Free to Be You and Me: chapter 30
Chapter 29 | Chapter 31
Disclaimer: I don’t own ML.
Shameless self-plagiarism of past work because I’m too lazy to think of anything original for Lilakuma? Check.
“Alya?” Ladybug bellows, dodging strand after strand of webbing. “What the hell did you do?”
“Just…called out Lila for lying about being Adrien’s girlfriend?” Alya grins sheepishly, clinging to Ladybug’s neck. Ladybug stumbles and almost trips over a crack in the sidewalk.
“What?” she screeches.
“Oh. Yeah. Lila claimed she was Adrien’s girlfriend at lunch today, tried to pass off the whole kissing thing, so the girls and I…exposed her for lying?”
“Alya!”
“What? You’d have approved if you were there! I didn’t call her names or anything! The girls and I just calmly laid it out and –”
“Alya Césaire!” howls Aracnide. She bounds from rooftop to rooftop in hot pursuit, tiles and bricks cracking under her weight. “I’m going to crush you for what you did! Then I’ll go back for the other girls and make an example of them in front of everyone!”
“And she didn’t take it so well!” Alya continues. “I mean, who would? But hey, at least it’s only the whole cafeteria that heard, and not the entire internet! I didn’t film it or anything! Aren’t you proud of me?”
“You just made Lila go nuclear!” Ladybug shrieks. Alya shrugs, still grinning sheepishly.
“Oops?”
Something explodes behind them. Ladybug swings up to the nearest rooftop, springs off it to the next street, and looks around frantically, trying to find somewhere – anywhere – to hide Alya from Aracnide. Her eyes land on a subway entrance and her body springs into action, bolting for cover, and she makes it just in time to avoid the webbing that splatters all over the stairs, sealing off the exit.
“Okay,” Ladybug pants, setting Alya down on her feet. “Okay. Go transform. I’ll…go die or something.”
“Please don’t,” Alya says. “Adrien would be devastated.”
Props to Lila for continuing the theme of complete non-originality and pinching from others, since this isn’t the first spider akuma that Ladybug’s had to deal with. But where Anansi had been brute strength and commanded respect, Aracnide is slippery and wily, using her webs to avoid Ladybug, Chat Noir, and Foxglove’s attacks and trapping civilians as she goes to force them to slow down and avoid hurting innocent people.
“Typical Lila,” Ladybug mutters as they leap past a teenage girl shrieking about webs in her hair. They’d learned the hard way that trying to rescue people only ends in sticky tears for everyone involved, so it’s better for them to push on and try to stop Aracnide herself in order to save everyone else. “Getting other people hurt with her crap.”
“Far cry from earlier,” Foxglove says. Ladybug narrows her eyes at her best friend.
“Thanks,” she says dryly. “Ugh, I just don’t know how we’re going to get close to Aracnide. Shellter might get us up to her but then we’d have to deal with her webs, and I don’t have an Arc de Triomphe to drop on her head. And Venom won’t work if we can’t touch her.”
“Lucky Charm?” Chat Noir says. Ladybug shrugs.
“Why not? I’m all out of ideas. Lucky Charm!”
A spotted unicorn plushie falls into her hands. Apart from the ladybug pattern, it’s identical to Rose’s plushie – the one that she’d given Alix as part of the bet over whether Marinette would deliver the beret – and Ladybug’s eyes widen. Of course! What better way to catch Aracnide off-guard?
“I know what to do!” she says. “Chat, Foxy, buy me some time!”
“Anything, milady!” Chat Noir brandishes his staff and leaps forward. “Hey! Anansi knock-off!”
Ladybug takes advantage of Aracnide’s howls of rage to slip away, recharge, then head back to the school. People are still huddled together in fear, covered in webbing from head to toe, and when Ladybug makes it to her classroom, it’s to find the door webbed tightly shut.
“Hello?” Ladybug calls. “Anyone in there?”
A cacophony of voices answers her.
“We’re okay, dude!” Nino calls. “What about Alya? Did Aracnide get her?”
