Chapter Text
I had an idea about Lila telling one lie too many to the wrong person.
She sits next to Nathaniel now right? Introvert Nath, who is probably a very good listener because he doesn’t want to talk. So Lila can happily chatter away in this one sided conversation about what ever she wants without feedback. Feedback which she uses to gauge how well her lies are working. So without this she just rambles along about anything.
It takes a couple weeks, but Lila finally says something that Nathaniel isn’t sure about. He doesn’t want to start drama, and he can’t actually prove what she said is false, so he doesn’t call her out on it. Once you’ve noticed something wrong though you start paying more attention whether you like it or not. He notices Lila makes a lot of little claims that don’t really add up, but once again he doesn’t want to start a fight and he can’t really prove anything.
Then Lila messes up big time. She’s constantly trying to get Nath to draw her into ‘his’ Ladybug comic and use her ideas (to which he politely tries to tell her Marc is his writer, and if she wants to collab they can’t leave him out) until one day she claims that the reason she didn’t start school at the beginning of the year with everyone else, why she went with her mother on a diplomatic trip out of the country instead, was because this creepy old man had been stalking her, inspired by her beauty, and had been akumatized because of it, leading to her kidnapping.
The Akuma’s name? The Evillustrator. I would like to think that (especially for minors) an akumatized person’s identity is kept secret if possible after they’re cured. People may know what the akuma did and maybe the reasons, but not WHO they were. The classmates know because they were there, but it’s not really something people talk about so Lila doesn’t know who he was either. Just that he kidnapped a girl for a ‘date’ and Ladybug and Chatnoir had to save her. Lila naturally assumes that since akuma identities are not public knowledge there is no way her shy, quiet classmate would be able to contradict her, right?
Nathaniel is stunned into silence, staring at her in disbelief, which Lila takes as interest and digs herself deeper. She goes on and on about how this middle aged man was stalking her, drawing creepy pictures of her, trying to ask her out ect. and how unsafe and traumatized she felt. She even had to get a restraining order against him, which is what triggered the Akumatization! It’s actually how she first met Ladybug, she saved Lila from Evillustrator! Then she took a trip with her mother to get some space, but returned to France to stay in school or something.
In the end Nath is equal parts too shocked at her claims and too wary of confrontation to call her out on it, but from then on he notices how absurd and outlandish some of Lila’s tales are. All the while dodging her efforts to get into his comic (and asking now and then about the manga publishers she promised to introduce him to? Not like he expects that to ever happen) and just trying to get through the day.
I think the boiling point would be when Lila claims to the whole class that she designed Jagged Stone’s iconic Eiffel Tower sunglasses, and the class just wow’s and ah’s. (Marinette and Adrien are not there, as well as a handful of others because this is lunch break, but most of the class is there)
“Are you serious?” Nathaniel asked in disbelief.
“Of course!” Lila preened, not catching his tone. “Uncle Jagged and I are so close, he really values my fashion input! Why just the other day-”
“No,” Nathaniel cut her off with a sharp motion. “Are YOU serious? You guys believe this? Out of every lie she’s forced you to swallow, you believe THIS one?” He gestured to the rest of the class, incredulous.
“Nathaniel! How could you say something like that about Lila? Don’t tell me Marinette has gotten to you.” Gasped Alya.
“Alya…You do remember that Marinette is the one who designed those glasses right? You were there. You claim to be her best friend, how can you constantly take Lila’s side over hers? This entire semester Marinette has been the only one brave enough to call out Lila’s BULLSHIT and you constantly shut her down!” He steamed. Nathaniel may not have romantic feelings for the bluenette anymore, but she was still his friend and he was tired of seeing her hurt by someone who claimed to care for her. For whatever credit you want to give her, Alya did pale as she realized the red head was right.
“W-what? What do you mean, M-Maritnette designed those glasses? Did she tell you that?” Lila sniffled, turning on the water works. “I can’ believe she would take credit for something she didn’t do, I thought she was a nice person and I w-wanted to give her another chance but to lie like that…to convince you that it was all her idea for attention…” She sobbed, hiding her face. The class, which had looked hesitant at the new information at first, quickly rallied behind the crying girl, glaring at Nathaniel.
“Seriously? SERIOUSLY?!” He shouted, getting angrier by the minute. “You all believe that Marinette, sweet, helpful, kind Marinette, would LIE about something for attention? NONE of you think it’s odd that Marinette, who gives EVERYONE a chance can’t stand Lila says something about her?!”
“Yeah, it says she’s jealous to have her spot as class sweet heart usurped. We all know Marinette is only mean to Lila because Adrien is more interested in Lila than her. Just like you’re being blinded by your own crush on her. Come on dude, you’re smarter than this.” Quipped Kim.
Nathaniel thought his hair had fallen into his face (well, more than usual) he was seeing so much red. The final straw though was seeing Maritnette and Adrien standing in the door way, realization on Adrien’s face and horror on Marrinette’s, that made his next heart beat take the shape of butterfly wings. He barely heard Hawkmoth’s usual spiel about Ladybug and Chatnoir’s miraculous as he bent over Lila, her face stained with crocodile tears that were quickly becoming real.
“Lets see how well that restraining order is working.” Purred the Evillustrator, smirk absolutely feral.