AN: I do not own Miraculous Ladybug or any of their characters, but I adore them anyway!

AN: Two of the fics I've been following lately (Lies We Tell Ourselves by MiniMinou which is an emotional wringer and beautifully written, and Chameleon: Paving the Way to the Truth by Jenrgarcia, the title really says it all) have a similar premise of Marinette confessing to Adrien because of Lila and the honesty bringing them closer. I wanted to do something with that premise. Here it is.

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Lila was starting to lose her advantage over Marinette at school. Chloe refused to pick a side, so she was irrelevant. The more Lila dealt with Ladybug the less Adrien seemed to trust her and the more he seemed to trust Marinette. Kim, Alix, and Nathaniel seemed to be becoming more and more…skeptical of her. Nathaniel would clearly side with Marinette at this point. And it was clear with the rest of the class that the line she so desperately needed carved between her and Marinette was murky. Something she intended to change very soon. But how? Her mom was out at an embassy function this evening, giving Lila plenty of time to ponder the situation as she ate her sandwich.

Hmmm…. She knew Marinette had an insane crush on Adrien and that Adrien was totally oblivious to it. But how could she use that to her advantage? If she told Adrien, he probably wouldn't believe her. Some of the other student's in her class might hear her and know it's a truth. She knew blending truth with lies made them more believable. But it could also be perceived as being cruel to Marinette, who was sadly quite popular. So if she exposes the truth to Adrien, she needs to do it in such a way that it makes I seem like she thought he already knew. If she could come up with some evidence to back up her claim, it might even convince Adrien that she's telling the truth. People might even back her up when they hear it. That would be perfect. If she could pull that off, it would look like an innocent accident. She'd get the joy of embarrassing and hurting Marinette, because she couldn't honestly see Adrien being interested in someone as pedestrian as Marinette. The "little slip" might also help her re-establish her sliding credibility with some of the class members. And knowing that Marinette is crushing on him *might* make Adrien uncomfortable around her which was definitely a step in the right direction as far as Lila was concerned. It was a pretty good idea. Now she'd just have to be on the alert for any opportunities that she could manipulate in the right direction.

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Marinette grabbed a book out of her locker, swinging the door shut as she headed to the hallway. She had four minutes till the bell rang and she was

"Oooff."

Marinette looked up and then had the sudden sensation of bugs crawling on her. She'd accidently ran into Lila. Uhhgg. This was going to be unpleasant.

"I'm sorry, Lila. I guess I wasn't looking where I was going." Marinette stepped to the side to go around Lila, but Lila parroted her, blocking Marinette.

'Great. There goes getting to class on-time,' Marinette thought. She grabbed her phone from her purse, opened the camera, and hit record. She dropped her hand back by her side, trying her best to aim the lens at Lila without being too obvious about it.

Lila had smirked at Marinette.

"Calling for help, are you? I don't think I would expect anyone to show up for me, if I was you. You think you're so smart, and honest, and good, don't you?"

"I'm sorry, Lila, I'm afraid I'm going to be late to class. Please excuse me," Marinette tried again, moving to the side. Lila followed her again. All Marinette could think was that she hoped the recording was catching this.

Lila leaned in toward Marinette.

"I," she whispered, "know that you have secrets. And I am going to find them, and expose them, and show everyone what a fraud you are."

Marinette's heart thundered in her ears. Lila couldn't possibly mean what she thought she meant, could she? She tried her best to keep a politely bored expression plastered onto her face. There are some secrets she just can't afford to let out. She tried again.

"Lila, please let me go to class."

This time Lila grabbed Marinette's shoulders.

"I'll start with your biggest secret-your imaginary little love affair with Adrien."

Marinette could feel herself mentally drooping with relief. That doesn't seem so bad in comparison, she thought. Outwardly, she tried to look terrified. It really wasn't that hard. Lila, having said her part, smirked at Marinette and walked away.

Marinette sighed. On one hand, it was a relief to know that Lila hadn't figured out that Marinette was Ladybug. As often as Lila was involved with akuma's lately, it wouldn't be a stretch to think that she had figured something out. On the other hand, this was still pretty sucky. She stopped the recording on her phone, saved it, and raced to class hoping she could make it on time. Of course Lila would destroy any chance Marinette had of making it to class in a timely manner in addition to threatening and harassing her.

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Marinette doodled as she thought about her dilemma during class. She was definitely planning to talk to Master Fu soon. He could probably give her some helpful advice about how to proceed and he needed to be aware that Marinette had a civilian trying to snoop out her secrets. A meeting with Mr. Damocles was a given. She had reported Lila to him the day after Lila threatened her both in the bathroom and after school. The principal was working with her to collect enough evidence to take serious action against Lila. Lying was not against school rules, apart from academic dishonesty. But bullying and verbal harassment were considered legally actionable crimes. Which left Adrien. There was a reasonable chance that Adrien wouldn't believe Lila, in which case everything would stay the same.

But…

In this case, Lila wouldn't be lying. And plenty of people in her class, including Alya, would be willing to vouch for Lila on this one. Plus, realistically, if Lila caught her by surprise, there is a good chance Marinette's reaction would give her away any way. And to be honest, it was time. Marinette was done with all the lies in her life that weren't absolutely necessary. She pulled out her phone and held it under her desk to send a quick text to the boy in question.

M: Can I talk with you for a few minutes, privately, after class?

A: Sure, what's up?

M: Thanks. I'll tell you then.

Near the end of class Marinette started visualizing herself as Ladybug. She could do this! She almost never stuttered around him anymore. It would be way easier to do this as Ladybug. She laughed to herself as she pictured Ladybug telling Adrien that she was in love with him and Lila was about to expose her. Adrien was enamored with Ladybug and would probably faint. But as amusing as it was, it wouldn't be helpful. So instead she breathed deeply, held herself up, and got up to follow Adrien into the hallway. He led her to a corner where they could have some privacy. She turned to face him. She closed her eyes and sucked in a deep breath, focusing on her words. She let her breath out and looked at him. The guy she loved. She could do this.

"Things with Lila and I are continuing to escalate, despite my best efforts to be non-confrontational. I know that you know that she is a liar. And I know that you trust me. So I need to be completely honest with you about something." She steadied herself again.

"I'm in love with you, Adrien. I have been for a while. You are such a thoughtful, positive, and kind person. I know that you're in a relationship with Kagami and I would NEVER want to interfere with that. I wouldn't even be telling you this now if Lila wasn't threatening me with spilling my secret. I'm sorry to drag you into this.

I… I just felt that it would be better to tell you myself, instead of you hearing it from her. Also, this way you'll be prepared when Lila does…well, whatever it is she is planning to do. Sorry, again," she just barely managed to squeak out. "I've got to go find Mr. Damocles now."

Then she turned with as much dignity as she could and headed for the principals' office. She had a video to show him.