Chapter Text
Little gasp, hands to my mouth… slight pause… let my eyes tear up slightly and build up a nice quaver in my voice, then—
“Oh my gosh, you guys! You didn’t have to do all this!”
Lila Rossi let her hands fall and fixed a big grin on her face that matched the smiles of her classmates. The whole class except for Marinette and Chloe were standing in the park near school, the one outside the Dupain-Cheng bakery, and they had set up what looked like a truly spectacular picnic. Lila saw platters piled high with takeout from her favorite restaurants, the big boom box Nino used for his DJ events, and a bunch of cushions which looked incredibly comfortable and must have, judging by their pink design, been contributed by Rose. A few banners had been hung up too, and they all read, “FASHION CHARITY CELEBRATION!”
“I know we didn’t have to, girl,” said Alya as she approached Lila. “But we felt like you deserved it after all you achieved!”
“Your work with that fashion mogul from Milan helping poor people get beautiful clothes is truly generous!” Rose added in a sweet voice. “And now that your meeting with the mogul is over, we thought it’d be a perfect time to show you how great we think you are!”
Lila let her smile expand just the slightest bit, as if she was genuinely affected by their words. “Aw, thanks guys,” she said in a slow, almost reluctant voice that sounded like she was almost too humble to accept the compliment. “But I was just doing what anyone would. I mean, after I met the mogul at that party at the embassy, I felt like I had an obligation to help her. Even the poorest people deserve good clothes to dress up in, you know? Like, for job interviews and stuff. And honestly, I had no idea the clothing drive would be such a success!”
The drive had indeed been a success, although Lila hadn’t contributed in any meaningful sense. She’d just told the others about her latest 'charitable project,' let them all insist on joining in so they too could ‘help the poor,’ and then hung back while they did the actual grunt work of collecting old clothes and hunting through them for hidden gems. The only thing Lila had done was gather up their ‘donations,’ pick out a few to keep for herself, and then dump the rest in a Goodwill box during a weekend trip to Rouen. (After all, she could hardly dump them somewhere in Paris where the class might find them.) Then she’d told the rest of the class that she’d given the clothes to the mogul, who had been overjoyed by how much good they had done. That was, of course, just what the others had expected to hear.
And Lila knew how to tell others what they expected to hear.
Lila stepped forwards and let Alya hug her. Then, when the rest of the class approached, Lila allowed a hint of curiosity into her expression. “Hang on. How did you guys know I just got out of a meeting with that mogul? And how did you know I’d come by this park on my way home?”
“We saw your post on your Facebook page,” said Max. “Two days ago you had mentioned that today you’d be meeting with a ‘great person’ from Italy who was ‘the height of fashion.’ It was easy to determine who you were talking about based on prior conversations with us where you said you knew that mogul and that she was in Paris. Then yesterday you mentioned that after lunch you would take your friend over to our school so you could show her the part of the city you live in. This park is between the embassy and your school, so we knew you’d come by here.”
"Ah," said Lila. She was proud of those Facebook posts; they had given her friends all the right clues while being vague enough not to cause problems if her mother or someone else in the embassy saw them.
“Speaking of that,” Mylene said, “Where is your mogul friend, anyways? We really wanted to meet her and tell her how great we think her charitable efforts are!”
Inwardly, Lila smiled to herself. Clearly the class had put this picnic together not just to be nice to Lila but also to try to impress a famous celebrity, exactly as Lila had planned. No wonder the food, seating, and everything else was so nice. On the outside, though, Lila let her face fall. “Oh,” she said softly. “I was planning to walk here with her like I posted, but she got a call that one of her models was throwing a tantrum and she had to cancel our walk so she could deal with that. I wish I’d known you were doing this, because then I would have tried harder to get her to take that walk with me. She’d have loved meeting you all.”
“It’s not your fault,” said Alya at once, and though the class looked disappointed, Lila could see they all believed her. And how could they not, really? It wasn’t like they could know that Lila had done everything in her power to manipulate the class into throwing this party.
“Actually,” said Alya, “there was one other thing. We thought the mogul would be coming here, so we brought a few more pieces of clothing that we figured she’d want for her charity drive. Since she didn’t show up, maybe we could give them to you and you could pass them on to her?”
