Chapter Text
Chat Noir was finishing his patrolling duties and as he was heading home he felt his staff vibrate. He opened it and saw a message from Ladybug.
He immediately went where she told him she would explain.
When he arrived he positioned in a roof covered by tall trees. He saw the place empty. It was a dark alley near the port and only one of those tank containers for transport was there. Suddenly he felt the touch of a hand in his shoulder and when he turned his back he saw her making a sign to be quiet.
All of a sudden he heard a noise coming from the container and a man coming out of it, a big truck arriving the place and another man coming out of it to meet the other one.
"This is it.” She said in a mumble.
It didn't take more than that for him to realize what she meant.
A few weeks ago, after helping the police in the pursuit of the shooter responsible for a gunfight, they saw that the gun used by him was different from the other ones involved. It was a high tech weapon. They knew that one day that would be something inevitably to happen because years ago, a group of experts in advanced engineering and neuroscience had finally managed to perfect a set of technologies originally developed for military and control purposes. Not much was revealed to the public due to the uproar it would cause, but since they were heroes, they managed to be informed about more details about what they were creating: energy weapons, invisibility devices, and god even talks of serums capable of altering the human mind and body, although they believed that last part was just a rumor. And even if until then such things only existed in laboratories as it often happens with all powerful innovations, these technologies soon slipped out of their creator’s control. Private companies and clandestine organizations began mass-producing them, making them accessible to anyone with a lot of money and influence. What was once a state secret was now on the black market, in the hands of anyone with the ambition and resources to obtain them.
So yeah, basically that man must be one of those.
After that pursuit they lingered around the place where the gunfight began: a hotel. Just as they entered a room that had been provided for them to recover their energy, they both found a note, a coded message in specific who Ladybug took very seriously in decoding. Vague information but enough for them to decide to investigate.
It was a tip-off, about something that had to do with a trafficking transport happening soon. It wasn’t specified what type of trafficking, but taking into account the tip-off was given at the gunfight place then the maths could be done.
So there they were now, following a very unreliable little note that could easily be a trap. The whole operation in question was pushing them out of their comfort zone, well, as comfortable as a hero can be. But when she was determined on something, she was really determined on something.
"Are you sure?" Chat Noir asked turning to look at her. She nodded.
"100% it's definitely here, look closer." Ladybug murmured, her eyes fixed on the group of men hurriedly loading a container.
He nodded. He looked closely and realized the container bore a mark that didn't match the official port records.
Around the place another group of people appeared and guard them with those high-tech weapons .
“Shit they have a whole arsenal, their distributor must be selling them wholesale.” he joked.
Now they just had to confirm what was in the container. They didn’t want to assume things… again.
And just as that thought came to them they both used their developed visions. It took them half an hour to finally catch something but as they were trying to identify the exact shape of the packages they saw one half opened and finally saw it: a gun just like the one the shooter from the hotel had, just like the guards had. Just that maybe this one looked a little bit more intimidating but probably they all fulfilled the same shitty task.
"Mystery solved." he said with an unfunny laugh. Bingo.
"They are the ones trafficking them.”
They both gave each other a look and nodded. When they stood up to get into position the simple touch of his shoulder against the leaves of the tree was enough to put one of the guards on alert. He looked at Ladybug while raising an eyebrow, knowing that it could only be a coincidence since they were far enough to not be heard.
So he reincorporated his position again and as he was about to jump he saw how the same guard was looking around insistently, as if searching for something or someone. At that moment, both knew that somehow they had been definitely overheard. The guard, specifically a woman with a mask covering the lower part of her face, just like the other guards, raised her weapon, prompting the other guards to follow suit. Suddenly, the heavy, silent atmosphere changed, and those involved got into the car while everyone seemed to act in a precise manner, as if following a protocol in case they were discovered. Ladybug and Chat Noir jumped toward them and pursued the container in an attempt to intercept it as it began to leave. The remaining guards positioned themselves around in an attack stance.
"Go away, this has nothing to do with you." the woman, the same woman that had overheard them, said.
"You should give up now or we'll have to defend ourselves." Ladybug replied firmly.
The guards raised their weapons and started shooting. It wasn't that hard to dodge them, but it was clear that the traffickers had taken that into account, and it was just a distraction to be able to get the container out of there.
That was the first time they saw them.
It had been five months since they've discover that trafficking network.
Surprise, they weren't only trafficking guns.
