As Marinette and I walked up the steps of the school on Monday, Alix and Alya run up to us. They have concerned faces.
"Have you seen it?!" Alix frantically says.
"Seen what?" Marinette says back.
"She hasn't seen it yet..."
Alya holds up her phone to Marinette and me. Marinette takes it. We both look at the screen. Suddenly Marinette's face lights up in horror. Then I see it. Chloe posted a picture of Marinette staring at Adrian with googoo eyes. The caption was, "Looks like Marinette has a crush on Adrien Agreste!😍😍😍How adorable!! Too bad she's a loser who doesn't stand a chance!! 🥺🥺"
I look over to Marinette. She's staring at the screen, her cheeks are turning bright red. "Marinette...it's okay...nobody's gonna believe Chloe over you," I say in a soft tone, setting my hand on her shoulder. Tears begin to roll down Marinette's cheeks. "She said she wouldn't tell anyone..." she says.
Alix bites her lower lip, and Alya turns off her phone and puts it in her pocket. Someone taps on my shoulder. I turn around to see a familiar-looking blonde giving us a mean smirk.
"What do you want, Chloe?" I snap.
"I told you you'd pay, (yn)."
"What do you mean?"
"I only did this because of you" Chloe flashed her white teeth at me through her smirk.
Marinette turns around and looks at me. She points her finger at me. "This is all your fault, (yn)!!!"
"I didn't know Chloe would take it out on you, Marinette! Honest!" I say.
Alya puts her hand on Marinette's shoulder. "She didn't mean any harm, girl."
Marinette wipes Alya's hand away and runs off. Chloe giggles, meanly.
"Should I go after her?" I ask Alix.
"I'd give her a bit of space...she'll calm down eventually." Alix gives me a reassuring smile.
———————
Fifteen minutes later Marinette still isn't back. The first class has already started five minutes ago. Suddenly the door bursts open.
I look up expecting to see Marinette...but I don't. I see a girl with curly dark purple pigtails that stretch down to her knees. She is wearing a short pink dress with sleeves that go down and morph into black gloves. Her dress has a black sash with a broken heart pin on it that lines up perfectly with where her heart is. She wears black fishnet stockings and black boots that go up to her thighs. A pink mask that has a black heart painted on it is covering her eyes. A silver tiara with small black gems rests on top of her head and she's holding a matching wand. She struts in and walks up to the teacher.
"Who are you?" He asks.
She says nothing and flicks her wand at him. Pink glitter swirls around him and suddenly fades. He opens his eyes, his scleras are now pitch black and his irises are pink. His lips turn white. He bows to her.
Suddenly it clicks. I stand up. "Marinette?!" I gasp.
She turns to me and smiles. "I'm not Marinette, sweetheart. My name is Princess Justice!" She twirls, causing more pink glitter to fly everywhere. I look around quickly. I spot a door to the teacher's closet and run into it. I peek through the keyhole and see all the students bowing to Princess Justice. She glances around the room.
"Where is (yn)!?!" She yells. I hold my breath. "If you see her, bring her to me!!" She says.
Everyone bows to her, and Princess Justice struts out of the room.
Kitti flies out. "That was a close one!"
"We're going to need to be very careful. I hope Chat Noir and Ladybug are okay..." I say, a worried tone in my voice. "Don't worry (yn), I'm sure they're okay, but you won't be if you don't transform!!!"
Kitti gives me a reassuring smile. I nod my head.
"Kitti! Whiskers on!!"