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“Ivan, dude! You’ve gotta come!” Nino’s voice carried across the classroom as everyone gathered their things to leave for the day. “Steven Besielberg’s new movie is supposed to be more suspenseful than Teeth more iconic than T.E. and more adventurous than the Nevada Smith franchise! It’s the horror movie of the decade!”
Ivan sighed. “Sorry, Nino, but you know Mylene doesn’t like scary stuff! If I go to the movie with everyone then she’ll be the only one in the class not going and I don’t want her to be left out!”
Mylene bit her lip. “No! Ivan, you like that stuff and I don’t want you to miss out just because I’m not going! I don’t mind, really.”
Ivan shook his head. “No way, Mylene! If you’re not going, I’m not going. I won’t let you be the only one in the class not going.”
“Oh, Mylene isn’t the only one not going! I’m not going either.”
The three of them turned, somewhat surprised, at Marinette’s voice.
“Not you too, Marinette!” Nino groaned.
“I hate horror movies!” Marinette said emphatically with a shiver. “Alya’s been trying to get me to go all week but I am not budging! I’ve never really understood the ‘fun’ of being scared. If I want to be scared I can go run outside during the next akuma attack.”
“See, Marinette’s not going either.” Mylene tried to reassure Ivan. “You don’t have to feel guilty about going without me.”
Ivan still looked hesitant.
“Yeah!” Marinette chimed in. “In fact, isn’t that new movie musical featuring Clara Nightingale’s music playing at the same time? Mylene, why don’t you and I see that movie while the others go to the horror one and we can all meet up after for pizza?”
Mylene lit up. “That’s a great idea, Marinette! Let’s do it!”
Ivan gave a small smile. “Well...as long as Mylene is going to have a good time too.”
Nino groaned and hung his head in his hands. “I can’t believe you people! This is a huge moment in cinematic history and you’re missing it!”
“We’ll survive, Nino.” Marinette patted him on the shoulder as they all started to leave the room. “It’s the characters in that movie that I’m not so sure about--and that’s why I’m not going!”
Nino started ranting about the fine, artistic details about the horror movie genre as Mylene cringed and Marinette shook her head. As their voices faded down the hallway, they missed the cold, calculative eyes watching them leave.
Buga-BOO! ^o^
“This is a disaster! A disaster !” Marinette groaned as she paced her bedroom floor.
Tikki calmly munched on her plate of cookies as she watched her Guardian mumble and catastrophize. “What’s the matter, Marinette?” Tikki asked. “The movie went great last weekend and you had so much fun with your friends! Everyone had fun and even Adrien was able to be there.”
“That’s the problem, Tikki!” Marinette crumbled into a miserable heap on the floor and stared at her ceiling. “Adrien was at the movie, checking that I didn’t feel excluded by them going to a horror film. Adrien was there during pizza, sitting next to me and making faces at the cheese menu. Adrien was there when I spilled soda on myself and he gave me his extra napkin. Or his spare pencil when mine broke in class! Or he picks me first for dodgeball! Or helps me patiently when I lose focus and my beaker bubbles over in chemistry! I’m supposed to be getting over Adrien! Yet every time I turn around, there he is! He’s like my shadow! A beautiful, kind, dashing...smart...dazzling smile...radiant...carefree!”
“Marinette, you’re losing focus.” Tikki reminded.
Marinette shook herself from her reverie and sat up on her knees so she was level with Tikki on her desk. “Tikki, when am I going to get over Adrien? I care so much about him and I want to be his friend...but look at what happened in New York! Every time I turned around he was there being sweet, offering to help me, dancing with me amongst the New York skyline and underneath the moonlight…” she sighed. “But he’s with Kagami now.”
Tikki frowned. “Are you sure, Marinette? It seems to me that they could be headed in that direction, but I haven’t heard anyone say they were actually dating.”
“I saw Kagami almost kiss Adrien right before...well...you know.” Marinette looked dejected.
“Kagami kissing Adrien does not mean that he reciprocates her feelings.” Tikki reminded her.
“But Adrien’s talked about ‘the girl that he loves’ and that she doesn’t like his sense of humor.” Marinette mused. “That has to be Kagami, she’s the most serious girl I’ve ever met.”
Tikki sighed. “Even so, Marinette, you can’t predict what Adrien and Kagami are to each other until they say so themselves.”
Marinette rested her hands on her arms and stared at Tikki. “Then there’s Luka...I know he wished me well on the trip to New York and he hoped I would get the perspective I need...but I’m sure he was hoping that that perspective would lead me to him,” she sighed again. “Luka’s been really sweet, but I can’t let him keep holding onto hope for me if there isn’t a future for us.”
