*sorry for not updating, i lost interest ️
*wow this chapter is dialogue heavy uhhhh
*ew this gets so cringy i'm sorry man
*um i can't write romance to save my life, especially not in a school setting, so wijbhabug
*oh yeah I guess for this to make sense soren and corvus and marcos are aged down so they would be rayla's age
*also idk how to write male characters so um yeah
*ummmm i just wanna put it out there that i myself am lgbtq and are in no way against the community, it's brought up in this chapter and a later chapter and i don't want people thinking that i hate it or anything (there's no hate in this chapter or anything, but later down the line aanya gets involved and since she's younger and has two moms, kids are mean)
*small warning: there's a brief mention of anxiety and depression, and when i say brief i mean brief, it's just mentioned in one sentence, but stay safe my d00ds
Rayla didn't mean to peek at Callum's sketchbook. Honestly, she didn't!
As much as she wished he would openly share his drawings, she could respect his privacy. It's not like she would open his sketchbook or anything while he wasn't looking! But they were sat next to each other in Lujanne's class, and he was doodling right next to her, and she side-eyed his art on accident. On accident!
For as often as Callum had his sketchbook out, and as often as they sat next to each other, she had never seen much of his art. He usually covered the pages from view with his arm, which she thought was stupid because his art was probably amazing. She was never very artsy, and she lacked the patience to understand art, but she could appreciate a good sketch or two, especially when it was Callum doing the sketching. She could only wonder what kind of style he had. Was it realistic or cartoonish? Anime-ish or more normal?
Well, she did get her answer, even though she only got a glance at the page. He used a lot of random lines, like circles in the arms and lines in the head and legs. She wasn't sure what they were for, but go off, she guessed. He drew the actual ligaments around the lines. From the looks of it, he was far from finished.
She tried her best not to look again. He kept his sketchbook hidden for a reason, and she did her best not to pry. But curiosity overwhelmed her and she attempted to look inconspicuous as she peered over once more.
This time, she could only see the torso up. She guessed he was drawing a girl who had hair that went a little bit past her shoulders, though it was waving in the "wind," so it was hard to tell. She was standing in a sort of epic pose, with her chest puffed out and her eyes looking to the side. He had most of her face finished, and she squinted confused because there were random lines under her eyes and bumps on her head, and oh god he was drawing her!
At least, she hoped he was drawing her. But no one else she knew had defining marks on their cheeks and two lumps on their head like she did.
Against her will, excitement flooded through her. She knew that he most likely wasn't drawing her, and she was getting her hopes up on a quick, second long glance, and she would probably be crushed later, but the warmth in her heart squashed those worries down. He could be drawing her. Her! Maybe, just maybe, she had a chance.
She was planning on telling Soren about it at lunch. He would probably open his big mouth and say something to Callum or worse, Claudia, but the story bubbled in her throat and she needed to tell somebody. When the bell rang for lunch, she all but dashed out of the classroom although there was no reason to. She got to their typical lunch spot first. The table wasn't secluded or anything, but they always sat in the same corner of it. Sometimes, Soren brought over his friends Marcos and Corvus, and the four of them bonded over sports, more specifically, fencing. But that day, it was just her and Soren.
"Hey, so can I-"
"I have a-"
They both paused at the same time. It seemed they both had stories to tell.
"Oh you can go first-"
"So what were you saying-"
They paused again and looked at each other. Rayla was first to say, "So, what's up?"
As much as she wanted to tell her story, she was even more intrigued by what Soren had to say. It wasn't everyday that something interesting happened to the both of them, at least, not anything she could share, anyways. If she could tell him about her adventures as Ladybug, she'd never run out of things to talk about.
Soren plunked onto the seat across from her. "You know how Corvus and I have been friends for ages?"
She hummed, getting out her lunch she had brought into school. After a fiasco a few years ago where six kids all got sick on the same day, she stopped trusting school provided lunches.
"Well, I've liked him for a while, and now that we're in high school..." he trailed off, resting his chin on his palm and squishing his cheek.
She popped a pretzel into her mouth. "I for one think you should just do it."
"Says the one who can't even talk to her crush."
Embarrassment rose to her cheeks, and she huffed and pouted. "Then why did you ask?"
