Chapter Text
Lila Rossi was sitting on a park bench, reading a romance novel. Despite being the kind of fairy tale life she'd always dreamed of, she didn't really care about it. What she did care about was the people walking around in front of her. Lila prided herself on her innate talent to read people and figure out their weaknesses.
A redheaded mother pushing a stroller. The child was easily driving her crazy.
A jogger on the path. Lila could see the man was concerned about his weight and how people view him. Lila scoffed. Everyone in this city was too easy to read, too easy to convince. It took the fun out of telling her stories. She returned to her book. The wind blew softly, rustling the leaves above her head. The sound helped calm her and helped return her to her book.
A different sound broke through the natural tune of the park. A melodious sound. One that she only heard so few times. A guitar. Lila turned her ear towards the sound. It didn't sound like the classical guitars with nylon strings in Italy. This one had a more metallic sound, but not like one of those electric guitars. She listened closer. The sound became clearer. This was an acoustic guitar from America, mostly used by country music singers. Her curiosity piqued, Lila uncrossed her legs, put her book back in her bag, and moved closer to the music.
The boy playing the guitar was singing a song she didn't immediately recognize, but she recognized the voice. Andrew Hendrol, the one person she, much to her own surprise, started to have a real crush on. Of course, it didn't trump her - admittedly self-serving - crush on Adrien, but it was there. She turned her focus back to his music.
Andrew kept singing, focused entirely on the song. A few passerby dropped some spare change into the black case in front of him. He didn't even notice.
Lila was no music student, though she could easily say she was at the drop of a hat. The way Andrew played, it changed the whole song. She finally recognized the song and remembered where she had heard the song before, and she knew it was a hopeful love song. Andrew somehow turned it into a tragic call for love, like he'd lost someone he loved. Lila could, truthfully, only relate. Again, she focused. He had made it to the second chorus.
Lila felt her legs carry herself over to the bench. She started humming along, making Andrew look up, then smile. He slid over, making room for the Italian teenager on the bench. She sat as they continued their little performance, the song binding them together. Andrew nodded along to Lila's humming, and the twinkle in his eye suggested that he wanted the song to be a duet.
After another minute of playing and humming, the two finished the song together, looked each other dead in the eye and smiled.
"You know, you're a really good guitarist," Lila said, her voice a little shy.
Andrew smiled. "You didn't sound too bad yourself," he replied. "Anyone in your family musicians?"
Yes, loads were, Lila was about to say, but something stopped her. She wasn't sure what. Was it Andrew's kind smiles, or her own subconscious awakening?
"No, none. I just like to sing," she said. And that was the truth. "You sang like you had lost someone special. Did you?" She hoped she wasn't prying.
Andrew's smile dipped for a second, then returned. "It's a long story," he replied. His next question came out of nowhere. "You wanna get coffee?"
Lila was speechless for a moment. "Are you asking me on a date?" she asked, not sure if she should be elated or angry.
Andrew shrugged. "I don't know. Do you want it to be a date?"
Lila looked down sheepishly. "I don't know," she answered.
Andrew rolled with it. "How about getting coffee with a friend?" he asked. Lila immediately nodded.
"All right. Wait here a minute. I just need to make a call," he said. He stood up, walked a few feet away, and pulled his phone out. Lila could only hear some snippets of the conversation.
"Are you ready for pickup?... North entrance… I'm bringing along a friend… Yeah, that coffee shop a few blocks away… You can get something if you want it… I know, I know, but I've got my case and I don't want to lug it everywhere… Okay, see you in a minute. Bye." He hung up, and headed back to the bench. "Sorry, sometimes my driver can be a little… inquisitive," he said.
Lila thought he sounded quite cute when exasperated. The two headed towards the north entrance to the park. A shiny silver sedan was waiting for them, as well as a large man in a suit. Lila almost thought it was Adrien's bodyguard, but the man was built differently, a little slimmer, no sideburns, and his hair was red.
"Hi, Paul," Andrew said as he raised a hand in greeting.
Paul nodded. "Hello, Master Andrew," he said in a distinct Southern accent. Paul opened the trunk for Andrew to stash his guitar case. He then opened the door for the two teenagers. Andrew gestured for Lila to go in. "Ladies first."
She nodded, sliding into the beige leather seat. Andrew got in on the other side. Finally, Paul entered, and the three set off.
"To answer your question from earlier," Andrew began. Lila began paying more attention. This might be useful somehow.
"About five years ago, I met this girl. She was kind, funny, confident, and really cute. I think I fell for her at first sight. A little while later, so did she."
"We started small, a few visits to the best coffeehouse in Nashville, then a movie, then some restaurants. Everyone at school said we were a perfect couple. I thought I had found my life partner. We started making some crazy plans, like how we were going to buy a house in the mountains, or move out west to California. It seemed perfect."
"But then, some news hit. Her dad was assigned to a job up north, in Chicago. So she had to move. Which meant our relationship got cut short," Andrew said, his voice lined with a tone Lila didn't recognize. Was it sadness, or something else?
