Chapter Text
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We are your friends
And we're going to make her pay
You know what friends do?
They've got your back and they're fun to be around
When someone hurts you then they attack
And grind your foe into the ground
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Their classmates were doubtful.
Rose took that as a good sign. At least they’ll be able to handle truth easier once they found out. For now, she was contented to work with Alix and Sabrina secretly to make Lie-la suffer.
After all, who would doubt her, Rose, the class peacemaker?
Okay, maybe that was the wrong question to ask since the class did doubt Marinette, who was not only their class representative, but someone who had also been dubbed as their ‘Everyday Ladybug.’ However, Rose had an advantage because she never called Lie-la out for lying.
Phase 1 of their mission was to pretend that she, Alix, and Sabrina believed Lie-la’s lies. It was easy enough because none of their classmates knew that they were actually close to Marinette.
“I’m sure Marinette will come around, Lila. Then, we can all be friends.” Rose assured in a honeyed tone, addressing the liar.
Alix rolled her eyes in response. “Don’t bother hoping for that, Rose. It’s obvious that Marinette is jealous of Lila and she won’t come around easily, especially if it had something to do with Adrien.”
Alix delivered her lines in such a way that implied that she was disgusted. Rose had to bit her inner cheeks to keep herself from smiling. She knew that Alix was disgusted with Lie-la’s lies and not with Marinette’s ‘jealousy’. Sure, they’d seen Marinette jealous before but Marinette wouldn’t do the things Lie-la claimed.
Besides, since Marinette and Adrien confessed their feelings to each other, Adrien surprisingly became the more possessive one. And they weren’t even in a relationship (yet)! Rose often wondered how Adrien and Marinette managed to hide the closeness of their friendship to the rest of the class. Rose knew that she’d had a hard time pretending she wasn’t close with Juleka.
Speaking of her girlfriend, Rose was glad to know that Juleka didn’t like the fact that Marinette got spelled. Juleka was now wary of Lie-la but Rose also knew that Juleka was afraid to voice her own opinion. Other than that, Juleka also suspected that something was going on with Rose. However, being the respectful girlfriend she was, she didn’t ask about it again when Rose told her that she’d tell her about it soon.
It’s not that Rose didn’t trust Juleka, for she did. Rose just didn’t want her girlfriend to be caught in the crossfire. After all, Rose had been doing this with the Lunar Ladies for years. She was practically an expert at this and she wanted to protect her girlfriend. Besides, it might just stress Juleka out and Juleka was already feeling guilty for not speaking out to counter Marinette’s expulsion.
“I don’t care what Marinette said, Lila.” Sabrina piped in. “I’m so glad I met you. You’re so much nicer than Chloé. I even made you a special pie to thank you for showing me what real friendship feels like.”
Sabrina wanted to vomit at the words that escaped her lips. If anything, Liar-la was worse than Vivian Bernard at making her do schoolwork. At least Vivian only made Sabrina do the subjects she didn’t understand. Liar-la just practically gave Sabrina all the tasks because of her arthritis or some bullshit-itis. The only thing that kept Sabrina maintaining her patience with the liar was the way her face scrunched up at the taste of the slice of ‘special’ she gave her.
“I know you’re very generous, Lila, so I’ll just give the other slices to our classmates.” Sabrina saw the relief that flashed through the liar’s face and she inwardly smirked.
As soon as the other slices were passed around the class, Liar-la asked: “Does the taste feel off to you?”
“What are you talking about? This tasted totally delicious to me!” Kim exclaimed, making a show of chewing his own slice.
“Yes, this pie is good, Sabrina,” Ivan said.
“Can you tell me your recipe?” Mylène asked.
Sabrina smiled, “Of course, Mylène.”
“Why aren’t you eating your piece, Lila?” Alix asked, munching on her own pie.
“Uhm, I am,” Liar-la paused, smiling, “but I think Kim might appreciate it better than me.”
“But I made it for you, Lila,” Sabrina did her best to make her voice small and pitiable. “Yours was even the biggest slice. You won’t throw it away or give it to someone else like Chloé always did to my efforts, would you?”
Before Liar-la could answer, Rose piped in. “Of course Lila wouldn’t do that. She’s so nice. You’ll eat Sabrina’s special pie, won’t you, Lila?”
Liar-la smiled through her gritted teeth. “Of course, I will.”
How the others didn’t see through the liar’s façade, Sabrina didn’t understand. But as Sabrina watched Liar-la eat, she’d let her classmates slide. Rose, having been in the Baking Club with Marinette years before, helped Sabrina in making the pie. The slices their classmates were eating were all part of a delicious apple pie, while the slice they inserted specially made for Liar-la was flavored with disgusting mixtures of pie flavors they could think of. It was not bad to cause Liar-la diarrhea but enough to make her suffer every bite.
After all Phase 2 of the plan was to make Liar-la get a taste of her own medicine (literally, in this case). She wanted their classmates to know her as a nice friend? Then, they’ll make her a nice friend. And being a nice friend meant eating a friend’s effort even though it tasted horrible, wasn’t it? Even if Liar-la did try to tell everyone what it really tasted, they would doubt the liar.
