Chapter Text
Most people Lila Rossi had the displeasure of interacting with were—as a general rule—consistently hovering starkly between being an utter waste of oxygen or at best, barely tolerable. Humans had that particular quirk built into them apparently; whatever it was, she simply found herself unable to stand being around them for longer than absolutely necessary. Moving to France had no reason to change that, and yet she still dared to hope. Mom went about that business like always; the woman was a hurried mess whose life was being held together by packed calendar items and the financial security of a barely-stable job. Diplomats were frequently required to run amok across the country or even further beyond, and thus Lila had spent the vast majority of her childhood moving from apartment to apartment without many constants in her life. Positive constants, she should note, because there was a rather large pile of negatives she didn’t feel comfortable enough getting into at the moment. Her mom’s promotion to being the French Ambassador’s assistant at least meant that they were finally going to stay somewhere for longer than a year.
In all honesty, it really wasn’t so bad. She didn’t have any particular attachment to her mom, and got to spend the more hectic work months back at her grandma’s instead of getting in her way while the woman was already up to her neck with responsibilities. At least that’s how Nonna used to phrase it, sweetly and with a conspiratorial smile which didn’t show until after mom had begrudgingly agreed to not drag Lila around on yet another work trip. Altruism was the reason for her hesitance, since she tended to take pause at the strangest things. It was as if she thought that Nonna would have trouble taking care of her, or her daughter would burden the elderly woman somehow. The brunette actually quite enjoyed spending time with her grandma, especially since it was a fairly calm, simple life consisting of learning basic house skills and a few secret family recipes that mom never had time for when she was her age. Education and career had taken precedent; a respectable enough decision for Lila to not complain about it…aloud. And if that quality time happened to take place during school hours, and a few forged absence slips found their way on her teachers’ desks…well, Nonna certainly didn’t seem to mind!
Unfortunately, every mildly-enjoyable thing in life must eventually come to an end. And so, she’d found herself right outside the gates of Francois Dupont, a rather prestigious school in Paris which accepted only the best! Lila would bet her seventh fake ID that the principal was spineless and beholden to his donors, but she was polite enough to wait until she’d actually stepped foot inside the place before mentally criticizing people. Mom certainly had enough excitement for the both of them, what with her hurried encouragements to make new friends as she dashed out the door and headed off to work. Honestly…if Lila didn’t occasionally need to forge a parental approval form or two, she’d have probably forgotten the woman’s first name by now. Taking a deep breath, the brunette shook a bitter thought away and figured that focusing on the present sounded like an excellent idea. She was truly the genius of her generation, to have developed something resembling self-control so early in life.
Right now, her first priority was figuring out this friendship thing. Lila had heard from a trusted source that social interaction allegedly improved one’s life significantly, but immediately tripped over the biggest hurdle. Finding someone to talk to who didn’t make her consider walking all the way back to Nonna’s. She had a veritable collection of terrible childhood experiences to point to; constantly being the new girl from kindergarten to middle school just didn’t help with making human connections. The brunette held considerable doubt as to how possible that even was, but a tiny voice in the back of her head simply refused to stop nagging her about it. Even worse, it was immune to both manipulation and plain bribery! Therefore, she was forced to at least attempt polite socialization…without giving into the instinct of endearing herself to her new classmates with honeyed words and the usual allusions to her mystical, wonderful life.
There were…entirely too many people in the courtyard for her to randomly insert herself in their conversations. A sea of faces stretched out before the brunette, and Lila—still unnoticed by almost everyone around—decided to quietly hover by the entrance for a moment. Close enough to bolt outside if a quick escape was needed, but not directly within sight of anybody coming through. She took a deep breath, and pushed down the desire to put on her sweetest smile before approaching whoever looked least boring. Scanning the environment with narrowed eyes, she spied a fellow brunette hanging around all alone, fully focused on her phone. Something told Lila that despite current appearances, it was the kind of girl who might endlessly talk her ear off if she wasn’t careful. Risky, but not without merit if she made a good impression.
Besides, Lila had plenty of tricks up her sleeve in case of things going south. At worst, she’d just have to smile and wave at mom tomorrow morning and lie about having met some truly wonderful people! Parental disappointment and attempts at help were complications she could really do without. Still…a promise was a promise, so her fellow brunette was approached with as genuine a smile as Lila could muster. “Um, hi! Sorry if I’m bothering you, my name’s Lila! I’m the new transfer student,” she said in a tone lacking the usual sweetness, but couldn’t help the slight inflection of hesitance from slipping through. She’ll always be a performer at heart; it’s simply in her nature to play up the current role at least a little.