“Well, how do you feel about Luka?” Tikki asked, setting down her cookie.
“I like him,” Marinette admitted, “I just don’t know if I like him, like him. My feelings for Adrien are so strong and I just haven’t been able to get over him…but he’s with Kagami!” Marinette threw her hands up dramatically.
“We’ve been over this,” Tikki gently reminded.
“The thing is,” Marinette admitted, “while Luka is a great, attractive guy and his attention feels really flattering and amazing...I’m not sure if I see him in a romantic sense. I know I’m all mixed up over Adrien...but I’m not sure if I would see Luka differently if Adrien had never been in the picture.”
“You’re only fourteen, Marinette, you’re only just starting to wade into the dating pool, you don’t need to put so much pressure on yourself.” Tikki said. “I know you’d like to have a boyfriend, but there’s no reason you need to rush yourself or your feelings. I think Luka knows this, and if he’s the kind of guy he seems to be he’ll give you the time you need to figure things out, even if it means you don’t end up returning his feelings.”
“Yeah, but in the meantime it means I’m stuck in this never ending...love triangle?” Marinette looked thoughtful. “Am I in a love triangle?”
“At this point I’ve lost count of how many sides this thing has…” Tikki muttered.
“What?” Marinette asked.
“You’re a special person, Marinette,” Tikki said instead, “I’m sure your special someone will come into your life at just the right time.”
Marinette smiled and brought Tikki in for a cheek-hug when they were interrupted by her phone ringing.
“Alya?” Marinette asked and then immediately pulled the phone from her ear when she heard a metallic shriek.
“Marinette!” Alya yelled into the phone. “Get to the school, now! The basement--it’s important, okay?! The basement!”
“Alya?!” Marinette questioned but the call ended.
Sharing a concerned look with Tikki, Marinette grabbed her purse and headed for down her stairs.
“If it’s an emergency, shouldn’t you go as Ladybug?” Tikki asked as she flew after her.
“We don’t know for sure that it’s an emergency…” Marinette bit her lip. “Besides, Alya called Marinette, not Ladybug. If it is an emergency, I’ll either sneak away or call the police when we get there.”
“I hope it’s nothing serious!” Tikki worried as she flew into Marinette’s purse.
“You and me both, Tikki…”
Buga-BOO! ^o^
“Plagg, what am I supposed to do?” Adrien groaned. “I know Father is likely going to want me to take a date to the fundraiser coming up and he’s probably going to want me to take Kagami. Heaven help me if he wants me to take Lila!
“Don’t get me wrong, I have fun when I’m with Kagami and she’s good company, but if we go to the fundraiser together then I think she’ll think it's a date and she might get the wrong idea. Then again, I know Lila would take it as a declaration of undying love, so maybe anyone but her would be a better idea…”
“Wait, aren’t you and dragon-girl dating now?” Plagg asked, enjoying his cheese on Adrien’s desk.
“I don’t know, are we?!” Adrien exclaimed, starting to pace. “I know that’s what Kagami wants but I’m not sure if we are! Do I ask her? But what if asking offends her because I assumed we were and we’re not?! Or what if we are and I offend her because I should know that we are?!
“Do I really even want to date Kagami?!” Adrien continued. “I know I like her as a friend, but I’m still not completely over Ladybug. Even if Ladybug was never in the picture, I’m not sure if I like-like Kagami or just like her! I know I need to answer her, but the last time we had a real conversation about this I told her I wasn’t giving up on the other girl and then out of nowhere a fun day of us and Marinette ditching the Bourgeois’ party turned in to suddenly being JUST me and Kagami and Kagami being ‘hurt by my hesitation’ when she tried to kiss me! How is it hesitating if I told her I was interested in someone else?! And then there’s the little kiss after fencing practice—she’s a great person and it’s not like I don’t enjoy her attention but I’m just not sure if I see a future with her!”
“Well, you guys are just fourteen. It’s not like you have to do the till-death-do-us-part dating now .” Plagg reminded.
Adrien sighed. “I know it’s not very often you meet the love of your life when you're fourteen, but it does happen. People marry their teen sweethearts and their childhood friends—” he shuddered “—may Chloé never get ideas about that! And I know people can go out on a date to see if they're compatible and if they’re interested and nothing may come from it...but I’m not really someone that wants to spend a lot of time in a relationship if I don’t see potential there. I’m the type to get emotionally invested and plan a future. I don’t know if Kagami is someone I see that with. And I can’t just test the waters with even a single date unless I’m sure about this because I’m pretty sure that if our parents heard we even shared an ice cream they would draw up a marriage contract.”
Plagg paused. “Do people still do that? Is it even legal?!”