“No, Alya’s safe. Very safe. As safe as she can be. I just need to –” Ladybug kicks at the webbing, only to get her foot stuck. She yelps and almost topples over with her foot trapped at chest level. “Gah! Disgusting!”
“You might be able to get in through the window!” Ms Bustier says as Ladybug yanks herself free. “Aracnide didn’t web it up!”
“Probably because none of us have the superpowers to survive the drop,” Alix says dryly.
“Okay! Hold on!”
Ladybug circles back to the classroom from the courtyard, this time dangling outside the window. Her classmates cheer when they catch sight of her, and Ivan rushes to smash the window after Kim tries and fails to push it open.
“Overkill, man,” Kim says. Ivan shrugs.
“Do you wanna get out of here or not?”
“One at a time!” Ladybug says. Ivan immediately picks up Mylène and hands her to Ladybug to lower to the ground. One by one, she rescues her classmates and Ms Bustier, until the only person left is Chloé.
“Come on!” Ladybug holds her hand out. Chloé just sniffs and turns away. “I so don’t have time for this. Fine, stay here!”
“Wait!” Chloé says when Ladybug starts to descend. “Ugh, fine! Only because Sabrina and my half of a sister would be lost without me!” She’s grumpy the whole way down to the ground, and she jumps away and brushes down her clothes the minute her feet touch earth, but she’s not enraged or actively trying to harm anyone like she’d been just a few weeks ago, so Ladybug counts that as a win.
“My Lucky Charm told me that I needed to save you all,” Ladybug says. “Find somewhere safe to hide! Aracnide will be furious once she realises you’re free.”
Before Rose can head off with Juleka, Ladybug grabs her by the arm and pulls her aside. Rose follows curiously.
“Rose, I need your help,” Ladybug says once they’re behind a bush. Rose blinks and points at herself.
“M-Me?”
“Yes, you.” Ladybug swipes open her yo-yo and pulls out a little pink anklet, then presents it to Rose. “Rose Lavillant, here is the Miraculous of the Pig, which grants you the power of jubilation. You will use it for the greater good, then return it to me when the mission’s complete.”
“Why me?” Rose says. “I’m the last person you’d imagine to be a superhero! I’m too happy and bubbly and small!”
“Not quite,” Ladybug says. “Anyone can be a superhero, no matter how big or small they are. Polymouse proved that when I needed her help to defeat Malediktator and his sentimonster. You’ve already proven yourself with your plan to non-violently expose Lila. And your happiness is exactly why I need your help.”
“How?”
“Aracnide’s too slippery. We can’t get close to her. Foxglove could Mirage, but we don’t know what to show Aracnide to lower her guard, and the last thing we want is for her to get mad or break the Mirage. Even Vesperia wouldn’t be able to get close enough to Venom her.”
“So how can I help?” Rose says. Ladybug winks at her.
“You’re exactly the kind of happy, bubbly person I need to catch Aracnide off-guard. Your power will show just what we need to know.”
Rose hesitates. Then she reaches out and accepts the anklet, which glows bright pink as Daizzi materialises. Rose gasps and coos once Daizzi is fully formed.
“Wow! You’re so cute!” Rose and Daizzi cry together. Ladybug can’t help but grin. Watching someone meet their kwami for the first time will never get old.
“What’s your name?” Rose adds.
“My name’s Daizzi, and I’m your kwami!” Daizzi says.
“You just have to say one thing,” Ladybug says. “Daizzi, rejoice!”
“Daizzi, rejoice!”
Rose’s outfit is dainty and pink and skirts and…honestly, her to a tee. Ladybug gives her a few moments to squeal and admire herself before getting them back on track.
“Let’s go,” Ladybug says. “I’ll explain your power on the way, uh…?”
“Pigella!” Rose says after a moment.
“Pigella! Let’s go!”
The way back is even worse than before. Ladybug forces herself to ignore the people crying out for help, begging her to save them, wailing for things she can’t give…even Pigella looks noticeably down by the time they make it back to where Aracnide’s currently set up shop.
