Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Chloé

At the moment Lila opened her mouth and started to tell her pretty stories, Chloé knew. At the moment she feigned hubris and her eyes were wet with unshed tears, Chloé knew. The fact that Dupain-Cheng seemed to hate the Italian’s guts was merely a nail on the coffin.

Chloé had been raised by a politician and an absent judgmental mother: she grew up surrounded by deceit, appearances, and lies; she knew her stuff. More precisely, she knew how to identify an attention seeker, useless, suck-up from an actual well-related, talented person.

She’d smelled Lila’s bullshit kilometers away.

Honestly, her stories were so unbelievable and vague that she was surprised no one else – aside from Dupain-Cheng – had realized it yet.

Including Sabrina.

Well, time to rectify that.

Monday

-

Sabrina

Lila was amazing.

She had traveled around the world, done so much, met so many cool people… She was even more well connected than Chloé. Actually, she was way nicer than Chloé, too. Maybe it was time for her to find a new queen bee to follow…

“I don’t buy it,” Chloé’s voice snapped her out of her reverie.

“Chloé...?”

“Come on, Sabrina, you’re smarter than that,” she rolled her eyes and nodded in Lila’s direction. She was surrounded by their other classmates – except Marinette and Adrien. “You don’t seriously believe those utterly ridiculous stories.”

She had expected Chloé to be jealous. “Well, Chloé…”

“Google it,” the blonde interrupted. She threw back her ponytail and pointed at her cell. “Google it, Sabrina. I will buy you the newest model of whatever phone you want if you find a single proof of what she is saying.”

Sabrina was already on it. There was no way in hell she would pass a chance to both prove Chloé wrong and to get the new phone she had been saving for since last year. It would be the easier bet she ever…

Wait.

She searched and researched. She changed the keywords, tried to refine the parameters of the search, even tried local news from other countries. Aside from the Ladyblog, she only found mentions of her as the daughter of a diplomat, until she went to Italian news.

“Oh my god.”

Chloé gave her a bored look. “Found something?”

“Actually… yes.” She didn’t know a word of Italian, but the ‘bullying’ in the head news was unmistakable. “Hold on, I’m translating.”

Chloé and her joined heads trying to make sense of the poor translation Google spilled back to them. The gist of the thing was that the daughter of the Italian ambassador in England had been expelled from her ‘middle school’, as the English called it, for recurrent bullying episodes and lying to the faculty. Lila’s first name wasn’t mentioned, since she was a minor, but what’s the chance of another Rossi ambassador from Italy?

“Oh my God, she’s a pathological liar and a bully!” Sabrina nervously whispered.

“That’s low even for me. I enjoy ruining days, not lives.” To Sabrina's surprise, Chloé gave her an approving nod. “Good job finding this dirty, Sabrina. I’m going to make sure to go to the bottom of that incident.”

“Should we tell the others?” the redhead bit her lip.

Chloé only shrugged. “They didn’t believe Dupain-Cheng, do you think they’ll listen to us? ”

“But we have proof!”

“Trust me, Sabrina, I know this kind of poisonous snake. She will just come up with excuses, play the victim, tell she suffered an injustice…” Chloé rolled her eyes so hard Sabrina was sure it must have hurt.

“So, we do nothing?” Sabrina wasn’t close to their classmates and didn’t like to play the hero, but that situation felt wrong, even for her. Chloé and she weren’t the nicer people around, and they had done their quota of bullying, but come on. At least they never pretend to be anyone’s friends, never lied like that .

“Well, we could out her and risk the backslash, or…” Chloé gave her a smile that meant business. “We could gather proof against the liar, as safeguards in case she decides to come after us, and just lay back and watch the world burn.”

Sabrina liked that plan.

“And do you think it will?”

“Of course. Her stories are so utterly ridiculous that eventually, even these fools will realize what a fake she is. And if it takes too long, we can always give them a little push.”

Sabrina liked that plan a lot. It was so good to not be the bad guy for a change. Well, they weren’t exactly doing good, either, but she would take anti-hero over villain any day. “You’re a genius, Chloé.”

“Of course I am!” Chloé gave her a smug smile. “Celebratory mani-pedi after school? My treat, of course.”

Wow, was Chloé actually trying to be a better friend? “Of course!, Thanks, Chloé!”

The blonde’s smile was very satisfied.

Tuesday

-

Kagami

She was arriving at Françoise Dupont precisely five minutes before their fencing class and texting Adrien to let him know about it when Kagami felt a hand resting on her shoulder.

“You must be Kagami!”

Her fencing reflexes made her quickly free herself from that unwelcome grasp.

“Please do not touch me without my permission.”

The girl with the ridiculous hairstyle seemed vaguely familiar, but she couldn’t quite remember from where. She… pouted?

“Oh please, don’t be mad at me. We Italians are very affectionate, and…”

“...and we, Japanese, are very reserved and we don’t allow touching privileges easily,” she interrupted. Kagami wasn’t strange to people trying to get away with all kind of disgraceful behavior claiming that ‘this is how we do it in my country’, and she wasn’t about to give that lenience to this person. “And who might you be?”

There was a flash of anger in the Italian’s eyes, but she quickly assumed a friendly facade. Too late, though: Kagami had already seen it and took notice. She was an expert in analyzing her opponents, after all.

“I’m Lila Rossi! I transferred to Dupont a while ago, but I’ve been away doing charity work.” Does this school allow such liberties? “Adrien must have told you about me, of course.”

Kagami crossed her arms. “He never mentioned you.”

Her smile became sweeter, and Kagami felt the urge to scratch her own skin for some reason. “Maybe he didn’t want to make you jealous.”

And then it clicked: this was the disgraceful girl who had forced a kiss on Adrien and send the picture to all of his female friends. She was the one responsible for the Oni-chan fiasco.

Oh, so this was what this whole interaction was all about.

Kagami made a small show of slowly analyzing Rossi from toe to head, her eyes purposely staring at her strange hairdo for a little longer. “I have no reason to be jealous of your friendship with my boyfriend.”

The anger in her eyes became more evident, but she insisted on the facade. “Of course not! And I hope we can become friends too!”

That was… Unbelievable. She wouldn’t lie, Kagami would like to have more friends besides Marinette and Adrien, but she wanted to surround herself with decent, positive people. Maybe she could befriend Marinette’s new boyfriend – he seemed like a gentle boy…

“As I was saying!” Lila exclaimed a bit louder, and Kagami realized she was probably spacing out. Well, she couldn’t be blamed - this conversation was rather dull. “My grandfather was a well-known fencing world champion, so if you-”

“Which category?”

Rossi blinked a few times, as if her question didn’t make sense.

“I’m sorry, what?”

“In which category did your grandfather use to compete?”

“Oh, well, I…” she seemed disconcerted, maybe the first genuine reaction she had shown in the whole conversation. “To be honest, I’m not familiar with the specifics, or the, hmm, right terminology.”

“Very well,” Kagami nodded. “In that case, what’s his name?”

Lila gave her another big, fake smile. “Giordanno Rossi! He-”

“There’s no fencing champion who goes by that name.”

Now that was a shot in the dark. Although Kagami knew most of the fencing trivia, no one could possibly remember the name of all champions, from all categories. However, it was clear, at this point, that nothing that came out of Rossi’s mouth could be trusted.

“Quit interrupting me!” Rossi hissed, and Kagami only raised her eyebrows in response. Taking a deep breath, the Italian tried to continue her little tirade. “You probably just don’t remember him because he participated in the very first tournament, back in the forties, and brought many medals back to Italy with him.”

She smiled brightly as if she wasn’t hissing two minutes prior.

“Are you finished?” Kagami asked monotonously. “Very well, my turn. I’m surprised that you don’t know that the very first organized international fencing championship was held here, in Paris, in 1921, not in the forties.” She noticed, satisfied, that Rossi paled a little. “There was only one event, the men’s épée individual, so your grandfather couldn’t possibly have brought ‘many medals back to Italy with him’. Especially because the very first fencing champion was Lucien Gaudien, a French man.”

Kagami gave her a condescending smile that she had practiced a lot , until perfection: “Do you want to lie about anything else, miss Rossi?”

Decidedly fuming now, Rossi gave her a hideous glare, and she was opening her mouth to spat more nonsense when, once again, Kagami felt a hand on her shoulder.

This hand, however, was as welcoming as a hug.

“Just give up, Lila,” Adrien said, coming to stand beside her. “Kagami isn’t gullible. She’s very smart and attentive. You’re not tangling my girlfriend in your web of lies.”

Kagami tried to fight against the blush covering her cheeks, but it was a battle she didn’t mind losing that much. She was still getting used to Adrien complimenting her so openly and calling her his girlfriend with such emphasis on top of that.

“Well, Adrien ,” Rossi said sweetly, and that honestly gave Kagami the creeps. “In that case, you should update your girlfriend about everything that’s going on.”

With a last venomous glare to Kagami, Lila turned around and marched to the classrooms.

“What was that about?” she questioned, as soon as the Italian was out of sight.

Adrien sighed tiredly and gave her a guilt look. Oh, this was going to be bad.

“I may or may not have made a deal with the devil.” Definitely bad. “Let’s go to practice, and I’ll tell you all about it.”

It was a warm sensation, to know that he was starting to share his secrets with her. However… “Why do I have the feeling that I’m about to get really mad at you?”

“Because you will.” His hand caressed her arm until his fingers held hers, and she blushed more. “But worry not, at least Marinette’s free of guilt and your fury.”

Good. She didn’t want to be mad at her only two friends at the same time.

“Then start from the beginning.”

Wednesday

-

Luka

“Jules!”

He was a little out of breath when he stopped his bicycle at the steps of his little sister’s school. Right on time, too: she was just about to enter the doors when she heard him calling. After saying something to Rose – who happily waved to him – she quickly descended the stairs.

"What 's up?”

Juleka’s music was very soothing today, which was the usual. She was normally anxious, quiet, and reserved, but her heart was made of the most beautiful ballads, and anyone that took time to listen to her, would know she was very good at taking care of others.

“You forgot your tablet, airhead,” he joked, giving back the device to his sister.

She smiled a little. “Thanks, trouble.”

Luka was about to pester her a little more, just for the kicks – after all, what kind of older brother would he be if he didn’t? - when everything came to a stop. It was as if all music around him was slowly dying, overpowered by an annoying, static noise. He closed his eyes, his head hurting – he had never felt something so vicious before.

Juleka’s hand rested on his tensed arm. “Luka, what is it?”

Before he could answer, the noise became unbelievably high, but not enough to cover the scream of his sister’s name: “Juleka!”

He opened his eyes to find the source of all that noise attached to Jules’ arm. Luka had to consciously fight the instinct that was screaming at him to separate his gentle sister from… whoever that was.

“Is this your brother?” She was smiling, but her noise continued. “Please, introduce us!”

Jules hated to introduce people.

“I’m Luka Couffaine,” he said, trying to stay calm. He didn’t offer her his hand, though. He was too occupied grabbing the bicycle for dear life. “Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you, too.” Her eyes were fixed on his. “I’m Lila Rossi.”

Oh.

Well, that sure explained a lot. He understood Marinette so much better right now.

Yet, he had years of practice with meditation and keeping a calm facade.

“Juleka talks about you a lot,” he said simply, and noticed her eyes narrowing, while she hugged Juleka tighter.

Please let go of my sister.

For the love of all that was rock n’ roll, her noise was poisonous .

“Oh, really? Juleka is very sweet.” I know that, but I seriously doubt that you know that. “ I bet Marinette told you a lot about me too, right?”

Juleka stiffened, and Luka knew he would have to tread this carefully.

“Not really,” he shrugged. “Marinette and I talk about many other things when we are together.”

She didn’t seem happy with his answer. The best part was that it was also true: Marinette had rambled about her problems with this girl extensively, but only once . They had decided to not let her mere memory poison the scarce time they had to be together, now that the end of the school year was approaching.