Soren pointed his finger at her. "Good point."
She offered him a pretzel from the bag, and he took it. Standing up, he put his hands on his fists and declared, "I'm gonna do it!"
"Yeah!"
"I'm gonna do it!"
"Yeah!"
"I'm gonna-"
"Soren, you haven't moved."
He stopped for a second, and his hand shot out and grabbed a handful of pretzels. He shoved them into his mouth and marched away towards where Corvus was sitting. Rayla watched him go, part of her ecstatic that he was finally doing it, the other part of her angry that he stole so much of her food.
Soren approached Corvus. He was a little nervous, okay, very nervous, but he tried to act chill and confident as he asked Corvus to go into the hallway with him. He went over what he was going to say in his mind. He would start by talking about how they've been friends for so long, and then he'd admit his feelings, and then happily ever after. Right? Right?
Ugh, he was acting like a middle school girl. He needed to man up and just ask! It would be fine, and even if Corvus rejected him, they could still be friends? Right? Right?
"What's up?" Corvus questioned as they stepped into the hallway.
Soren took a deep breath. Going through the speech one more time in his head, he said, "Ilikeyouwillyougooutwithme?"
Good going, Soren. That's exactly what he wanted to say. He pat himself on the back in his head. Then slapped himself in the face.
He was an idiot.
Luckily, Corvus laughed. He leaned against the wall casually, and Soren felt the urge to one-up him somehow. He crossed his arms and bent his knee, trying to look chill.
"If I'm not mistaken, it sounds like you're trying to ask me on a date," Corvus said, the smirk on his face evident in his tone.
"Yeah, uh, bro, that's exactly what I'm doing," Soren replied, keeping his "totally nonchalant" air.
Corvus chuckled. "I don't think you can ask me on a date and then call me bro."
Soren stuck his nose up in the air. "Who says I can't?"
"I think it's in the bro-code."
"Well, who came up with that?"
"It's an unspoken rule."
He threw his arms into the air. "Just answer the question!"
Corvus smiled. "Sure."
Relief flooded through him, as well as a seed of doubt. "Really? You're not joking, right?"
"Why would I joke about that?" Corvus asked.
Soren breathed a sigh of ease. "Whew, I was worried there for a second."
"Well, where are you taking me?" Corvus questioned.
Soren blinked at him. "I didn't think that far ahead. I didn't think I'd get this far."
Corvus shook his head fondly. "You can just text me then."
"Okay," Soren said, rocking back on his heels. "Okay. Yeah. I can do that."
"Then I'll see you soon," Corvus replied, walking back into the cafeteria. The wink he sent while he strolled past didn't nearly give Soren a heart attack. Not at all. And he certainly didn't pump his fist into the air and do a happy little dance afterwards. Nope.
Little did they know, someone was listening.
Marcos didn't care that his two male best friends were going to be together. That wasn't what bothered him. He didn't care that they were both boys or that they were gay. He himself was gay, so it didn't bother him at all.
What bothered him was his two best friends were going to be together. The three of them had been buddies for a while; Marcos and Soren met at a fencing summer camp, and the two of them met Corvus early on during middle school. It had always been the three of them, their little trio, and if Corvus and Soren were together, who's to say he wouldn't be left behind?
He didn't want to be a third wheel. He didn't want to have to sit there while the two of them were all lovey-dovey in front of him and he was just... there. He didn't want to watch them go on happy little dates and leave him at his house. He didn't want them to forget about him.
He tried not to think about the pit of jealousy building in his stomach and what that could mean.
Hawkmoth strode towards the mirror. It had been dull for a while, but the blue glow that occasionally lit it up had returned, which meant someone out in the world was experiencing strong enough negative feelings for his akuma to prey on.
Not just any negative feelings could lead to akumatization. If any bad feelings could light up his mirror, he'd be standing there all day. He would also feel a bit rude to akumatize someone who experienced negative feelings all the time, like someone with anxiety or depression. Only people who had a pinpointable source of negativity could be akumatized.
He plucked one of the many cream worms from its position on the stone walls of his lair. He held it in his palm.
"A boy who was crushed by his friend's new relationship," he monologued, covering the worm with his other hand. "Well, crushes are called 'crushes' for a reason."