“Sure!” said Lila with real glee. Her wardrobe could always use more pretty outfits. “I’d be happy to help.”
Kim and Nathaniel brought a few boxes over. Lila carefully opened one up, curious to see the clothes, and then her face brightened as she recognized the handiwork. “This is beautiful!” she said as she lifted a shimmering, elegant dress from the box. “It’s amazing! It’s… hang on, is this one of Marinette's designs?”
Alya nodded. “She made that for me for last year’s spring dance,” she said. “It’s really gorgeous, isn’t it?”
"The orange one she made me for that party last month in Le Grand Paris is in there too, Lila," said Sabrina quickly.
“There’s a bunch of things by Marinette in there,” added Kim. “Like a really fancy shirt she made me, or that sparkly blue dress she made Rose for a lunch with Prince Ali. Seriously, the charity cases will love these.”
“Are you sure it’s okay to get rid of Marinette’s stuff like this?” asked Lila, carefully concealing her excitement. "Will she get upset?"
Alya waved a hand. “She likes charity. I’m sure she’d be fine with it.”
Lila again smiled to herself. You guys really wanted to impress that mogul, so, you came here with the most beautiful clothes you owned just so you could give them to charity in front of her, she thought. And the 'most beautiful clothes you owned' that you were willing to give up happened to be Marinette’s gifts to you. How perfect. But hey, we all know she’ll just make you more stuff if you ask her, so it’s not like you’ll be suffering too much for their loss.
Outwardly, though, she let her eyes tear up just a little more. “Thank you so much,” she said. “I will personally get these to her. I’m sure the poor will love these outfits.”
“Well, that’s enough talking!” said Kim abruptly. “Come on! Let’s eat!”
Lila let the others take her over to the platters of food and pile her plate high with delicious treats before sitting down on a cushion. Mylene and Ivan took her left side, happily chattering about the charity work they thought they’d contributed to, while Nino, Alix, and Nathaniel sat on her right. “Did your contact at Marvel get back to you about whether my work made it through the second round yet?” Nathaniel asked.
“Not yet,” Lila said. “I know the judging should have been done by now. I’m really sorry.”
“Don’t be,” said Nathaniel quickly. “Honestly, even getting through the first round of that contest is a big deal. It means my stuff is being looked at by real editors!”
Lila nodded. The Marvel contest itself was real enough, though the only way Nathaniel’s work would be seen by an editor would be if one happened to break into her house and find it hidden in its folder on her bookshelf. It had been easy to convince Nathaniel that she had a good friend at Marvel who owed her a favor and would fight for Nathaniel’s submission. All they had to do was make sure the editor knew which package it was in advance so he could ensure he was the judge of that particular work. Lila had thus created a special envelope with a few sigils and random numbers on it (“our code,” she had told Nathaniel) and had Nathaniel put his work inside so she could mail it on her way home. The next day she’d told him she’d mailed it, and a couple weeks later she’d even given him a fake letter she’d typed up congratulating him on making it to the contest’s second round.
The story would never, of course, actually get anywhere near Marvel's offices. Lila would eventually tell Nathaniel a tragic story about some executive destroying his work on the grounds that it was so good and so similar to an upcoming project that he had chosen to kill it to protect Marvel's own brand. And in the meantime, Nathaniel would continue to be even nicer to Lila than usual, including continuing to give her invitations to art galleries that he’d worked very hard to get for himself. Lila, in turn, was doing a brisk business selling them to a few social climbers she’d met through the embassy who would pay excellent money for the chance to schmooze with society’s up-and-coming artistes. It might not be win-win, Lila thought, but she won twice, and that was just as good.
“No, Nathaniel,” Lila said aloud. “Your work is really good and it deserves to be seen. I’m going to find out what happened, and I’m not going to stop until I know they’re giving you the consideration you’re due.”
“Thanks, Lila,” said Nathaniel. “You’re a great friend.”
Then it was Nino’s turn to talk to Lila about her work to get his music in front of a major label, and after that came the rest of the class. Lila smiled, she laughed, she made promises when appropriate, and she ate some truly delicious food while the others showered her with praise and gifts.
