School had now ended, and students were pouring out to head home. Marinette was quick to leave the school, to avoid any more incidents. Most students she had past apologised for some reason. It was lovely. They hadn't even done anything, but it seems that they knew who was at fault. It wasn't clear to her class now, but students had started avoiding them like the plague. Well, that wasn't true. Adrien seemed to notice. She had seen him try to talk to others, but they just shunned him. She couldn't help but feel a little bit happy about that. It wasn't nice when the shoe was on the other foot. Morgana had practically bolted out of the doors when the bell rang. She had no idea why, but she knew something was brewing. It was a little cloudy this evening, for some reason. A storm seemed to be coming. Either way, it was darker than usual for this time of day. Marinette pulled out her phone and checked her messages. Still nothing from the school. Switching over to Twitter, the tweets were still pouring into the MDC account; some nice, some not and some...were just yikes.
"What do you think is going to happen with Alya's tweet?" Tikki asked.
"No idea. I'm sure that was put on there just to show how easy it is for someone to make up a lie," Marinette said with a smile.
"Do you think Morgana will respond to that tweet?" Tikki questioned thoughtfully.
"I have no idea. It may be too obvious to say. Lila isn't stupid. She may figure it out," Marinette mumbled, her smile then vanishing.
"Don't worry, I'm sure Morgana knows what to do. You just need to relax," Tikki said with encouragement.
"I guess you're right. What do you think Luka wants?" Marinette asked. No answer came. She looked down to see Tikki had gone back in her purse. Once her head was raised, she could see why. All she could do was gasp.
Marinette was now in front of the river, where the houseboat sat. Only it didn't look like it usually did. It was decorated with fairy lights that made the boat glimmer prettily. A cloth covered table with a candle and rose placed on it. Candles were all around the boat, the wax dripping so it now looked like the ship was glowing. It was so... romantic. Her eyes then fell on Luka, who was holding a bouquet of sunflowers, her favourites. He had a warm smile on his face and Marinette was so moved by all of this, she almost started crying.
"Hello M-M-Marinette," Luka said as she came onto the boat, looking around at the display.
"L-Luka! This is so...just wow!" Marinette said in amazement.
"You deserve only the best," Luka said, handing her the flowers, which she took with a smile.
"I don't know what to say," Marinette said, her cheeks blushing. Luka's smile the dropped a little.
"Well, I heard what happened at lunch. It is unforgiveable. I don't think I can look Juleka in the eye the same again," Luka said and felt Marinette place a hand on his shoulder.
"Luka please don't let what happened at school affect your relationship with your sister. Alya was the one who instigated, not her," Marinette said.
"You forgive too easily," Luka said with a shake of his head.
Juleka was currently over Rose's, so he hadn't had a chance to ask her about the day. Kagami had called him in a rage, and he had almost broken his guitar about it. His mother had helped him calm down in case of an akuma which had fluttered nearby but thankfully, he was calm enough.
"It's not forgiveness really. It's trust. I don't think I can ever trust any of them again. Alya is someone I can't forgive or trust. The same with Adrien. He has known for so long and he did nothing...I know he was home-schooled and doesn't understand social engagement... but still. It doesn't excuse his behaviour. Is it okay if we talk about something else?" Marinette asked, blinking back her tears.
"Yes of course. I actually want to tell you something," Luka said.
"Sure, what is it?" Marinette asked, and her heart started thumping when Luka took one of her hands in his own.
"I said this to you once and I'll say it again. You are an extraordinary girl, Marinette. Clear as a music note, sincere as a melody. You have been the song I hear in my head since we first met. Watching you turn into this amazing and confident person fills me with happiness and joy. I would love to be more than a friend to you, but I don't want to pressure you..." Luka said but then stopped as he felt Marinette's hand go from his hand to his cheek.
"Luka... I am so sorry for stringing you along for so long. I thought I knew what love was...but now I know that it wasn't real. I wanted to say something to you for so long, but I didn't want to make you feel like I was settling for you. Because you mean so much more to me than that," Marinette told him, a tear falling down her cheek.
"Marinette...will you be my girlfriend?" Luka said, tears falling down his own cheeks at this now.
"Yes," Marinette said back as the pair then kissed each other softly.