Whatever, it wasn't something that kept him awake or anything. He knew that just like that traffic network there were many more. He had bigger problems. But it was something that seemed to keep awake his partner.
Ladybug seemed to be more interested, up to a point that would make everyone else believe she was obsessed with them. Maybe because they disrespected her ego as a superhero, maybe because she heavily despised what they were doing, maybe because of a personal matter...there could be many reasons.
So they were constantly trying to catch them. They investigated once a week, followed leads, most of them misleading, and tried to figure out where the next meeting place would be or locate the people involved. So far, they had only caught one of them, who didn't seem to have a major role in the organization but was important enough to either have been silenced or to have greater loyalty to the group than to his own freedom, because since going to jail, he hadn't said a word.
Now he was heading home after a long day of work. It was his last year of college and he was doing his internships in a recognized events company. It was good, he couldn't complain. He was away from the modeling world and everything was better than that.
When he arrived to his apartment he prepared a simple but delicious meal: pasta, his favorite. He was eating lonely, but at least he was now lonely by choice.
He noticed Plagg staring at him with a critical look on his eyes.
"Is there something you wanna tell me?"
"Are you sure of going there by your own? First of all it's a bad idea itself but it is more going literally on your own."
"What do you know about bad ideas? Didn't you destroyed half the earth centuries ago?" Adrien replied.
The creature rolled its eyes and came closer.
"Listen, if you are going I think you should at least send a message to Ladybug."
He nodded knowing damn well that he wasn't going to do that.
That night Adrien was going to go to a party. And no, not the party you may have in mind, he was going to a party that the trafficking network may be attending, part of being in one of the most recognizable event agencies was having loud and rich coworkers around his age whom loved to talk and talk… too much for his liking. Anyways, he had attended a previous party invited by his coworker (maybe friend) and that led to the mention of another party, the stuff he had discovered by his own about it seemed pretty fishy so he had to use all his old sociable skills to get a tiny bit of info of where it could be happening. So this party could mean something. He was not really sure so he didn't say anything to Ladybug since he knew that she would take it too… seriously. That clue could be fake so he didn't want to upset her for nothing.
He was attending incognito, dressed like a worker, specifically a waiter. It was about time to show his internship skills. Thankfully it was October so it was a Halloween's costume party, he could wear a mask and nobody would recognize him as Adrien.
Sometimes he thought how stupid was for a person like him to have a secret identity as a superhero because either way he was always dragging attention from strangers; an ex supermodel by day and a superhero by night.
He sneaked into the private party as Chat Noir and behind some bushes he detransformed to meet up with the rest of the staff, wearing a black mask and a magician hat as his costume.
He picked up a tray of snacks and began to wander around the place, discreetly eavesdropping on conversations without picking up anything truly relevant; they were similar to the conversations at his father's parties, merely frivolous and disgusting. He stood with a tray of cocktails for an hour behind a large man with lips too thick to be real, features that matched the man they had seen that night at the port. Unfortunately, the pig mask he was wearing prevented Adrien from seeing him more clearly. As he listened to him talking about some place near the Sein river where they would reunite, the next hour he ramble about some nonsense unrelated to the trafficking network, Adrien began to glance around, bored. That's when an unusual movement caught his attention, a red hat appeared to peek out from behind a table, apparently worn by someone crouching. As he continued watching to see what the person would do, he observed the figure in the red hat stand up and begin to sneak behind another table. It was at that moment that he got a better look—it was a girl, wearing a long, loose, deep-red hooded cape that fell to her ankles, a corset, and a black skirt, along with a mask of the same color. That last detail was what caught his attention the most because something about it struck a chord. He had the feeling he'd seen her before.
For a while, he couldn't take his eyes off her, watching as she sneaked from table to table, seemingly unnoticed by anyone else. When the girl seemed to sense his gaze, she quickly turned to look at him, and their eyes met despite the distance.
Bingo!
Just from looking at her eyes—that sharp gaze that even a mask couldn't make unrecognizable—he realized it was her. The same woman who, whenever they confronted that trafficking network, always led the guards that counterattacked. The same woman who was part or that fucking network.
She was the first reference he (and pretty sure Ladybug too) had every time they thought about that network. They hated her guts, since she was always the first to use those develop weapons against them, he had gotten hit twice. He still has the scar.
Even though that, she didn't seem to be the leader behind but more some kind of high ranked employee.