Life, she thought, was good.
After a while, Lila noticed that Adrien was the only member of the class who hadn’t come to greet her. He was standing by the buffet with a tired expression, though he fixed it into a smile when he saw Lila looking at him. Lila got up and went over to him. “Enjoying yourself?” she asked him in a happy voice.
Adrien sighed. “The mogul isn’t real, is she?” he asked in return. His voice, Lila noted, was almost a whisper and was far too soft for the rest of the class to hear. “Lila, why do you do these things?”
Lila quickly dismissed the thought of insisting the mogul was real; she knew Adrien wouldn’t believe it and she’d just annoy him. Instead, she used her usual strategy with him. “Adrien, I’ve been in a different city every few months for the last five years,” she said. “This is the first time I’ve been anywhere long enough to make friends. I want them to like me, but… I mean, they’re all so amazing. They won’t like some random nobody who never met anyone interesting or did anything important. And I couldn’t bear to see them hate me and be all alone again.” She pressed up against him, looking to all the others like she wanted to give him a hug. “Please don’t tell them,” she begged. “I’d be ruined.”
Adrien sighed. “I won’t,” he said. “I'm not going to hurt you or them over this. But—“
“Thanks,” Lila said, having heard what she needed to hear. She gave him a quick peck on the cheek and then turned back to the others. “You’re awesome, Adrien.”
“Who wants cake?” Kim called.
“Me!” Lila said gleefully.
“HEY!”
The entire class froze and turned to see Marinette storming out of the bakery and heading in the direction. Lila waited for the others to be looking at Marinette before she shot the blue-haired girl a smug smirk. Once again, exactly as planned, she thought, then quickly schooled her expression back into one of bafflement. “What’s wrong?” she asked Marinette aloud. “Why are you upset?”
“Okay, wait,” said Alya quickly. “Marinette, I know you’re probably a little upset that we did this picnic without telling you, but we know how you get when Lila's around and we figured it’d be best to keep you two separate.”
“Yeah,” said Nino. “We can have a picnic for you tomorrow or something.”
Marinette stared at them. “Picnic tomorrow?” she repeated. “But we were supposed to have a party today! Remember?” Her voice grew a little angrier. “I had told Bustier how you were excluding me—“
“We’re not excluding you!” Alya said. “We just don’t think it’s a good idea to bring you and Lila to the same events, since you can’t get along with her!”
Marinette shot Alya a glare. “—anyways, she said that I should try harder to be nice, and I didn’t even know what else I could do, but eventually I decided that I’d try to throw a party. I spent all week working on it, I gave you guys those invitations, and for the last hour I’ve been wondering why you didn’t show up!” Tears were forming in her eyes. “What’s wrong with you?!”
Everyone looked at Max, guessed Lila figured was supposed to be keeping the schedule. Max did look uncomfortable as he said, “Ah, your party was scheduled to be three hours long, but Lila was only coming by here for a short while, so we decided it would be best to have this picnic with Lila and then go to your party. However, I think we lost track of time.” He shrugged. “Lila is very engaging.”
“Engaging?!” Marinette demanded.
“Marinette, don’t get mad, please!” Lila said. “I’m sorry that I distracted people from your party. I didn’t want to be a bother.” She sniffed. “I can go now. You all play with Marinette.“
“No way,” said Alya. “Marinette, stop being jealous. We can do your thing later, Marinette. We’re not going to kick Lila out early.”
“Right,” said Kim. “Abandoning her would be messed up.”
Marinette gaped at them. Lila, still acting like she might leave, went over to the boxes the class had given her. And as she picked them up, she let the lid slip off the top one. “Oops,” she said as she bent over to pick it up and gave Marinette a perfect view of its contents. "My bad."
This time Marinette’s gasp was audible. “What are you doing with my clothes?” she hissed.
“Didn’t you know?” Rose said in a happy chirp. Next to her, Juleka looked slightly uneasy, but she didn’t say anything as Rose continued on and added, “Lila is doing a clothes drive with a famous fashion mogul! We gave her these things so she could give them to poor people who have never worn nice clothes in their lives!”
