Chapter Text
Chapter 1
Marinette’s stomach churned as she flipped through the photos on her phone for the dozenth time. Lila’s taunting green eyes bore into hers in every photo, leaning against Adrien’s arm and chest and shoulder. None of it made sense! Adrien knew Lila was a liar, so how had she weaseled her way into a photoshoot? Just when things were going back to normal, Lila pulled the rug out from under her feet again, leaving Marinette staring up at the ceiling in a daze.
“Marinette! You have a visitor!” her mother called up the stairs.
“Send them up!” she replied less than enthusiastically.
She darkened her screen with a sigh. Whatever Lila was up to, Marinette was going to get to the bottom of it. But how?
“Can I come in?”
She jumped up from her chair at the sound of his voice, heart shooting up to her throat. Timid green eyes peeked up through her trapdoor with a sheepish wince, like a puppy waiting to be scolded.
“A-Adrien?” She blinked to ensure she wasn’t dreaming. “What are you doing here? N-Not that you can’t come here because you can come here whenever you want just I- what’s up?”
“Well, after everything that happened, I wanted to come see how you were doing, and I feel like I should explain myself. Can we talk?” he asked politely.
“Of course.” Marinette nodded, gesturing to the chaise.
He sat down and leaned his elbows on his knees with a sigh.
“Okay, so I know you’ve probably seen the photoshoot, and I want you to know that it doesn’t mean I’m on her side. I’m not, quite the opposite, actually,” he said. “I feel like I should apologize to you. I used to think Lila was harmless, but she’s hurt people I care about more than once, and that’s not okay.”
“Adrien.” Marinette smiled. “You don’t have to apologize. It’s not your fault Lila has it out for me.”
“If I’d done something sooner all of this could have been avoided. This is my mess too, so I had to do something.” He averted his gaze. “I’m not proud of it, but before our shoot I talked to Lila and forced her to fix everything so you could come back,” he said. “I made her lie again, but it was to undo the damage she caused, so that’s not so bad, right?”
“You did that for me?” Marinette gaped.
“Of course.” He smiled. “You’re my friend, and Lila crossed a line. I couldn’t standby and do nothing while she ruined your life.”
Marinette bit her lip, the rapid beating of her heart warming her cheeks. Adrien was the reason she got to come back to school! He wanted her there, even if it meant stooping to Lila’s level. How was he so perfect?
“I wish there was more we could do about Lila. I don’t want her to hurt anyone else, but she’s so good at spinning the truth. Even if we tried to prove her wrong, she’d find a way to throw it back on us,” Adrien said.
Marinette leaned back against her chaise, pursing her lips. “What if we don’t prove anything?” Adrien quirked a brow, so she continued, “Lila lies with every breath, and she just bends the truth more when you try to question her, so what if instead of challenging her, we back her into a corner by playing along?”
“How so?” His eyes narrowed.
“It will be a lot of work, but with the two of us, we could probably pull it off.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “Lila is always coming up with stories, illnesses, excuses, so what if we kept track of all of them and held her accountable? Like for her sprained wrist, we could give her a wrist brace that she has to wear, or since she was so worried about a napkin gouging out Max’s eye, we could put safety glasses in the cafeteria. This way it seems like we’re being nice and supportive to everyone else, but in reality we’ll be waiting for her lies to contradict each other—which they always do if you pay attention. Lila banks on other people’s obliviousness when she lies.”
“So, you want to get back at her by being nice?” He tilted his head to one side.
“It’s called kill em with kindness,” Marinette said.
“That’s wonderfully devious of you, Marinette.” Adrien grinned. “And I think it’s just what we need.”
“Lila has gone too far. If we continue to let her go unchecked, then this stunt won’t be her last. We have to back her into a corner before she finds a way to get me expelled permanently,” she said.
“I know. I shouldn’t have insisted on ignoring her before. I feel like everything is my fault.” Adrien covered his face with his hands.
“It isn’t your fault that Lila is a liar, Adrien. You were just trying to be the bigger person, but unfortunately for us, Lila is a special kind of despicable.” Marinette placed a hand on his shoulder. “But so long as we have each other, she can’t win.”