One, for all they knew, they all had eaten the same piece of delicious pie. Two, the members of their groups were strategically placed nearest to Liar-la. If it didn’t work, Kim would take the pie that Liar-la was willing to give and he’d ‘accidentally’ drop it because Alix would’ve ‘accidentally’ elbowed him. Fortunately for them, they didn’t need to use their backup plan.
Instead, they enjoyed watching Liar-la eat the whole slice and trying not to cringe.
‘Oh, revenge was indeed sweet,’ Sabrina thought as she ate her own slice of delicious apple pie.
Their satisfaction on their little revenge, however, immediately vanished, once they entered Chloé’s room at Le Grand Paris Hotel. While Chloé’s room was vast, it wasn’t enough to hide the dangerous aura coming from what they liked to call the ‘Burn Room’.
Surprisingly, Butler Jean wasn’t by the entrance to greet them. If that was not enough to alarm Rose, Alix, and Sabrina, Chloé was not sitting on her usual seat by her golden throne chair. The mayor’s daughter was standing by the corner with a clenched fist doing a breathing exercise.
“What’s wrong?” Rose asked, rushing to Chloé and opening her bag to grab a perfume battle. Without waiting for an answer, she sprayed the bottle around Chloé.
Sabrina sniffed the air and nodded approvingly at Rose. The liquid she sprayed from her perfume bottle was the scent Rose and Chloé experimented with together on the Lunar Ladies' first get-together after transferring to Françoise Dupont, after Sabrina had read an article about calming scents and explained it to them.
Chloé and Rose called it the ‘Anti-Akuma Potion’ or ‘AAP’. Its ingredients were composed of things that had a calming scent like lavender and jasmine. It took the two blonde girls three whole weeks to make a collection of scents that worked for each of them. They always used it to calm down whenever they’re feeling strong emotions to avoid attracting Akumas, hence the concoction’s name. It wasn’t completely effective but at least the smell could calm them down a little.
“Thanks, Rose,” Chloé said after a minute. “I ran out of AAP about twenty minutes ago. We really need to make a new batch.”
Rose put the spray bottle back in her purse before replying, “No problem, Chloé. But what happened? I thought you weren’t present in class earlier to attend a business meeting with your Mom?”
“Yes, Mommy did bring me with her to a business meeting since the therapist recommended us to spend some time together,” Chloé answered, moving to sit on her usual chair. “We got back about three hours ago and I arrived here with Marinette already in the Burn Room.”
At that exact moment, Kim and Nino, with Adrien in tow, entered the room.
“M’s in the Burn Room?” Kim asked warily, shifting closer to Alix.
“Yeah, Jean Luc was the one assisting her with the targets.”
Adrien furrowed his brows. “Burn Room? Targets? What are you guys talking about?”
“That,” Alix pointed at the door farthest to them, “is the Burn Room. We go in there whenever we feel angry or upset, but mostly angry.”
“You do not want to go in there man,” Nino warned, shaking his head.
Kim nodded, “Marinette is nice and all, but you do not want to see her angry.”
Before Adrien could respond, a sweaty and nervous-looking Butler Jean exited the ‘Burn’ Room. “Mademoiselle Marinette is in a calmer condition now, Mademoiselle Chloé, but I do not recommend going in there yet. I believe Mademoiselle Marinette is still fuming. And she hit the target ten times.”
Kim and Nino winced while Alix, Sabrina, and Rose looked at Chloé worriedly.
“What happened?” The girls asked, taking a seat on the settee.
Nino and Kim settled themselves on another couch but Adrien remained standing. He was worried. What if Marinette attracted an Akuma? He couldn’t fight her!
“Sit down, Adrikins. You’re stressing me out with your worried face.”
“Maybe I can help in calming Marinette down,” He suggested.
Chloé scoffed. “Puh-lease, if I, one of her best friends, can’t calm her down. What makes you think you can do it Mr. Just-A-Friend?”
“What if she gets Akumatized?”
“There are no windows in that room for the butterfly to come in,” Alix answered.
Adrien crossed his arms. “I’m still gonna try.”
“Don’t say we didn’t warn you, Adrikins,” Chloé said with a shooing motion before asking Butler Jean to fetch her laptop in her bedroom. Apparently, the answers to why Marinette was angry were in there.
While the others were busy waiting for Butler Jean, Adrien made his way to the burn room and slowly opened the door.
“Apparently, Lie-la Rossi is much more evil than we thought.” Chloé began her explanation as she opened her white-colored Apple laptop with customized golden swirls as a design. “Marinette was digging up evidence against her when –”
Adrien rushing out of the Burn Room and slamming the door behind him caught their attention.
“We tried to warn you model-boy,” Alix said, shaking her head, “Her feelings for you don’t exempt you from her chilling anger.”
“An angry Marinette is not to be messed with,” Kim added with a shudder. If he hadn’t seen it first hand before, he probably wouldn’t believe Marinette was capable of giving a cold glare he’d only seen Gabriel Agreste wear daily.
Noticing that his friend was sweating and super red in the face, Nino walked towards Adrien and patted him on the shoulder. “Are you okay, Dude? I know Marinette can be really scary but she’ll never hurt any of us. It’s just –”
His explanation was cut off by Adrien’s mumble.