“I don’t know and I sure as camembert don’t want to find out!” Adrien shuddered and missed Plagg giving him a thoughtful look.
“Well...do you feel comfortable around Kagami?” Plagg asked.
“Of course, we’re friends.” Adrien answered.
“No, I mean really comfortable .” Plagg stressed. “You cut loose as Cat Noir, is that a side of yourself you can see sharing with Kagami? Be the real Adrien?”
Adrien thought for a moment. “Not completely, but I don’t think I’m completely myself as Cat Noir, either. Adrien-me has to be composed and poised. It’s still me, but largely regimented. Cat Noir-me is me but amped up by a thousand! I think the real me is somewhere in between...you’re probably the only one I’m comfortable enough around who really sees the real-me, Plagg.”
“Oh, Adrien! Don’t make me blush!” Plagg got right in his face and then let out a massive belch. “Oh, never mind. It was just gas.”
Adrien scrunched his face in disgust but he didn’t miss how Plagg nuzzled into his hand when Adrien scratched him between the ears. “Yeah, yeah...love you, too!”
“What about Pigtails?”
“Marinette?”
Plagg smiled and thought to himself that it was interesting Adrien’s first thought was Marinette, since he hadn’t specified which Pigtails he meant. “You think you could be yourself around her?”
“Well, I—“
Just then his phone rang and Adrien quickly picked it up when he saw it was Nino. “Hey, Dude! What’s—“
“Adrien! Get to the school basement! It’s important!” Nino shouted before hanging up.
“What was that about?” Plagg asked.
“I don’t know.” Adrien said seriously. “It could be an emergency. Do you think I should go as Cat Noir?”
“He didn’t call Cat Noir, he called Adrien.” Plagg reminded.
Adrien nodded. “I guess I’ll have to show up and see what’s going on myself before I make any decisions. But Cat Noir is going to have to help me out of the house...Plagg, claws out!”
Buga-BOO! ^o^
Marinette raced up the stairs to the school and flung open the doors to the courtyard. Just as she was reaching her hand out to the basement door, she collided with another body coming from the opposite direction.
“Oof!” They both exclaimed as they crashed to the ground.
“Adrien?!” Marinette exclaimed.
“I’m sorry, Marinette, I didn’t see you!” Adrien helped them both stand up. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fright! I mean aine! I mean I’m alright, I’m fine!” Marinette pulled on her pigtails in her distress. “Did Alya call you too? What’s going on in the basement?”
“Alya didn’t call me but Nino did.” Adrien answered. “He didn’t say what was happening either. Should we be worried?”
“I would think they would call the police or something if anything serious was going on…” Marinette said thoughtfully.
“Only one way to find out…” Adrien nodded toward the basement door.
They shared one last concerned look before Marinette took a deep breath and reached for the knob again.
“Alya?” Marinette called. She tried to turn on the stairway lights but they seemed to be burned out.
“Nino?” Adrien called, closely following Marinette as they slowly descended the staircase.
They both jumped when the door slammed shut behind them.
“Wha--” Marinette’s startled question was left unsaid as the floor seemed to drop out beneath them and they both screamed.
They both slid and twisted down the stairway and landed in the dank, dark, and eerily void basement.
“What’s going on?!” Marinette asked.
“I don’t know…” Adrien tailed off into a cough. “Is that smoke?!”
“It’s not wood smoke…” Marinette said after a moment. “It’s more like...fog? Let me get my phone--”
Before either of them could move for their phones, a flash of light lit up the basement in tandem with a horrible screeching sound, like grinding machinery but with a high pitch whine. They jumped to their feet and frantically looked around but they didn’t have the time to take in their surroundings before they were plunged into the dark again. The screeching sound didn’t go away but it did change, lowering slightly in volume and slowly ebbing and flowing in its intensity...almost like a heartbeat.
“Alya!” Marinette called.
“Nino!” Adrien seconded.
They both twisted around again when they heard the subtle sound of air displacement followed by a soft thud, almost as if something was being thrown across the room. Marinette almost cautiously stepped toward the sound but then stopped herself.
A flash of light, almost like lighting, lit up the basement again and they both screamed when they saw a dark, obscure figure on the opposite side of the room. They barely caught sight of it before they were plunged into darkness again and when the light flashed again in the next second it was already gone.
“Is it an akuma?” Marinette yelled, not really expecting an answer.
“I-I don’t know…” Adrien’s eyes darted around the room, trying to distinguish anything but it was nearly impossible after the sudden blindness from being shocked with and then deprived of light. “Which way is the stairs?”
“This way! We need to get out and get help!” Marinette grabbed for Adrien’s hand but she shrieked as felt something cold and slimy instead.