It took all of Lila’s considerable skill not to burst out laughing at Marinette’s horrified expression. Perfect, she thought. This is perfect. If her reaction to this doesn’t drive them away from her, nothing will.
In the various classes Lila had attended, there were usually a few people who could see through her cons. Those that couldn't figure her out, of course, weren't an issue. Those that could but didn't want to intervene for whatever reason, such as Adrien, weren't a significant threat either. But then there were those like Marinette. They were smart, they wanted to protect their classmates, and they were more than willing to reveal all of Lila's deceptions. Lila had therefore learned that, whenever she was working out how to manipulate her latest set of classmates, her first priority had to be to find and discredit that last group of individuals. She had to make them seem paranoid, or jealous, or otherwise unhinged. Once she’d done that, it wouldn’t matter if the Marinette-type classmates found a signed confession in which she’d detailed all of her plans. Nobody would listen.
And so Lila waited and goaded on Marinette with her mind. She was hoping for the girl to throw a tantrum, or try to assault her, or even get akumatized. But instead, possessing a level of control Lila wouldn’t have believed existed, Marinette managed to just say, “Adrien, can I have a word?” And then she dragged him to the side.
Lila shrugged, and then Alya made a joke to the effect that it was about time for Marinette to confess her crush already, and everyone laughed. Lila accepted a piece of cake and then began to eat it slowly, drifting just close enough to Marinette and Adrien to eavesdrop as she did so.
“…how can you let her do this?” Marinette was saying in a hurt voice.
“It’s fine, Marinette,” said Adrien. “High road, remember? She’s not really hurting anyone, so what does it matter if she wants to exaggerate a little?” He chuckled. “Come on. In the grand scheme of things, her lies don’t really matter.”
“She just swindled a bunch of expensive clothes out of our class!” Marinette hissed.
“They’re just clothes,” said Adrien in return. “They’re not worth starting a fight over, and they’re definitely not worth risking Lila getting akumatized.” And then he flashed one of his dazzling, radiant smiles. “If you really think it’s a problem, you can make new outfits, right?”
Marinette said nothing, and Lila realized she wasn’t sure what would happen next. But then Marinette whispered, “You’re never going to change your mind, are you? No matter what she does to me or to anyone else, you’ll never care.”
"Of course I care,” said Adrien. “I care about you, and the other members of our class, and Lila too. I just don’t want anyone to get hurt, and exposing Lila would hurt her and cause problems. So what’s the harm in overlooking a few lies to keep everyone happy and friendly?”
“Because I hurt, and I”m not happy,” Marinette said in that same soft, low voice. “She’s made my life horrible for the past few months.”
Adrien shook his head. “You’re our everyday Ladybug,” he insisted. “I know you’re strong enough to handle her.” He took her hand and smiled like he was bestowing a great compliment. “And one day, when she realizes that her lies aren’t getting her the true friendships she really wants and apologizes for what she’s said? Then we’ll all be friends again, and everything will be back to normal. On that day I’m sure you’ll be happy we didn’t make things even worse by calling her out and making everyone angrier.”
Marinette just stared at him, and Lila had an instant’s impression of burning rage. She wondered if Marinette would slap Adrien. But then the moment passed and Marinette just turned around. “I’m sorry to have interrupted,” she said, loud enough for everyone to hear. “I won’t bother you again. I’m going home now.”
“We’ll come by your party later!” Kim said as Marinette headed out of the park. “You’ll have those banana cinnamon buns I like, right?”
Marinette glanced behind her. “Forget it. Just do your thing with Lila,” she said in a listless voice. “I don’t care.” And she walked back into the bakery.
Everyone stared at her, and then Alya said, “She’ll get over it. Trust me, I’m her BFF.”
“Yeah,” said Kim. “Still, though, it’s weird she keeps getting so upset about Lila.” Behind him, Ivan nodded.
“You know she's not exactly rational where Lila is concerned,” Alix told him. “Wish I knew why.”
