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Lila Rossi disappears after her first day, and it doesn't take a Sherlock to figure out why.
Video of Ladybug calling her out ended up on Twitter, and from there it was a spiral of backlash only overshadowed by news that Gabriel Agreste has been akumatised. By the time the clock rolls over to the next day, Marinette is dead asleep in her bedroom, and her new lying classmate is the last person on her mind.
Lila's absence is further ignored for Adrien's return to school, and while Chloe uploads selfies of her and her childhood friend to Instagram, Marinette's only thoughts are of relief that Adrien is back.
It takes until lunchtime that Marinette remembers the new girl. She listens to Alya and Nino recap the Ladybug video and the ensuing fallout, and from Adrien's reactions, she's not the only one who wants to disappear from the conversation.
But the bell rings, and school continues as usual. It's odd to miss someone when they've only been in school for a day, but Marinette still feels a void in the room.
She considers apologising to Lila again, but the girl already rejected her the first time. That, and, there's a part of her -- a part she doesn't like to admit exists -- that doesn't want to apologise at all.
Her confrontation was unneedingly harsh and public, but in the end, wasn't it Lila's fault anyway? Lila chose to lie, Lila chose to steal, and Lila chose to manipulate everyone.
So why should Ladybug apologise for getting upset? Isn't her anger just as valid as Lila's?
Because, Tikki says, eyeing Marinette's clenched fists, she has to be the better person. Being kind and forgiving is a choice, and sometimes it's not an easy one, or even the rightful one, but Marinette can at least try to make things better again.
Her fists loosen, and Marinette sighs.
Finding where Lila lives is easy. Getting in is not. Ladybug can't just stroll into the apartment lobby and request entry, but Marinette has no reason to know Lila.
She instead goes for the old fashioned 'knock on the bedroom window and hope to be let in'. Except when she peeks through the curtains, no one is in the startling minimalist bedroom. She swings to the other pane and is met with shouting.
"I told you I don't want to go!"
"Either you go, or you call your father and convince him to bring you to the States."
The Miraculous allows for communication despite language barriers, but it works more on the intent of words than a literal translation. Ladybug doesn't know if that is to blame for the striking ache she feels at Lila's voice, or the chill that goes down her spine at Lila's mother's response.
"I have had enough of this, Lila. You should know better."
"Put me in an international school like you always do, then! I'm not going back to that school."
"You were the one who wanted to go to a local school, Lila. You are not transferring out of there unless you leave this city."
"But I-- I--"
"Do you know how much trouble you have caused for me? The Embassy could take this as a violation of our diplomatic immunity. This could become an international scandal, all because you wanted to impress a boy at your school."
"It's not that simple!" Lila bursts out.
Ladybug's skin is going cold, and it's not from the night chill.
Lila is heaving for breath, forcing out words between sobs.
"I just-- I only just--"
"Speak clearly if you will speak at all, Lila, and stop crying. You're making a mess of yourself."
"Shut up!"
Ladybug presses herself against the brick. She should leave, she really should, but she can't.
No, she could. But she won't.
This is an invasion of privacy, she thinks. She shouldn't be here.
Still, she doesn't leave.
Lila's mother takes a moment to respond. Ladybug can imagine her, a tall, intimidating lady, blinking indignantly at her daughter.
"Excuse me?"
"You don't get to crticise me like this! I didn't want attention, I didn't lie for attention, I get enough of it from being your daughter! Everyone's so interested because I've travelled places and met people and they never care about anything beyond my stories! They never look at me as a person, they never see me as anyone but some really lucky girl who gets to travel and knows a lot of famous people and I'm sick of it.
"And then I get to move because of your job and no one bothers keeping in touch with me and I get to try and learn a new language and new culture and make new friends who won't last and meet new people who don't care about me and-- and-- and I just thought if people are so fucking shallow I might as well own it and I just wanted someone who would like me for me!"
Lila's voice breaks, and so does Ladybug's heart.
"Lila--"
There's a smattering of footsteps, and a door slams.
Ladybug doesn't move. If she crosses back to the first window, she will find Lila, perhaps curled up on the barren floor, or on the too-simple bed, crying.
Lila's mother sighs. A phone rings.
"Hello, Mira Rossi speaking."
There are some more footsteps, and another door opens, and closes.
Ladybug counts her breaths.
How can she face Lila now?
She stares out into the urban night, and doesn't.
Lila doesn't show up to school the next day, and Marinette considers talking to her again, but there is something about what she's learned that keeps her in her room.
She can't face Lila knowing what she knows. If she ever sees the girl again, Marinette thinks all she could ever feel for her is pity.
So she gives up on apologising again.
The new girl is absent for the third day in a row, and Alya seems to think she's not coming back for good. Marinette doesn't know if she should feel relieved or distressed. She has a weekend to come to accept that Lila is the one mistake she made as Ladybug, and one she will never make again. Her emotions should never get in the way of Ladybug's mission, and she will try her hardest to prevent that from happening in the future.
It's a good plan, Tikki says.
Lila shows up on Monday morning.
