Would you do a Lukloe request?
“Request? I mean, I can give you a more recent memory I have of Chloé Bourgeois.”
It was an argument that had spiralled from the bar of the venue to the dance floor. It was half-time during a rock charity concert with a huge and exciting lineup of bands. Chloé must have gotten on somebody’s bad side because looking over, I could see her covered in somebody’s drink, chewing the culprit out with the ferocity of a wild boar.
“–nerve, doing something like that to a girl on her BIRTHDAY, SIR.”
“Aren’t you that Bourgeois girl that used to stir up trouble for Ladybug? I remember you being a total pain and a brat.”
“–Stir up TROUBLE for Ladybug? Excuse you! I was a superhero WITH her!”
It had caught our (Kitty Section’s) attention enough for us to notice.
“Chloé Bourgeois? Of all the people to see at a concert like this.” Juleka had commented, Rose perking up a moment later, tipsy, drink in hand and yelling aggressively over the music.
“OH! You’re RIGHT, Juleka! Wow, she’s soaked! Poor Chloé!”
Obviously, it wasn’t a cool move. The argument was getting heated- and the longer I watched them, the more I came to recognise the face of the culprit. I’d seen him at a few heavier concerts, before. He was a bit of a hot-head and a trouble maker. A notorious flirt with a bit of a drunken streak. Either way, Chloé looked like she was on her own against him.
It was only right that I went over and stepped in, just to clear the tension and prevent anything from escalating further.
“Not cool, dude. You heard her, it’s her birthday. Throwing your drink on a girl is never cool as-is, but THIS is just pathetic.”
“And who are you? Her boyfriend?”
..Clearly I was unfamiliar with the snappy tool-to-me judgement that Chloé had perfected.
She had my arm in an instant, a maliciously triumphant look painted on her face.
“That’s right! He IS my boyfriend! And he’s gonna beat the shit out of you! And your buddies, and your RIDICULOUS haircut! IN FACT, he’s going to go to your house tonight and dig up your last cat, just to run it over a SECOND time!”
Security escorted both of us out.
“Ridiculous! Kicking ME out! Don’t they know who I am?! —We didn’t even do anything! HE should be missing the rest of the concert, not ME!”
“You threatened to cut his grandmother’s life support.”
“Ugh, I was joking about that. As if I’d go near his grandmother, old people are disgusting. Someone should iron them.”
“…So… why exactly were you celebrating your birthday by yourself?”
“…Maybe I just wanted to go out by myself on my nineteenth! …Besides, that’s none of your business!”
I could see the hurt in the way she averted her gaze. Her heart was definitely full of sorrow. Rejection. Guess her invites didn’t show, huh?
…Either way, it was cold, and she was soaked.
“…Hey, Chloé. …My mother’s house is along the water, here, and she’s out of town. Why don’t you come over for a while and change out of those clothes?”
It sounded innocent enough in my head.
I let her change in my old bedroom while I waited. Juleka was sending through pictures and videos of the concert to me, so… it wasn’t half bad.
“This shirt is so stupid. You don’t have to promote your band on everything, Couffaine. It makes you look desperate.”
“…I’m sure Marinette will be thrilled about that feedback, thank you. Don’t you like anything nice?”
“Well, sure I do! I love myself. I mean, who else is going to do it-”
—I watched her expression falter as she realised what she’d said, eyes averting in embarrassment. It was like the happenings of the evening hit her at once, and her eyes glistened with tears right in front of me. I actually wasn’t sure what to do.
I felt bad for her- and I felt bad for prying. Seeing somebody in tears on their birthday? Of course I have sympathy reserved for something like that, even for somebody with a attitude problem or two.
She was lonely. It wasn’t hard to see why- she pushed people away as a defence mechanism, and unfortunately, it worked against her in the long run.
My game plan was toast. Toast with honey- it was the way to go. That was my solution to her emotional outburst, and mum had some drinks tucked away in the cupboards that I could break out for us to share.
We ended up having the rest of the evening to spare, anyway. Blasted the music we were missing- and eventually we just….. Ah, she’d kill me if I said it.
“Are you sure you haven’t played Super Penguino before, Chloé?”
“No, shut up! Of course I haven’t! …–Okay, maybe, like, ONCE, with Sabrina, but I was just curious. That’s all.”
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