Thankfully, the other girl didn’t immediately decide that she was the greatest thing to ever exist. Instead, she pushed up her glasses a little and looked at her with…what might’ve just been genuine interest. Huh. “Oh, welcome! I’m Alya! I think you’re in my class, actually. It’s nice to meet you! Say, have you heard of Ladybug?” her fellow brunette asked excitedly, with that glint in her eye that people usually had when hanging onto Lila’s every word during story time. It was far more polite to call it that than outright lying, at least.
“Yeah, some things. She’s your new superheroine, I think,” Lila replied curtly, nodding to herself in satisfaction for resisting the urge to immediately make up a story of great friends she was with the bug. Truth be told, she had heard of her, albeit vaguely. International news just reported on it once a few months back, but the brunette didn’t particularly care all that much. Superheroes were a dime a dozen in the states, and unlike what the broadcaster would want people to believe, Ladybug was not the first French one. Unfortunately, she got the feeling that vehemently insisting on that would only invite invasive questions, especially from the girl she’d been talking to.
Alya grinned from ear to ear, perking up with the most delighted expression as she turned her phone around to show Lila…a forum site? “Not just any heroine! Ladybug is the absolute coolest! And this here is my pride and joy, the Ladyblog!” The girl seemed positively giddy now, so it was only polite for her to skim the screen. Articles and discussion posts littered the page, as well as attached videos under some of the headlines. All of their previews showed some kind of close-up of Alya talking to the camera, or blurry scenes of Paris as she rushed around the city. Lila got the distinct impression that she was one of those superhero fans, and promptly made a mental note to decline every last invitation to amateur reporting in her future. At worst, she could just make up an excuse about being busy with rehabilitating sick lion cubs and helping them learn to play with golden retriever puppies or something. Cute animal stories always got people to nod along and forget about asking follow-up questions.
Oh, right. The conversation she’s supposed to be participating in was still ongoing. “That’s so cool, Alya! It must’ve taken so much time to put this all together!” Lila tells her excitedly, unable to resist playing up how tremendously impressed she is. Making a website and consistently updating like that does show dedication, but the way to deal with overeager fangirls was one and the same no matter which country one resided in. Smile and wave until they got caught up in their own head and rushed off to do literally anything else except talk to her. All Lila needed to do was give the reporter a tiny push, and she could spare her precious sanity from the endless ranting. “You know…I think I did see Ladybug when I first moved in! She was so friendly, even waved at me!”
That’s all it took for the other girl to go ballistic, precisely as expected. Entirely too easy, just the way she likes it. Alya launched into the predictable barrage of questions about the when and where in an instant, so Lila regaled her with the tale and gave a smile so sunny it’d make customer service employees jealous of her acting skills. With a little bit of blabbering and permission for this tidbit to make its way onto the mighty Ladyblog’s digital pages, Lila Rossi had successfully pulled off another great escape! The nagging voice in her head wouldn’t be too pleased that she so quickly resorted to the usual underhanded methods of socializing, but in her defense, in was a fangirl! Besides, she had plenty of time to practice making genuine connections throughout the rest of the year. What could possibly even happen in Paris of all places that would terribly derail her plans?
After Alya ran off to go tell her online followers about the awesome new girl she’d just met, Lila figured it was about time she said hello to her other classmates. With a practiced smile and the confidence of a girl in her element, introductions were a total breeze! Some of those people could even be called pleasant, if she was feeling generous. Nino might’ve practically crashed right into her as soon as she turned around to explore the courtyard, but ended up being a very interesting guy to know. Mostly because of his great music taste, which Lila verified by oh-so-sweetly asking for song recommendations. Within a few minutes of going back and forth, she already had the bare bones of a new playlist in mind. He was also Alya’s boyfriend, though Nino didn’t seem anywhere near as…focused on Ladybug’s antics. Valuable intel that, in case she ever needed someone to help her ask the reporter to kindly tone down her obsessive ramblings.
Unfortunately, not everyone ended up being nearly as useful to her. Rose and Juleka seemed nice enough, and of course Lila made sure to preen about how she totally knew Prince Ali or whatever his name was. That she meant by name and not personally…may have slipped her mind. Environmental work was her forte, didn’t they hear? Why, she’d even organized a whole tree-planting excursion for one of her old classes before! Which wasn’t actually a lie, but she didn’t think manipulating the others into picking it just so she could get out of collecting trash by the seaside counted as altruism. All in all, Lila was more than happy to dive right back into her old patterns for the rest of the morning. She arrived early anyway, so there was plenty of time to kill before their first class.