Time seemed to slow down once more as everything else in the world ceased to exist. Their eyes were closed as they felt only love and warmth. Their hands entwined with each other's as their tears dropped into each other's skin. They pulled away and looked into each other's eyes with pure happiness.
"You have no idea how happy you've made me," Luka said with a smile.
"Same," Marinette said as she wiped her eyes. Her eyes then fell onto something behind Luka and saw that it was a familiar looking box next to a large metal bin. Luka followed her gaze and he sighed.
"Kagami brought over the photos from your old room earlier. She wanted to burn them herself, but I told her not to. So, she brought them here..."
"For me to burn," Marinette finished.
She walked over to the box, placing the flowers on the table, and then pulling out a photo. It was her with the class, all smiling and happy. It was taken a few weeks before Lila came. In a way she had to thank Lila. It brought out their true nature and she could see who her friends were. You must lose everything before you learn what you truly value.
"What do you want to do," Luka asked quietly.
"After all that's happened, I guess I need to move on for the better. You got a match?" Marinette asked as she dropped the photo back in the box.
......
Marinette stood in front of the burning can with Luka standing beside her with his arm wrapped around her. She watched the faces of on the photos burn away to nothing, as well as her feels for all of them. She knew they were not her friends anymore but burning these photos affirmed that. She sighed, making Luka look at her.
"How do you feel?" Luka asked.
"I don't know. It's a mix of content and something else," Marinette admitted. A buzz then went off in her pocket and she pulled out her phone. She gasped, making Luka jump in surprise.
"What is it?" he asked in concern.
"It's from the school, saying if I got in or not," Marinette said.
Her eyes looked at the screen all she had to do was press the envelope and her fate would be revealed. She stepped away from Luka, who stayed still in anticipation. Marinette's back faced him so he couldn't tell what was going on. There was a long moment of silence. Marinette then turned to him with wide eyes.
"Marinette?" he asked.
"I got in..." she gasped.
"You got in?" Luka shouted in excitement.
"I got in!" Marinette squealed, running into Luka's arms, who then hugged her tightly and swung her around. She hugged him tightly back and, in that moment, she realised what she truly felt.
Free.
.....
Morgana was currently sat in her room on her desk chair, writing her notes from her tablet from Aurore. Her file on Elena Wilder was now complete. She shut the folder, which was full of facts, notes and newspaper clippings. Her visual of desk earlier in class was now a reality. The victim's folder was also full, due to her having various conversations with people via the Italian girl online. They were more than happy to talk to her, and even more so about what Morgana had planned. They had agreed to take part in her plan also. Her bully folder was practically bursting. She had taken the time to print out all the texts Marinette had received regarding harassment. There were also pictures of destroyed items, bruises and so much more it was actually disgusting. Her school folder had a big check mark on it as Morgana already knew that Marinette was accepted. This was no longer needed. The file of lies was the biggest yet. She still had things to add to it. The file about Gabriel Agreste did not exist yet. She was currently waiting on the results for that. Speaking of whom, her phone buzzed, and she picked up and answered quietly.
"Hello?" she asked.
"Is this Morgana Rio?" the voice asked.
"Indeed. Nathalie, I assume?" Morgana asked.
"Correct," Nathalie responded.
"So, what did you do with my information?" Morgana asked.
"I discussed it with Mr Agreste. We are both outraged and appalled," Nathalie said, her tone becoming firm.
"What about the rest of it?" Morgana asked.
"I..." Nathalie said with a slightly stutter.
"Speak up please," Morgana said as she flicked her nails.
"You were right. The evidence is...unspeakable," Nathalie said.
"I apologise for the distress it has caused you. Will you comply with my request?" Morgana asked.
"Yes, we will. What time can you expect?" Nathalie asked.
"Twelve, sharp. Bring it with you. Don't make yourself known," Morgana said, then hanging up the phone and cracking her knuckles. She placed a new tick mark next to the Agreste folder.
"The King is the protector. It's time he started acting like it," Morgana muttered. Her eyes then fell onto the MDC file. The last one. Speaking of which, at that moment, her computer started to chime. She clicked on the screen to reveal Chloé and Kagami.
"Good evening ladies," Morgana said coolly.
"Evening," Kagami said.
"Is this going to take long?" Chloé asked in a bored tone.
"You agreed to this so stop whining," Kagami snapped.