He was still definitely going after her.
That's when they both started to run.
The chase began. She didn't care much about hiding, but he tried to do so. He still had the tray in his hands, and after almost bumping into another waiter, he handed it over to continue chasing her and not lose sight of her. She slipped behind a door that led to a large decorative statue and emerged on the other side. In his haste to follow, he foolishly decided to leap over a table, causing all the snacks on it to fall to the floor, drawing the attention of the guests. For a moment, he stood still, shocked by the commotion he had caused, apologized, and then resumed running after her… only to realize he had lost sight of her.
Damn it.
Now the guards were after him, trying to be as discreet as possible so as not to alarm the guests. He hid behind a large wall of beautiful corinthian columns and let out a sigh of relief as he saw them pass by without noticing him. But that relief was short-lived, as he suddenly felt a surge of electricity course through his body, completely paralyzing him. He was soon lying face down on the cold floor.
"Time to go, buddy." said the guard who had stunned him, grabbing him by the neck. "But first we need to know what's going on in your head"
"Hey! Where are you taking me?" he asked, forcing his numb tongue to form the words. He tried to move his body to scape from the man, but it was in vain, he couldn't feel his limbs.
The guard didn't respond and dragged him toward the back of the main event. As they approached a cubicle resembling a prison cell, he realized they were going to lock him up. The guard pressed some numbers and scanned his fingerprint to unlock it, then kicked him inside.
Once inside, he felt a strong, overwhelming energy, which he guessed was due to the high-pitched sound coming from the edges of the cell, like a form of torture or to piss them off on porpoise.
"What the hell are you doing here? And how could you come without her?...You are such an idiot."
He turned quickly at the sound of that voice and saw her, sitting there with an annoyed expression.
"You." He said in a whisper looking at her in disbelief.
"Me." She repeated doing the same expression as him as a mockery.
"I thought you would be harder to catch but it seems your own people did the job for me. That must suck for you."
She huffed when she heard him, frowned, and shook her head.
"This sucks for both of us, asshole, and they're not my people."
Adrien rolled his eyes, not really believing what she was saying.
"So you are conspiring against them? Is that what’s happening?" He asked and before her silence he added "Why?"
"None of your business."
She was sitting with her back against the wall, knees pulled close to her chest. She still had her mask on.
"Then fuck you," he spat. He didn't have time for her nonsense because it was exactly that which had gotten him here.
When he was with Ladybug, he'd bring to the table how one of their own was conspiring against them, and they'd see how to use it to their advantage.
"Ouch, that hurt," she replied sarcastically. "For a superhero, you're quite rude."
In that moment he felt chills running trough his spine, clenched his jaw and clench his fists instinctively.
"How do you even know...?"
"It's pretty obvious," she said matter-of-factly, then turned to look at him. "Plus, I can sense it."
"What do you mean? Sense it in what way? Like… a mystical way?"
"Yeah, I have powers," she said, making movements with her hands.
"Really?" he asked, his eyes wide, and she nodded. "Then why don’t you get yourself out here?"
"I'm joking. Of course I don't have powers; what do you think this is, My Little Pony? It's so freaking obvious you're Chat Noir because no one could be that stupid and have such a big ego to walk into the lion's den thinking he can single-handedly take down a bunch of people who are as disgusting as they are hungry for wealth."
"Well if you put it like that..." he started, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly.
"Just shut up."
He then began thinking about how to get out of there. He couldn't transform and use Cataclysm because the cell wasn't normal, it was magnetic. Most likely, he'd end up electrocuted, or the Cataclysm would backfire on him. So he racked his brain, looking around for anything to work with, but all he had was a dirty cell and a man lying next to him who hadn't woken up since they got there. He kept brainstorming for what felt like long minutes that soon turned into hours. Gosh, he didn’t even care that much about this whole thing, he had only gone that far because he was done seeing Ladybug racking her brain about that network, he only wanted to see her with a satisfied smile again. But now he was just in a cell because he wanted to play detective.
Done, he began to search through his pants pocket for something to calm himself, and when he couldn't find anything, he checked his back pocket, where he finally hit the jackpot and found one of his pills; they were benzodiazepines. He always carried a few with him; they had been prescribed to him years ago for anxiety. Took one snd let out a sight to take a moment letting the pill act so he could start thinking again.