“What was that, Dude?”
Adrien looked like he was in a trance as he practically shouted his next words, “MARINETTEHASABS!” If his face was already red earlier, then he was a tomato now. “Marinette has abs.” He repeated more calmly.
Before they could process what Adrien said, a sweaty Marinette exited the Burn Room. “Adrien, I didn’t know that you’re going to enter the Burn Room. Butler Jean told me that he’d advised you all to let me have some alone time so I took off my shirt before going for the treadmill to release some steam.” Marinette explained in one breath.
“It’s no problem, Marinette. You look hot.” Adrien replied. A split second later he realized what he just said and his eyes went wide. “I mean, you’re hot. No! Not that you’re not hot but you’re sweaty so you’re probably feeling hot.”
“Uh, thanks?” squeaked an equally flushed Marinette.
“Did you switch bodies or something?” Kim teased, smirking at the pair.
“If I knew that both of you getting flustered was going to make M forget her anger for quite some time, then I would’ve called Adrikins earlier.”
Rose and Sabrina giggled at this.
“Anyway,” Chloé spoke again, “since M was done using the Burn Room, we should all move there now, or else one of us might get Akumatized.” Even though the burn room didn’t have any windows, it has proper ventilation so they needn’t worry about the smell of sweat lingering in the air.
Grabbing her laptop with her, Chloé led the way inside. Marinette and Adrien, still flustered at what happened earlier were the last ones to enter.
“Whoah!” Adrien gasped, looking around the Burn Room. While he did enter the same room minutes ago, his eyes had been fixed on a Marinette only wearing a sports bra running on the treadmill that he didn’t notice the other things in the room.
Three treadmills were placed near the door. There were different kinds of Nerf guns and crossbows on a huge shelf in a far corner. Across from it were pictures hanging from the ceiling and most of them were destroyed like it’s been shot by multiple Nerf bullets. In another corner of the room was a row of punching bags that had taped pictures in them.
Out of curiosity, Adrien took a step closer. There are crinkled pictures of Lila, a printed paper that has ‘Math Homework’ on it, and – he turned incredulously to his friends, “I-is this a picture of my f-father?”
“Yes, but we’re not through with that yet,” Sabrina answered before pointing to another corner of the room, “That’s the finished product. Nino, Chloé, Marinette, and I did that the moment we found out your father was spying on you through Lila.”
“But that was months ago, right?”
Rose shrugged, “We don’t throw away the piñatas unless it became unhittable. After all, we gave our one hundred percent effort in making it.”
“You guys made it?” Adrien didn’t know whether to be horrified or amused at his friends’ creativity. The piñatas currently hanging were the faces of Lila Rossi and his father. However, their faces looked comical with wide faces and little hair.
“Yeah, it’s Papier-mâché from recycled papers so we’re really helping the environment,” Rose answered proudly.
“The papers taped on the punching bags and the ones hanging from the ceiling for our Nerf guns were recycled into piñatas,” Sabrina added. “When we’re mad or stressed out, we put our energy into the art of drawing whatever offended us or making piñatas. And when we have an available piñata, we hit it.”
Adrien nodded thoughtfully. “But why am I just informed of this Burn Room, now?”
“We all thought that you weren’t ready yet, Adrikins.”
“And I am, now?”
“Well, a year ago you’d probably chastised us for having a room like this,” Nino pointed out. “But now, you’re taking it calmly.”
Kim smirked, “Or maybe that was the effect of seeing M’s abs.”
Marinette groaned, hiding her face with her hands, while Adrien flushed red. The others snickered.
“Anyway,” Sabrina spoke, “we’re glad that you’re finally seeing that your father is not always right, Adrien.”
Adrien smiled, “I am too.”
Among all his friends, the one who managed to make Adrien see the wrongness of the way his father treated him was Sabrina and Alix. Of course, all of his friends had been very helpful, but he, Sabrina, and Alix had lost something that others didn’t – their mothers.
Even though Alix and Sabrina’s fathers had lost the love of their lives, their fathers still made time for them… unlike his father who couldn’t even join him for a simple dinner.
“Okay, people, let’s get back to business,” Chloé called, clapping her hands to gather everyone’s attention. They all took a seat on the bean bags formed in a circle by the Nerf weapon collection.
“I wish Aurore could join us.” Marinette sighed, plopping on the pink bean bag beside the black one where Adrien was sitting.
“Me too,” Alix seconded, “unfortunately, their class has two presentations due tomorrow. Not to mention that since Marinette’s gone from the school committee, she has to work twice as usual.”
“At least she has Mireille to help her and she’s free to come with us on Friday, so that’s good.”
“Rose is right,” Chloé said. “Now, prepare your AAPs for the news I’m about to share. I’ll tell Aurore about it via email later so no worries, she’ll be updated.”
Just as Chloé had predicted, half of them needed their AAPs after she had told them about what Marinette had found out about Liar Rossi earlier.
One, this wasn’t the first time that Lila had done something like this. Of course, they had all suspected that the first time she cornered Marinette in the restroom. But hearing it from an interview with Lila’s previous classmate was different. It cemented the fact that Lila Rossi had bullied other girls.
