Chapter Text
“Just drop me here, I can find my way clear back to my house. I'm finding it hard trying to stay on my feet on my own. I'm thinking of ways I can get out of things just like always.” (Thinking of Ways by The Boo Radleys)
--
Lunch is the best time of day during the school week. It’s no longer early in the morning, but just before the dull, trudging parts of the afternoon. It’s the perfect time to eat, relax and rest up before science with Mendeleiev.
It also happens to be one of the only times of the day where Rose can get away with checking her phone and messaging Prince Ali. Since their schedules don’t always line up, and there’s a good chance of him being in a different time zone, he generally ends up sending her a response while she’s in the middle of class, and she can’t answer it immediately.
She had been particularly waiting for this one, since Lila returned to school that day, and no doubt, had plenty of more Ali stories to share. Rose can’t help but feel a bit jealous that Ali would keep such stories from her, seeing as she mentioned Lila in a message the first day she came, but he never said anything about her in response. He was typically pretty good about having something to say and sharing his thoughts.
Lila had left for the bathroom when she finally pulls her phone out. It didn’t feel right to be checking it or talking about Ali when Lila clearly needed the help with her lunch tray nor the company to share her stories from all over with.
As she reads over Ali’s response, everything comes to a crashing halt.
It’s good to hear that you’re safe after what happened on Heroes’ Day. I’m sorry that you had to deal with the trauma of being akumatized again, and I hope you’re doing better. At least you have Juleka and your band to help, and surely, Ladybug has been looking out for all of you!
Speaking of which, I hope I get to hear your music soon!
Something has been bothering me though. You’ve previously mentioned a Lila Rossi, not just in your last message, but quite a while back. I don’t recall ever meeting someone by that name. You said that she was the daughter of the Italian ambassador? I’ve never met that person either. And while I certainly approve efforts to clean up and protect the environment, I’m not as involved with those initiatives as I am for work for children’s hospitals and education.
I hope that this person isn’t taking advantage of your kindness. I don’t think I could ever forgive such an act of such a person. You’re well-intentioned and genuine, and unfortunately, there are plenty of people who would take that as a weakness and try to use that for their own gains.
At the same time as her jaw drops, her phone nearly slips out of her grip. Only Juleka manages to catch it in time, her other hand reaching out for Rose’s shoulder.
“Rose? What’s wrong?”
She practically squeaks, “Emergency band meeting! Now!”
“But there’s only three of us,” Juleka points out.
“Then we’ll have to make do!”
She drags Juleka out of the cafeteria, gesturing for Ivan to follow. It’s only when they reach the courtyard that Rose pulls out her phone to show them the message that Ali sent them.
“Ali just sent me this message and says he doesn’t know anything about Lila,” Rose says, her voice trembling a bit. That had been one of the first stories Lila told her on her first day. Rose had been so immediately impressed, seeing as she had just met Ali, and now she had the chance to become good friends with one of his friends.
“Which would mean Marinette was right,” Ivan points out, “Lila hasn’t been entirely telling us the truth.”
And that only causes her guilt to grow more. Her and Juleka already felt pretty bad about Marinette having to sit in the back by herself to accomodate for Lila, especially since Marinette seemed so against it, arguing that Lila was lying. Still, with the rest of the class backing the decision, and Bustier seemingly okay with it, there didn’t seem to be a point to arguing. Rose only hoped that Lila and Marinette would be able to put aside their differences and get along, and there could be one more member to the girl group.
But if Marinette was right, then what reason did Lila have for making them rearrange all of the seats? She suspected that it had something to do with Adrien, as she did recall Lila being awfully attached to him, and practically hugging his arm at every opportunity. That still didn’t explain why all of the seats needed to be rearranged though, as happy as she was to still sit with Juleka.
“Before we completely jump ship,” Juleka says, patting her shoulder, “Maybe we should message Ali back and get more clarification. We don’t want to turn the classroom into a war zone.”
“But it could be hours before Ali responds back,” Rose points out, “We have to figure out some other way to figure out what’s going on with Lila!”
“We could have Luka do a read of her,” Ivan says, “Even if it’s not concrete proof, he has a way of understanding emotions.”
“Yeah,” Juleka agrees, “Even if he doesn’t have his guitar, he’s good at catching on to people with bad vibes. He knows very little about her too, so he doesn’t already have a strong impression of her.”
“But that still means we have to wait until he’s done with school,” Rose points out, “Oh, these are the days I really wish he came here instead of College Delphine.”
Juleka only shrugs, before giving her a hug. Rose already knows the story behind Luka going to a different college from them, but it doesn’t do anything to calm her down. “It’s not that far a walk from here. If we tell him now, he might be able to rush over before Lila and Marinette leave at the end of the day.”