“Listen, Lila, I have to bike to my own school now, but I have a couple of family things to discuss with Juleka first, so if you don’t mind...?”

She gave him a sweetly false smile. Now he understood all those manga characters that sometimes got itchy near to false people – the feeling was real .

“Of course! It was nice meeting you, Luka. See you in class, Jules.”

She winked at him and hugged Juleka before she ran to school. He felt like he needed a shower.

When Marinette told him about her problems with the girl’s lies, first he thought that she was just trying to make friends by making herself important – after all, their classes did have some really impressive people, Marinette included. However, when his girlfriend told him about the threat in the bathroom, he immediately changed his mind: that Lila was clearly a bully and a mean person.

Part of him, however, had thought that it would be impossible for Lila to pull off what she had promised: Marinette was the sweetest person in the world, Adrien knew the truth and had her back, and someone in the school’s office clearly saw that something wasn’t right, since they made Lila reverse the accusations that got Mari expelled.

However, after hearing that girl’s noise, after feeling how poisonous and malicious it was, he had made up his mind:

Lila was dangerous and he would make sure that his girls knew that.

Juleka

Juleka braced herself and expected the worst.

She liked Lila – she had done so many good things expecting so little in return. She didn’t quite get why Marinette didn’t like her: at first, she thought it was because of Adrien, but that didn’t make sense anymore. She was friends with Kagami and even if she wasn’t completely over Adrien yet, Marinette clearly adored her brother. And then, there were the weird circumstances of her expulsion…

“Juleka,” oh boy, Luka was using his ‘older brother’ tone of voice. “Are you friends with Lila?”

“Yeah…”

He took a deep breath and massaged his temples. That’s right: his head was hurting just before Lila showed up…

“Jules, you’re not a child anymore, it’s up to you to choose your friends.” It’s been a while since she had seen him so serious. “As much as I want, I won’t tell you to get away from this girl, but you should know this: she doesn’t have a song. Lila only has a malicious noise in her heart.”

Wow. That was… Wow.

“Are you… are you sure?” She knew her brother, knew how Luka was able to easily read people, and he had never been wrong before.

“There was so much noise I thought my head was going to explode.”

His head had started hurting before he even saw Lila coming.

“Jules…” his tone was gentler now, and he held her hand. “I’ll trust your judgment, and I won’t interfere with your friendships. But please , pay attention to what that girl says and does. Just… Just don’t blindly trust her, okay?”

It was a reasonable request: Luka was only asking her to take care of herself, as always.

“I won’t. I’m going to pay attention from now on.”

His smile was pure relief.

“Great. Now I really do need to go to lycée. See you later, Jules.”

“Bye, trouble.”

Rose

She was singing to herself the new Kitty’s Section’s song she had been working on when Juleka finally came back after talking to Luka.

“Hey, is everything all right? Lila said you two were having family problems…” which, of course, broke her heart: she had never met siblings more affectionate than Juleka and Luka. She couldn’t possibly imagine them fighting.

Her best friend blinked a few times, as she usually did when she was immersed in thoughts.

“Bathroom,” was all she answered, and Rose understood that whatever had happened wasn’t something to be discussed at the school’s entrance.

She held Juleka’s hand and pulled her to the courtyard bathroom, the one that would probably be empty at this time of the day, with all the students rushing to get to class. They should be doing that too, but Mlle Bustier would probably understand if she explained it was a family situation.

After checking if all the stalls were really empty, Juleka started to nervously pace around, gathering her thoughts.

“Did Luka tell you something?” Rose gently nudged, hoping it would help Jules to start talking.

She nodded. “He met Lila. He did a vibe check.” Oh, yes. Rose didn’t know the details, but she knew that was a thing. “He said she made him feel sick.”

That was literally the last thing Rose expected. How could it be possible? Luka was great, and so was Lila. She was so sure they would become friends immediately…

“Rose, can you… Can you text Prince Ali? He’s known Lila for ages, right? Maybe he can help us understand what’s going on…”

To be fair, Rose avoided talking to Ali every day. She knew he was busy, and she didn’t want to be a bother, didn’t want him to think she was abusing their friendship. But Juleka rarely asked her help with anything, and if this would make things easier between Lila and Luka, then she would happily oblige. Oh, maybe that even helped Marinette to understand that she was wrong about Lila too…

She quickly typed and sent the text.

“Done! It may take a while for him to answer, though. Are you okay to go to class now?"

Juleka nodded, smiling a little.

“Thanks, Rose. Let’s go.”

To Rose’s surprise, however, her cell phone vibrated as soon as they left the bathroom. “Oh, that was quick! Come here, Jules, you can read it too.”

Ali’s message started sweet and formal as always:

Good day to you, Rose! I’m busy as always, but I’m doing great, thanks for asking! How about you? I haven’t heard your stories from Paris in a while, I was starting to worry!

Oh, had it really been so long since they had last texted? Now she was ashamed of herself.

As for your question, I’m afraid I don’t know who you’re talking about, I’ve never met this Lila Rossi. Could you please give me more details?

“What?” she exclaimed. Juleka was frowning, but she gave her a comforting half hug.

“Tell him everything. Maybe he’ll remember.”

She was right, of course. Prince Ali was gentle, he would never purposely forget someone who had helped him – but since he was a celebrity, he probably had met so many people in his life that he needed some clues to remember everyone.

She gave him all the details, all the stories Lila had told them about the months she had been in Achu helping him with his environmental charity.

This time, however, he sent her a single text in response.

Those are lies. I’ve never met the daughter of an Italian ambassador, I don’t have an environmental charity in Achu or anywhere, for that matter, and I most certainly would never allow a child to miss months of school like she’s claiming.

She was still gasping, trying to make sense of the words when her phone started ringing.

Ali.

“H-hello?” she mumbled, uncertain, her head spinning.

Ali’s worried face appeared on the scream. His hair was disheveled, as if he had been on the bed just before that call. “I’m sorry if my last text was a bit harsh, Rose. I was quite shocked by what you told me, but I’m not mad at you. Could you please explain everything to me about this Lila who’s claiming to be my friend?”

“I- I…”

Gentle fingers held her phone, and Juleka hugged her tightly. “I got this,” she mumbled.

“Oh, Juleka! It’s been a while.”

“Your majesty.” Taking a deep breath, she pulled the phone from Rose’s hand. “Rose is not taking this news well. I can explain everything if you’ll allow me.”

“Of course. Please, do so.”

Rose barely registered the bell announcing the first period, or Juleka’s firm, controlled voice while she told Ali everything about Lila. Her head was spinning, she could feel the tears in her face, and the only thing that made sense was the sensation of utter betrayal.

So this was why Marinette and Luka, the most gentle people she knew, didn’t like Lila.

Because she was a liar.

“Rose?”

Startled, she looked around. At some point, Juleka had brought her back to the bathroom, and they were sitting on the floor, their backs resting against the wall. Her friend was still holding her phone, and Ali’s concerned face was looking at her.

“Oh, Ali, I’m so sorry for disturbing you because of something so stupid…!”

He shook his head. “No, Rose, I’m glad you came to me with this. You, Juleka, and your friends, you may be legally teenagers now, but the truth is, you’re children still. Innocence is the children’s privilege.” He frowned. “I know I’m not much older than you, but I’ve met plenty of people like this Lila girl in my life. People who lie and deceive to make themselves look better and to abuse others' kindness.”

“She sucks so much,” Juleka mumbled, and Ali couldn’t help but smile.

“That sums up nicely.” And then he became serious once again. “Rose, Juleka, you should stay away from this lying girl. I firmly believe people can change and become better, but as for now, her behavior has too many red flags. She isn’t attacking any of you directly, as bullies usually do; she has been lying and deceiving. Pretending to have injuries and disabilities to gather sympathy and make you do her chores, that borders on sociopath behavior. Not to mention, I’m sure that some of the things she did are quite illegal…”

“Oh, crap,” Juleka cursed.

“What should we do, Ali? Everyone in class believes her, and when Marinette tried to warn us, somehow Lila made everyone turn against her… Including us,” Rose added, lowering her head.

“Well, the first thing would be to apologize to your friend Marinette, isn’t that right?” he gently said. “Now, if this liar is so dangerous and crafty that she could even get someone expelled, I won’t advise you to confront her directly, I don’t want her targeting you two.” He frowned. “But I won’t leave you without the ways to defend yourselves. I’m going to make a video denying any connection with Lila Rossi, and send it to you. I will also inform my lawyers that we should be prepared to deal with the situation if her lies become public.”

“Then you should check the Ladyblog,” Juleka sighed.

“I will do that,” he nodded and then smiled again. “Oh, Rose, please don’t cry anymore. You’ve made a mistake, but you’re sorry and trying to make things better, that’s all that matters. I’m not mad at you; I’m glad you brought this situation to my attention and honored that you asked me for advice. We’re still friends.”

After more tears and the promise to keep Ali informed of any new developments, they ended the call. Juleka stayed by her side, sitting on the bathroom floor, which was honestly disgusting, now that she was calm enough to think about it.

“What will I do, Juleka? I can’t pretend to like someone, it’s impossible for me!”

Her best friend hugged her against her chest and rested her chin on her hair. “You’re gonna avoid her. And when we can’t avoid her, you go to your happy place and forget she’s around.”

Oh, her happy place was where she came up with the lyrics for her songs. “I think I can try that.”

“Good. Let’s go, the second period is about to start.”

“What are we going to say to Mademoiselle Bustier?”

“Who cares? She’ll buy any crap we tell her.”

Rose let out a tired sigh and got up.

“You know? It’s sad because it’s true.”

Thursday

-

Alix

Alix was leaving the bathroom and making her way back to the cafeteria when she heard Kagami’s voice.

“Marinette! I need to talk to you!”

Turning around, she saw the two Asian girls frowning at each other, before mumbling something and ducking into an empty classroom.

Okay, so, too much weird stuff going on.

First, Kagami went to some prestigious private academy: everyone knew she only had fencing classes at Dupont with Adrien two times a week, but that was after the school day was over.

Second, if for some reason Kagami had decided to come to Dupont during lunchtime, it was obvious she should be with Adrien, her boyfriend, and not confronting Marinette in an empty hallway.

Third, Marinette could be a little weird and over the top sometimes, but she was clearly putting an effort to get over her crush: she was dating Luka and had stopped saying shit about Lila.

The conclusion was obvious: something was going on and Alix wanted to know what. She knew it was bad to eavesdrop like that, but Marinette was her friend and Kagami was seriously scary. If she was intimidating Marinette, then Alix had a few words to throw back at the Japanese girl.

Alix knelt by the door and glued her ear against the wood. Luckily for her, the two girls were having their discussion close enough for her to hear everything.

“…disappointed,” Kagami was saying. “I gave him a list of reasons why his advice was terrible.”

Marinette chuckled. Wait: chuckled?  They weren’t fighting?

“I guess it was, but I don’t hold it against Adrien.” Oh, so this was about Adrien, after all. And he was the one who had fucked up, apparently. “I try to remind myself that this is the first time he’s having contact with other teenagers. He doesn’t really know how the school can be hell.”

Hell ? Was she talking about Chloé? But now that she was thinking about it, Chloé had been rather quiet since Hero’s day…

“Don’t excuse his stupidity, Marinette.” Wow, she could tell that Kagami was pissed. “Honestly, ‘taking the high road’? You don’t take the high road with liars like Lila Rossi: you crush them before they can do harm to others.”

Wait, wait, wait: This was about Lila? Oh, come on…

“Did she do anything to you, Kagami?” Marinette sounded… alarmed? For real?

“She had the audacity to try to lie to me about fencing. Fencing, Marinette!” If Alix didn’t know Kagami, she would guess she was throwing up her hands. “First she insinuated that Adrien hadn’t introduced us yet because he was afraid I would be jealous of her. Then, she tried to convince me that her grandfather was the first fencing world champion…”

“But he was French!” Marinette exclaimed. “I don’t remember his name, not going to lie, but I remember researching it.”