"Enough! Now I assumed you have been made aware of the lunch incident," Morgana asked.
"Yes..." Kagami growled. Chloé looked unhappy about it too but more so to the fact that she would have done something like that not long ago.
"If anything, this has given us more ammunition. But that isn't why we are here. We need to respond to the tweets," Morgana said.
"There's like over a thousand of them!" Chloé complained.
"We only reply to the interesting ones. Some stupid ones need to be answered however," Morgana said.
"Such as the bloggers?" Kagami asked with disgust.
"Yes. But her response can be answered with one word. This can apply to a lot of the tweets. We need to show MDC is not a push over and isn't afraid to be honest," Morgana said.
"Good point," Kagami said.
"Honest and brutal..." Chloé said with a small smile.
"You'll enjoy this more than you think," Morgana said with a small smile of her own.
"I have to know, does anyone at the school suspect?" Kagami asked. Morgana shrugged at that.
"I do believe Lila thought I was MDC. But that tweet by Chloé for inspiration threw her off. I don't think anyone is under the impression that MDC has a team. Only supporters like Jagged, Clara and so on," Morgana explained.
"Good. So where should we start?" Kagami asked.
"From the top," Morgana said, cracking her knuckles once more. This was going to be a long night.
.....
The sun was bright and shining the next morning, which matched Marinette's mood. She was currently sitting on the back of Luka's bike, who was taking her to school. She had voiced her concern that people would come after Luka if he was seen with her as her boyfriend, but Luka didn't care. He would be with Marinette every step of the way. The transfer papers were all set to go but for some reason, Morgana wanted her to give them to the principal on Friday. Marinette didn't object but she found it odd. She was wearing a sunflower themed dress today, in celebration of their relationship. She also had Aurore's clothes to the return in a spare bag, all washed and cleaned with a small box of macaroons as thanks.
"Have a great day Mari," Luka said as he pulled up outside the school. As Marinette got off the bike, she could already feel the stairs, but she didn't care.
"I will," she said, giving him a quick peck on the lips.
"Text me if..." Luka started.
"I will I promise," Marinette said with a smile.
Luka then took back the helmet as he then cycled off. Marinette turned to the school and headed up the stairs. From the corner of her eye, she saw Adrien, Nino, Alya and Lila watching her. None of them looked exactly pleased. Nino looked surprised, Alya looked annoyed, Adrien looked concerned, and Lila looked frustrated. Pay no notice, Marinette thought.
She headed in the direction of the class, where people started arriving and sitting in their seats. Juleka and Rose seemed to be running late however. As more people came in, some people seemed to notice the smell of treats. Kim was the one who spoke up first.
"Hey Marinette, I thought you said you weren't bringing in treats anymore?" he said in annoyance.
"No fair, I want some!" Alix pouted.
"Share them out Marinette!" Sabrina called.
"I'm sorry but these aren't for the class. These are for Aurore," Marinette said, placing a leg over the bag protectively.
"Why, what's she done that's so great?" Alya commented with a scoff.
"She gave me the change of clothes after that incident yesterday," Marinette said. The calls for treats soon died after that. No one could claim on them now since they basically had made the mess. Lila couldn't even comment on it. A new question then came out.
"Hey Marinette, how come Luka dropped you off today?" Adrien asked.
"He was nice enough to give me a lift," Marinette responded simply.
"I-Is he your b-b-boyfriend? He seems lovely," Morgana said. This is boring, time to add some spice into this morning's class, Morgana thought.
"Yes, he is and thank you Morgana. He'll be happy to hear that," Marinette said, saying it a bit loudly over the noise of the class at the answer.
"Oh please, you're making that up," Alya said with her arms folded.
"They came to school together and they kissed babe," Nino pointed out. Lila didn't look thrilled with Marinette having a boyfriend, especially with a weird guy like Luka. She didn't look too happy. A little rumour would fix that.
"Since when did you start dating?" Adrien asked.
"Recently," came Marinette's simple answer.
"He's Juleka's brother, right?" Lila asked.
"Yeah, he's a guitarist in our band Kitty Section," Ivan stated.
"So why him?" Adrien suddenly asked.