"We got our tears out pretty quickly. It was a mutual decision that we were going to wind it down, so we could end it not with a bang, but with a whisper. We saw our favorite movie, went to our favorite restaurant, and went back to the coffee place where we first met, as a last hurrah of sorts. We parted as really good friends. For a while afterwards, we had video chats, phone calls, the like. In fact, before I came here, she said she found a new boyfriend. I was really happy for her, as anyone else would be," he added, a tone of quiet happiness lining his accent.
"The song I played in the park was her favorite," Andrew finished. "She said it was like… how our relationship blossomed, I guess. I met her in an unlikely place. And it bloomed."
It took awhile for Lila to process this. Andrew was speaking fondly of an ended relationship and didn't react with jealousy when his ex found another guy. If she were in his place, it certainly would've been different. Much screaming, prolonged crying and retribution would have occurred in some form. It was at that moment Lila realized how petty she was.
The car arrived at the coffee shop a few minutes later. The two got out and entered. The smell of coffees and pastries filled Lila's nose, bringing back some happier memories. She ordered a caramel macchiato and a scone. Andrew got an English breakfast tea and a muffin.
"My treat," he said as he pulled out his card and paid for the drinks. The two teenagers moved to a table outside. Settling under an umbrella, the two sat in silence for a few moments as they enjoyed their drinks. Lila was completely baffled by it. Why is he being so nice, she wondered. I thought I might have ruined chances with him. Oh, what am I saying? I like Adrien! But, I mean, Andrew's not too bad. He's rather handsome, and that accent is definitely a plus. No, I'm in a deal with Gabriel, not Andrew's father! I'm the muse for Gabriel… right? Gaaah, why can't I think straight!
"You know," Lila said softly. Andrew glanced up. Lila got a feeling of butterflies in her stomach. A sensation she didn't dislike.
"I should kinda explain something," she continued.
Andrew looked on inquisitively. "Explain what?" he asked. Lila took a deep breath.
"On the first day of school, some people might've said I have a lying problem, and you didn't bring it up because you're better than that - I guess! For everyone there, that's partly true. They're all under the assumption I have some weird mental illness. And that's… true. I honestly have a problem," she said quickly.
Andrew relaxed a little. "So why not go to a therapist, or a doctor, or something?"
Lila looked aside. "I'm… uneasy around therapists and counselors. It seems like they care, but in the end, they're just writing it all down so they have it for their next patient. Like I would be another variable." Andrew took a sip of his tea.
"Well, would you be okay with talking to me?" he asked. "I won't push for any details. I'll just listen. You seem like you have a lot to talk about."
Lila nodded. "Yeah. I do." Andrew made a go on gesture.
"I guess this story goes pretty far back. My great-great grandfather was a politician, so there was that. Of course, politicians have a habit of stretching the truth. The habit passed to his daughter, and to her son, my grandfather, who passed it on to his son. My dad. He met my mom in college. She was studying to be a diplomat, and he was working on internal matters. Later on, they married, and a few years later, had me."
"I think my first big lie, if you could call it that, was when I was in Pre-K, maybe kindergarten. All my other classmates could do something special, like count to one hundred or do a handstand for a few minutes. No small feats for kids that age. I was the odd one out. So, one day, I said I had a pony and I could ride it to my grandparents' house. Everyone was impressed, and the girls said they wanted to see the pony. I said that it was shy. Everything would have stayed that way, until a birthday party one of my classmates had. One of the boys asked my mom if I had a pony, and she said no. The entire class was mad at me for lying. Luckily, I was changing schools, so I didn't have to see them again."
"A few other times were weak half-stories that I had come up with to get out of awkward situations, like missing homework or why I had a bandage. My dad was helping me ease out of my lying. I thought I could kick the habit," Lila continued. Her throat suddenly felt dry. Taking a sip of the coffee didn't help. It tasted bitter in her mouth, when it had been sweet only just before.
"Then something bad happened." She felt tears prick her eyes. Andrew was about to say she could stop, but she held a hand up to silence him. He took a sip of his tea and a bite out of his muffin.
"I was staying with my grandparents. My dad was coming to pick me up. He was a very punctual man. Never late. So my grandparents got very worried when he didn't show. An hour later, a call came in on the landline. The police said my dad's car was hit by a speeder running a red, at fifty miles an hour on a twenty mile road. It hit his door," Lila said, a sob building up in her throat. She forced it down. "I was eleven at the time. Just finished fifth grade." Her hand on the table started trembling. Andrew put his hand over it. It was a calming gesture. She stopped trembling as much. He looked at her face, his dark brown eyes aimed directly at her olive green ones.
"You wanna stop now?" he asked softly. She shook her head no.
"There's only a little left." She took another deep breath.