“Marinette!” Adrien lunged for where he thought she was and he bumped into a large body. The thought he felt sweatshirt material and something was squashed into his shirt, but then the figure was gone.
The light flashed again, in tandem with a crescendo of the horrible noise, and Marinette screamed again when she saw the figure was halfway across the room. Adrien, however, didn’t notice. He carefully brought a hand to his shirt and pulled away what was stuck to him. With a cautious taste, he frowned in confusion.
“Spaghetti noodles?” Adrien muttered.
“Adrien! It’s closer! I-it--what is that!” Marinette clamped her hands around her pigtails and turned wildly around in circles, trying to see anything.
“Marinette! I don’t think it's an akuma!” Adrien shouted to be heard over the mechanical shrieks and wails. “Aside from maybe your uncle, akumas don’t use spaghetti as props!”
“What…” Marinette murdered faintly, eyes wide in horror as the light strobed again and she saw the figure, this time in the middle and to the side of the basement. She felt herself start to tremble despite herself.
Adrien, on the other hand, was facing the other direction and didn’t see either the figure or Marinette. He did see something very important, though.
“Akumas also don’t use fog machines.” Adrien said with a frown.
“F-fog machine?” Marinette stuttered.
“Fog machine.” Adrien said grimly. “This isn’t real, Marinette.”
“It’s not real.” Marinette said faintly, even as another the light strobed for several seconds and the figure seemed to be getting slightly closer with every flash.
“Marinette?” Adrien asked in concern. “Are you okay?”
“It’s not real, it’s not real, it’s not real…” Marinette squeezed her eyes shut and held her hands over her ears.
A sudden, more intense, scream--like a banshee--sent Marinette into a panic. She didn’t know what to do! It wasn’t real. It wasn’t an akuma. She couldn’t be Ladybug. She couldn’t transform. She couldn’t see. She couldn’t attack. It wasn’t real, it wasn’t real, it wasn’t real, it wasn’t real!
“What’s the big idea?” Adrien shouted into the void.
It was too much. Marinette couldn’t find a solution to the problem, what even was the problem? Fear shot through her veins and her pulse felt rapid. Breathing fast and shaking badly, Marinette dropped to the floor and coiled her knees into her chest.
The strobe light lit the basement again and Adrien saw Marinette drop to the floor. “Marinette?!”
The basement was plunged into the dark again and Adrien dashed to where he’d last seen Marinette. He reached out to touch her shoulder but she shrieked and jumped away.
“It’s me, Marinette.” Adrien tried to reassure.
His only answer was a small, pained whine.
“Stop...” Marinette whimpered.
“Marinette...?” Adrien asked, still bewildered and growing slightly angry as something scurried in the dark around them. He cast a glare that would have made Felix proud in the direction of the sound and scooted closer to Marinette. Now he was just close enough to make out her pained whispers.
“It’s not real, it’s not real it’s not real...” Marinette bit out.
“Marinette, I’m here. Take my hand.” Adrien said as gently as possible while still being heard over the raucous.
She flinched violently away from him again before his words caught up to her and she latched onto his hand. Assured that the person beside her was safe, Marinette let herself be tugged under his arms. Adrien scowled and withheld a hiss when he felt her trembling and his shirt began to feel damp from her tears.
“Make it stop…” Marinette whimpered.
Adrien held her closer as he searched the shadows and tried to hear anything beyond the blaring horror sounds. “Knock it off!” Adrien growled loudly. “I don’t know what you’re trying to pull, but knock it off now! This isn’t funny!”
A sudden explosion of sparks by one of the walls made them both jump and Adrien pulled Marinette farther away even as it elicited shrieks from quite a few more voices than just them.
The sudden silence was almost unbearable after the tormenting cacophony and their ears started to ring slightly. Adrien silently promised himself that he was going to buy Plagg a huge wheel of aged camembert as a reward for whatever destruction he unleashed when he felt Plagg slip back into his pocket before the lights switched on--the actual basement lights--to reveal a smoking portable speaker.
Slowly, Marinette glanced up from her coil as faces peered around the boiler and other school machinery and supplies. Alya stood up from behind a stack of boxes and lowered the hood on her dark, floor length cloak. Max and Nino poked their heads up from behind a screen that was now obviously hiding some control panels. Last but certainly not least, Kim sheepishly walked out from behind the boiler, covered in plain, cooked spaghetti noodles.
“Wha-wha…” Marinette panted, tears still streaming down her face.
“What the heck was that?” Adrien shouted.
Their friends winced and exchanged sheepish looks.
“It’s just a prank.” Kim offered up. “You know, a good jump-scare? It’s not a big deal, it’s supposed to be fun.”
