Notes 1: I saw buggachat's art of Chloé and Adrien cruising in a convertible and thought, "Rich Kid's Club? Rich Kid's Club with car? Oh, my weakness!" (everyone's gotta dress nicer, sorry, I don't make up the rules. the clothes in the show do some of the characters dirty). Also, these kids are aware yet chaotic of their power with money.

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I'll always paint you, golden days

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It wasn't the Bourgeois's nicest car. It wasn't her Daddy's tinted car that civilians recognised. It wasn't even the Agreste's limousine. But, it was her car – a canary yellow convertible. She had named it 'Bumblebitch' and that was all that mattered.

Everything about today is so cliché – with the wind in her hair and the radio humming low and the sky being blue – but it was pleasant and after spending a lot of her teenager years being a brat and ruining events, Chloé's learned to make the most out of the small things in life.

"Hello?" Came the voice on the other side of the line, male and familiar.

"Come to your front door," Chloé says into her phone as she enters the large estate and pulls to a stop. She checks her reflection in the rearview mirror then looks down at her yellow crop top and picks invisible dust off of it.

"What?" The voice continues to speak. "Why?"

"Because you're making me wait and it's rude." Chloé answers and she can almost picture the grin cracking on his lips.

"You're such a drama queen." He says.

"Am not."

It's a struggle to not roll his eyes. "People in our school don't even call you by your name. You have a title – oh mighty 'Queen Bee'," He reminds her, almost teasingly.

"I know, Adrikins, I told people to call me that." She replies. She saw the opportunity of power and seized it. She can't let other people start rumours about her or give her any titles she doesn't consent too. Imagine the whirlwind of horror!

Then Adrien asks, "Summer just started, did you forget already?" Translation: I don't know if I can see you as often, because Father.

"No." She says to his question and presses her lips together, almost smudging her make-up. She ignores what he really means, it's a black cloud that will ruin their day.

A rumble that sounded like happiness crackles. He's laughing at the memory of her antics.

"Are you going to keep me waiting or what, Adrikins?" Chloé asks, almost scoldingly. Almost. She wants to laugh along with him, forget about Adrien's strict father.

"Or what." Adrien answers but does as he's told anyway.

She can hear him moving on the other line.

.

.

.

Chloé doesn't wait long in his driveway; Adrien slides down the railing of his front porch's steps, showing up in a clean white polo, polished shoes and jeans that are more expensive than they seem.

"Okay," Adrien says with an almost sigh. "What did you do this time, Chlo?"

Chloé's perfectly plucked eyebrows furrow. "Don't be ridiculous, I didn't do anything wrong. What makes you think I make mistakes?"

"Because you talk like that and because I'm your unofficial conscience," Adrien replies and laughs good-naturedly, leaving a lovely pink hue on his cheekbones.

Chloé bristles under her breath, manicures hands gripping onto her steering wheel.

"But, seriously, Chlo." Adrien's says. If her car had a normal roof instead of a retractable one, he would have to bend his six foot frame in the small space of her window to peer at her. "What are you doing at my house? You just showed up unannounced so you can't blame me for expecting the worse."

"The only 'worse' thing here is you spending your Summer cooped up in this house doing nothing." Chloé answers with a clip. "Get in, Adrikins."

"What –?" Adrien begins but Chloé stops him.

"Get in." She repeats herself more urgently. There's no time for questions. Gabriel has eyes everywhere and the last thing Chloé wants is to get caught. Though, she is Chloé Bourgeois, the Mayor's daughter, she could do anything she wanted. Even murder, not that she would, bloodstains ruin good clothing. "We're going out."

"I –"

"Do you have any plans today? Any errands to run?" Chloé asks despite knowing the answer.

"No." Adrien answers, eyes blinking. It's clear that he's still very confused.

"Then get in."

He stares at her. "Can I go?" Adrien asks, almost innocent.

Chloé looks at Adrien; one of her best friends. The boy is seventeen. He'll be eighteen soon, and Chloé can't wait for that possible freedom. Adrikins will finally be an adult by law, he'll be free from his father's constricting rules.

It's cruel that he's bounded and under constant house arrest. She'd call herself heartless if she were to leave him as he is. Even more so if Adrien thinks she's going to leave him alone in this big, empty house. Gabriel is away on a trip and his secretary, Nathalie, had come along with him, this is a golden opportunity. It would be crazy to not take advantage of it.

"Don't be ridiculous." She answers. "Of course, you can."

Adrien smiles, contemplating, hand reaching to thug his collar nervously, then – "Let me get my wallet."

And when he returns, he had his phone, keys and wallet tucked in the pockets of his jeans and a blue scarf around his neck.

"So," He says after slamming the passenger car door shut and turning to her. "Where are we going?"

Blue eyes squint at the glaring sun before Chloé reaches over and pops open her glove compartment then hands Adrien her spare Gucci glasses.

"Anywhere." She says as Adrien slides the shades on.

"And what are we going to do?"

Chloé lowers her sunglasses. "We're going to enjoy the day."

.

.

.

"You wear that blue scarf an awful lot." Chloé says as the breeze tickles her button nose. Her gaze slides away from the road for a millisecond as she glances at the article of clothing. Her trained eyes know it's not branded.