“Yes, Lucien Gaudien.”

“That’s the one! And she tried to convince you that her grandfather was the champion?”

“Marinette,” Kagami’s tone was deadly. “I could feel my IQ lowering just for talking to her.”

Okay… This was not what she had expected. So Kagami and Marinette were united against Lila, hum? Well, she couldn’t blame Kagami for being mad: if someone tried to mansplain roller skating to her, she would lose her shit.

“Marinette, please tell me you’re going to expose her lies.”

Oh no, not this again. Why was everyone so convinced that Lila was a compulsive liar? Sure, maybe she was wrong about a few things, but…

“I tried, Kagami, but it back-slashed, my friends hated me, and I got expelled.”

Wait, wait, wait! No one hated Marinette! She was their friend and the nicest person around! Sure, they’d called her out for being rude to Lila, but that was all! If your friends screw up, you have to let them know they screwed up, right?

“With all due respect, Marinette, your friends are idiots.” Oh, now she did it. Alix was this close to get into that classroom and give Kagami a piece of her mind. “How could they possibly believe that a thirteen-year-old that came to France just a few months ago already knew all the French celebrities? And what about all her diseases and disabilities that don’t make any sense? Marinette, I’ve never heard such absurdity in my entire life.”

Well, when you put it like that...

Marinette sighed. “I know, Kagami. The worst part is… if they at least googled any of her stories, they would find out she is lying, but they think I’m a monster just for suggesting it…”

Alix frowned. Okay, now Marinette was just being dramatic.

“What happened?” Kagami demanded.

“I suggested to Alya that she should check her facts before posting it on Ladyblog, but she just accused me of being jealous and cut me off.”

That couldn’t be right: checking your sources was the minimum a journalist should do. Seriously, Alya?

“Jealous? You’re Marinette Dupain-Cheng: your designs were recognized by Gabriel Agreste and Audrey Bourgeois! Your great-uncle is a world-renowned chef, you’re Jagged Stone’s personal designer! What do you have to be jealous of?”

“Yeah, and no one remembered that  when I told them Jagged never had a cat…”

Alix had heard enough. The only reason she had for eavesdropping in the first place was that she was worried about Marinette. She silently retreated and decided to find another hallway so she could make sense of all that new information.

Okay, so Marinette and Kagami were friends, good to know. And, apparently, both were convinced that Lila was an evil liar. Kagami seemed sincere when she was talking about the fencing thing, and Marinette’s voice was clearly hurt too. Also, they thought they were alone, there was no reason for them to be pretending. The only logical conclusion then was…

Oh, shit.

Pulling out her phone, Alix quickly googled ‘Lila Rossi and Jagged Stone cat’. The first result – that did not include Lila – was an interview with a popular TV show. Jagged affirmed that he hated cats: they were the epitome of indifference, they were cunning and evil. You couldn’t trust a cat like you could trust a crocodile…

Okay, that was enough. Jagged clearly had a few screws loose.

Also, Lila was a liar.

And Alix was ready to murder her.

Kim

Kim was having a rather uneventful day, and he couldn’t wait for school to be over, so he could go to swimming training with his awesome girlfriend. He had stopped by the nurse’s office to let her check his last strain, and was heading to the cafeteria to get his lunch when he noticed Alix marching in the same direction.

And she was furious.

“Hey short-stuff, who died?”

It was a joke, of course, but the insane glare the girl sent him made him fear that something bad had actually happened. When she said nothing, only continued to walk with murderous determination, he decided it was better to interfere.

Since he had longer legs and was an athlete, it wasn’t hard to skirt around her and force Alix to stop with his hands on her shoulders.

“Seriously, Alix, what the heck is going on?”

“Lila is a filthy liar and I’m going to give her a piece of my mind,” she snarled through clenched teeth. “Now get out of my way.”

“Wow, okay, hold on. First, calm down or you’re going to get a suspension for bitch slapping someone in the cafeteria.” Crap, her eyes shone, delighted by the idea. “Second, what is this about Lila lying? What was she lying about?”

“Everything!” Alix snapped, throwing up her hands. “Every single thing she said ever since she came back was a lie!”

Whaaaaat…

“Are you sure?”

“I checked!” She fished her phone out of her back pocket and pushed it into his hands. Wow, she must be really pissed: she would never willingly allow him access to her phone, and with reason. “I checked every single thing! Jagged Stone never had a cat, Prince Ali doesn’t have environmental charities, you can’t have arthritis only on your right wrist…”

She continued her little tirade, but Kim wasn’t paying attention anymore: he was focused on the prints from the news she had collected in her gallery.

Alix was right: every story Lila ever told them was nonsense. It was a simple jump to conclude that she didn’t know anyone famous either, including…

“Oh, shit , I bet she isn’t Ladybug’s best friend either!”

“As if Ladybug would ever befriend a leech like her!” she exclaimed, grabbing her cellphone back.

“Alix, do you know what that means?”

“That I need to teach her some manners? I was about to when you rudely showed up…”

He grabbed her shoulders and shook her for good measure, to make sure he would snap her out of her killing spree. “No, idiot, think! It means she lied to Alya, who put the interview in the Ladyblog. Alix, Lila tricked Alya about Ladybug!”

That was finally the right thing to say: Alix gasped, all her fury becoming bewilderment.

“She lied about Ladybug to Alya,” she repeated, slowly.

“Yup.”

“When Alya finds out, she’s dead.”

“Yup.”

“I so want to see that.”

Now she was getting it.

“Me too. Now, what’s the best way to make that happen?”

“We could show her the evidence I collected…” Alix started, frowning. “But that isn’t good enough for me.” She crossed her arms and raised her head. “She lied to the whole class, and worse: she made us think Marinette was being unfair to her.”

Up to that point, Kim was feeling rather smug about the whole thing, only seeing how they would get back at the little liar. Hearing Marinette’s name, however, was like being ducked into a pool of freezing water.

“Oh, crap, we stood by Lila when she and Marinette fought.”

“We betrayed Marinette’s trust, we need to apologize.”

“Of course.” He covered his face with his hands, sighing heavily. “Man, I know Mari since we were kids, I can’t believe…”

“Yeah, me too.”

They stayed in silence after that, reflecting on their respective mistakes.

“I got what you meant: only exposing her to Alya doesn’t seem enough to me either.” For the crime of targeting Marinette, Lila needed a more severe punishment. “We need a plan. We need Max.”

“Agreed. He’s going to freak out so hard for not fact-checking Lila either.” Alix sighed. “I guess we can start apologizing to Marinette and then letting the rest of the class know. With everyone’s help, we can come up with something good to get revenge on Lila.”

“Oh, man, that’s going to be sooo awkward…”

“I know.” She turned around. “Come on, I know where Mari is now.”

Kim was no good with apologies, but for Marinette, he could make an effort.

Max

Alix and Kim had both ditched him after class ended, and they were nowhere to be found.

Max had rationalized that they had their own affairs to attend, but he had expected them to be back at the cafeteria to buy lunch by now. Since they weren’t there, the next more likely place was the courtyard, where the students preferred to eat when the weather was good, like today.

However, they weren’t there either. He was able to localize Nathaniel, Marc, Ivan, Mylène, and Lila sharing a table, with Chloé and Sabrina hanging out near them, but that was all. Clearly, the best next course of action was to ask one of them if they had seen the missing duo.

Leaving Alix and Kim together and unsupervised for long was a certain receipt for disaster.

When he got near their table, he was able to catch the gist of what Lila was telling the others. Apparently, she knew someone in the Japanese publishers and was offering to introduce Marc and Nathaniel to them. It was really impressive how well connected Lila was…

“Oh, Chloé, isn’t it amazing how well connected Lila is?” Sabrina suddenly exclaimed, which didn’t surprise him. It was obvious, it was exactly what he had been thinking…

“Almost unbelievable, don’t you think?” Now, what was a surprise was hearing Chloé agreeing.

“Indeed! It makes you think what’s the probability of someone so young accomplishing so much…”

“Oh, Sabrina, I don’t think anyone can calculate the probability of Lila being able to accomplish so much…”

Of course it was possible! Well, maybe most people wouldn’t be able to do it, but with the right data on his hands, he could most certainly calculate that probability.

“You’re right, Chloé. Only a true genius would be able to do something like that…”

Humpf, mortals. It would be nothing but an easy mental exercise for him and Markov.

With that new objective in mind, Max turned around to go back to the library. Alix and Kim could stay loose a few more minutes. Before the lunch break was over, he would have that probability calculated and he would present it for the entire class. Lila would probably feel honored by it, and he would prove to Chloé and Sabrina, once for all, that he was the real deal.

Max didn’t notice Chloé and Sabrina’s high-five.

Nathaniel and Marc

Now, this was awkward.

It wasn’t as if Nathaniel didn’t like Lila: she was nice and always had impressive stories to share. He just wasn’t used to all of that attention. He had planned a quiet lunch with his boyfriend, Ivan, and Mylène, but Lila had decided to join them. Nathaniel couldn’t help but think that the only reason she had chosen them was that the rest of the class, her usual audience, was nowhere around.

He immediately felt bad for judging Lila like that.

Marc wasn’t doing so well either. He was more introspect than him, to say the minimum, and Lila’s enthusiasm could be overwhelming. They had just been introduced, maybe she should slow down a little…

“I just think it’s soooo cute that you guys complete each other like that!” she was saying, while Mylène vehemently agreed with her head. “I’m sure you guys are going to be a big success someday…”

Well, their Ladybug’s comics were a pretty big hit in France already, but maybe she didn’t know that. He squeezed Marc’s sweating hand under the table.

“You see, I should keep this a secret, but since we’re all friends, I don’t see the problem with letting you know.” She leaned over the table, and instinctively everyone did the same. “I’m actually a close friend of one of the best manga writers in Japan. Maybe I could introduce you guys…”

Strangely, Nathaniel’s first thought was ‘Wait, does Lila speak Japanese?’

“That’s awesome,” Marc whispered, while Mylène and Ivan mumbled their agreement. “Who?”

Lila bit her lip, building up the anticipation. Under the table, it was Marc’s time to squeeze Nathaniel’s hand.

“The author of Fullmetal Alchemist,” Lila whispered.

OH HELL NO.

Marc was too shocked to utter any words. Ivan looked at Mylène for an explanation, but she only shrugged: both were not into mangas, they had no idea of the size of the bomb Lila had just dropped.

“You know Hiromu Arakawa?!” Nathaniel gasped. That was amazing, absolutely amazing. It didn’t matter if Lila could put a good word for them with Jump or not – if she could only let him talk to his idol at least once…

“Yeah, we are good friends,” Lila giggled. “He always consults me every week before releasing a new chapter of Fullmetal.”

And just like that, both Nathaniel and Marc’s hearts stopped at the same time. Nathaniel thought that, if they tried to pay close attention, they would even be able to hear the sound of her credibility crashing.

“I’m sorry…” Marc said, slowly. “Can you repeat that?”

Lila smiled at him and, for the first time, Nathaniel thought he saw exasperation within it. “Of course, Marc. I said my good friend Hiromu Arakawa always consults me every week before releasing his next chapter of Fullmetal Alchemist.”

“Yeah, that was what I thought you said,” Marc whispered, numbly. He looked at Nathaniel, probably waiting for an explanation.

And he decided to test how far Lila was willing to go with that crap. It was rather difficult to truly piss off Nathaniel Kurtzberg: invoking the name of Hiromu Arakawa in vain just happened to be one of those things.

“Have you met him? In-person, I mean?” he asked, strangely calm. Lila smiled sweetly.

“Of course! I met him on my last trip to Tokyo before I came to Paris. He received me in his house.”