Lila smiled to herself. She hadn’t gotten the tantrum she’d been hoping for, but she was still confident the class would ignore anything Marinette said about her for the foreseeable future. That was all she needed. Now she could continue manipulating them for all they were worth, and nobody would be in her way. She could run this scam forever.
“If she doesn’t want to hang out with me, I guess I have to accept that,” said Lila in a slightly hurt voice. Instantly the others were crowding around her, apologizing for Marinette, and offering to do whatever it took to keep her happy. When Lila hinted that a jewelry shopping trip might do the trick, they were quick to suggest packing up the picnic and heading to the jewelry district right away. Lila accepted, and just like that they were off.
Yes, Lila thought. She could do this forever. And not even Ladybug and Chat Noir themselves could stop her.
“Why are they like this?” Marinette sobbed into her pillow. “What did I do?”
“You didn’t do anything, Marinette,” said Tikki gently in her ear.
Marinette shook her head. “I thought they were my friends!” she went on. “I thought they liked me, that they trusted me. And I trusted them!” She blew her nose into a tissue that Tikki handed her, then went on. “I did so much for them. I baked them treats on test days, I sewed them fancy clothes, I did babysitting, and none of them cared. They threw me away for some obvious liar!”
“Marinette, I’m truly sorry,” said Tikki. “I know you’re hurting. But Hawkmoth—“
“—will akumatize me if I feel strong negative emotions, and if I’m akumatized we lose because then I’d just give him the miraculous, so I have to hold in my emotions to the point where I don’t feel them because otherwise the world ends,” said Marinette in a soft, almost broken voice. “My friends all abandon me, my crush tells me Lila’s lies ‘don’t really matter’ and ‘aren’t hurting anyone’ even though I’m crying myself to sleep every night, and I have to just pretend it doesn’t matter.”
Before Tikki could say anything, Marinette sat up and shot her a look. “You realize Hawkmoth's going to win, right?” she said. “Tikki, I’m trying, but I can’t do this forever. I can’t keep ignoring all the ways my friends betray me and hurt me. I can't keep ignoring how Adrien knows what's going on but refuses to tell anyone the truth. I can't keep ignoring those feelings. I try and I try, but sooner or later Hawkmoth is going to catch me and then it’s all over.”
Tikki hugged Marinette as best she could. Then Marinette said, “I might have to give up the earrings.”
“What? No!” Tikki gasped. “Marinette, you’re one of the best holders I’ve ever had. Nobody but you could have done so well against Hawkmoth!”
“But if I’m going to get akumatized eventually, what else can I do?“ Marinette asked.
Several ideas ran through Tikki’s head as she opened her mouth to interject. She could tell Marinette more platitudes, of course. She could offer to teach her some of Master Fu’s meditation techniques to keep her emotions under control. She could offer to help Marinette bake some cookies.
Or she could tell her that the universe, while not exactly sentient, was known to reward especially meritorious holders. Karma had a strange way of affecting those who made enemies of the best Ladybug bearers. Those like Lila tended to get what was coming to them. And when the Lilas of the world had protection from people who worked to guard them from the consequences of their actions, those consequences wouldn't go away. At most, they would just rebound upon the protectors who had shielded Ladybug's enemies, as was just and proper.
But Tikki knew she couldn’t say the last one. That was something Marinette would have to discover on her own. So instead she asked, “Is there anyone that makes you feel better?” she asked. “That can help you calm down and feel safe?”
“A month ago I would have said Alya, or Nino, or Kim, or any of them,” Marinette muttered. “But not now."
"What about Chat Noir?" Tikki asked.
"No way," said Marinette at once. "He didn't betray me like my class, but I can't talk to him about something sensitive. He never listens. He just flirts and makes puns, even when I tell him to stop clowning around." She looked down. "I've asked him not to flirt and he still does. I've begged him not to sacrifice himself for no reason all the time but he keeps doing it. Yes, he's done some good work as a hero, but if he can't take me seriously, I can't talk to him about this. There isn't... wait." She paused. "I have an idea."
"Yes?" Tikki prompted.
Marinette paused, then wiped the tears from her eyes. “Maybe there really is someone I could talk to. I didn't think of him before, but now that I have, I think he'd be perfect.”