“Does this look fun to you?!” Adrien gestured to Marinette. “You guys know Marinette hates horror! For crying out loud--we thought this was an akuma attack!”
They all looked guilty at that and Alya started to approach them.
“Marinette…”
Alya reached out towards her bestie but pulled back when Marinette wrenched herself out of Adrien's arms and practically crab-walked to get away from her. “No!”
Alya snatched her hand back and looked even more guilty.
“Marinette?” Adrien asked softly in concern. “Do you want me to call your mom?”
Kim sucked in a sharp breath. “We’re dead.”
“N-no…” Marinette shook her head frantically. She was still trembling and crying and she clutched her purse to her chest as if for protection.
Adrien really didn’t like how pale she looked and his concern was only amplified when Marinette shakily lowered herself completely to the floor and the fog machine made hazy clouds swirl around her. He quickly took off his overshirt so that she could use it as a pillow--a tear-soaked, soggy-noodle covered pillow--instead of resting her head on the cement.
“I-I’m f-f-f-ne.” Marinette stuttered. “I’m fine. I just need to lay down for a second.”
Nino and Max joined the others as they all stood around awkwardly. Adrien swung around and glared them all down, still beside Marinette on the floor.
“It was all an illusion Marinette,” Max timidly explained.
Markov suddenly flew out from one of the far corners of the basement--Adrien realized he was at least one of the swooshing sounds they had heard and he guessed the abandoned wiffle ball was the other. “It was all a very controlled performance.” Markov added. “Max and I affixed a temporary cover over the stairway, designed to angle up and transform into a slide once you activated it’s sensor. A similar sensor closed the door, while the lights and the sound affects were engineered from Friend Nino’s soundboard.”
“It was a wicked awesome prank!” Kim exclaimed, unable to help himself.
“I believe the test results might contradict that statement, Friend Kim.” Markov commented. “My sincerest apologies for this error, Friends Marinette and Adrien.”
“We’re really sorry, Marinette.” Nino shuffled his feet. “We thought it would be...well...we didn’t think it would bother you this much.”
“Why…?” Marinette gasped.
Alya bit her lip and looked to the side.
“Well, haunted houses and horror movies are supposed to be great excuses to cuddle up to your crush!” Kim said.
“Kim!” Alya yelled, aghast.
“What?” Kim asked, obliviously. “That’s what Lila said, right?”
“Lila?!” Adrien growled.
Nino smacked his palm into his forehead.
“Yeah!” Kim smiled. “She told me and Alya about this awesome way she got two of her friends together in the past by pairing them up at a haunted house--”
“Kim!” Alya growled.
“What?” Kim frowned. “No offense, but it sounded way better than any of your other team Adrinette plans!”
“Kim!” Alya, Nino, and Max shouted.
“I believe they are trying to suggest you remain silent.” Markov suggested.
“Oh.” Kim blinked and then grimaced. “Ondine’s right, I’m not always very socially aware.”
Adrien frowned at them all. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, but it still doesn’t give you any right to pull something like this on--Marinette!”
They all gasped and reared back in horror, not realizing until Adrien glanced at Marinette that a corrupted butterfly was stalking their friend. As they watched, they saw Marinette’s eyes fly open and she gasped.
The butterfly hovered in front of her, almost touching her purse. Almost immediately, Marinette shut her eyes and breathed out deeply. The butterfly faltered as Marinette continued to breathe in and out slowly and deliberately. Adrien dared to edge toward her and held her hand.
“You’ve got this, Marinette.” he said softly. “You’re safe. Think about the smell of chocolate chips melting in fresh baked cookies and visualize...um...yards and yards of pink silk. Soft, cool pink silk, ready for you to transform it into something beautiful.”
Adrien tried to remember some calming techniques, but the one he could remember the most involved taking stock of one's surroundings and senses and he thought it might not be the best since they were still surrounded by smog and haunted house supplies.
Marinette chuckled weekly at his words and opened her eyes in time to see the butterfly turn and flutter away, escaping out a crack in the egress window.
They all breathed a collected sigh of relief as soon as it was gone.
“Marinette, I’m so sorry!” Alya said genuinely. “I swear, I didn’t think we’d scare you that bad! Nino and I always have fun at horror movies! You know, jumping into...well it’s just…”
“Did Lila really suggest this?” Marinette asked dully.
“Well, yeah…” Alya bit her lip. “But don’t jump to conclusions! She was just trying to help--”
“With what exactly?” Adrien asked tersely.
Alya and Nino exchanged quick glances while Max strategically slapped his hand over Kim’s mouth.