“Oh, that’s so amazing! I didn’t know you went to Japan, Lila!” Mylène exclaimed.

“And what kind of person he is?” Nathaniel insisted.

Lila blinked a few times, maybe surprised by his vehemence.

“Well, he’s very nice, very polite. Extremely focused on his work, of course.”

And those are all well-known Japanese stereotypes, of course.

“Have you read this week’s chapter already?” Marc suddenly asked. Nathaniel caressed his hand, glad he was supporting him with this nonsense.

“Yes, I already did,” she said, conspiratorially. Nathaniel wondered how he had never noticed before how fake her smiles were. It was the kind of smile he drew for his villains. “I gave him some pointers, as always, and he agreed to make a few corrections. I’m sure you guys are going to love this chapter.”

“Oh, I’m sure we will,” Nathaniel said, dryly.

He was about to inquire more about the manga when Lila’s head suddenly snapped to the left. Following the direction of her gaze, first, he saw Alix and Kim walking to the cafeteria, but behind them…

Behind them Adrien was arriving and greeting Marinette and… was that Kagami?

“I’m sorry guys,” Lila got up, her eyes fixed on the entrance. God, she was so obvious, how could he not have noticed it before? “But I remembered I had a lunch date with Nino and Alya. See you later.”

Marc and Nathaniel stayed silent, while Ivan and Mylène said their goodbyes. Once the Italian had left, Mylène smiled brightly at Marc. “Isn’t she amazing?”

Marc looked back at him, without knowing what to say. With a heavy sight, Nathaniel decided to deliver the bomb: “She’s a big, fat liar.”

Ivan and Mylène

Mylène gasped, shocked, and Ivan immediately hugged her against his body and glared at the two boys in front of him.

“How can you say something like that?” she whispered.

Marc shook his head. “I’m sorry, but it’s true. Everything she was saying was lies.”

“How do you know?” Ivan asked. He didn’t like people accusing others: they better have proof.

Before they could answer, however, Chloé’s voice startled them: “Oh, this is going to be good!”

She unceremoniously sat at Mylène’s side – and Ivan pulled her against him a little more – while Sabrina occupied the sit Lila had vacated.

“Okay, now go ahead,” Chloé gestured with her hands, grinning.

Nathaniel blinked a few times. “Oh, you knew, didn’t you?”

“Yes, because I have more than two functional brain cells,” she deadpanned. The implication that they didn’t  was quite clear. “Now hurry, I want to know how you caught her!”

Nathaniel frowned, but Mylène shyly nudged him. “Nat?”

With a heavy sigh, he joined his hands on the table and tried to give Mylène what was supposed to be a comforting smile. “You heard her saying she was friends with Hiromu Arakawa, that he asked her for advice for his weekly chapters of Fullmetal Alchemist, right?” The girls and Ivan nodded. “Well, Fullmetal Alchemist had monthly chapters that stopped being published in June of 2010, when the manga ended. There’s absolutely no way she could possibly be mistaking what she was saying, those were deliberate lies.”

Chloé and Sabrina started to laugh, while Mylène looked at Ivan, confused.

“But, but… She couldn’t possibly…”

“Mylène,” Marc called, offering his hand. The small girl immediately took it, for the comfort that it represented. “That’s not the worst part.”

“What’s the worst part?” Ivan asked.

“Hiromu Arakawa is a woman,” Nathaniel and Marc said in unison.

There were a few seconds of silence, before Chloé and Sabrina once more exploded in laughs, Ivan frowned while hugging a severely distressed Mylène, who was hiding her face in her hands. Nathaniel and Marc shared annoyed looks.

“I can’t believe she had the audacity of using Arakawa-sensei's name like that,” Nathaniel said, shaking his head.

“I can’t believe she thought she could pretend to know more about mangakas than us,” Marc added up, rolling his eyes.

“And I can’t believe it took you morons so long, and that you only found out because of a ridiculously specific conversation,” Chloé smirked, delicately wiping her eyes with a handkerchief.

“Since when do you know?” Ivan asked, glaring at the blonde. It was typical Chloé, never helping their classmates.

“Oh please, I never believed her, not even for a single moment.” She rested her chin on her hand, quite happy with herself and the whole situation. “Her stories are so far-fetched that it’s ridiculous, utterly ridiculous, that you fell for it.”

“You didn’t warn them?” Marc asked, surprised.

Chloé smiled. It was sweet, cruel, and gave Ivan the creeps.

“Dupain-Cheng did it. Remind me how that turned out, again?”

Mylène jumped, letting out a high-pitched scream that startled even Chloé. She grabbed the front of Ivan’s shirt, her huge eyes full of tears.

“Oh, Marinette. We didn’t believe Marinette…!”

Nathaniel’s forehead hit the table with a muffled ‘thump’ . “We fucked up,” he mumbled.

While a very confused Marc gave his boyfriend a few head pads and Ivan tried to calm Mylène, Alix and Kim reappeared, carrying their lunch trays. They stopped once they noticed the state their friends were in.

“What’s going on?” Alix asked, giving Chloé the stinky eye.

The Mayor’s daughter dismissed the other girl with a nonchalant wave of her hand. “Save your judgment for the Italian lying bitch.”

Contrary to what Ivan expected, instead of jumping into Lila’s defense, Alix gave Chloé her maniac smile. “Oh, so you guys found out, too?”

Nathaniel immediately came back to life. “You knew?! And didn’t tell me?!” he almost screamed, pointing his finger at Alix’s face.

His best friend let the tray on their table and pulled a chair to sit at his side. “Kim and I found out, like, twenty minutes ago.”

“How?” Sabrina asked, leaning forward.

“Alix was eavesdropping Marinette and Kagami’s conversation.”

“Kim!”

“Alix!”

“Nice.”

“Don’t praise her Chloé…”

“I do whatever I want, thank you very much…”

“Guys!” Ivan slammed his fist on the table, startling everyone, Mylène including. After apologizing to his girlfriend, he glared at everyone else at the table. “What do we do about Lila now?”

“Burn the witch! ” Chloé chanted happily, and Sabrina gave her the thumbs up.

“I can believe I’m going to say this, but I agree with Chloé,” Nathaniel said, receiving a glare from the said blonde.

“Wait,” Mylène interfered, shyly. “Does that mean… Everything else she said, was it also a lie?”

“Yes,” Sabrina and Alix answered at the same time.

“Here, I have proof,” Alix passed her phone, and Ivan leaned forward to read it along with Mylène.

“Should we compare receipts, Alix?” Sabrina eagerly asked, but the other girl shook her head.

“Everything I got is the first results on Google, your stuff is probably more complete.”

“Indeed,” Sabrina proudly agreed.

“Then what’s the plan to burn the witch?” Chloé insisted, eyeing Kim and Alix. “You have a plan, right?”

“Phase one is letting everyone else know,” Kim said. “Phase two is apologizing to Marinette.”

“Yeah, I’m skipping that one because, for the first time, I’m not the one who screwed up with Dupain-Cheng.”

Nathaniel’s forehead suddenly made contact with the table once again.

“Stop that!” Marc hissed.

“For phase three, we were considering pushing Lila to lie even more, play with her a bit…” Alix gave Mylène an uncertain look. “But I don’t think that’s a good idea anymore. There’s a lot of people in the class who can’t lie, not even to save their lives.”

Ivan nodded. Mylène was one of those, of course. She was incapable of deceiving anyone, and she wasn’t the only one. “Rose.”

“I think Juleka and Rose already know,” Sabrina commented, her index finger tapping against her lips. “I noticed that since they arrived late yesterday, they are avoiding Lila like the plague.”

“They aren’t being very subtle about it.” Chloé was pretending disinterest, checking her nails, but Ivan noticed the satisfied smile on her lips. “Lie-la is probably going to confront them sooner rather than later, and they are going to crack.”

“That I would like to see,” Ivan commented, and everyone stared at him. “Juleka can be scary. ”

“Not as scary as Alya once she finds out she put an interview with a liar pretending to be LB’s best friend in the Ladyblog,” Alix sighed, dreamily, while a shiver ran down Ivan’s spine.

Now that was a scary thought.

“Is that phase four? Because I like it,” Chloé grinned.

“Wait, so who doesn’t know yet?” Kim frowned. “We all know, Juleka and Rose too, probably, also Marinette…”

Nathaniel whined against the table.

“Nino and Alya don’t,” Sabrina pointed out.

“Neither does Max,” Alix said. “Oh, he’s going to be so pissed…”

“Adrien knows, of course,” Chloé declared. “He may be an innocent cinnamon roll, but he was raised by Gabriel Agreste. Not to mention, he runs away every time that harpy puts her claws on him.”

“Now that you mentioned it, it’s so obvious he doesn’t like her,” Alix growled, hiding her face in her hands. “How could we have been so blind…?”

“Simple,” Chloé answered. “Except for me, Adrien and Sabrina, the rest of you share a single brain cell that’s currently being hogged by Dupain-Cheng.”

Before anyone could voice their indignation, Max suddenly burst through the library’s door, hugging his laptop as if it was his lifeline, Markov flying in circles around him. His frantic eyes found their table, and he desperately ran to them.

“Guys! You, you need to see this… I checked… I checked everything, every date, every location… I ran the program eight times, and checked obscure tabloids in all the countries she lived…” he took a moment to catch his breath, not noticing the looks his friends were sharing – knowing, pity, and, in Chloé’s case, boredom. “My analyze was throughout, my conclusion is indisputable.”

Max raised his head, decisively: “Lila is a liar!”

There was a second of silence, and then Chloé slammed her hand on the table.

“And I rest my case. One. Single. Brain. Cell.”

“W-what?” Max gasped.

“We… hmm… we just found out, too,” Marc mumbled, massaging his nape.

“Yeah, we’re already plotting our revenge,” Kim explained. “Come on, sit here, and help us plan.”

Ivan patted Max’s back in solidarity because there wasn’t anything else he could do for his disheartened friend.

Nino

Whistling the latest tune he had been working on, Nino left the Dupain-Cheng bakery quite happy with himself: he had been able to snatch the macaroons Alya loved so much for their lunch date. He wasn’t sure what Lila could eat, considering all her food allergies, so he expected the sugar/lactose/gluten-free special cookies the bakery had in stock would be enough for her.

He was nearing Françoise Dupont when he saw Marinette, Adrien, and Kagami leaving the school together. Surprising no one, Luka was waiting for them at the front steps, and Mari greeted him with a kiss on his cheek.

Nino snorted: they were so freaking cute together.

To be quite honest, he had been a big supporter of the whole Adrienette thing, but now he was happy with how things had turned out. His bro Adrien seemed truly enamored with Kagami, who clearly liked him a great deal. The fact that Gabriel approved their relationship was a big bonus: he was actually making concessions on Adrien’s schedule so he could spend more time with the Japanese girl.

Marinette seemed happy as well: it was a breath of fresh air watching her finally interact normally around Adrien. Luka and she were the cutest thing: the absolute adoration in the guitarist's eyes when he looked at her was the stuff sappy love songs were made of. Seeing the two couples leaving the school, probably to have lunch together, warmed his heart.

It was so awesome seeing all of his friends happy.

Grinning, he started to climb the steps when he saw Lila by the doors. He raised his arm, ready to call her when he noticed her expression.

Her face was contorted in anger and hate.

Nino froze, his arm still held in the air. Lila’s lips were pursued, her teeth ranging. Her usually calm face was tensed in hard lines, her eyebrows frowning, her clenched fists trembling in rage. And her eyes… God, her eyes – they seemed to burn, fueled by some unknown, terrible feeling.

He followed the line of her gaze, finding his friends’ group turning the corner and disappearing. Nino looked back at Lila, only to see her biting her lip and sending daggers with her eyes to the place where they had been.

What. The. Hell.

“Lila?”

She tensed, her expression becoming blank in a second, but when she turned around, she was smiling sweetly as if nothing had happened.

