Requested by CeciniceBG
Lila and Marinette are childhood friends. When Lila transfers to Dupont, Marinette asks her to lie to test her friends and their loyalty.
Marinette was ecstatic. She recently just found out that her childhood friend, Lila Rossi, is moving to Paris and will even be attending her school!
Now, you might be wondering how they met. When Marinette was younger, her grandmother took her around on her travels, including Italy. Marinette and Lila got ice cream together and bonded while her grandma was busy. For the rest of the trip, hanging out with Lila was all she did. Marinette made her grandma promise to bring her to Italy every year.
Her latest trip last year ended with them getting each other's phone numbers so they could schedule meetups better. That was how Lila spread the news to her. And just in time too, since Marinette was going through other friendship troubles.
Lately, it's been like Marinette's been ignored. Her friends stopped involving her in class groupings and it even seems like Mrs. Bustier stopped paying attention to her. Marinette was feeling invisible.
It wasn't everyone, though.
Nino, Nathaniel, Juleka, Rose, Mylene, Ivan, Sabrina, and even Chloe were still in contact with her. They even started growing closer as a result. Chloe then took the opportunity to apologize to Marinette and promised to do better. Ever since then, she has been trying to be a better person and making it up to everyone she hurt. Sabrina helped as well, noting her progress.
There were also friends outside the class like Aurore, Marc, the rest of Mrs. Mendeliev's class (including her, surprisingly), Kagami, and Luka. Luka was Marinette's rock lately, letting her know that she wasn't invisible to him. It didn't help that both him and Kagami were going to a different school though.
The day came when Lila arrived. Marinette and her parents were waiting inside to greet them with freshly baked goods and to help settle in. While the parents caught up and moved boxes into the living room, Marinette and Lila started unpacking in her room.
"I like the apartment," Marinette noted, looking outside the window. "It's a great view. Plus it's a change from your last house."
"Yeah, but that one was by the water. I liked that one. I felt like I could jump out the window and land in the water." The girls laughed. Lila looked at Marinette as she took out items. She seemed...lost.
"Hey...I know it's been awhile, but is everything alright? You seem different and distant." Marinette froze for a moment but regained her posture.
"It's nothing, just tired from school." Lila raised an eyebrow as she put down her lamp and crossed her arms.
"Marinette, you know you can't lie to me." The baker girl knew that tone. This was serious. The girl stuttered as she tried to not get Lila involved with any class drama before she even met them. The Italian eventually broke her and Marinette spilled how things were going lately. Lila was shocked about their sudden change towards her.
Lila wanted her new classmates to burn and she hasn't even met them yet. She had a wicked idea. "Why don't we get them to show their dark side?" Marinette tilted her head in confusion.
"What do you mean?" Lila smiled.
"Let's play a game." The girls spent the rest of the evening plotting and binging a show on Lila's computer.
As the parents got ready to depart and let the Rossis sleep, Marinette and Lila's plan was set in stone.
Lila would show up as the new girl with many tales to share. Lila was in drama club in her past schools and has scored so many leads that everyone believed she would be a famous actor one day. Lila wanted to test her skills. Lila would then start to mistreat Marinette and lie about it to see if anyone would stick up for her. It would just be simple lies, like misplacing items or lying about something or someone.
Of course, they messaged celebrities they could involve beforehand. In case things got messy, and since Alya's blog was somewhat popular, who knows what could go wrong. They also told the nurse and a few teachers they were doing an experiment so they shouldn't be worried.
So that's what they did on her first day. And boy, was it interesting.
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The class was happy to have a new student in their class. Her name was Lila, and came all the way from Italy! The class was buzzing with questions about the scenery while Mrs. Bustier just let them have their time.
Lila made a mental note of that. Enabler teacher.
Marinette made sure beforehand to have pictures and descriptions of each person in the class. The good ones who were on her side, and the questionable ones. And the good ones were already filled in on Lila.
"So, Lila." Alya said, filming her for a new video on her blog. "Tell us, what was one of the most interesting things that happened to you before you moved here?"