Dark energy flowed through his palm and into the worm, and when he removed his hand, the worm was colored purple instead of white. He placed it on the rim of the mirror and watched as it squirmed through the glass and out into the world.
"Crawl away my little akuma, and evilize him!"
Now, he waits.
Marcos had archery practice after school. He tried to focus on that and his work for the rest of the day instead of the jealously in his heart. It didn't really work, but nobody seemed to notice, and that's all that mattered. Soren and Corvus didn't take archery, so he would have a chance to clear his head away from the two.
He made his way down to his gym locker. He took lessons in the school since there was an archery club, and he kept his bow and arrow in the locker room. Obviously, the arrow tips were dull and made of rubber because the school would never allow real arrows to be used. He put in his combination, opened his locker, and grabbed his bow and arrows.
Something climbed onto his hand, but he didn't register it until it was too late.
"Reverse Cupid," Hawkmoth spoke, "I will give you the power to make anyone who you pierce with your arrows hate the next person they see, but in exchange, I need you to get Ladybug and Chat Noir's miraculous."
"Yes, Hawkmoth."
Rayla had been feeling pretty great when she left her locker at the end of the day. She had managed to finish her math homework in class, not completely flunk at language arts, and there was still the happiness from Callum potentially drawing her and Soren coming back to their table at lunch with a gleam in his eyes.
So she figured it wouldn't be long before someone ruined it, and she would be right.
Soren and Corvus were chatting by a classroom. Soren was waiting for Claudia to finish speaking to a teacher, and Corvus decided to stick around to talk to Soren for a bit.
They were surprised when a person with a chest-plate that had a broken heart on it, a red mask that covered everything but their eyes, and a bow with a full quiver with arrows came around the corner, but who wouldn't be?
Marc- Reverse Cupid halted when he saw the two of them. He had already shot a few people with his arrows to cause enough chaos to hopefully attract both Chat Noir and Ladybug, but those were all strangers, not people he knew. He wasn't expecting to run into Soren and Corvus; he had thought they already left.
As jealous of them as he was, he didn't want to hurt them. They were still his friends, the guys who practiced fencing with him and went to the school's basketball games with him and helped him study for the math SOL back in middle school so he didn't flunk it. In the end, they were still his friends, his best friends, and he couldn't make them hate each other. He couldn't.
But he knew who he could target. He hadn't been in that hallway on accident, he had overheard Soren talking to a certain someone, and now, she was going to pay.
Rayla dodged the first arrow that came her way. The second unfortunately hit someone else. That person's eyes became red, not with love, but with anger, and they shoved her aside and strode past.
She bounded up the stairs two at a time. Reverse Cupid, as he called himself, was blocking the exit to the school, so the only place to go was up. Since he had a long-range weapon, there was no need to chase her, but apparently he could run and shoot at her with decent accuracy, which was a pain in the butt.
If she could make it into the fencing room, she could at least find a feasible weapon to defend herself with, but even better, if she could find an empty classroom or closet or something, she could fight him as a stronger opponent. She didn't have much time to think about it because Reverse Cupid sent a barrage of arrows her way, and she had to focus on avoiding being hit. At least the training her adoptive dad, Runaan, had her take when she was younger was paying off.
"You forced my friends together!" Reverse Cupid shouted. "You're the reason all of this is happening!"
"Uh, I didn't make Soren ask out Corvus," she replied, not turning around as she booked it up the flight of stairs. "All I did was give him a pretzel and some friendly encouragement."
She reached the second floor soon enough. Most of the rooms would be empty at that time of day, so she trusted her luck and chose a random one. The door tugged open, why it wasn't locked was beyond her, and she tumbled inside, Reverse Cupid hot on her heels. She slammed the door in his face and turned the lock just as he hit into it.
Finally given a chance to breathe, she exhaled and quickly examined her surroundings. It was an average classroom, with desks and chairs and a window. No one seemed to be around, so she turned towards the door and opened her vest up to the air for her kwami, Tikki, to fly out of.
Something hit the glass window with a loud thud, and she whirled around to a sight she was not expecting to see. A certain black cat was plastered against the glass, and he banged his fist into it. She stared at him for a moment, wondering if she should ignore him or open the window. Considering he wasn't leaving and she couldn't transform with him watching, she decided to humor him, and she pushed the window open, and Chat Noir tumbled inside the room.