“About time!” Chat Noir says when they land next to him.
“I hate everything about this,” mutters a web-covered Foxglove. “Chat had to Cataclysm me free but noooo, he couldn’t get rid of all the web, could he?”
“How about you handle the cosmic power of destruction contained in the palm of your hand right next to a living human being?” Chat Noir retorts.
“Okay, cut it out,” Ladybug says before she can develop a Foxnoir-shaped headache. “I’ve got Pigella here to help. She can show Aracnide her heart’s greatest desire.”
“How is that any different to Mirage?” Chat Noir says.
“Because I don’t know what to show her,” Foxglove says. “Duh. If Pigella can distract her with that, I can Mirage more of it to keep her fully off-balance. I know exactly what you’re doing,” she adds without even looking over her shoulder at Chat Noir, who’s mimicking her with exaggerated hand motions. Ladybug forces herself to bite back a grin at the sight. It’s exactly what she’d done to Chat Noir during his first time meeting her as Marinette, after all.
“Everyone ready?” Ladybug says. When her teammates nod, she says, “Lucky Charm!” and receives a bottle of cooking oil for her trouble.
“You know,” Foxglove says, “one of these days, I’m going to have to ask Tikki what exactly goes through her mind.”
“Actually, this is one of the more straightforward ones.” Ladybug uncaps the bottle of oil. “Oil’s slippery. Aracnide’s sticky. It’s just what Chat needs so he doesn’t get stuck on the web. Ready, kitty?”
“I hate everything about this,” Chat Noir says as he allows Ladybug to coat his gloved hands and the soles of his boots with oil. “Especially the fact that I have to do the dirty work.”
“Tough luck, princess,” Foxglove sings. Chat Noir shoots her a dirty look in response.
“Ready, Pigella?” he sighs. Pigella nods and clambers onto his back, allowing him to transport her up the webbed street and buildings without getting stuck. Ladybug swings herself and Foxglove up to one of the unscathed rooftops to wait for their turn.
“For what it’s worth, I’m sorry I caused this mess,” Foxglove says after a moment. “I just…got so angry at Lila lying about something like that. And that was only from seeing the picture and hearing the recording. You were actually there to deal with the fallout with Adrien.”
“Maybe this was inevitable,” Ladybug says. “Lila was bound to shoot herself in the foot one day with this plan. At least this is something people can genuinely call her cruel for, rather than just telling a bunch of lies. You heard Mylène at the sleepover: if it was just that, people would be more inclined to forgive her.”
“And at least she gets a charm now,” Foxglove agrees. “That takes her out as a threat. She can’t “lose” them too many times before people get suspicious.” She pauses. “Do you think she would? Is she that malicious that she’d work with Shadowmoth?”
“I have no idea. And I don’t even want to consider that. Right now, I just want to make sure Chat Noir doesn’t get caught.”
In the distance, a voice cries, “Gift!” There’s an explosion of pink light and then, in the sky for everyone to see, appears Lila. She’s dressed in clearly expensive clothes, smiling smugly, while Adrien clings to her arm with a sickly-sweet look of adoration and everyone around her fawns over her. In the corner of the image is Marinette, looking like an absolute mess, exaggeratedly crying as she looks on.
“Seriously?” Ladybug says. “I was ready to give her even the tiniest benefit of the doubt but no, her deepest desire is literally to use everyone else like puppets while I suffer for calling her out.”
“I guess some people are just…like that,” Foxglove says slowly. Ladybug sighs.
“Yeah. You’re up.”
With a short tune and a, “Mirage!” Foxglove replaces the streets and skies around them and Aracnide with a larger version of Pigella’s Gift. This one, though, moves and has sound, and although the illusions are clearly robotic as they sing Lila’s praises, it works: Aracnide remains still, swaying in the middle of her web, her eight wide eyes fixed on the scene before her.
“I feel dirty just doing this,” Foxglove says. Her Mirage wavers.
“Focus!” Ladybug hisses. Foxglove takes a deep breath and the illusion steadies.