"Hmm," Lila playfully thought. She sent a secretive grin towards Marinette as she selected the perfect lie. "I met Jagged Stone when his kitten nearly got ran over by an airplane! That poor cat didn't know what was coming towards him. I saved him, but the jet engine was too close to my ear and gave me tinnitus! Jagged thanked me for saving his cat and we've kept contact ever since." The class awed at the story while Marinette playfully frowned. All according to plan, but she didn't like how interested her classmates seemed in that lie. Especially since Marinette knew Jagged personally.
"That can't be true!" Marinette stood up. "Jagged Stone doesn't have a cat! Besides, what airport would be irresponsible enough to let someone that close to an airplane?!" Lila started her waterworks, bringing the attention back on her.
"I-I know it doesn't sound believable but-" Lila sniffed for dramatic effect. "-it's true, honest! I can even show you a picture!" Lila pulled up a picture of a black cat she took a picture of a few months ago with a family cat. The classmates who believed Lila consoled her while giving Marinette glares, as if she was in the wrong.
Marinette and her friends gaped at what unfolded. They didn't think they were this hostile towards the girl. Mrs. Bustier cleared her throat, taking note of the silence.
"Marinette, can I speak with you outside?" Confused, Marinette followed. She came back a few minutes later, looking annoyed. Mrs. Bustier however looked satisfied and content. She then got their attention back on the lesson they should have completed fifteen minutes ago.
Once the bell rang for lunch, Alya and Alix dragged her to lunch so they could learn more about her. Kim and Max followed so they could check out her other achievements. Marinette and her other friends followed behind at a distance.
"So what did the enabler say to you?" Chloe asked, sharpening her nails.
"She said she wants me to be a better example for the class and not call out classmates if I have a negative comment. She says it's humiliating." Marinette sighs, pulling her hair. "Which I understand, but you can easily look up her claims!"
"I have tabs kept on everyone who was involved. I'm adding that to the list, I assure you." Chloe said, requesting for Sabrina to write down what they heard as evidence. The duo then left to go eat lunch at Chloe's hotel. Marinette went to the bathroom to meet with Lila and ask how it was going. Lila was in there and groaned as she hugged her.
"They ask so many questions!" Marinette laughed at the Italian's response. "That blogger girl keeps shoving her phone in my face. Like, personal space bubble! It's being invaded!"
"So I assume they bought everything you've said so far?" Lila nodded.
"I told a few more of our lies, such as meeting Prince Ali and helping with his charity with going green, Clara Nightingale and her dance moves she stole from me, and even meeting an actor who died literally last week." Lila sighed, rubbing her forehead. "She's going to edit the footage and put it on her blog. I did not think she was that desperate for views." Marinette frowned at that.
Aurore always said that one of the top rules of journalism is to always check your sources. Alya made sure she did plenty of that before, but now her touch is slipping. And just automatically believing Lila words as if it's not possible that she's lying? Marinette was growing concerned. Lila placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Do you want to talk to her? Ask her what her deal is? Or should I and introduce you bullying me?" Marinette huffed.
"Let's leave that one for later. We have to keep a steady pace so we don't lose control." Lila nodded in understanding as they went to lunch.
Later that day, Marinette went up to Alya and confronted her about not checking her sources. "Lila is a reliable source!"
"How so?" Marinette asked.
"She has no reason to lie! You can't just immediately doubt the new kid-"
"But aren't you jumping into conclusions just a little bit? I mean, some of the stuff she says is a little far fetched."
"That's rich coming from you." There was a deadly silence as Marinette did a double take.
"Excuse me?"
"You can't say it's all far fetched when you literally have just as many accomplishments. Designing for celebrities, being featured in their videos, and tons more! If you and a few others in our class can be popular, why can't Lila?" Alya left in a huff as Marinette fully realized what happened.
They were ignoring her because they were jealous. They wanted nothing to do with her, as if her achievements were all that defined her. That's a ridiculous reason to ice someone out of your life.
Marinette tried to get a hold of Alya later, but she got no response. She later found out through Nino that she was blocked (and had been for awhile) and wasn't going to talk about Marinette for awhile. Alya posted Lila's interview, entitled "Stories From Around The World". Alya clearly turned off her comments or didn't read them, as some pointed out Lila's fake claims. It was nice to know others had the slightest clue about researching people before believing everything they see on the internet.
