Chapter Text
Emma sat in her desk, tapping her pen against the table. She wasn't very invested in learning about Romeo and Juliet and their bad choices. Her brothers Hugo and Louis sat in front of her, Hugo actually paying attention and Lou drawing something in his notebook. From her angle, she couldn't see exactly what it was but she knew it wasn't notes. Emma and Louis copied Hugo’s notes anyway. She liked to keep her intellect to herself, as she did with most things.
She very much enjoyed keeping secrets from her brothers, her parents, even her friends. Everyone found her mysterious, intriguing. A puzzle they couldn't quite solve. Which was aggravating to others because the rest of her family were always in the papers: her mother's new clothing line, the extravagant parties her father attended or catered, Hugo’s quiet but sensitive nature and why he hadn't stolen the heart of some lucky girl, or who Louis was breaking the heart of. But all anyone had on her was her clothing for the day or her hair style. Maybe her makeup, if she decided to wear any that day. Pictures of her in the park or cinema with her friends surfaced occasionally. But overall, Emma was an unknown.
There were many guesses as to what she was like: she was flirty, she was the sweetest person alive, she was a genius, she was an idiot. But when it all came down to it, no one knew much of anything about her. With all she said, she gave nothing away.
“Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng? Could you please grace us with your attention today?”
Emma’s head snapped up, looking the teacher directly in the eye. If she was startled, she hid it very well. A withering look from Hugo made her sigh softly. Even if she couldn't get into it didn't mean she had to ruin it for Hugo.
“I'm sorry for the interruption. Please, do continue,” Emma said politely and lowered her head in mock-shame. None of the teachers could ever tell if she was being sincere or not, so they accepted it regardless. This time was no different. When their teacher turned back away from her, Emma leaned forward to ruffle Hugo’s puffy blonde head as an apology. His twin brother looked back at her and stuck out his bottom lip in an attempt to win some affection. Emma giggled silently into her hand and thumped the back of Lou’s head. As different as they were, they did love each other. Emma knew that would never change.
A figure walked up and stood in the doorway, looking uncertain. Her wavy blonde hair was in a loose braid over her shoulder and her brown eyes were staring at her sandals. She looked severely uncomfortable as she shifted from foot to foot, her flowy skirt swaying with her movements. Just the look of her made Emma’s heart beat faster. The light dusting of freckles over her nose and her round cheeks made her look innocent, almost childlike. But Emma knew she was probably a bit taller than herself. Emma struggled to catalog everything about her, from the way her hair caught the light to the way she moved, light footsteps and delicate mannerisms.
“Hello. I'm, um… Angela. I… my mom just moved back to Paris,” she said and played with the hem of her crop top with her nails.
“Hello, Angela. Please, sit anywhere you like. You're just in time for the assignment,” the teacher said and most of the students, including Emma, groaned loudly. Angela giggled a bit behind her fingers then caught Emma staring at her. Emma’s cheeks slowly started to turn red just as Angela’s face did the same. They stayed that way, staring, until the teacher reminded Angela to take a seat. She rushed over to the seat next to Emma and didn't meet her gaze for the rest of class. That is, until Louis turned around to wink at Angela with his fabulous green eyes. No girl could resist them, as far as Emma knew. She had no chance.
“Hey, new girl. How about you and I go to a café for lunch to… get to know each other better?” Louis was working all his good angles and being the son of an ex-model, he had many. Emma rolled her eyes and continued to tap the table.
“I'm not interested. Sorry. I don't even know you. What's your name,” she asked sweetly, batting her eyes in a mocking way. Hugo turned around at that moment and put a hand over Louis’s mouth. Well, there's always a first time for everything.
“I'm Hugo. This is my brother Louis and our sister Emma. Pleasure to meet you,” Hugo smiled in a friendly way but Emma could see he was checking her out too. Angela turned to Emma and the corners of her lips lifted just a bit in a self-conscious smile.
“Pleasure to meet you too. I just moved here a week ago. My mom made sure I got some… worldly experience before coming back to Paris. She… she's excited about being back. She says there's an old friend here that she hasn't seen in years,” Angela shrugged lightly. She pulled out her notebook with such delicate and light movements that Emma couldn't even believe she was real. She moved like a ghost but to Emma, she looked like an angel.
“We've always lived here. We travel sometimes, because of our mom, but we never really lived anywhere else,” Emma said and slowly put her pen down, as if the noise would startle the girl next to her.
“That's cool. What does your mom do?”
“She's one of the most famous fashion designers in France, only bested by her father in law - and our grandfather - Gabriel Agreste,” Hugo said as Lou pulled his thin hand off his lips. Angela’s eyes lit up.
