'll be kind and caring like Nathaniel? Maybe she'll help me with schoolwork like Sabrina! Mothers are supportive and protective, right? Like Adrien and Marinette!"

"I must say it hasn't taken you long to warm up to this woman." Pollen says.

"I've been so used to waking up alone this entire time, but now I actually have a family to wake up to!" I reply happily. "I wonder if my mom will be cooking breakfast, making me waffles and telling me not to be late to school. How exciting! This is my very first day as a girl with a mother, it feels so surreal—like I've been reborn into a new life!"

I get changed as quickly as I can and rush into our dining room, only to find it completely empty. My smile slowly fades as my eyes search the room for any signs of the perfect family morning I had envisioned. Where is my dad, with the newspaper and a coffee in his hands? Where is my mom, wearing a frilly apron and a loving smile?

My gaze falls upon my butler, Jean, who has entered the room with a metal tray carrying enough food for one. My heart sinks.

"W-Where are my parents...?" I ask sadly.

"Your father is working, as always, and your mother...left to visit the Agreste household." Jean answers.

"The Agrestes...?" I repeat as I slowly slump down into my chair. I rest my head in my hand and sigh glumly. "I guess Adrien needs a mother too..."

Maybe we could all live together? Then it really would be like my family's finally reunited. Adrien's dad is also busy with work most of the time, maybe we could share my mom. Would that make him happy?

The door suddenly swings ajar and my mom strides inside, pouting as she rubs her cheek.

My spirits lift hopefully. "Mom!'

Mom grabs a slice of toast off my plate and chomps down on it grumpily. "Look at me..." She grumbles. "Eating carbs! All because of stupid stone-face."

"Er...Good morning, mom!" I try again.

"Hm?" Mom shifts her narrowed eyes to me. Something seems to click in her mind and in a second she has lightened up. "Chloekins! Hey, hey, what do you say we have a little girl time today? I could really use some therapeutic shopping."

Going shopping with my mom, finally! Trying on cute clothes and gossiping over coffee, it's a dream come true! Oh, but wait...

"I have school today." I tell her.

Mom scoffs. "So?'

"W-Welll...isn't school important? Sabrina and Nathaniel always say—"

My mom laughs long and hard. "You're the daughter of the mayor, what do you need school for?"

"For...learning?" I answer unsurely. "I get to see my friends too, they must be wondering where I am....and isn't wagging kind of dishonest?"

"Eugh, I never thought my own daughter would be such a nerd." Mom replies in distaste. "Come on Chloe, live a little. Who cares about all that junk?"

I lower my head timorously. "I guess..."

Mom throws down the half-eaten toast on my plate before dragging me off my chair by my arm. "Great, let's go! You, butler!" My mom clicks her fingers at Jean impatiently. "Bring me the Mayor's spare card."

"I'm sorry madam but that account is for emergencies," Jean says. "Are you authorised to use it?"

"Excuse me? Am I authorised to use it? I'm the Mayor's wife! How dare you talk back to the lady of the household. Whatever the Mayor owns, I own. Now bring me my card before I have you fired!" Mom demands.

Woah. My mom can really get things done. I guess it's cool...? But I feel kind of bad for Jean.

Mom snatches the card from his hand, giving him one final threatening look before taking my hand and storming out of the room.

"W-Wait, is it really okay to use that?" I ask, pointing to the card in mom's hands.

"Huh?" Mom snaps.

"I mean, it's just...dad works really hard all the time, so much that he can't even come to breakfast...that money, is it really okay to just spend it?" I say, lowering my eyes guiltily.

"Anything of your fathers is ours, Chloekins." Mom replies with a flick of her hair. "I really thought you'd be able to hold down the fort as woman of the house while I was gone, but I see you have a lot to learn. I don't blame you, everyone could benefit from having a role model like me in their life."

"What? No, no, I've done good!" I insist. "I've really grown up into a fine woman; I've made our family proud and accomplished a lot of things."

Look at me blabbering, it's all thanks to my friends really. Marinette, who accepted me when no one else would. Nathaniel, who taught me to be kind. Sabrina, who always helped me learn. And Adrien, who gave me the opportunity to be who I really am.

My mom smiles proudly. "Obviously, you are still my daughter after all. I'd love to hear all about what you've been up to."

I smile brightly, when all of a sudden my mind goes into a panic. What I've been up to? I can't tell my mom what I've been up to. Queen Bee is my pride and joy, my greatest accomplishment, my life! But she can't know...I can't share it with her. What am I supposed to say? There's nothing special about Chloe! Chloe hasn't done anything with her life, I'm struggling to even make friends.

Once outside, my mom waves down a cab to take us to the mall. I remain silent during the car ride, my mind swirling. Surely there must be something I could tell my mom about. Something that I'm proud of...