"Thanks," he said, and she nodded at him. "Rayla, was it?"
"Yep, that's my name."
An arrow sliced through the wood of the door. She blatantly ignored it.
"I'm guessing the supervillain is right outside the door?"
"You guessed it. His name is Reverse Cupid apparently. It's dumb."
Chat Noir put a hand on his chin in contemplation. "Well, do you know what his power is?"
She leaned back against a desk. "I think his arrows make people hate each other. Like the next person they see."
"That makes sense," Chat Noir replied. "He is Reverse Cupid."
"What are you going to do about it? Shouldn't you go fight him or something?" She questioned, trying to get him to just leave so she could do her thing in peace and then join him in the fight.
"It would be nice if Ladybug would show up," he said, and she tried her best not to wince. It was like hearing someone else who was talking to someone with the same name as you and they said your name. She tried to act natural.
Chat Noir thought for a bit. He looked from the window to the arrow in the row to her. He stared at her for a moment, and she stared right back. "What?"
"Would you mind acting as bait?" Chat Noir asked. "If he's still outside the door, he's probably after you. Maybe you can help me lure him somewhere while we wait for Ladybug to come."
'If you want Ladybug to show up, that's the last thing you should do,' she thought. Instead, she said, "Sure, why not." Then she cursed herself out in her mind for agreeing.
Another arrow pierced through the door, creating a bigger rip in the wood. Chat Noir eyed it cautiously. "Let's lead him to the roof," he suggested. "That way, there's a more open space to fight him, and less people will be around."
She pointed to the window. "We should go out the window."
He raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you gonna scale the building by yourself?"
"You have that..." she trailed off and gestured to his baton. "Stick thing. Can't you take me? I'll open the door and drop out the window, you catch me and bring us up to the roof. I'm sure he'll find a way to follow."
"Sounds like a plan to me," Chat Noir said. He walked over to the window and stepped outside as she wandered over to the door. Adrenaline pumped through her veins, and she smiled. There was more danger as Rayla, and it was a new feeling that she kind of liked.
She unlocked the door and stepped away as it swung open. Not wasting any time, she dashed for the window and jumped out, trusting that Chat Noir would catch her. To a normal person, that would be a lot of faith to have in someone she only talked to for two minutes, but Chat Noir was still her partner, even when she wasn't his.
He grabbed her hand and extended his baton, and they shot up towards the roof. She somehow managed not to scream on the way up.
The ground felt steady under her feet. She walked away from the ledge and more towards the center of the roof, Chat Noir following behind her. She turned around to face him.
"I guess now all we do is wait-"
With a flick of his wrist and a call of "Cataclysm," Chat Noir pushed her aside with one hand and grabbed something behind her with the other. The object turned to dust in his fingertips. She didn't have to guess what it was, because on the other side of the roof was Reverse Cupid with his bow drawn.
"Go!" Chat Noir shouted, and she didn't need to be told twice. There was a ventilation unit box in the corner of the roof, and she slid behind it as Chat Noir readied his staff.
Once she was out of sight, Tikki emerged from her vest pocket. Wasting no time, she quietly chanted, "Tikki, spots on!"
The rush of energy she felt whenever she transformed would never get old. She felt much more secure and capable as Ladybug, and she latched her yo-yo onto a nearby building and jumped off the one she was on. She swung around the nearby building and doubled back to the school so they wouldn't know where she came from. She crashed into Reverse Cupid, and he tumbled to the side. She landed near her partner, and Reverse Cupid stood up again.
"I'm going to fill this world with hatred!" Reverse Cupid shouted, drawing another arrow. "No one will ever be rejected again because there will be no love!"
"Sounds boring," Chat Noir said nonchalantly, admiring his nails. The ring on his finger beeped.
Acting surprised, she asked, "You used your Cataclysm already?"
"Yeah, I had to save someone," he responded. "Let's try to hurry this up, shall we?"
Reverse Cupid launched another arrow at them, and they jumped into the sky. Chat Noir landed close by and swung his baton, slicing through another arrow. She landed on the ledge. Putting her foot back and throwing her yo-yo into the air, she yelled, "Lucky Charm!"