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The next few months were a blur. Lila decided to join drama club as a way to pass her time and to get away from the class. Mylene was becoming her closest friend besides Marinette, and she was a great acting buddy. She also started her claims that Marinette was bullying her for lying and the class ate it up. They moved her to the back and stopped talking to her altogether, unless they had to for a group project. Her friends still talked to her, but would always get looks from other people in the class. Lila felt bad that the friend group that she trusted so much abandoned her and left her for dirt.
Mrs. Bustier kept pulling Marinette out more and more, and even Adrien started ridiculing her for calling out Lila's lies. It got so bad that Marinette ignored both of them. She couldn't believe that she used to have a crush on him!
Part of the plan was for Lila to show romantic interest in Adrien to see if that would affect his decisions. Enabler. And that showed, since whenever Adrien asked Marinette to back off he mentioned Lila's sensitive, was lying to make friends, and other excuses. Lila noted every interaction she had with Adrien compared to him with everyone else, and the evidence grew more everyday.
But today was the last straw.
Lila knew Marinette was stressed from being class representative and having to be civil with her classmates, even though they weren't anymore. So Lila decided to lie so she could get her out of it.
"And that's why I think I should be Class Rep instead of Marinette." Lila sniffed. She just finished telling a sob story about how one of her relatives taught her how to be a leader and it was their final wish for her to be a leader before she died. That wasn't all a lie though, she did have a relative who saw potential in Lila and did pass away the previous month. But they don't need to know that.
"Yeah, I say Lila should lead us! And I'll continue to be deputy to support my bestie." Alya smiled.
"Alright, all those in favor for having Lila as the new class rep?" Most of the class raised their hands. "Ok, Lila is now the new Class Rep." They cheered. Marinette felt a weight being lifted off her shoulders. She was worried about all the paperwork Lila would go through though.
"And I think our first act as class representative is to get Marinette removed from the class." Alya said proudly, disrupting the mood of the room. It turned suddenly cold as Marinette's friends glared at her and others looked confused. Mrs. Bustier asked Alya to go on.
"She has done nothing but bully Lila, she doesn't care about helping us, and on top of that is making the class more toxic. It's better for everyone if she just switched because this has been going on for too long." Some classmates murmured in agreement while others disagreed. Nino was trying to get his girlfriend to change her mind.
"Babe, don't you think this going too far?" Alya rolled her eyes.
"Don't tell me you're taking the bully's side! You know, you have been acting strange for the last few months, what gives?!"
"I don't know, maybe because you're harassing my childhood friend!"
"She is no friend-"
"Ahem." Juleka coughed, gaining their attention. Everyone was looking at them. Alya looked at him.
"We'll talk about this later." But Nino scoffed and turned away.
"There's nothing to talk about. It's clear where you and I stand." The bell rang, thankfully releasing students from the tense atmosphere. Alya caught up to Nino to try and talk again but he just said they were through. Before he could leave, Adrien caught up to him. Chloe happened to be following and started recording.
"Was that really necessary?" Adrien started. "I know you guys have been falling out lately, but was breaking up really the right call?" Nino gaped.
"Of course it was! We've been more distant because I'm not ok with what she does to Marinette. And everything that goes wrong, she blames it on her! She doesn't even listen to me anymore. There's no point in being in a relationship where the other doesn't listen." (That's your lesson of the day folks 😁) Nino walked away as Chloe stopped recording. She passed Adrien's line of sight on purpose as he reached out to her.
"Chloe! Please help me get him to change his mind, this could cause an akumazation!" Chloe sighed. She missed the old Adrien, the one who was easier to get through.
"Adrien, a baby got akumatized for being sad about a lollipop. Of course this will cause some issues, but it's better to be out of the toxic relationship than still in it." Adrien groaned.
"I know, but Alya doesn't know that Lila is lying-" Chloe paused.
"You know Lila is lying?" His face said it all. Chloe scoffed. "I can't believe you." She turned away.