Donna Moretti, the girl they had Skype-d with was the best friend of Luciana Gallo, the girl whom Lila isolated two years ago. Lila had succeeded in isolating Luciana to the point that the girl overdosed on her sleeping pills. The poor girl had been confined in the hospital and it was only then that Donna found out the truth. No one would believe their claims against Lila mainly because they didn’t have backing evidence, so in the end, both of them had chosen to transfer to another school.
It was hard for the girls, especially Luciana since she had to give up her scholarship and apply for another one. Unfortunately, due to the bad records that Lila had framed her up with, she wasn’t accepted anymore. This forced her to transfer to a public school. Luckily, Luciana’s mother still believed and supported her. Luciana’s mother and Donna’s constant support helped Luciana recover.
Their story explained Marinette’s anger. Lila’s deeds reminded Marinette of what happened to her beloved cousin, Bridgette. More specifically, Lie-la reminded Marinette of the person who began bullying Bridgette. They had the same tactics – lying and manipulating until their victims suffocated with the feel of being alone.
The only difference between Luciana and Bridgette was that the former survived. She was lucky that her mother found her unconscious in her bedroom and rushed her to the hospital. When Marinette’s Aunt entered her cousin’s room, Bridgette’s lifeless form was already hanging from the ceiling with a thick fabric tied around her neck. They tried to revive her but it was already too late.
Bridgette’s main bully – whose name shouldn’t be spoken or thought of – had luckily escaped punishment by being involved in a car accident and being dead on the spot. Karma’s a bitch but Marinette didn’t like the fact that her cousin’s bully died just like that. She wanted Bridgette’s tormentor to live. Because she believed that living while one realized one's mistakes as one's reputation and named continued to darken was the greatest punishment of all.
What did Wesley say again to Prince Humperdinck? Right, ‘to the pain.’ That was Marinette’s favorite quote in The Princess Bride.
‘To the pain means the first thing you will lose will be your feet below the ankles, then your hands at the wrists; Next your nose.’ Wesley’s lines echoed in Marinette’s mind. ‘The next thing you will lose will be your left eye followed by your right. Your ears you keep and I’ll tell you why. So that every shriek of every child at seeing your hideousness will be yours to cherish. Every babe that weeps at your approach, every woman who cries out, “Dear God! What is that thing,” will echo in your perfect ears. That is what 'to the pain' means. It means I leave you in anguish, wallowing in freakish misery forever.’
Marinette hadn’t gotten the chance to deliver pain to Bridgette’s tormentor but hopefully, with Lady Luck, on her side, Lila Rossi would pay for all that she’s done.
Apart from Donna Moretti, they also managed to get statements from three other people from Lila’s other previous schools. Luciana’s was still the worst case and they were all thankful for that. At least, Lila’s next target had been Marinette. Unlike, her previous victims, Marinette and the Lunar Ladies had connections.
They would end Lila’s terror once and for all, even if it’s the last thing they’d do.
How they all got home without being Akumatize was a blessing and a mystery. Perhaps, Hawkmoth was too busy or they had just inhaled too much AAP that they still had a firm grasp with their emotions. Maybe it was Marinette’s luck that’s finally working. Whatever the reason was, Marinette was thankful that they all went home just fine.
It had been a long day for her. The emotional rollercoaster of remembering the death of her cousin by Luciana’s story was already too much. Hopefully, Chat would be able to visit her tonight. His cuddles could calm her down in an instant, like Adrien’s. The only difference was that her partner had the advantage of being able to purr so that she could easily sleep.
Her good luck seemed to be doing its job remarkably well today, for Chat Noir did come just after she finished taking a shower.
“What’s with you and showing your abs today?”
Marinette blinked twice and looked at her outfit (which was composed of a crop top and shorts) before raising a brow at him to hide her embarrassment (she’d normally wear her usual pajamas which covered more skin but she thought something with less fabric would make her feel freer and calmer tonight). “Adrien told you about earlier? If this is some kind of competition between you two, I’m not interested. I can’t believe that he told you –”
“No!” He raised his hand in panic, “It was nothing like that, princess. Adrien was a gentleman. He wouldn’t spread or blabber about something like that.”
Crossing her arms, she looked at him impatiently. “Then how did you know about it?”
“I sort of followed you to the mayor’s hotel.” He confessed, scratching the back of his head. “You were upset and I was afraid that you’d get akumatize so…”
Marinette smiled, “It’s alright, Chat. I understand. Thank you for looking out for me.”
Inwardly, Chat Noir sighed that Marinette bought his excuse.
Taking hold of his hand, she led him to the chaise. “As for my outfit tonight, I wanted to feel fresh so I choose this. You still up for cuddles? I could change if you’re uncomfortable –”
“Yes!” He blurted. “No! I mean, yes to the cuddles and no to changing your clothes. You don’t have to change. Unless you wanted to, that is.” He cleared his throat. “I’m always up for cuddles, princess.”