To her credit, she dresses down and doesn't call attention to herself. It's not until Marinette enters first period and sees everyone shooting glances at the student beside Nathaniel that she even realises Lila is there. Marinette tears her eyes away and meets Alya's. Her best friend's face shifts from shock to anger, and Marinette is too slow to hold her back.
"Nice to see you're still coming here, Lila!" Alya's voice feels louder than it is. Marinette scrambles to grab her arm, but Alya shakes her off, and stalks up the steps to Lila's desk. "How've you been?"
"I've been better," Lila says, her French wavering. She's sat, back straight, staring at the edge of her desk instead of meeting anyone's gaze. "How are you?"
Marinette catches up and tugs at Alya, but again, she's shaken off.
"I've had better days, too," Alya says, and Marinette feels alarm bells going. Her best friend's tone is too familiar. "I had to retract your interview."
"I--" Lila's shaking, but looks up at Alya. Anyone can see her eyes are watery. "I'm sorry. Please forgive me for what I told you."
Alya opens her mouth, and Marinette jumps in front of her.
"I forgive you."
Lila blinks at her, and a tear falls from her left eye.
"Marinette--!"
"I forgive you," Marinette repeats, gripping Alya's arm. "Being the new girl must be tough, I get it if you just wanted people to like you."
That's not what Lila wanted, but no one else knows that.
Being kind is a choice.
"I'm sorry for how Ladybug reacted," Marinette continues. Lila blinks again, and another tear falls. She sniffles, but doesn't look away from Marinette. "I hope you don't think her attitude is how all Parisians are."
Lila chokes back a sob.
"Let's start things over," Marinette says, and holds out her hand. She smiles, as brightly as she can. "My name's Marinette Dupain-Cheng. I'm the class president. It's really nice to meet you."
Lila stares at her hand, and back to Marinette. She can feel everyone staring at them.
"It's--" Lila stammers. She's visibly shaking. She sniffles, and wipes at her eyes with her left arm. She takes a deep breath, and meets Marinette's eyes.
"My name is Lila Rossi," she manages to say, "I've just moved to Paris. It's really nice to meet you too, Marinette."
And she takes Marinette's hand.
Marinette shakes it, and can't tell if it's her or Lila who's trembling. She releases it after a moment, and points to Nino. His eyes go wide.
"That's Nino, he runs our school radio and does the announcements. You'll hear his voice on the PA a lot." Her finger goes to Alya, who's looking much less upset and a little... proud? "This is Alya, she runs the school blog." She moves on.
"That's Alix--" Alix gives a quick wave "--she's one of the best athletes in our class, tied with Kim, who... isn't here."
"He has football practice."
"Thanks, Max. Max is our in-class IT, he's the only person who knows how to connect the projector."
"It's not that hard..."
"And that's Rose and Juleka, they're super nice..."
For a good five minutes, Marinette manages to connect Lila with every student in their class, quick to keep her mouth moving so no one can interrupt. She can feel the class calming down. She hoped they would. They're nice people.
"And that's almost everyone except for Chloe and Sabrina," Marinette's head swivels around. "Which is good, because I can't think of anything to say about them."
Lila breaks into muted giggles, and the sound brings a warmth to Marinette's heart.
She rests a hand on Lila's shoulder, and the girl stops to look up at her.
"Welcome to Françoise Dupont, Lila," she says, "I think you'll fit in fine."
The new girl nods, and for the first and not the last time, Marinette sees a genuine smile on Lila Rossi's face.
Marinette makes every effort to get Lila involved with her friends. It's not too hard, once Marinette got Alya to calm down and admit it probably wasn't a great idea to accept hearsay about Ladybug, not that it minimised Lila's fault either. But, initial conflict aside, Alya and Lila get along as well as they can.
Neither of them will say it, but they try their best for Marinette's sake.
Nino is less miffed about Lila's lies, only because knowing Spielberg was one of the things Lila said that is actually true. Telling the famed director about Nino, however, was something Lila didn't think she'd actually do. Nino shrugged it off, and told Lila she could repay him by taking him to the movies. Lila accepted.
Not everyone was happy to see Lila return. Chloe and Sabrina showed up late for class, and Chloe was halfway through complaining about the traffic when she saw Lila and halted the lesson to rip into her about Ladybug. Though Mademoiselle Bustier managed to cut that rant off, and Marinette did everything to keep Lila from the girls' presence, it was clear neither Chloe nor Sabrina were willing to forgive Lila.
The rest of the school, quite honestly, did not care. Lila had only lied to those in her class, and lucky for her, her class was mostly understanding.
It was something of a pity, then, that Lila only spent a little over a month with Mademoiselle Bustier's class. The school year ended, and the class said goodbye for summer break. Lila and Marinette, however, keep in touch.
Marinette set herself to be Lila's main friend, and Lila took the offer. Marinette made sure to ask Lila about her person, not her connections or experiences, and Lila repayed that with friendliness and honesty that made Marinette happy to know her.
Their friendship was tested when Lila left to visit her father in the States for a month, but Marinette made sure to contact Lila at least once every few days.
I'll be busy sometimes, Marinette said, but it doesn't mean I don't think of you.
Relax, Lila replied, I know you have a life of your own.