"Because of the speed, and my dad's position as an internal security director, nothing was out of the question. So, I may have said something about…" she looked at Andrew's face, noticing a little color had drained. "Yeah, with the benefit of hindsight, it really wasn't the best idea. I think that was the thing that threw me back into my downward spiral. I mentioned therapists before. My mom had me do a few sessions to help with my grief, since she had to work more now. I spent the entirety of middle school basically without a proper father-figure. He had helped me with stopping the lies, and since he died, it became worse. There are times when I feel bad for it, but it's grown into me. It's almost like I can't be me, Lila Rossi, without some form of lying involved," she finished. She took a long sip of her macchiato. It had gone cold by this point, but in a way, so had Lila. Andrew didn't seem to know what to say. He had finished his tea by that point, and his muffin wrapper lay crumpled on the tabletop.
"I know anything I might say to help comfort you may sound hollow or untruthful. But I think you need some proper friends. Why didn't you tell the class, or Adrien, for that matter?" he asked. Lila sighed.
"I have them associating me with fame and stars. They seem to worship me, but truthfully, I'm afraid that if I tell them everything was false, they'll leave, just like pre-K. It seems that I need to have some form of gilded praise upon me for them to be my friends," she said, her eyes betraying what she really felt.
"Then, are they really your friends?" Andrew asked. "What I've learned is that friendships, relationships, are built not on a pure gold dias, but a brick foundation. True friends will stick with you, hold you up, be a base for when you're down. They don't care about riches or connections. Brick is solid. Gold isn't. Gold, you have to pay a lot for. Brick, it's pretty easy to come by. It's not expensive, but it is valuable," he said. "Imagine having one hundred bars of gold. Nothing else. True, you can buy a lot with gold, but it can't protect you from the elements. Bricks can. You won't buy much with bricks, but a shelter is easily built. You get what I'm saying?"
Lila nodded. "True friends can protect you."
Andrew got a glint in his eye. "So, did that help?" he asked.
Lila thought for a moment. "Yeah, it really did. Thanks, Andrew."
The two stood. "Want me to take you home?" he asked, glancing upwards. "Looks like a storm's brewing."
Lila nodded. "That would be great."
The two left the Starbucks and returned to the car. Lila gave Paul her address, and the car sped off.
They arrived at half past five. Lila got out of the car. Andrew noticed her book slipped out. He picked it up, and exited the car himself.
Lila was about to enter the building when Andrew called her name. She turned. He had her book in his right hand.
"This slipped out," he said as he handed it to Lila. At that same moment, a thunderclap rang loud in the sky. Their hands met for a moment as he handed the book to her. He smiled, and headed back to his car. Lila waved goodbye, and checked the title of the book she was reading. Charmer.
"He certainly is one," Lila said, as she walked over to the elevator that would take her to her floor. As usual, her mom was out.
"I don't know what you see in her, Andrew. She's not your type," Vorath said after the car had returned home. He was noshing away at some jerky and he didn't seem to be in the best mood.
"Vorath, she's not my girlfriend. Besides, it would be unfair to her to start a relationship on these grounds. You know very well we're leaving Paris in two years," Andrew said. "I'm helping her be a better person. I'm going to be a true friend to her. She needs one."
"Another person to add to the list for why we're doing the plan?" Vorath asked sarcastically. Andrew waved his hand vaguely, not catching the sarcasm. "Put her near the top."
That night, Lila had her recurring nightmare. She was used to it, but it still freaked her out badly. Except she wasn't ready for tonight. This one was different.
She was standing in a deep pit. Scribbled along the walls were the lies she had told over the years. They shifted and changed into the faces of her classmates, past and present, her family, and other adults. They all said similar things, called her similar names. Liar. Cheater. Con artist. Fraud. Trickster. Fake. Pretender. False. Lie-la. They all condensed into the face of Marinette, who spat out most of the words. Her stories being told to her in a mocking version of her voice. Lila looked up. A hand stretched out. She took it, and the person pulled her out of the hole.
The man standing before her was Gabriel Agreste. You could have protected my son, he said, a harsh tone lining his cold voice. He pointed at a grown-up Adrien, arm-in-arm with a woman whose face kept shifting. The faces of each of her rivals for Adrien's affections. First Chloé, then Kagami and finally, worst of all, Marinette. The cycle repeated itself, over and over. The shifting woman and Adrien kissed, then fused. Gabriel returned Lila's attention to him. His face lit up with silver, and his coat turned a purplish color. For this, you fall. He pushed Lila back into the pit, where the cold hands of horned classmates wearing demonic grins reached out to grab her. She screamed. The nightmare normally ended before she landed in the pile of hands.
It didn't end. Rather, she landed in the hands. No, she thought. These hands are warm. She looked up. The face of Andrew Hendrol was glowing a soft gold color. Feathered wings carried her out of the pit, and brought her far from the edge. He set her down on the soft grass.
There, he said. Now you're safe. Please stay away from there. I won't always be around to save you. The angelic figure of her classmate rose into the sky, a halo upon his head. He looked down at her, and smiled. It was as bright and as warm as the golden sun.
Lila woke up. Had it all been a dream, she wondered. It felt so real. She checked her phone. 1:30 in the morning. She yawned, then returned to sleep. She was sure of a fitful rest this time. The only thing she dreamt of then was dancing with a foreign classmate cloaked in gold.