The rest of the crowd milling about wasn’t particularly noteworthy either. There were some names sticking out—Nathaniel was fairly good at art, and Max was apparently a genius—but nothing she could identify an immediate use for. Though, practicing her posing didn’t sound like a half-bad idea, especially if she got a free sketch out of it. And she was honestly horrible at math and physics when it didn’t involve throwing something at terminal velocity, so befriending Max might come in handy later on. She could at least busy herself with planning out future endeavors, but Lila wanted someone interesting to sink her teeth into. Not with any malicious intent, of course! People with a story just tended to be easier to tolerate. They had experiences she might even be able to pretend were relatable, or at least made for company which wouldn’t have her pulling the hair out of a spare wig once she got back home. The longer she resisted the urge to make up a lie about a work trip and ditch school again, the less lecturing would be found in her future. Mom never even noticed, so the thought was becoming increasingly alluring despite the danger of getting stuck inside again. Nonna definitely wouldn’t have let her go through with it, no matter how many excuses Lila tried to come up with.
Wandering around the school didn’t do much more than help her brain near-instantly memorize the general layout. She got bored so quickly it was almost painful, and checking the time on her phone just made the feeling worse. Lila grumbled to herself, not wanting to mentally plan how to survive inane lectures before they’d even officially begun. Through every step, she kept the sweet, innocent smile firmly etched onto her face. The brunette was above all a creature of habit, and making sure people didn’t poke around where they shouldn’t was of the utmost priority. Still, why did everyone here have to be so dull? She wasn’t exactly asking to be best friends with a superhero or anything, but where was the quiet, unassuming classmate with a depressing past? The kind of person who had layers she could gnaw at until something of note finally revealed itself, allowing her to revel in the satisfaction for at least a bit before moving on? Well, maybe she shouldn’t be so ungrateful for what seems like a peaceful—if monotonous—year in France. Her gaze downcast, she out a soft chuckle. Sure, because she loved being bored half to death! Not like a famous model would suddenly fall out of the sky for her to get close to, so what was the point of even attending Dupont in the first place?
In hindsight, the brunette shouldn’t have forgotten to look where she was going. She turned the corner while walking back toward the courtyard, and Lila Rossi crashed headfirst into a blonde, green-eyed boy, resulting in both of them falling face-down onto the ground. She detangled herself from their mess of limbs, scooting away and holding back the visceral reaction at unexpected physical contact. With a single look over at him, the brunette realized she’d found someone almost as socially inept as her. The apologetic look etched onto his face spoke volumes of how little interaction he’s had with other people. At least the boy offered a hand to help her up, so he had good manners.
She decided on a more casual persona for this conversation, seeing as he already seemed too startled for her liking. Thus, her features morphed into those of a slightly-lost, aloof newcomer, and she accepted his help in getting back to her feet. The moment their hands detached, he nervously rubbed the back of his neck, clearly about to exclaim how deeply sorry he was for crashing into her. More like the opposite, but she wouldn’t waste the chance to seem kind and gracious by accepting it. Before he could utter a word, Lila’s eyes flashed with recognition. She knew she’s seen him somewhere before… “Wait, you’re billboard boy!” the brunette poured excitement into her tone, though her satisfaction at remembering his face was easy to mold into the right expression for looking slightly starstruck.
The blonde looked as if he wouldn’t mind the earth opening up and swallowing him whole. Well, she definitely touched a nerve there. “You’ve seen those, huh?” he wondered absently, entirely resigned to the fact from the first syllable. “Yeah, I’m Adrien Agreste,” the boy told her awkwardly, visibly bracing himself for some kind of reaction. Lila gave none except continuing to smile politely, and he breathed a covert sigh of relief. “Sorry, my dad is pretty famous. He runs a fashion house, so people tend to…” Ah. Well, she’s been hounded by overexcited classmates more than enough times to know the feeling. Something resembling fleeting sympathy formed inside her chest, but the brunette elected to pointedly ignore it. Attention was nice, anyway! There wasn’t much harm in having others hanging off her every word; it was quite enjoyable actually! Almost good enough to…well, they were a suitable substitute for whatever the voices in her head kept on nagging her about, surely.