“I’m sorry,” she murmurs. “You know I have to go hard to make it believable.”
Ladybug inhales and steels herself. “I know. Just do it. Chat needs time to find the akuma.”
Foxglove closes her eyes, raises her flute to her lips, and starts to speak.
“I’m so sorry, Lila!” illusion Marinette wails. “Please forgive me! I’ll do anything you ask!”
“You had your chance!” illusion Alya scoffs. “This is what you get for bullying Lila!”
“Poor, disabled, innocent Lila!” illusion Alix says. “How could you, Marinette?”
“We thought you were nice!” illusion Rose says. “Our everyday Ladybug!”
“Pettynette!” Illusion Kim’s eyes light up. “That’s her new name!”
“Ooh, I love it!” illusion Lila coos. Aracnide continues to sway, transfixed by the sight in front of her. It’s a mirage, it’s not real…but Ladybug’s stomach still fills with stones at the scene unfolding in front of her.
Imagine how Alya feels, says a small voice. She has to say it all.
“How could anyone like Pettynette?” illusion Adrien grins. “She’s so nasty! I can’t believe she thought I’d ever like her! Who needs her or Ladybug?”
Ladybug sniffles and looks away. Next to her, Foxglove is too focused on maintaining the illusion to notice.
“Hey!” Illusion Mylène holds up a notebook. “Let’s tear up her sketchbook! That’ll show her!”
The illusion classmates cheer and descend on illusion Marinette. Right before the scene can continue any further, Aracnide is encased in a dark purple mass and vanishes, and Foxglove immediately cuts the Mirage and sinks to her knees with a sob.
“Hey. Foxy. Alya.” Ladybug kneels next to her and grabs her shoulders, not even caring that she’s still covered in traces of web. “You did great. You kept her busy. And now she can’t hide behind being an akuma. She has to deal with reality.”
“I’m sorry,” Foxglove cries. “I’m so sorry, Marinette. I didn’t mean any of it –”
“Shh. I know.” Ladybug pulls Foxglove in for a tight hug, cradling her, brushing her braids out of the way so that they don’t get caught. “You did amazing. How did you even know what to say?”
Foxglove sniffs. “I – I just imagined what Lila would want to hear. Everything that’s the exact opposite of how everyone feels about you. How I feel about you.”
“I don’t mean to sound insensitive,” Chat Noir says as he and Pigella land next to them, a scowling Lila in Pigella’s arms, “especially since Marinette’s amazing and all, but unless someone takes care of that akuma, we’re gonna have a million Aracnides to deal with. And I don’t think Foxglove’s ready to do a million Mirages.”
Ladybug squeezes Foxglove. “I’ll be right back,” she says, pulling herself free of the webbing still on Foxglove. She makes short work of capturing the akuma and fixing the damage done by Aracnide with her Miraculous Ladybug before returning to the rooftop, where she produces a burnt orange charm from her yo-yo.
“I don’t want anything from you,” Lila sneers, now on her feet. Ladybug narrows her eyes and presses it into her palm.
“You will take that charm,” Ladybug says as she kneels back next to Foxglove, who’s now free of webbing. “You’ll never let Shadowmoth akumatise you again. And you won’t lose it, or everyone might just wonder what you have to gain from being akumatised again.”
Lila bares her teeth in a vicious snarl. But no one is affected, so instead she stamps her foot and demands, “Someone get me down already!”
“There.” Chat Noir extends his staff to the ground as a makeshift fireman’s pole. “Slide down. Have fun, fake Fox.”
Lila shoots them one last venomous glare, then slides down the staff. As soon as she’s on the ground, Chat Noir retracts it, grimacing, and wipes it on his suit.
“Chat,” Ladybug says over Foxglove’s shoulder as her best friend shakes against her. “I trust you. Get Pigella’s Miraculous and take her back to the school. I’ll grab it from you later.”