The following mornings were pretty much the same for Rose, Sabrina, and Alix. Together they used sickeningly sweet tones with their offered ‘gifts’ to show their support to Lie-la. So far, Sabrina had given her the bitterest coffee (“At least you’re not like Chloé who would yell at me for getting the wrong order.”) Rose had offered her a very sour drink (“With so many diseases, I’ve researched some remedies on what could help you and I made this. You would accept it, won’t you? Especially since I’ve worked very hard on it.”), and Kim and Alix tricked her into dipping her food into wasabi while they were competing on who could eat the spiciest food.
They had also convinced Lie-la to try on horrendous clothes after Mylène’s chocolate drink had stained her clothes, courtesy of Alix ‘accidentally’ pushing Kim and causing Kim to stumble near Mylène, which caused the latter to spill her drink upon Lie-la.
After the incident, Sabrina immediately offered her an extra blouse and jacket. Both were decent enough but it did not go well with Lie-la’s coloring. Chloé, having no seatmate since Sabrina had ‘left’ her for Lie-la was now sitting with Adrien. The other couldn’t argue with the arrangement since they knew that Adrien was so nice that he wouldn’t deny his childhood friend the request of sitting together.
That was everything they could do to make Lie-la suffer because Marinette had texted them that they should not go overboard. That was because the noirette wanted female Pinocchio to have a false sense of security. She wanted Lie-la to think that she’d won only to have it all crashing down when Marinette came back to their school.
By Thursday morning, all of them within the group, except for Adrien who still stayed by Chloé’s side to avoid the liar’s company, all of them were back to being Lie-la’s sycophants; ooh-ing and aw-ing at all her words. It was getting annoying for all of them but they knew it was needed to be done. After all, the higher Lie-la thought of herself, the greater she would fall.
Three days since Marinette’s expulsion had been revoked, her parents still refused to make her go back to school until Monday next week.
This decision worked in their favor. Since Marinette was expelled on a Monday, Aurore was given just enough time to quell the rumors about the reason why Marinette was expelled. Because she had been busy doing damage control, and since she had been handling the School Committee without Marinette’s help, she had been out of looped about some of the things going on with the others this past four days and a half.
Thankfully, they were all free this Friday afternoon and were all able to meet up at Le Grand Paris without trouble. Save Marinette, they all had to come up with excuses to only attend half-day of the school. Between the six of them, they got no problems catching up on schoolwork since they usually do those in advance.
It was one of the reasons why being Ladybug hadn’t affected Marinette’s grades that much. Aside from her frequent tardiness, she was always updated about the lessons because they share notes with one another and they study together whenever they have the time, even though it was often done via video calls.
“Not that I’m not happy to know that the expulsion had been revoked, Marinette, but how exactly did it happen?” Aurore, who was in her bathrobe just like the rest of the girls, asked, taking a seat on the settee as she inspected the new parasol Marinette customized for her.
Unsurprisingly, it was Chloé who answered the question. “We blackmailed Gabriel Agreste into ordering Lie-la to convince Damocles to bring Marinette back to school.” The mayor’s daughter put down the hairdryer and turned to Aurore. “And do you know what she said to Damocles?”
“She claimed to have a lying disease,” Rose stopped applying her perfume and answered for them all, ending the suspense. “Miss Bustier announced it earlier in class.”
“It’s not actually far from the truth, even though Liar-la still lied.” Sabrina piped up, closing the bottle of eye drops in her hands once she finished putting on her clear contact lenses. “I think Liar-la is a pathological liar. That said, I also think she has an antisocial personality disorder and a narcissistic personality disorder.”
Chloé frowned at Sabrina from the mirror. “Stop talking about disorders, Sabrina, you’re going to guilt Marinette into stopping our plans.” She paused to stop applying her mascara and turned to them sternly. “Lie-la didn’t deserve to be let down so easily. Disorder or not, she hurt Marinette both emotionally and physically.”
“Physically?!” All of them saved Chloé gasped and turned Marinette who was busy curling her hair in the corner.
Marinette took time in tying her curled hair up in a half-up half-down hairdo before answering them. “I had to go to the restroom after the meeting with Damocles and she cornered me again. Apparently, her gripping my wrist until it bruised was her way of apologizing.” She picked up the bottle of hairspray and donned some on her hair before looking at the girls pleadingly. “Don’t tell Alix, Kim, Kagami, or Adrien, please?”
Before any of them could reply, Alix stepped out of the shower. She had headed straight into the bathroom after getting a haircut from their hairstylist who came earlier. “Don’t tell me what?”
“That Lie-la hurt Marinette physically,” Chloé answered nonchalantly while applying her lipstick as if she didn’t drop a bomb.
Marinette grabbed the nearest pillow and threw it at her unrepentant friend, “Chloé!”
“Don’t look at me like that, M. As if they weren’t going to find out sooner,” Chloé said looking pointedly at the noirette before gesturing for Sabrina to sit in front of the vanity mirror. The latter did take the seat in front of Chloé and the blonde brushed the redhead's hair once before turning to Marinette again. “Besides, at least I chose to tell them about it now that your other bruises had faded.”
“Other bruises?!” The others exclaimed in unison.
“I think the pixie cut really suits you, Alix!” Marinette tried smiling innocently but Alix wasn’t buying it.
“M, explain,” Alix said, taking the seat next to Rose.