“You’re right. Thanks, Marinette.” Adrien pulled her in for a hug, and Marinette hoped he couldn’t feel how hot her cheeks were. “So, where should we start?”
“Well…” Marinette tapped her chin. “Here’s what I’m thinking.”
***
The following day everyone was buzzing about the photoshoot as expected, but Adrien only felt calm as he walked past his schoolmates. Lila was good. So good that she’d even fooled his father, but he wasn’t going to stand for her lies anymore. It was time to burn down Lila’s web once and for all.
“Adrien and I just have such a natural chemistry,” Lila was saying as he approached their group.
“Hey, Adrien, great photoshoot. You and Lila totally rocked,” Alya said with a grin.
“Thanks, Alya. My photographer is really good at giving direction during our shoots. Anyone can model if he’s behind the camera.” Adrien gave a modest shrug, shooting a pointed look at Lila.
“It was amazing getting to work with you, Adrien,” she said with that saccharine fakeness she was so good at, but Adrien’s attention was diverted as Marinette walked through the front doors.
“Marinette!” He rushed to meet her halfway with everyone else.
“Welcome back, Marinette!”
“We knew it was all a misunderstanding.”
“Yeah, you’d never do any of those things.”
Adrien cut through the crowd, gaze fixed on her with a bright smile, and pulled her into a warm hug.
“I’m so happy you’re back here where you belong, Marinette. How could anyone ever believe you’d do such horrible things?” he said. “It’s absolutely ridiculous. You’re so caring and trustworthy and genuinely kind. There’s no way you could have ever done those things.”
“Yeah, you’re like the last person on Earth to cheat or intentionally hurt someone, girl.” Alya agreed.
“I’m really sorry for any trouble my disease caused you, Marinette,” Lila said, clasping her hands together in front of her and curling her shoulders. “I hope you don’t hate me.”
“Not at all, Lila,” Marinette said with a gentleness that made Lila’s head snap up. “In fact, I brought you a brace for your knee. It was really scary seeing you fall down the stairs, and I wanted to make sure you were okay. Knee injuries can be so delicate; you should probably take it easy for a while. Such a shame too since we were all planning to go swimming tomorrow and now you can’t come.”
“Yeah…” Lila eyed the brace in Marinette’s outstretched hand and the friendly smile on her face. “Thank you.”
“You’re so welcome, Lila. I hope you and I can put this whole thing behind us,” Marinette said.
Their classmates cooed in adoration, praising Marinette’s kindness. Step one of their plan was well underway, not that Adrien was surprised. Marinette was really smart, so any plan of hers was bound to work out.
“Wow, Marinette, you really are amazing,” Max said.
“Isn’t she just the best?” Adrien nodded.
“I’m just trying to mend some broken bridges. I think Lila and I got off on the wrong foot because of a misunderstanding. I hope from now on that we can be friends.” Marinette held out a hand in good faith.
Lila flicked her gaze around to all of her classmates’ expectant faces.
“Of course, Marinette. I’d be happy to be your friend.” She smiled, shaking her hand just long enough to be convincing.
It was a maneuver Adrien was well acquainted with from watching his father over the years. Lila was good. He just hoped they were better.
“I’m glad.” Marinette’s tone gave nothing away.
Lila shot her a skeptical glare as the bell rang, but Marinette simply smiled sweetly. Adrien lingered when everyone else dispersed.
“I don’t know what you’re plotting, but just know that it’s never going to work,” Lila hissed when everyone was out of earshot.
“I don’t know what you mean, Lila. I’m just trying to be nice.” Marinette blinked innocently.
“Marinette’s extending you an olive branch, Lila. Just take it and put this whole thing behind you.” Adrien gave Lila a pointed look.
Remember our deal.
Lila rolled her eyes and stalked off, grumbling a disbelieving “whatever” as she went.
Adrien turned to Marinette with a smile.
“Phase one complete,” he said, and a smirk curled on Marinette’s lips.
“Onto phase two.”