He looked at her discreetly. She seemed to be thinking about an escape too, as she got up and grabbed the man's hand, shaking him before she started searching his jacket.
"What are you doing to him?"
She didn't respond, still searching through the man's jacket. Not finding anything, she turned to him with a piercing look.
"Transform."
"Wouldn't you love that," he said with a mocking grin, having no intention of doing it. Although he didn't know exactly what she was up to, there was a high chance she wanted to steal his miraculous or pull some dirty trick, as people like her always did. "Start figuring out how to get out of here, or I'll do it and I'll get you a ticket straight to jail."
She glared at him with pure hostility, then turned back, grabbing the man by the collar to wake him up and dragged him roughly toward the bars, throwing him against them.
"What do you think you're doing? Leave him alone!" he shouted, stepping forward to try to help the man, who was now slumping slowly to the floor, still clutching the bars.
"Don't touch him!" she snapped, and instinctively Adrien stepped back.
Suddenly, the man's body began to tremble, progressing into intense convulsions as he groaned in pain.
"What did you do to him?"
"I didn't do anything. It was the magnetic ceiling. That's what happens when you try to escape. I'm sure he'll be fine," she explained. "If I'm right, it takes a few seconds to recharge, so transform. Right now," she ordered.
He looked at her hesitantly, still tense, glancing down at the man on the floor. As he saw the cell lose its magnetic blue color, he realized she might be right. He let out a resigned groan and transformed.
"Cataclysm."
He reached out his hand to touch it, but a strong pang of doubt hit him. He might die or make it out, but either way, she'd still be alive and was going to scape… even take take his ring. Both outcomes were equally bad taking into account how close he was from getting something out of there after months trying to get something from this case. So, what guaranteed she wasn’t just tricking him and sending him to a deadly trap?
"Stop overthinking and do it! Nothing will happen to you."
Chat Noir clenched his jaw, and as receptive as he always is to orders his hands moved and touched the bars before he could think even more about it. At first, they seemed to resist disintegrating, so he kept his hand there. When they finally started to vibrate intensely, making it impossible to pull away, panic set in. Then he felt two arms on his armpits, pulling him out with all her strength, combined with his own, until they both fell to the floor.
They watched as the bars finally crumbled away like normal ones.
"It worked," he murmured, relieved.
"Told ya," she said, then with a strained voice added, "Now please get off me; you're heavy."
Chat Noir quickly stood up, realizing he had fallen on top of her.
"It worked," he murmured again, more to himself, to which she nodded again and got up to head toward the bars.
"Ticket straight to jail my ass," she said with a satisfied grin as she slipped out. Chat Noir couldn't help but let out a laugh, a relieved laugh, and was about to say something, but he remembered the man still lying there and instinctively went back to help him. She turned back, raising an eyebrow. "Leave him there. That's what happens when you're a jerk; you get locked up."
"Then why are you out?"
She rolled her eyes at his comment, her expression turning serious again.
"Listen, I know we haven't had the best interactions, but at least I got you out of there without hurting you. So stop being such a whiny little bitch and move on."
He stared at her, speechless, then turned back to help the man on the floor, muttering, “Whiny little bitch my ass."
"I heard that."
"Good… You beat the shit out of me and left me scars, in what world would I just move on?”
She stood there, and now she seemed to be the speechless one, even for a second he couldn’t figure it out why he could still feel her presence in there instead of her running away like she always did. He let out a sight and raised his head to look at her.
“Leave before I forget your favor and call Ladybug."
"You wouldn't do that."
In a way, there was a silent truce between them since they both cooperated to get out of there. She wouldn't capture him, and he wouldn't capture her, for now. Even though she wouldn't admit it, hearing his words made her realize he was right, that little truce could end any time. She gave him one last glance, kneeling and checking the man's pulse, then decided to make her way out.
She didn't know the layout perfectly, but she'd been here enough times to know of an exit where she'd have to climb out into the exterior of the prestigious event.
As she walked as silently as possible, she noticed a few staff members passing by and quickly hid. She waited in complete silence, and just when she thought it was safe to come out, she saw a group of guards accompanied by a waiter heading toward the cell.
"Tough luck, Chat Noir," she whispered to herself. Watching them give each other directions, she thought about continuing on her way but instead slipped off one of her boots and threw it hard against a distant wall, making a loud noise to draw their attention, even those back in the cell. As she watched them head that way, she sighed and continued on her path.
