✩𝔻𝕒𝕣𝕜𝕖𝕤𝕥 ℕ𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥, 𝔹𝕝𝕦𝕖𝕤𝕥 𝕊𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕤✩

𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘋𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘢, 𝘛𝘸𝘰 𝘋𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘢, 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘋𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘢, 𝘍𝘰𝘶𝘳!

"Oh. It was... actually fun."

Her mother crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows.

"Chloé was really kind to me. I guess I everyone just judges her too soon."

Sabine gave Marinette a meek smile before pinching her cheek.

"I'm glad he had a good time," she said in Mandarin. "You're skin is glowing so I figured I'd ask you what happened."

Marinette gave her mother a leafy grin. 

"The only downside of the night was hotel food. Can't remember a thing I ate."

"Only good food is worth remembering," her mother soothed her cheek. "And good friends are worth more."

As her mother left the kitchen in her morning gown, the teen felt a strange warmth growing from her belly. It felt nice to know that her mother approved of a friend of hers. She was always every picky about who she played with.

After the girl decided to heat up the rest of the food, she got a text from the phone Robin gave her.

'Lockers. 10.30am'

Speaking of friends her mother approved of, Damian must have gotten a lead on Mayura. He was fast.

After waiting for the sun to start bringing the school run heat, Marinette made her way to her wayward high-school. Standing by the entrance to wait for Chloé's limousine to roll by didn't really spell 'low-key' so the seconds best thing was going to class.

Admittedly, this was her first time being the first one to class as the representative. 

"Well, isn't this a surprise, " a sultry voice echoed from behind Marinette as she entered the classroom.

Startled, she turns around to meet a long haired brunette with green eyes.

"Lila?"

"What's wrong Marinette?" She asks with a smile. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

The bluenette is frozen in place, not daring to break the away from the glare that has entrapped her. Her eyes were searching for a particular feeling in Marinette's soul. They seemed so empty, so hopeless, a pit where goodness struggled to crawl out of. As the brown skinned girl leaned in closer, Marinette's goosebumps began resurfacing, anticipating the worst. Then Lila opened her jaw and blew a stream of cold air onto the other's nose, making her tailbone connect with the floor.

"Oh my goodness, Marinette, " Lila said with wide eyes. "Are you okay?"

Marinette lifted herself off the ground and nodded.

"Oh yeah, I'm totally fine."

She lied. She was absolutely terrified of the intimidation that had radiated out from Lila and to make matters worse, it was so swift and cunning before it disappeared into the concerned girl before her like a figment of her imagination. Lila looked just as puzzled as she was.

"Good," Lila let out a sigh of relief before placing her hand on her chest. "I guess you weren't expecting to see me, right?"

"U-um," Marinette averted her gaze from her.

"You don't have to act so humble about it, I'm sure you read the school paper already."

"Ugh, the school newspaper?" Marinette looked up to Lila's nervous grin.

"It's been all the rage since last night. I'm surprised she didn't tell you about it."

Lila took out her cellphone and opened a website where the main headline read 'THE END OF AN ERA: THE TAINT, THE TYRANT & THE TRAITOR.'

"What is this?" Marinette cocked her eyebrows as her eyes shook across the screen.

"Your friend's hit piece on how she's going to expose the high school's most 'elite' seniors. Although, I could hardly call myself that," she let out a tired laugh. "I'm just here before the crowd rolls in with their pitch forks."

"That doesn't sound like Alya at all, she won't do deep dives like those gossip columns," Marinette scoffed.

"Then why is she turning the school newspaper into The Sun?"

Marinette eyes finally settled to scroll through article.

It was aimed to be an exposé on the big three of the high school's social structure with a three part series. Alya and Chloé were the main targets but she was withholding the name of the last individual. 'Saving the best for last,'   it read.

"There's got to be a way to stop her Marinette, I mean I haven't even done anything wrong," Lila said sorrowfully." I listened to your advice and put the worst parts of myself behind and asked everyone for forgiveness but now she's calling me a tainted saint."

It's true, Lila did turn over a new leaf for the best so there was no reason to dig around old gossip and resurface it. Unless Alya's intentions were to defame others and build mistrust.

"Chloé and I already tried talking her out of this since we found out last week at the design competition, but Chloé... didn't hold back her tongue against her. They had fight and then Alya stormed off to look for you."

Marinette hummed. So, that's why Chloé asked about Alya in the bathroom that day.

" It's not like we have anything to hide, I'm just ashamed of how I acted in the past. It's painful to look back at those times," her eyes watered. "Chloé said that it would all blow over as long as we aren't seen talking to each other anymore, but I'm just not sure anymore. "

Marinette bit the inside of her cheek.

"The two of us aren't really on the best terms right now," Marinette admitted, "but I'll try to talk Alya out of it. I'm sure she has a good reason as to why she doing this."

Lila held onto Marinette's shoulders as they stood face to face again.

"Please," the grip on Lila's hands increased as her eyes went wide, "tell her that it's not to late to let bygones be bygones and that I'll act like that never happened."

The tone of her voice was menacingly low.

"Can you do that?" Her lips drew together a sinister smile.

Marinette swallowed her spit and nodded.

In an instant, Lila let's the bluenette go and turns around to leave.

"You absolutely need to tell her Marinette," a sinister smile overtook her face. "It's a matter of life or death."

As the door closed in Marinette's face, she held onto her shoulders and rubbed them. She's been caught in between a rock and a hard place but one thing's for certain, this school week wasn't one to skip out on.