Yet, Marinette knew Lila might doubt it, she had every reason to, so she tried her best to get that across. Out of sight did not mean out of mind.
In late August, Lila returned, having missed a grand total of three akuma attacks. Marinette picked her up at the train station, and they hugged, just in time for a sleep deprived conductor to get akumatised.
"You know," Lila said, face buried in Marinette's shoulder three hours later, "I missed you, and Paris, but I don't miss this."
"Yep," Marinette patted her hair, "I wouldn't either."
The week before school, Rena Rouge makes her grand debut. The next morning, thanks to the overnight akuma attack, Marinette sleeps way into the afternoon and wakes up fifteen minutes before she's supposed to meet with Lila at the Pont des Arts.
I'm so sorry, she texts, one arm in a sweater sleeve, I overslept! I'll be there in thirty minutes tops, promise!
lol, Lila responds a moment later, don't worry, i'm running late too.
Marinette makes it to the Pont ten minutes later than their original time, and her heart is ready to explode from the run. They agreed to meet by the southeast end of the Love Locks.
She finds Lila easily. The bridge is teeming with tourists gushing over the sights. There are couples taking selfies together in lieu of attaching locks. Lila's standing alone, to herself, and reading a newspaper.
She hasn't noticed Marinette, and an idea pops into her head. She continues, steathily, blending in with the tourists, and keeping an eye on her target.
Then Lila crumples up the newspaper with her hands, and turns away. She's furious at something.
It's easier to surprise hug Lila like this, but the other girl's sudden action makes Marinette stop. What did she read?
Lila squeezes the newspaper, and Marinette squints at the crumpled cover. Even with her Miraculous-enhanced eyesight, she can only make out an orange blur and some obstructed text on the page. Lila presses her free hand over her face.
Oh no.
Marinette walks up, quietly, and rests a hand on Lila's shoulder. The girl jerks away, and meets Marinette's eyes. She's been crying.
"Oh!" Lila frantically wipes at her eyes. "Sorry, I didn't see you, Marinette."
"Are you all right?"
"Me? Yeah, I'm fi-ine." Even as she speaks, tears continue to fall from her eyes.
"Lila," Marinette holds the other girl's shoulders. "What's wrong?"
"I'm fine, it's just, allergies, y'know." Lila sniffles.
"Lila, you know how hard it is to lie to me."
"I'm-- It's dumb," Lila pulls away, and clutches the newspaper between her hands. "It's really dumb."
"I've gotten upset over dumb stuff too, still doesn't mean it doesn't hurt."
"It's... really dumb."
"Lila. I won't judge you if you tell me."
Lila blinks rapidly. She doesn't meet Marinette's eyes. She takes breaths. People might be staring. Marinette doesn't care. They're only tourists.
"You know," Lila says, leaning against the bridge's barrier. "A new superheroine showed up last night?"
Oh.
Marinette nods slowly.
"Yeah, Rena Rouge, right?"
"Yeah." Lila takes another deep breath. "I knew it would make me upset, but I saw this and I just--"
Her eyes well with tears again, and she thrusts the newspaper over. Marinette takes it, and straightens it.
It's not a newspaper, it's a tabloid, and from everything on the front page, it's a really shit one.
Meet Rena Rouge, the REAL Fox Superheroine! This one isn't a fake!
"Oh, Lila, you know these things are garbage," Marinette says instinctively.
"I do know, but it still, still--"
Marinette folds the tabloid and stuffs it into her bag. Bylaws or no, she's going to set it on fire later.
"Come on," she says, hand hovering over Lila's shoulder, "Let's go get something to eat--"
Lila throws her arms around Marinette.
"L-Lila?!"
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," she says, "I--"
Lila breaks down into incoherent tears, and Marinette can only hug her back, and murmur comfort.
"You're safe, you're not Volpina, what you did while akumatised wasn't your fault, Lila."
Lila's hug tightens, and Marinette reciprocates.
"It's all right, Lila. I'm here for you."
Lila takes a few more breaths, and slowly, gradually, her tears stop. She doesn't let go. Marinette doesn't either.
"Thank you," Lila whispers. "Thank you for forgiving me. Back when I went back to school."
Marinette smiles, and presses her hands against the small of Lila's back.
"Someone once told me being kind is a choice." Marinette says. "I think forgiveness is too."
Lila lets out a breath, and pulls away. Marinette lets her. She wipes at her eyes, and lets out a sheepish giggle.
"Yeah," she says, looking out the Seine. "I think it is too."
They stand there, unmoving, until Lila reaches over, and takes Marinette's hand.
"Let's go grab some food," she says, with a smile that reaches her eyes. The sunlight hits, and Marinette never knew there was a forest in Lila's irises.
She squeezes Lila's hand.
"Yeah, let's go."
They head off the bridge and walk, shoulder-to-shoulder. They don't hear the tourists mumbling to each other about lovesick teenagers, or weird locals, and they especially don't notice a dark butterfly batting its wings in frustration.
I should really stop targeting teenagers, the akuma's master grumbles to himself, their emotional range is unbelievable.
The Butterfly kwami deadpans from inside his Miraculous.
You don't say?