That turned a few heads, especially Marinette's. That was a random question. Adrien was quite annoyed at the fact that she was seeing Luka. He didn't know why. Luka just seemed...not right for Marinette. He didn't care for Luka. He didn't mind him when he wasn't seeing Marinette but now that he was...his likeness for the guy had dropped.
"A-Adrien, d-d-do you have a... problem with Luka?" Morgana asked innocently but it was anything but innocent.
"You have a problem with my brother?" Juleka suddenly said, appearing with Rose in the classroom. She was always so quiet but whenever anything came at her family, her voice always arose.
"No! I swear!" Adrien said with his hands up.
"Then why did you ask that?" Nathaniel asked curiously.
"No reason I just...!" Adrien spluttered, feeling all of the eyes on him in the class.
He was saved by the bell as the teacher then walked in, forcing the girls to go to their seats. Juleka still looked annoyed, but she said nothing. Other people still looked perplexed at Adrien's sudden attitude but again, said nothing. Surprisingly Aurore was with the teacher too.
"Morning everyone. We have Aurore here for a little announcement," Miss Bustier said. Marinette's hand then shot up in the air.
"Excuse me! May I give something to Aurore?" Marinette asked.
"Certainly," Miss Bustier said.
Marinette made her way down the steps of the class, once again missing Lila's foot. Aurore noticed this but said nothing, although her face displayed irritation. Marinette handed her the bag and as she looked through it, Aurore pulled out the macaroon box out in delight. Everyone sniffed their air and almost drooled at the box.
"As a thank you, for lending me your clothes," Marinette said.
"Thank you! I'll enjoy these so much!" Aurore said.
"That is lovely Marinette. It would be nice if you shared them with the class Aurore," Miss Bustier said, making the class grin and for the girls to give her a baffled glare.
"No," Aurore stated.
"Pardon?" Miss Bustier said in surprise. The class looked annoyed at this now.
"I said no. Why would I share a thank you gift from someone to people who did nothing to help Marinette? I don't care if I am not being polite. Now can I get to my announcement?" Aurore said, almost bluntly. Morgana had to restrain herself from applauding this girl.
"Ummm...yes," Miss Busiter said.
"Well, I expected your class president to have told you this, but she seemed to have missed another meeting," Aurore said.
"I was on a call with Jagged Stone. He just wanted to see how I was doing since my arthritis was acting up again," Lila said shyly.
Everyone, bar Marinette and Aurore seemed to accept this answer. Unknown to Marinette, Tikii was silently planning to have a word with a certain Stinky Sock at lunch time. Seems he wasn't being as harsh as he should have been with his kitten.
"Anyway. This Friday, there will be a Student Recognition Award Ceremony. There will be awards for multiple students in different categories. There will be boxes set up at the end of the day by people the council has personally selected from classes," Aurore explained.
"How come no one here has been picked?" Myelene asked.
"If Rossi had shown up, then you might have been picked," Aurore deadpanned. Murmuring went in the class for this while Lila silently growled.
"So how many votes do we get?" Miss Bustier asked.
"Teachers are not allowed to vote. Students can go and vote by writing a student name in each category but once they have voted on their sheet, they must sign their name. if you try and cheat by going to another desk, your votes won't count, and you will be disqualified. Voting closes this Thursday. You can start to vote at lunchtime. Good luck!" Aurore said, as she exited the classroom.
"Wow this is so exciting!" Rose squealed.
"If there's a best student award, I'm voting for you Lila. You've done so much for charity, people and us!" Alya said. Like what, Marinette thought.
"I'm just going to the staff room to correspond with the other teachers," Miss Bustier said, exiting the class as she didn't like the idea of not putting her vote in. as if on cue, everyone's phones went off.
"MDC!" Morgana squealed. Lila shot her a look, but she was more than confident that she wasn't MDC. Time to lie, she thought.
"Did MDC respond to your tweet Alya?" Nino asked as they all scrolled through their phones. Lila's heart stopped. She had forgotten about that. No matter, it's not like she'd respond to it. Famous people rarely do that unless they're rich.
"Oh, wow she did!" Alya shouted. Everyone tapped their screens to find her account and their eyes then fell upon the reply the designer had sent to her.
Lady_Blogger
Everything is inspiring! But I bet another inspiration of yours is Lila!
She's like your sister!
.....
MDC_Offical replying to Lady_Blogger
Who?