"Do you not like it?" Adrien asks back, smiling toothly. He isn't offended by the question. "It may not be your taste but it's the only thing that isn't made by Father."

She wants to laugh. Even when she's trying to be low-key, he gets what she's saying. He can be funny in a disobedient way when he wants to be – just don't get him started on those silly puns, she will snort. And not in an attractive way.

Chloé lowers her sunglasses onto her face and presses her nude lips together. "It's not ugly."

Adrien chuckles as if understanding an inside joke. "Thanks."

;;

They pick up Sabrina next.

There's an air – a sense – of familiarity and fluidity and motion as Sabrina's freckled hand grabs and opens the car door; the relaxed action almost makes Adrien envious at the knowledge and the unknowing freedom Sabrina displayed.

Sabrina's life is simpler than his and Chloé's, but Adrien wouldn't mind trading a decade of his life to be in her shoes for a day; to do anything he wanted, say whatever he pleased, post photos without running it through staff and going wherever he liked.

It's only after peering back at the middle seat does Adrien's small hint of envy vanish like smoke. Sabrina's beaming too brightly and he's much too polite to be upset about such a small thing, it's clear that what Sabrina cherishes the most is friendship.

"Hey, Sabrina." Adrien greets.

"Hi." She greets back softly.

His green eyes glances upwards at the purple hat that sat on top of her ginger head. "I like your hat."

Her freckles stood out as she blushed at the compliment. "Chloé gave it to me."

"It was nothing." Chloé mutters. If she was fourteen again, she would be bragging about receiving such a compliment but she's not a kid anymore.

The yellow convertible's engine ignites and Chloé merges back into the road.

Sabrina's clearly excited about today but she doesn't make it all about herself, she doesn't gush or chatter in a flustered way. No. She turns her attention to Adrien and asks about his day.

Adrien is first taken aback, but then he summarises his day. It's brief, he hasn't done anything noteworthy, but he appreciates it.

Chloé listens with a smile on her face. If anyone asks why she isn't contributing, she'll say that she's driving and needs to concentrate.

;;

"Is there anyone else we should pick up?" Chloé asks through she already has one person in mind who fits the description.

There is a moment of thoughtfulness with the engine humming and the polite chatter of Paris filling the air like music as she drives without a destination in mind.

Chloé doesn't suggest anyone and neither does Sabrina. Instead, they let Adrien think, mind thumbing through his archive of youths suited for this lifestyle.

Finally, his green eyes stone and he smiles that soft smile.

"I do." He says.

.

.

.

Adrien is the first to spot Kagami among the sea of people. Chloé can't honestly say that she would have been the second person to pick Kagami out, Sabrina might have had better luck than her, but Chloé will say, if she were to stare at a crowd long enough, she would have recognised Kagami. The Japanese girl dresses in a way the French don't – conservative and in a blended style that almost clashed, traditional clothes attempting to modernise itself. Chloé actually doesn't think she's ever seen Kagami wear anything shorter than above the ankles.

"Kagami-san!" Adrien waves as the canary convertible stops by a sidewalk.

The Japanese girl pauses, a bag slung over her shoulder. Her own brown eyes twinkle.

"Adrien-san!" She says back.

"Hey," Adrien greets properly then asks. "You're done with your classes, right?"

Kagami touches her shoulder-length hair. "I should have been done with my classes a week ago, it's Summer after all! I wish I wasn't stuck with all these extra activities. But, yes," She rounds back the answering Adrien's question. "I'm free now."

Sabrina grins at the interaction and Chloé only watches, it's been a long time since she's wanted the spotlight on her pretty blonde head. This is Adrien and Kagami's moment.

Though, Chloé will comment, she finds it odd that, despite the literal years that Adrien and Kagami have been friends with each other, the duo still referred to one other highly – that is, with the 'san' honorific.

Adrien had once told Chloé that there was a ranking in such relations. He had tried to teach Chloé but it never stuck, Sabrina had a better understanding. And Chloé isn't trying to be rude by disregarding Japanese culture, she simply doesn't have a good memory. She swears some people are just crazy good at memorising titles and names. She blames the fact that she inherited her mother's memory, the woman once called her own daughter 'casserole'.

Also, the other reason Adrien takes this more seriously than Chloé is because he's a weeb. He had corrected her and said it was 'insulting' to call him such a title, "I'm an otaku, Chlo!", but Adrien's too much of a dork for Chloé to take him seriously. She means, well, he used some fancy school anime – Ouran High School or whatever? – as reference for romance when he lives in Paris: the city of love. She swears this boy can be so blind sometimes.

"I see everyone's together," Kagami says, offering her best attempt of a grin. It comes out forced.

Adrien's smile brightens and Sabrina's face scrunches up at Kagami's tight expression.

Chloé notes that Kagami is a little awkward, her social skills aren't the best and she has a weird smile – Chloé had to learn that the hard way, failed selfies. But Kagami is working on it and it's not her fault, Kagami's mom is a buzzkill. It's like the woman isn't aware that she's raising a daughter, she must think she's programming a perfect robot.

