Marinette stared forward as her blurry vision began to get worse. What was wrong with her!? She was not going to seriously pass out from a slap in the face! Right...?
"Marinette- You're okay," Gen spoke, grabbing onto her hand.
"Oh, Jesus. Dramatic much? I didn't even hit her that hard. What a joke." Brielle snarled, anger still etched in her voice. Everyone's eyes traveled down to the mark on Marinette's face, which was still beet red.
"Why did you...?" She asked, her eyes filling with tears.
Inside her purse, Tikki felt it again. The akuma. It was coming back for Marinette, she was sure of it! This ignorant girl, Brielle, had just slapped her best friend in the face, hurting her physically and scarring her emotionally. Marinette's feelings were quite evident to Tikki. She was hurting, now more than ever. First, it was her parents leaving, then the rumors, now some girl just assaulted her? Rage built up inside the small kwami and for a second, her own vision got blurry. Kwamis rarely got angry unless it was for a good reason. But who did this girl think she was?
"You deserved it, you skanky bitch."
Genevieve didn't know what to say. She just stared after the girl in shock, holding onto a sobbing Marinette. All Marinette ever did was try to please everyone, but she couldn't. She failed, and Genevieve could relate to every ounce of that failure.
"Brielle-"
"Don't you start." Bri snapped, picking at her nails. "By tonight, you'll be fired."
Gen's eyes widened, her anger fading into shock and fear. "W-What?"
"My mom will have a lot of things to say about you."
Her lips felt dry and chapped. "W-Why?"
"Because you took her side. When you should have taken mine!"
"That's so immature of you, Brielle!" Gen cried out, her heart feeling hollow and empty.
"Whatever." The redhead turned around, flaunting the black dress she wore. When she bent over, it was apparent it wasn't the right size, it was much shorter than intended and the seams were taut on her body. The black fabric swayed with Brielle's hips as she walked to the door.
"I've got a photoshoot to get too."
Gen squinted her eyes. "You will NOT be going to that photoshoot, Brielle Evans."
"Excuse me?" The girl stopped before reaching the door, spinning on her heel and scoffing loudly. "Yeah. Okay. Whatever. Sorry."
"Sorry?! You just laid your hands on Marinette! Apologize to her before apologizing to me!"
Brielle gasped. "Nobody will believe that I actually hit her."
This girl was fighting fire with fire. Genevieve raised her finger. "Are you serious!? You've got four witnesses here!"
Five.
Tikki frowned from inside the bag.
"No, you don't. You've got two." She emphasized the number and pointed to Jasmine and Samantha who had their heads down.
"They are people too," Genevieve stated maturely.
"But they won't say anything. They're my friends. Loyal to me... unlike you." Brielle smiled at her friends, who merely pursed their lips in return.
Jasmine was a total pushover, as was Samantha. Sam would never speak up either way, but Jasmine, it was all up to her. Was she going to stand up for Marinette or let Brielle get away with what she'd done?
"Of course I am, Brielle," Jasmine whispered under her breath. She looked over to the side at the blonde girl with her head down low. Samantha nodded, wrapping her arm around Jasmine's.
Even though they both just took the faulty side willingly, the look on their faces was as if Brielle was inside their minds, forcing them to do the wrong thing. Marinette felt it.
"See? So good luck. I don't think Francis would believe you over his best model. He hates you anyways, which makes me wonder why you even want to work for him in the first place. You have no talent. You'll always just be in the background. That's why you'll be fired.
Not because of me," She paused to roll her eyes, "But because you can never do the job right."
Genevieve looked longingly at Brielle, then back at Marinette. The two slaves to her left were still avoiding eye contact. She felt... she felt hurt.
Marinette balled her hands into fists.
No... she doesn't.
Marinette had to say something. She had to stick up for herself, and for Gen. But words wouldn't come out. She was so flustered and embarrassed, hurt that her thoughts couldn't form into sentences. Her cheek still burned and there was a distinct red mark in its place.
"Brielle- don't you leave!" Gen called out as the girl finally faced in the direction of the exit.
"I've got a dress to show off-" Her hand gripped the doorknob. Samantha and Jasmine started following her, like the victims they were, keeping their heads down all the while.
