Need Some Help

You Again?

 "And so I just let it all out and told her everything. But she told me her real favorite color in the end, so that means something, right?" Zoe asked.

She was talking to Marinette, Luka, Juleka, and Rose, while they prepared themselves for their performance tonight as Kitty Section.

"I think it's so sweet! A sure sign that deep down, maybe Chloe does care about you!" Rose said, holding her hands tightly together with a cheery smile on her face. Juleka murmured something that meant she agreed.

"It's a step, especially considering what Chloe's usually like." Marinette rolled her eyes. 

"One small step at a time will eventually equal one big leap," Luka said with a smile. It was the same thing he was dealing with when it came to repairing his relationship with his father. Slow and steady, but eventually, it would lead to progress.

"I'm going out for some fresh air," he remarked a minute later.

Luka let out a heavy sigh once he was sure he was by himself. His life was anything but simple. Jagged Stone, his father, had once seemed like a joke. Now it was a reality, and he wasn't sure how to deal with it. He hadn't even told Juleka yet, because he wasn't sure how to. She was never as curious as he was about it, but she still deserved to know. Luka just didn't know how to tell her.

Then, there was Marinette. She seemed so troubled and stressed, but he couldn't figure out why. It hurt him to know that she couldn't trust him enough to tell him. It didn't make any sense. But one problem at a time. Jagged Stone being his father, and now trying to be supportive, was exhausting all on its own.

"What are you doing here?!" came a familiar voice from behind.

"Hello Chloe," he greeted, as calm as ever. She looked a little outraged, but more than anything, shocked.

"Every time I come here, there's some cute guy who dresses like garbage preventing me from being by myself!"

Cute? Did Chloe just call him cute? A small smile curved onto his lips.

"What?" She demanded in that bossy tone of hers.

"Nothing," he said. She must not have noticed. Luka took a seat, down by the saint-martin canal, as if it was a replay of before. "Care to join me?" he asked, without looking up.

Chloe placed both hands on her hips. "I most certainly will not! In fact, I will complain to my daddy that you won't leave and he will-"

"I'll leave, if you really want to be alone Chloe, but I can warn you, it doesn't make you feel any better."

Chloe blinked a few times. "What do you mean?" she asked, cautiously, but also curiously.

Luka let out a deep breath. "My father is Jagged Stone."

"Yeah, yeah, I know, I was there the other day, remember?"

"I didn't know until a few weeks ago. At first, I wasn't sure what to think. And now...I still don't know."

"Your family issues are none of my business. As if I care." Chloe should walk away right now. There was no point in wasting her time with this loser.

"No. But it helps to talk about it. Want to try?"

What? An invitation to gripe and let out all her troubles? Why did he care? Would he use it against her? She couldn't see how, or why. Chloe looked into those deep blue eyes of his. Calming, like the sea...

And for the first time, in a long while, she let her guard down.

Luka listened, for close to an hour, as Chloe let everything come pouring out. She needed it, he could tell. She looked so stressed and confused, that it made him feel sorry for her. She had pushed everyone away, and now she was all alone. True, most of it was her fault, but that didn't mean she didn't deserve a second chance.