On the other hand, Chat Noir heard a loud noice from the walls vibrating. Assuming security was already on their way, he hoisted the man onto his back and ran to hide behind a wall. He heard voices nearby and silently thanked his luck for getting out in time.
"Shit, they're gone. Even that jerk old man. Didier's gonna be so mad."
"At least we got something, the little red riding hood had the Obsidian signature. So we'll let her leader know there's a mole, and they'll deal with her."
Then there was silence, and the sound of footsteps faded away. As Chat Noir began to see the glow of the party lights and the elegantly dressed guests enjoying themselves, he sighed in relief. He set the half-conscious man down beside a table and crawled under it to detransform. He didn't think twice; there was no way he was staying at this party, playing to be a spy or detective any longer. He figured if he climbed up, he could reach the other side of the wooded area.
Knowing it might attract attention, but no longer caring, he leaped onto a table, climbed onto the ceiling, and grabbed onto an owl statue to reach the other side. He missed his footing and tumbled, eventually landing in the bushes in a big thump.
"It seems I can't get rid of you."
Hearing that familiar voice, he quickly turned and found her, sitting there. His first just as disheveled as he was. She looked as defeated as he felt, with leaves and twigs in her hair and dirt smudged all over her clothes.
Shit.
"They should put a warning sign there." was all he could manage to say rubbing his hands against his face visible tired. Tough luck seemed to be what he was actually getting.
"Or a trampoline... or a cushion. I look like the red riding hood after the wolf attack... I think I even broke my hip" she said, and he burst out laughing because what else was there to do? Even if his first instinct was to get up he wasn’t getting the sense of danger, probably because his head might have suffered a concussion from the fall and all that was keeping him together was the suit, still he was pretty sure he could give a fight if he had to, but just by seeing how out of it she looked, just like him, that didn’t seem to be necessary… What a weird sight. So all left to do seemed to be just laugh at the poor joke made by the girl he wanted to fight just a few minutes ago.
Without being able to get up they both started brushing off the forest they'd gathered on their clothes "Did you get my boot's message?"
"It was you?" he asked, bewildered, why would she do that? He didn’t like that. He didn’t like that because he was not supposed to like that. It was like he owe her something and he just couldn’t owe her something. He bit his lips and tried to say something, but all he added was: "You were right. It seems that man was kind of an asshole."
"Told ya."
After that, silence settled between them. She tilted her head up, staring at the dark sky, and let out a sigh. They both just needed a moment. Just a moment. They were completely drained.
"To return the favor, I overheard the guards talking about you” he said. Thinking that probably being drained was what was making her say that, but it was never him being ‘drained’ it was just him being himself. Doing what his heart told him to do, even if he didn’t know it back then from how numbed it had been over the past years. “They noticed some emblem of yours, and they're going to report it to your organization."
As he said that, he looked at her face, trying to catch any hint of a reaction. Strangely, there was none. She didn't look surprised or worried… just exhausted.
"Do they know it's me?"
"No, but they know someone from your network is here without clearance. You better get rid of that costume."
Of course it was just him being himself.
"I see..." she mumbled "It seems the only thing we're taking home tonight is a visit to the hospital" she said, turning to look at him. "Unless you actually managed to get something."
"This nice uniform," he replied, but looking down, he noticed it was torn from the fall. She burst out laughing.
"Aren't you gonna try to catch me?"
Wouldn’t that be lovely?
"Nope, I'm a little bit tired. I'll try again next week. Preferably when my tailbone isn't broken," Chat Noir answered, staring ahead.
She shook her head, smiling.
"Good luck with that."
Silence fell between them again, but this time, it wasn't uncomfortable; they were both just deep in thought, accompanied by the night's quiet and the faint sound of the party in the background, though it hardly mattered anymore. Neither of them are giving up, they are just tired for the moment.
”You didn’t have to let me know that” she whispered, but it was enough for him to hear it.
“I had to, you let me knew they were coming so I had to. Now we are even.”
She stirred a little, tilted her head, letting a moment pass as she looked lost in thought, he couldn’t help but notice that it was looked like she went somewhere. It just gave him that impression, something he had never spotted so easily in others…
"Listen... I let you knew because I am the one who owed you something” she finally raised her head to look straight at him “I am trying.. I want to own up to all the shit I’ve done and I guess that includes you two. So yes, now we are even, but not because you owe me anything, because you don’t.”