“I’m done with this.” Marinette said grimly, struggling to her feet. Her heart was still pounding, too much adrenaline was coursing through her veins, and she felt shaky, sick...and angry. And now she had an akuma to cleanse before it could ruin someone else’s day.
When she was still shaking too much to easily get up, Adrien helped her stand. “Do you want some help, Marinette?”
“I think I’m fine now, Adrien. Thank you.” Marinette said quietly.
“I can walk you back to the bakery, if you want?” Alya offered.
Marinette shook her head and wouldn’t meet her eyes. “I know what you were trying to do, Alya, and I know you all didn’t mean any harm. I forgive you, but I’m going to need some time.”
When Sandboy attacked and she’d seen Nightmare-Adrien, Marinette hadn’t been able to sleep in her loft for a week. She wondered what the fallout from this experience would entail?
“I can walk you home?” Adrien offered.
Something inside him broke when she looked up at him and Adrien saw the dull expression in her watery eyes. She stared at him for a long moment, and though he didn’t know it, Marinette was rerunning every word their friends said through her mind. Every slip and innuendo. Not even the reveal of another attack by Lila could spark any fight, or panic, or indignation from her. Her fear had been too potent and too recent and had left her feeling drained.
“Thanks, but I just want to be alone.” Marinette admitted.
The sooner Marinette got out of there, the sooner she could be away from her friends’ horror scene. The sooner she was away from all of them, the sooner she could find and cleanse the akuma. She’d be able to get away to transform quicker if she was alone and Marinette dearly prayed she could locate the akuma before it infected anyone because this was one battle she knew she wasn’t up for.
Foot raised, Marinette paused at the staircase, finally getting a good look at Max’s ingenious handiwork.
“Reset the stairs and turn off the blasted fog machine!” Adrien bit out impatiently.
Max jumped and raced back to the control panel to lower the slide stair cover. Kim took a few loping strides over to the fog machine, fumbled with the settings for--momentarily blowing a stronger stream of fog directly into his face--before turning the machine off.
They were all quiet as they listened to Marinette run up the stairs and slam the door closed behind her.
Conscious that he was on a time crunch and needed to go after the akuma, Adrien whirled on his friends the moment Marinette was gone. “Now, mind explaining to me why Lila’s balderdash somehow convinced you to go against an established and self-proclaimed fact regarding one of your closest friends?”
“Dude, there’s things you don’t know about--”
Adrien didn’t even wait for Alya to elbow Nino in the ribs to interrupt his friend. “Whatever this thing is that I don’t know about can wait. There are more important things that you don’t know about and it’s past time you did ! And, apparently, that’s on me to tell you.
“Marinette was right.” Adrien didn’t wait for their reaction before he explained. “Marinette was right when she said Lila was lying all those times--and I do mean all those times. I thought it was just little, stupid things to get attention, so I suggested we ignore it. I figured it was new kid syndrome, or she’d either learn from it or it’d blow up in her face. I underestimated her and that became obvious when Lila tried to frame Marinette and get her expelled.”
“That wasn’t--” Alya started.
“That was Lila.” Adrien insisted firmly. “I may not have concrete proof, but I do know that only Lila had the motive and the opportunity to do most of what Marinette was accused of--especially the claim that Marinette pushed her down the stairs! I confronted Lila that same day when she showed up at my photoshoot. I gave her an ultimatum: she had to get Marinette back in school and stop targeting her or I’d expose her.”
Nino blinked. “Wait, you threatened her?!”
“Not in so many words,” Adrien said calmly, “but we both understood the terms. Deal’s off now, though.”
Nino’s jaw dropped, it was unclear whether it was from shock about Adrien’s revelation regarding Lila or from shock about Adrien’s actions.
“Wha..but that doesn’t…” Alya looked like she was frantically trying to process things.
“I’ve got to run, I had to sneak out of my house when I thought my best friend had an emergency .” Adrien let some bitterness slip into his tone and didn’t regret it even after Nino winced and looked even guiltier. “Take some time to think about Lila and her oh-so-marvelous advice and her fantastic stories. You can call me later if you want more clarification.”
Adrien raced up the stairs, already planning where he would transform.
Buga-Boo! ^o^
#Cry-Baby-Nette
It was trending across Paris. Maybe even the world.
Well, that was probably an exaggeration. Marinette didn’t know if the video went viral, only that when an “anonymous” person posted the video online and linked it to all of Marinette’s social media accounts, she took one look and promptly turned off her phone.
It wasn’t exactly a quality video. There’d been a small web cam hidden in a corner of the basement by the ceiling. Alya, Nino, Kim, Max, and Markov were all horrified and adamantly sent her remorseful texts and voice messages, assuring her that it had not been part of their plan and none of them had known. Max was already tracking down who the camera belonged to and who posted the video. Tom and Sabine had already reported it to the police for filming her without her permission and for cyber bullying, but it was a small comfort that Max was also on the case since she knew his skills could be enviable even among professionals.