Chat Noir nods without a trace of humour and then leaps away. Pigella stays long enough to pat Foxglove on the head before waving at Ladybug and following Chat Noir. Ladybug and Foxglove are left alone on the rooftop, Foxglove sobbing into Ladybug’s shoulder, their beeping Miraculouses going ignored until they’re encased in pink and orange light and their transformations drop.
“You were awesome, Alya,” Marinette soothes, running her fingers through Alya’s soft hair, kissing the top of her head. “I’d never have been able to do any of this without you.”
“You did so well!” Tikki agrees, nestling on Alya’s head. Trixx just floats down to hover next to them.
“Looks like you’ve found the dark side of being a Fox, little kit,” they say solemnly. “But you did amazing. I’m so proud to have you as my holder.”
31 notes
·
View notes
Free to Be You and Me: chapter 24
Chapter 23 | Chapter 25
Disclaimer: I don’t own ML.
“Hi, guys!” Lila beams when Marinette and the other girls plus Nino enter the classroom on Monday. Marinette’s ready to tense, to steel herself to deal with Lila and her court, but then she remembers: everyone knows now. The other girls had gotten word to Kim, Max, Ivan, and Nathaniel, and now there’s a berth around Lila that hadn’t been there before. Not blatantly obvious, sure, but it’s clear enough that Lila is Not Happy about it, judging by the chilly quality to her smile.
“Oh, hey, Lila!” Rose says brightly. That’s it. That’s all she says as she heads to her seat with Juleka. It clearly catches Lila off-guard, because her smile falters for just a split second.
“So,” Lila says as everyone else takes their own seats, “I hear you all had a sleepover on the weekend! That must have been so much fun!”
“It totally was, dude.” Nino proudly shows off his glimmering green nails. “All the girls were fighting over me and everything.”
“We were fighting over what colour to paint your nails, thank you very much,” Alya says, crossing her arms. Out of the corner of her eye, Marinette notices Adrien slip into the room and to his seat, ducking out of sight of Lila, and she can’t help but giggle softly at his antics. He grins back at her with pink cheeks.
“You should have come, Chloé!” Rose says. “Zoé was there and it was so much fun!”
“Yeah, I’ll keep being anywhere she’s not, thanks,” Chloé drawls without looking up from her nails.
“That sounds like fun,” Lila sighs. “I wish I knew why I was the only girl not invited. I know Marinette and I don’t always get along, but it would have been nice to hang out and have a girls’ night.”
“For your health, of course!” Alya says. “We didn’t know how your arthritis would cope with the ladder to Marinette’s room. And since Marinette lives in a bakery, we didn’t want to risk triggering your gluten intolerance.”
“Exactly!” Max says. “I would have also had to turn down an invitation if I’d gotten one, since the particles in the air might disrupt Markov’s sensitive systems. Not even a chance to beat the champion of Ultimate Mecha Strike III could have tempted me to endanger Markov.”
Lila’s too-wide smile turns rather fixed. “That’s so considerate of you all!” she says. “I do wish I could have come, but I appreciate you all thinking of me!”
Marinette chews on her bottom lip to stifle her laughter. It’s not even getting one over Lila that’s got her so giddy; it’s the fact that her classmates believe her, that they know the truth, and they’ve got her back.
Once class is underway and Ms Bustier tasks them with partnering up for the lesson, Marinette turns to Alya, ready for hushed best friend conversations in between doing actual work. But, to her surprise, Lila materialises next to her with the same too-wide smile as before.
“Marinette!” she says. “I was thinking, since we didn’t get to hang out last night and I’d really like to bury the hatchet between us, would you mind being my partner?”
Marinette blinks. She turns to Alya, silently asking if she’s having an incredibly vivid dream, but Alya’s answering blank stare confirms that no, this is reality and she’s very much awake.
“Um, sure?” Marinette says. “If that’s okay, Alya?”
“Totally,” Alya says. “I can third-wheel Adrien and Nino.”
