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The first time she had read his comics was when the Queen Bee spin-off comic came out. Marc had done a good job writing the comic and the pictures were beautifully drawn by Nathaniel.
The only thing that bothered her was that some of the fight scenes were very sexual. That had never been the case in the Ladybug comics. But it seemed to please the fans, SHE seemed to please the fans, and one didn't want to complain about that.
Plus, the word 'Queen Bee' was trending due to the popularity of the comic and there was Queen Bee merch everywhere, in addition to Ladybug and Chat Noir and...Rena Rouge and Carapace.
But they hadn't got their own comic spin-off! Because she was much more special than them and the comic showed it.
She was reading the latest issue when an old Akuma in the comic claimed her attention. Evillustrator. Had Nathaniel really put himself in his comic? That was so low.
But- Chloé subconsciously bit her thumb. The fight was so exciting! Why was it so exciting? In the comic, the illustrator seemed to have a few more powers...
For example, besides bringing drawings to life, he could also mark people with paint to put them in a certain emotional state.
With this ability, he had trapped Queen Bee and was now holding her in a circle of blue paint, the colour for sadness and depression. How would Queen Bee, who was hopelessly trapped, escape?
Chloe turned the page, only to find that she had finished reading the entire issue.
What was this? He couldn't just stop in the middle of the most exciting part! She had to know what happened next! After all, it was about her-nonsense, Queen Bee!
***
Since the new seating arrangement, Nathaniel sat directly behind her. She could hear him doodling all the time. Was he working on the new edition of the spin-off? Not that she cared what he was drawing. She just wanted to know what was going to happen next. Who could wait a month for the next issue? Especially when, in comparison, the Ladybug comic came out every two weeks. She snorted unconsciously so that Sabrina turned to her. Chloé knew they were in the middle of class, but it wasn't fair! She wanted to know NOW what was going to happen next!
And of course, she wanted to know how the Ladybug comic went on.... Damn Ladybug looked so good in her disguise! The design could have been better, but it was Ladybug. She looked good in everything. Would she be able to sneak into the villain party? Chloé was daydreaming in her head. She would love to be chosen by Ladybug again, it had been a few weeks.
***
It had been a few days since the last issue and Chloé couldn't sit still. It was the first time she really wanted something she couldn't have. And. It. Was. So. Exhausting!
A few times she had tried to watch Nathaniel draw at recess, but he had always hidden his drawings so she couldn't see or packed them away with an angry glare. She didn't understand what his problem was! He usually showed his drawings to just anyone!
Sulking, she looked from one corner of the classroom to the circle that had formed around Nathaniel. Everyone was admiring the latest drawing, a team picture of Ladybug, Chat Noir, Queen Bee, Rena Rouge and Carapace. Everyone but her. And Sabrina. Sabrina, who also wanted to watch, stood by her side in solidarity and chose a nice bakery where they were to eat today. But you could tell, every moment when Chloé wasn't looking, how Sabrina looked longingly at the others, and stayed anyway.
Chloé decided to buy her the rolls today. She had enough money, after all.
***
Shocked, she looked at the picture in front of her. She had only been looking for new backgrounds of herself as Queen Bee, but her search had shown her more than she really wanted.
Queen Bee was sitting with her legs wide open in the Evillustrator's lap and they were both engrossed in a heartfelt kiss. How could someone not only draw a picture of something like that, but publish it on for everyone to see? Queen Bee would never indulge someone with so little class, especially when that someone was one of her annoying classmates. He wasn't even good looking! The only thing he could do was draw comics, and he didn't do it fast enough!
Chloé kept scrolling and after a few pictures came another one of her as Queen Bee and the Evillustrator. This time they were sitting under the moonlight on the rooftops of Paris and her head was on his shoulder. It already looked quite romantic, but still it was not something people should approve of! They were enemies, not lovers!
And why did everyone make the illustrator look so hot? The stupid tomato didn't look nearly as hot and he was just a side character in her life. After all, the bad thing was that he didn't even treat her like a queen, the way boring side characters should. That was her right and not just her bad temper because he had asked the rest of the class to create ball designs for his comic and had rejected her designs without looking at them! She had, of course, presented the best designs. It was all completely ridiculous!
Furiously scrolling through her phone, she accidentally clicked on one of the pictures and a link opened. Great...
To her surprise, a page called Archiveofourown.org opened.
Queen Bee x Evillustrator? What was that supposed to be?
***
It was already two in the morning when Chloé squeaked feistily. She was sitting on the bed under her covers and was by now on the 42nd chapter of a Queen Bee x Evillustrator fanfiction. She hadn't really wanted to go on any of the stories, but the tag 'Enemies to lovers' had provoked her. How could the two of them get together in any life? It would have been so utterly ridiculous... if it hadn't been so well written. The fighting against a common enemy, the slow coming closer, the romantic scene in the park...It had been written so well and logically and beautifully and so realistically that at one point Chloé herself wasn't sure any of it hadn't happened. And when the Evillustrator had protected her at the risk of his life! She had absolutely not cried for several hours.
Her eyes flitted again over the last sentence of the chapter: ' "No matter if the whole world hates us, I will always be by your side, come whatever, because you are the person I love most in this world," he said, kissing her at last. '
With a squeak, Chloé flung herself onto the mattress. That was soooooo good! In her mind's eye she imagined herself standing in the park with the Evillustrator, her face in his hands and- Woha! Stop, stop, stop. She sat up with a jolt. Just because she was Queen Bee didn't mean she fancied the Evill-Nathaniel. That had just been good fiction. That and nothing else. He might have had artistic talent and good taste because he liked Queen Bee, but nothing else!
She was just tired, that's why she had such thoughts. She really should go to sleep. But actually, she had picked out a One Shot earlier.... It would be a quick read.
***
Chloé was tired. The one shot had turned into several one shots, a fanfiction with almost 20 chapters, a search for the best Queen Bee x Evillustrator picture and a failed attempt at a fanfiction of her own. She wouldn't say she liked the 'pairing', but she could see the appeal. Especially after joining a forum discussion, she knew why others liked it too: The drawings. Nathaniel not only drew the comics realistically and with good quality, but he managed to create a sexual tension between him and her in his pictures.
Between Queen Bee and the illustrator of course! Nathaniel and she had no sexual tension between them. Even though she was Queen Bee. And he was the Evillustrator. And he liked Queen Bee. And she the Evillustrator....
Yawning, Chloé got out her things for Ms Bustier's class. At least then she could dream a little about herself and Nath-the Evillustrator.