"Chloe-" She smacked his arm.
"You let Marinette suffer alone! You watched as half the class turned against her and did nothing!"
"But you did the same thing!"
"Because Marinette told me to stay out of the way. Because she trusts and cares about me and knew if other people got involved things would get messy." Chloe took a breath as Sabrina was waiting by her ride. "Lies hurt, Adrien. When will you learn that?" With that, Chloe went to her vehicle and left Adrien alone at the stairs.
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Adrien was right, Alya did end up getting akumatized and going after Marinette and Nino. Nino was caught but Marinette was never found until after the incident was over. Alya and Nino were a crying mess but Nino stuck to his decision. They weren't for each other anymore. Alya ran home crying while Adrien still tried to get Nino to change his mind. The DJ just walked away. With no one else to turn to, he went to Marinette.
"Marinette, please help! What if one of them gets akumatized again?" Marinette raised in eyebrow in mocked confusion.
"What are you talking about? Lies don't hurt, remember?" Marinette walked away, satisfied that she left Adrien awestruck at the events.
And if she called Luka and asked for him to come over, that's no one else's business, right?
As he strummed his guitar, he listened as Marinette ranted about her latest problems. "I swear at this point, they are just trying to get rid of me!" He stopped playing.
"Not if you leave first." Marinette looked confused. Luka smiled. "Join the school me and Kagami go to. They specialize in arts and other majors, so it's possible your other friends could join as well. You just need to have an impressive portfolio, which I bet you do. You would definitely be considered." Marinette blushed at the praise.
"But what if I don't get in? Then I'll have to live with the embarrassment and shame forever! And then if others find out, I'm done for!" Luka spent the rest of the night convincing her to submit an application. He won in the end and even went as far as telling Marinette's parents about it. They were more than happy to allow their child to escape the class and to go somewhere where she can thrive.
Marinette told Lila about it the next day. "If I get accepted, I'm leaving as soon as possible. I don't want to be here anymore, it's too much." Lila nodded in agreement.
"I haven't even been here that long and I'm already tired of it!" Lila looked around and whispered. "I think Alya has something planned."
"What makes you say that?"
"She seemed off. There was less rage in her today, as if something was resolved. Were you pulled out of something?"
"Not that I know of." The two ended their conversation and got into character. Marinette went first towards her friends and Lila followed a few minutes later. This got a strange look from Adrien, but he said nothing.
During class, Marinette was called to the office. Her parents were already there, in just as much confusion as she was. When Damocles explained why she was there, they all screamed. "WHAT?"
"You're expelling me based of one student's opinion? Doesn't this have to go through the board or something?!" Marinette couldn't believe it. Alya was so fed up with her that she went to the principal to complain.
"W-well she got a petition signed by your classmates." He slid the paper over, showing several signatures and comments agreeing with her.
"This isn't even all of the students in the class!" Sabine exclaimed.
"Mrs. Bustier also suggested a while ago that Marinette get transferred out, which was also a point made by Ms. Césaire. It's just better for everyone involved at this point." Tom almost strangled this man until Sabine placed a gentle hand on her husband's arm.
"Alright then." She grabbed her things and pulled her husband and daughter to the door. "We'll help Marinette clear her things." She shut the door and let her facade drop. She turned to them.
"We aren't letting him get away with this. Marinette honey, you just focus on trying to get into that other school and let me and your father handle the rest, alright?" Marinette nodded rapidly. When her mother was set on something, it's best not to argue.
She knew every adult involved who didn't do anything was going to get the sour end of her mother's wrath. At least she won't be there to witness it.
That night, Marinette had a party with her friends as she got a letter that she was accepted into the school. Things were finally turning around for the girl.
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About A Month Later
It was almost Christmas holidays, and Marinette was ready for a break. Don't get her wrong, she loves her new school! With Kagami and Luka around, she was in a better mental state just by being around people who actually cared about her. Not to mention she also made some new friends. Bridgette and Felix were among these friends, and Marinette later learned that Felix and Adrien were actually cousins. Distant ones if anything.