Chat Noir listened, and for once, he really really listened to her, and just like moments ago, when he could easily tell how lost in thought she was, he could now see, not only in her words but in her, a real feeling. Maybe it was the effects of the fall, but he could tell she wasn’t just talking for the sake of it. She actually meant it. Strangely, genuinely, he could see it in the girl who’d been beating him up for months and whom he had only ever known through her defiance.
God, it was clear they were both done, really done… For the day, of course.
”I’m sorry for leaving you scars” she apologized, her voice low and sincere, a tone so disarming that, for a fleeting second, he felt himself surrendering to it. “It’s important to me not to leave anything unsaid.”
“I’m just doing my job,” he replied, trying to meet her honesty with his own. Because after hearing her, he couldn’t answer any other way. At least he wanted her to know that the one receiving them was him, fully aware that it was part of the job. No hard feelings outside of masks. Just duty. Just like she was supposed to see it too.
But no, he just couldn’t completely meet her there, he tried but no, and he knew his toughness partly came from knowing that no, for her it wasn’t supposed to be ‘part of the job’, because what she did couldn’t even be considered a real job. It was all bullshit…
Still, for a moment, hearing her apologize and seeing the genuine look in her eyes, he couldn’t help but see her a little, just a little, more empathetically.
"I am just doing my job and it sucks." he went on, without fully thinking it through, but the words came out so easily because of how true they were, and how long he’d been holding them in. That’s where he could meet her honesty.
"I can relate to that.” she said, a faint glimmer passing through her eyes. “It’s nice to know someone else in these strange conditions feels the same way.”
They looked at each other, rested their heads against the tree, and sighed at the same time.
"But not because it does it means I'm gonna quit" he added. She raised an eyebrow at that, staring at him unconsciously, full of curiosity and with no shame at all.
He had always been very clear on that: he was never going to quit.
He could feel her stare, bewildered, yet with a look on her face that was… strange. Like he’d told her something that had completely thrown her off. Something that seemed to disarm her. A really strange look. Not like the one from before when she apologized. This was different. He didn’t know her, not really, but it was an expression he hadn’t seen on too many people in his life before.
"I need a cigarette," he muttered and turned his neck away from her gaze. He bit his lip and tasted the metallic flavor of blood.
"I need a joint," she replied, seeming to have snapped out of whatever she fell into, to which he gave a humorless smile, silently agreeing.
"What's your name?"
She shifted in her seat, finally pulling away from the tree and stretching.
It took her a moment to answer.
"Vesper," she finally said, extending her hand "Security guard."
He looked at her hand for a long moment, long enough to seem rude but completely justified in the situation. Hesitantly took it and felt her shake it firmly.
"Nice to meet you, Vesper."
"That's a lie," she replied, and he couldn't help but let out a smile "What's your name?"
He had to admit, it had taken him a bit by surprise that she hadn't recognized him. Although well, he had quit modeling years ago but that didn't mean there weren't a few people out there who recognized him.
"Adrien" he replied "Protector of Paris, as you obviously know."
"Nice... Adrien, do you want me to call an ambulance for you?"
"I think I'll just walk to the hospital." he declined joking too, even though he was in fact going to the hospital.
Both of them slowly and painfully got to their feet, standing face-to-face for an instant.
"Why are you here anyway?" he blurted out, unable to hold it in any longer. He knew she wouldn't answer, but the curiosity gnawing at him was stronger. It was just... weird. Weird, that word could described the whole situation. Would it kill him to try?
"Long story," Vesper replied with a shrug. She looked around, checking which path she would take, but before leaving, she added, "But I could probably tell you if you agreed to go out with me sometime" she invited him, completely shameless.
The superhero raised his eyebrows, caught off guard by the proposal. He tried to gauge if she was joking or expecting a laugh, but she looked genuinely sincere. That night she looked so much like that that it almost made him wonder if she was she just great actress and he was completely buying it.
"What? What are you talking about? Are you having a stroke?"
"Ouch, you could've just said no politely. That was even harsher than my high school crush's rejection."
The blond couldn't help but laugh at another one of her jokes, yet he still couldn't tell if she was being serious.
"I'm sure you can find better friends elsewhere.. We're literally the worst people to be in any kind of relationship.
"Says who?" she shot back. Without waiting for a response, she walked away, leaving him standing there, stunned.
Villains are so weird.