“Oh, Nino! I was waiting for you! Did you arrive just now?”

He blinked a few times. “Yeah, dude, I was… Yeah, just now.”

“Good! I would hate to make you wait for me!” She held her hands, looking shyly at the ground. “Not that I’m complaining about Alya making us wait for her. I’m sure she’s busy with something important, and that she would never put you… I mean, us, in second place purposely…”

What… What Alya had to do with anything ? Where had that come from?

She looked up at him from under her eyelashes. “Are you okay, Nino?”

If he was okay? He was the one who should have been asking her that. Wtf dude, he wasn’t crazy, he had clearly seen her face minutes ago: there was no way in hell something wasn’t going on. Yet she was acting as if he was the one who had a problem.

“Yeah, everything is good, dude. How about you?”

She put her hands on her cheeks, turning her face away. Any other day, he would have found her antics endearing, but now it was just one more piece of the puzzle. “I’m a little worried about Adrien, to be honest.”

What? Why? His bro had been the happiest he had ever seen. Nino would have noticed if something was bothering him, right ?

“What about Adrien?” Alya’s voice caught his attention. She came to them and gave him a kiss on the cheek, before turning to her friend. “Sorry, Mlle Bustier held me longer than I thought, and then I forgot our lunch box in the classroom. What were you saying about Adrien, Lila?”

The Italian bit her lip, looking around, uncertain. “Shouldn’t we sit somewhere, first?”

“Oh, we can just stay here. Nino and I have lunch at the steps all the time.” Without waiting for her answer, Alya set down and started separating the sandwiches her mother had made. She didn’t notice Lila’s face, but he saw, for the first time, a flash of disgust that quickly disappeared.

What…

“Nino?” Alya called, and he realized he was still standing like an idiot.

He sat a few steps down, intending to keep the two girl’s faces on sight.

“Here, Lila,” Alya cheerfully offered her one of the sandwiches. “Mama made it according to your specifications. I hope you like it!”

“Of course I’ll, Alya,” she smiled. “I’m so lucky to have a friend that takes into consideration my dietary problems.” Lila sighed, sadly. “I wish Marinette would be more like you. It’s a shame I never can appreciate the food she brings for the class, it makes me wonder if she does it on purpose, to make me feel excluded…”

Nino gasped: what was the necessity of even saying that? Marinette brought them the leftovers her parents separated: she didn’t have control over what they gave her…

“She probably doesn’t know you feel like that, Lila,” Alya declared, giving the other girl a pat on the shoulder. “I’ll talk to her. I’m sure she can make an effort for you.”

That… was not up to Alya to decide. Nino filed that information for later: he would talk with his girlfriend when they were alone.

“But you were saying you’re worried about Adrien…?” Alya insisted.

Lila looked at her lap. “I probably shouldn’t say anything.”

“Nonsense. If Adrien is in trouble, you have to tell us, dude.”

She took a deep breath, preparing herself. Lila raised her head, looking directly at him. “I just saw Adrien leaving for lunch.”

Lila waited for his reaction, and Nino suddenly understood: she wanted to know if he had arrived earlier than he had said, if he had seen Adrien – and her – too.

She was testing him.

And Nino Lahife did something he had never done before: he lied through his teeth.

“Oh, that was before I arrived, right? Because I didn’t see him.”

Lila nodded, satisfied, and turned to Alya. “Yes, I saw him leaving with Marinette.”

Plus Kagami and Luka, Nino mentally completed and waited. Waited for her to tell the truth.

“Well, they are friends,” Alya shrugged. “Better friends now, actually, since Mari is over him and dating Luka.”

Layla bit her lip. “Yeah… That’s the problem. I’m not sure if she’s really over him. I don’t want to intrude but… she was grabbing his arm, practically climbing on him. Adrien was clearly distressed.”

What the damn Hell.

Nino could just stare at her, jaw falling slack. What did Lila think she was doing? Adrien had left the school holding hands with Kagami, and Marinette had practically jumped at Luka, her boyfriend. What she was telling them wasn’t the truth, Lila was…

Lila was lying.

Lying so easily and perfectly, right on their faces.

Dumbstruck, he almost missed Alya’s response.

“...sure, Lila? Because that doesn’t sound like Marinette at all. Maybe someone who looked like her? Oh, maybe it was Kagami?”

“Yeah, Lila, didn’t you mention a vision problem or something?” Nino added. What was Lila’s deal? Why was she deliberately lying like that?

“You… you…” she started tearing up. “Do you think I’m lying?”

Yes.

“No!” Alya exclaimed, grabbing her hand. “No, girl, of course not. We’re just saying that you may be mistaking someone else for Marinette. There are plenty of girls who have raven hair in the school.”

“But I’m sure I saw Marinette,” she mumbled, looking at the ground. “I mean, don’t you think it’s a little weird how fast she supposedly got over him? You said she was pretty obsessed with him before…”

“Well…” Alya trailed off.

“Wait, you said that, Alya?” Nino questioned, raising his brows. His girlfriend had the decency of looking ashamed. “Anyways, don’t worry about Adrien, Lila. Adrien tells me everything.” He gave the girl a hard stare. “And Kagami’s his girlfriend. If someone is making Adrien uncomfortable, Kagami’s going to rip them off to pieces.”

“Oh, you’re right, Nino,” Alya agreed. “I doubt you saw Marinette, Lila, and whoever is putting the moves on Adrien, they will certainly regret it. Kagami has absolutely no chill, she’s going to end anyone who bothers Adrien.”

“Yeah, me too.” Nino agreed, still staring at Lila. “Adrien’s my best friend and I’ll make sure to not let anyone harass him.”

There was no mistake: Lila’s smile was forced.

“Oh, Adrien’s so lucky to have you guys as friends,” she said.

She didn’t take back her words about Marinette. She didn’t comment on Kagami being his girlfriend.

And Nino concluded that it was about time he started paying attention to the things Lila was saying.

Alya

Something wasn’t right with Nino.

After they cleared the misunderstanding about Marinette and Adrien, he had stayed mostly in silence, only watching Lila and her talking. He seemed immersed in thoughts, not even smiling – if anything, he couldn’t stop frowning when Lila was telling her about her latest conversation with Ladybug. If she didn’t know better, Alya would even think he was frowning at Lila.

Maybe they should talk about it later.

They went back to the classroom, where most of their friends already were. Marinette and Adrien were the last ones to arrive, just as the bell rang. Hmm, maybe Lila had really seen Marinette, but she was probably mistaken about her clinging to him. Knowing her best friend, she probably tripped on the steps and had to hang on him for balance, scaring the poor boy. Yeah, that was probably it.

“Hey girl, how was your lunch?”

Marinette grinned. “It was great! Luka, Kagami, Adrien, and I went to that new coffee shop that opened next to the station. They had his amazing tuna sandwiches, even Kagami loved them, and she’s picky with her food. You and Nino should definitely check it out later. We didn’t wait for you guys because you told me your mom had made a special lunch and you already had plans.”

“Oh, yes, we had made plans with Lila,” Alya agreed. Marinette’s smile faltered a little at the mention of the Italian girl, but Alya decided to give her a pass this time. Now that Mari was happy with Luka, she would soon get over the Lila paranoia. “So, Luka and Kagami met you guys at the coffee shop?”

“Oh, no,” Marinette shook her head. “Kagami was already here, and Luka came to pick me up – I mean, us…”

Her best friend blushed and Alya couldn’t help but laugh. “It’s okay, girl, you can get excited because your older and charming boyfriend came to escort you to your lunch date.” Marinette only blushed more, her hands trying to cover her cheeks.

Before she could mess with her just a bit more – because honestly, watching Mari falling in love with Luka was so endearing – Nino turned to them.

“So, dudette, Luka and Kagami were with you and Adrien, right?” He asked, and the said model boy also turned, to follow the conversation. Both nodded in agreement. “And Kagami was already here? So when you left school, the three of you were together?”

Adrien and Marinette exchanged confused glances.

“Yes, Kagami had come earlier to talk with Mounsier D’Argencourt,” Adrien explained.

“We left together and Luka was waiting for us at the front steps,” Marinette completed. “Why are you asking, Nino?”

“Just clearing up something, dudette.” He adjusted his cap, his signature nervous tick. “Lila told us she had seen you leaving together earlier, but she didn’t mention Kagami or Luka.”

This time, when they looked at each other, both Adrien and Marinette were visibly annoyed.

“It was just a misunderstanding,” Alya quickly interrupted. “We told her it couldn’t possibly be Marinette clinging on Adrien…”

“What?” they let out identical indignant shouts. Adrien raised his head, undoubtedly sending his glare to Lila; Marinette seemed to be making a conscious effort to not do the same.

God, she was so giving Nino a piece of her mind later.

“I said we already convinced her that she was mistaken,” Alya insisted. She held Mari’s shoulder, giving her a reassuring squeeze. “I told Lila it wasn’t you, that you would never do something like that.”

Marinette let out a long breath and gave her a thankful smile. Good, everything was under control now…

“But Lila never admitted that she was wrong,” Nino interfered. Adrien turned his frown to him. “She insisted she saw Adrien and Marinette and cried when we suggested she was mistaken.”

“Of course she did…” Marinette mumbled, and Alya groaned.

“Well, she clearly was,” Alya insisted. “She only saw two people, and since Kagami was with Adrien and Marinette, if we explain that to her, she will understand her error and apologize.”

And that was when the strangest thing happened: Adrien, Marinette, and Nino gave her identical sad stares.

“Hey, why are you guys…”

“Sorry about the delay, class.” Mlle Bustier entered the room, pushing a library cart full of books. “These volumes were heavier than I expected, so the librarian had to find a stroller for me.”

“No problem, Mlle B.,” Nino said, turning around and conveniently escaping her glare. For now.

“Thank you, Nino.” Their teacher turned to face the class. “Now, as I warned before, we are going to read a book for our literature class. Your last assignment for this class will be reading Les trois mousquetaires, by Alexander Dumas.” Whispers immediately spread in the room, and Mlle Bustier’s smile grew. “Yes, I know you’re excited, but remember: this book has 700 pages, and it was written in 1844, not in modern French. After reading it, everyone has to write an essay about it, following the pointers I will send to Marinette, as the class representative.”

More whispers could be heard, and Alya almost groaned: that reading would consume all of her free time...

“Now, I’m going to start distributing the books, and…” She paused, then smiled. “Yes, Lila?”

Alya turned around, and she wasn’t the only one. For some reason, everyone in class also turned to Lila, who was shyly lowering her hand.

“I’m sorry, Mlle Bustier, but I don’t think I’ll be able to complete this assignment,” she sighed, tiredly. “With my vision problems, it’s impossible for me to read such an extensive book, so maybe…”

“So maybe you should go to an ophthalmologist,” Alix suddenly cut her. Lila gasped, staring at the pink-haired girl, who was glaring at her. “If your vision is bad, you just need to get glasses. You don’t need to avoid the very difficult and personal assignment no one else in the class would be able to do for you.”

Well, Alix wasn’t wrong, but hey, rude much?

“Alix is right, Lila,” Mlle Bustier said. “You should ask your parents to get you an appointment soon. You don’t want to leave this assignment to the end of the school year.”

“Oh, well, of course,” Lila gulped. “But you see, even if  I can get the glasses done in time, my arthritis…”

“Oh, cut the crap!” Alix snapped, getting up, her hands resting on the table and glaring furiously at Lila.

“Alix!” Mlle Bustier called, but the girl ignored her.

“Alix, why are you being so mean?” Lila asked, tears sliding down her cheeks.

“Yeah, what the hell, Alix!” Alya exclaimed, turned around to look for their friends’ support.

She found none.