"What are you all doing?" Kagami continues.

"Jailbreak." Chloé replies.

Kagami's eyes flit to Adrien then Sabrina, her mouth stretches to something Chloé would like to call a genuine smile. "I like it." Kagami answers.

"Then you'll love it when we take you on a spin?" Sabrina asks, pleased to have another close girl friend.

Kagami's eyes roams the parking lot, there is no sight of her usual car. "I would definitely love that, Sabrina-san."

.

.

.

"So, where should we go?" Sabrina asks politely, hand on her hat so it doesn't fly off as they cruise past shops and cafes and people.

"Adrien-san should decide." Kagami says, seated beside Sabrina where no big gap created barriers in their friendship.

"Me? Why me?" Adrien raises a brow, clearly having no destination in mind.

Chloé turns her head, ponytail spilling over one shoulder. "Because you never ask for anything Adrikins."

Adrien's face flushes and he wears an embarrassed grin. "Okay, then," He munches on his lower lip. "It's hot, how about we get some ice-cream?"

"Does it have to be from that Glaciator person?" The blonde girl wrinkles her nose.

"Who?" Adrien asks.

"André Glacier?" Sabrina guesses.

Chloé nods. "Yeah, him."

"What's wrong with André?" Adrien asks, second-guessing his choices.

"Have you read his Yelp reviews?"

Kagami's speaks up, "I have, the one-star reviews are very funny. He's apparently difficult to find."

"No, not difficult, impossible!" Chloé utters. "He's impossible to find! And he doesn't listen to his customers because he's too busy talking over everyone about true love or whatever, it's utterly ridiculous."

Adrien deflates a little for a moment until –

"We should push his cart into the riverbank."

"Kagami, you're a genius!"

"What? No!"

"You're right, Adrien, our first plan should be getting free ice-cream. Then we should pretend to throw a fit when he gets our partners wrong, and then we push the cart into the river as an act of dissatisfaction."

"Sabrina."

"The customer is always right!"

"Put your fist down, Kagami-san! You're gonna end up hurting someone or punching yourself by accident!"

"Actually, our first plan should be to find that ridiculous stall."

"Ooohhh, it could be like a scavenger hunt!"

"I can't believe you girls."

"It's alright, Adrikins, we're rich, we can pay it back, it'll be fine. We're doing Kagami's plan." Chloé says then tells the Japanese girl, "You need to hang out with us more, you'd fit in perfectly."

Kagami only replies by blushing. It's better than her awkward grin.

;;

"You like her, don't you?" Chloé asks, sudden as rushing wind greets them from the high views that overlooked Paris. Just a casual visit to the Eiffel Tower.

Adrien blinks, looking away from his red and blue ice-cream so that his green eyes can glance over to Kagami and Sabrina who are taking pictures together. Then he looks back to his childhood friend and asks, "Who?"

"That girl who made you that scaft." Chloé says with an eyeroll.

Adrien's cheeks redden. "You know?"

"You're so obvious."

"I should talk to her, huh?" He asks.

She shrugs. "It depends if she can talk to you."

"Chlo."

"She stutters so badly around you, I'm just saying, but, yeah." Chloé nods. "You should go talk to her. Do stuff with your life, like I said, you never ask for anything and you're turning eighteen soon. Do something with your life, Adrikins, don't live under your father's thumb."

Adrien smiles and turns back to the view. "Will do." He says then corrects himself. "I mean, I already am."

"You are?" She asks, head turning.

"I'm here with you, aren't I?" Adrien says, making her smile, then he sighs, "It's a weird rush being with you, Chlo. I've known you since we were in diapers and everytime we hang out, I feel like I can do anything. Anything at all, though it's mostly because your father pardons it. I mean, it's exciting but I always end up breaking the rules or some kind of law."

"Are you afraid that your father will know?"

"He probably already does. We're probably trending on social media for kicking André's stall into that shallow river bank."

Chloé snorts. "I'll get Daddy on the phone soon. What we did today was probably the most minor crime we've ever done, but," She pauses for a moment. "It was worth it, Adrikins."

"Was it?" He asks suspiciously.

"Don't be stupid, of course, it was! You enjoyed yourself, didn't you?" Chloé says. "It was worth it because it was fun." She tells him then locks her lips together and double-checks, "It was fun, wasn't it? You had fun? You enjoyed being your own person instead of your father's brand?"

He laughs. "Yeah, I had fun." Then Adrien stares at Sabrina and Kagami. "It looks like they had fun too. I'll remember today, it was a good one. It was ..."

"Golden?" She guesses.

"Yeah." He nods. "A golden Summer day."

Chloé pats his shoulder affectionately. "We'll have more golden days, and you'll remember them too." She promises.

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end

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Notes 2: Also, I'm loving that the kids have their own IGs and that Sabrina's featured in Chloé's pictures. I've always found their friendship cute. I want more Sabrina, give her her own IG, cowards!

Notes 3: When will I stop making new, unrelated fics? When will I hunker down to finish old ideas? When will I complete those two other Chloé drafts that have sat idle and collected dust for like a year? When will my husband return from the sea?

– 11 August 2019