Miraculous the tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir; Princess Justice

Chapter 2

"I'm coming to your defence and you're accusing me?" Lila asked in mock offence, revelling in the fact that all but Marinette, believed her acting. Marinette could only scowl at Lila.

"You can't accuse someone without proof, Marinette." Miss Bustier scolded, sounding disappointed.

"But I'm sure it's her." Marinette stated furiously, turning to face Miss Bustier, "She stole the test answers."

"That's impossible." Miss Bustier said, attempting to stop the situation from escalating. "Lila got the worst grade in the class."

"But...but...then she flunked the exam on purpose." Marinette stuttered as she slowly began to see the trap she was walking into.

"Excuse me," said the angelic voice of the green eyed and blonde haired teen model, Adrien Agreste, as he got to his feet, hand raised, "Miss Bustier, everyone here knows it isn't like Marinette to cheat." Marinette's heart soared as her crush came to her defence, inspiring Alya to stand back up, humming her agreement.

"He's right." Rose's soft, high voice was the next to be heard as Mylene, Juleka and Alix all nodded in agreement with Rose.

"You know Marinette." Alya called over Miss Bustier's clapping for order, "She doesn't need to cheat."

"Marinette, Lila," Miss Bustier called over the voice's of protests coming from her friends, "please go to the principle's office until we get to the bottom of this."

Lila walked to the front of the class, then looked at Marinette with daggers in her eyes, declaring victory without words as she passed Marinette to open the door. Marinette was given the feeling things were about to get worse. Although, she couldn't imagine how.

Marinette walked purposefully through the door that Lila stood next to, holding it open playing the innocent victim.

Marinette clasped her fists hard, her blood boiling hotter than she thought possible, she felt like she would explode, such was her rage, if she wasn't first consumed by it.

This made her think of Hawk Moth and his akumas, the butterflies that he turned a deep purple with his dark and villainous intent, that he would use to give his victims power and that fed off of the bad, all consuming emotions they had in moments of weakness. This lead Marinette to her memory of when her rage had been this bad before. Again, it had been because of Lila. But Marinette had driven that akuma away with hope.

Marinette took several calming breaths as Lila caught up with her, hoping for the best possible out come. Focusing not on her rage, but her hope, her joy that her friends, especially Adrien, had all rushed to her defence, and on her desire to not hurt them.

"I swore I'd make your life unbearable, Marinette." Lila reminded Marinette, knowing she had to stoke the fire of Marinette's rage she had started, dropping the innocent girl routine. "Let's see how you get out of this one."

"I'm not falling into your trap Lila." Marinette responded to Lila's dare with defiance.

"Too late." Lila purred with an evil smirk as they reached the top of the stairs which were outside the principle's office, "You already have."

"Where are you going?" Marinette asked as she watched Lila walk to the foot of the stairs.

"You're about to find out. Ready?" Lila said with excitement, laying on the floor grasping her leg. "Ouch, ouch, ow!" Lila screamed in pain that she wasn't in, to Marinette's complete horror. "My leg!" Lila yelled before Marinette could do anything.

The owl-like principle came rushing from his office.

"What's happening out here?" the principle demanded in his authoritative voice, his gaze going past Marinette to the apparently pain stricken Lila at the foot of the stairs, in alarm. Marinette knew what was coming next, and saw no way out of it.

"Marinette pushed me down the stairs!" Lila exclaimed.

15 minutes later, Marinette found herself in a seat facing the principle, her parents, concern on their faces, standing behind her. Lila sat two feet away in a second chair, knee in a bandage, no parent or guardian with her, acting the victim. 

"But sir," Marinette said truly desperate, "it wasn't me. I didn't do anything."

"I don't know why Marinette doesn't like me." Lila cried over Marinette's defence, "I've really tried to be her friend, but she keeps calling me a liar, getting the others  to gang up against me and now she's pushing me down the stairs." Lila theatrically slammed her hands on her knees and winced in fake pain.

Marinette wanted to throw up because of Lila's pathetic acting. She was now so lost in despair, rage and now mounting hatred, that she really wanted to hit Lila across her lying face. She resisted, knowing that would make her bad situation worse.

"Those are total lies!" Marinette declared, not having that level of control.

"Go on Lila." The principle invited Lila to continue, deepening Marinette's despair.

"She even took a necklace I got from my grandmother." Lila lied. "A fox pendant." Marinette could only watch as hope slipped from her grasp. Did Lila understand that everything she said was serious? Did she really hate her that much, that she would ruin her life?" The answer was obvious to Marinette. Of course Lila did.

"Took?" the principle thundered, "As in stole.

"That's not true!" Marinette said, at a loss, pleading, almost in tears herself, jumping to her feet. "I never stole anything." But Marinette knew the principle didn't believe her.

"My daughter is not a thief!" Marinette's father all but shouted in her defence.

"Why should we believe any of this?" Marinette's small mother reasoned with concern. "You're accusing her without any proof."

Lila looked mournfully at everyone in the room. Marinette saw the next few words Lila was about to say and knew Lila had played this perfectly. But it still felt like a knife between the ribs.

"Actually, I have proof." Lila said the damning words.