A target with light red on the edges, maroon in the center, and black spots around it was dropped into her hands. "A target?" she found herself saying. "What to do with this."
Since her instinctual plan-making ability didn't point anything out, she assumed the target was supposed to be some kind of shield. She hoped arrows wouldn't pierce through it. Holding it in one hand on the edge, she charged at the supervillain.
He shot a couple arrows at her, but she blocked them with the target. Without a close-range weapon or arrows that could actually get to her, Reverse Cupid was defenseless as she hit his elbow, loosing his grip on his bow. Chat Noir swooped in and snatched it from his grasp and snapped it in two.
With no reason to continue holding onto the target, she dropped it onto the ground. Out of the broken bow crawled a little, purple worm. She spun her yo-yo in a circle and caught the worm in its clutches. "It's time to de-evilize!"
Once her yo-yo worked its magic, a cream colored worm emerged from it. She placed it onto the ground. "Bye bye, little akuma."
She picked the target back up and tossed it into the air, shouting, "Miraculous Ladybug!"
There wasn't much damage on the roof to repair, so her ladybugs went into the school to fix the people who were shot by the arrows. Chat Noir held out his fist, and she bumped it against her own. "Pound it!"
Chat Noir's ring beeped again, sounding more urgent, almost. "I should probably get going. Can you take care of him?"
"Yeah, I got him."
"Thanks," he said. He stopped and looked around in confusion. When he saw the ventilation system, he started jogging over to it. "Hey Rayla, are you okay?"
Crap. She had to think fast. She grabbed his arm and stopped him in place. "I got her away, don't worry."
"Are you sure?"
She smiled, not only because of how he was worriedly but because of how worried he was about her. Well, the other her. "Yep. I didn't want her to still be up here while we fought Reverse Cupid, so I brought her away."
Chat Noir breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, that's good." He turned to jump away, but stopped again. "Wait," he said, turning back around. "How did you know his name was Reverse Cupid? You weren't there when he said it, and I found out because Rayla told me."
Double crap. Her heart skipped a beat, and panic rose in her chest. She did her best to keep her voice level and playful as she answered vaguely, "I have my ways."
Chat Noir raised an eyebrow at her, but didn't pry. He shrugged. "Okay. I trust you, M'Lady." He bowed with a smile, and then turned and actually jumped away for real.
It was time for her miraculous to beep. She would have to be fast. She strode over to the victim, Marcos, who was sitting on the ground, seemingly contemplating. She knelt down in front of him and smiled kindly. "What's the matter?"
"My two best friends are getting together," Marcos explained. "I just don't want to be left behind."
She hummed. "Maybe you should try talking to them. It sounds like you're not angry about it, just sad. I would be upset too. But communication can solve a lot of problems."
Marcos nodded. "Yeah, thanks Ladybug."
She grinned again, and then stood up. Throwing her yo-yo, it wrapped around a pole, and she was pulled away.
Marcos waited until the next day to speak to Soren and Corvus. He had asked them the night before to meet him at school a little early so they could talk. He decided to sleep on it and hopefully gain a bit of confidence for the next day.
He walked up the steps and found Soren and Corvus waiting by the doors. They were about ten minutes early, so nobody else was there except for Claudia, but she was down in the yard sitting on a bench and too far away to hear.
"What's up, Marcos?" Corvus asked. His concern made Marcos feel warm inside.
"I, uh, I just wanted to talk about your new," he gestured in front of him, "relationship."
"Ah," Corvus said. "What about it?"
"I just," Marcos paused, breathing in. He could do this. It was better to just come out and say it. "I just don't want you to leave me behind."
Corvus put his hand on Marcos' shoulder, sending a sort of shockwave through him. "We would never! None of this changes anything. We're still best bros." He held out a fist, and Marcos bumped his own against it.
"Well, there's kinda something I wanted to bring up too," Soren said, twiddling his thumbs. The other two turned towards him. Soren looked at Corvus. "Corvus, you know I like you. I have liked you for a while."
Something in his heart died a little at those words, but Marcos tried his best to ignore it.
Soren turned to Marcos. "But Marcos, I also like you."
Wait. What.