Marinette only walked to where Aurore was sitting before silently asking her to close her eyes. The latter frowned, she knew her friend was stalling time, but she still obliged. Marinette started dabbing some eye-shadow on Aurore as she answered Alix without looking. “Yes, but it was only from those times she tried to trip me.”
Chloé, who was now curling Sabrina’s hair, huffed. “What about that time she scratched you, then?”
“What?!” This time, Rose had to purposefully smear BB cream on Alix’s face to keep the pink-haired girl still.
“Why didn’t you tell us Marinette?” Rose asked softly as she spread the cream on Alix’s face using a beauty blender.
Marinette sighed, proceeding to apply the dark eye-shadow on Aurore’s other eyelid. “I knew you guys would get upset and I don’t want you to get akumatize.”
“I really hate Hawkmoth,” Aurore grumbled.
“But when did she try to scratch you, Marinette?” Sabrina asked, looking at them through the mirror.
“The time I tried to tell her to stop or else she’d regret lying.”
Chloé rolled her eyes. “So the time you tried to end her the nice way, she became violent? I knew her lies were dumb but I didn’t know she was this stupid.”
“She didn’t know who she’s messing with,” Aurore said, accepting the lipstick from Marinette’s hand.
“You can calm down now, Alix.” Marinette tried to placate her friend with a side hug. “Come Monday, we’ll bring Lie-la hell.”
“Is this what you do in an all-girls hangout?” A new voice asked from the door.
Marinette smiled at the newcomer and ran to greet her. “Kagami, I’m so glad you made it!”
“I hope I’m not late, though. I still have to go through all my lessons before coming here.”
“It’s okay,” Marinette assured her. “Next to Chloé, I’m the fastest at hair and makeup.”
“Yeah,” Chloé agreed, putting the last hair clip on Sabrina. “But because she’s had her hair styled in pigtails all year she’s getting a bit rusty.”
“Hey!” Marinette protested as she dragged Kagami to the other corner of the room and motioned for her to sit down. “Don’t worry, Kagami, I’ll fix you up in no time.”
True to her word, less than an hour later, Marinette had curled Kagami’s hair and applied light makeup on her face.
While they wait for Monday to come to execute their plan for Lie-la, they decided to use the days before that to have fun and prepare for what may come next. At 6:00 pm sharp, all their brushes and beauty tools were back to Chloé’s drawers and the girls were all dressed in their evening gowns as well as their fancy masks that matched their outfits, all of which were MDC originals.
Madame de Rouen had invited them to celebrate Monsieur Erik’s another successful launch of his newest Musical. The party would be held at the Palace Garnier – the de Rouens rented the whole place for the night (it was times like this that Marinette wondered why Monsieur Erik still continued to work as Adrien’s piano teacher despite being super rich) – and the theme was a masquerade ball.
Since they had received the invitation three months prior, Marinette had enough time to come up with an outfit for each one of them. However, there was not enough time for her to make all the gowns and the guys’ suits one by one, so with the help of the connections of Chloé’s mother, they were able to have professional tailors bring Marinette’s masterpieces to life.
The party starts at 7:00 pm but the guys would be picking them up at 6:15.
“Whoah…”
The girls shared a satisfied smile at the guys’ speechless gasps even though only three of them have dates for the night. Technically, it was four. Sabrina’s boyfriend, Delmar (whom Sabrina had met in New York when she accompanied Chloé in visiting her mother a couple of months ago), was going with them too, if only via video chat.
Chloé, Aurore, and Rose chose to tease Sabrina and Delmar, Luka and Kagami, and Alix and Kim as they made their way to the limo. They would also coo over the fourth pair, Adrien and Marinette, but they really didn’t want to be annoyed this early with denials of "we’re just friends."
“Are you okay, Nino?” Marinette asked once all of them had settled inside the vehicle.
“I’m fine, Dudette,” Nino gave her a small smile, “just thinking about what if Alya’s here with us. She did try to investigate, you know? She didn’t believe you capable of the things Lila accused you of,” he frowned, “but she also doesn’t believe that Lila was capable of framing you up.”
Marinette nodded in understanding. Of course, it was only natural for Nino to miss his girlfriend at a time like this. After all, once upon a time, Marinette did want Alya to become a member of the Lunar Ladies.
After all, the first day of school showed that Alya disliked bullies and that she could stand up against them as well if the way she stuck by Marinette who was being ‘bullied’ by Chloé was anything to go by. Months of spending time with her had also proven to Marinette that Alya was being a great and supportive friend. Marinette was fond of Alya because she reminded Marinette of her friends. Alya had Marinette’s sense for justice, Alix’s courage to speak her mind, Chloé’s protectiveness, and Nino and Kim’s constant support.
Chloé had been against it – which was understandable because she felt threatened by the Ladyblogger. Chloé had thought that Alya would steal Marinette away from their original Trio, despite Marinette’s constant assurances that she wouldn’t abandon their group that easily.
Alix, on the other hand, had agreed to Marinette’s suggestion. So since it was two Queens against one, they started The Test on Alya Césaire. It was only fair since Aurore, Sabrina and Rose had to go through the same thing.