Marinette could feel a little bump in her purse before a tiny voice spoke from inside.
"No!" It said, stern and frustrated.
She flipped her head up to see if Gen heard her kwami, but the woman was so focused on Brielle she didn't seem too. Almost immediately, Tikki transported through the purse, catching only Marinette's eye. A flash of light burst before hiding behind Brielle's back as she reached for the swimsuit on the vanity, one hand outstretched to crack open the door.
Then, in the blink of an eye, there was a loud ripping sound. Brielle gasped and turned around, trying to look over her shoulder to see what the noise was. Jasmine and Samantha immediately backed away. A large tear was seen, growing slowly and agonizingly all the way down the back. Finally, when it stopped, it split the bottom of the dress further, completely ruining it and exposing Brielle's undergarments. Bri's heart raced as she spun around in circles in an attempt to see her back.
"Move!" She shouted at Samantha, who squealed and nearly fell as Bri pushed her way past her. She looked in the mirror connected to the pink vanity, spinning around and gasping in utter shock. She let out a cry.
"WHAT THE FUCK!?"
When her eyes landed on the sight of what laid before her, her heart sunk and confusion struck.
"I think... It ripped." A tiny voice whispered.
"I knew it was too tight," Jasmine spoke, covering up Samantha's small voice.
"HOW DID THIS EVEN HAPPEN?"
Marinette stared at her in shock, wondering the same thing. Deep down though, she had an idea.
"What am I going to do now!? How am I supposed to find a backup dress for my photoshoot!?" She screeched.
"There is no backup dress. That was the backup apparently." Genevieve spoke, clearing the air. The dress that she was supposed to be wearing was nowhere to be seen. And this time, it was Brielle's own fault.
Out of the corner of Marinette's eye, Tikki peeked out from behind the tapestry that hid the light switch. She smirked when they made eye contact.
That piece of fabric was totally worth trampling in the dark earlier.
As Jasmine approached the door to leave for the next portion of her shoot with Samantha, the red kwami dove back behind it. The two girls stood there watching for one more minute.
"We'll.. see you later. Bri." Jazz whimpered, eager to leave before she blew up even more.
Genevieve took this opportunity to be firm and use her position to her advantage.
"As I said, Brielle. You will not be modeling with Adrien Agreste. Ever again.. at this point."
Annoyed, Brielle completely ignored the end of Genevieve's sentence, only acknowledging the part in which she thought mattered.
"How are you going to find a replacement for ME? The day's almost over! Francis will freak-"
"I will. Now go. And don't come back until you get your priorities straight." Brielle gasped at Gen's sharp words and turned to shove her two 'friends' out of the way once more. Sam dodged her arm this time, scrunching her brows in defeat.
"It's okay, Marinette. Let me get you some ice." She eyed the red-haired girl once more before pointing at the door. Brielle turned and left, not looking back once. Only this time, Jasmine and Samantha didn't follow her.
It looks like they had a change of heart.
"I'm sorry she hit you," Samantha whispered, eyeing the red mark on Marinette's cheek. Marinette shook her head, clearing her throat. "It's fine. Go finish your shoot. I'm alright."
"Okay." She smiled with bright pink cheeks and took off, Jasmine sprinting after her.
Tikki once more peeked from behind the tapestry, when Genevieve turned around to get first aid from the closet.
Marinette at this point was trying not to laugh hysterically. Man, did she love Tikki more than ever...
.·:*¨¨* ≈☆≈ *¨¨*:·.
"Here's the ice. I'll be back. I want to see if maintenance can help straighten this up and I want to check in with Francis."
Marinette clutched the warm ice pack in her hand as she popped the bubble inside and shook, following the directions blindly.
"Okay." She held the small sack up to her face, wincing when it touched her burning skin.
When Genevieve closed the door behind her, Tikki dove out from behind the tapestry, flying over to Marinette.
"Oh... My god. Tikki, what the hell did you do!?" Marinette bit her lip to try and avoid condoning her kwami's destructive behavior.
"Hehe. Sorry, Marinette. But that girl deserved it! I couldn't let her get away with saying and doing those things to you. Same with Genevieve. From what I've heard, Genevieve seems bullied enough."