As shocked as he felt, a lot of things were coming together. They had always been a bit closer than he suspected other friend groups were. They tended to flirt with each other in everyday conversations like it was nothing, but it did hold a certain meaning to all of them. The warmth Marcos felt when Corvus touched his shoulder, the butterflies he felt when Soren tossed back his hair suddenly made a lot of sense.
"I think I like both of you too," Marcos said honestly.
"Same," Corvus replied. They were quiet for a bit as it sunk in, but Corvus broke it by laughing. "Well, what do we do now?"
Soren shrugged. "I mean, there's no rule saying we can't all date each other, and I have two hands."
Marcos went into class that day with a lot of weight lifted off his chest and two hands in his.
Rayla usually sat with Soren at lunch. It was their whole thing since they were friends. But she wanted to give him space since he got two new boyfriends, and she found herself wandering outside. A few other students were scattered around, most notably, Callum, sat under a tree with a lunchbox by his side and his sketchbook in his lap.
Rayla didn't recognize any of the other kids, and she really didn't feel like eating alone. She remembered Callum's unfinished drawing and how it could've been of her and how Soren worked up the nerve to talk to Corvus because she told him to just do it and he managed to score two boyfriends, so she took her own advice and marched over to Callum.
He didn't look up, but she didn't think he noticed her. He was too engrossed in his drawing, and she realized that he was coloring it. With the colors she gave him. Excitement rushed through her, and she plopped down next to him.
He jerked, a bit startled, but once he saw who it was, he relaxed. "Hi, Rayla."
"He- hello," she said. Gulping down whatever anxiety was building in her throat, she asked, "What are you... you drawing?"
"Oh," Callum exclaimed. He hesitated for a second before shrugging to himself and turning his book to her.
The sketch was finished, and he was coloring it in. The girl was standing with her arms out to her side and her hair blowing in the wind, and horns on her head and purple marks under her eyes. It wasn't of her, not exactly, but it was at the same time. He was coloring in the suit, which was red with black spots around it. Ladybug. He was drawing Ladybug.
While it did dampen her spirits a little bit, she supposed it didn't matter much. Ladybug was still technically her, and the drawing was still amazing, no matter who it was of. "Wow!" She complimented. "It looks amazing!"
"Thanks," Callum shyly replied, curling in on himself slightly and readjusting the book to fit in his lap. His eyes wandered over to the set of colors. "Oh! I never got to thank you for getting me these," he said, holding up the box. With a head tilt and wide grin, he said, "So thank you, Rayla."
Rayla was surprised she didn't have a stroke on the spot. She was surprised she managed to not even squeal. A bright smile broke out onto her face as well. "You're welcome! You're a great artist!"
Pink dusted his cheeks. "Thanks."
"No, seriously!" she insisted. "You can really capture peoples'," she trailed off, looking for the right word. "Essences."
Callum rubbed the back of his neck. "I think that's the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me."
It was her turn for pink to rise to her cheeks. Trying to continue the conversation, she asked, "Do you ever draw Chat Noir too, or just Ladybug?"
"Um, for now, just Ladybug."
That started a conversation about the two superheroes of Xadia, who unknown to them, were sitting next to each other the whole time. They ate their lunches while they spoke, and Rayla helped him pack up his art supplies when the bell rung, signaling the end of lunch. Rayla supposed she was right. Communication solved a lot of problems and usually gave good results.
And later, when she laid in bed that same night, she realized not only did she manage to get a sentence out without stuttering, they had a whole conversation!
Soren returned to their lunch table the next day, along with Corvus and Marcos. Two new additions was amazing enough, and Rayla was extra surprised when Callum timidly asked if the seat next to her was taken. Maybe getting closer to him would be easier than she thought.
*the end is kinda lackluster but we don't talk about that
*i don't remember if i mentioned this or not, but im not writing three seasons worth of content, so callum and rayla's relationship and development are gonna be kinda sped up. but i mean it is possible for them to become fast friends anyways, so i guess it's not that bad
*the main reason this chapter took so long was because i couldn't write the beginning because it was kinda boring. the next chapter is lowkey boring too and really just another filler, but after that, stuff starts going down
*friendly reminder that i chucked the plot of miraculous ladybug out of the window and ended up creating my own weird hybrid of tdp and mlb