A bright orange flare lights up my thoughts and suddenly Nathaniel is there, smiling sweetly. That's right! It might have been a struggle, but I made friends—great friends! I'm more proud of my friends than anything.

The cab slows to a stop and we make our way into the shopping mall.

"Oh look!" Mom says excitedly, pointing at one of Adrien's perfume ads.

"Yeah, Adrien's pretty famous these days." I say. "But I don't think he actually wants to peruse modelling as a career."

"Boring! Getting paid to look pretty is, like, the best career option there is." Mom replies. "If he takes over Gabriel's business, he would have the potential of a great son-in-law."

"I used to think the same," I say. "I mean, he's a supermodel. A total hottie—"

"And rich too!" Mom adds.

"Exactly. But..." I shake my head with a smile. "Now I value much more than that."

My mom raises an eyebrow.

"I don't want to marry someone just because they're good looking or rich." My heart flutters as Nathaniel clouds my thoughts once more. "I want to honestly fall in love with someone. Someone kind and caring, who supports me no matter what. Someone passionate and talented, who always manages to see the best in me."

My mom turns her attention to the store windows, clearly having lost interest in my rambling. I push a stray lock of hair behind my ear anxiously. Man, I'm not doing too good at being an impressive daughter.

"What's all this, 'seeing the best in you' stuff? You're far too pretty to be worrying out that, have some confidence in yourself Chloe. I bet you're the most adored person in your entire school—no, in the whole of Paris!" Mom says, waving off my comment. "Now tell me, do you model with Adrien? You two would look so good together you know."

"Uh, no...I already told you he has a girlfriend, remember?" I reply, frowning slightly.

Marinette has posed with Adrien in a magazine before. Not only that, but she is probably the most admired person in our school. She is always kind to everyone and selfless enough to help them with anything, plus she's smart and talented, way more than I am for sure. She was voted to be Carnival Queen last year, and she's our class rep. And above all that, she's Ladybug! Definitely the most adored person in Paris. She is Paris' idol, our greatest hero! I can't help but feel jealous...I bet Marinette's mom is really proud of her.

I'm snapped from my thoughts by my mother's disapproving look. Once again, she seems unpleased by my argument.

"Right." She says, pursing her lips. "Who is this girl anyway?"

"Uh, M-Marinette...Marinette Dupain-Cheng." I reply nervously. "But she's really nice, and—"

"Who cares!" Mom cuts in. "Chloe, are you really going to let this girl steal Adrien from you? I thought my daughter would be stronger than that."

"What? But, well..." I lower my head and say quietly, "She makes Adrien happy..."

"Hmm...is that so?" My mom replies.

I can't help but feel discouraged. Is she...disappointed in me?

I trail behind my mom as she makes her way through the mall. Something bright and yellow catches the corner of my eye. I turn to a shop window to see a display of Queen Bee merchandise. I gasp excitedly and rush over to the store, my eyes sparkling as I press my face against the window.

"Our own merchandise!" I whisper to Pollen. "Could Queen Bee be as admired as Ladybug? Maybe I'm not a total loser! I mean, I can't believe people like us that much to manufacture this stuff in our image. I think this is the happiest I've ever been...to be accepted and loved by the whole of Paris, wow. It's all thanks to you, Pollen."

"I may provide the power, but it's you they have fallen in love with Chloe." Pollen says from inside my purse.

This really lifts my mood. I feel all warm inside, like I do when a certain someone smiles at me. It's that same feeling....being loved.

"Chloe, keep up now." Mom beckons.

"Mom, don't you think this is cool? Paris' heroes I mean." I say with a broad grin.

Mom steps up to the store window, her eyes narrowing coldly. My heat shatters as she sneers down at my image.

"Those circus freaks? Honestly, what are they good for? I can't believe my city has resorted to idolising such useless nobodies."

I stare up at my mother in horror, my chest tightening painfully. "But...they are useful. They—They help people...."

Everything that I've accomplished, everything that I've done to become the person I am...was it all just a waste of time? Is it true that who I thought I was is useless?

"Tch. Don't concern yourself with such ridiculous fantasies." My mom grabs my hand and pulls me along once more. "Listen, Chloe, you need to focus. You've got your head on completely wrong. Why waste your time studying boring things in school and praising a bunch of kids dressed up as animals when you've already got your future set out for you."

"I-I do?" I say cluelessly.

"Of course you do, you're the Mayor's daughter!" Mom replies as if I'm being stupid. "You're going to success your father as Mayor of Paris. It'll be easy, you already have the reputation and the looks, and soon you'll have all the wealth!"

"But I don't know anything about running a city." I say unsurely.

"What's there to know? Just pay people to make all the hard decisions for you." Mom replies. "All you have to do is stand there and look pretty and earn us lots and lots of money, lay? Doesn't that sound like a real dream!"