To Alya’s horror, Alix wasn’t the only one acting strangely. Kim also stood, crossing his arms and shaking his head negatively, and Ivan mimicked him, looming over the Italian. Nathaniel started to bang his forehead on the table they shared, repeatedly. Rose and Mylène covered their faces, trembling, while an evidently pissed off Juleka was standing protectively between Rose and Lila. Chloé was laughing and clapping, while Sabrina pulled her phone to record the scene. Max was typing furiously on his laptop, Markov now flying above him, and what the hell is going on?

Lost, Alya turned to her closest friends, only to find Nino hiding behind his cap, mumbling to himself, while Marinette was leaning over their table and talking so fast with Adrien she could barely discern the words. Alya looked at the model, expecting that at least he would be at Lila’s side: but Adrien was absolutely calm, following Marinette’s ramble as if it made perfect sense. When she finished, he just shrugged, and said, loud and clear:

“Guess the cat’s out of the bag.”

And as if they were expecting the resident sunshine boy’s blessing, all hell broke loose:

“You’re a freaking liar, Lila!”

“You don’t know Jagged Stone!”

“He hates cats!”

“You lied about Prince Ali too!”

“You made us all attend to you like servants!”

“Ridiculous! You’re utterly ridiculous!”

“That’s enough!”

No one knew Mlle Bustier could snap like that, but that day was just full of surprises. Everyone stopped, some still standing, pointing fingers at the poor Lila. Taking advance of the situation, Alya ran to her friend, protectively hugging her against her chest. She could feel the eyes of all her classmates on her, but she faced it with her chin held high. She wouldn’t stand for them attacking Lila like that.

She was so disappointed in them all.

“Now, can someone please explain to me what all of this is about?” Mlle Bustier frowned. “Lila?”

The poor girl in her arms burst in tears and pointed a trembling finger ahead.

“I-it’s Ma-marinette! She threw them all against me!”

Alya immediately tensed. Now that couldn’t be right. She released Lila gently but stayed by her side. Surely she was just mistaken again, Marinette would never…

“Marinette?” Mlle Bustier called.

With a heavy sigh, the girl stood up. She looked around in the class, and their friends smiled and nodded at her.

No, Marinette would never…

“I did no such thing, Mlle Bustier,” she calmly answered. “They probably just found out the truth by themselves.”

Mlle Bustier frowned. “Truth? What truth?”

Max promptly jumped at the opportunity. “If you’ll allow me, Mlle Bustier, I have a presentation prepared to explain everything to you and to the class.”

Alya felt Lila freezing at her side, and she passed her arms on her shoulders in support.

Mlle Bustier still had her severe face on. “I do hope you have an explanation for this disgraceful behavior.”

She stepped aside, allowing Max access to the room’s computer and projector. He plugged a pen-drive in and within seconds he had the projector running and his presentation ready to start.

“Well, Mlle Bustier, in the past few days everyone in the class – except Alya, apparently – realized that Lila’s far-fetched stories couldn’t possibly be the truth.”

What?

Before Alya could even process what was going on, Chloé raised her hand and stood up, chin held high and staring directly at Lila. “I just want to say, for the record, that I knew it since she put her cheap shoes on the school’s steps. It physically pains me to admit it, but only I and Dupain-Cheng saw through her since the beginning. The rest just caught up this week.” And Chloé’s eyes lingered on her. “Or never.”

While a dumbstruck Marinette stared at Chloé, jaw falling slack, Max cleared his throat.

“Well, me, Sabrina, and Alix put together the proof. Everything you’ll see, Mlle Bustier, is from checked sources.”

“In other words, not from the Ladyblog,” Chloé added up, and Alya almost jumped at her.

“How dare you-”

“Exhibit A!” Sabrina shouted, pointing at the projector. There was the print of an interview from a well-known celebrity show. “Jagged Stone hates cats with fervor. He never had one, he never had any pets except for Fang, his crocodile.”

“Lila said she got tinnitus from saving his cat,” Alix declared, pointing an accusatory finger at Lila. “That was a lie. She just wanted to sit on the front roll with Adrien. She made us all change seats and push Marinette to the back for nothing.”

Alya could only stare at the projector. The source was solid. She let go of Lila’s shoulder and took a step back, but she couldn’t see the other girl’s face. Her head was hanging low, her fists clenched on her lap.

“Exhibit B!” Max said. “We thank Rose for letting us use this one.”

Next, there was a video. Holy shit, Prince Ali had recorded it himself. It was short, objective, and harsh: he denied any connection to one Lila Rossi or the existence of environmental charities in his name. To add insult to injury, he finished the video expressing his concern and doubts about the integrity of a school that allowed a child to miss months of school days, without presenting any proof for her absence.

“Prince Ali is rad,” Juleka announced, but Alya didn’t have the energy to agree.

Alya didn’t have energy at all.

What followed were more and more prints from different sites and celebrities’ social media, carefully selected to prove that every single story Lila had ever told them was a lie. Alya watched those slides passing without saying a word. She felt drained, disappointed, and especially ashamed: she had been the last one to know, and only because she didn’t listen to Marinette, because she didn’t check those facts for herself…

Her numb mind seemed to be on the verge of a big realization, but she still couldn’t take the final step that would help her finish it.

“And finally, Nathaniel insisted that we added this last one, although I don’t personally see how this is relevant,” Max explained, before showing them a Wikipedia page. “He said, and I quote, ‘FYI, Hiromu Arakawa is a woman, never use her name in vain again’.”

This whole thing had been so bizarre that Alya didn’t even flinch when Adrien jumped up, horrified.

“She said Arakawa-sensei was a man?”

Nathaniel threw up his hands. “I know, right?”

“Seriously, guys?” Kim questioned, surprised. “That’s the part that bothers you the most?”

“Enough!” Mlle Bustier’s voice was firm, although she was standing on shaking legs. “This is very grave indeed, and I thank all of you for bringing this to my attention. Is there anything else anyone would like to add?”

And Alya’s heart stopped when Marinette stood up.

“I can’t prove it, but Lila was the one behind my expulsion.” Horrified and angry mumbles followed her statement. “Well, if you consider the fact that she came later to Mr. Damocles’ officer confessing she faked it out because of her, quote, ‘lying disease’, then yes, I have proof.”

“Lying disease? What the fuck?”

“Alix, language! Proceed, Marinette.”

“I also can’t prove it, but before, when Lila first came to our class, she cornered me in the bathroom, and said that if I wasn’t on her side, I was against her. She threatened me: Lila said that she would turn all my friends against me, and then she would ‘steal Adrien’.”

All the indignant noises – Adrien’s been the loudest – were cut when Chloé slammed her two hands on her table.

“I couldn’t care less about her threats against Dupain-Cheng.” She slowly got up. “Although, let’s be real here: if you idiots fell for that liar’s scheme and turned against her, then good-riddance, she would be better off without you losers.”

Everyone, Alya included, was so ashamed for the times they had taken Lila’s side that they couldn’t even disagree with Chloé.

“But this ‘stealing Adrien’ part….” Chloé stopped, her face strangely blanked, while she stared at Lila. Alya wondered what was going on in the blonde’s head: Adrien and she had such a weird relationship, it was difficult to know if she actually cared for him or if she just wanted the boy for herself.

“I’m gonna bitch slap you.”

Chloé jumped forward, and that finally got a reaction from Lila. She pushed Alya aside when she ran to the back of the room, trying to put more space between her and the rampaging Bourgeois.

Chloé didn’t get far, though. Adrien was surprisingly fast and tackled her in the aisle, followed by Nino and Kim who helped to hold her still.

“Chloé, calm down!” Mlle Bustier called, strands of her red hair coming out of her bun. “Calm down, or I’m going to call the nurse to make you calm down! You can’t assault another student!”

“Yeah? Watch me. ”

“Chloé!” Adrien screamed, and then he started to talk to her in a low voice. He talked and talked and she slowly stopped struggling, until she let out a resigned sigh.

“Fine. For now. But only because of you, Adrikins.”

He also sighed, tiredly. “Thank you, Chlo.”

She stood up and the three boys immediately took steps away from her. Pretending she hadn’t completely lost her chill just a few instants ago, Chloé adjusted her clothes and hair and sent a deadly glare to Lila.

“Not now. But soon.”

In Alya’s opinion, Lila would be a fool if she didn’t take that threat seriously.

“Wow, rad,” Juleka mumbled.

“Yeah, respect,” Alix agreed, eyeing Chloé with a new-found admiration.

“Girls, what’s wrong with you?” And more strands were freed from Bustier’s bum. “You can’t physically attack someone, violence’s never the answer!”

“The situation is escalating because everyone is at their wits’ end, Mlle Bustier,” Marinette interfered, hugging herself. “What Lila did hurt and even scared some of us deeply. But you’re right, of course: violence is never the answer.”

“Thank you, Marinette. I knew I could count on you to…”

“But none of this would have happened,” Marinette interrupted her, firmly. “If you, and the school, had done your jobs. If you had checked Lila’s absences and diseases, instead of putting on your students’ shoulders the responsibility to deal with a supposedly disabled student, none of this would have happened. And don’t even let me get started on your approach on bullying.”

Mlle Bustier could only stare at Marinette, mouth hanging open, eyes huge and limbs trembling.

“Damn , you murdered her,” Kim whistled.

“Oookay…” It was Adrien’s time to intervene. “I think we all should calm down a little, and finish this. I’m surprised no akuma showed up yet, but let’s not keep pushing our luck.”

“Oh my God, you’re right!” Marinette grabbed her own pigtails, eyes wild. “We didn’t even consider that!”

“And I can’t believe Hawk Moth didn’t jump at this opportunity, being the emotional vampire he is,” Nino commented.

“He’s probably okay with terrorism, but traces the line on murder,” Alix had turned her glare back to Lila. “He knows this will end in a funeral if someone gets akumatized right now.”

“Oh my God!” Marinette was freaking out again. “Can Ladybug bring people back from the dead with her Miraculous?”

And just like that, it clicked: the final piece of the puzzle, the little push she needed before jumping to the conclusion her subconscious had been hiding from her.

She slowly turned to Lila. The girl had her back glued to the wall, arms crossed over her chest protectively, but those were the only signs of her fear. Her face was contorted in disgust and her eyes – fixed on Marinette – were burning in rage.

God, she had been so blind.

“You don’t know Ladybug, do you?” she asked quietly.

The room was immediately immersed in silence.

Lila didn’t answer, only stared at her in defiance.

“You aren’t Ladybug’s best friend, are you?”

She still didn’t answer, but Adrien’s voice was clear:

“No, she doesn’t and she isn’t. I was there when Ladybug confronted her: they don’t know each other at all.”

“Dude!” Nino’s voice was indignant. “And you didn’t tell us?”

“I honestly thought it had no importance! And would you have believed me? You didn’t believe Marinette!”

“That’s not the point! You…”

Her brain blocked their voices out. She had heard enough.

But maybe some part of her had always known, right? Because it was too good to be true: Ladybug’s best friend in her class? Ladybug’s best friend giving interviews for her blog? Maybe that was why she hadn’t paid attention when Marinette warned her; maybe that was why she hadn’t checked it at all. She wanted to feel close to her heroine so much she would do anything for it.

Lila had realized that. Lila had seen her not as a friend, never as a friend, just as the means to an end.

She honestly didn’t know what hurt more.

“Was it real?” She asked, and absently noticed the room becoming silent once more. “Was any of it real for you? Our feelings, our friendship, did you care at all? At least one bit?”

Lila smirked.

“Oh, Alya, of course not.”

She continued talking, but Alya didn’t listen. She had heard enough from the other girl: enough for a lifetime.

The next thing she knew, she was screaming in the air, contorting on Ivan’s strong arms, struggling to get free and claw Lila’s eyes out of her face. The liar was sprawled on the floor now, huge eyes full of fear staring back at her.

“Alya!” Nino was by her side, trying to hold her hands, trying to calm her down. “Alya, babe, you’re right to be mad, but calm down…”

“WHAT’S GOING ON HERE?”