“Until then,” Ivan says, “We ought to take Lila’s claims with a grain of salt. Just because it sounds like it could have happened, doesn’t mean it did.”
“And Marinette was the only one to catch on,” Rose pouts, “Not even Alya seemed to notice.”
“He’s in,” Juleka says, “Let’s try to stay calm until he gets here.”
--
The rest of the school day goes without a hitch, though the three are a bit more wary about Lila’s stories this time around. Apparently, her best friend, Ladybug, saved her from the Eiffel Tower, and even brought her earplugs for her tinnitus. She barely catches it, but she thinks she hears Marinette retorting that it was a different ear from what she earlier claimed, but then Adrien makes his way over to her, and that conversation is stopped.
Looking to Juleka, it’s apparent that she caught the exchange too.
Thankfully, other than retaking their seats, nothing else too dramatic happens. The three of them all make haste out of the school when classes are dismissed, and sure enough, Luka is already waiting for them at the front steps.
“You guys wanna give me some more details about what’s happening here?” he asks, “I mean, I don’t mind, but I did have to rush all the way from school to get here.”
“It’s Marinette,” Ivan says bluntly, “We need you to do a reading on her and the new girl in our class.”
Frowning, his gaze narrows, looking over his shoulder to see Marinette walking out of the front entrance. He turns to move to her, but the three of them pull him back behind the staircase.
“What are you guys doing?”
“We can’t let her see us,” Rose insists in a harsh whisper, “We’ll explain everything later, but right now, we need you to read her.”
By that point, Alya and Nino have come out of the school to say goodbye to Marinette. She doesn’t look all that deterred until Lila shows up. Rose can’t see her expression too well without giving herself away, but she does see that her arms are crossed over her.
“Hm,” Luka muses, “That other girl’s song…”
“What is it?” Juleka asks.
“It’s the worst thing I’ve ever heard. Although, some of the stuff she’s saying to Marinette isn’t much better either.”
“Why what is she saying?”
“She’s whispering it so it’s hard to say, but I think she told Marinette that they’re at war and she’s going to lose all of her friends,” Luka says slowly, “Ugh, her song sounds worse than nails on a chalkboard.”
A pit forms at the bottom of Rose’s stomach.
Lying, bad enough on its own, was one thing. But threatening Marinette? Anger is an emotion pretty rare to Rose, but she absolutely feels it rise within her. It takes a long glance from Juleka to convince her not to storm over to Lila and give her a piece of her mind. They didn’t know what else she was capable of, and if she did threaten Marinette, it was best to console Marinette.
She’s not sure how Marinette manages to walk away, looking the least bit deterred, while Lila storms off, seething in her annoyance. She didn’t even manage to see the four of them hiding by the side of the staircase.
“I don’t know what’s going on with that girl,” Luka says, “But I don’t like it. I know Marinette seemed to take it in stride, but I don’t think we should let her handle that alone.”
“I can’t believe it!” Rose shrieks, “Why would she lie to us? And why would she want to hurt Marinette like that! Oh, Ali is going to be so upset when he hears that he was right.”
“We should check up on Marinette,” Ivan points out, “If her day was as stressful as that, she might be at risk for akumatization. She shouldn’t have to deal with that alone.”
Rose nods, trying to rid herself of negative thoughts. Marinette needed help , and if they were the only ones to see that, then it was up to them. “Let’s invite her over to hang out and get the rest of the story. Then, we can come up with a plan to deal with Lila!”
They all agree, and Juleka takes out her phone to send the message.
Hey, Marinette. Would you mind meeting us at the Liberty? There’s something we (Kitty Section) wanted to talk to you about.
--
The four of them have to rush to get back to the Liberty before Marinette arrives. Rose is thankful that Marinette needed to switch her stuff at home before showing up, and while she has a tendency to be late, Rose hopes it’s not so late that they won’t be able to talk at all.
In the meantime, she helps Juleka and Ivan set up the space for their practice, while Luka tunes his guitar on the main deck. He claims that he would probably be best to greet Marinette, since she might feel like she was being confronted, but the three of them all figure it’s really because of his crush on her.
She’s not sure how she feels about it. On the one hand, Luka was absolutely a nice guy all around, and easy to get along with. He didn’t really go out of his way to make a lot of friends, but he wasn’t unpleasant to anyone. And while she didn’t know too much of their initial encounter, Marientte got along with him swimmingly during the Music Festival. She even thought she heard Alya teasing her about getting a “new statue” or something. Rose could absolutely see the two of them being happy together.
But then there was Marinette’s long time crush on Adrien. For so long, Rose and the other girls were motivated to help Marinette finally confess her feelings and make Adrinette a thing . Marinette even managed to work up the nerve to kiss Adrien at the picnic held on Heroes’ Day, which Rose thought had to be a wake up call for Adrien!