Lila cleared her throat, mentally noting down the information for a bit of private research later on. Connections are always useful to have, and the fashion industry was forever in dire need of more models. If all she had to do for a part-time job was sit there and look pretty, the brunette would be more than willing to sign herself up! Especially if she didn’t even have to bring her own outfits! Now, how to tackle this situation? Playing up the fangirl love was certain to drive him away, and she knew absolutely nothing about Adrien…but Lila could bet her grandma’s necklace that she had a good idea of what he might not like to hear. “Really? Could’ve fooled me. Does he have you dressing like that on purpose?” she teased with a verbal bite, barely stopping herself from cackling as his eyes went wide.
Adrien staggered, nearly stumbled, and then…burst into a quiet laugh. “He likes to maintain a certain image for the brand—” the boy confirmed as he caught his breath “—but I prefer black to the stripes, honestly.” Huh. A joker, then. Either the universe decided to grant her wish, or this was beginner’s luck for her new life in Paris. Lila Rossi fundamentally rejected the concept of genuine kindness, so clearly there was a little spirit looking out for her. Probably because her antics were incredibly amusing, and absolutely worthy of divine attention! She was just lovable like that; Nonna used to agree all the time!
“Orange is more my color. I’m Lila Rossi. We…might be in the same class, actually. Not sure yet,” she said with an awkward smile, defaulting right back to the wide-eyed newbie who didn’t quite know which corridor went where and could really use some help figuring it out. In her experience, the nice boys always jumped at a chance to find their sense of purpose, if only for a few minutes. Allegedly, good deeds even felt rewarding to partake in. Lila genuinely wouldn’t know; she much preferred people’s thanks in the form of a favor she could cash in later, or at least something more tangible. Though, grabbing a coffee with the local supermodel sounded like a pretty good deal to her, just for playing nice.
She made a show of glancing around as if deciding where to go, and eyed a textbook which must’ve fallen from his bag. The equation symbols on the cover provided the perfect excuse to keep talking to Adrien. “Oh, are you good at math by any chance? I’m horrible, and with how much we’ve been moving around, I might be a little bit behind when classes start…” There. Hook, line, and sinker. A study session was the perfect opportunity for idle chatter, and for her to actually learn something on the subject. Unfortunately, exam papers tended to be impervious to emotional manipulation. She’d found out the hard way that it was much simpler to make a tiny little adjustment to her school record for whatever grade she wanted, after messing with her teachers’ heads enough times.
Adrien startled again, clearly not having expected that she’d want to keep talking to him. Lila got the sense that he wasn’t normally this distracted, even if he was beginning to personify the human equivalent of a small puppy being let out of the house for the first time more and more the longer she examined him. Still…her curiosity had found its first proper mark. A famous supermodel her age, with stifling expectations to live up to and a controlling father? Lila couldn’t have gotten any luckier! Merely offering a listening ear would probably be more than enough for Adrien to consider her a dear friend in no time…and if she was trusted by him, then playing Mr. Agreste would be easy as that! Anybody with enough power inevitably worried about their heirs being influenced by undesirable people. It was almost inevitable that she’d get the chance to present herself as an ambitious but driven girl with mutual interest in keeping Adrien out of harm’s way…for the right price, of course. Maybe that annoying voice in her head might finally stop nagging her about making friends if she was nice to the blonde.
Adrien seemed conflicted for a moment, perhaps having other plans for how to spend his invaluable morning hours. While Lila would take no for an answer—she abhorred being pushy unless it was literally a matter of life or death—she’d rather not have to chase the blonde around school for the rest of her time in Paris. She smiled sweetly at him, morphing her expression into that practiced look of ever so slight desperation for human connection. The exact same the brunette had seen in the eyes of ostracized loners and socially-awkward kids who never dared speak louder than a whisper. Adrien thought about letting her tag along for entirely too long, before nodding at her sympathetically. His smile was so bright that Lila felt like she’d stared directly into a flashbang, but she didn’t let stop her from mirroring it to the best of her ability and practically teleporting to his side.
As they passed by the courtyard again, the little voice inside her head let out a noise of satisfaction, appeased by her efforts to give herself a reason to spend time in this school. She spied Alya from atop the second floor, talking with some raven-haired girl who still wore pigtails as if bangs weren’t the clearly-superior hairstyle. A friend maybe, but something about her made Lila’s skin crawl and a couple bones in her spine writhe unsettlingly. She ignored the sudden existential dread, and instead decided to keep up with Adrien, who seemed borderline impatient to sit down and study with her now. The feeling began to fade away as they entered the library, and she took a deep, steadying breath while sitting down with the blonde. Well…as long as that girl stayed far, far away from the brunette’s life and they didn’t get tangled up in some sort of overcomplicated mess…Lila was sure they’d get along just fine.