Chapter Text
Of course Lila had to get akumatised again. And, naturally, she had done it at the worst possible time, right when the new student was trying to settle in. Marinette had been livid after taking care of the situation as Ladybug, so she took a walk through the school to cool off before going back to class.
When she returned to the classroom, Mme. Bustier motioned for her to get to her seat and stay quiet. The new boy, Felix, looked weirdly pale and frightened when she walked in, but he gave her an odd little smile.
Now that was weird. He had been so cold and standoffish when she first introduced herself, he even went so far as to say he wasn’t interested in making any friends. But now, here he was, being almost… friendly.
Marinette smiled back and sat down next to him. He seemed on edge, most likely due to the akuma that had just been after him, so she scribbled a little reassuring note on his paper.
“It totally feels scary right now, but it’ll get better really soon. Besides, we’ve got the heroes to protect us!”
He looked at her, still with that stiff, uneasy expression, but he nodded, acknowledging what she had said. Satisfied, she got back to her notes.
Mme. Bustier had stopped talking about 5 minutes before the final bell, giving her students a short break before they went home. Naturally, Lila took that opportunity to subtly pick on Marinette.
“Marinette, I couldn’t help but notice that you came back to class so much later than everybody else. What were you doing, I wonder?” Marinette’s anger from earlier started to come back, trying to come up with a comeback for whatever nonsense Lila came up with next, but she was stopped in her tracks.
“Marinette was showing me how to get back to this classroom. Since I'm so new, I got lost.”
Marinette gaped at Felix for a moment, and then Alya chimed in. “Awww, that’s my girl, always so considerate even to the frostiest new guys.” She cast a slightly mistrustful look at Felix before high-fiving Marinette and leaving the room. The rest of the class followed suit. Lila was the last to leave, sending Marinette a withering glare before sauntering out.
Marinette was completely flabbergasted. She hadn’t seen Felix at all after the akuma, let alone help him find the classroom.
“Tikki… what just happened?” The little red kwami giggled as she flew out, saying, “I think you made a friend, Marinette!”
With that, Marinette started walking back home, mulling over those recent events. With Lila strutting around like she owned the place, it had been so long since someone had readily taken Marinette’s side. It felt… incredible.
“Tikki, I think my fortune might be changing for the better!”