The next week at school, nothing seemed to have changed. Neither one of them were dating, at least, it wasn’t clear if they were. Alya certainly hadn’t said anything, nor did the group receive any texts on the matter. In fact, she seemed more excited by Lila’s return, and planning on how to rearrange the seats to accommodate her. Of course, Lila returning was only sure to throw more of a wrench into things.
Still, Luka had every right to make a move if Marinette hadn’t already turned him down or was dating Adrien. And who was she to say he was wrong to do it? The last time Rose insisted Marinette go after Adrien, it only resulted in a pitiful experience at the ice rink, and from the sounds of it, Luka had been her only solace.
Marinette finally shows up just after they finish setting up. She walks inside alongside Luka, a somewhat pensive look on her face.
“Hey, Marinette,” Rose says cheerfully, hoping to erase some of her anxiety. Marinette gives a gentle nod, but other than that, doesn’t seem all too convinced by her tone of voice. It’s easy to tell that she thinks she’s going to be yelled at, or that something has already been said about her.
“We’re glad you could make it,” Juleka says, “There’s something we wanted to talk to you about. It’s about-”
“ You were right about Lila !” Rose squeaks, clamping her mouth with both of her hands. Marinette stares at her with wide eyes, while the rest of them move to calm her down.
“Let’s try this again,” Luka says, having everyone sit down, “Rose, start with the message you got from Ali.”
Having calmed from her outburst, Rose takes out her phone and shows the message she received, recapping the entirety of the afternoon’s events to Marinette. Slowly, as Rose progresses through the story, the anxiety releases its grip on her, and her expression relaxes. And it makes Rose feel all the more guilty about not trusting her earlier. Luka goes to pat both of their shoulders, Marinette moving slightly into his touch.
It’s quiet for a few moments after Rose finishes her story. Marinette studies the faces of everyone in the room. Other than Luka, who is more concerned, the rest of Kitty Section looks just as guilty as her.
“Thank you, you guys,” Marinette finally says, lifting her head, “I know a lot of Lila’s stories are amazing, but if you really think about it, most of them don’t add up. And that’s what I was trying to explain. It just hurt that no one believed me because everyone thought I was jealous of her.”
“I never thought that,” Ivan points out, “Actually, I think Alya was the only one to believe that.”
“Honestly, we thought you and Lila just got off on the wrong foot,” Rose says, “Kind of like how you and Adrien did. We only wanted you to see how cool and amazing she was, but you were only trying to warn us about her.”
Everyone is quiet for a moment, and Rose can’t help but avert her gaze. The more she dwells on it, the worse she feels. She’s glad for Juleka, who stands behind her, wrapping her arms around her, and settles her head on top of hers. Luka is the one to break the silence.
“Marinette, something is bothering me about all of this,” he says, “When we were checking on you, I swore I heard Lila threaten to take all of your friends away. Something about ‘going to war.’ Is that true?”
Her eyes falter for a bit, as if ashamed by the question.
“Yeah, she did.”
If she hadn’t been angry before, Rose is down right furious now. But before she can further protest, Marinette launches into an explanation as to what happened. How mad she was about everyone believing a paper napkin could cut someone’s eye (even Luka had to give them some serious side eye for that). How she warned Alya about Lila lying to Adrien on their first day about being best friends with Ladybug, and then being told she needed to get proof despite giving her a source to consult (and furthermore, Lila offered up no evidence). And then how Lila threatened her in the bathroom, telling her she would lose all her friends if Marinette continued to get in her way. The saddening part was how Adrien told her to deal with the situation - just let everyone continue to believe her, even though he also knew she was lying (Luka looked noticeably upset by that part, but refrains from commenting for the moment).
“She’s worse than Chloe,” Juleka mumbles, “We need to do something to stop her and fast.”
“I don’t know about that,” Marinette says, “Her lies aren’t as good when she’s just making them up on the fly, but if she has material she can use to slip into her stories, they seem a lot more convincing. It’s like when she used the book Mr. Agreste had to convince Adrien she was a superhero called Volpina.”
“I thought that was her akumatized form?” Juleka wonders, “Oh, wait, that makes sense.”
“And didn’t Adrien get into trouble because something of his dad’s went missing?” Ivan continues, “Are you saying that Lila got a hold of it?”
“Yeah. And the worst part was that when she was done with it, she just threw it in the trash,” Marinette scowls, “I brought it back to Mr. Agreste so Adrien could come back, but I never told anyone about it until now. I just didn’t want to make a big deal about it.”
“Then it’s clear we need to be careful with our items around her,” Luka points out, “I thankfully don’t have to deal with this person, but she could still try to get your phones and get personal information from you. Stuff from your messages, maybe even steal numbers of people to set you up.”