Unfortunately, Alya had failed two of the major parts of the test – to be a considerate friend in every situation and to listen to your friend despite having different opinions about something. It started the day Lie-la came back.
Alya had been one of the people who didn’t wait for Marinette’s opinion before forcing her to move to sit at the back. She had also dismissed Marinette’s complaints about Lie-la choosing to divert the topic instead of hearing Marinette out.
To be honest, Marinette didn’t really blame Alya since she was being manipulated, but at the same time, Marinette wished that the reporter would give her more credit than just used the ‘jealousy’ card against her.
“Alya is still my friend, Nino,” Marinette replied after some time of silence, “and our other classmates are still my friends. Lie-la is our only target.”
“I know,” Nino sighed, “I just wish that at times like this, Alya isn’t so stubborn and that she’d listen to us.”
“Me too.”
Their conversation ended after that because Kim had engaged Nino and the others in a new bet he and Alix were arguing about. Soon after that, they arrived at their destination. To Marinette’s delight, there were so many familiar faces that all of them were enjoying their night.
Christine and Erik de Rouen had greeted them all first and thanked them all for coming. Then, Marinette encountered Jagged Stone, who was one of Monsieur Erik’s honored guests tonight. The two of them had collaborated on two songs: one that was featured in Monsieur Erik’s Musical, and another on which they had both agreed to put both their own renditions on it when performing the songs individually.
“His style is more on the classical side but he’s still a rock and roll man, he can jam to any songs.” Jagged told them.
Marinette was happy to see Adrien eagerly listening to Jagged’s tale. She knew how much Adrien admired both his favorite rock star and his piano teacher. Knowing that the two of them collaborated in a song must be ‘a dream come’ true for him. For her part, Marinette was also excited. She had watched one of Monsieur Erik’s musicals before with Adrien and it was hauntingly beautiful. She couldn’t wait to hear what he worked on with Jagged.
“Speaking of our collaboration, Penny will send you some of the samples. My favorite niece can make the cover for my next album, right?”
“Of course, Jagged!” Marinette replied enthusiastically the same time Penny said, “We've talked about this, Jagged. Marinette is not your niece.”
Jagged only rolled his eyes but smiled at his assistant. “It’s been years of you correcting me, Penny. I think I earned the right to call her my niece.” Turning to Marinette and her friends he said, “Rock and Roll guys, I’m gonna have to meet some other guests.”
The next one they ran into was a shock for all of them. It was Félix Graham de Vanily, a.k.a. Adrien’s cousin.
“What are you doing here, jerk?” Chloé, the first one to recover from his presence, asked, crossing her arms.
“My mother is a patroness of the theatre. She likes musicals. Aunt Emilie might be the movie actress and pianist, but my mother was a theatre actress and a singer.” Félix explained before smirking at Chloé. “Of course, it wouldn’t hurt that you’re here too, brat.”
Chloé harrumphed and walked away from them, with Félix following after her.
This started the division of their group. Kim and Alix decided to have a competition on who could parade the MDC outfits they were wearing better by showcasing them on the dance floor. Luka and Kagami also joined them to dance while Sabrina, Rose, and Aurore decided to explore around the opera house and take some pictures for their scrapbooks.
This left Adrien and Marinette together near the punch bowl.
“So, is your cousin still an a-hole?”
“You mean still playing around and wouldn’t admit his feelings to Chlo, then yeah.”
Marinette sighed, “I don’t get what she sees in him, though. I don’t want her to get hurt.”
Adrien nodded thoughtfully, “My Uncle’s death had affected Félix too much, and playing around is his way of coping. I guess Chloé could relate to being affected by one’s parents, although in very different ways. But I agree, I also don’t want either of them to get hurt.”
Since they could not really dictate whom Chloé chose to like, and they could only be there to support her with whatever happened, Adrien decided that it was time to change the topic.
“May I have this dance?”
Marinette smiled, “Of course.”
After a dance, they also encountered Clara Nightingale and a few other celebrities. There were also a few fashion designers (who were responsible for the Musical’s costume) present as well. Adrien was very proud to answer that an aspiring fashion designer, MDC, designed his clothing. Marinette might still not be able to reveal her identity as MDC yet, but that didn’t make Adrien any less proud.
“You okay?” Adrien asked as he led Marinette to the balcony.
She smiled, “Yeah, I’m just happy that they liked my designs. I would have liked it if I was the one to really make it all by hand though.”
“You wouldn’t be able to do that if you wanted to. Once you turned 18 and revealed yourself to the world, I’m sure you’d have many commissions. The Group and I won’t let you overtax yourself so you’ll just have to get used to other people stitching them together for you. Besides, it was inevitable to happen, especially if you have firmly established your own brand in the market.”
“You’re right,” she said, “I can’t make everything. But I can still do a few pieces here and there. I would hate it if I got stuck to just drawing things, even if I do enjoy that process as well.”
“Yes, and as another project needed to be handmade by you, I am commissioning you to make me something that would match this.” He then pulled out a small dark grey box from his pockets, before opening it.
Marinette gasped at the sight of what she saw inside.
“Do you like it?”
Marinette nodded. “It’s beautiful.”
