Chapter Text
Marinette stumbled over her own feet as she rushed to school, her hair in a messy bun and her jacket hanging off of one shoulder. I can't believe I woke up so early! She thought as she raced up the steps to the school and down the hall to her classroom. She didn't want to be late once again, and being this early was a rare feat for the teen. She adjusted her jacket and her hair before stepping into the room. Her mood immediately fell.
Lila was pressed against Adrien, who looked somewhat uncomfortable. Marinette had been conflicted when it came to Adrien recently. He didn't try to stand up for himself against Lila, saying that exposing her would just make her an akuma victim. The idea of just letting the person who threatened her spread lies and rumors because she was too weak to handle backlash made her want to scream. She wanted to shake her classmates until their common sense returned. Marinette hated liars, and Lila was the definition of one. Her lies weren't even believable! She knew for sure Jagged Stone never had a cat. Hell, she could probably ask him right now to prove it! But no, she was 'jealous' because Lila was close to Adrien!
That was what her classmates had implied, anyways. It was almost insulting. They thought so little of their 'everyday Ladybug' that they thought she'd be an asshole to someone close to her crush! Even Adrien hadn't been on her side. Alya was the one who implied she was jealous! Her own best friend! Marinette thought it was hypocritical. Demanding evidence from her but not from Lila, who she had known for a day. She'd known Marinette since the beginning of the year! Did she really know her that little? She only lied when she had an akuma to fight, and she wished she could tell Alya the truth.
That was another problem. Chat Noir had become increasingly demanding, especially when it came to his 'love confessions'. No matter how many times Marinette told him she wasn't interested, he either threw a hissy fit or simply brushed it off and kept persisting until she snapped. They had a lot more fights when he was like that. She liked Chat Noir. His puns were a mood-lightener, and he was skilled in combat, but she wasn't in love with him. Not like she was with Adrien. Chat Noir just wasn't her type. Maybe if he respected that she loved someone else she wouldn't be as irritated at his attempts.
At least he isn't grabby, she thought, retrieving her notebook and beginning to work on a new sketch. At least the back of the room was quieter than the front, and she was somewhat alone. The teacher hadn't started the lesson yet, so she assumed sketching would be fine. It was a new suit for Jagged, who had become a really weird...uncle of sorts, since their first meeting. She'd been one of his most go-to designers, and though his ideas were out there, Marinette had fun working on them. His newest suit was inspired somewhat by his exotic pet. A crocodile named Fang.
"What'cha doing, Mari? Making up more accusations against Lila?" Kim asked, smirking back at her. Marinette rolled her eyes, adding a bit of shading to the sketch. She wanted to make a few small improvements before she actually started making it. Add a bit of flair that matched his style. "When are you going to admit you were wrong?" Kim added. Marinette clenched her jaw. "C'mon, surely this isn't worth all this? I mean, as soon as you apologize everyone will like you again!" He gestured to her and she gripped her pen so hard it broke, splattering ink over her jacket, her notebook page, and her skin. She growled, standing and dropping the pen on her desk, holding her ink-covered hand out.
"I don't know, Kim! When are you going to get some brain cells and stop trusting the person you've known for two fucking days?!" She spat, grabbing her sketchbook and storming out of the room to clean up. She calmed herself down once she exited the classroom, not wanting to attract an akuma. She looked down at her hand. Her hand was covered with drying ink, and it had splashed onto her jacket as well. "At least the fabric is black," she muttered. "It shouldn't be hard to fix that," she walked towards the bathroom. She turned on the sink and scrubbed at her hand until most of the ink had washed away. "I can get the rest off at home," she said to herself.
She looked at herself in the mirror. "Right, Dupain-Cheng, you're going to be a strong, independent woman! You're not going to let them get to you. You're strong, you're brave, and you're a super-hero!" She nodded, adjusted her bun to be neater, and splashed water on her face. "You're going to do this." She wiped at her jacket, trying to get rid of a bit of the ink on the fabric, before turning to exit the bathroom.
She walked into the hall and turned towards her classroom when she heard a noise. She turned to see a girl standing in front of the front doors. She had short dark blue hair, brown eyes, and small freckles on her cheeks and the bridge of her nose. Her sharp brown gaze fixed on Marinette as she approached, an aura of confidence seemed to surround her. "Are you a student here?" She questioned.
"Uh, y-yeah! I'm Marinette. Are you new?" She questioned. The other girl nodded, and even that seemed formal. Marinette noticed that her hand was still stained a faint purple-black color and blushed slightly. "Welcome to the school! Do you know which class you'll be attending yet?" The girl seemed surprised by her hospitality, but cleared her throat and nodded once again, pulling out a sheet of paper.
"I believe it is a...Miss Caline Bustier?" She replied. Marinette's eyes lit up as the girl looked up once again, quirking a brow slightly. Marinette threw a hand behind her shoulder, gesturing in the direction of the classroom. "Which class do you attend?" She questioned, and Marinette realized she hadn't replied yet. She made a weird hand gesture, a nervous tick of sorts in certain situations.
"Oh! I'm in Miss Bustier's class too. I guess we'll be spending more time together then...oh! I just realized I never got your name!" She laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of her head. Maybe I'll have at least one friend here after all, besides Marc and Aurore. She considered. Everyone else seemed to have turned on her ever since Lila had appeared out of nowhere.
"Kagami Tsurugi," Kagami replied, the corner of her lips turning up into a half smile, "and I suppose we will, Marinette."