"You... You are one smart kwami."
"Well hey, I'm over two thousand years old. It's good to be wise." Tikki smiled and caressed Marinette's cheek, the one not covered by the ice.
"Does it hurt?" She asked sadly.
"A little."
"You sure?"
"Okay. A lot. But my feelings are hurt, and my ego's a bit bruised." Marinette sighed, looking down at her toes.
"What hurt more.. the slap or her words?" Tikki asked thoughtfully, careful not to push the matter if it was too much for her owner.
"I'm just... I'm a little... Just..." Her eyes filled the tears.
"Marinette-"
The blue-haired girl stifled a sob, throwing the ice pack on the counter and covering her face.
"All I ever do is try to be kind to everybody Tikki, but it feels like all I do is make things worse. I wanted to help Adrien...but instead I made a fool out of myself and hurt Brielle!" She choked out, digging her nails into her palms.
"It's not your fault, Marinette. You heard Geniveve, she said Brielle is like this because her mother gives into her every whim."
Marinette sighed. "Who knows anymore, Tikki. This girl just moved here with Francis's crew... she must have a lot of influence and connections. I probably just ruined it." She pulled her legs to her chest and put her head between her knees. Her kwami nestled in front of her, offering her support.
"I'm sorry, Marinette, that you are feeling this way. I hope I didn't make things worse."
Marinette looked up. "You didn't Tikki. At least you got some sort of revenge on her. But isn't that bad... for you?"
Tikki looked down. "I'm not supposed to interact with anyone but my owner. I could. I could be in trouble possibly. If Master Fu finds out."
"I won't tell," Marinette said. Tikki smiled up at her as her owner made a zipping motion with her lips and threw away the key.
"You're funny, Marinette."
The blue-haired girl smiled and looked around the room. Objects were still scattered across the floor, and Genevieve was taking an awfully long time to come back. Other then the mess, it felt good to be in a room today without worrying Brielle would come back.
"It's been a long day, Tikki."
"Well, you've been here since early morning, and it's almost lunchtime. The shoot should be over soon. Just hang in there."
Marinette sighed. "I'm going to text, Alya."
As soon as she reached to grab her phone out of her purse, Tikki flew inside as the door darted open.
"Marinette! I need your help!" Genevieve said. The frantic look on her face got Marinette's attention right away. Immediately, Gen regained her professional posture and dusted invisible specks of dirt off her skirt.
"I mean... could you do me a favor?"
Marinette stood up, stepping on the ice pack with a crunch. "W-What is it?"
"Well... It's more for Adrien. And Francis I guess. Then it is for me... but it would definitely help me out!"
Mari approached Gen with a smile. "Of course, what do you need?"
A distraction would be nice.
"We need a model."
Marinette cocked her head to the side.
"A model? What do you mean?"
Genevieve sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "To be more specific... we need a model. We need YOU to model in Brielle's place. Adrien's wishes."
Marinette's heart dropped into the pit of her stomach, and for a second, she thought someone would have to slap her again.
WHAT?
"You- You want me- You want me to model for... for... for cameras? WITH ADRIEN?" Marinette stuttered for words and Genevieve had to put her hands on her shoulders to calm her down.
"And... And what do you mean Adrien's wishes?"
Gen smiled. "Just like I said. Adrien wants you to model with him."
But... But he wouldn't...
"No, he doesn't, you're lying." Marinette swatted Genevieve's hand away, a blush making it's way to her cheeks.
"I'm not. He insists that he needs to finish the shoot today. His father would be angry. When we asked if he had anyone in mind, he said you."
This can not be happening.
.·:*¨¨* ≈☆≈ *¨¨*:·.
A/N: Hello dreamers! A shorter chapter today but I wanted to get something out there... and I'm trying to find an editor and I've got two people in mind. So don't worry about offering your assistance. Either way, thank you to everyone who did submit their help! I'm happy that I have such amazing readers out there. What do you think of today's chapter? It was a little short, but meaningful. Leave your comments down below!
Song Choice: Hurts Like Hell by Madison Beer
I chose this because I couldn't think of a better song to express Brielle and Marinette's sudden feud.
Word Count: 2388
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