Marinette was at home designing when Chloe burst in with Lila. "We have so much drama to tell you!" So they gathered the squad at Chloe's hotel so they could learn what happened.
"Alright, so after you were expelled, your parents called the School Board and they came down for an investigation." Marinette was in awe. Her parents went that far to help prove her innocence? She didn't deserve them. She was going to make them a thank you dessert later.
"They investigated Damocles and Bustier and found out that they both had neglected several bullied kids before you." Marc interrupted. "They were put on leave and your class had a sub. Mrs. Mendeliev ran as principal, and she made sure everyone was following the rules."
"But that wasn't the only thing!" Aurore said excitedly.
"I came clean to the class after you left." Lila grinned.
"WHAT?!"
Flashback
You see, Lila didn't know about the expulsion until after it happened. Which, as Class Rep, everything is supposed to go through you. Lila hounded on Alya for not coming to her first and going straight to a higher up when this could have been resolved in a different way. Alya asked why did she care so much and she came clean. After that, the class was remorseful and had regret and decided to kick Lila to the back as punishment for being a traitor.
Since they kicked Lila off Class Rep, that made Alya the new one and she chose Alix as her deputy. The problem was, they didn't know how to run it on their own. Marinette always made all the paperwork look easy. They took her for granted far more than they realized.
Everything crumbled beneath them. Any class event they tried to plan never happened because they couldn't raise money for it or it got cancelled at the last minute for weather. Mrs. Bustier was also self conscious about her image to her peers because of the Marinette Incident so she was putting lots of pressure on them to be good at their job. The teacher didn't even bother raising finger to help, only to point out what they were doing wrong. It ended up being a blessing in disguise when Mrs. Bustier didn't come in one day and a sub did instead.
Alya ended up trying to make amends with Nino and Marinette, but both ignored her. Nino told her that he knew where they stood and there was no making that up. Marinette had her blocked previously and had her number changed so she never even knew Alya was trying to contact her.
Karma also caught up with the class's bullying as well. After the Board found out about Mrs. Bustier's neglectful cases, they investigated the class and found out everything.
Adrien was scolded and put into homeschooling again, but that didn't stop his home from being investigated as well. He was removed from the home and had to stay with his cousin so he was in a healthier space to learn. He admitted that he knew about the lies and the class ghosted him. No one has heard from him or anyone else in the Agreste household.
The ones who participated minorly in the bullying, such as Kim and Alix, were given a month's worth of detention and 300 community service hours. They would also be taking a session with the rest of the classmates about the different forms of bullying and how to stop it.
Alya, since she did the most damage, got the worst punishment. She was grounded, had to take her blog down because she slandered celebrities' names, had to formally apologize to Marinette, pay her back, and on top of that was being sued by the Dupain-Chengs for all the bullying and harassment she committed. Alya would be in so much debt that she wouldn't have enough to be able to go to college for the next few years.
End of Flashback
Marinette couldn't believe it. She finally got justice after all this time.
"Oh! There's more!" Lila pulled out a letter. An acceptance letter. "I got accepted to the school as well into the drama department! I'll be joining after break." Marinette squealed and hugged her friend.
"Are you guys going to apply as well?" She asked around, looking at her friends. Marc and Nath under art and creative writing, Aurore as a media star, Juleka as a model, Mylene, Ivan, and Rose as activists, and more.
"We'll think about it."
"Anyways! We spilled our drama. Now it's time to relax." The group cheered as they set up a movie night. They decided to go with a horror movie so they could use it as an excuse to stay together all night.
And if the group took pictures of Marinette and Luka sleeping cuddled next to each other, that's none of our business right?
Fin
Alright, now this is by far the longest one I have written
Needless to say I'm not writing a part 2 I don't feel like it 😭
I was gonna add the Quantic Kids as the names of Marinette's new friends but I couldn't find much info on them. I only scored a hit cuz one of them had the name of Melodie, but some didn't have names😔
I was also thinking of doing like double uploads a week soon cuz I wanted this book done before New Years so I could start the next one after that. But I'll see how it goes. I mostly wanted double uploads for the song ones, which come out soon :)
I'm tired now I'm leaving lmao
4305 words