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purrincess-chat · 6 years

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How to Catch a Ladybug CH3

Heyy, I finished another chapter of this thing! I was going to update Lady Luck first, but I have been meaning to finish this one, and someone has been on my tail about it, so here it is! It gets happier later I promise!

FF | AO3

Chapter 3

Marinette was good.

Like really good, and Lila hated every minute of it. Just that week, Marinette brought her a hand-knitted scarf that was so thoughtful and adorable, Lila had almost believed it was genuine. She still remembered the giddy expression on her stupid face when she’d opened it, and how pleased she was when Lila gushed about how much she loved it, which wasn’t an actual lie on her part as it was incredibly well-made. There was nothing wrong with appreciating perfectly good neckwear, but the kicker was when Marinette invited her to her birthday party that weekend, of course to force Lila to return the favor with a thoughtful gift of her own, the conniving little snake.

So now Lila perused the shops in town for the perfect gift for her favorite frenemy to show that she was indeed better at this game, but to her annoyance, nothing in any of the shops could top Marinette’s skilled needlework. What did one get the most treacherous snake in all of Paris? Lila wasn’t sure she’d ever find the answer until she walked past the jewelry shop where she’d bought her fox necklace and spotted a pair of Ladybug earrings in the window. How else should she let the ugly bug know she was onto her than with a pair of replica earrings?

Yes, they were perfect, and Lila was one step closer to ridding the world of Ladybug.

The fake earrings would also give her the perfect opportunity to snatch the real ones if she insisted that Marinette try them on at the party. With one sleight of hand, Lila could palm her earrings and be out of there before Marinette even realized what happened. The only fault in her plan was that she wouldn’t get to see the look on her face when she discovers that her precious Miraculous has disappeared.

It was a worthy price to pay if it got the job done, and afterward, they could stop pretending to like each other. Thinking about it made Lila’s stomach churn a little longingly, and she supposed in a way that she was going to miss the day-to-day exchanges they shared. Marinette had certainly done wonders for enhancing her acting abilities, and she did admire Marinette’s tenacity and commitment to her own charade. She’d never met anyone before that rivaled her in that regard, and she kind of regretted that they were sworn enemies. Perhaps if things were different, they could actually be friends…

Lila shook herself and pushed the thought away. Marinette was better than she thought, it seemed, and she’d actually almost believed her. Squaring her jaw, she reaffirmed her mission as she paid for the earrings and accepted the bag from the cashier. The time had come to settle this once and for all, and Lila didn’t intend to lose.

On the day of the party, Lila arrived with her gift in hand, masked with the smoothest poker face she could muster. If she managed to pull this off, then she’d never have to put up with Marinette again, and neither would anyone else. Thinking about it brought a sly curl to her lips that she quickly converted into a smile when Marinette spotted her from across the room and hurried over.

“You made it!” She said cheerfully, locking her arms around Lila’s neck in a tight embrace that felt all too real, and for a moment, Lila felt her brain scrambling, though she quickly focused back on her mission.

“Of course I did. I wouldn’t miss this for the world.” She seemed pleased by that answer, and Lila felt a sick sense of satisfaction that Marinette didn’t suspect a thing.

“You can set your present over here,” Mrs. Cheng instructed politely, gesturing to the corner where a pile of brightly wrapped gifts sat by the window, and Lila carefully set hers among them.

All she had to do now was play it cool until it was time to open gifts, and she supposed grabbing a piece of cake wouldn’t hurt…

“Lila! What’s up, lil fox?” Kim greeted enthusiastically, wrapping an arm around her shoulders, and she noticed Max and Alix in tow.

“Just enjoying the party,” She said casually.

“Yeah, Marinette’s parents are the best. You should come to the next sleepover we have over here. Mr. Dupain makes us homemade pizza down in the bakery, and we have tea parties with Mrs. Cheng. It’s mostly a lot of boring boy talk and gossip, but last time Mylene and I pulled pranks when everyone went to sleep.” Alix smirked proudly.

