Chapter Text
Marinette took a deep breath and tried not to scream her frustrations out like a steaming tea kettle. She had learned the hard way that screaming wordlessly in class was not encouraged.
“After all,” Lila was saying to the class, “true bravery means taking risks and doing what other people just aren’t strong enough to do.”
The rest of the classes murmured in agreement.
“True bravery isn’t always flashy or showy, Lila,” Adrien responded quietly. When everyone turned to look at him, his eyes went wide. He suddenly looked like he hadn’t meant to say that out loud.
Marinette squirmed in her seat. Lila had been silently digging at her reputation for disappearing during akuma attacks for weeks now, and the tired hero was about to explode. Adrien’s comment reminded her that he saw through Lila’s façade as well, but she didn’t really want him looking too closely at her activities during akuma attacks either.
“What’s the bravest thing you’ve ever done, Lila?” Max asked.
“Oh, well…” she stumbled before lighting up. “One time I had to escape from a plane when it crash landed in the Pacific ocean.”
The whole class burst into gasps, some in awe and others in fear.
“Yeah, right,” Marinette muttered to herself. She glanced up and made eye contact with Adrien, who simply shook his head and sighed.
Miss Bustier took that moment to enter the classroom and start the day. Marinette did her best to set aside Lila’s latest claims, but it continued to simmer in the back of her mind.
By lunch, Marinette was ready for a break from her classmates. They were all torn between being desperately curious about Lila’s heroic escape from death and being afraid to bother her by asking about what must have been a traumatizing experience.
Marinette walked the short distance to the bakery, thankful again that she lived so close to the school. She went straight to the kitchen, prepping her lunch and handing Tikki a cookie. Before she sat down to eat, she plugged her phone in to charge and set it on the couch.
“Thank you!” Tikki squeaked happily as she started munching on her cookie.
“Of course,” Marinette said back quietly.
“Don’t let Lila’s comments get to you, Marinette,” Tikki said softly. “You and I both know you are brave.”
“I know that, Tikki, but I hate being her favorite target! I can’t afford to have that kind of scrutiny when I am constantly running off to secretly defeat akumas, some of which she has caused!”
Tikki nodded in understanding. “You’re right-”
Marinette’s phone started ringing, cutting off what Tikki was going to say.
“I wasn’t expecting a call, who is it?”
“The screen says it’s Jagged!”
“WHAT?!” Marinette screeched as she jumped up from her seat at the dining table and went diving over the back of the couch to grab her phone.
“Hello?” she answered. She half expected to just hear random background noises, as it would not have been the first time Jagged had accidentally called her.
“Marinette! How’s my favorite artist?” Jagged shouted excitedly, making Marinette smile.
“I’m great, how about you?” she asked back politely.
“Rock and roll! Listen, I have something I need some help with, and you are the PERFECT person for the job!”
“Really? I’d love to help! What do you need?” Marinette answered immediately.
“That’s my girl! Here’s the plan…”
Marinette settled back in her seat in class, and Alya noticed the shift in her mood immediately.
“Someone had a good lunch, huh?” Alya teased.
“You could say that,” Marinette teased back. “I got an unexpected phone call.”
“Did you, now?” Alya asked, intrigued.
“Who called?” Nino asked, unable to pretend he wasn’t listening.
“Oh, just a friend asking for my help.” Marinette had already decided she was going to wait to tell Alya what Jagged had asked her to do. After all, the last thing she wanted was for Lila to overhear and make it about herself.
“I’m not surprised they asked you, whoever it is,” Adrien said. “And I’m sure you’ll do an amazing job.”
Marinette temporarily lost the ability to breathe. “I, uh, um, th- thanks…” she stuttered as her face promptly caught fire. Luckily for her, the afternoon classes began and she was free to try and calm her breathing as Adrien turned back to face the teacher. Alya rolled her eyes, amused that her best friend could be shaken so easily by her crush.
Marinette took her time packing up her supplies as the bell rang, signaling the end of another school day.
“Sorry, I have to run,” Alya announced to the group. “I have to take care of the twin devils- I mean, my darling little sisters.”
Nino laughed as he leaned in to kiss her cheek. “I know you’d rather not be doing that, but that’s life. I’ve got to take care of my little bro tonight, too.”
“See, that right there makes me glad I am an only child,” Marinette laughed. “I can’t imagine having anything else on my to do list right now.”
“And yet, you’re doing a favor for a mystery friend?” Lila purred as she waltzed past, headed for the door.
“Of course she is,” Adrien said, stepping between Lila and Marinette. “No one is more helpful than Marinette. One time, she helped Chat Noir himself on a mission.”
“Did she?” Lila said, feigning surprise. “And how did that go? Why wasn’t Ladybug there?”
Before Marinette could say anything, Adrien took a menacing step toward Lila. “She faced an akuma on her own and helped Chat Noir escape a trap. He could not have met back up with Ladybug without her help.”
At this point, the entire class was staring at Adrien. Lila glanced around, noticing how invested people were getting in the conversation. “Ladybug wouldn’t have needed the help, but I guess Chat Noir got lucky Marinette was there.” With that, she left the room.
Adrien turned to Marinette, dropping his voice. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to barge in-”
“It’s ok! You’re ok! You’re thanks, great! I mean, you’re great, thanks! Um…”
“Here.” Adrien slipped a piece of paper into her hand. “I have to go, but if you want to talk about anything…”
“Of course! You have places important to be! I mean, you’re important! Wait, no, important places to be!” Marinette babbled, gripping the paper like it was her lifeline.
Adrien rubbed the back of his neck, watching her as her face flushed and she nearly dropped her bag. He leaned in and whispered directly into her ear, “I figure you don’t want Lila to know about this friend, and Alya won’t be able to keep her mouth shut if you tell her. So since you can’t talk to your best friend, maybe you can talk to me. I swear I won’t tell anyone.”
With that, Adrien left the room, giving her a small wave and a smile as he did. Marinette was grateful that he left before the high pitched whine threatening in her throat hit maximum volume.
“So, Jagged Stone called me today,” Marinette said, trying to sound casual. She had been dying to tell her parents all throughout dinner, but she was also too hungry to talk and eat at the same time.
“Was it an accidental call again?” Tom asked with a chuckle. “I know the first few times he did that gave you quite the shock.”
“This was a real call,” Marinette answered with a smile. “He actually wanted to ask for my help with a specific project.”
“That’s wonderful!” Sabine cheered. “What’s the project? Or is it too top secret for parents?” she asked with a wink.
“Actually, I need you permission for it.”
Tom and Sabine looked at each other for a moment in confusion.
Marinette took a deep breath. “Ok, so Jagged and a few other artists are doing this big fundraiser and social media campaign for arts programs in schools.”
“That’s wonderful!” Tom said enthusiastically.
“It is! Each celebrity is apparently trying to outdo each other on social media, so Jagged got this crazy idea and he asked me to do it with him and I think it’s a great cause but it’s kind of scary but I can’t let him down and-”
“Breath, dear,” Sabine said softly. “What exactly did he ask you to do?”
“Well…”