Something in Lila’s eyes shifts at the mention of Adrien’s name. “Sounds like a plan,” she says and tugs Marinette to the back of the room, her nails digging into Marinette’s forearm. The back desk is empty, since Nathaniel’s moved down a row to work with Ivan, and Marinette is practically thrown onto the bench by Lila, who slides along and crowds Marinette between her and the wall.
“You can take our notes, since my arthritis is playing up,” Lila says with a sweet smile. Marinette smiles back just as sweetly.
“Of course! In fact, I’ve been meaning to ask about all your health conditions. As the class representative, it’s my job to help make sure that each student can do their best learning, and I realised that I should be doing more to help you, with all your problems.”
“Oh, you really don’t have to worry about me. I wouldn’t want to put you out or anything.”
“Really, it’s not a bother! But it can wait until after class. I can do the writing and you can read through the exercises!”
“Alright, what’s your game?” Lila drops the sugary act and leans in, her eyes narrowed. “Why are you suddenly being nice? And why is everyone else acting weird?”
“What do you mean?” Marinette says innocently, her heart pounding in her ears. “They’re trying to help you and your conditions, just like they’ve always done. And I’ve just come to realise that it’s easier to be nice than aggressive.”
“Trying to suck up to your friends?” Lila sneers.
“I don’t need to suck up to them. I told you, Lila, you’ll never turn them against me. And the fact that you’ve put all this effort in and they’re still my friends should tell you something about true friendship.”
“Well, I don’t need true friendship. I just need to tell them what they want to hear until they’re begging to help me. I’m even wrapping Adrien around my little finger.”
“Right, by getting his dad to force him to be around you.” Marinette clenches her fists under the table, otherwise she might punch Lila in the face for daring to talk about Adrien like that, and that’ll tear their plan to shreds. “You know what? I pity you. You can’t even get people to be around you without lies and manipulation. I used to hate you, but now I just feel sorry for you.”
“Feel sorry for me all you want. I’m the one that Adrien’s kissed. And if I have anything to say about it, there’ll be a lot more like that in the future. Soon, I’ll be on his arm in the spotlight and – why are you laughing?”
Marinette had thought that mentioning the forced kiss would make her blood boil. What she hadn’t expected was to end up bursting into laughter right in Lila’s face, just at the sheer absurdity of it all. Lila went to all those lengths just to make him kiss her and she thinks she can still force her way in? Especially when she’s unknowingly sitting next to Adrien’s girlfriend, who he kisses willingly and so, so many times?
“Stop laughing at me!” Lila whines.
“Y-You’re so sad,” Marinette hiccups. “You’ll never get Adrien. You’ll never get anyone. No matter how much you lie and manipulate and sabotage, you’ll never get Adrien or Alya or Ladybug or anyone else.”
“I always get what I want!” Lila stamps her foot. “Always! You’ll see – stop laughing!”
“Girls, what’s going on here?” Ms Bustier says as Marinette slides out of her seat and under the desk, her stomach cramping with laughter.
“Marinette won’t stop laughing at me and I just feel so attacked right now!” Lila wails immediately.
“N-Not at all,” Marinette chokes, pulling herself back out from under the desk. “Lila j-just told a funny j-joke, Ms B-Bustier. I didn’t know she c-could be that hilarious.”
“Oh my gosh!” Rose squeals. “Marinette and Lila are finally becoming friends! This is amazing!”
Marinette loses the battle against her body and slides back under the desk, tears streaming down her face.
.
Operation Be Annoyingly Nice to Lila is amazing. Adrien hadn’t thought it could possibly work, and yet Lila’s now constantly one tiny step from losing it, if the way her eye twitches when no one’s watching is any indication. And not only that, but every single classmate – even Chloé and Sabrina, and Adrien isn’t even fully sure they’re in on it – refuses to leave him alone with Lila. Like, at all.
Like the day after the sleepover, when Lila had cried about her arthritis playing up and how she just couldn’t make it to the cafeteria and oh, could Adrien help her there?
“Ivan, why don’t you take her?” Mylène had said. “You’re the strongest person in the class!”
“Hey!” Kim had protested.