Inside the box were four cufflinks. One pair was gold with a black face where a Celtic crescent moon was engraved. The other pair was silver with a black face where a simple white crescent moon and a moonflower were engraved.
“I had this design custom made three weeks ago. I’ll start wearing it on Monday. It’s my way of showing my support to the Lunar Ladies,” he kissed her knuckles, “especially you, of course.”
“I appreciate it, Adrien,” she squeezed his hand, “Thank you.”
And she really did, as much as Marinette didn’t want to involve her classmates in this war against Lie-la, one way or another they would somehow get caught in the crossfire; especially, if they continued to believe Lila and defend her. So knowing that Adrien, who was one of the kindest souls she ever met, was willing to go against his other friends for her, touched Marinette.
Once the program truly began, all the friends had stayed together at one table and enjoyed the evening as they were graced with many wonderful performances. Afterward, they stayed for the photos and thanked their host and hostess.
When they got back to their limousine, Chloé had informed them that the real reason why Félix was here was because of an exchange student program of Paris and London, and it just happened that the school he was destined to go to for two weeks was Françoise Dupont.
“Oh yes,” Aurore chimed in, “We were supposed to have a meeting about it on Tuesday with the School Committee, but since Marinette was expelled, she didn’t know all the details. I didn’t know who the exchange students were too since you know? Been busy doing things for our Monday Comeback.”
“Speaking of,” interjected Alix, “Is everything going to plan?”
Aurore nodded enthusiastically. “Madame Mendeleiev did not like what happened to Marinette. Since I was the class representative in her class we were kind of close and I was able to suggest to her a new sitting arrangement. Since Bustier is still being a spineless teacher – sorry if I offended you Rose, Chloé but it’s the truth.”
Chloé waved a hand in agreement. “It is kind of her to give me a chance when she thought I was the ‘bully’, but repeatedly giving a bully a chance without repercussions is not right. If I was a real bully that would only encourage my behavior, knowing that I could get away with the bad things that I do.”
“I agree with Chloé,” said Rose.
“Anyway,” Aurore said, continuing her tale, “Bustier agreed to the new sitting arrangement I’ve helped Madame Mendeleiev make. It would be implemented by Monday morning. I’ve asked Mireille to reserve the best table for lunch. We’ve also completed making the moonflower and crescent pin designs. It will be delivered to my house by Sunday. Anyone who wanted to show their support to us could easily have a pin. It would not have many purposes, except for the fact that we’d all look intimidating and badass if we have a whole school wearing the Group symbol.”
Sabrina squealed, “Oooh, I can’t wait to see Liar-la’s face on Monday!”
“That’s not all,” smiled Aurore, “the school’s foundation day is this coming Thursday. Marinette and I have confirmed the acceptance of our special guests – all people of which Lie-la had lied about – two weeks ago before that liar tried to hurt our Mari’s reputation. That means that we can scare her from Monday to Wednesday, just enough to make her desperate. Then, we’d have fun watching as all the guests ignore her on Thursday while they all greet Marinette personally. Finally, come Friday, we’d give her an unforgettable set down on partnered with lawsuits and the presence of Madame Rossi.”
“Meanwhile, Nino and I will continue to complete the compilation of evidence against the Liar,” Kim said.
“And we’ll also add files to the ones we have against the school and the management, especially Damocles,” added Nino.
“Yes! I can’t wait!” Alix exclaimed.
“Oh, I almost forgot,” said Aurore, “Markov will also be taken away from Max and will be used to promote how ‘smart’ the students of Françoise Dupont are when in reality, Madame Mendeleiev advised it to him so no one would bother the exchange students. I think Madame was afraid that the visiting students could be framed up or something. With Markov always accompanying them, at least the school couldn’t sink deeper than it already has. Just think about what would happen if an exchange student was punished for something they did not do!”
“Jerk will be in school with us on Monday so he’ll get Markov immediately,” said Chloé, “that’s one more honorary member and ally. Marinette had gotten permission for Markov to record everything he encounters about three weeks ago. I’ll instruct Félix to gather the videos. Since all students signed a waiver agreeing to be recorded months ago, we could use Markov’s recordings of Lie-la to use against her.”
Alix and Marinette exchanged looks about Félix being an honorary member of their group but didn’t oppose Chloé. Perhaps Félix would start mending his ways during his temporary stay at their school. After all, he couldn’t play with any girls at Françoise Dupont because they were all under their protection. Félix knew enough not to mess with the Lunar Ladies and he knew the only thing stopping the rest of them from not being on good terms with him were Chloé and Adrien. Besides, the plan with Markov was a good idea.
“It’s good to see that at least one teacher cared for the students,” said Rose thoughtfully.
Nino nodded. “I think I remember her saying that Françoise Dupont wasn’t her choice of school. Madame Pontmercy resigned because of an accident. She couldn’t teach until she recovered so she suggested that her friend, that is Madame Mendeleiev, be her replacement.”
“Yes, I remember too,” replied Adrien. “That’s why she has only been our teacher for barely a year.”
“So…” Alix began, breaking the silence that had taken over them. “Are you all ready for Monday?”
“Of course,” Marinette smirked. “I can’t wait to finally be myself again.”