“Then let’s go!” said Tikki quickly.
Marinette nodded. “Spots on!” she yelled, and when her transformation finished, she was already running for her window.
“Kid,” said Plagg in a low voice. “You need to stop this.”
“I’m not attacking Lila,” said Adrien. “We’ve been over this.”
“Your friend is suffering!” Plagg insisted.
Adrien had split off from the others shortly into the jewelry trip, making the excuse that his father wanted him home for a photo shoot. In reality, he just couldn’t make himself hang out with Lila for even one more minute. Now he was back in his room, relaxing on the couch and feeding cheese to his kwami.
“She’ll be fine,” Adrien insisted. “Marinette is one of the most optimistic and kindest people I know. Trust me: within an hour she’ll have gotten over it.”
“She shouldn’t have to get over it!” Plagg insisted. “She—“
“I am not going to call Lila out just to make he miserable and mess up her friendships with the rest of the class,” Adrien snapped. “Lila just wants attention. She’s not a bad person. Hurting her by exposing her just causes more problems.”
Plagg sighed. “Kid, I don’t think this is about it Lila and whether or not she has friends. Or even Marinette. You just don’t want to be the one to cause tension by calling out Lila. You're worried about losing your own friendships with the class if you tell them something they don't want to hear.”
Adrien shrugged. “I’ve never had friends before. I don’t want to drive them away by making everything unpleasant.”
“And if Lila drives them away instead?” Plagg asked.
“She won’t,” Adrien said. “The others like her. And if Lila eventually does screw up and they see her lies, they’ll forgive her just like I did, and just like Marinette will. Then everything will be fine and nobody has to get hurt.”
“Sometimes bad people have to get hurt,” Plagg insisted. “I’ve been around humans long enough to know: Marinette is suffering, and if hurting Lila is what it takes to stop that, then that's what you need to do.”
Adrien thought for a few moments. “There has to be another way. Maybe I’ll drop by her apartment as Chat Noir instead.” He smiled. “A few puns, a little flirting, and I’ll charm her off her feet.”
“I really don’t think that’s the right answer,” Plagg said in a deadpan voice. “Look, I know you don’t want to cause trouble. But Lila’s lies are hurting others, and you know it. That means you have to do something about it! It’d be like someone knowing that a bunch of cheese is about to spoil and not letting an adorable kwami like me eat it first!”
Adrien chuckled. “You and the cheese,” he joked. “Look, it’s not like she’s lying about, I don’t know, some kind of quack medicine that poisons people who take it. She’s not convincing them to send their money to one of those Nigerian prince email scams. She’s not telling them to give her all their worldly possessions, or that they can jump off a cliff and fly if they buy a magic feather from her. All she does is tell a few lies about knowing people she doesn’t actually know; that’s it. It just isn't a big deal. I mean, sure, she took some clothes from them, but who cares about losing a few clothes?” He gestured at his closet. “I could lose a hundred outfits and still have more stuff than I could wear in a year.”
“Lila's lies aren’t a big deal to you because you saw through them and aren’t getting burned by them,” said Plagg. “And also, they aren’t a big deal to you because you think that, even if you did fall for them, you could afford to lose the stuff she takes without noticing the cost. That Juleka girl lives on a decrepit boat; if she gives away her best outfit, do you really think she can just get another that’s just as good from her closet? Could the others in your class?”
Adrien shook his head and wished Plagg understood. The idea that a loss of a few clothes would be a serious tragedy was silly and incomprehensible. Frankly, Adrien wished someone would take away his dumber modeling outfits so he wouldn’t have to do so many annoying photo shoots. “It’s not a big deal, Plagg,” he repeated. “And it wouldn’t be even if Lila kept it up forever, but she won’t. Sooner or later she’ll get exposed and then everything will go back to normal.” He yawned and then shut his eyes. “I’m going to rest up in case there’s an akuma later. You should do the same.”
Plagg fell silent and Adrien began to drift off, hoping he'd dream of a time when the whole class--Lila included--would get along and be friends with each other. Then they'd all be happy and friendly, and as far as he was concerned, they could stay like that forever.