But haven't I tried that before? When I went for class president, I thought it was all about reputation and crushing your opponent...but Marinette ended up winning because she was honest and passionate. She actually wanted to do her job and help people, and they loved her for it. That's also what draws people to the heroes, right? But...mom says that's useless.

"Yeah, okay, I'll stop wasting time and pay more attention to politics, improving my reputation and stuff...if that'll make you happy." I say.

My mom finally lights up, clasping her hands together happily. "That's my girl! Oh, my precious little Chloekins, I knew you'd grow up to be beautiful and successful just like your mother."

I give my mom a weak smile. Even though she's praising me...why does it feel like I've done something wrong?

"Now, come in here darling." Mom says as she leads me into an expensive boutique. "If I'm going to help you to be the best, we're going to have to work on your image."

"Oh...okay." I reply.

I look around at all the glamourous clothing and accessories. I know I like to be fashionable but this stuff is a bit too flashy.

My attention is suddenly caught by a bright orange fabric. I'm immediately met with a rush of energy as I take the dress off its rack. The material is so silky and shiny, and...well, orange. I find myself drifting into a daze as I twirl around with the dress clutched against my chest. It flow so nicely...

An image surfaces in my mind...The gentle wave of soft, orange strands in the wind. The strands come together to form a long fringe, bouncing and swaying ever so gracefully. I wish the ocean was orange, how beautiful would the ripples be if they shone like his hair...

"Chloe!"

I jump in fright, my head spinning from the sudden jolt. My mother is standing before me with her hands on her hips and her brows raised.

"What on earth are you doing? What kind of ditz daydreams in the middle of a store?"

"Oh, I-I was just..." I look down at the dress in my hands. "Admiring this dress. I really like the fabric."

"It's worse than I thought..." Mom says.

"What?" I reply worriedly.

"Do you not know a single thing about fashion? My mom carefully pinches the dress and removes it from my hands, holding it away from her in disgust. "Orange, Chloe? Orange? It's just so unbelievably hideous."

"Really? You think so?" I say curiously. "I don't know, I find it kind of...entrancing."

My mom makes a repulsed sound before throwing the dress aside.

"Come, come," She orders. "Let me show you what real fashion looks like. If you want to impress Adrien—"

"But I don't want to impress Adrien." I interrupt.

My mom shoots me a glare and I instantly shut my mouth.

"If you want to impress Adrien," She continues. "You'll have to do better. Much better."

Mom's voice drowns out as she drones on about Adrien. Is this how I used to sound? How annoying. I wish I was at school with Nathaniel...

"Chloe, are you even listening? Honestly child...."

I awake from my thoughts to find my arms stacked with clothing. "Are we really buying all this?"

"Of course! If you really want to go to school so badly the least you could do is get dolled up for Adrikins." Mom says before strolling off to the next rack.

I shift the pile of clothes in my arms uncomfortably and chase after my mother "Right, but, you know who else I see at school? My best friends, Sabrina and Nathaniel. N-Nathaniel, he's really nice—and talented! I'm sure he'll be successful, so, I think you'd like him. He's amazing at art, and really passionate too, but most importantly he's kind and compassionate, even to me. And—"

"Chloe, keep your eye on the prize darling." Mom grabs the clothes from my hands and puts them on the counter.

The cashier looks at the pile worriedly before starting to scan each tag. My eyes skim over each item as it gets bagged.

"Hey...How much is this going to cost?" I ask.

Mom shrugs and digs through her purse to get Dad's card. My heartbeat quickens as she reaches towards the machine.

"Wait, are you sure about this? I don't need all these clothes, really." I stress.

"Chloe for the last time, it's fine. Really it's like we're not even paying for this stuff at all, because we can just take more taxes from the city."

"W-What?"

In the blink of an eye, my mom has swiped the card. Suddenly I find myself standing outside the store, bags in hand, my chest heavy with guilt. This therapeutic shopping isn't making me feel better at all. I feel terrible! Like I've stolen from a blind nun...

"What do you say we grab a bite to eat on the way home?" Mom says.

"Oh, sure..." I mumble when I'm suddenly stuck with a brilliant idea. "Actually, I know a great place! The Dupain-Cheng bakery, their food is so delicious, and the place is run by the nicest people—"

"Dupain-Cheng?" My mother repeats, stopping dead in her tracks. "Are you telling me that your Adrikins is dating a common baker?"

"Huh? Well yes, but—" I try.

"We're not eating at some trashy bakery! It's no wonder you haven't lost any of that baby chub." Mom says sternly.

I look down at myself glumly before trudging after my mother. This isn't how this day was supposed to go at all...Is it me?

There must be something wrong with me.

.

These pics are so sad, why do I do this?
Anyway Gorizilla came out. I never expected Adrien's mum to be an actress, wow! And her name is Emelie, after all that effort I went through to name her. Oh well. That episode was so good, maybe my favourite, but I wish there was more Adrienette when Mari saved Adrien, like imagine if he really had hid at her place ^.^