It was almost as much a comfort as the fact that her friends were openly aware and accepting of who the likely culprit was.
Buga-BOO! ^o^
“I can’t believe you guys did something like this!”
The four pranksters hung their heads in shame at Mylene’s fury.
“We honestly didn’t mean any harm by it.” Max said meekly.
“But we weren’t thinking.” Alya admitted.
“Well, we were,” Nino tacked on, “but we only thought about it in the way we wanted to see things.”
“Marinette jumping into Adrien’s arms and Adrien right there to play knight-in-shining-armor to protect her.” Alya sighed.
“Oh, that would be romantic!” Rose gushed, but then winced. “Except that Marinette doesn’t like scary stuff and it was more traumatic than romantic.”
Ivan hadn’t stopped scowling since they walked into the classroom and it didn’t look like he’d stop anytime soon. “I’d pound anybody that’d try to do that to Mylene! You guys are lucky Marinette convinced me you’re remorseful.”
“Have you talked to her today?” Alya asked anxiously. “I haven’t heard anything from her since my mom talked to her mom after the video was posted last night.”
“I’m here.”
Everyone jolted and whirled to the doorway. Marinette stood at the threshold, early for once, and looked embarrassed and awkward.
“Marinette, girl…” Alya swallowed thickly, determined she wouldn’t cry like she’d done last night. She was too afraid her tears would add some sort of emotional pressure on Marinette and Alya only wanted to offer comfort and space for her friend. Whatever was needed. “I am so sorry . I should have thought more about your feelings and I never would have recorded you-- ever !”
Marinette nodded. “I know, Alya. Friends?”
Alya nodded and couldn’t hold back the tears when Marinette offered a hug. They squeezed each other tightly, enjoying the start of some closure over the ordeal. Eventually, Marinette relaxed her arms and Alya took that as her cue to step away.
“And girl, I am so sorry about Lila.” Alya said bitterly. “I talked more to Adrien last night--”
“Man, he’s scary when he’s mad!” KIm exclaimed. “Who knew he had it in him? It was like realizing there was an angry panther in front of you, about to pounce!”
“The point is,” Nino interrupted, “Adrien made us confront some stuff about Lila. We were so wrong not to hear you out and to have trusted her so blindly.”
“I don’t want you to trust me blindly either,” Marinette reminded, “just so long as you take what I say seriously.”
Alya nodded. “We should have. Especially me. And you got hurt because we trusted her when we shouldn’t have.”
“We can’t change what we’ve done.” Max said solemnly. “But we all promise to help in whatever way we can, especially as you press charges against Lila.”
The others in the class looked perplexed.
“What are you talking about?” Mylene asked. “Why do you think Lila was involved?”
“Lila suggested the prank and set up the video.” Kim said bluntly.
Rose gasped, “Lila wouldn’t do that! She’s our friend!”
Juleka didn’t look so convinced. She’d remained quiet so far, but she finally decided to speak up, “I don’t know, if you guys are the only other people that knew about the prank...she knew about it and had the opportunity to set it up beforehand.”
“Not to mention Adrien’s face was blurred out of the video and he wasn’t listed.” Nathaniel added. “It was clearly edited to focus on Marinette--and whoever did it knew better than to draw attention away from her by having celebrity model Adrien Agreste in the frame.”
“Guess she’s just smart enough to avoid the Agreste legal team, too.” Alix muttered.
“And thank goodness for that,” Adrien said from the doorway. “My father would lose it if he found I snuck out again!”
“Hey, dude.” Nino smiled tentatively. “So we didn’t get you into any trouble with Old Man Agreste?”
Adrien shook his head and gave him a forgiving fist bump. “No, he hasn’t said a word to me about any of it--though Nathalie told me this morning that Lila’s mother has canceled all future photoshoots and has withdrawn her permission for Lila to model for the brand.”
Marinette’s knees lost a bit of their strength when Adrien turned his brilliant smile on her. “I don’t know if the police have caught up with her yet, but it seems Lila’s mother has become aware of her actions.” He added in a cheeky, innocent tone, “I sure hope my call to Mme. Rossi didn’t have anything to do with it.”
“I hope mine did.” Alya grumbled.
“Mine too.” Nino added.
“Same,” Kim said at the same time Max said, “I concur.”
“I just saw Lila and her mother go into Principal Damocles’ office on the way in,” Adrien added, “so I doubt that we’ll be seeing much of her today.”