“That's so cool! I'm not sure what my mom does, exactly. I just know that she spends Grand-pére’s money. And travels with me.”
“You can come with us to the café by school. All of us, not just Louis,” Emma offered and playfully shoved the back of her brother's head. Angela giggled into her hand again, gazing at Emma.
“That would be wonderful. Thank you so much,” she smiled and placed a thin hand over Emma’s. The teacher was about to say something about talking during class when the bell rang, signalling the lunch break.
It took a moment for Emma to realise Angela's hand didn't slide off her’s when the bell rang but when she did realise it, so did the blonde girl. They both jerked their hands away, Emma shoving hers into her pocket and Angela clutched hers to her chest.
“What? You two okay?” Hugo asked as he picked up his stuff. Neither of Emma's brothers said anything about the awkward contact, if they had even noticed it at all. Lou was busy giving some brunette his attention and it unnerved Emma how much the girl looked like her. She didn't inherit her mother's monolids like her brothers had and her nose was narrower. Her eyes were a weird mix of blue and green but thankfully the girl’s eyes were just a muted blue - kind of murky. Now that Emma looked closer, she realised the girl looked more like their mother than her. She didn't know which was creepier.
“Louis, are you coming with us?” Hugo looked over at his twin with only mild interest. Louis smiled and winked at his brother before touching the girl’s shoulder and walking over to them.
“Sorry, I had to secure a date for tonight with Émilie. She's pretty hot, right?” He asked, as if wanting Hugo’s approval. Hugo pushed up his glasses and nodded a bit.
“She looks like Maman,” Emma said and winked. Louis shoved her playfully and Hugo got in between them before they could start play fighting. Angela giggled softly into her hand and Emma was sure butterflies had made a permanent home in her stomach. To diffuse the tension she felt, she blew out a breath and ran a hand through her brown hair.
“Let's go, let's go. I'm hungry and we've already been on break five minutes,” Hugo smiled. Emma thought Hugo was the prettier out of her two brothers. He could be the heartbreaker if he wasn't so shy. “Hey, Marie! Wanna come with us?”
Marie turned toward them from her place by the door. Marie Albert was the same age as the twins and surpassed Emma in height and curves. That didn't shock anyone because she was Alya’s daughter after all. Emma loved her. They had grown up together and saw each other as family, although she considered Louis her best friend and partner in crime. Emma was glad it never turned into real crime because she wasn't sure she had the heart to take them down, even as Chat Noir. Marie rivaled no one in beauty because it wasn't a competition, she always won. It was a feat Emma could never accomplish but never envied.
“Same place as usual?” Marie asked, brushing her bangs to the side. Louis nodded.
“Yup. We're introducing Angela here to the best café in town,” he smiled and glanced over at the blonde girl. Angela still didn't look impressed by Lou’s charm and Emma couldn't help but feel a little relieved. She actually wanted a chance with her and that wasn't going to happen if she even remotely liked her older brother. Marie smiled happily and kissed Emma on both cheeks.
“It's such a pleasure to meet you! Don't let Louis fool you, he's a total dork. I would know, he's my best friend. I'm sure you'll love it here. Angela… what was it,” Marie grinned, holding Angela’s dainty hand. Marie had inherited her mother’s journalistic tendencies but for the first time, Emma was embarrassed about it.
“Bourgeois. Angela Bourgeois. It's my Maman's last name. I don't know who my dad is. Just been me and Maman for as long as I can remember.”
“We're the Dupain-Cheng’s. Our Papa took our Maman’s last name,” Emma smiled, starting to walk out the door. The rest of them followed suit, idly chatting together about the assignment. Emma didn't say much, just watched them interact. When Emma heard the familiar whir of a camera, she didn't bother hiding her face. There was acne on her jaw, her long hair wasn't done, and she wore no makeup but she didn't care. She usually never did. But what she did care about was Angela looping her arm through hers nonchalantly.
“I - uh, well are me - are you - camera - these camera are - I,” Emma stuttered and laughed nervously. Oh Jesus Christ, what is wrong with me? Angela looked a little put off by Emma’s spluttering and ultimately dropped her arm from hers. Marie looked back at Emma and laughed.
“What the fuck was that, Em?” Marie placed her warm hand on her elbow as they walked and Emma could feel her face heat up. But when Emma looked at her face, Marie didn't look worried she looked amused. She didn't know which was worse.
“Nothing. Just lost in my own thoughts,” Emma lied, struggling to regain some sort of composure. When she tried to meet Angela’s gaze, she didn't look back at her. Emma was glad she didn't because she probably would've made a fool of herself again.
She hoped this wouldn't last because she had no chance with her if she couldn't talk to her.