Mme. Mendeleiev was standing at their threshold, livid. Her eyes quickly traveled the room, from Alya being held by Ivan to the nervous students standing, and finally landing on Mlle Bustier. “Caline, what’s the meaning of these screams?”

“I… Well… The students… You see…”

“Marinette,” Mme. Mendeleiev cut the other teacher, once it became obvious she wasn’t putting her sentences together. “You’re the class representative. Explain.”

Marinette let go of her pigtails, took a big breath, and faced the teacher. “Max and Sabrina made a presentation that proves that all of Lila’s stories were lies. Obviously, the students felt bad about being tricked by her and the situation quickly escalated from there.”

Mendeleiev just blinked. “Well, it was about time.”

Alya was so shocked that her body relaxed on Ivan’s arm, and he almost let her fall.

“Wait, you knew?” Mlle Bustier exclaimed, her eyes huge.

“Well, I’m not an idiot,” Mendeleiev frowned. “Wait, are you telling me you didn’t ? That’s why you haven’t brought the situation to Damocles yet?”

“Well… I… You see…”

“Oh my God, Caline,” Mme. Mendeleiev facepalmed, hard. “Just… Just come with me to the principal’s office. Rossi, you too.”

To her eternal displeasure, Lila held her face high, refusing to crack under everyone’s hard stares while descending the steps. When she got closer to Adrien and Marinette, standing side by side, she gave them a vicious glare and opened her mouth to say something, but Mme. Mendeleiev quickly cut her:

“Not a single word, young lady.” Her tone left no room for argument. “I don’t think you have the faintest idea about how much trouble you’re in. For starters, you’re going to be expelled.”

That seemed to finally get under Lila’s skin, because she spun around, shocked, while half of the room cheered.

“Everyone!” Mlle Bustier seemed to have regained a bit of her composure. “I want you to stay quiet while we talk to the principal. Pick a book and start reading it.” Yeah, fat chance of that. “Marinette, please come with us, as the class representative. And bring that presentation with you.”

Her friend only nodded. Max, who already had the pen drive in hand – or was that a copy? - promptly handed it to her.

Once the door closed after the four of them left, Ivan finally let her go. Alya launched herself on Nino’s arms, who whispered soothing words in her ear.

Their classmates looked at each other.

And all hell broke loose once again.

Adrien

“Did you see Mendeleiev’s face?”

“Did you see Lila’s face?”

“She didn’t even flinch until Mendeleiev talked about expulsion!”

“Nah, she was almost peeing on her pants when Chloé and Alya went for her…”

“I’ll feed on the image of her fear for all eternity.”

“That’s… creepy, Chloé.”

“Rad.”

Adrien shook his head. Lila had been bad for their class, spreading lies, making promises she couldn’t keep, and it was a relief to see the truth coming to light. Even so, he felt bad seeing her leaving like that: if she had really tried to make friends instead of lying, they wouldn’t be cheering while she was walking away.

She wouldn’t be all alone.

It was the same sinking feeling from the day when Chloé had announced she was leaving France. Everyone – including Marinette! - had thrown a party celebrating her going away. So that was what happened when you screwed up? Everyone turned their backs at you? Everyone simply discarded you, disappearing from your life and leaving you all alone once again? What if he -

“Adrikins!” Chloé suddenly grabbed his arm, in an awkward half-hug. “Why the long face? You’re finally free from the claws of that harpy…”

And here it was: the reason why he couldn’t stay mad at Chloé. Contrary to what everyone else believed, he could see her flaws and errors clearly, Adrien knew she wasn’t always nice, that she committed a lot of mistakes every day.

But Chloé was always there for him.

Even before his mother’s disappearance, before everything became worse, she was always there. The golden light in the middle of their parent’s shadows, guiding him for the only comfort he could always rely on. The only friend he ever had, the one who would sneaky to visit him when his father became overprotective, the friend that was always a phone call away. The only friend that would never leave him alone in the dark.

Maybe he was co-dependent, weak and a coward, but Adrien wasn’t ready to risk losing Chloé yet. He would give her how many chances it would be necessary for her to become less vicious and more compassionate. She was his first friend, and he wanted her to stay his friend.

Adrien Agreste would see Chloé Bourgeois redeeming herself, or die trying.

“I’m just thinking it’s such a waste, Chloé. She didn’t have to lie, she only had to be herself if she wanted to make friends…”

To his surprise, she immediately sobered up. Chloé let go of his arm and took a step back, hands on her waist, her eyes furious.

“Now, listen to me, Adrien Agreste, and believe when I tell you this: that  was Lila being herself. She wasn’t lying to make friends, she was lying because she loved it.”

“But…”

“Adrien,” Chloé interrupted. “We have been through this before. Not everyone is as pure as you, or disgustingly happy like this one here who only wears pink, I forgot her name…”

“Hey!”

“...or, Heavens forbid it, annoyingly nice like Dupain-Cheng.” Chloé shuddered as if uttering those words out loud made her sick. “Adrien, Lila is not a poor victim: she knew exactly what she was doing, she’s done it before, will do it again in the future. There was no misunderstanding here, she enjoys lying and manipulating people. That’s who she is.”

Adrien looked around, and aside from a pouting Rose who was being consoled by Juleka, the rest of the class was hung up on Chloé’s word. Everyone else seemed to agree, and that made his stomach turn, bile climbing up his throat.

“But how can we know for sure?” he insisted.

“Adrikins, you’re not a superhero, so let Queen Bee explain to you,” she put a hand on his shoulder, while Plagg angrily moved on his pocket. “You can’t save everyone, because people suck.”

A collective groan spread throughout the class.

“Oh man, and she was actually doing so well for a change,” Alix shook her head, legitimately disappointed.

“We were this close to making Adrien see how cruel the world actually is,” Juleka mumbled, thumb and index finger only a few millimeters apart.

“But last part aside, she was right, you know. Some people are just assholes…”

“Hey, I know exactly what I’m doing, don’t you dare contradict me…”

The worst part was, Chloé was right again. Except for him not being a hero and her still being Queen Bee, she had nailed his fears home.

You can’t save everyone.

Before he could dwell on those thoughts, though, Nino’s heavy hand landed on his shoulder.

“Dude, don’t you have anything to say to Alya?”

Surprised, Adrien turned around. Nino was hiding under his cap once again, but he could see the tense, thin line his lips were forming. Still seeking the comfort of her boyfriend’s embrace, Alya’s face was marked by tears, but her eyes were severe.

“You knew that Ladybug and Lila weren’t friends and you didn’t tell us?”

Adrien frowned.

“Marinette warned you before, remember? After no one heard her the first time, and seeing that it only caused more problems for Marinette, not mentioning Lila’s own akumatization, I thought that it would be better to let Lila lie herself in a corner. I didn’t see how exposing her could make the situation any better, only worse.”

“Oh, Adrikins, you’re so annoyingly optimistic sometimes...”

“Adrien,” Nino shook his head, looking down. “It’s not cool to let your friends be played like that.”

Dread started to fill his chest. “I’m sorry, Nino. I had no idea things would turn out like this.” He hopelessly looked around in the class: everyone was facing him, but they seemed more surprised or disappointed than angry. “I’m sorry, everyone. I really didn’t think her lies were so grave. I’m used to the press and the fans coming up with stories about me and my family all the time. Father always said that lies don’t have ground to grow unless we feed them, and the best way to deal with gossip is to ignore it.”

His classmates shared a few glances.

“Considering Adrien’s background, his thought process was solid,” Max declared.

“We know you didn’t want to hurt us,” Mylène said, and looked up for Ivan’s support. Her boyfriend nodded and gave the model a small smile.

“I just don’t understand why you didn’t try to warn us before,” Alix insisted, shaking her head.

“I confronted Lila about how she couldn’t keep lying forever,” he confessed, bracing himself. “I tried to convince her to stop it, and I was keeping an eye on her to make sure she wouldn’t cross the line again after the incident with Marinette…”

“You knew she was the one responsible for Mari’s expulsion?” Alya shrieked  her accusation, and Adrien finally started to lose his patience.

“Marinette told me, and I believed her,” he snapped back. Low whistles could be heard at his back, and Alya gasped, her eyes huge, and he immediately felt bad. “I’m sorry, Alya. I should have warned you after you put the interview on your blog. But for what’s worth, I genuinely thought it wouldn’t make any difference.”

Before Alya could respond, Chloé’s voice once again overcame all conversations: “It wouldn’t.”

Alya turned her glare to the other blonde, who now was picking her nails as if nothing was happening. “You don’t know that, Chloé. If Adrien had told me…”

“...you would have confronted Lila, who would have lied about how that was just a misunderstanding,” Chloé finished, in a bored tone of voice. Yet, when she raised her glare at Alya, her smile was pure condescension. “Look at your friends’ faces, Césaire, and tell them that you wouldn’t have fallen for Lie-la’s lies again. That you would have done what you should have in the first place and checked your sources, asked Ladybug herself.”

Adrien could feel  the temperature in the room dropping.

“That’s enough, Chloé,” he exclaimed, decisively. He looked around in the classroom: his friends were hurt, distressed, tired, angry, disappointed. So many negative feelings for Hawk Moth to feast upon, but he was Chat Noir, for crying out loud, and he would protect them. “I think it’s enough, everyone. We all committed mistakes. Chloé and I should have said something about Lila sooner, that’s true. But you guys also could have checked what she was saying at any point, it wasn’t just Alya who fell for her lies. We may have failed Marinette when we sided with Lila or when we did nothing, but the important thing is that, ultimately, Lila’s failure was bigger. Nobody turned against Marinette, no one stopped thinking of her as our friend.”

“Of course not!” Mylène cried out loud.

“Anyone who hasn’t apologized to Marinette yet, you better do it sooner rather than later,” Alix added up.

“GROUP HUG!” Rose suddenly screamed, already pulling Juleka and Nathaniel along.

“Oh, hell no…” Chloé tried to escape, but surprisingly, a giggling Sabrina pulled her back.

“Just this one time, please, Chloé…”

“Ridiculous, utterly ridiculous…”

And just like that, Adrien found himself smashed between a mumbling Chloé and a silent Nino, trapped in one of the class infamous group hugs. Everything was not  all right yet; there were apologies to be made and conversations to be had, but for now, he was just mostly glad that the situation had been defused without any akumas showing up.

“Hey,” he whispered to Nino. “Are we okay?”

His friend raised his head: a small smile, and tired eyes. “I need to think about a lot of stuff but I think… Yeah, we’re okay, my dude.”

And Adrien let out a heavy breath he didn’t know he had been holding until now.

Marinette

What a day.

Marinette had braced herself for a confrontation with Lila, but it never came. After they left the class, the teachers didn’t allow a single word shared between the girls, and Marinette made a point of keeping her eyes focused on Mlle Bustier’s back. Once they arrived at the principal’s office, Mme. Mendeleiev briefed him on the situation and asked Marinette to roll the presentation again.

What followed was so surreal that Marinette had to consciously prevent herself from laughing, rolling her eyes, or snapping several times. Monsieur Damocles lectured Lila about lying, missing classes, etc… as if he wasn’t partially responsible for the situation, thanks to his negligence and lenience. Not a single word was mentioned about the school’s failure to check her stories and, to add insult to injury, he discoursed passionately about how her behavior hurt her friends and the poor Mlle Bustier. Not even once he mentioned Marinette’s expulsion or believing in her ‘lying disease’.

Marinette had to be a good student and keep her mouth shut and her face devoid of emotions. Mme Mendeleiev , for her part, was visibly having a stroke or something, because her face was contorted the entire time.

After the longest hour of Marinette’s life, Mme Rossi finally arrived, and she wasn’t happy. She looked like an older and taller version of Lila, but her hair was cut in a long bob, and her style was more refined – Valentino from head to toe, and Marinette couldn’t point out a single flaw. The fact that she sent Lila a glare of pure disappointment made her sympathy for the woman rise considerably.