Marinette sighed and some of the tension bled from her shoulders. Some of her friends still looked confused and seemed to be trying to process this scandal while some--mainly the pranksters--still seemed on edge and awkward. It would probably take time to sort this out and recover, but she felt better about the situation than she had yesterday. The comforting friend hidden in her purse and the support of her human friends gave her hope that things would be changing for the better soon.
“What I can’t believe is that you planned a prank and didn’t tell me!” Alix exclaimed indignantly. “ I would have come up with a way better prank that wouldn’t have scarred them for life!”
Marinette chuckled as Alix’s comment broke the tension in the room and she and Kim began bantering about who was the better prankster. The class got the feeling that they were about to be caught in the middle of a prank war and could only hope they wouldn’t end up as casualties.
“How are you doing with all of this, Marinette?” Adrien asked discreetly.
Marinette startled a bit, but calmed quickly enough. “I’m not too bad. Thankfully, the bakery doesn’t have a basement...but I still slept with every light on last night.”
Adrien smiled sympathetically. “I’m glad you didn’t get akumatized by all this.”
“Me too.” Marinette said heavily, only thinking he didn’t know how much of a disaster that would have been. “How are you?”
Adrien blinked. “Me?”
“Yeah,” Marinette shrugged. “Everyone’s kinda feeling guilty about me because I had the big reaction, but you were caught in that too. How are you doing after all this?”
Adrien looked momentarily stunned. “Wow. I, uh...I don’t know. I guess I hadn’t really thought about it. I was scared at first, but I guess I figured out it was fake pretty quick and it didn’t affect me as deeply. I was more upset that you were hurting.”
That had scarred him more than the prank, if he were honest.
Marinette nodded. “If you want to talk about it, let me know. I’m sure Nino’s going to be super repentive and eager to be a listening ear, too.”
Adrien chuckled slightly and smiled, “I think you might be right...I’ll be sure to take you up on that, Marinette. As long as you promise to do the same.”
“Of course.” Marinette said easily. “I always go to Nino to talk about my deep, dark traumas.”
That got a deep, hearty belly laugh from Adrien and it attracted most of the class’ attention away from Alix catching Kim in a headlock. The bell rang before anyone could do more than give them questioning looks and Mme. Bustier came in and asked them to take their seats.
Adrien had a small smile on his lips as he tried to compose himself and at least appear studious during his teacher’s lesson. He couldn’t help it, though, if his thoughts wandered to the events of the last twenty-four hours, especially certain aspects…
The video Lila posted of Marinette’s terror had definitely been designed to paint her in a bad light. There were some unfortunate but expected commenters that said mean things at her expense or at least had the gall to find the situation funny . Some of the comments were downright stupid and Adrien wondered why people would even waist the time to leave them. It had been nice, though, to come across the commenters who chastised the pranksters and the person who posted the video. He reminded himself there were probably even more people who felt similarly but decided not to give Lila the attention she so obviously wanted and chose to ignore the video instead.
There were a few commenters that caught his attention for a different reason…
Adrien hadn’t missed Rose’s comment about the idea of scaring each other into their arms was romantic, he just ducked out before anyone--especially Marinette who he saw approaching the classroom--could see him and discover he’d overheard. And Rose was far from alone in her opinion! Lila might have tried to edit him out of the video as much as possible, but it wasn’t enough to keep some people from commenting about how protective he was of Marinette.
His first instinct regarding those comments was to think, of course he would protect her or any of his friends! But Adrien did take some time to ponder these comments in light of the possible implications that their friends said after the prank--especially Kim.
If Marinette did have a crush on him, Adrien didn’t want her feelings outed because of a traumatizing prank. Either she’d tell him in her own time or not, he wouldn’t push her--especially not right now.
As for him...Adrien wasn’t sure how he felt about the possibility. He’d always cherished Marinette’s friendship, but he had at times felt like he made her uncomfortable. The little things she did to make sure he was included--like video calling when he was locked at home, or advocating for him and taking on his father--were all things he greatly appreciated about her. He thought she was so caring and brave...but he didn’t really see that she was doing anything for him that she wouldn’t do for any of their other classmates. She was just a wonderful person! It would be awful if he got his hopes up that she liked him romantically only to find out that it was all a misunderstanding.
And the big question: did Adrien like Marinette romantically?
Mme. Bustier asked Marinette a question and Adrien used the excuse of giving his classmate his attention to take a good glance at her. His feelings were confusing to him. First Ladybug, then possibly Kagami, and now possibly throwing Marinette into his messy love...was it a triangle or a square at this point?!
Adrien sighed softly as he turned back around in his seat. He wasn’t sure what would come of all this, but a soft smile pulled at his lips as he considered the possibilities.