“Oh, and your sketchbook!” Rose exclaims, pointing to Marinette, “What if she tries to steal your designs, like Chloe did? She might sabotage your career before it even really takes off!”
Juleka shrugs, “You could just make another one of those failsafe boxes you had for your diary. Remember the look on Chloe’s face when Sabrina revealed she snuck into your room just to get dirt for her campaign?”
Even Ivan can’t suppress a smirk at the memory of it. “That was pretty satisfying, not going to lie.”
Marinette stops to ponder the question. “I have an idea. I can bring a ‘fake’ sketchbook with me to school, and mostly draw outfits I already have or outfits I know other people already wear. If Lila tries to steal and copy from that, people are going to notice and she’s going to get in trouble. I can always claim I was practicing sketching, and then ask why she had my sketchbook in the first place.”
“What will you do with the real sketchbook then?” Rose asks.
“I’d have to leave it somewhere safe,” she ponders, “I’m not sure where that would be right now, though.
“This can be your safe place,” Luka says. No one misses the way Marinette’s eyes practically light up at the declaration. She looks to everyone else in the room for a differing answer, but who are they to deny her? Of course they all want her to be safe here! She’s their everyday Ladybug, it was the least they could do, especially after the day she just had.
“If Lila wants to visit, we’ll just say it’s a closed band practice,” Juleka says, as Marinette goes to open her mouth and protest, “And that you’re in business with us.”
“You can work on your sketches while we practice,” Ivan adds.
“And as messy as the ship is, there should be plenty of cover to hide your sketchbook in case Lila manages to break in here,” Rose says cheerfully. She’s actually really warming up to the idea of having Marinette hang out with them more. The only other time the three of them got to work with other artists was during art club time, and that had been waning more and more as they were working on more music. It takes her a moment to realize she’s gotten a bit carried away with her thoughts, “Not that we’ll let that happen, of course!”
“I think you ought to tell someone, Marinette,” Luka says gently, “Now that you have us on your side, more people will be willing to take your account seriously. And maybe it’ll get Adrien to take action too.”
“I don’t know,” she sighs, “What if they don’t take it seriously because they still think I’m jealous of them? That would just fracture my friendships faster, and that’s exactly what Lila wants.”
“What about your teacher?”
Rose nods her head eagerly, “Yeah, I’m sure Ms. Bustier will do something once you tell her about what happened!”
There’s another pause, and it makes Rose’s optimism in the situation slowly fade away.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea either. Remember how she gave both Chloe and me credit for the birthday present I gave her, and that Chloe ruined? Or how she sent Ivan to the principal’s office on the first day of school without hearing his side of the story? Or how she just allowed you guys to handle the seat changes, and implied that I couldn’t object because I didn’t have a disability?”
Now that Rose thinks about it, Ms. Bustier, while a nice lady, hadn’t been particularly authoritative. She doesn’t want to think a bad thought about her, since she’s not scary like Ms. Mendeleiev is, but she also understands where Marinette is coming from. The history of Marinette, Chloe and Ms. Bustier was pretty well known to the other girls by this point.
Ivan says, “Maybe we should be the ones to present the proof to the rest of the class. Give them a heads up. And keep Marinette out of it, so it doesn’t look like she gave us the idea. I want Mylene to know anyway so that Lila doesn’t get around to manipulating her.”
“And Alix won’t be happy to hear any of that either,” Juleka says, “She might go off on Lila herself.”
Rose adds, “Then it’s a plan! Me and Juleka will tell the girls, and Ivan can tell the guys! And Marinette can hide her stuff here and hang out in our sanctuary!”
Juleka regards Luka with a narrowed glance. “Just don’t go losing her work in between the controllers for Guitar Hero . I ended up losing half my figurines the last time you moved that stuff around.”
Luka returns her glance with an all-knowing smirk. “Is that your way of challenging me to a match?”
“I need to blow off some steam. And also kick your ass after the day we had.”
“Well, I can promise you that won’t be happening.”
As the two continue to banter, Rose receives a confused look from Marinette, begging for explanation. After exchanging a laugh with Ivan, Rose finally explains. “The two of them are actually more competitive with one another than you would think. However, when it comes to Guitar Hero , neither one of them has ever managed to overwhelmingly defeat the other. They still try to beat each other to this day.”
“That’s how they both ended up being guitar players for the band,” Ivan adds, “They tied at a game and just decided they would both fill the role. But their rivalry continues to this day.”
And for the first time since the conversation began, a smile appears on Marinette’s face. Seeing this, Rose’s optimism returns and gets her to thinking that things were gonna be a lot more fun with Marinette hanging out at band practice.