“What? She’s telling the truth,” Alix had grinned. Lila had sniffled and pouted but been forced to take up Mylène and Ivan’s generous offer, and Adrien’s insides had fluttered at the small smile Mylène had sent his way before she followed Ivan and Lila.
The next time her “arthritis” had played up, Kim had fashioned her a sling out of his hoodie, as “the certified expert on every possible way to hurt every cell in your body”. Lila had not been happy at all.
Or the time when Lila had pleaded with Adrien to help her study so that she didn’t fall behind and Max had volunteered his services as “the smartest person in the class”. Sabrina had chimed in as well to offer her help, and so Alix had turned it into a group study session in the park, where Lila had conveniently been sat on the total opposite side of the picnic blankets to Adrien and Marinette.
“Why didn’t we do this before?” Marinette had grumbled while her silky black hair shone in the sunlight. “Maybe then I wouldn’t have fallen so far behind on my homework.”
“Ooh, we could make this a weekly thing!” Rose had said. “If Max and Sabrina are okay with that, of course? We can all help each other and stop Lila from falling behind!”
“You guys are just amazing!” Lila had crooned with murder in her eyes.
It’s just…overwhelming, what everyone’s doing for him. The only time Adrien’s alone with Lila is during their Gabriel-mandated study sessions but even then, he’s been asking his bodyguard to stay with him, and it’s not like Gabriel can get upset at Adrien wanting supervision of a boy and a girl alone in the same room. Not without letting on that there’s something more going on with him and Lila.
It hasn’t stopped Lila from trying, though. And today, she’s pulling out all the stops.
“…and I had the most awesome night with Ladybug!” Lila says. Funny, considering that Adrien had also had the most awesome night with Ladybug, and he’s pretty sure his lady can’t be in two places at once. “She let me try out new hairstyles on her! Not that her pigtails aren’t sweet, of course, but with her new costume, she wanted to experiment a little!”
Lila’s right. Ladybug would look much better with her hair down. Adrien had found that for himself last night during a make-out session that makes his toes curl and heat blossom in his stomach remembering it even now.
“What are you so dreamy about?” Alya says from behind him. Adrien immediately schools his face into total neutrality as he turns to her.
“Nothing!” he says. “I just…had a really good night. You know, without Lila breathing down my neck.”
Alya just raises an eyebrow. For some reason, Marinette’s face has turned scarlet, and she’s buried it in her arms on her desk. Adrien doesn’t have time to ask if she’s okay because Lila’s being interrupted by Alix.
“That’s nothing,” she’s bragging when he tunes in. “We had Chat Noir at our sleepover!”
“Wait, what?” Kim says, while Lila’s eyes narrow. “Since when?”
“He dropped by to bring Kagami and we made him stay,” Alix says smugly. “Too bad we couldn’t paint his nails like Nino’s. Just can’t get to them under the gloves.”
“I’m never taking this polish off, no matter how much it chips,” Nino says. “You dudettes are nail gods.”
“He loves Ladybug so much!” Rose squeals. “It was so romantic to hear him talking about her!”
Adrien’s cheeks burn because that’s him. He’d said all that stuff about Ladybug. His girlfriend, even though no one else knows.
“Oh,” Lila says, visibly fumbling for solid ground, “that’s great! That reminds me of the time Jagged Stone invited me to –”
“Wait, wait!” Ivan says, uncharacteristically excited. “Juleka, you’re Jagged’s daughter! You’ve never really told us anything about him!”
Juleka’s cheeks burn as everyone turns to face her. “Um…he’s cool,” she says. “Luka’s closer to him. But, um…yeah.”
Adrien checks Marinette’s reaction to Lila being defanged, but she’s still got her face buried in her arms. Oh, how he wishes he could ask her what’s wrong, but the last thing he wants is to draw attention to her when Lila’s on the warpath with their classmates, so he forces himself to turn away and leave her to her predicament. His stomach turns at the thought of just leaving Marinette, and –
He needs to talk to Ladybug. ASAP.
25 notes
·
View notes