“I’ll definitely ask Marinette about it,” Lila said with a nod, wincing slightly.

All of that sounded really fun, and she kind of wished that she could experience it at least once. She’d never really been to a sleepover before; since her parents moved around so much, it was hard for her to make friends. Just once she kind of wanted to know what that was like, and she eyed her present sitting in the corner with a conflicted frown.

“Hey, Max, come play Marinette in Ultimate Mecha Strike!” Alya called, tearing the trio away from Lila as they crowded onto the couch to watch. She moved to join them but was quickly overrun by Rose and Nino.

“Hey, Lila, how’s it going?” Nino extended a fist for her to bump.

“Uh, great.” She offered up the most convincing smile she could, though she could feel that it fell a little flat.

“Have you seen the cake Mr. Dupain baked? Isn’t it so amazing!” Rose squealed, pressing her hands to her cheeks. “It’s almost as sweet as Marinette.”

“You all think really highly of her, huh,” Lila remarked, curling her shoulders a little.

“Well, yeah. We’ve known Marinette since we were all little kids, and she’s always been there through thick and thin. When Max swallowed one of his baby teeth and cried, Marinette made him a friendship bracelet. One time Kim ripped his pants in gym class, and Marinette sewed them back up in like no time,” Rose explained, listing off on her fingers.

“Don’t you mean every time Kim rips his pants in gym class?” Nino said with a smirk, and Rose conceded with a laugh. “Marinette is a real friend. She’s always there for everyone, and her positive mental attitude is why she’s the only girl in the class who hasn’t been akumatized. She’s immune to negativity.”

Lila glanced at the girl in question out of the corner of her eye watching as she and Max focused intently on their game. No one here had anything mean to say about Marinette. Was it possible that Lila had her pegged all wrong? Even Lila hadn’t been running a scheme that long, and she wasn’t even sure it was possible to fool so many people for so many years.

Perhaps Marinette had befriended her because she felt bad for everything she’d done as Ladybug and wanted a fresh start. Maybe all this time Lila had been imaging this war between them when in reality Marinette really did see her as a friend. If that were all true, Lila had to wonder when her own view of the world had become so warped. Was her perspective so damaged by her own intricate web of lies that she couldn’t tell the difference between fiction and reality anymore?

“You okay, Lila?” Rose asked, eyebrows knitting together in concern.

“Actually, uh, I’m not feeling that great. Can you tell Marinette I went home early?” She said, placing a hand over her churning stomach.

“Sure, thing.” Nino nodded with a sympathetic wince before she quietly stepped between them and made her way out the door.

As she climbed down the steps, her gut twisted in knots, and she felt like she was going to throw up. This whole charade that she was pulling suddenly felt like bricks on her shoulders as she finally confronted her own tainted sense of truth. All this time she’d been so focused on Marinette’s toxic side that she failed to see how much stronger it made her own.

Having dignitaries as parents forced her to move around a lot and kept her from making permanent friends, so each time she moved, she made it her mission to capture as much attention as she could. To be revered. After all, lying came naturally to her. Perhaps it was schmoozing was inherent as it was something her parents did well, or maybe she’d just gotten good at it over the years of having to pretend that being ripped away from anyone who ever got close to her didn’t bother her. Years of pretending to be the perfectly compliant daughter. Maybe she couldn’t recognize Marinette’s attempts at friendship because she’d never even known what a real friend looked like.

She played with her necklace absentmindedly, staring at the door at the bottom of the stairs as her web began to crumble. It had been so long since Lila had been genuine, and she hadn’t even realized how tired she’d become of playing games. How hollow all of those lies had made her, and how numb to happiness she’d become. For once in her life she wanted something real, but the only question was: how was she going to get it?

Glancing back up the stairs, she could still faintly hear voices singing to the birthday girl, realizing that once again she’d put herself on the outside looking in, and she wasn’t quite sure how to fix it. But she did have an idea of who would.

#miraculous ladybug #lilanette #lila rossi #marinette dupain-cheng #my writing #how to catch a ladybug #can i go to bed now?

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