Chapter Text
Chloé popped her gum as she passed through the open doorway to Luka’s bunk on the Liberty, seeing him tooling around on his guitar alone in the room. He glanced up, his blue eyes filled with… was that passion?
Of course it was; Chloé was irresistible. And she was doing a favor by asking him out. She flicked her ponytail and shifted her bag on her shoulder.
“Hey, how are ya?” Chloé began, only to have his eyes narrow on her. Clearly he was getting an eyeful; her makeup was flawless today. “I heard you were sick; are you feeling any better?”
Luka answered her with a civility she could almost call cold. His tone certainly wasn’t the greatest. “I’m fine, thanks.”
Chloé took a turn about the tiny room. The confession she’d been holding onto all this time burst from her lips, catching her unawares and unprepared.
“I wanted to let you know that I’ve struggled to keep my feelings a secret.” Chloé sighed. “But I can’t any longer. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I appreciate and like you.”
Luka stared at her. His cheeks colored, turning the most becoming shade of pink--which, of course they would. She’d confessed. He remained silent, which she took as sufficient encouragement to expound upon why she liked him.
“I’ve felt this way for a while.” Chloé shrugged, blowing a bubble with her gum. “Like, I’m pretty much out of your league and I know that, but just because you’re inferior to me doesn’t mean we can’t date. We’ll just have to keep it on the downlow.”
Luka still didn’t say anything, his eyes filling with a strange light, so Chloé continued. “And I’ve tried to, ugh, get over you. But I can’t help it: I’m attached. I mean, it doesn’t make sense. You are pretty useless, so it doesn’t stand to reason that I’d like you, but here we are.”
She smiled, expecting him to fawn. “And I’ve been all torn up about this,” she said. “Like, really anxious. But, hey, dating me is an honor, right? So what do you say, Luka? You can agree anytime now.”
Luka’s cheeks burned bright red, which should have been her first hint as to what he was going to say. But when he spoke, his tone absolutely caustic, she was floored.
“I can’t return your confession with one of my own.” Luka’s eyes hardened, and Chloé’s stomach dropped. “You think so little of me even though you apparently have feelings for me. I’m sure that once I explain my stance, you won’t have those feelings any longer.”
Chloé choked. She clenched her fists, struggling to maintain her composure. How dare he? She chomped down on her gum, snapping it as if she were able to chew on his face instead.
“I confess my feelings to you and this is the response I get?” Chloé snarled. “You might as well tell me why, while you’ve tried so hard to be rude, you’ve rejected me. But it doesn’t matter.”
“I might as well ask,” Luka started, thrusting his guitar aside and standing to tower over her, “why, when you’d planned to insult me, you chose to tell me that you liked me even when it didn’t make sense to you?”
Chloé gritted her teeth, staring balefully up at him, but Luka hovered so close, she could smell the coffee on his breath.
“But I have other reasons,” he growled. “You know I do. Even if my own feelings hadn’t been dead set against you, if I’d thought we might have had a chance, do you really think I would even consider dating the woman who’s continually bullied my beloved sister?”
Chloé furrowed her brow. What?
“I have every reason in the world to hate you,” Luka continued. “No motive can excuse your treatment of Juleka. You can’t tell me you haven’t been the driving force behind her misery for the past however many terrible years you’ve been in her class.”
“And this,” cried Chloé, “is your opinion of me! Thank you, so much, for telling me. Apparently I’ve screwed up a ton. But maybe,” she added, jabbing a manicured nail into his chest, “you might have overlooked this problem had your pride not been hurt by my telling you what a loser you are.”
Chloé tilted her chin up, her lips barely brushing his. “Can you really expect me to be happy about being attracted to a lesser man? You don’t deserve me. Do you want me to congratulate myself for dating you?”
“You are mistaken, Miss Bourgeois,” Luka said, his eyes flashing, “if you supposed that the way you confessed affected me in any other way except to spare me the worry of hurting you, had you been kinder to me.”
Chloé started, opening her mouth to speak, but he interrupted.
“You could not have asked me out in any possible way that would have tempted me to say yes.”
Chloé blinked, astonishment creeping into her brain. Luka went on.
“From the very first moment I laid eyes on you,” Luka said, the ice in his words piercing her through and through, “you’ve impressed me with how arrogant, conceited, and selfish you are. I hadn’t even known you a month before I felt that you were the last woman in the world whom I could ever date.”
Chloé stiffened, her shoulders sore. Angry tears stung her eyes. “You’ve said enough. I get it, and now all I have left is to be ashamed of my own feelings. Forgive me for wasting your time and take care, Luka Couffaine.”
Chloé felt his eyes on her as she fled the room. She didn’t stop running until she was safe in her own bed to cry her brains out.
She had to fix this.
But how?