After the mother’s arrival, she was finally dismissed. Mlle Bustier instructed her to keep the class calm, and she left the office under Lila’s heavy gaze, but there was no final insult or declaration of war. They were done, and they would follow their separate ways now.

It was sort of anticlimactic.

But again, she was secretly a teenage superhero: she had too much excitement on her hands already.

“ I’m proud of you, Marinette,” Tikki’s voice came from her purse. She was eyeing her with big blue eyes full of kindness, and even after all this time, sometimes it still caught her surprise.

“Oh, thanks, Tikki, but why?”

“Lila tried to put you down, but you held your ground thanks to your convictions and your faith in your friends! You fought lies with the truth, meanness with kindness, and cowardice with bravery!”

Marinette could see the Kwami’s point, but to her, it didn’t feel like that. She didn’t feel as if she had done anything special. She hated liars on principle, – even though hate was a strong sentiment for Ladybug to have – so telling the truth had always come naturally to her. Being kind was what her parents had taught her, and as for bravery… She had taken Adrien’s advice instead of confronting Lila directly, allowing her to lie to her friends and hurt them more. Didn’t that make her the coward one?

She voiced those thoughts to Tikki while trying to inconspicuously leave the school. Mlle Bustier had asked her to go back to the class directly, but Marinette was sure there wouldn’t be a problem making a small detour to her parent’s bakery: fresh pastries were in order to pacify her distressed friends.

“Marinette,” Tikki patiently said, after she finished her little tirade. “You only proved my point. Telling the truth even when it’s hard, being kind to someone who hurts you, taking the high road even when everyone else thinks you should retaliate, those are all forms of courage. The same courage that makes you an amazing Ladybug!”

She was about to stutter something in response when her phone gave the message’s alert she had set up for Luka. With a giggle, Tikki passed her the device. Blushing just a little – because honestly, even the immortal God of Creation was having fun at her relationship’s expense – she eagerly opened his text.

hey

 

jules just told me

 

how r u feeling?

Now that  was a good question. The ‘Lila situation’ had occupied so many of her late-night thoughts with schemes to expose her; the girl’s presence in the back of the class a constant threat that kept Marinette hyper-aware of her surroundings. She had envisioned so many times going back to a time where Lila wasn’t around, and now it had finally come.

And Marinette only felt one thing.

relieved

 

just relieved

 

isnt that weird?

 

I should b celebrating

She certainly had when Chloé announced she was leaving France and, as it turned out, her former tormentor wasn’t half as evil as Lila. This time, she could only think about getting some pastries to cheer up her friends.

Its cause ur heart is tired

 

u understand the situation better than anyone

 

its ok if all u want to do s rest now

One day, Luka’s ability in reading her like a book would stop to amaze her.

Today was not that day.

She texted back thanking him for his support and promising to talk more later. Marinette stopped at Dupont’s door, taking a deep, slow breath, eyes closed, and mind wandering.

Although Luka was also right, she knew there was more to her hesitation in celebrating the situation. They weren’t quite done yet. She wouldn’t put it above Lila to try something from distance out of spite. She had thrown harsh words at Mlle Bustier, and even though she didn’t regret it, she knew it would come back to bite her later. Some of her friends had already apologized for the times they had been unfair to her, but she knew the rest would be talking to her in the next few days.

Alya included.

Their conversation would be a long one. There was the whole ‘siding with Lila instead of your best friend’ thing, for sure, but it wasn’t all. They both had bad habits that needed to be addressed, a few boundaries that needed to be set. Marinette was optimistic, though: she was sure they would have a stronger, healthier friendship after they were done.

Adrien would probably want to talk to her too.

Adrien.

Sighing, Marinette opened her eyes and sadly eyed Tikki, who gave her a solidary smile in return, for she knew that old habits died hard. Marinette wasn’t 100% over Adrien yet, but she was almost there. He was still her friend and one of her favorite people, but they weren’t in love. She wasn’t in love.

Love was huge. Love was epic. Love was Romeo and Juliet dying together; was Helen leaving Sparta with Paris knowing it would result in war; was Jeanne d'Arc leading the French army to the battlefield.

She had liked Adrien a great deal, adored him, idolized  him, even. But she had never felt like that.

Realizing it wasn’t really love had helped her a lot. She knew she didn’t love Luka either, but with him, the feelings were different, more honest. They were both on the same page, slowly exploring something tentative and new. Things with him were easier and maybe she was being selfish, but that kind of light relationship was all she could handle right now.

‘The Lila situation’ had been defused, but she was still Ladybug, class representative, an aspiring fashion designer with commissions from famous people, and a collège student preparing for her brevet  exams. There was no time for extra drama in her life now, which included her complicated past feelings for Adrien.

“You can do it, Marinette!” the God of Creation whispered from her purse.

“Thanks, Tikki.” Her smile was small but genuine.

With her head held high, she crossed the street to her parents’ bakery, ready to let them know that, although she had burned her reputation with her teacher, their class was finally free.

Extra: why no akumas appeared

Lunchtime: the perfect hour to put on his Hawk Moth mantle. The tensions the students accumulated during the whole morning, even the heaviness they had been carrying since the past days, all ready to boil. Some of his strongest akumas had been created in that situation.

After quickly finishing his meal in his office, Gabriel Agreste was ready to open the secret passage under Emilie’s painting when Natalie knocked on his door.

“I’m sorry to interrupt, sir, but this is important.”

Loyal Natalie knew better than to schedule any appointments during the hours he was active as Hawk Moth, so this had to be an emergency.

“Come in, Nathalie, but make it quick.”

Without losing time, she walked right to him and offered her tablet, lips pursued. “Vogue’s chief editor is calling, sir.”

Unusual, but simple to deal with.

“Tell her assistant to call again after the lunch break,” he dismissed. He could feel that today would present him a good opportunity for a strong akuma, and he wouldn’t be distracted by a workaholic wanting to refine details that were certainly already perfect: he didn’t allow his employees to aim for less than the best.

“Sir, it’s not her assistant. Mme Foullet is calling from her private line.”

He paused, his hand hovering over the painting. Now he understood Nathalie’s urgency, he should have paid better attention to her words.

Gabriel turned around, nodding. Nathalie raised the tablet and accepted the call. An elderly woman with white hair in an elegant twisted bun was staring at him through blue rimmed glasses. Jacqueline Foullet’s face wasn’t hiding her displeasure.

“I dislike waiting, Gabriel. You know better than that.”

Indeed, he had been ungraceful. “I apologize, Jacqueline.”

She didn’t bother pursuing the issue. “We will reschedule your presentation for today at four.”

Gabriel frowned, and Nathalie’s eyes were wide in surprise.

“I don’t see the reason for that demand.” Jacqueline was trying to treat him as a novice designer, and he wouldn’t accept that.

“Gabriel, you either developed a weird sense of humor or you’ve lost your touch. In either case, in respect for the years we have worked together, I decided it would be better to step up and interfere before it’s too late to salvage your line.”

The sheer absurdity of that statement robbed Gabriel of his words for a few moments. Equally surprised, Nathalie whispered ‘sir’ until he snapped out of it.

“You’re the one who developed a strange sense of humor, Jacqueline. There’s no reason for you to think either of those things has happened.”

Unimpressed, Jacqueline only raised a perfectly designed eyebrow.

“Oh? How do you explain this, then?”

A message icon appeared in the corner, and he immediately opened it. The folder contained the pictures from Adrien’s last photo-shoot, the first he had shared with that girl Rossi. He had had his doubts about accepting her conditions to work for him, but in the end, he had decided in favor of giving her the chance to prove herself. With a few exceptions that obviously included Adrien, child models were average. Even the most perfectionists in the industry had long accepted that truth. Gabriel didn’t expect a lot from Rossi, but his photographer was Paris’ best, the rest of the team equally good and experienced. Gabriel had been sure that, with the right guidance, Rossi’s performance would reach his standards.

He had been wrong.

Frowning, he quickly went through the pictures. The ones featuring only Adrien were excellent, as always, but Rossi’s couldn’t be further from it. Her solo ones were terrible: she was clearly forcing the facial expressions she had, her corporal language was too provocative and/or aggressive for a child, and why hadn’t his stylists done something about her hair and clothes ?

To his dismay, her photos with Adrien were worse. Usually, a veteran model can help an inexperienced one to improve their performance. In this case, the contrary had happened: Adrien and she were clearly out of sync. She was occupying too much of his personal space, ruining the friendly and light mood he had aimed for.

What was his team thinking??

“I apologize, Jacqueline. Clearly, there was a mistake.” He didn’t bother eyeing Nathalie: his assistant handled most of his issues, but she was not responsible for any decisions as far as the photo-shoots went. The photographer had sent those pictures directly to Vogue’s art department, and their art director made all the final decisions.

“At first, I thought the same, Gabriel,” contempt was dripping from Jacqueline’s words. “I thought that maybe you sent me the discarded pictures by mistake, so I demanded all the photos from the shoot.” Which she had no right to do, but you don’t get to her position by playing nice. “Gabriel, these were the ones my art director could savage. These were the best.”

Unaceptable.

“Jacqueline, I assure you…”

“I don’t know why you allowed Adrien to bring his girlfriend to the photo-shoot, but I’ve never expected such an unprofessional attitude from you.”

He was being scolded like a child. “Rossi isn’t Adrien’s girlfriend,” he said, his mind trying to come to an excuse for those pictures, and finding none. “I assure you, this was a mistake that won’t happen again.”

“Oh, I believe you.” Jacqueline’s tone made it clear that he would be working with her team more closely than he would have liked, and there was nothing he could do about it. “See you at four, Gabriel.”

After that, she turned off.

Gabriel Agreste could be called ‘Paris Fashion Guru’, just like Audrey Bourgeois were the ‘Style Queen’, titles they had conquered with their work. Yet, at the end of the day, the chief editor is the one who approves what gets published or not. Not even Gabriel could afford to displeasure Jacqueline Foullet.

“I apologize, sir.” Nathalie avoided his eyes. “The photographer called me and asked for another model, but you had already decided on Rossi…”

“No need to apologize.” She had only followed his orders, as always. Tired, he adjusted his glasses and prepared for the next confrontation. ”Just call him.”

“Yes, sir.”

Once the call connected, Gabriel was ready to give Vincent the lecture of his life, but he had no opportunity.

The photographer was eager to talk, too.

“I assume you saw the pictures. Well, it wasn’t my fault. That… brat... you send to me couldn’t obey a single instruction I passed. She just kept repeating she was your ‘muse’ ,” he made quote signs with his fingers, his voice dripping sarcasm. “…and that I was the one who didn’t know what I was doing. She was rude to the entire team, made the hairstylist cry twice , and made poor Adrien really uncomfortable…”

“Enough!” Gabriel interrupted. He could see where this little tirade was going. “I assume responsibility for sending you an inexperienced model. Do you think she could be trained to be a proper one?”

Vincent’s expression was blank.

“With all due respect, Monsieur Agreste, if you send that girl to me again, I will quit.”

The best photographer in Paris or an entitled brat? That was not even a question.

“You won’t have to deal with her again. That was all.” He finished the call, interrupting the ‘thank you’ from the other man. He let out a tired sigh that only Nathalie had witnessed since Emelie had… “I committed a mistake, Nathalie. Terminate Rossi’s contract immediately.”

“Yes, sir.” She typed quickly on her tablet. “Should we prepare for the preview, sir?”

Gabriel sent Emelie’s portrait a longing look.

“Yes. Unfortunately, this cannot wait.”

“Very well, sir.” And, in a lower voice, she added: “I’m sure you won’t be missing much today, sir.”

She was trying to comfort him, so he appreciated her effort.

“Yes, I’m sure there isn’t anything out of the ordinary happening today.”